VO BOSS: Recent Episodes
Anne Ganguzza
The VO BOSS podcast blends solid, actionable business advice with a dose of inspiration for today’s voiceover talent. Each week, host Anne Ganguzza focuses on a specific topic to help you grow your #VO Business. Featuring guest interviews with industry movers & shakers, VO BOSS covers every facet of the voice landscape, from creating your business plan to choosing the best marketing tactics & tools. So tune in, listen up, and learn how to further your VO career!
What makes a voiceover performance truly connect with an audience?
In this VO BOSS conversation, Jim Meskimen and Anne Ganguzza talk about what happens when voice actors stop simply reading the words and start communicating the thought behind them.
Jim shares insights from his extensive career in voiceover, acting, improv, impressions, animation, audiobooks, television, film, and more. They discuss why the script is a path rather than a set of instructions, how preparation creates freedom, why improv makes you a stronger performer, and what it really means to be directable.
The conversation also explores auditions, rejection, stage fright, building confidence, creating authentic content, and continuing to grow as a performer throughout your career.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why the words are only part of the performance
- How to bring your own point of view to a script
- Why preparation can actually make you more spontaneous
- How improv strengthens voiceover skills
- What directors really mean when they ask you to be "directable"
- How to approach auditions and rejection
- Why communication has no finish line
- How Jim has continued to reinvent himself throughout his career
Chapters:
00:00 – Meet Jim Meskimen: A Career Built on Versatility 07:20 – Overcoming Stage Fright and Building Confidence 11:00 – How Improv Strengthens Voiceover Performance 13:30 – Authenticity, Impressions, and Bringing Yourself to the Work 15:30 – Why Voice Actors Shouldn't Become Servants to the Words 21:30 – What Unexpected Moments on Set Can Teach an Actor 25:00 – Directability, Flexibility, and Creative Collaboration 27:30 – Auditions, Rejection, and Recognizing the Small Wins 33:00 – Reinvention and Creating a Sustainable Acting Career 37:30 – Content Creation as an Authentic Marketing Strategy 40:50 – Finding Freedom Within the Script
Listen to the full conversation for Jim's stories, insights, and lessons from an extraordinary career in performance.
Building a successful voiceover career takes far more than talent behind the microphone. In this episode, Anne Ganguzza shares the lessons she wishes someone had told her before turning voice acting into a business.
From marketing and client relationships to financial planning, resilience, and overcoming perfectionism, Anne explores what it really takes to build a sustainable voice acting career. She explains why success isn't defined by one big booking, but by the consistent actions that create long-term growth.
If you're serious about building a voiceover business, this conversation will help you shift your mindset from chasing milestones to creating a career that lasts.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why performance is only part of a successful voiceover career
- The business skills every voice actor needs
- How to handle rejection and failure without losing momentum
- Why marketing is an ongoing part of your business
- The importance of financial planning and client relationships
- How progress—not perfection—creates opportunities
- What real, lasting voice actor success looks like
Podcast Chapters
- 00:00 – No One Tells You How Hard It Really Is
- 06:15 – Performance Is Only Half the Job
- 12:48 – Why Success Is a Moving Target
- 18:32 – Learning to Embrace Failure
- 24:40 – Progress Over Perfection
- 30:55 – Building a Career That Lasts
Whether you're just starting your voiceover career or looking to grow your voiceover business, this episode offers practical insights to help you build a career you'll love for years to come.
Chapter 1: The Trap of Practicing in a Vacuum (00:00 – 04:28) Anne introduces Tom Dheere and lays out the core mystery: why do highly talented voice actors stop booking? Tom references Jeff Colvin's landmark book Talent is Overrated, breaking down how elite performers across industries (like Tiger Woods or Mozart) rely entirely on the quantity and quality of deliberate practice. He warns that a massive trap for rising talent is practicing in a vacuum. Without a performance coach or objective professional director to provide constructive feedback, talent listen back to their files with subjective, untrained ears and end up cementing bad structural habits.
Chapter 2: Reps vs. Experimentation (04:29 – 07:34) Anne highlights why she assigns rigorous homework to her students—not to cause stress, but to build operational muscle memory. She notes that the real learning happens in the quiet moments between sessions when a student forces themselves to analyze, record, edit, and upload a new script daily. Tom introduces a vital distinction between practice and experimentation. Practice is the mechanical repetition of reps. Experimentation means putting on a psychological "lab coat" to explore diverse emotional subtexts—such as shifting a line from frustration to envy or adoration—ensuring an actor doesn't get stuck in an undirectable rut.
Chapter 3: The Intention of the Copywriter (07:35 – 10:21) Anne shares an anecdote from a recent group class where a copywriter validated her baseline training philosophy: every single word on a script was written with explicit intention and purpose. If an actor rushes into their home studio and records an audition without investigating why those specific words exist on the page, the resulting delivery sounds flat, stereotypical, and contrived.
Chapter 4: The 500-File Slush Pile (10:22 – 12:47) Tom provides a sobering glimpse into the brutal logistics of a major casting call. When a director receives 500 auditions for a single corporate or commercial spot:
- The first 100 files are instantly deleted because they failed to follow basic filename formatting rules.
- The next 100 files are discarded because the talent slipped into a sterile, melodic announcer cadence (da-da-da-da-da-da) within the first five seconds.
- The final selection comes down to the actors who make strong, distinct, and logical choices right out of the gate, honoring the semantic hierarchy of the text.
Chapter 5: Overworking the File vs. Seeking the Truth (12:48 – 15:35) Anne and Tom warn against letting the pendulum swing too far in the opposite direction. New voice actors frequently overwork an audition, recording multiple takes and over-analyzing their delivery until the final file sounds heavily manufactured and performative. Tom shares a brilliant rule from legendary audiobook narrator Johnny Heller: your primary job in every single genre of voiceover is to seek the text's truth. Whether you are reading a cinematic historical narrative or shouting about used cars for an auto lot, you must deliver a believable, raw human point of view.
Chapter 6: The Demographic Filter & Fresh Batteries (15:36 – 22:14) The hosts tackle the reality of the demographic filter. A voice actor can turn in a technically flawless, award-worthy performance but still lose the job simply because their voice print doesn't line up with the specific targeted audience (e.g., Medicare recipients vs. baseball fans). Tom notes that modern buyers have fresh batteries in their "BS detectors" and demand peer-to-peer authenticity. Anne shares that her highest-booking auditions are consistently the ones she treated as an honest interaction, rather than trying to match an artificial melody she imagined hearing on the air.
Chapter 7: The Meta-Data of the 3 Portals (22:15 – End) Tom delivers a masterclass in tracking business metrics, revealing that he completed exactly 1,492 auditions in 2024 and 1,659 auditions in 2025. By auditing his spreadsheets, Tom discovered a powerful pattern: 75% of his total voiceover revenue is generated by repeat business, while 25% comes from direct auditions. He shares how analyzing his booked auditions across his Three Portals (Representation, Online Casting, and Self-Marketing) allowed him to track shifting industry trends, noticing his bookings naturally migrated from bright, casual tones in 2024 toward heavy, chesty gravitas in 2025.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Talent is just the baseline: Possessing a natural storytelling gene means nothing if you fail to develop your technical skills. Focus heavily on mastering Colvin's principle of deliberate, high-quality practice. 2. Stop listening with subjective ears: Practicing in isolation reinforces bad booth habits. Invest in an objective performance coach or a verified industry peer who will give you hard, honest structural feedback. 3. Master the complete production sequence: Homework isn't just about vocal tracking. Use your practice hours to master script analysis, audio file editing, and data uploading so your operational pipeline becomes seamless. 4. Put on the psychological lab coat: Avoid getting married to a single vocal delivery. Force yourself to run script experiments using contrasting emotional anchors—like shifting from clinical authority to friendly advice—to keep your performance fluid and directable. 5. Honor the copywriter's intent: Copywriters spend hours fine-tuning text to hit specific marketing targets. Honor their labor by uncovering the specific purpose behind every noun, adjective, and punctuation mark before you hit record. 6. Eliminate the mechanical announcer cadence: Buyers will tune you out within the first three seconds if you slip into a predictive, rhythmic vocal melody. Make a distinct, grounded acting choice right out of the gate. 7. Adhere strictly to filename data specs: If a casting notice requests a specific label format (e.g., LastName_FirstName_Brand.mp3), follow it to the letter. Casting directors handle hundreds of files and will delete non-compliant data instantly without listening. 8. Ditch the 15-take audition spiral: Over-analyzing your audio files destroys human naturalness. Cap yourself at three distinct takes, select the most honest file, delete the structural waste, and submit. 9. Balance your Three Portals synergetically: Do not pass judgment on specific marketing avenues. Representation, Online Casting (Pay-to-Plays), and Self-Marketing exist in a synergistic loop—improving your output on one portal naturally sharpens your conversion rate on the others. 10. Track your business meta-data to spot trends: Log every single audition, portal source, genre, and booking. Stepping back quarterly to track structural patterns will show you exactly which vocal signatures are driving revenue in the current marketplace.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Audition Addiction Metric (00:00 – 02:08) Anne and Lau challenge the industry-standard phrase, "the audition is the job." Lau warns against letting auditioning become a static, addictive loop, explaining that many exclusive talent agencies provide detailed submission reports specifically so talent can weigh their output against their actual revenue. They suggest assessing and reassessing your audition volume quarterly to determine your true Return on Investment (ROI).
Chapter 2: Shifting from Mass Auditions to SEO & Referral Engines (02:09 – 04:41) Anne pulls back the curtain on her own multi-faceted business structure as a full-time talent, coach, and demo producer. She reveals that she rarely auditions anymore except for her agents because her calendar simply doesn't allow it. By shifting her focus to non-broadcast corporate and medical narration genres, Anne built her business around direct marketing, strong web SEO, and top-tier demos. Instead of spending hours recording speculative files, she relies on organic search placement, high-converting email negotiations, and repeat client referrals to fill her pipeline.
Chapter 3: Time Management & Taking Agency with Agents (04:42 – 07:14) Lau addresses the structural collapse of time management when a voice actor falls into a three-to-six-hour daily audition black hole. She urges talent to take control of their schedules by setting strict time limits and alarms. Lau shares a crucial insider agent secret: if an audition arrives that doesn't fit your current availability or artistic wheelhouse, it is perfectly okay to pass. You do not need to send an apologetic email; your agent has already moved on to other roster selections.
Chapter 4: The Seasonal Strategy & Developing Rep Relationships (07:15 – 10:17) The hosts unpack how to leverage the natural seasonal shifts of the entertainment year. Lau suggests heavy audition tracking during high-volume periods like autumn, while using quieter summer months to overhaul websites, clean up databases, and update marketing assets. Anne notes that a secure, communicative relationship with your talent agent reduces the artificial pressure to book every cattle-call notice that hits your inbox.
Chapter 5: The Wild West of Pay-to-Plays (10:18 – 13:25) Anne and Lau dissect the transactional reality of modern pay-to-play casting platforms. Anne warns that over-submitting on these open marketplaces can actually tank your algorithmic score on certain sites. They emphasize the necessity of prioritizing hand-picked agency notices over unvetted web auditions, asking talent a vital baseline question: "Would you rather submit 1,000 blind auditions or cultivate 10 high-paying, repeat clients?"
Chapter 6: The 1:3 Production Limit & Mental Burnout (13:26 – 21:15) Anne introduces the technical logistics of audio production, sharing that after years of professional editing, her benchmark turnaround speed remains capped at a 1:3 ratio—meaning every single hour of raw recorded audio requires three hours of painstaking cleaning, editing, and mastering. She points out that the sheer physical and mental capacity consumed by constant recording leaves talent too exhausted to handle essential business items like invoicing or pipeline cultivation. This ongoing rejection loop quickly induces performance fatigue, leading to a sterile, uninspired delivery that casting directors filter out instantly.
Chapter 7: The "Miyagi" 3-Read Cap & Corporate Safety Nets (21:16 – End) To maintain creative focus, Anne shares her golden rule: allow yourself a maximum of three recording takes per script, pick the best one, and move on. Lau delivers her strategic closing framework, reminding talent to step outside the daily operational weeds to look at the overall geography of their business. They conclude by encouraging voice actors to establish an intentional six-month business savings reserve, giving them the confidence and mental stability needed to deliver relaxed, booking-winning performances.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Calculate your true audition ROI: Submitting audio files all day without tracking your conversion metrics is counterproductive. Audit your calendar quarterly to ensure your booking ratio justifies the time spent in your booth. 2. Auditioning is a task, not a business model: Sending out file after file won't magically build an independent brand. Do not use constant recording as an excuse to avoid hard business tasks like direct outbound marketing or pipeline building. 3. Set a hard deadline on your recording blocks: Avoid letting submissions drift across your entire afternoon. Use a structural time-blocking system—such as dedicating 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM exclusively to agency notices—and step out of the booth once the buzzer sounds. 4. Take absolute agency over the "pass": Your relationship with your talent agent is a two-way professional dynamic. If a casting notice is a poor demographic fit or arrives past your operating hours, decline the submission confidently without guilt. 5. Leverage seasonal market cycles: Align your business goals with corporate seasons. Maximize your studio tracking during heavy autumn casting rushes, and reallocate quiet summer quarters to database development, website updates, and direct outreach. 6. Beware the open platform loop: Pay-to-play sites often operate as unvetted, high-volume digital environments. Prioritize hand-picked, direct agency opportunities where your unique biological voiceprint is structurally valued. 7. Respect the 1:3 editing standard: Remember that a single hour of raw voiceover audio demands up to three hours of post-production labor. Budget your energy wisely to protect your studio's operational capacity. 8. Implement the 3-read maximum limit: Avoid over-analyzing and recording fifteen variations of the same paragraph. Limit yourself to three distinct takes, select the most honest file, delete the leftovers, and keep moving. 9. Step out of the operational weeds: Step back regularly to evaluate the macro geography of your small business. Ensure you are actively managing larger items like business development and client retention, rather than getting lost in micro-mechanics. 10. Anchor your creativity with a financial safety net: Maintain a distinct business savings account containing at least six months of baseline operational expenses. Financial security eliminates desperation, immediately freeing your voice up to sound relaxed and authentic.
Chapter 1: The Four-Year Pivot & Automation (00:01 – 03:43) A realistic assessment of the modern voiceover landscape. The conversation breaks down why doubling down on specific performance sectors combats the rise of generative AI, and shatters the panic surrounding long-form narration.
Chapter 2: The IVR Evolution & NAVA (03:44 – 06:58) An analysis of the sectors most impacted by digital cloning, particularly telephony and IVR. The chapter covers historical warnings regarding voice data and introduces the operational growth of NAVA.
Chapter 3: Corporate Blueprints & Intuition (06:59 – 11:24) A look into how a corporate career in insurance claims adjusting hands entrepreneurs the ultimate blueprint for business autonomy and time tracking. The discussion covers handling conflicting advice from industry mentors.
Chapter 4: The LinkedIn Relationship Engine (11:25 – 14:49) The exact steps required to transform a standard profile into an organic, inbound lead-generation machine without spending money on premium platform upgrades.
Chapter 5: Unconferences and Content Longevity (14:50 – 18:20) A breakdown of how simple, de-mystified business structures resonate best with creatives, featuring a look into long-term product modernization and content upkeep.
Chapter 6: Paywalls & Parallel Accountability (18:21 – 28:04) Tactical advice on how to maintain dominant search functionality even as features get locked behind corporate paywalls, alongside a unique virtual co-working strategy that crushes procrastination.
Chapter 7: Outsourcing & Dropping the Stress (28:05 – End) How to maintain tight creative control over a brand while strategically outsourcing administrative labor. The episode wraps with a reality check on social media posting schedules and child voice talent safeguards.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways * Human nuance remains un-clonable: Synthetic models cannot replicate the organic emotional transitions that define elite commercial performance. * Continuous education is structural protection: Entrepreneurs must treat business development and tech training as non-negotiable daily habits. * Run your business on intuition: Rely on common sense rather than chasing low-cost, race-to-the-bottom marketplace trends. * Treat networking profiles like a mini-website: A professional profile must operate as a sleek landing page complete with clear social proof. * Master the three pillars of direct outreach: High-converting marketing relies on a streamlined sequence: Optimize, Connect, and Message. * Leverage parallel co-working sessions: Bypass administrative procrastination by setting up parallel focus blocks with an accountability partner. * Retain vision when outsourcing: Scaling a business requires delegation, but the owner must always retain absolute control over the brand's trajectory. * Give yourself permission to breathe: Focus entirely on the substance of marketing rather than the arbitrary frequency of a social media posting schedule. * Audit service agreements closely: Talent must actively protect their biological voiceprints by ensuring explicit protective clauses are embedded into every contract. * Hold corporate standards for child talent: Treat child performances as a legitimate business by enforcing standard industry rates and following official best practices.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The One-Take Pro vs. The Strategic Option (00:00 – 04:28) Anne and Lau open the show with a live demonstration of a second vocal take, using the contrast to introduce the mechanics of audition submissions. Lau points out a frustrating trend in modern casting: talent who fail to read basic script directions. The bosses establish the baseline rules: if a spec specifies a take count, follow it explicitly. However, if the specs are silent, up to two takes is the generalized sweet spot. Lau addresses why some elite, seasoned pros refuse to submit more than one take, explaining that the bosses are choosing to lead with their definitive signature strength rather than forcing a weaker backup option.
Chapter 2: The Pay-to-Play Dynamic & The Pizza Parlor Analogy (04:29 – 08:39) Anne highlights a massive operational difference that new talent overlook: submitting an audition to a vetted talent agent is completely different from submitting to an open marketplace or pay-to-play platform. Vetted agents listen to performances all day and can spot baseline acting technique instantly. On an open marketplace, however, you might be auditioning for a small pizza parlor owner who has zero casting experience and can't articulate what the bosses want. Anne and Lau explain why open platforms require talent to submit a secondary take to showcase their versatility, serving as a tactical safety net against poorly written casting specs.
Chapter 3: The Danger of the Blind AI Market (08:40 – 10:24) Lau injects a sobering reality check into the conversation, highlighting the alarming rise of highly advanced, naturalistic text-to-speech models. She warns that on unvetted, lower-budget casting platforms, talent cannot even guarantee that the "client" or the competing files are human beings. Anne notes that while generative models are capturing a specific segment of the automated market, human actors retain the upper hand on projects that demand deep narrative comprehension and emotional subtext.
Chapter 4: Script Editing & Protecting Your Labor (10:25 – 14:03) Anne outlines her exact tactical blueprint for handling long-format corporate or narrative copy on open casting sites. If a client provides a full two-minute script without specifying a take count, never record the entire script for multiple takes. Anne recommends recording the beginning section as Take One to establish a baseline. For Take Two, do not repeat the first paragraph; instead, cut to the middle or end of the script to highlight a completely different emotional arc or technical delivery. This approach showcases your artistic range while protecting your professional labor from being used without compensation.
Chapter 5: The 5-Second Rule & Audition Commitment (14:04 – 16:16) The hosts tackle the widespread industry rumor that casting directors only listen to the first five seconds of an audio file. While five seconds is the standard timeline for initial screening and weeding out unvetted files, clients listen significantly longer once the bosses narrow their pile down to a shortlist. Anne warns talent to never drop their commitment or soften their acting choices after the opening sentence, explaining that a great performance must maintain structural logic and narrative focus through the very last word of the submission.
Chapter 6: Nuance vs. Overt Pitch Shifting (16:17 – 20:34) Anne and Lau break down what a genuine vocal variation actually sounds like. Lau warns against the common beginner trap of changing your pitch or adopting a random regional accent for a second take. True variation is built entirely on subtext, relationship dynamics, and energetic shifts. Anne connects this directly to her upcoming presentation at VO Atlanta on Emotional Intelligence in Narration, explaining how changing your mental relationship to the listener—such as shifting from an authoritative corporate authority figure to an equal, peer-to-peer friend—naturally alters the breathing, rhythm, and melody of your voice without sounding forced.
Chapter 7: The Alliteration of Longevity: Care, Create, and Change (20:35 – End) Lau delivers her definitive framework for vocal training: Care, Create, and Change. She challenges talent to probe their own motivations, asking themselves "Why am I saying this?" and "How can I make the listener care?" before they hit record. Anne and Lau conclude by reminding talent that a true creative professional focuses entirely on the value they can offer the client, rather than obsessing over personal validation or worrying about what a stranger thinks of their voice print.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Directions are your primary filter: No matter how incredible your vocal range is, failing to follow technical filename structures, take counts, or file formats in a casting spec will get you screened out instantly. 2. Two takes is the universal sweet spot: If an audition notice is completely silent regarding the take count, provide two distinct, contrasting reads to maximize your opportunities. 3. Only submit what you can master: If your secondary vocal option sounds rushed, messy, or structurally identical to your first take, do not include it. A casting director will instantly assume you lack self-direction. 4. Marketplaces demand structural variation: Direct buyers on unvetted casting sites rarely understand vocal terminology. Use a secondary take to protect your business against inaccurate or confusing casting specs. 5. Protect your long-format files: When auditioning with long narration or corporate scripts, never record the entire text for multiple takes. Read the opening for Take One, and select a compelling middle or closing section for Take Two. 6. Commit through the final punctuation mark: While initial screening rounds are fast, decision-makers listen closely to your entire file once you make the shortlist. Maintain your psychological connection through the final second of the track. 7. Ditch the basic pitch shift: Changing your pitch or forcing an artificial accent for a second take sounds gimmicky. Real variety is achieved by altering your internal subtext and changing your relationship to the listener. 8. Map your target audience relationships: Treat your copy like a dynamic conversation. Shift your delivery by imagining different listeners: read once as a corporate consultant speaking to an executive, and read again as a peer offering advice. 9. Build a personal toolkit of 10 tactics: Develop a reliable mental list of ten performance adjustments—such as altering your physical posture, shifting your internal energy, or adjusting your breathing pace—to execute variations quickly during live director sessions. 10. Implement Lau's 3 Cs: Build your business foundation around three pillars: Care deeply about the text, Create a distinct, committed world for your characters, and be ready to Change your tactics on a dime when a client requests an adjustment.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Roar of Madison Square Garden (00:00 – 02:57) Anne welcomes voice talent and business coach Tom Dheere back to the show. Tom explains his exhaustion, revealing that his neighborhood turned into a massive celebration zone after the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship. Anne shares a parallel memory of experiencing the World Cup celebration in Italy. They note how easy it is to get swept up in a major public triumph, sparking a deep conversation about the hidden work required behind a massive, visible victory.
Chapter 2: What is Your Personal Championship? (02:58 – 04:31) Anne and Tom explore how success is rarely an accidental event. Tom challenges listeners to establish their own custom definition of "winning the championship." For a new voice actor, a title might mean booking their first paid gig, securing a national commercial, qualifying for SAG-AFTRA, or generating enough revenue to transition from a full-time day job to part-time creative work.
Chapter 3: The Micro-Decision Metric & The Astronaut Analogy (04:32 – 08:25) Tom delivers a powerful perspective shift: your life and your VO career are not highlight reels. True career growth is built entirely on the micro-decisions made in the quiet moments between the milestones. Tom uses an excellent analogy comparing two college students who both want to be astronauts. Assuming equal talent and resources, the student who chooses to stay at their desk studying night after night while friends head to the pub is the one who ultimately makes it to space. Anne relates this to her personal struggle with college calculus, explaining how facing difficult, un-glamorous work builds mandatory professional humility.
Chapter 4: Repetition, Homework, and the "Miyagi" Effect (08:26 – 10:25) Anne and Tom discuss the necessity of balancing the quantity of your practice with the quality of your execution. Tom references the classic Karate Kid metaphor: when Mr. Miyagi forces Daniel to paint the fence repetitively, it feels tedious and useless until that exact physical muscle memory becomes his primary shield in battle. Anne notes that this is exactly why she assigns heavy homework to her students, explaining that the real growth happens in the isolated, un-directed hours spent experiencing diverse scripts, handling audio editing, and analyzing text independently between coaching sessions.
Chapter 5: Defining a Perfect VO Day & Tracking Patterns (10:26 – 14:43) Tom reveals the very first exercise he gives to his consulting students: detailing what a "perfect voiceover day" looks like, and then breaking down the 82 pre-season steps needed to make that day a reality. They treat auditions like individual games in a long season. Tom highlights why tracking your auditions is vital—not to obsess over your booking ratio, but to gather meta-data. By analyzing his past "thumbs up" ranking scores on Voice 123, Tom discovered a pattern: his primary booking keyword is "upbeat." He now uses that data to specifically filter and prioritize incoming casting notices.
Chapter 6: Audition Desperation & The Character Accent Myth (14:44 – 20:20) Anne shares that her highest-booking auditions are consistently the ones she didn't over-analyze or obsess over, allowing her to deliver a natural, storytelling-focused read. Tom explains the corporate psychology behind this: buyers can smell performance desperation. He calls out a major cultural trend where new talent obsess over pitch adjustments and complex accents for animation or gaming, warning that dialects mean nothing if the underlying performance lacks real human connection. Tom uses his background narrating over 70 audiobooks to explain that a heavy accent should never get in the way of a compelling story.
Chapter 7: The Production Team & The 3 Ps of Success (20:21 – End) Using basketball as a launching point, Anne and Tom examine the many moving pieces that contribute to a successful voiceover career and production. Together, they discuss the importance of teamwork, adaptability, and professionalism, and why the most successful voice actors learn to balance artistic fulfillment with business realities. Drawing on more than 38 years of combined full-time experience, they conclude with a powerful framework for career longevity: Passion, Practice, and Persistence—the 3 Ps that have helped sustain their own careers and countless others.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Define your own title: Success in the voiceover marketplace is personal. Do not measure your worth against someone else's trophy room; identify the specific professional milestones that equal a win for your business. 2. Ditch the highlight reel mindset: Landmark moments like booking a major corporate client or launching a new website are rare. Your real business is formed by the quiet, un-glamorous work you execute on a rainy Tuesday morning. 3. Master your micro-decisions: Longevity is built incrementally. Choosing to practice copy analysis, market your services, or clean your studio booth instead of succumbing to distractions is the daily habit that separates astronauts from dreamers. 4. The lesson is in the doing: Do not rely on your coach to hand-hold your development. True vocal authority is forged through repetitive script interaction, self-direction, and navigating audio editing hurdles independently. 5. Treat auditions like game tape: Use your submissions as a tool to collect raw data. Track where your auditions originate, identify the performance specifications, and look for structural trends over a 60-to-90-day window. 6. Let the algorithm guide your focus: Platforms like Voice 123 reward positive listener interactions. Analyze your "likes" or shortlisted notices to discover your signature vocal keywords, and use that data to target similar copy. 7. Drop the desperation: The harder you try to force a performative "announcer" melody onto a script, the faster a client will pass on your file. Ground your energy, lean into the narrative truth, and read without artificial worry. 8. Acting outweighs accents: A casting director will instantly forgive an imperfect dialect if the character feels deeply connected, present, and humanly engaged. Prioritize psychological truth over vocal impressions. 9. You are a player, not the whole team: Remember that a voice actor is one specific cog in a much larger production wheel. Show up to sessions directable, pleasant, organized, and ready to collaborate with engineers and directors. 10. Harness the power of the 5-year wall: If you can commit to the industry, learn from your failures, and actively market your booth for longer than five consecutive years, your statistical probability of long-term commercial success skyrockets.
2026-06-22 Update From Anne: This conversation with Hunter Peterson was recorded before the bankruptcy court bidding process discussed in the interview had concluded. Since then, plans have changed - Hunter and his team are now focused on building a brand-new airline rather than acquiring an existing one.
One thing I've learned from talking with entrepreneurs over the years is that the path to success is rarely a straight line. Sometimes the most exciting opportunities come from adapting, pivoting, and embracing a new vision. I'm so excited to see where this next chapter takes him, and I'm super grateful he shared his journey with us. I'm looking forward to welcoming him back to the podcast and hearing how things progress. Enjoy the episode!
From the VO booth to billions of impressions! In this extraordinary episode of the VO Boss Podcast, Anne Ganguzza sits down with voice actor, content producer, and creative entrepreneur Hunter Peterson. Hunter breaks down his viral movement, Spirit 2.0 (Let's Buy Spirit), which has captured 19.5 billion impressions and evolved into a legitimate corporate contender in bankruptcy court.
Discover how Hunter applied the core mechanics of voice acting, content strategy, and digital storytelling to mobilize an army of investors. He shares the raw, chaotic realities of real-time entrepreneurial pivots, navigating intense SEC regulations, overcoming massive public missteps, and why human accountability is the ultimate secret weapon to beating traditional private equity.
What you'll learn in this episode:
- The precise viral content math Hunter used to test his record-breaking videos.
- Why Hunter went from hating Spirit Airlines to leading a movement to buy it.
- The chilling complexities of purchasing an Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) out of bankruptcy.
- Why you don't need a flawless plan to launch a successful business.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Cosmic Zipper — From Silicon Valley to Telltale Games (00:01 – 04:13) Anne introduces BAFTA award-winning actor Cissy Jones, listing her massive credits across the video game landscape. Cissy shares her unique origin story, starting not in theater, but in the fast-paced venture capital world of Silicon Valley. Despite an early childhood calling to act, she followed corporate expectations until a profound sense of unhappiness led her to a voiceover school. Cissy introduces her concept of the "cosmic zipper"—that beautiful alignment where life clicks together once you finally uncover your true purpose. Within two years of rigorous study, she booked her first massive multi-character rolepacket as Katya in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead.
Chapter 2: The Ultimate Boss Move & The Impact of the Mic (04:14 – 07:47) Anne pauses to highlight an incredible tactical move from Cissy's early days: learning how to engineer audioaudio engineer sessions when she couldn't afford a class ticket, allowing her to stay in the casting room and absorb director feedback through osmosis. Cissy highlights her deep appreciation for characters like Lilith in Disney's The Owl House. She recounts emotional fan interactions at Comic-Cons, where parents and children shared how her character's arc helped them process their own queer or neurodivergent identities, reinforcing the true purpose of human storytelling.
Chapter 3: Mastering Storytelling & Leaning Into Vulnerability (07:48 – 11:44) Anne asks Cissy what internal mechanics make a voice actor a master storyteller. Cissy credits her willingness to tap deeply into intense, unshielded human emotion on demand. She offers a crucial piece of advice for talent exploring the character and interactive space: when a script calls for real, raw emotion, do not paint over it with cartoony comedy. Voice actors must lean courageously into authentic psychological vulnerability while carefully managing their own mental well-being when a heavy scene leaves them emotionally drained.
Chapter 4: The 3-Second Threat & The AI Wake-Up Call (11:45 – 17:31) The conversation turns to advocacy as Cissy recounts a terrifying experience during the 2021 COVID lockdown. Fans alerted her to AI voice clone platforms generating pornographic content using her vocal likeness from The Owl House. When she demanded a takedown, the platforms refused, citing a complete lack of protective voice laws. Cissy breaks down a jarring technological reality: in 2021, creating a believable vocal clone required roughly 10 hours of studio audio; today, it takes just 3 seconds. She highlights why NAVA is actively working with legislators to target security loopholes, citing an experiment where NAVA co-founder Karin Gilfrey successfully bypassed her personal bank security using an AI clone of her own voice.
Chapter 5: Ethovox — Creating a Safe Haven Under Lock and Key (17:32 – 24:03) Drawing on her technical venture capital background, Cissy shares why she refused to sit idly by and instead launched her own ethical AI startup called Ethovox. Unlike predatory public marketplaces that ingest and trade off voice talent data, Ethovox operates as a highly secure, private repository. The company explicitly mandates full actor consent, works hand-in-hand with talent agencies to negotiate fair rates, and refuses to sell baseline training data. Cissy reveals a massive boss move: walking away from a lucrative seven-figure institutional funding offer because the investors admitted they did not care if voice actors survived.
Chapter 6: The Fight in D.C. & How the VO Community Can Help (24:04 – End) Cissy praises NAVA's leadership—specifically Tim Friedlander, CKarin Gilfrey, and Matthew Parham—for their relentless, bipartisan legislative efforts in Washington, D.C., to pass protections such aspushes in Washington, D.C. to pass protections like the federal No Fakes Act. She stresses that while Washington politicians may not inherently care about actors, they care deeply about cybersecurity risks and digital identity theft affecting their voters. The episode wraps with an urgent call to action for the VO community to support NAVA through membership dues, alongside an invitation to participate in NAVA's annual Day of Play charity streaming event.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Watch for the "Cosmic Zipper": If you are forcing a career path and constantly meeting friction and exhaustion, step back. When you strike the path you were truly meant to walk, the doors lock into place effortlessly. 2. Immerse yourself through service: If you cannot afford premium training starting out, find alternative ways to be in the room. Learn to engineer, edit, or assist so you can witness directing choices and build organic network connections. 3. Storytelling demands real human impact: Vocal mechanics mean absolutely nothing if your performance isn't reaching past the microphone to touch, change, or validate the human experience of the listener. 4. Don't hide behind a cartoon read: When a script asks for deep psychological weight or heavy sorrow, do not soften the blow with safe, performative humor. Stand confidently in your vulnerability. 5. Acknowledge the 3-second reality: Vocal cloning technology requires as little as 3 seconds of pristine audio—meaning your outgoing cell phone voicemail clip is enough to compromise security systems or clone your identity. 6. AI needs ethical boundaries: Innovation cannot be stopped, but it must be met with the three foundational pillars of advocacy: absolute Consent, fair Compensation, and structural Control over personal vocal assets. 7. Protect your core data: Avoid voice AI platforms that treat your unique biological voiceprint as disposable ammunition to train broader, open-source language models. 8. Reputation over revenue: True leaders know when to walk away. Cissy's rejection of a massive seven-figure check because investors devalued human talent is the ultimate blueprint for protecting your personal integrity over a quick paycheck. 9. Bipartisan framing is key in advocacy: When pushing for systemic change or workplace protections, leave personal political ideologies outside the room. Speak directly to staffers about the universal dangers of digital kidnapping, fraud, and corporate IP theft. 10. A rising tide lifts all boats: Success in this industry is never a zero-sum game. There is plenty of room for creative minds to flourish. Lift your peers up, guard each other's rights, and protect the human element.
There is nothing we love more than a good listener question episode. It is the absolute best way for my Business Superpowers co-host, Lau Lapides, and me to connect directly with you bosses and dig into what you are actually experiencing in your daily business.
Recently, we combed through a handful of listener questions, and one from a listener named Ben immediately stopped us in our tracks: "What are voice actors wasting the most time on right now?"
Oh boy. Get comfortable, because Lau and I did not hold back. From the black hole of digital over-exposure to the exact mechanics of a genuine read, we broke down what you need to stop doing—and what you need to start focusing on—to take your business to the next level.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Trap of Self-Sabotage and Analysis Paralysis (00:01 – 04:10) Anne kicks off the listener Q&A with Ben's question about where voice talent waste the most time. Lau immediately calls out the silent killer of VO careers: intentional or unintentional self-sabotage. She describes how talent waste massive amounts of mental energy second-guessing auditions, wondering why they didn't get a booking, and obsessing over whether a client "liked" them. Anne shares how surviving cancer completely transformed her perspective in the booth, freeing her from minor anxieties and giving her permission to just have fun, audition, forget it, and move on.
Chapter 2: Fantasizing vs. Actively Doing the Hard Work (04:11 – 07:53) Anne and Lau shift the spotlight to a different kind of time-wasting: thinking about the work instead of actually doing the work. They discuss talent who get trapped "fantasizing" about the perfect gig or complaining that they "just need to market more" without sending a single email. Lau warns that a wild creative imagination is a gift for acting, but a massive liability when it comes to the logical, disciplined day-to-day realities of running a small business, tracking invoices, and practicing script homework.
Chapter 3: Digital Exposure, Brain Overload, and the Power of the "Share" (07:54 – 13:42) Lau introduces the danger of digital over-exposure and "dopamine addiction" online. Anne admits to the ongoing battle of keeping too many browser tabs open (shoutout to all the fashion buffs out there!), and Lau explains how overdosing on digital stimuli—even high-intensity entertainment like horror movies or daytime dramas—can alter your brain waves and derail your focus. To combat isolation and comparisonitis, they recommend building a tight-knit inner circle of colleagues to break your mental bubbles and celebrate wins constructively.
Chapter 4: The Myth of the "Easy" Read and the Olympian Metaphor (13:43 – 16:44) The hosts tackle the frustrating reality that both new talent and bad clients minimize the value of voice acting because "it looks easy." Anne uses a great metaphor involving the Southern California lottery for Olympic tickets: elite gymnasts and swimmers make their movements look completely effortless, yet no one assumes they can jump onto a balance beam and replicate it. Professional voice acting requires the exact same unseen, high-level athletic discipline.
Chapter 5: Gravitas, Empathy, and Decoupling the "Low Voice" (16:45 – 19:14) Anne raises another major listener question: What does authenticity actually sound like, and how does it relate to the industry's current obsession with "authority"? Lau notes that breakdown specs are constantly demanding "gravitas" and "assertiveness," especially for women. However, they debunk the myth that gravitas requires an artificially low pitch. True authority comes from a deep frame of reference and understanding your target market's specific culture—whether you are a 48-year-old corporate narrator or an 8-year-old expert talking about Pokémon.
Chapter 6: The "physicating" Framework and Keeping Auditions Raw (19:15 – End) Anne breaks down the exact training method she teaches in her precision narration classes: acting is never a primary action; it is always an empathetic reaction to a problem. She shares her famous "Jersey Girl" driving example to outline her step-by-step performance framework: Breathe, Focus, Physicalize (or "Physicate"), and Speak. Lau and Anne close the show by urging talent to stop editing out the raw, human elements of their commercial and animation auditions, opting for a bit of authentic grit over artificial perfection.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Ditch the audition autopsy: Wondering why you didn't book a gig is a form of procrastination. Fire off the audition, forget it completely, and redirect that energy into your next project. 2. Analysis leads to paralysis: Second-guessing the client's internal thoughts stops your creative momentum. Give yourself permission to fail forward. 3. Discipline your imagination: Your creative brain is a beautiful tool for script interpretation, but keep it out of your business operations. Run your invoices, tech updates, and marketing with cold, hard logic. 4. Guard your digital environment: Overdosing on social media scrolling and endless digital tabs alters your focus. Protect your mental health by setting strict boundaries on your screen time. 5. Break the isolation bubble: When you find yourself trapped in a negative mental rerun, pick up the phone or hop on a call with a trusted business peer who can ground you back in reality. 6. Immunity over insecurity: Stop letting other people's online wins trigger your insecurities. Use your community's success stories as a roadmap to learn what is currently working in the marketplace. 7. Effortless execution takes years: If your delivery sounds like "just reading," you are doing it right. Treat the illusion of simplicity as a professional compliment, but never let a client use it to devalue your rates. 8. Gravitas isn't a vocal register: True authority and credibility have absolutely nothing to do with how low your voice can go. True gravitas is rooted in confidence, presence, and direct connection. 9. Master the art of "Physicating": Before you speak a single word of a script, run through Anne's four pillars: Breathe naturally, Focus on the unwritten moment before, Physicalize the reaction with your body, and then Speak.
Keep it a little dirty: Stop turning in overly polished, perfectly scrubbed, sterile audio files for commercial and animation auditions. Leave the natural breaths and human imperfections in the track—casting directors want a real human being, not an algorithm.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Rochester Connection & The Johnny Fever Dream (00:00 – 03:51) Anne introduces her longtime friend Tim Powers. They bond over their shared Rochester, NY, background, noting that growing up there fosters a natural sense of grit, humor, and raw honesty. Tim shares his origin story, starting as a kid with a voice that dropped way too early in 1978. Growing up in a massive, hilarious family where you had to be funny just to get noticed, Tim fell in love with radio icons and comedy legends, dreaming of becoming the next Johnny Fever.
Chapter 2: The "Clark Kent" Years & Transition to the Improv Stage (03:52 – 08:34) Tim discusses his early years in radio, cueing up vinyl records, learning to think on his feet, and mastering spontaneous communication. However, minimum-wage radio couldn't pay the bills, leading to decades of "Clark Kent" day jobs. In his 30s, a friend dragged him to an improv theater tryout. Despite not being a traditional theater kid, Tim discovered that the improv stage was exactly where he learned structural acting, performance pacing, and the ultimate art of letting go.
Chapter 3: The Philosophy of "Yes, And" in Voiceover (08:35 – 12:40) Tim shares his journey moving from his hometown to Los Angeles, training with iconic schools like The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade, and eventually transitioning back behind the microphone under the mentorship of the late Lori Tritel and animation legend Michael Bell. Anne and Tim unpack the zen philosophy of "Yes, And." They discuss how voice actors spin too many mental plates trying to be perfect, when their only job is to accept the information given to them by the copy and boldly add their own life experiences to it.
Chapter 4: Making Bold Choices vs. The Robotic Read (12:41 – 19:28) Anne and Tim challenge the idea of trying to read the casting director's mind. Tim points out that in an industry overflowing with talented talent, the only thing that separates you from a room full of people matching your exact technical specifications is your unique life experience. They look at how improv empowers talent to trust their gut and make fast, definitive character choices rather than hunting for a safe, sterile melody.
Chapter 5: The "Dude" Knowledge & Grounding Corporate Narration (19:29 – 23:48) The conversation gets tactical as Anne and Tim explain the power of improvising your lead-ins. Tim demonstrates how a simple lead-in word like "dude" acts as the tip of a massive, subtextual iceberg. They argue that this work isn't just for wacky characters or high-energy commercials; it is also mandatory for all genres, including corporate narration and e-learning. To compete with cheap, perfect AI bots, human actors must bring a developed backstory, a natural breathing arc, and authentic physical transitions to the text.
Chapter 6: The Truth About Demo Production & Acting Accountability (23:49 – 33:32) Anne and Tim have a candid, hard conversation about the current state of industry coaching. They address the hard truth that voiceover is a professional acting discipline that cannot be mastered in four to eight short weeks. They discuss their shared responsibility as demo producers, explaining why they refuse to cash a student's check for a demo if that student isn't consistently audition-ready. Tim shares a classic Hollywood story about the legendary "$500 demo trucks" parked outside major studios and warns why decision-makers spot those corner-cutting shortcuts instantly.
Chapter 7: Garbage Plates, White Hots, and the Drop-In (33:33 – End) Tim details how talent can train with him via his zero-barrier-to-entry weekly drop-in Zoom workshop, Timprov, and his regular coaching site. The episode wraps up with a hilarious trip down memory lane as Anne and Tim talk classic Rochester culinary staples—including the legendary "garbage plate" hangover cure, Wegmans grocery stores, and Zweigel's white hots—before locking in plans for a future collaborative live-streaming workshop episode.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Acting is reacting: Real conversations are never premeditated. Every single script you read requires you to look at the words as an immediate response to an event that just happened. 2. Embrace the "Yes, And" mindset: Stop fighting the copy or over-analyzing the client's intent. Accept the scenario given to you by the writer, agree with it wholeheartedly, and add your specific central nervous system to it. 3. Natural beats perfect: If voiceover were solely about flawless technical precision, one person would hold all the work. Auditions book because of raw human imperfection and compelling storytelling. 4. Instinct over mechanics: If you are listening to the sound of your own voice or focusing on your vocal melody while recording, you are completely out of the scene. 5. Ditch the "Voiceover Artist" label: Tim reminds us that artists make sandwiches at Subway. You are an actor who uses your voice. Own that title, and do the internal script analysis required of real actors. 6. Master the customized lead-in: Never launch directly into the first line of text dry. Build a fully formed, improvised phrase right before the first word to establish a genuine emotional point of view. 7. Develop the "Dude Knowledge": A single lead-in word can serve as shorthand for a massive, unwritten backstory. Is your subtext "Dude, you're about to get fired" or "Dude, I've got the coolest secret to tell you"? Know the difference before you pull context into the microphone. 8. AI can read—humans must connect: Perfect, pretty, and cheap reads can be generated by algorithms all day long. The only defense against automation is your messy, un-replicable life experience. 9. Demos are a reflection of audition readiness: A professional demo is designed to show a casting director what you can deliver on the fly. If you aren't ready to book an elite audition on your own, you are not ready to cut a demo.
Find coaches who hold you accountable: Avoid any production factories that promise stardom in record time. Work with industry thought leaders who aren't afraid to give you the hard, necessary truths about your current performance level.
Episode Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The "Overacting" Trap (00:01 – 02:23) The episode kicks off with a surprise coaching moment. Lau calls out Anne's high-energy podcast introduction for being too "schmaltzy" and performative. They dissect the difference between an overacted line and a grounded delivery, introducing the idea of "throwing the line away" to find the real truth in the copy.
Chapter 2: The Booth Barrier & Generational Gaps (02:24 – 06:31) Anne and Lau discuss how difficult it is to connect with a human being while staring at unmemorized words inside an isolated booth. They explore a fascinating generational shift: younger talent who are used to digital-first communication (texting, Snapchat) often struggle with the traditional advice to "just talk to someone." Lau shares an anecdote about her team resisting turning on cameras during Zoom meetings, highlighting a modern hesitation with being "fully present" visually.
Chapter 3: The Transparent Script & The "Inside Voice" (06:32 – 10:53) How do you visualize a listener? Anne suggests imagining that the script itself is completely transparent and that your listener is standing right behind it. Lau pitches a counter-intuitive technique: if you can't imagine talking to an outside party, don't. Instead, treat the script as an internal monologue—a voyeuristic, "indoor voice" diary entry where the audience simply overhears your private thoughts.
Chapter 4: The Narration Debate & Physicality (10:54 – 14:43) Anne and Lau good-naturedly butt heads over long-format narration. While Anne insists that narration requires keeping the listener's needs in mind to shape the melody of the voice, Lau argues that true empathy allows the actor to experience the story's physiology internally. They find common ground in the concept of physicality, agreeing that natural, unforced body movements (like a head tilt or an eyebrow raise) naturally build authentic rhythm.
Chapter 5: Lowering the Stakes & The "Duologue" (14:44 – 21:16) The hosts challenge the classic acting note to "raise the stakes." Artificial high stakes often equal artificial stress. They suggest grounding your performance by lowering the stakes and speaking to the audience as intelligent adults. They also officially ban the word "monologue" in favor of "duologue"—a term that ensures your performance always encompasses another entity and never becomes self-centered.
Chapter 6: The Artemis Connection (21:17 – End) Anne notes that even when addressing a large boardroom or audience, you must always look at and speak to one person at a time to maintain empathy. They close the episode with a beautiful metaphor inspired by the Artemis space mission: even when the spacecraft lost radio communication behind the moon, it never lost connection to the mission. They remind talent to stay universally connected to the core truth of their copy.
Top 10 Boss Takeaways 1. Throw it away: Audiences want to hear you thinking, not performing. Treat key words with a mental shrug rather than over-emphasizing them. 2. Beware the booth barrier: Connection must start before you open your mouth. Assess the mood and the scene before reading. 3. The script is transparent: If you struggle to visualize a listener, imagine looking directly through the words into the eyes of a real person. 4. Embrace the "indoor voice": Many modern commercial scripts are voyeuristic. Let the audience sneak up on your thoughts rather than you shouting out to them. 5. Shift from monologue to duologue: Never look at a script as a solo speech. It is always a dialogue with another entity, even if that entity is your own internal self. 6. Empathy is everything: No matter your technique, you must deeply understand and feel the experience of the copy to prevent a robotic delivery. 7. Let your body react naturally: Don't force artificial gestures, but stay loose enough to let your natural physicality dictate the rhythm and melody of your voice. 8. Lower the stakes: Artificial high energy feels fake. Ground your enthusiasm to connect with your listener like an intelligent peer. 9. Talk to one, not the air: When reading corporate or presentation copy, do not speak to a vague crowd. Compartmentalize the audience and speak directly to one person. 10. Never drop the connection: Most talent only connect on the first two sentences before reverting to "reading mode." Maintain the relationship through the very last word.
The Three Portals: Mastering Your Voiceover Representation Strategy Voiceover Representation Strategy BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) tackle one of the biggest myths in the industry: that you need an agent to be successful. While representation is a vital part of a long-term voiceover representation strategy, it is only one of three "portals" to booking work. In this episode, Tom and Anne demystify the Business-to-Business (B2B) nature of the actor-agent relationship, the financial reality of why agents don't typically cast non-broadcast work, and how major social shifts have permanently altered how rosters are curated in 2026.
Chapter Summaries: The Three Portals of VO Work (02:17) Tom introduces his "Three Portals" framework for booking work: Representation (Agents/Managers), Online Casting Sites (P2P and free), and Self-Marketing (Direct outreach/SEO). He emphasizes that for most talent, representation is actually the smallest portal, while self-marketing and online casting provide the bulk of steady income.
Why Agents Skip Non-Broadcast Work (06:00) There is a clear economic reason why agents focus on broadcast: Usage Fees. Tom explains that an agent taking 10% of a $250 audiobook finished hour ($25) isn't sustainable for their business. They are looking for the "rebuys" and licensed spots in radio, TV, and streaming that pay thousands in license fees, making their commission worthwhile.
Agents vs. Managers: The Smoke-Filled Room (25:19) While agents primarily manage casting notices and file labeling, managers take a higher stake in your overall career development. A manager may take a percentage of all your income (typically 15-20%) because they are actively promoting you to other agents and "talking you up" in the industry's metaphorical VIP lounges.
Democratized Casting and Diversity (33:45) The industry has undergone a massive shift toward authenticity and inclusion. Tom and Anne discuss how movements like Me Too and George Floyd changed casting specs "overnight." Today, rosters are smaller but more diverse, meaning talent must find their unique "X-factor" to fill a specific demographic or stylistic need on a roster.
The "Agent Ready" Checklist (09:06) Before submitting, you must be "agent ready." This includes having a perfected website, a calibrated home studio, and a killer demo. If you cannot follow submission criteria to the letter (e.g., naming your file exactly as requested), the only thing an agent learns is that you cannot take direction.
The Referrer: Casting Directors (29:32) Casting directors (CDs) don't represent you, but they are your biggest advocates. In 2026, the most effective way to get an agent is through a CD referral. By taking workshops and reading for CDs, you build a relationship that can lead to an introduction when an agent asks, "Who do you have that sounds like X?"
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Agents Enhance, They Don't Create: An agent will make a successful career more successful, but they won't build one from scratch for you. 2. It's a B2B Relationship: You don't work for your agent. You work with them as a business partner. 3. Audit Your Portals: Balance your workload across all three portals (Rep, P2P, Direct) so you aren't devastated if one client or agent drops. 4. Broadcast is the Goal for Reps: If you want an agent, focus on commercial, promo, and high-level gaming demos. 5. Follow Directions Exactly: Agent submission is your first "direction" test. Failure to follow labeling or subject line rules results in an immediate "delete." 6. Clean Up Your Socials: Agents and managers check your social media. Avoid inflammatory, whiny, or NDA-violating posts that could damage their reputation. 7. Know the Rebuy: A major benefit of representation is their ability to track and negotiate "rebuys" or renewals for your spots. 8. Diversity is an Asset: rosters in 2026 prize authenticity. Own your unique background and use it as a selling point. 9. Utilize NAVA Benefits: Use National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) resources for professional contract reviews before signing with a manager. 10. Relationships Over Cold Emails: Focus on building face-to-face (or screen-to-screen) rapport with casting directors to earn referrals.
Voiceover Performance Techniques In the modern VO landscape, "conversational" has become a buzzword that often results in flat, disengaged reads. Anne Ganguzza sits down with the iconic Elaine Clark—author of There's Money Where Your Mouth Is—to discuss all things VO and her latest work, Speak to Achieve.
Elaine argues that to be a true VO BOSS, you must move beyond the logical brain and into a high-level voiceover performance technique that blends theater, advertising strategy, and subconscious "reprogramming."
The M.I.N.E. System: Motivation, Intention, Need, and Emotions Elaine's core methodology focuses on identifying the Problem (the moment before you speak) and the Need (the solution provided by the product or service). By anchoring your read in these two "bookends," you avoid the "flatline" story.
- The Problem: The pain point the audience is feeling right now.
- The Need: Why you must speak to them to provide the fix.
The Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos Most actors get stuck in the Logos (the logic of the words). To book high-level corporate and medical work, you must master:
- Ethos (Authority): Owning the subject matter in your bones.
- Pathos (Emotion): Connecting to the audience's struggle.
- Logos (Logic): Delivering the information clearly.
"Authority isn't a high school principal bounding down the hallway; it's someone who knows the truth so deeply they don't have to think about it." — Elaine Clark
Chapter Highlights: Navigating the Script * (08:34) Breaking the Silicon Valley Code: How Elaine translates "woo-woo" acting concepts into actionable "code" for tech professionals and corporate narrators. * (10:38) The Power Box & Physicality: Why standing still in front of a mic kills your performance. Discover how purposeful kinesthetic movement keeps your thoughts and voice in sync. * (19:50) Pattern Recognition: Every script follows a universal arc: Setup, Body, and Resolve. Identify the pattern, and you can master any cold read. * (31:53) The Doctor POV Exercise: A masterclass in "Point of View." Learn to channel a doctor who has 10 minutes per patient, a pile of charts, and a slight annoyance with note-taking to create a gritty, believable performance.
Top 10 Takeaways for the Strategic Voice Artist 1. Neutral is the Enemy: If you sound neutral, you sound fake. Pick a side and have an opinion. 2. Suggest, Don't Sell: The "hard sell" triggers listener resistance. Shift your mindset to making a helpful "suggestion." 3. Ditch "Objectives" for "Needs": Corporate jargon stays in your head. Human "needs" live in your heart and body. 4. The "Family of Nerds" Study: Observe real-world postures and gaits to physically "wear" your character in the booth. 5. Look for the Surprise: High-value reads identify the "shift" or surprise in a script—that's where the human connection lives. 6. The "Honky D" Pitch Shift: Learn when to "hunker down" and drop your pitch to signify a transition from problem to solution. 7. Overlearn to Build Trust: The more you understand about copywriting and ad agency workflows, the more you'll trust your instincts. 8. Sync Your Feet to Your Voice: Grounding your physicality prevents that disembodied "eye-to-mouth" disconnect. 9. Ignore the Specs (Sometimes): If casting specs are conflicting, focus on the audience's problem. Solve that, and the tone will follow. 10. The First Word is the Most Important: Your performance starts 10 seconds before the first word. If the "moment before" isn't real, the rest won't be either.
OSSes, are you tired of being stuck in your booth with no one to talk to but your DAW? 🎙️ Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides reveal why voiceover accountability groups are the #1 key to business longevity and mental health!
In this episode, we explore how to find the right partners, avoid the "gossip trap," and use your peers to "unstick" your career when you hit a plateau.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The Reality Check: Why isolation is the fastest way to burn out in VO.
- The "Brain Picker" Warning: How to spot partners who are just looking for a free ride.
- Industry Diversity: Why your best business advice might come from someone outside of voiceover.
- The "Unstuck" Strategy: How group members act as cheerleaders to pull you out of imposter syndrome.
- Rules of the Road: How to set boundaries and structure for a group that actually gets results.
If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start scaling with a team, this episode is your blueprint!
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) ring in the new year with a reality check on modern voiceover career strategy. In an industry increasingly influenced by AI and market saturation, the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach is no longer viable. This episode is a deep dive into the power of focus—mastering one genre at a time, picking the right marketing portals, and closing the "relevance gap" by becoming a high-level human storyteller.
Chapter Summaries: The Relevance Gap and AI (10:45) Tom introduces the "relevance gap"—the widening space between aspiring talent and working professionals. He argues that AI is rapidly consuming low-budget, entry-level work. To remain relevant, talent must move beyond simply "reading well" and invest in high-level storytelling skills (acting, improv, stand-up) that AI cannot yet replicate.
The Danger of the Multi-Demo Rush (03:55) The hosts notice a troubling trend: new talent getting five demos produced before they've mastered a single genre. This lack of focus leads to "sucking at everything." Anne emphasizes that even 20 coaching sessions might not be enough to reach the competitive level required for a professional demo in today's saturated market.
Passion vs. Pragmatism: Reconciling Your Goals (15:19) While many enter VO wanting to do anime or video games, the market for corporate, e-learning, and medical narration is significantly larger. Tom suggests a pragmatic voiceover career strategy: use "bread and butter" genres like corporate work (where there are over 33 million potential clients) to fund your passion projects in character and animation work.
The Myth of Social Media ROI (24:34) Tom reveals startling statistics on social media ROI for voice actors: Facebook (0.77%) and Twitter (0.69%) pale in comparison to LinkedIn (2.74%). While still low, LinkedIn represents a business-minded audience. The hosts warn that "enpoopification"—the decline of social media quality due to algorithms—makes it harder than ever to find work through standard posting.
The "New SEO": Getting Found by Chatbots (27:39) Anne shifts the focus to a forward-thinking strategy: SEO for AI. Companies are increasingly asking chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude for voice actor recommendations. To stay competitive, talent must populate their websites and blogs with high-quality, human-written content that these bots can index and recommend.
The 2026 Focus Challenge (30:21) Tom issues a challenge to all VO Bosses: Pick one genre, one casting site, and one social media platform to focus on this year. By concentrating energy rather than scattering it, talent can build true momentum and authority in a specific corner of the market.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Close the Relevance Gap: Invest in professional acting and storytelling training to stay ahead of AI-generated voices. 2. Focus on One Genre First: Master the nuances and audience of one genre before producing a demo or marketing yourself in another. 3. Market Pragmatism: Target the corporate and e-learning markets for consistent cash flow while you build your "passion" skills in animation. 4. Avoid "Demo Bundle" Traps: Be wary of packages offering multiple demos for a deal; quality training takes time and individual focus for each genre. 5. Audit Your Marketing Portals: Don't join every pay-to-play site at once. Pick one that aligns with your primary genre and master its algorithm. 6. Prioritize LinkedIn: For B2B genres like corporate narration, LinkedIn offers a significantly higher ROI than other social platforms. 7. Optimize for AI Search: Ensure your website's FAQ and Home pages are rich with pertinent information so chatbots can find and recommend you. 8. Use Low-Budget Sites as Proving Grounds: Use sites like Fiverr or Casting Call Club for practice and project management experience, not as a final career destination. 9. Human Content Wins: Write blogs and website copy with a "human-first" approach to reclaim search authority from AI-generated spam.
The Foundation is Acting: Foundational acting skills are transferable across all genres. Master the craft first, and the genre proficiency will follow.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza welcomes Paul Cartwright, an MFA-trained actor whose career spans Shakespearean stages in the UK to high-stakes on-camera work in Los Angeles. Paul shares his unexpected and successful transition from acting to voiceover, proving that "pipes" are secondary to performance. This episode is a masterclass in resilience, the importance of "text-first" training, and how to maintain a sustainable business while navigating the extreme highs and lows of the entertainment industry.
Chapter Summaries: The MFA Advantage: Text-Based Training (03:39) Paul discusses how his MFA training at the Royal Conservatory in the UK shaped his performance style. Unlike the "add emotion" approach common in some American training, the British tradition focuses heavily on the text. Paul explains that "everything you need is in the text," and learning to unlock an authentic voice through rigorous script analysis became his competitive edge in voiceover.
The "Door-to-Door" Hustle and 2 AM Practice (06:33) Paul candidly shares the reality of moving to LA with an MFA but no industry connections. To support his family of six, he worked door-to-door sales while spending his nights from 11 PM to 4 AM practicing voiceover. He emphasizes that there is no "workaround" for talent; building a career requires thousands of hours of recording, listening back, and researching.
Befriending Fear: A Key to Growth (13:38) Paul identifies fear as a constant companion rather than an enemy. By acknowledging fear and "holding hands" with it, he was able to stop letting it paralyze his learning process. He reframed mistakes as "learning experiences" rather than humiliations, a mindset shift that allowed him to take bigger creative risks in his auditions.
Reframing Rejection: David Wright and Disney (21:07) Paul tells a powerful story about auditioning for the head of casting at Disney Animation. After initially being told he wasn't ready, he was given a second chance, worked relentlessly for a week, and eventually earned an endorsement. However, he notes that even a Disney-level endorsement didn't lead to immediate work, teaching him that success is a long-term numbers game, not a single moment of arrival.
The "Stop Trying" Commercial Breakthrough (27:28) Despite his extensive acting background, Paul struggled to book commercials until a session with Tina Morasko. He realized he was trying too hard to be "poetic" or "actorly." Once he learned to stop trying and just read the copy as himself, he booked a McDonald's commercial the next day, which became a turning point for his consistent income.
Management vs. Agency: The Power of the Hustle (30:52) Paul discusses the difference between top-tier agencies and dedicated management. After being dropped by a major agency, he found manager Brandon Cohen (BAC Talent), whose relentless "hustle" and belief in Paul's talent doubled his income annually for three years. He reminds talent that it's not about the agency's name, but who is actively fighting to get you in front of clients.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Text is King: Base your performance on what is written in the script, not by layering arbitrary emotions onto the copy. 2. No Workarounds: Even with an MFA or natural talent, you must put in the "midnight hours" of practice to master the technical and artistic side of VO. 3. Acknowledge Fear: Stop trying to eliminate fear. Acknowledge it, and keep moving forward with it as your passenger. 4. Stop Trying So Hard: In commercial work, clients want you, not your acting training. Authenticity beats "turning a phrase" every time. 5. Rejection is "Not Now": Reframe every "no" as "not the right time for this specific product," which removes the pressure from each audition. 6. Trust the Numbers: Success is a numbers game. Aim for a high volume of quality auditions (Paul does 170–200 monthly) to increase your booking odds. 7. Find a Fighter: Whether an agent or a manager, prioritize working with people who believe in your brand and will hustle to get you shortlisted. 8. Direct Communication: Don't be afraid to reach out to industry idols for advice (like Paul did with Pat Fraley), but always respect their time and pay for their expertise. 9. Vulnerability is Strength: Being honest about your struggles and fears makes you a more relatable and connected performer.
The MFA to VO Path: Acting training for stage and screen is highly transferable to VO, provided you can condense your rehearsal process into a few minutes.
The Mind of a Voiceover Legend: Spike Spencer Voiceover Mindset and Performance BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza welcomes Spike Spencer, a veteran whose voice has defined iconic series like Evangelion, Pokemon, and World of Warcraft. But Spike isn't just an actor; he's a certified Master NLP Coach who understands that the "pipes" are only a tool—the real engine is the subconscious. This episode dives into the practical application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming in the booth, the evolution of the anime industry over 30 years, and how to "anchor" yourself into a winning state before you even hit record.
Chapter Summaries: 30 Years of Anime: From VHS to Instantaneous (10:58) Spike reflects on the technological shift in the industry. Thirty years ago, dubbing involved recording to VHS tapes and mailing them to Japan for feedback. Today, it's instantaneous and script-free. He notes that the speed of modern gaming and anime sessions requires actors to rely solely on instinct and advanced cold-reading skills.
NLP 101 for Actors: Subconscious Listening (23:29) Spike explains Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as the "study of excellence." He emphasizes that your subconscious is always listening to your internal dialogue. If you tell yourself "I hope I get this," you are operating from a state of lack. He discusses how to shift into a "paid voice actor" identity by simply asking for a $10 "lunch fee" for freebies to trigger a mental state change.
The Power of Anchoring (25:38) To improve your voiceover mindset and performance, Spike suggests "anchoring"—associating a physical action or sensation with a specific mental state. He shares techniques like touching a specific part of your booth doorway or using a physical gesture (like pinching an ear) during a moment of high energy to "program" your brain to enter that state whenever the gesture is repeated.
The "Matador Walk" and Audition Recovery (32:13) Drawing parallels from professional tennis, Spike discusses the importance of the "recovery state." After an audition—good or bad—actors must "shake it off" physically and mentally to enter the next read with fresh energy. He notes that animals (and microphones) are incredibly sensitive to manic or nervous energy, making mindfulness a prerequisite for a clean take.
Manifestation and "Stair-Stepping" Goals (40:30) Affirmations often fail because the subconscious rejects them as lies (e.g., "I am a millionaire"). Spike teaches "stair-stepping": setting goals that are realistic enough for the subconscious to believe. He also introduces the concept of anchoring the achievement of a goal by visualizing the feeling 15 minutes after the success has occurred.
Homesteading and Fatherhood (53:30) Beyond the booth, Spike discusses his life in the Texas Hill Country, where he gardens, homeschools his kids, and manages a homestead with donkeys and chickens. He argues that this "Dad energy" and grounding in nature provide the creative fuel necessary to sustain a decades-long career without burning out.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Master Cold Reading: In modern anime and gaming, you won't see the script ahead of time. Acting classes and daily reading practice are essential. 2. Your Subconscious is the Captain: It believes whatever you tell it without judgment. Speak to yourself as a successful professional. 3. Use Physical Anchors: Create a "booth ritual" (a touch, a scent, or a specific song) to instantly trigger a high-performance state. 4. The "First and Last Take" Rule: Avoid overthinking. Usually, your first read is the freshest, and your last read is the most refined. Stop there and move on. 5. Identify as a Pro: If you haven't been paid, do a small job for a nominal fee ($10). Once money changes hands, you are a "paid voice actor" in the eyes of your subconscious. 6. The Energy is Audible: Microphones pick up tension. If you are nervous, the listener will hear it. Use breathing and movement to ground yourself. 7. Recover Like a Matador: After every audition, do a physical "reset" to let go of the previous performance and clear the slate for the next one. 8. Stair-Step Your Affirmations: Don't claim "I am the world's best actor" if you don't believe it. Start with "I am a working actor who is improving every day." 9. Make Your Booth a Sanctuary: If you feel like someone is listening through the walls, your acting will be restrained. Ensure your space feels private and safe. 10. Perform Everywhere: Whether you're cooking on camera or reading to your kids, keep your creative energy flowing to prevent stagnation in the booth.
BOSSes, it is the month of taxes, and while most people's eyes glaze over at the mention of the IRS, Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) and Anne Ganguzza are here to make it manageable. This year is particularly significant due to major shifts in federal reporting thresholds. This episode provides actionable voiceover tax tips to help you move from a "hobbyist" mindset to a professional business owner, highlighting the importance of clear audit trails and strategic expense tracking.
Chapter Summaries: The Multifunctional Cash Flow Spreadsheet (01:34) Tom introduces his cornerstone tool: the Cash Flow Spreadsheet. Used for over 20 years, this template tracks every penny in and out. Beyond taxes, it serves as a marketing diagnostic by logging genres, booking sources (agent vs. direct), and payment portals. Anne notes that tracking the source of income is vital for analyzing which training and marketing efforts are actually paying off.
Threshold Shock: The 2026 1099 Changes (19:28) Tom reveals the most critical update for 2026: The 1099 reporting threshold has jumped from $600 to $2,000. This applies to both the 1099-NEC (Non-Employee Compensation) and 1099-MISC. Many talent will receive fewer forms this year, but Tom and Anne stress that this is not free money—you are still legally required to declare every cent of income, even if no form is issued.
The 1099-K and Third-Party Payments (20:53) For those paid via PayPal, Venmo, or credit cards, the 1099-K threshold now stands at $20,000 and 200 transactions. Unless you hit both metrics, these platforms won't send you a form. This makes meticulous personal record-keeping through spreadsheets or accounting software like Wave or QuickBooks essential for an accurate filing.
Hobby vs. Business: The IRS Standard (10:40) Even if you haven't made a profit yet, Anne and Tom encourage filing to claim deductions for training, gear, and marketing. However, they caution that the IRS may classify your career as a "hobby" if you don't show a profit within a few years. Having a professional CPA who understands self-employment is a deductible business expense that provides protection during potential audits.
Creating an Audit Trail (13:55) A "Real Boss" keeps personal and professional finances separate. Tom recommends opening a dedicated "Voiceover" checking account. By running all business transactions through one account, you create a clean audit trail that simplifies tax prep and provides concrete evidence of business activity if the IRS comes knocking.
AI for Financial Analysis (05:27) Tom discusses moving his data to Google Docs to leverage AI (Google Gemini). By using AI to analyze his spreadsheet, he can quickly identify which genres are growing or shrinking and compare year-over-year performance, turning "tax prep" into a powerful business strategy session.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Declare Everything: Regardless of the new $2,000 threshold, you must report 100% of your income to the IRS. 2. Separate Your Accounts: Use a dedicated checking account for all VO-related income and expenses to create an easy audit trail. 3. File Even When Starting: You can deduct coaching and equipment costs in your first year, even if you haven't booked a job yet. 4. Know the NEC vs. MISC: Understand the difference between non-employee compensation (NEC) and royalties (MISC), as the latter still has a $10 reporting threshold. 5. Hire a Specialized CPA: Don't rely on generic software if your taxes involve 1099s; find a professional who understands the unique needs of freelancers. 6. Track Genres for ROI: Use your financial records to see if your training in specific genres (like medical or e-learning) is resulting in paid work. 7. Watch for Digital 1099s: Check your email and portal dashboards (like Voices or Voice123) for downloadable tax forms; many companies no longer send snail mail. 8. Automate with Informed Delivery: Use the USPS Informed Delivery service to see scans of your incoming physical tax documents. 9. Quarterly Estimates: Avoid a massive year-end bill by paying estimated quarterly taxes throughout the year. 10. Taxes Tell Your Story: View tax season as a "Year in Review" to see the growth and health of your voiceover business.
BOSSes, today we celebrate a legend! 🏆 Anne Ganguzza sits down with John Florian, founder of VoiceoverXtra, to discuss his incredible 20-year legacy as the industry's primary news and education connector.
John shares the "hot coal" moment that launched his business, how he accidentally mastered SEO, and why he's retiring from VO to become a mystery-humor author.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The CNN of VO: How Voiceover Extra became the industry's most trusted resource.
- The Webinar Pioneer: John's journey from Broadway rehearsal halls to global digital training.
- SEO Secrets: How 2,500 articles created an unbeatable search presence.
- Digital Ethics: Dealing with content theft and the importance of accountability buddies.
- The Next Chapter: Why John is "learning the craft" all over again in the world of novel writing.
If you've ever used VoiceoverXtra to find a coach, a rate guide, or a studio tip, you cannot miss this heartfelt farewell and celebration!
BOSSes, are you re-recording your auditions until you're blue in the face? 🎤 Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides reveal why voiceover perfectionism is actually keeping you from getting cast!
In this episode, we dive into the "tormented artist" mindset and explain why "trying to be perfect" is the fastest way to sound boring and unmarketable. Learn how to let go of the "safety take," trust your first few recordings, and focus on progress over perfection.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The Audible Grunt: Why listeners can hear when you're "trying" to sound a certain way.
- The 10-Second Decision: Why casting directors ditch perfect reads for authentic ones.
- The "Don't Do That" Trap: Why you can't teach a negative and how to redirect your brain.
- The Power of Bloopers: Why imperfection is actually more memorable and human.
- Sounding Boards: How to use colleagues to snap out of a perfectionist spiral.
If you're ready to stop being your own worst enemy in the booth, this episode is for you!
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza welcomes powerhouse talent Mark Rider, whose voice has defined campaigns for Ford, Game of Thrones, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Beyond his iconic sound, Mark is a dedicated coach and creator of the VO Life Coach app. In this episode, we explore the parallel between jumping horses and taking creative risks, the "10,000-hour" journey to natural delivery, and why a healthy voice acting mindset—rooted in self-care and mental clarity—is the only way to survive the high-pressure world of trailers and promos.
Chapter Summaries: Horses, Fear, and Character Building (01:48) Anne and Mark bond over their shared passion for horses. Mark notes that jumping a 1,200-pound animal requires staring fear in the face—a skill that translates directly to the booth. They discuss how "eating dirt" (falling off) builds the resilience and character necessary to handle rejection and technical failures in a voiceover career.
The Birth of the VO Life Coach App (05:19) Mark shares the "come to Jesus" moment that led to his app. Wrestling with his two loves—performing and coaching—he sought a way to "clone himself" to provide spiritual and professional guidance to talent globally. He emphasizes that "unstucking" talent often involves addressing life strategy rather than just reading scripts.
The Myth of "Just Be You" (21:45) Mark issues a controversial reality check: the advice to "just be you" is often misleading. Most scripts are not written for your natural persona. He argues that you must "finish the sentence"—it's about you acting. Successful talent are voice artists who use their unique personality as a tool to inhabit characters and scenarios that are fundamentally different from themselves.
The 10,000-Hour Matrix (16:39) There are no workarounds for experience. Mark describes reaching "Year 15" as a "Matrix moment" where auditions began to move in slow motion. He explains that sounding "natural" is a learned skill that only comes after thousands of hours of breaking down copy and internalizing intonation until it becomes instinctual.
Zen vs. Chaos: Promo vs. Corporate (41:13) Mark and Anne compare their working styles. While Anne thrives in the "Zen" flexibility of non-broadcast corporate work, Mark admits he craves the "psychotic" chaos of trailer and promo work—getting out of bed at 12:45 AM because a network needs a tag immediately. They agree that the industry has enough room for both mentalities, but you must know which one feeds your soul.
Inner Dialogue: Your Biggest Enemy (42:22) Mark's biggest piece of advice for any voice acting mindset is to gain control over your internal dialogue. You don't fail because someone pulls you down; you fail because you allow your own "demons" to tell you that you aren't enough. He recounts wisdom from Maurice Tobias: "Get your life straight first, or the acting won't matter."
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Resilience is Rooted in Experience: Much like riding, you aren't a professional until you've "fallen off" and gotten back up several times. 2. Strategize Before You Launch: Don't rush into getting a demo Invest time in planning and building a foundation so you do it right the first time. 3. Self-Care is Non-Negotiable: Your mental and physical health directly affects your vocal production. Put your sanity first. 4. Master the "Unstuck" Mindset: When you feel stuck, it's often a sign that you need to shift your focus from performance to business strategy or mental clarity. 5. Experience Takes Time: Respect the "10,000-hour" rule. Longevity comes to those who are willing to put in the years of daily practice. 6. "Be You" Means "Act as You": Learn to bring your unique spirit to scripts that weren't written for you. It's about authentic interpretation, not just reading. 7. Find Your Niche Energy: Determine if you prefer the stability of corporate narration or the adrenaline of "right now" promo work. 8. The Power of "No": Having the confidence (and the savings) to say no to low-paying, high-stress jobs is a hallmark of a VO Boss. 9. Use Creative Promotional Tools: Mark's "Be Awesome" BBQ sauce serves as a brilliant conversation starter and follow-up tool for building client relationships. 10. Your Inner Voice Rules: Monitor your self-talk. If your internal dialogue is negative, your performance and business growth will suffer.
Pricing for Profits: Your Voiceover Pricing Strategy Voiceover Pricing Strategy BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) tackle the often-intimidating world of money. Whether you are setting rates for your very first gig or deciding when to give yourself a "raise" after a decade in the booth, having a clear voiceover pricing strategy is vital. This episode explores the power of industry standards like the GVAA rate guide, the psychology of "perceived value," and why the highest-paying clients are often the easiest to work with.
Chapter Summaries: The Industry Benchmarks (01:43) Tom establishes the two core pillars of voiceover rates: SAG-AFTRA Collectively Bargained Agreements (CBAs) and the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) Rate Guide. While the union sets the floor for broadcast work, the GVAA has become the non-union industry standard. The hosts emphasize that even new talent should aim for these benchmarks because clients pay for the voice, not the years on a resume.
The "Confidence Workaround" (10:52) For talent who feel "timid" about quoting high numbers, Tom shares his secret weapon: The Screenshot Strategy. When a client won't provide a budget, Tom provides a quote based on the GVAA guide and includes a link or screenshot. This shifts the "blame" from the actor to the industry standard, instantly boosting professional authority.
The Low-Budget Paradox (16:08) Anne and Tom discuss a hard truth: the lower the price, the higher the stress. Clients who undervalue voiceover typically demand more retakes and have more "nitpicky" tendencies. Conversely, high-budget clients understand the value of collaboration and are generally more pleasant and professional to work with.
When and How to Raise Your Rates (18:37) Raising your rates doesn't require a public announcement. The hosts recommend a "sneak-in" approach: incrementing rates on a project-by-project basis or with new clients. They suggest two primary triggers for a raise: your skills have demonstrably improved (you are "better" at the craft), or the cost of living/business overhead has increased.
Direct Marketing vs. Pay-to-Play (30:01) While pay-to-play sites (Voice123, Voices.com) often set the budget for you, direct marketing requires you to lead the negotiation dance. The hosts argue that a balanced voiceover pricing strategy uses all lead generation tools—agents, casting sites, and direct outreach—to ensure a steady flow of diverse opportunities.
Negotiation as a Skill (13:28) Before rate guides existed, actors had to be "tough" negotiators. Anne encourages talent to ask clients, "Does this fit within your budget?" as a simple way to open an honest dialogue without burning bridges. Remember, a "no" from a client isn't a failure—it's just one data point in a long-term career marathon.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Use the GVAA Guide: It is the "gold standard" for non-union rates. Keep it open whenever you are quoting a project. 2. Price for Quality: Don't undercharge just to get the job. A low price often signals low quality or lack of professionalism to the buyer. 3. Ask for the Budget First: Always ask the client for their budget before providing a quote to avoid leaving money on the table. 4. Leverage the "Confidence Workaround": Use screenshots of industry rate guides to justify your quotes and relieve personal anxiety. 5. Identify Perceived Value: If you have branded yourself well and provide a premium product, you can strategically charge above the minimums. 6. Avoid the Race to the Bottom: Under-cutting your peers on low-budget sites doesn't build a sustainable career; it only attracts high-stress clients. 7. Raise Rates Incrementally: Don't announce a general price hike. Slip small increases into your next quotes as your experience grows. 8. Differentiate B2B vs. B2C: VO is a Business-to-Business industry. Treat your clients as professional partners, not retail consumers. 9. Strategic Volume Discounts: Only consider lower rates if a client guarantees a high volume of consistent work (but get it in writing). 10. The Power of "No": Being willing to walk away from a bad deal is the ultimate sign of a VO Boss.
BOSSes, are you tired of hearing "give me more YOU " and having no idea what it means? Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides reveal the secret to an authentic voiceover performance and how to stop sounding like a polished caricature!
This episode is a masterclass in performance mindset. Learn why acting is actually reacting, how to find the "pain point" in every script, and why your unique personality is the only thing that can't be replicated by AI.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The Casting Secret: Why directors ask for "you" when they really mean "wake me up!"
- Pain Point Performance: How connecting to a simple discomfort makes your read 100% more believable.
- The Spec Trap: Why following directions too closely can actually kill your authenticity.
- The Empathy Angle: How to make dry corporate or medical narration sound like you actually care.
- The "Hugs Blanket" Strategy: Why Anne's tangent about Minky Couture is a perfect example of a bookable read.
If you're ready to stop over-layering your acting and start being a Real Boss in the booth, this episode is for you!
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) ring in the new year with a reality check on modern voiceover career strategy. In an industry increasingly influenced by AI and market saturation, the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach is no longer viable. This episode is a deep dive into the power of focus—mastering one genre at a time, picking the right marketing portals, and closing the "relevance gap" by becoming a high-level human storyteller.
Chapter Summaries: The Relevance Gap and AI (10:45) Tom introduces the "relevance gap"—the widening space between aspiring talent and working professionals. He argues that AI is rapidly consuming low-budget, entry-level work. To remain relevant, talent must move beyond simply "reading well" and invest in high-level storytelling skills (acting, improv, etc.) that AI cannot yet replicate.
The Danger of the Multi-Demo Rush (03:55) The hosts notice a troubling trend: new talent getting five demos produced before they've mastered a single genre. This lack of focus leads to "sucking at everything." Anne emphasizes that even 20 coaching sessions might not be enough to reach the competitive level required for a professional demo in today's saturated market.
Passion vs. Pragmatism: Reconciling Your Goals (15:19) While many enter VO wanting to do anime or video games, the market for corporate, e-learning, and medical narration is significantly larger. Tom suggests a pragmatic voiceover career strategy: use "bread and butter" genres like corporate work (where there are over 33 million potential clients) to fund your passion projects in character and animation work.
The Myth of Social Media ROI (24:34) Tom reveals startling statistics on social media ROI for voice actors: Facebook (0.77%) and Twitter (0.69%) pale in comparison to LinkedIn (2.74%). While still low, LinkedIn represents a business-minded audience. The hosts warn that "enpoopification"—the decline of social media quality due to algorithms and AI—makes it harder than ever to find work through standard posting.
The "New SEO": Getting Found by Chatbots (27:39) Anne shifts the focus to a forward-thinking strategy: SEO for AI. Companies are increasingly asking chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude for voice actor recommendations. To stay competitive, talent must populate their websites and blogs with high-quality, human-written content that these bots can index and recommend.
The 2026 Focus Challenge (30:21) Tom issues a challenge to all VO Bosses: Pick one genre, one casting site, and one social media platform to focus on this year. By concentrating energy rather than scattering it, talent can build true momentum and authority in a specific corner of the market.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Close the Relevance Gap: Invest in professional acting and storytelling training to stay ahead of AI-generated voices. 2. Focus on One Genre First: Master the nuances and audience of one genre before producing a demo or marketing yourself in another. 3. Market Pragmatism: Target the corporate and e-learning markets for consistent cash flow while you build your "passion" skills in animation. 4. Avoid "Demo Bundle" Traps: Be wary of packages offering multiple demos for a deal; quality training takes time and individual focus for each genre. 5. Audit Your Marketing Portals: Don't join every pay-to-play site at once. Pick one that aligns with your primary genre and master its algorithm. 6. Prioritize LinkedIn: For B2B genres like corporate narration, LinkedIn offers a significantly higher ROI than other social platforms. 7. Optimize for AI Search: Ensure your website's FAQ and Home pages are rich with pertinent information so chatbots can find and recommend you. 8. Use Low-Budget Sites as Proving Grounds: Use sites like Fiverr or Casting Call Club for practice and project management experience, not as a final career destination. 9. Human Content Wins: Write blogs and website copy with a "human-first" approach to reclaim search authority from AI-generated spam.
The Foundation is Acting: Foundational acting skills are transferable across all genres. Master the craft first, and the genre proficiency will follow.
Building a sustainable voiceover career in 2026 requires more than great performance—it means understanding how agencies submit talent, how online casting has evolved, and how discoverability now works in an increasingly digital and AI-influenced landscape. Today's voice actors need clarity, adaptability, and a strategy grounded in how the industry actually operates.
In this episode of VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza and J. Michael Collins sit down for a candid conversation about modern voiceover career strategy. Together, they explore how submissions are filtered behind the scenes, why becoming a trusted, go-to talent matters more than constant chasing, and how marketing, SEO, and emerging AI search tools now play a role in being found. This episode offers practical, experience-based insight into building a career that's positioned for long-term success.
Chapter Summaries: The Entrepreneurial "Happy Accident" (04:14) JMC reflects on a 30-year career built on "happy accidents" and flying by the seat of his pants. He emphasizes that a successful voiceover career strategy requires constant evolution. He discusses his "full circle" journey—starting in traditional studios, becoming a pioneer of online casting, and returning to a heavy focus on agency and broadcast work.
Legwork and the "100 Touches" Rule (09:56) The hosts discuss the significant increase in effort required for modern talent. JMC suggests that the old standard of 20 daily marketing "touches" is obsolete; today, a competitive voiceover business requires closer to 100 touches a day (auditions + direct marketing) to maintain a tough climb in a saturated market.
Demystifying the Agency World (09:29) JMC addresses a common misconception: agents are not scary gatekeepers; they work for you. He breaks down how agency submissions really work—where hundreds of voiceover auditions may be received for a single role, but only a small, carefully selected group is ever sent to the client. For voice actors, success comes from shifting the focus away from constant outreach and toward becoming a trusted, go-to talent within an agency's roster.
The New Frontier: LLM Search and SEO (21:07) Anne and JMC dive into the "New SEO." Beyond traditional Google rankings, talent must now optimize for AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude. JMC reveals he is booking multiple jobs per week from clients who found him by asking an AI bot for recommendations. This requires a comprehensive digital footprint that AI models can crawl and trust.
Longevity and the "Five-Figure Wall" (16:04) JMC offers blunt advice for newer talent: getting to those first $20,000–$30,000 in annual revenue is the hardest part of the job. Once you hit that low five-figure traction, scaling to six figures is often a faster process because you have already developed the resilience and technical skills needed to survive rejection.
The Immersion Strategy: VO Conferences (32:39) As the producer of VO Atlanta, One Voice USA, and his signature Euro Retreats, JMC explains why live events are the ultimate "Super Bowl" for career growth. He discusses the difference between intimate retreats (EuroVO) and massive immersion events, emphasizing that the relationships and "lifelong families" built at these conferences are often more valuable than the sessions themselves.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Embrace the Hustle: Aim for 100 marketing touches or auditions daily to stay ahead of the competition. 2. Optimize for Chatbots: Ensure your website content is detailed and clear so LLMs like ChatGPT can index you for specific genre recommendations. 3. Agents are Partners: Treat agents as people who work for you; focus on becoming the "easy choice" that they prioritize for shortlists. 4. Traditional SEO Still Matters: Being on Page 1 or 2 of Google provides "walk-in business" that allows you to stop constant chasing. 5. Focus on High-Tier Portals: If using pay-to-plays, aim for top-tier memberships (like 123 Platinum) to bypass the saturation of lower tiers. 6. LinkedIn is the Pro Choice: Focus your social media marketing on LinkedIn, where professional grade buyers live, rather than consumer-heavy sites like Facebook. 7. Persist Past the First $30k: Realize that the first five-figure stretch is the most difficult; the snowball effect happens once you establish a baseline. 8. Demos are Still Non-Negotiable: You cannot get agency representation or high-end direct work without an award-winning, professional demo. 9. Invest in Live Connection: Attend conferences like VO Atlanta or One Voice to build the "community family" that sustains a long-term career. 10. Do It Your Way: Forge your own path by blending old-school agency work with new-school direct marketing and SEO strategy.
BOSSes, do you cringe when you hear your own playback? Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides reveal why how to love your voice is the most important mindset shift you can make for your voiceover career!
This episode is a "VO Valentine" to all the talent struggling with self-doubt. Learn why professional commitment beats romanticized expectations, how to handle negative feedback without spiraling, and why resilience is your true superpower.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The Comparison Trap: Why wishing you sounded like someone else is sabotaging your unique brand.
- Love as a Professional Commitment: How to stay in the game even when you "hate" your performance that day.
- The "Avalanche" Effect: How to stop one bad comment from ruining your entire business.
- Healing Through Gratitude: Anne Ganguzza's powerful story of perspective following a major health challenge.
- Why Love Sells: How to use genuine emotional connection to make your auditions stand out to clients.
If you're ready to stop the self-sabotage and start thriving in the booth, this episode is a must-watch!
BOSSes host Anne Ganguzza is joined by co-host Lau Lapides and special guest Carol Alpert (voice actor and on-camera coach) to tackle the industry's most persistent headache: the inability of talent to follow instructions. Whether it's ignoring age ranges in casting specs, butchering file naming, or losing patience during a live session, failing to follow the "rules" of an audition is the fastest way to get your file tossed. The hosts stress that being a "trained actor" means being disciplined enough to read between the lines and respect the client's process.
The Casting Filter: Why 70% Get Ditched (01:48) Lau Lapides reveals a shocking statistic: in a recent casting for 35–45 year olds, 70% of the auditions were from talent clearly outside that age range. Agents use specs to filter talent quickly; if you submit for a role you clearly don't fit, you are essentially asking to be ignored. Following the demographic specs is the first step in following directions in voiceover.
The File Naming Pet Peeve (07:04) Proper file naming is not just a suggestion; it's a structural necessity. When an agent or casting assistant is processing hundreds of files, an incorrectly named file can disrupt their entire workflow. Lau notes that talent often doesn't see the "assembly line" of 10–40 people involved in a single gig; naming your file correctly shows you respect their time.
"Early is On Time": The Reality of Deadlines (11:12) While some pay-to-play sites are instantaneous, agency turnarounds are often measured in hours. Lau asserts that the strongest auditions usually come in within the first few hours of a posting. Being "trained" means having the discipline to interpret, record, and execute an audition professionally and quickly without procrastinating.
Cold Reading and Tracking Skills (13:05) A common reason talent fail to follow directions is a lack of ocular tracking skills. Many people listen to content rather than reading it, leading to a decline in the ability to scan a script and pick up nuances quickly. The hosts recommend cold-reading classes to ensure your eyes can track words and directions simultaneously.
Live Direction: Active Listening and Communication (31:09) During a live directed session, following instructions becomes a matter of active listening. Lau recommends repeating directions back to the client to ensure clarity. She also warns that talent are often replaced not because of their voice, but because of a poor attitude or lack of patience when being redirected.
The "Relationship" Slope: Business vs. Contract (41:23) While it's important to stick to contracts, the hosts discuss the value of being cooperative. Doing an extra tag or a small favor can "earn" you a client for the next ten years. It's about weighing small battles versus the long-term war of building a sustainable career through professional relationships.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Read the Specs Twice: Ensure you fit the age, gender, and ethnicity requirements before stepping into the booth. 2. Master File Naming: Follow the naming convention provided exactly. It is the most common reason auditions are discarded without being heard. 3. Early is Best: While you should never rush quality, aim to submit your audition as early as possible to capture the agent's attention. 4. Practice Cold Reading: Maintain your ocular tracking skills by reading aloud for at least 15 minutes a day to stay sharp for quick turnarounds. 5. Listen and Repeat: In directed sessions, repeat the client's instructions back to them to confirm you understand the requested adjustment. 6. Silence Your Ego: If a client asks for 100 takes, provide them professionally. Frustration or an "attitude" is a faster way to get fired than a bad take. 7. Check Your Tech: Before a live session, verify that SourceConnect and your DAW are updated and functioning. Technical failures are a failure to follow prep instructions. 8. The Agent is the Middleman: Don't get annoyed if your agent doesn't have every answer; they copy and paste exactly what the client gives them. 9. Interpret, Don't Just Comprehend: Moving beyond just "reading the words" to understanding the story is part of your professional instruction. 10. Build the Relationship: Being cooperative and "easy to work with" is often more valuable to a client than being the most talented person in the room.
BOSSes, are you being sold a voiceover dream that's actually a nightmare? Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere expose the predatory world of "demo mills" and reveal why your VO demo might be holding you back!
This episode is your survival guide to the industry's biggest investment. Learn how to spot red flags, understand why "four hours of coaching" is a scam, and how to ensure your demo actually gets you cast.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The $3,000 Mistake: A real-world story of a talent who was taken for a ride by bad training.
- Genre Mixing Red Flags: Why putting promo spots on a commercial demo kills your credibility.
- Performance vs. Voice: Why "golden pipes" aren't enough to make a demo serviceable.
- The Stock Script Trap: How generic copy makes you blend in instead of standing out.
- Recourse Strategies: What to do if you've already spent money on a sub-par demo.
If you're ready to stop being a "hobbyist" and start building a competitive voiceover business, this episode is a must-watch!
BOSSes, are you ready to become "undeniable" in the voiceover industry? Anne Ganguzza sits down with Matthew "Slim Da Reazon" Parham (Director of Operations at NAVA) to discuss the high-stakes world of authentic voiceover casting and vocal advocacy!
Matthew shares his journey from professional musician to a top-tier voice actor for Marvel and ESPN, while revealing what happens behind the scenes on Capitol Hill.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The NAVA Mission: How voice actors are fighting for the right to own their own voices in the age of AI.
- The Cadence Secret: How to transition from slam poetry and hip-hop to a "universal" commercial sound.
- Authentic Casting: Why the "lived-in experience" is your most valuable asset as a performer.
- The AI Reality: Why luxury brands and politicians will never fully replace the human connection.
- The "ZFG" Mindset: Why audacity is the secret ingredient to booking major global brands.
If you're serious about the future of your voiceover business, this conversation is essential viewing!
Connect with Matthew:
Instagram: @slimdareason
Website: matthewparhamvo.com
Connect with NAVA:
Website: navavoices.org
Connect with VO Boss:
Twitter: @vo_boss
Instagram: @vo_boss
Facebook: /VO BOSS
YouTube: VO BOSS
BOSSes, feeling down because everyone else seems to be booking but you? Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble reveal why comparing your voiceover success to social media "vague bookings" is the fastest way to kill your career momentum!
This episode is a masterclass in business mindset. Learn why the "national commercial" you're jealous of might not be the windfall it seems, and how to reclaim your joy by minding your own business.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The Reality Behind the Post: Why you can't trust the financial perception of social media wins.
- Social Media Palate Cleanse: Why Danielle took a year-long hiatus and how it helped her business.
- The Danger of Rate Shaming: Why your financial strategy and rates are your business alone.
- From Jealousy to Celebration: How truly being happy for others can actually manifest success for you.
- Hidden Cuts: The agents, managers, and taxes that turn a "big gig" into a smaller reality.
If you're ready to stop doomscrolling and start thriving in your own booth, this episode is a must-watch for every VO Boss!
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and her superpower co-host, Lau Lapides, assert that subtext in voice acting is the single most important element for delivering a powerful, unique, and castable performance. The bosses challenge the common mistake of literal reading, offering practical strategies—from audience analysis to efficient marking—that elevate a performance from predictable to profound.
Chapter Summaries: Subtext Defines Uniqueness (01:00) Lau states that subtext—the underlying interpretation of a line—is what makes a talent unique. The hosts explain that relying solely on obvious language or descriptive adjectives leads to predictable, robot-like reads. The true power lies in making nuanced choices about what the words really mean to the listener.
Audience and Empathy are Everything (02:44) Subtext is entirely dependent on who you are talking to. Anne uses the example of corporate narration: the subtext for an investor (focused on financial facts) is different from the subtext for a consumer (focused on customer service and product benefits). The acting choice must be rooted in empathy and understanding what the listener cares about.
The Structural Journey of the Script (14:30) Every script has a structural journey: introduction, series of steps, and conclusion. The subtext should align with this journey. The hosts emphasize that if you are running out of breath , it is the dead giveaway that you did not prepare the story, as natural conversation doesn't require breath struggle.
Techniques for Finding the Subtext (22:34) To efficiently analyze copy, the hosts recommend:
- Improv and Translate: Improvise the script in your own words to capture the genuine emotional wash and then plug the original words back in.
- Marking: Use clear broadcast-style marking to denote phrasing and intent, but also pay attention to the ellipses and punctuation for clues about the emotional context.
- Use AI as a Tool: Paste ambiguous scripts into an AI tool (like a chatbot) and ask, "What is the purpose of this script? Who cares about this information?" to provide a jumping-off point for human interpretation.
Avoiding the Literal Trap (23:37) The hosts caution against taking common acting advice too literally. For example, constant smiling throughout a read, or persistent upspeak at the end of every sentence, sounds unnatural and is perceived as not genuine. Your performance must always reflect how you would behave and sound in a real-world conversation.
The Brilliance of a Point of View (25:16) Subtext gives you a clear point of view. The hosts provide a simple example: saying "Are you wearing those pants?" can be interpreted in dramatically different ways (anger, excitement, disgust) depending on the subtext. This intentional interpretation is what makes your audition unique and elevates it above the predictable melody.
Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors: 1. Subtext is Everything: The emotional core and underlying meaning of your script is what makes your performance unique and castable. 2. Analyze Your Audience: Base your subtext on who the listener is (consumer, investor, business-to-business) and what they care about most. 3. Translate into Your Own Words: Use the "improv and translate" technique to efficiently find the genuine emotional wash before recording. 4. Embrace Emotional Ambiguity: Simple sentences can hold complex, contrasting subtext. That complexity is your unique acting choice. 5. Use AI to Find Backstory: Use AI as an analysis tool to find information about the brand and the script's purpose, but always apply your human interpretation. 6. Pacing is Preparation: If you struggle for breath, you have not prepared the story correctly. Good actors always know how to naturally navigate long sentences. 7. Mark for Meaning: Pay close attention to punctuation and structure (ellipses, introductions, conclusions) as cues for shifts in subtext. 8. Avoid the Literal Trap: Do not read adjectives literally (e.g., constant smiling). Your emotional choice must align with authenticity, not simple description. 9. The Share is the Subtext: Your goal is to share the story with the listener, not talk at them or talk in your head. 10. Point of View Stands Out: An audition with a clear, intentional point of view, even if surprising, will always get shortlisted over a generic, predictable read.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) detail the foundational strategy for achieving your voice acting career goals in the new year. Using a proven five-category system taught by industry veteran Dan Duckworth, Tom provides a structured method for turning ambition into executable action plans. The hosts emphasize that in a career where you wear all the hats, efficiency, education, and a healthy mindset are the keys to long-term success.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by premier coach Dave Walsh for a deep conversation on navigating personal and professional challenges in chaotic times. They assert that the solution to anxiety and stress is to stop focusing on external chaos and instead, live and work from a place of internal purpose and core values. This episode offers powerful insight into why purpose-driven voice acting is the only way to achieve authentic connection and career longevity.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by multi-award-winning global voice actor Toby Ricketts to explore the mindset and techniques required for world-class, remote performance. Toby, who works across British, Australian, New Zealand, and American markets from his remote New Zealand studio, emphasizes that the true superpower for acting for global voice actors lies in intuition, emotional connection, and deliberately making unexpected choices to capture a listener's attention.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble dive into the uncomfortable reality of voice actor negotiation and handling lowball offers. This episode provides essential strategies for maintaining grace, protecting your worth, and ensuring you don't burn bridges when you have to say no. The hosts stress that money is the language of business, and understanding negotiation as a collaborative process is key to long-term success.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and her superpower co-host, Lau Lapides, dive into the non-negotiable reality of voiceover demo production. The bosses address why many voice actors—especially those starting out—try to cut corners on their demos, despite the demo being the primary portfolio piece used to land agents and get work. This episode provides essential, current advice on what makes a demo effective, what red flags to avoid, and how to manage the realistic expectations of investing in a long-term voice acting career.
00:03 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, it's Anne Ganguzza here. Are you ready to find your life purpose and live a happier, more fulfilling life? My coaching services can help you discover your true passions and align them with your goals. Let's start that journey today. Visit anneganguzza.com for more information.
00:31 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:45 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with the lovely Miss Lala Pita. Hey, we're back, and better than ever. Annie, I'm so glad to be back with you. We are back. Ah Lala, it's been a week, oh my gosh, it's been a week.
01:06 It's been kind of a crazy year so far, hasn't it? It has, I mean, it's just been a little chaotic. I've dealt with a lot of students recently who come to me that want coaching, but before they want to get coaching, they want me to listen to their demos, and so I'll have a quick listen. I mean, I do an actual, I have an actual like process where, if you want half an hour of my time, I'll actually evaluate your demo spot by spot and give you tips. And I like the fact that I offer it as a service because I don't want people to think I'm just here to sell them demos.
01:42 Yeah, of course, but I listen to a lot of demos that are self-produced and demos that have no production under them, and then demos that have a lot of production under them. And you know, I know it's a topic that you know we tend to talk about quite a bit, all about demos. But demos are just so darn important because it really is the product by which you get hired a lot of times. I mean, in addition to auditions, of course, you know, because the client always wants to hear you know your voice with their brand, but really to get your foot in the door. In a lot of places, that demo that showcases what your voice sounds like in the genre in which you want to work is so important. And it's interesting how many times I'll talk to a student who wants to kind of cut the corners on that and they don't have the money. And yet the demos that I'm hearing are not doing them any favors and not getting them any work. Right.
02:39 - Lau (Host) And there's so many tips you and I could like give about the do's and don'ts of demos, but I think it changed, like what's trending now and the faux pas that are happening are happening, that are a little bit newer these days and it's good to talk about and especially.
02:55 - Anne (Host) I like your angle from—I have my angle from the non-broadcast side and I want to hear your angle from the broadcast side. How much are demos being used to cast people? How much do the demos count when you're listening to that in comparison to the auditions? Talk to me about the casting process and how often are demos being used for that? That's a great question. That's a great question.
03:20 - Lau (Host) You know, the anecdote that I come up with is, or the analogy I come up with is, reminds me of college. College was always a necessity for people who are going into white collar careers. Ok, nowadays it's a little bit different.
03:36 - Anne (Host) Do you?
03:37 - Lau (Host) need a college degree to go into many careers. Maybe not, probably not, but when you earn a college degree, oftentimes it says to an employer that you've gone to the highest level of due diligence in your education and that, to me, oftentimes, is what demos represent. Sometimes you literally don't need demos, like literally, we won't be submitting your demo to a client On the most literal basis, I will not be sending your client 98% of the time to our clients, but it shows us that you are a working, professional, high-level industry talent. So there's a screening.
04:13 - Anne (Host) And that you take your career seriously. I think you take your investment seriously.
04:17 - Lau (Host) There's a screening to that it's a portfolio piece, sure. So I would say, yes, you do need it, but no, you do not need it for every single individual job that comes through, because they're going to be demo reads on the scripts.
04:30 - Anne (Host) Now I'm going to counter that, because you are speaking from the broadcast sense of the word. Typically, because you cast a lot for commercials and broadcast style jobs. For non-broadcast, which is a lot of the industry as well, demos can sit on your website and be available 24-7. When you don't have time to audition, and that is the biggest point that I'd like to make is that if you do not have an audition, they sit on your website as a portfolio, as a demonstration of what it is that your voice sounds like, and it can be a way to get your foot in the door.
05:04 If somebody hears that demo and then they're like, oh, I like that voice, and then maybe they want you to audition or it just it allows people to kind of sample the product, sample the product before they decide if they want to hire you, and I think that it's a very valuable piece to have on a website. So if you're a talent that's going to do not I mean I don't know any talent that just does broadcast I mean maybe some it's a very tiny few that just do broadcast, but that doesn't do non-broadcast as well. So I feel like that demo as a portfolio. I remember when you used to go on job interviews and you had to have things in your portfolio.
05:44 I mean, I did when I went on job interviews.
05:46 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I had a portfolio. I did too, yes.
05:48 - Anne (Host) And this is really your portfolio and I think just like— Totally agree as anything right. Presentation is everything I'm all about. Presentation, yeah, Do you know what I mean? I do? Presentation in marketing, presentation in the way you dress, presentation where you present yourself to people. I think presentation for your product is important and that is your demo.
06:11 - Lau (Host) And thank you for qualifying that, because I was speaking from a commercial mindset and it is great to have it on your website. You really should have those on your website because you're going to get private clients, you're going to get audiobook clients, you're going to get all sorts of potential clients that need to hear samples of your work. In my world, every day I will ask for submissions, commercial demo submissions for the agency but how much we're actually using them in-house once we've accepted you into the agency?
06:43 - Anne (Host) is getting minimal. But you need one to get into the agency. Is that correct? For the most part, yeah, you do.
06:49 - Lau (Host) You do because otherwise we would just have you do random reads which we want to hear produced reads. So it makes sense to absolutely have that commercial demo. But be careful, like and we'll talk about that some of the tips about like what is in that that is working on your behalf and what is working against you.
07:08 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah.
07:09 Right, I mean, there, you know I'm going to say, first of all, anything that is not produced right. First of all, I mean we can talk the DIY. I mean the DIY is not typically produced because, again, you need, like, if you're going to put music under it, sound effects, you need a license for that to be, you know, to legally. You know, put something on your website and I feel like, if it's not produced, then it kind of tells people that you're just there in your home studio with a mic and you didn't want to put any sound effects or music under it, and so therefore, it's kind of like a half-finished product to me. Yes, and yes, it showcases your voice, but it also showcases that maybe you could be a hobbyist or that you are not making the investment to create a produced sample, which I think is important because, again, you know, it's everything. I mean the client needs to hear what your voice will sound like in a fully produced spot, I believe that I agree, and you know what I do.
08:06 - Lau (Host) When we're looking at bringing new talent, I typically make a habit of saying who produced your demo?
08:11 Now, a lot of agents won't ask that, but I do because I know the producers and I know who's who. So I'll ask them who produced your demo? That'll tell me one thing and then, well, they certainly have to send me a commercial demo. I find one of the biggest problems out there is they're sending me the wrong demo. They're sending me, say, you know, an animation demo, character demo, which I love because we're doing more animation jobs, but the bread and butter is still the commercial for most of us. And so you have to really target, like who are you sending your portfolio to and who are their clients, what kind of work do they represent? And send them the right demo, send them the most appropriate demo. Don't assume oh, I have four other demos, is that good enough?
08:52 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, I mean like a corporate demo.
08:55 You're like you need a commercial demo first and foremost because that's where you as an agent make your money right In the broadcast, but non-broadcast but it's not to say that your agent won't hire you for a corporate job.
09:11 It's nice to have that corporate demo. I'm going to say that the rest of the demos outside of your commercial demo or anything that's broadcast like promo or animation, even to have those non-broadcast demos is also equally as important to have on your website and to also deliver to your agent as a secondary demo, because you know they want to see that you can be versatile and you're not just a one-trick pony, uh, sort of deal, and and those demos should be should be produced properly. Basically, I'll tell you, though produced properly just as important to have a produced, even though e-learning I have people that will say to me yeah, but e-learning, you don't typically have music under e-learning. I'm have people that will say to me yeah, but e-learning, you don't typically have music under e-learning. I'm like, look, it's not about that for your demo, it's about the presentation it's about. I would much rather hear your voice in an e-learning module with a little bit of music underneath it because it helps.
09:55 It's like putting lipstick on it's just saying right, it finishes it off, it creates a nice sound and there are a lot of e-learning believe it finishes it off, it creates a nice sound, and there are a lot of e-learning believe it or not modules that do have music under them, even though a lot of them won't.
10:10 - Lau (Host) But I'll tell you what blows me away.
10:11 - Anne (Host) Medical, the same thing. Medical is the same thing. I'll tell you what blows me away, though.
10:16 - Lau (Host) How many talent we have submit to the agency for acceptance that don't have commercial demos.
10:30 - Anne (Host) And.
10:30 - Lau (Host) I say you know, I appreciate you sending me other demos, but where's your commercial demo? And they say oh, I'm saving up for it and I'm planning it next year.
10:33 And I'm like, well, then come back to me then, yeah, yeah, because that's what I need to hear. That's how specific we get in terms of having you understand what a commercial delivery is. We need to know that you understand and that you're making the investment in it as well. I think that that's really, really important. You know, one of the big sort of mistakes that I've heard recently and we've been talking about this forever, but it's been a real problem recently I was involved with a corporate casting just the other day and within the agency now these are the talent that are accepted within the agency I'm getting demo after demo, commercial demo, because they were asking for commercial demos.
11:11 They weren't even asking for reads on the script yet and, as I remembered them, I had to listen to the first like 10 seconds of the demo. They were so hyped, pitchy, selly, like over the top, wild crazy. You know big car sales and I'm thinking to myself Most of the stuff we do is really not that. Yeah. Yeah, it's much more of an earthy delivery, much more of a real delivery, and a lot of them got ditched in terms of not being submitted, just because of that it amazes me that demo producers, I think that you know.
11:45 - Anne (Host) Then you're shopping around for a demo producer. I think your demo producer needs to be current and relevant. And so when you're shopping for a producer for your demo, that you listen to other demos that are produced by them and hopefully you've done your homework beforehand and listen, like if you're going to get a commercial demo, listen to what commercials are out there lately, and not, I mean, even on the radio, right where I think radio is a little bit more dynamic, a little more, you know, focused on the voice, because there's no media outside of music behind it. I feel like you can be a little bit more dynamic with your acting, but even then it's not so high-pitched. And yeah, the car ads, yes, some of them are.
12:28 - Lau (Host) And the sound effects. Like I don't know if talent realized. We don't want to hear tons of sound effects in your first read or two. You want to hear it. So one more thing, annie, I just want to mention. I forgot to mention it earlier. When they're submitting to the agency, if I like them or their demo, I'll say, hey, can you submit me a couple raw reads?
12:46 - Anne (Host) I want totally raw reads and typically they love that you can gauge their studio that way. Absolutely.
12:54 - Lau (Host) And their voice. Like is that their voice? Was anything overly processed or overly?
12:59 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I think that's so important because you don't want to have the demo and that's, I think, that probably a lot of agents, if they don't ask for that, they'll know in a matter of like a couple of auditions whether or not you have the acting chops to be able to back up what you had on your demo or what might've been directed right for you on the demo. And we've talked about that a lot of times, and Cliff Zellman is famous for saying a demo is a promise, a demo is a promise, and so when you submit, a demo to someone.
13:27 you want to make sure that you can back that up, that you can produce that same sort of delivery. Maybe not You're not an audio engineer and you probably don't have a bank of music and you don't have a bed of music or sound effects but you need to be able to put that delivery to the test. Someone just sent me one of my talents.
13:45 - Lau (Host) He's so great. He just sent me a monster demo in honor of Halloween and it was so great and I said his name is Michael.
13:52 I said Michael, I'm just curious how much of this is processed. He said Lau, none of it. This is my voice. I was so impressed by that. I mean, I was like so impressed because once in a while we'll have an animation that comes through Actually more and more so now than last year and they'll look for those kinds of characters, they'll look for those kinds of sound effects, they'll look for that stuff. And just knowing he can produce that without overly being produced in a studio, just his voice is just really incredible. So I would say, put your natural stuff up front for a commercial agency, like, go as natural and real and authentic as you can up front and then do your high-pitchy stuff later in the demo.
14:34 - Anne (Host) Well, do that in a character demo, or do that in an animation demo, or do that or put it towards the end. In a demo that yeah put it in a demo, like you just told. Now see, I don't want, I don't want the bosses to get confused because you just talked about a monster demo, so monster demo is going to be different than a commercial demo.
14:50 Right, I demo. Right, I mean you're talking about, like I mean, a commercial demo. You would want to hear what it sounds like with the music underneath it. However, I think you have to be careful that you don't have something that's way overproduced and there will be some demo producers that might do that and so I think that you have to really listen with a critical ear. If you're you know. If you're shopping around for a demo producer, what do they do? What have they done recently? And sometimes it's hard when you're first starting out in voiceover because you don't know what a good demo sounds like and hopefully you know. If you've done your research on the Internet, you've heard examples of good demos versus maybe not so good demos.
15:34 And I'm like just because a demo exists doesn't mean it's a good one.
15:37 - Lau (Host) No, of course not, and I'm glad you brought that up too, because I have been really annoyed by overproduced sound effects, like, sometimes I feel like the producers, the audio engineers, the demo producers are showing off. And why do I say that? Number one, I don't need to hear a sound effect in every moment, in between words or sentences. I don't want that at all. The other thing I don't want is oh, I almost lost my train of thought.
16:04 - Anne (Host) Don't detract from the voice with the production of it.
16:07 - Lau (Host) Oh, I know what, it is Too long. So the demo producers are either, as you said, they're archaic and they don't know what they're doing and they're from 1962, or they're showing off because it's 90 seconds, it's two minutes, it's 2.15. And I'm like I'm not listening to that.
16:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Who's going?
16:25 - Anne (Host) to listen to that right, but the producers are showing off. That's too long for a commercial demo.
16:31 - Lau (Host) Absolutely Way too long, way too long.
16:33 - Anne (Host) So I'm thinking today Not too long for a non-broadcast narration, though, like a minute and a half to two minutes that's. That's normal, of course not.
16:39 - Lau (Host) No, of course not, and so I would say the one another thing I see is sounding like one long read, the whole thing lacking variety, lacking change Range, and that's to me in the coaching in the direction. It's like understanding. It just can't be about the sound effects. It has to be authentically about the voice actor being able to internally shift the mood and a variety of styles too.
17:05 - Anne (Host) I hear a lot of demos with a lot of like first person dialogues in them and to me that the first person dialogue to me is kind of a kind of a cheat, because if you're going to produce because if you're going to produce somebody before they're really ready, because not every commercial is a first-person dialogue.
17:23 It's not like hey, I just went to John Camp Ford and it's not all a dialogue. There's a lot of more third-person, second-person, and so if your demo is not demonstrating that and me as a casting person, I think you also love that A lot of times demo producers will throw those first person reads in there. Like the whole demo will be a first person read and I'm like, well, that's not really showcasing the entire range of acting that I would need for a national commercial, which is not all. You're not on camera actor there. Typically it's not always first person, it's like you're talking about a pharmaceutical in the third person. So how do you sound in that? So your demo has to have the styles that are out there now and not just one style and that one style right, that first person dialogue may show a lot of characters that you can do and it can show a range of emotion, but it doesn't show your acting in something that's not written in that style.
18:19 - Lau (Host) Good point, yeah, totally good point. And what about what's, as you're saying, what's trending out there now, like I'm really tired of hearing about, you know, maybelline, mascara or Lexus, if I hear another read with some of the same products over and over again or Dove chocolate it's kind of like guys.
18:38 I know that you didn't do those commercials because I recognize the script from the online library that a million people have. So, being very careful, you don't need to have a real job on your demo. You can have studio reads, that's fine, but it has to be updated, thought out in terms of what are the trends of today, like, maybe we don't eat as much chocolate, maybe we're having, you know, sugar-free chocolate, maybe it's, you know, I don't know whatever it is, but what is trending today and what makes you sound relevant to being a working talent today versus something from five or 10 or 15 years ago?
19:16 - Anne (Host) It's so interesting that you were talking about the L'Oreal makeup read, which is, it's always that one sound, that kind of, you know that sexy kind of L'Oreal Maybelline, and so what's interesting is how has that trend changed, right? Has it changed? Are there now more or maybe different brands that are out there that are not using that particular sound? I just because I know you referenced Dove chocolate and so I was just referencing the makeup commercials as well, right, which really took a long time for them to change, and now they're slowly changing Totally.
19:49 Now they're changing, so I don't need to hear that typical read of that promo-y sound. That's right, it's nice to hear something that's different, that is relevant for today, I mean, and you know how I know a change is occurring.
20:04 - Lau (Host) It's what we said in the last podcast that we just recorded. It's about reading your specs. So, for instance, we just got specs in for a corporate audition. For instance, we just got specs in for a corporate audition and in there, as we're reading it as the agents, it says no vocal fry, please. What does that tell me? They don't care about your voice. They could care less about you. It's about that delivery of like hi, I'm talking about finance. Now I'm on a vocal fry. I can't even do it, but I'm on a vocal fry. They don't want that anymore. They want more real people, and more real people do not speak on a vocal fry, yeah.
20:42 - Anne (Host) And more real people. Right, I will say. I will say, more real young people do talk a little bit with upspeak and so that is a trend that we got. I I've been. You know I'm traditionally against that, but again, I'm doing a lot of non-broadcast narration stuff and I feel like, if you can't use upspeak yet, because even even younger people, when I, when I've I've done a lot of research in the corporate world when they're speaking publicly about their product is there's not upspeak, they're more authoritative and that, yeah, it's very interesting because, you know, I'll let it happen once in a while in a script, because if the voice is young, it's a natural occurrence and a natural tendency. But if you're in your 50s and you do upspeak, I'm not, no, it's generational, it's generational.
21:29 We don't tend to do that and you might hang out and you might have kids, you might have kids, you might have kids. That's up speak. And then that kind of affected you. However, when you're delivering a commercial on I don't know, depends Up speak. It just doesn't belong there, it just doesn't. It just doesn't so, it doesn't belong with the demo. So, understand the styles and the trends, and that's something that anybody can do for free by simply watching commercials, by simply surfing the internet and looking at corporate you know, corporate videos and there's any genre looking at animation. I mean really just study and listen to what the voices are.
22:04 - Lau (Host) I got another tip. Yeah, I got another tip about that. Gone are the days where we used to have completely separate demos for English and then another language. Now you can certainly do that and that's great, but you don't have to. If you're making a commercial demo, I love a bilingual demo or a trilingual demo. So if you speak more than one language, I need to know what it is. If you do authentic accents, I need to know what it is.
22:25 - Anne (Host) I'll even put it on a corporate demo or a medical demo because I'll put and what I'll do is maybe I'll do a dialogue spot that has you'll be talking to the younger son in English, but then you'll turn to the father, who doesn't speak English and only speak Spanish, and then have the rest of the conversation in Spanish, and that spot alone showcases that this talent is bilingual and so that works. So not just for commercial but also for non-broadcast, absolutely.
22:53 - Lau (Host) Yeah, and we're in a global world, so I know you know that ad campaign. Thank you, captain Obvious. You know that was at Travelocity or something, kayak or something. I feel like it's this one. I talk to talent. It's like Not only put your best suit forward, and forward first, but do the things that you would be cast in Like. Don't do stretch pieces, don't do like if I'm 35, don't try to do a 70-year-old piece.
23:22 - Anne (Host) Don't do that. I'm saying if you're like in your 50s, don't do a millennial read on your commercial demo.
23:29 Because, first of all, it doesn't fit. I think we were talking about this on the last podcast. It's like I don't audition for 20-something voices, even though I have a younger voice, because it's not just about the voice and the sound of it, it's about the style and it's about the authenticity of it as well. Right, which is we understand why we want authentic voices. Right, it makes sense that your life experience dictates the style and the tone and the gravitas and the subtext and the acting that goes into delivering a message.
24:01 - Lau (Host) Save it for your character demo if it's appropriate, yeah, and your coach will help you to see. If it's appropriate, put it on your character demo, right, because we're back to having adults doing kids' voices. Now for character work we are. So you know you got to keep your finger on the trends, keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening in the industry and what's going on and reflect the work that you would actually do and be cast in.
24:25 - Anne (Host) Adults doing kids' work is. There's a lot of times that tends to make it easier with the legal aspects of things. Is that not correct? Yeah?
24:34 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It does.
24:34 - Anne (Host) So, like an adult, can work longer, can work different hours, and that also translates to on-camera as well, right Lau? Yeah, though I'll tell you we don't have as many problems in the voiceover world because the jobs tend to be quicker.
24:46 - Lau (Host) Oh, yeah, unless they're running a recurring character. They tend to be quicker.
24:58 - Anne (Host) It's more the on-camera stuff. Yeah, right, that's much harder, so we'll do 18 to play 12 or 19 to play 14, because of all the laws involved with education. Well, that's the way it's been for such a long time, right, yeah, forever, forever and ever, yeah, forever. And on camera, absolutely.
25:05 - Lau (Host) But, as you said, like you do your due diligence, you do your homework. We have to do our homework too, all the time about our industry, what's cooking, what's happening, what are the jobs in the genre we want to be going out for, and that should be reflected on your demo, not the old read from you know, the old announcer read from 1991. Right and I'm getting.
25:30 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I mean, in addition to all that right, what should be on the demo? I just have an increasing number of people who are like, well, I can't afford my demo but or I can't afford, well, I can't afford the training, but I want to get a demo so I can start working. So it's kind of like what came first, the chicken or the egg. It it's tough because you really need the training so that you can execute and deliver the spots on your demo. That will get you the work. And so if I'm a demo producer, that's just going to direct you into those reads. By the time you get into your own studio you're not going to be able to recreate them.
26:08 - Lau (Host) And we've covered this in numerous episodes of VO Boss in that like don't come in with desperation, don't come in with no capital, don't come in at a deficit. Come in where you've got a little bit of abundance and say I want to get the most effective portfolio product that represents me, because I know I'm going to get a return on this over time if it is industry standard and represents me well, if I DIY it, you get what you pay for.
26:35 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly, and you know, I do have a number of students as well who say that I'm saving up for a demo, but I want to start working and so I want to get an agent. And what most people don't understand this is slightly off topic but kind of in a parallel path Most people that come into this industry not understanding that an agent primarily deals in broadcast. So you can have an e-learning demo, but you're not going to get an agent with that. You need to have a commercial demo or whatever the agent specializes in for the most part, any type of broadcast. So you can't just you have to have a great demo, a great commercial demo, to land an agent, and then, once you have an agent, that's not going to be 100% of your work, or nor should it be 100% of your work.
27:18 And so most people are like well, I'm going to direct market and I'm like, do you know how hard it is to direct market? And I'm not saying that you should, because most people right now are saying nay to the pay to plays, right, because it's like, oh, I don't like this pay to play. I feel like they're taking my money, it's hard, I can't get a job, but also you need to, you need to present yourself with opportunities and so, yes, direct marketing is great, but that's also, that is also a path that doesn't happen overnight. Direct marketing. It is very much a timing issue with direct marketing and it's going to be.
27:48 It's a marathon, not a sprint, and that can make people kind of put off and you know they're going to be frustrated, they're not going to be able to get work right away, and that's, I think, that cycle that most new people coming into the industry they go through. They have that cycle where they can't afford, like they have that illusion in their head that it's just talking behind a mic and it doesn't require a lot of work and so therefore, they can create their own demo so they can save some money and then they can start getting work right away. And unfortunately, that's just not how typically the industry works.
28:24 - Lau (Host) No, it's not.
28:24 They're going to have to adjust and really manage those unrealistic expectations those unrealistic expectations, because I'm quite certain that many, many students around the world who are going into programs to be an accountant, a doctor, a lawyer, are not coming in with tremendous amounts of money, but they have to be resourceful to figure out how to get their education so that they can train and get an internship and work their way up. And it's the same with us. We're just on a tighter timeline. We don't need to go through four years of school or eight years of college necessarily, and that's a great point.
28:56 It's a great point Most people.
28:58 - Anne (Host) they think there's no time involved. So it's like that's right, but there is some time involved. I mean, there is some training involved. But yeah, I think what a great discussion Again. Yet another discussion on demos. What a great discussion again, yet another discussion on demos. But, guys, hopefully it's one that's current and relevant now for you, those of you out there that are really thinking about getting into this career just reiterating how important your demo is in order to help you to move forward and have a career and get work broadcast, non-broadcast, whatever genre.
29:30 - Lau (Host) Yes, yes.
29:32 - Anne (Host) Fantastic. Thank you, Lau, for having this lovely conversation. I loved it. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and be like bosses and boss superpowers like Lau and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, see you next week.
29:54 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPD TL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere share decades of combined experience, reflecting on the realities of voice acting career longevity. From the cassette tape demo era to today's digital age, the hosts emphasize that sustaining a career for 20+ years requires more than just talent—it demands resilience, strategic goal setting, and a deep sense of gratitude to combat the inevitable inconsistency of the industry.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by the extraordinary Tina Marasco, Head of Casting at Sound and Fury, a respected coach, and the voice of HGTV's Love it or List it. With over three decades of experience spanning agency, acting, and casting, Tina offers indispensable casting director secrets for bridging the gap between a voice actor's truth and a client's real-world needs.
00:03 - Anne (Host) Hey VOBoss family Anne Ganguzza here as we wrap up the year. I just want to say thanks for being a part of this amazing community and because you bosses deserve a little holiday love, I'm giving you 10% off all demos and coaching through December 31st. Your demo discount is automatically applied and for coaching, just enter code COACHINGBFF at checkout. Treat yourself to some career growth this season at anneganguzzacom.
00:36 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:55 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am thrilled to welcome the amazing Tina Marasco, head of casting at Sound and Fury, respected voiceover coach and the voice of HGTV's Love it or List it. With over two decades of experience as an agent, actor, casting director oh my gosh, everything. Tina brings an incredible perspective on what connects talent to opportunity, and that's, I think, what we're all looking for. So I think we're going to have a great talk about authenticity, longevity and how to basically bridge the gap between the actor's truth and a client's real-world needs, which is something that I think is so important for us to get that perspective. So, tina, thank you, thank you, thank you. I know you're important for us to get that perspective. So, tina, thank you, thank you, thank you I know you're busy for joining me.
01:50 - Tina (Guest) Oh my gosh, Thank you so much for having me.
01:58 - Anne (Host) I'm very excited to be with you. I know I'm really excited, so let's talk about how it all started. I mean, you have worn so many different hats agent, actor, casting director, coach when did you start with? What did you start with? How much time do we have?
02:10 - Tina (Guest) It's like when blind doors roam the earth. I started in the William Morris mailroom in New York City in like the 90s. Okay, the heyday of you know the wild agent life Pushing the mail cart somehow. Wow, yeah, no, I was literally like doing the swimming with sharks situation and floated all over. I was in a bunch of different departments and then ultimately landed in the commercial department and my then, like, everything was lumped together. So VO on camera, soaps, they were all lumped together and my boss was the VO Maven.
02:49 Her name is Carol Baker and she's not in the business anymore, but I didn't even know what a voiceover was when I sat on that desk and it's funny because, like Terry Berlan was a casting director in New York at the time, so I was like an assistant and Terry would be calling in breakdowns and now we're both casting directors in LA. It just it feels like 72 lifetimes ago. So my, my boss, you know, basically taught me everything there was to know about voiceover and then I spent three years there, then flipped over to ICM in New York and that's really where I cut my teeth, because ICM does not have a scale voiceover department, meaning people like you and me auditioning. They only represented celebrities. So when I went over there they tasked me to start the department.
03:37 So I started from scratch. I had not a single client and went out every night to Broadway and off Broadway and performance art and you know comedy clubs and I say this all the time like my bartender at the Raccoon Lodge ended up being Sally Winters and like one of the biggest voices of the last couple of decades. So I would find talent from all different walks of performance life, bring them into our studio at ICM and kind of teach them how to do it. So that's kind of how I learned, and that's how I learned how to produce demos because nobody had any recorded material, so for us to sort of send it out and announce our department. I produced like 60 demos for our agency reel and it was literally like thrown into the fire and figured it out, ladies.
04:28 - Anne (Host) So but it worked out. That is so impressive because you pretty much built it from the ground up and you basically learned everything along the way, and I love that. I kind of think I always describe myself as I just learned by the seat of my pants, because it's like here, here's the job, do it, and then you've just okay, well, here we go. But I think that probably prepared you for a long career in doing this. I mean, I would imagine that you love what you do because you're still doing it.
05:00 - Tina (Guest) I do. And then I took a very circuitous route. I left being an agent and somehow got struck by lightning and decided I wanted to be an actor.
05:09 So I went back to graduate school for acting for three years kind of like hid away and got all of that training. And then I, the scenes voiceover Sure Paired with my newly you know tuned voice and speech training and my acting training, voiceover was sort of like the natural next progression for my performing career. Oh, absolutely yeah. So I, you know, got an agent right away and started working right away and then was really chasing on camera pretty hard. Like my goal was to be like a series regular on a sitcom, like that was the dream. And you know I did a zillion guest stars but I just never got that. You know, like that regular, regular role.
05:54 And all along the way voiceover was always like my steady boyfriend. It was always like it was always there, it was always giving me a hug and you know, finally I was like why am I treating you like you're you know this side piece over here Like I should really nurture this relationship a little bit more. And so I really started focusing hard on that and all along the way I've always coached. And then eight years ago, almost coming up on eight years, I partnered with Sound and Fury and went to the casting side of things. But I still act sometimes and I still do voiceover, but mostly right now I am coaching and casting that is kind of my day-to-day regimen.
06:37 - Anne (Host) So what brought you into the casting part of it? Was it just something that was an opportunity that presented itself, or it was something that you had always wanted to get into?
06:46 - Tina (Guest) Yeah, it was kind of serendipitous. So Carly Silver, who was my agent at Atlas, left Atlas to go to Sound and Fury, like maybe a year or so before this happened. And she was, she knew she was going to be going on maternity leave and really it was just her and the owner of the company, Jill Kershaw, and they really needed somebody to cover for her. And you know, so it was presented to me as can you just cover for like three months? You sort of have the skill set and yeah, and I was like sure I'll give it a shot. And I really was so naive I really thought I was gonna be sitting in my pajamas and be like, oh, this sounds good, this sounds good, this sounds good. And then the fury of Sound and Fury raged into my life and I came how?
07:34 - Anne (Host) appropriate for the name.
07:36 - Tina (Guest) It's not like a cute little, you know, kind of on the side, it is a full time commitment and so I remember like thinking, gosh, I don't know if I'm going to make it through three months of this Like how. Like, how does anybody like do this all day? And it's been eight years so. But we have the best team in the business, like our. It's all women, we are so well-oiled and I mean that sounded kind of funny, but I completely got where you're going but we have such a great powerhouse team and it just makes a pretty.
08:20 You know, I wouldn't say it's difficult, it's not brain surgery, but it is a pretty laborious process what we go through and it just makes it so joyful and fun and collaborative because everybody on our team is so fantastic.
08:34 - Anne (Host) Well, I think you know, for most talent in the industry, what they lack is that, that perception or that education about what really goes on in casting, that perception or that education about what really goes on in casting. So, from your perspective, tell me about like a typical day for you casting a project and what is all involved, because I think for us, we absolutely need to understand it in order for us to, I think, do better and be more successful.
08:59 - Tina (Guest) Yeah, and I would love to. I would love for actors to know all of you know what goes on behind the scenes. So every time we start a project, no matter how big or small, we do a creative call with the ad agency creative team and you know we spend a good amount of time on Zoom with them, sort of you know, trying to dissect every little detail and nuance we can get out of them as to how, what they want to hear in their perfect voiceover. And you know, on that call we hear consistently, no matter how high profile the project or how small and like it's a first time, you know, advertiser, they all want the same thing. They all want. They always say, and the answer is yes.
09:42 The reason we're paying you to cast this and we're not doing it ourselves is because we really want you to find people who sound like they've never done voiceover before.
09:49 Now that does not mean give it to your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving and expect him to be able to work his way through the copy, right? What they really mean is they want everything to sound exactly like you and I are conversing right now. What actors don't realize is that the conversational sound that everybody's kind of cultivated has just become another bad habit. Because if you really listen to how we talk in real life, it's much more intentional and therefore much staccato than most people think Like. If that sentence was written on a page and I was reading it, it might sound like yeah, the way I talk in real life is much more intentional and staccato, which was not intentional or staccato at all Right. So they want it to sound like genuine peer to peer sharing, even if you're talking about insurance, even if you're talking about management, right.
10:40 And the other thing that they're always stressing is that everything they're making now are short films. They don't think of them as commercials, and that is not just semantics, it's an actual paradigm shift. And how it applies to actors approach to the audition is now you are being asked to be a protagonist inside their short film. So your job is to simply act. Right, it's to, and it doesn't mean you'd have to have a protagonist inside their short film, so your job is to simply act, right, it's to.
11:06 And it doesn't mean you'd have to have an MFA in acting or you have to be Shakespearean, right, it just means you have to really figure out what the story is and then just behave and live truthfully, moment to moment, with the circumstance of the story. Right, and so it is as simple as that. But it also means that the voiceover has sort of been in the world of TV and film. The voiceover has kind of been relegated down to like co-star status, so meaning it is not the star of the show anymore, it's more of the bed of the film, right, so it's a lot more subtle and nuanced. And that doesn't mean do nothing, that doesn't mean you want flat or be flat?
11:49 Yeah, not flat unaffected reads. It means you know. It's kind of like. I use this analogy all the time. You're like a first chair violinist in a beautiful symphony orchestra. You still have to play your notes with precision, you have to have an emotional connection to it, but then your job is to sort of synthesize and integrate with the rest of the orchestra, because if an audience member can pick out the first shared violinist, they're doing something wrong.
12:13 That's sort of the role of the voiceover. Now it's like, hey, we want to know that you understand our story inside and out, you have an emotional connection to it and you are living truthfully through it moment to moment. And then don't make it about you. Put all of your attention on the film. It's not about you. Don't focus away from the film, it is not about you.
12:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, Now I think one of the biggest questions is well, how do I know what the story is Right and I'm not? They're typically not provided with a storyboard. I mean, if you are, that's like a luxury, I think and you know, when they're auditioning, a lot of times there is nothing really except for you know some specs and maybe an idea of what they're looking for. So how do they create that story?
12:58 - Tina (Guest) So the story for me, like my process when I coach, is because everything's about authenticity. You want to really read the specs and ask yourself which authentic version of you most closely aligns with the specs. So you're not doing anything to manipulate the sound of your voice anymore, so it's always going to be a version of you. Is it the mom version of you? Is it the best friend version of you? You know, so on, yeah. Then the second step is to really read the script, as if you're reading a screenplay or a novel for content, like figure out what the heck the story is, what is being told and from my perspective, the story is always in the copy.
13:38 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Yes.
13:39 - Tina (Guest) Literally, even if it is a tagline, and the tagline is BJ's makes anything worth celebrating, the story is come to BJ's, which is like a pizza pub right, and you can make even the most mundane day a celebration because, like, every day is a party at BJ's right. So there's a story even in that tagline. So there's always a story to find within the copy itself. You just have to read it carefully. And I feel like the biggest mistake that I hear over and, over and over again every day in casting is most people grab a few adjectives from the specs, clap it on their voice and then write it over the words Absolutely.
14:19 - Anne (Host) It's so predictable.
14:21 - Tina (Guest) Yeah. So the whole thing is just like a blanket of warmth or a blank sarcasm. And when I ask people like okay, what does that line mean, they kind of look at me like blank. I'm like no, seriously, what does it mean? Put it in your own words. And they're like so really, spending time understanding the story. Paraphrase it line for line, because you'll find when you start putting it in your own words you realize how much meaning you were taking for granted. Even like Amica insurance is proudly owned by the people we protect, right, Everybody said that line very naturally.
14:55 Everybody was like yeah, amica insurance is proudly owned by the people we protect. But anytime I've asked anybody what that means, they go blank. And I'm like what do you mean, what does that mean? And I was like it's a weird sentence. Like the insurance company is owned by the people they insure. So does that mean like everybody who's insured by Amica owns a share of stock and is it like a co-op?
15:16 But really, if we drill a little deeper, what they're really saying is what do most people think about insurance companies? They're out to screw you, right, but we're going to screw you because if we screw you we'd be screwing ourselves. So therefore, you can trust us. So now, if you know that that line is really saying you can trust us, then the way you say you can trust us is the exact way I'd want you to say that line.
15:38 So it would be more like listen, ann, amica Insurance is proudly owned by the people we protect. It's the same way I'm saying, ann, you can trust us. Yeah, right. So it's the same way I'm saying, anne, you can trust us, right. So put it in your own words, is how you take ownership of the story, how the story becomes yours, and then you figure out who you'd be having that conversation with, the good old who you talk it to, and then creating the moment before. What did the person you're talking to say or do? That forces you to respond with the first line of the story Sure, sure Everything feels like a genuine, truthful conversation.
16:12 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and I always say for the first a lot of times casting directors will say make sure that you come in the first. You know, the first line has to be connected and engaged. And I always like to take it further than that, because if you're engaged on the first line and then you kind of lose that engagement then I think that you don't know what that story was.
16:29 That's exactly all you did was look at the first line and it could completely change by the end of the script and you don't know where that story is going or evolving.
16:38 - Tina (Guest) I understand right. That's why you have to be inside of it and living through it as it changes moment to moment, like you are. You and I are like mind melding because it's like, how many times do you hear these bad lead-ins where it's like, man, trust me, oh, so many, so many bad lead-ins, I guess, and there's so much there needs, I think, to be.
16:58 - Anne (Host) I'm always telling my students that there needs to be so much more, so much more to talk about the person they're talking to, like their issues and their problems, because that first line coming, you got to know what you're solving for them and it's got to be about them, not about how pretty you sound when you, when you deliver the information, but how you're going to actually help them to look better, feel better, be better, make more money, whatever it is, and that's the kind of point of view that's going to be authentic and genuine, because it's where I think we're all selfish. If you think about it, if I'm going to, if I'm going to lend my ears to listen to somebody, there's something for me in it. Like I'm not going to listen for the sake of you know, necessarily. I mean I've got to be entertained or educated or it's got to have something that I need.
17:44 - Tina (Guest) Absolutely, and there's so much competition for our attention, yes, our attention and our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter as we get addicted to short form content like on TikTok and Instagram Reels and stuff. So like for commercials to really hold, you know, somebody's attention, you're absolutely right, they have to be engaged. The listener needs to be engaged. They need to feel pulled into that conversation. Yeah, yeah.
18:13 - Anne (Host) And it's interesting because I do a lot of work I do. The majority of my coaching these days is corporate or long format narration, and so you've got to hold somebody's attention for longer than 60 seconds and you also have to know that story all the way through, when somebody maybe hasn't written it nicely, or like it's some marketing, it's some marketing rep that just wrote it for the website, and then you've got to figure out what is that story? What is that? And I'm always thinking and let me know if you feel the same way there's a purpose to every single word, like if somebody's written a script, like even the words that connect, connect words together, like there's a reason for them because they're leading into a story, a storyline yeah, I use.
18:53 - Tina (Guest) I tell people all the time like, don't take words like now for granted, like now. It's sort of the bridge, so it's like you were talking about what happened before now exactly right, exactly. It's not like now we're doing this. It's like no, no, everything we were talking about before happened, like now we're doing this. It's like no, no, no, everything we were talking about before happened, and now we're moving into this you know, what.
19:13 I mean Every word is. Every word is important. I always tell my clients numbers are especially important in commercials because there is a reason that number is there and it has to be delivered incredibly specifically based on what the meaning is. So is it like now it has to be delivered incredibly specifically based on what the meaning is.
19:31 - Anne (Host) So, is it like?
19:32 - Tina (Guest) now you're going to be able to get 32 grams of protein at Starbucks in your favorite drink right.
19:38 - Anne (Host) I love that you said it that way, because a lot of times people are like okay, you want me to emphasize that, 32 grams. And then they get all announcer and like no, no, no, no you just kind of lengthen it yeah you just sink into the depth of what it means.
19:50 - Tina (Guest) You're like holy crap. Like if I was paraphrasing that, I would be like holy crap. My gawky protein shake gives me like 12 grams, so this is 32 grams of protein. That's amazing.
20:04 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So you just think of the meaning of that right. Yeah, and for God that's amazing.
20:08 - Anne (Host) As opposed to oh, my God that's amazing.
20:11 - Tina (Guest) I mean my new, like literally my tangent right now, because so many people are coming to me and I'll play their audition back for, like you know, a retail department store or whatever, and it's like but it said excited, so I'm up here. I was like excited doesn't mean up here. If I'm excited, I'd be like Ann oh my God, I have the breakthrough that is going to change your life.
20:35 - Anne (Host) Like that is grounded, excitement that's grounded enthusiasm, you know, and maybe there's only one word that you might kind of get a little louder on or like high pitched, and that's typically I'm like well, you know, if I'm excited, I'm not high pitched through every single word of my sentence to you. I'm not high-pitched through every single word of my sentence to you. I'm not like, oh my God, I'm so excited Because a lot of times people will just tend to like elevate, and then their pitch just goes higher and higher and then it starts to sound very much like a cell, a hard cell.
21:00 - Tina (Guest) Absolutely, and you know how many words and specs do you see that are taking you down like grounded? Down to earth, depth, gravitas, that's literally gravity. All of those words are asking you to sink into your core and not be up in the stratosphere. Yeah, yeah, absolutely Like. I love that.
21:20 - Anne (Host) I love that. So, in terms of casting, when you are casting, what are the things that you? I know we're talking a lot about being engaged, being authentic, and so you have lots of things that you're casting for on a day-to-day basis, I imagine, and you have a lot of people that are submitting auditions. So how far into that audition are you listening? And everybody wants to know that that's like the magic thing, or is it dependent on the job and is it dependent on your knowledge of the actor?
21:50 - Tina (Guest) as well. Well, this is great because it'll take us back to, because I sort of stopped in the middle of the casting process. So after that creative call, we get off, we write, I write the specs. Carly and Liz on our team do all of the BA stuff. They deal with the terms. We get the breakdown written. Then we send it out to the agents.
22:13 - Anne (Host) The agents send it out to all the actors, you all record, you send it into the ether and I'm like hi, I'm the ether, yes, I'm the ether.
22:18 - Tina (Guest) And then I start listening. So a couple of questions that always come up Does it matter if you submit early? No, it doesn't matter to us, as long as your agent gets all of their auditions in by our due time. We don't know when you submitted or when you did, and I listen to everything bar none. I never, ever, ever, skip anybody's audition because I know how much care and time every actor puts into it. So I put that much care and time into listening and considering it. So I download all of the auditions.
22:50 It is a large number, like more than ever, for a number of reasons. We all know everybody and their mother got into voiceover during the pandemic and lately I have noticed, this year in particular, that there's a big, big trend from our clients of, instead of it being like okay, we know for sure, we want a woman 30 to 40. And this is the description. Now they're like we're open to all ages, all genders, all ethnicities, everything. So we're literally casting such a wide net. The numbers are sometimes, and what makes that hard, especially hard on actors, is because, even if your read and is the absolute, it's bulletproof, like. It is spot on, perfect, the most connected dropped in right. And this is the best female read in your category. And this is the best female read in your category. You could still lose the job if they want, you know, an older man of color or?
23:53 if they want a 22-year-old girl, or you know what I mean. And we are comparing apples to oranges, to bananas, to pears to plums these days, so it's really when it's that open, what I'm really listening to or I'm putting in are the most connected dropped in reads. So to answer like, how far I listen to it depends on the spot. So the first time I listened through, because the numbers are so big, the first pass of listening is really a weeding out. So I'm listening quickly. For do you match the specs? Is your sound quality good enough to do a job from home, if that's the requirement, and do I believe you?
24:36 Those are my three criteria and it's a super quick yes, no, yes no, yes no it gets very busy and I'm really at that first pass only listening to whatever the opening beat is, and sometimes I have to listen a little further because there's a joke and I need to make sure you got the turn in the script and sometimes it's like I can just tell right away. But here's the thing that I want actors to know Nobody starts off great and then tanks, and nobody starts off terrible and then gets great. At the end it's like yeah, really like sometimes you can be grounded and start and like you said, and kind of lose it, but you're not going to sort of like completely, you know, go off the fence.
25:18 - Anne (Host) That's only my experience with the long format narration.
25:21 - Tina (Guest) I mean, it's because it's a long time, yeah, yeah, but so usually you can, you really can tell, and anytime I've had like an actor anywhere near me when I've been listening to stuff even they're like, oh my gosh, it is so clear very quickly. So the first pass through is just a super quick yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Then my yes folder is pretty fat, so it's probably still a couple of hundred. So at that point then I go okay, now I've got the best of now I really start casting and then I listen all the way through and if there's two takes I listen to and then I start getting creative. So if I like take two better than take one, I'll flip it. If I like a line from you know, like take two, that I think would fit better in take one, I'll start mixing and matching some stuff and I try to narrow it down. Then I try to pick out my favorite, like ultimately about 60 per gender gets sent to the client. So for casting all genders, the clients can get 120.
26:23 - Anne (Host) So one thing that you did say, which I really loved, is that you were actually creating the auditions and saying maybe I like this one better, putting that first, maybe taking a line from this, a line from that, and actually prepping the auditions to send to the client. So number one, that makes you an amazing, amazing casting director, an amazing person. I'm just saying Right. But also the fact is you have to know your client really well. So there's that whole other aspect that maybe actors aren't even thinking about, like you have to have such a good relationship with your client to kind of know what they're looking for and also present you know solutions for them.
26:59 - Tina (Guest) Absolutely, and that's why we spend so much time before we start the project, really, you know, diving deep and getting very granular with what their asks are, and we'll do. You know like we'll do all kinds of things to sort of put like present every actor in the best light, and then once I'm done and I have my selects ready, then we give it off to our team of editors. We have a whole team of editors that get rid of all the background noise. Okay, cue everyone to the same level. So when a client plays down our casting links, everything sounds uniform.
27:34 So as much as possible with people recording all over the place.
27:37 - Anne (Host) Do you rename files if they're incorrectly named?
27:41 - Tina (Guest) Well, yes, because people don't follow directions. I'm always relaming For those of you who follow directions you're already ahead of 99% of the pack, so thank you for that. So then we send it off to the client. You know, and a lot of people don't realize this, but casting directors do not decide who gets the job. We don't even get to decide who gets called back. We are there to to be. We're like a funnel, right we're like we take.
28:09 you know we're the wide mouth of the funnel. And then we come, you know we bring it into the narrow part to give to the client. So our job is just to present like a poo-poo platter of the best of everything their specs were asking for, and then sometimes throwing in some wildcard interpretations that you know we love or that you know kind of were outside the box but we thought could work. And then they go off to the client and then we don't really we're not really privy to their process. Like I would love to do an interview of one of our clients and kind of ask them, like you know, how many people on your team are listening and how many votes go into deciding who gets the job.
28:54 Once in a while, when we get selects back from them, we'll get the notes from the creative team and it'll be like okay, here are our top five and they're like hey, love, you know, love the energy, let's try to dial it back in the call back a tiny bit, like you know, and they'll they'll have all specific notes about each person. I love getting that bird's eye view, but most of the time we don't. We just get a short list to put on avail for the. You know the record dates. Then we reach out to your agent see if check your avail and then you know if you were the lucky one that books the job.
29:28 - Anne (Host) then you know if you were the lucky one that books the job then you get the booking and and in between all of that, again I think it the major decision really lands with the client, right, and then what they're looking for. And then a lot of times I'll hear actors complain about, oh, the script changed, or you know, they were looking for this, and then somehow the spot came out and it was nothing like. And I'm like, well, that's just, there's so many things that go on between the client and the casting director and the agent and you know, that's one of and yeah and it's.
30:01 You know, that's what it's unpredictable.
30:04 - Tina (Guest) I think sometimes, like a PSA, that I would love to share with actors is you can't go to the final spot on the air and go oh, I should have done that, yeah, yeah, you do not know. There's a project that is on the air right now that we cast several rounds of and ultimately they had people on avail from us. Ultimately they didn't book anybody and it's on the air. So I don't even know who that person is. I don't know if it's a celebrity whose voice I don't recognize, or if it was somebody that they had in-house, but it's nothing like what we were casting for. So somewhere along the line, that creative changed, right, and so we weren't even privy to that. So you can't assume that what ends up on the air is what you should have done. You always want to live and die by what is on that audition page, right, because that is the only way you're going to make it through to the client. Because our job as casting directors we're like matchmakers, right.
31:05 So, we've asked them what they're looking for. We are matchmakers, we try to find the best matches of that and we are only presenting what they asked for, right? So even if you think, oh, I know they're saying for McDonald's, they want it like dropped in and like understated and announcery, and then we're going to hear it on the air and it's going to be like McDonald's happy meal, right? So I'm going to like try to outsmart the specs. You can't because even if it does end up like that on the air, in the stage of the audition we have to deliver what the client is asking for. So even if you're right and it ends up like that on the air, you're not going to make it past the audition stage because you're not giving us what is on that page.
31:52 - Anne (Host) And in reality, because you cast all day long, like 8, 10, I don't know, 12 hours a day or whatever that is. I mean, you're really good at it and so I feel like when you're listening and a lot of times, voice actors don't even realize how good you are at it at picking out immediately oh, this person is engaged, this person is an actor, and I think that's your. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that you would probably prefer an actor versus maybe someone who's just. You know what. I mean, they sound good, but then they're reading it like you would imagine it to be in the spot, because the actor would be able to give the client whatever they wanted A hundred percent, and I and you know and I encourage like people, a lot of people got into this as non-actors and if they train enough, you know what I mean.
32:36 - Tina (Guest) And I mean like keep them on the hook, like training, but really all you have to learn is yourself. You just have to learn yourself. You have to know how you authentically relate to story, you have to know how you authentically feel about things and and you just have to know how to be truthful, because what I'm always listening for is truth. My ear is like a truth detector. My ear is like a truth detector. It really is like a lie detector, and that's the name of the game. There are a lot of voice actors who have made a terrific career for themselves, who are non-actors and they just ride on the sound of their voice. But more and more and more and more these days, clients are really it's got to be thought driven and not voice driven. We need to hear the voice following what you're thinking, instead of we hear the voice first. Maybe there's a thought behind it and maybe there's not. Maybe it's just voice. Right, and nobody wants that anymore.
33:36 - Anne (Host) Talk to me about second takes, and are they recommended and should they be completely different, which most people say, yes, oh, no, I say absolutely no.
33:45 - Tina (Guest) OK. So the reason I say no, it's different. It's very different than animation and video game, where I totally understand that it should be some kind of contrast. But we are we at Sound and Fury especially, are very specific about our specs and what we want, so it's not going to be that much different. There shouldn't be a drastic difference. So how I always ask actors to differentiate takes is through intention. Yes, I love that.
34:16 So there was a script for like a hospital, an example. So there was a script for like a hospital and the meaning of the script, if we like, boil down what the story was about, is that the patients are the reason why we do everything. It's the reason why we've built this state-of-the-art center and why we connect cancer specialists from across other networks and we do everything on behalf of the patients. That was the meaning of the script, right? The first line was the people we care for are the center of everything we do at Mass General Brigham, right so? And the specs said the voiceover should sound like it is the medical director of the hospital, speaking with equal parts authority and warmth and compassion, right, which you would be if you were the medical director of the hospital, right? So I always tell actors if the story is hey, the patients are the reason why we do everything and you're the medical director of the hospital. Take one might be. You're talking to the parent of a patient who comes in. Their child is being discharged that day and they're so grateful.
35:22 - Anne (Host) The mom is so grateful.
35:23 - Tina (Guest) Or the dad and they come into your office and they're like and like. I will never be able to thank you enough for the care you gave my child and you just simply respond like you don't have to thank me.
35:35 Yeah, right, this is what we do, right, and then for take two. If you go back to the story, right, I'm the medical director of this hospital and I'm Right, this is what we do. And my staff who had a negative interaction with a patient, right. So I call them in, you know, with warmth and compassion, but authority to sort, of course, correct and be like listen, anne, you are doing such an incredible job, you're so efficient. Blah, blah, blah. But we got to get on the same page about something, because the people we care for, they're the center of everything.
36:18 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely.
36:20 - Tina (Guest) And then you got a take one and take two that are completely differentiated by intention. They're not going to sound drastically different, right, but they are going to tell a slightly different story.
36:34 - Anne (Host) So what you've done is you've changed your moment before and you absolutely might, you absolutely could change, maybe, who you were talking to. If you wanted to get more of that authoritative, maybe you'd be onboarding an employee or that kind of thing. So then, rather than just having what I, what most people I think do at least my students they when I say, give me an A, b read, they'll just change the melody. Yeah, they'll go higher or lower. And I'm like, no, no, I don't believe you. Change your emotion, change your scene, change who you're talking to.
37:05 That means development of the story, and they have to take like, like you can't just run into your studio because it's written in a nice conversational way and then say, oh, I'm going to, then it's predictable and everybody in the world reads it the same way, because they read it. And I'm always saying you've got to take at least a few minutes to figure out what is the story there, because you need to come in off the bat reacting, versus just saying it from ground zero Like hello, I'm Anne, like I have no reason to say this to you, but you'll all sound the same if you do that. Yeah, here I am and I'm going to talk to you about this, versus you're kind of like moment before and then you're coming in, connected already and reacting. So I love that. So that's a great way to do I think.
37:46 Two different reads and I mean honestly, we have the time. I mean, unless you're being live directed right, and then they're going to usually have somebody that's directing you and they're going to say to you all right, give me something that has more, I don't know, something brighter. And so you've got direction there. But if you're just doing an audition, you've got time in your studio right, you can take an extra five minutes to figure that out and how long does it take?
38:10 - Tina (Guest) Like you know, if it's a 30 second script and you're spending more than five minutes trying to find the story, like you're overthinking it probably. The story is always very obvious, like it really truly is. It's usually the first line of script, right? It's like it's usually like hey, thesis statement, now all the supporting arguments that prove it. Absolutely, yeah, then conclusion Introduction yeah, introduction.
38:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I always say I was related to. Well, in English, we would always be given an assignment to write an essay, but before we wrote that essay we'd have to write the outline, and so you'd have to know what those outline points are, and each time you hit one it's a shift in energy. Yeah, absolutely, you know, and so usually it starts with an introduction, always, and then it ends with a conclusion, and somewhere along the way, yep it's the same.
38:57 - Tina (Guest) I mean we're both preaching like the same. Yeah, I love it.
39:02 - Anne (Host) I love that you're telling me all this, because it validates me too, because it validates me for the long format narration side of things, which most people think is oh no, there's nothing really important to that. I'm just going to kind of read it in that style because that's what I hear and I'm like but I'm not here to to, I'm not, you don't need me for that. We all, we all can do that, you know right exactly.
39:26 It's information right, hopefully hopefully you're going to be able to tell a story and that's what you're going to get shortlisted or that's what you're going to get, you know, cast. You know at least you're going to get to the next step, yeah, and.
39:37 - Tina (Guest) I find you from doing Love it or List it for as long as I did, like in-show narration is really responding to the story right, so it's like you're not really telling the story, you're sort of like you know, while David goes back to the drawing board, absolutely, you know approaching.
39:54 You know the asbestos problem in the basement, right, it's like you're sort of like reacting to what you're seeing. Asbestos problem in the basement right, it's like you're sort of like reacting to what you're seeing. So you know there's lots of different storytelling devices that are required in narration and you are the expert, more than I am. I've never really, you know, coached narration.
40:14 - Anne (Host) But it's the same. I mean, that's what I'm finding out the more that I talk to you, it's, we have the same objective really, and it just happens to be longer if it's corporate. You, it's, we have the same objective really and it just it just happens to be longer if it's, if it's corporate or if it's in show is even different than that. Right, as you were just saying, you know corporate sometimes it it's, like I said, most people will write the corporate as if it should be on a website or it should be in a marketing brochure, and that's where it becomes difficult, because a lot of that is written third person and you've got to take third person and put it into first person and that requires a little bit of effort. Yeah, absolutely yeah.
40:47 - Tina (Guest) And that's what paraphrasing can really help.
40:49 - Anne (Host) Yes.
40:50 - Tina (Guest) It makes it your own. You take ownership of that story then, when you have to put it in your own, words.
40:56 - Anne (Host) Well, my gosh, I'm so. I'm so happy we had this discussion. So, and I'm very excited that you are going to be guest directing one of the VO Boss workshops coming up in December I believe it's December 12th. So, and, bosses, you better get on that quick because it's filling up, but tell us a little bit about what you're going to be doing in that class.
41:17 - Tina (Guest) Well, I'll walk you through, you know, sort of the commercial casting process.
41:23 I mean, if everybody has listened to the podcast, then we'll be able to dive in and get right to work.
41:28 I'll give everybody, you know, very recent and relevant commercial copy to read, and you know kind of see where you are instinctively, and then I'll redirect you until we get to the point where I'm like that read could book the job, you know, and we'll use those four steps that I outlined, because if everybody takes those four steps and just puts it on a post-it note, they'll have a blueprint from which to work and you will never be lost and those four steps will keep you grounded, keep you connected to the story and keep you engaged in a genuine conversation.
42:03 So I'll kind of coach everybody into that process and you know they can take it or leave it afterward, but we'll get to the point where I will be able to say that would book the job, that would book the job, that would book the job and everybody's capable of it. You just have to know what the playing field is right and a lot of times people don't know, like when I, you know, when you say like you know, the read has to be subtle and nuanced. They don't know like what level that is, and so I'll be able to kind of provide that playing field so everybody has more perspective.
42:37 - Anne (Host) Well, I am so excited to have you, as a guest director, coming up and I have to thank you so much for taking the time and talking with me today. And yeah, how can people? I feel like we could have done this all night, oh, I know right. So how can people get in touch with you if they would like to find out more?
42:55 - Tina (Guest) Well, probably my website is the most efficient way, so it's Well, probably my website is the most efficient way, so it's tinamaroscocoachingcom, got it?
43:03 My acting website is just my namecom, but tinamaroscocoachingcom, and there you will find, you know, all of the different offerings. I did create something called the library, which is it's a video, you know, you purchase it and it's basically four hours of my coaching technique broken into like bite-sized videos, and they're all labeled by topic and time coded. So let's say, somebody gets an audition where you have to break the fourth wall. You just type in fourth wall, it'll be like video six time 208. You just watch that 30 seconds or two minutes or whatever it is, and then you know exactly what to do. So that all that information is on there. And the reason I created it is because I really wanted to get all of the right information to as many actors as I could with my very limited time. I only have time to coach two actors a day, like cast the rest of the day. So you know, and when I, when somebody already has the library and they come to coach, it's so much easier.
44:08 Turbo blasts our session. I don't have to spend the first 40 minutes trying to like go over the same thing over and over again.
44:16 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Well, that sounds amazing.
44:19 - Anne (Host) And again, thank you so, so much for spending the time. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses like Tina and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and make sure you go to VO Boss and sign up for this class with Tina. You are going to love it, tina again. Thanks again, bosses, see you next week. Bye, see you soon, bosses.
44:45 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Danielle Famble and special guest Jennifer Clark (Host of Human Kindness at Work podcast) for a Boss Money Talk Series crossover episode. They explore the profound impact of charitable giving. This episode demonstrates that giving—whether time, money, or relationships—is not just good for the soul; it's a strategic act that combats hopelessness, strengthens local ties, and creates powerful networking opportunities for your voiceover business.
00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Imagine a voiceover journey where every step is filled with discovery and growth. That's the path I want to work on with you, through nurturing coaching and creative demo production. Let's unveil the true potential of your voice together. It's not just about the destination, it's about the gorgeous journey getting there. Are you ready to take the first step? Connect with me at anneganguzza.com.
00:32 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.
00:51 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Money Talk series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza,z and today's show is a very special crossover moment. I'm joined by my regular Boss Money Talks co-host, Danielle Famble, financial strategist, voice actor and the person who keeps our boss business brains sharp. Yay, yay, hey, Anne, hey, and we're teaming up with the amazing Jennifer Clark, a powerhouse voice actor and the host of the Human Kindness at Work podcast. Today, we're going to talk about the power of giving, how it fuels mental wellness, strengthens our brand and builds real community in the voiceover world and beyond. And we'll also be talking about 100 Voices who Care, which is a charitable organization led by these two powerhouses that supports local communities by combining donations to impact local charities. So let's get into it, ladies. Thank you so, so much for joining me today. Thanks for having us.
01:48 - Speaker 4 (Host) Anne.
01:48 - Anne (Host) Yay, I'm very, very excited to talk to you guys about this, because I think this is something that it exists and every time there seems to be, let's say, possible issues in the community or you know people that need help, we get those GoFundMes, we get people who talk about, you know, donating to charities and stuff like that, and I think it's something that we need to really talk about more, about how it can affect us in a positive manner and also how it can affect our businesses. So let's maybe start by talking about the psychology of donating and giving. And, jennifer, I know, in your Human Kindness podcast you which is wonderful, by the way, guys, you absolutely must tune into that you talk to people all the time about giving and human kindness, and so what are your thoughts about you know, what are the benefits of giving?
02:43 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, I'm not a doctor, but I can speak as someone who has been, you know, intentionally giving for most of my life, and as I'm talking to guests who are really active in their community and showing human kindness at work. What I see in myself and in people that I'm talking to is that it does something for our mental health. It's really easy to look at the world, especially right now, and you wake up every day and there's another crazy thing going on. The world is constantly on fire and it's really easy to get depressed fast. I mean, that's the fastest ticket to depression, right? Just read the news, right and we lose sight of all the really good things that are going on in the world. We lose sight of the really good people that there are.
03:36 Being a part of giving is like linking arms and finding all those people in your local community and the world at large that are doing the work. They're trying to bring change, and it's really uplifting. It's one of those things I don't know what it's called, but it's kind of like when you're looking for something you know when I wanted to buy a new vehicle, I had never seen anybody drive this vehicle and then all of a sudden, when I was like I want a Volkswagen Atlas. I saw it everywhere, Absolutely everywhere. And it's the same with giving. When you look around and you're like man, nobody is doing anything, Nobody is getting involved. In my community, Nonprofits are suffering. But then you start getting involved, you will make connections like crazy and you'll start seeing all of the good and it is so uplifting. It really does change your perspective.
04:34 - Anne (Host) Oh, absolutely I can imagine, because, especially now, just with the craziness, as you mentioned, of the world, and there's a lot of times when I will open up my social media and then, oh my goodness, just start reading or the news and I just start to feel hopeless and what can I do? What can I do? First of all, to feel, because it's making me feel bad and not like I don't know, functional in a lot of ways, and I want to be able to help and I don't know how to help. And I think this is one way that we can focus on something that can absolutely make a big difference in our lives and, of course, other people's lives as well, and to be able to connect with people who are doing good in the world. That gives me hope.
05:25 - Speaker 4 (Host) And I think sometimes we look at problems and it's so overwhelming and we think we have to reinvent the wheel, Like oh. I got to start a nonprofit or fix the solution. There are already boots on the ground that are doing work. So making a difference, giving of yourself your time, your resources, your energy, doesn't have to be hard. It's just a matter of finding something that you want to give yourself to, and don't reinvent the wheel, just join into the good work that's already going on. Yeah.
05:56 - Speaker 3 (Host) It kind of reminds me of that.
05:57 I think the quote is attributed to Mr Rogers, or maybe Mr Rogers did the quote from someone else, but the look for the helpers quote I was.
06:07 I was speaking with a friend of mine who we were both sort of commiserating about what was going on in the world and how frustrating it is, you know, with money being pulled from certain social organizations and that's their lifeline, and she worked for one of those organizations and she was like of those organizations and she was like you know, we can get upset about it, we can get mad about it, we can feel hopeless about it. Or you can look for the helpers. You can look for the people who are out there like you said, jennifer boots, on the ground doing the good work, and it changes your psychology to see, okay, these are the possibilities, this is what's out there, these are the people who are already doing the work. How can I help them? And when you can look at that and you can find that pattern, recognition of people helping the helpers, then you can figure out how you can put your hand behind the plow and do something too.
06:58 - Anne (Host) What do you think are the things that stop people from either looking for this or from donating? And, of course, I think one of the biggest things that people will say is but I don't have any money. I don't have the money to donate. I can barely keep myself surviving in today's world. What do you say to that?
07:17 - Speaker 4 (Host) I would say we have to look beyond just finances. Financial giving is really important, especially for local nonprofits, but we have so much to give. You have to look at yourself as a whole. So you have energy, you have time, which I think are your two greatest resources, and you have money. You have relationships. So, looking at those four areas of your life, where can you give in those time, energy, money, relationships? And if you really are, I've been in times of your life. Where can you give in those time, energy, money, relationships? And if you really are, I've been in times of my life I am strapped for cash. You know, my husband was unemployed a few years ago, like it was super tight. So I get it. There are legitimate times that you don't have any extra money, but you still have time, energy relationships that you can give to.
08:19 - Anne (Host) So I would say look at that whole picture, not just your pocketbook their energy or their relationships because I love that you mentioned relationships too, because connecting with people who may have at the time the financial resources to help or other methods and sources to help is also a wonderful way to give back.
08:40 - Speaker 3 (Host) Yeah, social capital is a huge one because you never know what that connection that you are making between two people or groups or organizations, what that will do and that will yield in their life.
08:54 So that's a huge one, even looking outside of the box.
08:58 I was just reading a story about a woman who was at a park with her kids and noticed that there were some kids who didn't seem like they were being attended to by an adult and, instead of making an assumption, what she decided to do was essentially just take care of those kids for a little bit of time.
09:16 And she was offering her time as a resource, as essentially child care, and not making an assumption about what was happening with the parents or anything else in their situation. She was like, ok, I'm a safe place, I'm a safe person and I can provide some, some respite for these parents who may be further away, who need a little bit of time away. And she did that and that was her way of giving back. And she, when she was explaining it to me, or when she was explaining it and I was reading about that story it's not something I think that people think about off the top of their head Like, oh, this time that I have, or the ability to care, is a resource like do an inventory and audit of what you've got, what you are willing to give, what you are able to give, and then figure out a way that you can creatively if it's not financially a creative solution that you can provide for people who need it.
10:11 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I have a neighbor who literally just got an email this week. She typically in the summer she goes to the East Coast to stay in her home over there with other family and she offered her home to a family who had just lost theirs in the fire and the recent fires in California and you know a family that you know it was complete strange to her. And she wrote us an email and said hey guys, I'm offering my place for this family to stay for the month while I'm away on the East Coast, and they recently lost their home in a fire and would you mind welcoming them? Because not only did they lose their home but they lost their community, and so I think that, as a sense of community, would be really wonderful if you could help welcome them. And it was amazing to see the thread in that email, because all of us responded and said oh yeah, come to happy hour on Saturday, or hey, we were playing bunco or whatever it is. Come, I'll pick you up and take you over there and introduce you to everybody. And I just it was such a wonderful thing and I thought there you go, there's something that didn't really cost any money and it was something with the whole community getting together. It was just something really wonderful to see, especially like, yeah, I've had a stressful week Really wonderful to see, especially like, yeah, I've had a stressful week. And to be able to like, all of a sudden, get an email like that and then see the community come together and give it just was really a wonderful thing. And I just I think now I'm like I want to start a podcast and I want to be Jennifer, I want to be Danielle, because I know you guys also are leading the 100 Voices who Care, which we'll talk about in just a minute, because 100 Voices who Care is a wonderful organization that was a longtime sponsor of the VO Boss podcast, so I'm excited to talk about that.
11:58 So I love that we just came up with all of these ideas, because I think the number one excuse why people think that they can't give is the fact that they don't have any extra financial support, that they can, that they can donate Awesome. So let's talk about so we've got a lot of benefits where it, first of all, it makes us feel good, right, we're helping somebody else. It can give us hope in a, in a, in a place, in a world that might seem hopeless at the time or just frustrating. Might seem hopeless at the time or just frustrating. So let's talk about as businesses. How can giving help maybe our businesses and I don't like to think that it's like, oh, I want to just help my business. It's not I don't know if that's like the foremost reason that I want to give, but hey, if I am giving and I'm able to help others and I feel good about that, know that also. It can, it can positively affect our businesses as well. So, danielle, what do you think about that?
12:53 - Speaker 3 (Host) Yeah, no, there are so many ways that it can affect and help your business. One way and you know we'll think about it from financially, because you know I like to talk about money.
13:02 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Of course.
13:04 - Speaker 3 (Host) When you can give to businesses, you can get some sort of tax benefit as well at the end of the year.
13:10 So financially, if you're giving to a 501c3, you can write that off against your taxes at the end of the year in some cases. So that's one financial way that it can help, but also in the social capital as well. When you're out and you're meeting people who you can help or who you'd like to support, the organizations you'd like to support, it's a great way to meet other like-minded people and maybe other like-minded businesses, organizations that I enjoy supporting in my local organization, and I got to meet a ton of local business leaders and they got to know who I was and I was like the first voice actor they had ever met which was an interesting conversation.
13:57 So there are ways to meet other people and engage in just community building, especially locally, because we are local businesses as well as global businesses doing what we do in voiceover. But there's also a financial benefit too building especially locally because we are local businesses as well as global businesses doing what we do in voiceover. But there's also a financial benefit too.
14:12 - Anne (Host) And isn't that honestly like? Isn't that one of? Like the one on ones of how do I get work in the voiceover business? Right, One is OK, so we maybe try to join a roster, we try to get an agent, and then there's we'll go to your local chamber of commerce, Right? Think of this type of thing, Think of you know the possibilities of charitable donations in terms of networking, because it's all about the relationships and, as a matter of fact, a lot of the ways that we get and secure and keep jobs to keep our businesses alive and successful is through relationships. And what better relationship? Not only something that makes you feel good that you've done something to help somebody else, but also the possibility of maybe networking with people who can also support your business. Jennifer, I'm sure you've spoken to many people in your podcast also that have been able to help their business and or other local businesses. Talk about that.
15:11 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, I'll give you an example. Someone that I interviewed a few months ago was a local nonprofit here in Kansas City called Foster Light and they provide wraparound care for foster families and I loved their mission so much that I was like they had a gala coming up, a fundraising gala, and I was so compelled by their mission that I took my CPA's advice. She said you need to start spending money, and so I sponsored the gala and that was my first time doing that, but it was strategic because it was a mission that I loved and I was going to give to anyway. But I did it strategically so that then I'm advertising my business Right, right, and I'm supporting a mission that I love and I get networking opportunities. There was like for all the sponsors, there was like a meet and greet VIP happy hour beforehand, so I got networking and networking with like businesses, not just a normal attendee. So it was threefold and I thought I'm going to keep doing this because it was beneficial to me on all fronts.
16:18 - Anne (Host) So I have to ask your CPA said you need to spend some money, Jennifer. What was her reasoning behind that? And I'm pretty sure Danielle can answer that too, probably just off the cuff, without knowing. Yeah.
16:28 - Speaker 4 (Host) Why did you have to spend money? I've had a really good year. Ok, I love it, so I need to bring that taxable income down.
16:35 - Anne (Host) There you go, there you go. Yes, see, I love it, I love it, I love it. Yeah, so lots of benefits.
16:42 - Speaker 3 (Host) And can I just jump on that just for a second, because it's so important and good for you, jennifer.
16:49 - Anne (Host) That's wonderful.
16:50 - Speaker 3 (Host) So really, that happens, it happens right. You have a wonderful year, you have a great year and typically what we'll do as voice actors is okay, great. We're going to go to voiceover conferences we are going to support and we're going to make sure that we give to other voiceover events maybe help with keeping the money in our community, which is wonderful and it's a great tax write-off. I like to joke. I like business travel, right, I like to travel for business with these conferences and everything else. But this is another way that you can have that same kind of effect financially for your business. But you're also doing good and networking in your local communities, and the idea again for businesses is to try to create profit, right, and so if you're networking with people who potentially could hire you for voiceover work or think of you for connecting with other people, that's another way to help do good in the world, do a whole lot of good in the world.
17:47 - Anne (Host) And actually, if you don't mind, I want to tag team on that and say that a lot of times when I would go to the Chamber of Commerce, right, it was mostly other businesses just trying to hook up so that we could make money off each other, and it was never. It wasn't always as successful as I wanted it to be. But if you're meeting for another reason, if you're meeting at a charitable organization, you know you're meeting with people who are wanting to give or have the ability to give, and that's a completely different reason to have a good networking connection as opposed to let's just network because we want to try to get work from each other. So that is one big major difference. That is one big major difference. So I really feel like it can be advantageous or strategic to to really get more involved with, with a charitable donation or that community You're finding like hearted.
18:36 Yes, yes.
18:38 - Speaker 4 (Host) Absolutely, and those people are more likely to hire you because it's like hey, we love the same mission, you're a giver, I'm a giver, let's do business together. I would much rather do business with someone like that than some random business.
18:53 - Anne (Host) So here's something, because I know people they feel timid if they don't have a lot to give, right? There's people I mean, if you can give up your, everybody says, if you can give up your Starbucks, right, one Starbucks a day. You know you're able to give. So what advice would you give to someone who wants to give back but feels like they can't, they're not giving enough or it's too little and they're embarrassed. You know what I mean and it's not like, oh, I'm not making a sizable contribution.
19:19 - Speaker 4 (Host) I mean I'd say, first of all, don't compare your giving to anyone else's giving. You really have to put your blinders on in life and run in your own lane. So whatever you are able to do, do that wholeheartedly and don't compare your giving to danielle's giving or my giving or anne's giving um, this is your life and your time, your money, your energy, your relationships and you, you gotta do what's what's right for you.
19:49 - Speaker 3 (Host) And measure it with your heart right. Like, your heart is to give, no matter the size of the gift, your heart is to do something good in the world. That's your intention. So the amount of money is really at that point, it's not really as important as the fact that you saw a need, you wanted to give something and you gave of. You know what you had which could be a greater sum than the amount that someone else gave. So really look at that from a place of like I'm giving everything that I have, this is all I've got to give, this is what I can afford to give. If it's a monetary amount and that is immeasurable you can't measure someone's desire in that way. So look for where you can do the most impact with that amount of money or just give it because that's what your heart said to give.
20:41 - Speaker 4 (Host) And I think if we all just sit on our hands and use that as an excuse like, well, I only have the $7 giving up my Starbucks this week to give, if we all just wait on that, then nothing happens. Change doesn't happen.
20:55 - Anne (Host) Okay, possibly the elephant in the room, because sometimes, like I said, people feel pressured, right? Sometimes people feel pressured to give and then when there's a place to give where they see like, oh, so-and-so just donated $1,000. And then you might be looking at it going well, I don't have $1,000. So should I put my name there? What are your thoughts on that Name anonymous? I think there's benefits and there's pros and cons to both. To be quite honest, I think that it's really a personal choice.
21:27 - Speaker 3 (Host) I mean, this entire topic giving is so personal because it's tied to your desire to do something good in the world and to help in a way that you are able to help. So if it feels right to you to put your name on it and say this is what I gave and this is what I was able to give, and I'm proud of that and I want to put my name on it, great. If you want to not have your name on it, I've given, and given completely anonymously because it felt like the right thing to do for me, anonymously, because it felt like the right thing to do for me.
22:01 That was just the choice that I made at that time, so I don't think that it. Please try not to in this way. As Jennifer was saying, please keep your blinders on. Please understand that your reason and your why for giving is the reason to give, whether it's anonymously or with your name on it. And another way, even if you feel like maybe you're not giving a lot of money, whatever that number is for you, what you can do is you can team up with other people and combine your gift to make it a larger gift, which is what we do with 100 Voices.
22:29 Who Care?
22:30 - Anne (Host) What a wonderful segue into one of the reasons why I love this organization 100 Voices who Care. Talk to us a little bit about the organization, and I think it actually kind of just really leads itself nicely after the conversation we just had, because you don't have to, you don't have to give a lot, but together it makes a huge difference. So talk to us a little bit about 100 Voices who Care. What's it all about?
22:53 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, there are a lot of groups in the voiceover community that we join to get something right, like health benefits, vo workouts, accountability for your business, etc. Those are all wonderful and needed, but 100 Voices who Care? Is a group that you join to give. We are a group of voice actors who are changing our communities through our collective generosity. So we meet once a quarter. Virtually. Each member commits $100 per quarter and we also bring to that virtual meeting a local nonprofit that we want to nominate and we choose three to five local nonprofits to members to pitch those nonprofits. We vote via the poll on Zoom and then whichever nonprofit wins our majority vote receives the entire donation from all the members, it can mean up to, I believe, $10,000.
23:57 - Anne (Host) Is that correct? So, collectively, right, if you have 100 people that are joined, it can mean $10,000 for that local organization that you want to support.
24:06 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Per quarter, which is amazing.
24:07 - Anne (Host) Yeah, oh, per quarter. Yeah, thank you for correct me. My financial boss over there, thank you, I love it Just keeping you in line. Yeah, I love it Just keeping you in line. Yeah, I love it because you may think that your $100 isn't really doing a lot, but in reality, when you combine it with the community, I mean that is amazing. I mean that's per quarter to help an organization and that is something I think you can be proud of. And the fact is is that not only are you helping a local organization to do good, but you're also networking with like minded voice actors. So not only are you like minded in your maybe in charities that you support or you know ideals that you support, but also your voice actors as well. So there's so many benefits to that, and I've always, always loved this organization, so I'm so glad that the two of you are heading it up. So how does it work? How can people join this organization? And are they tied to a year, or are they tied? You know how does that work. So we.
25:09 - Speaker 3 (Host) the way it works basically is that we are open to any voice actor who wants to join our organization. We give through a third party called Grapevine. So Jennifer and myself, as we are the leaders of 100 Voices who Care, we're not touching any of the money. So you would join through Grapevine. We all get together and Grapevine is the one who takes our $100. Grapevine also will vet the nonprofit, that is, the organization that we would give the money to as the donation. We are not doing anything other than meeting, finding local organizations, pitching that organization to the greater group 100 Voices who Care and Grapevine really takes care of all of the nitty gritty of keeping our money, sending it out, vetting the nonprofit to make sure that everything is above board.
26:02 - Anne (Host) I was going to say I really, I really like that that they vet the organizations that you're giving to, because you vote right as a collective, you vote on who to give that money to, and so it may not have been your personal choice that maybe wins. And so you might feel like, well, you know where's this money going to and what are they doing with it. So I really love that you have a third party that's vetting. And is there somebody that vets grapevine? Do you know what I mean? Some people might have that question or talk about grapevine. Have they been? I mean, has this been around? How long has this been around? How long have they been working with this?
26:36 - Speaker 4 (Host) I don't know the answer to that. We've been with Grapevine from our inception, so we started in 2022. Oh.
26:42 - Anne (Host) OK, so it's been a good number of years yeah.
26:46 - Speaker 4 (Host) And we've always had a wonderful experience with them as far as that vetting process and they've got a great customer service as well.
26:54 - Speaker 3 (Host) So we have reached out to them just to ask questions about how to better facilitate. You know our group or what we could, who we could be giving our money to, and they answer us within a day or two days. We've even emailed back and forth with the founder of Grapevine, so they've been wonderful to work with and they've got great customer service as well.
27:20 - Anne (Host) So you've been doing this since 2022, is that correct? Yeah, so what are some of the organizations that have been helped by 100 Voices? Who Care?
27:29 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, our very first recipient was called the Grooming Project. Now they're called Prosperity, but they're here in Kansas City. I had the privilege of pitching them. They are my favorite nonprofit in Kansas City. They're based here. They are the country's only nonprofit dog grooming school. In the entire country. They have this really transformative program that breaks the cycle of poverty through extensive job training within this booming industry of pet grooming. So their students are usually society's most vulnerable. They focus on single parents living in poverty. So these students not only learn the art of dog grooming but they learn life skills like budgeting and parenting, emotional regulation, things like that. So once they go through this two-year program, they graduate having a grasp on life, you know, and then they have this trade that they can make a real living in. So it is literal life change. My dog groomer went through this program. This is how I came to know Posparity. She was in the first graduating class and she was so successful that she managed the salon that they offer to the community at a low cost.
28:48 So that students get an opportunity to work on their trade and then it goes back into supporting this mission. But she managed that salon and then she was so successful that she bought the entire salon with Prosperity's Blessing.
29:04 - Anne (Host) That's wonderful.
29:05 - Speaker 4 (Host) Took all of the workers with her, with Prosperity's Blessing, and she has this thriving dog grooming business in the Casey Metro.
29:12 - Speaker 3 (Host) Oh, that's wonderful.
29:13 - Speaker 4 (Host) You know she, prior to this program, she was working multiple jobs, single mom of two, living in government housing. Her life is completely different and now she hires prosperity graduates in order to give back, so I love it. These are the kind of when you're when you're looking in your local community for a local nonprofit to bring to a 100 Voices who Care meeting. These are the kind of things that you get connected to.
29:41 - Anne (Host) This is.
29:42 - Speaker 4 (Host) I see Christine, my pet groomer. Pet groomer every six to eight weeks because I have a golden doodle and they need lots of grooming. I'm in her life now and there's just nothing like that to be connected to people in your community doing good work and giving back.
30:00 - Anne (Host) So how can people sign up for 100 Voices? Who Care if they're interested? I mean, do you have a period of time, that a special time that they sign up? Because you say you're giving quarterly, so I assume that there's another quarter coming up. Yeah, so there?
30:12 - Speaker 3 (Host) we have meetings every quarter. Our next meeting is going to be on November 17th and you can really sign up at any time, but the idea is that you would be coming to our next meeting. We ask that people are ready to pitch. You would also be getting that $100.
30:32 Great Fine, would be debiting that money and you can set up as a recurring payment through your credit card, but we ask that people are also, yes, ready to pitch, but also bring a friend, because we want to grow this to the 100 voices so we can get to our $10,000 per quarter. Absolutely, absolutely.
30:50 - Anne (Host) Now, do the people that join? Do you have to bring a local charity? Or, if you're not familiar, I think it's great because I feel like you should research. Or if you're not familiar, I think it's great because I feel like you should research charities yeah. But if somebody maybe not have any preference, is it something that you take care of or that's okay?
31:06 - Speaker 4 (Host) We ask that people research small, local nonprofits. It does not have to be local to you, oh okay, but we're just saying you know Red Cross, st Jude Research Hospital. They're doing great work, but they have huge donors, huge budgets. Everyone knows about them. So we want to find those nonprofits that are doing good work in local communities. So that can be anywhere, but we do ask that you do a little bit of research.
31:30 We have a really easy email template, so that once you find that nonprofit, you just email our template, fill in the blanks, email our template off. And there are people at these organizations whose job it is to answer these questions. You know, I think a lot of people feel like they're imposing or they feel weird asking these questions, but literally there are people who are, you know, doing applications for grants all the time. So they already have these answers ready to go and this template that we've made just makes it so easy for you to create a pitch, a nomination out of that. So, yeah, we just ask that you do a little bit of research We've made it as easy as possible and that you bring it to the meeting.
32:13 - Anne (Host) Great, when do they go to sign up?
32:16 - Speaker 3 (Host) They can go to our Instagram. There's a link in our Instagram where they can go to sign up and we just, you just take it from there and it'll take you to Grapevine, where you will sign up through Grapevine.
32:29 - Anne (Host) And bosses. I'll put that in the show notes for any of you and, of course, when we, when we promote the show, which we will be doing heavily we'll be putting that link in there as well. So last question, guys If a listener takes just one action after listening to this podcast, what would you want it to be?
32:46 - Speaker 3 (Host) Sign up for 100 Voices who Care. Join us, Use your singular give to be with a collection of people who really want to do good in our local communities. And you know, just join us with 100 Voices who Care.
33:01 - Anne (Host) Jennifer, because Danielle took yours probably.
33:03 - Speaker 4 (Host) Yeah well, I would just piggyback off of that to say if you're hesitant, if you're like I'm not sure that I'm ready to commit, just come check us out. We welcome guests in our Zoom meetings. Just come see what our collective generosity is all about, what that looks like. The Zoom meeting is on our Instagram link. You can just click it and join.
33:25 - Anne (Host) You'd be a fly on the wall, so you don't have to be committed yet there's no obligation to join.
33:29 - Speaker 4 (Host) I love that you can just come sit in check us out and then ask any questions that you'd like after that meeting. Perfect.
33:36 - Anne (Host) Sounds amazing. Well, you guys, it's been such a wonderful, wonderful episode with the two of you, danielle, as always, my money boss, thank you so much for joining me again and for bringing 100 Voices who Care to me, because Danielle asked me to bring you along, jennifer, so we could talk about it. Because, yes, there are multiple benefits, as we've discussed in this podcast, for donating and for contributing to a community who can make a greater impact. And, jennifer, for those people that want to listen to your podcast, how can they do so?
34:12 - Speaker 4 (Host) Oh, thank you. Yes, it's called Human Kindness at Work and you can actually go to my website jennifersvoicecom slash podcast and check it out there. It's called Human Kindness at Work and you can actually go to my website jennifersvoicecom slash podcast and check it out there. It's on all the major platforms and also YouTube.
34:25 - Anne (Host) Perfect, awesome, and you'll be hearing more from Danielle and I as the months come up, because I'm not letting her go. There's more money to talk about for sure. That's right. There's always more money to talk about you guys. Thank you again, so very much. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl, and of course, I'm going to tell you guys, please sign up for 100 Voices. Who Care? It is an amazing, amazing organization. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
34:52 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides explore a core challenge for every voice actor: managing personal emotions and moods to deliver a consistent, authentic performance. The Bosses delve into how easily actors can slip into autopilot or let personal frustration compromise a read. This episode provides practical acting methodologies to help you discipline your thoughts, shift your emotional state on demand, and utilize your entire emotional range to serve the story.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey Boss, listeners, Anne Ganguzza here. Leveraging years of expertise in the voiceover industry, I offer coaching and award-winning demo production that embodies excellence. I am dedicated to your success. Let's work together to get your career to where you've always wanted it to be. Visit anneganguzza.com to find out more.
00:24 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:43 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with Superpower co-host Laura Lapidus. Yay, thank you, annie. I love being called a superpower. Well, I'll tell you what your shirt is so colorful today. I love it.
01:06 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, I'm feeling like this blue is putting me in a certain mood. You know, getting me very moody, but not in a blue mood, more in a hot mood.
01:15 - Anne (Host) Yeah, it's blue and flowers, so there's kind of like a cult, like a culmination of moods, maybe I thought you were going to say a cult.
01:22 - Lau (Guest) No, not a cult, but more of a comedy, more of likes, maybe I thought you were going to say a cult.
01:33 - Anne (Host) No, not a cult, but more of a comedy, More of like artistic meets, comedy meets, I don't know, meets like hot diva thing, oh my gosh. Well, you know that's funny. I'm always so thankful to talk to you, Law, because you're always so positive and upbeat and happy.
01:41 And you know it's interesting because I, as you know, I mean I work with a lot of students and a lot of them that are working full time and then doing voiceover part time, and so they've got, or they've got life happening you know life you know, life, life can happen, life happens and I'll tell you what your mood and how you are dealing with the day can so affect your reads, because I'll have some people that'll be like, yeah, I did it last night, after you know, I came home from work and I'm like, well, yeah, I can tell, because you were exhausted or did you have a bad day, because it actually reflects in your read and I thought it'd be great to talk about how your mood affects your performance.
02:30 I mean, it seems so obvious and we just say, yeah, your mood affects your performance, but maybe it affects it more than you even know, because a lot of times I feel like we go on autopilot. When we're in a certain mood, or we don't want to deal with certain things, or you know, we're not going to acknowledge certain feelings, we then compartmentalize, and we don't always compartmentalize in a way that's helpful for our performance.
02:53 - Lau (Guest) So true. And you know, I first thought about mood as a young, young kid, really, when I was being trained in the theater. I would have directors that would say for rehearsal, leave your trash at the door. Don't worry about it, it'll be there to pick up on your way out.
03:11 - Anne (Host) Leave your trash.
03:12 - Lau (Guest) What does that mean? And meaning that to discipline yourself in the workspace, you cannot bring in every feeling, every thought and every mood that you're walking in with. You have to leave it behind and come into that neutral discipline space.
03:28 - Anne (Host) Unless.
03:28 - Lau (Guest) maybe you're using it to create a character Unless you're channeling it, but even so it's like can you move in and out of it?
03:37 - Anne (Host) That's tough to do. Yeah, that's tough to do.
03:40 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, or is it so adopted in you, so inside of you, that you can't see it? You no longer have the self-awareness to see the mood that you're in.
04:03 - Anne (Host) They're like no, I thought it thought it was great. And then, in reality, I'm like you were tired, weren't you? You know, or you were exhausted, or you were frustrated, or and sometimes it'll become it'll come out right in the first few words I'm like you hate this script, don't you? It's like, well, I had a bad day and so, yeah, being able to compartmentalize or put that aside. And then the probably, I would say, the biggest problem for me in the niches that I teach is that it's. You can start off in one mood. You can say, ok, I've got to be positive, I got to get my energy up, and because I've had a long day, and so let me get my energy up. And then you've got it up for a couple of seconds and then, and then, all of a sudden, you go into autopilot and you lose track of the fact that you got out of right, you got out of that energy and you just went on autopilot. I think going on autopilot is like 90% of the problems in, let's say, long format narration anyways.
04:58 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, and also really being able to you know, with your analysis that you're doing of your script, it's really being able to pinpoint what is the mood of the story, how does the tonality change, not just the writing of it and the language of it, but also the rhythmic cadence of it and the musicality of it. What is happening with the mood? Because, as actors, if we don't have mood, if we don't understand mood and there's no mood to it, then we completely lose our momentum. There's no momentum without mood.
05:28 - Anne (Host) And I love how. All right, so now we just took it from our mood to the script and the script's mood, and that's a really important, I think, factor to consider, because not only do we have to put aside any mood that might be detrimental to our performance, but we also have to read the mood of the script and then apply a point of view that would equal the mood of the script in order to serve it. You know, properly, really, and the mood doesn't just happen at the beginning of the script.
05:58 The mood is all throughout the script and it changes which I think is so important to understand that it changes and you need to figure out how it's changing. You can't just assume that you're going to be happy from the first sentence all the way to the end, because a good story, right, there's always an evolution of. You know, you start off maybe questioning or concerned or hey, what's the best solution for this? And then, all of a sudden, the discovery right, you start learning about this product or you realize how this product has helped, and then you become more excited about it and then you want to share that with that listener. So it's an evolving story and I think if you don't analyze that script for the evolving mood, yeah, you're not doing it justice.
06:38 - Lau (Guest) And so many VOs, I think certainly at the early stages of voiceover, really miss the point of when a coach might say oh, who are you speaking to? Where are you at. It just becomes a pedestrian and saying oh, I'm talking to a best friend or I'm talking to my teacher, and then they leave it at that. But they don't realize that not only is that specific in terms of your environment and how you behave and the mood that you're in when you walk in a doctor's office, for instance.
07:07 But each doctor is different. Doctors are not the same, they're different people. So how many voiceover talent really investigate the depths of let's say, who am I talking to, or where am I, or what's happening, because of the kind of tones and moods that it's going to shift you into?
07:27 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, because you would talk to your doctor a whole lot different than you would talk to your friend and the whole, the whole thing in casting where it says like you're talking to your best friend, right. I think that kind of did a disservice to a lot of voice actors who took that at face value and did not realize that the intention behind that was simply to get you to not sound like a commercial or sound like you're trying to sell somebody something. And I think it doesn't, because I have I have a number of students are like OK, so I'm talking to my friend Sue and I'm like but Sue doesn't care about, sue doesn't care about Lincoln Financial, like Sue uses Bank of America. So you have to really figure out who is it that you're talking to that's interested and can benefit from the topic that you're talking to.
08:16 And it may not be your best friend, sue, like I always use SAP as an example. Like Sue doesn't even know what SAP is right, and so how can you talk to Sue about it? Because she's gonna be like what, what is SAP? Why do I care about it? And it's hard to talk to somebody in a scene, right as an actor, when it's not relevant to them, and so who you are talking to is so, so important. Talking to your doctor is much different than talking to your best friend, betty.
08:43 - Lau (Guest) And not getting complacent or lethargic or lazy about stopping at finding out the information. Now we have to go into the emotional mindset of the person in the situation. Sure, it's not enough to just know where I am or who I'm speaking to. I have to know in context what we're discussing and how I feel about. That's where your point of view comes in and also how it shapes the whole scene like where you start and where you end up should be a very different place. Oh yeah, In terms of mood.
09:16 - Anne (Host) Absolutely the mood. The mood shifts and and ultimately I love that you mentioned about like it's. It's not necessarily about you and how you sound when you're delivering that information. It's about how what you're saying is affecting the person that you're talking to, right? How is it going to help them? And then people are like well, what do I? What? What's the most important thing? What are the important words in the script? Well, the ones that affect the person that you're talking to. They could care less that. You know, sap sold a million widgets last year, right. But what they care about is that SAP is going to make their lives easier by consolidating right, consolidating the installations in all different departments of different software, and it's going to make their company run better. So that's what they're concerned. They don't care that SAP I mean, in reality, as a consumer do you care like that? You know Coke Zero sold a billion last year.
10:11 - Lau (Guest) No, it doesn't matter. I mean, and even just like, if you're talking to people you know in your world, it's like I choose a friend. You know, like you make choices on the friend you want to talk to about business, the friend you want to talk to about your mom, the friend you want to talk to about something super personal, like you make those choices along the way, do the same with your script, and not only with your script, annie, I'd say with your business in total.
10:36 - Anne (Host) And if your friend doesn't apply. Can I just say this yeah, if your friend doesn't apply, then don't use your friend. Right, apply, then don't use your friend, use somebody that can really benefit, because then what it does is it turns it from you just talking to like anybody or someone, right, who's going to buy the product, into someone that's going to benefit from the product and you will be helping them, and then that becomes like more emotional, right, it becomes like oh, there's meaning to this, there's a purpose. Right, there has to be a purpose to what you're saying. And if you don't have a purpose and you're like well, I'm just going to give them information, right, any old person information about the product, well, that doesn't give you much purpose.
11:20 - Lau (Guest) Yeah.
11:22 - Anne (Host) Yeah, then I could just read it to you, because I don't have a purpose, like I have to want to help you, right, I have to want to make your life better, and that's going to give me purpose and emotion, and that emotion will help to at least give me a point of view that will make it more unique than just hello. This is a product that I want to sell you right you know, that's it.
11:45 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Right.
11:45 - Lau (Guest) And it seems like we're saying you know that commercial campaign, whatever it was, trivago or something. Thank you, captain Obvious. You know like what we're saying should be obvious and common sense, but it's bringing back to what you were saying at the beginning of the show, and that was don't go on autopilot, don't let your mind go into this sort of complacent neutral zone. You have to be a thinking, working talent that's always considering how a situation changes. A situation changes moment to moment, and so does your mood.
12:21 - Anne (Host) A thinking that's a good one. Right A thinking that's a good one. Right A thinking. Working talent, as well as your business decisions.
12:30 - Lau (Guest) You're an amazing business woman who's always thinking, strategizing, paying attention Like what is the mood? I'll give an example what is the mood of your website?
12:42 Well, if you look at the person who's going on your website, they instantly feel a certain way. Right, they do so. Why not strategize how you would like your audience to be feeling when they see a visual of you, when they see a testimonial of you? Sure, how do they feel? What mood is it in? Well, we all know in sales sales 101, that when you see a success story, you feel good, you feel successful. Potentially, you feel like you could do that. So that shifts your mood instantly. It's compelling.
13:23 - Anne (Host) It's so interesting Like we just spoke about this in recording a previous episode about how did that ad make you feel? Right? I wanted to be that person. I wanted to buy that product because I wanted to be like that person. I wanted to feel good. Look good, I wanted to, right? I think it's really all about feel good, like who buys a product that wants to feel sad or angry, right? So how is that? How is your voice going to affect the person that you're talking to? How is it going to make them feel better, right? Yes, feel good, look good, make more money in respect. We all just want to feel good, right? Yes, feel good, look good, make more money in respect. We all just want to feel good, right? I don't know anybody that purposely wants to feel sad. Well, we want to feel. Sometimes I like a good cry, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to be voicing something to give somebody a good cry, unless I want to affect them in a creative way in that way, right?
14:11 - Lau (Guest) Well, I think that there's power. Well, I think that there's power. You know, the first thing that flipped into my mind was the original. The original Disney Snow White that we all saw when we were young kids was that the evil queen looks in the mirror and says you know mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the? There is a mood mirror that we create as artists to like.
14:34 Looking at Shakespeare said, as as held to a mirror up to nature. It's like, as actors, as talent, we're mirroring society and then society is mirroring us, and it's this reciprocal thing that goes back and forth. Well, one of the biggest things we're hired on is our energy, which is directly connected to mood. Energy and mood. Mood go hand in hand, and one of the things we're let go and fired on is our energy too.
15:00 Sure so being very aware, heightened awareness of the kinds of moods, mood shifts, mood swings, mood highs, lows, like okay, great, that's your palette. But being aware of when am I applying the nuances of mood?
15:17 - Anne (Host) No, thank you for bringing me out of the commercial, corporate aspect of voiceover, because you just there are. There's a gamut of emotions, right. So if we're doing character animation, we really do have to, we have to kind of take on those emotions so that we can make others feel right, we can make others feel something and that's it's. It's interesting I was just talking to somebody the other day about, like, my creative rest, right when I'm not in the booth, is I love to watch a good movie or a good show, because it's incredible how, how much that can can change you as a person.
15:51 And I want to, and I want to feel as though my voice can do that for somebody. That can make them feel good, change their lives in some way. That is good, whether I do make them cry on purpose or I make them feel good about a product or however that is. And that is absolutely about the mood, absolutely about the mood, and again, it has to be the mood that's dictated by the script, which, if we're not looking at that script and we're not analyzing that script, for the mood board, right, For the mood board of the, I guess the mood board of the script, that would be a good name for a class right, the mood board, the mood board, the mood board, and you get a mood mirror with the class.
16:35 Yeah, yeah yeah, exactly, exactly. You need to create that mood all along the pathway of the script, because that's the best way to tell the story, because our stories, stories, are boring if we're all just one particular consistent emotion. I mean, how do you hold anybody's attention in that respect? Usually it's like the emotions are all over, and some more so than others, depending on the focus and the purpose. Right Again, it's one of those things when you look at a script, what is the purpose Like? What is it that you want your listener to feel, believe, buy, you know or do when you're done with it? Because we have, what a cool opportunity, like, think about it. That's an opportunity.
17:19 It's a wonderful opportunity to be able to do something like this.
17:24 - Lau (Guest) It's amazing In an industry where you feel like you just have no control over anything. There's one thing you can control, or at the very least manage really well, is your mood and being able to understand what are my triggers, what are my buttons, what are my happy buttons and sad and angry buttons?
17:42 What are they so that I can artificially trigger them when I need to and artificially turn them off when I need to, because I think that that's a huge misnomer is like coming in and just saying, oh, I just am going to lay prostrate to whatever I feel in the day. Well, that's a huge misnomer. Is like coming in and just saying, oh, I just am going to lay prostrate to whatever I feel in the day. Well, that's not true. Like professional performers have to discipline the way they feel throughout the day so that they're not taken by all their you know chaotic, crazy, creative thoughts all the time. You have to be able to discipline those and use them and redirect them when you need them.
18:19 - Anne (Host) I like that Disciplining your thoughts or disciplining your moods.
18:23 - Lau (Guest) I mean you have to do both. You can't believe every single thing that comes into your head. As the famous Dr Amen neurosurgeon says. You cannot believe everything you think and say believe everything you think and say right, you're not going to be held, you know, captive by your thoughts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have to be careful of that because as actors and as creatives and as business owners, sometimes we get a thought, a suggestion and then it starts to ripple and run like a slippery slope that well, maybe it's this and maybe they think this of me and maybe it didn't work. Because you have to discipline that and put yourself in that, neutralized. I call it recalibration. Recalibrate your mood.
19:03 - Anne (Host) And also it's it's. You've also got to be able to adjust that mood. If you're being live directed and all of a sudden that mood wasn't what they wanted, and all of a sudden here's a new mood. We want to switch it this way, or you've got somebody else that says no, I really wanted this, I want to make it brighter, or I want it to be more serious, or I need it to be more even keeled, or whatever it is.
19:27 - Lau (Guest) You've got to be able to adjust those moods and it's a lot of work, like a lot of people say, oh, you should just be happy. No, you can't just be happy. You're a human being. It's a lot of work to be disciplined in being positive-minded and positive energy when you're working, because you don't always feel that way.
19:44 - Anne (Host) It's not always in alignment to your life, I think a lot of times and I've got a love-hate relationship with people who are told to smile more in their scripts Because some people take that so literally, and then they smile on every single word and I'm like, but that's not true to the story, right? I don't talk to you like this, the entire time, with every single word, with this smile, because it's not authentic, right? So I think really the smile comes from, I think, a lot of new people to the industry. The smile is to get them out of a read really.
20:24 And that's what it's for, but then they take it so literally. Then there's a smile and I get them when I'm trying to teach them long format narration and every word is a smile, and that's not the case. There's a nuanced story to be told. There's a story to be told, and not all of it is a smile. However, and some people can think a smile that's me I can think, because I'm pretty much bubbly anyways. I can think a smile and it comes out in my mood, right yeah.
20:48 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, and we're going to create an invention. I just had an idea for an invention and your audience is going to be the first to hear about it.
20:56 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) You and I are going to create the mood meter.
21:00 - Lau (Guest) I love it. The mood meter is sort of like a not like a metronome, but like a measuring device that measures your mood based on your behavioral affects and the sound you make, whatever.
21:12 - Anne (Host) How cool is that. That's a great invention.
21:14 - Lau (Guest) So when someone says are you okay today? Do you feel okay?
21:18 - Anne (Host) Yeah, it's like a lie detector. And then it goes like this yeah, it's like a lie detector.
21:23 - Lau (Guest) And you have to strap it on to some part of your body, right. And then when it goes this way, you know you're in trouble. And it goes this way, you know it's good. Right the mood meter.
21:33 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, you're resonating, you're vibrating with a mood that is right, and so let's talk about what are ways to allow us, what are some ways that would allow us to separate ourselves from our own, let's say destructive moods in the booth right, because it's really not about our moods in the booth. I mean our personal moods unless it's going to help the script in the booth. I mean our personal moods unless it's going to help the script. How do we disassociate from a rough day at work, a long day with the kids or whatever that might be? You know?
22:03 - Lau (Guest) the first thing that comes into my mind is an acting methodology that a lot of folks have not heard about Even actors have not heard about this which is so specific. It's called Rasa boxes and look it up, it's very fascinating. It's where you tape the ground, literally put tape on the ground into boxes and when you walk into the box, the box represents an emotion. So the actor, like they're on the bench going into the professional game, has no moment of in-between.
22:30 They go from neutralized, completely neutralized, into the box into the emotion immediately, and then, when they step out of the box, they come out immediately. It's a fantastic technique. Well, in essence, our booth is our box but, you can create that anywhere in your world. You're in a hotel room, create your box, but then when do you evolve your mood?
22:54 - Anne (Host) or is this just to disassociate yourself from, let's say, a bad mood? Right, let's say you're in a bad mood, or you're tired, or you're angry, or you're frustrated because I don't know. You just had a fight on the phone with a customer service rep, or you couldn't get a hold of a customer service rep Right. Or you couldn't even call. You're trying to text a customer service rep.
23:14 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Right, you're trying to order that damn chat bot that's on the website.
23:18 - Anne (Host) There you go, see how I've just evolved it over the years. It used to be that you'd call and you'd be frustrated. Now you get nobody and then you get the automated. You're frustrated and then, yeah, then then there are no phones and what do you do? You chat with the service representative and then you get the chat bot. So the evolution of customer service over the years. So, yeah, you want to make sure that you are not in that frustrated mode and so it's just clearing you of this box. Once you step into this box, consider that. What is that called? Again, the RASA box.
23:52 - Lau (Guest) Everyone look it up. R-a-s-a.
23:54 - Anne (Host) It's an international technique, you step in this booth and you clear your emotion from anything that's going to detract you from executing your job properly.
24:05 - Lau (Guest) And another big issue that I see with clients and with students is that they can't control the analysis, the paralysis of analysis, so they immediately go into intellectualizing it, analyzing it, and they cannot get to the emotion.
24:21 - Anne (Host) If you go in a box and you become.
24:24 - Lau (Guest) You drop your inhibitions, you drop. That. Is this right, Is this wrong? Is this what they want, Is this what they mean? And just go right into it. You're going to go to places that you were not allowing yourself to go to because you were stopping it intellectually.
24:38 - Anne (Host) Stop that voice that's up here that says is it right, Is it what they're looking?
24:42 - Lau (Guest) for yes, am I good?
24:44 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Right, it's that whole sabotaging voice.
24:48 - Anne (Host) You've got to turn that off and simply not be concerned about it. And again, it's one of those things. It's so interesting because so many people are when we talk about that mood right, I have so many people when I talk to them on a free consult and they're like, well, I want you to hear my voice and let me know if I have what it takes and I'm like that is really has nothing to do with your voice. It really and I said honestly, I can hear that you would do well if you wanted to, if you would allow yourself to, because I enjoy your personality, I enjoy the engagement, I feel like you're an engaging person and I feel like the potential is absolutely there. You just have to allow it to happen. And again, I can hear.
25:28 I mean, if they have a speech impediment or something like that, sometimes that might affect, like me, understanding everything. It doesn't mean that you can't be a voice actor, but really it's. It's me connecting with you on a human level. That's the mood. That's the mood that's going to say, yes, I can be a successful, I can be a successful voice actor. Exactly A mood that says I can engage with human beings in a human way and be interesting and likable and all that or not likable, depending on what the script calls for. But initially, when I'm meeting someone, you know how. You just meet someone and you're like, oh yeah, like you just immediately connect, they have the it factor.
26:08 - Lau (Guest) They have the factor.
26:09 - Anne (Host) So many people have the factor, but they don't think they do. Right Again because of that voice that's saying I'm not good enough. Is it what they're looking for? I don't think I can. It's that horrible, sabotaging voice.
26:21 - Lau (Guest) I also would say, annie, that if you have the self-awareness to know, or you have a buddy that can tell you that you're too high or you're too low coming into your work, it's never a good place to start. You should be able to go high and go low if you need to, but you should not be starting from that place. You should be starting from that, really neutralized. I don't call it relaxed, it's not relaxed, it's released. I call it the middle C. Yeah, it's the middle. It's like you're the core of being released and being present and being open and aware. Yeah, it really is that.
27:00 - Anne (Host) Like a melody, like a music passage.
27:02 It can fluctuate up and down and it can have all sorts of places to go, whereas if you're coming into anything high or low and don't equate it so much to pitch although it does equal pitch, but we're not necessarily talking about pitch but sometimes I tell people when they come in hi, see that that's a performance, hi, I'm behind the mic and I want to sound a particular way and that just makes me pitch up. Yeah, I want to be that really low voice, but you'll notice that when I do that I have no place to go. I can't go down further. I mean, I started at the lowest possible voice. I have no place to go If I start too high.
27:51 - Lau (Guest) I've got no place to go. So if you start right in the middle, at that middle C, you got lots of places to go. What a cool conversation. That is right. And one more thing I want to say is don't ever fall into the mindset that you're not capable of a particular mood because it's not part of your natural persona or personality. So let's say you're a more introverted person, you don't let out your emotions quite as much, and you're more business oriented and you do those kinds of reads Great, but it's all in there, it's just a matter of unlocking it.
28:12 So how you unlock those particular personality traits that allow those moods and spirits to come out is really it's exterior, it's situational. So if you put yourself in the right situation it will come out of you.
28:27 - Anne (Host) It's like that adrenaline call when you're like, oh, I'm a superhero all of a sudden. Yeah.
28:32 - Lau (Guest) So what I'm trying to say is change your environment. If you can't do it in your booth or you can't do it in your place, then go into the woods, go onto a ski slope, go to a restaurant and really remember the feeling of what that is to be surrounded by it, because sometimes you need to remember, we forget. We have kinesthetic memory in our muscles, but sometimes we do forget.
28:55 - Anne (Host) And sometimes, when we get older, it's even easier to forget. Speak for yourself, speak for yourself. I can't remember what I came in for this morning. Oh wait, we're recording the VO Boss episode.
29:06 - Lau (Guest) We're doing a podcast, we're doing a podcast.
29:08 - Anne (Host) I remember, I can't forget that. But anyway, what a great conversation.
29:12 - Lau (Guest) This is so good, good stuff, it's so necessary yeah.
29:15 - Anne (Host) Bosses. So get yourself in your box. Uh, learn to disassociate those that do not serve you, those emotions that don't serve you, those moods that don't serve you, and then be able to evolve the moods that serve the copy. Yes, love it and get. And, whatever you do, get into the mood. Yeah, there you go. I'm in the mood. I'm in the mood. All right, bosses, big shout out to ipdtl, which got me in the mood this morning. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week, an amazing mood-filled week, and we will see you next week.
29:54 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye.
29:54 - Lau (Guest) See you next week.
29:56 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere share decades of combined experience in this insightful episode, dedicated to the long view of a voice acting career. Having been in the industry since the cassette and CD demo era, the hosts emphasize that longevity is achieved not through linear steps, but through resilience, strategic adaptation, and continuous self-improvement. The discussion provides a candid look at why the work never stops, the necessity of community, and the critical importance of mastering the mental game.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza here. Are you ready to take the next step in your voiceover career? At Anne Ganguzza Productions, I specialize in target marketed coaching and demo production that gets you booked. If you're thinking about elevating your performance or creating an awesome demo, check me out at anneganguzza.com.
00:22 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:41 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with the one and only illustrious Mr Tom Dheere, real Boss.
00:54 - Tom (Host) Hi everybody, hi Anne hey.
00:56 - Anne (Host) Tom, how are?
00:57 - Tom (Host) you. I'm doing pretty good, if I'm not mistaken, haven't you, didn't you just have an anniversary?
01:03 - Anne (Host) I did Just celebrated 25 years with my hubby whoa. It seems like yesterday. I swear to god, 25 years just went so fast that's amazing and uh, and you, just, you just were telling me about your blogiversary how long have you been blogging? 17 years oh my god, tom that blogging, I mean I've been blogging for a you been blogging 17 years. Oh my God, tom, blogging, I mean I've been blogging for a while, but blogging for 17 years is insane.
01:31 - Tom (Host) Thank you.
01:31 - Anne (Host) Wow, you must have really good SEO. That's all I got to say.
01:35 - Tom (Host) I would like to yeah. Yeah, my SEO is pretty good.
01:37 - Anne (Host) Yeah, we would like to think that you have good SEO, but, wow, so long term relationships. You know it makes me think about voiceover, because I have been in voiceover just about as long Not quite as long as I've been married to my husband, but you know, 21 years, and it's. It's incredible. I feel like I just started, but yet I don't, because it is and we always talk about it being a marathon, not a sprint and I think you've been in voiceover longer than me.
02:03 - Tom (Host) Yes, I decided I wanted to be a voice actor in 1994.
02:09 - Anne (Host) Wow yeah. And then I got my commercial demo. Some people were born in 1994.
02:14 - Tom (Host) Not me, I know.
02:17 - Anne (Host) Yeah, some of my students haven't been born.
02:19 - Tom (Host) Some bosses listening to this are going to be like, I was born in 1994. I know, or 2004. And then I got my commercial demo in 1995 and I booked my first voiceover in 1996. And I went full time as a voice actor in 2005 and started coaching in 2011. So I've been-.
02:39 - Anne (Host) Oh, I started coaching just shortly before you. Yeah, yeah, just a little bit longer, because then we started coaching just shortly before you. Yeah, yeah, just a little bit longer, because then because we met shortly thereafter at Voice 2012.
02:49 - Tom (Host) Oh my goodness, we already knew each other, but I don't think we met.
02:52 - Anne (Host) Yeah, but I remember we.
02:54 - Tom (Host) I definitely remember we hung out at Voice 2012, which was 13 years ago. Oh my gosh.
02:59 - Anne (Host) Woo At Disneyland. You know so and it's funny because we talk about you know how long have you been in voiceover and how long did it take you to become successful in voiceover? Well, I always say you know, my overnight success took many, many years. So I think and I think it's something that a lot of people don't understand, especially those that are intrigued by this industry you know thinking that, oh yeah, it's, I can stay at home, I can do this. You know thinking that, oh yeah, it's, I can stay at home, I can do this. You know, I can buy the mic. It'll cost me a few hundred dollars and then I can just start booking jobs and making money.
03:32 And I think really for I know we talk about all the time, but I think I want to have a whole episode dedicated to the realities of having a long view career and the fact that it is something that you have to be in for the long run if you truly want to be successful at it. I mean, of course, you could be in it for a couple of years and then, if you don't like it, you get out. But most people I know want to make a good, they want to be successful at it, they want to make a good living. So let's talk about what it's like to be in voiceover for a long time and what it looks like, because it's certainly not like a corporate job. I am a corporate girl and came from corporate and then education, and I certainly was not handed a paycheck every other week in this full-time voiceover job. That's for sure, because it's a much different, much different industry. It's our own businesses.
04:22 - Tom (Host) I have the luxury of being able to zoom out and look at 30 years of being in the voiceover business, where when I started, you know, they just segued out of reel to reels and started using plastic cassette tapes. So I'm of the cassette tape generation of voice actors that started in the mid 90s and now we are. I was CDs, you were CDs, so you were, just I was CDs.
04:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah, shortly after the cassettes came the CDs.
04:53 - Tom (Host) Just as CDs came out and then, a few years after the CDs, came the MP3.
04:57 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and it was a thing, because I remember the burning of the CDs was like, oh God, who do I get to do that for me?
05:03 - Tom (Host) I did it myself.
05:04 - Anne (Host) Yeah, well, that was before. Right CD burners came out and now you know you can have a CD. I had a duplication company that I did all my cassettes through and then started doing the CDs.
05:14 - Tom (Host) There, you go and then I was like wait a minute.
05:20 - Anne (Host) I can print my own labels.
05:21 - Tom (Host) using Avery, I can burn my own CDs, stick it in the tray and my desktop.
05:25 - Anne (Host) I was one of those people. I got that. The stamp thing where you push it down, you stamp your label on the CD and that was like, oh my gosh.
05:33 - Tom (Host) Oh, now I feel old. Now we're getting really anachronistic and alienating ourselves.
05:37 - Anne (Host) That was like. That was like that. That was the coolest. That was the peas knees.
05:40 - Tom (Host) That was kind of fun.
05:42 - Anne (Host) I love that little stamper. That was awesome, it was.
05:46 - Tom (Host) But anyway, so, yeah, so looking back and zooming out and looking at what are the realities of what you need to have a long VO career, I mean it starts with training. It absolutely starts with training. I'm a theater-trained actor. I went to college and then I did a little graduate work at a place called the National Shakespeare Conservatory that used to be here in New York City. So I got like hardcore theater training about body and mind and spirit and voice and engaging. I had great voice coaches, I had ballet coach, chekhov coach, like all this stuff. That really gave me a very, very, very solid, solid foundation. Gave me a very, very, very solid, solid foundation. So if you want so the so step one. If you want longevity in the voiceover industry, if you want a long career, you got to start with very solid training performance training, voiceover training, genre training, so you can be demo ready.
06:38 - Anne (Host) I didn't realize you you had been a theater trained. Yes, I did. How did I not know that about you, Tom? And I know I've known you for a long time it doesn't come.
06:45 - Tom (Host) I mean, it was so long ago, Wow.
06:47 - Anne (Host) Do you miss it? Do you still do it or do you miss it?
06:50 - Tom (Host) No, I haven't been on a stage in almost 25 years. When I discovered voiceover after I dropped out of the conservatory for reasons we will not get into as soon as I discovered voiceover I was like, oh, that's where I need to be and that's where, also, I can take all of that training that I did on stage and I had a little bit of on camera. I had a little bit of TV and a little bit of film experience very, very little bit like extra work on 30 Rock and things like that.
07:25 You know that's that sort of that. You know if you blink you'll miss me, that sort of thing. But that turned into that inhabited me. As I'll put it to you this way, that sort of training, theater training, it's like pro wrestling, like it's large gestures, projecting, you know, into an audience and then voiceovers is is boxing. It's very, it's very intimate and it's very, it's very, very close.
07:51 Um, so that all that great theater training, I had to obviously learn to make adjustments and turn from this very open, broad presentation, presentational type of acting to this very intimate, one-on-one, you know, doing this, this kind of acting. And I use that training, consciously or unconsciously, every every day, 30 years later, but, like I, I definitely attribute a big, I credit a large part of my longevity as a voice actor to the performance training that I got and I had a great voiceover coach uh, who's no longer, who's with us Um, she really set me on the path to understanding the difference between theater acting and film acting and voice, voice acting, and you know it gave me all kinds of exercises and stuff and you know I recorded. I still have the cassette demo to this day. Um, but that training I still have it. Uh, I whip it out once in a while on a, on a, on a at a conference or something.
08:48 I'll be like check it out once in a while at a conference or something. I'll be like check it out and people are like, oh my god, is that a what's? And then the Gen Z's are like what's a J card? What look?
08:55 - Anne (Host) it up if you don't know what it is in those 30 years, though, would you say that there's been like, okay, so I do this, and then I get to this level, and then this is what I do. Next, is it like a to this level, and then this is what I do next?
09:07 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Is it like a? You know, one of the?
09:08 - Anne (Host) steps to attaining and achieving that voiceover career.
09:14 - Tom (Host) That's a great question. First off, there are no levels, there are no steps. It never gets any easier, it just turns into different types of hard.
09:22 - Anne (Host) Ah, that we can just go home now, because that I think that sums it up in a nutshell, because it is so not a linear climb. It is not, but it's something that I think that you know over time. That's why I think you have to be in it for a long time, right, so you can adjust, you can evolve, you can work with it and understand it and somewhat predict it. I don't know.
09:45 - Tom (Host) Not predictable. Oh, I wish I could predict it.
09:48 - Anne (Host) But maybe a little bit. You can make it more predictable in certain ways, right? Yes, you can. Yeah.
09:53 - Tom (Host) Yeah, Absolutely Understanding how the industry ebbs and flows understanding trends, keeping up with performance trends, keeping up with technology trends. That's a big part of the realities of a long VO career, but but yeah, let yeah. I definitely want to drive home the point that there is no linear like do this, do this, do this successful? That's not. That's not how it works. You got to get your training, you got to get a website, you got to get demos produced, you got to set up a home recording studio. Those are your pillars.
10:35 - Anne (Host) And even the intricacies of that. Changes. I think you have to have, I think what's pillars, and even the intricacies of that. Changes have a down or a lull in your business and you question everything you've ever like. You know what got you into it in the first place. You're like, oh my gosh, I don't belong here, should I? I mean, there's so many things that happen during a lull in your business because it makes you question am I good enough? Am I valid, am I to be a success in this industry? Should I just quit? Should I give it up? Should I not have quit my job? And so there's so many things that get in the way of evolving and growing in your career.
11:17 And again, this is not a linear growth. It's ups, it's downs, and sometimes you can be like, oh, I just booked that gig, and then things are amazing for a while. But then you're like, okay. Sometimes you can be like, oh, I just booked that gig, and then things are amazing for a while, but then you're like, ok, so I should be able to book the other gig, I should be able to book a gig a week now. And then you say, ok, my goal is to book 10 jobs every week. Did you ever try that? Because I tried that a long time ago. Oh, I'm going to book.
11:44 - Tom (Host) My goal is to book 10 jobs a week. I had a very specific thing to that end, which is, I thought for a very long time I needed three very specific sources of voiceover income to be successful and consistent and sustainable on an income level. One was with a regular client that I was making well over $10,000 a year with for a number of years. One was Voice123 as a source of online casting, a source of auditions and bookings, and then I was just that elusive third source and I was saying that for years and years and years and my career has evolved and gone up and down and all around that I don't think that way anymore, because what's interesting is that client that was paying me well over $10,000 for many, many years, who I still work with to this day. I've worked with them since 1997. I now book one or two clients, one or two gigs a year with them, because their business model changed and the industry of their genre changed, so therefore my relationship with them changed.
12:51 I'm still on Voice123 making great money, and there's so many factors too.
12:57 - Anne (Host) So many factors to that and I love that because it's not just about you and your skill set and your skill level. The industry changes because our clients change. Their industries change right, their jobs change. Our relationships change with the people that some people come and go from jobs, and especially when you're talking about the repeat client or clients that you've had for years, which are great, they're wonderful, they're one of the more predictable things in this industry that you can count on, but then again, you know, don't count on them all together because tomorrow they could be gone.
13:33 - Tom (Host) Right, and as you were talking, I just had a revelation.
13:37 - Anne (Host) Ah Okay. Will you disclose the revelation, Tom? Oh, no, I'm going to share.
13:42 - Tom (Host) No, I'm going to leave and run away and write a book.
13:44 - Anne (Host) No, let's go. I must go now. No revolution share.
13:47 - Tom (Host) No, I'm going to leave and run away and write a book. No, let's go, I must go now. No revolution, no, no, no, no, no. So this is one thing I've realized In the past 25 years or so of me being a voice actor roughly 50% of my voiceover income has come through e-learning, explainer, corporate, industrial, medical. That's been roughly 50% of my income this whole time, almost since the beginning.
14:10 - Anne (Host) So that's been stable.
14:11 - Tom (Host) Yes, but what hasn't been stable is the other 50%. We're talking purely on a genre level. On a genre basis On a genre level, well yay corporate explainer e-learning. Right.
14:26 - Anne (Host) All my stuff too, no-transcript.
14:50 - Tom (Host) Yeah, it's interesting because now that I'm kind of thinking through the evolution of what the other 50% has been and the other 50% hasn't been all one other genre but it's been a combination of other genres but I would say, for the first third of that years, a big part of that years, that other third was that part a big part of that other 50 was commercial. But then around from 2011, basically for like roughly 2011, and for another 10 years it turned into audiobooks, that which a big, the lion's share of that other 50 was audiobook narration, and now what a big chunk of it is is political. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so things change.
15:31 - Anne (Host) Mine is more. Yeah, I'm going to say mine is more heavier on the e-learning, just because it's what I enjoy doing E-learning, corporate explainer, all of that side. 30% commercial, but again that's the one that is super volatile, the commercial genre aspect of it. And audiobooks. I did one and I said uh-uh and I was no longer going to pursue that, and then I had other areas of my business that I found to be interesting, which obviously VO Boss was one of those. Vo Peeps was another thing and those were alternate sources of income.
16:03 But when you talk about just voiceover, the real steady part has been the size of the market in the non-broadcast long format narration genres, and I always tell people like it's just a huge market that is always needing voiceover.
16:21 And for me that's just kind of where I live, because I love it number one and I find it to be challenging intellectually and also creatively, and so that's where I choose to spend my time, pursuing income and pursuing jobs in those genres. In terms of ups and downs, yes, but there's ups and downs in those genres as well because, again, you're still trying to find the client, you're trying to, you're trying to be able to, to get the client's attention. Yes, right, I mean there's, there's. It can be a huge market, but if they don't know, you're out there, right. And then part of that is the let's try to get their attention to say, hey, I'm out here, you can hire me for that voiceover, let me audition for you, I'm available, you know I'm reliable and that sort of thing. So that's, that's got to be like a big portion of the consistency, like resilient. Being resilient and consistent I think is so important in having a long term career in this industry, resiliency and consistency.
17:26 So at the beginning- Resilient, resilient, resilient, right here on my arm.
17:29 - Tom (Host) Oh, look at that.
17:29 - Anne (Host) Resilience. Yes, resilience is on my arm, so-.
17:32 - Tom (Host) Oh, that's, I didn't know. I never noticed that.
17:34 - Anne (Host) That's crazy yeah it is definitely a plus.
17:38 - Tom (Host) So as a just a very brief recap, and then keep going, the realities of long VO career. We said training at the beginning and then I talked about genre stability working in stable genres, and then when you're talking about consistency and resilience. But you touched upon something which is also the next part of it is adapting to the realities of marketing strategies, because marketing strategies, the realities of marketing strategies.
18:06 Yeah, oh my gosh. Yes, Because marketing strategies, the effectiveness of marketing strategies, changes through the years. What worked five years ago doesn't necessarily work anymore, and what didn't work or didn't exist five years ago as a marketing strategy may be a critical part of your marketing strategies and tactics.
18:24 - Anne (Host) And see well, performance too has evolved over the years, Not quite as drastic as marketing strategies and tactics. And see well, performance too has evolved over the years, Not quite as drastic as marketing.
18:31 - Tom (Host) Performance demands evolve, Genres rise and fall and grow and ebb and flow and marketing strategies. All of this stuff evolves and changes and some stuff becomes obsolete and some stuff becomes like if you're not doing it now, you may not have a career, and then five years from now, it's going to, it's going to change on you.
18:50 - Anne (Host) And when I think about like longevity right, I think about a lot of people will be like burnout, you know, is there burnout or is there just, you know, fatigue in the actual work that's involved in running a business? I think there's think there's two different things, right. I personally feel I mean, unless you've been in it for a while and you're really like I'm gonna give this a go, right, and I'm gonna audition a hundred times a day, then you experience fatigue or burnout. I can see that for sure, because I think there's more ways to really move forward than just the auditioning on a daily basis. There's so many other things you can do in terms of marketing and business, right.
19:28 But I feel like just being consistent and being out there, because a lot of times I talk about when do clients buy? We are at the mercy of the clients needing our services. Really, we are at the mercy of the clients buying or needing our services number one, and then purchasing our services, and so, unless that need exists, right, it's hard. It's like we have to just be patient and we have to be resilient and we have to be consistent in our marketing and we also have to make sure that we're consistent in our skill set right and that we are not falling into something that we're educating ourselves along skill set right and that we are not falling into something that we're educating ourselves along the way, so that if somebody is asking for a conversational read, when the script is not written conversationally but yet we're still reading it, you know, in a way that sounds like this is what they want to hear, versus you acting, you know, and that's easy to fall into.
20:22 It's very easy to fall into that. I deal with that all the time because I teach long format narration, because you can keep somebody's attention for a sentence. But talk about keeping somebody's attention for, you know, five minutes or 10 minutes or an hour right, how are you doing that effectively, especially in today's world where you know I can barely like, I can't sit through a sitcom without scroll. You know, scrolling on barely like.
20:43 - Tom (Host) I can't sit through a sitcom without scrolling on my phone. Yeah Right, no, it's definitely a challenge and that's why continuing education with great coaches like Anne not to blatantly plug too much, Because Anne who is also a narrator, who is booking work regularly, who is reading casting notices and auditioning for stuff regularly work regularly? Who is reading casting notices and auditioning for stuff regularly? Who's?
21:05 I'm assuming you're having conversations in some capacity with your representation, you know and making cold calls and emails, and doing blog posts and social media and shooting videos. Yeah, there's so much to it, right?
21:15 - Anne (Host) There's so much more than just the audition and and I did want to just want to finish my thought on like I was talking about like, is it fatigue because you're doing 100 auditions a day, or is it burnout?
21:26 I'll be quite honest with you, I don't think the majority of people that get into this industry know how much work it takes To be quite honest, know how much work it takes to actually be successful and to do this for long term. And the people that have stuck it out, they get it, I mean, and that just becomes part of their part of their strategy, part of their resilience. And, honestly, I think a lot of people they don't give it enough of a chance and they quit before they've put in the actual work. So I don't think there's burnout, to be honest, unless you're talking about people who've been at it for 20 years, right, and they're just burnt out. But in the beginning I don't think you find people with burnout because I don't think they realize just how much work it takes and I say that one more time, tom they do not realize how much work it takes and even today for me, right, and you, it takes a lot of work.
22:17 - Tom (Host) Yeah, I mean I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. A couple years ago someone booked a free 15 minute consult with me and I'm like sure what's going on. They're like I've booked, I've done all these auditions and I just can't seem to book anything. And I'm like well, how many have you done? 40?
22:33 - Anne (Host) Yes, exactly.
22:37 - Tom (Host) And I'm such a jerk I went oh, I'm so sorry, just like I did and I apologize profusely. I'm like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I really don't mean to laugh, but you need to put two zeros on the end of that before you can really. Exactly, he was very he's like okay, thanks for your time, and he pretty much hung up on me. He was very upset and I feel bad to this day. I hope he's a successful voice actor right now. I felt really bad about that.
23:06 - Anne (Host) It's funny because people, yeah, I will say that it's kind of like the old thing, like when you invite 100 people to a party, how many people show up? Right, there's a small small percentage. Right? If you do auditions, how many? If you book how many percent of those auditions? Right, and Tom, that's something you can go back to your spreadsheet. I don't have a spreadsheet.
23:25 - Tom (Host) I did have a spreadsheet before.
23:26 - Anne (Host) I know you've got the numbers and so you could say it's a lower percentage than people think they think oh, I auditioned for 100. I should be able to book 50.
23:34 - Tom (Host) No, take a zero off of that.
23:35 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly Exactly, it is in the 1% to 2% to 3%.
23:40 - Tom (Host) If you're booking 5% of your auditions, you're doing amazing.
23:43 - Anne (Host) Oh, that's amazing. And that's even if you've been in the industry for 20 years. Yeah, exactly.
23:48 - Tom (Host) And also that percentage will go up and down based on whether the auditions are coming through your representation, which there may be a lot less people auditioning for it, or if it's coming through an online casting site, especially if it's like a free online casting site, like if you're on Casting Call Club or something where literally thousands of people are auditioning, you know or if it's through your self-marketing strategies, where you're one of a handful of people with of your demographic on some production company's roster and you're one of three or four people that are auditioning. So the percentages will go up and down. But if you average the whole thing out, yeah, if you're doing 5%, you're doing really, really well.
24:23 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and I'm going to say, I'm going to say a big part of that again, it runs into this whole mindset. That I think is a huge part of success in long-term success is mindset Because, again in the beginning, when you're like, oh my gosh, i've've auditioned 40 times and I didn't get anything, or I auditioned 100 times, you know what I mean? I got a short list and so that whole thing in the very beginning of my career myself, right was hard. I had to fight through it. I had to fight, I had to make sure that I was like no, no, no, no. I am confident in my skills, I'm confident that I can do this, and I think that your mental mindset has a lot to do with your success and in sticking it out right Again and pushing through the lean times, pushing through the times where even you know I did a great audition, I could have been the perfect voice, yet I still did not get the job, understanding that people cast for many different reasons. It's not all to do with your skill or performance.
25:28 - Tom (Host) I agree. I need to make one more very important point, which is the reason why I'm able to still be in the voiceover industry, because there was a time when my income was fluctuating wildly and then kind of downshifted. This is one thing. That this is, bosses. If there's one thing I want you to take away from this conversation, it's this. It's that decision makers they make decisions in certain ways over who they're going to cast, why they're going to cast them and how they're going to cast them. That changes over time. So in the 90s there were no online casting sites. It was agents. So either you had an agent or you didn't. And self-marketing I was making in the 90s I was making 50 cold calls a day. A lot of people didn't really even have email.
26:22 Nobody knew what that was, so the decision makers in the 90s right were agents and managers which I didn't get representation for a very long time.
26:30 - Anne (Host) I didn't get my first quality, consistent rep until 2005. Yep, yep. I think it was 2006. Before that, it was 2006.
26:37 - Tom (Host) Okay, and then you know, and then it evolved into email, so I'll put it. So it's like this You're a voice seeker, you're a decision maker and you're looking in this direction and saying this is how I decide, this is how I cast voice actors. They've got these horse blinders on. This is the point where they're facing. You need to be right there in their view, being like how you doing With your demos in their hand, with the marketing and whatever, but there's going to come a point and this happens for almost all of them that at some point they're going to be like nope, this is how I make voiceover decisions now.
27:10 This is how I cast Often, and in the early 2000s to this day it's shifted where now they're looking at online casting sites. So if the view of the decision makers goes from here and it moves in the spot, let's say it's a spotlight. If that spotlight goes over here and you're not in that spotlight, they're not booking you. You need to go from there to there to be like how you doing? Because now the spotlight's shining on you, because this is where they're making decisions on how to cast, and then it'll shift again. And it'll shift again. Agents, managers, casting directors, free casting sites, pay-to-play casting sites, self-marketing strategies indirect and indirect and AI.
27:53 - Anne (Host) And I always think, like we are so isolated in our booths, right, and we're auditioning, we're like, but I've got the skillset, but I'm not getting the work right, or whatever mindset tricks you're playing on yourself. You still cannot forget that our profession is guided by the clients who hire us. Right, they're decision makers, Like, what is like, where are they hiring? How are they hiring, is it? You know? They're busy people, we're busy people.
28:21 I mean I would say that life, the pacing of this life, just gets quicker and quicker and quicker, and so some of them still rely on talent agents or their agents or casting directors to help them make decisions. Some of them are like I just need to Google at the prompt and find someone. And it really depends on who is hiring us, really depends on who is hiring us. And don't forget to educate yourself and practice resilience and strategies to get to those people and understand why they hire us, why they may not hire us and how you can get in front of them. And I love that example of the spotlight, tom, because that just makes a whole lot of sense. You've got to be in their field of vision in order for that to happen, and there can be many reasons as to why you're not, but understanding and educating yourself and evolving along with the industry and being knowledgeable in more ways than just performance. There's a lot to be said for that.
29:13 Yeah, because you know what Cold calls worked, and then they don't work, and then emails work, and then they don't work, and then newsletters work, and then they don't work. And then emails come back a little bit, and then they work again. And then postcards work, and then newsletters work, and then they don't work back a little bit, and then they work again, and then postcards work, and then they don't work.
29:24 - Tom (Host) Yeah, exactly texting works, and then social media works, and then it doesn't work and then they go to a different social media platform that you were on exactly now.
29:31 - Anne (Host) They're tired of you know, like ai, they try ai and then they.
29:35 - Tom (Host) Then they get off of ai and you know it's, it never stops, which is why you make sure that and this is a big word and make sure that legacy thinking does not stagnate your voiceover career. Legacy thinking destroys careers.
29:50 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. You have to have a broader and you have to have a broader sense of the business of voiceover to really understand and have longevity. Now there's very few people who maybe started off in the beginning. They're super talented, they're in a big market, they've got a manager right or an agent that is going to bat for them, and so you know that's a different story, but I would say that's maybe less than 1% of the total voiceover population where that's happening.
30:20 Other than that, you have to be, have your eye on the ball, you have to have your eye, you have to be in that spotlight, as Tom says, that moving, rotating spotlight. You have to be educated about that spotlight and I'm going to say that good, I'm going to say trusted people in the industry that you are have a relationship with good coaches, good agents, good managers, and your community is so important to help you to be successful. It is an isolating job, right, this is such an isolated. We're in our booths, we're by ourselves, and I know that it was a big adjustment for me when I went full time into voiceover versus, you know, having my corporate job where I went to the office every day. I had kind of a social interaction with my colleagues and my you know my teammates. And now, all of a sudden, I'm by myself and I have myself and my thoughts Scary. And my thoughts can be scary sometimes, especially when I'm doubting right, why am I not booking Right? Why?
31:18 And those thoughts can be destructive in a successful voiceover career. So the mental part of it, the resilience, the strategizing, is, I think, almost well. You can't really have a career without having good performance skills and good business skills. But also, if your mental health is not there and your community is not there to support you, your loved ones aren't there to support you, your loved ones aren't there to support you and encourage you, it's going to be really hard because it's an isolating industry and you know, thank goodness for the conferences, right, and the little get-togethers that we can have. I mean, we're just, we're like hungry people when we go to conferences. We're all like you know, we can't get enough of each other right. Seeing each other after all this time and really that community is, I think, a big part of what can help you to be successful in a long-term voiceover career.
32:11 - Tom (Host) I think you're right, anne. I think that's one of the most important ingredients to a successful long-term career is to be a part of the community for education, for inspiration, for commiseration and for renewal of purpose.
32:23 - Anne (Host) Exactly, yeah. So, bosses, we are part of a community, so I encourage you to be a part of a community. Be a part of Tom's community and really we will get through this and 20 years from now, we will still be God willing, if the technology doesn't, God willing if the creek don't rise, as the old people say.
32:44 God willing, we will still be here. We'll still be here doing voiceover and the stuff that we love, or, even if it's not voiceover, it's something that we love and that we still have our community. And so, what a great conversation, guys. Keep going. A marathon, not a sprint. Keep going. We've got faith in you and we've got a community here that can support you. Tom and I are here, so, bosses, reach out if you need, and we've got you All right. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses real bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week, bosses, and we'll see you next week.
33:21 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry-revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne Ganguzza sits down with Billy Collura, a powerhouse agent with over 30 years at CESD New York. Billy shares his unique perspective on the dramatic evolution of the voice acting industry, from the early days of union-only radio spots to the current market dominated by non-union and digital opportunities. This conversation provides essential insight into the biggest voice acting trends that have shaped the industry and reveals the simple, authentic quality that makes a voice actor successful today.
00:03 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, it's Anne from VO Boss here.
00:06 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And it's George the Tech. We're excited to tell you about the VO Boss. Vip membership, now with even more benefits.
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00:23 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) You got it. I'll help you tackle all those tricky tech issues so you can focus on what you do best Voice acting. It's tech support tailored for voiceover professionals like you.
00:34 - Anne (Host) Join us guys at VO Boss and let's make your voiceover career soar. Visit vobosscom slash VIP-membership to sign up today.
00:43 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Slash VIP-membership to sign up today. It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:08 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am thrilled to welcome someone who truly defines what it means to be a powerhouse in the voiceover industry. With more than 30 years at CESD New York, Billy Collura has been at the forefront of commercials and beyond, representing talent with a direct and grounded approach that has earned him the trust of clients and voice actors alike. I think it's fair to say that he doesn't just follow the changes in the business. He really helps to shape them. So, Billy, I am so excited to have you here on the podcast.
01:44 - Billy (Host) Thank you for asking me. Yeah, this is so nice, yeah.
01:47 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love it, and of course we're like on opposite coasts here, so you're on my home coast and so I do miss New York quite a bit and we did have a little.
01:58 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) How often do you get out here, pardon me, do you get out here often?
02:00 - Billy (Host) Do you ever get out. You know what?
02:01 - Anne (Host) Not as often as I should. I really have now started to say I'm only coming out during the warm season because I'm done with the snow. Yeah, I hear you. But I would imagine like do you travel like elsewhere in the wintertime in New York, Because I know I stay here.
02:22 - Billy (Host) I travel a lot in general um during the course of the year, but um you know, I right now I'm upstate in well. I'm up in the Hudson Valley and in the city of Hudson, which is two hours North of Manhattan, so I go back and forth Um in the winter time. No, I'm usually, I don't know, I'm usually in the Northeast sometimes.
02:43 - Anne (Host) Okay, Are you a skier? Are you a skier? No, absolutely not, Absolutely not. That was, that was what a lot. What kept a lot of people on the East coast? Um, in my area anyways, they're like oh no, I have to be able to ski in the winter.
02:56 - Billy (Host) No, I don't like the cold.
02:57 - Anne (Host) Well, I have a. I have a mountaineer in California, Uh huh.
03:00 - Billy (Host) Uh-huh.
03:02 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh. Well, anyways, it's so nice to see you again. It's been a while. I saw you at VO Atlanta and I'm just really thrilled that I have the opportunity to talk to you. I know how busy you are, but I'm just so excited that the bosses are going to get this opportunity to really benefit from your wisdom. And so, benefiting from the wisdom speaking of that, you've been at CESD for over three decades. Um, that's, that's amazing. So how would you say that your role as an agent has evolved during that time?
03:37 - Billy (Host) Well, you know like it started when I started. Um, it'll be. Um, it'll be 32 years in May. Oh my gosh, when I started, voiceover was a smaller industry and I dabbled in a little bit of everything, okay.
03:55 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I did commercials.
03:57 - Billy (Host) There really wasn't. There was no internet back then. So we did radio and TV commercials and industrials and I'm not even sure cable was around when.
04:08 - Anne (Host) I started. I hear you. You know we didn't have computers, any of that.
04:13 - Billy (Host) So we did a little bit of everything. And then, you know, and promos, promos were a thing, and narration and trailers, and so, you know, we did a little bit of all of that. And then, as the industry kept getting bigger and bigger, we started specializing. And all of a sudden, in animation, I dabbled in gaming, but I also, you know, but pretty much my focus was commercials, because that's where the money is, you know, and that was the day where it was just, you know, it was just TV and radio, and you made the actors made a lot of money. Yeah, it was only union, we only worked on union jobs. And now fast forward to now, where 60% to 70% of my desk is non-union. We started doing non-union in 2019. Okay, the union opportunities have pretty much dried up, and I say that, but it's ebb and flow.
05:22 I mean right now this year it was a slow summer for some reason. It was like the old days, it was really slow and I mean that union and non-union. And then I go away on vacation and it just like exploded while I was away and I've been and since then I've been playing catch up and it's been so busy with union, lots of union stuff with non union. Yeah, so it's been great there.
05:49 Yeah. So I mean that's changed and I guess for me what's changed for me is because now I specialize much more on commercials. I do have a few non-union accounts, but I have my large union study accounts, steady accounts. Um, so most of my work, uh is you know, is in the commercial world. I also happen to handle the audio books, but I always say I'm not an audio book agent. I'm the agent at CESD that handles the audio books.
06:18 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So it's a little difference.
06:20 - Billy (Host) Um so, but the audio book, what I do love about it. You know an an an agent who left um cause she was having. She got married and had babies and she said, take the audio books. They're the nicest people in the world. And I got to say they really are, and so I've kept it.
06:36 I love it. The people are so nice. Um, I really, really enjoy it. So that you know, so I I've been doing that. I also do ADR and loop group stuff, again very specialized, and there really aren't a lot of industrials. Now I know some of the other. I'm one of five, six agents in the department and then there's another two agents that work with agencies that cater to medical industrials.
07:04 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So they're doing I don't do personally.
07:05 - Billy (Host) I don't do a lot of industrials. I think a lot of the industrials have gone to the pay-to-play sites, so but the union stuff, the medical ones, they are still at the big agencies. I just personally don't happen to have those. I would say maybe the commercial aspect of right Healthcare like pharmaceuticals and that sort of thing is huge and more and more of those blue chip companies are going non-union and those rates are you know.
07:34 - Anne (Host) Sure. What do you attribute that? Why is that happening? What do?
07:39 - Billy (Host) you attribute it to is when it started, when digital work started happening, and these great companies, the Droga5s and there was so many, that's just the first one they were doing great work with the digital work. You know, they were just with stuff before even streaming, when they were just doing they were making commercials for digital work and they were doing fine work. They were doing really good work and these companies, these blue chip companies, were saying, hey, you did that for this much money, why don't you just take all of our network stuff? And that's how I remember, like 10, 12 years ago, a large fast food chain started going, you know, went totally non-union. And then the large fast food chain started going, went totally non-union.
08:25 Then there would be some that because they had a celebrity voice on certain spots, and then they would get a third party and more and more I feel like these agencies, these digital agencies, just kept getting better and better at it and the actors were getting better and better at it. And it's not like the cable stations that you see up here that you know these infomercial things that you know that you can tell it's non-union. You know I've fallen and I can't get up kind of stuff. These. They're doing great work.
08:56 - Anne (Host) I can't tell, are they doing great work because they have great actors or are they doing great work because the entire production value of it?
09:05 - Billy (Host) Yes.
09:06 - Anne (Host) Yes, yes, you know, people are getting better at it.
09:09 - Billy (Host) The voiceover people certainly, and it's not even I mean the voiceover so many people. Covid just changed the game and everybody you know voiceover was the one business in town that didn't shut down during.
09:23 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) COVID.
09:24 - Anne (Host) And every I always say every jaboni with a mic, you know, just set up a studio at home and said I'm going to do voiceover, and not only you know they were well-established Broadway and TV and film you know everybody was doing it and that's and that's so interesting because I would say the majority of people that you know cause I was I was super busy coaching during COVID and I just had so many people that just wanted to like make the demos and get into the industry. But I had a lot more of the talent that were more beginner right to intermediate. But I would imagine that with COVID, with celebrities right them wanting to get into voiceover because what else was there? Because they weren't able to go into a studio, and so I would say that a good portion of that, I would say a good portion of people that were getting those jobs, were probably the celebrities right.
10:27 - Billy (Host) Absolutely coaching. You know they just kept getting better and better at it. And you know, and, and we're willing to work for low wages, I mean that's the other thing. And you know we always say somebody takes a job for $100. You know it's just a race to the bottom. Yeah, you know, if you're gonna add, because you know we don't work on the non union stuff, we don't work on the non-union stuff, we don't work on certain things. I won't work on stuff just because it's not worth my time.
10:48 - Anne (Host) Sure.
10:49 - Billy (Host) And I don't mean to be like, oh, but $250 is a lot to some people. Oh yeah, for all the work that I have to go into it, for me to do it and have my assistant do it and doing the editing to maybe get it, it's just not worth it. But I do. I mean that's usually. My threshold is 250.
11:10 - Anne (Host) And I understand that because I always tell people, because I do a lot of non-broadcast narration, coaching and demos, and I'm always telling people they're like, well, I want an agent. I'm like, well, an agent doesn't get excited about non-broadcast stuff because it's a one and done thing. You don't make your money on that, and so typically you want to have a tip top commercial demo because that's where they're going to be making their money with the residuals and and that sort of a thing. So would you do? You think it has to do with the sheer volume of people that got into voiceover as well. If you've got enough, you know, if you throw spaghetti against the wall right there, some of them will stick. And so then I started to drive down. I'm going to say it started to drive down maybe the prices, uh, or people willing to do the work for less, because it just got to be competitive.
11:56 - Billy (Host) It did.
11:57 There's so many people doing it now, so many people, and especially in the non-union world, there's so many opportunities out there and you know, with the pay to plays and I've kind of changed my tune a little on the pay to plays and I kind of see they're there for a reason. They're a great, you know, tool for learning, for getting the experience, for the auditioning. And I and I learned recently when I was at a conference in Holland and met the CEO from Voices 123. And I learned that they love to put people together and to put the actor and the company together. Take it off the platform and do your thing.
12:41 They don't want to micromanage, like there are other pay-to-plays that micromanage everything.
12:45 But I really found that you know, oh, that's really nice, and then people can make money that way. They're not interested, they're just interested in making the match. So, but, that being said, there are so many people that are doing this now and, yeah, driving down the prices because you know, they may be this may not be their full-time gig, it just may be a side hustle for them. So, yeah, sure, an extra $200, an extra $100, an extra $350. That can accumulate. But unfortunately then they're like well, you did it last time for $100. Why can't you? So it's hard, it's hard.
13:21 - Anne (Host) It is, but would you say that the amount of jobs is diminishing or no, it's just as volume you know, I don't see volume as normal.
13:33 - Billy (Host) I'm busy, you know, but I don't know, like, like I said, this summer was slow with the opportunities, with the, with the auditions. I find that my casting directors, my union casting, just my casting directors in general, um, they, you know, I have some that are busier than others, some I will hear from, you know, once every other month, and then some I will hear from three or four times a week. You know, um, so it's and it's all you know. There's no logic to it.
14:03 - Anne (Host) And then on the um isn't that the truth. Yeah, and then um after all these years, wouldn't you think like you could? You could predict, you know.
14:14 - Billy (Host) I would say to actors you know, I'm not booking, it's just one phone call, it's one job, don't forget. They're only picking one person, but yeah, yeah, picking one person. You, yeah, you know, only picking one person you know and you don't know.
14:25 - Anne (Host) That's a way to put it in perspective. Actually, if you think about it, but in 400,.
14:30 - Billy (Host) You know how many people are auditioning.
14:31 That's why with select VO. You know that only allows you X amount of people to submit. So if they, if the agency says, if they invite you and they say you can only submit three people per role, they won't let you submit a fourth person. So you really have to be smart and we're not the type of agency that will send you know to ten people and then, sophie's Choice, the three that I want. You know, I don't believe in that. I don't. I feel it's a waste of time of the actor. It's certainly a waste of time for my assistant and for me to have to listen to, then you have to listen to them Exactly.
15:10 - Anne (Host) What's the point, you know, and so that translates to me to a good relationship with everybody that's on your roster, absolutely, that that knowledge of their capabilities and you can communicate, uh, back and forth to make sure that the two of you are are, you know, keeping up with one another, and you would be the one that say, okay, I'm going to handpick this audition and send this to this many people, because you're the one that has to do the work right To send it the top three, to the. So the client.
15:43 - Billy (Host) Yeah, absolutely so. It's my reputation and there are some casting directors that you know they will.
15:48 I will submit a list and they will pick who they want to hear you know, back up, if I lose, or if we lose somebody, who else would you like? Or, you know, sometimes they'll say these are the three I want to hear. Send me one of your choice that maybe I, somebody, I don't know, um, and then there are certain casting directors that will micromanage and they have to. They, you know they will only see these people and they're, you know, not flexible. But it just kind of makes me a better agent.
16:14 - Anne (Host) That's why we're.
16:15 - Billy (Host) Cesd is an exclusive agency. We don't oversign in the union or non-union world. We're still building up our non-union roster. You know we're still doing that, but that's where we have the most amount of opportunities. You know, in the non-union world, Sure, Plain and simple.
16:34 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. So what would you say after all these years? What's kept you loving your job?
16:42 - Billy (Host) Because it's different every day. You know, that's the— that's the thing. I never know what's ahead of me. So I, you know, I just love. Every day there's some, there's a new challenge, there's something new. Also, recently I have a new assistant who I adore and I love teaching him. He's a little sponge and he wants to learn.
17:09 And so that kind of inspires me to want to teach him, and you know so that that is. I guess that's the difference, and also being able to, because the business has changed. Remotely, you know, I can start earlier, I'm not in the office, I I can work later, you know. It just kind of like the whole. It's such I don't want to say a relaxed, but I feel I feel more relaxed Now. It could be because I've been doing this for a hundred years, but I just feel relaxed, I enjoy what I do. I don't feel the pressure. I don't feel like there's no such thing as a voiceover emergency If somebody screws up or, you know, if I've given you know there's no such thing.
17:51 - Anne (Host) Bravo to that. I always say there's never a VO emergency.
17:54 - Billy (Host) No, there's never a first you know, if something went wrong, don't freak out. How?
17:59 - Anne (Host) do we fix it? How do we?
18:00 - Billy (Host) fix it, that's all you know.
18:02 - Anne (Host) Now, that's from your perspective. What about your client, your casting director? Your client's perspective? Are there VO emergencies? Yeah, there could be, that's on them, not on me. Yeah, okay, I love that.
18:13 - Billy (Host) I don't, you know, I wanna help fix the problem, you know, sure so. And I mean, yeah, you know, it's always something. Fortunately I haven't had any of those emergencies in a while. But you know, the other night I was it was nine o'clock my time and an LA. It was an LA agency booking a client. She happened to be on the West coast, so it worked out okay, but it was nine 30. And I was like you know, I'm old, I can't stay up. And then I thought, and I got a text from the casting director she goes we want to book so-and-so. I left all the information on the email. So I was like, oh well, I have to finish Gilded Age, this episode, and then, as soon as I'm done, I will get on my computer.
18:56 - Anne (Host) I love it, that's great?
18:59 - Billy (Host) I guess yeah. So that's what keeps me going. The relationship with my clients, I don't. It's different because back in the day, actors used to come into the office to audition. West Coast was different because you guys were MP3ing long before, because you all wouldn't get in a car and drive a half hour to the studio.
19:20 - Anne (Host) But in New York, well, because of the traffic.
19:24 - Billy (Host) Yeah, yeah, and that's why you couldn't get to three auditions back in the day, but it was our job in New York to get you, you know, to get you from the Upper West Side down to Wall.
19:34 - Anne (Host) Street over to Midtown yeah, I know so many voice actors who still um go into studios to audition in New York. I mean, I almost don't hear about it anymore, except for well, I'm sorry, excuse me to go into the go on for booking.
19:48 - Billy (Host) No for bookings, they will.
19:49 - Anne (Host) They encourage that now but I have heard people in the last couple of years. I mean it's not every day, but sometimes they are going in. I don't know if it's to audition or if it's to actually do the job it's usually you know there's one or two the studios.
20:03 - Billy (Host) You know a couple of the studios that do auditioning, because that's what changed? Oh, okay, that makes sense, like all the advertising agencies that were in-house casting directors and those casting directors ended up going to the studios in New York and they have in-house casting directors, so they will encourage the Sonic Unions. The. Headrooms the Sound Lounges they will encourage hey, if the client is local to New York, boom, have them come in. Oh, that makes sense. And it kind of opened up because not everybody got SourceConnect especially our older clients.
20:40 It wasn't cost effective for them for that one audition every other month. It wasn't so the foreign language people, they weren't getting it because there weren't enough opportunities. But especially I I want to say the older clients they really weren't getting so this kind of opened up. If you lived in New York you could still send an MP3 and you're able to go to Sound Lounge for the booking that was always that's always a nice caveat.
21:06 - Anne (Host) So I'm sure people ask you this all the time. Commercial voiceover has changed, evolved over the years. Advertisers have changed how they buy and consumers have changed, I think, how they listen. What would you say is what sort of things have changed in terms of trends for commercial VO? What are you looking for now that maybe is different than what was relevant maybe five, even five or 10 years ago, Because I know probably you're going to say like 30 years ago it was more of that announcer sort of style, it was promo. But you know, maybe five, 10 years ago, what has changed?
21:43 - Billy (Host) You know, it was the, you know, when I first started. It was the time, when, you know, Demi Moore started with Keds and there was that raspy, damaged sound that has kind of you know, demi Moore started with kids and she there was that raspy damage sound that has, kind of you know, was such a thing for so long and our and I know our women back then, you know, were the most successful.
22:04 - Anne (Host) I coveted that which is not a part of my genetic makeup at all. I'm like I can't, I can't get a raspy.
22:11 - Billy (Host) No, if you don't, you know you can't put oh, I woke up with a, you know, with a sore throat today. I sound great I should audition. No, you shouldn't. Exactly. So that was. You know, that was always the thing and yeah, it was the rough and tough announcers and you know all those, all those guys, and then that kind of went away and it was the John Corbett kind of sound and he was you.
22:31 he stuck around for a long time as a prototype and now it's Paul Rudd and Rashida Jones and then. So those trends kind of changed. But then about 10 years ago, everything you know really were, it was people of color. You know they wanted voices for actors and that really opened up a wide, you know a wider net. There was no general market anymore because they used to say, you know, they were very specific, we want a Caucasian voice. But now you only see that if you're doing a demo for the on-camera and the on-camera actor happens to be a certain color. But they want authenticity. I remember you know getting. Now, everybody, especially in the union world, they want authenticity. I remember you know getting. You know everybody, especially in the union world, they all want to check boxes. You know, yeah, yeah, they, yeah, so they, you know it's all ethnicities. You know we want non-binary people and I'm like what does a non-binary person sound?
23:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) like I don't, it took me you know.
23:29 - Billy (Host) Then I realized oh, they don't really, they're just checking off boxes, but for the, you know, for the African-American community, they were in vogue. They were, you know, I would get breakdowns, all ethnicities, and the prototypes would be Viola Davis, Tiffany Haddish and Angela.
23:49 Bassett, Do the math you know, so that was a thing. And Angela Bassett do the math. You know, so that was a thing. And I think you know, I still think that that is happening. But I'm finding a trend like that is kind of changing, where general market is truly general market. Now they want, you know, it's everybody, it's everything.
24:09 - Anne (Host) That's great. Yes, I love to hear that.
24:12 - Billy (Host) That's the way it should have been, but unfortunately it was so the other way for so long and then it shifted and now it's kind of evening out.
24:21 - Anne (Host) Sure.
24:21 - Billy (Host) Sure, I don't know.
24:23 - Anne (Host) Well, I mean, that's what I was thinking would happen at some point. Right, it would even out and it's kind of nice to hear that that's happening.
24:31 I mean, I wouldn't want it to go another extreme you know, at all, you know, and especially because the world's a little chaotic right now and I know that it's affecting companies and their advertising, and so that to me says gosh, I hope that there's still as much opportunity for everybody as there ever was. And so that's just one of those things where I think if there was a slow part of the season, maybe it's people, you know. I think there's companies trying to gauge like what's happening and what's going to be what's going to work for them in terms of advertising.
25:08 And it's not so much the voice, but the whole, the whole thing, yeah, the whole, all of it On camera, all of it, all of it. How are they going to advertise it to be effective?
25:18 - Billy (Host) And I think you know, and I think that and this is just me I feel like voice wise, I feel that the union world is more tries to check the boxes, much more than the non-union world.
25:32 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) I truly than the non-union world.
25:33 - Billy (Host) I truly believe the non-union world they're gonna pick the best voice for the job, no matter what ethnicity you are.
25:41 I find, and I just because of the actors that I speak with, not only because I speak with my non-union actors in general so much more, just simply because there's so much opportunity there. But I notice, with my union actors I just don't A I don't really have that many opportunities for them. But you know it is. I speak to certain ones more, a lot more than the others. But I don't find that, I find it much broader in the non-union world. I mean it's a different and I've learned so much about the non-union world. I mean it's a different and I've learned so much about the, the non-union community and how. You know how different it is. I feel that it is much more I don't know how to say it. It's much more of a community, I feel.
26:27 I feel that they, they really are supportive of each other, they help each other. It's not as competitive or as petty competitive as it can sometimes be in the union world, it's just, and I think it's fabulous that they really everybody's out to help each other much more in that community.
26:52 - Anne (Host) Well, that's refreshing to hear. I like that from you, Absolutely. So then for you, for talent on your roster. What sort of qualities are you looking for in any talent that might appear on your roster? You know what's funny.
27:06 - Billy (Host) When I first started, you know, when COVID happened first thing, when I and I did a lot of these classes, first thing I was like, obviously the first thing was do you have SourceConnect? You know if?
27:17 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) you have SourceConnect, because so few?
27:18 - Billy (Host) people did.
27:19 - Anne (Host) You went right to the top of my list.
27:22 - Billy (Host) Yeah, if you had SourceConnect, and then it's, you know, and then it's just about reading the copy, and that's the same basic thing is, how do you read copy? Some of my most successful people, my white actors over 40, I have a couple of them and they just read copy. So well, I don't know what it is, they just they're just, they're just great they were. And so, yeah, there's. You can't teach it, it's, you know, it's just natural. This one particular guy, yeah, does he have that Paul Rudd feel to him? Just that guy next door, just that real comfortable, relaxed, nothing pushed, that's how he is in life and that's how it comes across Right, right. Oh, there was something else.
28:06 Oh, I did this one class and there was this woman, you know, like late 20s white woman, and there was just something. I was on a panel, I was one of three people and, oh my God, she was. There was just something about her read that made me crazy and like the next day I was like I have, you know, I want to set you up. I love you, you know, I love you the best. And now, here we are. I love you, know, I love you the best, and now here we are, fast forward to probably a little more than a year. She is one of my most successful actresses on my roster. And what is it about her? I don't know. She's just fabulous. You know, she just, she just reads. It's just, it's honest.
28:50 - Anne (Host) So I'm always looking for that honest. I like that honest, yeah, authentic, yeah. And I like, with that honest, I like that honest, yeah, authentic, yeah. And I like how you know we've heard for for so long right, bring you to the party, bring you to the party, it's that. I think that's so important. And and we throw it around like, oh yeah, okay, I can bring me, but and yet so many people still try to perform, uh and and if they really can just stop in their own head and and just bring themselves to the party because, like you and I like talk like there's something about like I really like Billy, and it's, it's, it's like an intangible thing and it's your personality, right, it's, it's how we connect.
29:23 - Billy (Host) And I think that's what's so right away. The first time we met, we would just like exactly.
29:30 - Anne (Host) I think that's the same thing for voice actors. If you can, you know, if, if you've got a great personality and you're like one of those people that you can connect with right away, I mean that's what I think we're looking for, that authenticity it's you're not trying to, you know, push anything and and this is who you are and I love to hear that, because I keep telling people gosh, you are enough. I mean it really is. Please don't try to be anything other than yourself, because I really like you.
29:55 - Billy (Host) Yes, and so many voice actors. They forget that.
30:00 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) you know this is acting and I said you know you got to get out of your head into your gut.
30:05 - Billy (Host) Whether you're selling peas for 99 cents, it doesn't matter. You have to be, you know, honest and authentic with it, so important. Now I have to ask the question authentic with it, so important?
30:14 - Anne (Host) Now I have to ask the question because you know probably everybody does. And what do you think about the threat of AI in the industry, and especially now that there's? It's not even just voice, it's on camera too.
30:27 - Billy (Host) Yeah, yeah. So I mean, we keep our eye on it. We read every contract, we read every contract, we read every breakdown. You know SAG is doing their best. Bless their hearts.
30:42 You know, nava is you know, above and beyond, what they're doing with the rules and the legislation and what they're doing. You know it's coming, it's not going away and it's going to get better and better. So we just try to keep our eyes and ears on everything and try to follow the rules and say, nope, large deal right now. And there was a huge component with um. They wanted an AI replica and fortunately, the person um doing it was like no, I've heard replicas of my voice and they're not, and they never sound as good as the real thing.
31:27 - Anne (Host) Um, so that's a really interesting point because I know for a fact that that's true, because I, you know back in the day. Well, back a few years ago, I started really delving deep into that and researching companies and how they made voices, and I've heard a lot of voices and there are some people who are amazing actors but yet their voice doesn't translate. Well, either it's the AI technology that has not given, it's just it's not doing the right thing for them and, yeah, it doesn't translate.
31:56 - Billy (Host) Yeah, and he said no, I, I will not. It's my, it's my voice, it's my reputation, and I will be available whenever they need me. They were like well, what in case he's what? You know? What if he's away on vacation?
32:08 - Anne (Host) Yeah, he said there are no VO emergencies. No, there are no VO emergencies, Right, there's no VO emergencies.
32:15 - Billy (Host) So yeah, so are we concerned about it? Yeah, am I concerned, absolutely, but you know I can't lose sleep over it.
32:23 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) It's coming.
32:24 - Billy (Host) You know, it's coming, and so we just have to manage it and make it work to our advantage.
32:30 - Anne (Host) Yes, I agree, I agree, I and make it work to our advantage. Yes, I agree, I agree, I love that. So I'm very excited because you're going to be doing a class for us, a VO Boss workshop, in November. As a matter of fact, it's going to be November 12th. Can you tell us a little bit about what we're going to be doing in that class?
32:48 - Billy (Host) Well, what I usually do is I like to just kind of give my spiel about what I've been doing and I guess the do's and don'ts of the proper way to get in touch with an agent, what to expect, what not to expect from you know. Once you're submitting to an agent, I just try to, I try to just say the things you know, kind of give the tips that actors need to know. You know what's proper, what's not, what's gonna get you. You know what's gonna get you seen, what's gonna get you heard. You know what makes it easy for me, the agent.
33:24 And I've come to also realize that it works differently from agency to agency. So I can only speak to what works for me, um, at CESD, um, but we'll, you know, I'll talk about that and I'll just talk about my feelings on on what it takes, what tools you're going to need and I mean like literal tools, what kind of demos you're going to need, that sort of stuff. Do a little Q and a and then read some copy, you know and anybody that does come to the class.
33:54 um, it's gotta be commercial copy, because that's that's what I do, you know um. I, I'm, I'm not going to be able to judge you on your animation copy or you know that kind of stuff. That's not really what I do. So we'll, you know, we'll do that and we'll tear it apart and hopefully get to two pieces within the class.
34:14 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that. We'll see. Yay, well, I'm very excited for that and, bosses, I'll be putting a link so that you can sign up for it, because I'm quite sure it's going to go quickly. Now my last question is because you said you're in upstate New York and I, you know, I have my own, like my own, nostalgic memories of upstate New York, and so, for me, I'd be riding a horse, you know, in in the countryside. So if you weren't an agent, philly, what would you be doing right now? Oh God, would you have a different career? Would you be retired and riding horses, or?
34:49 - Billy (Host) Yeah, well, you know, I've only had three different jobs in my life, okay, well, you know, other than high school jobs. I was an actor slash waiter, and then I became an agent. You know Like I've been it's you know. So I moved to New York to be an actor and that didn't happen, but I always kind of I was. I had a friend who was a commercial casting director and so I used to go in and help him out at the casting calls.
35:20 That was back in the days of Polaroids and signing up and I really was fascinated by it. And he would you know. And he kept saying there's an opening at this agency. Do you want to go? And I would go and audition, you know, to be an assistant. Sure, and then boom, boom, boom.
35:35 And then, it just so happens, he said CED, because we weren't CESD at that point it was looking to expand the voiceover department and was I interested, and my partner at the time said go and audition. I mean go and audition, apply for the job, cause one of these days you will make more money than me. And so you know. And um and so um, and now, every year, every year. I'm still in touch with him and I call him and I say thank you, greggy, for allowing me to have this job.
36:08 - Anne (Host) Here's my annual income report allowing me to have this job.
36:11 - Billy (Host) Here's my annual income report yes, so anyway, yeah. So I've thought about this. What do I do? I'm too old to be a waiter.
36:23 - Anne (Host) I'm not going to go back, though I think I would be really good at it.
36:25 - Billy (Host) I have these- I agree, actually, you've got the social I think I could do. Yeah, so do I go. But when I retire, whenever that is, I want to social. I think I could do. Yeah, you know, so do I go. But you know, when I retire, you know, whenever that is, I'm on a travel. I just love to travel, that's, that's my thing. So you know. You know, I feel like when this is behind me, that I will, you know, I'll just travel. I'm not going to be on a horse up here, but I always had.
36:50 You know, sometimes I've had, you know, I don't know if I even want another. You know job and I'm at that point now where you know, I'm old and I don't want another career. It's not like I'm. You know, I'm going to be an artist, or you know, I once thought I thought well, maybe I'll just go do community theater somewhere.
37:07 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I have a friend.
37:08 - Billy (Host) I have a friend, interestingly enough, a little older than I am, lives in Chicago and he started taking an acting class just for the hell of it.
37:16 - Anne (Host) For the hell of it.
37:17 - Billy (Host) And he said, the others they love it because they have somebody to play the old man in all those scenes. And I thought, oh my God, that's great, I could do that. Yeah, I love that. I thought yeah, why not community theater you? Know, if that was it. Now there's no community theater in New York City, so if that's where I retire, you know. But if I was to retire up here, you know that would interest me, and you know because I am a lover of theater, so I do.
37:46 - Anne (Host) Yeah, Well, I feel like you kept yourself in the acting world, you know by being an agent I mean in that you know, it's still like a. It's still you're very much immersed in it, and so I feel like, if that was your one love, you came to New York, by the way. Where did you come from?
38:02 - Billy (Host) I grew up in Waltham Massachusetts, oh okay. Okay yeah, just a little outside of. Boston.
38:07 - Anne (Host) Yeah, very familiar with it. I went.
38:09 - Billy (Host) Yeah, I grew up in Waltham and then I went to UMass, Amherst and then to New York.
38:14 - Anne (Host) That was my. Oh, fantastic, yeah, there you go. Well, my gosh, it has been such a pleasure chatting with you today. I mean, I could go on. I feel like we could go on, but at some point, I do have to quit at some point.
38:32 But yeah, thank you so so much for sharing your wisdom. It's been really a joy talking with you. I'm so excited for November. Guys, bosses, remember November 12th. Get yourself to vobosscom and sign up to work with this gentleman. He's amazing, and I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses like Billy and myself, and find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and I'll see you next week. Bye, bye.
39:05 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
The sensible and lovely Danielle Famble joins BOSS Anne Ganguzza to discuss a critical, often-overlooked aspect of running a voiceover business: disaster preparedness and maintaining operations during times of crisis. Using Danielle's personal experience of a sudden apartment flood, the hosts outline the necessary steps for every voice actor to ensure both physical and financial resilience.
00:01 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Hey, if you're looking to take your podcast to the next level, my podcast consultation coaching services teach you how to sound more authentic, develop smart strategies and market your show effectively. Let's elevate your podcast together. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started.
00:20 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level the boss level. It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host.
00:37 - Anne (Host) Anne Ganguzza. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the sensible and lovely Danielle Famble.
00:50 - Danielle (Guest) Hey Anne, sensible and lovely, that's me.
00:53 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Sensible and lovely. Danielle, oh Danielle, how are you?
00:56 - Danielle (Guest) I'm all right. I'm okay. It's been a little crazy in my world, but I'm doing all right. How about you?
01:05 - Anne (Host) Well it's been. I think it's just been crazy in my world. But I'm doing all right. How about you? Well it's been.
01:08 I think it's just been crazy in the world, but you know, that's a, that's a that's a long discussion, but you know there's been a lot of crazy weather events that have been happening and and unfortunate, unfortunate disasters, and you know, because you're so sensible and ever prepared, Danielle, maybe we should talk about being prepared for your business and disaster, and what do we need to do to be prepared in order to keep our businesses afloat and operational?
01:38 - Danielle (Guest) That's a really good point. I have recently been through needing to be prepared and actually I have this booth as part of my preparedness and needing to be prepared out of really out of nowhere. We may have talked about this in other episodes, but my apartment flooded and I had to leave my home pretty suddenly. I had to leave my home pretty suddenly, and so my preparedness, my preparations that I wasn't even sure specifically what I was preparing for. I just needed to have certain things set up. Those things actually came in handy. The long story short of it all is at almost midnight I started hearing what sounded like a fountain in the walls and realized that that was probably not a good thing.
02:32 Probably not a thing. Probably not a thing and probably not a good thing. Yeah, so I reported it and about 10 minutes later there was water all over the floors, all over in the hallway. There was water pretty much everywhere, and it was pretty clear to me that I needed to leave quickly. So I happened to have a to-go. My tri-booth was pretty much readily available.
03:00 - Anne (Host) Well, look at that, the tri-booth, and I myself have a tri-booth, that's at the ready.
03:05 - Danielle (Guest) The tri-booth was at the ready. I keep it in the suitcase in my closet.
03:10 And I was able to just pull some things that I needed important documents, my laptop, my to-go booth and all the things with it, my mic and everything else. Travel. I basically have like a travel rig that I keep set to the side, and I left within half an hour to an hour, and that was actually the last time I lived in that apartment and spent the night in that apartment, unfortunately. So being able to take myself and my things and my business somewhere else, somewhere safe, was a piece of preparedness and also because I wasn't able to live in my home, I needed to use insurance and I needed to use my emergency fund to keep me through. So those were some layers of preparation that, while I was not preparing for my apartment to flood, I was able to use certain things that I had set to the side and set up specifically for that purpose.
04:09 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I mean, and there's, you know, the unfortunate floods in Texas, there's the fires in, you know, in LA, and you know we have fire season and there's tornado season. There's just all sorts of things that I think are becoming more prevalent these days, that now I think it's more important than ever that not only are we physically prepared, with things at the ready to go in case we need to evacuate quickly, so that we can, you know, manage to keep our businesses afloat, if that should be, of course. Of course, bosses, the most important thing is you being safe and your family and your loved ones and your pets being safe. Next in line would be you know supplies in order to keep you safe. And then, of course, right, having you know, a tri-booth is actually this is an amazing plug for the tri-booth, and we didn't even intend it, bosses, but both of us have tri booths and I'll tell you what they've. They've saved us in so many situations, myself included when I needed to have a studio set up immediately. That tri booth was convenient, ready to go on wheels, and for Daniel as well. So shout out to the guys, to George and and Tri Booth and Rick Wasserman it's an amazing. It's an amazing portable booth guys. You might want to take a look. I'll put a link in the show notes for you.
05:32 But that's number one having the physical things but also things like insurance and then understanding what does that insurance cover. I think that's one of the things that you don't want to be surprised, right? You don't want to be surprised, right, you don't want to be surprised. I mean, of course, there's always this thing in, let's say, whatever area, are you near a flood zone, are you covered? You know, make sure that your insurance covers. If you are indeed in a flood zone, what does it cover? What doesn't it cover? If you're in a fire zone, what does it cover? Because we had to check that ourselves, my husband and I, because we are deemed living in a fire zone. So you know, your insurance may cost more, or maybe some insurances won't cover that. So talk to us, danielle, a little bit more about, like, what sorts of things financially, how we can prepare with insurance.
06:20 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, there are several different types of insurance to have. So I think, when we first hear insurance, we think like health insurance for medical purposes, which is definitely one that everyone should have, if you are covered through, maybe, your employer, through your day job, through SAG-AFTRA, through NAVA, for example, like there are so many opportunities and options, the marketplace. So your health is one way that you would need to have insurance. Another thing would be your home. So is it renter's insurance, is it homeowner's insurance? And what does that cover? And making sure that you have a deductible. You understand how much your deductible is, because that's how much you're going to be responsible for.
07:03 - Anne (Host) And read the fine print, I just want to say, yes, right, what is covered and what is not, and what is not. Sometimes they're vague. Insurance companies are vague, I think on purpose, exactly.
07:17 - Danielle (Guest) So understand your living situation and having insurance for where you live Is it renters, is it homeowners insurance? And then there are some business insurances that you could have, so it could be covering your business if you are not working in your business for a little bit of time. It could be like a disability insurance if you're disabled and you're not able to work for a certain period of time. It could just be general liability insurance for your business, which could then cover certain things that your business owns, certain equipment that your business owns. So that's something to consider as well.
07:53 There are different kinds of business insurances that you can have for your business, and you might have some of those. You might have a multitude of them, and each insurance has its own deductible, and so you should be prepared to pay that. And that's really where your emergency fund can come in, because if it is necessary, in the unfortunate event that you do need to use your insurance be it health, be it homeowners, renters, disability insurance you need to know how much you are expected to come out of pocket. And having that money set to the side for those things, that is what I deem an emergency, and so that's also what I calculate when I'm figuring out, how much do I need to have in an emergency fund, I also look at my deductibles. How much would I need to cover, and being able to have that put to the side is one thing that will just help you feel better.
08:46 - Anne (Host) And one thing I definitely want to say bosses, the reason why we're even talking about this is because we are running our own businesses. For all of you who are, you know I came from the corporate world. It wasn't something that I had to think about business insurance. It just wasn't because it wasn't my business, it was somebody else's. No-transcript, and absolutely make sure you're reading the fine print to make sure that you're covered, especially if it's a full time gig for you. Now, danielle, if, let's say, bosses are working part time, is it? Do you think it's worthwhile to look into business insurance, or is it even a thing? Right?
09:42 - Danielle (Guest) It really depends. I only got like liability insurance or business insurance because I had a client that was requiring it for me to have an ongoing relationship with them, so that was that was the reason that I got that insurance. But you don't you really need to look and see. It's an exercise and only do this for just a few minutes.
10:05 - Anne (Host) It's a business liability insurance. So is that through your business? It is through my business.
10:11 - Danielle (Guest) But I also have disability insurance and that is to cover me if something were to happen to me in a health perspective.
10:19 - Anne (Host) And that's something that companies typically, if you are working in the corporate world, they will cover that for you, and that's something we don't think about. We just don't think about when we, you know, health insurance absolutely is important, and in that health insurance is disability insurance, you know, and all of the life. What about life insurance? I?
10:37 - Danielle (Guest) mean Right, life insurance is another thing as well. So it's a lot of the things that you kind of have to think about with bosses. We're thinking about we're replacing the things that we would have or could have through a day job, and because we are running our own business, we have to break down. What would I have had maybe in a corporate day job or in a different kind of situation that now it's my responsibility of running this business to have? That doesn't mean that you need to have all of these things. It's just something to consider, and what I unfortunately do often because catastrophizing is a thing that I do is think about like what is the worst that could happen and how could I mitigate that? Really, it's just kind of a way to sort of cope ahead and think about what could happen and how. Is there an insurance that I might need to help with that, or how would I take care of something if this were to happen?
11:41 - Anne (Host) Now, all right. So the one thing I know most people are going to sit here and say, yeah, but insurance is expensive. Right, Insurance is expensive and is it worth the peace of mind I'm going to say? You're buying peace of mind. You're buying peace of mind for yourself and for your business, and so is your insurances that you have covering. Is it expensive? Would you consider that to be expensive and, if so, like? How much money needs to be set aside for insurance for a typical small business? Or what are the things that it's dependent on? Is it dependent on the size of your booth? Is it dependent on the amount of equipment that you have? Is it dependent on? Is it dependent on the size of your booth? Is it dependent on the amount of equipment that you have? Is it dependent on I don't know, your age and your previous health, Like? Are there criteria like that?
12:26 - Danielle (Guest) It really depends on the type of insurance that we're talking about. So, for example, my renter's insurance is not very expensive. It's basically like replacing a Starbucks habit per month. So there's that. But then I would think about what all is it covering and how much is it covering If I were to need to replace my sofa and my bed and my dresser and all of these things? I look at how much it would cover and see if that makes sense for me.
12:56 With disability insurance, for example because someone recently asked me about that it is expensive, it is absolutely expensive, and to me it is worth the peace of mind because you just don't know what could happen to you If I was out living my life and something were to happen. I was in some sort of terrible accident or something and I couldn't work for some period of time. Is that peace of mind worth it to me? I think it really. It is so dependent on the type of insurance and what you're wanting to have covered. So it's worth getting a quote because you can just get a free quote and figure out okay, is the amount that this would cost me? Is that worth it for me to do for myself and or for my business or my life, my home, what have you, whatever the insurance is, and then figure out is that something that I need to get now or is that something that maybe I can work my way and my budget up to covering at some point?
13:57 Like I said, with my liability insurance for my business, I got it because I had a client who was requiring that my business have it in order for us to have a working relationship. And then I thought, okay, is it worth it working with this client? Is it worth it to get this insurance or not? So it really is a case-by-case basis, but you can usually get quotes and find out how much your deductible, how much your premiums, how much is it going to cost you to have this insurance? And then you can ask yourself is that something that I can self-insure by just having enough money put to the side in my emergency fund, or is that something that the peace of mind is worth it to me to get this particular type of insurance?
14:38 - Anne (Host) And sometimes that's that your client requested it. Right to have that liability insurance. Sometimes that can be a negotiation point as well. I mean, I've negotiated with vendors that I work with, you know, because I'm like, look, I'm a good client and you're going to have me for a long time. So if that's the case, I could really use this particular piece of software so that I can communicate better with you guys, so you can use it potentially as a negotiation point.
15:08 It doesn't always have to come out of your pocket, especially if you've got a client who really wants you and likes you and wants to work with you. You know there is that. I mean you know what is the cost, what is the cost to you? And again, consider this as an investment in your business. And for the most part we're talking about people who are full time right, full time, because I think you know part time you either have coverage in some other area that's covering those same things, or maybe you don't, maybe you have multiple businesses, and so if that's the case, then probably even more so. That's really the same as one good full-time business, right, having multiple small businesses. Absolutely, you're going to need insurance for that.
15:56 - Danielle (Guest) And some things are covered through your, your job, so you don't need to self-insure your voiceover. Business does not need to insure. You. Recommend that you read the fine print and you continue.
16:19 - Anne (Host) If you are continuing with a particular provider that has a plan that bundles it, make sure that they aren't changing the terms of the contract when you renegotiate on a yearly basis or a monthly basis or whatever. That is because things change, or whatever. That is because things change and I know that you know if you live in an area that's prone to natural disasters sometimes they will say we were covered and all of a sudden you're not covered. So really keep an eye out, guys, for your insurance company changing their policy, changing their terms, and keep up with that. And again, if you are not good at looking at those types of things, then I strongly suggest you, you know, have somebody that can help you to make sure that things are good. There's always wonderful people to work with in the industry that we can recommend, that can help you with those sorts of things.
17:13 So make sure that you're looking at those contracts and, again, physically being prepared right, in case there is a natural disaster and you're unfortunate, if your studio is destroyed or your home is destroyed or you need to maybe live somewhere else for a while. No matter what happens, it doesn't have to be a natural disaster, right? You want to make sure that you're prepared to be able to carry on business, if you can, of course, if it's not something that's devastated to you or your health or your family, your family's health and that you can continue working. You want to make sure that you physically have the tools to be able to do so, and what's nice about being a voiceover artist is that we don't. We don't need much to be quite honest, we really don't we need from almost anywhere right.
18:03 Right because and we've proven that time and time again when we travel and we go to hotels, right what? We need a pair of headphones, and even that if you have a pair of earpods, like airpods, whatever, um, headphones, a microphone pillows that we can live with, that we can do that. So make sure that that backup, that you have that backup and again, it's one of the first things I always talk about you should always be backed up in case, let's say, this microphone were to go today, even though I take very good care of it. I've had it for years and I don't anticipate it going. I do have a backup in the closet. I have multiple backups, but, you know, having a backup as soon as you can invest in it.
18:43 To get a backup, a backup microphone, a backup computer, you do need a computer, right? Maybe a backup computer or another computer, another method that you know of, and it should be worked out. So it shouldn't be something like, oh yeah, I've got a computer somewhere, but then you forgot that you didn't load on the editor, you didn't load on the operating system is not up to date, and all of a sudden you're like, oh crap, I don't think this is going to work with my existing audio interface. So make sure that your backup equipment is good, working and functioning and can work in another place, in another area. So take some time, set up that other computer right, put on your audio interface, your backup audio interface and your backup mic and test it out right. Make sure that things are functioning and working and up to date.
19:31 I have to tell you, every time I go traveling it's like, oh gosh, I got to update my computer, I got to update my laptop, because I do have a laptop just for traveling and I'm like, oh yeah, I got to remember to bring that laptop out a good week in advance before I travel and make sure I update my Dropbox, because I have all my files on the cloud and I want to make sure that when I'm somewhere else, that I am not going to rely on any internet connection.
19:54 That's the other thing, too, is that you may not have an internet connection where you are, where you go, in the event that you are not in your studio anymore, right, you may not have internet connection. So that's another thing to consider. Do you have an alternate? Can you use your phone as a hotspot? So many things to consider not just insurance, financial wise, but also equipment wise. So the first thing you should do as a good business owner is always set up your backups right, your backup equipment, in case maybe there's not even a natural disaster, but your studio fails.
20:28 - Danielle (Guest) You're just away from your studio.
20:30 - Anne (Host) Exactly so, having that plan right, having that backup plan, that disaster backup plan, even for, just you know, another studio set up, is imperative.
20:42 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, and I love you. You said this really quickly and casually, but it is a really good point to make is you said the word invest. Invest in these things because that is part of investing in your business, that's part of investing in yourself, it's part of investing in in your education. You need to know how to use your secondary setup. You need to know what to do just in case the internet isn't working quite well. What? What is your, what is your process? And that's when I say sort of catastrophizing that's kind of part of it too is just imagine okay, so something happened. I'm not able to use studio, my primary studio, or A. What is my plan B? What does that look like? How do I get everything to work together? How do I set it up? If I need to set it up in a short period of time, what is my process of using these things and test it out? Make sure that your Source Connect can work on it. If you use Source Connect, make sure that you know how to oh, yes, please the good one.
21:37 Yes, please, the good one, yes please.
21:43 - Anne (Host) People forget about. Oh shoot, source Connect isn't loaded on my backup laptop, and that's really important too. That's a really important thing.
21:46 - Danielle (Guest) For me. I have a whole process that I use and it's my travel setup.
21:53 - Anne (Host) Do you have a lock?
21:53 - Danielle (Guest) I have an iLock, I have and I keep it on a specific like key ring that is connected to the case that I use to hold my travel microphone.
22:05 It's pretty much been fleshed out and thought through, but when I first started using this setup I was nervous because I didn't know how to use it and I hadn't taken the time to educate myself on how to use it. So that lack of confidence really came through in other parts of my business. It came through in my read, it came through in how I showed up. So it's not just about having the things that would cover you, it's making sure that you are able to cover the situation no matter what happens to you.
22:35 - Anne (Host) And just as in disaster preparedness right, we have lists right, here's what you need in the event of an evacuation. This is what we need to bring with us, right, water, food you know the cat food, the litter box, the you know, we literally have stuff ready next to the car, right Next to the like, in backpacks, like stored food, water. You know my backup, I have backup. You know studio, all that stuff it's actually at the ready to go quickly because in the event of a natural disaster, when you have to leave quickly a fire or a tornado or, you know, flash flood, those types of things when you got to get out quick, you're not in a in a moment where you can think you know, casually, or or, or, or, oh yeah, what do I need to bring? No, you've got to be able to be at the ready.
23:22 So, whatever you can do to prepare yourself for that secondary, you know business setup like and that would be that would include your, your physical equipment, whatever you need to keep you safe, you and your family members and your and your animals safe. And of course, like I said, we're not saying that you're I certainly microphone's on my list of things to bring, but that does not. You know that does not precede my husband. I mean, my husband and I have to be safe first before I'm going to save this microphone. Because again, that's just. You know, we all know our priorities. But it is on the list and again, I love how you said you know, make sure that you've used it, that secondary, like make sure you've got SourceConnect on that secondary computer or you're able to transfer the licenses, or you know how to do that. I do mine through software and you know you've got the software there that you can transfer it, and so make sure that you've got that ready to go. I'm trying to think of other things that you can prepare for.
24:22 - Danielle (Guest) Well, what I will also say is try to do this now, while you are a calm and rational person. Exactly.
24:30 - Anne (Host) Yes, well, I can imagine when you had to get out of your apartment I was not calm or rational. Okay, you're sensible and lovely. Maybe not at the moment.
24:39 - Danielle (Guest) I was none of those things, none of those things at all. But if you can do it while or at least you've thought through it, while you are calm and rational, let present you take care of future you in the way that you handle yourself, your business, make sure you have your passwords to all these things. You might even need to be able to access the insurances that we talked about. Like, make sure you have what you need and you have, you know, a go bag for yourself and a go bag for your business, so that you're able to just take what you need and get yourself to safety yourself most important, your family most important and then your ability to continue on. That's just part of your building your resilience as a business owner, as a vo boss. Other things that you you can talk about, we can talk about as well. We kind of hit on it, but this is really the the main part of having the emergency fund.
25:39 - Anne (Host) I was just going to say. Let's reiterate the importance of the emergency fund.
25:43 - Danielle (Guest) This is really where having an emergency fund is like. This is why we have emergency funds.
25:49 I treat myself and my business as two completely separate entities. So myself personally has an emergency fund and my business has an emergency fund and they're separate. So the business's emergency fund is to help cover anything that is business related. So if I needed to buy a new booth because my last one was involved in a flood, or if I needed to take care of my living situation I don't know if I said this, but I was living in a hotel for about three weeks and that was not fun.
26:27 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Just saying tri-booth.
26:29 - Danielle (Guest) That was not fun, but my tri-booth was living with me in that hotel for about three weeks while I got myself together, and then also the traveling back and forth, and I needed things, just personally. I needed things to keep me sane as best as I could be.
26:48 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, and sometimes being able to work, being able to work is something that can help you believe it or not, if you're in a safe space and you have to be there, uh, where you can't return to your home or you need to, you know, get a new place to to be and you're in a temporary space for a while I was in a temporary space for three months, and so you know, being comfortable and being able to work through that can can help help with your mental health as well.
27:16 You know it doesn't and you're not sitting there, just you waiting and not able to do things and worrying about your business and not being able to make money. And so if this is your full time job, then, yes, take the steps now, while you're a rational, sensible and lovely person, and make sure that you have an exit plan. Number one, to keep yourself safe and your loved ones safe and your pets safe, and then also your business. I like how you have a separate. Do you have a separate fund for yourself and a separate fund for your business as well? I?
27:47 - Danielle (Guest) love that. At separate banks, at separate financial institutions. Oh, okay, okay.
27:50 - Anne (Host) Now explain the strategy behind that. I love that.
27:54 - Danielle (Guest) Well, mostly it really started for accounting purposes. So my personal checking account and savings account and emergency fund was always at a completely different financial institution, really for accounting, and then opened up a savings account, a high yield savings account, for the business at a third, actually fourth, institution. So really that was just keeping everything separate for accounting purposes. For me it just helped keep everything separate visually and I don't know, it just works for my brain. So there's nothing you don't have to do it a certain way.
28:45 - Anne (Host) I love that though.
28:46 - Danielle (Guest) But keep it separate.
28:47 - Anne (Host) You know why I love that? Because entrepreneur-wise and business owner-wise right, my business is my business. It's mine only. Right, mine only. And I don't anticipate ever not being married. But, should you know, I mean I don't know, I don't even like to say that there's a possibility, but everything is separate for me and it's always worked that way, and I've discussed this before where my husband and I have separate, we have separate accounts. It's been separate forever. I mean, my business is completely separate. I'm the only person that owns that business and fear of something happening at that institution, absolutely so, you know, I kind of spread it around, yeah.
29:44 Now I feel like oh, and I have a Swiss bank account too. No, you know, I mean hey.
29:50 - Danielle (Guest) That's actually really important too, because when you look at all of the different institutions and this might become a little bit more advanced than anyone would really need. But there's also something to be said for FDIC insurance.
30:09 - Anne (Host) Yes, yes, yes, which covers you up to $250,000.
30:12 - Danielle (Guest) That's why, so, if you have all of your money in one institution. It may happen that you're over that amount. And so that's something to consider as well, depending on how much you're keeping in combined.
30:29 - Anne (Host) I'm glad that you brought that up, because that's exactly one of the reasons why I have multiple high yield savings accounts.
30:34 - Danielle (Guest) It's the exact reason that I'm glad that I have them separately. Also, the reason is the exact reason that I have that I'm glad that I have them separately. I had them separately for accounting purposes, but now that I've grown in myself and my business, I'm I'm just super happy that.
30:47 - Anne (Host) That's just something that I've kind of already Say that one more time, just so bosses know, because it was something I wasn't aware of until my accountant had brought it up. Right In regards to putting your money in different places, because FDIC insurance only covers up to $250,000.
31:03 Right, exactly Per institution. Per institution, yes. So if you have that all in one space, you have to be very careful, and if you open multiple, you don't have to have that amount in there, but you can start multiple accounts in different places and that will help protect your money.
31:21 - Danielle (Guest) And then also thinking about how much that you need in your emergency fund, depending on for me, depending on if it's personal or for my business a rule of thumb that you'll probably hear a lot of people talking about in personal finance is three to six months of expenses.
31:40 Ok, cool, that can maybe be for your personal, but for my business, I want to make sure that I am covering all of the things that my business needs. I have an assistant, a virtual assistant, and so I'm not just trying to look out for myself, I'm looking out for the things that my business is responsible for, which is also her salary. So that may or may not be the three to six months of expenses. Yes, that is part of the expenses of the business, but I want to make sure that, in the event that something happens, I'm able to cover myself her all the other subscriptions and things that are covered. So I don't necessarily look for that three to six months for my business. I also think about what's my premium, what are my deductibles, what would I need to spend money on with all the things that are covered under my business, and I lump all of that in so my business's emergency fund might actually end up being greater than what my personal emergency fund would be, because my business has all these different things.
32:46 - Anne (Host) You have more entities, absolutely Well, you know, danielle, I can't think of anybody else that I could that could make this conversation more pleasant than you, sensible and lovely, because we're talking about disaster and disaster recovery and being prepared. So, bosses, you know it may not be the most glamorous thing to talk about. However, I believe it's one of the most necessary things and, should we need to be able to, you know, quickly recover from a disaster of any sort, we want to be prepared for that as much as we can. So, danielle, thank you so much for your wisdom and your sensibility and loveliness, and I'm going to give a great big shout out to IPDTL, which, by the way, is another thing you can use if you need to connect to studios. You can find out more about IPDTL at their website, ipdtlcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and we will see you next week.
33:42 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by her superpower co-host, Lau Lapides, to discuss a critical issue in the voiceover industry: brand alignment and navigating controversy. Sparked by the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney campaign, the hosts explore how a voice actor's ethics and personal brand are intrinsically linked to the clients they represent. They emphasize that in the age of social media, protecting your digital reputation is non-negotiable for long-term career success.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza, you know your journey in voiceover is not just about landing gigs. It's about growing both personally and professionally. At Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions, I focus on coaching and demo production that nurtures your voice and your confidence. Let's grow together. Visit anneganguzza.com to find out more.
00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Ganguzza.
00:47 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my awesome superpower co-host Lollapetas.
00:56 - Lau (Guest) Hello, Annie, it's so good to be back. I love being in this Zoom room with you. Or it's not Zoom, but it's Riverside, but I love being in this space room with you. Or it's not Zoom, but it's Riverside, but I love being in this space with you, I know I look forward to it.
01:10 - Anne (Host) We get to see each other and it's been so long it's fabulous when we get back together because we have so much to catch up on. I know, I know oh my gosh.
01:19 - Lau (Guest) By the way, I love your outfit today. You look great.
01:23 - Anne (Host) Why thank you my, my jean shirt or my denim shirt? No, what's really cool about this is this is kind of well, I should say it's it's. It's deceiving, maybe because it looks like it's denim but it's actually like French Terry, and so it's super, super comfortable. But you know, speaking of jeans, I was going to say what color are your jeans.
01:50 Well, you know, I have good jeans and advertising campaigns for our businesses. I mean gosh, it's all over the news. I mean the American Eagle campaign with Sydney Sweeney. I mean, you know, she's got good jeans, and so it's a really interesting debate. I think it's something that we could absolutely relate to our own voiceover businesses in terms of associating with now, first of all, like associating with a brand that may or may not be controversial or may or may not be on the side of you know where your feelings align. I think that would be a really, really interesting topic.
02:30 - Lau (Guest) Lau I love that topic because we hear that word floating in the industry now for quite a while branding. Branding is connected to marketing, is connected to selling right and how you represent yourself and who you're connected to. That helps you represent yourself as well. And making some of those concerted decisions on who you want to be attached to and connected to, that really help you design your ethos of your business.
02:58 - Anne (Host) Well, they can help you. They can help you be successful in the industry, or maybe not. They can help you be controversial in the industry, or maybe not. They can help you be controversial in the industry. It's such an interesting. Now you know one thing about that campaign for me, when I first saw it, I didn't think anything of it, because I am a woman of a certain age and I remember the Jean campaign with Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein, and I just remember it, with Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein, and I just remember it, you know. And so, as a girl in, I think it was in elementary or high school. I can't remember when that came out, but it was the 80s, right? All I know is that I wanted a pair of Calvin Klein jeans because I wanted to look like Brooke Shields. Now today, didn't we all did not we Right?
03:41 No, I thought nothing of it, right, I thought nothing really horrible of it. But then it did become controversial because obviously she was, you know, she was young when she did that ad and it was a little bit sexually, you know, promiscuous, some people would say. And so, you know, today that type of advertising wouldn't fly and I think people are comparing Sydney Sweeney with that, because of she's got good genes, you've got an attractive female and a pair of jeans, and you know, of course, american Eagle says you know, it was always all about the genes, it's not always not about the, not about the misconception that jeans J-E-A-N-S is similar to G-E-N-E-S, so there's a lot to unpack there.
04:25 I don't know how did you react to it when it first came out? What were your thoughts?
04:29 - Lau (Guest) Well, you know what's so funny about the Brooke Shields thing that you bring up? That's the first thing I thought of is that everyone who's outraged about it is not old enough to remember the Brooke Shields and that's what they were really copying. I think that was a copycat from 45 years ago Going back to the old let's sell.
04:45 Yeah, but if you remember, annie, it was there was another controversy hooked on to Brooke Shields at that time, based on that commercial, because that was right around the time that she had shot Blue Lagoon, blue Lagoon, yeah, and she was only like 11, 11 or 12.
05:05 - Anne (Host) I think it was 13.
05:05 - Lau (Guest) Well, by that time she was about 13. But she was still very young and the mother was managing her and so there was a huge blowup and controversy about this young girl doing these so-called sexually explicit commercials about my sexuality and my body, about my sexuality and my body. And I remember thinking, and when I saw it again I thought wow, how did she get those jeans on without showing us anything, right in front of us, Like I was amazed and, as a young girl, I yeah, it was a Cirque du Soleil act.
05:35 It was amazing. Yeah, you know, as a young girl, media is so influential right.
05:41 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So, influential.
05:41 - Anne (Host) The thing is that, as voice actors, we really have a part in playing into the media, right, because our voices are representing brands, and for me at the time, I didn't consider anything wrong with it. All I know is that I wanted to look like Brooke Shields in those jeans and therefore I wanted the jeans. And I'll tell you what it was an expressly popular campaign that made Calvin Klein a ton of money, a ton of money.
06:09 - Lau (Guest) But if you look at it now as an adult and you listen from a voiceover perspective, her voice was very, very young very kidlike and very straightforward. She was trying to be, if anything, a little bit smart or intellectual versus overly sexy and centralized, but yet the perception, the visual right Was that was that.
06:34 - Anne (Host) That's exactly it. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of things there, and if you were the voice of a campaign that was controversial, right would. If it was something you believed in or didn't believe in, is that something that, as a voice actor, would you accept? And I think, or an actor, I mean any kind of role right? Do you accept those roles if they align with your belief system or your morals or your ethics or whatever that is, and how can it propel your business forward or not?
07:07 I mean, there's just so much that we have choices in, and as well as influence in, as voice actors, and we think sometimes we're hiding behind this microphone, but no, we're still a very intricate part of a media campaign. And so, really, as a voice actor, how do you decide? Really, is you know, oh, this could really propel my campaign if I decide that I want to align with this brand and be the voice of it, or sometimes it's not even about being the voice of it. It's maybe working with that brand in any capacity. You know, how is that going to affect your business? Because people have opinions, people always have opinions, and gosh aren't they all over the place.
07:56 - Lau (Guest) Now that social media is prevalent, they're the Wild West we like to call it right, Annie, it's the Wild West.
07:59 And I would say in my mind it's likened to all the people, not just women but men too. In my mind it's likened to all the people, not just women but men too, but certainly all the women, who have said for many years you know, I am interested in doing romance novels, exotica work, triple X, adult swim as a voiceover talent, but I'm concerned about how my business is going to be viewed. I'm going to use an AKA, an alter ego, another name, another business name, and so I think that voiceover talent have been making these decisions for a very, very long time. Even though we don't have the visuals for the voiceover talent, we may have the visual for the work and so for the work itself may give visuals and vocals that are not aligned with the talent's vision of their business, and sometimes you don't even know.
08:49 - Anne (Host) Sometimes you don't even know, right. I mean you can tell a lot by the context of the script sometimes, but sometimes you can. You don't know where that's going to end up. And again, now that makes me think of, like, you know deep fakes and AI and you don't know where your voice is going to be used. But if you are, you know, an active participant and you are aware, I think really the best thing you can do if these things are concerning to you, right, the more you know, the more you're educated, the better off you're going to be, because you can make those decisions to determine if you want to be aligned.
09:24 I mean there have been careers ruined by, you know, wrong brand alignment, and gosh knows with today's you know political climate. I mean it comes down to and you know what, laura, it comes down to if you think about it. We're in a business. We need to make money, right, and guess what? So are companies that are advertising, right. They're in the business to make money and so a lot of times our decisions are based on money. Yeah.
09:52 - Lau (Guest) Wake up, smell the coffee right, and it's like who is to judge what one person or one brand identity or one company should or shouldn't be doing. It's really in the eyes and ears of the audience. It's really the perception. So, as many people really disagree, fervently disagree and are angered and outraged by that particular American Eagle campaign, you have a mass swath of people who are buying everything.
10:24 - Anne (Host) That gene that she is, they can't keep. I'm just saying or buying everything that gene, that gene that they can't keep it on the proverbial shelf Exactly.
10:29 Right, Exactly so yeah, and it's interesting because I read a couple of. I read a couple of articles about it and they, of course, american Eagle says it's all about the genes. It's always been about the genes and in reality it kind of is like a return back to marketing. You know, marketing for the last few years has been very concerned with, of course, the shift, notice how the shift in cultural trends, right to making sure inclusivity, diversity, you know, every body type is shown and everybody is represented, which I thought was great. I mean I love that. But apparently, like, if you're in the business, I mean, did it sell? I thought it did.
11:09 Personally, I aligned with it better and I bought, I consumed, just like I did before. However, there is a a huge, there's a huge another aspect to this to unpack, about influencers, right, I mean, in reality, I mean she's a famous actress, right, and so just like Brooke Shields. So if she's going to wear these jeans and feel good in them and look good in them, then that's going to really entice other people to buy and you know, or not, right? And If they, I mean how many times? Lau and I I have very strong ideas about like companies and what they do with their money. So like if they're known to, you know, I don't know, do bad things. I will not support of things that companies do behind the scenes and therefore, when I do find out, I then have a choice, to make a decision whether I want to consume that, you know, buy that or not. And I think that, again, as a consumer and as a voice actor, the more educated we can be, the better decisions we can make to determine if we want to align with that.
12:21 - Lau (Guest) I would totally agree and I would say the irony to me about talking about influencers online is why are they called influencers? Yeah, yeah, they're called influences because they have powerful influence over mass swaths of people who want to look like them, sound like them, live like them, whatever. Of people who want to look like them, sound like them, live like them, whatever. So if we were to make a value judgment, we would have to make it evenly across the board between network television and social media and voiceover and radio and TV, that that is just a no-go, which, of course, no one's going to do. We're not going to do that because you know it's a free country and people are going to run their businesses how they run their businesses girls on Instagram to get that facelift or to get those eyebrows or to get those lash extensions, to feel good about who they are.
13:27 - Anne (Host) Well, oh no, okay, you bring up a really important point here, right To feel good about who you are. So what I do because you know I do a little bit of fashion influencing- I know you are an influencer, actually.
13:39 - Lau (Guest) My well, oh my goodness, put your influencer hat on.
13:42 - Anne (Host) So my influencer hat is and I've been, I've been multiple sizes, I've been big and I've been small, right, I mean, I don't know, I've never considered myself small, but that's a whole nother podcast. So, depending on the size right, I followed different influencers. I found and for the most part, if you think about it, when I was a little bit bigger, I had an influencer who I loved her because she was bigger and she was confident and she was beautiful. And I said, gosh, if I could just be confident. And you know, and as a matter of fact, people in my life I've known, I'm like gosh, she's bigger and she's confident. I wish I could be confident like that. I could be confident like that. And then when I, when I started to lose weight, then I it's funny because I switched, following the one influencer who her body type was a little bit bigger, to an influence it was a little bit more my, my body type size, or maybe even smaller, because it was then helpful, it was motivating for me, or inspiring to me.
14:36 And so, in reality and in every instance, right, the influencer made me feel better about myself. Right, I was either motivated or inspired. To well, people are going to say it might be healthy if you say, oh, I want to look like them. But in reality, when it came to my weight, my body size, it was more about becoming healthy. I needed to become healthy, right. And yeah, the clothes were pretty. I didn't have that option with these clothes at this particular size. So, yeah, there was something inspirational and motivational. And then there was the girl who I still follow. She's a bigger girl who is just beautiful at whatever size she's at, and it's really the message that she's saying. That's really the most important thing.
15:17 - Lau (Guest) But I have a question about that, annie, and I know we're getting a little farther away from the voiceover aspect, but from a performance and business aspect, voiceovers need to be thinking about all of this and how you represent your brand and how you think about what you do. Well, absolutely, my question is you have a lot of these people, including, like Lizzo, for instance she was the first one that came to my mind, yeah who made it very public that they lost a ton of weight and that they are very happy they did that and very happy that they're healthier and very happy at whatever they're at.
15:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah.
15:52 - Lau (Guest) So it makes you question well, wait a second, is this for branding sake, to have those brands out there because they know, like a big part of the population is, say, has a certain look or a certain size or a certain sound? Well, yeah, the biggest demographic, the biggest demographic, right? Yeah, versus the reality of the person actually feeling good in their life, I'm going to argue that they're performers and they're performing and that many of them don't feel good about some of the choices they've made in their life and therefore they go and change it. Or their company representatives say you need to change this brand because it is not resonating with the majority of our audiences and we will never know.
16:38 Never know how much influence comes from which direction. We will really not know, that right.
16:44 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. I mean and again this is I mean for bosses out there if you think we're going off topic, in reality we're not, because we're not talking about marketing and advertising, which directly affects us. I mean, that's where we I mean our voices are representing brands that have fluctuations in the way that they advertise and in the way that they market their products, and it's important for us to understand where it's headed, where the trends are and really what is it that matters. And then, what is it that matters to you as an actor, being a part of that campaign, resonating with a brand that may or may not be controversial? Right, Brands change.
17:26 - Lau (Guest) This is where you have to forgive yourself they shift and change trends over time, because that's the natural state of being a human being, is that you age, you change, trends change whatever. Another one that comes to my mind one of my favorite original rappers and then became actress was Queen Latifah. Yeah, yeah. Who I loved for so many reasons. Yeah she's awesome Right.
17:50 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Rubenesque woman beautiful woman.
17:52 - Lau (Guest) Well, she went on a whole campaign I can't remember what it was, whether it was Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem or whatever it was, but she became the brand ambassador of them to lose weight and she had trouble doing it and she never reached the target weight. When she didn't, they dropped her. Yeah, yeah, okay. So my point is was that her and it made you feel like, it made me feel like you know, when you use Tide or use a laundry detergent and then, all of a sudden, you've been using it and it's been good for years, and then it's like no, all new developed. You think, what have I been using that whole time? It wasn't really good. That's how it made me feel.
18:31 - Anne (Host) Well influencing you know and marketing advertising, influencing in their way influencing right as opposed to, and I think that's why influencers became really popular, because it was real people, it wasn't companies. Well, it was the illusion of real people, right?
18:47 Well, they are real people Right right, oh look, I'm not being paid for this but a lot of times, influencers, they get a little bit of a cut. I mean I, you know, hey, I got a little bit of a cut. I'm encouraged to, you know, try this top or this, you know, this pants set or whatever, and then talk about it so that I can get a little bit of a break or a deal. But I creatively love to curate outfits and, to be quite honest, the amount of time I spend at this point because I don't do it full time the amount of time that I spend, you know, putting together videos and stuff, it takes a lot of time. That's my, that's like a, that's a day of my weekend in reality, and I don't make I don't make half as much money as I do when I'm doing voiceover. So for me that's just like a passion project.
19:31 But what is it that voice actors you know need to do? I mean, I think that you either don't realize that you are an intrinsic part of a brand that could or could not be, you know, I mean, you probably know if they're controversial. It's the same thing with political voiceover, Right, we talked about this like not so long ago. What's you know? Are you on a particular side of the fence? Are you? Is your voice, your voice being speaking things that align with your, what you believe in and your morals and your ethics? Or are you just voicing things to make money, because it happens to be something that pays the bills?
20:09 - Lau (Guest) Right and really paying attention to what your audience is identifying your value as. Like I can come in and say, well, I'm going to provide this, I'm going to do this, but I may not have the calling for that. I have to pay attention. Where is the calling of the audience?
20:27 And then go to the. If I want to go to the full extent of that brand, give them awareness of what it is, awareness of my, you know, professionalism, my ethos in it. Whatever that is, it's not always what I'm starting out to be is what it's going to be. I see that all the time like a mismatch of brand knowledge. Someone would say, well, I do this all the time, I play this all the time and I say, right, but what are you being hired for? What you're being hired for might be very different than what you do in your side life.
21:01 - Anne (Host) And if you think about it, like if you align yourself with a style of voiceover that is, you know, has a message, right, that may or it on levels with brands that I've been associated with, where, if you're not careful and you know I mean with the VO Boss podcast, right, if you're not careful people will associate you with those brands as well, and you know that can be detrimental to your career, to your livelihood, and that is something it's sometimes. It's not an easy decision. It's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision.
21:42 - Lau (Guest) It's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision. You have to realize you're performing a part. So whenever you are in that what I call the awareness zone that's like the industry awareness of who you are Like I feel like I play two parts. One is the real person in the larger world, who may or may not know me, and then the person, the mama, who knows me, who people know me in the larger world, who may or may not know me, and then the person, the mama, who knows me, who people know me in the industry. And when I play that role, I know I'm always to some degree on, you're always on and having that awareness that there is a performance value to what you do. How?
22:15 - Anne (Host) interesting because your brand, since I've known you, has evolved into Mama Lau, which you know what I mean. Because I want to say it's because I started calling you Mama Lau, because that's what I called my mother, and then it turned into Mama Lau, but now as Mama Lau, known as Mama Lau in the industry. Right, you now need to be considerate of. Okay, what does this brand speak about me? And if you were to do something, that would not be Mama Lau.
22:42 - Lau (Guest) Right, so I'm not going to go to Vegas and become a stripper anytime soon. Are you going to?
22:47 - Anne (Host) be an erotic. I mean, would you be an erotica audiobook narrator? I mean, well, maybe not under Mama Lau but, here, you are here you are with. Unless you're going to be a character voice, right, here you are, I know your voice. And unless you're going to be a character voice and I don't recognize that voice, right, our voices are recognizable.
23:07 I mean, some of us have immediately, like I know, this person's voice from you know long you know, far, far away, I can tell that voice and I have that with some of my students that have distinctly unique voices, right, I'm thinking they probably can't go into you know erotica character work if they don't want to know other people to know about it. Yes, you know, if you want other people to know about it, that's fine. But for you, under that brand, you have to. There's a responsibility to that brand, right?
23:34 - Lau (Guest) Yes, there is.
23:34 - Anne (Host) In what you do. It reminds me of. It reminds me of oh my gosh, who was it? Who was it? He was a comedian. He was fired in 2011 due to offensive tweets he made about the Japan earthquake and the tsunami. And it is, oh my gosh, gilbert Gottfried. There you go.
23:50 - Lau (Guest) Oh wow, how could we not?
23:52 - Anne (Host) remember that, yes. I know right Gilbert Gottfried.
23:55 - Lau (Guest) I didn't know that.
23:56 - Anne (Host) Yeah, oh yeah, and it was. It was. That was, I think, when it first, at least when I was in the industry, when it first became evident that social media and what you do outside of your job in voice acting, will have a direct effect, if it's offensive enough, right On your job. And you know, nowadays people have to be careful on social media what they're posting. And because companies can now go check out your social media, because companies can now go check out your social media, and so for you as a voice actor, again, it has to come to mind that if you are known, or if you are known in social media, now your actions, if people were to look you up on social media and find that you're associated with a brand or find that you are, you've done something that I don't know is not something that aligns with their ethics right, it can affect your business.
24:52 - Lau (Guest) So in a way, annie, it's kind of like we're blurring the lines of our real reality of living a life as a person, with our business and our performance career, that there is kind of that expectation that you sort of represent it all of your life, all of your life, and you're not going to go through anything. That's antithetical to that image that is being put out there, which I mean. For me it's easy because I'm kind of like, I'm a mama type anyway, but for the average person I think that would be hard, that would be a challenge.
25:27 Mama Lau as mama Lau would not go to a Coldplay concert and get yourself caught on the probably not. I'd be the person standing outside with food, waving my hand, going what did you do in there? What did you do?
25:37 - Anne (Host) And we should bring that up, because yet there's another like CEO of you know, of a company, and then the director of HR, the director of the people I forget what they call it now. I'm like director of HR, no people, ceo of people. Forgive me for not knowing what her title was. She was HR, wasn't she?
25:55 - Lau (Guest) The head of HR. Yes, Like top HR, you know? Executive.
26:00 - Anne (Host) I think PMO is a people. I forget what it is, but anyways, see it, you know. So, really, if you think about it, what did that do those actions do to the brand? Right To the brand. Yes, they say all all, what is it? All publicity is good publicity, but do you think that this was good publicity for the company?
26:24 - Lau (Guest) No, no, I don't either. I don't think there was any redeeming value to that and that felt to me it could have been happenstance, but it felt like a setup. It felt like someone tipped someone off to put them on the jumbotron.
26:37 - Anne (Host) Oh interesting, I didn't think that it didn't just feel random.
26:40 - Lau (Guest) There was like, like, how many people were there?
26:44 - Anne (Host) 50,000? I don't know. I think I, I didn't think it, I don't think they were set up, I mean, unless you have somebody in the company that's like. Well, I mean, first of all you have to, you have to know the person that's, you know, focusing on the Jumbotron and say, oh my God, wouldn't it be funny if you know I hate that guy or whatever? But think about it?
27:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I don't know.
27:02 - Anne (Host) Your actions in life right can be directly affected these days because of social media, because of the now back in the day when I had to walk to school 10 miles up a hill in the snow. When there wasn't social media, it was a little easier to get away with, I would say, indiscretions like that.
27:24 - Lau (Guest) But now, maybe even now with being a voiceover talent. You've got that anonymity to some degree.
27:31 - Anne (Host) But not as much anymore. I'm saying not as much anymore, remember, because voice actors, we're all about social media, aren't we? Because, guess what we need to get work and what are we doing? We're trying to showcase're all about social media, aren't we? Because guess what we need to get work and what are we doing? We're trying to showcase our brand on social media, and when you do that, you really have to be prepared for repercussions. If you are going to voice a campaign, associate yourself with a brand that may be controversial, and you know something that is a concern for your business. That may not have been so much of a concern maybe 20, 30 years ago.
28:06 - Lau (Guest) It's true, because I think with probably the third generation now, or what would we say, maybe the second generation now, millennials and Gen Zers, who are digital natives, growing, up online on social media like their life online on social media like they didn't see the commercial.
28:23 Their life- is on social media. So their lines are very blurred, like I would say, arguably our generation x not as blurred like I know. When I was younger I used to think, oh, the Brady kids are really like that. Now I realize they're separate people, right, they're separate people than what they did in the sitcom. But nowadays it's like oh, everyone thinks that anything you do online is you, is really you, and so it puts a lot of pressure on those people to say okay, am I in alignment with the kind of brand that I want to have out there or not?
29:02 And a lot of people will say well, you know what do they say? All good, all press, bad press, negative press is still good, press, it's still good. I don't know about that. I don't know about that. I don't think that's true. Yeah, I don't think that's true.
29:15 - Anne (Host) I mean in a way. I mean in a way who said?
29:19 - Lau (Guest) that. Beyonce, who said that Someone big said that I don't even remember, but in a way, american Eagle is benefiting from the controversy.
29:27 - Anne (Host) However, there's really good arguments on either side of it. Again, they're promoting to a crowd you know who are their best sellers. Do you know what I mean? Because, as I and you also talked about in the beginning, we have a certain familiarness with advertising from 30 years ago, right 40 years ago, and so for us, maybe that ad was like oh okay, I didn't think anything of it, but then all of a sudden, because of the younger generation, right, who are like hey, what is this? Or you know, or why, especially with political things going on, what do you mean? Genes like G-E-N-E-S Is that? Then it became a political thing. So I think that we have to be really, really careful, as voice actors on social media, to make sure that we're aware, be aware, educate yourself and be aware of what your voice, what your presence, what your social presence means to your business.
30:33 - Lau (Guest) And I also would add on to that, annie, that we just had a discussion because my group was in New York showcasing of actors and I was really tough, talk about mama, tough. I was really tough and saying listen, I'm just going to tell you this right now If you don't go into your social media right now, before you audition for those agents, those casting directors, those producers, and clean it up and scrub your stuff, scrub it.
30:57 Get reputation defenders. Do whatever you need to do to scrub it. Keep your ideas and ideals separate, because you don't want to alienate people and their whole audience before you even meet them and audition for them, do you? I mean, do you to be a really good note to leave on Digital Digital?
31:25 - Anne (Host) We are digital. We are digital.
31:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Your footprint's there.
31:28 - Anne (Host) Digital is traceable, just saying Digital is traceable, you are. Have you ever tried to? And again, we've never really covered this in depth, but if you think about it, if you ever tried to make a comment and then delete it and then it didn't really delete or did, how many people took a screenshot of that? Yeah, you know, before you deleted it.
31:48 So again, things are digital and things, and because we've gotten again on your phone, on your computer, just assume that people are tracing and I know, yes, you can get it's not right and I get that, but just assume and just you know, honestly, just be aware, be aware and protect your business, protect your voice, protect your business and protect your bossness. Guys, be a bossness.
32:16 - Lau (Guest) And I'll leave on this note in saying yes, and I'll piggyback by saying, even just for who you are as a person, be happy and content with the brand you're creating. Because, you're going to have to live with that for a long time. As long as you have your business, you'll have to live with it.
32:34 - Anne (Host) I have people.
32:35 - Lau (Guest) Annie when I go to a conference or something screaming across the room hey mama, how are you? If I didn't like that, I didn't want that, I'd have to change it. I'd have to really change it and make a concerted effort to do that so be happy with what you're selecting and what you're choosing and what your audience is giving to you and, if not, strategize elsewhere, redirect it.
32:59 - Anne (Host) Good stuff, good stuff, amazing Bosses. We would love to hear your thoughts honestly. So you know, write us at theboss, annaviobosscom. We'd love to hear from you right in our community Facebook page. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this. So, Lau, it's been amazing, amazing, as always. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
33:30 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye, see you next time. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Tom Dheere to discuss a foundational topic for every voiceover career: coaching. The hosts assert that every voice actor, from beginner to veteran, needs a coach. The Bosses explore why continuous learning is a necessity in today's saturated market, how to avoid being overwhelmed by industry information, and the combined importance of mastering both performance and business skills.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey Boss listeners. Are you ready to turn your voiceover career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a Boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.
00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:44 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm delighted to be here with Mr Tom Dheere. Yay, yay, hello Anne, hi Tom, yes, guess what, tom, it's that time of year again.
01:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It is you?
01:01 - Anne (Host) know when everybody's going back to school.
01:05 - Tom (Guest) Back to school. Oh yeah, I already bought my trapper keeper.
01:09 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh, I used to love those. You know that was one of my favorite things about going back to school is buying office supplies and getting ready, and I was one of those rare. I don't know, tom, if you were one of those students, but I loved school. Love, tom, if you were one of those students, but I loved school. Love, love, love school. And it was always exciting to me to, number one, go back for the social component of things and then to go back and like I don't know. I always wanted to like advance in my subjects, and so I was always excited about learning.
01:37 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, me too. I do love school supplies, like if anyone who knows me as just me, or me as the vo strategist like?
01:47 - Anne (Host) of course he loves school supplies right, you know, sharpened pencils and rulers and everything being organized, paper clips and clothes, clothes, my new school clothes.
01:54 - Tom (Guest) You know, hey, oh, love the school clothes. Gotta get the new school clothes.
01:58 - Anne (Host) Well then, speaking of school, you know. I mean maybe it's time that we have a chat about coaching, coaching in this industry. And does it matter, tom, does it? There's so much information out there. Does it matter? Is it beneficial?
02:15 - Tom (Guest) let's, let's, let's chat about that well, one at first. It's funny that we actually haven't talked about this in the few years that we've done the real bosses podcast and two. You know there's an old saying which is never ask an encyclopedia salesman if you need an encyclopedia.
02:28 - Anne (Host) Yes, exactly so you asking?
02:29 - Tom (Guest) me a voiceover coach. If voice actors need voiceover coaching, we'll say well, of course, the answer is yes.
02:34 - Anne (Host) I know and for me to say do we need coaching? As a coach and demo producer.
02:45 - Tom (Guest) Of course. Of course we're gonna say so. Yes, full disclosure. Of course, we as coaches, yes. But here's the thing about it is that I know ann does not accept everybody that that wants to work with her, and I know that not. I don't accept everybody that wants to work with me for all kind, for all kinds of uh, all kinds of reasons. But every voice, regardless of where they are in their journey, needs coaching. You always need to be learning. The greatest baseball players and musicians everyone has a coach. Tiger Woods has a swing coach. Aaron Judge has a baseball bat swing coach as opposed to a golf swing coach. All the greatest artists and athletes have coaching. Do they know more than most? Can they do it better than most? Of course, that's why they are in the positions that they are in doing what they're doing, making what they're making, being as famous as they are, but it's a constant, constant sort of you know all the arts. There needs to be a constant level of education re-education, continuous learning, as they say, absolutely.
03:49 - Anne (Host) And if you're just starting out in the industry, you have to have a fundamental base. And there is, you know, hey, I am the biggest you know. And Google and gangoozle, and gangoozle, and gangoozle, whatever, I am the biggest lover of you know. Search the internet, find the answers. Because I mean, gosh, back in the day, you remember when we used to have to do research, we'd have to actually go to the library and then you would write, like I'd have to write notes for my term paper on like, on like index cards.
04:17 - Tom (Guest) What is this library? What is?
04:19 - Anne (Host) this library. What is this library? Well, our, I mean the library is at our fingertips and so we can. I mean, there's so much out there and, tom, both you and I put out a lot of content in regards to this industry and you know the business of the industry and performance. I give out performance tips and so I think a lot of times when you're first starting out, it can be really overwhelming, and so having a source, a coach, to go to, to kind of make it less overwhelming, can be an actual advantage as well.
04:52 As for me, what was I saying the other day? Oh, in my Pilates class I was like, yeah, I pay to go to this Pilates class so I can do the stretching on the foam roller that I have here at home and I just don't do Right, so I go and use the foam roller that's at the Pilates studio. But there's something to be said in being in a classroom and and actually saying I am dedicating this time for me to learn something or to, you know, to, to, to grow myself, and coaching is a big part of that grow myself, and coaching is a big part of that.
05:30 - Tom (Guest) I agree, the ability to take time and money to commit to a process that you know in. To a certain degree, you could do some of it on your own, but a lot of people most people, I would say like the reason why I have so many mentorship students that I have is that they're like I just need you.
05:48 I just need to have someone to talk to once a month, bounce ideas off of and hold me accountable for it and when you have, and I love accountability and I love stand up groups and meet up groups, but when they actually have to fork money over to me to basically be a paid accountability buddy, there's something to that, something to that I mean. And also, you know, when you're in an accountability buddy group with an accountability buddy or a mastermind group or standup group, that's all great, but most of them are peers.
06:19 Yes, absolutely With the same level of experience and knowledge as you as opposed to working with you or me or another coach who is just have you know, scads of knowledge and experience and the ability to disseminate that knowledge effectively. And also, I know you and I know you keep up with industry trends on a performance and technology and business and marketing level. So do I. We have to do that to be relevant and effective. We have our means. We read the same blogs and watch the same podcasts as everybody else, but I'm sure I know I have my own little secret methods of how I'm keeping up with things, and I'm sure you do too that we're able to aggregate and have, in a concise Anne, to say this is what's going on in the industry, this is how it applies to you. These are the decisions that you could make based on who you are, your talent level, your experience level, the time you have, the money you have that could get you where you want to go.
07:15 - Anne (Host) Well, and the accountability it doesn't just stop with the student. I mean, the coach is accountable. And that is, I think, where the difference is between peer accountability groups, because peer accountability groups, yeah, we can say, yeah, you were supposed to do this last week, or you, this is, this is on your goal sheet, but the stakes are not as high. I don't believe in a peer accountability group as a coach, because coaches are judged on their effectiveness, right, and they they get business based upon their effectiveness and word of mouth. So when you want to go work with someone where that is a factor, you're going to get education.
07:54 That, I think, really counts and is really intentional and therefore, I believe the quality of that is going to be better and it's going to be directly customized, especially if it's one-on-one coaching, and I do both group coaching and one-on-one coaching. But really, when you get that one-on-one time with a coach, there's nothing better than that, because I mean, I look, I offer group coaching as well, but that one-on-one time is precious. That is where it is all about you. It's customized just for you, your career, your growth. And that is where I think coaching really shines and why it still matters and I think, actually, I think it matters more today than it did in years past, because there's so much more competition out there, tom and there's, of course, you know, the synthetic competition out there there, tom, and there's, of course, you know, the synthetic competition out there and we need to really create something, a footprint for ourselves or a voice print, really for ourselves, that is unique and that is competitive and that can actually connect with our audience, which is what our clients are paying us for.
08:59 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, there are more voiceover opportunities for voice actors of all experience levels than ever ever before. There's more genres than ever. There are more voiceover opportunities for voice actors of all experience levels than ever ever before. There's more genres than ever. There are more casting sites than ever, you know, because when I just started, you know there was radio commercials and TV commercials and you know not that much. I mean there was e-learning, reel-to-reel kind of stuff. You know there wasn't that much more.
09:24 Now there's app narration, explainer videos, you know, audio description. There's just so many other ways to get work. But the flip side of that, Anne, is that it's so complicated because there's almost like there's too many choices and there's too many coaches and there's too many casting sites and there's too many blogs and too many podcasts and too many DAWs and too many CRMs and the ability to navigate that and make sure that their time and money is well spent. It's a huge challenge. I mean, I'm on Reddit pretty regularly hanging out on the voiceover related subreddits and listening and watching and, you know, giving advice and stuff like that, and they all say the same thing I don't know where to find a good coach. I don't know how to vet a good coach. I got ripped off by this coach, isn't?
10:15 - Anne (Host) that funny? That's always the question. That's always the question because I think everybody's overwhelmed with that information. You know, I don't think it's unlike just because it's you know the online world today. I don't think it's unlike choices that you have in most everything, right, where can you find a good one? And so what do we do? We rely on word of mouth, we rely on recommendations from our peers who have had a good coach and can recommend a good coach, and so I think that it's good that we have the community and coaches that are out there. You know, hopefully you have a good reputation and if you don't, and if you're just kind of a fly by night coach, well, people will find that out too. So I think that it's, in a way, it's good that there is lots of talk and communication and I always tell you know people, testimonials are always, they're so worthwhile, and word of mouth and communication, and I always tell you know people, testimonials are always, they're so worthwhile and and word of mouth and recommendations. It really is kind of the way, I think, to get work, to get a good coach to do all of that. But I'm talking for me. I'm involved in the performance aspect of the coaching.
11:19 But you right, first of all, you can have the best voice, you can do the best audition, you can be, have the best performance skills ever, but if somebody doesn't know how to find you, or you're not marketing yourself properly, or you don't have your business set up properly guess what? You're not you're gonna sit there and not get hired. I just spoke to a new student the other day who I literally said he's got four demos. And I and he said, like he's been in the business for six years. And he's like well, I don't have an aging yet and I haven't had a VO job yet. And I'm like well, why have you not had a VO job yet? I mean, he's not like he hasn't spent his money. You know what I mean, and so he needs right.
12:00 And then I went and looked at his website. There's absolutely no. And I said, well, you have no examples of work that you've done. You have, you know, and you can't expect to get it all with just an agent, depending on the genre you're in. And he, basically, I said you can have the best voice in the world, but it's not going to do you any good if nobody can find you. So that's where your business coaching comes into play. So it's not just performance coaching that I think is necessary and business coaching is the non-sexy. It's kind of like I do corporate voiceover and it's like the non-sexy part of voiceover. I think business coaching sometimes gets that same stigma and in fact, it's something that I think people need more than ever, more than ever today. Right, and of course, talk about that, tom, of course as the VO strategist, I always say that everybody should get a business coach.
12:44 - Tom (Guest) But to your point is that you could work with me for years and have the best business model, have the best marketing strategies, but if you're not an effective performer, it's not going to matter.
12:58 Yeah, yeah, just like you said, you could be the best performer in the world, but if nobody knows you exist, it's not going to matter either. So it's this synergistic relationship of developing your what I call your storytelling skills, your VO-101 skills, breath control, microphone technique, your genre skills, you know, to be able to be demo ready, to make that shiny demo, and then you can do the things with the demo, which is what I, as the VO strategist, helps everybody with, and everybody has their own journey. Everybody has their own relationship with themselves internally, which it's our job as coaches to be like. Ok, you know, how does this person tick, how does this person respond? How does this person respond to criticism? How does this person respond to praise? How does this person respond to data? You know, and everybody has their own ideas of what success is for them. And these, you know, these people love these social media platforms and these people hate social media and these people hate all social media, and you know.
14:00 And these people hate social media, and these people hate all social media, and you know. And these people hate online casting sites and so on and so forth. So everybody has their own biases and tendencies and, as effective coaches, on both a performance level and a business and marketing level, you know it's our job to be able to navigate that, and that's why the single most important skill that every voiceover coach performance, business, marketing, tech or otherwise has to have is the ability to listen, which also is the same exact skill that every voice actor needs to be a successful, effective, relevant voice actor. So, if you're having a conversation with someone you're considering coaching with and you can't get a word in because they're talking about themselves or that one cartoon they did 30 years ago, or if it's all sell, sell, sell, that tells you something, because they are not asking you what your pain points are Sure.
14:53 - Anne (Host) Every good marketer Help you solve them.
14:55 - Tom (Guest) Exactly Every good marketer, whether it's a a commercial, tired of using this old mop this way. You know. That's identifying the pain point. If I used to use, I use this mop. This mop stinks. Go use this mop. This mop's great. If there isn't any kind of centered likes, any kind of back and forth, reciprocal. You know what are, what are you going through, what are what challenges have you? What are your struggles? Oh okay, well, based on this, this and this, I can help you with this, this and this, as opposed to some. You know old hack, who's just going to throw these stock scripts at you and you know in three lessons. And then you get your demo using the same scripts that everybody uses or a new hack, who you know?
15:32 - Anne (Host) there are new hacks we've seen a lot of those out there.
15:35 - Tom (Guest) I have noticed quite a few new hacks lately both in the performance and business and marketing categories.
15:42 - Anne (Host) I think also, when you talk about an industry that has evolved and changed so much and especially, you know, this year's been an interesting year I mean you've got changes in things outside of the industry that are affecting, you know, corporations and affecting people who advertise, and affecting the climate of what we do, and so that makes people scared to advertise Sometimes, it makes people scared to spend money. It makes, you know there's all sorts of things happening outside of our industry that affect our industry as well as you know. I mean what's happening in your own personal life as well as you know. I mean what's happening in your own personal life. So we talk about the necessity of performance coaching and business coaching, but there's also, believe it or not, there's something to be said for, you know, coaching of the mind and coaching to be a confident performer, a confident business person, somebody who can be competitive and negotiate in these times where it seems like everybody's vying for the same job, and so there's also mindset skills, I think, that are also valuable to be coached. I think, like you said it in the beginning, like a lifelong learner, I think we always have to be learning. We always have to be learning, and do we have to spend tons and tons of money doing it. No, not necessarily, but I do think that there's an investment there and I think it's something that you need to revisit.
17:08 If you did get coaching prior to your demo, maybe five years ago, and now maybe you need a new demo.
17:15 I personally think that everything needs a refresh and, you know, if you haven't coached in a while, I feel like having someone else's ears listen to you. If you haven't been booking why, why is that? Go to a trusted coach and have them listen to you and see if maybe you've fallen into some sort of a rut where maybe you're not delivering performance-wise I don't know a rut where maybe you're not delivering performance wise. Or, for example, when I spoke to the student yesterday who's like well, I haven't gotten a job yet, and I'm like OK, first of all, I'm looking at your website and you don't have downloadable demos. Your website, your demos, are five years old. You know there's lots of things that can contribute to not getting hired, and so I think that the coaching can. Yes, it's definitely investment, but again, remember, any business, you have investments and I think that again, more than ever, it is important to be educated and understand how you can evolve with the changing VO industry of today.
18:15 - Tom (Guest) I think what I agree with everything that you said wholeheartedly, on top of all, that all voice actors need to invest in empowerment. That is one of the biggest deficiencies that most aspiring voice actors have coming into the industry. They immediately, you know, disempower themselves. They immediately devalue themselves because they have this and this is a system of thought thing that I talk about all the time, Anne is that most people coming into the voice industry think that the industry is vertical, it's a ladder or a mountain and you have to climb it and as you climb it, you kick people in the face and knock them off the ladder or the mountain like it's some reality show and you go ha ha, I take your videos now.
19:01 Haha, I narrate them. You don't blah, blah. That's not how it works. I've always talked about how the voiceover industry is spherical and you're the center of your sphere and your job is to expand your sphere and empower yourself by including as many good humans in it as possible, both agents and managers and audio engineers and coaches and fellow voice actors and your accountant and your lawyer and your graphic designer or your social media manager or whoever to empower you so you can make the best decisions possible to expand that sphere and move your voiceover business forward.
19:36 So to work with an effective coach to be or just to be, just to be educating yourself in general is to empower you you know, on both a personal and a professional level, and the more that you can do that, the better chance you have of making those voiceover dreams come true.
19:55 - Anne (Host) I mean, and and speaking of, we always talk about, what are the red flags? What are the red flags right? How do we know a coach is worthy of my investment? Right, a coach, a business coach or performance coach? You know, I like to start with. First of all, let's let's talk about what it takes to get a good coach. I mean, what are the? What are the green flags Right? What? What do you look for in a good coach? What are some properties of a good coach? Would you?
20:22 - Tom (Guest) say you touched on this earlier. Reputation is definitely one. I mean there's the reputation of someone like a Jennifer Hale who holds the Guinness World Record for the most amount of video game characters ever recorded by a female. So there's a level of something that comes with that.
20:42 Jen also happens to be a great articulator and a great coach, but then there's other coaches that have done one character decades ago hasn't done much work since, and then that's the only thing that they hang their shingle and their reputation on this one character that they played a very, very long time ago. Shingle and their reputation on this one character that they played a very, very long time ago. Jennifer, like you and me and a bunch of our other coaching and voiceover friends are boots on the ground day to day, dare I say, in the trenches. Voice actors. We are working, we are auditioning and marketing and booking regularly. So I always say the first green flag for a good voiceover coach is to go to their voice actor website and go check that out.
21:26 See what they've got, see what they have done recently, see if their demos and YouTube Anne and playlists have been updated recently, check their IMDB profiles and see what work they have done. And layered on top of that, you know, as a voice actor, reputation, obviously, as a voiceover, coach, reputation, testimonials on the website, testimonials on social media platforms, conversations that people are having behind our back on various social media platforms or in subreddits or Discord servers or or facebook groups, like though that's some of the major. Those are two of the biggest green flags is the. You know, because you never know and there is no guarantee of any voice actor achieving any level of success, but you know your chances of empowerment will increase if you work with someone who knows what they're doing, has been doing it for a long time and is doing it today.
22:19 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly. So they have evolved over the evolution of the voiceover industry and so they know. They know what agents are looking for, they know what casting directors are looking for, they know what is relevant and current in the industry. So red flags on the other side.
22:38 - Tom (Guest) Well, the red flags are if they just started. There's a lot of voice actors or aspiring voice actors who do a couple of gigs and all of a sudden they hang out their shingle as a voiceover business coach and marketing coach, or performance coach. You and I see it all the time.
22:55 - Anne (Host) I think there has to be some longevity to it.
22:57 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, there needs to be some longevity to it. Yeah, there needs to be some longevity. Now. Everybody has to start somewhere, and you know someone who may turn out to be the greatest performance or business coach ever has to start somewhere, and start with one student.
23:12 And you know what I mean, but for those that haven't been in the industry for very long, that have little or no IMDB credits or have little or no samples on their voiceover website, all of a sudden they're a coach. Well, that's telling you something, and I've seen it from personal experience. People working, for example, with me get some business coaching from me and then a couple months later they're all of a sudden a business coach. And I'm like wait a minute, wait a minute, they never last.
23:38 - Anne (Host) Well, I always think they never last, though.
23:41 You know, for me it's always like and people say this all the time, right, you know the quick success, right, and I see it in. You know ads, in ads like, hey, you don't need expensive equipment or training to be a voice actor. And you know those are designed to sell the dream. And again we have to say it, you know, and it sounds like a broken record, but just if we reach just one person right and I always tell people like, honestly, it's a skill You're becoming an actor. I mean, that doesn't happen overnight. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It really is a marathon, and the people who are truly successful in this industry know that. And marathon by marathon, I'm not talking six months, I'm not talking three months, I'm not talking, I'm talking years, years of working in this industry and putting in the work, doing the auditions, getting the training. Those are the ones that become successful.
24:38 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely. This is a long-term investment. It's just like going to college, going to medical school, going to trade school going to vocational school.
24:49 It takes a long time to develop the skills and collect the tools, both literal, physical, microphone headphones, daw and the other business and marketing tools understanding how to write a business plan, how to create a marketing strategy, how to make long-term investments through blogging and social media, how to make short-term investments through auditioning on free casting sites and then developing your skills, and then maybe moving to pay-to-play casting sites which have higher quality, higher paying auditions and then using that to develop your skills to maybe then you're ready to submit to agents. There are things that have to happen in order. You know, a tomato can't grow until you plant the seed, water it and wait.
25:37 - Anne (Host) Right, exactly. Well, I love that because so many people are like well, I can't invest in another demo or more coaching until I make money in the industry. So, oh gosh, I wish I had a nickel for every time. Somebody said that to me and I'm like but it doesn't quite work like that In reality. You do have to make an initial upfront investment and it may take you a minute before you make that money back. And so you've got to get the skills developed in both running your business, establishing that you know, hanging out the shingle on your online website. There's money involved in that. There's money involved in you know setting up your business or getting you know good business coaching, advertising yourself. And there's, of course, money in performance wise being, you know, coached so that you're competitive.
26:26 In today's industry, you're competitive and doing well, and even the people who do, who are great performers. It's not always an immediate return on investment. I mean, gosh, I mean I've spoken to veterans out there. I mean you have to understand. You have to be in it long enough to understand that you're not going to get a commercial a day necessarily. I mean I don't know anybody that ever has, and that dream can't be sold to you. You really just have to be. I think you have to think what Malcolm? I always go back to Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours, really 10,000 hours of effort and you know to really start to see effective success. And then you evolve into growing into a better performer, a better actor, a better business person. Tom, if somebody's interested in it, how much would you say is when is a good time to invest? When do they take that step and say plunk down my money, here's my money, coach me.
27:37 - Tom (Guest) I would say what has to happen. I think the first thing that has to happen is that they have to invest in storytelling training first. Theater training, on-camera training, singing training, improv training, stand-up comedy training. Pick one of those disciplines.
27:52 - Anne (Host) But does that mean they have to spend money and go to an acting class? Not necessarily.
27:55 - Tom (Guest) I mean improv troops are free. You know open mic night is free. You know there's community theater is free. There's lots of places where they can develop that skill, because first they need to find out if they have that skill they don't want to be on stage.
28:09 - Anne (Host) That's why they're right. That's why they're doing it behind the mic. That's why right.
28:13 - Tom (Guest) So for those people. Right, and the thing about that is they need to find out if they have the ability, through the power of their voice, to engage and be engaging. If you can do that through those, then you can. Then that's when I think is a good time to start your VO training. Here's the other thing, Anne, is that you know. You mentioned briefly AI at the beginning of it. If you are better than AI when you're, you know when you're starting to invest in your training, you're not going to get anywhere.
28:42 - Anne (Host) And what's going to make the difference? And AI reads really well. So if you're nothing but a really pretty reader, yeah, you got no shot.
28:48 - Tom (Guest) You're not going to advance. That's why getting acting, theater, improv, stand up or singing training is going to already you're hitting the ground running by already being better than AI when you're, once you're ready for your VO training. That's why I think you should really start that way.
29:02 - Anne (Host) Yeah, One thing I do want to stress is that my coaching has gone. It was always been acting based. I mean it starts with acting based. So for those people who've never taken acting course, I always I always recommend that they take an acting course anyway, because there's a subtle difference between acting in front of other people or acting with people and then acting behind the mic, and it's nice to have that 360 degree view of all the aspects of the acting. And a good coach will teach you voice acting and not just here's a script, here's how and direct you to a sound that would sound good on a demo, really, and that's why I concentrate. I'm almost obsessed with personally training people to be good actors, because that's going to last them so much longer than just a directed demo. Right, Because if any good director can direct you to a good demo, really it's.
29:55 You know they can give you the read that people are looking for and then you can have a great demo. But then, all of a sudden, when you're asked to produce that or you're trying to audition and you're wondering why you're not booking the jobs, that's because you haven't established the basic skills, the basic acting skills required. Definitely, investment is not just in a voice acting coach, but, yes, in, I think, acting classes, improv classes. All of that can help. All of that can help.
30:21 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely. It's just going to make you that much better, that much faster and that much better of a decision maker than AI, because the real skill, when it comes to true performance, is not about what impressions you can do is can you make strong acting choices quickly, right, right, right. And if you can do that when the client says, hey, abc. That for me, and you can do is can you make strong acting choices quickly, right, right, right. And if you can do that when the client says, hey, abc that for me, and you can give them three takes with different emphasis and different motivations and different levels of engagement.
30:47 That's what's going to get you ahead of the pack.
30:50 - Anne (Host) And honestly, it's one of those things that you have to understand that if you're looking, if you happen to just be getting in this industry and you watch social media, be careful with that, because a lot of what happens on social media is all the positive things, all the hey I booked the gig but I can't tell you about it, or the illusion that you know people are successful, because you know it takes a very special person to be on social media and say, oh gosh, I didn't nail it and I'm so upset Because a lot of times, well, first of all, if it's something that's under NDA, we can't really talk about it anyways.
31:28 But if you give the illusion or you're looking at other people that are giving the illusion that they're successful and making tons of money and they just started or they didn't do it this way, there's multiple ways to be successful in voiceover and there are some people that would say you don't necessarily need coaching. Honestly, I don't buy into that, but I think at some point everybody needs to have that extra ear, hearing them or giving them some sort of education about it, whether it could be a manager, it could be a talent agent. It doesn't have to be an actual voiceover coach, but somebody that's giving you feedback so that you can then take that feedback and improve. Do what you need to educate and improve yourself.
32:12 - Tom (Guest) I think you touched upon something very critical which is one of the most important skills is the ability to self-direct and with COVID wiping out all in-person auditions, at least here in New York City, and for most voice actors, almost 100% of their actual bookings are going to be taking place at home, not being directed. Then you need to learn how to listen to yourself objectively when it comes to pace and tone and inflection and sibilance and regionalisms and mic placement and breath control and, obviously, performance choices. That you should be able to learn how to hear yourself and adjust accordingly, because if you can't do that, you can't be an effective voice actor.
32:58 - Anne (Host) That's a process being able to self-direct, it's being able to develop an ear. An ear doesn't happen overnight, typically, it just doesn't. It's hard for people to actually hear themselves without actually hearing how they sound and to evaluate themselves as an actor. So it is tough. Themselves as an actor. So it is tough. And it does take, I think, a lot of I'm going to say a lot of practice, a lot of you know, auditions, a lot of failing, a lot of just going oh shoot, what could I have done wrong? Or maybe feedback, and so, yeah, there's a lot to that. I mean, gosh, we could just go on all day. But guys, again, you know we're both coaches. Of course we'd love it if you coach with us, but just know that it's valuable. It's valuable in today's voiceover industry to have another set of ears, to have a trusted coach, somebody. That's what they do. They've been established in the business that is guiding you along this career, which, again, is a marathon not a sprint. Good discussion, tom, yeah.
33:57 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Good discussion All right, tom.
33:58 - Anne (Host) Yeah, good discussion. All right guys. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and connect like bosses, like real bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
34:13 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by a very special guest, Aisha Manrique, a distinguished voice talent and coach whose voice resonates across the Caribbean and beyond. In this illuminating conversation, they explore the unique landscape of the Caribbean voiceover industry, where talent must build their careers through hustle and intentional branding. Aisha shares her inspiring journey, from being "divinely called" to the industry to becoming the voice of Disney.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by the incomparable Melique Berger, a true icon in the voiceover world with over 50 years of acting experience. In this powerful conversation, they explore the central truth of the industry: a voice actor must be an actor first.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by her lovely co-host, Danielle Famble, for the Boss Money Talk Series. The BOSSes tackle a fundamental challenge of a voiceover freelance career: managing inconsistent income. Drawing from her past job experiences, Danielle shares practical wisdom on how to budget, save, and build a financial cushion. This conversation redefines "budgeting" as a tool for empowerment and offers a strategic roadmap for every voice actor to take control of their finances, ensure stability, and thrive.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, are you ready to achieve those dreams? With MyLife Transformation coaching services, I can help you reach your full potential. Don't let fear and uncertainty hold you back. Take control of your life today. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started.
00:20 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:39 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm Anne Ganguzza and I am here with my lovely co-host, Danielle Famble.
00:49 - Danielle (Guest) Hey Anne, hello Danielle, hey, hey, how you doing, how are you? I'm good, I'm good, I'm good.
00:53 - Anne (Host) Well, I am glad to have you back and I have a topic for discussion today, because I've had, on more than one occasion, some students recently talk to me about gosh. I'm just having a hard time finding work and I don't know if I should continue to stay in this industry because it's just getting too hard. I mean to sustain it, and so what should I do? It would be a worthy topic of discussion to talk about, like this particular industry and how we handle our financial situation in times of inconsistency, because it's just a known fact, guys, bosses out there, it is an inconsistent, it is part of being an entrepreneur. Our, our income is inconsistent. So what do we do and how do we budget for those times when maybe it's slow or, you know, when it's not slow, and what do we do when we have inconsistent income?
01:55 - Danielle (Guest) That's such a good question. That's a big part of being a boss, being an entrepreneur and being in this business, and it's good to give the perspective one you know to your students that you're coaching and to anyone listening. You're not alone. It doesn't mean that you're a bad voice actor. It doesn't mean that you're bad at this business. That is the nature of what it is, that we do, and so it has nothing to do with you or your worth or the fact that you're not good. Slow months happen all the time. It happens to the best of us.
02:24 - Anne (Host) And you know, I think it's really something a point worth mentioning is I've been in this industry about 18 years and it's always inconsistent, like there's not been a year where it hasn't been inconsistent. So it is something that I think, if you plan correctly and you're prepared for, it doesn't come as a surprise and it's something that you can absolutely continue to grow and build your business through oh, totally Inconsistent income. So, as long as you plan and strategize, yeah, and you just know this is normal.
02:56 - Danielle (Guest) This has not got anything to do with you. This is a normal thing, you know. It reminds me of I don't know if you know this, anne, but I used to be a waitress for a long, long time. I was a waitress at comedy clubs and the way that I made my money was on tips, and so I got used to living on an inconsistent income and realizing that there's going to be a couple of days or weeks or months where it's going to be great and then it's going to be slow. Maybe you get cut because it's so slow that they don't need you to be there. But you know, the thing that didn't get cut was my fixed expenses, my rent, my cell phone bill, all of those things.
03:35 So I would say to those are stable. Yeah, figure out what your stable expenses are and make sure that you can keep that as your base and plan for your base Anything on top of that. You know when times are great and when you're making a lot more money, you can use that to keep it to the side for a buffer, but really just know what your base expenses are, which then goes back to our longstanding conversation about knowing your numbers and the data and everything else. If you're too afraid to look at what your expenses are, you're not going to know what your base is that you need to be able to maintain at all times. So really like have the courage, look at what are your expenses that are fixed, that are stable, and know what your base is, and you want to be able to hit your base every single month.
04:22 - Anne (Host) So then, budget around your worst month, not your best month. Yeah, absolutely Right. And and that and the and the numbers on your worst month can can actually like I. I mean, I could say what are your expenses and your worst month would be you didn't make anything. Budget around that. That's what I would say. Right, that's your worst case scenario, and so you'll still need to be able to function. And so what does that mean in terms of if I don't make any income for an entire month, does that mean I should give up my voiceover business, danielle?
04:54 - Danielle (Guest) I don't think so, but I do think that you do need to have some way of knowing that there is income coming in from another form. So maybe it's not the income coming in from your voiceover business, because you didn't make anything that month but you do have a nine to five or you do have a babysitting job or you do have. You know, you do Uber on the weekends or what have you. Just know that there needs to be, that money needs to be coming in from somewhere else. If it's not coming in from somewhere else, then we need to find how can we get to our first dollar. Is it in voiceover? Is it in another way of making money? But make sure that you know that there is some income coming in so that, even if the income from your voiceover business is at zero for the month, you know that there is income coming in from somewhere else that's going to be able to offset and still hit your baseline goal.
05:43 - Anne (Host) And I think your budget right for those months you don't live on that budget. I mean it should be a budget for a budget that is a low-income month, not necessarily like I'm going to continue to go to Starbucks every morning or I'm going to. Maybe that's a necessity, maybe you feel like that's worked into your bare necessities, but is that something that you're willing to give up in a low-income month? Or is going out to dinner? I think that's the biggest one. I think, like my husband and I are like okay, we got to stop going out to dinner, right, because that's an unnecessary expense. If we're trying to tighten our budget during a low-income month, it's mostly like oh, and we're going to go out and spend money doing this, or are we going to go out and spend money doing that? A lot of times it's based around food. Why is that?
06:25 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, I mean, that's mine as well. It's food, but then sometimes it's you know, if you're going to be spending additional money on things in your business, maybe it's that you forego coaching for the next couple of months because you don't really have the money for that, or maybe you need to forego some other things in your business and subscriptions that maybe can be paused. It's not just what you're doing in your life, it's also things that you can cut back in your business too, so that you can make sure that you know. You know, I know that my fixed expenses for the operations of me are this these are the things that will you know, that are always going to stay the same my housing, food, you know, basic necessities, business expenses.
07:10 - Anne (Host) Business expenses as well, I'm going to say rocket money. I had a free trial and I used it. It's great for finding out those recurring monthly expenses that you have that all of a sudden like oh, that Sirius XM like subscription that I have for my car, which I don't drive very often because I work from home, right, but now I can play SiriusXM everywhere, but still that subscription costs, and it used to only cost like $12.99. Now it's like $25 a month, and so that can help you keep track of those subscriptions that creep up on you that you may or may not be utilizing.
07:44 - Danielle (Guest) And everything is a subscription nowadays, so really you have to. It's so sneaky, but you can find a lot of unused subscriptions and then you can recoup some of that money back just by saying no, thank you to those subscriptions.
07:59 - Anne (Host) Think about your Starbucks as a subscription. That's true, really, if it's something you do every day, I mean really. I mean I know there's a lot of people that that's a daily habit, and you know. Think of that as a subscription. And one other thing I wanted to mention, and I would not have even thought of this really until I incorporated and became an S Corp but I am required to pay myself a salary, right, and that's something that you know.
08:22 When you're trying to like skimp on your, your budget, or you're trying to figure out your expenses, don't forget you need money to live, you need money to buy the groceries, you need money to pay the rent you need, and so I think it's always a good idea, even if you're not an S-corp, to really kind of think about here's the money coming in. A portion of that should be set aside for my expenses, for me, right, that's my salary, and then pay yourself on a set schedule. I think that helps you really get an idea as to okay, here's the money I need to live on, here's the money that's profiting in my business. I don't know. It's just one of those things that maybe it's worth it to take a look at.
09:03 - Danielle (Guest) Absolutely. That should be a core staple that everyone should be doing is you know we're doing this. We're in business to make a profit, and so the idea is I need to get paid, and making sure that you pay yourself first so that you are getting used to, and your business is getting used to, that expense of making sure you're paid. That's the study and that's actually how you can stay steady is okay. I know that I'm going to be paying myself a certain amount every single month. That is the expense of my business to pay me, but that's also how I'm able to pay my bills, keeping that steady, and it doesn't need to be that you wait until you are an S-Corp to do that. I would say try to start doing that as quickly as possible. Once you have established the fact that you're doing this business, you're in business.
09:51 - Anne (Host) I would not have realized that until you know I really started an S-Corp and I should have actually. Again, I needed to take a look at the numbers.
09:59 - Danielle (Guest) Here's the deal when you do have those lean months, it doesn't come as such a shock no-transcript Because if you wait, that is going to be a surprise likely to you where you're not really expecting it. And then you get into a really unfortunate situation where this inconsistent income has caused an inconsistent pattern in how you're paying yourself and how you're putting money to the side. So make sure that when you're paying yourself you're also making sure to take care of your tax liabilities.
11:01 - Anne (Host) Yes, Excellent idea. And another thing, as I look at you here in your brand new, shiny, sparkly studio, right and we've talked about this so many times before is having that financial cushion, right, Having that emergency fund. But I think honestly, like, if you can have more than just that emergency fund, which doesn't get touched under the extreme circumstances of an emergency, but consider having another fund which is, you know, just a one to three cushion fund, right, Right that you have to live in the event that you have a slow month, right, and having that separate fund where you feel secure and confident that you can take from that fund and you're not dipping into that emergency fund. Because I always feel guilty if I'm dipping into my emergency fund. Well, number one, because my emergency fund is heavily invested in my high-yield savings account, which doesn't mean that you can't have a one to three-month cushion also sitting in a high-yield savings account, and so I always feel like, oh, I don't want to touch that because I want to keep earning interest on the greatest amount of money possible Sure yeah.
12:06 And so that's my emergency fund, but also maybe having a separate fund just for, oh, times are lean this month and you know, and I'm going to say, maybe, in order to give me better mental health, I do need a Starbucks today or I do need a pair of earrings today. But I'm going to be a caution. I'm going to caution people to not necessarily go out and shop your, your financial worries away, because you know, that's me. I've definitely been in that trap where, oh, I just need to feel better. Let me go out and buy some new clothes, yeah, or a new lipstick, yeah.
12:41 I think try not to do that. But you know, I think that one to three month other fund that you have will help you to pay the bills.
12:47 - Danielle (Guest) Absolutely. And so then you can use sort of a system where you're making sure that when things are inconsistent and times are a little bit leaner and you're not making as much money, you know what your baseline, your core base expenses are. And then, when things are going really well and you're making a lot more money and you had a really great month, you put some of that money to the side in that cushion fund that's not your emergency fund and when things are low, you use that cushion fund to make sure that you're staying afloat. I like that sort of cycle of making sure that you are taking care of yourself. It's not necessarily feast or famine when things are going really well.
13:28 You have already looked ahead and taken care of yourself, because you know that this is a cyclical business, this is inconsistent. It's an inconsistent income kind of business and you know that one day you're going to need to use the money that you are currently making. Don't just spend everything that you're making. Put it to the side so that when it is inconsistent and when it is a slower month, you're pulling from the times when you had a really great month to keep yourself, you know, in balance. And that's, I think, the way to do it is you should look at this month or any given month, as am I taking care of me now, or am I taking care of me now and me in the future? But always make sure that you are doing that delicate balance.
14:16 - Anne (Host) Speaking of, you know, setting aside money for taxes, and setting aside, you know, that money. Don't forget about retirement guys. Don't forget about a retirement fund. Please don't forget about retirement. One thing I want to say is that and I'm not a money girl, right, or I never thought of myself as a money girl, but can I just tell you, the software companies are making it easier and easier. Like your credit cards are now categorizing your spending, right, Because, of course, they want you to use the credit card more. So they're going to categorize it and you can find out where your expenses are going, and if you use the credit card, you can get 3% back. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah. They want to encourage credit card spending, but also you can use that as a method for really finding out where is all your money going.
14:57 Quickbooks like I never thought. Like my QuickBooks Online. Like you can generate a report literally a report in a matter of seconds, Whereas before it used to be really difficult, man, If you were doing like spreadsheets. And I don't know, Danielle, I can't remember what product you use, but I mean I need something simple, something that does the work for me. Some people are really hardcore and go right into the Excel spreadsheet and that's how they track their budget. But, like for me, I just generate, I flip, I generate a report really quickly in QuickBooks and it tells me, oh my gosh, I spent so much money this month on my expenses going out versus what was coming in, and so I can really then make an educated and strategized decision based upon those reports.
15:39 And I can do, I can generate those reports at the flick of a button. And even if I hate finances right which I know a lot of people don't like to look at their, their money yeah, it's again one of those things. This is your business and it is something that, if you're not looking at it, pay somebody else to do it, like my accountant. Then talk with your accountant and say, hey, look, where's all my money going. Or I found that I had a slow month. And then have that weekly meeting or that monthly meeting that says here, OK, they can break it down for you and say, look, you're, they can generate the reports and they say, look, here's what you're spending on lipstick and or here's what you're spending on restaurants going out, and here's where you can maybe potentially save money. Or think about taking this money that you have left over and putting it into this type of an investment account.
16:23 - Danielle (Guest) This money that you have left over and putting it into this type of an investment account and taking care of future you.
16:29 So you've got sort of the shorter term future you of this one to three months cushion for when times are lean. You've got your emergency fund, which usually I say you know, six to eight months I say closer to for me, yeah, six to eight months, which is a pretty big emergency fund, but that's because we're self-employed and so I want to have a pretty good cushion, or the longer term fund being your retirement. And there are ways, depending on how you have it set up, where, if you're investing in your retirement account, that helps you in tax time because it might lower the amount that you are paying on your taxes.
17:05 So it is always forward looking. It's looking at what's happening today and it's looking at what would be happening in the shorter term future or longer term future. And how can you use the windfall that you have or maybe are not experiencing now? How can you use that to keep you afloat, you know, with your core base expenses. But it really is again going back to do. You know what those core base expenses are Right, and how can you stay, you know, level with them. And if you need to dip into the bank of you, then you can do that with no shame and no problem, knowing that you've already done the work to take care of yourself.
17:44 - Anne (Host) From a girl that's a little less of a money girl to a girl who is a money girl. One thing that always sneaks up on me are those antics annual fees or the recurring right subscriptions or that come up once a year. Because I went from let's not do it every month, let's save and let's do yearly subscriptions, but every once in a while, if I'm not paying attention, that yearly subscription will come up and it'll be taken out of my account and I'll be like whoa, how do you do you prepare yourself? I do For those things. So talk about how you prepare you know some of those things.
18:18 - Danielle (Guest) you know we use the word like surprise expenses, when, like it's kind of like these are super noble things, like yeah, I signed up for that credit card that has that high annual fee.
18:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It was me.
18:28 - Danielle (Guest) It wasn't like some, somebody impersonating me Right large expense, that is, a knowable expense. I typically will put a calendar alert in a month in advance so that I can remind myself that this is coming. For example, my credit cards. I have the American Express Platinum card, I have the American Express Gold card and they have very high annual fees and for some reason I applied for them around the same time of the year and different years. So they, the annual fees, they come and they hit like roughly, like right, one after the other and I always think to myself Danielle, what did you do?
19:05 Why did you do that? Why did you do that? Why did what were you doing in December that you really needed a new credit? Why did you do that right in the same time. And that's, you know, my own personal journey. But I know that it's coming, so I can prepare either a little bit every single month to make sure I'm ready for that, yeah, or because I've given myself that calendar alert saying hey, danielle, just so you know this is coming up next month, I'm already mentally and financially prepared that that hit is about to happen. Most of those, you know, those subscriptions, those annual subscriptions, those are things that are knowable expenses, albeit big expenses. So your calendar is your very best friend. Give yourself the heads up and know that it's coming.
19:49 - Anne (Host) I agree I live by my calendar anyway for a day-to-day schedule of things that I'm doing. And I think if you have a calendar, a financial calendar, I mean my goodness. I mean you could make an easy financial calendar. I use Google Calendar for everything and they're color-coded when do I have coaching sessions? When do I have monthly workouts coming up, when do I have all of these things, holidays and that sort of thing, so you could have a financial calendar that has all of your subscription renewals and or your monthly costs, like those base costs that we talked about, so that you're prepared.
20:25 This month I'm going to plan on spending this amount of money. And also, again, it's one of those things that if you have an accounting software that can be generated in an accounting software easily, your monthly budget, absolutely, and you know it's something that you need to like. And again, I'm talking from a girl. I'm not a money girl, but I have to force myself to do that and take a hard look at what's going out every month and how can I cut? And I recently just said, ok, how can I trim the budget in my company, because I had been like, oh, let me try this software. I'm a big risk taker Danielle, and we talk about this thing, I hoard software too.
21:04 Yeah, I buy software subscriptions, I try things out and then I forget about them sometimes right.
21:10 I was like, oh, I haven't used it. I tried that out, I paid for the subscription, I forgot about it. So every once in a while I have to revisit what am I putting my money into, and has it given me a return on my investment? And if not, I need to trim the fat. And so I really I did that more recently so that I could have money to invest in something different.
21:31 So again I had, and I invest in in people who who work for me, and again I wanted to invest in some additional advertising, and so I needed to get that money from somewhere Right. So I had to kind of figure out where can I consolidate my expenses Right? Can I get, now that you know I've evolved in my business so many years, maybe I don't need this particular, I don't need as much social media, maybe I don't need, you know, that monthly subscription to this particular? You know, pay to play. Am I really using this pay to play?
22:07 And again, you know, figure out what am I? Where's my money coming in? Where am I making the most of my money? And do I want to reinvest my money coming in into that, into getting more of that, or do I want to reinvest my money coming in into that, into getting more of that, or do I want to diversify and maybe explore another genre of voiceover, or I want to get more voiceover work in this particular genre? What's it going to take for me to get there? So I think, really again taking a look at the money, and if you hate looking at money, I suggest, even if you hate looking at money, it's something that you got to do. Consider it an education in running your own business.
22:40 - Danielle (Guest) I would consider, if you hate looking at money, that you really need to look at money.
22:46 - Anne (Host) If you don't like it, then you really need to do it If you don't like it, that's a flag.
22:50 - Danielle (Guest) That's a flag, that's a flag. Run toward it, run toward it.
22:55 - Anne (Host) I love it.
22:55 - Danielle (Guest) I was told by my financial advisor to have money dates with myself, and I think what you're talking about would be a really great thing to do twice a year of these sinking funds, these mini emergency fund or emergency fund, so that you know where you need to divert more of your money in the good months, in the months where you're making so much more money than you planned for. That's really a great thing to do and I would say once or twice a year to reevaluate that, because maybe your one to three month or your short term emergency fund, let's say, is about a couple thousand dollars under. So you know. Ok, you know what. Why don't I put my money and my focus on beefing that up so that when we have these inconsistent months or when we have lower months, I know that I'm good. You won't know until you take the time to really look at it. So give yourself the money date of taking a real look at your money and knowing your numbers about what is your core expenses, what can you maybe trim or what can you press pause on, and then what can you run toward when it's time and when you have the money for it.
24:18 I love the idea of sinking funds. You have a fund specifically for your education, for your just slower months, for things that you do when you book that really big job and maybe you want to take yourself on a nice you know nice dinner or something like that like ways to celebrate. You can have multiple of these sinking funds. That's what something like that, like ways to celebrate. You can have multiple of these, these sinking funds. That's what I like about some of these online accounts where you can have a bank account that will give you an unlimited number of smaller, you know, virtual accounts where you can just put that money to the side I love that that's great.
24:52 - Anne (Host) It's a really great hack that I use.
24:54 That's a new concept and and what I like.
24:57 What I like about how you're talking and you're phrasing this whole conversation is you're talking about funds, right, you're talking about fund accounts, yeah, versus when, when and I don't know if this is just me and my age, but, like whenever I was talked about, well, you need to set up a budget that had a negative connotation and that meant that I wasn't making the money that I should have been making, or I was. You know what I mean? I was somehow lacking in whatever, mostly in money, right, I was lacking in money and the ability to either manage my money or whatever it was, but it had a negative connotation and I think that we need to reframe that whole concept. Again, if we talk about, like, money blocks, right, it could be a form of a money block and, in reality, the term budget, you can rephrase it to say you know, your money funds or your fund account it's giving you more of like a permission to celebrate it because you are strategizing, you are creating a future with a purpose, yes, and your purpose is focused, strategized and smart.
26:03 - Danielle (Guest) Absolutely, and it's purposeful. It's what you've decided that you're going to do. So budgeting for me, when I think about it, it's what am I deciding that I'm going to be spending my money on and this money is allocated towards that thing that I already decided. If you take away the concept that a budget is restricting you, it's not restricting you. It's where you have already pre-purposed and pre-determined where your money is going to go, and then you just do as you set out. It gives you freedom and it puts you in the driver's seat. You decided that you want to spend your money on the Starbucks or your whatever, and isn't that what we?
26:44 - Anne (Host) yeah, Exactly, Isn't that what we decided? Bosses right, we are in the driver's seat. We are the boss Totally, and you know you need to be the boss of all aspects of this business. And I think, if you really take a look at your budgets and or your funding accounts and I love what you just said about the virtual accounts there, Danielle that's a concept that I actually was not aware of, so now I'm going to be researching that because I love that, I love being able to it's like my content buckets for social media, right? This?
27:15 is going to be my fund buckets for Ann's Lipstick, no, for my business. Right For that Starbucks account. I've got money in it. So I think that really gives us a much clearer strategy and purpose when really looking at our business. And again, you always want to go forward and move forward in your business and this is one way that you guys can get there Totally.
27:38 - Danielle (Guest) You are in the driver's seat. These are not things happening to you. You can make the decision as to where you spend your money when it comes, and if you need to dip into the bank of you so that you future you is taken care of, because the you of today did the work to make sure that they were taking care of future. You Love that. That's. What I love about being an entrepreneur is that I'm taking responsibility for myself and taking care of responsibility of myself today and also future me, by putting money into the spending buckets or to the sinking funds, to my retirement account, to my emergency fund, and then I am making these financial decisions with me in mind, because that's my job is to take care of myself and also the people that are around me that I touch with my business, with my life, with my purpose.
28:32 - Anne (Host) And with that lovely words of wisdom, danielle, I'm going to thank you so much. What a great conversation. Yeah, this is a great conversation. Love it, love it, love it. Bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like the money boss that Danielle is. I absolutely love it. I love, love, loved our conversation. Thank you again, bosses. Have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.
28:58 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSS Anne Ganguzza is joined by Lau Lapides for a discussion on the most fundamental skill for a successful voice actor: storytelling. From breaking out of a predictable melody to using props and sensory cues, Anne and Lau provide actionable tips and acting techniques to help you bring authenticity, emotion, and life to every script.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Tom Dheere to tackle a topic many voice actors fear most: marketing. In this episode, they break down the essential difference between direct marketing (you go to them) and indirect marketing (they come to you). The hosts discuss how to make both strategies work for you, offering a powerful, actionable roadmap for building a sustainable voiceover business.
00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey boss listeners. Are you ready to turn your voiceover career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.
00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:44 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Real Boss series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with Mr Tom Dheere. Hello, hello, hello, the Real Boss, Tom Dheere.
00:56 - Tom (Guest) Hi, I'm seeing the light ring in my glasses. I'm going to change. I want to change these.
01:01 - Anne (Host) Wait, I thought you said I'm seeing the light.
01:03 - Tom (Guest) I'm seeing the light. Well, yeah, no, but the light was seeing me and my glasses, so I'm switching over. I have, like different pairs of glasses for where I'm at.
01:11 - Anne (Host) No, really. So like these are better. I hear that. I hear that Yours are part of a marketing strategy.
01:18 - Tom (Guest) Mine are purely because my eyeballs are decomposing. I can hear them.
01:22 - Anne (Host) But me too, though, I need them as well, and I figure I might as well make them part of a marketing strategy. And speaking of marketing, yes. Great segue, isn't it? I think it's one of the most feared things for any voice actor is to actually think and do marketing, and so it's a great topic to talk about, because, I mean, we could talk like multiple podcasts about it, but let's talk about marketing Indirect marketing, direct marketing. They're both important.
01:49 - Tom (Guest) Yes, absolutely.
01:50 - Anne (Host) Let's distinguish the difference.
01:52 - Tom (Guest) Right, and this is the thing that when most people come into the voiceover industry, they think and their instinct is correct, so I need to market myself. What does that mean? For most people, it's slamming into social media sideways and talking about what they had for breakfast, or it most often means cold calls and cold emails. Now, you can clearly lump all of that stuff together into marketing, but there's a lot more to it. It's a lot more nuanced than that.
02:18 - Anne (Host) You say the word cold calls and I think people go cold. I know they do. They're like oh no cold calls now.
02:25 - Tom (Guest) So the way I talk about it is that there is direct marketing and then there is indirect marketing, also known as active marketing or passive marketing. So direct or active marketing is when you are seeking out specific potential clients and you are basically grabbing them by the lapels and saying, hey, you give me money to say stuff out loud.
02:48 - Anne (Host) Here I am. Hello, this is me.
02:50 - Tom (Guest) Hello, right Now that's a cold call, that is a cold email. There's also follow-up emails and getting your seven touches.
02:57 - Anne (Host) And that's direct, because it's direct contact with a potential client.
03:01 - Tom (Guest) Exactly. And then there is indirect marketing, which is where you're kind of like doing your thing over here in hopes that people or robots will notice you Right and come to you Right. So, for example, working on search engine optimization on your website, that's a form of indirect marketing or passive marketing, because if somebody's searching for you, hopefully your website or your content will rank higher on Google, bing, yahoo and they'll be like, hey, who's this person? And then they reach out to you Right.
03:30 - Anne (Host) Or they're seeing you on social media.
03:32 - Tom (Guest) Social media, exactly, is another perfect example of indirect marketing. So that's where you're kind of like demonstrating your value, your progress, your humanity as a voice actor and a person, in hopes that it will get voice seekers' attention and be engaged with your content and hopefully you'll stay top of mind for future projects.
03:50 - Anne (Host) An easy I would say an easy way of thinking about it is direct marketing. You go to them In direct marketing. They're coming to you.
03:58 - Tom (Guest) Exactly. Yeah, that's exactly right.
04:00 - Anne (Host) I think, equally terrifying for voice actors yes, yes, I think that it's great that we made the distinction now between the two.
04:09 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And.
04:09 - Anne (Host) I think the one that really causes people probably the most terror is the direct marketing part of it, because they have to reach out to someone who is a complete stranger to them and that we are a complete stranger to them and they're a complete stranger to us. And so direct marketing, I think, requires, I think, a little more knowledge, so it makes it a little less scary.
04:29 - Tom (Guest) I think so too.
04:36 - Anne (Host) That's the way I see it, and what I try to explain to a lot of my students who talk about marketing and their fear of marketing is, of course, all the indirect methods, which they're probably much more apt to do, because they can create a blog, they can go on social media, they can create a video, they can do things like that, and that to them, I think, is more of a concrete path than oh my God, I got to go find someone. Who do I reach out to, what do I say and how does that work? And so I think the first distinction that I want to make with direct marketing is to make it less terrifying. Is that I want to make with direct marketing is to make it less terrifying is just an understanding that people have needs. How many times can I bring up the Chanel lipstick, right?
05:09 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) How many times it's a great example.
05:10 - Anne (Host) I just keep going back to it where here's the Chanel lipstick. It is part of my brand and I want to work with this company, chanel, and so ultimately, they don't know who I am. I mean, I kind of know who they are, but I don't know exactly who I should contact. And so when does Chanel have a need for voiceover? Right, when they have a campaign, right when they have a campaign and when maybe they have a voiceover and they want to replace that voice, and so it's very much based on need and when they need voiceover, a voiceover.
05:41 It's not that. Oh, I'm going to reach out and I never heard back and therefore that's a bad lead or it didn't work or I'm done. I failed. You cannot think that, guys, because it's all on a timely basis, so when I need a new lipstick, I'm not constantly searching for a new lipstick, but when I need one, then if an email comes my way or a social media ad comes my way talking about a new shade of red, I'll be like, oh, I need that, let me look into it.
06:10 And that's the same thing that, as a voice actor, you need to understand about direct marketing.
06:14 - Tom (Guest) Right, put it another way. And what are the client's pain points? How can you cure what ails them? How can you solve their problems? So I'm going to take your Chanel lipstick example and I'm going to continue it. So let's put it in voiceover terms Chanel wants to advertise that lipstick. So they want to make advertisements of some sort. It could be print, it could be digital, it could be TV, radio streaming or whatever. Right, chanel?
06:42 - Anne (Host) Look to me, Chanel. I talk about you all the time. I'm just saying In my podcast Please make Anne a compensated endorser for your lovely products.
06:51 - Tom (Guest) So Chanel usually would have to hire a marketing agency or an ad firm or something like that to come up with whatever. The concept would be. Okay, well, this is Chanel, it's this type of lipstick, we're targeting this type of audience, or they?
07:04 have it in-house or they have it in-house and they'll say, okay, well, our demographic is women of this particular age range.
07:19 Okay, so we need to make sure that the content and context of the advertisement is making sure that we're targeting that particular demographic.
07:22 It needs to appeal to them on a visual or an auditory level or some other combination of that. Maybe we need to get an influencer in here or a celebrity or something like that, but we still need a voice actor to do whatever the radio or streaming or TV is. So they come up with a concept, they write the script. Now they need to get a production company to turn this script into reality and then the production company now this is where they have choices. They can go to a casting director and a casting director and the casting director can then reach out to agents and managers to find the voice actors. They can post that casting notice on a casting site like a Voice 123 or a VO Planet or a Badalgo, or they can have their own roster of voice actors that every time a casting notice comes up, they go through their own list of voice actors. That every time a casting notice comes up, they go through their own list of voice actors and then send the casting notices out to the appropriate voice actors to collect auditions right.
08:12 - Anne (Host) Before you continue, I'm going to intercept and say all right, let's talk about how often do they need this right? That is something that is the big unknown right. How often are they needing a new campaign? And that is something that I think is the most ambiguous, maybe, to the voice actor, because we don't know we don't work for the company, we don't know how often they need these new ads. So what I don't want people to expect, and I think what a lot of people do expect, is like well, I reached out to them and they don't want me. Well, they don't have a need for you Yet. Yeah, and I don't think it's appropriate to think that any one company needs a voice actor 24-7.
08:48 - Tom (Guest) Unless you're Joseph Riano.
08:50 - Anne (Host) But that's a different genre, right. That's promo, that's a different genre, that's promo and that's actually a network right.
08:55 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Right.
08:55 - Anne (Host) That, yeah, you're required to do these ads because things change all the time. Chanel lipstick how often are they coming up with new colors? How often are they coming up with new colors? There's seasons, right? How often are they coming up with new lipsticks? Right? That is not necessarily a daily. Companies don't come out with new products every single day, so therefore they may not have a need. So please keep that in mind, guys, because I think a lot of people get discouraged when they don't hear back. Marketing is the long haul. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
09:21 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, getting auditions from your agents and managers and getting auditions from online casting sites. Those are short term. There's an audition right now. You audition for it right now Because they've had a need Right. Using direct and indirect marketing strategies is a long-term investment in developing relationships with clients Big distinction. A lot of people argue oh, agents are better than this and this is better than that, and none of that is true.
09:46 All of it's extremely subjective, based on the genres of voiceover that you want to do and the marketing methods and comfort level that you have with technology and interpersonal stuff. Like some people will be like I'll make cold calls all day. I love doing it. And some people are like I'm terrified of talking to people. I will only post stuff on social media and I will only talk about in a very narrow way and all of that is fine. But to Anne's point. Well, first off, we're thinking about them a lot more than they're thinking about us.
10:13 - Anne (Host) Oh my God, yes, amen, amen. That is so very true, because we want to be hired by them.
10:19 - Tom (Guest) Right, of course, and to Anne's point, they don't need any voiceover for a product or service or brand at this moment in time, and when they do, it may not necessarily be you and a lot of the times they don't have any control over the product or service or brand and what the demands there are from the end client or the ad agency or the marketing firm or the campaign that dictates the quality and quantity of the demographics of the voice actors that they're needed for that particular campaign. Right, and with a campaign that dictates the quality and quantity of the demographics of the voice actors that they're needed for that particular campaign.
10:48 - Anne (Host) Right, and with a campaign, typically they want to have, like in any kind of a brand, consistency right. Typically, if there's a product and you're the voice of that product or that brand, it typically is something that will be recurring for a certain amount of time. It's not like today's ad is going to feature my voice and tomorrow it's going to feature somebody else's voice. They want to work in a little bit of consistency for that brand and that includes the voice. So understand that they're not having a need for a new voice actor every single time they're airing the ad or putting it out there on social media. That may be.
11:19 You are a voice for a campaign which runs for a certain length of time, which is why we base our rates especially when it's broadcast right on where it's being played and for how long Because we are a voice for that particular time, for that particular campaign. Now, if they want to extend that right, they will pay to extend that or they'll find a new voice if they're looking for that.
11:42 - Tom (Guest) Right, we love the rebuys where you narrate something and it's good for a certain period. I got that phone call two weeks ago. I did a social media ad and for a six month term, and they literally called me on the phone. They're like, hey, they want to do it again, bill us, yeah, and I just build them. And they're like, oh, and we have two more spots. That's the wonderful part.
11:59 - Anne (Host) But the thing is is like for that particular brand, right Voice actors. If you're going to reach out to that same company and say, hey, I'm a voice actor, hire me. Well, they've got Tom right For reasons within the campaign. If his voice is working and that's what they want, they're going to continue to have Tom. So don't take it personally, don't beat Tom up.
12:19 - Tom (Guest) Tom is like sorry not sorry, Sorry, not sorry Sorry not sorry, sorry, not sorry.
12:22 - Anne (Host) I think we just have sometimes a very narrow view of what it's like on the other side of the glass and to have that need and that desire to create a campaign with a voice, and so you have to be understanding of the way it works.
12:34 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, another point on that is that late last year a voice actor posted on Facebook an infographic that I want to say it was. An explainer video producer posted an infographic. They tracked the amount of hours that it takes to produce an explainer video, which obviously includes concept writing, storyboard, budget, legal department, music and all of that stuff, and the amount, the percentage that involved the voice actor, was 1.5%. Yeah, 1.5%. So often we as voice actors are an afterthought.
13:06 - Anne (Host) Yeah, we're the last part of the journey there.
13:08 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, and sometimes I'll just ask around the office, or their niece, who's a musical theater major, and they just give it to them and that's it.
13:15 - Anne (Host) But yes, obviously casting notices are posted everywhere all the time and it's so funny because I mean, when I'm doing oh, it's funny because I'm dabbling a little bit in fashion and when I'm creating videos, I mean my main thing is that I'm talking about the brand or I'm showcasing the brand, but a lot of times the videos don't even require the voice. Unless I'm directly talking about the brand, I can put music behind it. And it's funny because in my process of creating the video right for, let say, the brands that I'm working for the last thing I put in is the voice. It's the last thing I do, unless I'm doing a direct-to-camera like hey guys, this is an amazing product. Then it all happens together, right, and then the video editing happens and my voice is already there talking about it.
13:57 But a lot of times I'm not necessarily, or I'm doing a voiceover after the fact, and so, yeah, we become like the last part of the project, and so that's something to also be aware of. It's not that we're not important, we're very important, but you have to understand where in the chain of events that it happens. That's why people, when they cast, they want to cast typically like quickly, right, they want to find that voice and just put it into the video that's already been done, and then music and sound effects, because, again, like Tom you mentioned, we're typically the last part.
14:31 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, and from what I've noticed in my casting notices over the past decade or so is that the turnaround time for casting is usually about 48 hours, and then from the recording of it is probably another 48 hours. Sometimes it's even quicker than that. So usually that means if this project took six weeks or two months or whatever that means at most not. I'm not saying a week is spent on the voiceover, it's just that everything that needs to happen regarding the voiceover is probably a handful of hours within one week, and then that's it.
15:04 So the point is, bosses, is that if you are engaging in direct marketing strategies, like cold calls or emails, and you're doing your follow-up emails and reaching out on social media, like directly in sending the messages and stuff like that you have to manage your expectations. I was reading a study that since 2014, the return on cold calls and emails has dropped by 10% every year for the past 10 years. And guess what? 10% times 10 years equals 100%. So it doesn't mean they're not effective at all anymore. But now the expectation of them actually getting your email or answering your phone call and responding positively is between 1% and 3%. It is a very, very small percentage, which means also this is a numbers game.
15:49 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely Absolutely, but it's not impossible.
15:52 - Tom (Guest) No, it's not impossible. You want to be smart about it.
15:55 - Anne (Host) Yeah, what I'm always telling people because I have a Boss Blast product and I know you also do a lot of educational courses on direct marketing. It's something that you need to understand. It's definitely a marathon, not a sprint, kind of a game, and the good thing about it is that once you do connect and once you're in front of the eyes of someone who has the power to hire you and award you the gig, typically you want to stay top of mind, and that's when you're talking about marketing. Staying top of mind is always a good thing. You're talking about marketing. Staying top of mind is always a good thing. That's when they'll call you and say, hey, we want to extend this for another 13 weeks or we want to extend this again. So once you hook them, hopefully you keep them, and that's where the challenge is.
16:36 You know auditions. You know there's a need already. You audition and they cast because they're at that stage in the project where that's what they need. Right, they need that voice. But when you're direct marketing and you're reaching out, they may not have that need right away. They might think about you and say, oh okay, I like that voice. I don't have a need for her right now, but maybe let me put her to the side and let's when another campaign comes up that I think she's good for and I get that all the time when I'm on a few different rosters They'll contact me directly and say, hey look, I think you'd be a perfect voice for this campaign. Can you send me an audition? And typically, boom, that's good because it's a cold lead that turned into a warm lead and that is nice because I didn't have to really do much effort because I'm on his radar.
17:18 So when you're direct marketing, tom, the other important thing to understand is not only how it works right and understand and the expectations. It is how do you know who to contact right? And how do you contact them without being spammed? Because, guess what? We all get spam every single day. I get phone calls still that I don't pick up the phone. I get emails that are scammers, that are just junk email I don't even bother to look at. I see the subject line and I'm like nope, so I'm not going to be spamming. In today's world where it is getting increasingly hard. How do you do it right? That's the question, that's the golden question, right? How do you do it? How do you get their attention?
17:55 - Tom (Guest) Well, I've learned a couple of just some just brief bullet pointy bits of advice is be concise, be brief, be professional, but be you as much as you can If you have a very formal subject line or a very prim and proper paragraph. Hi, my name is this, I do this, I do that, I can do this, and every sentence starts with the word I Delete Immediate turn off.
18:21 - Anne (Host) It's about how you can help the company.
18:23 - Tom (Guest) Yes, it's how you can bring value to their company. It's not about you Solve their pain point. Exactly, solve the pain point. What can you do for them? But don't make it I, I, I Make it about. You need this, you need this. Your problem is this your problem can be solved with my services as a voice actor, but at the same time, be you as much as you can be you, be as personable as you can. Funny goes a long way and showing that you know about them.
18:54 - Anne (Host) Yes, because it becomes like these are two strangers meeting in the night, right? So what makes that meeting more agreeable? Well, if I have done my homework, it's kind of like God the olden days, tom, when I used to go on interviews for like corporate jobs. Right, you wouldn't go into a corporate interview for a job and not know anything about the company that you're applying to.
19:15 Right, I mean that was the biggest no-no was no. You've got to understand what does the company make, what are the products that it makes and what is it that is attracting you to this company? So if you can offer some insight into their company and why it is that you feel it would be a beneficial partnership, then definitely reaching out with how you can solve their pain point and showing that you're interested in them and not just like I, I, I and I'm a great voice actor and listen to my talent. It's not about you at all. It's about how you can help them right to sell their product or to sell their brand.
19:48 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, your job is a problem solver. Yeah, don't treat them like a cash register and your email is a crowbar.
19:54 - Anne (Host) Oh, I like that, that visual.
19:57 - Tom (Guest) You know he's kind of like give me the money to say the things have you said that before?
20:00 - Anne (Host) Did you just grab that from there? That was great.
20:02 - Tom (Guest) I've said it in various permutations of that over the years. But yeah, yeah, I've also said we try to treat voice seekers like ATMs. Yeah, because we only see them as these machines that can give us money. Yeah, absolutely. These are people that have their own needs and challenges.
20:17 They are human beings that have their own struggles creative, logistical, financial, cultural struggles. And if voiceover is 1.5% of their thought processes in any given project, 5% of their thought processes in any given project, you want that 1.5% to be maybe the easiest and most entertaining, 1.5% to make everything a little bit easier.
20:38 - Anne (Host) Don't give them homework. That's what I always say. Don't give them homework, Don't make them try to research you. Don't give them homework. Just be there to let them know that you can help them and that you have a genuine interest in their company, in their product, in wanting to serve them and to help them, to make their jobs easier. Really, I think that's the point, and anybody that's worked in the corporate world knows that they want their job to be easier. They're working for someone, typically, and they have a lot on their plate. They don't want to be bogged down by, oh my God, a big, lengthy email that is going on and on and on and self-serving.
21:14 I know that when I get emails and I like to talk a lot. I think that's the problem, Tom. As voice actors, we like to talk right, and sometimes that transcribes right into our emails. I used to write these emails that were like paragraphs, paragraphs. Nobody has time for that and I would love to write paragraphs of an email and I would spend so much time.
21:32 I remember when I broke down what I did in my corporate job. I spent the majority of my time writing customer service emails and they were long emails and the funny thing is, I would get offended if people three quarters of the way down, if I put an important fact and then somebody wrote me back and then asked me a question about that fact, I'd be like how could you not have read that email? I spent so much time on it Because people don't have the capacity right to read a big, long, horribly boring email and also you are encroaching upon their time. I get so many emails a day, Tom, we've talked about this before. I have like a million some odd unread emails in my Gmail on purpose, because I want to see the marketing. I want to see the marketing that people are doing, and you just have to understand that you're taking up a part of their day, and so I think you need to like, deserve that.
22:18 And you need to prove that you're worthy of that 1.5% of their time. And so that means, if they don't want to hear from you again, if you've presented yourself in a way where they don't have a need for you, or maybe you I don't know, maybe you're all self-serving and they're like I don't need this they need to have a way to not get those emails from you ever, ever again. So there are legal ramifications of you reaching out to somebody unsolicited, typically in any direct marketing. That is the next thing that I want to bring up.
22:46 Tom, in any direct marketing you have to have permission to send an email. And if you don't necessarily have direct permission, you have to offer them a way to opt out of the emails that you send to them. And that includes, when you send that cold email, something at the bottom that says if you would like to unsubscribe to these emails, give them a way to opt out of that. And you also must provide and this is just good business measure you have to provide legally an address of your company on your emails. So when you send those emails out, you have to give them a way to opt out of the emails and you have to give them your business address.
23:23 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely, because you don't want the internet to give you the ban. Hammer if you're sending out hundreds or thousands of these emails at the same time. Manhammer if you're sending out hundreds or thousands of these emails at the same time. So I've heard recently that the era of spray and pray is over, but it's not just for all the marketing value pain points provide value stuff, but it's also because of the internet, as we as a people has just had it with all of these spammy carbon copy templaty desperate has just had it with all of these spammy carbon copy templaty. Desperate, aggressive, obnoxious, self-aggrandizing emails that we're getting over and over again, because we can't tell what's real and what's fake anymore when the phone rings or when an email comes in or when we see a social media post. So people are cracking down and being like we have no tolerance for this. I would rather send less emails that have more value than more emails that have more value than more emails that have value, and hope for the occasional hit.
24:13 - Anne (Host) And again, if you are sending out mass emails and that's a whole nother thing with direct marketing, not many people have the provision to send out thousands of emails at one time because most, unless you're paying for that service, which I do for the boss blast I pay for that service. I am able to send out lots of emails at a time. It's done through a server which doesn't do it all at once. And also the people that I'm sending it to have already opted in to me, marketing to them, and still, at the very least, I have to put. Here's a way to opt out and here's my business address and they only allow from my domain, the, and they only allow from my domain, the VO Boss domain. So anybody that buys a Boss Blast, you are actually getting a list that has already opted in to be marketed to and they have all the legal rights to opt out if they want.
24:58 Most people don't, because they've opted in for a reason, but it's something that I would say most voice actors can't afford because you typically pay by the contact. So my server, which is ActiveCampaign, I pay by the contact, so contact. So my server, which is ActiveCampaign, I pay by the contact. So I have a few hundred thousand contacts that I pay for in order to be able to send emails out to that, and that's not something necessarily that every voice actor has the budget to do, which is why I offered the Boss Blast.
25:22 And this isn't all just about the Boss Blast, but it's anytime you're talking about doing direct mail, quality over quantity unless you have the provision to send out quantity, which is something that I pay thousands of dollars for, and I also make sure I got all the legal ramifications for people to opt out if they need to. But you need to do the same thing on a smaller scale, and direct marketing, I feel, is one of the methods of marketing that needs to be implemented so that in combination with indirect marketing. And you've got to do it. Gosh Tom, how much percentage of your time would you say? I would say 80%, if not a little bit more when things are lean.
25:58 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, when things are slow I immediately go to market, absolutely. But when things are busy, I have learned also to keep doing my marketing. So there, aren't as many slow periods.
26:09 So, yes, direct marketing can and should be part of a balanced breakfast. That is, every voice actor. If you can get quality representation audition through your agents and managers, if you understand how to feed the algorithms of online casting sites, use them to keep the flow of auditions coming in. Direct marketing with thoughtful, value-driven emails. Indirect marketing with thoughtful, value-driven emails. Indirect marketing with thoughtful value-driven blog posts, blog entries and social media posts. You should be doing, ideally, some combination of all of these as often as you can to maximize your opportunities to get the voiceover auditions that you desire.
26:47 - Anne (Host) And always be cultivating your next client, even if you're super busy. I think that's the most important thing that I've learned over the many years that I've been in the business here is always be cultivating your next client, because your clients, even if you've had them for years and years and years, they're never guaranteed. And the best in the business will say the same. So good conversation, Tom. I think we could talk about marketing in 500 more episodes.
27:10 But I think this is a great start guys to understand that it is a necessary evil and it's not scary. It's really not scary. You need to embrace the challenge that is marketing and, again, I like to look at everything as a challenge. That's what gives me joy in my business and also one of the reasons why I did create the VL Boss Blast was because I didn't have a ton of time to do the indirect marketing, although I do that a lot too. So everybody needs a balanced breakfast of both indirect and direct marketing. And, tom, thank you again for always being such a golden nugget of wisdom in my podcast.
27:42 - Tom (Guest) Thank you, I love it.
27:44 - Anne (Host) I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. Yes, you too can be a boss, a real boss and find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next time. Bye.
27:59 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, get ready for an electrifying conversation with a true entertainment icon. In this episode of the VO Boss Podcast, Anne Ganguzza is joined by the legendary Rolonda Watts, an Emmy-winning, talk show host, actress, and award-winning voice actor. Rolonda's career is a masterclass in professional reinvention. From her groundbreaking syndicated talk show, The Rolonda Show, to her powerful voice acting work on Professor Wiseman in Curious George and her on-screen roles in Mind Your Business and Survival of the Thickest, she embodies the art of pivoting with purpose. The hosts discuss how her journey from journalism to entertainment shaped her, why listening is the most important tool for any communicator, and the life philosophies that have guided her to become a true BOSS.
00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey, bosses, Anne Ganguzza, you know your journey in voiceover is not just about landing gigs. It's about growing both personally and professionally. At Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions, I focus on coaching and demo production that nurtures your voice and your confidence. Let's grow together. Visit Anneganguzza.com to find out more.
00:48 Visit anganguza, hey. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'mGanguzzayour host, Anne Ganguza, and I have something amazing for you
00:53 , bosses, today.
00:55 Today's guest is a one-woman entertainmentRolondaempire. She's done it all award-winning journalistRolonda daytime talk show host, actor, stand-up comic, best-selling author and one of the most recognizable voices in voiceover. You may have heard her as Professor Wiseman on Curious GeorgeRolonda in the Proud FamilyRolonda kung Fu Panda and now Invincible Fight Girl. She's also the annoucer and promo voice of the Sherry Show, where Sherry Shepard calls her a daytime talk show legend, which I happen to agree. Rolanda Watts is currently lighting up the screen on Bounce TV's hit comedy Mind your Business which I always get to see all the shorts on the Facebook feed, by the way where she plays Lucille, the sharp, sassy family matriarch that keeps it real with tough love and somehow I feel like that just echoes your character to a T. And she I feel like that just echoes your character to a T, and she's also appearing in the upcoming season of Netflix's Survival ofRolondathe Thickest, and was recently inducted into the prestigious Silver Circle by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the 2024 Emmys, recognizing her lifetime of groundbreaking work in television.
02:04 Bosses, please welcome the incomparable Rolanda Watts, thank you. Thank you, rolanda. I have to tell you, you know I'm a big fan. I mean, I've said this to you before, but, bosses, I am the biggest fan of Rolanda. I actually know Rolanda from watching her on daytime talk TV, and that was a while ago. I want to say that daytime talk shows had just kind of come into like being, and you're one of the first that I watched and I just I just you, your personality, just everything about you was just amazing. It's just magnetic, and so I am so excited to be able to interview you, a talk show host. So I was like, oh man, how am I going to prepare to talk to you? But you are just so gracious and wonderful, and so that kind of gave me a little bit of of hope that I wouldn't completely flub it up today, rolanda.
03:05 - Rolonda (Guest) I don't think you would do that, Anne.
03:08 - Anne (Host) My goodness. So for the bosses, who you know don't really know your story and how you started off, I mean, my gosh, you're a media empire, so I don't even like we could have like five days worth of interviews with you, but it all started as broadcast journalism correct interviews with you, but it all started as broadcast journalism correct?
03:28 - Rolonda (Guest) Yes, Tell us about that. Well, I grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and I, you know, I went to well, it's a long story about how I became an actor, but it all started with being 12 years old and going to Broadway with my family and seeing Guys and Doll and I was just like, oh my God, I love the stage and that's what I Anne do. So I went to Spelman and majored in theater arts and then there weren't a lot of roles when I got out of college. There just wasn't a track for folks who looked like me in the acting world, and so I fell in love with journalism, went to Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism and I was a news reporter and investigative anchor woman and producer for many years for New York WABC, WNBC Inside.
04:16 - Anne (Host) Edition, and that's impressive. And all of a sudden. Well, yeah, I was an investigative journalist. I mean you just said it like it came so easy. But I Anne imagine at the time. I mean you must have had to really work to get yourself in that space.
04:33 - Rolonda (Guest) Well, it was a crazy time because it was the 1980s. There weren't a lot of women in investigative news reporting, not in New York City, and so it was a groundbreaking time for women and and there was so much in the news, especially in New York, it was the big gang wars, the mob wars. You know, gotti hadn't even come into into play yet, so it was murder and mayhem. I was covering, wow and yeah, an inside edition. I was more murder and mayhem.
05:04 - Anne (Host) I remember that.
05:06 - Rolonda (Guest) Yeah. And then a man by the name of Roger King, who in heaven remains the number one selling as human being in television, asked me if I would like to do my very own syndicated talk show. So for four years I did the Rolanda show and then, when that was over let's loop back to the 12 year old who wore the subway token around her neck as a good luck charm. I said I'm not going to be on a porch when I'm 80 years old, going I could have, would have, should have. I am going to take my chances and go for my lifelong dream and make that 12 year old inside of me happy.
05:41 And I took off and went to Hollywood and that's where I became an actor and a writer and a producer and had my own production company and stumbled into voice acting and all of these things were part of what so many people call me the reinventionist. But I have had to reinvent my life for so many reasons and so many times. But I believe that isRolondamany different things that I've done and it's all around one thing and that's what we do as voice actors Good storytelling.
06:13 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely Absolutely. And it's so interesting because before I had really come into like knowing you again, after you know, watching your talk show, and then knowing you as in voiceover yeah, the Anne and promo voice of the Sherry show, how interesting. Like you started to talk show, you're like a legend and talk show in my, in my brain. I'm like Rolanda, that's so awesome, like you. And now you kind of came full circle back to it a little bit Right, being the Anne and the promo voice.
06:46 And I was watching a clip of you the other day and Sherry was saying something. She was going on. She was gushing about you, which I get that. She was gushing about you and it was so interesting. She was giving you this credit about talking about your talk show and how wonderful you were and you turned it right. The conversation went right back to her about how wonderful she was and I was just blown away by how gracious that was and I just thought, well, no wonder. Well, no wonder you made such a great talk show host, such a great communicator, such a great actor and stand-up comedian and everything, because you just have this wonderful way of connecting with people.
07:29 - Rolonda (Guest) Well, you're awfully sweet, Anne. I'm going to receive all of that, but I thank you for that. You know it's, it's it. I, you know I was. I get blown away too, because Sherry does not hold back about what. What do the folks say? Giving me my flowers? And it's nice to receive them when you can smell them. You know, you know, know, it's really interesting because we did pave the way for sherry and and kelly and and drew and tamron all of them and I also know the hard work that those ladies are doing.
08:04 This job called talk is not easy. The politics that go on, the struggles day to day, the whole idea that the show is bigger than you as a human. It's very trying and you're out there by yourself. So I of course give her her flowers back because you can hand over the baton, but if the person can't run with it it really doesn't count. So to be able to see that continuum is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
08:29 And you know what's really funny is that Sherry's executive producer, who you see on the show all the time, John Murray. John was a college student when he first came to see my show and that's when he got the TV bug. He was bitten by the TV bug and so I would invite him back. In fact, one time I put him on the show so he could come and see how the producers worked and the behind the scenes working Skip to him becoming the executive producer of the Sherry show, and he said there's no other voice that we would have introduced, Sherry, and pass on the legacy than you. So it's really good. I mean, you got to be nice to kids, because they're coming up and they'll be your boss.
09:10 - Anne (Host) Right. Isn't that the truth?
09:12 - Rolonda (Guest) It is, it's like full circle.
09:13 - Anne (Host) You've, really you've done so much and you are.
09:15 I feel as though you've got. I feel like, look, I know how busy I am and I do a lot of stuff, but I feel like you, you're, you're doing it all. I mean you're, you're in that sitcom and I see, I'm thankful. I see the clips that you're posting on Facebook and it's so funny how the Rolanda that I know right, that I had a conversation with at VO Atlanta, I mean I feel like it is just so true to your character. Tell us a little bit about that role. I feel like you're just having the best time doing it.
09:44 - Rolonda (Guest) Oh my God, Lucille Williams, or Lucille is just one of the most wonderful characters. I mean, she's just great. And this coming weekend she's going to break off into her cougarlicious life, I know, oh wow.
10:05 She and her besties. They call themselves the silver sneakers. The nieces have convinced them that they need to give up the old guys, who just need a nurse and a purse, and go and get some of the young guys to go get some cool you know, be cougars and so we see how that works. But it's very, you know, it's fun to play her. She's sassy, she's the matriarch of the family, but at the same time we're writing storylines that give her a full bodied woman-ness. At this certain age, absolutely, absolutely.
10:42 - Anne (Host) I love that.
10:43 - Rolonda (Guest) But Mind your Business is a wonderful sitcom. It's one of those wonderful family sitcoms. It's produced by Bentley Evans, who did Jamie Foxx and Martin, so you're going to get that kind of zany funniness, but it's. But my character is lost her business almost during covid and calls on her family to come in and help save the business. And so she moves in with the family to save some money and all hell breaks loose. They need more of a referee than they do business partners. Now.
11:14 - Anne (Host) I love it. Now, if I'm correct, you're on season two, is that correct?
11:20 - Rolonda (Guest) We're on season two. That's right.
11:22 - Anne (Host) That's right Will there be more seasons. We certainly hope so. I hope so too.
11:25 - Rolonda (Guest) Listen, we're depending on you to watch and binge and love it. We're on Bounce TV or the Brown Sugar app and you Love it.
11:32 - Anne (Host) We're on Bounce TV or the Brown Sugar app and you can go look up where you can watch it. Yeah, I love that. Well, ok, so All right, we have to. Now we have to come to the voiceover aspect of things. So you actually have been doing voiceover since you came to LA, right?
11:46 - Rolonda (Guest) And well, you know what's so crazy, Anne, is that I was doing voiceover work, promos and Anne and voiceovers, and I didn't even know I was a voice actor, because I was doing all of that stuff for my show. I mean, had I known I was a voice actor at that time, I would have had a very different contract, trust me. But but it let meRolonda you know. But, just being a news reporter for so many years in New York City and on Inside Edition across the nation, people just knew my voice. And when, when I moved to LA and gave up the whole news and talk business to come out here and be an actor and a producer, nine months into the game the writers went on strike and instead of hosting an internationally syndicated talk show, I was on the picket line serving pizza to the striking writers.
12:39 And I was like what am I going to do? And I had to eat, I had to pay my rent, I mean what, what? And it was like I'm not going back to news, so what am I going to do? And I remembered that I used to call 411 back when you used to get information and the operator even knew my voice. They would go is this Rolanda. And so I said well this, I know I've got a voice, I'll go do voice acting. And I could not catch a cold because I didn't understand what the business was about. I had a voice and I had a microphone, but I had no idea what voice acting was about. I had a voice and I had a microphone, but I had no idea what voice acting was about.
13:14 So I went over to Calumson and Calumson over there in Burbank and I took a class and that thing saved my life because those that was the one of the that was the well, it was one of the longest strikes in Hollywood nine months and by that time I had created a whole new career and the voice actors weren't on strike. So I said this is a great backup for my physical acting and there are times and when my voice works more than my physical acting and now that I'm becoming a woman of a certain age those roles aren't coming in as quickly. But, honey, I can play a hot 30 year old.
13:53 - Anne (Host) Well, my voice. I love that you're using the woman of a certain age because, as a woman of a certain age, as well, what are you?
14:02 - Rolonda (Guest) going to do.
14:04 - Anne (Host) Exactly. I mean, I say use it Right, I mean absolutely. And so let's talk just for a brief moment about what. So acting and voice acting, same, different, what? What would you say are the key differences? Because you said, oh, I had to go to Kalmanson and Kalmanson, right.
14:22 - Rolonda (Guest) So there are some things, yeah, oh, absolutely.
14:25 - Anne (Host) Bosses need to know that are different and I absolutely always tell people yes, you should, you should, you know, take acting classes. But also there are some, some differences.
14:35 - Rolonda (Guest) Yeah, I find that there there's. It's just a different set of muscles, I think that's what you would say. One is just strictly your imagination and I think, well, for me, one helps the other. Well, for instance, the character I play we talked about Lucille, lucille talks like this she's got a little quiver in her voice and she just real high pitch, like that. So some of those tricks that we learn in terms of texture and pitch and pacing and all of that that we do as we imagine our characters, I do the same thing when I see the character on the page and I say how does that voice, what? What is it about her voice that's going to make her stand out. And they know that's Lucille, that's part of her, because she doesn't have cause. That character doesn't have this voice, not my voice. So I think that that that helps me find my characters In fact.
15:29 In fact I did a play and I had I did three plays at one time. Craziest thing in the world never been done Did three plays at one time, playing 10 different characters, from a nine-year-old girl to a 76-year-old grandmother, and all of those are different voices. You know, one was a journalist, one was a, you know, grandmother one, a, a little girl who grew up in mississippi. I mean, those are just such different voices and I also have bring my physical things, like when I'm thinking of a character in my voice, acting. I think what would they wear?
16:04 Shakespeare said, the clothes make the man and the woman too. Are they wearing a cape that they sold over there, you know? Are they carrying a sword? Does she have really tight bobs in her hair? I mean, does she have a mustache? So there are all kinds of things that I think. If I'm in my prop room or my wardrobe room and it's just my imagination, what can I do to help bring those things to light? Just the way, when they put the wig on and the clothes and the heels on for stage or screen, you could become that character. You do the same in your imagination, yeah.
16:37 - Anne (Host) I love that, I love that parallel.
16:40 That makes so much sense, actually, and it's interesting. So, for voice actors, who have not necessarily acted, what sort of tips would you have to for them to be better actors? Let's say, because it's funny, I do a lot of the stuff that people don't think you need to act for in terms of voiceover, like corporate narration or e-learning, and they think that you don't need to act. But in reality you're always a character, and so when I'll say to my students, envision that scene, it's just to them they're like what, why? Why do I need to do that? Why don't I just read the words? You know why?
17:20 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) I hear it. Yeah, exactly, you know why?
17:22 - Rolonda (Guest) Because we're not looking for readers, we're looking for actors, and I think that's one of the biggest mistakes that folks make who don't become a VO boss is because they don't understand what this industry is about. It's really not even about your voice. It's not about I mean, everybody has a beautiful, unique voice, because there are no two voices alike but it's the acting that's going to make you so different. It's those subliminal things under those lines. Sometimes you have a whole commercial that tells a whole life story in four lines and they, they fought over those lines. Attorneys, 50 people made all those lines. So they mean something. What is the story we're telling here? Right, and who am I in this story and who am I talking to? You know all of those questions. Where am I? Why am I even this story and who am I talking to? You know all of those questions. Where am I? Why am I even talking about this toilet paper? You know, and I'm a bear.
18:21 Why am I. Even I'm a mama bear. I mean why? You know why am I, and I'm not going to act like a bear, but I'm going to act like a mom who's concerned about her kids not wiping themselves. And that's just real stuff. So how do you tap into the authenticity? How do you make it human? Because what our job is is to connect with another human being. That's something that folks down there on Madison Avenue, the big advertisers, can't do in their suits, so they depend on us as actors, to be human, to be just plain old ourselves and human. No bravado, as we're hearing so much in our copy and in our instruction and directions as actors. Authenticity, throw it away, just give it to me. No salesy, no Anne, and I got to tell you that's the hardest thing in the world to do. Even for us seasoned actors, it's sometimes hard to shake off the the, the formality and just get real with it. You know and feel comfortable and confident with that.
19:21 - Anne (Host) Can I ask you to repeat that, can you that you said, you said what you said. It was hard, it's hard, it is hard, right. It is so hard Like I love it because you create that scene Right. It is so hard, like I love it because you create that scene Right In which those words make sense, right.
19:36 And tell a story and sometimes those words are really we don't know. We don't know that, Like I, have some people that are almost indignant that they don't have a storyboard or they don't. They don't understand the words. So therefore, if they don't, they're just kind of well, let's just say them then.
19:58 - Rolonda (Guest) Right In a melody that I think they want to hear. Rolonda, that's great, then they'll have a melody that they just heard, but they won't have the commercial.
20:03 - Anne (Host) I love it, so yes, so you said it's hard, rolanda says it's hard, it is.
20:09 - Rolonda (Guest) I go on record as saying the hardest thing I've ever had to do whether it was talk, tv or vocal or physical acting is being myself. Now in life, I have no problem beingRolondaauthentically Rolanda. What you see is Rolonda you get. But it's something that happens when we pick up that script and that microphone is in front of us and, all of a sudden, things start changing and happening. We're just not ourselves. I don't sound like myself. I don't like toRolondahear my voice. It takes, it's really acting. When you hear people who sound like how did they get that job? They don't even sound like a voice actor. It's because they are turning themselves Rolonda a virtual pretzel justRolondato sound like that, to sound so normal.
20:58 I remember when I first started doing my talk show um, the, the demand of being a, an actor I mean not an actor, but a talk show host with a talk show called rolanda was that you had to be Rolanda. You couldn't be the news reporter anymore. That was crucial to the success, and so it was very hard to even do it then, and I can remember my bosses and my partners calling going get that news reporter out of there, bring back Rolanda. And I said but I've got this crazy laugh and a raspy voice and I, you know, I'm a Southern accent and that's everything that makes my brand. I mean, it's crazy, but that's Rolanda. When you say Rolanda, that's what you hear. So whatever that is about you, whatever that quirky, crazy thing that you think is your fault, that's going to be your greatest asset. You know, when I was a little kid, they called me froggy and I always played all the guys in all my all girls school plays and I thought that was a real fault of mine. And now I can play women, men, little boys, pirates, anything in this industry of voice acting, and there's no limitation. The only limitation is your imagination. It's not about the equipment, it's not even about your voice. It's about your brilliant imagination and what you bring to that character, not even the microphone, what you bring to that character that nobody else thought about. That made that animator go. Oh, I can't wait to draw this character, um, and to make the casting director's job easy. They want you to win, they want you to get this job, so give it to them, show them your special sauce.
22:43 But I think it takes real practice, practice, practice. Like carnegie hall, they say. You just don't walk up into carnegie hall and start playing the violin. No, you got to learn how the instrument works. You got to learn how to maintain it, take care of it, how to make love to that instrument so it delivers that God given art and craft that you've put into it. You've got to do the work. And a lot of people think, well, I can just go pick this up and read. And the sad thing is, and they don't take classes and they have no idea what they're doing wrong. The worst thing that can happen is you go years and years and years building on the wrong stuff because you never took the time to learn the right stuff. You don't know what you don't know. Yeah, that's so.
23:29 - Anne (Host) I'm.
23:29 - Rolonda (Guest) I'm real big on training and classes so that you get the education and the acting experience and you understand how to break down scripts, you understand the vocabulary of this industry and how to network and and and use your resources that are right there at your fingertips.
23:46 - Anne (Host) Well, I think I think you're probably very much a VO Boss on using those resources and networking throughout your whole career. That's absolutely something that I feel that you've you've done so successfully. What would you say is probably the most important thing tip that you could give to to ensure success in this industry? Because it's a evolving industry and, yes, being the the queen of reinvention, right, you've had to reinvent yourself, and reinvent yourself not only in, you know, voiceover, but in, like all the media and how it's evolved over the years. So what would be your, your best tip to ensure success? Don't quit there. You go.
24:26 - Rolonda (Guest) I like that. The only people who don't succeed in voice acting are people who quit. I like that. You know, even the greatest ones. And you know, when we're at the VO Atlanta conference and we're with the greats I mean we're with Bob, who's Porky the pig, and we're with Joe, who's every network's Anne and when you hear these, these, these major vo stars and pros say, man, I do 50 to 100 auditions and may not nab the job a lot of us went whoa.
24:59 - Anne (Host) thank god, it's just not us, because yeah, I mean I can show you a stack in my head. I'm like oh, thank god, because, yeah, I, I just did a ton, I know, yeah, and look, listen I hear some auditions from this month okay yeah, am, I, am, I am I booking every one of them?
25:16 - Rolonda (Guest) no, but that's but. But you have to change your mindset. Every time I show up that microphone and I'm doing an audition, I'm not going up there. Well, I'm not going to get the job anyway. If you've got a bad attitude like that, it's time for you to jump into a classroom and just realign yourself, because this is a long game. And let me tell you what's going to happen when you get great you nab that job, you go and do that commercial. One hour it's gone and you're right back to auditioning again. So don't put all of your emphasis on just the job, but the but, the practice, the maintenance of it. Uh, going to conferences like the VO Atlanta conference, vo Dallas conference, sosa look up these places. That's a good place to hobnob. This is a very solo business. You're a solopreneur, you're by yourself, you, your microphone, your computer and your imagination. That's it. So get out and join memberships. Like Anne. You can come and take my class, the voice acting masterclass with Rolanda. In fact, I'm going to offer your listeners a very special deal if they're interested.
26:29 But that's another way that we build community and you learn what's the cutting edge. Right now we're dealing with AI. What does that mean? Staying on the cutting edge of things that are going to affect your career and really take it as a business. This is not just a hobby. Understand how your taxes work, understand the legalities and understand the questions to ask when you're signing a contract. Now just don't run out there all willy-nilly and not ask the right questions or your voice will be used forever and you not get paid. You know the video game people just had a strike and got some. Where are we moving forward in the business?
27:10 Be able to talk intelligently about the business. So when you're out there meeting people, they know, oh okay, this is somebody really serious. This isn't just somebody who just got a microphone on amazon and call themselves a voice actor, because there's a lot of that. But I say that um, really, just don't quit and understand that every time you show up in front of that microphone, it's another opportunity to show you a special sauce. And if the casting director doesn't get you into this particular job and that's not their decision, it's the producer's or whoever the client is. If you don't make it then, then at least they've heard you. I get a lot of times where they're. Rolonda same client will keep calling me back and I know I've impressed them in those other auditions I've done, so I know they're looking for something for me, so I just keep showing up, doing the best that I possibly can and finding ways to make it different. Because they've heard the same audition 50 million times, sometimes 500 times.
28:12 So what can you do to make it a little different and still stay within the parameters? So there's Ganguzza kinds of tricks and strategies and all kinds of things that you can do to stand Ganguzza and also how you market yourself like anything else. This is a brand Just because Rolonda have a microphone. Anything else this is a brand. Just because you have a microphone doesn't mean you have a brand. So reallyRolonda you know, that's one of the things I tell my students all the time. Once you get the breaking down the script and understand how the microphone and the vocab let's, let's talk about marketing, social marketing. How do we brand ourselves? How can you be one name like Rolanda and people immediately know what that means, and so that's really knowing your stuff and knowing your own voice too, that's so interesting because for a while, when I first started, I had different names.
29:00 - Anne (Host) I mean I, of course I started VO Peeps, I have VO Boss, and then I have Anne Ganguza brand and I'm like I really just need to wrap it all up into the Anne Ganguza brand. So finally, people say I need an Anne Ganguza, like I need a Rolanda. I need an Anne Ganguza, and so I love that that you have that brand and you build on that brand. But, rolanda, let me ask you a question, because I saw the stack of auditions. Do you I mean still, do you get, still I say still do you get an imposter syndrome?
29:31 - Rolonda (Guest) I think I'm pretty much. I'm pretty much at this time in my life. I know who I am. You know I'm not trying to. I've done enough and achieved enough and have enough confidence in myself. I think you know what I think this is. The other thing about this industry is confidence, because you can hear I can hear through a microphone. If you're not confident and you don't even believe yourself, if you see it, I'm going to see it. If you believe it, I'm going to believe it. And that's half the battle, I mean, and that's also part of the practice of this art and this craft, is learning how to still your nerves. Breathing is so much a part, warming up is so much a part of it and it's a full body job. This is an inside job because your beautiful vocal cords are right here in this body encases it. So you got to work out, you got to stretch. You know I love this. Old morgan freeman used to say that the secret to his great voice was a good, deep yawn.
30:29 Absolutely, you know because it just loosens up everything and these 41 muscles up here need to be worked out. A lot of people just jump right up, start reading, don't even warm up their mouths.
30:40 - Anne (Host) As evidenced by your. I think it was yesterday when I saw you on Facebook and you were like all right, I'm going back to the gym.
30:48 - Rolonda (Guest) I know. I messed up.
30:50 - Anne (Host) That's it. I'm going back.
30:54 - Rolonda (Guest) I'm a hot mess but.
30:56 - Anne (Host) I think that warming up I mean it helps, it absolutely does. Just a physical walk, you know, if you go to the gym, a physical warmup does absolutely help. Now, we did talk, we touched upon the confidence issue. We did talk, we touched upon the confidence issue, and one thing that I'm really excited about is that in let's see, is it in September, on the 17th, we are going to have you doing a guest directorship for the VO bosses on improv to improve your confidence and connection. So we will be talking about how bosses can remain confident or stay confident or get confident in the booth, and I love that.
31:35 You said that we can hear. We can hear that confidence and it's really interesting because even if you're telling a story and it may not be the story that ends up being on the video or the commercial right or the commercial right If we're auditioning and we're telling a story and we're convinced of it and we are confident in it, then the people listening, the casting directors, the people that will cast us, will believe it as well, and I think that's one of the telltale signs that they say, ah, shortlist, or that's what's gonna get you the gig.
32:05 - Rolonda (Guest) I think confidence and that's really believing in yourself and being able to take chances and risks. Because you know, think about it. The casting director is hearing 500 people say the same three lines. What are you going to bring to that story that's going to make a difference? I'll give you an example.
32:23 I did an at t commercial and it was about it. It was a very little short commercial and it was about a young girl who sees her mother, who has gone out for girls night at a salsa club, and she says mom, is this you on social media? And the mother goes oh, yes, honey, we were out with Raul last night and we were just dancing and then I something happened. And I said and I just to world. That was not even a line in the script, but I just had this imagination, cuz I used to go out salsa with my girlfriends in California and, honey, when Eduardo would ask us to dance, we would to world. And that just brought that into that like an aunt Lucille, and that's what got me the gig. And it was, and it was just that little button that we say, you know, because they've heard 500 times that people say the same thing yes, I went salsaing with my girlfriend, but nobody twirled but me, nobody's.
33:26 - Anne (Host) nobody else is twirling except for Rolanda. Nobody else is.
33:29 - Rolonda (Guest) honey, that's how much fun I had, which lets you know what that video must have looked like, that the girl saw.
33:36 Absolutely, absolutely, and listen and the fact that these old ladies were even on social media, lets, you know, those boys were young. They taught him how to tick and tock and twirl, you know. So I'm having a whole imaginative thing about going out with my girlfriends and then my girlfriend, my daughter, catching me. Oh please, child, we had a good time. You know, we don't care about what people think at this age. So bringing all of those things, even my own wisdom at this age, like I don't care, honey, I'm twirling with Eduardo because the guys my age don't twirl, so I'm bringing all of that fun into it, you know.
34:11 Another example was when I did judge Joe Brown. You know I was the Anne for that show and when I was doing the audition we had to, you know, was a promo, so I would have to read the line and then listen to the sound bite and then read the line in between. And listen to the sound bite, read, read the line. And I was so big. Judge Joe was such a crazy, freaking judge show. I would say, coming up today on Judge Joe, I'm going to slit your tire and I'm going to beat Shaniqua Mary can't stand, john and then I'm going to cut your other tire and then I would be.
34:46 And then one time I just went, whoa, the next Judge, joe. Honey, they fell on the floor. I was so busy listening that I was reacting like an at home person and I was like, ooh, on the next Joe. I was so irreverent that they created a little animation called lady justice and it was a little bug and I made up this whole story that lady justice was in love with joe just like the daytime audience was gone. Joe, tell them, joe, that's judge, joe, you know because I know the daytime audience. Yeah, so that's the other question we asked who are you talking to?
35:30 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) absolutely, this wasn't the inside edition audience. This. Don't be afraid to take that risk.
35:53 - Rolonda (Guest) You can do a straight one on the next Judge. Joe and Shanique was going to go, but honey, one time let it rip and show them that you can have fun. Fun is the main key. If it's not fun, don't do it.
36:05 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I agree, I think if you can make, if you can make someone laugh, if you can, if you can, if you can bring a smile to that casting director, that person listening to you, oh my goodness. And speaking of because normally I try to make this, you know, a 30 minute podcast, but I do want to touch upon. I do want to touch upon the fact that you are a stand up comedian as well, and we had quite a conversation at VO Atlanta on that, and so I feel like that's just all embedded in your personality and I think you were always a funny person, like from maybe a young girl. But talk to us about being at stand up comedy is tough.
36:41 - Rolonda (Guest) Oh, it's really tough.
36:42 - Anne (Host) But you know something that's a rough audience.
36:45 - Rolonda (Guest) Know your audience. Who are you talking to? That's true. And you know something Lunell taught me that she said know your audience, be able to switch on a dime, whatever. But I'm going to tell you just, VO bosses, that comedy helps immensely. It helps your timing, you know. So much of comedy comes in threes. So when you're doing animation or even some fun commercials, what's that third line where the funny ABC?
37:10 - Anne (Host) read right Where's that?
37:11 - Rolonda (Guest) Where's that? Third line where the funny? Or they want an ABC. Read Right, where's that? Where's that? Where's the funny? And that also gives you the confidence and the imagination and and I tell you funny, joan Rivers told Sherri Shepherd funny girls always work, funny women, funny girls always work, funny women, funny women always work. So adding a little humor to something I think makes you stand out. But I love the craft of comedy. I'm uh got uh some comedy shows here in New York at the comedy village comedy in Harlem, and then I'm going to go out to flappers in LA this winter December for the holidays and I'm opening for Lunell and that's really exciting so yeah, I'm getting my comedy on Awesome.
37:58 - Anne (Host) Look out for me on Netflix one day. I do not doubt it. Well, rolanda, it has been such a pleasure. I wish I could talk to you for another. Well, another five episodes.
38:07 - Rolonda (Guest) Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute Speaking of Netflix. I got to do this and we're talking about Michelle Boutot's show survival of the thickest.
38:15 - Anne (Host) I'm on that one as well on Netflix. Awesome. Oh, and before and before we actually go, talk to us a little bit about September 17th improv to improve your confidence. A little bit about what we're going to, we're going to be diving into in that class.
38:30 - Rolonda (Guest) Oh, I can't wait to that class because improv is such a great way to gain your confidence, to loosen up and to have a whole bunch of fun. The beautiful thing about improv is there are certain rules that we go by, but it's just fun and it's going to help you tap into your authenticity. One good example we improv every day in life. You talk to your lover very different than you do to your boss, and don't let your best girlfriend call you in the middle of the day, and then, when your mother calls, listen to all the different voices that we have, and that's a lot of improv too. Improv also helps you listen and much of acting is about listening and I think you will surprise yourself, and part of the improv to improve your confidence is finding your own voice and discovering things through this exercise about your own experiences and about your being able to to react on a dime and have fun and laugh about it. Then when you you get those scripts, you can improv in your head.
39:32 I always do a little role play before I start, something Like if I have to play an old grandma, then I talk like an old grandma. Okay, I spin and rush them out. Our teeth don't fit too well. You got a little pain in the rats every once in a while. So you keep building these wonderful things that help you. Listen, you may not get that job, but you know you're going to doggone. Put in the effort because you've done the work. You know you. You will be so surprised, all the places that your voice will take you. And improv too. I mean there are times you're going to meet strangers, a new boss, and going to have to improv too. I mean there are times you're going to meet strangers, a new boss and going to have to improv too.
40:13 So improv is going to be a fun exercise for us. We're going to then take scripts, break down those scripts and do some acting. I'm going to teach you about Uta Hagen's nine questions. We're going to talk a little bit, a bit about Sandy Meisner's techniques, and these are just little things that you can put in your hip pocket that will help you. When you go out into the world and you're in that booth by yourself and you look to the right and the left and there's nobody there but padded walls, what are you going to do? You're not going to freak out, because we're going to learn about warmups and what we do with all this body when we're nervous and behind a microphone, because I can hear nervousness, I can hear it. So let's uh, let's work on that rolanda, did you hear my nerves?
40:57 - Anne (Host) did you hear my nerves when I was interviewing you are so not nervous listen, you need to make it easy.
41:05 - Rolonda (Guest) You've got the ganguza method, that's it there you my own method. I want to be gangouza'd. I love it.
41:12 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) I love it oh my gosh.
41:14 - Anne (Host) Thank you so so much. It has been such a pleasure talking to you today.
41:19 - Rolonda (Guest) You know how much fun we have. We get together and start talking and the sun can come up.
41:23 - Anne (Host) So true, so true.
41:23 - Rolonda (Guest) Thank you, thank you so much.
41:25 - Anne (Host) I so true, thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so excited for you, for our class in September. Bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses, like Rolanda and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom.
41:42 - Rolonda (Guest) I just wanted to add this that if any of your listeners wanted to check out my voice acting masterclass voice acting masterclass I'm going to offer 50% off if they use the code VO Boss 50.
42:01 - Anne (Host) Oh, I love it. Vo Boss 50.
42:01 - Rolonda (Guest) I'll put that on the show notes, guys. Thank you so much, Just for your listeners. 50% off. Vo Boss listeners go to Rolandacom.
42:08 - Anne (Host) Awesome Thanks. Bye bosses. Thank you, Rolandacom. Awesome Thanks, Bye bosses. Thank you, Rolanda. Bye.
42:13 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipdtl.
Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble dive into a crucial topic every voice actor faces: Return on Investment (ROI). In an industry that combines both tangible equipment and intangible skills, the discussion examines which investments are truly worthwhile. From starter microphones to a full-blown studio, and from coaching to building confidence, Anne and Danielle offer a fresh perspective on how to measure the success of your financial decisions. They emphasize that in a creative industry, ROI is not always about money—it's also about personal growth, confidence, and building a sustainable business.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, we now have events, so don't miss out. Our VIP membership gives you exclusive discounts to events and access to workshops that are sure to boost your voiceover career. Find out more at voboss.com.
00:16 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:35 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the Boss Money Talks series with my good friend, Danielle Famble. Hey, Danielle, hey, how are you? I'm good, how are you? I'm good, Danielle. I just got an email from Amazon, oh, and the subject said you might like this, or we found something you might like, which I think is such a marketing tactic. It is a good opening line. Works on me, yeah for sure.
01:08 - Danielle (Guest) It works on me. You definitely opened the email, didn't you?
01:11 - Anne (Host) Yeah, because it's based on my previous you know, either browsing or my previous purchases, and so those of you that have ever perused the VioBoss website know that I have a Studio Gear page where I put all the recommendations for Studio Gear, and so I was updating that page and, of course, everything that they sent to me was Studio Gear related, and I was like, oh, look at that shiny new interface, look at that shiny new pair of headphones. Yeah, you know, new colors, new colors. Yeah, it leads me to think about Danielle what Vio expenses are actually worth the ROI? I mean, that is something that I think every voice actor needs to consider when they're spending money and investing in their business. So which purchases are actually worth it?
01:58 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, and there are lots of little things that you can invest in in your business and some of them are tangible, like you're talking about the headphones or the interface, and then some of them are intangible, like when you're investing in your education or you're investing in yourself with coaching. So I think that that's such a personal question and it also will change as you progress in your VO boss journey. Agreed, the things that are great returns on investment as you progress in your VO boss journey? Agreed, the things that are great returns on investment when you're earlier on in your career? You may not invest in those again when you're 10, 15, 20, 30 plus years in the game. Right, yeah, that's a fun little question.
02:38 - Anne (Host) I mean we could start with the obvious. The obvious would be most people think, well, okay, I want to be a voice actor, so what do I need? I need a microphone. So there are microphones and there I think microphones are an investment that if you're just starting out and you're not sure if this is really the thing that you want to do or you're going to, you know this is a long term investment for you. Maybe just a starter microphone works. That's a few hundred dollars and I think that that would be worth an investment to just get your feet wet, get you know, dip your toes in the water and find out if this is a career choice that you are going to stick with.
03:12 But if you kind of know that in your heart and you've done enough research and maybe you've gone ahead and done some coaching and you're fairly certain, I would say it's absolutely worth your investment to invest in a good microphone. I mean because I think microphones are one thing. We may use them every single day, right, but we're not like handling them too much. We're not, like you know, dropping them on the ground. God forbid, hopefully not. You're. A good microphone is going to last for years and years, like my 416 and my TLM 103, I have had them for already, like going on 15 years, like, literally there's no signs of slowing down. However, at one point they will, but I've certainly made back the money that I've invested in them, absolutely. What are your?
03:56 - Danielle (Guest) thoughts. I agree, I'm kind of more of the grow as you go kind of mentality. So when I started I was using the Synco Mic D1, I think, or something like that D2. And it was billed as the knockoff 416. And then when I actually had the 416, I was able to listen to them side by side. And it is not, but it worked out for the time being. It was what I could afford at the time and then the additional money or the money that I had that I could have spent on the 416 at the time, I put that money into coaching. I put that money into getting a good demo. I put that money into investing in sort of the soft skills needed to win and do well in this business and really in business in general.
04:45 So I think that the ROI, again, like you, can sort of start with what is the starter, and maybe the starter is a certain dollar amount and I don't think there is a dollar amount, but it's the dollar amount that is comfortable for you. That maybe isn't the 416 or the TLM 103, something like that and then you use some of that money to then invest in the soft skills and invest in your coaching, invest in your website or things like that.
05:16 - Anne (Host) I started off with an AT2020 and I graduated to a Rode MT1A, which is not necessarily what I would recommend today, but those were only a few hundred dollars, and I still remember when I actually got my very first like major investment in a mic was a good 10 years after I had. I had been because I made good money with that Rode for at least six, seven years, and then and it just didn't occur to me because I had a great studio at the time, right, and I didn't hear a need or nobody Everybody said, oh my God, you sound great, and so I didn't feel a need that I had to go experiment with microphones. Now, some people are gearheads. You know we've all got our thing, kind of like me investing in lipsticks or in clothing. You know they have to try it all Totally.
06:08 I remember, though, when I did invest in my TLM 103, I actually heard the difference, but I could not have been able to tell the difference. Probably, I think, when you're first getting into the industry, it takes a minute for you to get an ear. Develop your ear For your sound, for your microphone yeah, we don't talk enough about that and maybe that's fodder for another. You know another episode. But developing your ear in voiceover for performance and for good equipment, it takes time I mean years and it took experimentation. It took, you know, trying, and I think it took me, after years of being in the industry, of hearing the difference with a good quality pair of headphones, with a good quality mic in a good quality studio, and so all of those were were back the ROI.
06:55 - Danielle (Guest) That also increases as well. You know things like investing in your booth, investing in where you're going to record. I started recording in my closet and like adding extra pillows, and I was taking pillow cases off of, like my bed, from the couch cushions. I was taking anything that was soft and just bringing that into the closet with me to record and I, you know I did quite a bit of work that way for a good amount of time and then, you know, time progressed and I got a different booth and then I upgraded to the booth that I'm in currently. So if you, I think, if you can grow as you go, you might be getting more of an ROI because you're developing that, your ear, you're developing your business sense, your business savvy, you're understanding, you know what you bring to the microphone, what you bring to the business, and all of that is how you increase that ROI for sure.
07:53 - Anne (Host) You know, and we should talk about ROI Is ROI always positive financially based?
07:58 - Danielle (Guest) No, I don't think so. No right, I think it can definitely be the intangibles as well. It can be exactly how comfortable you feel attacking commercial copy. It can be how quickly you're able to adjust from in a session when you're given differing opinions on how you should, you know, read a line or something like that. It's your ability to speak up for yourself and ask for what you want and negotiate all of those things.
08:22 - Anne (Host) That's such a good point of this topic because ROI, especially in our industry, when our voices I mean our voices are so much more than just physical voices for our product, it has everything to do with who we are, what got us here, our life journey and confidence right. So if a new microphone can make you feel more confident, can make your performance better, that's going to make your product better. So ROI, I think in our type of industry, when it's a creative industry, really can be almost as much intangible as it is tangible.
09:00 - Danielle (Guest) It's what you're pouring into the product that you're offering, which is tangible. It's what you're pouring into the product that you're offering which is yourself. It's what you're pouring into your physical instrument. It's what you're pouring into your heart. It's what you're pouring into. I love the confidence aspect, because that is a huge intangible.
09:17 that is incredibly important, oh my gosh yes, helps you feel good in your booth, in your read, it's what gives you the confidence to go to conferences and put yourself out there, reach out to new agents. Yeah, like that is the product. The voice is the conduit to it, but you, the human being, are the product and so, whenever you can pour into yourself and make sure that you are operating at your best and highest vibration, you're going to get that ROI back because you're putting out a one-of-one, a very unique commodity, absolutely.
09:52 - Anne (Host) You know, not everyone can just get Spoken from the girl who loves to talk about money. I love that, right. I love that. It's just as important, right, I think, for the ROI to be intangible as it is to be tangible. Now, if we talk about the tangible aspects of it, how do you measure? How do you measure the ROI? How do you look at the hard-cold numbers for an investment in a microphone? I mean, are you looking at it on a monthly basis? Are you like, okay, I invested you know a thousand dollars in this microphone and how have I made it back? Right, Are you looking at the jobs you booked? Are you looking at, you know, an agent you just got? And again, how do you track that? Really, in cold, hard numbers? Sometimes you can't Right.
10:36 - Danielle (Guest) Sometimes you can't, but some things you know, for example, like like a microphone or an interface. You know, I look at things pretty clearly in terms of can I afford it or not? That's sort of the start. And if I cannot afford it right now, how long will it take me to be able to afford it? Should I utilize other tools? Should I use debt? Should I put it on a credit card? But I know that I've got some invoices that are going to be paid by the end of the month and so I can pay for it. Can I afford this thing? And then I look at is this thing, let's say a microphone, is it replacing something that I've already used that needs to be replaced? Do I really need it? Or if I'm a gearhead and I just like it, that's fine too. But know that you know before you just acquire new things and then, do I know how to use it? Yeah, that's sort of the intangible.
11:25 - Anne (Host) That's a good. That's a good, that's a good point Can.
11:27 - Danielle (Guest) I use it, you know, with, with. Can I use it how it needs to be used, or do I need to invest in education to learn how?
11:35 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) to use it.
11:35 - Danielle (Guest) For example, I got a new interface and I wanted to make sure I knew how to use it. Can I afford it? Yes, I bought it, great. But then I didn't really know how to use it. So then I invested in coaching with an audio engineer who explained what it was to me and how I could use it. And so then the ROI actually made sense, because when someone said, hey, can you turn up your gain or turn off that 4K button, or we don don't really. We need this, this and this. Can you tell us what your interface is Like? I could speak to it with confidence, because I had put in the time and energy to, yes, buy it, but then learn how to use it. And for me, then, that's how I look at the ROI.
12:15 - Anne (Host) Sure, well, you know, I get a lot of students because obviously I'm a coach and I get a lot of students because obviously I'm a coach and I get a lot of students who will say, well, I want to be able to work in the industry and then be able to pay for my demo or my coaching, my additional coaching. And so that's a tough one, because that's like what came first, the chicken or the egg, because in reality you kind of have to figure out, you kind of have to make an investment in the coaching aspect of things and, of course, the demo too, because I'm a big believer that demos are what helps market that voice, so that you can get the jobs, so you can then reinvest it in your business. And so what are your thoughts about the intangible investments like, well, investing yourself with coaching and with, let's say, demos.
12:57 - Danielle (Guest) I think those are probably, as you're starting out, that's probably going to be what's going to get you the highest ROI. Are those intangibles. It's the coaching, it's the demos, it's the website, it's the marketing materials, it's knowing how to market yourself, it's knowing what genres you want to work in and that you're good at and that it's fun for you that you're finding the joy, that it's fun for you that you're finding the joy. So those things. I think that's really where I would spend more of my energy and my money trying to really invest in those things. But to your point, you need one to beget the other. The work begets work, but you've got to have something to show who you are, what you do and how well you do that thing Exactly.
13:42 So sometimes that may need to be going into a little bit of debt so that you can purchase that, or it is utilizing your nine to five to fund your five to nine. It's having to sort of figure out what is it that I'm trying to get let's say it's a demo or a coaching package, for example and how much is that going to cost me? How long will it take me to save up for it? Or what do I need to do to make that happen, because then, after a certain period of time, I usually say give yourself like six months to a year to try and get that money back. Yeah, yeah, it's a long enough time, if not longer sometimes.
14:22 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and maybe even longer. I think in the beginning sometimes it could take longer because, you know, I remember telling people my first year I made a decision to go full time when I decided to move across the country and I thought for the first couple of months I would look for a job in education. Because I came from education and I was like, so I had worked so hard in my other job, I took a few months off. Well, I actually couldn't have afforded at the time the few months off, because that was that was like the crash of 2008. And so, in reality, yeah, I basically was not successful in getting in the door really for my, my full time job, just because it was a new area and you know I was specializing in technology and so there were lots of factors in that. And so I just decided to pour all of my energy into going full-time in VO and, as hard of a worker as I am, I still, the first year maybe made $1,200. It was really something that I was learning lots of things. I mean, it was a new area. I was trying to get to know new people, new local studios and trying to figure out marketing, because now I was doing it full time and so there was a lot of investment that I made in my own education and in improving my voiceover, improving my getting new demos and that sort of thing. So it did put a lot of money out for that initial investment.
15:49 And so sometimes it can take a little bit of time to see the return on investment and again, like we were talking about before, sometimes you don't recognize it because in this business you kind of have to develop an ear for a lot of things. You have to develop an ear for your studio sound. You have to develop an ear for a microphone Does it fit you? You have to develop an ear for, you know, for your auditioning really, and that's kind of a soft skill right that incorporates coaching and incorporates just doing it and practicing it. So those are so difficult in the beginning, I think, to justify a return on investment. And I think if you're just getting involved in this business you have to kind of expect those things to take more time than you would like them to Absolutely and also know what not to do.
16:37 - Danielle (Guest) So I always try to look at it as what am I doing to get to my very first dollar and anything outside of that Maybe I don't need to be focusing my money on it because I'm not going to get that return on investment as quickly.
16:50 - Anne (Host) I like that.
16:50 - Danielle (Guest) So it may be those things to get to your first dollar are the coaching.
16:55 It's your, it's your marketing materials, it's your demos, it's your learning how to utilize your, your, your DAW or your interface, like it's your demos, it's your learning how to utilize your DAW or your interface, like it's learning about those things. But maybe it's not. Maybe it's not getting like the super fancy website, maybe it's not business cards, maybe it's not. You know all kinds of other things that seem like oh, this is what I should do for the business purposes, a CRM, you know, like just everything that you do for business. It may not be what you need to be doing now, but what can get you to your first dollar the quickest? Because that's a proof of concept that it's working. And if you can get to one dollar, you can get to two. Then you can get to four, six, eight, whatever. So I would, I would look at it like that of where? Where am I putting my energy, my effort?
17:39 - Anne (Host) I know it's probably going to take a bit of time, but I'm driving towards getting to my first dollar and that's how you'll get the snowball going of the ROI and they hang it up like when they open their business, like I don't know if people do that anymore, but in reality, like that becomes like such an important concept, like what are you doing to make your first dollar? And you're right, sometimes it doesn't happen immediately and I think one thing that people just have to understand is that it does sometimes take time, right, but once you make the first dollar, as you said, then comes the second dollar, then comes the third dollar, and I notice it happens over and over in this business where it's like success begets success.
18:29 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, it does.
18:30 - Anne (Host) And so once you start booking jobs, right outside of an occasional lull right, which happens like seasonally in this industry, and that's something else that you have to get used to Then there's always the capability and the confidence to get to dollar number two and then to get to dollar number three and typically it happens more frequently and then comes the confidence, which I don't think there's a price on that, to be quite honest, because once you have confidence in yourself, in your product and in your business, I don't think there's anything stopping you from being successful, for sure, totally. Let's talk about other things. That, because you mentioned a website and I don't want to let that go, because I think that a website investment is a whole lot more important than some people think, because, again, I'm going old school, right, when people used to actually make their first dollar and then frame it and hang it up in the place of their business. Well, the place of our business now is our studio, and so we really need to be thinking about where you know we're going to celebrate those wins, right, and we want to think about how are we opening our storefront right, where is that storefront? Because it's not physical, it's online, and so that impression that storefront is where people go to buy things.
19:47 I mean, I buy things online every day and I think we all do that. Storefront is important and I think that that is a worthy investment. Now, do you need to make that right away, before you have a demo or before you have right any samples to put up there or even a thought as to what your brand is about? You can always start creating a website on the back burner of things, because as you grow, it develops kind of like your studio, right? You evolve, you change, you grow. I think your website is one of those things. Your storefront grows with you.
20:19 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, absolutely. I think it's important to have you know you, to place your digital shingle up so that people can find you, because in this day and age, so many people are finding you on your website or digital presence in some way, and then they're coming to speak with you via email. So they need to know how to reach you. So I do think that's important, but some things do. The great thing about a website is that it can change and evolve and sort of that's the point. Can change and evolve, and sort of that's the point. So you start with what you have, and if what you have is just this is my name, this is my picture, this is what I sound like and this is how you can reach me, those basic things are all. That's what a website should entail, anything else showing what you do.
21:04 - Anne (Host) A way to purchase.
21:05 - Danielle (Guest) A way to purchase a product, a way to purchase a product that is really like. It's the gateway to how to get to purchase the product of my voiceover services, me as a person, and how we can work together me, you, the client. But other than that, I don't think that it serves you to wait to put that digital shingle up until you're ready, because there's time that could go to making your first dollar, absolutely Even if that digital shingle is not the way that other people's digital shingles look. But I would say, put the website up and get that out there as quickly as possible. That has the basic information about how to find you, how to purchase your product that you're selling, how to pay you, how to pay you Exactly you have to be able to get pounds so that you're selling how to pay you, how to pay you Exactly Like.
21:54 - Anne (Host) You have to be able to get pounds so that people can hire you and then pay you, and that, I think, is so, so important.
22:00 - Danielle (Guest) And those things will grow and evolve as time goes on. But you don't need to wait until all of these things are in place and perfect to put it out there so that people you know this is the get to your first dollar. It's got to be scrappy.
22:15 - Anne (Host) I agree with you. Now, what about the other things? Like OK, so you've, how are you going to make your first dollar? So then the next biggest question, or I would say one of the biggest questions I always get, is like so how do I get work? How do I get work?
22:29 So there are multiple ways to get work Right and there are investments that you can make in order to get work Right. You can invest in a pay to play. You can invest in you know management. You can invest in a marketing company that can help you to market. You've decided you're going to hang that shingle out and you're going to do it.
22:53 Well, now you've got to make money right. Now you've got to see that return on investment that you've made, and so you've got to make money. So how do you make money and how do you determine what products or what avenues to invest in so that you can find opportunities? Because that's really what you're doing. You're paying to find opportunities, and whether you're paying somebody to help market you in social media or maybe you're doing that yourself, that's really cost of your time, right, which is a cost you got to calculate, and we have a great episode on what's your hourly worth, right? How much do you get paid per hour? So figure out what that is worth. But let's talk about do you see pay-to-plays as being a worthy investment?
23:35 - Danielle (Guest) It can be a worthy investment, depending on the genre that you want to be working in. If you want to be working in a certain genre, that pay-to-plays are more often than not posting jobs for, absolutely yes, and usually those pay-to-plays have tiers.
23:53 - Anne (Host) Yes.
23:53 - Danielle (Guest) And usually those pay to plays have tiers. I started on a pay to play at the lowest tier as a proof of concept to make sure that I wanted to do this, that it made sense for me and was I going to be making my money back. And I found in one or two jobs I made that lowest tier, that I paid for the year I'd made that money back. So it made more sense to consider upgrading to higher and higher tiers and I think that's the way that you can sort of stair-step it. I agree.
24:14 But, if you know that you're wanting to go into a certain genre, that maybe a pay-to-play is not going to be as beneficial for you, then I would make it so that you're getting the best return on your investment of time and money as possible. But then you spend more of your time going into the spaces where that genre is more marketed and maybe that's not a pay to play. Maybe it is an agent, maybe it's not an agent, maybe it is your own time, maybe it's looking on social media sites for different types of work opportunities. So knowing the genre that you're trying to work in will then tell you where you should put your time and your energy and your money. And if you're trying to work in, will then tell you where you should put your time and your energy and your money and if you do want to work in both broadcast and non-broadcast right.
24:57 - Anne (Host) That, to me, separates out the you know which genres there's. Broadcast and non-broadcast. Broadcast require. You know you're going to have an agent and maybe a manager. You're not going to have to invest in an agent, by the way. You don't have to invest money in an agent, but you have to invest money in a demo that will attract an agent and auditions and or jobs that you've booked on, maybe pay to plays or rosters that attract an agent to want to put you on their roster.
25:20 - Danielle (Guest) That's number one and they would probably need to see it on your website or see, like where those types of jobs that you've done or your demos.
25:26 - Anne (Host) Absolutely.
25:26 And I do want to just make one point about the pay to plays, because there's so many many people that that's always the biggest. I think is one of the biggest topics of discussion is pay-to-plays and what tiers and what's worth it. Back in the day when I joined, there was only one tier and it was like a few hundred dollars a year. And I, what I, even if you join on that first tier right and just to dip your toes in the water, remember, to me it's an education because you're starting, because if you have never worked in voiceover, you don't know what real jobs are out there. You might have worked with a coach that gave you scripts they were practice scripts, they weren't actual jobs that maybe had casting specs or a quote. You know like, oh, here we're going to pay you this amount of money and here's the audition I want you to do, or here's the actual size of the job. And so you're really I think if you're even just on a bare bones level of those pay to plays, you're paying for education to find out what jobs are current out there, who's hiring and what types of jobs are they hiring. So I always say a first level investment is always good for people kind of looking to dip their toes in the industry to find out if this is something they really like, because then they could see here are the types of jobs that are being offered out there, and here's what an actual corporate narration looks like, or here's what an e-learning module looks like, and so I think that's a very worthy investment. Then, yes, there are different tiers. Now there's always back and forth about is this tier worth it? Is the most expensive tier worth it? And, of course, I think that just depends on the timing of things and your ability to audition well and timely Agents.
26:58 Don't ever pay for an agent. If you have to pay for an agent, you need to like run. But managers, in terms of return on investment, if you do get a job through an agent, you're typically paying them a fee, a commission, and so that, yes, is a good return on your investment for the most part, unless you've got an agent who's unscrupulous and maybe not, you know, paying you, which actually does happen Something did just happen recently which is unfortunate and then a manager of which you're paying a certain percentage of every job, whether or not you got that job through them. So that is. You know that's another discussion which we actually had a podcast on that, Danielle because you do have a management company and for you it's a very worthwhile investment. Again, depending on the genres that you work in, a lot that is going to determine if it's worth the ROI.
27:49 So one last thing I want to talk about is ROI in terms of marketing. What should we consider a good return on investment for our marketing efforts? Should we hire, should we buy a CRM? Should we hire a marketing agency? Should we, you know, pay a social media manager to get us out there? I mean, there's so many different options and this could be like again like part two of an episode. You know what are those options and how do I determine the best ROI on that? And marketing is tough Marketing is tough Marketing.
28:22 - Danielle (Guest) I even consider, like my agents and managers, part of my marketing budget, because me doing all of these auditions through them and being associated with them on their websites or on their marketing materials is also marketing, and marketing is one of those that it can be that you really are playing the long game. You could be marketing to a potential client for years and years and then finally a job comes your way through them. Well, that's a worthwhile return on investment because you've been consistently reaching out to these people and, as time has gone on, they know you, they can trust you and they want to work with you. And you know the stars aligned where they had something that was a good fit for you. So it really the thing about marketing is that it is a long-term investment in the growth of you and your voiceover business.
29:19 So the ROI with marketing is a little bit more like. It's kind of like when you are consistently investing money into your savings account or into the stock market or into your retirement account. It's harder to track sometimes. It is hard to track sometimes, but you're doing it knowing that you're not necessarily trying to get an immediate return on investment. You're basically investing in the long-term health of your business, because then you're diversifying yourself from the pay-to-plays, from your agents, from your SEO expenses for your website, All of those things, your SEO expenses for your website, like all of those things. It's really just diversification, and that one is harder to track.
29:58 - Anne (Host) And also, you know, it can be a combination of any or all of the above that we've spoken about today and I mean I really appreciate it can be a combination of your investment in yourself and your performance and your auditioning techniques and investment in you know, refreshing your demos and investment in evolving or getting a new website. Investment in you know, maybe paying somebody to help you market yourself, and investment in you know a pay-to-plays and a management company. So all of these things together and as you evolve right, your investments and your expenses evolve. I mean that's really called growth? Yes, it is, and hopefully it spurs in a positive direction.
30:39 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, you can always also ask yourself you know if it's something that you're going to be putting your financial investments in. Can I afford it, yes or no? Right, how long will it take for me to be able to afford it? And what do I need to do to purchase it? What tools do I need to use to be able to purchase it? And then, what am I trying to gain from it? What does it look like if this were to be successful? What am I trying to get out of it?
31:04 And it can't just be I just want to book a job. That's a little too nebulous. It could just be something more like I want to feel more confident when I walk in my studio. That's a direction that you can go and then you can say, okay, return on investment, I got it, because now I feel a lot more confident. Check the box, but know what is it going to cost me? That could be money or not. And what am I trying? What is the outcome? What's the cost and what's the outcome? And then, when you can figure those two out and you're very clear about it, then go for it, because you'll know when you've had that ROI.
31:37 - Anne (Host) Love it, love it. And the one thing my takeaway is that ROI is not always financial. No, not always financial, not always easily measurable, so bosses out there lots of things to consider, Danielle, as always, what an amazing conversation. Thank you so much. Yeah, this was conversation. Thank you so much. Yeah, this was fun. Thank you for bringing it up.
31:54 Absolutely. I am going to give a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys have an amazing week and you know, you guys are absolutely worth our ROI. Absolutely have a good one. Bye, bye. Absolutely have a good one, bye, bye.
32:11 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides join forces in this episode of the VO Boss Podcast for another installment of their Boss Superpower Series. They tackle a topic often considered taboo in the voice acting industry: voiceover as a hobby.
This discussion explores whether pursuing voice acting without the pressure of a full-time income carries a stigma. The episode delves into concerns about hobbyists "taking away" jobs, examines the true meaning of commitment, and highlights how to embrace a voiceover journey for pure creative joy, whether it's a primary career or a cherished passion. Listeners will discover why being a BOSS means defining success on one's own terms.
00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, it's Anne from VO Boss here.
00:03 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And it's George the Tech. We're excited to tell you about the VO Boss. Vip membership, now with even more benefits.
00:10 - Anne (Host) So not only do you get access to exclusive workshops and industry insights, but with our VIP plus tech tier, you'll enjoy specialized tech support from none other than George himself.
00:21 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) You got it. I'll help you tackle all those tricky tech issues so you can focus on what you do best Voice acting. It's tech support tailored for voiceover professionals like you.
00:32 - Anne (Host) Join us guys at VO Boss and let's make your voiceover career soar. Visit voboss.com slash VIP-membership to sign up today.
00:43 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:02 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the Boss Superpower Series with the one and only Lau Lapides.
01:12 - Lau (Guest) Hey, Anne.
01:13 - Anne (Host) And Lau
01:14 - Lau (Guest) Love being here, as always. Love it, oh, Lau, it's so good to see you. What would a Saturday be without being in the booth with Anne?
01:22 - Anne (Host) Really, I know, right, I mean it would not be a Saturday, I know right it wouldn't, but sometimes on Saturdays I have other hobbies that I like to do, actually, because now it's actually horse show season and every once in a while I have to go out of the studio and go watch my horse shows, because back in the day.
01:39 - Lau (Guest) I used to own a couple of horses and that was like a passion and a love of mine.
01:46 - Anne (Host) Are you a derby girl? Do you get into the Kentucky Derby? I'm not a derby girl, I'm a horse show girl, a jumper. So, yeah, I mean, I can watch a race, but I'm much more enthralled by watching horses jump over things.
01:56 But speaking of hobbies and alternate passions and other passions we talk about voiceover as a full-time career all the time. Passions we talk about voiceover as a full-time career all the time, but there's a taboo topic about voiceover as a hobby. Maybe we should discuss that, laura. How do you feel about that? Is there a stigma around voiceover as a hobby in our industry?
02:19 - Lau (Guest) I think there is and it took me a while to actually let it come to the front of my brain that that was a real thing that people were distancing themselves from the notion of well, I'm in it to win it. I have to do it full time, I have to make a living and I have to do it like now, and the options are really there on the table for you, whether you would call it a full-time or full-time contractor position, whether it's a part-time and fills the holes in your schedule, in between your other lives, or whether it's a hobby, something creative, something joyful, something you love to do, but it's really not about money.
03:01 - Anne (Host) Well, okay, so let's just talk about the elephant in the room, right? Those that do voiceover as a hobby, right, could potentially be seen as taking away jobs from those people who do this for a living. And so those are the people that I think I see other people talk about them in different groups and Facebook groups and forums about how, oh, are you doing voiceover for a career or a hobby? Because if it's a hobby, then poo-poo, and so there's usually kind of a look of disdain upon those people doing it as a hobby. But I like how we're entertaining the thought of it because, I mean, there's lots of reasons why you want to get invested in voiceover, and not all the time is it to make tons of money and pay the mortgage. I mean, sometimes maybe you're in retirement and you just want a creative outlet, or maybe not even retirement, you just want a creative outlet. And do you feel, Lau, that this is taking away jobs from those of us who do it full time? What are your thoughts on that?
04:01 - Lau (Guest) No, in fact I got to be honest with you, Anne that didn't even come to my mind. It didn't come to my mind because I feel like best person wins the game.
04:10 And if you're in the game to win it and you're serious about it, there's going to be work for you, there's going to be jobs for you. To think about people who are not earning money or living as taking away your work to me is very strange, because it's like, well, it's a capitalistic market. It's like I have to train, I have to have my tools in place, I have to have my protocols and etiquette, I have to know everything that I can know to compete. But can I control the market? Can I control who's in the market? No Right, absolutely. That's true of every industry. I mean, how many times? Let's be honest.
04:43 - Anne (Host) And that's a really good point, laura, wait, wait, I got an honest point for you.
04:46 - Lau (Guest) How many times and listeners, be honest with yourself have you had a problem with your light bulb and your Uncle Harry, who's a retired electrician maybe, is going to fix it for you? Okay, well, you say, of course, let him fix it, sure. Well, he said, of course, let him fix it, sure, I don't even have to pay him. That's really great, wonderful. Well, the reality is is he took away a job from an electrician who's on the market right now. Who would love to get that job? Sure. But the reality is it's like we're built on relationships. We're built on the history of knowing people.
05:19 So not everything is going to be about a competitive job.
05:21 - Anne (Host) Such a great point. I mean and we talk about it in casting all the time I mean, sometimes they choose to go a different direction. Well, what is that other direction? Well, maybe their niece or nephew does voiceover, or maybe it's a friend of theirs that wants to give it a shot, and so, in reality, we don't really have control over that aspect of it. As to the decision of the casting, Again it's like who gets the job?
05:46 I mean is it always the best that gets the job? No, not really. No, sometimes it's just the most convenient or the one that's the cheapest.
05:53 And that is not necessarily our decision or under our control, so I love that you brought that up. I'd like to discuss the fact that I've had students who have tried voiceover and they've tried different genres. Of course you know I have specific genres that I work on and they've decided. You know what. I'm not so sure that voiceover is for me because they find out maybe it's not quite as enjoyable as they thought, or maybe I'm given homework, so maybe they're like I don't want to do Anne homework, so you know what I don't think I'm going to do voiceover anymore, but sometimes you don't know until you explore the path of creative journey.
06:29 - Lau (Guest) You just don't know.
06:30 - Anne (Host) And then all of a sudden, it's like you know what? I don't love it as much as I thought I was going to and therefore, maybe they have a great voice and we would be, maybe, as coaches, saying oh my God, you have a fabulous voice and you're natural at it and maybe they're just like you know. Okay, if I get asked to do it, so I mean there are all sorts of reasons.
06:47 - Lau (Guest) It isn't an all or nothing type of a trade. And besides, if you equate it to any other arts that are out there, like, does that mean I can't paint a painting without selling it? Does that mean I can't create a pot without selling the ceramics? Does that mean I can't dance without getting a job at dancing? It sounds kind of silly when you put it that way, but a lot of us consider it not just a trade but an art form. So to do it as an art form for the creative force of strengthening your voice and communicating and doing all the things that we do in voiceover, I think it's a missed opportunity to not do it because you think it is only meant to be a job and make money. It's also an art form.
07:31 - Anne (Host) And again, yeah, I'm a big believer about it's all about the journey, really not about the end point. Sometimes there's a lot of self-discovery in voiceover because it is a creative. Actually, I think all jobs are creative for the most part. Or they can be made creative or they can be thought of as creative. You can construct them as creative if you want, and so some are just a little more. I would say they lean more towards the creative field where you have more freedom of it. But I think a lot of times it's a journey and that's a wonderful journey to be on. I think we all go through some sort of a creative journey in our lives.
08:08 Absolutely and this is one that can really help you get in tune with yourself, because it is something that is directly in tune with ourselves, our voice.
08:17 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, and not only is it a fun challenge, but it is just that it can be just pure fun. If you get in the booth and you're doing, let's say, an animation character and you love character work, you may be doing that for the sheer benefit of doing it, the process of doing it, sharing with others that you've done it, listening back, enjoying the fun factor of it. You may or may not book that, that may or may not be a job for you, but it is part of that. You used the word journey that you can really have in yourself for other things Like what if you're a teacher? What if you're an educator? What?
08:53 if you are someone who is, or a therapist, or even a doctor, well, you would take these pop moments in your life and you can use them as part of your story, to connect with your audience, to connect with your customers, whoever they are.
09:09 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, and you know our journeys as we go along and I talk about this frequently is I use every part of my life experience in voiceover, and so voiceover is also a part of my life experience, and so I can use that in many ways other than just voiceover. I can, just as you mentioned, to be a better communicator, to really learn more about myself and to evolve, and so I really think that voiceover as a hobby is absolutely something we can entertain. And hey look, who's the pot calling the kettle black? Is that the phrase?
09:40 I have lots of different divisions of my business because I follow lots of different passions and that doesn't mean that voiceover is part-time for me. I mean, my main function here is voiceover. But there are lots of passions that I follow and, for example, my little foray into fashion. There's lots of fashion influencers out there that do it full-time. That might think, oh, who's this girl? Every once in a while I see a post from her and she's not really a fashion. I don't even like to say the word influencer. I just say I want to share my passion for fashion and hey, if I can make a little side income that's cool, but if not, it's not a big deal. I love the creative aspect of curating outfits.
10:19 - Lau (Guest) To me, what it comes down to is the gestalt of how much just as human beings, unfortunately we still love labeling.
10:26 We're very much designer in that way. We want to label people. We want to label what they do, what they have, what they are. We want to type them quickly so that it's easy for us to know oh, this is the girl that does that, this is the guy that does that, whatever. And the labeling can be very detrimental to us, because I see this all the time, with new voiceover talent coming in and actors coming in saying, oh, but this coach told me I need to do that and I need to be invested in this way and I need to be put in this net. And I said well, wait a second.
10:57 That is someone's interpretation of what this career is, based on their own subjective frame of reference. It has nothing to do with you. You've got to figure out your life. You've got to figure out your level of commitment, how you feel about it. In copy, we call it point of view. What's your point of view about this? It's sort of like we want to come in and it makes it easy for us if someone can label us. If they can label us, then we can follow the cookie cutter path of what we're supposed to do. But it's not that kind of career. Artistic careers are not that kind of career.
11:33 - Anne (Host) And again along those lines, is there a path to being a part-time voiceover talent? Is it a requirement that they get training, that they get a demo, that they do all of those things? That typically what we would suggest and recommend that they do for full-time?
11:49 - Lau (Guest) I honestly don't think anything is a requirement. I think it's only a requirement if you're trying to reach a particular level of your craft or career, and then you kind of have to do the due diligence of research. Oh well, if I'm going to use this as a career, then I know I need a demo of this kind. But if I'm not, if that's not my objective and I'm honest about that, I feel really good about that I may or may not need that, I may or may not. Right, it's a different level. I mean, a hobbyist has a different level of everything compared to a professional, sure, and the expectations can be very different as well.
12:26 - Anne (Host) Well, I'll tell you something that my level of commitment to back. When I was younger, riding horses right. It wasn't a job for me. I wanted it ultimately someday to be a job.
12:36 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) You loved it, but I loved it.
12:38 - Anne (Host) I followed my passion and I spent hours. I mean hours and hours and hours. I mean thousands of hours, tens of thousands of hours riding and practicing, and so I don't think you can put a label on oh, you're part-time, so it's a DIY demo. They're not training, they're getting their instruction on the internet. I hear a lot of talk like that and it's really it's negative talk. I'd like to say hey, guys, if you want to explore voiceover, if you have other passions that you want to pursue and you just want to do voiceover part-time, it's absolutely okay. There's no straight path to get there. There's no. You have to do this, you must do this to become a part-time voiceover talent. There's only recommendations on what might work for your journey to evolve and to get better.
13:24 - Lau (Guest) Absolutely. I think that's true of probably every profession that's out there. I think it applies to anything that you want to do. It's like as you move up the ladder, as you go level to level, you learn more about what the expectations are, what the industry standards are, what your competition has and utilizes to book work. But to come into it and to have this false or artificial notion of, oh, I should be doing this, I want to be, that Everyone told me I should be doing this. Well, listen, do you want to be in the cool kids group? Do you want to be in the cool clicky? You know everyone is cool or do you want to be true to yourself?
14:04 - Anne (Host) Right Like do you want to be?
14:05 - Lau (Guest) literally true to your own voice is the question. Yeah, absolutely. You can have many experts and professionals helping you along the way, but it's not about being in the cool kids club.
14:15 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and you know, what's so wonderful about that is that it's freeing, right? If I think about my alternative hobbies, that I do, right, I don't care what people think about me when I'm doing my hobby, I mean, and that allows me to experience more joy. I think Sometimes, oh, I've got a dedicated path to a full-time career and therefore here's what I should do in order to achieve that path, and then I can be judged. But when I decide I'm going to just do this for my own fun, for the creative journey of it, guess what? I tend to not think about what other people think of me and that, oh my gosh, as full-time voiceover talent, if we could, as actors, if we could just employ that attitude where you don't necessarily care what other people are saying about you, especially if it's negative, then I think that's a wonderful thing.
15:03 - Lau (Guest) You know, it brings us back to kids being kids, and like I don't mean kids at 10. I mean no, I mean younger, I mean like the under five crowd. It's like they're just not aware of what someone else thinks in regards to their playtime.
15:20 They're so invested in their imagination and their moments in their mind that they can shift and pivot to. I can be a king, I can be a dog, I can be a truck, I can be right, Like the possibilities of the magic. What if right? I can be anything I want to be and I don't have to worry about the outcomes of it, Like we're not into outcomes yet at that stage of the game. If we could have a moment of going back to that and just honestly play and be present and enjoy those moments without worrying about the outcomes, what people are saying, what people are thinking, then you're really going to free yourself to do your best work, yeah.
16:00 - Anne (Host) It just makes me think of like the judgment sometimes that I see that has passed on a part-time voiceover or voiceover people that are not necessarily studying under a coach or they're doing their own demo or they're auditioning for jobs that pay low. And if you're doing it as a hobby and typically if it's a hobby you're not always needing to make money from it. It's really just again, it's your creative expression, it's your enjoyment, your joy. You're not necessarily having to make a huge salary off of it. So then we kind of get to the point where, okay, are they bottom feeding the market? Are they bringing down the value of what it is that we do? Full time Lau.
16:44 - Lau (Guest) I don't know how to answer that, because I think the world is so large. Do full-time Lau? I don't know how to answer that, because I think the world is so large and the compartmentalization of all the different genres, all the different budgets, all the different potential clients are vast. They're huge. So I don't think there's one answer to that.
16:59 One of the biggest problems that I see as a coach is people coming in who are really hobbyists, who are treating it like they're going to make a living at it and really starting to unpeel the onion and decipher. Well, wait a second, can we be honest about this? This is not your career. Why? Because I'm looking at the time you commit, I'm looking at your level of investment, I'm looking at your strategy. I'm looking at your strategy. I'm looking at your talent. I'm looking at all these things that are the pivotal markers of a career person.
17:33 Right, they're not there yet. You're still in hobby mode. Do you realize that? Right, like, well, wait, can't I write this off on my taxes? Can't I get all of that? I said yes, if you work. Yeah, yeah, absolutely yes. If it becomes a business for you, have income against it, right? So I think the bigger issue in my mind not to divert away from your original question, but the bigger issue is that gap in people's minds between what they think they should be doing and want to be doing and what they're actually doing. And what they're actually doing quite oftentimes is what a hobbyist would do.
18:09 - Anne (Host) And then there's a lot of people I know that are like well, I want to be able to pay for my investment. So if they're coaching or if they're, even if they're doing it part-time and they're going to get a demo, they're like, well, I want to work so I can pay for this demo. And that is where I think that gray area is, because it's difficult for people unless they have a certain level of talent that's just innately without coaching or without having a great produced demo, because, you know, I always put my stamp of approval on that, you know, being transparent as a coach and demo producer. But there's a lot of people who don't necessarily. They want to be able to work so that they can pay for their investment in their hobby, because hobbies can be expensive, right, hobbies can be expensive.
18:55 - Lau (Guest) Exactly, exactly. But I asked the question and I always put it in another context because when you're too close to something, you oftentimes can't see it right. So if I say, okay, that makes sense. Now, if you're going to become attorney and you're going to be in Lau school for three or four years, why don't you work as an attorney and make the money so you?
19:14 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) can pay for Lau school. They say well, that's kind of crazy.
19:17 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) They're not going to let me do that.
19:18 - Lau (Guest) I haven't passed the bar. I don't have any credits. I said right, Are you going to work as a dentist as you go through dental? It's the same thing, Exactly.
19:27 - Anne (Host) That mindset, that's a great analogy.
19:29 - Lau (Guest) I'm like this should be easy for me to do. I should be able to get it so I can pay for my coaching. Say no, the investment in the education comes first. Yeah, and then you go out and look for the work, yeah, and it's like any good hobby.
19:41 - Anne (Host) I mean gosh, so many hobbies I had. But when, I think about when I was a young girl riding horses right? Well, I had to pay for my lessons, I had to pay for my own saddle, I had to pay for my riding outfit, I had to pay entry fees into the shows that I was competing in, and so my hobby was competitive. My hobby was I really dove deep and it was expensive, and my parents didn't let me forget that. But, I was so fortunate.
20:08 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I always tell people.
20:08 - Anne (Host) well, I worked at the stable so I could work off my lessons, and so that took care of maybe a portion of the payment.
20:15 But my parents knew that I was invested because I was like, oh, and I spent all my time at the stables. I mean I shoveled enough manure to get some good background and investment into my passion, yeah. But I mean, in reality, I mean I invested as much, if not more, I think, into my hobby and then kind of knowing, when I got old enough to go to college, well then I had to go study for a real job.
20:39 But times have changed now right A little bit, so it's just gotten to the point where I love that I've always been able to follow my passions. Not everybody is there at a young age or can follow their passions throughout their life. I've always been fortunate, I think, that I've had this kind of gut to follow my passions in lots of different ways and figure out how I can still pay the bills while I do that, but you were very always pragmatic in understanding that you needed a survival job, exactly you needed to be hustling throughout.
21:09 - Lau (Guest) So, whether it was in your field or whether it was something totally unrelated, that was like a given to you. You were taught that you understood the work ethic of that, so that, I think, separates the hobbyists from the professionals in that.
21:22 - Anne (Host) But the good thing is is I feel like I have always been able to follow a passion where the money can help me pay the bills. And so, however, I fixated on that passion, like, for example, I was good at school, right, so I went to college and I studied engineering because people told me I should, right, but then I got into a job where I was designing creative, three-dimensional artificial hip and knee prostheses, and that creative like, oh, I got to be an engineer and that creativity was like it was my passion, right, following a creative, following something that allowed me to be creative and then ultimately getting into teaching.
21:58 After that right, sharing my love of I'm so excited about this, let me share it. And that was following that passion. And then I was able to teach. And so I think there are people at different stages of their life that all of a sudden say, oh, I need a creative outlet. Where they haven't really looked at where is their creative outlet now.
22:18 And I think people always have a creative outlet. They just don't expand upon it if they can or think about it in terms of it being a creative outlet. But at any given stage of life they get to a point where they say I want to be more creative. That's the majority of people that come to me that say they want to learn voiceovers. Gosh, you know, I'm just looking for something. I hate my job or I'm just looking for something that allows me to expand my creativity and that is following a passion. And at whatever stage you're at the passion and at whatever stage you're at, I don't think it matters whether you decide to do that full-time or part-time. It is a journey of creative experience for you.
22:52 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, I just think one of the bigger mistakes that I see happen and it happens all the time as I meet people is that they mistake the idea that they can quit their day job and leave their life and leave everything and just become a full voiceover.
23:06 Talent and as a contractor. It's just not going to happen that way. It really just isn't. It's not going to happen as any kind of a contractor, let alone this kind of. So you really have to be honest about that. And, like I, have a talent who has worked for a company, an insurance company, for like 10 years or a long time as their spokesperson, as their voiceover. She does nothing else. She does nothing else. She does nothing else. She just had a baby. She'll probably have another baby. She aspires to do more, but in my heart of heart I know she won't. I know she won't because when she hits the level of time and energy that it would take to do that, she stops. She can't go past that and I say be happy, be happy, be fulfilled, be okay with that. If that's what you can do and what you want to accomplish, don't keep pushing for the moon and the stars when the reality is is you're not wanting to really do the work to get to the moon and the stars.
24:05 - Anne (Host) I love that you say that, because some people don't realize it. Some people don't realize it that they don't want to do the work and they say they want to and they, but they don't. But they really don't, they really don't. And here's the deal, guys. I mean, I got out of a corporate job, right. I got out of it and you think oh, it's going to be easy.
24:23 Right, this should be easy. Now, if you're performing and you're being the actor and it feels easy to you because I want to make a distinction here and it feels easy, well, you've probably put in the hours and you're definitely in that moment where you are acting and it seems like it's easy. But in reality the amount of hours you had to put in probably to get there may or may not have been easy. That's right. When it becomes easy and it feels good, then you know you're in that creative moment right where you're expressing your creativity. But to get to the moments where you can do that more often than you have to actually run the business because we talk about that's the work.
25:02 A lot of the work that has to go into it is the business aspect of it, which is why we have this podcast right. There's the whole business aspect, which requires more work than I ever put into my corporate job and I put in a lot of work in my corporate job. I worked three jobs, probably overtime, but I put more work into this full-time voice acting gig than I ever put into my corporate job and I put a lot of work in my corporate job.
25:27 - Lau (Guest) Because you love it. Because you love it, there's a passion, there's an honesty about it. You love it, you want to do it right. It's there for you. I got to tell you I'm a little jealous sometimes of the lives lived gone by that I had as well, where we were doing like community theater, we were doing things that had no money involved, no end game involved, other than the actual experience of doing it and just loving it, just like being, and we were rehearsing every night. We would do it for three, four months and then we would do one weekend of shows you know what I mean and I say, oh wow.
26:04 Sometimes I really miss those days, Anne, because that was the most honest, yeah most honest moments of I want to do this, I love doing this, I love being with the people and I'm doing it. That has ever been in many lives. Once we get tainted a little bit with oh, I have to make, money, I have to make money.
26:26 - Anne (Host) We got to pay the bills right. We got to pay the bills. If we didn't have to pay bills in our lifetime, wouldn't it be nice. We've got to pay the bills right, we've got to pay the bills. If we didn't have to pay bills in our lifetime, wouldn't it be nice. What would? Our world look like if we didn't have to pay bills, If we could just do what it was that we felt was our calling and have creative exploration.
26:42 - Lau (Guest) I also think though, if we're being honest, we do use money as a marker.
26:46 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) As a motivator. It's a motivator too it's incentive.
26:49 - Lau (Guest) It also feels really good when you earn money for something you love to do or do. Well, it feels really good. There's a rightness about it. Should it be all about that? Probably not. Yeah, probably not, because I think you can lose the luster very easily of why you came into it in the first place.
27:09 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I feel like the money is a good motivator. And it's interesting because I say to people like for me, I love the business of voiceover, because I love to see how I can make money, like in many different ways. And it's not necessarily that I well, I love money. I can say I love money but it's not important that I have to have a ton of it, but it's the creative challenge of making money. That's a whole other show, Anne. That's a whole—we've got to do a show on that.
27:35 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) How much do you love?
27:36 - Lau (Guest) money, because I'm telling you, this is like one of our top ten taboo lists that we're creating. Yeah, absolutely, the hobbyist on the taboo list Money. It's okay to love money on the taboo list. There's probably other stuff too that we'll think of along the way, but it's like we're trying to dispel this. It's not even a myth. It's true that you are made to feel this way in our society and it's not accurate. You don't have to feel that guilt. You don't have to feel bad about loving to do something and not wanting to make money at it, absolutely.
28:08 - Anne (Host) Or even if you want to make money at it, you don't have to feel bad. And so you guys bosses out there. You don't have to do full-time voiceover to be a boss. You can absolutely pursue part-time voiceover and be a boss and be the best boss that you can. So great conversation, laura.
28:26 - Lau (Guest) I love that we fixed that one.
28:28 - Anne (Host) Yeah right, that was a goodie. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. See you next time.
28:44 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, get ready for an inspiring conversation with a true powerhouse of performance. In this episode of the VO Boss Podcast, we welcome the incredibly talented Stacia Newcomb, a veteran voice actor and performer who has been lighting up the mic and screen for over 20 years!
00:01 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Hey bosses, if you're ready to start that demo journey, let's craft your professional demo together. As an award-winning professional demo producer, I'll collaborate with you to showcase your talent in the best possible light. From refining your delivery to selecting the perfect scripts to showcase your brand, I'll ensure your demo reflects your skills and personality. Let's create a demo that opens doors and paves the way for your success. Schedule your session at anneganguzza.com today.
00:33 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the Boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a Boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:52 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm here with a very special guest who's been lighting up the mic and the screen for over 20 years. Who's been lighting up the mic and the screen for over 20 years?
01:09 Stacia Newcomb is a powerhouse voice actor, performer and creator whose work spans just about every medium, let's say television, radio, video games, audiobooks and even puppetry. You might recognize her as the star voice See what I did there and fuzzy face of star from the Good Night Show on Sprout, where she's brought warmth and comfort to bedtime for kids for over a decade. Not only that, but she's voiced characters for Disney, nickelodeon, pbs, kids and Cartoon Network. And, of course, you've heard her in campaigns for brands like Geico, verizon, subway and Dunkin'. She's made her mark on stage and screen from a memorable appearance on 30 Rock, which I found to be quite interesting We'll talk about that in a minute to sold-out off-Broadway comedy shows like Can I Say this? I Can Shit Show and Potty in the USA. I can't say that because it's my podcast. Yes, these days she's running her own studio in the Berkshires Sound and the Furry where she produces family-friendly content and helps other performers find their voice. Welcome to the show Stacia.
02:12 - Stacia (Guest) Wow, thank you. That was quite the intro.
02:15 - Anne (Host) I'm like wow, I was like wow, I don't think 30 minutes is enough time for us, Stacia, to go through everything that you've done. Let's not, then We'll talk about whatever we want to. It's just, it's so amazing. I mean, so you've been in the industry for over 20 years, which actually to me, I've been in it just the voiceover aspect for like 18. And so 20 years feels like it was yesterday to me. But talk to us a little bit, talk to the bosses and tell us a little bit how you first got into performance. I assume performance was before voiceover.
02:50 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, yeah, hey, bosses. Yeah, I started as an actor. I wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember, I mean when I was little. My mom still tells a story about how I performed for all of my five-year-old friends at my fifth birthday party, which sounds like still a good party to me, right? So, yeah, so I started as an actor and through that I tried to just branch off into any direction that I could, to be living a creative life and be able to continue performing in whatever medium I could. You know.
03:34 - Anne (Host) So what was one of the first things that you did? Performance wise, professionally, yes, professionally.
03:38 - Stacia (Guest) So I this is so random, but there is. I'm from Massachusetts, that's where I grew up. In Newport, rhode Island, which I don't know if there are any Gilded Age fans out there there was a mansion, the Astors Beachwood, and the Astors Beachwood was owned by the Astors at the time when I graduated high school. At the time, for about 10 or 15 years, I think they had. They hired actors from all over the country to live there and perform as both aristocrats and servants of the 1890s the year was 1891. And we yeah, it was all improv, like some days I'd be an aristocrat and some days I'd be a little housemaid.
04:22 - Anne (Host) Wow, that sounds so interesting. Now you said Massachusetts. Now see, I'm originally a New York State girl, right, and I've been up and down the East Coast, so Massachusetts would suggest that you have an accent in there somewhere. Yeah, I sure do.
04:37 - Stacia (Guest) It's right there.
04:38 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and of course I feel like, because I had a very New York State accent which was kind of similar, believe it or not, not quite as I don't know, not quite as accented as, not as ugly. Is that what you're trying to say? Oh no, because I would say things like car and water and it would be like really flat with my A is water.
05:01 And when I moved to New Jersey, oh my gosh did they make fun of me, and so I should not make fun of you?
05:04 in New Jersey, in New.
05:04 - Stacia (Guest) Jersey, they say, they say water.
05:05 - Anne (Host) They say water, what's water, and so I literally like and I think you're, I think possibly at the time this was before voiceover I said, oh gosh, all right, so let me try to tame that, and so I did my own taming of my own accent and then ultimately, I got into voiceover.
05:36 And back when I got into voiceover it was a thing to neutral, to quote, unquote, neutralize, whatever that means, neutralize your accent. And I said it was in a pink envelope and I brought it to the backstage door and so I heard myself say that and I was like and so from then on I just I started pronouncing my R's and have never looked back.
06:02 I imagine once you do, you have family that's still in the area.
06:05 - Stacia (Guest) Yes, in fact, we just moved my mom out of the area.
06:08 - Anne (Host) Yeah, when you go to family reunions and I think that when I get around my you know, my family in New Jersey, like we all start talking quicker and then we start, you know, well, let's talk about you know, we just like get into that accent and it just happens inadvertently but outside of the accent. So that's a really cool first gig. And so then did you go to school for theater?
06:33 - Stacia (Guest) We did OK. So I had done a little dinner theater and then I but I had been auditioning in New York. I had a big callback when I was like 18. I was called back for Les Mis and it didn't happen, unfortunately. But it's cool because it led me on other adventures.
06:52 - Anne (Host) Sure, that was one of my first shows by the way that I saw that. I saw that. I was in a show. No, yeah. No, I can't claim that, but but a callback for Les Mis is really awesome.
07:01 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, it was a big deal, I and I, so I always. The plan was always to move to New York City, but it just takes a while to get on your feet and New York City is very expensive and a little scary when you're you know, sure is Absolutely Very scary.
07:15 Yeah, and so I ended up getting there eventually. But I did go to college and then I quit college because I realized at some point, like I'm getting a degree in musical theater and what am I going to do with that degree? And I'm spending so much money, but when you're 19 years old you don't realize what you're signing on the dot. You're signing your name on the dotted line for thousands upon thousands of dollars and it's the program itself ended up falling apart. And there were all these promises that were made to me, like you know I, because they gave me a bunch of credits because I'd already been working as an actor, and then I was going to go to London and then they were going to give me my master's so I should have had my master's within five years master's in theater performance. They also had a program where, like I would get my equity card and they do theater during the summers. But it was a small liberal arts Catholic college in Minnesota and the program sort of fell apart and I escaped. I was like this is not.
08:21 - Anne (Host) I had to get out of there. I escaped. That was a lot of that was a lot of words, and I'm not going to make this political at all, but that was a lot of words when you said Minnesota Catholic theater. Coming from a Catholic girl.
08:35 - Stacia (Guest) So I get that. Yes, so it was run by these two incredible gay men who were. They were amazing, but as you can imagine the politics at the time and just yeah, they were amazing, but as you can imagine the politics at the time and just yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, and so all right.
08:48 - Anne (Host) So you quit college. And then what? I quit college.
08:53 - Stacia (Guest) But I got a job before I left, so I needed the impetus and the excuse to get out, which so I ended up working for Goodspeed Musicals, which is in Connecticut and they're a really pretty famous like regional theater. They'd won a lot of awards at the musical Annie started there, so I went there to be an intern in costuming and then I left that because I was like this is not what I want to be doing, I want to be performing. But it got me back east, which was great, and then from there I ended up taking like odd jobs, living with my parents for a little bit until I landed a show that took me on tour as a one person it was actually two different one woman shows for this company that's an educational theater company, and so I did that for like five years and while I was doing that I was able to make enough money to move to New York City and just keep going.
09:47 - Anne (Host) Now, what shows were those that you did that? The one woman shows, because that's quite a thing to do, a one woman show.
09:53 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, and they're educational. So we would go to I would go alone really, I would travel all over the country, and one of them I played the fictional best friend of Anne Frank, and then the other one I played this young Irish girl who came over during the great wave of immigrants in the early 1900s. So I would go to, like schools and libraries and small theaters, and it was.
10:16 - Anne (Host) It was really incredible, an incredible job for a learning experience Now, at any given time at this point in your life. Did your parents or anyone ever say to you well, okay, so when are you going to get a real job? Do you know what I mean? Is it that? Was it ever like that for you?
10:35 - Stacia (Guest) I mean, yeah, I mean, I think probably in my own mind I thought not real job, but like when's the real, when are we gonna you know, and certainly when I would do my? You know, when that really happens is like around March or April, when you start doing your taxes and you're like exactly, theater doesn't pay, and so yeah, but I didn't get pressure like that from my parents. I got, I was lucky to get their support.
11:05 - Anne (Host) Yeah, that's wonderful.
11:06 - Stacia (Guest) I mean, they didn't have to support me financially and that's, I think, all that mattered to them.
11:10 - Anne (Host) Well, that's actually huge.
11:12 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And.
11:12 - Anne (Host) I love that Because you had support to be able to go out and follow your creative dreams, which, I mean, my gosh, you, you've actually I mean you have the gamut of of creative things that you've done, and I imagine that just gives you such wonderful experience, because you're so rounded in all the areas that would make it important for you to be successful in any of those business areas.
11:38 - Stacia (Guest) Thank you, I think it's it's. It's also like trying new things and being new at things and, um, trying to not get be stagnant. You know, like just um, and and even always in my voiceover career, it's like I have to remind myself to uh, like that I get to do this and that that this is what I love, and just to to make it. How do you make it fresh when you've been doing it for so long?
12:08 - Anne (Host) For so long, absolutely.
12:11 - Stacia (Guest) And it's a different thing when you look at whatever you're about to experience or do with fresh eyes or like beginner eyes or like from a beginner experience, because you immediately are like, whoa, I love this, you know, and sometimes I think that can easily bring back the magic to whatever you're working on.
12:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah. So, these days are you mostly doing voiceover, doing voiceover and performing.
12:41 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah Well, so the pandemic changed a lot of things for me. We, because I've been in New York City and you know I'm still. We still have our apartment in New York City, but I'm mostly up at our house in the woods in the Berkshires. Yeah, I am still auditioning, I am still doing voice, a lot of voiceover. So yeah, I'm kind of all over the place and sort of open to whatever happens. I'm not I think I haven't been fully steering my own ship. I've kind of been like I don't know where are we going to go, Whatever you know, and just being open to whatever.
13:15 - Anne (Host) And there's so much good to be said in that though.
13:18 Yeah kind of allowing it to happen. I, I think for me and I don't know, I don't know what to call it, but for me I've always followed my gut or my intuition, and a lot of times, if things don't come right away, I know they will at some point, but I don't. I try not to rush myself to get to any specific spot, because I know that if it's going to happen, it's going to happen, and and the time it takes to kind of evolve the solution or the you know, to actually say okay, yes, now I know I have more, I have more direction, and now I'm heading in this direction. So I love that you said that. I love that Because you're not always sure right, you're not.
13:55 - Stacia (Guest) You're not. And you know the business has changed so much over the last, you know, over the last five years. I mean it's. It's kind of crazy. It's a new world and it's different. Navigating it is different, even though I'm with the same agents, even though I'm, you know, still in the business and I know the casting people or the producers that I know and have worked with. It's just, it's different. Approaching it like, hey, yeah, I don't have to rush. I really love that, Anne, because I feel like there is a rush.
14:30 - Anne (Host) There's always a rush I want it now. Yeah, no, I agree, I think so many of my students are always. They want it, they want it now, and I'm like, well, there's something to be said to letting it marinate and letting it evolve and letting it happen.
14:43 - Stacia (Guest) And also like looking in the other direction or seeing what else you know, I think. I think a lot of times, artists, especially if you're focused on one particular medium, you just focus on that one thing. And I, I recently started painting. Am I good at it?
15:01 - Anne (Host) No, I love it. I love it, but I don't think anybody could ever accuse you of not like experiencing or exploring different mediums, but it keeps you alive, it keeps you like, creative and happy, and that's what I want.
15:14 - Stacia (Guest) It'd be exactly that like lightens you up and it opens you up to when you are approaching commercial copy or whatever. It is Right Because you're, because you haven't been like. Why am I not looking? Why am I not? What am I? Who do I?
15:31 - Anne (Host) need to be for this piece of copy and you're just, you're just letting it, you're letting it happen. Yeah, yeah, I love that. Oh my gosh. So what? Before I actually talk to you about, let's say, some character, I want to. I have some character questions to ask you, because I think you're always a character in voiceover and no matter what genre you're working on. But I do want to talk about puppetry and what got you into that?
15:51 - Stacia (Guest) I had been doing Pokemon. I was very lucky. When I moved to New York I worked as a cater waiter when I wasn't doing the that one of those one woman shows and a friend had introduced me to the studio that that at the time was recording Pokemon. So you know how it's like things trickle Around. That same time this show was off Broadway it was called Avenue Q and then that musical came to Broadway, which is where I was finally able to get tickets, because you could not get tickets to it and it was crazy and it was such a special show. It's just so funny. The music is great and touching. It has so much heart to it. I mean it's a little dated now, but at the time it was, it was just extraordinary.
16:38 - Anne (Host) And it's still yeah.
16:39 - Stacia (Guest) So in that show for anyone who any of the bosses out there that that haven't seen it or don't know about it in that musical you see the full-on puppeteers playing the puppets on stage and it's so revealing. And me, as a young woman, I always loved puppets. I had puppets as a kid. I had like an Alf puppet from Burger King. I had a Kermit the Frog puppet. I loved puppets. Never thought that it could be a career, never thought in a million years. And when you think about it there aren't a lot of. It seems like there aren't a lot of female puppeteers. There are and there are more, but as I was growing up it was all men really, and then you would have like even the female characters. I mean Miss Piggy's, like one of the most famous women female characters of all time. She's played by a man and so you know the idea of being able to play a, be a puppet. It just was not. It never, you know. And so I saw that show and it was just incredibly revealing to me. It was like a light bulb moment. So I immediately got a puppet and started training.
17:52 I actually was so lucky that I got into a class that John Tartaglia had been teaching at that point in the city and I got to study with him, which was amazing and he's a beautiful human being, and so from there it was just kind of magical. Somehow this show was uh happening. I did another little uh on camera thing, but then this show the good night show happened. I auditioned for it and I had already created this little four-year-old girl character. They wanted me to change it up and make it a boy character. Well, those voices are going to be very similar, because a four-year-old boy and girls can sound pretty similar oh yeah yeah, Actually I was listening to it, I was trying to figure out.
18:35 - Anne (Host) You know, I felt like it could have been either yeah, right, right, because it's so young.
18:41 - Stacia (Guest) So yeah, so I auditioned for it and I booked that job and it became a huge part of my life. I ended up creating a part of the show and writing for the show and helping create the spinoff of the show, and so there's your, there's your acting, your puppetry, your your voiceover.
19:00 - Anne (Host) I mean you're, I mean production, I mean it's all aspects.
19:04 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, absolutely yeah that's, that's amazing. It was, it was a really it was a really special show and a beautiful community and even now I, michelle who, michelle Lepe, who was the host on the show she still gets messages about, you know, from the kids who grew up with it, just like how much it meant to them, which is very sweet. I don't because no one, because I don't look like this.
19:29 - Anne (Host) Well, you know, I can say something similar because I was a teacher for 20 years and so I watched my kids grow up and I literally had one of them contact me just recently on LinkedIn thanking me for setting them on the path, and I was like, oh my gosh, like that just meant the world to me, and so I think that's beautiful.
19:49 Right, and that's one of the reasons why I love doing any educational voiceover. Sure, because I feel like there's, and not just e-learning, but like medical, like I mean anything that educates an explainer that can help someone, and even corporate. Do you know what I mean? Because you're always come at it from an aspect of how can I help you, the person that I'm talking to, you know, look better, feel better, be better, you know, and really that's commercial too, because it really should be about how you're helping the person that's listening to you, yeah, and connecting in that way, and not necessarily what you sound like while you're doing it, yeah.
20:31 Let's not get wrapped up in that, yeah, no. And so with that, it's a good segue to start talking about characters, because you've done so many characters, but you also have done commercials. So when it comes to characters in voiceover, let's talk a little bit about that. How is it that you prepare for any given piece of copy? Is it always a character?
20:56 - Stacia (Guest) Is it always a character you mean like with?
21:00 - Anne (Host) character copy or what you mean, or any kind of copy. Do you create a character for any type of copy, any type of copy, I think?
21:06 - Stacia (Guest) for me, my approach to commercial copy is it depends on the spot but it also is like how you know the age old question how would I talk to? A friend about this sitcom, you know, like whatever it is, but I and so it's just about bringing my authentic self to it. But also there's a there's. I think there is a musicality to it, but also it really depends on what's on the page right or what we're selling, you know do you ever envision?
21:37 - Anne (Host) do you ever envision yourself as the um, the, the? On camera the zip cream or the character zip cream or the. The person on camera. The character Zipcreme or the person on camera.
21:47 - Stacia (Guest) Sure, yeah, I think I mean I love when you get any kind of visual or if they give you the break of what is gonna be on screen and then you can kind of I love visualizing. I think visualizing because what it does for me is it brings my imagination to life, which immediately I'm having way more fun in the booth yeah. Yeah, and it's enjoyable, even when the copy is like maybe a little like dry or sad or whatever, like liven it up by visualizing what's happening.
22:26 - Anne (Host) Yeah absolutely Believe it or not. That's a big thing. Even if I'm doing e-learning, I'm imagining that I'm the teacher, because I was a teacher for so long and so I can draw upon that experience, and it's better for me to talk almost like a one-on-one coaching with a student. And if I try to envision myself in front of the class, even when I was a teacher, I was always looking at one person at any given time. Yes, so it made it much more personal, of course, and so for e-learning, I'm a character Corporate narration. I'm a character because I work for the company and I'm trying to provide a solution that is going to help the person that I'm talking to, which makes it a whole lot more interesting than if you're just reading about it to someone.
23:15 - Stacia (Guest) Totally yeah, or sound, trying to sound like someone who reads these kinds of things. Right, it's like, because it's a really I think what it comes down to is connection and we, as actors, need to connect right copy, which means I probably need to understand it. That's, that's excellent.
23:25 - Anne (Host) So yeah, so how? What are your steps for connecting to copy?
23:28 - Stacia (Guest) It really depends on the piece. Recently I had to do what was pretty lengthy and I had to do the spot in 15 seconds and it was like okay, I don't usually read things over and over and over again because they feel like there's an element of um, uh, over overdoing it you know, I agree I agree.
23:52 So my booth is here behind me. That's why I'm pointing behind me, in case anyone's wondering Um, and so sometimes when I get in there, I will run it a few times like that particular spot because it had to be so quick. But at the same time, of course, they're going to want it to sound like I just talk, like that, you know, and so it's like it's marrying those two things right when I want it to come off like it feels like me. I'm just sort of having this talk, but I'm also. It's very quick and rapid and it falls within the 15 seconds. Yeah, so my approach is not always the same thing. It really depends on what I'm working with, and sometimes there isn't enough time, like in that 15 seconds, there's not enough time to visualize or do this. It's wall to wall copy and it's also I'm talking about this cool thing that you're going to love, and so it's just about like who sometimes I like playing with? Who am I talking to? Where am I? Proximity is such a fun thing to play with too.
24:57 - Anne (Host) You can do that in a minute or two, totally Right. Yeah, and that's the thing I always try to emphasize to my students is that it doesn't take a whole lot of time to figure out who you are and who you're talking to and maybe set a scene up, yeah, and to get yourself rolling on that. I mean it's nice if you have the entire scene as it progresses through, because that allows you to help tell the story. But if you don't have all the time in the world, but a lot of times we're auditioning in our studios. I mean, we're not live auditioning as much as we used to. Gosh knows that's the case, right? Um, and unless we're like in front of a, we're being live directed. That's a different story, right, but if we've got the time before we go into the studios, I mean, what do you take five minutes?
25:37 - Stacia (Guest) if you put different scenarios on it, because you're probably sending more than one read on this commercial copy and we don't know. But the thing that I've loved playing with recently is I really love doing a take. That's for me what do I want?
25:53 to do with this? How do I want to bring myself to this? Because I think that what makes us viable, that what makes us marketable, is us. We are not disembodied voices. We are human beings with lived in experiences, and so we're not just bringing our incredibly gorgeous voices. We are human beings with lived in experiences, and so we're not just bringing our incredibly gorgeous voices. We are bringing ourselves to this copy and what our lived experiences and our lives, and so that that's really fun to to, just like I would. I would, I would encourage everyone to just do one for you. What do you want it to sound like?
26:29 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Exactly.
26:30 - Stacia (Guest) Because that's the most empowering feeling is to be like I want to do this with this, and that's when you're collaborating too Sure sure, and is that the take that you submit first?
26:42 - Anne (Host) Not necessarily. Is that take one, or is it the second take?
26:46 - Stacia (Guest) Like lately I have been exploring it and I just feel like I just want to be a little more playful, yeah, and so, yeah, I mean, I say not necessarily.
26:56 - Anne (Host) The truth is I lean towards that one, unless I've worked with the people before.
27:00 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Yeah, and I know what they're looking for. You know what I mean then I'm gonna just give them what they want.
27:04 - Anne (Host) But uh, if I don't know, and it's not like a critical like I, I always think like it's kind of like gambling for me, right, sure we're all gambling.
27:13 - Stacia (Guest) We're just all right, we're all gambling, right.
27:15 - Anne (Host) So I'm just gonna like, well, you know what, I'm just gonna do my best and I'm gonna, and I'm, and I'm gonna, just, you know, send it and forget it, that kind of thing. So I'm not gonna put so much stock in like, oh my god, did I do the right thing? Did I give them what they wanted? Am I going to get this? I try never to like hope and wish in that way for any job.
27:35 - Stacia (Guest) If you're saying I want to do this and that's where I'm like no, both of those takes are for me. It's not that it's for me, but it's like I'm going to give you what I want to give you, and then I'm going to give you another take of something different that I want to do with this.
27:53 And of course I read all the specs and of course I read and I'll even, you know, watch other spots that they've done to get an idea. Like we got to do our homework right, but then it's like you asked me to do this. I'm going to got to do our homework right, but then it's like you asked me to do this. I'm gonna do it my way. See, it's fun. I'm gonna have fun with it. I'm gonna. It's so much easier to let go when you like, because if you hold on to what you like, if you, if you don't give the what you want to do with it, read, then it's like you might live with regret yeah, you know, or like it sounds like everybody else's yeah right
28:29 at the end of the day maybe even they're all gonna sound somewhat the same, anyway, you know, but it's like at least you know you had fun with it. You felt like your authentic self and you and you played yeah yeah, you know.
28:43 - Anne (Host) So, being a singer, which I, that was the other part of the medium that I didn't really talk to you about, but I mean, I can actually hear just your talking voice, although I've never heard you sing. Except I did, I did go, you know, I did my homework, I did my, I did my YouTube. You have a gorgeous voice.
28:58 Oh, thank you, but I can hear that.
29:00 I can hear that in your voice as you speak to me, and it's so funny because I think that no one should have to try, right.
29:10 I think that no one should have to try right to create a voice that somebody thinks they want to hear. Because when we're connecting right and I actually listened to quite a different number of songs that you did in different styles, and one was from your potty show, and so you had such a range there and what was so cool is that you were just undoubtedly yourself and just like in all aspects of yourself, and that was just so cool because it was connecting and that was what I was looking for as a human being. I was looking for that, that connection in the voice and while you were on stage and while you were communicating to me, and I feel like it's the same exact thing. It's the same exact thing for voiceover, right. It's all about like your voice is beautiful, no matter what you're you know what I mean, no matter what you're doing, you don't have to try and so just connect with me, and that's really what I'm looking for as a human being, and I think that's what most casting directors are looking for.
30:04 And they tell me over and over again, that's really what they're looking for. Is connection, not necessarily the sound.
30:11 - Stacia (Guest) I think we get caught up in the sound. The sound or I flubbed on this, or I you know this or that, whatever it is, and it's like I. I don't want to be listening and I am because it's so hard when you're doing this yourself.
30:28 - Anne (Host) It is hard not to listen.
30:30 - Stacia (Guest) You have to take off the director hat while you're the actor, and then you have to take off the engineering.
30:39 - Anne (Host) You know you have to compartmentalize, because if you don't, and you don't because you'll, and then when you come back, Because if you don't and you don't because you'll, and then when you come back and you're the engineer slash director and you listen back and you're like, oh, as an actor, I really loved that last take, that's weird. I don't like listening to it, like I don't. I don't have that feeling brought this up because it's hard. It's hard for us to separate the ears, right. It's like you have to develop an ear, right, you have to develop an ear as an actor, you have to develop an ear as an audio engineer and you have to be able to separate them.
31:13 And it's funny because I've always maintained back, when I was really, you know, moving on this in this career, I was in a place where they were doing construction outside my home and I had, when I was in my studio, I had my headphones on. I had to keep them on because I had to make sure that there was none of that sound coming in, and so I had my headphones on a lot of time. And if, if you get good at it, I always say the headphones are just amplifying your voice, and so if you can not listen to your voice and just you know what I mean, like you can record with your headphones on. I mean, right, you got to do it when you're live directed anyways. So I'm always saying people are saying, oh, I don't wear my headphones because I try to listen to myself.
31:53 I'm like I could listen to myself with my headphones off. Do you know what I mean? But you've got to be able to compartmentalize, and I love that you said that, because that is a skill and it's a skill that I think takes a little bit of time for for people to to really really get to be able to to say, okay, this is my, this is my actor ears. Yeah, versus what do I sound like?
32:16 - Stacia (Guest) right, it's that constant like don't listen what you sound like and it's. It's also like there's because there is that judgment that comes in you and that when you are wearing cans, if you aren't telling your self limiter I talk about this a lot and we'll talk about it when when we work together with everyone, but if you aren't challenging them and saying I don't need you here right now, it's very powerful to send them away, to send that voice to me. For some reason, it's right here.
32:48 - Anne (Host) It's just very like right, that's like the magic secret Stacia, I mean I love that it works for me. So, I want to say that we are going to be having you as a VO Boss workshop guest director, so, and and we are going to be talking character creation. So will we be discussing, talk a little bit about what we're going to be talking character creation. So will we be discussing, talk a little bit about what we're going to be doing in that class.
33:08 - Stacia (Guest) What I would love to do is see where everyone's at, what they want to play with, and, of course, do that, but also, I think, for everyone, I would love to share the self limiter and what I, what I do to get rid of that sort of you know, it's a, it's a protection right. That's what that voice is doing. It's trying to help you, but it's not helpful. I love that.
33:34 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh, that's like secret sauce.
33:36 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Yeah, yeah, I think so.
33:38 - Anne (Host) I know how hard that I mean. It's just, it's so hard. I mean, and you do have to, you have to be able to, you have to be able to separate it, you have to wrangle that?
33:46 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, because that that voice that's trying to protect you inevitably is is keeping you safe. It's keeping you safe, it's doing its job and you don't. You do not want anyone keeping you safe when you're in your booth. Yeah, it is not a place for safety.
34:04 - Anne (Host) It is a place to play.
34:06 - Stacia (Guest) If you're playing safe and you're in a dramatic role for a video game and you're, you know you're about to I don't know shoot up some monsters, or you're afraid for your life or it, or you're, you know, some silly little kid like you got to be a little kid, you got to be playful and you know, or you got to be scared of those monsters or whatever's on that page. It is not a place for you to be protected or be playing it safe.
34:33 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, I love that. Did I just get on a soapbox? I think I did. I think that, no, I love that and and all right. So, from a different perspective right, I mean a different perspective, it the way that it hit me, but I love that. You teach that because I am.
34:47 You know, I've had health issues, right, I had cancer, and before I was diagnosed, I was like so worried about what I was sounding like and what. You know how the audition went and did. Should I have done it this way? Should I have you know? And then all of a sudden, it was like whoa, like what was I? Like that just didn't seem important anymore. I shouldn't be.
35:09 Why was I so worried about what I sounded like when, in fact, I just, you know, I'm fighting this disease right now, and so it gave me such a license to permit myself to be free. Yeah, just not worry and not have that self-judgmental voice on me all the time. It was an amazing thing that happened to me and unfortunately I mean well, I mean fortunately I'm here and everything's good, you know. So nobody, nobody, has to worry about it. But in reality, it was one of the best things that could have happened for my performance, for my actor, my actor self, was to say what the hell was I so damn worried about? What was I? What was I trying to be? You know what? Just screw it Like, isn't it incredible?
35:47 - Stacia (Guest) how? So empowering? So it's like grief is off. Grief is awful and we all, as humans, live through it and the way that it can have some magical elements and empowerment in it is really incredible. Talking about that and how you're like I don't care, Like I don't. Why am I going to concentrate on what I sound like? That was not a priority.
36:16 - Anne (Host) No, Well, what I sounded like is not a priority anymore.
36:19 - Stacia (Guest) No, no no, it was amazing, because it's like a reminder of who you are, who your soul is Like. You want to connect with people and that's what you do. I love it.
36:29 - Anne (Host) Oh, my God, I'm so excited, so excited for you to join us. So, bosses, make sure that you check out the show notes and I'll have a link to the VO. Boss, or just go right to the VO Boss website.
36:41 - Stacia (Guest) Is it down here? Is it? Should I point to things?
36:45 - Anne (Host) I'll be putting it in the post. So it's on VeoBosscom. You guys check out the events and sign up for Stacia, because it's going to be an amazing class. And, stacia, I just want to say thank you, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much for joining us.
36:59 - Stacia (Guest) It was a pleasure.
37:00 - Anne (Host) Yeah, it's been wonderful Really getting really getting to know you even better. I'm so excited.
37:05 - Stacia (Guest) Back at you. You're an incredible interviewer. It's really what a joy.
37:10 - Anne (Host) Thank you Well thank you, I appreciate it. Well, look, bosses. I'm going to give a shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Stacia and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you at Stacia's class right. Yay, in August. I'll be there and we'll be with you next week with another episode. Thanks, so much.
37:33 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a Boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere dive into a lively and often debated topic for voiceover professionals: industry awards. Prompted by Anne's multiple Award nominations, they explore whether these accolades are simply vanity projects or powerful marketing tools. This episode delves into evolving perspectives on awards, the true meaning of a nomination, and practical strategies for leveraging any recognition to propel your voiceover business forward. They emphasize understanding the subjective nature of awards and how to use them for credibility, even beyond winning.
00:40 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with real boss, Tom Dheere. Woo-hoo, hi, Tom Dheere. I feel like there's pomp and circumstance for you, Tom Dheere, because it's that season again. Do you know what season it is? Deer season.
01:00 - Tom (Guest) Get it Tom Dheere, Deer season oh my God, that is really funny actually. That was terrible. It was not funny.
01:04 - Anne (Host) Well, okay, in addition to being deer season, right, it's award season. Woo-hoo, that's right it is award season. And I know there's always there's always always discussions about awards, and I've had discussions about awards before. I think we've probably talked about them before, but let's talk about them again, shall we? Because I think it's an ever-evolving thing and there are some people who are really for awards and some people who really detest awards.
01:32 - Tom (Guest) Yes, the reason why we're having this conversation, Anne, is because you got nominated for how many One Voice Awards.
01:41 - Anne (Host) Five why,thank you.
01:43 - Tom (Guest) Yes.
01:43 - Anne (Host) Why, thank you.
01:46 - Tom (Guest) I'm very excited about that. Wow, this is exciting and it's for all of the amazing work that you have gotten out of your students.
01:54 - Anne (Host) Yeah, for demos.
01:55 - Tom (Guest) That's amazing. Congratulations to you and all of your students. I'm very excited.
01:59 - Anne (Host) Yes, thank you, thank you. I like awards. I am one of those people that I actually endorse awards and I know some people think they're a vanity thing and in reality, for me it's always been about the marketing aspect. Tom, what are your thoughts?
02:15 - Tom (Guest) I used to be part of the anti-awards crew. I thought it was an exercise in vanity. I thought it was a money grab by the voiceover organizations that were hosting the awards, and my thoughts have evolved on the subject. Okay, I'd love to hear that. Well, I really do see now that it is truly a marketing tool and that is okay. All awards in all industries, from the Oscars all the way down to, you know, dog Catcher of the Year, these are all marketing. It's all about marketing. Is it about recognition? Yes. Is it a celebration of the industry in question? Yes. Is it to shine a spotlight on excellence, either from an individual or a group of individuals or a company, or whatever? Yes, is it to shine a spotlight on excellence either from an individual or a group of individuals or a company, or whatever? Yes, all of that is good and it should be supported. Is it an exercise of vanity? Yeah, sure, it's okay. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get dressed up and have people applaud you. There's nothing wrong with that, it's totally cool, it's totally cool.
03:22 - Anne (Host) Any excuse to get dressed up.
03:24 - Tom (Guest) Well, especially as voice actors who are stuck in closets in our pajamas all day,
03:27 - Anne (Host) Exactly exactly.
03:28 For me, it's always been marketing. First, because we have this whole conversation that awards are subjective. Right, I watch the awards, I watch the music awards, I watch the Emmys, the Oscars, I watch them all. Some people just they have so much to say about the awards, but honestly, I enjoy them if there's entertainment involved and I actually feel like it's wonderful when people get recognition that I feel deserve recognition. But of course, there's always the times where you're like I don't know how that person won or I don't know how that person didn't win, and so it is so very subjective and I think, first and foremost, we all need to remember that that is a fact. Right, it is very subjective and if you do not win an award, it has no bearing whatsoever on your worth or your quality at all, absolutely.
04:17 - Tom (Guest) It's interesting because the prism that most people look through all awards through is the Oscars. Right, and it's like Billy Crystal said it's an evening for three hours where millionaires are handing each other gold statues, which is pretty funny and accurate. But here's the thing I just realized about all this is that if you are a member of the Academy the Film Academy and you get your screeners, you know that Daniel Day-Lewis is up for best actor and you're watching the movie, or whatever excerpts of the movie that they sent you for you to cast your vote for him or somebody else.
04:50 - Anne (Host) Right or anybody else in any other category, or if you're not a voter right, you're a person going. Oh, hmm, somebody thinks that movie's credible, maybe I'll go see it. Guess what that resulted in Purchasing right, purchasing right, purchasing a ticket to go see that movie. So marketing, it worked, so marketing.
05:05 - Tom (Guest) But here's the interesting Anne that I just realized when it comes to the One Voice Awards which we both got, I got nominated for a little one, just one, yay, congratulations.
05:13 - Anne (Host) Tom Dheere.
05:13 - Tom (Guest) The commercial category.
05:14 - Anne (Host) Oh, that's right. That's right, Tom, that's awesome.
05:25 - Tom (Guest) So for your performance, but it's really nice. It's just being like, hey. But here's the thing about it is that when you submit, it's my understanding that when they listen to these demos that you help produce or these voiceovers that I did, they don't know who they're listening to.
05:41 - Anne (Host) Yeah, theoretically.
05:43 - Tom (Guest) So it's theoretically, I mean.
05:44 - Anne (Host) In a closed industry. Sometimes, like I know Tom De're listening to yeah, theoretically, so it's theoretically, I mean In a closed industry. Sometimes, like I know Tom Dheere voice.
05:48 - Tom (Guest) Well, that's exactly what I was about to say. I would like if there were three or four or five, if there were five people who were listening to these, I think that maybe two or three of them would probably be like that's Tom.
05:58 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, yeah, but they don't talk to one another.
06:01 - Tom (Guest) But they don't talk to one other so it's generally anonymous and it's generally done in isolation.
06:06 - Anne (Host) I can say that for certain because I've been a judge prior.
06:09 - Tom (Guest) Right, oh, okay, so.
06:10 - Anne (Host) I can say for certain that it is closed and that you do not know who the entry is. You don't know who submitted it, right, and it's isolated.
06:18 - Tom (Guest) So for the five lovely voice actors whose demos were nominated that you produced. They didn't know who they were and they didn't know that necessarily that it was you that produced it. I mean, after a while, if you listen to enough demos, you can be like that's a Chuck Duran demo, that's a Nancy Wolfson demo because there's just like styles, there's styles you know what I mean, but for the most part they're not going to know who these voice actors are, who are nominated for any of these or for the demo.
06:43 So I think it's more of a pure. There's a level of purity in it that there isn't in the Oscars, for example.
06:48 - Anne (Host) Yeah, there's a combination for that particular category of not just the demo but the performance in the demo and hopefully, if you have created that demo and produced that demo, that has lent itself to a wonderful performance. And just being nominated, I want to say to anybody out there, just being nominated is a win. It doesn't matter, honestly, if I win, and I've been entering awards for years now. There's been many, many years where I didn't win and so I have to like always talk to myself and talk to my students to make sure that if I don't win it doesn't mean that I'm not worthy, it doesn't mean that that nomination wasn't really a win, because you can still believe it or not, you can market a nomination just like a win.
07:28 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely, and the Oscars— it sounds pretty darn similar. The Oscars do it all the time.
07:32 - Anne (Host) Mm-hmm. Award-nominated versus award-winning.
07:35 - Tom (Guest) Right. Did you ever watch the Secret Life of Walter Mitty?
07:38 - Anne (Host) That's the one that Ben Affleck wrote, and directed and starred in.
07:42 - Tom (Guest) I thought that movie was exceptional and I swore I was going to get all these nominations. It didn't get a one.
07:48 - Anne (Host) And.
07:49 - Tom (Guest) I don't know if it's because they didn't think it was off to snuff, if it was too past the deadline, or if they just chose not to submit it, because that's the other thing. We choose to submit ourselves for these awards. Now for actors in Broadway and television and film. They have their production companies or networks or whatever deciding to do these. Oh, we think these people have the best chance and they still have to pay submission fees as well, application fees for the nominations, just like any other nomination, which I think is-.
08:16 - Anne (Host) Well, there's a cost to running an award show. There's a cost to having people judge the awards. There's a cost for people's time, absolutely. So paying to enter yourself into an awards is. I don't find anything necessarily wrong about that.
08:33 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) No.
08:33 - Tom (Guest) Maybe how much you pay, I don't know I mean if it's a for-profit scheme, then you know, okay, I mean people who organize awards. Should they or do they deserve to make a profit, Like I don't know if, like the Oscars, if that's a nonprofit situation where they don't make any money off of it, they just want to celebrate the industry and recognize people for it, and they don't make a dime. And they make the fees just enough to cover the cost to produce the show and print and, you know, make the gold statues.
08:59 - Anne (Host) Well, it becomes a marketing effort for the venue. It becomes a marketing effort for the people who put stuff in the swag bags. It becomes a marketing effort for so many things really. And it's like it's not always obvious, but in reality it really does lend itself to marketing quite a bit.
09:17 - Tom (Guest) One of the other questions. One of the anti-award swath of the voiceover industry says winning award isn't going to book you more work. And for the Oscars? We know that's not true, because when actors or actresses win an Oscar, they get a lot more scripts on their desk. They've all said that they just get more acting opportunities. So in that context it's 100% true. Is it true for voice actors? I'd say it probably isn't, because your typical explainer video production company has never heard of the One Voice Awards. But that's not the reason that you do it. But yeah.
09:52 - Anne (Host) However, let's just go beyond it, because if you market yourself as an award-nominated voice actor or an award-winning voice actor, right, if somebody happens to find you or find your website, right, it lends some credibility. I believe it lends some credibility to who you are. So if I'm a person and I don't know the voices and I have two equal voices that I like if I see that one has won an award or has a history of winning awards or being nominated for awards, I'm going to feel like, oh, maybe they've been in business a little bit longer, maybe they're considered by others to be top of their field, and so I would maybe sway toward an award nominated or award winning. And again, it really depends on how people, given equal circumstances, award winning, award nominated versus maybe not.
10:42 - Tom (Guest) I think that's a very fair point. Now, where my mind was going where Tom Dheere, the VO strategist, business and marketing guy, was going is what's the SEO value of?
10:53 - Anne (Host) the terms award-winning.
10:55 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Like how is that what's the?
10:56 - Tom (Guest) score. Yeah, what's the keyword score? You know what I mean. So actually, I want to make a note of that. I want to look that up when we get off of this.
11:03 - Anne (Host) I'll tell you, when I look for a company to purchase from right, what's the criteria? I want to make sure that that company's been in business for a while. I want to make sure that they put out a quality product and I want to know that there's testimonials of other people who have used that product that are actually saying yes, it helped me, it was wonderful, it was quick and painless. And think about that. This could be right. Anybody who might have won an award and has testimonials on their website. Right, If you've award winning, then that gives it a little bit of credibility that maybe other people have listened to this person. They're definitely a professional in the industry, right? You don't submit for an award unless you're a professional, so sometimes you just don't know who you're working with. It can help people, I think, to get to know you a little bit better, or really, I think, put that credibility forward first when people are making a buying decision.
11:58 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, I mean, and now that I'm thinking about it as we're talking about it, what's a better testimonial than an award nomination? Right, yeah, I mean, and now that I'm thinking about it as we're talking about it, what's a better testimonial than an award nomination?
12:04 - Anne (Host) Right, yeah, I mean really.
12:06 - Tom (Guest) Right, what's a better endorsement?
12:07 - Anne (Host) That was kind of my point right, it's a wonderful way. So if I buy because of they've been in business, they're not going to just go out of business and take my money and steal it. They're credible, right? They have a good product, right? Well, if they're award nominated, award-winning, that lends me to think that when I look for a beauty product, hello, I'm going to go back to you know award-winning award-winning formulas.
12:28 If I have no knowledge whatsoever of the product, right, I'm going to tend to look there first and after I look there, right, I'm going to look for it. Actually, if I do my shopping on Amazon or I do shopping on anything, right, I'm looking for the number of stars, the ratings, right, A lot of times they go hand in hand. Right Ratings and reviews.
12:46 Ratings and reviews and so award nominated best beauty product of 2024 by Elle magazine, that kind of thing. That kind of means something to me. I'm like, well, somebody did their research right and so therefore, if it's talking about a voice talent that's award-nominated and award-winning, I would feel like, oh okay, maybe there's some credibility there. Now I can go ahead and listen. Let me listen to the voice and see if it's something that I want.
13:10 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, yeah. And of course the capitalist in me thinks oh and if you're an award-winning voice actor, maybe you can charge more.
13:18 - Anne (Host) Well, I right, that's very true, but I also know like if people come to me for a demo, right, they're like I want to win an award. I always try to say to them well, that shouldn't be like I really have people say that to me.
13:28 That shouldn't be the goal. However, they're like I want an award-winning demo. What are they saying to me? They're saying to me that they want the absolute best demo that is valued by the community or valued by others in the community. So they want a valuable product. That's what they're saying to me and I'll kind of say, well, okay, I don't design demos to win an award. However, I want to design a demo to get you work right and if it wins an award, that's a great bonus. And they're like yeah, I know, but I still want an award winning right? People will say that to me, so it's kind of human nature, I think, to want to lean toward a product that is award-winning.
14:05 - Tom (Guest) Right, Because nobody says I want to eat something that's been not approved by the FDA. Yeah right, Exactly, I will never. I will eat at no restaurant that's ever won a Michelin star. I refuse, it's like no, that's ridiculous.
14:17 - Anne (Host) Because it's not just the recognition, it's what the recognition represents. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely so. For me that's where the awards have always sat and I did have issues for years until I explained to my students who I said I think you should enter this into the awards. I will always say, hey look, I think it's an award worthy product, right. And so they're like oh really, and that gives them like a sense of worth or a sense of like pride. Hopefully I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it had a chance of getting some recognition.
14:52 So if I say that to someone, then I've given them a sense of accomplishment, I'm giving them confidence in their product so that they can then represent themselves and sell it better, and that's basically how that'll work. But I will always explain to them look, if you do not win, remember awards are very, very subjective. There have been some amazing, just like there have been some amazing movies that didn't win the best picture of the year. There have been some amazing actors that have not won best actor or best actress, and so you know, you have to really make yourself aware, even though in your heart you might be disappointed if you don't win right or don't get nominated. But you do have to realize that it is very, very subjective especially if you've got an award show that it doesn't cost anything to enter. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You're not losing out on anything really by submitting.
15:46 - Tom (Guest) I mean, take a chance. It's like playing the lottery, right. Take a chance, Absolutely. So, with all that in mind, what do you do from a marketing stance? And I've got my own ideas too, about how we could tell VO bosses. You've got a thing, whether it's a spot that I did for a college or if there's a demo that you produce with a student.
15:59 - Anne (Host) What are the?
16:00 - Tom (Guest) steps to use it, to use the award, nomination and hopefully the win, as a marketing tool.
16:05 - Anne (Host) Well, absolutely put it on your website right.
16:08 Absolutely throw it on YouTube, put it on your website. Label it as being award nominated, award winning, like. Make sure the text is in there, because that's SEO value. Make sure that it's on your website, make sure that it's on every single profile, make sure that it's in every single description, make sure that it's literally like SEO optimized. And then make sure that wherever you're describing it as an award nominated, right, award winning entry or whatever that might be, make sure that you're also giving information about the industry that you're in best performance voice actor, corporate narration, right or whatever, or best performance demo, reel, animation so it then allocates the other words that are important. So when people are searching for animation, voice, right and then all of a sudden, this will come up, as I'm so excited that my award-winning entry or award-nominated entry or whatever if something comes up or shows up in their search, that's going to lend its credibility and also hopefully lead to your website so that they can then inquire further or get an audition from you or find out more and contact you.
17:14 - Tom (Guest) Yes, I'll layer on top of that, like, for example, when I found out I got my One Voice nomination, I wrote a blog about it.
17:22 - Anne (Host) Yep, that's wonderful.
17:24 - Tom (Guest) So what that does is a number of things. Every time that you write a blog, you publish a blog, it adds another page to your website and All of the content on that particular website is saying voice over, this voice acting, that voice talent, this voice artist, that. So it's got all of the keywords that would further enrich the search engine optimization of your website, to make it more searchable and for it to rank higher. So just writing about it is extremely important on a technical SEO level. However, you don't want to turn it into a self-aggrandizing. Oh, look at me. It could be about a number of things.
18:05 - Anne (Host) It could be about the company that created the one voice in this situation, or about the company that you voiced for.
18:11 - Tom (Guest) Or about the company that you voiced for exactly. So a couple years ago I got a one voice nomination for a public service announcement I did for the Humane Society. Remember those 4,000 beagles were rescued from a lab in Virginia. A few years ago.
18:25 And then the American Humane Society got all 4,000 beagles adopted. So I auditioned and booked the voiceover for the public service announcement announcing that all 4,000 beagles were adopted. So when I blogged a few years ago back then about hey, I got this award nomination, it wasn't about the award, it wasn't about the nomination, it wasn't about me, it was about bringing awareness, it was about the beagle puppies. That's what it was about. I made it about the puppies.
18:53 - Anne (Host) And that's wonderful, because what's a better draw than animals, your fur babies, right?
18:59 - Tom (Guest) Yes.
19:02 - Anne (Host) Which is I lead all my award nominations with my cats there you go.
19:04 But that's an actual great idea, like somehow, let's just say, my Bengal Manx mix Sebastian, who everybody's gotten to know because they have their own Facebook and Instagram and TikTok right. So we could just say, oh, they're in my studio listening and then all of a sudden you can silently incorporate or just in the back end, incorporate that performance or that particular working on a demo for blah blah, blah blah blah For me on my website, because I advertise that I do demo production. Under the demo page, the landing page, I have all the awards and nominations that I've ever done and received, and for the VO Boss, because we've won awards for the VO Boss podcast and nominations. I also have it on my VO Boss website as well, as well as writing a blog on VO Boss about it. So absolutely trying to garner an award-winning podcast.
19:49 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, the other thing that I do is I make sure that I reached out to the production company that cast me for it, so my nomination this time was for North Idaho. College just a real tiny, tiny little postage stamp-sized college in the Northwest of our country and that one got nominated and it's a great. It's a great ad. It's beautifully shot, the editing is just superb. The music is perfect. You know, I'm probably the worst thing about the whole thing.
20:16 - Anne (Host) I love how generous you are. I think that's the way you need to approach it. They could just break apart and say it's your voice, but in reality, when you're presenting a product or a piece for an award, it's the whole darn shebang. If you think about it, that helps with that presentation. It's the media, the music behind it, the voice. It's all like a beautiful symphony in reality.
20:36 And so paying it forward and having gratitude for the other parts of it that helped you to win that award or that nomination, I think is a wonderful way to not appear to make it like a vanity thing, because you're showing appreciation for all of the components that help make it happen. I mean, whenever I make an announcement by the way, the other thing that I do to market is on social media, right so I'm highlighting the demo clients of mine that their voice has been nominated, and I'm also giving thanks to my audio engineer and in reality, it's like I could not have done it without you, to be quite honest, and so that then lends it to be a little less vanity ridden or sounding, I should say.
21:16 - Tom (Guest) Right, I mean in the Oscar Awards, do they go up there, accept the award, thank themselves and then get off the stage?
21:21 - Anne (Host) No, they're always thanking the people that helped them make it possible, really Exactly Also just from a technical and SEO perspective.
21:28 - Tom (Guest) Another reason why I like to let the production company know is because now they have the opportunity to use this nomination as marketing fodder for their own campaigns on their website and social media and newsletters and things like that.
21:43 So it's just paying it forward also on a marketing level. So the production company just has because all the voice seekers are as desperate to come up with quality content to put on their website and social media and their communications as us voice actors are. So to give them saying, hey, here's a free nugget of marketing gold that you can go do something with it helps everybody.
22:05 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. I actually got a statue. I got one of the awards for one of my partners on the podcast and shipped it. When I won this podcast I'm trying to think a couple years ago I also ordered an award for the person that I interviewed on that show and I shipped it, and that was actually for Alex Srdjak from Respeecher, so I shipped it to. Ukraine.
22:27 So I literally and that's how grateful I was. And it was really cool because when he received it, of course, what did he do? He took a picture of it with him, right, and then he used it for his own marketing, which I thought was really wonderful. So it kind of was like it all works for everybody involved.
22:42 - Tom (Guest) See, haters. There are so many great things about a voiceover award nomination and a win. There's so many great things that you can do, not just for yourself, but for the people that made the nomination possible.
22:53 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. You know what do you say to the haters? I mean you don't have to enter and you don't have to watch. I mean you don't have to enter and you don't have to watch awards and you don't have to participate. If you don't agree with it, that's completely fine. It's completely fine in reality, but for those that do, there's value to it beyond the award. Really, it's beyond the award and, like I said, even if you don't get nominated, if your coach or somebody says you should submit that for an award, consider that a win. Really. If you have a colleague that listens to this and say, oh my God, that was amazing, you should submit that. Right, there is an award for confidence, for somebody believing in you and believing in your work and thinking that it is worthy of an award, and that, to me, is a win right there.
23:36 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely.
23:37 - Anne (Host) So good stuff. Tom Dheere, Congrats on your noms.
23:42 - Tom (Guest) Congrats on your noms.
23:43 - Anne (Host) Yeah, thank you. And bosses out there, utilize this for good, for marketing efforts. And even if you just want to submit your work to your colleague and say, what do you think right, consider that your award submission for a job well done. And if you don't win, don't let it affect you. It has nothing to do with your worthiness, with your performance. It basically is something that you know. What if you don't win, try, try again. What is it If you don't?
24:09 - Tom (Guest) If at first you don't succeed try, try again.
24:12 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, well, if you don't win, try, try again. That's what I say. I always think there's something good in a little bit of competition, right? That keeps us motivated and keeps us inspired to want to be better and do better. So allow that to help you further your career. So, whether or not you win an award, allow it to inspire and motivate you. So good stuff. All right, Tom, thank you so much. I'm gonna give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and be award-winning bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Tom, thank you so much, and bosses have an amazing week.
24:54 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) We'll see you next time. Bye, join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipdtl.
BOSSes, are you ready to nail those voiceover auditions? In this episode of the VO Boss podcast, Anne Ganguzza talks with special guest Kelly Moscinski, owner and head of casting at The VoiceCaster. Kelly, who oversees thousands of auditions, reveals what truly stands out to casting directors and how you can stop being predictable to book more jobs. Get ready to transform your approach to commercial auditions with invaluable insights straight from the source!
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza here. Are you ready to take the next step in your voiceover career? At Anne Ganguzza Productions, I specialize in target marketed coaching and demo production that gets you booked. If you're thinking about elevating your performance or creating an awesome demo, check me out at anneganguzza.com.
00:22 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a vo boss. Now let's welcome your host and gang guza hey everyone, welcome to the vo boss podcast.
00:44 - Anne (Host) I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am thrilled to welcome very special guest, Kelly Moscinski. Kelly, the owner and head of casting at the Voice Caster, which, very impressively, is the oldest voiceover casting house in the country, established in 1975. So, with almost 20 years of experience in voiceover and even more in entertainment, Kelly casts and directs all things voiceover. She's also a coach for voice actors, teaching group classes, private coaching, and I am so excited that she's going to be teaching a VO Boss workshop coming up on July 16th, which I am super excited for. She is also the founder of the VoiceCaster Lab, a digital VO training and community platform offering a variety of learn-at-your-own-pace courses, seminars, a membership community and other resources dedicated to giving voiceover artists the chance to learn from the casting perspective, which is so, so important. Kelly, it is absolutely wonderful to have you here today. Thank you so much.
01:43 - Kelly (Guest) Thank you so much for having me.
01:45 - Anne (Host) I am just excited to chat with you. It's been I feel like it's been not so long ago that I saw you, but, like we always, we're like we kind of just pass each other because we're always like on these schedules which are insanely busy, and I always think that you know, I think I'm pretty busy in this industry, but my goodness, you're doing an awful lot over there at the Voice Caster with your classes and you've got all sorts of fun new things that I've seen you come out with this year. So for the bosses who are not familiar with you, let's let's kind of start at the beginning and tell us a little bit about how you got started in the industry and your casting journey. What led you to the voice caster?
02:24 - Kelly (Guest) For me it was, you know I did. I did drama club, you know theater in high school. When I went to college I originally went to school for pre-med. I wanted to be a psychiatrist, so I was focusing on psychology and then from there it was just. I was so involved in the theater department and eventually, after, after a little hesitation, I decided to get my degree in theater instead of following the pre-med path I had.
02:51 And then I got my master's degree in writing and you know it was kind of while I was working on that that you know I had friends. I was doing a ton of directing. So I just had some friends who were like working at local radio and TV stations. They'd ask me for advice on an actor. You know I need this kind of a voice for a spot, you know. So I was starting to do some voiceover before I even really realized what I was getting into. And then I moved out to Los Angeles and you know I had actually interviewed in the same week at voice caster and at a talent agency the same week at VoiceCaster and at a talent agency. Talent agency wanted to bring me on as an agent and VoiceCaster wanted me to come on as a casting assistant and I was like you know what I feel like casting is my calling. You know, I get to, I get to cast, I get to direct. You know there were opportunities to teach. You know, like, all of the things I wanted were kind of all in one with VoiceCaster. And, you know, as soon as I walked into the office, I was like, yeah, this is home. And so I kind of knew right away. And then that was in 2009.
03:55 In 2013, the previous owner, huck Liggett, came to me and said I'm retiring, I'm gone in two weeks. Do you want to take over? I've had other offers. Yeah, he's like. I had other offers, a lot of money, he's like, but I don't want just anyone to take over. Wow, and so he's like, if you don't want it, we're closing down the doors. Wow, yeah.
04:20 - Anne (Host) And wow, what a compliment.
04:22 - Kelly (Guest) That's amazing, wow, yeah yeah, and it's funny because I actually had just gotten back from a week vacation when he came to me on that Monday and like he's like pulled me aside. I thought I was getting fired, I was like oh no, what's going on?
04:36 Like what did I do?
04:37 What happened while I was gone? It was only a week. Who knew it was going to be the next big step in my career? And yeah, so, within, within within two weeks, I took over completely, so it was a very quick transition but, like I said, as soon as my foot stepped in that office, I just knew that this is where I was going to going to be.
04:59 - Anne (Host) You know it's, isn't that? Isn't that funny. It's like when you step into a home, when you're buying a home, and all of a sudden you're like, oh yeah, this is it. I have so many questions because you seem to just go from like, oh, I went to school for, and then I went into education and then went into voiceover and did you get any pushback from people in your life that said, hey, it's obvious that you have multiple talents, and there's always those people, kind of the naysayers, that are like, really Like theater or the arts. There's always those people, that kind of the naysayers that are like really like, yeah, theater, or you know the arts. And so tell us, did you have any pushback from, let's say, you know, family members or loved ones about that?
05:53 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, absolutely Absolutely. You know, it's one of those things where I I originally was like, oh, I can't just go into theater, so maybe I can, maybe I can teach theater. So I decided to take the education track, kind of in between that and within like three semesters, I think I I basically I had all of the classes I had needed for an education degree. I just never did the student teaching, so I could have gotten my education degree as well. But instead I was like no, I just I want to commit to this, this is all I can see myself doing. So why? Why have the plan B? You know, it's like when you have plan B, you fall back on plan B and it's like I don't, I'm not, yeah, that's it.
06:36 - Anne (Host) That's a really, that's a really great perspective.
06:38 I like that Because you, you felt it and I think you and you went for it and that's that's so.
06:45 I love that because I feel like I'm kind of that person too, like, if you feel so strongly about it, I feel like, well, that's where I'm supposed to be and that's where I should be, and I feel like my work ethic was there to drive it to the place where it needed to be. And I think a lot of times I never second guess my work, my intuition, my gut feeling I feel like that might be the same thing for you, absolutely, absolutely. So then, along the way right to becoming like, first of all, to have someone say to you I'm going to close the doors if you don't take over First of all, that's what a compliment. And and so obviously I mean there was, there's just a ton of talent there, did you have? Have? It sounds like you had no hardships a long way, but I feel like you might have, like I definitely did so tell us about maybe you know a hardship or something that was a challenge for you.
07:42 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, yeah. So I mean, first of all it was, you know, through through college my dad was battling leukemia and so it's like he was actually in a hospital in the same city that I was going to school, and so you know I was going over there every day before rehearsals, after classes, you know, anytime I could kind of sneak in, I would go over to the hospital and see him.
08:05 You know, and it's like he couldn't come to my graduation, he couldn't come to some of our shows because just too many people. And you know, and it's like he couldn't come to my graduation, he couldn't come to some of our shows because just too many people. And you know, when you're going through cancer treatments you have to be careful of that Part of I stuck around to get my master's degree. I think I would have probably left after my bachelor's degree, but I stuck around to get my master's degree. I started dating my now husband and so I was like I guess I'll stick around for this guy, I'll stick around for my family, you know.
08:33 And I was originally going to go to New York because I wanted to work in the Broadway world, you know. And then he actually convinced me, my husband, travis, convinced me to come to LA. So we moved to LA with nothing and it took me. I sent out back in the day when you send out, you know, cover letters and resumes through the mail.
08:54 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I remember those days, Not email.
08:56 - Kelly (Guest) I do remember those days I sent out over 350 just different casting offices, talent agencies, knowing like this is where I want to be and I can be a very determined person. It can be challenging and, you know, it's like we went through all of our savings, like we had nothing. And it was very much one of those things where I'm like okay, I took a theater job here, I took another job here. It's like I started to work, you know, retail customer service it lasted about three days and then a theater job, you know, and then a theater job fell in my lap.
09:33 They weren't willing to work with my theater hours, so I was like, well, I'm going to take the lower paying job because it's what I want to do. And that's actually how I met Catherine originally, and you know so it's like I was just taking all these things that I could stage, managing, you know things like that. It was like we have to do something to make money and it's like sure, luckily, you know, my husband was like he does construction as well. So he ended up working for a couple of TV shows where he was building sets. And then Huck called and he was like I have been hanging on to your resume since I got it last June and just waiting for an opening. So it's like he kind of knew this was perfect.
10:13 It came at the perfect timing. You know, it's one of those things where I'm like I always feel like things fall into place exactly when they're supposed to. You know, when they're supposed to, we yeah, we were in that limbo of like are we really going to make it here? You know, like we're going to have to start borrowing money from family or something soon. Like what, what are we doing? Like this is crazy. So yeah, then, then you know, voice caster fell into place and there's that determination.
10:43 - Anne (Host) I think that that came through. Yes, yeah, that's so interesting because I mean I have a little bit of a similar story when we moved out west, I mean from the East Coast, and you know, we moved out for a job for my husband and ultimately, nine months later, he got, like you know, he got laid off. And so then everybody said, well, when are you coming back? And I'm like, no, no, no. And I was like, oh, by the way, I quit my job in education and said, oh, I'm going to try to do this voiceover thing full time. So, Jerry, you're going to have to, like you know, float me for a little bit. And, interestingly enough, we just determination. I was like I am not going back because I love the weather too much and I really was starting to love.
11:23 California, I was like I don't want to go back to the snow and the property taxes, but I did love the East Coast but yeah, and it was like I was just determined to make that work. So, yeah, good for you. I mean wow. And so let's talk a little bit about casting and your love for casting and you said in your bio connection beats perfection every time. I'd love to hear you elaborate on that in terms of, you know, casting either a voice talent or just any kind of talent.
11:58 - Kelly (Guest) Honestly, that is kind of my theory in life. You know, I mean it's in voiceover, it is just in life. You know, it's one of those things where so often I feel like we all strive for some sort of level of perfection. I'm guilty.
12:13 - Anne (Host) Yeah.
12:13 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Oh, me too.
12:14 - Kelly (Guest) Me too, and it's something that we set for ourselves. You know, it's like we set this bar for ourselves. Nobody else is telling us what perfect means, you know. So it's like we're putting these things on ourselves. And you know, it is one of those things where I always say 70% perfect is perfect. It does not have to be perfect. You know, done is better than perfect. Connection over perfection is my way of saying. I would much rather hear you connected to the script and connected, having a point of view, having an intention having an audience.
12:56 All of that versus every word being perfectly articulate. A few weeks ago I actually just I cast somebody in in a in a. It was a commercial and she actually slurred a word. Most people wouldn't even submit that audition, right, it's like Ooh, I got to clean that up. No, it was one of those things where so often now I am hearing clients say we want to hear the humanness, we want to hear the imperfections, we want to hear the flaws. So it's not about being perfect. They'll make you perfect in the session If you want to book the job. It is more about having that connection and that's something that we can hear in those first three to five seconds that we listen to.
13:30 - Anne (Host) Oh gosh, yes, I love that and I love that you say that, because I mean I always in my, in my, in my genres that I'm that I'm kind of known for in corporate narration and e-learning everybody thinks articulation is, you know, they have to say it perfectly. I'm like, please don't, because that's super robotic and super boring and it just it's not something that that people like to listen to for any length of time, maybe for a few words. I can handle it if you do something articulately. But I'm that teacher that will say, please, I mean, don't. I mean I just need to understand you, but you know, slur it a little bit, like jam those words together.
14:06 I don't, I don't need to hear perfection at all. As a matter of fact, please don't. I just I can't, I can't listen to more than a sentence of it. And so I love that you say that as well, because I think really and you also, you know, talked about hearing that from the very beginning, like from the first words of the script you can hear it if somebody is not connected and you can hear it if they're just kind of glossing over the words or reading the words. Let's talk a little bit more about that the importance of, because in in our workshop, which I'm going to have you talk about in just a minute, I mean it's all about auditioning for your, for commercial genres, and so what is it that gets listened to? What is it that that books the gig or gets them shortlisted?
14:47 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, it comes down to personality. It comes down to you know? Do they sound like they have an opinion? Do they sound like they're connected to the copy? Is there something else going on besides? I'm reading a commercial script. You know so. We hear so many commercials. You know we have all heard thousands and thousands of commercials that when we look at a script, we know what it's going to sound like. Yes, it's like there's a melody in our head that we play. Oh, it's such a battle then to get out of it, yeah.
15:16 But really like that's not the read, that's going to book the job right it's going to be the thing that is just uniquely you, where it's like oh wow, the final spot would never be like that, but you showed the personality, you made the choices, you had the commitment and that is what stands out. That's what books you the job. And then you get into the session and that's when they're like okay, well, let's clean this up, let's smooth this out, let's inflict, and all of a sudden it sounds exactly like you heard in your head, but you will not book the job if you give that read.
15:47 - Anne (Host) Because it's boring. Can we just? Let's just say that one more time for the bosses out there, Because I've had so many students say, but that's not what I hear and I'm like, but that's not what I'm teaching. I'm teaching you to audition and get the job first, and then whatever happens happens. I mean you don't need me as a coach to tell you what it sounds like in your head. We all hear it and I think we all innately know what that melody is and you don't need me to coach you, but you need me to coach you how to be an actor so that you can get the job. And then ultimately I love that you said it does A lot of times it will end up sounding like what we heard in our head. But to get the job you've got to show the people that are listening, or at least get their attention, because everybody else hears that same melody in their head. And if you're listening, tell us what it's like to listen to 200 auditions in a row with the same melody, with everybody just being predictable. I think it's the person that you know.
16:42 And let's talk a little bit more about point of view, because I think sometimes people don't understand what point of view means, and especially when it comes to commercial. Well, shouldn't I have a point of view, that is, of the company that I'm working for? Or how do I have my own point of view, and why does that matter? And so people would ask me that as well. Why should I have a point of view when it comes to e-learning? Why should I have a point of view when it comes to corporate? Why should I have a point of view for an explainer? Let's talk about point of view.
17:07 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, so point of view. There's a few different parts to it. So first of all there is. You know what point of view are you coming from? Are you coming from the company point of?
17:18 - Anne (Host) view.
17:18 - Kelly (Guest) Are you the pro? Are you the expert? Do you know what you're talking about? I can tell you that you know for certain products, you have to be a certain level of expert on the product, otherwise, you know, how are we going to trust you?
17:33 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) when you're talking about.
17:34 - Kelly (Guest) You know medical or pharmaceutical, or you know something like that, where it's like we need to be able to trust you. However, there's also the other side, where it's you are the user. Did you just discover this and you're excited to share it, or have you been using it for a little bit and you want to share it with your friend or you know? So it's like you can either be the expert or you can be the real life user of the product. So usually, especially if we're sticking into the conversational zone, then you're going to want to be the user. You don't want to, even if the script says our product blah, blah, blah, or we do this, blah, blah, blah or we do this, like when it's very clearly from the brand point of view, you still need to. Your point of view should still be more personal than that.
18:16 - Anne (Host) Exactly.
18:22 - Kelly (Guest) You know the product, you love the product, but also having an opinion, you know, and it's like not just the anticipated opinion or the typical opinion, it right. It's like if there's something in the script that is like, wow, this is really cool, like then let us hear how cool you think, that is Like that's something that's going to stand out. It's going to be different when other people do. You know, it's like so many commercials they have three product features, right, and so it's like some people say, oh, we'll build each of those or give each one a little bit of a different. You know coloring or you know things like that. And it's like my thing is which is your favorite? Yeah, absolutely, tell me which one is your favorite.
19:03 - Anne (Host) That's going to stick with me more than anything else from a company standpoint, unless you're in some sort of a parody or a character dialogue right where you're going to be angry about it or you're going to be mad about it, or you're going to be crying about it or you won't like it. Right, for the most part, you have to come from that place of authority. You have to like the product, you have to believe in it, and I think that's where the shades of the point of view of you can come through. That and you can make that choice. Like I like how you said, like some people will be like OK, there's different shades of your point of view for different features, but I think as an actor, you make that choice. You make that choice about what do you think is a little bit more important than the other. Not that they're not you know, features are not important but like, maybe one you like a little bit better than the other. No-transcript, no-transcript in front of you, I think.
20:15 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, yeah.
20:16 - Anne (Host) Point of view, I think is so, so important, and especially coming in with a point of view in the first few words or the first line. And so let me ask you, out of so many auditions that you would get, how often do you listen to the entire audition, do you? I mean, can you just yeah, like you know right?
20:34 - Kelly (Guest) away, I know. So everybody gets about three to five seconds, you know, and that is also why I say like lead, lead with your riskier, take your bolder take the one with the personality, because you only get three to five seconds. You know, on any given project, I have usually between 400 and 1200 auditions.
20:53 - Anne (Host) Wow, that's a lot it gets crazy.
20:56 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, yeah. So it's like I can't give people more than three to five seconds. So then from there I'm sorting all of the auditions. Once I narrow it down, then I will look at the people that I, you know, passed on to the second round, and usually by that point I have like 100 left, maybe 150.
21:13 - Anne (Host) Wow, and then I will listen to. I'm just thinking. I'm taking the lower number right 400 auditions and you give them five seconds a piece. How long is that I mean? How long does it take you to? You know what I mean? Is it a day? What does that break down to? Hours?
21:27 - Kelly (Guest) Start to finish in a project like that, I mean I can. There are some projects I mean on the lower end. It's like I can knock them out in a couple hours. Yeah, yeah yeah, so that's a lot to listen to in a couple hours.
21:38 - Anne (Host) Yes, so that's why leading with the riskier one, leading with the one that is even. Sometimes I'll even say it's got to be a different melody.
21:52 - Kelly (Guest) But I don't want you to think about it as a melody, right? Think about it as a different point of view that drives the fact that it sounds different. Yeah, yeah, you emphasize a different word because you have a different intention on that take, or you know, yeah, things like that and I love that.
21:59 - Anne (Host) you said like I. Actually, you said that there was a slur on somebody that you cast. And the funny thing is is I have a favorite corporate corporate video that I play when I speak at places and I talk about corporate and how it really is storytelling. And one of my favorite corporate videos is voiced by an artist that has a rasp and a lisp and she slurs her words a little bit and it's the most beautiful take because her point of view is nuanced and it actually brings you along this journey throughout this two minute, this two minute video, and you don't even have to watch the this two minute, this two minute video. And you don't even have to watch the video, you can just listen to it.
22:38 It's so nuanced that I thought to myself gosh, I usually will give somebody the script and I'll say well, this, this is super easy to just say conversationally, right, but she had so many different notes of so many different points of view that she just really told the story and I think that that is the most important thing. And when it comes to commercials, let's talk about stories in commercials. Are you a believer that every commercial has a story to tell?
23:07 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, yeah, you know it's one of those things where it's like there is the commercials happening because there is something either new or improved right, so it's like there's always a problem and solution. And so, you know, the problem is because things are happening to real people, so it really is figuring out the story and that's why, you know, having that point of view, but also an intention you know, your intention is obviously not to sell, right? I mean, of course it is, it's a commercial.
23:36 - Anne (Host) But I have to sound like you're selling.
23:37 - Kelly (Guest) Exactly, exactly. You're either getting them excited or you're reassuring them, or you're informing someone, or you know there's so many different things that you can play that are not to sell. But yeah, it's absolutely telling that story. You know, even even in the short scripts, you know there's still something behind that.
23:55 And part of your job as an actor is what is that? What is that pre life? You know, it's like I always say a commercial should be thought of like a slice of life. It is mid conversation. Something is happening before this that prompted you to say this to somebody. Something is going to happen after this.
24:12 - Anne (Host) And there's pre life, I think, for every genre. Somebody, something is going to happen after this. And there's pre-life, I think, for every genre for every script really Absolutely.
24:17 And I think there's pre-life also which I try to teach, because if I'm doing longer format narration, you can't forget about life in the middle of the script or life three quarters of the way through the script, because a lot of times people will just slip back into that kind of melody and it's really hard to keep someone engaged. I mean, you think it's hard to keep someone engaged for 60 seconds, right? I mean, try to keep them engaged for a couple of minutes and that is. I think that the pre-life can happen before many sentences in that script and I think that it's important to consider that as you go through the script, that it's important to consider that as you go through the script. So what would you say is the biggest mistake that voice actors make in their auditions?
25:07 - Kelly (Guest) Either just is an immediate dismissal or sometimes angers you. So two things come to mind. First thing is labeling following the instructions. First thing is labeling following the instructions. Like it sounds so basic, but out of 400 auditions I'll usually have at least 20 or 30 who aren't even labeled correctly. So I don't even give, I don't even give them five seconds, they just instantly are like nope, I'm done. They couldn't follow instructions. So that's number one.
25:30 - Anne (Host) Isn't that funny. That's your number one.
25:31 - Kelly (Guest) I know, I know.
25:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, follow instructions. I'm like that too. I'm like my God, if you can't even name it right, yeah, yeah, because that's. I feel like I will take that as a personal insult to my time, because I literally, if I can't 400, you said 400 to a thousand. Yeah, oh, my goodness, I can't imagine, like, handling a thousand files and if they're not named correctly, right, and you can't like organ. I mean, it's so, organization is so important when it comes to, you know, figuring out who am I, you know, who do I like? Here's my shortlist, here's, you know, who are you going to recommend? And I think, yeah, file naming is so, so darn important, and I don't understand why it's so difficult sometimes that's how I am too.
26:17 - Kelly (Guest) I'm like oh, I try to keep it so simple in our instructions.
26:20 - Anne (Host) you know and you know but okay, so file naming is one, what's another, what's another?
26:25 - Kelly (Guest) The other one is trying to be who you think we want you to be, giving us the read that you think is the right read or the read that we want, I will tell you that we don't know what we want. The client doesn't know what they want. It's like they might have an idea, but sometimes they hear something different and they're like oh, that's brilliant, and so don't try to be what you think we want you to be. You have to be yourself, because what we want is you as you are you?
26:57 - Anne (Host) know authentic unapologetically, you and I think sometimes would you say that the creative process is not complete yet. A lot of times we think we're the last, we're the last to be hired. And so I feel sometimes when people are like, well, I didn't expect that, you know, I auditioned for that and I did not expect that one to book the job, when I feel like, even if the casting specs, if it's something completely different than the casting specs, so would you say that if somebody writes the casting specs nine times out of 10, does it turn out to be different than what they're looking for?
27:28 - Kelly (Guest) or yeah, or some variation of it, because you know, you've seen the specs where they're like, oh, we want it really like mellow and laid back, but it has to have high energy and be upbeat. And it's like, you know, the specs contradict each other and so it's like, well then, what do they want? Typically, that's because there are multiple people in these meetings and it's like, oh okay, one person wants it laid back and mellow, another wants it upbeat, with high energy, and so those get kind of mushed into one. So that's kind of you know, you don't know what they want, because there are six people deciding and they all want different things.
28:05 - Anne (Host) Ah, yeah, right, so it's not always just one person that's deciding. And let's talk about the copywriting, because there's a lot of times when the copywriting doesn't match what the specs really want, like, they'll say, conversational, but yet the writing will be very silly. And so what? What is your best advice for voice actors in that case?
28:27 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, so a couple of things. First of all, I always recommend recording a couple of takes before you even look at the specs. You know. So it's like you do whatever, whatever your instinct is, and then look at the specs and see you know how that changes. That might be a different take, it might be you scrap all the other stuff you know all together.
28:48 But it is tricky when it is written as an announcer script introducing the all new blah, blah, blah, you know, and it's like, oh, but we want it conversational, super casual you know. So it is a matter of you know. I always say subtext first of all, so instead of introducing, it's like hey, check this out, or you know kind of substituting that in your mind Making sure I think the biggest thing when they're asking for conversational authentic is making sure that you are still connecting, you still have that point of view.
29:20 You still have that intention. It's really easy to lose when you have a word like introducing or something that's very selly.
29:29 So it's kind of, you know, still keeping that story, keeping all of the, the acting elements in there is key. And then if you find like, ah, I can't get out of this, it's just sounding so silly, it's sounding so announcer-y, then honestly lean into that and do a take or two like that, because then you have it out, you have it there and you're not fighting yourself. So it's a little easier, once you get that out, to then try to try to just bring it in a little bit more and personalize.
29:59 - Anne (Host) Would you, would you then recommend to maybe have that take as the second take? Yeah, like, and if you are encouraging people to do more than one take per audition, absolutely.
30:10 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, if it's your only take to send, I wouldn't do it because they're going to be like I didn't follow directions. But absolutely, especially if you know, a lot of times we ask for two or three takes, that'd be a great second or third take, you know especially if you know it felt good as you were doing it, Then yay, and you're going to be doing a VO Boss now, because VO Peeps is now merged into VO Boss.
30:37 - Anne (Host) but you're going to be doing a VO Boss workout for commercial auditioning, so talk a little bit about what we're going to cover in that class.
30:44 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah. So one of the things going back to these three to five seconds, that is something that I want to make sure that we cover. So I am actually putting together, I'm stringing together three to five seconds of multiple auditions, 5060 auditions so you can hear what I get to hear on the casting side.
31:02 - Anne (Host) So love that.
31:03 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, so you it. That's. That's a gem. You'll be able to hear if if people are connected or not. You'll be able to hear I love that everything that you can hear. And then I'll play the final. You know, I'll play the audition that booked it and then the final spot so that you can kind of see, you know, how things change throughout the process. But I think kind of giving you a glance into the casting side.
31:26 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that.
31:27 - Kelly (Guest) Will help you realize like, oh, okay, it's like I can say it a million times, but until you hear it it's not going to stick. And then you will never look at the opening sentence of your auditions the same again. You know it's going to transform how you read and what you submit.
31:44 - Anne (Host) I feel like that is probably one of the most important things is that very first sentence and I always talk about.
31:50 I talk about it in terms of like melody, in terms of singing, like if you just start with the first word and you don't have a pre-life, it all starts pretty much on the same note and I feel like that's not, that's not necessarily in starting it in the right way or starting it in the way that's going to showcase the fact that you are, have a pre-life and that you're connected and you have a story to tell and a purpose, and so that's very I'm very excited about. Wow, that's going to be really, really valuable for our listeners, so very excited about that. Bosses, I'm quite sure, by the time we air this, that we may be sold out. I'm not sure, but you can always check out vobosscom and we'll be having audit tickets as well as participants. So I'm so excited, Kelly, that you're going to be doing this and tell us a little bit about because we kind of do similar things. I mean, we have a membership, we have a community, we coach classes. Tell us a little bit about your classes and your community.
32:50 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, yeah, absolutely so. Through VoiceCaster, we have all different levels of classes, beginning to pros. We do commercial, we have animation and video games, we have an accent class. All of those are live classes that we do. Most of themover learn at your own pace course, as well as our signature Finding your Authentic Voice course as well, and you know so. Those are both learn at your own pace kind of a thing. And then, on top of that, we also have our VoiceCaster Insiders membership, which is an online community. We do weekly workouts open to all members. We do monthly calls for any. You know q&a, all of that. We do monthly challenges where you can, you know, working on different parts of the business, performance, business mindset. You know all of that. And we do prizes at the end. And then nice.
33:53 Yeah, and then we have daily things. So we have like our Monday motivation, our take action Tuesday, wednesday wisdom, you know. So it's like we're doing things seven days a week and yeah, it's just, it's been a great community for people just to kind of have a place to go as a sounding board and you know, doing, doing the workouts and you know all of that, sure. So yeah, that's that's been a lot of fun for us, as well as the workouts and you know all of that, sure, um, so yeah, that's that's been a lot of fun for us, as well. As the members and myself, ben and katherine, are, you know, active in there every day. So yeah.
34:23 - Anne (Host) So I'm gonna ask you what people ask me. How do you do it all? I don't sleep yeah, I hear that I hear that, yeah, that's lot, that's a lot.
34:35 - Kelly (Guest) Yeah, it is, it is a lot and it's, you know, it's really prioritizing my days. You know, kind of figuring out as much as I can, because you also know like we're in a business where things change real quick and it's like hey, I need to get somebody in for a session. Hey, I need this casting done by yesterday. Hey, you know putting out fires but trying to, you know, have have my set schedule as much as possible as well.
35:00 - Anne (Host) Well, oh my gosh, it's been so, it's been so nice talking with you.
35:04 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I really really enjoyed this conversation.
35:06 - Anne (Host) I'm very excited about our workshop that's coming up guys July 16th and check that at VeoBosscom and, I guess, leave us with your one best piece of advice for anybody new coming into this industry. What would you recommend?
35:22 - Kelly (Guest) Be you, be uniquely you. Whatever makes you you. Be that and always you know in everything that you do. I mean that's life advice, but it's also voiceover advice. You know it's like, just be yourself. You know, if you are determined, if you have the passion, if you have the love for this industry, then show up as yourself, and that is going to take you further than anything else.
35:50 - Anne (Host) Love it, love it. Thank you so much again, bosses. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Thank you, Thanks.
36:08 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble tackle a crucial and often uncomfortable topic for voiceover professionals: money and debt. Prompted by Danielle's recent experience with an unexpected studio investment due to a flood, they delve into whether voice actors should go into debt to fund their careers. This episode explores personal relationships with debt, strategic financial planning, and the importance of financial literacy in building a sustainable voiceover business. They emphasize distinguishing between impulsive spending and calculated investments, advocating for a data-driven approach to financial decisions.
00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza here. Are you ready to take the next step in your voiceover career? At Anne Ganguzza Productions, I specialize in target marketed coaching and demo production that gets you booked. If you're thinking about elevating your performance or creating an awesome demo, check me out at anneganguzza.com.
00:21 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:40 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and you are here with the Boss Money Talk series, and I am here with Danielle Famble. I am so excited, Danielle. It's been so long I feel like it's been an age since I've spoken to you. Hey.
00:56 - Danielle (Host) But it was just last month. Yeah, I know it hasn't been that long, but it's good to be back.
01:01 - Anne (Host) Yay, and you know talking about. One of our favorite subjects is money, money, money, money. And speaking of, I noticed you're in a sparkly new booth there, oh, this whole thing it looks like a.
01:12 - Danielle (Host) Studio Bricks. To me this is a Studio Bricks One Plus booth and I've had it for a little while now and, yeah, it's great.
01:23 - Anne (Host) Well, having investigated those studios myself, I do know that's quite an investment it is quite the investment.
01:31 - Danielle (Host) It is an investment that I took quite a long time to get to. It was not an impulse buy, but it was a purchase of necessity.
01:41 Sad news is my apartment flooded and I lost my previous apartment and also booth along the way, and so it was time to get a new booth, and I knew exactly what I wanted to get. Is there insurance for that sort of thing, like for my apartment? And so it was. My previous booth was reimbursed essentially the cost of that booth, but it was not. It was a less expensive booth than this one, obviously, so there was a delta that I had.
02:16 - Anne (Host) So you do have. Yeah, so you did. You did have some, you did have some recovery money for that but you know, it, it. It poses an interesting question. You know you, it seems to, I did yes voiceover talent. Or should you know people that want to get into the voiceover industry go into debt to pay for something like a booth or to pay for their entrance into the industry? I think that would be a good topic to chat about.
02:54 - Danielle (Host) Yeah, that's really interesting. I mean, you hit the nail on the head for me. Obviously, my apartment flooding was an unexpected expense, so therefore, the emergency fund really came to be used for its intended purpose. And I you know that's a really good question, because not you don't always have the money to go after the necessities of your dreams. You know, a booth like this is quite a big investment, or even things like your demos or your equipment microphones, coaching, all of those things.
03:28 It costs quite a bit of money. I, because of my personal experience with debt and getting myself out of debt, I am pretty debt averse, so I choose to have my emergency fund pay for the things that are knowable expenses when it comes to building a life and building a career. That's what I try to do. But I can see a reason why there are ways to use debt to your advantage if you know what you're doing. But for me personally, I try to not use debt, especially if I know that something big is coming. Obviously I didn't know that I needed to get a studio bricks, you know when my apartment flooded and also moving and those kind of costs that were incurred and the stress of it all. I was living in a hotel for three weeks because I did not have a place to live. So obviously those things you know. If you don't know and you can't incur those costs because you can't predict it then debt is a tool that can be used.
04:31 I'm just debt averse, and so I try to use other tools before utilizing the lever of debt. But what do you think, Anne?
04:39 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I mean, I think really, it a lot of it has to with and we had talked about this before if you have any type of money blocks, if you grew up with a certain set of beliefs about money. Yeah, I think that I also have been in a position where I've had debt, I've had to pay off, and I don't like to be in a debt situation. Sure, and, if possible, I really encourage everybody to just create that savings account and we've talked about this before the high yield savings account, which I think is really great. But you know, I mean, banks have business loans for a purpose, right, because we are a business. Now, I think, because we are a business that sells our voice, right, we tend to think it's much lower upfront cost, right.
05:26 Then, some businesses, when you have to invest and buy God forbid, you have to rent like a storefront and then you have to buy inventory. So, I think, with the advent of technology and online businesses, people have maybe, maybe it's come to be like a false sense of, hey, it doesn't cost a lot of money to invest in. Let me just open an online business, which is where voiceover tends to fall. However, there's, there's costs that you know you incur in this business and we've talked about that. I mean, there's absolutely your equipment, your studio and, of course, your voice is a cost, because you've got to be able to get jobs with your voice, and so in order to create the best product out there, you've got to train that voice, You've got to have products that showcase that voice, like coaching and demos, and so website and things like you know yeah, and so I am initially adverse.
06:25 However, I think there are, as you mentioned before, calculated strategic ways that you can invest in your business and make other people's money work for you. And you know, one thing comes to mind where my husband took out a loan because there was an offer of a 0% interest, which you know I mean gosh back when we did have some debt. I mean we were great at juggling those 0% interest cards, right, because we didn't have to pay our money in interest. And so he saw an offer and because he wanted to have some extra cushion in the overdraft account, he said let me take out a loan and so let me let me open this credit card, right, so for a certain amount of debt. And and there it sat, and all of a sudden I noticed that my credit score kind of dinged down like a point. I went, hey, what's this? What's this new credit card where there's a certain amount of debt in there and not that had been used, but there was a certain. It was just a new credit card. And he said, oh yeah, I took that out just for overdraft protection, which I think is absolutely fine.
07:33 However, I didn't like my credit score being dinged. But either way, I said well, look, because I had such a good experience with a high yield savings account, I said why don't you just take that chunk of money and throw it into a high-yield savings account? Because, first of all, you're not going to get charged any interest for about a year. So if you calculate the going rate on a high-yield savings account, which right now is about 3.75, I think mine was up at 4.35 at one percent at one point, but I mean it's still really good. And if you have even a few thousand dollars right that you can invest into or put that into the high yield savings account, you leave it in there for a few months and you don't use it. That generates money for you. And that's the thing.
08:16 I kept seeing this credit card and he wasn't using it. He was just using it for cushion, to just sit there. And I'm like well, have it sit there in a high yield savings account so that in a year, once it starts, you know, charging interest, we can have made a few thousand dollars and then way we can pay off the small amount of, you know, credit card debt that we have right now. And to me that would be a strategic way and, believe it or not, like he and I I mean we. I mean, one of the reasons why we're still married after all these years is that we very rarely have financial fights.
08:45 I truly believe that to be the case, but we always we had our own accounts. We, you know, basically have just remained that way throughout our marriage because, you know, we got married a little bit later in life, so I always had my own account, I had his account, and we just created a new account where we pool the money in for, like vacations, and so, you know, we basically live our lives trying to be debt free, and so this is just one of those things because he's really good at finagling those zero percent credit card rates, I'm like, well, at least put it in a high savings yield account. I think that that's a great way to strategically use maybe the bank's way of making money right to generate money that we can pay off our own debt, and I think that might be a strategic way.
09:29 - Danielle (Host) I like that.
09:30 - Anne (Host) Because that might be able to fund your next booth or fund your next microphone or fund your next demo Right.
09:37 - Danielle (Host) Right, right. What I appreciate about that is you were using cold hard facts, right. You were using logic, you were using numbers and you were able to calculate what makes the most sense. Let's just say I need to take out a loan for $10,000,. Let's just say and I've got a 12% one-year interest-free amount of time Okay, I know that it's $10,000. I know that I've got a year to pay it back. Can I reasonably pay back the full $10,000 in the 12 months?
10:33 that's $3,000 to $4,000. You can invest in a. With data. I say go right ahead. But on the flip side of that, if you're looking at this from a place of like scarcity fear, you're not really sure if you can pay it back. Then you're likely putting yourself in a long-term revolving door where you'll need to open up another line of credit to then pay off that line of credit and then you're not building money. You're actually a victim of the bank, instead of using the banks in the way that they're using us, which is to use us to make money, you know, and interest in everything else. So you know.
11:10 For that reason, yes, but that means you have to be super dialed into the logic and the data and the numbers and the facts, and I feel like I fear that some people don't do that, and then they enter into these with, like the hope that they will be able to pay it off, and hope is not currency.
11:28 So that to me is oh that's the words of wisdom right there Hope is not currency.
11:33 - Anne (Host) I love that, Danielle
11:34 - Danielle (Host) Hope is not currency and I feel like if we're, if we're trying to hope our way by using debt as a tool, that is a recipe for disaster. But if you know that you can keep yourself financially in a good place and even actually in a better place where you can make money on other people's money, go right ahead.
11:56 - Anne (Host) You know that's so funny. I'm so glad that you brought this home and gave that perspective, because I think it really makes a lot of sense. And I'll tell you what. It was something that I was. I never really thought about using the banks to make more money because I just was never into financial money like investigation, like that, before, until I started my own business, in which case now it became very important that I had money and that I was able to keep my money or pay you know, pay for my business, right, pay the expenses of my business, especially having you know people that work for me, and paying you know my agency and all that sort of thing, so actually having like money in and money out.
12:41 I then all of a sudden really had to take a hard, cold look at my money, which I think everybody that does this for a living needs to do, because, again, we are businesses and we Anne forget that. As easy as it sounds to have to do this right, to just get on our studios and audition and get jobs and make money and or invest some money, it's really a business and you've got to take a cold, hard look at numbers in order to make it worth your while and to make it sustainable and to grow, and for me it's something that it was like an epiphany almost. I'm like, hey, why don't we do this? Because I had a good money experience here investing this and then I thought to myself gosh banks do that to us all the time. They're making money off our interest. That's exactly how it works. I'm like why can't I do the?
13:32 - Danielle (Host) same thing. Yeah, and it's interesting because the thing is banks whenever we're like doing a loan, getting a loan with them or anything else, they are investigating into us because they have a business model that they know works, so they're utilizing their data to make sure that giving us a loan makes sense for them. We have to do the exact same thing when we're looking at utilizing debt, because a bank would never just say, oh yeah, I mean I hope it'll get paid back, I hope you'll pay us. Mean, I hope it'll get paid back, I hope you'll pay us back.
14:03 - Anne (Host) I hope you'll pay it back.
14:04 - Danielle (Host) They aren't going to do that. That's why, after a certain amount of time, the interest is so high it's so much higher than you would make on your high-yield savings account because they need to ensure that they are getting their money back, plus some. We can do the exact same thing, but it goes back to making sure that you are tracking your numbers. You know your data.
14:28 - Anne (Host) You can look at historical data and you know the risk and you know the risk. I think that's an important component of if you're going to play. If you're going to play like that, you have to know the risk. Now, for us, the risk in a high yield savings account is so much less than, let's say, the stock market. I have to keep my eye on all the time and make sure that that interest rate I mean, at one point it started above 4% and now it's down at 3.7 something percent. But keeping your eye on that and then keeping your eye on the track record, how long has it been at this?
14:51 And every month I'm checking my high yield savings account so that I can say, okay, this month I made X amount of dollars, which is really great, because I just continue. It just makes me want to put more money into my high yield savings account and there is a cap on it. So you do have to know those things as well. Right, you can only put so much money into that high yield savings account. Well, guess what? I'm opening up a second one so you know when you've gotten to that point where you're making that investment. And that's where, danielle, I feel that I'm very, very fortunate, grateful and worked very hard to feel like there's my financial cushion Should something like a disaster happen.
15:29 I mean, and I'm you know fires here in Southern California are a thing you know if something were to happen, I would have that money and also that's money that's kind of earmarked for retirement as well. But I also have a different retirement account for that, totally.
15:44 - Danielle (Host) You've got all these different buckets for as your emergency fund, but then you're using what I like about this. What you just said is that for me, anyway, using my emergency fund and then also using the money of the interest that's being made and my emergency fund it's in the high yield savings account I'm choosing to be my own bank, so I'm using the money that I'm making as the interest. Also, I'm dipping into that emergency fund because that's what it's for, and all I need to do is either just pay my loan back my loan to myself, pay that back to bring my emergency fund back, or let the high yield savings account let the interest pay that back for me over time. Yeah, so there are ways to sort of like make it work. But you know, if you don't know what the numbers and the data and everything looks like and you're not making these informed choices and decisions by using debt, it really can, you know, become a problem. But we can also become our own banks.
16:43 - Anne (Host) Money is and also when it comes time to. You know, most recently, I just invested in a new agency to do some work for for my brands, and it was a considerable investment and it was a risk. Again, it was one of those things when we talk about taking risks. It was a calculated risk and a strategic risk because I looked very closely at the amount that I was going to have to invest and for how long. So I always want to say that I need an escape route.
17:33 Right, if you invest in something and you don't want to have recurring payments, that kind of thing. Right, you don't have recurring debt. Right, just like debt, you have to pay every month and you have to pay a particular interest charge. You don't want to have recurring debt and I try to not have any of that happening at all. But if there is recurring debt that would be like oh, I'm paying off a bill or I'm paying off like a service and it goes for so many months and it's this amount of money. Well, make sure that you've accounted for that within your business and you have the money in case your business is not making the money. Right, and that is one thing that allows me to continually invest in my business take risks and then move forward.
18:14 - Danielle (Host) You have to. You have to constantly be looking at that. This is not a job, a career in any business, business, really, where you're just doing the passion, the thing that you really enjoy doing. There's this entire other operations and data management and education aspect to it that you constantly have to be investing in, and the investment isn't always financial, it is in time, it is in learning, it's in investing in yourself, it's investing in the person and the entrepreneur that you want to be in the future. And yes, money powers that, but it's not always a financial investment. So, really, just make sure that you are able to take the time to do that, to take the time to invest in yourself, and you know the ramifications of it. But debt is I'll go back to this debt is just a tool that you can use. So use your tools wisely. Maybe you need to use other people's money, maybe you use your own currency, but there are ways to grow by utilizing debt. You know, I still try to be. I try to be the bank first and then, sure.
19:24 - Anne (Host) Well, I don't like owing money. I mean I'm that person like at the end of the month, man, pay it off, just pay it off, just get. Although you know there there is, you know when you talk about it, when you take out loans like a car loan or a home loan, I mean that does establish better credit. And so you know, not having like not having credit at all can hurt you Exactly. And so not having some debt or a loan can can hurt your credit. And so it's that game of playing like paying it all off is great, but sometimes it damages your credit If you don't have enough credit open because the banks think, well, I mean it's good that they've paid. What is that? What is the mentality behind that? It's good that they pay off everything, but why is it that you need to have a credit card in order to have better credit?
20:09 - Danielle (Host) That goes kind of back to like for me. That goes back to my history and psychology with money and debt. I was just flat out told debt is wrong, Credit is wrong, it's bad, don't use it. And so when it was time for me in my mid-20s to get a credit card or at least try to make bigger purchases, I had no credit history there was no record.
20:34 So you can't show that you are credit worthy. Until you have a history, until you have credit. And it is this cycle that you really need to understand. And since I was completely ignorant of that because I was just told it's bad, don't play that game. I was at a disadvantage. So you do need to be in it to utilize it, sure, sure, but if you don't, then you're not going to be able to show that you're credit worthy.
21:05 So so, it's a, it's a it's. It's an interesting thing and I think really it should start with education.
21:10 I wish I was educated on it a little bit earlier in life so that I could have a longer amount of time to show hey, I am credit worthy, I am paying my bills on time, I am paying my debts off, and and here's my history of being able to do it it's it's interesting are ways. I think there are ways to learn about it and not get burned, so that you can have a positive experience with money and debt instead of just not knowing or having worse, having fear about it.
21:40 - Anne (Host) I think you make a valid point there and I think I personally, having come from an education background, really believe that financial education should happen in like grade school. Oh yeah, I mean in grade school.
21:53 And there should be, because there's so much, I think, fear For me. I always said it was denial Right, because when I got my first credit card I was like, woohoo, you know I can go and you know, buy this, I can buy anything I want. And then all of a sudden it's like, well, wait a minute, I've got this thing called interest, and why do I have to pay this extra money? And it was interesting because I wasn't really educated in high school about credit cards or finances or really much of any of that, and so it can get out of hand. I mean, I literally just had such a shopping spree with that credit card thinking, oh my gosh, well, I've got a job, I can, you know, I can pay this. But then it can get out of control, it can spiral quickly. You know, I think if I were educated a little bit, I think really the best education that I have gotten recently is having my own business, because for a long time and I think a lot of people might feel the same here it was denial right. I would get that credit card statement at the you know every month and I'd say, okay, all right, it went up a little bit, I can pay that by. You know, all I can do is pay a little bit more every month, and it just was one of those things where I kind of stopped looking. I was like, yeah, here, here's my card.
23:02 And I think denial is a form of fear.
23:04 Oh yes, it is a fear of really looking at the real numbers and seeing what's there.
23:10 And I think, for voice actors just getting into this industry, there are investments We've talked about this in our past episodes investments that you have to make, but they're minimal compared to, let's say, a storefront that requires inventory, but they're still investments, and so, therefore, you do have to be willing to take a risk and make an investment in your product, and that means good coaching and experience having a business.
23:36 That's also something that I think is priceless. Can you really pay for having a business experience like having a voiceover business? I think if I had really succumbed to my fears in the first couple of years, where I wasn't making a whole lot of money, I would have given it up. I would have given up my career and said I'm not making any money and so, therefore, maybe this isn't a viable business for me. So there's that, I think, that balance between taking the risk and then if I had had a financial cushion back at that time when I was taking the risk and then if I had had a financial cushion back at that time when I was taking the risk, I think I could have grown my business much faster.
24:12 - Danielle (Host) Your financial cushion we go.
24:15 You know this goes back to earlier episodes where sometimes your day job or you know other things that you are doing to make money outside of voiceover or outside of this business is your financial cushion, and that's a wonderful thing to have.
24:28 So don't look at it as a detriment. Look at it as something that you are using as another, one of those tools to be able to further your investment in yourself, in your business, in your coaching, in all the things that you would need to support yourself in this business, to support yourself in this business. There are so many different ways to fund this dream, this business, this career. It doesn't have to just be one tool, but you really do have to stay on top of understanding how to use a tool and what it's going to cost you in terms of paying it back or what you're going to gain from it in terms of you know, using the interest If you are using a line of credit, for example how you can really win. That's really what it is is. You can take risks, but it's a calculated risk so that you can make sure that you always are in the winning position.
25:19 - Anne (Host) You want to win. Win that game. Yeah, absolutely, because it's scary to not be in a winning position. For sure, that is for sure. Wow, absolutely, because it's scary to not be in a winning position. For sure, that is for sure. Wow. What a great conversation, danielle. I really appreciate it. Gosh, I love talking to you about money.
25:32 - Danielle (Host) I love talking about money, so let's keep doing it.
25:35 - Anne (Host) Oh gosh. Well, thank you so much. And, bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network and talk money like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
25:53 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides share an inspiring and candid conversation about the challenges and triumphs of leveling up your business. Anne opens up about her personal journey of growth, from small changes in her Pilates class to taking a significant leap in her company, battling the fear and discomfort that often accompany evolution. This episode offers profound insights into navigating change, the vital role of a supportive team, and the power of embracing risk for long-term success. Listeners will gain actionable wisdom on recognizing their own self-imposed limitations, the importance of strategic planning, and understanding that growth, while sometimes terrifying, is essential for avoiding stagnancy.
00:24 - Announcer: It's time to take your business to the next level—the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now, let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:44 - Anne (Host): Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with Lau Lapides in our Boss Superpower Series. Hey Lau, hey Anne.
00:54 - Lau (Guest): I'm so excited to be back. It's been a while, you know. It seems like it's been forever years. It hasn't been, it's been years, but it feels like that.
01:04 - Anne (Host): I'm going to say a lot has happened, and so I brought props to show you. So I have... actually, I love props. I care my props. I have actually leveled up, okay? So in many ways. So I have my three-pound weight and I have my five-pound weight. So in my Pilates class, I finally leveled up because when they say grab your light weights, I went from three pounds to five pounds.
01:26 - Lau (Guest): You're now a heavyweight.
01:28 - Anne (Host): Well... I don't know if it's heavyweight, but now, right, it's a change. I've leveled up, and while it may not seem like a lot over the long haul, guess what? It's going to mean a whole lot. And I thought it was such a great comparison for our businesses and how we can make simple little changes. And those simple little changes over time are going to make an amazing difference. And I even got like excited, and I wrote, "No sacrifice, no success." And then here's my little boot necklace to like kick myself in the butt to remind myself.
02:00 - Lau (Guest): We all need that, Annie, we all need that.
02:02 - Anne (Host): I love that, to do that, yeah. So I've taken some chances with my business, and I have done some things. I've made some changes, some not so small, but they've been coming for a while. In my head, they were small, and over time they evolved into a kind of, maybe, a bigger idea for a bigger vision for my company. And I thought it would be great to just talk about the process because it's not easy to level up.
02:27 - Lau (Guest): Oh, it's no, it's not the most challenging thing you can do. And it's funny how you have the thought, the imagination, the dream, which has nothing to do with the actual reality of doing it, right? So you're moving through that reality.
02:40 - Anne (Host): I consider the brain, right? My brain steps, my little steps over time, because I've been thinking about how am I evolving, how am I going to level up, how am I going to make these changes? And so in my head, I was making small changes, right? Until finally, I started implementing those small changes, and then kind of as a, I guess maybe a side effect or after effect of those small changes, then I needed to make bigger changes. And so now I have to say that through the process, it's been definitely a learning process, not only for... I like to say I have a clear direction of where I want to go, I know that, but also things have happened that have been, I guess, scary. They've been monumental, like growing challenges for me, but also moments where I've been... Oh, I get it now!
03:31 - Lau (Guest): Yes, let's hear, what are some of those aha discovery moments for you that caught you?
03:31 - Anne (Host): So the aha discovery, right? The aha discovery of evolving your business and always growing, and I'm always talking about that, right? I'm always talking about evolving, and I'm like, "Oh, I got an idea for this, I got an idea for that." I'm a little bit of a serial entrepreneur, but when it comes right down to it, I think that a big aha moment for me was in the process of doing this, is that I've learned a lot about myself, and I've learned where I myself get in my own way, right? I myself get in my own way, right? And I like to think that I don't, and that I'm all confident, and I'm... Yes, we can forge forward and be successful. But yet there's been some times where I'm like, "Well, am I doing the right thing?" And I second-guess myself, and then when I do that, I learn more about myself. Yes, and so it's really been a learning experience about myself and how there are ways in which I hold myself back, and how when it comes to growing your business, the team that you have in place can do a lot to support you.
04:33 - Lau (Guest): Now, before you go on, Annie, I want to know on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the most terrorizing, before you made the move, because a lot of our clients and talent ask us about this, like, "How do I make these really serious and scary moves?" How scared, terrorized, were you at the thought of that kind of change, which is semi-radical, especially when you're working with people for quite a while? How scared were you?
04:59 - Anne (Host): Terrified, terrified. I mean, terrified. It was a 10. It was a 10. Stress level eating, do you know what I mean?
05:05 - Lau (Guest): Well, thank you for being honest, I would agree.
05:07 - Anne (Host): I think it's true. Headache, neck ache. It never gets easier. No, it never gets easier.
05:12 - Lau (Guest): It's always a risk, a huge risk.
05:15 - Anne (Host): And we've talked about this. It's not like uncommon that we've talked about like taking risks and stuff like that. And even before, I was like, "Yeah, we take risks, we're bosses." And this time I took a big risk, and I think that I really challenged myself to take a big risk. And is it completely successful? I don't know yet, you know what I mean? It's evolving.
05:34 - Lau (Guest): And that's the nature of risk. If you knew, it wouldn't be a risk.
05:37 - Anne (Host): Exactly. I mean, I'm evolving with it, I'm growing with it, and I have faith that I'm determined that it will evolve into something successful for me, and so that I have. But the terror along the way has been surprising.
05:53 - Lau (Guest): Yes, yes, because it never gets easier. It never gets better. No, right? It just gets more, higher stakes, and it's funny. The stakes get higher. Yeah, and it's funny, what were the stakes for you this time around? Can you like break it down for the listeners? How did that work?
06:07 - Anne (Host): I'm going to keep going back to here, like right. So we all know my health journey, right? And my health journey took about a year and a half, right? To kind of come to fruition and get the news that, you know, I was not well, healthy, and I needed to do something about it. And then get to work, right? Focus, get to work. And so I was driven. I had a goal. I was driven. I didn't stop until I got to that goal. And then all of a sudden, I got to the goal and I'm like, "Wait, I have more goals."
06:34 - Anne (Host): And so my three-pound weight was always my weight that when the Pilates instructor said, "Go grab your light weights," I said, "Okay, three pounds," right? Three pounds is what? Before it was like one pound, I'm not quite sure if it might've been two pounds. Then I said, "All right, I'm going to graduate to three." But then just this past week I went to a five, and I said, for whatever it was, I had been thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it. Similar to my business. Right? I was thinking about the moves, I was stressing, I was nervous, I was like debating, I was researching, I did all the things in my head to evolve, and then finally, I took the leap. And so this past Wednesday, I took the leap, and I went to five pounds. Isn't that great? And it wasn't horrible, and it wasn't horrible. And now I know that there will be days when I'm not going to want to do the five pounds, but I'm going to push myself to do the five pounds.
07:24 - Lau (Guest): You're going to push, but there was something inside of you.
07:26 - Announcer: This is something I think the listeners have to know this.
07:29 - Lau (Guest): There was something inside of you, this little voice, that somehow knew that you could take it on.
07:34 - Anne (Host): And today was the day you could handle it, even though you felt nervous, scared, and with weights, you actually can get hurt, physically hurt, right?
07:44 - Lau (Guest): So of course you're not lifting 150 pounds, but you can still hurt yourself, right? Exactly. Well, let's transfer that now to your business.
07:52 - Anne (Host): Yeah, I mean, and it was funny because I thought about it, thought about it, thought about it, strategized, strategized, said, "Yes, I should. No, I shouldn't. Yes, I should." Today's the day.
08:00 - Lau (Guest): The back and forth, right, Annie? The back and forth. Yes, no.
08:02 - Anne (Host): And then I said, "Today's the day." Today is the day, right? And so literally, that's kind of what happened when I made the decision after I had been thinking about it, researching, going back and forth, "Okay, I'm going to do it," and then I started it, and it was like building a muscle, right? So I'm still in the process of building the muscle of my business and getting through the growth, right? So I'm going to grow my muscle with my five-pound weight.
08:29 - Anne (Host): I'm going to grow my business, right, with my growth strategy, and it's terrifying, it's uncomfortable, right? It's uncomfortable, but there are little successes that I'm seeing along the way, and that makes me happy, and that gives me the confidence to move on and to continue on my journey. And I know in my heart, right, I will make it work for me in the way that it's best. I think the one thing, Lau, which is interesting, is I always have to figure out what's the fallback, right? What's the worst-case scenario, and can I accept the worst-case scenario?
09:02 - Lau (Guest): What is the worst-case scenario?
09:02 - Anne (Host): The worst-case scenario was I'm committed to my growth strategy for a certain amount of time and a large amount of money, to be quite honest with you.
09:09 - Lau (Guest): Well, that's what I was going to say, that you lose a bunch of money that you don't feel you got any return on or any knowledge on. That would be the worst, wouldn't it? Honestly, I can't imagine that happening with you because you're going to squeeze the juice out of everything, but that would be the worst.
09:25 - Anne (Host): The confidence that I have, Lau, and I think that what we've spoken about as well in podcasts before, and I get excited about this, is that I said, "Okay, I have a certain amount of money, I can make a commitment, and I am okay if I lose this money." It's kind of like... it's like gambling. I was just going to say, I don't want to bring up gambling, but I will, because when I go to Vegas, I say, "Okay, I have a certain amount of money. If I decide that I want to gamble..." I don't really gamble a whole lot, like my gambling money is maybe 20 bucks, just to have fun.
09:51 - Lau (Guest): I don't either.
09:51 - Anne (Host): Because I'd rather spend my money on something that I know I'm getting. Like I'm getting a nice facial or a massage.
09:55 - Lau (Guest): I do too, I know. Or dinner. But doesn't that make it harder for you to make those moves because you're not a gambler?
10:05 - Anne (Host): Well, I'm not a gambler, let's say, in Vegas, but I am a gambler with my business in a lot of ways, because I know that if I don't, I will be worse off. If I do not grow, and I've said this before, stagnancy is the death of me. If I do not grow, that is the worst. And I think what was happening is I was at a place where I didn't feel like I was growing anymore, and I wanted to continue the growth. And I'm like, "How can I grow? How can I get more clients? How can I reach these clients?" And when I really researched the answers, it wasn't within my own industry, because I had my own circle already built, which was amazing, and I love my circle. I'm not giving up my circle, but I needed to get beyond the circle to bring in new people, to bring in, right, new clients, and that was, I mean, really, how was I going to reach those clients?
10:54 - Lau (Guest): So what does that translate to for you in terms of this last move that you just made? I know you can't get into too many details before your launch of it, but what did that translate to you in terms of the team you had and were working with, the new team you wanted to be working with, and the new concept that you had moving forward? What were the action steps that you really had to start taking on in order to realize that?
11:22 - Anne (Host): Well, action steps was, first of all, education and research, right, and understanding. And I was actually put in a situation where I needed to get a new team of professionals that could, first of all, handle my website, because the person that I had worked with for many, many years was not able to continue to do that. And so I was looking for more members of the team. And so in doing so, it's hard out there looking for people. I mean, we've discussed this before, like, do they know the industry? Do they not know the industry? What are their skill levels? And, to be honest with you, if people in the voiceover industry knew website development, there are a few people that do, but there's not a lot, right?
12:01 - Anne (Host): So I had to go outside of the industry to look for people that could handle the back end of my websites, because I got a lot going on. I mean, we know that the podcast here, there's a lot of products, there's lots of back-end workings in the website that set up appointments with me, that handle income and inflows and outflows and that sort of thing. So I needed to have someone that was capable in that to take over. And so in doing that was education, research, interviewing, and then also really having a hard look at the budget, because you know, I mean, I have a certain budget. And I think the one thing that sealed it for me—the go, right, the go, and go after thinking and strategizing and education—was having a certain amount of money set aside that I could risk, right, to move forward and know that if it didn't work out, I wasn't confined to a lifetime of it, right, financially or emotionally. I could get out of it if I needed to, right? And what would be the worst thing that could happen?
13:00 - Anne (Host): Well, I would lose that money. So I was just like, if I was going, I have this amount of money that I'm willing to lose, and now I'm ready to gamble. And that's really what it took. And that, just knowing that, having that security and knowing that I had a certain amount of money I was willing to invest and lose completely, completely, if things didn't go the way that I thought they were and I needed to get out, I was okay with that. And so I think that gave me the green light to go ahead and do it. And now, once I'm doing it, right, there's all sorts of like things that are like... I was not anticipating all sorts of obstacles in the path that I did not anticipate.
13:38 - Lau (Guest): Tell us about a few of those obstacles that you ran into.
13:40 - Anne (Host): Well, you know, if you're working with new people, they don't know you, right? They may or may not know your industry. These people did not know my industry, and so they need to be educated so that they can do the best job that they can. The amount of time that I spent educating it's amazing because, you know, I've been in this industry for, I don't know, 17, 18 years, and people that have been working with me have been working with me a long time, so that's a lot of years. Once you work with someone or, you know, you get to know them for that long of time, it's great, because you know the process, you know the industry, you know the person you're working with, you know what they're expecting. When you have new people, it's a whole new relationship, right? And it's like a new client, right, a new voiceover client, where I always loved voiceover because you got in and you got out quick.
14:25 - Anne (Host): A lot of times, yeah, you had a client that kept coming back. You developed a relationship, and typically it was an easy relationship because they've liked what you've done, and they were happy with it, and there was never really, for the most part, you're not having difficult moments within that relationship. This one, I am an owner of my business, right? I need to have it run in a particular way, so it's not like I'm the boss this time, right? Before, my clients, they're the boss, right? I have a skill that I'm providing, and I'm providing audio to them. They like it, they accept it, they pay me. It's great. They come back. Right, they give me new stuff. They like it, they accept it, they pay me. It's great. This, I'm the boss, right? I have to like it, I have to accept it, and I have to say, "This is great. This is moving my business forward." So I have to do a lot of assessment along the way, especially with new people who may not be familiar.
15:12 - Lau (Guest): Now I have a question about that, okay, because we get a lot of questions about this. Folks come in and feel like, "I'm working on a voiceover career or an actor career. If I need to hire people or I need to get a vendor to serve me in a particular service, they come in, they have their expertise. I pay them, they do it." The problem is they're missing the link of how much education and management you have to do when you hire a person, a consultant, a team. It's any person. It is not like, "Here, do my website, and I'm done, and I'll see you in a couple of weeks when it's done," and that's time consuming. Can you take us through, right, can you take us through a little bit of the process of how you are managing this new, brand new team of people who may or may not have the expertise in this industry? How are you managing those people? What does that look like in terms of time and in terms of effort?
16:05 - Anne (Host): Oh, it's a lot, it's a lot of time, it's a lot. It's more time than I anticipated, and I forgot. I mean, because I had gotten almost complacent because people knew me so well, right? I mean, and so now I have to educate new people, a new team, on how I want my business to move forward and who I am and certain things that I expect. And so the amount of time that was required, I did not anticipate. I thought it would be easy, but it's not. And it's interesting because it kind of brought me back to, you know, you think things are just automated and my web girl, I've worked with her for 15 years, she knows me, she knows exactly like what I love, she knows if I say I need something on my website, she could do it. I didn't have to like micromanage at all. Now, all of a sudden, right, there's a lot of time spent educating the new team on, "Here's the practices and the procedures. And this is the way that I like it, because I'm the boss, right?" That amount of time that I'm managing, and I don't like to micromanage. What I like to do is educate enough so that I can say, "Go be creative, do it." It's so funny because, no matter what they do for you, right, they have to know who you are and your brand in order to be able to help you grow your business further.
17:17 - Anne (Host): And I literally went to the boot. Again, I go back to the boot, but I went shopping yesterday. I had a gift card to spend it at this Western store, and I got a cowboy hat. I got a cowboy hat, it's really cool. And the guy branded it for me on the inside of it, and I said, "Well, I love branding." Right, I love branding. "Let's do my initials AG." You know, that's like my website, it's everything. So he has the branding AG. And then I said, "Oh, I like those stars. I'm a star, make me a star." And the way he branded me, he floured it. Like every time he put that branding iron on the hat and he picked it up, it was branded. It was like a big flourish. And I'm like, "I don't care what you do or how many stars you put on it, you're creative. He's like, 'Oh, I'm a creative person, you do your thing, I trust you. You can put as many stars on there as you want, but I'm a star.'" So he's like, "Okay." So I let him like creatively flourish with my brand. But I gave him the specs on, "Here's my AG brand, and I need it to look like this. But now you can flourish and enhance the brand."
18:15 - Anne (Host): It's kind of what I'm doing with my business, right? I'm allowing people to do what they're good at, and that's a big thing. Like to kind of give up the control to allow the people who are experts in what they do, like I'm not a graphic expert, right? I need a graphic expert to create beautiful graphics for my website or a beautiful graphic for my social media, and so that's what they do, right? So I'm like, "Here, here's my guidelines, here's the brand, here's what it looks like for the most part, but put your creative flourish on it," and I love that. That's how I want to be able to manage people. I want to be able to have people that I can say, "Here, here's your baseline, your guidelines for the business. This is how I need it to sound, this is how I want to be represented. Go ahead, put your creative flourish on it."
18:58 - Lau (Guest): Do you feel like, Annie, especially if it's a company that has never worked with someone like you or someone like this brand or even in the genre of the business, do you feel like you can trust them to go off and create? Because there are so many questions that come up about the products and services themselves, do you feel like you can sort of take that step away, or do you feel like in the first couple months you don't?
19:23 - Anne (Host): I do need to be on top of the matter for the first couple, because I, yes, and that's what I'm finding, is that I do have to say, "No, this isn't quite what I need. Let's make adjustments," and they need to be willing to make adjustments while they get to know. It's a mutual, we need to get to know each other.
19:38 - Lau (Guest): Okay, so I have a question about that. How do you determine—this is a common question of all of our talent and clients—how do you determine how to bank hours according to what you're paying your marketing team to bank hours in order to educate, collaborate, go back and forth? How do you negotiate that with your company, not really knowing how much time they're going to need to figure it out?
20:06 - Anne (Host): Well, honestly, like, no sacrifice, no success, right? I am sacrificing a lot of my hours to do all the checking and then making the corrections and saying, "No, this, not this, this." And so for me, it's a sacrifice, right? It's a sacrifice of my time. I have to make sure I allocate time to be able to do that to educate them. But the better I can educate them right in the beginning, the less time I'm going to have to spend later on. That's the way I feel, and the easier it'll be for them to get to know me. I don't think that there's any lack of content about me out there, so, like there's lots of help if people need to know who is Ann Ganguzza.
20:43 - Lau (Guest): But the question is that a lot of people are going to be wondering is what if they want to hire a marketing team? What if they want to have a marketing consultant, right, working on? How do they know how much that investment will be, not just time but money, how much that investment will be based on the kind of education and back and forth that they will need to do with that team? Even if they're in the industry, they're still going to need to do it.
21:07 - Anne (Host): Yeah, it's probably more than you anticipate. You think that you can just say, "Here, create a graphic," or "Make my website." But there's so much that, again, because we are personal brands out there, right, in this industry. We are personal brands, brands out there, right? In this industry, we are personal brands. There's so much of us that is invested in representation and what we look like, what we sound like, how we're being sold, right? There's so much of us that, if we are not able to educate a team on who we are, right, and how we need to be represented, right, you need to be able to allocate that time. So the way that it's working with my team is that services are rendered. I mean, I don't pay for every version of a graphic. They basically do it until it's right, and that's how that works. I pay a blanket fee.
21:53 - Lau (Guest): Do they give you an amount of hours that they're willing to budget in for the month?
21:55 - Anne (Host): Nope, nope, that's great. There's no, yeah, there's no, not in a contract, let's put it that way. And so that was something that actually it's a really great question, because that was something that I wanted to make sure of. I mean, when we went back, right, "Here's what I need. I need to have this, this, this and this. Are you able to provide that, right, and are you able to provide revisions, right, without additional charges?" There's no charges. I'm paying a retainer fee, and so there are no, at least in the contract. There are not, right. There are not. There is a statement of work. There are timeframes. So if I need this to be done on my website, I should expect it to take this long.
22:40 - Lau (Guest): Right. Now, I have a question about that, Annie. If they're doing socials, which they're engaging in SEO, but also an engagement for you, right? They're doing socials in terms of engagement, they're doing graphics.
22:52 - Anne (Host): They're doing some graphics. They're doing graphics.
22:55 - Lau (Guest): But do they actually go on and engage in your voice?
22:57 - Anne (Host): I'm engaging right now. Okay, the question is, though, for people who need help, they would. They would.
23:02 - Lau (Guest): Well, that's the question I have.
23:03 - Anne (Host): If I wanted them to, they would, but I want to engage with the people as long as I have the time. I want to be able. The initial like impression of me and then if there are comments or questions, I like to engage for now, until there are some questions that they can handle on my behalf. But I don't want to misrepresent or people to think that, "Oh, somebody besides Ann is answering." For the most part, I'm interacting with any engagement that happens. They just need to provide the initial wow for the engagement.
23:37 - Lau (Guest): I got you. I got you.
23:38 - Anne (Host): But they would. They said they would, and I actually... We never actually went into that, because that's not what I'm having them do right now. I'm more concerned with them getting the website SEO going, doing some SEO work. They're doing a lot of SEO work for me, which, again, I wanted to be able to expand my reach and to be found outside of the circle that I was in already.
23:57 - Anne (Host): So that requires a lot of keywords. It requires a lot of going back to content that I've produced, creating new graphics for it, creating new titles, creating new words, you know, new content, new descriptions. And so, for the most part, I am approving all of that, and if it needs to go back to the drawing board, I basically correct it and say, "No, let's do this, let's do that." Again, I'll say, "I would never have said this, right, or I would never say this. This is not the proper terminology for this industry." So that's the one thing is that they don't necessarily know the terminology in the industry, nor do they know like, graphically, like, what microphone should I represent? Like, no, do not put a dynamic microphone.
24:39 - Lau (Guest): So you're doing that kind of team, and it's good for our listeners to just know, like, why are you doing this when you could do it yourself? But the expertise of an ad team like this is not only graphics and graphic design, but it's also how to reach your target markets.
24:57 - Anne (Host): Yes, and a different perspective, Lau. That's the other thing that I want to say is, the biggest benefit of this is it's great to have people in the industry, and I still have people in the industry that are doing work for me, but also having a perspective that's outside of the industry, because, again, I need to get outside of the bubble that I'm in, right? And so how do I do that without a different perspective? Right, I want to attract corporate clients. Right, I want to attract corporate clients for my voiceover. How am I going to do that if they're not in my circles already? Right, how am I going to reach outside?
25:28 - Anne (Host): And so a lot of it was to have somebody that does that for all industries to be able to do that for me, and then also, basically, to give me the perspective, like, so that I don't get in my own way, because I've literally had to say, like, "Do you think you should put my face on that graphic right now?"
25:47 - Anne (Host): "Because doesn't that seem too assuming, you know?" And I get all like, here I am getting in my own way, and they're like, "No, no, no, no, because at this stage of the sales funnel, right, they don't know you yet, and so you need to represent your face in that confident way, blah, blah, blah, blah. Later on down in the sales funnel, when they know you, then you don't have to repeat that." So they're experts in that, and basically there's a lot that I'm learning from them, and they're learning a lot about the industry from me. And we're collaborating, and that's the one thing that I do like is that it's in a very collaborative sort of way, and it wasn't without many interviews, by the way, and what's cool about that is they become...
26:31 - Lau (Guest): Yes, you're educating them about the industry and how they need, and people are going to be seeing and thinking about you that are not esoteric, they're not in the industry, they're people that are in the universe. Corporate people, people who might hire me for a voiceover. Yeah, I just want to say, though, that that is a perspective that we all lose along the way.
26:53 - Anne (Host): We do.
26:54 - Lau (Guest): Because we get so involved in the audience that we're currently with, we think everyone is like that. Everyone sees it that way, when really it can be quite opposite to that, that they see you as something totally different than what you think they're seeing you as.
27:07 - Anne (Host): Yeah, and that was the biggest education for me and the biggest takeaway is that it's a growth experience.
27:15 - Anne (Host): Growth is not always fun. Growth is not always fun, growth is not always easy, but growth is to me a sign of moving ahead and moving forward. And so, as long as I can accept that, and I can accept the beatings along the way and the discomfort, and the discomfort, you know, you've got your triumphs and celebrations and exciting moments, but you also have, yeah, you got to work that out.
27:37 - Anne (Host): Work out my stress, work out my stress. I love it. But it's all good, guys, and bosses. I guess this whole discussion today was like really small steps can really mean large growth for you in the long term. And for me, it was a bunch of tiny steps in my head, and then it was just kind of a leap of faith, right, once I said, "What's the worst that could happen?"
27:57 - Anne (Host): Right, I have accepted the worst thing that could happen. And I remember that's so funny, Lau, because in the beginning of time, I feel like in the beginning of time when I graduated college, right, a thousand years ago, a thousand years ago, when I graduated college and I was trying to determine whether I should accept a job in New Jersey, right? Should I move my young butt to New Jersey in a place that I didn't know anybody, all by myself, right, and work for this company? And I said, "You know what? It's scary, but I'll give it a year, and if it doesn't work out in a year, guess what? I can move home." The worst thing is, I don't like it and I move home.
28:31 - Anne (Host): So I did the same thing with my business, and I'll tell you what, Lau, it really puts things in perspective. I said, "Okay, I have a certain amount of money that I can lose, that I'm going to invest, I can lose it, and I'm okay with that, as long as I grow along the way. And if I grow along the way, I have such an education." To me, I'm like, "This is great, now I can move forward."
28:50 - Lau (Guest): I'm with you, totally, I'm with you. Now, one more question: To the people who are not leveling up quite in that way. Maybe they're in an early stage, earlier stage. They say, "I need this, I love this, and I want this, but I don't know if I have the extra money, I don't know if I have the extra capital for this." What do you say to those people that are a little bit tighter on budget, a little bit more worried about paying the rent, a little bit earlier in the game, or maybe they're not, maybe they've been in it for 10, 15 years, but they're still worried about the tight purse strings? What do you say about that?
29:21 - Anne (Host): Well, okay. So tight purse strings are one thing, right? I mean, you either do what you have to do to get the money. You put it in savings, you save for as long, earn it.
29:29 - Lau (Guest): Yeah, you work at Dunkin' Donuts. You know what I mean? Beg, borrow, steal it, as we used to say. Make me my iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts.
29:35 - Anne (Host): You do whatever you do and you put it away, and then you say, "I've got this amount of money to invest."
29:40 - Lau (Guest): That's if you actually need the cash, right? Yeah.
29:42 - Anne (Host): And if it's not just cash and you just don't want to work, do you know what I mean? Like educate yourself. Like spend the money, invest the money in yourself. If you don't have money, it's time.
29:55 - Lau (Guest): Right. Beg, borrow, steal, right? Don't. I think you're also saying one really important work ethic thing that's a bottom line too, is you got to work harder?
30:00 - Anne (Host): Not only smarter.
30:02 - Lau (Guest): You got to work harder. I don't know why people threw that out the window. "Work smarter, not harder." Well, you kind of have to do both.
30:09 - Anne (Host): You have to do both. You have to work hard and work smart, right? Yeah, you do, and that's actually, I love that you said that. You really do. I mean, people know that I work. I mean, I'm just, I'm working extra hours right now.
30:19 - Lau (Guest): I'm not calling you a slob, but you're a grinder. You know what I mean? You are a grinder.
30:24 - Anne (Host): I always have been, but more so than I really want to. But my ultimate goal is so that I'm not going to have to work so hard in the future. Right? And again, if I were stagnant, right, and I just got kind of complacent, then that's almost worse.
30:37 - Lau (Guest): Yeah, but I know you. I know you. I don't think you're ever going to retire. You're not the type. You'll be on the phone at 98 going, "Wait a second, are you saying this?" I mean, you do have too much love and passion for everything that you're doing, and you know that's what really drives us at the end of the day. It's fun, there's got to be a fun factor.
30:55 - Anne (Host): Well, I think it's like a game. It's a game I play, you know, in a way.
30:59 - Lau (Guest): I mean, there's strategy, you want to win. Exactly, it's a very creative game for me.
31:05 - Anne (Host): So I think that, bosses, we all have to play that creative game. We all have to not just want to win at our performance and be in the booth and do a great job, but also win at our businesses and play the game. I mean, play the game. It's not a bad game to play, it's a fun game if you allow it to be, right, even though I'm telling you, I have discomfort, I'm stressed, but I enjoy the journey.
31:27 - Lau (Guest): I enjoy the journey. And remember what makes it successful, Annie, is that you're the designer of the game. Yes, you get to not only play the game, you get to design it. So don't lose out on the design element. That's the beautiful thing about it, right?
31:37 - Anne (Host): We're designing our own game.
31:39 - Lau (Guest): Our businesses are similar in the industry, but they couldn't be more different in the way they're designed and executed, and that's the beauty of what we do as creatives. Is that, and any industry that you run your own business, no two restaurants are really the same.
31:53 - Announcer: There's different designers.
31:55 - Lau (Guest): So have fun with that.
32:02 - Anne (Host): So guys, do the work, do the work, Make the small changes.
32:04 - Anne (Host): Yeah, Lau it's been amazing. Thank you so much for all your love and encouragement too. You are a big part of my team and I love having encouragement that does help, because you don't feel so all alone and I'm not also like, oh my God, am I doing the right thing? So yeah, guys, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses, like Lau and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom Bosses. Have an amazing week and let's go build those muscles. All right, bye, bye.
32:33 - Announcer: Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via1 IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere, your "real bosses" and co-hosts, connect to dive deep into the critical world of online security and scam prevention for voiceover professionals. They unpack Tom's recent harrowing experience with an AI voice cloning scam, offering a candid look into the crucial insights needed to navigate digital threats and build a truly secure business in today's landscape. Listeners will discover the essential role of vigilance and proactive measures in protecting their assets, gain an understanding of emerging scam tactics, and appreciate the power of community in safeguarding their careers. Anne and Tom also discuss practical pathways for secure transactions and the evolving nature of digital defense.
00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, it's Anne from VO BOSS here.
00:04 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And it's George the Tech. We're excited to tell you about the VO BOSS. Vip membership, now with even more benefits.
00:10 - Anne (Host) So not only do you get access to exclusive workshops and industry insights, but with our VIP plus tech tier, you'll enjoy specialized tech support from none other than George himself.
00:22 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) You got it. I'll help you tackle all those tricky tech issues so you can focus on what you do best Voice acting. It's tech support tailored for voiceover professionals like you.
00:32 - Anne (Host) Join us guys at VO BOSS and let's make your voiceover career soar. Visit voboss.com slash VIP-membership to sign up today.
00:45 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast.
01:04 - Anne (Host) I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my real boss, Tom Deere. I had to think about that, Tom. We've been together so long. I was like what is our subtitle here? We are real bosses.
01:20 - Tom (Host) Yeah, we're real bosses. Thanks for having me back, Anne.
01:23 - Anne (Host) How are you doing, Tom, my real boss? Co-host.
01:26 - Tom (Host) All things considered, I'm doing okay, I had a weird experience recently which it seems like a lot of voice actors are experiencing. I got an email from someone expressing interest in wanting to cast me for a voiceover project. Oh yes, I looked at it and it was this long-form project, something like 9,000 and change words. And I looked at it and I'm like and you know I was reading the ins and outs of it and I'm like, huh, like my spider sense was tingling a little bit, but I'm looking at, I'm like this one is worth replying to and getting some information about.
02:00 So there was a little bit of back and forth about it.
02:03 - Anne (Host) So you did reply, and then there was.
02:05 - Tom (Host) There was more conversation.
02:06 - Anne (Host) Yeah, there was more conversation, which is what I always do when I'm trying to find out more information about a job to make sure it's legit.
02:12 - Tom (Host) Right Now, around the same time, maybe a couple of days after that, someone posted on a Facebook group hey, I got this email. It was saying this and this Did anyone else get it? Does it seem legit? And it looked like it was the same email that I had gotten, so I was following that it turns out.
02:28 It was posted by our friend, bridget Real, who is the co-founder of VA for VO, the virtual assistant site that helps voice actors, and we talked about it a little bit and we're both like, yeah, we're going to keep digging a little bit and see what's going on. And then her business partner, lynn, also got the email and I was getting ready to accept it just to see what would happen. And that morning I got a message from her saying hey, did you accept this project? Yet I'm like no, why? And she said because both of us accepted the project. We both got cast for the same exact project. We both got the same exact script. They sent me the script.
03:00 So then I did this. I went to Gemini, google Gemini, which is my AI bot of choice, and I did the prompts. I said you are an expert at detecting scams. Please analyze this script and let me know if you think that this script could be used to harvest a voice actor's voice to clone it. A voice actor's voice to clone it. And it did its analysis and I've got like the 2.5 advanced. So it takes a little time. And it wrote back oh, yes, it does. And here are all the reasons why this, this, this, this, this, this and this. And then I sent that information to Bridget and Lynn and they're like we knew it. We knew it. So then she created a wonderful post on LinkedIn talking about it. And then I wrote a blog with all the information and, like what happened, it was the most read blog I've had in like three years or something like that.
03:52 Yeah, it was crazy.
03:53 - Anne (Host) What's so interesting is it could have been a legit job, like for payment. You would have done it, they would have paid you for it, but they would have used your voice as an AI voice.
04:05 And so therefore, legally right in the end. Right, if you found out later on they could say, oh no, no, no, we paid you. I mean, it was a job that we paid you for and there was no extenuating circumstances or contracts to be signed which, by the way, I'm going to bring up Nava and the AI writer For all your jobs. You should be attaching that AI writer so that your voice is not going to be used as an AI voice, for sure, for sure.
04:37 - Tom (Host) So, to let everybody know, the website was GigLumin G-I-G-L-U-M-I-N. And if you do a Google search of GigLumin and this is what Bridget had figured out is that the website was only a month or two old. And there's these scam websites that you can enter the URL of a website in and it can tell you how likely that's a scam. It checked every red flag, every box, every single box.
04:56 - Anne (Host) So, yes, vo people, bosses, beware, right. So beware of emails. And you know, it's funny because it's lately, just because of the whole AI thing. Anytime I get an email with a job from someone that I don't know, right, that is just out of the blue, that I didn't audition for, where they have large amounts of words, the hairs on the back of my neck kind of stand up and I immediately, immediately check into it. And I think this really warrants a discussion, bosses, because it's very timely that you want to make sure that these jobs are legitimate. So the more research you can do. And I love, Tom Dheere, how you used AI to fight AI Again.
05:37 We had our previous episode on tools that we use. I mean, we are utilizing it as a tool to help us in our day-to-day jobs, and so I think, being aware of possible scams out there, we absolutely have to be, and I'll tell you if it's somebody that I've never heard of and they don't have a signature file. I've gotten to the point where I don't even like and it's not like from a company.com. I don't even literally take it seriously anymore. I don't know about you, Tom, what do you think?
06:05 - Tom (Host) Yes, I'm equally skeptical these days but, I, really like what you said about when you receive the email, check to see if there is a signature at the Tom of it with the company logo, website and contact information. That is one of many red flags and I don't know how much you've noticed lately, Anne, but since I would say about early April, there has been an explosion of scam attempts going on in the voiceover industry. We've had the overpayment scam. That's been going on for at least 10 or 15 years.
06:37 - Anne (Host) Gosh, at least, and bosses. If you haven't heard about it, Tom, let's talk about the overpayment scam for just a minute. Yeah, yeah, Okay so what happens is it's very common.
06:45 - Tom (Host) It's very common. It's been going on for a really long time. So basically they email you and say hey, we've got a project for you, da-da-da-da-da-da. The classic one was the game show host voiceover.
06:55 - Anne (Host) It has since evolved.
06:56 - Tom (Host) And basically they say that we've booked a studio in the area nearby. We're going to get paid or pay for the studio and then send us back the difference and something like that. And it's never a gig.
07:12 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) All they're trying to do is get you to cash that check and send them money, which is fraudulent, by the way.
07:18 - Anne (Host) And, by the way, I've gotten to the point where, if I have a new client, the only way they can really pay me is electronically.
07:25 And I figure, if you don't have electronic means to pay me immediately before the job and it's even in my terms and I've done this for years, Tom, I always have payment in full prior to job start is appreciated and other options available upon request.
07:39 But if it's a new client, I'll take that out because I must have that money in my bank account before I will even consider finishing that job or sending a file. And I'll tell you what, Tom for all of my career it's worked for me Because if people are serious about hiring you, they know that you're a professional, they know that you're going to get the job done. Of course they have to put their faith in you. But in reality and I'll even say because you're a new client I require payment up front electronically. And here are the ways that you can pay me. And so I'll send them, like a QuickBooks invoice, or I'll give them a PayPal account or however that works, and I expect that money in the account and I wait for that money and I make sure that I have the money and then I'll proceed with the job.
08:21 - Tom (Host) That's a really good idea. There's nothing wrong with even asking for 50% or 25% or just some percentage of it. The fact that they're actually going to fork over money with no expectation of an overpayment or getting it back or disputing the payment or anything like that.
08:37 Once it clears, you know that they're serious. And there's a bunch of like. I use Wave apps, for example. That's a great way to do it and I'm pretty sure they can do a partial payment. Or you can just make one invoice just for the deposit and then issue another invoice for the balance If they're a legitimate client that actually has money that they're planning on paying you with, they would have no problem with paying at least a portion of it up front.
08:59 - Anne (Host) Yeah, a lot of my clients nowadays the larger clients that used to like work off of purchase orders, and then it would be like 90 days after the job has been submitted. We'd have to wait for that check, they'd have to generate the PO and everything. You'd sign contracts like vendor contracts and that sort of thing, which I've done a lot, and so if they've got a contract for you to sign, that's vendor, nda, that sort of thing, and you know the company. It's like a well-known company. They're on the web. They've been on the web for years. I mean you can pretty much trust in that where I'll do the job and then I'll get paid. If I've worked with them before, I know that's typically how larger companies work and so that's when I'll accept a check. But even now most of those companies they're going to electronic deposit, like ACH they call it.
09:42 ACH, yeah, so it's direct deposit to your bank and most of the companies I know will do that and that's a form of payment that I trust and that would be a client that I would trust. So if it's a larger company that I know they exist on the web and they talk about, well, you're going to have to do the job first and then we'll be able to pay you once the purchase order is created, blah, blah, blah, blah, and you sign these contracts. I feel fairly good about that and I don't have to think, oh, this is a scam. But whenever I get an email without an actual signature file that comes from an address that isn't companycom, right, if it's a Gmail or a Yahoo or whatever, even a Microsoft what is the free Microsoft one?
10:20 Hotmail, hotmail, yeah, even if it's Microsoftcom, I feel like there's some sort of free sort of Microsoft. You know what I mean Like email that says that I just don't trust it and I'll immediately. The first thing I'll do is look for a website and when I get to the website I'll look for a phone number and then I'll actually try to call that phone number. What are the steps that you take, Tom, to ensure that your job is legit?
10:41 - Tom (Host) Everything that you just said. I also, by the way, I do love the ACH direct deposit because there's no fee. When PayPal, there is a fee, or wire transfer. That's really nice. Here's one thing that I've been doing lately is, if I get a we'll call it a solicitation, for lack of a better term from a company saying hey, and it'll most often be we found you on Google, we found you on Voice123 or some other front-facing thing. You know what's an interesting thing to do? Go look for them on LinkedIn.
11:11 Look for them on LinkedIn. Look for the company and look for the individual and see if you have any mutual connections. I mean, it could be anybody, whether it's a voice actor or somebody in some other profession, and you can reach out on LinkedIn and say, hey, I got an email from this company and you have a connection with them on LinkedIn. What's your experience with them? And that could give you some really quick insight. Sometimes it's just like, oh, I've been working with them for years, or it's oh, they're a huge scam. I forgot to disconnect with them. Run, run, run. Or I'd sent a rando invite, or they sent a rando invite and I don't have any information for you. But it could increase your chance of vetting them a little bit better. Another thing is that I keep an eye out, for is if they ask me to send them a W-9, the more likely that they are legitimate.
12:00 Yeah, yeah, absolutely, which I find interesting because if they were a real, true scam artist, they would want that W-9, because now they would have your social security number and now they can steal your identity too.
12:11 - Anne (Host) Well, oh my gosh, Tom, and that's scary actually, but that's why you don't put your social security number. You put your EIN number, because you're a company right, and you don't have to give up your EIN number, which is, by the way, one thing. I'm glad you mentioned that like we should all be having an EIN number. I'm glad you mentioned that, like we should all be having an EIN number.
12:30 - Tom (Host) Yes, it's very, very simple to get. It takes very, very little time. So it's a very easy get. I just reminded myself and we just talked about identity theft is that I almost had my identity stolen yesterday.
12:43 - Anne (Host) Whoa, that's scary. Yes.
12:45 - Tom (Host) How do you?
12:46 - Anne (Host) know like what happened.
12:51 - Tom (Host) Okay, so it was about a little after 10 am yesterday is when things started happening, so within a few minutes of each other, I got an email from Credit Karma, norton which, because I have my Norton 360 antivirus software package, I pay a subscription through that and Experian. For those of you who don't know, there are three major credit bureaus there's Experian, there's TransUnion and there's Equifax. I have a free account with Experian and I have a free account with Credit Karma. All three of them, within a few minutes of each other, messaged me and said that there was a hard inquiry.
13:30 - Anne (Host) Yeah.
13:30 - Tom (Host) So what that means is if you are applying for a loan, a mortgage, a credit card or something like that, the company that you're applying to will do a credit check. So they will check your credit and see if you are a safe credit risk to make the loan or to get the credit card, for this was a hard inquiry. If you get enough hard inquiries on your credit, your credit will go down.
13:55 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I know that because I'm a stickler about my credit.
13:59 - Tom (Host) Me too. My credit rating, oh my gosh. If mine isn't at least 800, something I freak out, oh my gosh.
14:04 - Anne (Host) Yeah, no, mine has to be like almost close to perfect, and when it goes down like two points, I'm like wait why? Why did that happen? Right? And it's just because you put a charge on it for a few hundred dollars, and then you pay it off next week and then everything's fine, so that's normal.
14:18 - Tom (Host) So all three of them told me at roughly the same time that there was a hard inquiry. So I clicked on all the emails and all three of them said that somebody was applying for a Discover credit card, I think in Salt Lake City, and someone was applying for a Capital One credit card in Delaware, and I was in New York City neither applying for a Discover credit card or a Capital One credit card. I certainly wasn't in Salt Lake City or Delaware at the same exact time.
14:49 - Anne (Host) You know, what's so interesting, Tom, is that, like I don't know, a few months ago I don't know if there was a discussion circulating or maybe I got an email but somebody said, and like I should have done this years ago, I mean you can freeze your account so that if you don't open up a credit card every other day which I'm certainly not right Because again, it affects my credit rating and I'm anal about that and so I'm like well, I don't need to apply for any other credit cards, so you can go and freeze that, so that you can actually reduce the risk of somebody trying to open up credit cards or identity theft.
15:19 So and it's super simple to do it, as I said, everybody should have that free account. You should log in, you should check your credit scores regularly I think they allow you once a month, I think even my credit cards. My American Express will tell me oh, your FICO score has changed, right, so they're monitoring it too, and so literally, I get lots of notifications when that rating goes up and down. But I know that I've reduced my chances of identity theft, which is a very scary thing, by freezing those accounts and it's very simple to unfreeze. So, if you know you want to apply for a credit card. You just got to go and unfreeze it for a certain amount of time so you can apply for it and then freeze it back up again. So that way it reduces the risk.
15:57 - Tom (Host) And all those emails that I got, all those notifications did give me the option to do that. I was also able to say this because it, literally, when Norton 360 popped up and it took me to their website, it literally said is this you and you can check yes or no? And I wrote no and then the whole screen turned red saying okay, we know this is a problem, we will look into it.
16:17 It did it with all those and then I called Capital One Bank. It took me a few people. It had to get escalated a couple of times to the credit card fraud department.
16:25 - Anne (Host) Well, don't you say, they give you a special number, right?
16:27 - Tom (Host) They say call this number if it's not you, or you can call this number. I just called the general number because all that was on the notification, I think, was the Capital One in Salt Lake City or something like that. So I called directly and said please state your problem. I'm like I think I'm getting my identity stolen. And then it got up there and then they manually rejected the credit card application at least for the Capital One.
16:50 And then this morning I got another Credit Karma email saying that there was a check on my Equifax report not the Experian one and I looked at the date of it. It also said yesterday. So that means Credit Karma had my back twice and Experian had my back and Norton had my back twice. Right, right, and Experian had my back and Norton had my back and everybody bosses. This is the takeaway. Creditkarmacom is free, having an account with Experian is free, it doesn't cost you a nickel.
17:18 - Anne (Host) All of them TransUnion, they're all free TransUnion, Equifax, they're all free.
17:23 Exactly and you can check your scores and, like I said, a lot of banks and a lot of credit cards are actually adding that on as like a value add kind of service, but you don't have to pay anything for it. I think there's a lot of it going on, Tom, which is kind of scary. We got to be careful about scammers, that's for sure. And anytime, even in your email, right, if you get like again, if I find something that doesn't have a signature and then they have an attachment like PayPal has been well-known scams where you get like oh, you've got a PayPal invoice, right, and you have to pay this amount and it looks legit. I mean, they've got like the PayPal logo. I've gotten quite a few of those over the last six months.
18:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And.
18:01 - Anne (Host) I just ignore anything. Just remember that most financial institutions will never email you for information and they'll never text you necessarily for that information either, and you should also, Tom. We should have a big discussion on having multi-factor authentication.
18:19 - Tom (Host) Yes.
18:19 - Anne (Host) This is extremely important.
18:21 - Tom (Host) It's annoying as hell or two-factor, two-factor authentication For every account that you have, especially the financial ones, you should have two-factor authentication, which means either they send you a text message and you just click on the link and you're good to go, or it sends you an email and it'll usually give you a passcode of some sort and then you go to the website. When you're trying to log on, you enter that passcode and then it'll let you do it, and most of them are only good. Some of them are only good for 30 days. Sometimes you can check a box saying this is my private computer. It's okay for a certain amount of time, or they make you do it every single time, which isn't the worst thing in the world. Yes, it's annoying.
18:55 - Anne (Host) You know what I just thought about. It is annoying but it keeps you safe. It's funny how much like value you put in that number, that phone number, in this phone which, by the way, I just got a new phone but in this number for the two-factor authentication, right Like text me at this number. So think of the power that these phone companies have right, and that is scary. I mean it used to be a thing where I always thought like the large scale communication companies were a little bit of a monopoly, depending on the area that you're in. I mean, when I lived in the East Coast it was always Verizon right, verizon everything, verizon this, verizon that. Out here it's a couple of different companies but still, if you think about it, I mean I'm glad to have the two-factor authentication and it's super convenient on the phone.
19:39 But, it's interesting to know that you wouldn't want the hackers to get smart right and then start really infiltrating the phone, you know, and impersonating a phone number.
19:50 - Tom (Host) There's a couple of things about that is that, when it comes to authentication, when you're logging on your phone, I've got it set up where I just use my thumbprint for a lot of it.
19:59 - Anne (Host) I love that, or Face ID yeah the Face ID is a great one.
20:05 - Tom (Host) There's also a thing for a lot of the websites where I have a personal PIN that has nothing to do with the PIN or the password to access the site itself. If I am using my phone to log in somewhere, I can enter a four-digit PIN that's different from everything else, so it also increases the chance of having a secure whatever. Also, just as a rule, I don't do anything financial on my phone, with the exception of like Venmo Well, I have mobile banking If I'm like sending money if, like me, and the guys are having pizza, you know what I mean.
20:31 - Anne (Host) I have mobile banking and I do have Apple Pay.
20:35 - Tom (Host) Well, I have GPay too.
20:36 - Anne (Host) Yeah, so.
20:36 - Tom (Host) I'm a Google guy but like I will unless to my bank accounts online or Wave app or Wise or PayPal on the phone, unless I absolutely have to.
20:49 - Anne (Host) Interesting. I go to them quite a bit. Actually, you're probably fine because of all the precautions that you're taking, but I'm just a little extra neurotic about it. Oh, it's constantly got multi-factor authentication, but I get that. I totally get that. Wow, yeah, being careful, and you know what.
21:02 What's interesting is, back in the day and I'm going to date myself when I was working at the school and we had text-based email okay, and text-based email, I could have something and it was all based on like the Unix systems and so like hacking into a text-based, like I don't know how to say this, but hacking into a system like that, like a Unix system, and reading your email with text-based, you didn't always have like the conditions of people attaching things that could be viral, loading a virus on your computer. So I was always proud to say that I used text-based email and I used something called a PGP signature, which was a digital signature at the time, which meant that when I sent mail out, my PGP signature, it would actually negotiate and verify with the person that I would send it to so that it could be a verified digital signature. That indeed, yes, this mail did come from me, and I think that Norton probably has something like that now right. Is that with your email or no?
21:59 - Tom (Host) Yeah, it has all kinds of functions.
22:01 And it works on my desktop and it works on my laptop and it works on my phone. The most important function that it has is when I'm not home and I'm on my phone or my laptop or my tablet is the VPN when you can turn it on to make sure that if you're using Wi-Fi at a cafe or something like that, that it's secure, because apparently there are people who just like sitting around at a Panera or a Starbucks with their laptop and just waiting for someone to have an insecure Wi-Fi connection and they can just steal their life right there through their own laptop.
22:31 - Anne (Host) Well, it's funny how this conversation has turned into a big security conversation, starting off with scamming. Which guys you got to be aware? It's one of the reasons why, for all of my years and because of my years working in technology, I like wired connections. I mean Wi-Fi. I mean it's a wonderful technology and it's convenient as anything. However, it's not as secure as a wired connection, because a wired connection is basically, you know, your digital numbers flowing back and forth along a wire, versus all this information out in the air where, if somebody is sitting outside of my home, they can possibly hack into my wireless network and then they can run some sort of a tracer to see and to actually get my passwords, which is something that you don't really want that to happen. So you should really be cautious, guys, and I think it's always a good idea that, if you are working from home, if you have the opportunity to have a wired connection to your router, I think that that's better rather than using Wi-Fi. Number one it's more stable, right, it's faster and it's also more secure.
23:32 - Tom (Host) I agree. If you have a desktop at home and you are doing any kind of recording or you're doing basically anything, you should have an ethernet connection. That yellow wire with the big old phone jack that plugs right into the back of your computer and plugs into your Wi-Fi router.
23:47 - Anne (Host) And it sounds old school, but it's still the most secure method of data transfer.
23:51 - Tom (Host) Without question so if you are recording from home. If you're doing whatever from home, you have a desktop ethernet. If you have a laptop, I are recording from home. If you're doing whatever from home, you have a desktop Ethernet. If you have a laptop, I think the newer laptops don't even have an Ethernet connection. I have to think about my laptop and whether I even have one anymore, and here's the simple reason.
24:06 - Anne (Host) Think about it. It's a wire, guys. It's a wire. It's not like data floating around in the air which people can listen to. Somehow the frequency of the data traveling in the air right? Wi-fi works on frequencies when your data is traveling via a wire like a physical cable, unless somebody like I don't even know, unless they tap into that wire, right, somehow.
24:26 I don't know how they do that, and we're talking about your wire in your house going from your computer to your router. Right, that's as secure as it gets, right, unless somebody's coming into your house and hacking into the wire and tapping into it.
24:38 - Tom (Host) You've got some foreign embassy bugging your home.
24:41 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, doing some fancy work, you're not going to have to worry about your data being transferred. So if you're working on the internet right, at least the data that's transferring from your house to your router is absolutely secure. And then it's up to your internet provider right on the router, to their routers, to make sure that things are encrypted, things are secure and for the most part I mean that's been handled right. I mean there are hackers out there that they can hack into networks. They can hack into things like that, but you want to be as safe as you possibly can, so wired is best.
25:14 - Tom (Host) Yes, it's fascinating. We talk about hard security and soft security, yes, that's hard security, that's hard security.
25:20 - Anne (Host) So, if we go back to talking about the scams that are floating around these days, one thing I wanted to mention is I think one of the best applications for groups, facebook groups and social media groups and discussion groups is for that thing, so that you and Bridget were talking to one another about this job that you both got, and then it's really wonderful that we can come together as a community and protect each other right and say, hey, look, watch out for the scam. So it is one of the best advantages, I would say, of being a part of the social media groups in that way. Otherwise, we've talked about how it's hard to sometimes they're toxic, sometimes it's really hard to be on social media. But I would say one of the best reasons to be on social media, in those groups and in those forums, would be because of the protection that you're getting of us banding together and saying, hey, watch out, this is a scam.
26:09 - Tom (Host) Absolutely, it's one of the most important things. Community is more than just about you know rah rah and whoop whoop and you know we support you and feel better if you're feeling down, but like just actual education, along with inspiration and commiseration can literally save your identity Absolutely.
26:27 - Anne (Host) Wow, what a great conversation, Tom. So bosses out there, be aware of scams. Be cautious. Research, research. Take a look at those signatures when you get emails coming in, when you get something that's asking for lots of words and a good price and it seems too good to be true, guess what it might be. So make sure that you're communicating with the community as well, checking those jobs out and attach that AI rider to every one of your jobs. Now, it's simple. It's there at NAVA and it's free. You can attach that rider to every job. If you have a new client, make sure you're very careful with the payment options. You know we spoke about that. I always make sure I get money up front, or partial money up front, first to make sure that it's a legit client. What else did I miss, Tom, in this recap?
27:14 - Tom (Host) Hardware and software VPNs.
27:16 - Anne (Host) EINs yes.
27:19 - Tom (Host) Oh yeah, VPNs, EINs, Two-factor authentication.
27:20 - Anne (Host) I love it. Yeah, Make sure you guys are implementing all of that to keep yourself safe and secure. So great topic, Tom. I like geeking out like this.
27:30 - Tom (Host) Yeah, it's fun and helpful.
27:31 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I'm going to give a great big shout out to my sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like real bosses. Find out more at IPDTL.com. Guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
27:52 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Jennifer Sims, a voice actor, coach, and self-proclaimed "100% certified smarty pants," connect to explore the intricate layers of the voiceover industry. Listen in as we unpack Jennifer's unique journey, shaped by diverse experiences in acting, producing, and voiceover, offering a candid look into the crucial insights needed to navigate challenges and build a truly thriving business in today's landscape. Listeners will discover the essential role of professionalism and adaptability in connecting with clients, gain understanding of the industry's evolving demands, and appreciate the power of a well-rounded skill set.
00:01 - Anne (Host)
Hey, guys, it's Anne from VO BOSS here.
00:04 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
And it's George the Tech. We're excited to tell you about the VO BOSS VIP membership, now with even more benefits.
00:10 - Anne (Host)
So, not only do you get access to exclusive workshops and industry insights, but with our VIP Plus Tech tier, you'll enjoy specialized tech support from none other than George himself.
00:21 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
You got it. I'll help you tackle all those tricky tech issues so you can focus on what you do best: voice acting. It's tech support tailored for voiceover professionals like you.
00:32 - Anne (Host)
Join us, guys, at VO BOSS and let's make your voiceover career soar. Visit voboss.com/vip-membership to sign up today.
00:45 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO BOSS. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast.
01:04 - Anne (Host)
I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I have the pleasure and honor of being with a very special guest, Jennifer Sims. Jennifer, yay! Hi, hi.
01:17
For those bosses who do not know Jennifer, she is a voice actor coach and 100% certified smarty pants. I'm so jealous, so jealous of that branding. She's known for her authentic, conversational, confident, and playful delivery and has a unique perspective from both sides of the glass, and works for clients such as Hyundai, Wells Fargo, CVS, Vons—the list goes on and on and on. She honed her quirky sense of humor studying comedy and improv, which is always so important, I think, for us as voice actors, at the Upright Citizens Brigade and The Groundlings, and that helped her to land on-camera commercials for Uber, Snapchat, and WebMD. She began her acting career out of high school and basically was on her own for a short period of time in LA as a very young girl, which is great, and also as a producer, has had the pleasure of collaborating on hundreds of radio, television, and promo spots and has worked with some amazing talent along the way. And what haven't you done, Jennifer Sims?
02:18 - Jennifer (Host)
I'm telling you, so much, so much. Thank you, Anne. That was lovely. Not as much as I'd like, and hopefully more. Yeah, thank you. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
02:28 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I met you—well, I met you not like physically, but I met you through our VIP room and I was so, so impressed with your background and your wisdom and everything. So I wanted to make sure that I had an opportunity to have you on the show and so our bosses could also get to know you. So let's talk a little bit about your varied career, because I think it's super important in terms of why you're so successful now and how you started off with acting and then as a producer. Talk about that for a little bit and tell us how it's helped you become successful in your voiceover career.
03:06 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, that's been very, like, it informs most of my career, certainly in the beginning, because when I decided to leave my director of broadcast job, I was working for an ad agency here in Los Angeles as the director of broadcast and I was bringing in a lot of voice actors for promo and commercials, etc. You know how it is when you see somebody and you're like, "Boo, why do they get to do it? I want to do it too!" But as I started my career, realizing that we're a part of the process, voice actors are part of a process, particularly in commercial, since that was my area, and when I was bringing in voice actors to record them, it comes very late in the process. Recording the voice actor for a commercial is one of the last things we do as a process in creating a commercial.
03:52
So, knowing that we're just—not just, I shouldn't say this, but we're part of a collaborative team, we're now brought into the team. We're problem solvers, we're creatives, along with the creative director, copywriter, and understanding why the copy is the way it is. I know a lot of us will—problem solvers, we're creatives, along with the creative director, copywriter, and understanding why the copy is the way it is. I know a lot of us will go, "Oh, this copy is terrible. It's poorly written," and, like, you don't know where that copy has gone.
04:12 - Anne (Host)
Isn't that the truth? I love that you just opened up with that perspective because, honestly, like the nuggets of wisdom that people get out of listening—you brought them right at the front when people get for listening to a podcast or being educated. I love the fact that we are part of a process and you brought that to our attention because I think a lot of times we're in our bubble in our studios here and we forget that it's not just all about our voice, but it's part of a process and there's reasons for so many things. Right? There's reasons, and you're so absolutely right.
04:46
How many times have you gotten a piece of copy and I've heard my students, "Oh my God, this copy sucks!" Or I've read on some forum where people are like, "Oh my God, the copy sucks," and "Why does the copy suck?" But I think it's important to know that, yeah, we are part of a collaborative process and it doesn't begin and end with us, and that's an important part to understand so that we know where we fit in. And the more that I think we can predict how we can fit in best to complete the process, I think will really help us as actors.
05:13 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, exactly, really well said and so true. It's like, how do we fit into this process? Because we do, and even now, as an actor working on my, I will sort of forget that there's a lot going on and that when I get copy and I'm like, "Oh, well, I don't know how many R&D, research and development meetings they had on this copy. I don't know what focus groups might have said about this copy." Like, big companies spend a lot of time and money making sure that their copy is delivering a message that they want, money making sure that their copy is delivering a message that they want, and a lot of things. On the ad agency side, we're looking at things—that copy, and I'm like, "Well, legal says we can't say that."
05:51
Right, or legal says we have to say this. So, you know, when we're sort of like, "Boo, the copy couldn't be you," it's like, "Well, you don't know why." Yeah, it may be a legal thing.
06:06 - Anne (Host)
It may be a client directive, it may be, who knows. I always try to remember that because, like somebody, somewhere was paid money to write this copy, and they know that product, or there's an intent with that product, or there's an intent with that copy that we are not necessarily aware of, nor do they tell us, but it's something that I think that we, as actors, we need to create that story, even if they're not telling us what it is. We need to create that story so that we can connect as much as possible to that copy and fit into like what they hear in their head. Right? We need to fit that spec there.
06:34 - Jennifer (Host)
Exactly, and I think it also goes to the idea of given a level playing field of extremely talented actors. Most often, I only needed one person to do the job to solve the problem of whatever problem we were trying to solve creatively. And so I think it's easy to start to feel like, "Oh, I got rejected. I don't book this kind of work." It's like, given a level playing field, just assume that somebody got selected. But it—a level playing field, just assume that somebody got selected, but it doesn't mean that everyone else was rejected. Honestly, as I was listening to actors, I'm like, I wouldn't get in all my auditions for, say, a television commercial voiceover, and I would maybe listen to 50, a hundred, and then call it down to present to my boss, my creative director and client, maybe 10. And any one of those people could have booked it. Somebody got selected, that's all.
07:27 - Anne (Host)
It's just a matter of selection, and the thing of it is is that you're at the beginning of that process, listening to all of those auditions. You would narrow it down to a particular amount of people, but then, ultimately, the decision is not necessarily yours. So I think, voice actors, we forget that, that it can go to your boss and your boss is not. Maybe a casting director doesn't have an ear for it, or just this is what he had—he or she had in mind. And so the pick from then. I don't think it's always necessarily based on your acting skills. It's just like a feeling, maybe, that they have. "Oh, yeah, this sounds right."
08:02 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, it's very subjective. Yeah, it's very subjective.
08:05 - Anne (Host)
And I think we forget that.
08:07 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, and I know that, being that it's so subjective, if you sound just not quite what they want. I had a creative director. I was presenting talent. This woman was extremely talented. I was advocating for her. He's like, "Eh, she sounds a lot like..." I forget if it was his cousin or his ex-wife or somebody. He's like, "And I don't like that person." So she just reminded him vocally of somebody in his world that he's like, "Don't like." She was very good, like perfect for the role, and, subjectively, my creative director was like, "Nope, reminds me of someone, and I don't like that person. Bye." And I'm like, "All right. Well, that's how that's going to go." Or we get replaced. I was the voice of a promo for a really, really long time. It was a great recurring gig and somebody new came in at the top. The client switched positions, new client, and they're like, "No, I want to pick the voiceover," and so, like, I was out. They felt like that was the prior stamp.
09:06
And now they wanted to stamp it with their own.
09:09 - Anne (Host)
That's such a good point because a lot of times, like companies change directors, companies change in departments, and a lot of times you may be the indirect result of that or not like being let go because of things like that that you have absolutely no control over. And so that is also a big part of the process in our heads as actors. We need to remember that on any given day, that it's not always—I think that if you can come into your audition with the skills that you need—the actor skills. Everybody says, "What's trending? What's trending these days? What's the sound these days?" And I'm like, "I think just be an actor, have good acting skills."
09:48
Maybe have good acting skills, because I feel like if you have good acting skills and the person, like say you, right, that is at the initial level of listening to all of the auditions, right, you're going to be able to hear that from the get-go, from the first few words. You're going to hear, "Okay, here's an actor. Now, what I like about this actor is that I can work with this actor." So maybe they didn't give the precise read that you were looking for at the time, but you know that they're an actor and that they'll be able to be directed. Exactly. And I think that's so important—best that you can come in with in your audition, to be armed with your acting skills, to showcase those acting skills, because all the other stuff we just have no control over.
10:25 - Jennifer (Host)
Exactly. Control what you can. You know, getting auditions in a timely—Anne, naming them properly, file naming. I always talk about like naming those.
10:34 - Anne (Host)
Like, why is that so difficult? I don't know. I come from a technology background. It always amazes me how many times people like don't understand how to name files when here's the convention and yet somehow. Right, just copy and paste it and then write your name.
10:50 - Jennifer (Host)
I don't know why, but I don't think actors realize that if they mislabel a file, it's going in the trash. That'll piss off somebody.
10:57 - Anne (Host)
I mean, like me, especially somebody that I'm handling a lot of files, right, and especially like if I have control over it, like you're not hired, and if you're going to argue with me about the name of that file, or if I gave you a confusing—no. I mean, sorry, just follow the following instructions.
11:12 - Jennifer (Host)
But yeah, I think that actors may not realize that if you are missing those little details, like not following the spec, or because you're just like running and gunning and just like, "I'm in a hurry, I'll just read the copy," or not connecting to the copy, or mislabeling the file, it's like that's going to get you booted out of the mix because there's just not enough time and people don't understand. "Oh, so I put my name before the client's name." It's like if you're in casting or you're producing, you're not just casting one thing. So if you put your name first before the client's name, I don't know what to do with this file. Or usually it goes into a database and so the database is just going to go, "I don't know what to do with this. Garbage." I think people just realizing like why it's so important could be helpful. So people just slow down a little bit and go, "Oh, what's the file convention?" That's it. That's my TED Talk on file name.
12:03 - Anne (Host)
There you go. I like that. Well, I'm right there with you on the file—I'm on the file name, I know, because you're dealing with hundreds of files, I know, right? I mean. So I touched upon this a little bit in your bio, which I think is so interesting, is that you studied comedy. Talk to us. And improv, of course, everybody always says, "Yes, improv, improv," yes, and improv, of course, is so important. But I also think comedy, too, is important, because this is just my outside looking in perspective, right? When we're listening, right, we need to command the attention of the audience. Right? Whether we're voicing a commercial or a corporate narration or whatever it is, we need to engage the attention of the listener and that is important. And I feel like comedy is absolutely one of those techniques that can be used to get people's attention and keep it, and I think it's important that if you have comedy in your script, that you can find it and you can execute it. So talk to us a little bit about that and the importance of comedy and improv.
12:58 - Jennifer (Host)
Definitely. Have you been seeing a lot of scripts or a lot of castings where it's like we want people with comedy and improv, even though they may not ask you to necessarily be super hilarious or improv, they're listening for a nuance? A nuance, exactly. Comedy is like very subtle, I think, in voiceover, because when I was producing on the agency side back in the day, comedy in commercials was a lot more prevalent. We had double copy. We very rarely have two characters talking anymore, so it was a little more like in your face kind of comedy.
13:33
Yeah, back and forth kind of. Yeah, back and forth, you could riff off the other person. Now we're pretty much just doing one person voiceover, so that comedy has to be layered in, but never steal from the actual hero—our product or our client. And I think a lot of times when we're newer as voice actors, we're going for the "yucks" like, and it's like, "No, that's going to get you also noticed for all the wrong reasons." So I think I agree with you entirely. It's got to be layered, it's got to be nuanced, and you have to be able to find it. Sometimes people when I'm coaching, they miss the joke. I'm like, "Do you see that there's like a little pithy wit here?"
14:10 - Anne (Host)
They're like, "No." I'm like, "Great." Or a play on words. And here's the thing too, you know, in writing scripts for demos and for my students, comedy is tough to execute in a certain time, like comedy is tough, especially if you're doing comedy writing in a demo. It's very tough to execute without sounding like a one-liner dad joke, right? Yeah, oh gosh, so true. And especially if you need to execute that time and just in a 30-second, 15-second commercial, to execute comedy and a sale at the same time is tough.
14:38
It's tough to do, it's really tough and so it does become very nuanced, right? And corporate, like when you get into like something longer, like corporate narration, you're not going to necessarily find too much humor, unless the brand itself doesn't mind making fun of itself, right? There's not many corporate—not many companies, I know, that make fun of themselves unless they have quirky products, right? If that's our corporate culture, great, but a lot of corporate is like, "No, very straightforward."
15:02
But they might have a nuance, right, and so I love the fact that, yes, if they're looking for that nuance and that is something that is it's maybe a nuance, right, and so I love the fact that, yes, if they're looking for that nuance and that is something that is it's maybe a note, it's a wink, it's a point of view that I think if you can execute and it only needs to happen like a little instant, then that to me, I can hear it right away and people can hear it right away.
15:23
They might not put their finger on it and say, "Oh, that was funny, like ha ha, knee slapping funny," yeah, but the execution of it is really it's key, and I think that comedy and improv is wonderful for people to have as a background in their acting skills. Yeah, I agree, comedy's tough. Did you perform like stand-up comedy?
15:42 - Jennifer (Host)
No, I actually took a couple. I'm like, "No, I'm a smart-ass," but that was tough. So I took—a friend of mine was teaching. She is a comic and she taught classes and I did two of her classes, and after the first class, she's like, "Okay, and you know, as you know, we're going to an open mic," and it was torture. It was brutal. Just a bar room full of people going, "Make me laugh," and I'm like, "This is hard."
16:11 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I can't imagine. I have a friend who did stand-up in Burbank. Right? Everybody's at Flappers. Everybody's at Flappers and, "Come see my show at Flappers," and if you want to feel challenged, I mean stand-up at a mic in front of an audience. That's like, "All right."
16:26 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, like just staring at you and you're sitting with the mic going.
16:29 - Anne (Host)
Make me laugh. But there's where I think, like the thinking fast on your feet is going to help you, and I think it's going to help you no matter what. I mean those of us who aren't necessarily doing comedy like stand-up comedy, but here we are in our booths and we're doing auditions, right? I think, if you have the time to evaluate and analyze your script and find the humor—I mean we have the luxury of some time of finding that humor and being able to execute upon that. I think if you can do that, if it's there in the copy, that's what you try to put up front and showcase.
17:02 - Jennifer (Host)
I always say I'm going to zag. If everyone else is going to zig, I'm at least going to zag appropriately, because they also don't want to be the actors like. "Well, I remember her for the reason that she went off the rails." It has to make sense.
17:15 - Anne (Host)
It has to make sense for the copy, right? And so I feel like that improv also, when I ask my students to create the scene, right? Be actors for a corporate narration that might be talking about investments or something that might sound dry. What is that story? Who are you talking to? Why does it matter?
17:31
You've got to be able to have that quick, like, let me create the scene and let me respond to it, right, and that just helps to enhance your script analysis, the speed at which you do that, and also if you're being asked live, like, "Give me an AB of that," or an "ABC of that."
17:45 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, how are we going to do that if you haven't created exactly scenario? I always think about how, in scene work and acting, we think about the moment before. Yes, and it's always because you'll hear actors, or I've heard this in auditions lots, where I'm listening to an audition, particularly when I was producing, it's like, "I don't even know why." I hear them saying the script. Why are they saying those words? Why are you even talking? It feels like you just sort of like dropped in cold and started talking, but I don't know why. Yeah, and I always can hear an actor who's a little bit more connected to the copy. Yeah, absolutely, and that's because they created some reason for talking in the first place.
18:21 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, they created a reason to say those first words. There's got to be a response or a reaction. I say that even for corporate copy, definitely.
18:29 - Jennifer (Host)
Even for e-learning.
18:30 - Anne (Host)
You know what I mean. Like you've got a student that just asked you a question and so otherwise, it sounds like to me, I'm always telling my students, it sounds like once upon a time I started a monologue.
18:39 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Yeah.
18:40 - Anne (Host)
And it just became like, "Oh, I picked this thought out of the air and I just started saying it."
18:44 - Jennifer (Host)
And there's no reason for it, and so it's weird how we can hear that, isn't that weird? It's like the microphone, sort of like picking up your thoughts, sort of like the camera records thought. That's why you've got to have something going on behind your eyes.
18:55 - Anne (Host)
I think it's like you can hear somebody reading, right, because there's a certain melody and—and I know there's got to be scientific evidence, right? There's a melody that we have when we read words and I know it very well because I'm always telling people to stop reading. Start talking.
19:08 - Jennifer (Host)
Stop reading. You sound like you're reading.
19:11 - Anne (Host)
And so there's a melody to just reading the words, and it seems to start at the same pitch, like, "Hi, I'm Anne, I started here once upon a time." I've heard casting talk about this.
19:21 - Jennifer (Host)
Voice casting agents will talk about this all the time. It's like, again, given a level playing field, the first people we're going to boot out of the running are people who sound like they're reading as opposed to talking, and it's a challenging skill set because we are literally reading scripts, but we're interpreting written speech into spoken speech, and it's a skill set. So it takes time. And I was thinking about how, whenever I'm auditioning for something, I think, well, I'd love to book it, of course, but I always think I'm not auditioning for this one, I'm auditioning for the next one, because, let's say, you know, I don't get selected for this one. I want you to remember me for the next one. So, something I do in this audition, I want to spark a little like, "Well, let's keep her in mind for something else down the road," because that's all I can control, absolutely, absolutely.
20:13 - Anne (Host)
Speaking of auditioning and being an active voice actor and a woman of a certain age, and I say that, you look amazing.
20:19 - Jennifer (Host)
Well, thank you, but let's face it. We've been in the business for a while, not a teenager.
20:25 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I cannot sound millennial, no matter what.
20:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
I do, even though I have a younger sounding voice.
20:29 - Anne (Host)
No, it's mostly in the attitude. But let's talk a little bit about having been in the community and been in the industry for a while. What's it like these days being a little bit older in this industry? How are you finding work? Is it plentiful? Are you finding?
20:42 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, I mean it's plentiful, but I still think that in general we're youth-oriented.
20:49
So if you're over a certain age, 40 or beyond. Oh, let's face it, I haven't seen 40 in a minute. Yeah, me either. And look at us, we're thriving. There we go. The voiceover industry is definitely very inclusive. It's getting more diverse all the time. Like when I was producing commercials, you most definitely had to sound a certain way, be of a certain demographic, and now we're hearing all sorts of wonderful, diverse voices. I still think there's room for us to include more voices that are definitely over 40. I'm still hearing people on the air where I'm like, "You don't sound old enough to tell me about retirement or having a baby."
21:27 - Anne (Host)
You sound like a kid. I always try to tell people I start with the product, because I feel like companies are going to promote their products to the demographic they can sell to.
21:38
So it starts there, right? So what sort of a product would you sell to a demographic of females over 40 or females over 50? And I feel like that's where it starts. I feel like the younger sounding. I think it's because the company is trying to expand their demographic to make more sales. I think that's where it starts anyways, because I'm always saying, "Well, the trend right now is a little bit towards more millennial, and that's just the way it is." But I feel like there are certain products that a millennial does not sound realistic.
22:04 - Jennifer (Host)
Talking about like Depends, right, or retirement or certain financial instruments or mortgages or things where it's like wouldn't you have to be a little older to be getting? An elder millennial, at least to talk about that.
22:17 - Anne (Host)
Go you elder millennials. It's hard to believe. I know that in automotive that was a big thing because with Uber and bosses out there, if you study like it's not hard to study, like demographics and marketing, right? I mean during the pandemic nobody was buying cars and younger people were not buying cars because they were really reliant on Uber and Lyft and the rideshare stuff.
22:38
And so car companies started really marketing hard towards younger people and that changes who they hire right to do their voiceovers, and so I think it's something, bosses, that you need to really like spend a few minutes every day studying the market that you want to sell into. Really, it's not hard, it's Google.
22:57 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, it's iSpot, Google. And.
23:00 - Anne (Host)
Google says that honestly, like you can just type in, like, you know, demographic, automotive demographics or, you know, trends, it's easy to find that out and that can help inform you educationally what you might be auditioning for, how you would respond to an audition, right? What is the company?
23:18 - Jennifer (Host)
Who are they targeting their sales to, or who you're, if you're doing direct marketing, which I think every voice actor should be doing, if you're directly marketing yourself to a client. It's like, do you vibe with that client? Are you appropriate for that client? So that's basically how I'm represented. I have talent agents across the country and it's very clear to me that my reps are very good about knowing what my wheelhouse is. So I do get a lot of healthcare, insurance, tech, things like that—healthcare, insurance, tech, things like that, because that's who I vocally appeal to.
23:53
It makes sense, and women have an enormous buying power because we make most of the household buying decisions in most households, and so, even though I still think the guys are doing about 60% of the commercial voiceover work, we're at 40%, so we're catching up, but I think companies are starting to realize that women's voices are appropriate for their products and they want to market to us. So I think we're doing better all the time. So, yeah, there's a lot of content out there.
24:22 - Anne (Host)
So I would say that, with all our wisdom, with all your wisdom—with our collective wisdom, with all our—no, with your wisdom. What would be your best tip for people that are just starting out today? Because the industry has evolved over the years and it has definitely changed. So today, if somebody's interested in pursuing voice acting, what do you say to?
24:41 - Jennifer (Host)
Them? Brand spanking new, I'd say, and I know people are like, "But you all are coaches, so of course you're going to say this," but I would say this even if I didn't coach it: it is a skill set. And so I think you've got to start with good training, and I tell my students this all the time: Get involved in the voiceover community, get your squad together, get an accountability group, a voiceover workout group. You and I were just at the Nava Gala. Is it Gala or Gala?
25:07 - Anne (Host)
Gala.
25:09 - Jennifer (Host)
I think Gala.
25:09 - Anne (Host)
Gala sounds more elegant.
25:11 - Jennifer (Host)
Nava Gala.
25:12 - Anne (Host)
We're the Nava Gala.
25:13 - Jennifer (Host)
And it's just, it's a constant reminder that when we're so isolated and working on our own, if we don't have community around us, this job is hard. It is. I love the voiceover community so much, and so we have a community around us. We're learning things, we're sharing things, and so I always suggest to people, they're like, "Oh, I don't know what to do. How do I help myself in this career?" I'm like, "Well, get good training and get involved in the community so that you're constantly learning from your peers." Or at least, because we're working by ourselves, it can feel a little lonely and isolating.
25:47 - Anne (Host)
Get some VO pals and get lifted up and listen to podcasts like the VO Boss podcast.
25:52 - Jennifer (Host)
Yes, please. Listen to VO Boss, listen to VO Boss, guys. I've been doing this for eight years now.
25:59 - Anne (Host)
Oh my gosh, it seems so forever. Eight years, amazing, every week.
26:03 - Jennifer (Host)
I love it. Oh, my goodness.
26:04 - Anne (Host)
Wow.
26:16 - Jennifer (Host)
So if bosses want to find out more about you, where can they find out more about you?
26:18 - Anne (Host)
I'm a busy kitty on the Instagram at Sims, my website, Sims. I'm busy there too, so, yeah, awesome, come see me. Well, Jennifer, it has been so much fun. I think we could probably talk for another hour or hours.
26:27 - Jennifer (Host)
It would be a delight, but I know you're booked and busy, so we'll get on to other things.
26:31 - Anne (Host)
But I thank you so much for spending your morning with me and bosses, make sure you look up Jen. Can I call you Jen? Jen?
26:40 - Jennifer (Host)
Yeah, go by Jen. Look up Jen. I want to say Jennifer. Jen.
26:42 - Anne (Host)
Check out Jen's website and check her out on her socials. Jen, check out Jen's website and check her out on her socials. Yes, please, bosses.
26:49 - Jennifer (Host)
Yes, absolutely.
26:56 - Anne (Host)
Thanks again, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTL.com. You guys have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye, bosses, you're the best.
27:06 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Are you looking to take control of your financial destiny as a voiceover artist and business owner? In this insightful episode of the VO BOSS Podcast, Bosses Anne Ganguzza and the lovely Danielle Famble delve into the critical importance of understanding your hourly rate across all your income streams. They share practical strategies for calculating your worth, optimizing your schedule, and confidently negotiating your fees to build a thriving and sustainable voiceover business.
00:03 - Speaker 1 (Announcement)
There's a voice revolution going on between podcasts, smart speakers, voice assistants, social audio. All these things are here to stay and there's more to come. What VO BOSS recognizes are the shifts in the industry, and they always get experts on to explain what's next and how talents can stand out.
00:25 - Anne (Host)
Hi, guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Are you looking to discover true happiness and fulfillment? My coaching services are here to help you find joy, overcome challenges, and live your best life. Let's take that first step towards happiness today. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started.
00:45 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO BOSS. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:04 - Anne (Host)
Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here again with the lovely Danielle Famble. Hey.
01:15 - Danielle (Guest)
Anne, so happy to be back. How are you?
01:18 - Anne (Host)
Oh, I'm doing good, Danielle. What are we talking about this morning? I have no clue.
01:24 - Danielle (Guest)
Honestly, same. I really have no clue, but we look good and we are here to talk about money, so we can figure it out.
01:32 - Anne (Host)
There we go. Well, you know, it's so interesting because if I don't schedule it in my calendar, right, it just, at this point, my calendar, I live by my calendar. I know I've mentioned that to you before, like, literally hourly. I schedule my time hourly, and it's funny because sometimes I have my students that want to get in coaching sessions with me and they get frustrated because my schedule is booked up, but if I don't put it on my schedule, like, it just doesn't get done.
01:57
And interestingly enough, my schedule has a lot to do with the hours I work and the amount of money I make per hour, and I think that it's so important because I can only schedule my coaching services for a certain amount of time a week.
02:12 - Danielle (Guest)
Right.
02:12 - Anne (Host)
Because at other times, I have to make sure I'm allocating that to my other income streams, right, and so I think it's always important to know, as a voice talent and as a business owner, what is your time worth per hour? Like, what is your hourly rate? How much money are you making per hour? Because that can tell you like, oh, I should spend a certain amount of time coaching and a certain amount doing voiceover, hopefully, because that's the value that we don't know. Like, that's not standard, we can't depend on that. There we go.
02:39 - Danielle (Guest)
When you know, like, your hourly rate, like what you're charging for, what you're bringing in, then you actually can figure out how you can grow it. So maybe you grow it by increasing your rate, or maybe you grow it by shifting your focus in those higher hourly buckets. So if it's a different genre or things that you're doing, maybe your day job pays you more per hour than a particular side hustle that you have.
03:02 - Anne (Host)
Oh, good point, yeah.
03:02 - Danielle (Guest)
You know how to spend your time. I am also very guilty of being the person who always needs to look at my calendar to figure out what I'm doing, because if it is not on my calendar, it's probably not getting done and probably got lost somewhere in the shuffle. But yeah, I mean, knowing how much your time is worth and how much you should be getting paid for working an hour is so helpful to be able to financially plan for what it is that you're wanting to do and how much money you're trying to bring in.
03:33 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, and as we entered into this podcast, going, hmm, what are we going to talk about? Had I not scheduled that time into deciding? Here's my schedule, right? So I need to schedule time to prepare my schedule, or to prepare, like, the topics we're talking about. Luckily, though, Danielle, you're just so easy to talk to. We can figure it out on the fly.
03:50
We can just spin off on, yeah, which is really good. But yeah, I found that it's so important. What are your highest paying income streams? Right, and so for me, voiceover, right, voiceover, depending, but what type of voiceover, right, exactly, it can be genre specific.
04:04
So that would be like voiceover commercial, right, it's the shortest amount of time that pays the highest. Next in line voiceover wise might be medical narration, right, because I have a higher rate. But then you've got to figure out, well, what's the frequency? Now, wouldn't it be great? I think a lot of times when people first get into this industry, they think, oh yeah, I want to do commercial work because I get paid the most doing that, or whatever it might be. But it's not every day that you're booking eight national commercials, if only, so you have to figure out the frequency at which that happens.
04:35 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
Yeah.
04:35 - Anne (Host)
And then schedule accordingly. Like, what do I get paid per hour coaching? What do I get paid per hour doing a demo? So I think that really understanding what your time is worth on an hourly basis and then being able to assemble, right, the optimal schedule that can get you the most.
04:53 - Danielle (Guest)
And also building in times when maybe you're not going for the most amount of money in that time.
05:00 - Anne (Host)
Maybe you're building in rest that I tend to like forget about. It's funny because I will forget to schedule or block a day, like, after a day of travel, right? Because I know that after a day of travel, my time clock is going to be all screwed up, especially in a creative sort of a way. I mean, yes, if a client says to me, can you do a voiceover right now? Yeah, I'll do everything I can to do that. However, getting that rest in so that I can mentally refresh to be the very best version and be more efficient with my time, yes, is absolutely something that you need to take into consideration is scheduling that time and scheduling, believe it or not, travel time. I'm always forgetting about travel time, especially when you have calendar systems that work for you. You can build in your buffer. Like, in between students, I build in a buffer of 10 minutes because, God forbid, once in a while I have to go to the bathroom.
06:20 - Danielle (Guest)
Or like drink a little bit of water, or stand up, or like walk around. You know, you got to be a human being.
06:26 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, exactly. So you have to schedule that time. But I found that I've had to do that and I'm always like, these days it's when I forgot to schedule in time to do this or travel time, or I forgot to schedule a few minutes for me to get back from Pilates class, right? Now, I've actually scheduled time for my health, which I think is so important. My Friday mornings I take two Pilates classes in a row and I can't start my day until a certain time.
06:52 - Danielle (Guest)
Two in a row is wild, and good for you, because, well, one's a stretch class. One is a stretch class.
06:58 - Anne (Host)
So I start off with like an actual Pilates class and the other is a Pilates stretch class, but it's stretching, by the way, can be very painful.
07:04 - Danielle (Guest)
It's really important. It's really important, as you get older, you have to move your body and stretch your body.
07:09 - Anne (Host)
And it's a workout too.
07:10 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, that's a hack, by the way, for those of y'all listening, make sure as you're getting older, don't forget to stretch.
07:17 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I think it's so important that you do physical things and you're physically fit to be your best in the booth too, because that requires mental and physical, believe it or not. I mean, especially when I talk. We've got to talk with our hands, we've got to be in the scene, and so there's a physical element to it. And darn it all, if these booths don't get hot for the most part, unless you've got that booth that has that quiet air conditioning system, which is like, I think that's something that we all as voice actors are like, ah, it's like, if only we could have, you know, and I have a nice ventilation system.
07:50
However, depending on the type of voiceover that I'm doing, I work in a certain size space and I talk, right, and that's energy that's creating, and there has to be an exhaust, right, and if you have an exhaust, then that's like a hole that external noises can come in. So there's always that delicate balance. But I digressed on that tangent. But being fit, I don't get as hot, so it helps me because I can maintain. That's a whole other podcast. But being fit can help you in all aspects of your business.
08:22 - Danielle (Guest)
That's a really important point, because this year I, due to health circumstances, made sure to buffer my time and put into my calendar more time for physical fitness, for going out, just leaving the booth, leaving my apartment, even for walks in the evening, whatever it is.
08:43
I for a long time did not make sure to prioritize that and my health started to suffer. And then my work started to suffer because I wasn't resting. I wasn't able to really show up and be the VO BOSS in the booth that I was wanting to be, because I hadn't prioritized other things that maybe were not bringing in as much financial benefits, but were having huge ramifications in my business, because I had not put the time and the energy into making sure that physically I could stay in tip-top shape. So it's not always about blocking out the time for what's bringing in the money. It's also for making sure that the instrument that we use, our body, our mind, our voice, our instrument, can be as great as it can be, because we have done other things that are not necessarily bringing in financial benefits, but we are taking the time to really like, pour into our instrument and pour into ourselves.
09:38 - Anne (Host)
Well, that's our product, right? So our product, because it's such a personal part of us, I mean, we're not making a physical product necessarily. Obviously, our voice is our product and so everything that goes into having a good voice and being mentally and physically prepared counts. That's got to be put into your hourly time clock for what that is, and I really believe scheduling that time is important. So then, with the hours that you have left, right, what is it that brings you a certain amount of money per hour? And then what is it that you need? So really, I think, if you sit down with like a schedule, right, and just say, all right, here I'm doing auditions, so is auditioning bringing me in money? Right, but maybe booking is bringing me money, and so it's really interesting to figure out, like, what your worth is on an hourly rate when you're deciding upon, should I invest that time in auditioning or should I invest that time in pursuing my coaching, or should I pursue my dream genre? How much time should I allocate to that?
10:39 - Danielle (Guest)
Oh, I love that. I love that because you're making decisions based on data. You're making decisions based on hard numbers, and that makes it a little bit clearer, instead of what you think you should be doing or what you're hearing that other people are doing, you are making decisions, data-based decisions, which is exactly what a VO BOSS, what an entrepreneur, should be doing.
10:58 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, absolutely. So you've got to take the numbers that are certainty, right, and you can guesstimate, like, if you receive jobs, like, I think that's the biggest thing that is out of our control. If we get a job, or you know what I mean, if we book the job, then we need to dedicate the time to do that. So maybe, in terms of how you're growing your business, are you going to do something else on the side, right? How much money will that bring in? It amazes me the amount of students that are coming to me part-time, right, they have a full-time job, that don't know their hourly rate, don't know their hourly rate that they get paid at their corporate job, and I'm like, you really should figure that out, because when you're trying to make those decisions, should I do this full-time, part-time? I mean, there's going to be that transition time where you're going to have to start building up business, building up repeat customers, because those would be the customers that you can depend on. Okay, this income is coming in, so my hourly rate will change for that.
11:50 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, and your hourly rate. We've already said this a little bit, but it can be genre specific. Yes, so Maria Pendolino likes to call it your pick up the mic fee. So whatever is like your baseline of what you will go into your studio, turn on your computer and like, do the work. What is that minimum? So you know, actually, if they're falling below your personal minimum pick up the mic fee, then it may not be worth your time. Maybe you can do other things like rest or doing physical fitness, or spending time with your family, or marketing or auditioning or whatever else that you need to be doing. You know the minimum amount that you would like to make her job or just at any moment to bring you into the booth. You know that minimum and then that actually helps you be able to say yes or no to projects as they come along.
12:39
But they are going to be genre specific. The amount of money that I make doing a 15 second national commercial is not going to be the same amount of money that I make when I'm doing an e-learning project, but I do know that the minimum to bring me into this booth to close the door and to like start talking and do what I need to do is X, and if it's not hitting X, then the answer for me probably is going to be no, or I know that I'm saying yes to it given other circumstances, and that's totally fine too.
13:10 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I may be different right now for you bosses out there that are only concentrating on voiceover, but when you have different avenues and you have different income streams, like, for example, everybody knows, I have the VO BOSS podcast because I'm on it. There's an income stream for VO BOSS, there's an income stream for VO Peeps, which I also run, and there's an income stream for Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions.
13:28
And so I know, for an event that I put on for VO Peeps, I want to make a certain amount of profit, and so, therefore, I have to determine what am I going to pay my guest director, what am I going to pay to my assistants to promote it, right, on social media? So there's a cost for all of that. And then so there's a number that I want to hit. There's amount of sales that I want to hit so that I can make a profit, or I can make the profit that I want to make for my monthly goal. So I literally have that, and those are actually easy to calculate, because those numbers are like, well, I know I need to make this. Now, how am I going to sell that many tickets, right? Well, I need to pay my assistants to help me market it through email, through social media, and so you just kind of run it down that way.
14:10
And then for VO BOSS, right? So I pay out a lot of money to produce this podcast, right? What do I need in order to support? You know what it costs on a yearly basis to host it on its own website? What do I need to pay my assistants to create the webpages that do the show notes? What do I pay the monthly subscription fee for, believe it or not, Riverside, which is how I record it, and Riverside does some transcripts for me. It does some YouTube shorts for me automatically.
14:39
So all of that stuff is calculatable, and so I love being able to have the different avenues of income and streams of income, because those are ones I can depend on and they're more concrete than getting a voiceover job, because that's the unknown, right? So I have a certain amount of time that I'm spending trying to acquire that voiceover job. I'm marketing, I'm doing direct marketing, I'm auditioning, and then I don't know if I get it. Then, believe it or not, that takes precedence over everything. I mean, voiceover is my highest paying per hour, and so, yeah, ultimately, if I didn't want to do all these other things like coaching and my VO BOSS podcast, I would spend all of my time marketing and dedicating myself to voiceover, because that's my highest paying per hour rate, and so that to me makes sense. However, I like to have multiple avenues in case there are those fluctuations in the market, which there are.
15:29 - Danielle (Guest)
What I like about what you just said was you basically are able to reverse engineer your hourly based on numbers you are able to look at. Okay, this is how much I need to make. So therefore, I need to sell this number of seats to an event, or I need to have this much in sponsorships for the podcast, or what have you. I love that, because then it takes away from, oh well, I'm not really sure, or I'll go to this rate guide and use this number that was provided for me, because it may or may not be the right number for you, using the rate guide for an example.
16:07
It is a guide. It may be that the numbers that you see there may align with what your number needs to be that you can hit. What you can do is you can look at a lot of your expenses. You can look at what does it cost to run the business of you on a monthly or annual basis, and then you can actually calculate, okay, I want to spend this much time in the booth, or I want to spend this much time doing auditions, and you can actually calculate what you need so that that number is specific to you and then you know it. It doesn't necessarily need to be something that you put on your website, but when someone asks you how much would you quote for X, you are able to calculate your time, because your time has a lot of value, what is generally acceptable in the market, and then you can kind of give the number that is right for you and your business and your life.
16:57 - Anne (Host)
Absolutely. And you know, I know that I kind of opened up that part of the discussion by saying, well, maybe I'm different, but in reality, we're all entrepreneurs. I mean, I love the different individual income streams that I have, and I encourage you, as bosses, to have those multiple income streams because, I mean, I'm not special. I mean, I literally just said, oh, I want to do this, and so, therefore, how am I going to be making money of this? If I wasn't making money off of, let's say, my other brands, then I would reconsider, well, are they worth it, right, are they worth it for me to continue? And how will I move forward from this point on? And so, bosses, man, I mean, the world is your oyster.
17:35
I mean, you are entrepreneurs. You can have any other income stream you want and really reverse engineer it just the same way I did. I mean, you could literally be like, okay, my first love is voiceover, and I want to do that. But also, you know what, I actually love shopping, like, I love grocery shopping, so I'll do Instacart, so that might be another income stream, right, or whatever other things that you love and you're interested in doing. Figure out, okay, maybe being an Uber driver is something. I know a lot of people that do that for money and they love it because they love driving, and so you can listen to lots of podcasts while you're driving, by the way, and so you could be doing double duty, like, educating yourself by listening to Danielle and I on your route. So figure out, like, okay, what am I making per hour for my Uber, right, services, and what am I making per hour for whatever my Instacart or whatever else you're doing? It doesn't have to just be voiceover.
18:23
Mine just happened to be voiceover related because they were things I wanted to do. I literally just said, oh, I want to be on the radio. You know what? The closest thing to that is a podcast. Yeah, let me see what that takes, right? And now I said, wow, it cost me money for this podcast, much more than I originally thought. How can I make some of that investment back? Right, how can I do that? And so I came up with the VO BOSS Blast. I came up with sponsorship options, I came up with ads that play, and so ultimately, it becomes a marketing venue for me. So lots of different ways, bosses, that you can work in your hourly rate and figure out what it is that you're making, and if you get so many rides from Uber, you know how much money you're making. I mean, that's concrete, it's there.
19:06 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, that's. The great thing about numbers is that it is concrete and you know how much that you can expect to make, and then you can figure out what to do with that money. Maybe it is staying within voiceover, but maybe it's looking at different genres that you're not usually working in, and you can calculate a higher hourly rate for a different genre and then use it that way to scale your business. So there's so many different ways to do it. I do love that you said to be creative and figure it out, because it doesn't have to be what you are seeing everybody else do. Your business is yours and you can make these decisions and you can choose how much you are getting paid. There's a lot of power in that. When you've taken the reins and said, okay, this is my floor, you can make so much more money in deciding how you want to diversify your time and diversify your hourly rate with maybe different genres or different ways to bring in money. I love that.
20:01 - Anne (Host)
And how exciting is that?
20:03 - Danielle (Guest)
Danielle, it's incredibly exciting.
20:04 - Anne (Host)
Right. You said like, literally it's you, you're in control. Yeah, bosses, I want you to just sit there with that for a minute. You are in control of your business, of your destiny. Yeah, and so many people get so preoccupied with what other people are doing. This is your business. How exciting is that? You have, literally, you can do anything you want. I mean, really. I mean, if you're going to sit back in an intelligent and figure out, okay, I really would like to do this, how can I achieve income? How can I?
20:29 - Danielle (Guest)
How can I achieve income? How can I? That's a really important question to ask yourself, because when you ask yourself, how can I do it, you, as a creative, will probably be able to figure it out, and you're not waiting for somebody else to give it to you.
20:43 - Anne (Host)
It's so empowering. It's so empowering. I often say, having worked in corporate before and in education, honestly, like, I could never go back to working for someone again. To be quite honest, I mean, outside of working for a client for a brief amount of time, in which point I do it and they pay me and I'm out, I'm in, I'm out, I get paid. I love that. So what would be your recommendations on somebody, like, what would be their steps to sit down and figure out their hourly rate? What would you suggest they do first?
21:14 - Danielle (Guest)
I would look at what you're currently working on, because again, it's probably going to be genre specific. So if you're doing a lot of non-broadcast narration, for example, you're talking about corporate narration or medical narration, figure out how much of that work you're actually currently doing and how much are you typically charging for that, so you know your non-broadcast hourly rates. And then you can also take a look and see if you're doing commercials, for example, if you're doing like TV and radio commercials, how much are you typically getting for that? And then what can you do to affect those numbers? You can raise your rates if it's non-broadcast. You can start doing more direct marketing, for example, maybe to find and bring in more clients. You can streamline your process. Maybe that is bringing in an editor. That's going to cost you money, but then you can kind of buffer and build that in.
22:08
But look at what you're currently doing, look at how much you're currently charging, and figure out what you can do about it. The easiest thing, it's not easy, easy, but it is something that you can do pretty quickly is increasing your rates. I mean, it's the end of the year. Rate increases are pretty normal for a lot of businesses. So take a look and see. Have you increased your rates in the last year, two, three years? If not, now's the time to do that. Maybe it's your cost per word for e-learning, something, anything, and you can make incremental changes that way, which will have huge benefits for your business.
22:42 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, there's something to be said for the whole end of year, increasing your rates, even in times of hardship and bad economy. Right, you've also got to take that into effect, like what's the market rate, but you can increase your rate in a way that's not like obscene or it's not like a big jolt to your client. And a lot of times I'll preface, I have not raised my rates for five years and so I'm happy to have you continue as a client. However, I need to raise my rates. That is like a whole bold move, but it is something that you can absolutely do, because people raise their rates. I mean, companies raise their rates all the time. I see it, they raise their prices, and so you can do that. Just be careful, you don't want to make it too much of a price change so that it will jolt your customers into saying, I can't afford that. And even if they do say that, the cool thing about working with clients is that you can always like negotiate.
23:34
You can always backtrack and say, you know what, I've always loved working with you. Perhaps we can come to an agreement. And sometimes you do have to like. I mean, I've had it where a client says, I absolutely cannot pay any more than I am right now, and I'll say, you know what, I really love working with you, and I'll make that decision whether it's going to be worth my hourly rate to continue working with them or if it's time to say goodbye. And there have been times that I have said goodbye, and it's okay because it allows me my time back so that I can make more money per hour.
24:03 - Danielle (Guest)
And if you bring in a new client that is paying this higher rate, then it kind of becomes like self-cleaning, in a way. And that's really great. It's a great way to increase your rates as time goes on. Another really great way to increase your rates is to get really comfortable with negotiating and understanding how to negotiate effectively.
24:22 - Anne (Host)
Can I say that enough?
24:24 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, that's a really great way. And then you can figure out what your new hourly rate would be and you can negotiate based on what you know that to be, or, as Maria said, your pick up the mic fee. You can just make sure that you're hitting that standard minimum every single time.
24:39 - Anne (Host)
Absolutely. And, like I said, concrete data is great data to reverse engineer, to understand that hourly worth. So, for example, like as I mentioned to you, commercial work for me is my highest paying work. Right after that comes medical narration, after that comes corporate narration and e-learning, because I charge the same. So I have a rate guide that I have a base knowledge of. Here's what I charge, right? And of course, I always promote GVAA rate guide and the rate guides that are out there to go for benchmarks and know that they're just benchmarks.
25:08
You can always adjust and, knowing this, saying, okay, I make the most of my money for non-broadcast narration on medical, perhaps I want to up my marketing in that genre, right, how can I get in front of the people who can hire me so that I can make that money? And so that might be. You're going to have to figure that into. Well, I might have to spend an extra hour marketing, and again, I can sacrifice that because I have my Uber on the side, which is bringing in money so that I can do that, or I can increase my Uber hours if I can't, or I can maybe rely less on one and then increase the other. So it's constantly, I think a balancing act, Danielle, it is. Right.
25:47 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
In terms of.
25:47 - Anne (Host)
Okay, how can I do this? And so you should, first of all, have an idea of what you're worth. You should establish that number, right? So figure out what it is that you're getting paid the most for, and so, like, I'll do, like, a per hour rate of $1,500 to $1,700 for a medical, non-broadcast narration, right? Breaking that down, that's a pretty high yield, right? So then what is my coaching rate? Okay, so my coaching rate is $200 per hour, or you know what I mean. So how much coaching do I need to do per week? Or how much do I need to do to bring in? I usually like to think of it in terms of monthly, because I know that I have a certain figure that I like to achieve at the end of the year. Break it down to the monthly and then break it down to weekly, and sometimes weekly is tough because of the uncertainty of VO jobs, the cyclical nature of how things go, yeah.
26:33
Yeah, but then there are certain things that I know that every month, I do an event for VO Peeps and I'm going to make this amount of profit, right? Every month I have a subscription to this and so that's going to cost me this much, or I have people sending me money for a subscription, and so maybe I need to increase my marketing to get my subscriptions up, right, people subscribing to VO Peeps, that kind of a thing. So there's so many things that are good and concrete, and repeat clients are also. They're better than non-repeat clients, aren't they?
27:01
Because we can almost rely on them, we know what rate we're getting from them, and so it's easier to kind of juggle those numbers around. And then there's the uncertainty of the audition. Are we going to get the gig? And if we get the gig, do we have a client? Can we turn that client into a return client? So there's all the uncertainties. So you leave a certain amount of hours to handle that, right, to handle that. And if that's not happening in those hours, then you work towards maybe increasing your marketing to that, so it's not just like, I'm making the money. You got to have, I think, a certain amount of hours where you're spending the time working on always marketing or auditioning, trying to achieve those numbers.
27:40 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, I love that because it gives you a machine that's kind of like bringing in the next client and then you know what to do when it goes through your pipeline of actually booking or onboarding that client or trying to find more clients like the ones that you're currently working with. It gives you something that's like always working in the background and then what you're currently doing, and you can figure out how to tune your rates to maximize whatever is coming through that pipeline. That's right.
28:08 - Anne (Host)
Good stuff, good stuff, Danielle, yeah. All right. Bosses, go out there and figure out what you're doing, figure out how much you're making per hour, depending on what division of your company that you're working in. So what are you making in commercial, what are you making in non-broadcast narration, what are you working in other income streams? And then plan accordingly and negotiate, yeah, and negotiate, absolutely. All right. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. Find out more at IPDTL.com. We love ipDTL.
28:41 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
You guys have an amazing week, and we will see you next week. Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry-revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via ipDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides dive into how to cultivate hope and resilience in the ever-evolving voiceover industry. Their inspiring conversation explores discovering your strengths, overcoming challenges, and taking action to achieve your dreams. They emphasize the importance of self-love, nurturing your community, and understanding your true purpose to remain joyful and hopeful. Anne and Lau share practical strategies for educating yourself on industry trends, adapting your marketing approaches to reach diverse clients, and even exploring self-production to build your skills and discover new passions. By embracing change and leveraging your entrepreneurial spirit, they empower voice actors to not just survive, but truly thrive and build the best year ever in their careers.
00:02 - Anne (Host) Hey, are you looking to unlock a better you? My Life Transformation Coaching Services are here to help. We'll work together to discover your strengths, overcome your challenges, and achieve your dreams. Let's take that first step towards your best self today. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started.
00:23 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:42 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with my absolutely wonderful friend and lovely co-host, Lau Lapides. Hey, Annie. Hello, I'm excited to be back.
Hello Lau. I love chit-chatting, and you know what, it's been so long. I know, and we're here at the top of another year. Well, actually, a few months into another year, and I'll tell you what, it's been a little turbulent in a lot of ways. Gosh, I've had a lot of friends who have had some health issues. It's a new administration out there. The voiceover industry is still fighting against synthetic voices and AI, and I think let's talk about what's happening in the industry and what maybe our predictions are for this year, because I am determined and committed to have the best year ever.
01:33 - Lau (Guest) Oh, I love that. I mean, I just went to see a theater show, a professional theater show, in Connecticut. That was a big topic of conversation: how do we have hope? How do we still have hope in what we do as people in the world and also in our professions, and really coming in with that mindset, despite all odds, despite what's happening, despite whatever oppression you're feeling and moving through, how do we find hope in what we do? I'd love to hear, you know, start out with some of those mechanics of like how do I wake up and get hopeful about our profession? I love that.
02:10 - Anne (Host) What a great way to start. I love that. So I think that, now more than ever, we need self-love, right? We need self-love, we need to find the things that we're grateful for in our lives, and we need to have our community, and that, I think, is going to help us continue to have hope. I mean, I feel like those are the three necessary things that I need for me to remain joyful and be hopeful and continue to see progress in everything that I do and have a purpose, right? I really think that understanding what is your true purpose in life, finding your true purpose—which I think might be a lifelong search—but I have a good idea of what I think my purpose is and what I want to do in my lifetime, and I try to keep my eye on that mission, and that keeps me, along with people who I love and who love me, and that keeps me hopeful.
03:06 - Lau (Guest) That's great. I also feel like the next step for me is to start with that and then to take action. Because for me, I'm very much an action-based, execution-based person. So I wouldn't be happy staying in a zone where I have a thought, I'm excited about the thought, or I'm connected to something larger than myself. I'm really investigating that thought, but now I want to do something.
03:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and in that action, now you have to execute. Now you have to execute. I love that. I think that's a natural progression for anybody that wants to realize their goals is that you can write them down. All you want, right, but you've got to take steps and have action. You've got to take steps.
03:49 - Lau (Guest) So in our industry, that is the question: how do I go ahead and take a step every single day, whatever is going on in the industry? We see a lot of moves and changes in the industry. How do I take a step every day towards being hopeful and towards being optimistic and towards really something that's action-based? That's the question of the day.
04:12 - Anne (Host) Well, I think number one, if we step back and we take a look and we realize that we are indeed not just creatives, but we are entrepreneurs, we are business builders. First of all, take solace and give yourself props and be prideful in the fact that you are a business entrepreneur. And bar none, if the voiceover industry dropped tomorrow, right, you are an entrepreneur, you are a business owner, you know how to take something from nothing and build it, right? Because that's what you're doing now, building your voice acting career. And wherever you are in the journey, you just have to realize what an entrepreneur you are. And so, no matter what it is that you do, right, you can build your business and move forward in it, or move forward in it. There are always choices.
04:59 And so that's number one: stepping back and looking at it, I think, from the larger perspective and the fact that we have built skills, not just in our voices, not just in acting, but in our business acumen, and that is helpful, right? And so if voice acting kind of takes a dip, right—and I don't honestly, it's not—I really believe that, I don't think that it's going anywhere, I think it's right where it always has been and might even be more important this year. But for whatever reason, we always have to have like what's our plan B? I mean, this is why I always like to have like my different side hustles, side gigs. We've talked about that multiple times. So looking at that picture and there's my hope, right, I've got skills beyond voice acting that can help me to survive no matter what happens, right?
05:46 No matter what happens, no one can take that away from me. No one can take away my education, no one can take away my intelligence, no one can take away my work ethic, right? And that, to me, gives me hope.
06:00 - Lau (Guest) You go, girl. I love that, my resilience. You know, I think you're talking about too, Annie, something that's really important, and that is when we hone in and we GPS into our career. I think we do forget that we're whole people. Yeah, we're whole people that have a lot of skills.
06:16 - Anne (Host) We don't just have one skill. A lot of craft, no, no, no, we can do an awful lot of things. Now.
06:25 - Lau (Guest) We love to call it side hustle, but it may not be a side hustle. It may be an integral part of your life, your business, your world, that makes you feel whole, that makes you feel stabilized. You know, oftentimes with actors, we'll call it a survival job, but it may not be that. It may be something that helps you build your world. So I think that's important. I also think you should be looking at the market. You and I are always like, what's happening?
06:46 What's competition doing? What's this one doing? What's happening here? What are the trends?
06:51 - Anne (Host) Right, very important.
06:53 - Lau (Guest) But what's important about doing that, besides the logistical stuff, is to inspire yourself, sure.
07:01 - Anne (Host) If.
07:01 - Lau (Guest) I can't think of anything else. Like I am really out of thoughts today. I feel burned out, which is very common now. Entrepreneurial burnout. I don't have any more to give. I've been doing this a long time. I don't know what's going on. Ah, let me go into the world and let me see what others are doing to inspire me.
07:17 - Anne (Host) Oh yeah, I love that. Get outside my bubble.
07:19 - Lau (Guest) Goodness, there's. So not to be a copycat, but to feel like there's a lot of options, there's a lot of ways of thinking about what we do. I'm just stuck like a writer. A writer gets writers, they get stuck, writer's block, writer's block, right, and they have no more ideas, or so they think. And then some action gets them unstuck and opens up the floodgates.
07:40 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. Go on a vacation, go people-watch in New York City or, you know, that kind of—I used to do that all the time—to step outside of your bubble, and that will help you to really get that mind going. So I'm going to say that number one, there's so many things that we can do for ourselves to continually see success and find fulfillment in what we do. Continually see success and find fulfillment in what we do, and I think if voice acting is it for you, right, don't forget about continually building up your business skills and don't forget about, like as we just talked about, educating yourself and really going out there and understanding what the trends are. Now there's been a big shift in the administration, right? How is that going to affect sales of companies? How is that going to affect advertising? There's so much we can go out there and learn, right, and we don't know it all right away. I don't know it all right away, but I can certainly see that there's probably going to be trends.
08:34 Now, depending on what we're talking about, in the corporate world, we're going to be talking slightly differently. A few years ago, what was a big trend was DEI, and no matter what you think about DEI—diversity, equity, inclusion—how are people going to be talking about that today? How are people in the energy industry going to be talking? Is it going to be sustainability these days? Is it going to be alternative energy or is it going to be fracking? And again, like I'm saying, understanding—you don't always have to be in agreement with these things—but understanding where the trends are going and how companies are speaking.
09:08 If you want to work in that world, right, you have to at least be educated on how that world wants to talk to its clients or potential clients, because you will be representing that world with your voice.
09:21 And so, again, I'm not suggesting that you have to agree with any of it. But again, that's also like what is your moral compass? Would you work for a company that maybe is no longer concerned about sustainability or that's not in their agenda? I mean, there's so many people going back and forth on different companies that, based upon their policies, right, "Oh, I don't want to buy from this company anymore because they no longer support this particular idea or this particular policy," and so that's okay. I've had so many people are like, "I don't want to look, I can't," and they want to like shy away, but I'm going to tell you, look enough so that you can be educated, right, because you got to survive. You got to survive in this world, and I'm very, very confident that you will be able to survive in this world. But you have to remain educated and informed.
10:04 - Lau (Guest) Great advice, Annie, great advice. And you know, it's interesting, I had a talent I was coaching the other day and she said, "I'm very interested in medical, I want to do medical work, I'm interested in that, I have a background." I said, "Great!" I simply hopped on Google with her. I hopped on Google with her and I looked up and, sure enough, and she said, "I can't get into it. It's very hard to get into. I've been trying to knock down the doors. I don't know how to direct market. I'm stuck." Now. That is not my forte. And I was honest with her. I said that's not my forte. But let's have fun together, let's go on Google. We looked it up and what did we find? We found two sites, sort of like an Indeed ZipRecruiter-type site, specifically for voiceover, for medical narration. And she started in that rabbit hole and she went down. She said, "Oh, my goodness, that was like the simplest thing to do and I had already self-talked myself out of it before I even tried the most basic things." And she got into it and it was a casting site and da-da-da, da-da-da. And then that opened up her whole world to potential clients.
11:08 So why not go for a genre that you want to be going for and take new angles to how you find your information out? Don't go the same route you go every day. Try a new route. That's the feng shui of the soul, isn't it? They say if you drive to work this way, take a new route so that you can feel differently. If you drive to work, or you drive anywhere, take a new route. Well, this is the same thing. If I'm marketing and I tend to do the same thing all the time because I know it and I'm comfortable, go a different route.
11:37 - Anne (Host) And shameless plug, because medical is one of my specialties. There are ways that you've got to be seen by the people who can hire you, people who can hire you, and I do have a VO Boss Blast that has specific lists that can cater just for agencies and companies that work in healthcare and in pharmaceuticals. So there are lots of ways that can help and so just I'm throwing that out there. So if anybody's interested in medical and wants to find out how to market to them, I can absolutely chit-chat about you.
12:03 - Lau (Guest) And right, but I think the point is is like yes, you found a new way, Google.
12:08 - Anne (Host) I love Google, and I'll tell you what. I will be completely—a Chat GPT, sorry, Chat GPT, is a great answer of hey, tell me what's trending, but you have to have a professional version because it's now up to date or it can be as close up to date, so it's becoming a search engine. But Google is wonderful.
12:32 - Lau (Guest) Again, that's why they call me Anne Gang Google. You can Google anything.
12:33 - Anne (Host) I didn't know. They called you that. That's funny, Anne Gang Google, that's great.
12:35 - Lau (Guest) I love it.
12:35 - Anne (Host) So that's a wonderful thing. So, yeah, make sure that you educate yourself and stay informed. Don't stay in your little bubble, because that's going to help you. I mean, long ago, when I worked in technology, it was one of the things that you had to just be out there educating yourself on all different styles of technology, whether you like them or not, or thought they worked or not. It just was something. So it's always good to be more educated. So, so, absolutely, so important. That's the one thing that I have when you say to me, "Okay, Anne, when you've lost all hope, what do you have?" Well, I have my community. Lost all hope. What do you have? Well, I have my community, I have my family, I have love, and I have me, I have my intelligence and I have my desire to want to know more and to learn more, and that nobody can take away from me, right?
13:15 - Lau (Guest) And there's one more thing that's important, and I always bring this up. Mama always brings this up. You got to work your fanny off. Yes, because I'm tired of hearing people whining and complaining and being victims like, "I'm not getting anything and there's enough work." I'm like, no, you're not working hard enough, because there's plenty of work out there. You got to find it, you got to get it. You got to work at it, right, Annie? You have to go after it. They're not going to come after you. You have to go after it.
13:44 - Anne (Host) And the stories you tell yourself also. They're a big deal. "I can't, I just can't. I'm not, I'm not enough, or I'm not good enough, or I don't know where to look, or I can't." All that negative self-talk does not help you at all, believe it or not. I mean?
13:59 - Lau (Guest) And what if you are on Annie Gang Google's search site and you look up voiceover talent in your area or not? Either way is fine, and they are in your range. Maybe they're female, they're in a certain age range, and you look at them and you see what they're doing and you see who their clients are, because you can go right to their websites and you're going to go and you're going to go, "Oh, I want to do that, I want to work in that. I never would have sat here and thought that up on my own, but now I see this fabulous woman that I found somewhere in Texas is doing all the things that I want to do," and then you make a list of all the companies she's worked with, and then you create a fabulous letter for those companies. And then you look up all the email addresses at that company, and then you send that fabulous letter to that company. What are the chances that someone from that company may ping you back and say, "Hey, yeah, we kind of work with voiceover talent. Who are you?"
14:56 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. Well, and I know, marketing is never an easy task, guys. It just isn't, and again, remember.
15:03 Remember, there are multiple ways. How is marketing changing this year, right? And it's funny, because I did a lecture for a college class the other day and I said to them, "How do you like to communicate? If you were in voiceover today and you had a business, how would you like to find your potential clients? Or how would you communicate or reach out to your potential clients?" Not one of them. They said, "Well, we hate email, text." And I'm like, "Okay, that's fine for you and maybe everybody else.
15:28 Your age, however, you got to realize where are these potential clients? Some of them are older than you. Some of them have different methods of communication that they prefer. I mean, ultimately, in 20, 30 years, you'll all be the same age and you'll all—we'll all evolve to that method of communication.
15:43 But right now, if you're trying to get work in the corporate world and you're trying to get in with a company that has someone who might be, you know, in their 60s managing the company, they might prefer email.
15:56 They might prefer a method of communication that's not just text or pick up the phone are something that I think that every voice actor needs to understand and get on board with, that you are dealing with people in business who are very different.
16:15 There's lots of people that, yes, they do a lot of work via text, but a lot of people do work via groups, Microsoft Teams, Zoom meetings. There's so many ways.
16:25 Pick up the phone, talk to somebody, and, really, if you are uncomfortable with one method and you want to work in an area where you might be working with people from all different ages, all different styles, you need to get familiar with those methods and that, I think, is important again for you to stay afloat this year to be able to communicate with all different types of people, with all different styles of communication and hiring, really, and hiring methods, and so that is something that if you're not on board with, if you're like, "Nah, I don't want to email," or "I hate email and I think it's stupid," honestly, there's a bunch of people that still use email quite a bit, and especially now that maybe social media is kind of scattered everywhere.
17:12 Now it may not be as easy now on social media. Remember, we lost TikTok for less than 24 hours and the world panicked, right? All these people who had put all their eggs in one basket. So don't put all your eggs in the texting basket if you're young, right, as a means of communication or getting work, right? There's multiple ways that you can get work, multiple ways you can communicate and make your product known to people.
17:36 - Lau (Guest) That's great advice. It's so client-centered, which I love about it, and I think whole generations of people need to keep that aware of that. The mode of communication you need to keep open, whether it's a telephone, a text, an email, a DM. You need to keep that open and what your client or your rep is comfortable with is ultimately what you have to get comfortable with, and most agents do not want you texting them. They're going to work on email.
18:01 If you don't want to work on email, you're not going to be able to get reps. It's as simple as that, right? If you don't check your email.
18:07 - Anne (Host) You could lose out on jobs. If you don't check your voicemail, believe it or not. I mean, I have people that leave me voicemail still, and it's one of those things. I'm like, "We've gotten so much. We've been bombarded." Email, voicemail, text, and spam, right, because people are trying to get in touch with us, and so make sure you're checking your spam as well to make sure somebody hasn't reached out to you that wants a potential connection to maybe offer you a job, and not only that, but if you don't like email, you're really in trouble, because agents will expect you to answer within a reasonable amount of time, which is a matter of hours, not days, on email, so you can miss out on that job.
18:55 And you have to be adept at utilizing technology when you're submitting auditions. You have to make sure that you understand how to submit an audition. We've run our audition demolition multiple times. I'm running now a scholarship submission where people are like, "I don't know how to submit," and I'm like, "Well, you've got to read the instructions." So, guys, get yourself familiar with all different styles and ways of communicating and handling files and audio and that sort of thing. Now, Lau, we talked about first of all, like making sure that we're educated on different styles, on different trends. What do you think is going to be big this year? Is there a genre that's going to stand out? Are they all going to be similar to how they were last year? What do you think?
19:34 - Lau (Guest) That's a really good question. I think one of the things that I've seen more and more of as a commercial agent is I've seen more and more really fun and creative advertising campaigns that have come in the last, even in the last couple of years, that I would gather are going to come this year as well. Like, for instance, I've seen more animation. I've seen more of that character style come into the commercial world, which is really interesting because it's so oppositional to what we've been saying about be real, be relatable, be this, be that, which is predominantly, yes, still there, but we're also seeing these characters come in.
20:10 Like, if you notice, watch commercials, you'll see a lot of animals, tons and tons and tons and tons of animals. In commercials, the animals typically have personas of people, have personas of people, and whether they're speaking in their natural, everyday voice or whether they're doing a character sound, there's just a lot of it. There's more of it. So what's coming across my desk is just more character and more animation. Even in the pharmaceutical world, we're seeing a lot more exciting, dancey, musical animation, moving stuff, colorful stuff.
20:45 - Anne (Host) They're vying for our attention in the pharmaceutical. They're vying for our attention, so we want actors.
20:50 - Lau (Guest) I'll use that word, actors. We want actors that can shift from just a real, down-to-earth sound to playing that duck or playing that pigeon.
21:00 - Anne (Host) Well, I'm going to say, medically speaking, because medical is one of my favorite genres, is, I also feel like, because there are changes this year with administration and how they're dealing with healthcare funding—a lot of it—and so I think that healthcare companies, which have always been very traditionally corporate America, money-centric, I think, are going to be vying for our business, and so I do feel like there's going to be a lot of competition between hospitals and medical products that are looking to get us as consumers to buy into it, because their funding might be less than it was and I think for a while it's going to make them compete more with each other to get the business and the money that they are used to having. Where they might have gotten some money in funding before, now they might, who knows? I'm not even going to speculate about prices, but I feel like, because it's going to be more competitive, it might work to our advantage for a little bit. It may not be regulated. I mean, I would hope it's somewhat regulated, but as a breast cancer survivor, I will say that I don't love the fact that it's been defunded or that kind of a thing.
22:08 I feel like certain things are important to be funded in this, but without getting political, but just know that, right, I happen to know that is one of the things that I have been hearing, so I'm like, "Okay, so how is that going to affect those companies that ultimately relied on that funding to operate?"
22:25 Right, are they going to now transition into healthcare and so maybe there'll be more demand in hospitals, right, so hospitals can get that money easier? So now maybe the context and the content of what we're going to be talking about will be slightly different or more centric on hospitals versus organizations, slightly different or more centric on hospitals versus organizations. So that's just something to be aware of and to know. And, again, like I say, I try to remain a little bit neutral on it because, again, if you want to work in those genres and you want to work for a company that is going to be in America in the next years, right, figure out how things are changing for them and then figure out how your voice and how their voice brand is going to change and then evolve with that or not. Choose to not evolve with that if you don't agree with it, yeah, and I don't know.
23:11 - Lau (Guest) I can't really predict, Annie, what's going to happen in the pharmaceutical market, because that's a really, really moving and shaking industry right now and everything is being shaken up with that. But there was a time that I remember that it was not legal to advertise on TV pharmaceutical products.
23:27 I remember that when that came in, that that was passed, that it was legal. Suddenly, we saw 24/7 advertising of pharmaceuticals, which is a very controversial issue for many people, but I'm just going to speak on the side of our industry and talent. It was a virtual candy land. It was a Disneyland of opportunities for both actors and voice talent that they were and still are auditioning for pharmaceuticals all the time. Will that change? I don't know. It could.
23:55 - Anne (Host) And will there be more? I mean, in the pharmaceutical side, yes, the commercial aspect of things, that corporate side, but there's also the educational side, right? Again. How is that going to evolve? How is that going to change? And so, keep your eyes open. That's I think my best advice would be for talent, to keep your eyes open and to really be as educated as you can, without suffering consequences of maybe getting too much division or toxicity from your news source or your social media, wherever you get that from, but make sure that you're educated and I think that, honestly, if you can again prove to yourself. It's like when the pandemic hit, right? How did we evolve as businesses? Here we are with another large kind of transition or, you know, maybe change that might be happening that can affect our industry. How can you, as a business, evolve along with that?
24:46 And I think you'll be fine. I mean, I really believe there's still a necessity. Nobody's saying that voiceover is illegal.
24:53 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I'm just going to say it like voiceover is not illegal, so therefore the opportunities are endless, right?
25:00 - Anne (Host) Just if you step back and kind of look at the humorous part of it. It's not illegal to do voiceover, right? So guess what, the opportunities are what we make of them, right? We can create as many opportunities as we want, right? Again, it's up to us. We are the entrepreneurs, we are the creators of our businesses and of our destiny. I can't lose hope in that.
25:21 - Lau (Guest) And, of course, we're always going to need human beings. We're always going to need human voices. It may shift and pivot in different directions, but the industry does that anyway. It really has done that the whole way through. And I want to throw in one more before we wrap, Annie, I want to talk about self-producing. I think it's very important that people feel empowered to self-produce their own work. Like maybe you say, "I always wanted to do this. I haven't gotten hired." Well, produce your own, write a script, create it, clean it up, throw some music in, put it on YouTube, put it on your channel, make it known that you want to do this work by doing the work, right? That's the power of a demo. The demo is demonstrating the kind of work that you want to do.
26:05 - Anne (Host) But I am going to say, as a demo producer, Lau, that again, you've got to be careful, you've got to be really careful. I mean, yes, you can create samples, you have to be careful.
26:13 - Lau (Guest) But I'm not saying to create a full demo. I'm saying if I want to do animation and I have no work under my belt and no one's going to be looking at me, I want to say, "Hey, I want to do a 15-second spot," and produce that and see what that's like.
26:28 - Anne (Host) But make sure that you have the license for the music, make sure that everything is legal on that end of things, because, again, there's a lot of DIY going on in the animation world and there's a lot of again. Remember, what you do speaks volumes. Yes, right, and yes, DIY is great for education, absolutely. I don't think there's anything wrong with that and I think you can learn a lot by doing that and, as a matter of fact, it's probably a great way to get to know better what you want. Ultimately, when you have the money to invest in a professionally produced sample or demo.
27:06 - Lau (Guest) So if you do it yourself, you know what's involved in it. Yes, and that is so great that you brought that up, because I'm seeing so many talent getting into audiobooks, which is fantastic because it's such a wonderful world, but I see so many talent getting out of audiobooks because, guess what? They're doing it and many of them don't want to do it and they don't realize they don't want to do it until they do it, until they do it. And then others do it and they say, "I have fallen in love, this is it. I didn't even know how wonderful this is." Absolutely, and this is really my calling. So the point is, I think what I'm trying to say is, of course, work under qualified coaches, work with demo teams. Of course, what I'm saying is dabble your toes in water of doing the work to see how you feel about it.
27:47 You know, the idea is different than the reality.
27:50 - Anne (Host) Agreed, agreed, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a DIY that educates you. Yeah, really, always, because, like I always try to learn from when I create videos, I'm trying to learn my video editing software. Does it mean that I'm a video editor for reals? Right, I mean, but I want to be able to know the steps and what's required so that I can direct somebody else that can maybe do it for me, right?
28:11 - Lau (Guest) So yeah, there it is. There it is. There's a plethora of actions you can take and go with the trends and pay attention and see what your competition is doing and see where it leads, but also create your own path.
28:23 - Anne (Host) Pioneer your own way.
28:25 - Lau (Guest) That's the best entrepreneur, isn't it?
28:28 - Anne (Host) The future is bright and I'll tell you what, I'm excited. And again, I am excited for evolving, I'm excited for changing if I need to, and I'm excited to see. I mean, honestly, you have to embrace the change. You have to embrace evolving along with change and allow it to be something that ignites you and excites you. And I have all sorts of positive thoughts about this year and for you guys, for bosses out there, positive thoughts. Absolutely. All right. Thumbs up, big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too, can connect, network like bosses, and move your businesses forward. Find out more at IPDTL.com. You guys have an amazing week. Lau, thank you so much. We'll see you next week, guys, see you next time.
29:13 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere dive into the essential digital toolkit for today's voiceover professionals. Their lively conversation spotlights practical solutions for safeguarding valuable audio, effortlessly showcasing your work, and leveraging the power of AI to streamline your workflow. They unveil their go-to platforms for reliable cloud backups, easy video conversion for portfolio building, and AI assistants that can help with everything from crafting professional communications to generating content ideas. By sharing their tried-and-true tech arsenal, Anne and Tom empower voice actors to work smarter, not harder, and confidently navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape of the voiceover industry.
00:02 - Anne (Host)
Hey, if you're looking to take your podcast to the next level, my podcast consultation coaching services teach you how to sound more authentic, develop smart strategies, and market your show effectively. Let's elevate your podcast together. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started.
00:22 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level: the BOSS level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like1 a BOSS—a VO BOSS. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.2
00:42 - Anne (Host)
Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast and the Real BOSS Series. I'm here, Anne Ganguzza, with my good friend, Mr. Tom Dheere. Hello, Tom Dheere, how are you today?
00:53 - Tom (Guest)
I am good. Anne Ganguzza, how are you?
00:56 - Anne (Host)
I am relieved.
00:58 - Tom (Guest)
Relieved? Want to know why? Yes, why?
01:01 - Anne (Host)
Well, I had a scare this week where I all of a sudden went to go access one of my audio files to send to my client, and it said, "No, there's no drive." And I went, "Oh my God, I lost my drive!" And that's one of those things—I don't know if you're on an Apple Mac or any kind of computer—when all of a sudden the drive doesn't show up, you're like, "Oh my God, let me unplug it, let me replug it, let me unplug it, replug it," and you wait to hear it spin up. And back in the day, when I used to work in technology, it was a thing. Like your backup plan had to be solid because you could not lose any data, and it used to be very complex where you would have RAID systems and you would have dual backup systems, and you'd pay a lot of money to have systems backing up to other things. And I'll tell you what I got.
01:45
So, paranoid, I unplugged my drive, plugged it back in. Nothing. Same thing, did it multiple times, unplugged it from the cord, I rebooted my computer. Nothing happened. But I'll tell you, I was saved by my favorite tool in the world, which is called Backblaze, which backs up all of my data onto a cloud, and I was able to restore the data that I needed to send to my client to another external drive that I have and do it within the next couple hours. It was actually a few terabytes, right, because my drive... I put everything, Tom, and I think we can talk about this—I have, since I worked in technology, I put everything that's important on an external drive, and that drive gets backed up multiple times. And that way I don't ever have to worry about like, "Oh gosh, if I need to update my..." I never put anything important on my main computer drive, always on an external drive that gets backed up.
02:36 - Tom (Guest)
Because it's easy. I think this leads into an extremely important lesson that we could just start right off with. For all you BOSSES out there: do not be 100% cloud-dependent with your data, and do not be 100% external hard drive or internal hard drive-dependent with your data. But back them up, back them up.
02:54 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Make sure that they are backing each other up.
02:57 - Tom (Guest)
What I have is I have Norton 360, which is generally... Norton is known for its antivirus software, and Norton 360 does that. But what it also does is it backs up my hard drive every single day up to one terabyte. And, like you, I have very little actual data on the hard drive of my desktop computer itself. I also use Google Drive's Google Workspace.
03:22 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
If you have a Gmail account or a Gmail address.
03:23 - Anne (Host)
Same thing. Yep, you can use Dropbox as well.
03:25 - Tom (Guest)
Yep, you can use Dropbox as well.
03:27
You can use OneDrive, you could use Box, you could use CrashPlan, you could use Carbonite. I used to use Carbonite for a very long time, and I was very happy with it, and then I realized I had Carbonite, Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive, and I realized it was so redundant. So my primary cloud-based data storage is a combination of Google Drive with Google Workspace and Norton 360, and I also have an external hard drive which I will actually occasionally hook up and physically back everything up and put it away. So I've got like three—two cloud-based and one drive external hard drive-based—home base for all of my data, in case something bad happens with one or, heaven forbid, two of them.
04:17 - Anne (Host)
It's been a lifesaver, I'll tell you what. So Backblaze—just my favorite. By the way, I'm an affiliate, guys. I'm going to put a link for you. What I love about Backblaze is that basically, you just set it to work and it works seamlessly in the background. It will always... it backs up every minute of the day. It backs up, and it doesn't take a lot of resources on your system. So every time you create a file, it's just going to be backing it up to the cloud, and then you just... it's really simple. You go to your account on the cloud and you restore it, and it basically just keeps the most current backup.
04:45
You can keep different versions of backups. If you have version one of a file, version two of a file, you can keep all the versions of your backups for up to a year. It just really depends, and it is super reasonable. I think I pay $99 a year. So I use that in combination with Dropbox. I have like three terabytes for Dropbox, and I keep all my student data on that, and that way I can share my drive with my clients and my students, and that is my Dropbox, which is always backed up, so I don't have to worry about that data either. So I use the combination, and I also have a Google Drive. So those are my cloud-based: Dropbox and Google, and then my Backblaze, which is my backup for all my drives that I have on my computer, and I only put important stuff on my external drives. That way if I need to update my operating system, I don't have to worry about restoring all the other data onto that main drive on my computer.
05:36
And you can... even with Backblaze, you can order, like I had, a four-terabyte drive or a five-terabyte drive. If the entire drive goes—which drives do, I mean, they have a lifespan—you can actually just order a replacement drive, and it ships out within two to three days. It's an encrypted drive that you can actually just plug in via USB, and then ultimately you have that mirrored drive so that you don't have to restore the data through the cloud, because sometimes if you do have five terabytes of data—let's say if you have video—it could take an awfully long time to restore through the online version, and so you can just order a drive, and I've done that two times. So that's one of my favorite tools, Tom. So what are some of your other favorite tools that you have to run your business?
06:18 - Tom (Guest)
Like I said, I do use Google Drive regularly. If you have a Gmail account, I think you already get 15 gigs of storage space, but with Google Workspace, you get two terabytes for like $15 a month, and I also use it to synchronize my email. Actually, that's really exciting—the ability to synchronize my email in Gmail with my phone, my desktop, my laptop, and my tablet, so I can access my emails anytime I want. But other tools that I've really been enjoying lately: this is something that comes up a lot. Voice actors of all parts of their journey desperately want to get their hands on the finished product, which is, most of the time, the finished video of a voiceover that they did, most of the time commercials or explainer videos or things like that.
07:07
So I have a two-pronged system. Number one, I go to YouTube once a month. I'm on YouTube every day, who am I kidding? But I mean, for this exercise, I go to YouTube, and I have a list of all the voiceover jobs that I did in the previous quarter or previous month, and I look at all the front-facing stuff, all of the commercials and explainers, the things that would be normally exposed to the public—not like the e-learning modules and the internal corporate stuff—stuff that has been published publicly.
07:34 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Published publicly, exactly.
07:34 - Tom (Guest)
And then what I'll do is I'll find all of them, find the ones that I can. I will save them to a playlist in YouTube, and I have a playlist for every genre of voiceover that...
07:46 - Anne (Host)
I've done. Yeah, me too.
07:46 - Tom (Guest)
But this is where the tool comes in. I download the YouTube video. There is a specific software that I use called Any Video Converter. We'll put the link down there. It's absolutely free. I think it's just anyvideoconverter.com. And then you download that free software, and all you do is paste the YouTube link in, and then it says, "Do you want audio only, video only, or audio and video?" You download it, and it downloads it to your computer, and then you can save it. And this is why this is really important. It's important for two reasons. Number one, a lot of us want to use professional samples of stuff that we've done to add to our demos. Yes, and we want to use it to add to our online casting site profiles, our sample lists and playlists on Voice123 and other places. But here's the other thing: YouTube videos don't necessarily stay there forever.
08:45 - Anne (Host)
They're not necessarily evergreen.
08:47 - Tom (Guest)
I have had multiple videos over the years where I went to go look at it, and it was gone.
08:52
Or it was linked to my website, tomdheere.com, and the video was just not there. There's just gray static, or "this video is no longer there." So what you can do is that if you keep that video by downloading it using Any Video Converter or any software of your choice, you can then upload it back to your website, right, or maybe even upload it back onto YouTube and continue to have it as part of your portfolio.
09:15 - Anne (Host)
I just want to make sure that it's noted that you have permission and that it's public-facing to begin with. So make sure that it's public-facing. Sometimes, if you don't have permission from the company, it's always nice. I mean, I always, as part of my, "Thank you so much, it's been wonderful working with you," I always say, "If you have a link to the final video, I would really appreciate it. I'd love to see the final product. It was so great working with you." But a lot of times people are busy, and that doesn't happen.
09:40
And so, yeah, if it ultimately shows up on a YouTube, then ultimately it's public-facing.
09:45
And then I am assuming that it's public-facing, it's public property, and that I can take that Any Video Converter and download it. And, yeah, now you own it; you can put it back up on YouTube if you want. It's a video that's not going to disappear all of a sudden off your website if you happen to embed it. But yeah, that's a great tool, and it's wonderful to be able to show not only your demos but work that you've done, and you want that work to exist. So, yeah, that's a great.
10:08
I love that, Tom, because you actually go and actively seek it out, because sometimes I lose track of the jobs that I do, and then it's like, "Oh darn, I wish I had that job to showcase, right? Here's an example of what my voice sounds like in this particular job," or "here on this website." And I used to actually post the link or embed the YouTube link from their site onto my website, but, you're right, it disappeared from mine after a while. Sometimes people just don't keep those videos up on their YouTube, so having it for your own is a wonderful, wonderful tool, and that Any Video Converter, yeah.
10:42 - Tom (Guest)
Definitely, and that task is on my monthly action plan.
10:46 - Anne (Host)
It is one of the things that...
10:47 - Tom (Guest)
I do every single month. It's in the tools section of my monthly action plan: "Download new YouTube videos and save to playlists."
10:54 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Wow.
10:55 - Tom (Guest)
This also applies to Vimeo as well, so you could also look around, because there are some clients that prefer Vimeo over YouTube, which—it's a great platform. I love Vimeo, but YouTube just has so much more SEO clout. Well...
11:06 - Anne (Host)
I love Vimeo because I use Vimeo. I have a Vimeo account as well as YouTube, but I have a Vimeo account because if you want to password protect, you can do that on Vimeo. So that helps me when I do my VO Peeps events, and people are requiring access to the videos. I password protect them.
11:23 - Tom (Guest)
Well, I'll bounce the ball back to you, Anne: what is another tool that you enjoy using?
11:27 - Anne (Host)
Oh my gosh, there are so many. Let's see. I'm going to say I'm going to go the AI route, and I'm going to say I have a couple of AI tools that really, really help me in crafting emails to my clients that are super fast and efficient. And they help me just... First of all, I have a professional version of ChatGPT, which I think is well worth the 20 bucks a month, and I also have CopyAI, which I pay for on a yearly basis. It uses ChatGPT, but it also has different features kind of built in. So, depending on what I want to do, it has a little more marketing aspect to it, so it can create more marketing funnels for me. If I want ChatGPT, I can ask it just about anything. But again, both of them are the premium versions, and I use it for—gosh, I use it for anything.
12:09
Sometimes I'll just ask questions and I'll say, "Hey, craft an email response to my client that includes the following points," or I'll have started a particular email, and I'm like, "You know, I just don't have the time to word this professionally." So let me cut and paste it, and I'll say, "Just reword this professionally and in my voice." So you can train your little ChatGPT AI bot to have your voice in it. And so I use it constantly for crafting professional emails and basically doing a lot of web writing that I might have to do. If I want to craft my bio, I need to create a nice bulleted course list here and that sort of thing. I'll say, "Go to this webpage and tell me what are the major points, what are the summary points of this particular course that I can then utilize." So it's just training your robot, like training your dragon, is really a wonderful thing.
12:58 - Tom (Guest)
Cool. Well, I also have two favorite AI tools, both of which are parallel to the ones that you just recommended. You're a paid user for ChatGPT. I am a Gemini fan myself. Gemini is the Google-powered version of OpenAI's ChatGPT. You do need to pay for it, but if you have a Google Workspace account, like I just talked about a few minutes ago, that I use to get more drive space and synchronize all of my emails and all of my devices, you also get access to Gemini. I've been using it very heavily for the past three, four months or so. And what do you use it for? What sorts of things? I use it professionally and personally. I ask it all kinds of questions, looking for statistics or data, potential voiceover leads. And what happened was, a few months ago, I'm here in New York City. I was invited by a Google Wix co-production talking about Google Gemini and then how to use Google Gemini to write blogs in Wix—not necessarily write them for you, but like to just kind of help you come up with ideas.
14:08
Spark ideas, maybe give you some outlines, and then you can put your own creative flair and writing style in it. I will give a quick AI prompt tip. Two things. Number one, always tell your AI who they are before you ask the question. So like, if you have a question about social media, you always say, "You are a social media expert." Then you ask the question. I don't pretend to understand how any of this works, but I do know that if you kind of put them in the, for lack of a better term, "frame of mind," it will give you more accurate answers.
14:43 - Anne (Host)
Give me a more professional answer, give me a friendlier, give me more conversational. Yeah, you can absolutely, and...
14:50 - Tom (Guest)
Oh, I refine them constantly. What's nice about Gemini is on the left side, it has a link to every single conversation that I've had, and I refer back to them regularly. The other tip is always say please and thank you. For some weird reason, they have noticed that—and this may be a little scary—that the nicer you are when you're asking questions, the better quality you're going to get. I know that's a little creepy.
15:15 - Anne (Host)
Well, yeah, you don't want to be angry. I mean, a lot of times people are like, "No, that's the wrong, you stupid idiot." You know what I mean. You should not talk to Alexa that way either, by the way. Just saying.
15:24 - Tom (Guest)
Right, no, you don't want to do that either.
15:25 - Anne (Host)
No, because you want them to treat you right.
15:57 - Tom (Guest)
I believe there are different tiers, like there are with a lot of these programs. I just started my affiliate partnership with them, so I'm exploring all the wonderful things that it can do, but Warmy.io—that's my other favorite AI tool. Wow.
16:07 - Anne (Host)
I've got one more.
16:08 - Tom (Guest)
I've got one more that I use, and that's Podium. For a long time...
16:11 - Anne (Host)
I've used Podium for a good year or two now, I think. Podium takes my VO BOSS podcasts and it crafts out my notes, it crafts out my show notes, it crafts out takeaways, and I found that that works the best. I mean, I can put anything into ChatGPT, but the cool thing about Podium is I can feed it an MP3. So I can take a final MP3 of my episode and I can say, "Craft out 10 takeaways from this." And ultimately I do have to go through everything. I think it's always advisable, no matter what.
16:39
If you're working with AI, you always have to go through it. You always need the human touch, right? You need to like... sometimes it'll come up with some weird things, but for the most part, it does the best summaries, and it's the only one that I have that will take an MP3 or a video and transcribe it, and then it can create a blog out of it as well, which is super powerful, because once you can get from there to the blog, then you can tweak the blog. So it really has done a lot to help me. And so that's Podium, and yes, I'm an affiliate of Podium too.
17:08
So, guys, BOSSES out there, if you find tools that you like, you can always create a little affiliate membership with that, because, I mean, even if it's a few cents a month, it's a few cents a month, and I have people who follow me that I don't steer them wrong. I'm not going to be an affiliate of a product that I don't love and that I wouldn't recommend. And so that's the way I really feel that I've gotten people who follow me that trust my recommendations and these tools that Tom and I love. I mean, we recommend them wholeheartedly. It's not something because affiliate memberships don't, I don't think, make you enough money to... you know. I mean, I'm not just going to sign up for everything and become an affiliate.
17:42
It's only going to be the stuff that I absolutely love and the stuff that I'm going to talk about. And I actually got a little key fob the other day so that people can scan the key fob, and I can become an affiliate of that, so that they can scan the key fob and go get all my contact information, go to every website that I have, and it's really a lot of fun, and I'll be testing that out at VO Atlanta, so that's going to be really cool too. So all these tools that Tom and I are talking about are stuff that we've tested and stuff that we recommend. And so, BOSSES, that's another part of your income journey really, is thinking about products you love and maybe thinking about becoming affiliates of them. Any other tools, Tom, and I've got one more that I'm going to talk about that I love.
18:21 - Tom (Guest)
It's funny because I wanted to...
18:23 - Anne (Host)
It might be the same one.
18:23 - Tom (Guest)
Well, I wanted to say that we are recording this right now using a fabulous tool called Riverside. Yes, and I've been guest hosting on the VO BOSS for a couple of years now, and she's been using Riverside, and I think it's a fantastic program. The one that I use when I have guests, when I am doing recorded video chats, is I use StreamYard.
18:43 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
They're both very similar.
18:44 - Tom (Guest)
They have their own sets of bells and whistles. Both of them are fantastic. So if you're looking to start a podcast or if you just want to record conversations, Riverside or StreamYard—both of them are fantastic.
18:55 - Anne (Host)
And here's one that I think we both have in common, Tom, I know that you use it, and it is... it is my graphic wonder, Canva.
19:03 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Ah, Canva! I love Canva.
19:04 - Anne (Host)
Canva changed the game, I'll tell you what. And I'm not saying that I'm a graphic artist, because nothing would ever replace my web designer, because my web designer is an amazing graphic artist. There's something about being able to see and visualize graphics and where they go and putting them together and making them look good. But if you're just a beginner and you need to do a few social media graphics, you need to do certain things like remove a background. You cannot go wrong with Canva. I've been using Canva for years. It is an absolute favorite tool of mine.
19:33 - Tom (Guest)
I use it constantly. I mean, for those of you who have watched any of my how-to videos or have been in a workshop with me where I'm doing a presentation, I use Canva, I'm pretty sure.
19:43 - Anne (Host)
Anne, you also have the...
19:44 - Anne (Host)
Canva Pro. You have the paid version, Canva Pro. I do.
19:48 - Tom (Guest)
So do I. I mean, it's got so many functions. You'd be shocked at the amount of things that it can make. I mean, I primarily use it for my how-to videos and presentations, but I also use it for making thumbnails for my YouTube videos.
20:01 - Anne (Host)
Social media graphics.
20:03 - Tom (Guest)
Yep, it's got a great library of content, and you can upload all of your content as well.
20:07 - Anne (Host)
And also, I'm going to give myself one other plug.
20:09 - Tom (Guest)
I'm going to give myself one other plug. There are a bunch of apps that you can have called up on the left side of your Canva. There is one which is to add an AI voice to your presentations, and one of my AI voices is one of those voices. So, yes, you could actually click on that. You could have me voicing your content.
20:27 - Anne (Host)
Tom, I'm going to add you to my next presentation. I'm going to add Tom Dheere voice to my next presentation. But that's awesome. I love Canva and the Canva Pro. And remember, Tom, back in the day when you were creating, let's say, a website or a social media graphic and you would subscribe to these places where you could buy the rights to the graphics? Because you need to be legal about these things. You can't just be stealing graphics and downloading graphics. Canva has a great—and the Canva Pro version has a great—amount of graphics that you can use that are built within it and licensed. So you don't have to pay for another tool to get your graphics. So you can get professional graphics. If you need, like a studio graphic to put in the background of one of your social media posts, you can download it from Canva, and the license is there, and you're clear.
21:13 - Tom (Guest)
Yeah, what's very interesting is that you can just run searches in their library to find graphics and stuff like that. And then, if you have the Canva Pro account—I don't know if you've noticed this, Anne—is when you click on stuff and you use it, it'll say, "You just saved this amount of money."
21:27 - Anne (Host)
Oh, yeah, right.
21:28 - Tom (Guest)
Right, because if you didn't have a Canva Pro account, you would have had to pay à la carte for all of these graphics, but as part of the Canva annual fee, you can get access to all of those graphics for free, and you are using them legally and lawfully.
21:40 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I love it. I love it. I love knowing that I'm using them legally and lawfully, because that used to be a worry for me. I mean, I used to be like, "Oh my God," and each graphic I would pay. Even sometimes I'd go to those websites. I think I had an Envato Elements account that, you know, I could go and get the graphics and use those for my social media. And it's just nice because it's built into Canva already, and everything that you use these days has AI built into it.
22:04
Guys, there's really not much that I think you're going to be using tool-wise that isn't going to have some sort of AI built into it. So, again, it's one of those things where I know we need to be careful of it for our voices, and we need to make sure that we're getting compensated. Make sure that any tool that you're using that has AI built into it, that you're within the confines of your own ethical thoughts and what you think is right and fair compensation. And, Tom, you're getting paid for that voice that you have in the middle of Canva, so that's good. And so tools that are ethically sourced, right, that are using AI, I think it's just going to be so embedded into a lot of our tools these days that we're not even going to notice anymore, and it's going to be like... you know, I always tell people with Voice over IP, back in the day I used to install Voice over IP phone systems, and people were like, "Oh no, it'll never work."
22:52
But honestly, that's all we use these days. There's not one phone call you make that isn't going over an internet or a network, a data line, and there are no more POTS lines that are installed. Back in the day, they were Plain Old Telephone POTS lines, P-O-T-S. And so nowadays, all of your communication goes over data lines, and that is Voice over IP. Really, same thing with AI. It's going to be embedded in just about everything that we do. So just be careful and be thoughtful. But these tools are something that I can't live without now. I mean, really.
23:23 - Tom (Guest)
Me too. I don't know where I'd be without Canva and all the tools we just talked about today.
23:27 - Anne (Host)
I don't know where I would be without my Alexa telling me how many ounces are in a tablespoon or how many... you know, when I need to do some simple conversion. I mean, we're talking like everyday life. So yeah, these are just some of our favorite tools. Tom, I'd love to do another episode in a few months from now to see if we've come up with any other favorite tools.
23:44
But I love sharing tech, geeky gadgets, because you're kind of a tech girl. I think we've come up with a really great list, and, guys, we'll list all of that in the show notes for you today. And thank you so much, Tom, for yet another wonderful, enlightening episode.
23:59 - Tom (Guest)
Thank you, always glad to be here.
24:01 - Anne (Host)
Big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL, which I use every single day, by the way, guys. IPDTL, I use for all of my student communications. I love it. It's wonderful, people can record, it's super easy, and you can find out more at IPDTL.com. Guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
24:21 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry-revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a3 BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via4 IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and George the Tech unveil a powerful collaboration designed to equip voiceover professionals with essential technical prowess. Their discussion highlights the evolution of VO BOSS to include comprehensive tech support, recognizing that pristine audio and a smoothly running studio are fundamental pillars of your voiceover business success. They introduce the new VIP + Tech membership tiers, which offer direct access to George's expertise through monthly meetups, personalized sound checks, and an innovative AI-powered knowledge base, the "George the Tech Bot." By democratizing access to top-tier technical guidance, Anne and George empower voice actors to overcome studio hurdles, optimize their sound, and ultimately elevate their professional presence, ensuring they can confidently navigate the technical landscape of the voiceover industry.
00:04 - Anne (Host)
Hey guys, it's Anne from VOBOSS here.
00:06 - George (Guest)
And it's George the Tech. We're excited to tell you about the VOBOSS VIP membership, now with even more benefits.
00:13 - Anne (Host)
So not only do you get access to exclusive workshops and industry insights, but with our VIP plus tech tier, you'll enjoy specialized tech support from none other than George himself. Enjoy specialized tech support from none other than George himself.
00:27 - George (Guest)
You got it. I'll help you tackle all those tricky tech issues so you can focus on what you do best: voice acting. It's tech support tailored for voiceover professionals like you.
00:35 - Anne (Host)
Join us, guys, at VO Boss and let's make your voiceover career soar. Visit VOBOSS.com/VIP-membership to sign up today.
00:46 - Speaker 3 (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent1 today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now2 let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:10 - Anne (Host)
Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited today to have one of my favorite human beings on the planet here with me, and that is George the Tech, George Whittam. George, thank you so much for being with us today.
01:23 - George (Guest)
Oh, it's great to be here. It must be the East Coast vibes or something, you know. We're from the same sort of corner of the country.
01:30 - Anne (Host)
I think so. I think so. Gosh, bosses, if you are not familiar with George, you should be, number one. I'm so excited to talk to George today because we have come together in a collaborative effort, so to speak, and we're excited to kind of talk about that and talk about how you can boss up your tech and your audio in your studio and in your business. So, for those people that don't know George, gosh, since 2005, George has dedicated, and in George's bio it says that you've dedicated your career to serving the technical needs of voice actors, podcasters, and recording studio owners.
02:08
Guys, actually, George has dedicated probably his life, not just his career. I mean, since I've been in voiceover, George has helped me umpteen billion times, and he has been the audio engineer technician to the stars, to all of my voiceover heroes. And literally, if you've got a tech issue, George can solve it. And so I'm just excited that he's here to talk to us about things that we can do to boss up our studios and boss up our audio. And in 2017, you launched georgethetech.com, which expanded your business like a boss, from just yourself to an entire team of people which can assist anybody with training, studio design, audio processing, stacks—anything you can think about it. You're a '97 graduate from Virginia Tech, woo-hoo, East Coast, with a bachelor's degree in music and audio technology and a minor in communications, and that's pretty darn awesome, because not only are you a geek, but you can talk to people about it.
03:15 - George (Guest)
I can communicate, that's right, that's right.
03:18 - Anne (Host)
And gosh, if you haven't ever heard of... well, it was E-Webs and then it was VOBS, the voiceover body shop, George and Dan Leonard. For 13 years now, I've had a podcast for gosh, going on nine now, but 13 years they ran their podcast and video. Actually, what did we call it back then?
03:39 - George (Guest)
It was a podcast, but it was a vlog, podcast, live stream, live stream. Yeah, it was all of it.
03:45 - Anne (Host)
But all of that amazing content is still on YouTube. And now you are the co-host and producer of the Pro Audio Suite, which is wherever your favorite podcasts are located, right next to VO Boss. So after that long-winded introduction, George, I am so glad to have you. Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us.
04:10 - George (Guest)
Absolutely, and believe it or don't, that was definitely the abridged version. There are very, very long-winded versions of that that I've described on many podcasts if you want to hear more about all of the background.
04:24 - Anne (Host)
But yeah, it's just so much.
04:26 - George (Guest)
I mean, yeah, you're my people. Voice actors are my people. I love working with creative talent, and I have found that, through a test that I took not so long ago, that I'm exactly split left and right brain.
04:37 - Anne (Host)
Oh my gosh, I'm right down the center. That's why we get along, I'm quite sure, because I feel that I'm left and right brain too, 50-50.
04:44 - George (Guest)
Yeah, yeah, so there's this ability to balance those two worlds, and you know, we brand ourselves as performer-friendly techs because we feel we get actors and performers and that we're not here to talk directly to tech engineers. We have helped engineers solve problems, but that's not our main tribe. Our main tribe are creatives, actors, podcasters—well, creators, people that have to deal with technology to do what they do, and we just enjoy working with folks like that. You are our people.
05:18 - Anne (Host)
Well, I like being your people. So, George, let's talk a little bit about your business right now, George the Tech, and what it is that you do. And I mean, obviously you serve the voice acting community, but you also serve anybody that has an audio need or a tech need. Tell us a little bit about your business.
05:38 - George (Guest)
Yeah, George the Tech is framed around supporting voice actors, and now we've added into that tribe. We've brought in the tent to now really include content creators and podcasters, because we've been dealing with more and more podcast-specific studios. But how we do that is in many different ways, from one-on-one consulting time with me, which is really kind of like—I wouldn't say the first place to start, because it's the most expensive to work with me one-on-one, but because it's going to be always the most expensive to work with the CEO—we have a tremendous number of services at much more friendly price points, down to the most popular and, I would say, best value bang for your buck service, which is called a soundcheck. And so soundchecks are where we listen to the audio. Oh, really, me? I'm still hoarding all the soundchecks.
06:29
I don't let anybody else do the soundchecks. I personally listen to every sample that comes in and I give notes. I'll look at your pictures of your studio. I'll even look at a video of how your room is set up. I want to see you at your microphone. I want a selfie of you at the mic so I know exactly what you're doing with your mic, and I evaluate all of that stuff with you. There we go. Selfies! Need a selfie on the mic, it's really important. Selfie on the mic.
06:53
And I don't mean a selfie like cheesing at the camera like this. I mean, I want you to be on mic and I want you to send me a picture of you at the mic in the position you read your scripts. It's so critical, and I'll look at all that. I'll listen to the audio, and I'll even listen to your processed audio if you do that in the production workflow as well. I'll take all of that and give back my notes about how you're doing and what could be improved, and if everything's great, I'll tell you everything's great, and all that under one price. Great, I'll tell you everything is great, and all that under one price. So that is now something that our members that we're going to talk about are going to get access to, among many other things. So we provide sound checks, and then from there we have more technical services like processing presets. So when you're doing an audition and you want that audio to sound a little more polished, it's the perfect nail polish, it's the French tip, it's just the right smoky eyes.
07:48 - Anne (Host)
Now you're talking my language there, George, I love it. Oh my gosh, I must have it now.
07:56 - George (Guest)
It's having just the right touch of all those things for the kind of work that you're doing. That's appropriate for the kind of work you're doing. I like to say you don't want to show up in theater makeup for your first date unless you're dating another theater actor.
08:10
But otherwise, you want to show up appropriately, and so these processing settings are very much custom to your voice. They're not cookie cutter, they're not templates. They become a template you can use, but of those templates to your voice, the sound of your room and your studio, and the style and genre of voiceover that you're actually working. So the kind of processing I'll do in an audiobook is going to be very different from the processing I'm going to do on a commercial. So that's what the processing presets are all about.
08:44 - Anne (Host)
I love that. I'm going to add to your story here. So back in, I'm going to say 2010, maybe it was, maybe it was 2009. George, my father had built me a studio. I had moved to the West Coast and my father had built me a studio, and at the time we didn't really know anything about what was required in building a good sound studio. So we did what we could and it was passable. But I needed to upgrade and I needed it to sound better, and so I found George, and George paid a visit to me back in Irvine, California, and really helped me to level up my studio with a lot of things. And I ended up after your assessment, and we took your advice and we put everything together, literally. I had engineers that were like, they were like, "Oh my God, your studio sound is just amazing," and I had so many compliments on that studio, which basically was my father's studio. But then it was blessed by George and enhanced by George, it was juiced.
09:47 - George (Guest)
It was juiced.
09:48 - Anne (Host)
With, like you did, the French tip. So it's like we added acoustic panels, we added a bunch of things. We had, I remember, the studio clouds, and so all those things made my sound so good that I for years after that would have people complimenting me, asking me if I had like a studio brick studio or—because this was before—asking me if I had like a Studio Bricks studio or because this was before.
10:07 - George (Guest)
Some fancy brand name.
10:08 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, this was actually before those were even a thing.
10:12
And not only did you help me with my physical studio, but you helped me with stacks, and I remember I think I wrote you a testimonial back in the day, like you saved me like 50% of my editing time just by those stacks that you created for me, because I was able to take those and process my audio that I was sending to my clients and literally half of my work was done for me already, like a little bit of EQ, some compression, getting rid of some of the breaths, and that was back in 2010.
10:41
And so literally, George, I still have—like, I have a new studio and I got one more set from you, but literally I used those for years. I was in the same studio, had the same mic, and honestly, like they just worked amazingly well for years. And so they're very, very valuable, those sound checks and the stacks that you created and any sort of help. And it amazed me because, even though you came to see me in Irvine, when I then moved and then created a new studio, you could do everything remotely. I mean, what you can do remotely is really wonderful, like you can listen to somebody's audio and then you can make recommendations based on that. And you said you want selfies of "where's your mic, what does your studio look like," and so, based upon all that, you can actually just do consulting from remote.
11:28
You don't have to actually be on site, although you could be if it was local, right? And I guess, if the client wanted you to just come and do a full-scale like build of studios... yeah, once in a while we do that.
11:39 - George (Guest)
Yeah, once in a while it happens.
11:40 - Anne (Host)
So I mean, I firsthand have had George for the longest time helping me with my audio, and also back in the day, and this goes into what we're going to be collaborating with. When I started VOPeeps, bosses, I don't know if you've heard of VOPeeps—hopefully you have—but I've run VOPeeps since 2010. And in 2010, I created a networking group that was physical, like people came to my house.
12:03 - George (Guest)
Can you imagine?
12:04 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, people came to my house for meetups, for meetups, and ultimately first it was just a bunch of voiceover actors and, you know, it was a get-together and we kind of like—we either had a little potluck and then it turned into something a little more extravagant where my husband would start making food and kind of catered it for us, and ultimately it was like-minded people getting together. And then I decided that I wanted to branch out and make it even bigger, and so I started inviting all my heroes, all my VO heroes, and I would interview them in my living room. I would interview mine in the living room, and ultimately people would come to the house and it would be a really cool local networking meetup.
12:44 - George (Guest)
I remember helping to figure out some of the tech and stuff to make that work. It was quite an adventure.
12:50 - Anne (Host)
I started streaming back in...
12:52
I want to say 2010 for sure, when streaming technology was just beginning, and I had had some experience working in technology from my previous job, and so I first started streaming those meetups live on the internet from my laptop computer on my coffee table with a blue snowball microphone and a little, I think it was a Logitech webcam. But the cool thing was is that I now went from a local meetup to a global meetup. And then, as we grew and I did these gosh, once a month for almost six years, and as we grew, I said, "Who's the person that can help me to really make this stand out and have great audio and stream my networking meetups over the internet?" Well, who better than George? So I hired George to come stream my meetups on the internet and take care of all the video recording and the audio. And it was great because you came with all your equipment and I had equipment. You helped set it up, and gosh, we had a good time, didn't we? We did.
14:00 - George (Guest)
We did. It was such great memories.
14:02 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, they grew and grew, and so that's pretty much my VO peeps. I have lots of great memories of it being physically in my house, and I think in 2017—was it 2016 or 2017—was when, finally, once a month, it became a lot because they grew. I had up to 55 people in my home that my husband was making themed meals. It was packed.
14:23 - George (Guest)
It was sold out all the time. Themed drinks.
14:25 - Anne (Host)
We started selling tickets to it, and gosh, we would definitely stream it live. We would have Zoom. We would have people working out via Zoom, and so we would actually have them piped in, piped in. We have Zoom piped in to my TV.
14:40 - George (Guest)
It was sophisticated, it really was back in the day. I mean, you know, it was the closest to like having hybrid training where you've got people in the room and you've got people online, all at the same time. Yeah, it was very, very ahead of its time.
14:53 - Anne (Host)
All across the globe. And so George was that tech geek that was there to like, put it together and help me. And I'd be like, "I want to do this." And George would be like, "Okay, let's—we can do this, we can do this." And so if you guys need outside of just audio—I mean George, the tech, right—any kind of tech, and I know bosses, as
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble tackle the often-overlooked financial realities of building a successful voiceover career. Their candid conversation reveals that achieving "overnight success" is typically the result of years of dedicated work and strategic sacrifices. They emphasize that time is a crucial financial asset and discuss the importance of making deliberate choices about where to invest it, alongside monetary resources. Anne and Danielle share personal experiences of delaying immediate wants to prioritize long-term business growth, highlighting the need for patience and a willingness to explore various income streams, even those outside one's primary passion. Ultimately, they empower voiceover professionals to take control of their financial journey by making informed sacrifices and defining their own path to sustainable success in the voiceover industry.
00:02 - Speaker 1 (Caller) Hi Anne, this is Jen Keefe from Real Women's Work Podcast. I just wanted to come on and say thank you, thank you, thank you for the series you're doing on AI and voice. I've listened to VO Boss Podcast for a few years now and it's always been informative and helpful, and not only is this series not an exception to that, but it is just the cherry on top. It has been so comforting and helpful to learn about this industry and I just thank you for taking all of the time you must have taken to research and understand, to know what questions to ask so that we're all better informed. It is just awesome, awesome, awesome. I feel excited and confident going forward into the future in the VO industry, all because of this series that you're doing. So thank you.
00:46 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, it's that season again. Are you feeling that tickle in your throat? Don't let a cold or flu slow you down. Combat your symptoms early with Vocal Immunity Blast, a simple and natural remedy designed to get you back to 100% fast. With certified therapeutic grade oils like lemon to support respiratory function, oregano for immune boosting power and a protective blend that shields against environmental threats, your vocal health is in good hands. Take charge of your health with Vocal Immunity Blast. Visit anganguzza.com to shop.
01:31 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza of.
01:45 VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:47 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Money Talk series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited to be back with special guest co-host Danielle Famble. Danielle, yay, hey, glad to be back, Danielle, it's been a while.
02:03 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, it has.
02:04 - Anne (Host) And you've been traveling.
02:05 - Danielle (Guest) I have. I have been traveling. Me too, I just got back from the JMC Euro Retreat in Dublin, which was amazing. I went a couple days early to go shopping and had a really great time Speaking of shopping, I really like your shirt.
02:22 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh, Well, thank you. I really really resonated with your shirt. Oh my gosh, Well, thank you. I really really resonated with the shirt. I also happen to be traveling in Europe and happen to go back to Amsterdam, which I absolutely love that town, and I saw this in the store no sacrifice, no success and it just had all these really positive, like motivating messages on it and I said, wow, I just really resonate with that and I must have it, and so I bought it and I wanted to wear it it.
02:44 And I said, wow, I just really resonate with that and I must have it. And so I bought it and I wanted to wear it today, and I think there's a message for all of us bosses. No sacrifice no success. Let's talk about sacrificing as it relates to the Money Talk series and financials.
03:00 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, no, that's a huge part of financial success is sacrificing, sacrificing for your business, sacrificing the short term for your financial goals that are probably long term. That's a huge part of it. And I think that on the other side of that sacrifice, as your shirt says there is some level of success, because you need to be able to delay gratification sometimes to be able to get to success in what you're hoping to achieve in life.
03:27 - Anne (Host) Yeah, that's an interesting point that you bring up delaying gratification. You're absolutely right like I want this and I want it now because I feel like it's that kind of a I don't know. I feel like we're in that kind of culture these days where things are coming at us fast and we want things fast and a lot of times success does not come fast and so we need to kind of step it through. I was actually talking to one of my students the other day about like the steps I took to ultimately achieve my overnight success which, as I've said before on the podcast, took how many years.
03:59 I mean it took close to 10 years for that quote unquote overnight success.
04:05 But it took a lot of sacrifices, and not just financial, I mean. I know that this is the money talks, but financial can also mean your time, because your time is in essence money, especially when you're talking about your business.
04:17 - Danielle (Guest) Oh for sure, when you're talking about your business, there's parts of it that you just need to sort of stair step up.
04:23 So, you're probably front loading a lot of the education in the very beginning and that's a lot of time and it could be a lot of money, but it's mostly time intensive. And then from there then you can kind of take what you've been learning in that education phase and then implement it. But if you want to go from new to pro and you want it to happen quickly, if you try to go for like speed, you're going to be missing some things along the way. So the sacrifice is probably going to be sacrificing your time, it's probably going to be sacrificing your money and it's going to be making some difficult decisions. I mean, even with our business.
05:01 When I first started, I wanted a really expensive booth. I wanted the booth that I saw everybody else had on Zoom, and at that time I did not have that booth money. I just didn't. My business was not bringing in that much income and instead of just going after what it is that I wanted immediately, I chose to stair-step it and I chose to sacrifice what I wanted at that moment for the greater good of spending the money on coaching and spending the money on demos and things like that. And through that, for me success has come and I can afford that booth at some point. But now my goals have changed and the booth is not really the main thing that I'm wanting now. I'm wanting more education, maybe buying different mics or computers or peripherals to bring into the booth. So once you delay that, then you can kind of give yourself the time to recalibrate and readjust in your business.
06:00 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that you talked about like you're evolving, like because it does you stair-step it, but then your goals change and so even myself, I mean it's always, I think, an ever-growing, especially if you want to grow your business. Because I find myself I'm looking to diversify and to get into other things. As you know, everybody knows, I'm like a serial entrepreneur, but I like getting into other aspects of the voiceover business or other genres, getting into other aspects of the voiceover business or other genres, and so I've been actually spending a lot of time of which I don't have a ton studying and educating myself and taking classes.
06:31 And it was funny because, like last weekend, I literally I wasn't recording a VO Boss episode which is really odd for me because typically I do that on Saturdays but I found myself spending the entire day learning a new software so that I could see what were the capabilities, how could I implement this in the next step of growing my business. And that required me to sacrifice my entire Saturday and, of course, my happy hour and everybody's like you work so much. But I'm like, honestly, I really believe that doing the work now and getting the education and doing it during the times when I have available, I think it's going to and then commit to what they're going to do to get to those goals and figure out what sacrifices they're willing to make to get to those goals.
07:33 - Danielle (Guest) That's kind of the part of building and growing your business and scaling the business is that you're probably going to be making a lot of turns along the way, and are you okay with that and are you okay with the sacrifices that you're going to need to make in order to achieve those goals? So for you last week it was a sacrifice of time, but that time sacrifice is going to reap huge dividends later on when you know how to use that software. So really was the time sacrifice like that much of a sacrifice for you, or?
08:02 - Anne (Host) Is it something that was?
08:02 - Danielle (Guest) Really just an investment into your future.
08:05 - Anne (Host) And, interestingly enough, it was an investment into software, which I don't anticipate doing myself. I was looking into a new video editing software so I can create more content to get out right, so that I can again, like, get my brand out there. And so will I ultimately be spending all my time creating or editing videos? No, ultimately I'm going to be hiring somebody to direct them, but I want to know enough about this software to be able to intelligently direct them. And I think also, it's something to mention that, like you spoke about in the very beginning, we have to take sacrifices and maybe not get everything that we want immediately. Like our ultimate goal, I think, in voiceover is let's do something that brings us joy and let's make money at that. And ultimately, I think, along the way of achieving that goal, you might have to do things that may not bring you joy but will bring you income while you are trying to achieve that growth.
08:59 So I know for a fact when I was getting into voiceover and I went full time and I think I think I really speak to the people who are like they're part-time, maybe considering full-time, or they're part-time, considering dedicating more time to it that maybe they don't have and they've got a full-time job and they really hate their full-time job and they don't ever want to do anything like it again.
09:19 Well, I'll tell you what those skills are, what you have in order to ultimately, right, possibly, bring income in on a steady basis. So there might be an interim time where you might have to do consulting in something that you're really good at right. That can maybe help people so that you can bring in enough money to continually like reinvest that money into the growth of your career. And so I wanted to just say it may not be immediate gratification, like the society I think is these days, like I know myself, like I want it right away. I'm impatient, but I do believe that those steps to success and financially and when we talk financially we talk investing your money, having the money to invest as well as your time, which ends up turning into being money for you- oh, for sure, I always think that you need to follow the dollars and do whatever you can to get to your next dollar in business.
10:14 - Danielle (Guest) And if that is education, then follow that. If that is consulting, so that you can have additional money coming in, so that you can use that to channel into your business, then do it. Figure out how you can bring in resources and revenue so that you can use that to then grow your business. And I've said it before, I'll say it again it is totally okay to have your side hustle be what can fund your main hustle until it's time Like that's totally, totally fine, because there's no glory in being a starving artist.
10:52 I really don't think that that's the way that is going to be a long-term measurement of success for you to sort of take away from your current in the hopes of a possibility of a future when you could be doing things along the way to help like infuse capital into your life and your business to help keep you going for longer.
11:12 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. I mean, when you've got a family that might depend on that income, right, so it becomes more than just I mean really depends on where you're at in your life and who's depending on income coming in to pay a mortgage or to support a family. And so in reality, I'm always when my students are asking me should I go full-time into voiceover and they have a family and children, I'm like, well, you've got to really think about this because you need to be able to secure steady income coming in to be able to support, and it's wonderful and I get it. I mean, I think we all get to this point, or a lot of us get to this point, when we've been in a corporate job for a long time and we just it becomes toxic, we hate it and we're like we just want to do what we love full time.
11:55 Well, that may not be achievable within a day, obviously, or even a week, or even a year, because, as I mentioned before, it took me a good oh, I'm going to say maybe eight years before I really got a return on my investment when I went full-time. And so make sure you have that financial cushion to be able to support whatever it is that you need to support yourself, other family members, and it doesn't matter if you're an Uber driver or maybe you're taking the skills that you have during your day job and creating a side hustle business out of that in order to make the extra income. And I always try to say, well, let's make my side hustle. Something I love to do Doesn't necessarily have to be voiceover, and so I love podcasting, so I'm looking to expand my podcasting, consulting that kind of a thing. So how can I do that effectively? Right, how can I get the message out? And, gosh Danielle, after I figure out, like, how I want to grow, guess what comes next? I've got to market myself.
12:53 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, and there's probably going to be more sacrifice in order to get to where you're going and also the sacrifice is looking at what is and figuring out what is or isn't working. So you're looking at your business, the landscape of your business now, and voiceover is working. The other things that you're doing are working, the podcasting is working, and so you're thinking, all right, well, all of these things are working, what else can I do and how else can I build it? And that's great. But also, if something's not working, then you really should look at that and say, all right, well, do I need to keep going down this path? That isn't working.
13:30 Maybe it is keeping a day job that you don't love and don't feel fulfilled with, but maybe you still need to be bringing in an income because you've got people to support and yourself to support.
13:40 Maybe it's just finding a different job that can help bring in income while you're working toward growing your voiceover business. Maybe there are certain genres that you really like, but you're not making a lot of money in and so maybe it's looking at all right, I do enjoy this particular genre, but I'm making a ton more money in a different genre. Let me keep cultivating that, but have the passion working in this genre that I love. That maybe isn't paying as much. Those kinds of hard questions are really the sacrifices I think that we're talking about here, not necessarily just financial, but understanding that to get to the level of success that you're wanting to get, whatever your measure of success is looking at the decisions that need to be made and making the hard choices and making those sacrifices, be it financial or otherwise, to then get you to where you're trying to go in your version of success.
14:35 - Anne (Host) I love how you brought up the different genres too, because it's something else to look at. When you're doing a genre, there's so many people that want to do, let's say, character voices or animation or promo, and it's something to be said that, while you're working toward that goal right, you can also financially invest yourself and your time into other genres that can be bringing you money in. While that happens and of course, that happens to be one of my specialties happens to be the corporate market, and I'm always trying to explain to people that it may not be the most glamorous and it may not be the one that brings you the most joy. However, when you talk about market share, you've literally got so many opportunities for corporate narration compared to maybe, let's say, animation, because there's only so many animated shows out there. However, I upped my number, I've now researched and my number is now 33.2 million registered companies.
15:28 It used to be 30.4. Now it's 33.2 million companies that are registered with the SBA in the United States, and so that's just a lot of opportunities, a lot of potential opportunities, because you've got those companies that probably have a website and they probably have a YouTube channel and they need a voice at one point or another to be able to talk about those products and services.
15:48 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, that's a really great point, because there's part of this industry that can be purely just economics. It can just purely be about what pays the bills. And then there's other parts of it as actors, but figuring out what it is that you can do that pays the bills and also fills your soul. And it may not be the same thing, but how can you put your time and your energy and your efforts into creating as much money and fulfillment as possible in your day, in your life, in your business?
16:31 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely. And it's so funny because I'm always like with corporate narration, people just think it's so boring and a lot of people just think it's so boring and I'm like, wow, I completely don't think that, because to me it's just challenging. It's challenging to be able to find the story in some of the corporate copy. It's not that it's necessarily to me boring, but I love the challenge. As an artist, I love the challenge of where is the story here and how can I tell it in the most interesting way. And also, just again, looking at the absolute size of the market that is out there and also understanding and keeping my eye on all sorts of other things happening in the industry. And so, while I have my eye on that, making sure that if I love being an entrepreneur and I love being a boss, how am I going to continue to bring in money when, let's say, maybe times are slow in the industry, Like there are also slow points in the marketplace Right now? Certain genres I think are busier than ever, like political.
17:33 And of course anybody that's doing commercials for the holidays, right? I mean, they've been busy. But maybe during the holidays there are certain other genres that aren't as busy, right? Maybe corporate narration isn't quite as busy, maybe e-learning is not quite as busy during that time. But understanding the fluctuations in the market and when those happen, for you I have the genre I always want to do character work, and so I'm continually working towards that. But to supplement my financial income, I'm going to do some corporate or I'm going to do some e-learning, or I'm going to do some telephony, whatever that is. And then understanding where the fluctuations are in the marketplace, and so if there is just no work coming in, then invest your time in figuring out how you're going to grow that business. And again, which translates to your time is money.
18:18 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, and that is the measure of entrepreneurship, that is the measure of being the VO boss. That's what it means to look at. Okay, what's going on in the industry, what's going on with the things that I do well or genres that I would like to do well in, and how can I maneuver myself to be able to take advantage of all of it? Maybe not at the same time, but be able to move laterally into and out of genres when they're at their high points, or maybe moving out of something if there's a strike, for example. You know that's happening right now. Or figuring out, like, what's going on in the market and how you can maneuver your business to be the best positioned that it possibly can be. Like that's the name of the game. It's not just about what you do and how you show up in front of your mic. It's really about figuring out how you can position your business to win, no matter what the circumstances are as much as they say.
19:17 - Anne (Host) This is not a competitive industry, because every voice is unique. In reality, I'm competing against myself so that I can continually progress forward and win. I love it that you said win, because, danielle, I'm not competitive at all, right Me either.
19:32 - Danielle (Guest) I'm not competitive at all.
19:34 - Anne (Host) Not at all, but yeah, but really yeah, how can you win? How can you win? And, like you were mentioning earlier, what is your definition of success? Because there are some people that financial is not necessarily the definition of success and I know that we're going to actually have an episode coming up on like determining what is your hourly rate, like what is your hourly worth? Right In trying to determine what's working and what's not. How are you determining? Okay, I'm spending an hour learning this and what is that time worth? Versus if I get a commercial, I can make this amount of money. How does that translate into my hourly rate? If I do a corporate narration and I get paid once, how does that translate into my hourly rate? If I do a corporate narration and I get paid once, how does that translate? So you can kind of decide how you can move forward in your business and what you should work on, maybe what you should focus on or what goals you can set for the next level.
20:24 - Danielle (Guest) For sure I love that.
20:25 I think, then, that also brings a lot of ability to the individual voice actor to be the person who is choosing what winning and success looks like, and it's got nothing to do with what you're seeing in these Facebook groups or how other people are running their business.
20:40 It's got everything to do with what you have chosen, what you've decided, and it gives you something to do. I feel like sometimes it feels like so many things are out of your control. When it comes to running a business, when it comes to being a VO boss, it really is like, okay, well, I did this audition, did someone choose it or not? Have I been chosen? Are all these people, these gatekeepers out there? Is it working in my favor or not? But when you have something that you personally can do and you can take ownership of how you are running your business, it's empowering and really what you were just talking about is the individual business owner and entrepreneur and VO boss being able to empower themselves and choose what is your definition of success and what can you do to make sure that you get there. And then it's got nothing to do with anyone else choosing you or not choosing you. It's got everything to do with what you've done to make yourself the most successful that you can possibly be.
21:38 - Anne (Host) I love that. I feel like that could be a completely separate episode too, talking about what is it that you own, right? What is it that you own? There are things that we don't control, like do we get picked, do I get feedback? And that's the stuff I think a lot of voice actors get preoccupied with, like oh okay, so why am I not getting picked? Or I audition, but I never hear back, and so they spend all their time worrying about that.
22:02 But I think what you said is just absolutely on point, like what is it that you can do to control right? That you take control of what it is that you can control and that's going to be what moves you forward and that's what's going to keep you, I'm going to say, out of the mindset of self-sabotage or imposter syndrome. And so I can't control whether somebody picks me or not necessarily for my audition, because there are so many elements that aren't in my control. But I can control my performance. I can control how good I am right. I can control my performance. I can control how good I am right. I can control getting coaching if I need more. I can control marketing in my business, right. I can control researching what's happening and what trends are happening now. So those are things I can do.
22:44 - Danielle (Guest) You can control your audio quality. You can control how much money you're saving and reinvesting in your business. You can control who you work with. You can say no to working with certain clients and certain jobs if it doesn't serve you or the rate doesn't serve you or the subject matter does not serve you. There are so many things that are in your control that owning that and really living in the peace of the ownership of that really can be what helps you feel like you're actually doing a little bit more every single day to be the VO boss that you ultimately want to be.
23:20 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and your mention of how empowering that is, I mean that is so empowering. I mean I know that, me the control freak. Maybe that's why I'm a serial entrepreneur, I have no idea because I can control that, I can control the education, I can control the direction that I'm moving and if it's not necessarily moving the way I want it to or expect it to, I can move it again and I can change it again. And so that keeps me the control freak, which it can be a good thing, it can also be a bad thing, but I think for me, I utilize that personality trait that I have of always wanting to have control in a positive way to help me grow and then still understanding that I have these things under my control and then understanding, almost more importantly, what it is that is not under my control and not allowing that to affect me in any way in terms of my mental state.
24:06 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
24:09 - Anne (Host) Wow, what a great conversation. So yeah guys, no sacrifice, no success. I am a big believer in really taking the ownership, making the sacrifices that you need, and that sacrifice doesn't necessarily need to be money. It could be your time, your dedication, your effort, your spirit, right, all of that. Whatever, it takes that kind of go-get-em sort of boss attitude that just goes for it and just tries things. If it doesn't work, try it another way, right, and really tries not to allow any of that to get in the way, or even yourself to get in the way.
24:45 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, I love it.
24:45 - Anne (Host) Danielle, I love it. Great, great conversation. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTL.com and, guys, you have an amazing week. Go out there and make those sacrifices, because we know you guys are going to be great successes. So have a good one, guys, and we'll see you next week. See you later, bye.
25:13 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides delve into the expanding role of on-camera presence for voice actors. Their conversation highlights how versatility across different media is increasingly vital in the entertainment industry. They explore the shift from on-camera work being a side hustle to becoming a fundamental aspect of a successful voiceover career. Anne and Lau emphasize the power of authentic connection, both vocally and visually, and discuss the importance of building supportive online communities. They also touch on practical aspects of self-presentation, including beauty, fashion, and the impact of confidence, ultimately encouraging voice actors to embrace their full presence to thrive professionally and personally.
00:02 - Anne (Host) Hey, bosses want to be that well-rounded talent that's always in demand. I offer coaching in a variety of genres, including commercials that grab attention, medical narrations that educate, corporate scripts that inspire and e-learning modules that engage. Find out more at anganguzza.com.
00:24 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:43 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I am here with my lovely host co-host. I don't know Host and co-host. Look at you, Lau, I called you my host.
00:57 - Lau (Guest) I could be called first things. I'll tell you what, right yeah.
01:01 - Anne (Host) I'm here with my lovely co-host, Lau Lapides. So wonderful to see you. It's been a little bit it has.
01:08 - Lau (Guest) It's awesome to be back. I'm excited 2025.
01:11 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I apologize. I was a little bit late, Lau, because, as you know, I had to do the hair and the makeup because we do video things now I'm so glad.
01:20 - Lau (Guest) I'm so glad you finally took the time to look appropriate. I'm so glad.
01:22 - Anne (Host) I'm so glad you finally took the time to look appropriate for camera. I'm always such a slob on camera, oh we're divas.
01:27 - Lau (Guest) You know that we're divas, we're fashionistas.
01:31 - Anne (Host) Well, it did take us five minutes prior to pressing record to finish putting our lipstick on. I think what's so interesting, Lau, is that there's like all sorts of parallel careers with on-camera and influencer marketing that can complement your voice acting career.
01:50 - Lau (Guest) And that is amazing because I never thought of it and I know a lot of listeners may not have thought of it, but you're actually involved with it and this is like something we have to talk about today is your on-camera appeal as a voiceover talent. I think it's been a long time that we haven't really faced that. No pun intended, we really have to face our face.
02:12 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I mean, I agree and I'll tell you what I know.
02:15 We had an episode prior to this where we talked about on-camera and how it was a great additional side hustle, but not really, it's not even really a side hustle, right, there's a lot of agents out there that really look for people that can be on camera as well as do the voice acting, and I think that, besides the traditional on camera, slash, theater, slash voice acting, I think there's also this whole other world of I hate to say, influencer marketing, but there's essentially your presence online that can help to get you and your brand known, and some of it may be influencer, some of it just may be.
02:54 You're creating those videos that other people see, and I'm kind of for this year, because social media is a little bit chaotic and I know there's a lot of people who are kind of fleeing social media, but I think that at some point here's my prediction right my prediction is that people will still form those safe communities, and those safe communities because we've been globally connecting with one another, especially in our industry, right, because we don't have an office, we all go into and meet and talk by the water cooler.
03:23 We are all online, and so I think we're all going to be in our communities wherever they may be, whatever platform they may be, and maybe not even on a platform, maybe just our own Zoom meetings, our Zoom water coolers where we can work with one another and talk with one another and also work with our clients and potential clients, and so I think it's important to talk about what's involved in kind of preparing yourself for this, because for so many years there have been people who want to be voice actors have always thought, well, I don't want to be on camera and that's why I want to be behind the mic, and that's what I love about that. But I think that we really need to kind of open our minds to thinking about our on-camera presence.
04:04 - Lau (Guest) Gosh, there's just so much to unpack about what you just said. We're going to break that up into segments. I think the first one is, of course, as an agent. The first thing I'm thinking about is and I just work with voiceover talent but I'm thinking about do you do on-camera work? Do you also do on-camera work? Because whether you're facing a boutique agency or you're up for representation in one of the bigger hubs, that's one of the first things on their mind is what do you do across the board? Do you do print work? Do you do modeling? Do you do on-camera ads? Do you do, of course, voiceover?
04:36 No longer are we compartmentalized into just being a voiceover talent. Now we're going to work with clients and reps that really want to know wow, could you be the face of this product, like you are? Could you be the model for what we're putting out there? And I'm being unafraid because I hear oftentimes and I know you do too oh, I got a face for radio and you know it isn't even funny anymore, because it's far from truth, it's far from accurate. We don't want you hiding behind a microphone. We don't want to not see you, we want to see you.
05:09 - Anne (Host) Yeah, it also plays into again, guys. I know that, like I said, we covered a lot of this in another episode, but I think it's really relevant and timely that we talk about it again today, because you know, we're talking about people wanting, needing that human connection right Again. We've got chaos right now, social media division everywhere and I think that human connection with like minds and I think that that's so important, that we establish that and on camera, helps that. It totally helps that, that we are representing ourselves as the human beings who have a voice, and not just a voice but a face as well, and we're real. We're real and we want that real connection.
05:53 - Lau (Guest) And we know that in the entertainment industry, seven out of ten jobs are going to go to real people, real looking people, real sounding people, real, authentic personalities Like. We know this for a fact. If you don't believe us, turn on media, go to a movie, listen to the radio, you'll hear what we mean. Right, we just don't hear as many announcers. We don't see as many announcers unless we watch the Super Bowl. So we really want to kind of be aware that, as real people, we're getting a lot more work these days. Real people were getting a lot more work. These days. They're super gorgeous, super model, super of what we think we should be on camera. But that's not accurate. For what today's market?
06:32 - Anne (Host) Exactly and like even though we kind of were kidding around Lau and talking about putting our lipstick on for you know, for five minutes, that for me it's something that I love, that for me, five minutes, that for me, it's something that I I love, that For me, that's something that I am so passionate about. For myself, anyways, it's certainly not a requirement. I mean, my gosh, look at the celebrities out there that are beautiful without makeup, without the filters. I mean, that's a whole vibe, that's a whole thing.
06:59 So it's not necessarily, guys, that you have to put makeup on it's all about representing yourself and who you are, and I happen to find a very creative artistry in makeup. It's like a newfound passion of mine after so long of when I was behind the mic and not necessarily going out so much, where I didn't really think about it, but now it's like you know what, let me just get a little zhuzhed up for the camera, and I find that I really enjoy it. However, one thing that I have to say, and this is because, guys, I am dabbling a little bit in influencer marketing. I mean, I don't like to call myself an influencer, but I do work with a few brands where I will talk about the brands and put myself on camera and display the product and tell people what I think about that product, and so there's a certain presence and I have to prepare for that. That is something that doesn't come. I'd like to say, it came naturally to me, but there's practice involved and there's preparation time involved in that.
07:58 And it's funny because I do a lot of things Lau and this is like yet another thing on my plate and people are like, well, what are you influencing now? And I'm like, well, not really, I'm just basically doing something I'm passionate about and, yeah, I'm getting paid. I mean, hey, if I can get paid for it, that would be fabulous. And so I am working with a few select brands that I love, and so, because I can be real and human and tell people how much I love them, I can get a little kickback. It's like affiliate marketing. I'm very much on board with that. So I've been doing that and I'm excited to say that I'm on a couple different platforms now. And no, I'm not giving up voice acting. No, I'm not giving up my coaching or demo production business, but it's something I do on the weekends. But Lau, it takes me, like for me to get ready before I present on camera. I mean, it's an event.
08:44 This hair is an event.
08:46 People that have seen me at VO Atlanta. Know, I mean, I love hiring makeup and hair for VIO Atlanta. For me it's like going to the spa, but it is an event, so you have to really put your time in and it's also a different way of marketing yourself. And so there's a whole different world, a whole different way of doing it, and I have to educate myself on how to do that.
09:05 - Lau (Guest) And I'll tell you, you do this brilliantly. I think you need to move yourself forward, whether you're a male or a female, in a very unapologetic way. So if that is part of your jam, and that's what you do, and that's what you love, or that's what you want to get into the fashionista side of our industry, then go for it. There shouldn't be any explanation.
09:25 There shouldn't be any exposition about why you're doing it, or are you leaving, right? You just love it, right? So that's how we're motivating people to be thinking about this. I also want to talk about Annie. I want to talk about the regular people, the real people who get up, they get into their booth, they're behind their mic all day.
09:43 - Anne (Host) I'm a regular person.
09:45 - Lau (Guest) But I mean someone who authentically does not want to be in front of the camera. They don't like dressing up, they don't want to put on makeup. I get that.
10:01 That's probably most people to be honest with you and I'll tell you something. But that's also very real and very engaging and very like. It's like reality TV. Yes, I just want to say a shout out to those people because we love you, we appreciate you, we do. All we're saying is show up as the best you that you can put forward. And if you we just had a conversation about this last night In corporate it's very much the same way.
10:18 If you have a meeting in corporate on WebEx, half the people show up. They don't even turn their videos on in, they don't Show up. Turn on your video, Feel good about the way you look, Feel good about how you're presenting, Own your little square Right. Or if you're going into an office, come in and command the space and feel at home. Feel good about that. That's going to change your physical presence, right. And it's amazing when we look at actors, especially on-camera actors, and we say this actor isn't a particularly aesthetically beautiful person. But boy, are they sexy. Yeah, right, why are they so sexy? In fact, Hollywood always had a name for that. They call it sexy ugly people.
11:01 - Anne (Host) Because they have a confidence.
11:03 - Lau (Guest) They were just real people, regular people, but they were so confident. This is me, you know, yeah absolutely yeah, and they just come in and be like, yeah, this is me and that's you, and I'm excited, we're here, right, let's do some stuff. And that is the beauty of the mind, right? The aesthetics of the spirit that is coming along along with your gorgeous makeup color and your hair, and whatever you choose to do to embellish whether you do that or not, it's got to come from the inside. It's something internal, right?
11:35 - Anne (Host) It's all in how we talk to ourselves, right, it's all in the stories that we tell ourselves. And it's interesting and here's a shameless plug, Lau, I don't know if you're aware, but I did launch a new podcast in January called the Myth of you Self-Awareness in a Digital Age, and we talk about common myths that you might believe about yourself and we talk about the hero's journey. Believe about yourself and we talk about the hero's journey and we talk about how your experiences and how you can learn from your experiences and how you can rewrite your story. You can choose to tell yourself that you're beautiful, whether you feel that or not, and then ultimately really hopefully progress and move forward and be happy, successful.
12:11 All that good stuff and the fact is is that your mind is such a powerful, powerful tool, how you speak to yourself, and we talk a lot about those things. And I'm just so ecstatic to kind of delve more into that area because we've talked about it here as well, because being an actor, being a voice actor, it's very much a mental game, it's very much self-sabotage, the imposter syndrome. All of that is very real and this is such a cool podcast where we really explore that even further. You really need to talk to yourself. And it's funny even in my Pilates class the other day in my head we were doing center and balance class and of course we were on the BOSU ball and I was completely off balance because I feel like I don't know what happened to my balance as I got older.
12:51 But in my head.
12:52 I was going God, I suck at this. And at the time that I said that in my head, I swear to God, my Pilates instructor said now, guys, you may think that you're not good at this, but it's all in what you say in your mind. So remember that if you continually say I suck at something, right, I suck at balance, she goes. Don't say that to yourself. You need to manifest that you're good at balance.
13:13 You're good at center and balance.
13:15 - Lau (Guest) And ultimately your body will follow. And when someone says I don't look good or I'm not excited about getting on camera or I don't really want to offer, you know.
13:26 What are they really saying, like there's a subtext there. Yeah, they're really saying I'm not ready to show up and be present, I'm not ready to put forward who I am, and that's different than what you do. I think a lot of us work so hard and so much, annie, that we self-identify as our work, as our business, which isn't a bad thing, but we lose the sense of the separate self, and a separate self has to feel good about just being and showing up and being present.
13:57 - Anne (Host) Well, how interesting is that? Because when we talk about voice acting right and we're always talking about bringing yourself to your acting, to your read that is really allowing yourself to show up and be present, because, human to human, I connect. Well, I connect to you because of your personality, because of who you are, not because I think you look pretty or I think you sound good. Exactly.
14:15 It's all about bringing your personality, and that's what I try to tell people in. Voice acting it's not so much about how you sound really at all, I mean. How many times can we say that?
14:25 - Lau (Guest) I mean I feel like every coach in the world forevermore will be like voice acting really isn't about how you sound, I mean it's about the connection Right and if you can get out of yourself of your way to the other right to really pay attention and to be curious, to be authentically inquisitive like a child. Like what is that? What is she saying, what is she doing? Why is she? That is what is sexy and attractive and compelling to an audience, is an audience wants to be taken in by curiosity.
15:01 They want to feel that they're interesting. Right, if you can make someone feel that they're interesting because you're interesting. Make someone feel right Make someone feel right.
15:12 - Anne (Host) Isn't that like what it's?
15:12 all about Make someone feel Make someone feel.
15:14 - Lau (Guest) That's the reason why I listen or watch or pay attention to anything, really Okay so, listen, how do we connect this now to this base of your fashion, your branding, your look, your feel? When you get up in the morning, annie, and you think, okay, I'm going to get dressed, I'm going to do my makeup, I'm going to do my hair, I'm going to do my ritual, how do you select, how do you choose where you want to go with that, based on what is going to unfold in your day?
15:40 - Anne (Host) Well, honestly, I mean I just make sure that I get up and do things for myself that are going to make me feel good. Because if I can feel good, right, feel awake, feel healthy, feel alive, yeah, and feel like I've cared for myself, like self-love is not selfish at all, and I've learned that a lot in the past few years, especially because when I had gone through a lot and gained a lot of weight, I'd lost a lot of my confidence. I had a lot of inner dialogue that was not good, and now I said I need to make sure that I make the time to have self-care, because self-care for me really sets the tone, sets the day for everything that happens next, whether I am working with a student, whether I am working with a client. If I feel good about myself, then I can feel good and portray and project that in everything that I do and to everyone that I'm with.
16:38 - Lau (Guest) So, in essence, what you do as your choice, certain things aren't your choice, Like our age, is not our choice. It just happens and that's natural and we move through it. But our choice in everything else we do and how we put ourselves together. Our choice then ricochets and affects other people's choices because their perception of you shifts based on your choice. That's really powerful when you think about that, how much empowerment you have within you, but how much power it has for someone else's potential change for their future, absolutely.
17:14 - Anne (Host) And everything that you say to yourself and do for yourself is a choice. Right, there's always a choice. You always have a choice. Like I just took a great course on happiness. Happiness is a choice. Happiness, joy is a choice. And if you choose joy which I'm always talking about choose joy, do something that makes you joyful, then that will ultimately not only help you but also affect everyone that you are in contact with in every thing that you do, work-wise, personal-wise.
17:42 - Lau (Guest) It's a domino effect.
17:44 It's a domino. So how does someone let's say we take someone who's not accustomed to this way of thinking and just kind of gets up, grabs a coffee and goes to work or does what they need to do, gets up, grabs a coffee and goes to work or does what they need to do? What are some of the steps that we can offer? To revisit and again, I'm not just talking about your business brand, I'm not just talking about your persona in your business, I'm also talking about your personality and persona in your life how do they go about re-envisioning that and making new moves in that direction?
18:17 - Anne (Host) Well, first of all, as we were chatting about earlier, get enough sleep. That's part of self-care right.
18:22 Get enough sleep because.
18:23 I was recently very, very tired I'm kind of recovering from a cold, you can hear that and I had quite a few sleepless nights, while my husband also had a cold and was coughing, and I just was jolted awake multiple times a lot of times because I was worried. But anyways, running on little to no sleep does not help anything when you're trying to start your day out right. So I would say that, and again, it's got to be like how can you start the day? I know a lot of people say this, but I will say honestly what are you grateful for? How can you start your day on a positive note? Because when I was overtired, any little thing could go wrong and I just let it upset me Like I ended up being angry, I ended up crying, I ended up eating more. It was horrible. It was like this cascading sort of trauma.
19:09 - Lau (Guest) Bad choice. Yeah, it was a bad choice fondue.
19:12 - Anne (Host) Yeah, right. So if you can again start the day with figuring out what are you grateful for, what are you happy for? I mean, I know it's been a tough start to the year. I know a lot of people have suffered health issues, it's been chaotic out there in social media and politically, and turbulent in the world, and I think that we need to have our safe spaces where we can still acknowledge and no one can take that away from you by the way.
19:34 - Lau (Guest) I love that, no matter what. I love it.
19:36 - Anne (Host) No one can take your joy away from you. No one can take your inner state right and your choice of joy and gratefulness away from you.
19:46 - Lau (Guest) Yes, yes, amen, sister. And we know this Again my tattoo that says resilience, resilience. So many people live in horrors, yeah, horrors, yeah. So many people live in horrors, horrors, but still make the choice to have joy in their daily life.
19:58 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely Because joy is small.
20:00 - Lau (Guest) It's very, very minute. It's a minutia choice to see things in a joyous way. I'm all for that. I'm going to give a practical and pragmatic one. Sure, okay, in the morning look at your closet. If you have more than one, go to your different closets. Look at your closet and make a concerted effort to choose something you haven't worn in the last six months and it's going to feel very uncomfortable to you because a lot of those clothes in there I guarantee you are for when you get thinner, are for when you feel younger are for that special occasion, or for when you feel younger, or for that special occasion or da-da-da-da-da, but you refuse to get rid of it because you've got some hopes and dreams and memories connected to it.
20:41 - Anne (Host) I have a sparkly shirt, mom, I'm going to challenge you.
20:43 - Lau (Guest) I love it. I'm going to challenge you. I got up and wore the sparkly shirt. Choose one of those. And here's the challenge. If you're not willing to choose it, I need you to give it away.
20:52 - Anne (Host) Oh yeah.
20:53 I need you to give it away I like that Because it's actually holding back your joy.
20:57 - Lau (Guest) It's holding back your beauty. It's holding back your full measure of confidence, Because there's something in there that says oh, someday I'll wear it, Someday I'll look good in it. Someday. It sounds small, doesn't it? But that's like a huge feng shui move. Oh absolutely.
21:11 - Anne (Host) There's like a whole science behind cleaning your closet. A whole science? Yeah, absolutely, and I'm that person that you know. I had clothes of every size in my closet Small for when I lost the weight, and large, and it's funny because after this last round of losing weight, I literally took everything that was sized larger than I was at the time and I said that's it, I'm donating it.
21:35 - Lau (Guest) That's right, let someone else enjoy it, Let someone else live in it and appreciate it and have a life in it, and it's not yours anymore, right?
21:44 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Annie, it's not yours anymore.
21:45 - Lau (Guest) I got another one. Go to anywhere Go to Sephora, go to Mac, go online, go anywhere you like and get a new palette for yourself of color. It could be makeup, it could be wardrobe I love that. It could be hair accessories, it could be props whatever you want it to be. If you're a man, you might choose something that you're going to carry every day. Whatever. What's important about that is it's fresh, it reflects you today and it's hopeful. There's optimism in that right, that little moment of re-envisioning they used to have. They don't have as many now, but they remember Annie, the days where they had a lot of makeover shows Like every show was the makeover show.
22:26 They don't have as many of those anymore, but I mean, the idea of makeover is something I think internally that as human beings we need a couple times a year. We need to make ourselves re-envision, reinvent, so that we don't get static and held down and stale by the past.
22:44 - Anne (Host) Well, we don't want to talk about my makeup collection.
22:48 - Lau (Guest) I kind of do because you have the best makeup. It is large, I kind of do. It is a large collection. Build-a-beans we want to know, annie. It is a large collection.
22:56 - Anne (Host) Still the beans we want to know, annie, it is a large collection which I actually have to go through because they tell you, you know, after six months you need to dispose of your lipsticks your eyeshadows, tell the truth.
23:03 - Lau (Guest) I have a ton. How many?
23:03 - Anne (Host) closets? Do you have full of makeup? Well, I don't have closets, but I have lots of drawers.
23:12 - Lau (Guest) Wait, let me guess I'm going to say six.
23:15 - Anne (Host) At least three, but they're big drawers. They're big, they're like double-sized drawers. Don't believe her, it's got to be six. But there's a point, though, when you can't have too much and you've got to go purge, and so when you purge, that also is a wonderful feng shui cleansing ritual. But I like the fact that I have every color palette in the world, I feel. But then it's funny, because if I watch somebody like a video on Instagram and I see somebody with a different color, I'm like, ooh, I like that color, and so it's something new. It doesn't even have to be a makeup color. It can be like maybe just like a new product, and the product does not have to be expensive. I kid around about my Chanel lipsticks, but honestly, I have found much more cost-effective lipsticks lately in different colors that are amazing.
23:57 - Lau (Guest) Okay, Now I'm going to come from the real world too, because the real world would say, okay, that's fantastic and those are great products, good quality products too. But let's say I don't want them, I can't afford them, they're not for me. I might go over to the dollar store. Oh, absolutely.
24:11 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I might go over to CVS In fact I might go over to CVS.
24:12 - Lau (Guest) In fact I might go online, so there's a lot of places you can get very similar.
24:17 - Anne (Host) Just watch your ingredients right, Make sure you don't have allergies that you're going to break out. Oh, there's a brand that I use. That's very drugstore cheap for facial products I mean. I used to buy it. Can you say what it is? Can you tell us ELF, elf.
24:32 - Lau (Guest) We love Elf.
24:33 - Anne (Host) I mean, it's good stuff, and I've been actually I replaced my entire. I do a lot of makeup from them and I also do skincare as well. I love it. I love it, so I'm not spending a ton of money on it either, and so you don't have to spend a lot of money.
24:47 - Lau (Guest) And again, it doesn't have to be makeup, but if it makes you feel good, absolutely I think you need to move it out too within a certain amount of time, just for, like, cleanliness and bacteria. Yeah, absolutely that, if you are using it within what is it, annie? Six to eight months, or something you're supposed to get rid of it?
25:03 And the other thing, too, is we all know don't double dip, right. So get your one-time applicators whether it's your eyes or very sensitive areas Don't double dip, because then all the bacteria is going into your makeup. These are things like that a lot of folks don't think of, they don't know that are so, so helpful, right what?
25:22 - Anne (Host) other tips? What other? Okay, so what sort of tips can we give for people that are not wanting to wear makeup? Let's say, maybe it's not makeup related, All right, I got one.
25:30 - Lau (Guest) I got one. This is for everyone, but men love this and you're seeing this more with aesthetics lines is taking care of your skin. So at any age, it's really important to hydrate, to exfoliate, to stay out of the sun or get a little vitamin D but not too much and really be careful with your skin, not just because of skin cancer and those types of things, but also because you want to have this inner radiant feel. You don't want to feel like a saddlebag, you don't want to feel like you know you've been worn down.
26:01 - Anne (Host) You know what I?
26:02 - Lau (Guest) mean Like someone's going to sit on you on a horse. You know what I mean. Like you want to feel fresh. You know? One of the things I love is I love humidifiers and a manicure pedicure can help anybody, I don't care who you are.
26:15 - Anne (Host) Thank you, can I? Tell you how many times my husband will be like, hey, do you want to come with me? Just to like keep me company. And oh, he'll be like, well, okay, but I know he enjoys it. Are you kidding me? How can you?
26:25 - Lau (Guest) not, I mean it's incredible, you know it's incredible.
26:31 - Anne (Host) What about a facial Massage?
26:33 - Lau (Guest) Oh my gosh, get a massage.
26:35 - Anne (Host) I am a big believer in massage. I feel like it moves fluids and it gets rid of toxins. Big believer in that.
26:42 - Lau (Guest) Now what about changing out one piece of your wardrobe? Because we all get comfortable. We have comfy clothes. We tend to wear them every day. You and I do similar things with the glasses. We tend to switch out our glasses just because we get tired of wearing the same glasses. It's part of the fashion, it's part of how you feel, it's part of how you look on camera. That's a very simple thing to do. To have I wear cheaters. I'm not into prescription just yet. I need the prescription.
27:10 No, I don't mind saying to people, I'll go to the dollar store, I'll get 10 pairs of glasses. I'll put them in all different places that I know I need to use them. I just went up. I think I'm like a 2.0 right now, or 2.5 or whatever it is, and that's enough for me. I don't need any stronger than that. And that way, every time I put them on, I have a slightly different feel, because it maybe matches the outfit or maybe matches the occasion. Maybe it just feels differently to me.
27:36 - Anne (Host) Right, let's see One there. You go Right here in my two. Wait there you go. I have three different pairs of glasses right here, so like I've got a tortoise shell.
27:46 - Lau (Guest) I love and I love your glasses. I've got black. I love your glasses. One more thing I want to mention too. I think I've got a red in here too. Who doesn't? I mean, red is the best, red is a power color.
27:57 - Anne (Host) This is my original boss glasses. They're gorgeous, Gosh.
28:00 - Lau (Guest) I love them. What about? Let's talk about jewelry for a second.
28:03 - Anne (Host) Oh, I love jewelry.
28:04 - Lau (Guest) So now a lot of folks might say I don't wear jewelry or it's too expensive, it breaks. I'm telling you go costume, go costume, oh God yeah. And think about how that jewelry reflects a piece of who you are. For instance, it might be culturally based, it might be a particular designer that you like, where they're from internationally. It might have a symbol that you care about. It might be a locket with a photo in it.
28:33 - Anne (Host) There's so many ways you can wear jewelry right. Amazon has a lot of great costume jewelry.
28:36 - Lau (Guest) That is reasonably priced. Just saying I wear costume a lot more than I wear the real thing.
28:41 - Anne (Host) A lot of this is Amazon costume yeah.
28:45 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, I wear a lot of beads. I really just am in love with beads because they break. You give it a little wish and a prayer and then you go on. I don't worry about it at all. You just don't worry like you'd worry about a very expensive piece. It's just fun. There's a fun in wearing different watches.
29:02 - Anne (Host) Well, it's kind of like I wear a lot of bling and it's funny because a lot of this is like vintage, a lot of it is my mother's and people will be like, well, wow, you're wearing a lot of diamonds there and I'm like, well, here's the deal. If they're not on my finger, they're in a safe and it doesn't make me feel close to my mother.
29:17 It's not that I'm trying to like say, oh, look at all the diamonds or look how sparkly. I mean I just want to feel close to my mother, and so that to me. I made that decision a few years ago. I said you know what? I am not going to the time, annie, with actors.
29:30 - Lau (Guest) Figure out your hair already. You know what I mean. Like a lot of people, are like well, I'm going white and I don't know if I want to go white. I've got red in it and then I'm like listen, it's fun, it's fashion, you can change it. It shouldn't be something that you feel married to or that you hate.
29:53 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I've never felt married to my hair, although lately, I mean, I have long hair. Should I cut?
29:58 - Lau (Guest) it. Can I take your hair? I love your hair. I'd like to see what I look like with long blonde locks.
30:03 - Anne (Host) But it's funny because I for a very long time had very short hair and so it really just depends. Oh, I didn't know that, oh yeah. When I was growing up I had very short hair. I had kind of like that pixie cut, and so I never had long hair until later on when I decided to let it grow and then it was just the thing, and then sometimes a little bit of it fell out when I was sick.
30:26 So then it grows back. Hair does grow back, that's right.
30:29 However, it is just hair and gosh Lau. There's always a wig, I know Right, there's always a wig. I know Right, there's always a wig.
30:37 - Lau (Guest) As we started this conversation by saying most things are choices, most, not all. My age is not my choice. It is what it is and I work with it, but most other things are my choice. My height is not my choice.
30:49 - Anne (Host) right, right, my voice is not my choice either. No, but as you train your voice. Yes, exactly, is not my choice either.
30:56 - Lau (Guest) No, but as you train your voice and you find different ways you can find different shades of your voice, then that's a nice choice to make is what can I do with my voice and where can it go? That does become a choice. So, wow, this conversation could go on and on, couldn't it?
31:09 - Anne (Host) I feel like we need to have more coffee and chit chat about makeup. I know, Bosses believe it or not, this does have a lot of relevance to you and, even though we were talking about fashion and makeup and influencing it, really, guys, get yourself out there because and show your humanness, show who you are in all aspects of your career. Really, I think that's one thing that's going to keep us moving forward in turbulent times and keep joy in our hearts and really, I mean, help us to maybe even propel our businesses.
31:38 - Lau (Guest) I love it and I'll leave everyone on this. Don't forget to smile, because we use that as a technical tool in voiceover but aside from that, it makes you feel good and younger and connected and happy and joyous, and so that is just your little technical tool for the day. And a lot of people say you look nicer, prettier, more warmer, younger, like all those fun stuff we love to hear just by smiling.
32:04 - Anne (Host) Well, great conversation, Lau. Thank you so much. It was wonderful to get back together with you and I'll give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. A great big shout out to our sponsor IPDTL. You, too, can connect and chit chat about cool things like makeup and hair and fashion and voiceover and on camera things. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
32:30 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguza and Tom Dheere examine the state of the voiceover industry a few months into 2025. They discuss the direct impact of political and economic events on booking trends and content. The conversation explores how corporate messaging is adapting to cultural and policy changes, the ongoing role of authenticity, and the evolving, perhaps less threatening, landscape of AI. Ultimately, they offer a message of adaptation, education, and resilience for voice actors navigating the current climate.
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00:32 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. And successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today Rock your business like a boss a VO boss.
00:54 - Anne (Host) Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguza. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and I'm here with the one and only Mr Tom Dheere. Hello, hello, hello, hi, tom. Oh goodness, tom, we're a few months into 2025, and it's been quite a year so far, wouldn't you say I would say yes, it has.
01:13 Lots of disruption going on in the world in so many ways I would say economically, socially, I mean. It's a new administration and I know that we spoke earlier about setting your goals and starting off on the right foot for 2025 and finding out who you are. Now that we're a few months in, I think we should go back and readdress what's happening. What's going on? How are you feeling about the state of things? Let's maybe open it up with the state of our industry, the voiceover industry. How are you feeling the state of voiceover is a few months into 2025?
01:49 - Tom What's interesting about it, Anne, is that your emotional state when you are watching the news or doom scrolling on social media is going to make you feel a certain way about how everything is going and, depending on your political inclination, you may think everything is going wonderfully or you may think everything is going terribly.
02:12 But then there's that pesky little thing called reality, which is the reality of how many auditions am I getting, how often am I booking, how much money am I making? Where are those voiceover bookings coming from? And, based on what's going on in the world, how much of that is directly or indirectly affecting our individual voiceover businesses?
02:39 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, and because we're service-based right. It affects us very much. Right, it affects us because companies are hiring us to, for the most part, entertain or sell. Right, and, depending on how the companies are feeling and companies are reacting to the issues that are going on in the world today, may have a direct impact on our business.
03:01 - Tom Yeah, so just as a point of reference, let's look at 2024. Our business? Yeah, so just as a point of reference, let's look at 2024. One of the major things that happened that had a huge impact on voiceover work was the presidential election, because, distressingly late in 2024, we weren't sure who was running for president on either side of the aisle, much less who their running mates were. That had a massive effect on corporations when it came to advertising budgets and what the content of the advertising would be. So last summer, 2024, july August there was a huge dip in voiceover work across the board because companies didn't know where to put their money.
03:46 - Anne (Host) Except in political maybe.
03:47 - Tom Except in political.
03:48 And then when September, October, hit, the political campaigns all went crazy and a lot of the advertising got stopped up because so much ad space was being taken up by political advertising.
04:02 There was a noticeable drop in commercials for television and radio because all the political ad buys were taking up all the real estate. So that is one pretty clear, direct example about how what's going on in the real world affected what was going on in the voiceover industry. So let's look at spring of 2025 of what's going on right now is since there's virtually no political ads, as in campaign ads. I mean, there's a smattering of them here and there and a smattering of issue ads, but I didn't notice any more than there usually has been, which means the void that the political ads left got immediately taken up by commercials, left got immediately taken up by commercials. So there seems to be as much work as there was at any given time in recent voiceover history. I agree with you there. But the question is, what is the content and context of the ads and other voiceover genres and what are the casting demands and what are the performance demands for?
05:09 - Anne (Host) Now also, we're thinking, I think, right now, commercial broadcast style voiceover. When we think about that, I agree with you that, yes, there's as much work, I think, as there ever has been. However, it's the content that might be changing and the context. You're absolutely right, but also there might be in terms of industrial content, like the industries that are advertising, the industries that are hiring voice talent that may or may not be broadcast. Maybe we're talking e-learning, we're talking corporate, we're talking all the different non-broadcast style voiceover. I think, in that realm where I'm seeing I'm not seeing a drop necessarily, but I'm seeing companies looking very carefully at what they're saying and what they want their brand message to be.
05:54 - Tom Yes.
05:54 - Anne (Host) And that is very key for somebody like myself if I produce demos, to make sure that the content is reflective of the culture and the society of the times.
06:06 - Tom Yes, culture definitely has an influence on advertising broadcast and it also has an influence on internal content, e-learning content, corporate industrial content. Actually, I just realized last year I had narrated an app for a large governmental organization, let's just say, and it was about harassment in the workplace and it was a big project and I did it all and the client was thrilled and I got paid and everything was great. Just a few days ago, the client wrote me and said hey, as a result of all of these executive orders that have been stripping away DEI policies and verbiage, I had to record a decent chunk of it all over again with the new policies and whatever we'll call it, awareness of it in mind.
07:01 - Anne (Host) Yeah, that's the biggest thing that I am seeing and, again, we're not here to be political. However, the two of us need to take a realistic look as to okay, so what are companies having to do to maybe adhere to policies? Because companies that maybe depended on support from the government may have to rewrite some policies. They may have to rethink how they're speaking, and that directly impacts a lot of the corporate work that I've done and also corporate training as well I do. The majority of my work in the e-learning aspect is through corporate.
07:34 I do some educational, which I think that also can be touched, but not in such a direct manner Like, let's say, dei or I'm just trying to think like, what other types of topics and support and safety and environmental. Let's think about environmental changes. Right Before, in a lot of corporate, there was a lot of talk about sustainability, talk about climate change. There was a lot of talk about sustainability, talk about climate change. Companies wanted their audiences to hear that they were supporting these things, because that's what mattered to the majority of people, that they wanted to be on board with them. Now, is that a thing when we're talking about alternative energy right, alternate energy are we going to now be talking about drilling and fracking versus, you know, solar power or those types of things.
08:18 - Tom Yeah, absolutely, and top-down policies are going to have a trickle-down effect, but also, as in if federal laws are changing or being enacted or being repealed, that's going to have a big effect on a lot of the policies of the companies, because they have to be compliant with local, state and federal law to be able to run their business legally and effectively. So, yeah, it will definitely have a top-down effect. The other thing is economic.
08:47 - Anne (Host) Yes, we always have to look at the economics.
08:49 - Tom You always have to look at the economics of it, and we're still seeing what the full effect of all of these tariffs are going to be on multiple countries, which is going to the majority of economics say, regardless of your political bent, that this is going to create an increase in prices of many, many items. Or some items just may not be available in the United States to be imported and there's some based on reciprocal tariffs. There may be items that the United States manufacturers that cannot be exported.
09:23 - Anne (Host) Well, absolutely, and in terms of hiring, and in terms of hiring. In terms of hiring. I do know that I heard from one of my students, canadian students, that is it favorable now to be an American voicing a Canadian brand at this point?
09:38 Or vice versa, or vice versa, and so we have to think about that or any global brand. So it's interesting to really see. I think a lot of us are so in our studio bubbles that we forget how this impacts the industry, and it impacts our jobs. It can directly affect our jobs, and so it's something that we need to keep our eyes open to. And even though I know a lot of people are like I'm off social media or I you know, it's just sometimes it's difficult for people to watch the news I do think that we have to keep ourselves in touch enough to understand where the trends are going and what things are happening if we want to keep our businesses afloat. And now I guess the next question, Tom, is are we doom-scrolling our voiceover industry at this point? I mean?
10:27 - Tom How do you feel about it? There's a lot of hysteria and confusion and frustration and fear and anger on every social media platform that I have seen. Some of it is a healthy discourse, some of it is fear and hate-mongering. Some of it is a healthy discourse. Some of it is fear and hate mongering. Some of it is a cry for desperation and comfort and commiseration. It's a combination of all of those things.
10:44 So the question is do you shut off all of your social media and go take a walk? Sometimes that's a very, very good idea. But, just exactly to your point, anne, we need to keep an eye on what's going on. Also, all of the social media groups that we're on, they're national or international, so we can keep an eye on what's going on in other parts of the country and other parts of the industry and how it may or may not affect us. Like, for example, I just saw recently a social media post Somebody was talking about well, what happens if there's a recession? How is that going to affect the voiceover industry? Now, I don't know if you remember, but 2008, 2009, the great recession oh, I do. I did not remember and I went back and I looked at my numbers. I didn't notice any effect, noticeable effect, on it.
11:29 When COVID hit March of 2020, there was a noticeable dip, but then April it went right back up and 2020 was a pretty good year for me. But paying attention to things like that and you know, instead of being in your own little bubble, about being terrified about everything, but when you're actually doing your own research off of social media and looking for intelligent discourse on social media to find actual facts, and listening to people who've been around the block a few times, like you or I, who was like, yeah, no, the recession was not a big deal and oh, yeah, covid, things bounced back really quickly and, like I said, last year's, well, the strikes, the SAG-AFTRA strikes, the interactive strike, which is still ongoing, unfortunately, but hopefully they'll be able to fight for their rights and protect all of us. When it comes to AI and other bad practices, the voiceover industry seems to be relatively pliant and relatively resilient. Yes, because, no matter what, people are still trying to sell things. People are still trying to buy things.
12:28 I love that. You said that People still need to teach things. You know what I mean.
12:31 - Anne (Host) I mean, we are a company ourselves, right, we want to stay afloat.
12:34 We're right now looking at and if you aren't, you need to be right Always, you need to be looking at how are you going to stay afloat, how is your business going to continue to show progress, move forward, be successful?
12:46 And it just basically comes down to we're evolving. We're evolving with the times, right, and I think that I agree with you wholeheartedly that I don't think there's going to be any less of a demand for voiceover because, as you mentioned, companies still want to exist, they still want to sell a product, and so part of that sell is including a voice to speak the brand and to communicate that sell to others. And so I don't think it's doom scrolling, but I do believe that we need to educate ourselves on what the trends are, and not just the trends on the style of voiceover, although I think that it's good to understand, like, what's out there? How is that message being told? I always maintain that the best performance trend, the best voiceover performance trend to follow, is just be an actor, be a damn actor, right, because if you're an actor, you evolve, you can evolve and change, just like you need to do with your business.
13:44 And I think that you kind of touched on synthetic voices and AI Again, if we were to talk about how do you feel that that's affecting the industry these days? I can tell you, in my opinion, right now, I think that things are working themselves out, hopefully on a more positive note, and I don't think that the fascination is there for me. I'm not seeing the fascination there with voiceover jobs being stolen by AI. I believe that more of the focus needs to be on let's just protect our voices so that they're not being used without our permission and being developed into a synthetic voice. Or, if we have a synthetic voice, make sure that we're getting compensated for it. What are your thoughts?
14:22 - Tom I generally agree, because everyone who decided that AI is the devil and decided not to get involved in any level of critical thinking or investigating about it, they have not changed their minds. The people that jumped in with both feet are probably still jumping in with both feet. What I think to your point you're saying is that everybody that wanted to give it a sniff, that wanted to try it out, test the water, has done it not just once, but maybe twice, because ChatGPT rolled out November 2022 and now we're in mid 2025. So I think there's been like At least from my observation, there's been like two rounds of companies giving AI a try. The first one was just to, oh, let's see what this is all about.
15:03 And then some were like, oh, this is great, this is perfect. Others are like, no, this is awful. And then there's others who, a year or so later, is like you know what? It's probably gotten two years better. Let's give it another try. And then same thing happens. Some thought, oh, okay, it's good enough now, or it's not good enough now, or making whatever decision. But yeah, the fervor from the consumer end, I think, has settled.
15:26 I think so too, and I think the terror from the voiceover end I think for the most part is settled. There's still questions about it.
15:33 - Anne (Host) Sure, and we've got great organizations fighting for us as well. Nava has been doing a phenomenal job in that regard, and if you're a business and you're not using AI in some capacity to manage your data, you're missing out. You're missing out on the boat, and we did talk about that previously in an episode, tom, you and I. It's just getting better and better at that, but it's not necessarily getting better at speaking your voice synthetically. But data management, I think, is just leaps and bounds and it's integrated in a lot of the products we're using and you may not even know it. It's kind of like.
16:07 I think I mentioned this to you before Back in the day I installed voice over IP phone systems when they first came out and people just said oh my God, they sucked, They'll never work, They'll never last, and ultimately, that's what we do today. I mean, it's all voice over IP. Everything that we're doing is we're communicating, Our phone lines are over data internet lines and it's just that's what's happening. Now. We have voice over IP and we don't even know it. It's seamless. So I believe that the AI data management is being built in seamlessly into things that we use like Google or I think you're using Google Workspace.
16:36 - Tom I am using Google Workspace and Google Gemini is my favorite AI, google Gemini.
16:39 - Anne (Host) I have ChatGPT. I have a couple other products that do some automated things for me that are under the ChatGPT, and I continually look for tools that can help me to run my business more efficiently. So I don't think that in the voice realm of things. Oh my God. I just said a company.
16:54 - Tom Naughty, naughty.
16:54 - Anne (Host) I didn't even know In the voiceover world. I don't know if synthetic voices are quite the terror and the scare that they were in the last couple of years.
17:03 - Tom I still think the same thing is exactly what you and Andy said on that wonderful narratorlife interview that you did, which you said garbage in, garbage out. Good actors are going to make good AIs, bad actors are going to make bad AI are going to make bad AI. And the relevance gap I still think is growing, of people that are lacking in talent or training storytelling training, that are trying to enter the world of voiceover, are just not going to be able to get in. So I think that still stands.
17:28 - Anne (Host) And everybody I talk to we're talking about. Like anything today, if you want to capture someone's attention, right, marketing, wise, right it's all about authenticity. It's all about authenticity. It's all about give the human aspect to you. Even when I write a newsletter, it's like give somebody that vulnerable part of yourself that talks directly to them and doesn't just try to sell them or doesn't just try to, like, promote things. And give that authenticity. And I really believe that, as humans, that's who we are and that's what we have and that is just our strength. And when we are performing voiceover and we are voice actors, I think the more that we can be authentic in whatever genre we are voicing, the better off we are and the more successful we will be.
18:08 - Tom I agree. I had another thought about. Something that we were talking about a little earlier is that unemployment seems to be rising because of all of these federal layoffs.
18:19 Layoffs, yeah, and then as a result of tariffs.
18:20 if prices are going up, they have to maintain profit margins, so sometimes they need to cut labor. So what's been interesting in voiceover is that, as a result of AI, there has been less of the entry-level, lowest budget voiceover work, which means there's less opportunities for people who are entering the voiceover industry, and that may mean some people are not able to have a sustainable voiceover business model, so they're leaving the voiceover industry. However, if employment does keep going up the way that it does, does that mean more people are going to come back who want?
18:55 - Anne (Host) to give voiceover a shot. Yeah, exactly that was my experience when COVID happened.
19:01 And people, how many of my coaching business, I mean I had like tripled business with people who were using the time to learn voiceover and to get into voiceover and to utilize their voice for something good. I mean, I think that's still like. The desire of most people that get into this industry is they want to use their voice to do something good and, of course, make some money. Sure, that's always a key element to be successful in voiceover business. But what other aspects, tom, have we not covered here in this few months, now that we're in 2025? We've talked about, I mean, really, how dependent our industry is on the economy and the message that is out there, the brand that is out there.
19:50 - Tom Right. Yeah, it's dependent and it's independent at the same time, when we are getting into what seems to be a very interesting year on a sociological, social, cultural, political, economic level, what can we as voice actors do? So what should us bosses do? It's the same answer all the time, anne Right.
20:11 - Anne (Host) What do we do? Keep training, keep learning.
20:13 - Tom Keep growing, keep marketing, keep marketing. Keep following industry trends. Continue to have conversations with fellow voice actors. Continue to have conversations with your current and potential clients. Pay attention to what's going on on social media, but don't get sucked in by it. But pay attention, learn, grow, adapt, evolve and educate Educate yourself and educate each other.
20:33 - Anne (Host) Educate, adapt, evolve. I love that. Educate, adapt, evolve. I think that really should be our mantra for this year Educate, adapt, evolve and I think everything will be absolutely fine in this voiceover industry. And also just one thing that I want to make mention is that during those lean times where you may not be finding work or work slows down, it's always important to kind of go back and listen to other voiceover podcast episodes that I've had with Tom, of course, about your business and how to build your business and be successful, as well, as I've had a money series with Daniel Fambul, which talks about the fact that if times are lean for me or I'm considering investing more in my business, which would mean maybe I'm going to get coaching, maybe I'm going to get a new demo, maybe I'm going to get a new website which, by the way, I've done all those things and I've had to make a lot of investments this year, and so it's important to have the mindset right, the mindset of being willing to invest.
21:32 I think that's important being willing to invest in this career If you love this career and this is what you want to do and you want to grow, having the mindset of being willing to invest, and I, right now, in my own business, I've transitioned over to a new website, I'm doing a lot of new things that are on the scary side of things for me. I mean, I think if you're not scared every day, you're not taking a risk every day. And, by the way, this risk is not just a risk performance-wise or strategy-wise, it is a risk financially-wise, because I'm investing in a part of my business that I want to grow, and so it's not easy and it's scary, but it's something that I believe every boss needs to really take a look at and be willing to take a little bit of a risk. Take a look at and be willing to take a little bit of a risk, and I'm thankful that and, tom, we've talked about this I'm thankful that I have a little bit of a nest egg that I can make these investments yeah.
22:26 - Tom So my new mantra will now be if you're not taking risks, you're not trying, and if you're not scared you're not trying hard enough.
22:33 - Anne (Host) Oh, I like that a lot. Yeah, Tom. So I admit that I'm scared. Are you scared? Are you scared every?
22:39 - Tom day. Am I conscious? Yes, of course I'm scared.
22:41 - Anne (Host) Yeah, what things scare you? I'm just curious what things scare you in running your business?
22:46 - Tom Well, I mean just as a basic normal, semi-normal neurotic human. I still have my imposter syndrome. I hear you I still have my FOMO.
22:55 I'm still afraid that 30 years later, that clients are just going to be like well we don't just like his face anymore and they're just not going to book me and they come back. They all come back, as in you know, most of them come back for all good reasons and other people don't come back for whatever other reason. 99% of the time has absolutely nothing to do with me. But my biggest fear is the fear of being irrelevant, and I've had a couple of times in my voiceover career where I, as a result of very poor business decision-making, I made myself less relevant.
23:28 The jumping off of Voice123 in 2013 and then being off it for seven years made me less relevant as a voice actor because I wasn't paying attention to what was going on in the industry. I was up my own you-know-what about it and making decisions based on fear, ego, insecurity and arrogance and ignorance.
23:47 - Anne (Host) Oh, my God, I just love that. You just you were so authentic with that. That's really wonderful. I mean, I love that you're sharing that with us because that's something that I think everybody can take and really learn from myself included taking these risks that have not always worked out and, yeah, a lot of it is because I was stubborn. I have a little bit of a stubborn streak. I'll admit to you that mine would be stubborn in feeling like what I was doing was the way and there was not another way to do.
24:18 It was the way and there was not another way to do it. And that stubbornness and not allowing myself to open my eyes, especially when because I hire a team of people right, and trying to do everything myself, thinking I was the only person that could do it, being that kind of a person, that control freak which I am that held me back. It was scary to me. I was scared that if I didn't control it myself, that I would lose control and that I wouldn't be able to grow the business. But quite the opposite happened. After all, that, when I allowed myself to be open to collaborating and working with others and it's one of the reasons why I love to collaborate with you, tom, because there's so much power in collaboration together and that is one of the basis is for when you want to run a strong business. I'll never forget Gary Vaynerchuk said hire people who are better than you to do those things and don't be afraid of that. Don't be scared of that and treat them right, because that's going to help you all grow and move forward.
25:07 - Tom Absolutely Surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you is another mantra that I've heard over the years, and it's really really true.
25:14 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, I love it, tom. Thank you so much. I think that last nugget was the best of all out of this episode. I really love talking with you in these podcasts, so thanks again. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like real bosses. You can find out more at IPDTL.com. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
25:41 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguza and Tolulope Kolade, a leading voice from Nigeria's vibrant voiceover scene, connect to explore the sonic tapestry of Africa's storytelling. They unpack Tolulope experiences building a career and community within a dynamic market, offering a window into the unique challenges and triumphs of voice acting on the continent. Listeners will discover the crucial role of genuine expression in connecting with audiences, gain understanding of the industry's growth in Africa, and appreciate the power of shared narratives across borders. Anne and Tolulope also discuss practical pathways for aspiring voice talent and the evolving nature of the global voice landscape.
00:01 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Anne changed my life a few years ago while coaching me for my commercial demo. Since then, I've been traveling throughout Europe and the UK and I never miss a VO Boss podcast. It's just how I start my Wednesday, no matter what country I'm in. I love that I can stay connected with her and continue to learn about VO even from across the pond. Love you, Anne.
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01:00 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguza.
01:22 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey guys, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and today I am honored to have a very special guest with me today, all the way from Nigeria, Tolulope Kolade, also known as T-Code, which is such a cool, I love that name. He is a Nigerian voiceover artist, podcaster and coach, and a 2024 Sova's Award nominee for Outstanding Commercial Best African Voiceover. As the creator of Nigeria's first voiceover podcast, Everything Voiceover's, the African Perspective, and the creative partner of the Association of African Podcasters and Voice Artists, APVA, T-Code champions the African voiceover industry, mentoring new talents and collaborating with top brands to bring impactful storytelling to life. I love that. I love that so much. T-code, it is so nice to have you on the show. Finally.
02:13 - Tolulope (Guest) Finally, Thank you so much.
02:15 Anne.
02:16 It's been years of listening to you over the seas and I can't express how excited I am right now to share the same podcast with you being a guest. Oh my God, I feel so great.
02:29 - Anne (Host) Well, I'll tell you what. You sent me, oh my gosh, years ago, a really lovely audio testimonial about my podcast. And I just recently if obviously you've been listening to the podcast, you know that I never really did any ads or anything and I finally decided, gosh, I should do some ads for my own podcast for however many years. And so I started featuring some of the audio testimonials from people, and I featured yours and then, all of a sudden, I got flagged in this amazing video that you created for me and bosses out there, if you ever want to do a testimonial that will get the attention of a potential client right, this is a very boss move. I love this .T-code Create a lovely video that does a nice shout out, that expresses gratitude, and it was a lovely video and I was so touched that you took the time to create a video and, by the way, the production value was just amazing.
03:20 kudos on the production value of that. I mean it was insane, and I was just so excited that you were excited and I wanted to talk to you. I mean, with all these accomplishments, you are quite a VO boss, and so I was only too happy to ask if you would be on the show, and my apologies because bosses out there. I don't know about this time zone slash day but I completely messed up the first time that we were supposed to get together, so I'm just so glad that we're finally here.
03:48 So glad to have you on the show.
03:50 - Tolulope (Guest) Thank you so much.
03:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah, so let's talk about your start in voiceover, because I think a lot of bosses here we know what happens in our own little bubble here, but it's difficult to really find out what's going on in other countries. And how is voiceover? How is it doing in Africa? And you're championing it. So I think it's a wonderful start to talk about how you got started.
04:14 - Tolulope (Guest) Okay, so I'm going to talk about how I got started and then we talk about the industry in Africa. I got started officially in 20. So there was the 2016 version of me getting into voiceovers and there was the 2016 version of me getting into voiceovers and there was the 2020 version of me getting into voiceovers In 2016. It was more of broadcasting. As a broadcaster, I worked on radio and that was where I got introduced to the world of recording audio.
04:40 Prior to that time, well, even while I was in university because I graduated from the university in 2015, I did a bit of radio stuff and that was actually the first time that I would do a voiceover. I wasn't a presenter at the time, but someone heard my voice and said, oh, would you like to come to the university radio station? Which I said okay, yes, I did. And I got there and they said oh, said oh, okay, what stuff have you got? So the radio station's name was something around Versity Radio at the time and I just said you're listening to Versity Radio, something around that, and they were like whoa, that was great and they allowed me do the voiceovers for the radio station, the audio branding and all of that at the time, but then I wasn't schooled about voiceover. I didn't really know what it was, so I continued my radio journey.
05:29 2016. I would go to other radio stations and do the same thing for the radio stations and the presenters on the radio. Then, 2017, I started understanding what voiceover was because I was officially working on radio at this time.
05:43 - Anne (Host) Did you have your own radio at this time, and did you have your own shows at that time?
05:47 - Tolulope (Guest) Yeah, I had a show on radio, but I was more on tv because the establishment was a tv and radio station combined. Okay, so I was doing more of tv, but they would call me to do some of the promos for some radio and tv shows and I would do all of those at a time. But I still didn't understand what voiceover was until fast forward to 2019. I was working in another radio station. The demand for my voice had increased and some money started coming in, but very little at the time. So I started getting curious to how the industry in voiceover was at the time. So I started asking questions, I took online courses and 2020 was when I got into voiceover officially. So there were different versions of that.
06:40 But late 2019, I took a bold step to find anybody who would need my voice on the internet. So I went on youtube and I found some youtube channels by africans who were doing voiceovers on their youtube channel as to narrate stories on the youtube channel. But they weren't professional voiceover artists. But compared to what I was doing at the time, I could read better. So I would respectfully reach out to them and say Hi, I'm a radio presenter and a voiceover artist here in Nigeria and I don't know if you don't mind, I would love to record your voiceovers.
07:14 At the time I didn't have any idea of exactly how the industry worked, but I just wanted a platform somewhere to put my voice out there. So I reached out to a couple of youtubers and one of them reached back to me and was willing to offer me some stipend monthly for recording voiceovers for a channel, and that was how it started. So the moment I got to realize that I could earn a living from voiceovers and there was opportunity for me to improve and grow my skills, I took it so serious and I started looking for resources and I think it was 2020 and 2021,. I discovered your podcast and it was just a whole new height for me because I was connecting to the voiceover industry globally and that really just opened my mind to more about voiceover. So that's the story of how I got into this.
08:05 - Anne (Host) I love that. So prior to that you were full time in radio.
08:08 - Tolulope (Guest) Yes, radio and TV. I did that for about six years.
08:11 - Anne (Host) Got it. Got it Radio and TV. So where did we're going to fast forward to the podcast? Because you've been doing your podcast for a while now and now you realize that it's a labor of love. It is something that does require like a focused, like passion to creating content that goes out there on a consistent basis. Talk to me about what drew you into the podcast. Were there other podcasts, voiceover podcasts, let's say, specifically in your area, that talked about African voiceovers or voiceover in Nigeria? What prompted you?
08:43 - Tolulope (Guest) Okay, so my first foray into podcasting wasn't because I wanted to podcast at the time, and this was in 2019. So I was working on radio. I needed a medium to save my radio shows right, because people would listen. And radio is a medium yeah, radio is a medium where people just listen once and you can't rewind, you can't listen again on the go. So I had that program I was doing on radio and I wish to archive it. So I was looking for ways to do this on the internet for free, and that was how I stumbled on podcasting, because, of course, you could just upload an audio and it's there.
09:22 Right, right, right. So that was how I started I love that that's so interesting.
09:24 So that was how.
09:24 I started. I love that.
09:25 - Anne (Host) That's so interesting because I have to tell you that I wanted to get into radio but I wasn't, and so I said, well, let me create a podcast
09:32 So it's very interesting, and that was my radio.
09:36 - Tolulope (Guest) Oh yeah, it still feels like radio because I resigned from radio. In 2021 to face Voice of Us full time. Oh, okay, in 2021 to face voiceovers full time.
09:44 Oh, okay, yeah but back to the question of how the podcast came to be. So, prior to the time I was entering into the voiceover industry, there was no voiceover podcast that I had heard of. And 2020, I took a course at the voiceover workshop. That's one of the few voiceover training institutions we have in Nigeria, so I realized that there was more to this. People did this full time. There was an industry around this, so I was curious to know more. Podcasting was already getting more popular at the time, so it just made sense that there should be somebody on the internet podcasting about voiceover. So a friend shared a couple of podcasts and then I saw this article the top 10 voiceover podcasts in the world. Your podcast was a part of them, with a couple of other podcasters that I respect a lot.
10:37 - Anne (Host) Wow, I didn't even know that. That's awesome.
10:40 - Tolulope (Guest) Yeah, and then I checked it out and I just fell in love with it because the style of the presentation you were so real, so relatable. It felt like you were trying to help people, just groom them, feed them and you break down the stings. So I'd stalk to your podcast and I'd listen and listen. And I checked the African space. At the time there was only one lady from South Africa podcasting about voiceover and it was quite refreshing to find her at the time, but not in Nigeria. I didn't find anybody in Nigeria. So I wanted to start because I felt it would be so great for voiceover artists in Nigeria to share their stories.
11:22 So people can know what we're going through, because a lot of things needed to be restructured in the voiceover industry at the time, in my opinion. But there was nothing like that. So from 2020 the idea came, but I had this imposter syndrome because I was like, oh, you're just young into the industry, how do you expect to be the guy to host people and just talk about voiceovers? So I delayed the idea till 2022. And in 2022, nobody was doing it. I'm like, well, you have to do it. So I started the podcast. Prior to that time, I had the experience of podcasting. I'd worked on radio, I understood how to record a deed and put things together, upload a podcast. So I just took all of that knowledge and I started the Everything Voice of Us podcast, the African Perspective, which was for Africans, by Africans, to tell African stories.
12:16 - Anne (Host) I love that, you know. What's so interesting is that I don't know if it's a prerequisite or a requirement to be the expert if you want to start a podcast, because for me, I remember, before I started the podcast I started my VO Peeps group because I had moved across the country and I wanted to kind of get to know the people in my industry, and so I basically started to interview my heroes. I didn't necessarily present myself as the expert at anything, but I was absolutely interested in sharing resources and educating the community, and I think that that is a great way to look at any type of a podcast that you want to start out there, bosses, so that you can share and educate, and I think that is a really great angle to come upon it. And so I think for you, you do a lot of interviews in your podcast and I'm sure people are very eager to get their voices heard as well, and so it's kind of a win-win for both, for both of you?
13:15 - Tolulope (Guest) Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
13:17 - Anne (Host) Yeah, what would you say has been your biggest I don't know your biggest takeaway from now starting and having a successful podcast. What would you say is your biggest takeaway from now starting and having a successful podcast. What would you say is your biggest takeaway?
13:29 What's your biggest gift from the podcast?
13:29 - Tolulope (Guest) That's a huge question,
13:30 - Anne (Host) And what's the biggest challenge?
13:33 - Tolulope (Guest) Okay, so first the biggest gift from the podcast and then the biggest challenge.
13:38 I think the biggest gift from the podcast has been connecting me with the world.
13:43 Like the world is so big and there are people waiting to be heard and people wanting to hear more, so my biggest gift is that I've been able to connect with the world and share that network, or the stories that I learned across the way, with people.
14:02 Because of the podcast, a lot of people know me and because of the podcast I can also access a lot of people from different parts of Africa and even outside Africa, and it has helped me to grow such network that many prominent things happening in the voiceover and audio creative space in Africa. I am often involved in most of these things and it's just a very humbling experience for me. So the network is a powerful gift that I've gotten humbling experience for me, so the network is a powerful gift that I've gotten. I think the biggest challenge for podcasting, as you've said earlier, anne, is that it's a should I use the word thankless job, or it's a service, it's something it is. Yeah, it's a very sacrificial thing to do because literally I don't know how it works over there, but we don't get paid in Africa for podcasting.
14:52 - Anne (Host) No, we don't get paid here either, and to get sponsors is very difficult.
14:57 - Tolulope (Guest) It is. It is so. It's something that if you are not convinced, if you are not passionate and selfless, you're going to burn out real quick. So I have invested my time, my energy, my money into this. I had to create a team. I mean, for the first two seasons of the podcast, I was doing this independently and since, in theory, I took on some boss moves. To be honest, you inspired me as well on this episode you did, where you talked about podcasting and you I think it was the beginning of this year you said something about how much you spent on podcasting the previous year.
15:34 It's not cheap, was it like $15,000 or something. It was like $10,000 to $15,000,.
15:39 - Speaker 4 (Ad) Yeah, yeah, and when I heard that I'm like guy, you can do more. People at the top do a lot to get to where they are. So I decided, okay, I'm going to invest more into this. And they are. So I decided, okay, I'm going to invest more into this. And my focus was to help him build a better voice of our industry. That has always been my inspiration to doing many of the things that I do. So, yeah, that's my gift and the biggest challenge, the fact that you're just doing it on your own. But, yeah, it's still a blessing at the end of the day, Right?
16:10 - Anne (Host) Now you mentioned that you thought there needed to be restructuring or you were wanting to be active in restructuring the voiceover industry in Africa. Tell us a little bit more about that. How has it evolved and what do you want to do to restructure that?
16:24 - Tolulope (Guest) Interesting. So, interestingly enough, yesterday I had a conversation with one of the very respected voiceover artists in Nigeria top voiceover artist on my Instagram page where we talked about the evolution of voiceover in Nigeria and I see something very similar to that in Africa. Voiceover for the longest in Africa, has been heavily associated with broadcasting. I believe it's almost the same thing every other place, but the difference is that for a lot of African countries that I have observed, voiceover is still somewhat glued to broadcasting, meaning broadcasters are the ones who officially do voiceovers.
17:04 Not many people come to claim the career to be voiceover artists. It is still being viewed as a part-time side hustle, right. So when I was coming in, of course it started as a part-time stuff for me as well, but I met a few nigerian voice actors, like eric maximus, who I was just referencing, e, and a couple of people like that. These people stood out as full-time voice actors Chilu Lemba, you know, femi Bakes these are my colleagues and I was inspired and also, listening to you, I realized this was possible. So the things that I felt could be restructured is that I needed people to see this more as a business, more as an industry and, gracefully, some people as far back as 1999, 2000 in Nigeria had realized this is what we needed to do, so they created an association in Nigeria at the time called the Association of Voice Over Artists in Nigeria.
18:08 Oh, okay, yeah.
18:10 And this association has been for about 22 years. But unfortunately the growth of the association has seen a lot of challenges because technology came quicker the old era of voiceovers, where everybody had to go to physical studios with the agencies and directors and all of that had gone, but a lot of people here were stuck in that era. So the new era of having a home studio, you know, and working with international rates and how things are being done live sessions, directed ones these things were into the norm over here and I felt that we needed to do better. Our rates weren't standard, as it were, very low at the time when I came, and just the attitude of people towards voiceover is just like a side hustle. People didn't respect the craft. So these were the things that I wished could change.
19:06 Also, if you look at the American space, you had organizations that would fight for voiceover artists and you had resources for voiceover artists the coaches. There were people who had written books, there were award shows and things like that. We didn't have so much of those here. You hardly would find any book written by anybody about voiceover If you go to the internet, any book written by anybody about voiceover. If you go to the internet. There were no like very scanty.
19:35 So I felt like people needed to own this craft, people needed to build the industry, and I had to do what I had to do. There were a few companies, like training institutions that existed already at the time, so I just had had to contribute. I joined the association, joined another association called the African Association of Podcasters and Voice Actors, and together we started forming the policies and the building blocks, creating resources for voiceover artists, for podcasters in Africa, creating events like award shows. So we have the APVA Awards, we have webinars. We started creating these things and I must say it's been an interesting journey, a challenging one as well, but quite an interesting one since then.
20:17 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely.
20:18 It's kind of like you're building it from the ground up, which I think is really amazing, and that is something that having knowledge of building things, being a kind of a pioneer in building things as the technology evolves and as our space voiceover industry grows.
20:33 It's a lot of thankless things, a lot of donation of your time, and so I think it's wonderful that you have really kind of gotten in on the ground floor so that you can help to develop policies and guidelines and then also you have a platform that's able to broadcast that out to the world.
20:51 And what I love is, and what I'm hoping, is that our connection here can also help you to be even more globally known, because that, of course, as I mentioned multiple times on my show, the podcast actually cost me money, but it also gives me a lot back in terms of people know who I am, lot back in terms of people know who I am, and so I think we know, and I think you must also know, that that is one of the most important things when you're trying to get your voice out there and when you're trying to become known as a business as well, so that you can survive full-time on voiceover.
21:23 Would you say that you are able to survive full-time on voiceover now, or is it still something that you are building? I know that it took me a few years to do that and you've been working already at it for a few years. Is it something that is a realistic goal for, let's say, I have been thriving as a voiceover artist full-time and I have colleagues who are also doing the same full-time, but we're not so many compared to the US, and the reason for?
22:01 - Tolulope (Guest) If you look at those of us who are doing voiceovers full-time, we are multi-skilled. We are able to record, we're able to edit and produce, we understand acoustics, we have learned about voiceover, we understand marketing as well. So it takes all of the skills to be able to stand and say, oh, I'll do voiceovers full-time, but majority aren't able to do that. Also, looking at the economic challenges and the reality surrounding what it takes to be a full-time voiceover artist, where in a country and largely in many parts of the continent, we don't have stable electricity, so you could be working and you run out of power, and that affects your work, especially if you're In your livelihood.
22:48 Exactly Right. So there's also the challenge of being able to erect or build a home studio for yourself, and also the fact that the equipment could be very expensive. Looking at our exchange rate, when we convert this equipment that costs some maybe $500 or $200 into Naira, whatever currency, it's a lot. So it's very challenging to decide to go full-time into voiceover, but for the few of us who are able to do it, it's also rewarding, especially and I must say, the fact that we get to work with clients out of Nigeria, especially clients from the us, using platforms like voice one, two, three and other pay-to-play sites. They open us up to opportunities with foreign clients and getting paid in dollars has its own advantage. So, yes, it's quite rewarding to work as a full-time voiceover artist, but it's also very challenging for a lot of us.
23:48 - Anne (Host) So what would be your best advice? That you would give aspiring voiceover talents in Nigeria Africa if they're looking to get into the industry.
23:57 - Tolulope (Guest) All right. So for people who are looking to get into the industry, the first thing that I recommend they do is to acquire knowledge. A lot of people still think, oh, you could just record voiceovers on your phone and I'm like, no, it doesn't work that way. So you need to learn, and I'm grateful that we have voiceover institutions in Nigeria and also other parts of Africa. We've got one in South Africa. That's the South Africa Voiceover Academy. In Nigeria, we have Voiceover Workshop Voiceover Academy. There are a couple of them and they've been able to come together to gather the body of knowledge needed for young voice artists to start. So I recommend. Second thing I recommend is podcasts. Listening to podcasts helps to develop the required skill in a sense, because you're listening to experts in the field. Now, I've been learning from you for many years and we had never met and it's been free, so that's the beautiful thing about podcasts.
25:01 It is a beautiful thing, isn't it? Yeah, it's absolutely free.
25:05 So I encourage people because you might not be able to afford hundreds of dollars to have Anganguza or any other top voiceover artists, so listen to podcasts. I recommend that as well. The third thing is to practice and take the big step, because I've also been coaching people in voiceover for a while. I realized that oftentimes they come, they train but they don't implement. There's this fear and imposter syndrome of calling yourself a voiceover artist. They hardly make the bold steps, they don't do demos and put themselves out there. They're waiting to be perfect, they're waiting to get it all figured out. So they compare themselves to someone like me or other colleagues of mine or people ahead of me and they're like I don't have what it takes, I don't sound like you just yet. So I always encourage them Start now, when nobody even really knows you so much. Make the mistakes Grow, because we all started somewhere. We didn't start perfect. So these are the things that I'll encourage them.
26:07 - Anne (Host) And I also think and this is kind of my big thing when I have students that say, well, I don't sound like I'm not there yet I'm like in reality and I think you must know, because you've had such a lengthy experience in being on camera and also in radio and podcasts when you connect with someone, nobody's really listening to how you.
26:27 I mean, yeah, we can sound good, but in reality that is only like a temporary, fleeting thing, that, okay, it sounds good, it sounds clear, I understand you, but when we connect, we connect on an emotional level and that really comes into the storytelling, that comes into that point of view that we're able to express. And I think that podcasting helps us to do that, like, especially if it's a conversation between you and I. But I use those skills in my voiceover to connect with that theoretical client and that's really where it becomes the most important. So how important would you say the connection in storytelling is for, let's say, the current trend and styles that are happening in your area? I mean because globally, I think we all need to be able to tell stories. But I'm just curious in terms of locally, when people hire you, are they hiring you for that big, deep, booming voice? Or are they also hiring you for that storytelling capability?
27:18 - Tolulope (Guest) That's a very good question, because in the continent, especially in Nigeria, I'm going to take Nigeria we have been very influenced by the Western cultures the things we see from movies in hollywood, the cartoons that we've seen growing up, so these has heavily influenced how we tell our stories in the media. There's still a lot of true storytelling, I must say, but when people think about voiceover, a lot of young people think about Disney, they think about all the Cartoon Network stuff and what that affects is the accent. So they're tempted to want to sound like the kids they watched growing up. They think that's what voiceover is. And it doesn't mean that's not what voiceover isn't. It just means the people you see on your screens.
28:14 They're telling stories that are relatable to them. It's their local stories. The animation you watch, even though it's fiction, but the communication, the nuances, you know all of those expressions. They're very akin to wherever they come from. Over here there's a way we tell our stories, the way we crack our jokes, the lingua. It's very local. So it's a lot of work to try to explain to upcoming talents that see, your accent is good enough yourself.
28:50 The way you sound is good enough. It's good enough you are enough.
28:54 You don't have to sound like barbie. You don't have to sound like right.
28:58 - Anne (Host) I'm so glad that you like this. It gets me emotional actually. I'm so glad that you like this. It gets me emotional actually, because I'm so glad that you said that, because it's important for not just locally you, it's important for us, it's important for the world to hear those stories. Right, it's important for us to understand you and how you tell stories, because it may be different than how I tell the story, but it's certainly very interesting to me.
29:19 You know what I mean.
29:25 And it's something that I feel I could benefit from hearing and I could enjoy it and it could be educational, it can be entertaining and I think just getting that experience and that culture and that storytelling is so important to a global audience.
29:35 Yes, absolutely, which I?
29:36 think is important to your business, which?
29:38 is so important to your business, so I think for anyone and I love how you talk about the imposter syndrome, which I think we all have.
29:44 I think that's a global thing, right? Everybody has imposter syndrome I still think, at the very heart of it, the fact that we can share and that we can communicate and we can connect with one another, that is something that is very much wanted and desired.
30:03 It may not be, as, let's say, marketable in certain places yet. Right, because even in America there's a lot of places that say they want the conversational connection, but yet a lot of times what you hear on television turns out to be something different because of whoever's directing you, whoever is hiring what they hear in their head. Right, Because they could have grown up with those kind of announcer kind of broadcast sort of sound and that's who ended up directing you and that's how the commercial sounds or that's how whatever it is that you're doing sounds. But I do believe that when it comes to people that really want that connection, that engagement with their brand, that they're going to hopefully continually go more and more into the storytelling aspect and it becomes less about your voice and more about how you can reach that person that's listening to you at the other end of the mic in reality.
30:52 So, yeah, I think it's all about the connection. So let's talk a little bit about any type of, let's say, memorable story or project that showcased your unique storytelling. Is there anything that you can talk about that is out there on a global level that can really speak to your unique storytelling?
31:14 - Tolulope (Guest) Now that you say memorable, I've done a couple of voiceovers for different brand. I think the most recent that I did was for coca-cola. So I've done a couple of voiceovers for different brands. I think the most recent that I did was for Coca-Cola, so I've done a couple of them. I think the two most memorable would be getting cast on one of the biggest animations to come out of Nigeria, which would actually be out next year, 2025. And that animation is called Iyanu. It's going to be on Cartoon Network on.
31:42 Showmatch in Africa. So I'm one of the cast and it was such an honor to be on that because it's not just a cartoon for the world to enjoy, but it captures African stories. The entire cast were Nigerian, so we spoke the true Nigerian accent. It was quite a mix of traditional and youth, friendly and young. You know all of that, so I'm happy to be on that. I play a character called Shiju, which people would come to find out much more about later. Then the other one would be.
32:16 Recently I did a voiceover for a friend. She started this podcast and I recorded the voiceover and I just something about that voiceover stood out for me. It's on a podcast anyway, so, um, it's memorable to me personally. It's not like it's for a global brand of some sort, but it's just something that when I think about that particular voiceover maybe because the way I read it it was just so real and I just felt everything in that script Very powerful story, very touching experience. It's titled the First and Last Time I Saw my Parents Dance and that story was just so powerful. So, yeah, that works for me too. It's on podcasts and platforms.
33:02 - Anne (Host) Awesome. Well, I'll be connecting those links up in the show notes for any of those bosses that are looking for more information. So tell us what's next for you Any exciting projects on the way or other goals that you're working toward. Any other associations you're going to pioneer. Any other associations you're going to?
33:21 - Tolulope (Guest) Next up for me is my youtube channel. Already I have the podcast running on youtube, but I am planning on creating a youtube channel where I talk more about voiceover extensively, particularly for Nigerians and africans my extension, so that is going to be coming up next year. I also am working on some online courses. Although right now I teach voiceovers, I mentor people one-on-one. I also teach voiceovers with other voiceover institutions of learning in Nigeria, but I realized that there's a lot of demand out there and I can't always be physically there to teach over and over and over. It's very demanding. So I'm putting together an online course that will be available, and my website is also in the works. So by January 2025, everything will be ready. So these are the things I'm working on.
34:13 - Anne (Host) Well, that's quick, that's like next month. Yeah, I love it. So tell our bosses where they can find you, where they can learn more about you. Follow you on socials.
34:25 - Tolulope (Guest) Okay, so my Instagram handle is tcode70. That's T-C-O-D-E underscore 70. My YouTube channel is I am tcode70. So you can find me on YouTube and on TikTok I'm also tcode underscore 70 TikTok. Tcode underscore 70. On X, which is formerly Twitter, my website will be out really soon will be, I mean, launched so my website is iamtcode.com Iamtcode.com.
34:57 - Anne (Host) Love it, love it. And that's coming January, January 25. So now I'm hoping that I myself am releasing a new website that is supposed to be out in January of 2025 as well. So it's just a little refresh of my brand.
35:10 So oh my gosh, it has been so much fun chatting with you and I am keeping my fingers crossed for Sunday, which is coming up in a few days, to find out about that Sova's nomination. But the way I feel if you're nominated award nominated is just as good as award winning in my book, and actually even that is subjective. But yeah, my fingers are crossed for you and I'll be listening. I've got a couple nominations myself that I'm going to be you know. We'll see if that works out and in the meantime, it has been such a pleasure chatting with you and I want to actually check up with you next year again so that we can reconnect and see what other amazing things you've done, because you are definitely a VO boss for sure, and it's been a pleasure chatting with you today.
35:56 - Tolulope (Guest) you so much, and it's been a pleasure chatting with you too, and thank you for inspiring me and millions of others, because, yeah, a lot of people are still going to listen to this. Podcast is a platform that people can listen to many years to come, so thank you so much, Anne.
36:12 - Anne (Host) No problem, all right, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Tico to myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, bye.
36:28 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguza and Andy Roth delve into the nuances of voice acting from the perspective of a seasoned casting director. They explore strategies for success in auditions, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and making genuine choices. Listeners will gain insights into the casting process, understanding the client's vision, and the significance of following instructions. The episode addresses the impact of AI on the industry while reinforcing the irreplaceable value of human connection and unique interpretation. Anne and Andy also discuss practical advice for creating compelling auditions, handling limited information, and cultivating a resilient mindset in the face of industry challenges.
00:04 - Anne (Host)
Hey, what's up bosses? Join our VI peeps today and gain access to over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops designed to enhance your voiceover skills. From industry insights to practical techniques, our workshops cover a wide range of topics. As a VI peeps member, you'll also receive a 15% discount on current workshops and free monthly workshops to keep your skills sharp. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Sign up for VI Peeps membership now at vopeeps.com
00:39 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguza.
00:58 - Anne (Host)
Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and today I am so excited to have a very special guest Andy Roth with me here today. Andy has a career that has spAnned three decades and he is an award-winning casting director, voice director, producer and writer and is known for you Would Do it Too, too Hot to Handle Valeria, the Animal People, the Forest, my gosh this list Andy is going on and the Peculiar Adventures of Willoughby Starr. He's also served as casting director on over a thousand commercials. That is a lot of commercials. So welcome to the podcast, Andy. It's so wonderful to have you.
01:40 - Andy (Host)
Thanks, I'm excited to be here. Thank you.
01:43 - Anne (Host)
Gosh, I met you not so long ago and I'm not quite sure why it took so long for me to meet you, but I thank Jessica Blue for introducing us because I feel like I've known you forever and you're just amazing and I want the bosses to know how amazing you are as well. And so let's talk about you and your long, spanning career of gosh over a thousand commercials and all these productions. It's amazing. How did you get started?
02:11 - Andy (Host)
Honestly and yes, I think I have worked on more commercials than any human being should probably ever really be exposed to. I got started in this business actually back in 1994. A friend of a friend heard about an opening for an assistant at a talent agency which was called CED at the time. Now it's called CESD and it was in the voiceover department and so I became an assistant there, did that for several years, then became their in-house casting director and did that till 2007 and then left on my own and I actually I didn't even know when I started that voiceover was its own thing.
02:49 - Anne (Host)
I was going to ask you, did you get the experience on the job as you were casting?
02:53 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, like I mean, of course I always knew about commercial voiceover and animation and things like that, but I didn't know how vast it was until I was really in the heart of it and I just I fell in love with it.
03:05 - Anne (Host)
I can't imagine. I mean and so how has the industry changed and evolved over the years?
03:10 - Andy (Host)
for you, Well, it's gotten bigger. So many changes I mean, it's been 30 years since I went through a couple of strikes. It was the explosion of the non-union entity, which has become a whole other thing, of the non-union entity, which has become a whole other thing. Yeah, it's become its own area of the business. I've discovered that voiceover is anytime there's something new. Voiceover is the first thing there. Oh, how interesting. Anytime there's a new piece of technology, somebody wants to put a voice on it. Siri's a voiceover. Yeah, Alexa is a voiceover. Holograms have voiceovers. Augmented reality, virtual reality. When I started in this business, it was basically 13 chAnnels and people really mostly only cared about four of them. Yes, yes.
03:58 - Anne (Host)
I hear you on that.
04:00 - Andy (Host)
And then cable became a thing and you had this box with three numbers on it so you could have 999 chAnnels. And now with streaming, it's just icons. I mean it's unlimited. It goes on forever. And people have discovered content from other countries that's exploded and become a thing and voices are everywhere. We are the first area of the business to adapt and change and we're sticky Once we're in a place voiceover is just going to be there.
04:32 - Anne (Host)
I love that. I love that, and especially because you've been in the industry for so long and we talked about, you know, the explosion, like the technology explosion too, I mean, with first it was all union, then non-union kind of came aboard, because of the pay to place, I'm sure, and the online casting, and now we're under the threat of AI. But I guess I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, because here you are with all these wonderful, hopeful things that you're saying about voiceover, which I love and I like to tell my bosses out there as well. I mean, I think there's always a place for human voiceover.
05:00 - Andy (Host)
What are your?
05:00 - Anne (Host)
thoughts on that.
05:02 - Andy (Host)
I think there are certain areas of the business that may be a little safer from AI, especially animation. People love to go to cons to meet the voice of their character. You can't really replace that with AI. Is it 100% safe? Maybe not, but there are people dealing with it, fortunately, and AI does a lot of good things for the world too. I mean, I've seen programs where people who have no ability to speak can speak because AI helps them. It helps search engines. I mean there is definitely a place for AI. But as far as the possibility of replacing humans in this business, there are people out there that are concerned about it, that are helping, and fortunately they've been on it since it really became apparent it could be a thing. I'm optimistic. I'm realistic in that there will be some areas where AI is going to be there. It already is, but I'm very, very optimistic about protections.
06:02 - Anne (Host)
Me too, me too.
06:03
I really am. There's a lot of people fighting and, with the strike going on, which you know, fingers crossed, people are listening. I mean, I think what it is is we have voices and hopefully they're being heard, because a lot of people out there, like back in the beginning, when I got into voiceover, like what is that? Even, and even when you said you started, like what is that? Even. I think bringing awareness to the global community about voiceover and what we do as creatives and how important the creative process is, I think is really impactful in helping get us protections as we move forward. And I am a tech girl and I believe there is a lot of space for AI in the world, but I also believe there's a lot of space for human and human engagement and human creativity and I think that people crave that, no matter how good. And let's talk about this because an AI voice is perfect, and so you and I also with my students, we talk a lot about like I don't want a perfect voice when I'm directing my students.
07:02
I mean I want to hear that imperfection because that makes it real and that makes me engage and connect with it. Let's talk a little bit about that, about really, what should voice actors be doing now to really separate themselves from the crowd and also from AI?
07:19 - Andy (Host)
Well, honestly, being a presence having a discussion, you don't connect to AI the way you connect to another human when it reaches its pinnacle and it's really ready to go, which it's not totally now. But the good thing about AI is it's going to do whatever you ask it to do whenever you ask it to do it. The bad thing about AI is it's going to do whatever you ask it to do whenever you ask it to do it. There are some moments that have come out of projects I've worked on. I mean, I've voice directed I think like 22 shows now that are on the air. The great thing is you give a direction and the human being interprets it their way, and sometimes you're right on the money and you're really simpatico and it's exactly what I asked for. Thank you. Sometimes we figure things out together. Sometimes they come up with something they thought was what I asked for but was actually a lot better.
08:13
When you get two independent minds with human experience, with a life, with a history of interacting with other human beings, there's a thought process there that, at least at the moment and honestly, in my opinion, for the foreseeable future, can't really be duplicated. I mean, ai is intelligence, but it is artificial and we cast based on human interaction. We connect with roles we direct. This whole industry is built on human interaction. So, to a certain point, yes, ai can get things going and smooth out maybe some of the bumps, but it's not really going to be the base on which this industry is built for human beings to connect to other human beings. That being said, not everybody sees it this way, so be vigilant and be aware of it. But as far as how people can stand out honestly, the best way for people to stand out is to be themselves. There are a lot of people I know that send me auditions that I can hear they're trying to be what they think the right thing is. Yes, absolutely.
09:19
And if I've asked you to audition, you're already the right thing. I don't know if you'll get the job, but I know that you can do the job. And I've had auditions that people didn't book lead to other jobs that they didn't even audition for. That actually just happened on a show I am on right now. I cast somebody and he was like did I audition for this? I'm like well, sort of you auditioned, like two shows ago.
09:43 - Anne (Host)
I love that. Yeah, I think that's very encouraging for those actors out there who it's such a personal thing, right.
09:50
When you submit an audition, it's so hard not to get personally attached to it or feel like, oh gosh, like I really, really want this, and but then you don't hear anything or you may never get feedback and then ultimately that is, I think, when people are first starting out in this industry. It's something very hard for them to kind of let go of because it is such maybe a personal connection. But I love that you're talking about bringing yourself and the human element to the audition, because that's really what makes you unique. I'll even tell my students, because I do a lot of work in the long format narration like corporate and e-learning, and most people feel like that shouldn't have like a point of view or a feeling, but most absolutely it does, because I tell people to think about like okay, if you're going to do an e-learning module like what was it when you were going to school that made someone your favorite teacher?
10:37
Like did you have a subject that maybe you hated, but then all of a sudden, the teacher was amazing and then that's what made it interesting. And that's the type of voice that I want to come out. And there's always a point of view in that, believe it or not, it's a point of view that says I care about you as a student, that I care that you learn, and so that comes through in the voice and if you're just reading the words, or even if you're just reading the words in the sound in which you hear them all the time, which typically is very robotic for a lot of e-learning, I go on and on about why that happened for so many years. Because nobody chucked us on it and nobody was an actual teacher.
11:09
And I say that because I was a teacher in front of the classroom for 20, some odd years. But still, even if you think in what you hear, I have so many students that say, but I hear it on the commercial, it sounds like this and I'm like, yeah, but that might not have been what got them cast. It might be at the moment that someone directed them to be. And even you, if I ask, if you're directing someone, do you not only sometimes have to like talk to the client to see?
11:33
if that's what the client is thinking is good, and even what you might be like, this is great. This actor's got it nailed. The client might want something different.
11:41 - Andy (Host)
Well, I work with the actor for the client. The actor is sort of the most profound connection artistically. That's the relationship that ultimately creates a thing. But I do work for the client and ultimately what they want.
11:57
I kind of think of it like this: this is a hive mind and there's a queen bee somewhere in an office with a checkbook and the rest of us are workers trying to make sure the hive is ready before it rains. So I very, very much listen to the client, want to do what the client says. I'm very much back and forth with the client. If it's a dubbed show that I'm directing, I am constantly because I could get a read that I'm like that's brilliant, that's amazing, I love it. And then I'm like that's brilliant, that's amazing, I love it. And then I'm like let's compare it to the original, because if it doesn't match or do the same thing, I'm like I love it, but we have to shelve it and we have to do what the client wants.
12:34 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
But at the end of the day.
12:35 - Andy (Host)
The client has built a container that they want filmed with humAnness and it is my job to fill it up, and that happens just through us connecting. Part of what I listen for on an audition is do I get you? And I don't mean like, are you a Pisces? Or something like that. I mean Long walks on the beach, right exactly Pina coladas getting caught in the rain, not that I have a problem with pina coladas or getting caught in theaters, or long walks on the beach.
13:05 - Anne (Host)
Long walks on the beach.
13:06 - Andy (Host)
Let's be fair, but I do feel like I want to feel like there's a human there, because that makes me feel like I know what's going to happen in the studio, and I don't want any of us to do more work than we absolutely have to do. I want us to connect, do something, play with it, do it again, move on, and it needs to be within the container that the client has given me to fill. Does that make sense?
13:29 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, absolutely so. Then if there are casting specs, and someone is paying attention to the casting specs, which a lot of times. Casting specs sometimes seem fairly generic and sometimes not. How much should they be paying attention to that and trying to like create that versus bringing their most human self to that read?
13:49 - Andy (Host)
Well, I will say this about casting specs and yeah, sometimes they kind of suck and I'm sorry about that, but they are designed to help you. They are coming from somebody's mind to kind of get you to the place where you can be you in the relevant context. Sometimes they're just not actable, sometimes they are a little generic, sometimes they're not understandable, but more often I think they are. And even if we don't realize every nuance, just reading them often will get us to an emotional place where we can be ourselves, because happy you is very different than sarcastic you or sad you or angry you. I say, always pay attention to them, always read them. But If you can't make a choice based on them, then maybe sort through or throw them away, but they are always there to help you.
14:42
I mean, I do know some people that are like, oh, I never read the specs. I don't think that's the best way to go. Sure, yeah, always. But I mean again, you don't have to be beyond completely throwing them away. They're garbage or they're just completely not you, but they weren't paying attention to. Also, sometimes we put things in there like naming conventions, if I say I want the file named role underscore full name.
15:12
And I get something that's named a different way Well before I've even listened to it. You've told me you don't really care what I have to say. So yeah, I would say, always pay attention to them.
15:21 - Anne (Host)
I like how you turned that into the message right.
15:24
So a lot of people I'll be like I don't understand why I will have my students name files a particular way, because they submit their homework via Dropbox and they have to name it a certain way. And if they don't, I spend half of their session looking for their file and what happens is they seem to think I'm insane for asking them to name it a certain way. And I'm like, in reality, there's a method to my madness here. I mean because if you audition, you're going to have to name that file specifically the way they're asking, otherwise it's going to get tossed to the side. I like how you mentioned that. Yeah, you've already shown that you have respect for the process by naming the file correctly, and it shouldn't be a task to do that. And if it is a task, then I think maybe you should get some computer training that can help you to do that task and to pay attention, because that's part of our job when we're submitting.
16:14 - Andy (Host)
I mean, you're going to name it something.
16:16 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, exactly, why not name it what we're asked?
16:19 - Andy (Host)
You're not just going to send me a file with nothingmp3. Also, I find that some of these rules, although they may not be the creative process, they may not be the most fun thing, they actually do help their creative process. I was talking to somebody who is an on-camera person. They're working on their own project and it's great. And I said have you ever interned or worked at a studio? You know, it's California, there's no shortage of them. If you can't intern, well, I think that that would get in the way of my creativity and I don't want to. And it's like okay, I understand that, because you'll be in their world with their creativity, but nobody writes a screenplay and says I can't wait to gaff this.
17:08
I'm so excited to hire security and craft services. Working at a place where all of these things are just laid out, where, okay, I have to get security, I have to get craft services, I have to go file permits, I have to do all this. Working at a place that's going to make the part you don't really want to do easy, is going to free you up to focus on the creative and it's actually going to make you creatively freer because, whether it's a horror movie or a romance or a comedy, getting a permit is getting a permit. It's the same and getting used to saying, okay, I know how they want to do this. It's the reason I have people name certain things is because often I want all characters grouped together.
17:44 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, absolutely yeah. There's a good reason for that, yeah.
17:47 - Andy (Host)
Right, and if yeah, like you said, if I have to go searching through it, you made my job harder finding you than it was for you. To just name it what I asked you.
17:55 - Anne (Host)
Don't give you homework, like I shouldn't be giving you homework.
17:58 - Andy (Host)
If I'm submitting an audition, it should not be homework for you to find it and to listen to it, and yeah, absolutely, and I just may not do it.
18:06 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, exactly Because you know you're that student that sits in the back of the class. I mean, I already know this about you, having met you briefly, but those are the most fun students.
18:18
Those are the creative ones that usually you know they're geniuses in the back because they're causing all kinds of trouble, but you don't want to give your talent agent or your casting director or whoever it is you're submitting your audition to. You don't want to give them homework. So what other things would you recommend are strategies for maybe creating a great audition or getting to the humAnness and the point of view that you're looking for in terms of this is the actor I want to cast.
18:45 - Andy (Host)
Don't try to get it right. Don't deliberately get it wrong, like if the role obviously needs you laughing. Don't cry uncontrollably to stand out, because you will stand out.
18:55 - Anne (Host)
It's got to make sense.
18:56 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, you will stand out, just not necessarily in the way that you want to, but being free. So many people hang so much on every audition it's like, oh, this is the job, and if I don't get this job I failed. And that's not true. Every audition can get you more auditions. An audition is really a way to establish or reaffirm a relationship, and you'll get opportunities and jobs in this business. For one reason Somebody wants you to have that opportunity, or that job.
19:30
It's not who you know in this business, it's who knows you. Ah, I like that in an audition. I mean there's nothing anybody can teach you that's going to guarantee you're going to book everything. But being yourself making simple choices, Okay, the first line is oh my God, I'm so happy, I'm going to make a simple choice, I'm going to smile, I'm going to be happy, I'm going to listen back to it, see if it needs more or less, maybe something else, but trying to be like what did they mean by? You know, let me stand out, let me get? You don't know enough at the audition point to stand out. You haven't heard the other auditions. You don't know about the conversations the casting director's having with the client. You don't know who else is cast. You don't know. You don't know any of the parameters. Sometimes somebody wants somebody who's done a million jobs because of a time frame or there's a relationship.
20:22
Sometimes we specifically don't want that person because that person has been heard on eight other projects. You don't know any of that. What you can know is that if we've reached out to you with an audition, it's because there's already something there that lets us at least believe we know who you are. I don't need some weird ethereal happy, I just need your happy. It's also not about not needing to be directed. It's about us getting you so we can ask can you be?
20:52 - Anne (Host)
happier. Can you be less happy?
20:53 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, keep it simple, there's a thing.
20:57
I call the four disagreements yeah, if you want to serve the script, don't worry about serving the script. If you want to get it right, don't worry about getting it right. If you want to play the moments, don't worry about playing the moments. And if you want to make the casting director happy, don't worry about making the casting director happy. Make the choice or choices that you feel are right for the script, for the context and any other information you may have.
21:23
Was somebody that I felt was really, really right for a role. I thought they were great, they were perfect for it. I read them, I gave my little write-up about why I thought they were terrific, sent it off. The director really, really liked them and it came down to that person and one other and the other person ultimately got it. That's what the director was feeling and it was a great person. I mean, the person who got it was terrific and I liked them and I worked with them all the time. But I was like, not the way I would have gone, but fine. So season two.
22:08
I ended up directing season two and I called this actor and I said do you mind if I submit you? And they said sure, what do you want me to read? I said I don't. I want to resubmit your audition from last season. And they said but it didn't get me the job. I said no, but there's different brains involved now and we'll see. And the person who booked it last time can't do it again because they did it last time and it's a different role. And I resubmitted it with the same write-up and they ended up getting a lead role. So we hang so much on everything that we micromanage, we microanalyze. Don't look for information you don't have and not going to have. Say this is what I feel is right. I'm not an idiot. I know the business, I know my choices are right. I sometimes book. I get asked to audition again. Do them, and I'm not going to say forget about it, because that's not always how brains work.
23:03 - Anne (Host)
Try to forget about it. Yeah, exactly, don't let it mentally hassle with your yeah yeah, don't schedule an extra therapy session for it or anything. Yeah, exactly.
23:12 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, I mean it'll be in your head and it's fine, but know that your audition is out there working for you. Just be you. Make simple choices, things you know you can do, things you feel are right and do them.
23:24 - Anne (Host)
Now here's a question which I know is on a lot of people that are just getting into the industry, or students that are just getting into the industry. It's about the lack of. They're like the words are on the page and they don't make sense to the student, because they're talking about some visual that's probably already been done or it's in the process, or the person that wrote the copy knew what visuals were going to be along with it. But yet here's the copy, but yet no storyboard. There's no other information except for maybe like casting specs about oh, we want female age, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so then they're like well, how do I interpret this? How do I even because I'll okay, who are you? Who are you talking to? You know, create that scene. And when I'm just like well, look, as long as you're committed right, you're committed to those words and they make sense, you can make up whatever scene you want that allows you to be authentic and genuine with it.
24:15
And sometimes I'm very surprised at stuff that I've done. When I look at what comes out afterwards, I'm like whoa, okay, I didn't expect that. So why is that? Are we a step in the process where we don't get fed more information, like is there a reason why there's not more storyboards or there's not more you know what I mean information given at the time of the audition, or just curious?
24:36 - Andy (Host)
I never asked anybody this and I will say this. It sometimes is as frustrating for me. I would love for the actor to have everything the actor needs, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes projects are secretive. Sometimes there actually is a storyboard. I'm just not allowed to tell you. Sometimes there's information about what show it is or what the product is. I remember when Apple first started advertising the iPhones and we were casting in person because it was a long time ago and we weren't even allowed to put iPhone on the door. We weren't even allowed. It would be secret product, you know, and people would be like oh, a phone that does stuff.
25:17 - Anne (Host)
But we weren't allowed to say it.
25:19 - Andy (Host)
So there'd be like on the door it would say like jet plane or freezer burn or just some random word, so you would know where you should go. I worked on a show recently where there were these athletes going to this really important game and one of them is looking out the window and it's starting to rain and he's nervous and he's like, wow, it's raining out there. And the coach looks at him and goes, yeah, but it's raining for the other team too. Whatever information you don't have, neither does anybody else.
25:54
Whatever problems you have, everybody else it's raining for the other team too Sure.
25:59 - Anne (Host)
Sure, I love that. It's so nice for you to validate that you know, what.
26:03 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
I mean.
26:03 - Anne (Host)
Because I think a lot of times people are like but why, how? Come I don't know anymore. Why can't?
26:07 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
I.
26:08 - Anne (Host)
I said it's very rare in any of my jobs in all these years that I've ever gotten a storyboard. I mean after. I get it maybe I'll get a storyboard. There'll be times I'll get storyboards with a commercial audition, but I think it's gotten less over the years. Yeah.
26:23 - Andy (Host)
You get what people feel you need, and they're not always right.
26:26 - Anne (Host)
And a lot of times they change again. Yeah.
26:30 - Andy (Host)
And it's very much. You get what you get. You don't get upset, but you will always have everything you need to do your job. You may not feel it, it may not be as much as you want, but it is enough to get you to a place where you can come up with specifics. Even if you make them up, you can come up with a.
26:50 - Anne (Host)
I'm happy, I'm sad. I'm a wise ass.
26:53 - Andy (Host)
This business. We do everything we can to give you everything you need to do your job and only be as specific as you can. Don't go to a place where you're making up a whole scenario so you can feel more complete as a performer that I'm not going to get. Does that make sense?
27:12 - Anne (Host)
Yeah.
27:13 - Andy (Host)
Know that when we send this out, we are ready to fill in these blanks in the job Right.
27:19 - Anne (Host)
And usually, if I'm not mistaken, the voiceover is probably one of the tail end of the things to be filling in, or no Is? That not a correct Like. Usually the media is finished, the things have been written. Usually there's visuals somewhere along the line that have been made and then the last thing to be cast is a voice, but maybe not when we're talking on camera. I mean, that could be. That's a different part of the process.
27:40 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, well, I mean, I would say probably, I mean anytime there's an actor involved. A lot of work has been done before. Yeah, before we even start talking to actors, and a lot of work's going to be done after the actors are gone. So, yeah, on camera, yeah, of course you're on set for a little bit longer probably than voiceover, but, yeah, often things are in place and we do our best to ask is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah, yeah, but there's a lot that happens before anybody asked me to do anything.
28:12 - Anne (Host)
There's a lot that happens before the mixer's involved or anything yeah, yeah, I think it's good to know that we're only one tiny piece of like an entire project and sometimes, I think, in our own little worlds. We tend to forget that in our booths right. We're like oh the voiceover is like front and center and in reality there's so many other components to probably creating this project or commercial or movie or whatever it is.
28:38
There's so many other parts and we get so wrapped up in just our part of it that I think we have to realize that we're just a cog in the wheel so to speak, it's an important cog I mean, the machine won't work without it. Exactly.
28:50 - Andy (Host)
But we do mesh. It's a great analogy, metaphor simile, simile, it's a great simile. Yeah, right, I thought I was an English teacher. There you go, simile, there you go. Oh, I love it. I love it, it's a great, yeah, simile.
29:10
Yeah, because, like I said, we're all worker bees yes, yeah, I know that we have a lot of the same issues too. There's stuff I can't know, there are things I'm not allowed to be a part of, and there's a lot of processes. So, yeah, just do your job. Don't worry about what we want or what somebody else is looking for or somebody else is hiding. We're not, we're not hiding anything. We just need you to be you, to know what that cog is.
29:26
And again, I have anxiety attacks when I get a job, sometimes because there's just so much stuff I haven't gotten to sit down with it yet. I haven't seen a script, I don't have a cast. Sometimes I don't have all the episodes of a show or all the spots in the commercial campaign. There's a lot I don't know either. And I understand it can be isolating. It could feel lonely, you know, when you're alone in your booth it could feel like everybody's working more than you, everybody's auditioning more than you, everybody in the industry does have that. It's been a few weeks. Am I ever going to work again?
30:02 - Anne (Host)
Do I belong in this industry? It just becomes very dramatic sometimes.
30:06 - Andy (Host)
I state something. I offered a potato chip. Did that offend somebody? And we spiral out. Every single person involved does it. Oh, nice to know, I'm not alone, right, I mean, because even after all these, years.
30:20 - Anne (Host)
Sometimes it's so hard not to get those thoughts in the way. I swear that, like everything that we do, sometimes it's so hard not to get those thoughts in the way I swear that, like everything that we do, is sometimes it's not a God given talent.
30:28
Well it is, but it's the most important thing, is our mental state about it all, because it can affect so much I mean the fact is is that we can just like let those feelings and ideas spin around in our head and be like oh my God, did I do something to offend? Am I good enough? Am I? You know all that talk in your head is the stuff that I think is probably some of the most dangerous talk and things that you could have as a voice actor.
30:52 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, it's. It's like Schrodinger's audition the audition is simultaneously good, bad and not submitted. There you go.
31:02 - Anne (Host)
I love it. Oh my goodness. So then I would say, with the thousands of commercials that you have directed or produced, what? Would you say, is the cast that you've cast? What's the best thing a talent can do? In hopes of maybe getting cast. And what's the worst thing that you've seen a talent do that wouldn't get them cast?
31:22 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, I don't know that I'm going to say the worst thing.
31:24 - Anne (Host)
Or yeah, maybe not a smart thing. So yeah, that kind of tends to be pretty specific to a person.
31:30 - Andy (Host)
And if it's the worst thing I've seen, it means probably only one person did it and so I'm not going to tell, I would say, the most probably impractical thing that.
31:39
I've seen people do is be like, okay, I'm going to be the person who is going to get the job. I'm going to try to fool you into thinking that I'm the person you're really going to hire, and so I'll get a read and somebody's clearly doing this and it's like well, I know it's a car commercial, but I didn't ask for that and that person is available and they work for what you work for.
32:04
If I reached out to you, I don't want an impression of that person or people that change their voice into a better version of you know, it's like if I called somebody because they have a certain depth to their voice.
32:19 - Anne (Host)
This is my voiceover voice, right, yeah?
32:21 - Andy (Host)
And if I haven't asked you to do that and I might I mean there are things but if I haven't asked you to do that, don't do that. It may even turn into that at the end of the day.
32:32 - Anne (Host)
Isn't that the truth, right? It may turn into that at the end. That's what. I end up getting is people be like. But I listened to the commercial and it sounds just like this and I'm like but that doesn't mean that that performance got you the job.
32:43 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, I've had people come up to me. Andy, I heard that spot, I could have done that. Why didn't you ask me to do that? And I'm like is it your first day in the business, have you never? It's like nobody did that. The person who booked it didn't do that and the client liked the director is directing and they call the client and the client's like can we hit this word a little bit more? And I feel like we're not pushing.
33:07 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, and I always say that the person who's actually making decisions like it depends on, like what they hear in their head, right. And maybe they're a 65 year old person that's been listening to announcery commercials all their lives and that's what they hear in their head. And that's what ends up getting directed, or whatever it is. I think our voices become a product of the years and years that we've had and your musical, I know this right Of hearing things right.
33:31
And so that's why when we go in and we say this is what we think you want to hear, because we're mimicking over a period of years that's why in our head there's a certain melody Also. I think there's a certain melody also. I think there's a scientific and tell me and if you think I'm right, I think there's a scientific like reason why people, when they read words, they read them in a melody. That's very expected, because I can tell you exactly like.
33:52
Here's a paragraph, I can mimic exactly what you're going to do. If you're not thinking about like acting and you're just thinking about reading along a melody, I know that melody already and it's funny because I'm right like 99.9% of the time with that melody. And what is that? That's a scientific study that you read words in a certain melody.
34:11 - Andy (Host)
Well, I'm not a neuroscientist, Damn it Andy, why? Not, you're everything else. That was my fallback, that was plan B, just in case yeah, I mean you've got that medical background. But the brain doesn't think in words, the brain doesn't think in images. The brain thinks in little synaptic flashes, billions and billions and billions of them. You're sounding like a scientist, thank you.
34:36
Thank you very much For anybody who's like questioned me on that, which, fine, by all means question. My answer is what's the word that keeps you balanced? What's the word that keeps your heart beating? What's the? Your brain doesn't need words. Your brain just does little flashy things like a microchip. Your brain's basically a macrochip, holds, I think, about 10 terabytes of information and it processes it certain ways. So when you look at a word, it doesn't actually see a word, it sees an image that sparks a whole sequence of synaptic flashes. The people that organized those words in the form of a script or a book or whatever learned the language. The way you learned the language. They learned it by hearing it. And even if it's your second language, yeah, okay, maybe there's some schooling, but at the end of the day, you're really learning it conversationally, by hearing people do it. So your brain doesn't just process. Okay, this is this sequence of words with a dot or a line at the end of it, or a squiggle or something.
35:36
It actually processes the whole thing as a rhythm. The rhythm that was born into it will probably be the rhythm that comes out. And yeah, is it 100%? No, sometimes there's typos, sometimes things are weird, but it's also why, like, there's this thing online where there's a whole paragraph and every word has first, last and middle letter in the right place, but the rest of the words are just jumbled.
36:03 - Anne (Host)
Oh yeah, and we know what that.
36:04 - Andy (Host)
yeah, I've seen those and you can still read them, you can still get the rhythm, you can still do all that. So acting is a physics term is one of the things I say in my class. Acting is doing something that has an effect on a receiver. You say something, it affects somebody else. It hits a series of triggers. A script is the same thing. A script is a series of things that will trigger you in most cases, which?
36:30
is why somebody leaves a word out of a line. You often may not even notice that word's not there. Your brain's just going to put it in. So, yeah, exactly like you said, you're going to be right most of the time, because it is how your brain now thinks. And sometimes you won't be. But those are flukes. Those are rare. They do happen. They're. Certainly those will be the ones that we look at and focus on, because they're messed up and we'll use them to define ourselves. Oh, I'm terrible. How could I have made that mistake? But the truth is, usually things go right, and so trust yourself. It's why one of the four disagreements if you want to get it right, don't worry about getting it right.
37:11
Yeah, don't worry about getting it right, absolutely yeah, read it listen to it and, to be honest, if it's terrible, throw it away. Nobody's going to hear it.
37:18 - Anne (Host)
Right, it's so funny. I remember when I was teaching in front of the class and I would get so excited. Sometimes, like my brain, I'd be like, oh, and I want to tell them about this, and then what would come out of my mouth sometimes didn't follow, because I was so excited, but the funny thing is is that I never once had a classroom that didn't forgive me for that, do you?
37:35 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
know what I mean?
37:36 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, yeah, because I was so intent on sharing, and excited and passionate that they forgave the mistakes I made, and I truly believe that that's how you need to approach your copy, because it's more about how you're making me feel really. And, like you said, it's a series of synapses or reactions or the words are there to trigger something and so the acting is reacting, kind of thing.
37:59
And so that really needs to be built into all of your auditions, all of your performances in some form or fashion. And yeah, worrying about making it perfect is spending too much time worrying about making it perfect and not enough time worrying about how are you going to make someone feel or how are you going to engage with them and tell that story.
38:17 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, it's not your job to not have a problem. It's your job to have a problem in a way that nobody else thinks it's going to become their problem. It's your ability to deal with it. Yeah, exactly, we worry about so much One of the things that I tell you have to do a do you can't, do a don't. I'm going to be happy. That's a do you can do that, I'm going to talk fast.
38:39
That's a do. I'm going to talk slow. I'm going to talk with an accent. I'm going to be really big or I'm going to be really small, I'm going to whisper Any of these things. These are things you can do. You can't do a don't. I don't want to be wrong is not a choice. I don't want to mess it up is not a choice. I'm trying to not be too fast, or I'm trying to not.
38:59
Those are not choices, those are don'ts. I would rather have you be too fast and ask you to slow down which is an inevitability of our relationship as director and actor anyway than have somebody who's delivering at the perfect pace but the copy is sounding like this and there's no humAnness to it. Cool, we learn more from our successes than our mistakes. HumAnness to it. Cool, we learn more from our successes than our mistakes. Everything you're good at, you've gotten good at by doing it right over, over, over, over over and sometimes messing it up, but being able to fix it because your brain knows what the right is. So whoever's listening to it or interacting with you in an audition is going okay. When they stumble, it's not going to be a big deal.
39:44 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, exactly, we'll move on yeah.
39:45 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, nobody cares.
39:46 - Anne (Host)
I want the intent.
39:47 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, nobody cares if you screw up, I mean, and the reality of it is is.
39:50 - Anne (Host)
I mean unless you're being live directed right. I mean we're all human. Everybody understands that. If you're not and you're doing it later on, I mean good Lord, we can just edit it.
40:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
I mean, so if you stumble on a word.
40:03 - Anne (Host)
I mean, we all do it. I'd love to speak perfectly 100% of the time, but I certainly don't. And so, yeah, we all make mistakes and so it's just you fix it. And so when I'm having somebody read for me live, I don't care if they stumble, I want their acting, I want to hear their acting. And if they stumble, it's okay because inevitably they're going to get it right. If I'm paying them $10,000 for the job, I mean they're going to go do it until they get it right.
40:25
And so if you're going to stumble in front of me, that's fine. I just want to feel you and hear you.
40:30 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, just don't have a meltdown in front of me about it, don't beat yourself up, don't apologize. I want to be a director. I don't want to be a therapist.
40:39 - Anne (Host)
You probably are for most of the time.
40:41 - Andy (Host)
I don't want to. I don't want to do that. Yeah, I mean like people can go bleh, you know, and do a pickup. I don't mind a blip, that's huge. But I've seen people really like beat themselves up and feel like they're less than or feel like they're stupid I mess up words that I'm making up.
41:00 - Anne (Host)
I mess up words when I talk in everyday conversation.
41:03 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, yeah, and I don't even have a script, I'm just making that up. Yeah, exactly.
41:07 - Anne (Host)
That's brain to mouth.
41:09 - Andy (Host)
Oh, I screwed that up, yeah there's a lot that happens between synapse and noise and there can be a problem at any step of that process, so worry less about that, bosses. Yeah, worry less. There's a phrase that I hate practice makes perfect.
41:26 - Anne (Host)
I mean, I don't know, if you say it, I'm sorry if you do, I probably. No, I don't okay. Good, I mean because it's never happened.
41:30 - Andy (Host)
I mean, how long does something have to not happen before we stop acting like it's going to? The purpose of practice isn't to become some theoretical idea. The purpose of practice is to make you comfortable with the inevitability of your imperfection.
41:48 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I like that.
41:49 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, you'll be reading a sarcastic role, or a happy role or an angry role. You'll be selling hamburgers or beer or a car. Scripts will change, attitudes will change, voices may change, but messing up a word and dealing with it doesn't. Yeah, yeah, you know that's the same. A typo, that doesn't change you. Getting mush mouth or dry mouth, that doesn't change. So the purpose of practice to get you comfortable with the fairly limited number of ways you're going to have a problem yeah, yeah, yeah yeah so that it's not a big deal.
42:23
I like that.
42:24 - Anne (Host)
I'm always saying if there's a mistake in the script, and especially well, for me it makes sense because typically long-format narration scripts go through rounds and rounds of approvals, through like corporate hands and even like your stuff, I'm quite sure, goes through many hands of approval and so like, if you're going to be that actor that's going to point out a mistake in a script, no, don't be that actor.
42:44
Be the actor that reads it exactly the way it is but makes it sound like there's no mistake you know what I mean, that's your job is to make it sound beautiful, like, even if a word's missing or I mean if it's really really obvious then you just graciously. Hey, here's an alternate take, just. But don't ever like point out the mistake. Goodness gracious, no, nobody wants to be that person.
43:03 - Andy (Host)
And if you have an opportunity to ask say is there a missing word? Sure, by all means, but sometimes you just don't have that opportunity. Sometimes you don't have an answer it's raining for the other team too.
43:14 - Anne (Host)
Yeah, I love that. It's like that's such a great takeaway. That's such a great takeaway, that and just not worrying right and not worrying about being perfect, and I think that that has just been a wonderful takeaway and I feel like we need to have part one, two and three of this interview.
43:30
I would love that it's so wonderful. Thank you so much for chatting with me today and imparting those words of wisdom. Are you available, Like if people want to find out more about you? I mean, do you have a website? I mean, is it one of those things that people can reach out to you?
43:47 - Andy (Host)
I do have a website. I have Andyrothcasting.com.
43:51 - Anne (Host)
Okay.
43:52 - Andy (Host)
Yeah, that is my website. I can't really always talk about things I'm working on, Of course. I mean almost everything is NDA, but things I've done are there. If I do have a class coming up or something, it's listed there.
44:03 - Anne (Host)
And speaking of though, we do have a class coming up. I'm going to have you for my VO Peeps guest director guys. So boss is coming up.
44:11
Make sure you sign up, and I will say that when I met you at Mavo, you were doing a couple of classes and people were just raving about you and so, and they were really like taking a lot away from your classes. So I can't wait, I can't wait for you to be and you're going to be in. What did we decide? It was, oh my gosh, it's like May, may, march.
44:34 - Andy (Host)
April, april or April or May, I don't know.
44:36 - Anne (Host)
Peeps check the calendar because he's going to be here and Andy Roth, make sure you sign up, and I'm so excited for that.
44:44 - Andy (Host)
Me too, me too. I'm really excited, and every opportunity to hang out and talk with you. Yay, I will take every one of those opportunities, awesome.
44:52 - Anne (Host)
Well, hey, I can't wait to do this again. Thank you so much, thank you For being with me today, and a big shout out to my sponsor, ipdtl. You too, can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, you have an amazing week. I just sounded Jersey. I think it's because I'm talking to you, Andy. I said bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, guys.
45:16 - Speaker 2 (Announcement)
Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble discuss the critical role of marketing in the voice acting industry. They explore various marketing strategies, including the importance of having a professional website, effective SEO practices, and the role of direct marketing. Learn about the impact of high-quality demos, the significance of direct marketing, and the potential returns when executed correctly. They touch on direct marketing services like VO Boss Blast, emphasizing targeted marketing without the spammy aftertaste. The BOSSes further explore the roles of online casting platforms, agent representation, and direct marketing, emphasizing the importance of diversifying marketing efforts and understanding the financial commitments involved.
00:01 - Rick MacIvor (Ad) Hi, this is Rick MacIvor with the VO Video Village YouTube channel. You know, when I started doing voiceover, I listened to the VO Boss podcast religiously. It was my go-to source of information about the industry and I still listen to it to this day. Every week there's an amazing new guest and Anne is able to really get some great information. I just love it. So thank you so much, Anne, looking forward to next week's episode.
00:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, amazing voiceover talents. Do you ever wish boss marketing was as fun as it was being behind the mic? Well, check out my VO Boss Blast. It's designed to automate and make your marketing simpler. You'll benefit from your very own target marketed list, tailored to meet your goals and your brand the VO Boss Blast. Find out more at voboss dot com.
01:00 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series.
01:28 I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am ecstatic to be here once again with the one and only lovely Danielle Fanbel. Hey, anne, so good to see you. Thank you for having me back on the podcast.
01:37 Awesome. Oh my God, it's such a pleasure talking money with you.
01:41 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Oh, I love it, I love it.
01:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love money. I love money. I still have that segment when we talked about say it along with us bosses.
01:48 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I love money.
01:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, speaking of money, we've talked a lot about investing money and receiving money and saving money, saving money, but one thing that we haven't really delved into so deeply is investing in money in the market, right? Because, in reality, we can't make money if we don't have a market to sell to, and we really need to be able to get in front of people in order to say hey, I'm here, I have a product and you are absolutely able to buy. Yeah, marketing your services, yeah are absolutely able to buy.
02:23 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, marketing your services.
02:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, marketing your services. So, yes, it is absolutely related to financials, because you need to invest in marketing yourself money and time, and so I thought it'd be a good time to talk about the different types of marketing that are out there, like how is it that voice actors acquire jobs? I think there's four. Is it that?
02:46 - Danielle Famble (Guest) voice actors acquire jobs, I think there's four, four ways, right, Danielle? Yeah.
02:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There's direct marketing. We'll go over all of these as we go through the podcast. So there's direct marketing there's pay to plays Sure, yeah, there's agents Okay.
02:59 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah.
02:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And there's one of my favorites, which actually just happened. The other day I got a direct inquiry on my website from someone that was looking to hire a voice my voice because they'd come to my website and they listened to my demos and they asked me what would it cost to do such and such, and so that would be your website slash SEO, which one of my favorite types, because I really didn't have to work hard.
03:23 I had to work hard to get the SEO, so that I could be found, but it's nice when people find me because they've already listened to me, and so that is what I consider a warm lead.
03:33 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Mm-hmm. Yeah, and it's actually one that you have so much more control over as well, because you can choose what you put on your website. You can choose how much SEO marketing that you do, how much money you put into your SEO marketing, and then, when it's out there, people find you and they know a lot about you because you've already put a lot of time and energy into cultivating and curating what they see when they come to your website.
03:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, yeah, I mean, since we're already on the topic, right, let's delve deeper into that.
04:02 Because when I ask people like, what do they have money to spend on, I mean it's almost like a last ditch effort.
04:07 I feel like that voice actors say, oh well, I've got to get a website up, but I don't think they understand the importance of having that online storefront because, honestly, that works for you 24 seven. If you have people finding you on your website, that is your marketing investment that is available day in, day out, 24 hours a day, and the cool thing about it is is that you can showcase your product with a good demo. By the way, when you showcase that product and they listen to that demo and then they inquire and you make it easy for them to inquire about your product, then I say that you haven't had to audition. You know it's a warm lead and that lead is usually quite effective because then, once they inquire, you can ask for more information and then start a negotiation process which, again, is absolutely under your control, and it's probably, I would say, one of the easier. Once you've got your website up and running and you've done the work to get good SEO, it's one of the easiest ways to acquire work and to get paid.
05:08 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Oh yeah, and it comes directly to you. So you're not there's no friction of having to speak to your agent or your representation or going through a portal on like pay-to-play sites. I mean, it really is just direct and you can really cultivate how that relationship how you want to. You can ask them if they want to do directed sessions with you so they can see your process a little bit more in depth. You control, like, how quickly you are or are not responding the negotiation process huge. But, yeah, having them be able to find you and typically that is finding you via, like a Google search or that's finding you through social media, if you've done any social media touches as well. They could even find you on certain websites that you are on, for example, like a pay-to-play website.
05:53 But then you have your demos. You also have your email address, your website, so there are different ways that you can sprinkle around the essence of who you are and your digital storefront, hang your shingle out there and you can point it back by using SEO. You can guest blog, you can be on podcasts, you can do so many other things that bring awareness to who you are. That points a potential client to you, to your website, and then, when it's there, then they can take a look and see everything that you've curated for them to see about you and possibly working with you.
06:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. And so think about it, guys, when you shop online, right. So these are important things to know right about your website. When you shop online, what is it that you're looking for? Or when do you shop online? Right, you shop online when you have a need, right, and so, typically, people that are searching at the Google prompt or they see something that you might have curated on social media, they've been sparked because they have a need, and this is the very essence of marketing, right, because you need to contact those people. They need to be ready, right, or they need to be preparing to be ready, or they need to be researching the buy, and you are there in front of them, and that is probably half the battle, if not the majority of the battle is to get there in front of them, and then, when they have the need, they're going to buy.
07:13 So I'm always talking about well, I shop for fashion, for lipstick, and when I have a need, I will go to the Google prompt or I will go to a website that I know, right, a brand that I know and I trust and I've purchased from before. So that's always a good reason to have a website, right, people who you've worked with before they'll go to your website again. They might be showing your voice to somebody else. They might just be coming to contact you again to get your email address, but having people come to you is, I think, the majority of the work, and so make sure that your website is easy to navigate, make sure that you have your product displayed promptly and like right up at the top so that they can hear your voice, and also all of your contact information so that they can get in touch with you.
08:02 - Danielle Famble (Guest) They know how to find you.
08:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and you don't have to do the audition. That's what I say. You don't have to be like it's 24-7, because a lot of times the other types of marketing we're going to talk about is your pay-to-plays or your auditions, because you have to do a little bit of work first and then you get cast, but with your website it sits there, available and it works for you, and so make sure your SEO, which is your search engine optimization, is up to snuff on there. And it used to be that people paid for SEO. I don't know, do people pay for SEO much anymore?
08:33 - Danielle Famble (Guest) It became almost like a scam at one point.
08:36 I do. I actually pay for SEO. I've paid some people to help me navigating, like acquiring backlinks and making sure that anything that is out there on my website or pointing to my website is something that Google likes and can help someone find me. If there are certain keywords that I want to be found for, if someone's searching in Google, I want to be able to make sure that I rank high for those. So it is definitely something that you can definitely invest money into and I would say, probably hire someone who knows how to do that, and that is a wise use of your investment. If that's what you choose to do, you can absolutely do that, and you can also just take care of what is on your website.
09:18 So make sure that your brand is exactly what you want people to see, and you need to reverse engineer it. Think like a buyer. Think like if I'm looking for a voice actor who sounds like this particular type of brand. Make sure that you've showcased that that's what you do and showcase it in a way that is easy to digest and that people can take it for what they need. For example, make sure your demos are downloadable. If they need to like, take off demos off of your website. If they know how to reach out to you, make sure your email address is on it, not just a contact form. Make it so that if you were a person who was looking for you, they would know how to find you just on your website.
10:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And make it quick.
10:03 - Danielle Famble (Guest) And make it quick Make it quick and painless.
10:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Quick and painless right. You don't want to make it hard on your potential clients, so we could probably have an entire episode and I know I have had previous episodes on websites and how important they are, but in terms of the marketing of you, they're critical. So don't leave that to be like the last thing that you do or the thing that you don't want to invest your money in. Because I'll tell you what, for me, when I shop, a website literally is the clincher for me, because I want to make sure that that website looks professional, that it looks trustworthy and it has the things that I want on it, that I can see I can get the information quickly, because I don't have a lot of attention span and I don't have a lot of time, right.
10:46 - Danielle Famble (Guest) And it's not a set it and forget it kind of thing too. It's something that needs maintenance, which also requires money and time, because certain plugins need to be updated, your hosting needs to be updated, and maybe you even need to refresh what's on your website. Maybe it's that your demos get updated, or any videos or social proof of what you've done needs to be updated as well. So this is not a set it and forget it. This is something that requires maintenance, and that maintenance does require time and money investments Exactly.
11:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now let's talk about, like I said, we could go on forever about this, but let's talk now about the second method, and these are in no particular order. I'm just having to be thinking of pay-to-plays and online rosters, right, yeah, and there's lots of different places out there that can help you to write a great profile. If you are unfamiliar or you're scared about writing about yourself. Lots of places out there that have helpful hints on how to write a good profile and also have your products ready to upload or be on display, right. So have those demos and make sure those demos are. You know, again, that's your product, so make sure those demos are good demos, or those samples are good samples, and that they make you shine. Okay, not just like oh, I created a sample, let me upload it, because, again, you're going up now against other people At this point.
12:08 You're on a website that has other people that have products as well that are displaying, so you want your product to be the best product, right? You want your product to look the best, you want your product to sound the best. It's all in like the display, like if I'm working in retail and in clothing and if you walk into a store and it's just real pretty and it's got a good feng shui about it, then you're like, oh, I'm more apt to buy. So if you've got a demo and it just kicks butt, I mean, people, I think, are going to be impressed by that. And there's so many differing opinions on like, do you need a demo these days? Well, I think you need something that absolutely exemplifies and showcases your voice, and it's very best. And so a lot of times when you're beginning and you're just starting out, you don't know what you don't know and you don't have an ear for it.
12:52 So that's when you trust a good coach demo producer. But the pay-to-plays are an investment, right? Your demos, your product is an investment. Your online casting, well, pay-to-plays for sure are an investment, because there's typically a membership involved in that and online rosters can be an investment. It can absolutely be an investment of your time, maybe, I don't know. I don't know any online rosters, though, except pay-to-plays, that ask you to pay a membership fee. Do you?
13:19 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Danielle Right? No, I don't really know of any online rosters that ask you to pay a membership fee. That sounds to me more like a pay-to-play. But the idea of making sure that your marketing everything that you're offering on your portion of the pay-to-play is professional and showcases what you do well is really important, because you are, if you think about it, like being in a grocery store and you're in like the ketchup aisle. There are several different brands of ketchup.
13:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There are so many ketchups, yeah.
13:46 - Danielle Famble (Guest) So what are you choosing and why? So you really want to make sure that, like your portion of the digital landscape that you're taking up on, that pay-to-play represents who you are and the branding of it, like ketchup label, for example really showcases what it is that you do and what you do well, and again, how people can contact you. If it's through that pay to play, cool. If it is to your website, then that's sort of a second link to making sure that there's consistency.
14:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, now, in terms of marketing, right, what's important in the marketing of that, right? So, on your website, it was important that you had SEO, so people knew where to go, right, they know how to get to your place, they get to your online storefront, and that's done through the actual verbiage that you have on your website as well as, let's say, social media and emails that drive people to your website. Now, with online casting and pay-to-plays, right, online casting and pay-to-plays, they're doing a lot of the marketing for you as well, because their SEO already includes a lot of voice actors. So, when people are searching for that voice actor or corporate narration voice or whatever they're searching for, because they have a series or a bunch of voice actors on there, their SEO is already working in their favor. Plus, they're probably doing their own marketing because they want to get clients in.
15:01 I mean, that's like one of the roles of an online pay-to-play is to get clients in because they have a need, right. So at this point they have a need and now they go to the pay-to-play or the online roster and now they have to choose right, and again, like you said, just like in the ketchup aisle, you want to make sure your ketchup is the best and your ketchup stands out and that your brand is really represented well. And so the marketing investment there is your investment in that membership, as well as the investment of, let's say, your product right to have a great product so that it stands out, and the way that you're writing that description right, and the things that you can control on the pay-to-play or the online roster.
15:39 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, and recognize that you are in that particular marketing instance. You are attaching your business on the back of another business, exactly so making sure that you agree with how that business is running. Maybe you don't choose a particular pay to play because you don't agree, but know that you are attaching your business to another business, so that business's success is also your success. But you need to make sure that it's not the only way that people can find you, which is why, like this four-prong approach I think is really smart, just making sure to diversify.
16:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely, you're right, don't put all your eggs in one basket, right? I've seen that around. You know you want to make sure you don't put all of your time and all your investment in just a pay-to-play, because there's lots of different ways to acquire work, and so that was the second way, and again, we could have a whole podcast episode just on pay-to-plays, which we might do. But our third one that we're talking about is agent representation, maybe management right and management right. And so in that marketing instance, right, the agents have a relationship right, or the managers have a relationship with either other agents or with potential clients, and those clients depend on the agent or the manager mostly the agent right Because the choices to them by just searching at the Google prompt are overwhelming.
16:57 There's a lot of voice talent out there, and so they might have worked with an agent for many years and they trust that agent, and that agent is the one that probably gets them the short list right. They have dependable, qualified voice actors on their roster. They have an audition which they'll give to the agent. The agent will then distribute it to their roster and then at that point they'll get back those auditions and the agent will shortlist, for the most part the agent will shortlist and then send that shortlist to the client and that kind of keeps the client's decision-making process make it a little bit easier, not as overwhelming- yeah, it's a little bit more of a curated way to get what you're looking for and again, that's connecting that to another business.
17:43 - Danielle Famble (Guest) So as long as that agent or manager or whomever has these robust relationships with potential buyers, then you're riding along on that relationship. So it also then means with your marketing is making sure that your agent knows everything they need to know about you, and so it's managing that relationship with your agent and making sure they have what they need. They have your most updated demos, they have your most updated work. They know if you have conflicts and you can't audition for certain things. It's making sure that you have watered that relationship and you managed until the garden of that relationship, because it's not just with your demos or what you've done, it's also making sure that that interpersonal relationship is healthy.
18:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, and so your financial investment with an agent or a manager right is usually going to be a percentage of the job that you get. So you're going to have to have number one to get a good agent, you probably need a really good demo. There's going to be the investment in getting a really good demo. Especially because agents and managers typically work in the broadcast part of the industry. You want to make sure that you have a tip-top demo because they're very busy people. Typically that's going to be like your demo is going to get you in the door. That in the recommendation probably.
19:01 So there's the investment in that. And then there's the financial responsibility. If you audition for the gig, it's going to be your time in auditioning right for your agents. And also, when you get the gig, it's going to be a percentage anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. And then managers typically are nurturing relationships between you and an agent, and then you're paying a manager as well a certain percentage. So there's your financial investment in that leg of the marketing.
19:28 And then finally, we have, after that, we've got the SEO. We talked about your investment, which was investment in your website, in your product, and then your negotiation skills, your pay to play or your online rosters, is your investment in the membership, in the investment in having a product that stands out and, again, having a great demo, having a way to make sure that your brand stands out for that. And then we just spoke about the agent manager. Right, your financial investment is going to be the percentage, it's going to be your demo and it's going to be your percentage that they're going to take once you get the gig. And what is our last one?
20:02 I've been cracking my brain like, oh God, what is the last one? We?
20:05 - Danielle Famble (Guest) have four. I was looking for the last one.
20:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was like I hope she pulls it out because I can't SEO pay to plays, SEO pay to plays managers, agents, oh, direct marketing.
20:15 Yes, absolutely so, and one of the reasons gosh, I should know that is direct marketing. I think is probably one of the most unpredictable and probably difficult, but can be really, really a great payback if you invest in it. So there's probably the most, I would say, unknown investment in direct marketing, because direct marketing is you contacting a potential client, and so how did you get those leads? It's either leads that you've curated yourself right Through mining the internet, linkedin, getting contacts at companies.
20:51 And yeah, and so you're reaching out to them directly, and so there's a whole issue of, okay, you got to be careful to not be spammy. So there's your time investment with that and you have to be careful that you're not spamming, because how many of us have gotten an email from somebody we didn't know that?
21:06 is peddling their services and we kind of get upset right and we say I didn't ask for this. So you have to be very careful, be spam compliant, which is why I created, by the way, the VO Boss Blast, and I don't want this to turn into a whole VO Boss Blast marketing effort by me. But I'll tell you why I created it. Because I didn't have a ton of time to do auditions right. I auditioned for my agents only. I didn't have time to be on a pay-to-play to audition 10, 20 times a day.
21:34 So I created a direct marketing product called the Boss Blast, which basically just gives me a list. I purchased a list that is curated by another entity and basically is continually updated. So that was not a cheap list. I don't sell the list to people, but what I do is I use a portion of that list and I market to that list for you.
21:56 Now, the one advantage of the direct marketing on that list, as opposed to just mining the internet and sending somebody an email saying, hey, I'm a voice artist and if you need my services I'm here and blah, blah, blah, which could be considered spam is that the people on this list have already agreed for the VO Boss domain to market to them.
22:14 So therefore I market for you on behalf of my domain and so they've already said it's okay to market. So I've got about 90,000 creatives on this list, and it's not that you couldn't buy that list either, but I spent thousands of dollars on the list, so I mean you can certainly make that investment yourself as well. The other thing that I invest in in order to send that email or to send out lots of email at one time, is investing in a mail service and I use ActiveCampaign, so I spend thousands of dollars on that as well. So in order to recoup those costs, I offer it to a small percentage of the voiceover community if they want to market and use a portion of that list. But the most important thing about direct marketing is understanding. So the investment is you're going to pay somebody to direct market for you or you're going to spend the time curating the leads and then that's not like something you can do overnight and you can't send to a thousand people at once.
23:06 However, you're investing your time in that, and typically in a marketing class too, because you want to make sure that you're not being spammy, and a lot of people need help marketing A direct marketing product like VioBoss it is a paid thing. We market for you. The one thing that you have to understand about direct marketing it's very effective. However, you have to understand that timing is everything on a direct marketing campaign, because I tell people like this I have a need for shorts when the summer comes around and I subscribe to the Old Navy list, I always use Old Navy. I don't know why, but I subscribe to many lists, but Old Navy sends me three to four emails a week. I've agreed to allow them to send me emails because I made sure I checked that box that they can send marketing emails, but I don't buy right, every time they send me an email, I do not buy. As a matter of fact, the only time I buy is when I have a need, right, do I have a need for shorts? Well, I've got 20 pair of shorts that I just bought this past season, so do I need another pair. I don't know. Maybe what will convince me that I need another pair is if I maybe figure out oh, but these are cute and they're the right, price, right or whatever it is. However, they've been packaged in that email to say, hey, either there's a sale and I'm not suggesting that voice actors create a sale, but I mean theoretically you could. I mean I have knowledge. I have knowledge that there's a new season, it's summer and these cute trending shorts are at Old Navy. I must have them right. So I have a need.
24:32 I click on the email right that says Old Navy's got new summer wear and I look at what's on that email and I have an interest and now I click right because I might want to consider buying. When I click and I go to that website, I want to make sure that website is trustworthy. I want to make sure. Well, old Navy, I already bought from them, so I trust them. But it could be a new brand. But when it's a new brand and I'm not familiar and I haven't purchased before, I make sure that that website looks legit, not familiar and I haven't purchased before. I make sure that that website looks legit and I do research to make sure that they're legit and then, if everything happens and the timing is right, I click to buy your voice acting product. Your voice is the same exact way. So I ask you, danielle, how many times does Old Navy need a voice to sell a product? Is it every day? It may not be every day.
25:21 - Danielle Famble (Guest) They might want to change their marketing once a season or every couple of years, you never know, but it's not daily.
25:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's not daily. So you have to understand when you're paying for direct marketing or your direct marketing on your own right. If you send one email to a thousand people on a list or no matter how that gets accomplished, you may not even get somebody. People might open the email but you may not get a purchase. So you cannot expect from direct marketing because it is such a timing related thing, you cannot expect that. Well, I paid someone to market for me and I sent out a thousand emails. I didn't even get anybody that wrote back to me. Well, do you write back to Old Navy when they don't? You know what I mean.
26:04 - Rick McIvor (Ad) Old Navy sends me emails three, four times a week Do.
26:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I write back to them to say no, I have no need, I'm sorry. Or hey, do you have shorts? Like no, I just don't. I look at it, I open it. Maybe I go to the website and click. So just keep that in mind when you are direct marketing.
26:22 And, by the way, for my VO Boss Blast, we do go over who opens your email because we can track that, because I purchased these services. My ActiveCampaign server actually tracks who opens the email and it tracks who clicks on email. So if we put a click in an email saying go to your website, I'll know that they went to your website. Now do I know if they purchased? No, I don't. Only you know that, only you know if they've sent an inquiry. Once they've gotten to that website, which was the very first marketing method we talked about right, they've looked at your website and if you're unknown to them, they look at it. They see something and it sparks trust and they listen to your voice. It's accessible and they like it. So then they get to know you by seeing your brand, which you've represented on your website. So they know, like and trust and that will give them a reason to buy.
27:11 - Danielle Famble (Guest) And what I like about your Old Navy example is, for a lot of people, and myself included, I've been personally really afraid of direct marketing because it feels like it's such a heavy lift and you've always got to be doing it and there's just so much to do and how do you have the time to send out you know a thousand emails or what have you.
27:31 But the point that you're making and the point that I'm receiving from what you're talking about is really that this is sort of the engine that is constantly running in the background to bring more leads into your business, or at least more eyeballs on your brand, so that they can see who you are. When they are ready, then they will be reaching out to you. But you have to constantly be doing it and it can just be a little bit at a time, but just one touch is not enough. So you have to continually put in the energy and the effort for it and then, going back to the finances of it, recognize that you will either be paying with your money or with your time. You can outsource these things and it is something that is possible to outsource that somebody else is doing it, which is exactly what the VO Blast is yeah, and people will say and my blast.
28:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If you decide, after you send out an initial blast which introduces by the way, it introduces you to the list that I've created for you, and then after that, it becomes top of mind, just like you said, continually, they've got to be reminded, like I forgot, oh, I forgot, that Old Navy has got a new. If I don't see it in front of me, I might forget. So I need to be reminded. So, even if I don't open the email, I need to see the email coming through my inbox, right, that it's coming from Old Navy and the subject line will say, right, summer sale or summer fashion. And then I'll be reminded. Yes, now the time is right, let me click, let me go, let me see if it has what I want and I will buy if it, you know, if it suits all of my needs. So just know that reaching out to someone once a month, which is what we do in reality, I could be reaching out for you a couple times a month and I've thought about changing up my product offering to allow maybe two times a month. That is not spam, that is absolutely not spammy and I, by the way, I want to make sure that we're not spamming people, because if you yourself have been spammed, you know how off-putting that can be and that can take a promising lead and just kill it forever, because I've had people who have reached out to me trying to sell their services and I've been completely turned off and I basically blacklist them. So, as a provider of this sort of service, I have to be careful that VioBoss is not sending spammy messages. So keep in mind, if you ever are interested in that, you can find out more at that. Vioboss is not sending spammy messages. So keep in mind, if you ever are interested in that, you can find out more at the VioBoss website. It's called the VioBoss Blast and I can also talk to you about the specifics of it.
29:48 But I am very protective of my domain. I make sure that we're not spamming. Your email goes through my eyes every single time, so I want to make sure that I'm protecting my brand as much as I'm protecting your brand. But yeah, so your financial investment there will be in your time curating leads yourself right for direct marketing and then being careful that you're not spamming or investing and outsourcing it to someone like a VO Boss Blast like myself or somebody else to do your marketing for you. Be careful.
30:16 I will just say, if you're buying a list because I'm selling you marketing to a list, I'm not selling you a list. The list, I happen to know, is a reputable place that constantly updates their contacts so that if somebody doesn't work for the company anymore, they're taken off the list. I don't send emails to a stale list and I don't give you a list because of that Number one. You don't know how long that list has been around. You didn't verify those people and you didn't find out from those people that they've allowed you to send them email. You've not gotten permission.
30:47 So I'm the one who has permission based on the list that I am curating for you and then sending email out on behalf. So your investment there is, whatever it costs, to outsource the marketing and the generation of that email to a permission-based list. So, wow, so that was a lot. Yeah, that was a lot, but it's so important, bosses, that you understand that without people having a need for your product, for your voice, your business, won't exist for your product, for your voice, your business won't exist.
31:19 - Danielle Famble (Guest) And that marketing is a huge way to keep your business flowing, because either you are doing the direct marketing yourself or you are connecting your business to other businesses. But it does require a time and financial commitment to keep all of this up and it has to be done on a daily basis, and even including auditioning. Auditioning is marketing. So auditioning on all of these different platforms and your own is ways to market yourself as well. So this is just. It's got to constantly be happening in order to bring your business continual revenue.
31:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely, and so there is a financial investment everywhere. It's so funny, danielle, because this series on money. It's funny how much people don't necessarily want to talk about it, but it's in every single aspect of our business, of our performance, of our auditioning, of our it's your time or your physical money that is involved and we have to be conscious of it and we have to be educated about it and we have to be accepting of it, right.
32:18 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, absolutely.
32:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Which is what our series is attempting to do for the bosses out there, danielle, and I'm so grateful that I get to talk to you about it, because, god, you just bring so much to the table. Thank you so much.
32:28 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Thank you so much, anne. I love talking about this and I think that having an open and honest dialogue about money, about how we can have it, make more of it, make it grow, how we can bring it into our lives and our businesses, is really what helps us impact the world around us, because it requires money and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's wonderful and, as we always say, I love money and I love talking about it.
32:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right, bosses, we love money. Go out there and market. Thank you again, danielle. This has been a really great episode. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week. Go out there and market yourself, and we will see you next week. Bye, bye.
33:16 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
You're not just a voice - a high-quality headshot can boost your marketing, branding, and online presence. In this episode, the BOSSes share expert tips from their experiences collaborating with headshot photographers to ensure a session that captures your true essence. From selecting the right outfits and makeup to incorporating signature looks, we provide insights on creating headshots that capture your brand. Authenticity is key, and with the right preparation, you can showcase your uniqueness and connect with your audience more powerfully. Remember, your unique features are assets, not hindrances, and capturing them authentically can lead to professional success. 00:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Imagine a voiceover journey where every step is filled with discovery and growth. That's the path I want to work on with you, through nurturing coaching and creative demo production. Let's unveil the true potential of your voice together. It's not just about the destination, it's about the gorgeous journey getting there. Are you ready to take the first step? Connect with me at Anne Ganguzza.
00:37 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm here with my lovely, lovely co-host, Lau Lapides. Hi, Lau Lapides, how are you? I'm great, how are you? I am wonderful, wonderful. So, Lau, this week it's funny how many times I usually ask my students for their headshots so that I can help promote their demos that we've just finished and I produced and I like to put them in my YouTube channel, and I like to put a headshot with demo and testimonial. And it amazes me how many voice actors don't really have a good headshot or don't have one. They're like, well, I'm waiting to get my headshots or I haven't thought about getting headshots yet. Or can I just give you this picture, and it's funny because I think headshots are so important for our careers, and so maybe we should talk about why do we need headshots and what goes into a good headshot.
01:51 - Lau Lapides (Host) I love that, annie. It's such a long time coming too, because I hear so many clients and some of my talent actually most of my talent now are really on the headshot wagon for their websites, for their whatever they're doing.
02:03 A lot of them are actors on IMDb, on Actors Access, on Casting Networks, you name it. They're kind of all over the moon, and so one of the things we talk about all the time is you have to have great headshots, not only for your marketing, your PR, for your business, but also it's important if you're ever going to do on-camera work, and some of them do really want to do on-camera work authentically. They're excited about doing industrials or training videos or whatever, and so we have to have industry standard, professional demos. I think one of the biggest problems we see, annie, is people going to their mother's brother's first cousin to shoot their headshots, and it's always bad when they do that, because you're doing that to save money and we have to be careful of that.
02:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think that there's a lot to be said for a really good shot on your iPhone, because you know the cameras are getting better and better. However, there's a lot to be said for going to get a professional headshot, and I am a big believer in that, and anybody who just goes to my website or has ever gone to my website knows how much I utilize my headshots in my website for like every other page and it really helps in my marketing, in my branding, I mean.
03:19 - Lau Lapides (Host) And we get so tired. Annie, god bless you. I know you and I, who use our shots all the time. I get so tired of the same shots. Yeah, me too. I myself did three headshot shoots last year alone. I did three and I'm like, oh my gosh, it's like I'm an A-lister. No, I'm just a business owner. I'm a business owner that wants to have different feels, looks, appeals for different kinds of things, yeah, that work for different instances, and I'll tell you what.
03:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So my last headshot right, when we talk about what goes, it may be prepping for your headshot, but what goes into it, because I've been doing this for so long and I have the same headshot photographer that I've had for probably 10 years and she knows me very well and I know her very well. And this last time, when I went, I literally brought at least 10 different changes of clothes and that is kind of excessive. But I knew what I wanted, right, I knew the different types of shots that I wanted and it took me weeks to curate my outfits, but it really worked for me, right, it really worked for me.
04:18 And I got a variety of different shots and literally we shot probably the entire day, which you know it was not necessarily a cheap thing, but I have gotten so much use and so much footage out of these headshots that it's been really incredible, I mean honestly. And she even did video, and the video helped too, because I've got video that's on my website as well. And me in action me behind the mic, me doing different things. So let's talk about first of all. Tell me why you think it's necessary these days to have a good headshot.
04:50 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, 100% airtight, you need a headshot. I would even say that if you're not a performer, I would say that if you are working in banking, if you're a real estate person, if you're an attorney, you need excellent even for your LinkedIn Like that's become a big thing shots for your LinkedIn, but still the shots are not great that you're seeing in corporate America. They just really are not great. So I would suggest that you look up you Google or you go to your coaching team and say I need excellent photographers in my area within this radius that are actor headshot photographers, not business photographers, not wedding photographers, not child photographers, but they understand the sensibility of a professional headshot and I need to have that because I'm going to be putting out my photo everywhere, whether I'm doing it in my own advertising, whether I'm working a project and they want me to send them shots for that project.
05:47 I mean, there's so many Social media. Put your great shots on social media. There's so many reasons why you have to have it now right. That's one of the biggest mistakes I see happen. Just to save a few bucks is to go to someone who's inexpensive or go to a family member or try to do it yourself. I think it's very difficult because there's a certain sense that a headshot photographer has about lighting you, about your makeup, about knowing what translates on camera.
06:16 Yeah, I mean it's really everything, and it's the sensibility of making you look like you, not a glamorized version of you, but you on an awesome day.
06:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, back in the day, like the Sears or JCPenney.
06:30 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, glamour shots. No that you would just go and they all had the same background.
06:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I love those, but they were all very much like a similar style, right, and so I think what we need to do as creatives and entrepreneurs is, no matter who you are actually, I think the more you can showcase your personality through your headshots, the better and more effective they will be, and so, for me, when I was picking out my outfits, I was trying to figure out okay, who am I, what aspects of my personality do I want to showcase, and where am I going to use these headshots? And so I knew that I would use a lot of them for my website.
07:04 I knew that I was going to use a lot of them for social media advertisements about what I do, so of course, I needed props. Right, and props were. I brought every single pair of glasses, by the way, and on my Ann Genguza coaching page you'll see a video shot of me with about 12 different pairs of glasses, because that's just part of my personality, right I?
07:22 love it. And also I'm hoping that some eyewear company will say oh Ann, please be a brand ambassador for us because I love glasses. But I did. I brought like 10 different pairs of glasses.
07:32 It was something I literally had to plan when I was going for my shot and I had to make sure that she knew that I had at least eight different looks that I wanted to shoot and that usually they charge based upon how many looks and then they charge on how many digital.
07:47 Because she gave me all digital shots and because I've known her forever, I'm like just give me all the shots, right, and then I'll pay you to edit the ones that I think I'll use ultimately. And that is a time consuming process, but it was definitely well worth my time and I paid for makeup and hair on the day and I wanted to make sure I had three different hairstyles as well. So that is like okay, when am I going to take the straight hair shot? And then we have to have time to curl my hair and when am I going to take the curled hair headshot? And then what am I going to do? Am I going to keep it all in front of me? Am I going to maybe put half of it back. So there's all sorts of different looks that I was curating for those headshots.
08:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) Absolutely. I think those are all important points, and you're a pro and you've been doing this for years and years and years, and so you're at a point where you're doing really a pro shot. You're doing a pro shoot. That's really also full body shots, and that's something— I did full body shots as well. I think there's a couple steps that I think the early entry person needs to follow so they don't get overwhelmed, and the first one is finding a photographer and finding someone within a geographical distance that you're willing to travel, and finding someone within your budget. So you have to understand what your budget is and what the market rate will bear and put those people by your coaches so that they can okay it for you, so that you're not going to a charlatan or someone who really doesn't have a gallery of actual headshots, but really more of a wedding photographer. You have to be careful of that right. So it's really selecting the right photographer for you and also knowing am I doing headshots only or am I doing full body shots?
09:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) as well.
09:22 - Lau Lapides (Host) And that's another decision to make, which will cost you a lot more money to do that.
09:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's more of an investment to do that and, for the most part, most professional photographers have a website where you can look at their portfolio and see the type of shots that they've taken before and get a cost estimate. And I will say that this is something that you have to prepare for. You have to actually say I am going to make an investment in my headshots because they are important for my business.
09:47 - Lau Lapides (Host) Right, they are important and don't avoid it, don't treat it like the plague, don't say oh.
09:51 I hate it, I don't want to do it. That's not a good start. You want to really discipline your mind to say I need this because I'm reaching out to my audience, I'm reaching out to potential clients and they need to see me, they need to see who I am. So once you select that photographer and you figure out what your budget is and decide am I doing headshot, which is typical, like a bust-up shot, or am I doing a full-body shot? Right, and you can discuss that with your coaching team easily. Now you have to kind of figure out what am I going to bring and I would say for a headshot.
10:23 What you said was not excessive. I say you bring the 5 to 10 tops.
10:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It took me three trips from my car to the studio with all of my stuff oh, it takes a lot of trips and shoes, because I knew I was doing full body shots. I had to do shoes. I had boots and then I had jewelry. I brought my entire jewelry like case. I had packed that because I wanted to switch out jewelry as well. Yes, exactly, and ultimately it was a long day. I was exhausted. However, it was amazing. And then I did another photo shoot with the same photographer. That was a different style. It wasn't four headshots for my website or my business. It was Jerry and I, and it was Jerry and I at the beach. I always wanted to do a shot at the pier with Jerry and so I said well, let's make it a full day. And again, I curated outfits and I actually took photos of myself in the outfits and then got people's opinions or looked at myself, because sometimes what you think looks great and when you take a photograph of it, sometimes it doesn't look the same way.
11:21 And so I highly recommend that, if you can, you can get like a really inexpensive like stand, a really inexpensive set of lights, which I do for a lot of my marketing for brands that I work with for clothing, and your iPhone right, I mean, that's how I do all of my shots for that and a really good editing software that you can have on your phone, which I have all of these things, by the way, linked on anganguzacom in my shop section, because I love them and I feel like for any voice actor it's good. Like the lighting that I have in the studio is important. Lighting is, oh my gosh, almost everything, and you also have to be considerate of where's the studio. Are you going to do it inside or outside? And inside do they do it with natural?
12:06 I think natural light is the very best lighting, and so if they have a studio that has a lot of windows, that you can be facing the windows, because that's your best light on your face, and so you can practice on yourself and take lots of different pictures and figure out what sort of positions, do I have a good side, do I have a bad side, do I have preferences that you can then communicate to your photographer and also, like I said, curate some outfits and take some pictures of yourself in those outfits to see how they look in a photo, and then maybe you can even send, like, here's a look that I was thinking of.
12:40 You can even send those to your photographer ahead of time to see what they think. That's just because I have a really good relationship with mine, but it does help a lot to get their professional opinion and she knows where to go with that camera to get the best picture of me, because she probably took, I think, on that day, maybe a thousand shots and I think I ended up with 500 of them, but I'm using maybe 50. So, but still, that's a lot of shots.
13:06 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's huge. That's a lot of shots, I would say, for folks listening in who are going for their first time, or maybe their second time, but their first time in. It's scary it is. It's a scary. You've got to get comfortable in front of the camera. It can be upsetting, psychologically demanding, to look at yourself and you want that photographer to work with you and show you what they are shooting, as they're shooting it.
13:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, absolutely, and ask to see those photos as they're shooting them, deal with what you see, and that's something that you've got to do.
13:42 - Lau Lapides (Host) Whatever you need to do, meditate, drink water, see a therapist, whatever you need to do, do not unload on the photographer. They're just there to shoot you and make you look great. But the psychological hurdles that you're going to need to overcome with dealing with your age, your weight, your style I'm going to be honest. I'm going to be transparent. Mom is going to tell you the truth. It's going to be hard, it's not going to be easy.
14:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's like looking in a mirror and it's hard. And if you hate yourself in the mirror?
14:13 - Lau Lapides (Host) Most people do not like it. They do not like the experience, they do not like looking at themselves. So it's just like listening to yourself, right, annie? You have to do it a lot and get used to it and know that that's kind of a necessary part of our industry. I would say start out simple, like, just start out with doing a headshot, having some great tops, layer it, bring in some jackets, some sweaters, right? Nothing busy. Don't make sure you don't have words, sequins, shiny things on your clothes. See what I'm wearing today. It's awesome, but not great for a headshot, because it's too busy looking, unless it's what we call a personality shot. Yes, so a personality shot is not a standard headshot. It is different.
14:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's what I'm going to talk about. I think the personality shot almost always sometimes looks better.
14:59 - Intro (Announcement) I mean there's a place for each right.
15:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, the personality shot is like what is it that makes you you? What is it that makes you laugh? What is it that you're passionate about? Like, do you have a hobby that you're passionate about? I mean outside of voiceover. Right, for me it was, you know. I'm just trying to think what I did. I mean because I loved. Well, I did the whole family shot by the ocean, because we love the ocean. I loved horses.
15:20 So you know what I mean. I have different aspects. I have my cowboy boots. I always do a business shot.
15:26 - Lau Lapides (Host) I always do a corporate shot right. There's a mom shot. There's different roles you're thinking about, of what you give off, what you play, whether you're an actor or you're not an actor, like what's your perception of what you give off to the world, and you want to match that for sure. So, starting with the headshot, I think is great, annie, to just start sort of simply like that and thinking about how do I wear my, how do I want to wear my hair? Do I like it down? Do I?
15:49 - Intro (Announcement) like it up.
15:50 - Lau Lapides (Host) How do I like my makeup? You know, having that makeup artist in hair is so important, because you translate so differently on camera than you do in real life.
15:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now, even for, let's say, guys who are not necessarily wearing makeup, or is that something that they should consider when taking headshots?
16:07 - Lau Lapides (Host) No, honestly, I don't recommend men to have makeup. I just say listen, have a good powder on hand, have some great chapstick.
16:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, because you don't want the shine.
16:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, they can do it in.
16:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Photoshop. I will say something about glasses, because you have to be careful about the angle. So, like right now, you can see as I look up towards the light. You can see the reflection in my glasses. Right, right. So the photographer needs to know the angle right of the lighting that they have in there and that it's not reflecting off the glasses. There are a lot of times you can get frames without any lenses and sometimes this is the best solution Actually the photographer Fig.
16:42 - Lau Lapides (Host) Good, See, this is the difference, you guys Listen up, Between a wedding photographer, a child photographer and an actor photographer. One of my photographers was so pro, he gave me his own glasses, his props, and he popped out the lenses and he said here you go. And I said, really, you don't want the light. He's like no, no, I don't want any reflection, I just need the rims, Because they have to try to get rid of it in the end.
17:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And for me, I need my glasses. I cannot literally read or see without them, and so they are prescription and, the funny thing is, Lau. If you look really closely, you're going to see one of my eyes is bigger than the other, and that's because one of my eyes is much worse than the other and my lens is thicker, so it's magnifying my eye. Now for me.
17:24 - Lau Lapides (Host) I thought you were going to say you have a fake glass eye and you're going to plop it out For me. I was like, oh my God, I didn't know that.
17:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) For me, I call my other eye the droopy eye because it looks like it's drooping, like this one looks like it's drooping and now that I've just pointed it out for everybody. But when I do my Teachable Moments videos, I will have days when I'm tired right and my one eye really droops more, and also the angle of the camera has a lot to do with it. So if I'm looking like this, you're not going to notice that this eye is bigger, but if I look this way, you're going to notice this eye is much bigger than this eye. That's fun.
17:53 So it is a thing, and it's only because the lens is thicker, the magnification is thicker, and you know your angles too.
17:59 That's how much I've been on camera and you know you are very aware and that's something you can communicate to your photographer. But even If they're good, they're going to make you look good. They know the angle, they know where to come, they know where to place you within the light. They're going to make you feel good about yourself. So, if you can find Now, I have been all different weights, I've felt all different ways about myself and I've needed headshots, and so she has gone through my lifetime with me. I feel the last 10 years she's been with me through heavier times, thinner times, and always that affects how I feel about myself and how I feel about myself in front of the camera, and she has always. I've trusted her with my life because she's always been able to make me look good or feel good about myself. That, to me, is priceless right, that she is worth every penny because she knows me and she knows how to take a good picture of me.
18:50 - Lau Lapides (Host) So you know, Annie, what you're saying, I think, is so treasurable, because and you may only meet this person once and not see them again or not see them for a long time but how that photography team makes you feel about yourself is so important. You don't want them to be overly critical, you don't want them to be rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing. You don't want that factory approach, you want a personalized approach. So I would say listen, talk to them first. Get a quick Zoom meet, get a quick in-person meet, if you can.
19:20 - Intro (Announcement) Sure, absolutely To get engaged.
19:22 - Lau Lapides (Host) Do they want to spend a little time with you? Are they going to rush you in and out of the door and not care which? A lot of photographers like that too. Right, Annie, you've met them here's the thing right.
19:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think there's a special skill in smiling right, in smiling for a camera, right, my husband for the life of him. Like every time I tell him to smile, he's like and it's like, really fake. Yeah, it's really fake. Like so many people don't understand how to smile for the camera. Now, it is not a natural thing. I think most people just feel like they have to put on this particular look.
19:51 Now a good photographer and or their assistants are going to be able to make you smile, a natural smile, Because sometimes they'll just say, okay, smile, and you'll be like you know, and that you're not going to like any of your photos because it's not real, so maybe they can tell you a joke and then take multiple pictures while you're laughing Right, and that's usually the good, almost candid shots that I think are always like the award-winning headshots, when you're just like you're like right in the middle of a natural emotion.
20:19 - Lau Lapides (Host) Great minds think alike. That conversation, you know this is so funny. There's so much bridge into what we do as voiceover talent. It's like are you authentically real, Are? You talking to the photographer as a person. Are you having conversations, are you?
20:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) talking about life. Can I just say this? This is absolutely parallel to when we tell people to smile when they're reading copy. Right, there's a difference between smiling like hi, I'm Ann and I'm going to read this copy with this fake smile Notice how I have a fake smile and it's a fake smile and it doesn't sound good because my mouth is like in a position that is not making me sound.
20:53 - Lau Lapides (Host) I can see it in your eyes too, your eyes.
20:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly For me. I'm happy and bubbly anyway, so I can just think a smile. I don't always have to form my mouth in a smile, but if I tell some people to smile, it'll make them sound a little less serious. So notice how, if I'm just like oh my God, like Lau, you just made me laugh, right, that's such a better smile. So what we try to tell you in voiceover when we're saying I want you to smile, I want to hear that smile in the copy. I don't want to hear a fake smile, just as in photography. We don't want to see a fake smile. We want to see a real smile. We want to see real emotion. We want your personality, your heart to be shown and your happiness and your joy.
21:29 - Lau Lapides (Host) And I would use hacks like bring in a prop or have like I have my coffee in my hand right now, because my coffee is kind of like connected to me by the hip you know, I always have a water or a coffee in my hand.
21:40 It just makes me feel like a person. It makes me feel like I'm living life. It's just me, right? But what makes you feel that way? Maybe you'll have a little teddy bear in your hand, or you have a little stress squeezer. We're not going to see it on camera, yeah, just like we don't see it in your voiceover, but maybe I need that so that I can make myself laugh or talk to the photographer about you know, I'm kind of nervous, I'm kind of stressed.
22:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) A lot of people are, and a good photographer will be able to like either make you laugh or get you to be more natural or more relaxed and comfortable. I can't how many times did we go for those school photos?
22:16 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh God, I was thinking about school photos. I can't believe you said that, annie. Do you remember the days where we had the little clip-on animals for our collars.
22:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They were a thing.
22:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) So, like my fourth grade shot, I have a clip-on raccoon. It was like yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we're still kind of doing that when we get in front of a camera. We're still kind of like deer in the headlights. You have to be careful about that.
22:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I would say even warm up, like my husband, who has the best smile ever when he gets in front of the camera. And, by the way, I will tell you my husband, I got him. He's now hired to work alongside me with one of my brands as an influencer. He's hysterical, he's really great on camera. But whenever I say when he wants to pose to do photos, right, I mean they're like okay, now smile and he'll go and it'll be like the most stiff. I'm like no.
23:02 - Intro (Announcement) Jerry, just like say something.
23:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Let me just tell you a joke, Jerry oh my God. Remember the other day when we did this, and then I'll get him in the middle of a smile and it completely changes the photo. Yeah, so it's something that how many times can we do a selfie? Right, we can take selfies, we can practice. You can see what you look like when you fake smile. So really, just practice as well, and it's not a bad idea to get yourself a tripod and a remote control little.
23:30 Blippi, that works via Bluetooth with your iPhone or Android so that you can click a picture when you're standing there right and do a pose and then just do multiple pictures and figure out. Oh okay, I like myself when I'm angled like this or when I smile, I can't lift my head up too high, or if I put my chin down just a little bit, right, you can really learn what works for you and I think there's some valuable information in spending 20 bucks and getting that tripod and getting that little clicker, which I think costs $20, if not less, and connecting up via Bluetooth with your phone and, boom, taking the picture, taking multiple pictures and getting lighting, by the way, which won't cost you more than I'm going to say. The lighting that I have won't cost you more than a hundred bucks.
24:12 - Lau Lapides (Host) Put those on tripods, you could even get just a ring light.
24:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Just get a ring light right, I don't love ring lights because I have glasses and I think the ring lights show like they're very obvious. So I have lighting, like I have in my studio, which are like kind of the soft pillowy LED lights that have the big what do they call those? The big puffy like white coverings over them.
24:33 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, they're like a soft box kind of lighting. Yeah, that's it.
24:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have a soft box, I have two soft box and I make sure that I'm standing in front of a window, because then you have the three areas of light which and I make sure that I'm standing in front of a window because then you have the three areas of light, which is critical for good lighting.
24:46 - Lau Lapides (Host) Now I get your secret, Annie. Now I know why you look like you're 18. That's your secret. It's good lighting. Why does she look like she's 18?
24:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What is going on with her lighting? Yeah, Awesome. By the way, links. I'll link that in the show notes.
24:57 - Lau Lapides (Host) Love it Eyelines. That's something that know about on-camera actors. Vo talent don't know about that. It's important for you for when you do your photo shoot and that means where my eyes are focused. So in a headshot shoot, they are focused directly at the camera. But the caveat is especially for VO talent, who you're showcasing your business as well. I would suggest you bring to the studio your microphone, your headphones, because they're easy to throw in a bag, you don't have to worry about it and take some of those shots.
25:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Take a cable too. Don't forget the cable, because if you take a photo without the microphone, with a cable, it's very obvious to all of us.
25:37 - Lau Lapides (Host) Unless you're a podcaster and you're sitting down, so that's up to you. But yes, take a cable and be in action, and you may not be looking at the camera. You may be looking at your script, you may be in an action shot, which is really great, but your eyeline is going to give away. Are you directly involved in what you're doing or are you not involved with what you're doing? A headshot for an actor should be direct address to the camera, but for a voiceover talent, you'll have that, but then you'll have. You know, maybe I'm talking, maybe I'm doing this, maybe I'm doing that, and that's kind of cool for people to see you in action you know, Good photographer will be able to tell you where to look.
26:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And what's interesting is, remember we talked about my droopy eye. Okay, so because of my droopy eye, which became so much more noticeable as I needed a thicker lens, my photographer, she's like okay, normally you are looking right in the camera, but I think I need you to look above the camera slightly because you've got that eye and I'm like yeah, so you'll notice. Right now I'm looking at the camera, laura, right?
26:35 - Lau Lapides (Host) I never knew this. This is news to me.
26:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Watch me, now I'm looking at the camera Now I'm going to look slightly above the camera, and it makes a difference, right? Oh my God, that's crazy. Right, it makes a big difference See.
26:45 - Lau Lapides (Host) I have known you for how long? A couple years.
26:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I never knew that. See, now everybody's going to be looking at my eye. They're going to say, oh, droopy eye, no no, it's because it's a choice.
27:04 - Lau Lapides (Host) It's all your choice. Oh, I love it. Talk about strategy.
27:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And guys, I mean here's the deal. Like I so much put myself in front of the camera every day when I was young and I had a very severe case of lazy eye where I was almost blind, so my eye was in the corner, this bad eye, the one eye that looks bigger, it was very much in the corner, and when I get tired, right still, my good eye does all the work, even with glasses. Oh, how interesting, because it's been trained since the year three yeah, the year three of my life, since I've worn glasses since I was three and so even with glasses, my good eye does all the work.
27:36 So when I get tired this eye, it will tend to kind of go a little bit in the corner, and I notice it all the time. A little bit in the corner and I notice it all the time. I mean, I used to get made fun of it and so you may think I'm completely confident in front of the camera. But I know, like I know okay, my eye will tend to drift if I'm tired or I might have to like really like pay attention to look a little brighter. That's right, but it's good to know yourself.
27:57 It's good to photograph yourself sake of vanity, but for the sake of knowing you and feeling good about yourself in front of the camera. That, I think, has done wonders for me over the years, because before I did a bunch of on camera teachable moments and those sorts of things, stuff that I put out in social media I wasn't on camera a lot and it was something that I had to practice, that to get much better at. And talking to the camera is something that is important for your headshots. Addressing the camera and it's kind of like really thinking about hi guys, you know I'm looking at the camera and like you're really speaking to somebody, just like we do behind the mic. Right, we think about speaking to someone as we're behind the mic. So think about speaking to someone behind the camera and that will engage your face, it will engage your personality, it will engage your heart and it will help you take a better photo. I am convinced of that.
28:48 - Lau Lapides (Host) God, what a great convo this is. I wish I had this convo for myself 30 years ago. One more thing I want to make mention. This is great how you figured out how to like cheat all the insecurities and all that stuff.
29:02 But I do want to say, I do want to say to all the folks that are like, yeah, I don't know how to do that, or I don't know if I'd get over it, or I have this or I have that, we love imperfection. Yeah, we love it. In fact, we look for it, we hire it and we work it. So if you have anything that you consider to be outside of a norm or outside of a convention, whether whatever it's a lazy eye or whether it's this or that, don't feel the need to hide it, don't feel the need to put it aside, shout it from the rooftops.
29:32 Now we're actually looking for people I have droopy eye who have all these so-called imperfections right which are real person stuff.
29:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that can be a really great thing it is and hopefully that's relatable to some. I mean, maybe not everybody has droopy eye, but there's so many people are like you're always so together.
29:52 - Lau Lapides (Host) I'm like, really I got a droopy eye.
29:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know I try to be but I got a droopy eye, but that's okay. Yeah, but they don't care, they don't care, they're attached to it. Here's my imperfections, guys. I mean I don't want to. I don't want to be a picture of something that I can't ever achieve. That kind of thing you don't want. A goal that you can't ever achieve.
30:09 That's a good way of putting it Like let that photograph, let that headshot bring out the best in you, showcase the best in you, because every one of us has a beautiful, beautiful quality, every one of us is beautiful. And have that confidence, like remember you were talking about that?
30:23 Hollywood had a term for it Ugly beautiful people, the beautiful ugly and I don't even think I think everybody's beautiful, I don't even like the word ugly. I think everybody's beautiful. They all have a beautiful quality, everybody has a gorgeous voice. They have a unique quality that connects us together as human beings and connects our hearts together. And so, guys, you are beautiful and you are absolutely a face for photography and a face for a headshot and a face for VO, absolutely.
30:49 - Lau Lapides (Host) And there's many companies out there that really exploit that. They really celebrate that. I can think of an amazing agency in New York Funny Face Talent, real person talent. There's probably a bunch of them out there that they want you to think, oh, I have a weird face or I'm not beautiful looking. Oh well, we're going to get you a lot of work because a lot of people relate to you. Right, there was an actor, annie, who was this actor. He was very big In the early 2000s, he was a heavyset guy and he had this eye condition where his eyes fluttered up and down.
31:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I'm not sure.
31:26 - Intro (Announcement) And you saw him in a lot.
31:27 - Lau Lapides (Host) He was a regular on X-Files, huh, and he was a fantastic actor and his eyes fluttered up and down. It was amazing to watch him work in different roles and how he utilized that condition to go right into his roles and to sort of infuse the energy in his role. Some of his roles were scary. Some of his roles were demonous. Some of his roles were good. Some of his roles were like fatherly, but he always used it in his favor. He never tried to hide it.
31:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I thought that was it. I mean, that was cool. Be out there and be confident, guys.
32:02 - Lau Lapides (Host) Just technically. One more thing I want to throw in, and that is when someone shoots you, a professional headshot photographer should be giving you everything they shoot. They'll go ahead and get rid of all the shots that are like the in-between shots, the blurry shots, the shots that really like you're not in position but they really like Annie was saying she's kept 500 shots, maybe they did 1,000 shots.
32:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I keep them.
32:30 - Lau Lapides (Host) I can do a little cropping myself. Yeah, one of the mistakes, annie, I see people make is they'll show me what their shoot looks like and I'll see watermark on everything. And I say be careful of that, because when they shoot you now it's changed they used to own those, they no longer own those. So when they shoot you and you get 200, 300 of your best shots, those are yours, those should be yours. Now, if they're going to edit you and you're going to pay to have them edit which a lot of people do then they're going to charge money for that, as they should at their time. But otherwise, those are your shots and you should be able to keep those shots Absolutely.
33:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Your property and they should be up in color. You don't do black and white anymore. Guys. Make sure you get all the shots if you want them, and they are yours. All right, excellent conversation, La. I loved it. Guys, I'm going to give a great big shout out to IPDTL. You too, can connect and share like bosses, and find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week, bosses, and go get your headshots, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
33:28 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne Ganguzza (00:00.93) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza and I am here with Tom Dheere for the Real Boss series. Hey Tom, how are ya?
Tom Dheere (00:10.978) Hello Anne, how are you doing?
Anne Ganguzza (00:14.208) You know, Tom, I am a little under the weather today. So, yeah, and you know, I'm so like attuned to, you know, how I sound in the booth and I'm a little bit nasal. And if I'm not 100%, I can't record, Tom. So, perfect time to talk to the bosses about what do you do when you can't record auditions or you can't record for your clients? I mean, there's lots of stuff you can do, I think, to...
Tom Dheere (00:17.472) Yeah. Yeah, I could hear that.
Anne Ganguzza (00:43.246) move your business ahead, so let's discuss.
Tom Dheere (00:47.971) Okay, well, there's a number of things that you wanna keep in mind first, which is how you sound in your head doesn't necessarily sound like what you sound like when you listen to the playback on your audio. Oh, no, I did notice, it's a stitch off, but also, yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (00:56.173) You
Anne Ganguzza (01:00.717) But you noticed, but you noticed, Tom. So you noticed I sounded not like myself, yeah. Right? And even a stitch off, can't do, because you can hear a little bit of that, Mm-hmm, yep. Yeah?
Tom Dheere (01:13.568) Yeah, well, you've also known each other for years. We talk all the time. So like, you know, you would, you'd be able to pick up if I wasn't feeling well either. So, so being in tune with your, with your, with your body and all that stuff, and then reconciling that with the reality of what do you sound like from on the outside? Because in your, in your skull, there's all these resonating chambers, you know, in your skull, in your turbinates. and what you hear when you talk doesn't
Anne Ganguzza (01:34.988) Yes.
Tom Dheere (01:43.166) sound like what other people hear who are outside of those resonating chambers. So you gotta give yourself a little bit of latitude and grace on that part.
Anne Ganguzza (01:52.6) Yeah. You have to have a benchmark, I think. And you know, Tom, that's so interesting that you bring that up because it's kind of when we talk about when people record and then they listen back and they say, ew, I don't like that. And then they re-record 100 times over. It's because what they hear is not what other people hear. And so you have to be familiar enough and know yourself enough so that you can create a benchmark for when your voice is sounding pristine. And also when you're acting and you're not sounding like you're
Tom Dheere (02:13.719) Mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (02:17.206) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (02:21.483) reading something or sounding kind of fake. And so yeah, that ear takes a lot of time to develop. But I will definitely tell you that, yeah, I can tell that my voice is not at its best right now. And so that is one of those things that there are so many things that we can do, probably all the things that you guys don't necessarily want to do, but they're all the things that really help us to move forward and market our businesses.
Tom Dheere (02:24.897) Right.
Tom Dheere (02:48.705) Right. So I always recommend the first thing you do is find out what projects you have do, what are the deadlines and what's the dynamic of the relationship with each of those clients. I mean, we all try to get our projects done as quickly as possible. So we meet our deadline, you know, the old under promise over deliver thing. And that also just gives you that much more time to do other things and that much more quality of head space to be like, good, I did that. Now I can look at the
the next project or audition or whatever. like, also you want to look at the genre of voiceover that you're doing. Like for example, a 15 second commercial takes 15, you know, takes 15 seconds to record. You're doing multiple takes. So in short form stuff like that where you can just record the whole thing over and if there's a retake of a change of a sentence or a word, you can just do the whole thing over again because it takes so little time.
Anne Ganguzza (03:18.273) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (03:35.169) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (03:45.185) Right, exactly.
Tom Dheere (03:46.271) If it's something long form like an e-learning module or an audio book, it's not good if you sound different within a chapter or within a module. Slounding a stitch different from module to module or from chapter to chapter in an audio book isn't the worst thing in the world. It's obviously not ideal, but you can get away with that. But what you want to do is check your lines of communication.
Anne Ganguzza (03:53.441) Yeah, it's hard to match. Yeah.
Tom Dheere (04:15.52) with your clients. Now, the second you get a sniffle, you don't send a newsletter to everybody. Don't do that.
Anne Ganguzza (04:22.861) No, but I got a job. I got a job this week and I had to send an email right away and say, look, I am fighting this cold and I'm very nasal right now. Can the client wait, you know, a couple of days? you know, guys, bosses out there, people are very understanding. We're all human. There is this, you know, wretched thing that's going around this cold.
And so I think most people are understanding if they can be, and especially if you've got clients who depend on you and know you and have worked with you before. I don't think it's gonna kill your career if you tell them that you have a sniffle.
Tom Dheere (04:58.715) There's only a handful of genres where the deadlines are so tight and so important like promo, for example. Commercials have a little more latitude because once you record the audio, they still have to either drop it into the existing video or animation, or they still need to create the video or animation that your voiceover will get applied to. So sometimes there's like weeks, you know, because at worst they can take your takes and drop them in there.
Anne Ganguzza (05:06.784) Mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (05:28.66) or they can use a scratch or you can say, okay, this is a scratch track. This is me with a cold. And next week when I feel better, right. Well, there's also, there's also that too, but you gotta be careful about that because if you, if you sound like that in the audition and you book it and then you feel better and then you have to record it, you may not sound the same either, you know, so be, so be aware of, deadlines and genres and stuff like that. But there may come points where you actually just need to
Anne Ganguzza (05:30.253) Yeah, You can say, if you're looking for that raspy, sexy voice, I've got it right now. I'm happy to record that for you. Yeah, if you have a retake. Exactly. Exactly.
Tom Dheere (05:58.473) suck it up because you just have to do it.
Anne Ganguzza (06:01.015) Well, that's the thing, Tom. I mean, we are human. mean, sometimes we get sick. And the first thing I do when I get sick, I immediately, like if I can, I immediately take off. I immediately just book out and I talk to my clients if I have any outstanding jobs and I let them know what's happening. And then ultimately, I'm like in bed. I'm trying to make sure.
that I can get over this as soon as possible. I don't try to tough it out. mean, back in the day, I don't know, I used to try to tough it out and, no, I can handle this. But in reality, because our vocal instrument is such an intrinsic part of who we are in our product, I am bent on getting healthy as soon as possible. So I'm taking all the meds, I'm going to bed, I'm getting my rest, and I am not pushing myself so that I can get healthy quicker so that I can start working again.
Tom Dheere (06:24.865) Mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (06:52.107) Right. And let's let's talk about things you can do. Rest is number one. Vocal rest as well as bed rest, hydration, hydration, hydration. You know, whether you're no matter how you're feeling as a voice actor, should you must always be hydrating. I have I have coconut water every single morning before I sit down. Also, because like, there you go. I got a glass. Mm
Anne Ganguzza (06:56.354) Yes.
Mm-hmm.
isn't that the truth? Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (07:13.227) I have my big old water bottle. Three of them a day. Three of them a day.
Tom Dheere (07:18.402) I have a glass of water at my side every day and then I have coconut water in the morning because also in the middle of overnight, you're not hydrating because you're sleeping. I do that as well because like I'm at my desk in the booth, 730, pretty much every morning hitting the ground running with auditions. And, you know, I want to make sure I am as loosened up and warmed up as possible.
Anne Ganguzza (07:25.185) Yeah, exactly.
Anne Ganguzza (07:39.054) Well, also I want to say that during this time of the year when it's colder out and you have heat on, the heat will also dry you out incredibly. And so if you have a humidifier or you have like a mask or a face mask that you know, that can put steam up into your face or sometimes I just put my face into the dishwasher after it's finished running and then the steam comes up. So take a hot shower, that steam will really help to moisten.
Tom Dheere (07:49.343) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (08:08.779) moisten things and try to be careful when you're coughing or you know using your voice because it can it can do damage to your vocal cords and you don't want that for sure.
Tom Dheere (08:16.546) I mean, it's also sounds cliche, but getting as much vitamin C in you as possible. lots of juices, lots of citrus and things like that. That always helps to keep your protein.
Anne Ganguzza (08:22.87) Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yeah. And going outside, even though it's freezing cold, sometimes going outside because of the moisture in the air can, for just a little bit, I mean dressed up warmly of course, but for just a little bit can help you because a lot of times the internal air, as I mentioned, circulating air in your house can be very drying.
Tom Dheere (08:33.526) Mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (08:44.867) Absolutely. mean, I'm sure our bosses have other secrets and remedies and other ways of doing it. So we would obviously love to hear your suggestions and comments as well.
Anne Ganguzza (08:55.714) Well, I will openly blame my husband. I love you, Jerry. Who had the flu and I ran around with a can of Lysol and saying, I'm not gonna get sick, I won't get sick. And I didn't get the flu, but I did get this cold. So unfortunately his turned into bronchitis, which again, it turned a little more serious. But you know, and I'm just kind of thankful that I'm getting over this cold. However, I did have to put some clients on notice.
Tom Dheere (09:11.65) Hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (09:23.789) And then I started thinking about all the other things that needed to be done, right, for my business so that I could continue as I was feeling better, right, and I couldn't rest 24 hours a day. But I had some time that I could go attend to some marketing skills, attend to some organization skills on my desktop, attend to some courses that I'm in the middle of taking, and workshops and practicing. And so there's a lot of things, guys, that you can do.
when you are not feeling well to still continue to move your business forward.
Tom Dheere (09:56.865) And that reminds me of something. This is something I tell all of my students, whether you're ill or whether you're healthy, you want to learn to listen to your body and listen to your brain and listen to your heart and see what they tell you. And the practical application of that is figure out the times of day that you are vocally at your best.
Anne Ganguzza (10:08.151) Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza (10:21.921) Yeah.
Tom Dheere (10:23.54) and when you're not, there are some people who I'm very fortunate within 15 minutes of me waking up, I can be in the booth and busting out auditions and bookings. I'm very lucky. Some people don't have that. Sometimes they need hours to hydrate and feed themselves and get their protein and their energy up before they're ready to get in the booth and do their thing. so check out when you're vocally at your best and when you're not and try to wrap your
day around that when it comes to auditioning and booking stuff. But the other thing is you also want to gauge when you are creatively at your best throughout the day. Now, that could also go hand in hand with vocally at your best because you want to be creative to make strong acting choices when you're doing your auditionings and your bookings. But what I'm talking specifically about is stuff like social media, blogging,
Anne Ganguzza (11:14.327) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (11:19.725) Mm.
Tom Dheere (11:21.282) crafting newsletters, crafting cold emails or follow-up emails. You're gonna be at different creative levels throughout the day, just like you're gonna be at different, you know, vocal healthy and just overall physically healthy and energy level throughout your day. So keep an eye out for when you're coming up with really good ideas and keep an eye out on when you're really struggling to just write, you know, just write a couple of sentences that you're gonna post on.
Anne Ganguzza (11:31.703) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (11:49.038) Sure. Well, and let me interject. Yeah, let me interject that not only it's good to know like when your creative times are, but it's also you don't have to worry so much about like, I'm going to write an email and then send it out because there are schedulers and there are times when it's good for people to receive your, you know, your content that you're creating or those emails. And so the nice thing is that we can always schedule out the things that we're doing when we're the most creative. And so I
Tom Dheere (11:50.966) some social media platform.
Tom Dheere (12:09.698) Mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (12:16.961) That's it.
Anne Ganguzza (12:17.833) I'm very creative in the morning when I get up. And so I can go ahead and craft like 20 emails and then I can schedule them out for later. So that's a good time for me to write in the morning and also write blogs. I have certain days that I create content on video. So that's typically in the afternoon and I have to schedule in, well, when am I gonna do the hair and makeup?
because I need to be camera ready. So that's a time as well. And if I'm not feeling well, maybe, actually this week I did a whole series on what do I do when I'm sick? You know, for my video shorts. And so I still, the nice thing was is that I was able to, I was feeling well enough that I could at least get a little dressed up.
and feel a little more human than I was feeling earlier in the week. So it was a good time. I was able to keep on that video schedule, but sometimes you just have to cancel that and then work on other things. And I also had some courses that I was taking where I'm trying to improve my skills in other genres. And so I went ahead and watched videos. I went ahead and practiced, you know, I practiced scripts and it was something that I didn't have to actually audition for. So it was fine that I could practice.
And it really worked out well for me to get all those things done that I had on my other list of things to do, which I kept putting off because I kept thinking, well, other things are more important. So it was great for me to catch up on all the things on my list of things to do for improving my own self. And so it's funny because a lot of times I'm like, let's take care of my clients first, which is where I think most of your business needs to be.
but then also self-improvement, right? Self-improvement. Watching those videos, watching those workouts, learning from other people, joining other groups and mastermind groups and that sort of thing, which are the things that I usually myself, because I'm so busy doing all my other things, I tend to put aside. So I was able to really address all those things on my list, which was really wonderful.
Tom Dheere (14:24.762) Actually, I'm so glad you said that because that complements perfectly what with what I said So find out when you're vocally at your best find out when you are creatively at your best and then find out when you are neither vocally nor creatively at your best and those are the times when you balance your checkbook pay your bills
Anne Ganguzza (14:43.853) Yes, yes, exactly.
Tom Dheere (14:46.377) generate and reconcile your invoices, do the required and, you know, not so much fun, but extremely important administrative clerical things to do. And also that's also the times exactly what you were just talking about is the self-improvement times to watch videos or learn practice copy, you know, but without having to worry about what you sound like.
Anne Ganguzza (14:49.259) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (14:55.937) Yeah? Yeah.
Tom Dheere (15:09.856) you know, in a finished output, it's more about what's my intent, what are my choices, you know, maybe play back to it and listen to the intent and the choices and the emotional arc of whatever without actually necessarily keep taking stock in the vocal quality because you're not vocally at your best at that given time.
Anne Ganguzza (15:26.541) And also too, what's cool is that creative refresh. You I always talk about like, I like to watch good movies. I like to watch good movies because it gives me inspiration and motivation. And a lot of times that helps me with my career. It helps me with my voiceover. So if I'm not feeling, I'm really feeling kind of bad, I can like sit on the couch with a blanket and watch Netflix and watch a good movie and be creatively inspired.
Tom Dheere (15:50.785) Now that's a good, that's a really good point. you know, bosses remember we are actors, we are performers. We need to see what other actors and performers are doing and how they're doing it because we all know casting trends change all the time, but so do performance trends change over time. And watching what the, you know, one of the top Netflix
Anne Ganguzza (16:05.527) Yeah.
Tom Dheere (16:17.29) ranked shows are, like last night we watched American Primeval, which is some pretty crazy old west stuff, but there's some just top notch acting from actors I've never even heard of before. But to be able to take that in and listen to their nuance and their subtlety, or when they're being huge and melodramatic and is it part of the character, right?
Anne Ganguzza (16:17.495) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (16:21.311) Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza (16:37.538) Yeah, watched, yeah, I watched Emelia Perez. And so, which was a really great movie, by the way. And it like, it shocked me and surprised me. It was great. It really was, it really was a good movie. And then I watched, my gosh, now I'm trying to remember the name of it, but it was the series with, my goodness, Sophia, my God, what is the name of it? Now I'm gonna have to like, Tom, I'm gonna have to Google it.
Tom Dheere (16:42.004) okay.
Tom Dheere (17:03.351) Ha ha.
Anne Ganguzza (17:03.553) But anyways, I started that series because I'd heard a lot of things about how great it was. And it was really nice because it got me inspired in terms of seeing the world in a different way and listening to actors do their thing and really become inspired by that.
Tom Dheere (17:18.846) Mm-hmm. Yeah, and you should, bosses, take notes. Have a notepad or have your phone or tablet or laptop with you if you're, you know, if you're in that, okay, I'm not feeling too well. I can't really do any auditions right now. I'm caught up on my invoicing. Let's do a little character study. Let's do a little, you know, acting genre study. And, you know, if you're in anime, if you want to get into anime, it's a great excuse to watch the latest anime show, which you...
Anne Ganguzza (17:32.225) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (17:46.022) yeah, absolutely.
Tom Dheere (17:47.297) You may be watching anyway, but the pair of eyes and ears that you have change when you are, know, Griselda, okay. Yeah. So you have this one set of eyes and ears on when you're watching or listening to something to enjoy it. And then you have a different set of eyes and ears when you are listening or watching something to learn from it. You know, so, you know, watch that, you know, watch that
Anne Ganguzza (17:53.442) Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It was Griselda, by the way. I just looked at, yeah, Griselda, yeah, really good series, yeah. She's wonderful.
Anne Ganguzza (18:08.705) Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
Tom Dheere (18:15.37) Classic Akira movie or ninja scroll or something like that classic anime But but don't don't do it just to be entertained by it like listen to the acting choices and how do the acting choices affect the animation and how do the animation affect the acting choices and and vice versa you can learn a lot if you are because you you a lot of people come into voice over because they're a fan of
Anne Ganguzza (18:17.653) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (18:27.083) Sure, absolutely.
Tom Dheere (18:40.193) the genres that they want to be in, cartoons or video games or whatnot. But it's also critical that you are a student of the industry and the genres as well. And that requires a different, it's a different discipline when you're taking in that kind of stuff. So if you are feeling under the weather, put your school cap on and pull up at your school desk and learn and take notes as if you were gonna be taking a quiz.
Anne Ganguzza (18:41.931) Yeah? Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (18:46.221) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (18:54.615) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (19:00.959) Yeah.
And here's old school, watch commercials. If that's the genre you wanna work in, watch commercials, don't fast forward. And I've said that multiple times, especially current commercials, because then you're gonna really be aware of the current trends, what's happening, what's out there. And especially now in the new year, right, we have a change, obviously.
in our administration. And so there's going to be maybe trends and changes that will happen in advertising and in commercials and in the genres that we're going to be working. So really keep your eyes and your ears peeled out for that. Do some research. Do some Google on companies and look at how they're advertising to people. That can be a really great education when you're not feeling well.
Tom Dheere (19:42.496) Mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (19:50.029) Yeah, there's a difference between a commercial that you see on TV and what you hear on the radio and what you see in streaming and what you hear in between podcast episodes and Pandora and Spotify. These are, even though they're all technically the same thing, they're commercial voice actors, you know, different lengths.
Anne Ganguzza (19:56.578) Yeah.
Digital,
Anne Ganguzza (20:10.401) Different lengths, different styles. Mm-hmm, yep. Exactly. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Tom Dheere (20:13.494) different audiences, different formats based on the milieu or the medium of whether it's a TV commercial or a radio spot or a streaming. listen to those and again, take notes, notice the difference. Like radio spots, for example, we talk a lot faster. You know, so, know, just things like that.
Anne Ganguzza (20:31.246) Yeah, Absolutely, absolutely. And you carry more of the story because there's no visual there, right? And so, exactly. And I'm always telling my students, because a lot of students, they're like, so what is the difference between this genre and this genre? Especially when we're talking about nuanced genres like corporate. Corporate explainers and corporate narration. What's the difference between corporate narration and a commercial? Well, you've got longer time to tell it. And typically, corporate narration is still a sell because you're talking about a company.
Tom Dheere (20:37.525) Right. You're more. Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (21:01.003) and companies are there to sell. So you can really kind of study if you look at the nuances of how things are marketed, how commercials are run versus how digital media is run versus how we listen to Pandora or SiriusXM, how those commercials are run. You can really hear the difference in how, within the mediums, how these advertisements are presented. really...
There's so much that you can do. It's incredible, Tom, that we even get in our studios at all to do voiceover work, because there's so much stuff that you can do in the meantime to educate yourself, to prep yourself, to be ready for whatever you might be asked to do in your voiceover career.
Tom Dheere (21:48.759) Yeah, that's one thing is a lot of people think that it's all about auditioning and booking and auditioning and booking and that's what their whole career is and it's not because you're running a business and there's so many things that need to be done in so many different ways and you know everything is important. mean obviously the auditions are critical but you know so is generating and sending an invoice because if you don't send the invoice you don't get paid and what a better time to do that, right?
Anne Ganguzza (22:10.487) Yeah.
And your website is important. Absolutely. SEO. Social media is important. However you're reaching out to your potential clients is important. so you can have the best little voice in the world, but if nobody knows about it, they can't hire you, and you can't make a living. And so really understanding what are the other aspects of this business.
Tom Dheere (22:16.431) website maintenance, marketing research, lead generation.
Anne Ganguzza (22:41.71) that you need to have in place so that you can make a living and you can pay the mortgage. mean, gosh, it's the end of the month. And every month I'm like, oh, I gotta contribute to the mortgage here. And so ultimately, right, my business needs to keep moving forward. I need to keep finding clients. I need to keep improving my product. I need to keep thinking of innovative ways that I can get out in front of people so that they can hire me. They can hire my services.
Tom Dheere (23:09.696) Well, now that we've talked about that, I hope you feel better.
Anne Ganguzza (23:12.333) Well, thank you, Tom, and yes, bosses, keep healthy. And of course, you know, I do sell a wonderful product, actually, which does help, right? This is my vocal spray. I have a couple of products, and here's a shameless plug for my vocal spray. My vocal spray does help, and as a matter of fact, I should probably spritz some now, but it does help keep your voice healthy, although unfortunately, nothing is 100%. I wish that were the case. I wish I had like, here's the ultimate cure.
that you'll never get a cold again. However, if you do have a cold, you may not suffer as much. So that also can be found at anneganguzza.com of course, just being sensible and taking good care of yourself and knowing that, especially because our products are a part of us and a part of our body, I that just makes it so much more prudent that you take care of yourself and that you are doing everything in your power to be healthy.
All right, bosses, I'm gonna give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses like Tom and myself, real bosses. And you can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.
Anne Ganguzza (00:05.233) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited to be with very special guest, Luanne Regis. Luanne is a veteran voiceover agent and talent agency executive with over 30 years of experience. Her career spans everything voiceover, all voiceover, including...
heading up scale departments at two LA boutique agencies, running the celebrity division at a top bi-coastal theatrical and commercial agency, as well as launching her own Chicago voiceover department in 2007. After a year at Sound and Fury Casting, she now owns and operates her own talent representation agency, Regal V.O. Luanne, thank you so much for joining me today.
Luanne Regis (00:57.621) and thank you for having me, Anne.
Anne Ganguzza (00:59.929) I love this. So I had such a wonderful time meeting you like fleetingly at MAVO and was so excited to get the chance to talk to you and work with you as well. You're gonna be coming up soon as a guest director for me on my VO Peeps group. So I'm very excited about that. And so for bosses that don't know who you are, give us a brief, kind of a brief.
Luanne Regis (01:06.115) Yes.
Luanne Regis (01:16.777) I can't wait.
Anne Ganguzza (01:26.981) bio of you more than what I've given in regards to your evolution through the years as a talent agent and representative.
Luanne Regis (01:37.067) Sure, of course. So I'll try to be brief because it is quite a long speech. And you know, voiceover, just, people ask you, how do you get into voiceover? And I'm like, I sort of really just fell into it, which I did. You know, back in the mid nineties, I answered an ad, they were looking for a voiceover assistant, an agent, and one of the partners at a boutique agency was looking for an assistant. And I thought, this is great. Let me just try this. And I quickly liked it. I liked the fact that
Anne Ganguzza (01:41.124) Ha ha ha ha!
Luanne Regis (02:04.703) The voice can really be anything. It has nothing to do with your aesthetic, what you look like, how tall you are, what color your hair is. I loved that. That to me was a very creative aspect for VoiceOver. And I started there and quickly became an agent, a scale agent, and was there for about five years. I have seen the business really, really grow and change to...
And right around the early 2001s when all of the theatrical agencies were getting into voiceover because they poo-pooed and they snubbed their noses at voiceover for so very long, a major theatrical agency wanted to have a voiceover department. And so they plucked our entire department from the boutique agency, which was Special Artists, which is where I worked since the mid-90s. And we took our entire business, SpongeBob and all, and set up shop at Innovative Artists, which was the
Anne Ganguzza (02:56.229) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (02:58.751) Bicoastal theatrical agency that I was at for 16 years, including what you mentioned in my bio, starting a Chicago voiceover department for them in 2007, just after the birth of my daughter. So I was there for 16 years and you wake up one day and you have 800 clients because you represent not only, we came with not only our voiceover department intact with all of our amazing clients, but we also were there to represent.
Anne Ganguzza (03:00.314) Yes.
Luanne Regis (03:26.591) their clients and they have a really healthy roster, a very well known TV and film actors. And that's where I began doing celebrity and overscale voiceover and really enjoyed it. But you know, like I said, you wake up one day and you have 800 clients and that's a lot to manage, especially in the way in which I agent. I was taught voiceover agenting by one of the best, she's a mentor, Marsha Hurwitz. you know, it's...
Anne Ganguzza (03:29.735) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (03:43.441) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (03:52.321) All hands on, it's more like a manager. It's not just submit an audition and whatever happens happens. It's you pitch, you sell, you call producers. We don't do that anymore because the business has changed. But you're on the phone, you're calling producers, you're selling people, you're saying, I think you should really listen to Nancy Smith. She's really good on this read. That's the way I voice over agent and it's really impossible to do that with 800 people.
Anne Ganguzza (03:55.589) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (04:20.641) 800 clients on your roster. So I went back to my small boutique agency, Roots TGMD Talent, which is formerly Tishman Agency. the owner, Kevin Motley, who's a dear friend of mine, had recently sort of reshaped his agency, gutted all of the promo and trailer announcer type guys, which was an avenue in which advertisers weren't going down anymore. And we built a really great roster of actors, well-known actors.
Anne Ganguzza (04:28.993) Yep.
Luanne Regis (04:50.761) working actors, which is all I know. I know about actors in voiceover as opposed to voice actors. And was there for four years doing that until the pandemic. And then after the pandemic, I thought, you know what, I want to try my hand on the buyer's side. I always wanted to try my hand at being on the other side of the business, not just rapping. And so I worked at Sound and Fury, which is one of the, if not the top voice casting companies in the entire country, if not the world.
Anne Ganguzza (05:14.928) Mm.
Luanne Regis (05:18.941) And you know, really enjoyed my time with that team. They're like a family to me. And I missed representing talent and agenting. And so after a year, I decided to go back to it, but do it on my own. And believe it or not, I kept a lot of clients with me even as I left the agenting side and went over to the casting side because I have a a really lovely roster of
very loyal talent. Some of them I've had since I started in the mid 90s and you know they were very sad to see me leave the agenting side. So they sort of held on to me even while I was on the casting side and once I decided to jump back they were like well we're still here for the ride let's go and that's how I sort of built my roster, my independent roster I should say and again it just they just come at me. I have agents and managers and
Anne Ganguzza (05:56.687) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (06:13.909) theatrical agents and commercial agents just wanting to work with me and they throw all their clients my way and I don't refuse them because I love to
Anne Ganguzza (06:21.827) love that, I love that. You know, it's interesting because, you know, as we're talking, you're kind of going back and forth between casting and agent and manager. And, you know, for the benefit of our boss listeners, what is your definition of the difference between the responsibilities of each? Because I think it's important for us as voice actors to know when we're trying to develop relationships, you know, to understand.
what is encompassed in your job because that makes us able to communicate with you easier and help you, because I really believe it's a partnership no matter what you're really looking for. And so I think it will help us as voice actors to work with agents or casting directors better.
Luanne Regis (06:57.664) It is.
Luanne Regis (07:06.443) Well, the reason why, and that's a great question, and the reason why the transition from agent to casting director back to agent was such a seamless one is because a lot of what my job entails as a voiceover agent is casting. We work with casting directors, but agents also work directly with buyers and producers, and they come to us looking for talent. And we sit there and cast.
Anne Ganguzza (07:22.287) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (07:28.657) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (07:33.555) in pretty much the same way a casting director who gets paid to do it does it. I sit there, I go through my roster, who's right for this? And I do essentially do a casting. And so a lot of my agenting is casting, but that's just sort of like the day-to-day job of a voiceover agent. Again, back in the day when we had booths and actors would come into our lobby and read and have, you'd be distributing copy, you know, back in the day, pre-pandemic and all that.
Anne Ganguzza (07:41.307) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (07:48.07) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (07:58.631) Look at
Luanne Regis (08:03.611) A big part of my job also was directing talent, not just sitting at a desk and agenting. I would go into the booth. I need to know what my talent does. I need to be able to sell that person. So in order to do that, I'm in the booth, I'm directing, and I really, really love that directing process because it's, again, it hinges on such creativity. It's so creative. They get to play around. I get also to play around with them in terms of what they can do, what their range is.
Anne Ganguzza (08:07.974) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (08:15.109) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (08:21.264) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (08:32.991) And that's how I know what my clients can bring to the table so I can effectively sell them. So it's casting, it's directing, it's obviously selling. It's very managerial as well because I'm, like I said, very, very hands on. you know, like for instance, many times I go into the booth with a client and we'd spend an hour in there if we have the time. And the last five minutes of that hour really is recording the copy and auditioning.
Anne Ganguzza (08:46.767) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (09:02.342) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (09:02.561) but the previous, how many ever minutes, spent catching up. How's your wife? How are the kids? How is life? How's your mom doing? Stuff like that. That's how you get to really know clients because what they share with you in the booth, you bring that to you as you're casting. You bring that to you as you're selling them. You have to really know them inside out. That's more of a very managerial, I think, position as an agent.
Anne Ganguzza (09:08.646) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (09:16.238) Right.
Luanne Regis (09:30.641) not all agents agent that way. I just learned to do it that way. So it's manage it's managing talent. It's selling talent, agenting obviously, but it's also casting and directing talent in the booth. And then of course your negotiations skills come into play. Your knowledge of contracts, your knowledge of legal, legal procedures, as far as contracts go. That's all encompassing as a voiceover agent.
Anne Ganguzza (09:33.484) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (09:48.355) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (09:54.34) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (09:58.767) It's such a broad base of that you need to have. And you said something before that I thought was so interesting. You said you had been working with, and it really, I think it goes to show the evolution of the business. You talked about actors who did voice acting rather than voice actors. And so I caught that little tiny nuance right there, which really speaks to your amount of time and experience in the industry.
Luanne Regis (10:00.82) It is.
Luanne Regis (10:16.416) Yes.
Yes.
Luanne Regis (10:23.829) Yes, yes.
Anne Ganguzza (10:25.509) Because how often, like what would you say, I guess now in your, because you've been in business for so long, you must still, I suspect, deal with actors who do voice acting, as well as voice actors. And what are your thoughts on how you work with, let's say, actors now who do voice acting, or voice actors differently? Do you spend as much time, or how does that work today?
Luanne Regis (10:33.877) We will.
Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (10:53.737) The reason why for me, it's actors in voiceover, not only was I brought up in the business knowing that, because when I started at Special Artists, they were mainly a commercial, on-camera commercial agency, and this predated me, obviously, but when they started their voiceover department, they used their on-camera actors as the basis for their voiceover department.
Anne Ganguzza (10:56.25) Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (11:10.118) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (11:21.253) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (11:21.853) I come from a track record where the agents who taught me used actors and put them in voiceover and made them successful. The voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny, was a comedian, an actor. We put him, he made that transition because of how talented he is. So I do feel voiceover is not just a voice, you're acting.
Anne Ganguzza (11:29.339) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (11:35.44) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (11:49.35) Sure. Yeah.
Luanne Regis (11:50.529) You're bringing copy to life. You're selling copy, but you have to bring it to life. You have to connect with the product. You have to connect with what the words are saying. So at the end of the day, it really is about acting, which is why I favor having someone who has an acting resume, someone who's done work, because they have a certain measure of experience that they can bring to the voiceover table.
Anne Ganguzza (11:59.761) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (12:08.358) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (12:15.463) Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I love the emphasis on acting because even for something like I specialize in a lot of the corporate e-learning, the non-broadcast style stuff, but in order to really bring that material to life, and sometimes it needs a lot of help, just saying, because it can be a little bit dry and boring, you have to, I mean, every company, and I think whether you're dealing with commercial,
Luanne Regis (12:27.894) Yes.
Anne Ganguzza (12:41.959) Right? Any type of copy. mean, if you're dealing with a company or a client, they're ultimately, I mean, unless you're doing entertainment, right? Ultimately, they're trying to sell something. And so there's always a story. I good companies, I would say that, you know, it's marketing 101 that, you know, stories really sell better than, you know,
Luanne Regis (12:49.375) Right. Absolutely.
Anne Ganguzza (13:03.322) cold heart announcing facts sort of thing. And so if you can be the actor that can tell the story or understand the story that the company wants to sell or tell, that's gonna help them to sell. So I love the emphasis on acting.
Luanne Regis (13:04.437) Yeah, yeah.
Luanne Regis (13:14.749) Absolutely, and it really, you're absolutely right. When you say, a story, that is really what it is. I was telling actors yesterday, you have to, when you get a script, you create a narrative behind that script that those lines will support. Whether it's right or wrong, it's truthful and it's authentic.
But you do have to connect with the product. You do have to connect with the lines. You do have to connect with the script. And the only way you do that is if you make it part of a story that you're telling.
Anne Ganguzza (13:36.142) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (13:45.703) Yes, absolutely. And I think that's what so, at least with students when I'm working with them in the corporate narration or the e-lin, like what story? I'm delivering information. I'm like, but there is a story and you have to keep the listener's attention for longer than 30 or 60 seconds. This is not a 60 second commercial. And so even if I...
Luanne Regis (13:58.849) We resist.
Luanne Regis (14:04.372) You too. That's right.
Anne Ganguzza (14:08.642) I think if the story doesn't make sense, right, if they're reading the words and they're like, well, I would never really say that, or you know, you have to create the scene in which those words make sense. And I guess my question to you is, what would you say is the main difference between on-camera acting and voice acting?
Luanne Regis (14:17.173) That's right. Yes.
Luanne Regis (14:26.939) on camera acting, you have so much more at your disposal. You have what you look like, you have the physicality of being on camera. And this is why I love voiceover, because with voiceover acting, you have to basically emit all of that just vocally. Whether you're in the booth and you're, you where you see the animation characters, they're in the booth and they're using their hands and all that, that's all well and fine, but that does not translate on camera in the way it
Anne Ganguzza (14:31.59) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (14:44.708) Yeah, yeah, through your voice.
Luanne Regis (14:56.417) would if you were an on-camera actor. really does have, so again, we go back to is telling that story. If you have a story to tell, it's gonna come out in the words, it's gonna come out in the smile, it's going to come out in the warmth that you bring out, or not the warmth, or the cold, or whatever it is, the stories that you're telling. But it all comes from the heart, it all comes from here.
Anne Ganguzza (14:57.062) Right.
Luanne Regis (15:22.313) as opposed to you being able to use your hands to gesture in a way that conveys whatever you're trying to convey in an acting, you know, when you're acting.
Anne Ganguzza (15:26.49) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (15:32.231) So what would you say when you're working with talent? time is precious these days, so I imagine that you probably don't have as much time to work with talent, let's say on a job or an audition, as you would. What are the types of things that you find you're telling your talent to do most in terms of, know, either following direction better or their performance-wise? What are the kind of tips or tricks that you're speaking to most?
Luanne Regis (15:40.437) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Luanne Regis (15:59.487) Yeah. Well, it does vary from project and script to script, obviously, but a lot of it is what I just said, you know, creating that story, creating that narrative. A lot of times, and this specifically relates to commercial copy, a lot of times you get a script and you have no idea what the storyboards are. You have no idea what the visuals are. You just have maybe two or three lines and you sort of have to put it together. At that point, you have to make a very specific creative choice. This is the story I'm going to tell.
Anne Ganguzza (16:02.171) these days.
Mm.
Anne Ganguzza (16:18.566) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (16:25.562) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (16:27.957) So that's one tip and we just spoke about that. There's a lot of non-announcery, non-polish, non-slick directives nowadays and I always have to tell my clients, so here's what I want you to do. I don't want you to think about yourself on mic. I don't want you to think about yourself up there as a speaker or as an announcer saying something. I want you to sit and talk to a friend at a bar and you say what you need to say and you come from that place.
so that we can get you conversational, we can get you casual, and we don't have you coming out of the box like you're making a grand announcement. A tip, a trick I use sometimes is I will have them slate their name after they've done their session, after they've done their audition, because once you slate your name, Luanne Regis, you sort of go into this, okay, I'm here, I'm announcing mode, I just want you to tell me what you have to say on your copy, you can save the slate for later. So that's just one of the tips that I use.
Anne Ganguzza (17:05.296) Sure, sure.
Anne Ganguzza (17:17.808) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (17:25.06) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (17:25.375) you know, the conversational thing, just sort of like bring it back home. If it's something that I feel they need to be a little bit more intimate with, I give them situations like, I want you to read this bedtime story to your six year old, or I want you to sit with your child and have a one-on-one conversation with him or her. you know, I just give them a place from which to emote so that we can bring that emotion into the copy.
Anne Ganguzza (17:48.752) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (17:52.803) Speaking of emotion, find, for me, just on longer copy, because if you have a particular energy or emotion and you continue for over a minute or two or three, with that same energy, it doesn't necessarily allow the story to flow. And I feel that people might get into the rhythm of this particular emotion or this particular...
Luanne Regis (18:03.958) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (18:14.887) Energy and I feel with with any good story right energy in your story changes and evolves and it can evolve throughout like the course of one sentence even and the energy you start with in the beginning or the story that you tell in the beginning isn't necessarily the same story that's happening or evolving when you're halfway through or three-quarters of the way through and for a lot of for a lot of my students I find that you know if they're if they forget
Luanne Regis (18:25.502) Absolutely.
Luanne Regis (18:37.152) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (18:44.119) about the story halfway through, then it starts to turn into this kind of just into this, let's news, news broadcast read or, you know, something like that. And so in the middle of the script, do you ever have to kind of redirect or give another scene to help this through? Or are you finding that for the most part, you're working with with top caliber actors that already are doing that or have done that?
Luanne Regis (18:51.041) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (19:09.279) Yeah, know what, an actor is gonna find his or her way, again, depending on the story that they want to tell. The seasoned actors, the really good actors understand how to flow in and out, how to make a change, or how to sort of navigate around certain things. And I'm glad you asked that question, because one point I really wanna bring to mind is sometimes when you're directing talent, I can't tell you.
Anne Ganguzza (19:13.723) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (19:18.042) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (19:37.663) Yes, I can give you a line reading. Yes, I can tell you how to do it. But I want you to color it the way you would color it because that brings a certain uniqueness that no one else will do. You might put a pause in the middle of the copy for effect, or you could take a beat, or you could do a slight, And someone else will not necessarily do that. that...
Anne Ganguzza (19:39.748) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (19:44.613) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (19:50.395) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (20:02.822) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (20:02.827) Completely changes the way that copy gets conveyed to to the audience. So a lot of times it's it's what you do specifically and not me directing you into that read because I want it I sort of wanted to come from you I want you to bring that that authenticity to it because at the end of the day authenticity is what will May not book you the job, but it will have the producer go. Wait a second. What can we hear what? And that's what you want to do
Anne Ganguzza (20:27.787) Mm, it might get you on the short list.
Luanne Regis (20:31.357) Exactly. That's what I'm glad you said that I was seeing this exact same thing yesterday. It's like, yes, you want to book the job, but don't focus on booking the job. Focus on wowing whoever's listening, focus on making an impact. So maybe you weren't right for that job, but perhaps you bring you back in for something else.
Anne Ganguzza (20:42.17) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (20:48.133) Yeah, yeah. And also I think then you're really, especially if it's an audition that you're submitting to your agent or casting director that is very familiar with working with actors in regards to, well, okay, it can showcase right away that you're an actor. And if you're an actor, you'll be able to follow direction no matter what the direction ends up being. Cause I have a lot of times people will say to me, but that's not what I hear in the actual commercial.
Luanne Regis (21:00.321) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (21:06.037) Yes.
Anne Ganguzza (21:16.229) you know, it sounds completely different. And, you know, I'm always like, well, you know, it really depends on who's directing you at the time and what the client is listening to and what they hear in their head as being the way they want the copyright. So you have to be versatile enough to be able to take any direction. I've turned in for me as a coach, I've turned to almost saying, well, here, I'm coaching you on how to get the gig, not necessarily on the final product, because
Luanne Regis (21:17.878) Thanks
Luanne Regis (21:22.251) That's right.
Luanne Regis (21:28.415) Yes, yes.
Luanne Regis (21:45.429) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (21:46.129) Coaching you to get the gig is gonna make you the most authentic actor that you can showcase in the first or second sentence. So for me, Luanne, coming in in the first or second sentence is so important with a connection to the copy. Talk to the importance of maybe that, the first few words that come out of the actor's mouth or in the copy, how important is that?
Luanne Regis (21:50.145) That's right.
Luanne Regis (21:58.719) Yes. Yes.
Luanne Regis (22:10.145) very, very important because again, when I worked at Sound and Fury and we got 800 casting, 800 auditions from one casting, they're listening and they know right away if this person's gonna nail it or not. So you wanna come in just hitting the mark immediately. even, obviously I don't have 800 clients, but you see that process with a casting director. They don't have the time to listen to the entire script if they feel you didn't hit it within the first.
Anne Ganguzza (22:24.079) Mm.
Anne Ganguzza (22:28.027) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (22:39.929) Or maybe not even hit it if you didn't do something in the beginning that made them go. let me keep listening because time is money and they do have to get through all of these these auditions and the same to a certain extent with me I mean I listen to every single audition all the way through but I know by the second or third line if someone has nailed that piece of copy or not just because obviously I have the the experience in the years of the instinct but again, it's that
You can't put your finger on it. It's that je ne sais quoi. It's like, yeah, let me keep this. wow, she did that? Okay. It really is important to nail whatever you want to nail at the beginning of the copy as opposed to saving your best for last.
Anne Ganguzza (23:24.047) Yeah. Now, I love that you said you listen to the auditions all the way through. Now, why? Why do you do that?
Luanne Regis (23:32.085) For several reasons. One, and you said something that I wanted to sort of bring back to the forefront, so I'm glad you asked that question. A lot of times, again, I'm a casting, I'm sort of a casting director when I age, because I'm putting people on stuff and I'm wondering, is she right for it, is he right for it? I have to listen throughout the whole thing. One, because it's my client and they've done the audition and I need to hear what they did, they may not be right for it.
Anne Ganguzza (23:33.732) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (23:48.848) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (23:54.715) Mm.
Luanne Regis (23:58.805) That way I know, you know what, I'm not gonna put him or her on this anymore because I don't think they're right for it. Or I hear something that they do and I think, you know what, I've got something else that, I've got a different role that I think she's right for. I don't think I put her on the right role. I think I need to get her on this other one. So it gives me a clue. It clues me into what my clients can do, what they can't do, even as well as I know them, even as much as I know their range.
Anne Ganguzza (24:04.314) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (24:23.494) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (24:25.481) I still am learning a lot about them as we go along. So it behooves me to listen to everything that they do.
Anne Ganguzza (24:33.53) so interesting. I love that you listen all the way through because it shows that you really care and that you really care about your clients and you care about making the best fit and really choosing the best person for the job. That just requires a lot of, think, integrity and I love that. I think that's amazing. Plus, I think it's so interesting because maybe even...
Luanne Regis (24:36.417) Mm-hmm.
It does, yeah. Yeah.
Luanne Regis (24:47.359) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (24:52.883) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (24:57.946) You know, people that you've known for a long time, I mean, we continue to grow and evolve and learn and discover. I find with myself, like, I discover new things about myself and it impacts, right, my acting in the booth. And, you know, in lots of different ways where all of a sudden I'll be like, well, gosh, I've been doing it like this for years and goodness, I should have maybe thought this way. And it just will bring something different out in me, which is kind of cool. And so that's just kind of being the lifelong learner sort of.
Luanne Regis (25:02.678) Yes.
Luanne Regis (25:12.607) Yes.
Luanne Regis (25:27.05) Yeah!
Anne Ganguzza (25:27.483) you know, always trying to grow my skills and craft. And you think like, well, have I reached this point? Well, now I've done it and I'm an actor. But I feel like you never quite reach the point where you're never not learning.
Luanne Regis (25:31.583) All right.
Luanne Regis (25:42.129) No, you always are learning and you're always trying new things and I'm always learning things about clients. I'm like, I didn't know you did that. That's good for me. I can sell you in a different way now. it's a learning process on both ends.
Anne Ganguzza (25:49.508) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (25:53.05) Yeah. Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (25:59.142) So the sell, okay? I wanna talk a little bit about the sell. When you're trying to sell a talent, what is it when you're communicating with a client for a particular spot? So what's involved in the sell of it on your end? I'm just curious because I've never, I mean, I've cast people, but I've never really been had to like, hear my choices and then the client will ultimately make the...
the end result, but when you're really trying to sell a talent, like what goes, what sort of qualities are you selling in the talent?
Luanne Regis (26:36.605) So you're talking about me selling to a buyer a casting director or okay? So then it would it depends on if it's the buyer's a casting director or if the buyer is the actual buyer the producer the the ad agency or something You know if it's a casting director. It's because I want that person to understand He can do this what you're asking what you're asking for me to cast for you This guy can do this so I need you to
Anne Ganguzza (26:39.876) Yeah, to a buyer, yes, yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (26:45.766) Mm-hmm.
buyer, right, Yeah.
Luanne Regis (27:05.161) I send links, send if it's stand-up comedians they're looking for, I send a link to their stand-up. One of many different ways I keep all of my auditions, so I will curate a specific sample of voices so that they can hear. For instance, if they're looking for something specific, I go back and I pull auditions that they've done for that specific character and I said, listen, here's what he's done for me in the past. That's one tool I use to sell.
Anne Ganguzza (27:20.75) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (27:32.622) Mm. Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (27:32.833) And that's to a cast director if I want to convince her that this client can audition for her on a project if it's a buyer the actual buyer the producer the ad agency or Yeah, well, it would be the producer of an ad agency because if it's animation is it's casting directors You know again, it's showcasing what they've done before showcasing the stuff that they've done showing them listen to this
Anne Ganguzza (27:40.218) Got it, got it. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (27:48.357) Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (27:55.206) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (27:59.647) I know you're looking for a guy that can do this. Listen to him right here. He's done this before. He's auditioned for this before. He's actually booked this before. Here's a spot that he's done. And you might want to listen to this. So that is, that's what I'm pushing when I'm speaking to producers. Sadly, don't get, don't have, agents don't have that direct link to producers anymore. It's really become so remote now and remote, in the sense of remote recording, but.
Anne Ganguzza (28:12.003) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (28:16.624) Got it.
Luanne Regis (28:27.433) remote in the sense of we're far removed from these producers. I used to be able to pick up the phone and call a producer at Leo Burnett and say, listen to Nancy, she's really great for this. You want to hire her. And they would hire her. But they themselves, the producers, they're removed as well from their clients. Now it's the client, Walmart, that has to make the decision. The producer used to be able to make the decision before.
Anne Ganguzza (28:30.181) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (28:47.59) Sure.
that's a, I'm so glad you made that distinction because I think for a lot of voice actors, they don't really know what happens once they submit that audition. then what is, like what's, how does my audition traverse, you know, to either get to the ears of the person who's hiring and who is the person that's hiring, right? You know, because I think if you're my talent agent, right, and I'm auditioning for you.
Luanne Regis (29:03.478) Yes.
That's right.
Luanne Regis (29:11.638) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (29:17.219) What I love and what I've heard from you is that you must have a little file of me where you're keeping all my good auditions and you're keeping all the spots that I've done and I like that, right? You didn't just trash my audition if I didn't work for that particular spot, but you're like, okay, so you've got like bits and pieces of me there. And then, so if you're working with another, let's say, casting director, right? You can then send those files and sell me in that way. But then if you're actually talking to the client directly,
Luanne Regis (29:22.527) Yes. Yes.
Luanne Regis (29:28.619) Nope, keep everything.
Luanne Regis (29:43.236) Right.
Anne Ganguzza (29:47.342) Which is something I'm like, well, I've not been in this process. I speak with my clients directly, but probably not on the scale that you do because you're working on a broadcast scale. So I have a client that I've worked with for years and they'll ask me, who do you think would be good to do this for me? And I can refer, which is.
Luanne Regis (29:55.937) you
Luanne Regis (30:00.394) Right.
Luanne Regis (30:05.569) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (30:09.817) on a small scale compared to what you do. Because you're talking to big time producers and agencies that have multiple projects going on. And so for me as an actor, I never quite know what happens once I submit that audition. So it's really nice that you just kind of explain that process. And the fact that you said you don't always get to talk to the producer like you used to be able to, which is what I sometimes I assume and I don't really know.
Luanne Regis (30:11.457) Yes.
Anne Ganguzza (30:36.548) you know, depending on the agency, depending on who it is and what your relationships are, which I think it comes all down to relationships. But you're right, now even the producer is removed because it really comes down to like, let's say the client Walmart or whoever that might be. So that's a very good thing to know from my perspective.
Luanne Regis (30:42.518) Yes.
Luanne Regis (30:53.621) And I'll tell you the reason, I'll tell you the reason for that, Anne, and I want to make sure people understand this because it was a very drastic change. think the reason that I was able to, first of all, be able to pick up the phone and call a producer and they would actually book, or the producer would call me and say, who do you have for this? We need to cast this job right away. Who do you have? book David Pasquese. He'd be great. And they would hire him. So how many ever years, 10, 15 years ago when, you know, the big
Anne Ganguzza (31:09.666) Mm. Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (31:15.611) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (31:23.113) ad agencies, the DDB Needhams, the Chiat Days, you the big ad agencies, they had the bulk of the work, they had the majority of the work. And as time went by, these smaller agencies started picking up work. So the ad agency now sort of lost the power to be able to make that decision because they themselves are trying to hold on to their accounts. So they no longer can say, I can hire you for this Walmart voiceover.
Anne Ganguzza (31:25.37) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (31:29.821) mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (31:41.527) Mm-hmm.
Yes, yes, yes. Makes sense.
Luanne Regis (31:49.953) they now have to check with the head of marketing or whomever at Walmart. That never used to be the case. They used to be able to pull that trigger and go, great, let's hire him. That's no longer the case. And I do firmly believe it's because of that change over in, in work, a lot of ad agencies lost clients, a lot of ad agencies are afraid of losing their clients. So they're really at the disposal at the mercy of their clients to make every single decision.
Anne Ganguzza (31:52.944) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (32:20.359) That's very interesting and that really speaks to this, think also the size of the industry over the years that has really increased greatly.
Luanne Regis (32:21.248) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (32:25.183) Yes, yes. It has, yeah. No, it has. You've had a lot of these smaller or maybe ad execs from ad agencies sort of offshoots and go off and start their own small companies, and they're now getting the big jobs. They're now getting the big work as opposed to those big multimedia conglomerate ad agencies that they're not really getting those accounts anymore.
Anne Ganguzza (32:41.616) Sure.
Anne Ganguzza (32:46.544) Right?
Anne Ganguzza (32:51.686) Well, and now also I think technology, mean, gosh, technology has certainly evolved over the years. And now a lot of times, like you said, you'd meet in the, and I from back in the day when I would go to a studio for a callback, and gosh, that's almost not the case too much anymore. But I miss the days when you would see all your voiceover friends in the lobby. And even though you'd kind of be a little bit nervous, you'd all be like catching up and seeing people you hadn't seen in a while.
Luanne Regis (32:55.179) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (32:59.188) It has.
Luanne Regis (33:09.491) I know.
Luanne Regis (33:14.185) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (33:19.137) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (33:21.375) And I kind of miss that. with the digital evolution and people having their home studios and the internet and I think a lot of those agencies too, mean, went online, am I not correct? Yeah, yeah.
Luanne Regis (33:23.497) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (33:34.943) They sure did. They sure did. Yeah, they really did. And to speak a little bit, I'm just going to hear my pet peeve about that. Again, I remember a day when ad agency would hire a studio here, hire a studio in Chicago, hire a studio where they are, and they would connect. Now that cost, because we've had a situation like the pandemic where everyone sort of had to get set up to record from home, a lot of ad agencies haven't gone back to that, gone back to hiring studios.
Anne Ganguzza (33:49.52) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (33:59.366) Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Luanne Regis (34:04.277) they figured out a way, wait a second, we don't have to hire a studio. We don't have to incur that cost. We can keep that budget under control and pass that cost on to the actor. That's one of my biggest pet peeves of the consequence of the pandemic where actors have now had to become engineers, incur their own costs for studios. I'm like, wait a second, you would hire a studio in New York and Los Angeles back in the day. We're like, how is that?
Anne Ganguzza (34:29.489) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (34:34.37) What do I know what you're doing.
Anne Ganguzza (34:36.282) Yeah, and they're not necessarily, you know, claiming, I am correct in the assumption, they're not necessarily saying, well, hey, I've got a home studio. I should be charging for that studio. I should be tired. Theoretically, right, they are, but I don't know anybody that really, like, has a line item that says, hey, this is my studio cost, right?
Luanne Regis (34:45.825) No!
Luanne Regis (34:53.957) No, no, the actors sadly have had to fall in line, you know, and now we've gone, it's just everyone is now remote studio required, home studio required. I'm like, wait a second, you would hire a studio back in the day. I just think it's unfair because now the actor should be concentrating on his audition and he should be concentrating on the creative aspect. He should not be asked to upload stuff. He should not be asked to be an engineer in his own session. You know, it's just the way of the world now.
Anne Ganguzza (34:58.35) Yeah, it got absorbed.
Anne Ganguzza (35:03.504) Yeah. Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (35:23.567) It is such a luxury to be directed even in my home studio now. It's just, and it's lovely for, I will say at least they're Source Connect so that an engineer can take what I'm doing back here in my home studio and engineer it and I don't have to upload and he can just take it. That is a luxury. And also the fact of actually having a director is a luxury these days. And I love it. And I kind of wish we went back to it.
Luanne Regis (35:27.403) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (35:39.711) and do his own thing. Yes.
Luanne Regis (35:47.198) Yeah.
Luanne Regis (35:52.757) I know.
Anne Ganguzza (35:53.33) And you never know, mean, maybe that will happen, maybe that will not, but I think in the end, right, is it not all driven by the customer, right, the client, like it's Walmart, like what do they want? And so ultimately, what type of voice are they gonna look for? How are they gonna hire? And I think that's something as a voice actor, we need to consider the business aspect of it, because how are we going to kind of shine in front of all of...
it seems like obstacles, maybe not obstacles, but there's so many paths to getting hired these days, you know, and yeah.
Luanne Regis (36:28.031) Yes, there are. And let me go back to a question you asked earlier about what happens when that audition goes off. And it's really important for actors to understand, because you don't book a job, that doesn't mean you weren't on a short list. That doesn't mean that you weren't listened to and someone was vying for you and that just, the client or whomever came in and said, no, let's go with a woman instead of a man. doesn't, you have...
Anne Ganguzza (36:53.264) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (36:54.205) I have no idea what happens once it leaves my, you know, my coffers because no one says anything. And then you get on a short list and you have one of five on a short list and that's great, you're excited. And then it just goes away. But for me, that's a win. Like someone listened to you and someone put you on a short list and someone considered you for this job. And even beyond the short list, you don't know who listened and went, wow, I really like him. You know what I mean? It's like, there's so many.
Anne Ganguzza (36:57.574) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (37:08.42) Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (37:20.496) Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that you brought that up. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Luanne Regis (37:23.837) intangibles and actors need to understand that just because you didn't book a job doesn't mean you weren't right for it. They could have changed their minds, changed the specs, changed the age, changed the gender. All of those things sort of are out of your control.
Anne Ganguzza (37:36.432) Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (37:39.791) Yeah, there's so many aspects that are out of your control. And I think that's one of the most important things that a voice actor can also do is try to understand that and not let the mental, like, my gosh, I don't know what happened, or I'm not good enough, or that self-sabotage, get to them. And I think that's one of the biggest challenges that a lot of voice actors face is imposter syndrome that, because they didn't hear anything, they assume, right?
Luanne Regis (37:53.119) I know. Yeah. Yeah.
Luanne Regis (38:00.788) It is.
Luanne Regis (38:06.399) Yeah, that's right. And by the way, that's another aspect of my job as an agent, to sort of manage their expectations and manage their disappointments. I had an actress tell me last night, she said, you know, I'm really just very dejected and sort of tired and fatigued with these auditions. I haven't had a callback, I haven't had this, I haven't had that. And for me, you know, I need to...
Anne Ganguzza (38:15.171) Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza (38:19.792) Mm-hmm.
Luanne Regis (38:32.841) I do need to boost her up, at the same time, I do need to understand her frustration and it's real. So, you know, my job there is to sort of maybe go, okay, let me reevaluate, reevaluate, excuse me, what I'm sending her. Maybe I'm not sending her the things that she's really gonna nail because at the end of the day, as an agent, you don't want to keep sending an actor hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of auditions and they're not booking because that debilitates them.
Anne Ganguzza (38:38.63) Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Luanne Regis (39:02.207) So part of my job is almost like a therapist of sorts. It's sort of like manage how they feel. Okay, let's do this then. Let's sort of reevaluate what we send you. Let me pull back a little bit so that you don't feel burnt out. How can I help you? Because obviously I believe in her. I don't want her to just go silent and not do auditions, but I have to kind of hold her hand along the way.
Anne Ganguzza (39:06.086) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza (39:26.727) Right, Sure.
Luanne Regis (39:30.187) That's another aspect of the voiceover agent's job, at least mine.
Anne Ganguzza (39:31.706) Yeah. Yeah. I love it. this has been such a wonderful conversation, Luanne. thank you. Thank you. Well, it's been a pleasure. And I'll tell you what, I cannot wait to have you as a guest director for my group, for my VO Peeps guys. So make sure you take a look for that coming up soon.
Luanne Regis (39:37.824) I love your questions, the way. Your questions are very pointed.
Luanne Regis (39:47.711) Yes, I cannot wait. Yes.
Luanne Regis (39:54.08) Yes.
Anne Ganguzza (39:55.916) And with that, I will give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Luanne, this has really been amazing. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
Luanne Regis (40:08.373) Thank you, Anne, for having me. I really do love talking about this stuff.
Anne Ganguzza (40:13.146) Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Luanne Regis (40:16.033) Bye!
00:01 - Ad (Ad) Anne Ganguzza, you are a true gem. Okay, I am a voice actor, been in the business over 15 years, eight of those full time but, honest to goodness, until discovering the VO Boss Podcast this year, I feel like I've been getting away with murder. I don't even know how I've been as successful as I have been without all the strategies and perspectives and predictions that you make about our industry. I feel like I've been in VO College for like the past six, seven months listening to the VO Boss podcast. It's just incredible and I can't thank you enough. I love you, I love your co-hosts, I love your guests. It's just so full of information that I can put into action for my business and just please keep doing what you're doing, because I feel like I'm taking my business to the next level the boss level.
01:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey boss, talent Anne Ganguzza here with a quick shout out to those who are a little freaked out about marketing. VO BOSS Blast is your secret weapon, making your marketing manageable. Your voice deserves to be heard. Join us at vo boss.com and start your marketing campaign today is the Boss Level marketing campaign. Today, it's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level.
01:30 - Intro (Announcement) These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so happy to be here again with our resident money gal, Danielle Famble. Hey Danielle, hey Anne, how are you?
02:00 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I'm good, I'm good. How are you?
02:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I am good. You know, it's been a busy week of auditioning, coaching, working, submitting auditions, and I happened to reach out to my agent and it made me think about our series about money and I thought it would be great to talk about the whole agent aspect managers, pay-to-plays, the whole agent aspect, managers, pay-to-plays and about financials when we work with said companies, people. I think there's a lot of myths out there for people that are just getting into the industry or even people who are in the industry. They have a lot of beliefs about managers and pay-to-plays and should I, shouldn't I? What's fair, what's not fair?
02:44 I thought it'd be a great time to talk about that today.
02:46 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, that's actually really important because these agents and managers are pay-to-plays they're all businesses, right? So they are working within the business model that they have set up for themselves and businesses have costs and so to work with a business, there is a cost there and you, as the VO boss running your own business, you have to think about the cost that you would be paying, the business expenses you'd be paying for having these relationships. So, yeah, it's really important.
03:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, let's start actually. Let's start with, let's say, somebody's just getting into the industry, and I know a lot of myths about people that just get into the industry. They believe that they need to be able to get an agent right away. And so we can start there to dispel some of those myths. And, by the way, I will say myself personally, I was working full time in the industry for about four years before I got my first agent.
03:36 Oh wow, yeah, mostly because I was doing a lot of non-broadcast work. And so agents, their business, as we were just discussing, right, and businesses are in business to make money. And so if we think about an agent, where is the money right for the agent? How does the agent make money? Well, they get a percentage right of the jobs that they cast and opportunities that they send to us. And if we book that job because they provided us with that opportunity and negotiated on our behalf, they then get a certain percentage of that money and their business model, like any business, right, we want to remain in business, so it behooves them to make money right, to get bookings and to get jobs. And so I guess, Danielle, first of all let me ask you, I mean, in dispelling the myth, I mean, did you get an agent right away when you first got into the business, or what was your entrance into the business?
04:35 - Danielle Famble (Guest) So my entrance I actually came from a musical theater background and I had representation sending me out on auditions for shows, for theater shows, and that person also did rep people who were doing voiceover, who were doing on camera. So I basically kind of moved within that organization from being on stage to being behind the microphone. So in that respect I did start out with representation and then actually moved to a different agent who specialized specifically in voiceover. So that was my trajectory. But to your point and I think this is actually really important, depending on what you're wanting to do, like what genres that you are going into and really like putting your focus in, you may or may not need an agent, especially like with non-broadcast, for example.
05:27 You can get a lot of that work on your own with your own marketing and things like that. So you may not need an agent and there may not be agents who are really focusing in that specific niche to go to and work with them. So I think the question then becomes for the individual VO boss what is your business model? Are you wanting to do more commercials? Are you wanting to do non-broadcast? Are you wanting to do animation? Really, depending on what genres you're really targeting, depends on if you need or it would work best for you to have an agent or representation. I think a lot of people when you hear that they want to work with an agent, it's probably because they want to do commercials mostly, or animation.
06:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, exactly. And I'm always stressing to my students that are just coming to me, that are new to the industry, that in reality, I mean you don't need an agent if you're not getting into broadcast right away. I mean you can acquire an agent later on or at a certain point, and most agents, I would say, are only really concerned with broadcast. Why? Because they get paid more.
06:32 It's as simple as that it's as simple as that right it's the money, because broadcast they can get paid based upon the job and where and how often it airs, because they'll get paid each and every time that happens. For non-broadcast it's kind of a one and done. Now all agents are not created equal. I mean there are some agents that are specializing in specific genres. Now I don't know of any agent that really specifies in an e-learning genre, but that's because why it's non-broadcast and it doesn't necessarily behoove them right to focus on that, because it's a one-and-done sort of thing. So the amount of money they're going to make on a non-broadcast job versus a broadcast where they're going to pay royalties, residuals, all that good stuff, is minimal.
07:17 And now I do have an agent that I book a lot of corporate work. I mean they're not going to say no, right, and I'm sure it's working with a company that also books broadcast style commercials and that sort of thing. So they also like, oh, I need a little internal training video or I need a corporate video that's going to be on my YouTube channel, and so I will get those jobs from my agent as well. But to be quite honest, I mean it's not as exciting as if I booked a national commercial. Sure.
07:46 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah.
07:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) The money. There is obviously much better there. So that is with agents, right? Well, let's discuss pay-to-plays, right? Because there's a lot of people who are like, oh, we should just direct market, how do I get opportunities? And a lot of people, when they first start out, want to talk about pay-to-plays and so pay-to-plays and so pay-to-plays, as their name suggests. Right is, we are going to pay so that we can play or get jobs and auditions, and so we pay a fee and, depending on the pay-to-play site, they have different business models. So you pay one fee for a particular amount of auditions or a particular level. At this point it used to just be one fee where, oh, you're on the site and you get auditions, and now they've kind of really diversified and have different levels many of them and so, depending on the amount that you pay, you get a different amount of opportunities.
08:36 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Or you get the opportunities at like a staggered time depending. But yes, exactly Like for all of these different companies, as you're saying, they all have a different business model. So really the question becomes like are you willing to subscribe to that company's business model as they have it set forth? You don't have to. There are certain pay to play sites I'm not on because I don't agree or want to participate in that company's business model. It really then becomes a business decision for me and for my business how can I best position myself to win? And if it means that I'm going to be signed to a particular agent or on certain rosters or pay-to-play sites or those kind of things, it really becomes a question for me of like, how do I want to position myself to have my business do the best that it possibly can? And that's going to change. It might change that I change to a different tier at a pay-to-play site or I just no longer use that one at all.
09:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Business models change and that I have seen evolve through the years, because back in oh gosh, I want to say about 2006, that's when I joined my first pay-to-play, which was Voice 123. They have since evolved and grown and changed their business model to now have levels. But in the beginning it used to just be one level and you would set up your profile and based on that profile and the things that you selected in that profile, you would get opportunities for the auditions and you would get those jobs. There was no other than that one feed that they collected for the membership. They didn't collect any additional monies for that. And then I would say, maybe a couple of years later, another one. And well, I should say Voice123 was the first like official voiceover pay to play.
10:21 Prior to that there was like Freelancer you know, Odesk, and those were just freelance type jobs that everybody would just bid on. And actually at that point there was a particular fee which was called an escrow fee, right, that you would pay the company if you wanted to make sure that you got paid, because the biggest issue with freelance work or doing independent contract work, and especially when it's online, is not getting paid. And so as that evolved in the workplace or online, it became a big thing and so companies and this is even before Voice123 and Voicescom, but they started to offer a service called escrow service, where they would pay you and you would be assured that you would get paid and then you would pay them a fee for that and it was called an escrow fee. And so that was adopted early on by the freelance companies. And the thing about all the freelance companies is it became very popular right for freelancers to get work, and so this whole kind of what people today call the race to the bottom right underbidding that's how everybody got their work on a lot of those. And it just became this crazy kind of a model where you know you would bid on something and then somebody would come in and bid a lower price and get the job. And so it became this mindset where it was like, well, I guess if I bid lower I'll get the job. And I think that's what started with the pay-to-plays people talking about them as being bottom feeders right, because people would start to underbid. It was very similar to the model of freelance Odesk, all those models in the beginning.
11:59 And then I think, after a few years and actually it was a few years because for a while Voicescom and Voice123 were the only two in the game and they competed with one another and they both had one level, and I remember Voice123, because they were out first, were always, I think, what people considered to be the standard, and they had a lot more memberships. And then I think Voicescom started kind of playing around with how they would offer jobs, and so they, if I remember in the very beginning, were the first ones. I don't believe Voice123 ever offered anything like an escrow service, but Voicescom started to offer you could pay escrow so that you can make sure that you got paid, and then you would pay them a certain percentage of the fee, and that was prior to any of their managed jobs of today, and so that was always a choice, so you could choose to take your chances and accept the job. And they were hands off, like if you got paid, you got paid, if you didn't, you didn't. They weren't really responsible. And then they offered the escrow, in which case they said we'll pay you and you can be assured you'll get your money.
13:04 And then, ultimately, I think the competition started happening once more. Pay-to-plays came about, like Bodalgo, and there's a couple other ones, voice Over Planet, et cetera, et cetera, and then the whole thing began. And, of course, it's always a point of contention, with everybody out on the forums talking about is it fair, is it right for them to double dip or triple dip, especially with managed jobs? And, danielle, I'd love to hear your opinion on this Double dipping, triple dipping. What are your thoughts? Is it a thing, is it bad? Is it illegal? Is it good? What are your thoughts?
13:37 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I mean, it's definitely a thing. I go back to my stance of this is the business model of the company that you are or are not choosing to do business with. If you don't agree with it, you don't have to participate in it. Like, for example, for me I am on Voice123. I'm not on Voicescom because I don't agree with their business model, so it is a thing. I don't agree with their business model, so it is a thing.
14:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't know that it's illegal.
14:04 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I mean, where are the laws saying that they can't do it? But if you don't agree with it, then you can just take yourself and your dollars out of the equation. And anyone who does agree with it or wants to use that platform for their business model, they're free to do it. And I think also for me platform for their business model they're free to do it. And I think also for me when I look at agents or managers or pay-to-plays, it really is. Is my business financially able to recoup the costs that I'm putting into, for example, the pay-to-play? Am I making enough money that the amount of money I'm spending, the tier that I'm on on voice one, two, three, for example is that a good return on my investment? I think that's the same thing for being with an agent, same thing for being on a pay to play site.
14:49 Is this is a business expense? And does my business have the capacity to recoup the amount of money that I'm spending, because I look at all of these relationships as a cost of doing business? And what is the return on investment If I'm spending because I look at all of these relationships as a cost of doing business, and what is the return on investment. If I'm not booking enough and I'm not making enough money to cover the amount in commission that I'm paying, for example, then maybe I need to go and look at how do I get my business to a place where the ROI will be positive. So really you can agree with all these different businesses or not, but really the question is does your business have the ability to get a positive return on investment for the amount of money spent, because it is a business expense when you are working with these companies.
15:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. And I think, bosses out there, the one thing to really think about is just mind your own business and make your own decisions on whether you want to work with other businesses, and you can certainly get online and contribute to all the all the discussion and all the hype. And is it double dipping? Is it triple dipping? Is it right? Is it wrong In reality? Like people get so like up in arms about the state of pay to plays but in reality, just okay, let them do their business. And you're right, I mean, I am not part of pay-to-plays because, well, some pay-to-plays because I don't agree with their business ethics. So when managed jobs came about with voices, that's when I think, really, everybody started to say that there was double and triple dipping. And I guess you can say that, but honestly, it's kind of like well, I'm not going to stress myself out over it, I'm just not going to use it if I don't agree with it.
16:31 And managed jobs if you think about it and I want to talk to you about management companies too managed jobs is similar. You know, if you think Voicescom, they're charging a fee for your membership and then, in addition to that, if you decide to take a managed job. They're going to handle all the negotiation of the pricing, they're going to handle all the communication with the client, they're going to handle all of that stuff on behalf of the client, and so there is a fee for that. And of course, one of the big things was well, how much is that fee? But in reality, is there regulation on that? There really isn't yet. And so I mean, if you wanted to get into technicalities, have they done anything illegal, right, by charging a certain percentage for a management fee? No, not really. It's a business model. So if they decided to charge 50% management fee, well, that's their business model. And of course, that's a business model as long as we know about it. We can agree or not agree to it, right?
17:18 And as long as we know about it, and I do believe that any company that I do business with and I'm pretty sure it's the same with you, danielle I want them to be transparent.
17:28 And if I feel that a company or an organization has not been transparent with me. That's when I back off and I say you know what? I have a choice here. I mean, goodness gracious, I didn't get out of the corporate world so that I could continue to do things that I didn't want to do or invest in things that I didn't want to invest. I mean, this is why I am my own business, right, I make my decisions that are best for my business, and I can say you know what? I don't need to subscribe to that, I don't need to be a part of that model or have them as my client, and so it's as simple as that.
17:58 I move on my merry way and I don't let it stress me out, but it's good to know from the get-go. If I feel like they're not being transparent, then there's not much they can do to win back my trust. I don't know, danielle, if you're the same way, but that's my personal take on things. If you lose my trust years ago, from the beginning, I don't know if you'll get me back.
18:20 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I think it's also just about like really making sure that you are an informed consumer, because you are then the consumer and they are a business partner in a way. Yeah, so making sure that you are informed. If you aren't asking the questions that you need to ask, or don't partner with these people until you know the answers, also try it. Try it out and see if it works for you and if there is a positive ROI for trying it out or not. But for me, there are certain business partnerships that I just haven't entered into because I don't agree with the business model. Now they can change. My business model has changed. They can change their business model. I mean, we saw, like, the different changes that have happened with pay-to-plays over the last several years. But if you don't agree to it, there are so many other options. That's a great thing is that there's so many other options?
19:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm so glad that you brought that up, that, yes, the business model can change, like our business models change too, and you're right. I'm glad you brought that up because it makes me think about when you talk about transparency in a company. Right, I had a personal relationship with certain members in the community that owned businesses that I did business with, and so I think you're absolutely right. When it comes business to business, that's completely separate from, let's say, a personal relationship and maybe that trust issue that I might have had like. Are they ethical? Are they running their company ethically? And do I believe that they're telling me?
19:42 There's a lot of businesses out there that you know they make promises, and it's one of those things that I think you have to really sit down and do believe.
19:51 We're going to do this, we're going to change our business model, and so is it something that you believe that the company has integrity, that they have morals and ethics and that, again, is probably another podcast episode, but that can have everything to do with. But the fact is is that many of the companies and the vendors that we work with have business models and we choose whether or not to partner with them. So that brings me to you know, speaking of managed jobs, right, what about managers? And I will tell you right now, I do not work with a manager right now, because the majority of my work is on the non-broadcast side and I've always been very adept at getting my own work, and so I've not really felt like I've needed or maybe ever thought a manager would be something that would help my business, although I certainly don't discount it. But I know that you work with a manager, so let's talk about the financial aspect of management.
20:44 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, so, like you said, I do work with a management company and it's a different business model than agents, like we talked about in the beginning of this episode. So, agents the job that they have booked you on and they negotiate on your behalf they're getting a percentage or a commission from that job With management companies and it really depends on which management company you're working with. But I'll just make a general statement. Really, what they're wanting, that business model is more like managing your career, and they are getting a percentage of your entire book of business, as in everything that you have booked, with or without them actually being the ones who have negotiated it or presented that opportunity to you. And there's a financial implication to that as well, because for me, I look at what is my book of business outside of this relationship with this management company.
21:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So anything that I get on my own anything that I get through my agents.
21:40 - Danielle Famble (Guest) What does that look like and am I willing to participate in the relationship with a management company and is the return on that investment high enough and positive so that I can continue doing what I'm doing and having the robust business that I'm hoping to have For me, having the robust business that I'm hoping to have For me? I look at that from a financial aspect every single month and I am detailed with it because this is it's a business relationship, and is it worth it to me to have the access to the opportunities from this management company, along with the other things that I'm getting with having the relationship with them, getting to speak to people who are incredibly knowledgeable, asking questions about things that I don't know Like? Is that relationship worth the amount of money spent on this commission of my entire book of business?
22:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, I was just going to say I think there might be some confusion as to what the responsibilities of a management company are, right, do they take you by the hand you personally, danielle and say okay, here, we think you should work with this agency or we're going to get you job? I imagine that management companies, like overall, have a scope. Or does each management company operate differently, like, do you get personalized attention? Are they taking you by the hand and saying here, danielle, I think you should do this and we're going to give you all these opportunities in this genre, et cetera?
23:01 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I think for me my mindset with working with a management company, working with an agent at the end of the day I look at it sort of like a pyramid or tiered. I am running the business, I am minding the business that pays me, I am running this business, and so I look at this as relationships, not necessarily that I'm abdicating my responsibilities of running the business that pays me to somebody else and they can sort of take me by the hand and deal with it. Personally, I don't feel that that is the business model that I am trying to run for myself. So I think for me it's more about what are the relationships that can be made through the connection of being with this management company not here.
23:47 Just what are they?
23:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) doing for you? Yeah, exactly.
23:50 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Wherever you send me, I will go. It's a partnership and for me, I believe that the way that I can best create the business that I'm trying to create is to partner with people who are much more knowledgeable about certain genres or connections than I am. But I am a working participant in that relationship and not allowing someone to sort of take me wherever I need to go.
24:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's kind of like outsourcing. There's so many ways in which it's similar. It's like outsourcing because you want to be afforded opportunities that you may or may not be able to get on your own.
24:24 And that's the fee that you are paying them. I know a lot of people are like but how are they different from an agency? Well, an agency is one agency that has relationships with clients, right? Or has relationships. Maybe not relationships, but they establish relationships with clients to get job opportunities to then pass on to you. Management companies don't necessarily get specific custom, I would say, opportunities just for you, but they also develop relationships and have opportunities. That would be, I would say, a more broad spectrum than just one agent, right, it could be multiple agents, it could be multiple business relationships and those are the opportunities you are, quote unquote, paying a service fee for.
25:11 - Danielle Famble (Guest) And hopefully the idea is that they can coexist and work together, so like the agent model can coexist and work with the management model, so that it's not necessarily a replication, it's almost the Venn diagram of it all, and so there really should be sort of not necessarily just overlap, but an expansion of well, this is what the agent does, and these are the jobs that I get through my agency, and this is what the management company does, and these are the type of jobs that I get through the management company, and also I'm my own business too, so these are the jobs that I'm negotiating for myself and finding through pay to plays or through SEO, or through just the auditions that I have, or my own marketing word of mouth, those kinds of things. And so the idea is that all of these things are working together and you are utilizing the business relationships for each business that you choose to partner with, and at that point then you've built, hopefully, this robust business that isn't dependent on just one business model or one relationship.
26:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you just narrowed it down to just relationships, because in reality there's a lot of people that would say like, well, I did all the work in getting that job, why should I pay someone? Why should I do? And in reality it's really all about the relationship right. The better you can work with as a partner and the more income that you can bring to them, the more they're going to try to bring to you, and I think that relationship is a cycle One feeds the other, and I like that.
26:40 - Danielle Famble (Guest) You just said work with them, because a lot of people, I think sometimes, especially when you're wanting to get any sort of representation, agent, management what have you? It's like you're working for them, you're doing things for them, or they should do something for you, exactly. And this is a it's got to be a partnership. Do something for you, Exactly, and this is a it's got to be a partnership.
26:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely yeah. Whether you're talking manager, you're talking agent, maybe, I don't know, pay to plays I'm not sure. If you call that, I mean a partnership.
27:11 - Danielle Famble (Guest) really, I don't know if you call it a partnership exactly. I think it's a tool, it can be a resource, for sure.
27:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, but I would definitely consider agents and managers to be relationship partnership. Pay-to-plays are a slightly different model where I wouldn't say it's as customized. It's about as customized as it can get by the algorithm that gets you the opportunities.
27:28 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah and again, all of this is really about the business expense of it all, because all of this costs money. So if your business is not in a place where this expense is bringing you a positive ROI, I would go back to training making sure your demos are up to date, making sure that you are the person who's going to be able to book those jobs, so that you would be able to pay these commissions and everything else. Because this really is about is the work coming? Are you able to book those jobs that you can make the money?
28:00 to pay the commission to all those things Exactly.
28:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's funny because I was thinking about that, as it's kind of the beginning of the month and I have to pay my VAs. You know, it's kind of like every month, boom, I pay them, I pay them, I pay them, and it's like this expense that I've gotten used to where it's like, oh okay, there's my outgoing expenses, I do it every month. And the funny thing is is like I think about myself, you know, 20, some odd years ago, when it would be like, oh my God, I can't afford to put this kind of money out every month for an assistant. And the funny thing is is I do it without blinking right now. You know I pay my assistants on a monthly basis and boom, and immediately it just and so I've got that. I don't know. I've got that cycle going where I'm getting a return on my investment and so I have the money to be able to use that as an expense every month.
28:44 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Absolutely. I was actually thinking the same thing because I very recently paid my assistant. It's like automation yeah exactly, and it's one of those things where I think about and I'm constantly I mean I'm so tuned into the financials of my business to the point that we're actually remaking our back-end system.
29:03 We use a completely separate back-end system like a CRM system, and one of the things that was most important to me is that the reporting was dialed in, because I want to know how much is coming in and all of that is coming from work that has been booked from me, my relationships with the agents, managers, my own clients, all of those things it has to have a positive ROI for me to be able to keep this business running, yeah yeah, good stuff.
29:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, I feel like we could have five episodes on that. Yeah, all right. Well, thank you so much, danielle. I cannot wait to talk to you on our next podcast. In the meantime, big shout out for All right. Well, thank you so much, danielle. I cannot wait to talk to you on our next podcast. In the meantime, big shout out for our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and make money like bosses like Danielle and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and look at that ROI, and we will see you next week.
29:55 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Have a good one everyone Bye, bye.
29:58 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Christy Harst, founder of Building Doors VO, joins BOSS Anne Ganguzza to share her journey from an aspiring journalist to a champion for gender diversity in voiceover. Her story highlights the importance of perseverance, self-belief, and the power of engaging in collaborations with industry talents. In a bold step to challenge industry norms, Christy leads Building Doors VO, a campaign to amplify female voices in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as sports promos. The BOSSes highlight the importance of community support and the ongoing fight for gender equality in voiceover. https://www.voboss.com/special-guest-christy-harst 00:01 - Testimonial (Ad) Hey, Anne, just wanted to let you know that I got a chance to listen to the entire podcast with Pilar, part one and two Fantastic interview. Found her very interesting and really enjoyed the entire thing. Thanks so much for the Boss podcast.
00:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, are you new to VoiceOver and not sure where to start? Join the VOPeeps VIPeeps membership and get access to over 350 hours of pre-recorded classes, a 15% discount on all VO Peeps, guest workshops and free monthly workouts. This membership is perfect for those wanting to get started in the industry. Find out more at vopeepscom slash join-now.
00:47 - Intro (Ad) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am privileged and honored to have special guest voiceover actor and the creator of the Building Doors campaign, Christy Harst Yay.
01:22 - Christy Harst (Guest) Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity.
01:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, Christy, I'm so excited. I feel like we're soul sisters here.
01:32 - Christy Harst (Guest) You have better makeup, but yes, Well.
01:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'll tell you what. It is wonderful to have you on the show because you're doing amazing things and I want the bosses to know about them. So for those bosses that don't know who you are, let's kind of start at the beginning. Talk to us a little bit about your career. You've been in this industry for quite a while, so tell us a little bit about how you got started.
01:54 - Christy Harst (Guest) Sure, thank you. I appreciate that. I majored in broadcast communications and I was supposed to be the next Barbara Walters in case you didn't get the facts in the 80s, it turns out that after an internship at MTV, I saw what women had to do and who they had to be to be at the top and it wasn't something I was willing to do.
02:12 So I pivoted, if you will, and had a career a traditional nine to five career, if you will, in marketing, pr and event planning, la-di-da-di. And I always felt this pull and this tug when I would listen to the radio and I would hear these people and I would say, oh.
02:28 - Intro (Ad) God.
02:28 - Christy Harst (Guest) I can do it so much better than them. Oh my God, it's so painful. And so one year I made a New Year's resolution to get an agent and I did and I didn't get one audition. So the next year I said, well, forget them, I'm going to go get another one. And I got another one. And I was with that agent for 17 years. I booked national campaigns, I did a lot of on-camera.
02:49 That was BC before children, and once my husband and I decided to have kids, we decided to build a studio in the house in the basement and I booked national campaigns from there as well. And now I'm on the first level of the house with a studio brick, so I feel like I'm no longer a basement troll.
03:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There's something to be said for those basement studios though. I mean I had one. I mean we don't have basements here in California and they make great studios they do, that's for sure.
03:15 - Christy Harst (Guest) No, they do, they do, and mine was very makeshift.
03:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But hey, I did it. I mean, I'm just saying that was the only noise really when that went on.
03:26 - Christy Harst (Guest) I always used to have to run and manually turn off the HVAC, go and do work and then go run and my kids would be like it's so cold, it's so cold, I'm like I'm not done, recording I'm not done. And then, most recently I would say in the last five years actually, five years ago I went to my first voiceover conference and it was in Columbus, ohio, and it was something called the Mid-American or Mid-something and I knew no one. I knew absolutely no one and I ended up there meeting. Listen to all the heavyweights that were there and I had no clue. So Roy Yolkerson was there, joe Cipriano was there, mark Scott was there it was his first conference ever that he was teaching a class Rodney Salisbury was there, jmc was there, all these people and I had no idea. I had no idea who any of these people were.
04:16 So I was late getting to some of the breakout sessions and there weren't that many left to pick from and the only one that was left was Joe Cipriano's promo class. I didn't even know what promo was and I was like, oh gosh, fine, I'll go into this one. There was only me and like three other people and AJ McKay was in there running it and I went up and did it and I was hooked. I was like you mean, I can say five words and each word is like a different story. And I'm done, I'm done, that's it. I love it, because I don't do audiobooks. I'm not a marathon runner.
04:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I am a sprinter Right.
04:54 - Christy Harst (Guest) Yeah, absolutely. And so from that point forward I was kind of like, oh, I really think I could do this, and so I ended up working with Joe. We flew to New York. I'm in Cleveland, Ohio, but we flew to New York and recorded a demo for Network Promo and Joe is wonderful. Oh my gosh, he's amazing. He really is. He's so gracious. He's a wonderful teacher.
05:13 - Intro (Ad) And.
05:13 - Christy Harst (Guest) I learned a lot from him. Absolutely and it ended up being nominated for a SOVA and I was the only woman in the category. I lost to Dave Fennoy. But again, if you're going to lose to somebody, that's right Lose to Dave Fennoy, right?
05:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, absolutely.
05:34 - Christy Harst (Guest) Who is also an amazing human being. And then after that I started to try and explore promo and so on and so forth. And I am a former college athlete, I am a former head varsity coach, my kids are both terribly athletic and my bank account shows it, and we're a sporting family. We choose to go to sporting events for almost like our staycations. So I said why don't I do sports promo, like that's a perfect way to match my passion and my ability and my talent? And for a good three, four years I invested in training, I invested in workshops, I invested in demos and it wasn't getting me anywhere and I just was getting really frustrated.
06:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So why do you think you did all the things right? You did all the things right, you got your training, and you trained with some of the best. You got your demos, and so what do you think was the issue? What was not happening, and see, that's the fun part.
06:25 - Christy Harst (Guest) That's where Building Doors, a campaign that I started, really was birthed, because I didn't know. I was doing everything that everyone told me to do. Sure, I was doing out-of-box marketing. I was creating fan videos where I voiced them, I wrote them, I created them. I was doing all of the things that you're supposed to do Email marketing, cold calling, all of the things, and nothing was moving the needle. All of the hard things.
06:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All of the hard things, yeah, but you know I enjoyed it. And yeah, I was going to say, and something tells me that you did it with full force. Oh yeah, Not even like 100%. I feel like you did 150 to 200%. I just get that about you.
07:00 - Christy Harst (Guest) Yeah, well, you know, when I sink my teeth into something, I don't let go.
07:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm right there with you. I feel that.
07:05 - Christy Harst (Guest) Why not Like? Why, If you're going?
07:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) to do it, do it all the way.
07:08 - Christy Harst (Guest) And so I had signed up for a promo workshop with a prominent promo LA agent, a woman, and during that workshop I did a read for her and she was like, yeah, book, it's great book.
07:19 And I was like you know what? Okay, stop, I'm not booked. I'm never booked and I'm not repped by one of the larger agencies, so the access to those opportunities are even smaller. So what are my chances? What are my chances in booking sports promo? And she was very honest. And she said not so much. And I said why it was interesting because my whole body just slumped and there were people in the room, in the Zoom room, were like Christy, no, don't slump, it's okay. No, no, no. And she said it's not for a lack of women trying to create opportunities for women in these niche spaces. These opportunities that are created by women climb and climb and climb up the ladder of decision making and when it reaches the C-suite to a middle-aged man, they say love the concept, not the voice. We're putting a man on it, sure, and she said I encourage you to make your own noise. And so I got off the workshop and I was like but I am making my own noise, I am doing out-of-the-box marketing, I am creating videos for specific teams, I want to voice for I am working my LinkedIn connection, I'm doing everything I possibly can.
08:36 Went to bed, woke up the next morning called Brandon Miller, who is the VO craftsman, and I just went off. Is the VO craftsman and I just went off. Brandon, can you believe what she said to me? What am I supposed to do? I'm so upset. What am I supposed to do? You mean to tell me that just because I'm a woman, that I'm not getting access to these opportunities on my own? That's nuts. So I went to walk the dog. I came back and I called him and I said here's what we're going to do. We are going to get women, other female voice actors and I'm going to partner with women around the world and we are going to revoice scripts originally voiced by men in male-centric genres like construction, like alcohol, like tech, like sports, like automobiles, and we are going to show through these reels that not only are women good at it, but also brands are not going to miss anything from it.
09:25 You know those C-suite men who are saying, oh no, well, why? Because women statistically have anywhere it depends on the globe or United States but anywhere between 60 and 80 percent of the purchasing power in their homes. They make the decisions about what money is spent and where, whether you get season tickets, whether you get swag when you go to a game. What kind of camps your kids go to, what kind everything right. So women have the purchasing power. Number one. Number two women don't want a wine night with pink logoed hats anymore at games. That's not what they want. Women are sports fans. Women are carpenters.
10:02 Women are tech driven, so why are we using men as the messaging? And the more and more and I dug into this, the more it spurred me to keep going. Because here's why, for example, the voice of Sondi I know Sondi, yeah, yeah, sondi, okay, gorgeous voice. She chose to do a spot for Lowe's. So in researching every spot, every reel, I want to have it based in data. So I was doing research and I stumbled upon a study that Lowe's had conducted because they wanted to differentiate themselves from Home Depot. What they knew was that Home Depot was a spot that contractors went to. Typically, men are the contractors. Home Depot is poorly lit, it's messy, there are limited displays and the aisles are super tight. So because Lowe's recognizes that women have the highest purchasing power, they decided to make their stores well-lit really wide aisles, everything is bright and colorful. And then they have these huge displays that show you how you can use the products and what you can create. Yet they rarely use a woman on their branded campaigns for TV and radio Rarely.
11:15 We're missing something here, right, if you had all that money to do a study and you put all that attention into gearing your stores towards women because you know that they have the highest purchasing power. Why aren't you using more women in front of and behind the camera? Sure?
11:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, it doesn't make sense, right, comes down to who are those decision makers, right? Who are the decision makers that are selecting the voices, which is, as you mentioned prior, a lot of times and this also happens when we audition, right? I mean, why is it that when we audition, we're told casting specs to be conversational and talking to your best friend and then, ultimately, when it airs, we possibly hear something that sounds like the old announcer-y thing? Well, could be that an older person that was doing the directing or that finally made that choice, made that choice.
12:04 And so I think it really depends on who's making the choice for the voice talent. And I get you in terms of being in male-dominated fields. I've kind of myself have been an engineer back in the late 80s, I worked in technology for about 20 years. I'm a female demo producer, and so I've been treading that line the whole time. So I really feel that a campaign that can bring awareness right, so it's not just maybe the one person making that decision, but they can bring awareness to the world or the companies. I think that that is a really wonderful way to get things going and actually building doors and breaking the glass ceiling for women.
12:47 - Christy Harst (Guest) Yeah, and you know that day after I walked my dog, I was like, well, everyone uses these terms like go kick down the door, go knock on the door, and what I realized is that there's no door for me to knock on. So I have to build it and I'm going to bring a bunch of other women with me. I love it.
13:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, let's talk about the Building Doors campaign. When did you start?
13:08 - Christy Harst (Guest) March 1st of 2024. So it's been 10 months.
13:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay, and what did you do to start building that? What was required for you to do that? A website, a domain.
13:20 - Christy Harst (Guest) No, no, I didn't even have. I had nothing. It was February 9th or 10th and I was like this is what's going to happen, I'm going to do it. And I remember there was a moment I was sitting on my couch and I said to myself if you're going to do it, you have to do it now, but if you're not going to do it, just don't, because it's going to take a lot of work and you have less than two and a half weeks to launch this on March 1st, for in honor of Women's History Month, and I was like, all right, fine, it's done.
13:44 And I started calling all the women that I knew. Then I started researching women online and on Instagram and at first I just used my social media, so I didn't have time to create a page Like it wouldn't have had the impact right. So I launched it on my Instagram, on YouTube, on Facebook, on LinkedIn and on TikTok and I was literally going to do one post. Then one post turned into a month. All right, fine, I'll do a month. And then something happened. People actually watched it, people actually commented and people actually shared, and they shared it to the point where a woman got a job from it, and I think that that shows the power of community when you all unite under a shared mission.
14:26 So Ashley Tirado is a voice actor who did a spot for Honda Sport. She voiced it and about three or four months later she called me and said she doesn't know who, but somebody forwarded or shared this reel. Someone saw it, forwarded it to an ad agency in Florida. That Florida agency reached out to Ashley and hired her to do a slew of Honda spots. Building doors at that point had created an opportunity that otherwise didn't exist for a woman in voiceover in a male-centric lane, and that was like recreational drugs for me. I was like, yes, I'm hooked.
14:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, I'm hooked. I also do automotive, but I'll tell you what it's been a hard climb in automotive as well. I do not get the amount of automotive that I know my male counterparts do, so it's kind of like I feel like when they want a novelty, when they want a novelty, they want something just a little bit different, they're going to hire the woman, but more than not. I'm hearing those campaigns either. The campaign that I had was taken over by a male voice. So, yeah, it is something that I feel like as a female wanting to have the same opportunities. It's hard, it really is, and you do have to build doors. And so now, after I would say 10 months, what happened after that? Because you bought the domain, do you have a website?
15:46 - Christy Harst (Guest) I do, and you know why? Because there was a woman. I have a lot of Zoom calls.
15:50 I spend a lot of my time trying to get to brands, talk to brands, talking to all these different people, and a lot of my time trying to get to brands, talk to brands, talking to all these different people, and a lot of the brands I've talked to I haven't publicly shared because I'm not ready to yet, but there was a woman who was the former head legal for a major, major major sports an American sports company, if you will, or brand and she said listen, I can totally hook you up with the top people because your message deserves to be heard there. However, I can't do it unless you have a website. And I had been dragging my feet and I was like, well, there's an investment there, yeah, so, yeah, I mean I get that.
16:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have multiple websites, so I know, yeah, yeah, and that is probably coming out of your pocket. It did.
16:32 - Christy Harst (Guest) Yeah, it did, and that's when things started to get really serious. Because I invested in the website, I created it on my own in Wix over a weekend. Fronk his last name, I think, is Fronk he helped me yeah, Jim Jim Fronk.
16:44 Yep, he helped me work through some things. He was wonderful, and so now we have a website. And I mentioned, oh my gosh, the Veal Craftsman, Brandon Miller. He does all the videos for free for me, so he volunteered to do all of the reels for me for free, which is amazing, right? That's fabulous. Yeah, and so I've had some really great conversations with brands like Valvoline, the Cleveland Guardians, the Cleveland Cavs, and I will say that I didn't realize and I want to say this to everyone listening, that is, in voice, acting who's putting stuff out on social media. People, see you, they may never like it.
17:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They may never, comment they may
17:20 - Christy Harst (Guest) never, share it, but they see you, they're watching you, because the person from the Cavs reached out to me. A middle-aged white man reached out to me and said I've been watching you, I've been watching the campaign and I want to put you in a room full of decision-makers across four different athletic associations Nice, so who would have ever guessed that? Right yeah?
17:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Who would have ever guessed that Now do you have a separate social media channel for Building Doors?
17:47 - Christy Harst (Guest) We just started it. It is at BuildingDoorsVO, on Instagram and LinkedIn. We are only doing Instagram and LinkedIn because, after a data analysis, I discovered that those are the platforms with the highest engagement and reach. On LinkedIn, our number one post is sitting at 90K impressions Nice and our highest post on Instagram has something crazy like 12 viewing hours and it's a 20-second clip.
18:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now, what is it that you are promoting on the social channels? Are you creating videos with females voicing traditionally yeah, male promo roles. What are you presenting as content?
18:24 - Christy Harst (Guest) I'm so excited for 2025 because not only are we going to be featuring women one per month, they're the door builders that are going to be reading scripts previously voiced by men and male-centric genres but we're also going to be doing a lot of other cool stuff.
18:37 Like, we are going to do a LinkedIn Live and an Instagram Live series. I'd like to do one on LinkedIn a month and one on Instagram a month, but we'll see and they are going to imagine this. It's a panel discussion that is all based under the mission of Building Doors, which is equality, equal opportunity, but it'll include people who support the campaign. So, for example, let's say, the panel consists of a copywriter, a voiceover actor, a graphic designer and then maybe a casting director who knows right, and they're all talking about an issue that not only can be of service to the voiceover community they can learn from, but also highlights our supporters and highlights people who have a service that voice actors could potentially hire from. You know, forming community right now in 2025, is essential, I think, especially in our country, so that people know where to go to communicate, to connect and to know where to put their money so they can support like-minded people.
19:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Fabulous, that's fantastic, and so right now you have your socials all set.
19:40 - Christy Harst (Guest) So we've been live on social for about a month or two months, okay, and Instagram is slowly climbing. Our LinkedIn page needs some more followers, right? So at Building Doors VO, I am currently well, it's a holiday so I'm not posting as much but starting in January, yes, there is going to be more women reading reels. Hopefully, those LinkedIn and Instagram lives will be up and running in January. And also, you know, I'm going to be featuring supporters, so people who support us. I feature them in image and help share their story. For example, I have featured an award-winning UK digital marketing agency a.
20:14 Afro-Indigenous puppeteer and comedian, so I'll be featuring those people as well.
20:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm looking at buildingdoorsvo.com right now and you have an amazing roster of ladies there.
20:27 - Christy Harst (Guest) Well, I appreciate you saying that, because how do I get?
20:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) involved. Hey, this is fantastic. You've got quite a few. That's amazing, Like at least 32 that I'm counting right now.
20:38 - Christy Harst (Guest) Yeah, and there'll be 44 at the end of it.
20:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's it.
20:40 - Christy Harst (Guest) I would like to point out that we are not a talent agency, we are not a brand manager, we are not a casting site. When I talk to a brand, one of the things I ask them is that would you be willing to the next time you need a female voice actor, would you be willing to consider a door builder? And they usually say yes and then they can go to the website and they go and reach out to that person directly. I'm not in it, right. So then they can take that to their agent and everybody wins, I think.
21:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And then if the door builder gets booked.
21:11 - Christy Harst (Guest) I ask if I can share it as a success story. And for example, natasha. Natasha just got booked from her reel. She did a reel where she was reading something for the Oscars. Someone saw it on LinkedIn, reached out and said hey, will you do my podcast intro and outro? And so she got that job. She did it, and getting work for people who are featured is a great cherry on top, but it's not necessarily what is meant for the campaign, right? Because we're not a casting site, we're not a talent agent right.
21:39 We want to show that women can do this. They should have the access to the opportunities to do it, and if you choose one of these women, great. But if not, at least we've planted the seed that, yeah, a woman can voice a UFC spot. Sure. A woman can do a wealth management spot or a tech spot.
21:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now, how are you working on funding? Are you thinking, what are your thoughts about getting additional funding? Because I know, simply because I have multiple domains, this is not something out of your own pocket. Owning the domain, you've got to pay for that. You've got to pay for the website, you've got to pay for the hosting of the website. Ultimately, you've got a domain. Maybe you're going to send email from it, so then you're going to need an email server. I mean, there's just a bunch of stuff Having the social media channels and you're also a working voice actor, so you're donating a lot of your time and I know that you recently have some women that are now on board to help you in the Building Doors campaign. But what are you thinking about in terms of funding?
22:34 - Christy Harst (Guest) I need funding, yeah.
22:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Are you going to create, maybe, a scholarship or become like a nonprofit? What's going to happen so?
22:45 - Christy Harst (Guest) I think and this is probably not going to be a popular opinion, but I think that people or groups that advocate for a mission or a cause, they can earn money too. It's okay. It's okay. And no, we're not going to be a nonprofit. I have no desire to run a nonprofit. I worked for nonprofits for years in my nine to five career and I know what the mentality is. I know the paperwork. It's just not something I desire to. We are a for-profit. We are an LLC under CEH Productions, which is my LLC, and I am so blessed to have the ambassadors. These are women that did pay a certain amount to be in the campaign and they get access to make decisions about the campaign and while that money is great, it's not.
23:32 I'm not earning any money is what I'm saying, Like the funds that I've collected to date help cover the cost of the initial investment that I've made and help cover the cost of the website in the future, but I'm definitely not earning any money. So I've been applying for grants for female small business owners. I am open to other ideas and I'm going to be honest with you, anne, it's something that I'm really struggling with right now and trying to figure out, because if this mission is going to have the impact that I want it to have and if I want to do the ideas that I think are necessary for this brand, I need money, and you know I can't continue at the pace that I am, as just me, right, and I do have some help with some of the ambassadors Amy, selma and Sandi.
24:14 They've been so great to me and the ambassadors in general have been really great about picking up some of the stuff that I can't. But if I had it my way, I'd hire a social media manager today. I'd hire a personal assistant today, I'd hire someone to do the books today. And, for example, I've been fortunate enough. I'm going to be going to the WESPN conference in May in New York.
24:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have been encouraged to go there to make face-to-face connections, Absolutely, I mean, that's a cost as well. I mean well.
24:42 - Christy Harst (Guest) I'd like to say that such a voice is paying for my ticket. Well, okay, they're paying for the ticket for me to go, but I still need to find funding for airfare and ground transportation. So that takes time. Right, finding sponsors to take you somewhere where you know you could make the biggest difference and the biggest impact that takes time.
25:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, absolutely Well, you're certainly building doors, and I completely, completely get that. I mean, you're starting from the ground up, and so there's a lot of work involved, there's a lot of questions, there's a lot of navigating, trying things out. Back in the day, I like to say that I pioneered the hybrid workout, which was online and live at the same time. Back in the early days, when there was no streaming live on the internet before Zoom was a thing, I had some technological experience so I started doing that. So there's no clear path, and so to me, that defines a boss, and I love interviewing people who really exemplify and showcase bossness.
25:44 - Christy Harst (Guest) Wow.
25:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you, yeah, so I mean really congratulations. What you've done is the start of something truly amazing. And if there's any way that VO Boss can help you out. We're here to help you spread the message far and wide. How can bosses get in touch with you, christy, if they want to know more, if they want to contribute?
26:01 - Christy Harst (Guest) Yes, so definitely follow us at at Building Doors VO on Instagram and LinkedIn. I also want to give a quick plug that I'm doing an impact study and those links are on those channels as well. If you could fill out the impact study, that would be great. And also, you're more than welcome to email me. You're more than welcome to message me on any of the social media platforms. If you are interested in offering services in exchange for something or if you'd like to donate, by all means, yeah, let me know. Christy at christyhearthcom.
26:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and we'll be putting all of your links on our show notes page. Bosses out there, Christy, I want to meet back up with you in six months in a year?
26:38 - Christy Harst (Guest) Oh, that would be amazing.
26:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Let's talk about how has it progressed, of course. I mean I'm going to be following you from now on and bosses out there, make sure that you follow Christy, and we will be in touch, and I'd like to have a follow-up interview with you for sure.
26:51 - Christy Harst (Guest) Oh, I'd love it.
26:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because I see great things. I see great things happening. I got good vibes, so I always like to say that I'm a little bit intuitive here. So good stuff, christy. I'm so glad that we got the opportunity to talk and that VO Boss can help spread the word about the Building Doors campaign. You're amazing and thank you so much. Thank you.
27:09 - Christy Harst (Guest) Thank you for having me on, I appreciate it.
27:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Bosses, big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Christy and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week. Make sure you go and check out buildingdoorscom and check out Christy and follow her on socials and we will see you next week. Bye.
27:32 - Intro (Ad) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
In this insightful episode of the Real BOSSES series, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere delve into the unpredictable landscape of social media and its implications for entrepreneurs. As platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok face increasing political and operational challenges and changes, The BOSSES discuss the importance of adapting business strategies to ensure continued success. They share actionable insights on how to diversify marketing efforts and build resilient communities, emphasizing the significance of maintaining control over one’s audience through robust mailing lists and finding alternate platforms. 00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Let's create your next demo together. As an award-winning demo producer, I'll work closely with you to craft a demo reel that showcases your unique talents and strengths. My personalized approach is going to ensure that your demo stands out from the crowd and gets you booked. Book a free 20-minute consult today and get started at anneganguzza.com.
00:28 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey, hey, everyone.
00:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Welcome to the VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Real Boss series. I'm here with my good friend, Tom Dheere. Hey, Tom, how are you?
00:55 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I am good, how are you?
00:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm doing good, but I'll tell you what. Social media is kind of a mess lately, isn't it?
01:04 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh my God, yeah it, oh my God, yeah. Oh my God, to say the least, it has been insane the past couple of weeks.
01:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, TikTok shutting down people fleeing off platforms. It's been insane and I think something that, as business owners, we've used for years right to promote our businesses is now somewhat becoming unstable and unpredictable, and I think we should chat about this. What can we do to kind of counteract?
01:31 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) that that's a great question. Well, I will say that literally this morning on Facebook, I saw two friends of mine who run Facebook voiceover groups who basically posted the same exact post, which was we know a lot of you are leaving Facebook right now. It's gotten very politically charged, it's gotten very toxic. You've all mentioned that how your feeds are changing and it's just getting really, really weird. And they both did the same thing in that they said we will continue to be loving and supporting of all voice actors, regardless of your affiliation, regardless of what's going on in the outside world. And there was a chorus of support and concern at the same time.
02:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think the community that we feel that we've established on these platforms is, and now the platforms are unstable or toxic. And so now our community because we work independently and our community has been online for all these years and now, all of a sudden, it's just become a place where maybe not everybody wants to hang out anymore.
02:28 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, there's four platforms which everybody seems to be sharing the most concern about Facebook, instagram, because those are both owned by the same company Meta Twitter, now known as X, which has been a point of concern for a couple of years now, since it was purchased. As X, which has been a point of concern for a couple of years now since it was purchased, and, like you just said, tiktok, because of the concerns that have been expressed and the affiliation that it has and the fact that it went down for less than 24 hours and then it was rescued.
02:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It was like a mass hysteria. Well, you know what else? It wasn't just TikTok, it was anything owned by TikTok, which I was aware, but I kind of forgot. I use CapCut, which is the video editing program, and I spent a considerable amount of time like learning it and all of a sudden my CapCut was gone and I'm like, oh no, I guess I need a new video app.
03:15 It was kind of good in a way, so that we all could step back and say, all right, let's not put the proverbial all our eggs in one basket, like we've always been saying about pay-to-plays. Right, you don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket with pay-to-plays. That can't be your only way to make income, and social media may not be the only way that we can have community. So let's talk, tom, about how we might be able to incorporate community and also incorporate. Let's say how are we going to market to our potential clients? What can we do to create a sense of community? And I mean my first idea that comes to mind is let's go back to old school, right? Let's create a mailing list, right? That's something that we own. We're not dependent upon a social media platform that we don't own. We own our own lists.
03:59 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, when it comes to that, both social media and curating lists of potential, current and past clients both fall in the bucket of self-marketing. Having a social media presence, creating a sense of community, trying to interact with clients potentially that's a form of indirect or passive marketing. And then curating lists of clients cold calls, cold emails, newsletters those are all forms of direct or active marketing strategies. So both of them have their merits. But to your point, if the four, at least the four social media platforms that we just talked about, are unstable on both a cultural view, political, socioeconomic, logistical and technological view, because one of them was taken down and then went back up and goodness knows how many millions of dollars was potentially lost by the TikTok users who monetize? Yeah, absolutely.
04:54 So, this is creating uncertainty in the market, so looking for more stable practices is a very good idea. So, if you have been able to cultivate any relationships with any potential or current or past clients through social media platforms and I'm not just talking about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, which are the four that seem to be the most worrisome or in flux right now- Well, they're the largest.
05:18 They are also, interestingly enough, the largest, and Facebook's been around since what? 2004? Tiktok's pretty new and Twitter's been around since around 2008,. 9, 10. And Instagram is a few years after that, so some of these have been around for quite some time.
05:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, let's not forget about our old friend YouTube, which right now doesn't appear to be affected so much.
05:37 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) YouTube seems to be relatively stable and actually YouTube has been growing quite steadily.
05:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Youtube is the number one streaming platform. I think that that can be an option for people who are looking for community or trying to establish a community. I mean, really, what do you need to establish a community? There's community number one, just community for ourselves, right, because I need my colleagues. I need to be able to communicate with my colleagues and just kind of like just say hey, how's it going, or what are you doing, or just that kind of like at the water cooler sort of thing. And then we also need the community of where can we put ourselves out there, where can we promote and market our materials, if the online community is now threatened?
06:17 I think, I mean, I know, for many years, you know, social media has always been quote unquote, free, right, always been free, and the Internet's been free. And now, all of a sudden, there's a potential to maybe it not being there or free, or we don't know really what's going to happen. So we need to come up with our plan B. I think it's always important that, as business owners, we have a plan B or we have an alternate plan, so that we're not throwing all our eggs in one basket, right? What can that be, tom?
06:45 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) All right, so I have many answers.
06:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have many answers and ideas.
06:48 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Me too. Okay. So because there's a difference between fostering or being part of a community of fellow voice actors on a social media platform and looking to network with potential clients. Yes, despite all the weird that's been going on, linkedin is still the number one social media platform to be connecting with and developing relationships with clients.
07:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Except it's got spammy lately.
07:12 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It's gotten very spammy and I've seen a lot more politics on my LinkedIn feed.
07:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, but still it's better.
07:19 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It's better. It may be a short-term consequence, it may re-stabilize I'm not sure, but LinkedIn is the number one source for that Twitter was a pretty good source for that too.
07:29 Yes, because also everybody knows that LinkedIn is the professional social media platform, whereas Facebook is the social. It's literally called the social network. It's a social platform. You can be social on a professional platform and you can be professional on a social platform. But all of these different social media platforms were designed with a specific intent in mind. Instagram was all about photos, and now it turned into video as well to compete with everybody else, and then YouTube made shorts to compete with Instagram reels and they're all watered down and they can all do all of those things, but what the thrust of it is?
08:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Before I forget, I do want to like throw in another social media platform that can generate community on a more professional level and that would be Substack.
08:08 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, that's definitely one.
08:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's kind of like here. If you want to sign up and subscribe to my newsletter on a professional basis, there is Substack and I think that might be gaining popularity as well.
08:17 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Slack is another one that is gaining popularity. I have not ventured into Substack or Slack, but the one that I have been exploring lately when it comes to community is Discord.
08:29 Yep, absolutely what's interesting about Discord is what separates it from all of the other social media platforms is it doesn't have a feed. It doesn't have this torrential river of content that you can doom scroll through. For those of you who aren't familiar with Discord, discord has what are called servers. Think of them as like Facebook groups, except that they are generally invite only, though many of them have a public invite where they publicly promote a link or a QR code where you can scan and then you can potentially get admitted into that Discord server. There's usually a number of questions that you need to answer and a code of conduct that you need to adhere to before you'll be admitted into that individual server, and there are a ton of voiceover-related Discord servers. Many of the voiceover groups that you find on Facebook and all of the organizations that you're familiar with in voiceover groups that you find on Facebook and all of the organizations that you're familiar with in voiceover circles, have a Discord server, and within those servers are little threads or sub-servers.
09:33 Sub-threads yeah, Sub-threads where you can talk about whatever subject matter.
09:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Then it becomes like the old school Usenet. Oh my God, I'm showing my age. Do you know what I mean? Because people post about topics. It's like a forum yeah it becomes like a forum which Usenet? Do you know Usenet?
09:50 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Or am I even showing my age with you? Yeah, that was way back when I am showing my age with you.
09:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's Usenet back in the day, oh my goodness, yeah. Topic-based.
09:56 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Discord definitely has a. It's also got a bunch of emojis and badges and avatars and all these things that you can do with it.
10:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I would say for communities. If you're looking for a community, feel that the Facebook groups if you don't want to be on Facebook anymore at all or you're disliking things about Facebook, in particular, discord for community, I think is a really good way to go. And I think people are just kind of waiting it out a little bit at this moment in time, because Facebook really was for many, many, many years. It was a great community gatherer, and so I think that people are just kind of sitting back, waiting and seeing, or they're fleeing. Some people are going over to Blue Sky, but then again people will say that that is also politically motivated, and so really it just becomes like where are you going to go and where are you going to find the groups? And I think it's one of these things, tom, that we have to just kind of wait and see a little bit. But I would say, professionally, if you want to create that community, start gathering your own mailing list of your current clients and get something going on your website that invites people to subscribe to your email list, and that way you will always have a way to professionally market to that list or communicate with that list. And then, when it comes to community, like colleague and that type of group, I have a wait and see.
11:12 I've kind of have my accounts on all different platforms and I'm just going to join them all and see where I feel that people are kind of migrating to. I know that for me, I've done a lot of work creating groups. I have a VOPs group that has thousands of members. I have business pages on Facebook that have thousands of members and followers. In reality, I have to look at that and say, well, it's possible that my groups have been disbanded and in a way, this is a time where I feel like I can kind of clean up in a way and so things that have grown, maybe possibly stagnant over time, where maybe people are members but maybe they're not engaged members. You know, maybe it's time to really just sit back, take a look, see where things go and really try to engage a quality community right, not necessarily a quantity, remember before it was all like, oh my God, well, I have 90,000 people on my Facebook group, but are they all engaged?
12:03 - Intro (Announcement) Yeah.
12:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I think now's the time to really start building that community that know, like and trust you, and I feel like that's not just for sales, that's also for people that you interact with on a day-to-day basis. Like Tom, you and I like you're my know, like and trust and I would be like Tom, I want to be where you are so that we can continue our relationship right. So I feel like that's an important criteria for any group that I migrate to or that I create, and then it becomes a build process again.
12:30 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, I agree. So, bosses, if you've been listening to what Anne's been saying, she's making two extremely important points. One is do not be dependent on any one social media platform for community or for establishing and maintaining relationships with clients. Those are two different things that you can do on all of these social media platforms and the advice of going through all of your social media platforms and keeping track of where all your potential, current and past clients are on all these social media platforms. Make sure that you have all their contact information and get them into your CRM, which is a VO boss conversation that we had very, very recently.
13:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That was the acronym. Party the acronym party. So check out that episode.
13:19 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Absolutely Use that CRM, because it's also a way to cultivate relationships with all of your clients. It's also a way to cultivate relationships with your fellow voice actors. There's nothing stopping you from sending out a newsletter to fellow voice actors, not to tell them about whatever voiceover you've done recently, which they may or may not be interested in, but just talk about concerns or topics of interest to you that may be of interest to them as well. You could also do that through blogging, because your blog posts can have different audiences. You can have blog posts where the audience is your voice seekers and you can have one where your audience is voice actors. To find another way to create a non-social media dependent community and culture.
14:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think the vlog might be making a comeback. I mean, I think it was always a thing right. But I think a blog I mean I do a Teachable Moment every week and I do shorts every week those are videos that I put out to the community and that can also be part of my blog. There's a lot of those that are part of my blog as well, so people can subscribe to that blog and you can talk about whatever topic floats your boat, floats your passion, and I think that more of the social communities like TikTok and again, you know TikTok is up for now, but again, if you're using it to monetize or using it to try to really sell, just be careful that you're not putting all the eggs in one basket. And so I just say, if you've got good video content right, you can now maybe put that on multiple platforms, right, or the platforms that you feel are right to gain the audience that you want. So just know that your video it turns out to be stuff that you own.
14:51 Stuff that you create is stuff that you own. So if you create videos, put them in a place where you have control over them. Put them on your website, put them in a blog, put them on YouTube if you have a YouTube channel. But if YouTube were to blow up tomorrow, you've got your own server, you've got your own web server that you can put your videos on, and so creating that content that is distinctly something that is owned by you gives you more semblance of control in regards to promoting your services, promoting your voice, promoting your product out there and also fostering a sense of community, even though it may not be engaging, but you can have people like subscribe to your blog, create comments, have engaging comments back and forth.
15:29 And again, there's lots of different places. There's Zoom workspace, there's Slack. There's lots of places where you can have video meetups and create that community there as well, and that's something to think about is to have a Q&A or have a water cooler, like, basically, there's that Zoom water cooler, that's out there, and so how are you going to promote that community water cooler? Well, that can be through a list, a mailing list that you own, or you can continue to put posts out on social media, and again, it just don't depend on that social media to be your one and only way to communicate with your potential clients or your colleagues.
16:05 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) There's also, if you remember, clubhouse and how popular that was during COVID, that became a real great place where a great sense of community that may come back.
16:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) This is exactly why.
16:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I'm bringing it up, anne is that Clubhouse may be a place to go back to, because there's no social media feed. There's really not much of a space for flaming trolling spamming.
16:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Interesting thought there, because I've done a Thursday VIP room Voices in Podcasting room and we actually were thinking about going away from it, doing Zoom live streaming, zoom on Facebook, which is just another way of doing it. But you're right, clubhouse could be making a comeback.
16:42 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, video, and I'm sure the reason was you know as well as I do is that video has more of a potential for engagement on a human level and on an algorithmic level than pure audio or just photos or just text.
16:55 So yeah, it makes a lot of sense to be on Zoom, but, like for voice actors, sure On Clubhouse. That seems like a really natural fit. There's one other social media platform that I wanted to mention, and that's Reddit. I've had a Reddit account for a few years now, but I just recently decided to start getting in there and seeing what's going on, and it has its level of weirdness, like any other.
17:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Again like a Usenet. Sorry, I'm showing my age again. It's like it's a forum.
17:24 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It's got a forum Usenet kind of feel to it but like any subject matter, personal or professional, that you can think of is there and there's a group of dedicated and a lot of them very social and often supportive people that are talking about any given subject.
17:42 So I've been spending a lot of time on there and, just as a quick side note, just a couple of interesting things that have happened on. There is one there was a high school student who was required to interview a voice actor for a paper that they had to write. So I volunteered and they sent me the questions, answered the questions and they got an A.
18:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you helped someone get an A Tom.
18:02 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) That's great, yeah Now is that going to help my voiceover career? No, no, but that's a good thing, but it's being a part of the community. The other quick example is and I can't say much is that a journalist went on a subreddit who needed to interview certain kind of people to write an article about a particular subject, and I was right for it. So I messaged them and, as a result and DA much.
18:23 And as a result, we had it was a Zoom or a Google Meet meeting for about a half hour, asked me a bunch of questions and in the past week or so they followed up with a bunch of follow-up questions. They wanted to flesh out parts of the conversation and confirm some details and stuff like that, and I think the article comes out next week, so I'll be happy to talk about it then and promote it, because it's a very very, let's just say.
18:50 it's a topic that's extremely relevant to the voiceover community and has been for a couple of years and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But I wouldn't have gotten that without being on a social media platform and availing myself to what could just come my way, and it's going to turn into a nationally published article from a reputable news organization.
19:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Excellent. Now the other thing is yes, we're talking about the social media chaos and what we can do about it. Now the other thing, too, is, if you're finding that social media has become to the point where, if you're doom scrolling and it is doom scrolling and it is becoming mentally difficult right to read things on it, then I would say, for your own mental health, step back, take a break. It's not a critical part of you know. You have your circle of friends. I have, like Tom, I can get in touch with you in lots of other ways other than social media if I have to. So, really, guys, when it comes to your health and the health of your business, if you need to step back absolutely. It's not the be all end all.
19:49 Social media is not the be all end all to your business. It is a method that we have used for many years to promote ourselves. And I remember gosh, back in the day when social media was just becoming popular and there was Instagram and Facebook, and then it was like, oh my God, we can actually like, advertise our businesses on here. And that wasn't so long ago, or maybe it just seems like time has flown by, but I remember back in 2004 or five or six, and doing like a class on, like social media and how to advertise your business. And so 20 years has gone by, it's evolved, it's turned into a very different animal, and so I think, think again, very similar to how technologies evolve and things happen. We need to evolve with the time. So if you need to step back, absolutely for your health, absolutely step back.
20:38 I honestly don't think that it's going to be the destruction of your business unless you have monetized on a platform that is closing down or is one of those platforms that is now you, you know, in chaos, and so really try to diversify.
20:50 Think about how you can keep in contact with your current clients, how you can reach out to other clients, and again, I'm going to just say the good old school, like create a list for yourself. There's not one website software out there that doesn't have a way where you can invite people to become part of your list and you just have a checkbox that says I agree to allow you to send emails and people give you permission, and that becomes, I think, one of the best tools that you have, right for, let's say, maybe a professional way of marketing yourself and also a way of becoming closer to your community of professionals so that your business can stay afloat and with colleagues right. Gather those colleagues close to you. Already now there's multiple. I mean, we all do have phones, we all do have homes, we might live near each other, we all have ways to text and stay in communities together and, I think, don't rely on anyone. Get yourself prepared to not depend on any one method of acquiring clients or communicating with your colleagues at large.
21:58 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) That makes so much sense. I'll leave everybody with one thing Think about why you're on social media. Because it just kind of showed up and everybody just started using it. And nobody took a class or read a manual, they just started messing around on there. So if you're on social media for community and the communities are failing you in one social media platform, go to a different one. If you're going there to look for clients and develop relationships with them, if the social media platforms that you've been on aren't conducive for that they never were or they aren't anymore go to a different social media platform. If you are on social media for purely non-voiceover reasons you're just there to be entertained, amused or inspired or educated, and those aren't working anymore go to different ones. If you're doing it, you just find yourself going like this on your phone and none of those motivations are there. That means the really awful psychology, algorithmic things have got their clutches in you. Yeah, get off. Read a book, take a walk, go have coffee with a friend.
22:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I love that. That's a great way to end that, tom. Thank you so much. Yeah, bosses, be safe and be healthy with social media. All right, great conversation, tom. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have a great week and connect up with us in multiple ways. Tom and I are available and we have email addresses. You can even email us and you can, for sure, just keep listening to our podcast. So you guys have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.
23:31 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne Ganguzza welcomes live-action Dubbing Casting Director Jessica Blue this week! Jessica Blue shares her captivating journey from a cartoon-loving kid in the San Francisco Bay Area to becoming a sought-after talent and director in Los Angeles. The BOSSES take you behind the scenes of voice dubbing, where Jessica reveals the art of directing and casting for this unique form of acting. She explains how directors play a crucial role in ensuring performances are authentic and compelling. The conversation touches on the challenges of adapting scripts for different languages, the essential role of adapters, and the dynamic, fast-paced nature of dubbing. The BOSSES expertise and experiences provide a valuable roadmap for aspiring voice actors navigating this exciting field. Anne and Jessica also preview the upcoming VO Peeps class where participants can experience a live-action dubbing session. 00:01 - Joe (Ad) Hi, this is Joe and I just wanted to say that, in addition to being a marketing guru in her own right, Anne Ganguzza goes deep and she has a vast knowledge and a huge breadth of experience in all and everything VO voice, acting, online communication and she offers a plethora of valuable information and golden nuggets, a fountain of first-hand knowledge, which is VOBoss. I myself had the privilege of participating in a super fun bilingual contest and one of the treats I won, alongside my colleagues, was to be interviewed by Anne and Pilar Uribe A chance to share, learn and get inspired on so many different fronts. I promise you Y, si quieres, te lo cuento en español, pero mientras tanto, búscate un episodio en VO Boss. You might easily find an amazing podcast to get instantly inspired in your work. Whatever that is.
01:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, what's up bosses? Join our VIPs today and gain access to over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops designed to enhance your voiceover skills. From industry insights to practical techniques, our workshops cover a wide range of topics. As a VIPs member, you'll also receive a 15% discount on current workshops and free monthly workshops to keep your skills sharp. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Sign up for VIP's membership now at vopeepscom.
01:36 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so very excited to have special guest Jessica Blue with us this morning. Yay, hello.
02:06 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Thank you for having me.
02:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hi, jessica, hi For those bosses who don't know Jessica. Jessica has been a voice actress for 20 years and is an English dubbing voice and casting director on oh, some small projects like Netflix, disney+, hbo, hulu, amazon and more and of course, that was sarcastic. I want you to be able to read that acting Jessica. You can give me some tips if I have to dub over it. Okay, but as a VO talent, some of her clients include small names like Google, microsoft, macy's, wells Fargo, and the list goes on and on and on. She's also provided voices for several dubbed films and series, and some of her dubbing projects that she's directed include no Gain, no Love on Amazon, crooks from Netflix, moving, hulu and Burning Betrayal Netflix. Jessica, it is a pleasure to have you here this morning. Thanks for having me.
02:58 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I'm super excited to talk with you.
03:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yay, yeah. So I want to say it's just been so wonderful like knowing you for the past few years and I wish I had known you like 10, 20 years ago. Same yeah, absolutely. I mean, I've had you as a guest director for our VO Peeps a couple of times and I'm going to have you coming up this year as well for dubbing. And I guess I want to start with the bosses that are not necessarily familiar with who you are. Let's talk about your voice acting career first and how it all got started. Cool.
03:28 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Well, I'm originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and I grew up watching cartoons like a lot of kids. Bugs Bunny was my favorite and I just loved being in that world of imagination and where anything could happen. And I thought wouldn't it be cool to be a cartoon someday, Not knowing that that was voiceover. And it wasn't until many, many years later. When my ex-husband, of all things, heard this woman talking on the radio about voiceover, I'm like what is that? And he thought I would like that.
03:56 And so I went, took a intro class and I completely fell in love, dove headfirst and took all the classes, learned as much as I could and then eventually got an agent up there and started working in video games and commercials a little bit of animation for games and stuff, a lot of narration as well and then slowly migrated down to LA, because there was a collective of us in that group that really wanted to do animation and so we created our own show and pitched it around and down here in LA and I'd come back and everybody had kind of already migrated and moved down here, and I was the last one because I still had a whole life up there. I had a full time job. Up there I was taking care of my parents and one day my dad just said sounds like you need to be down there. Why don't you just go? I'm like I have to take care of you. I have to do all this stuff.
04:43 There's no way Best day of my life because he basically gave me the permission. It's like you need to live your life. Stop doing this for us. Do what you need to do, follow your passion. I'm like I love you, dad. So it took me a couple more years to get my ducks in a row and finally leave the corporate life which was the best decision of my life ever and made the move down to Los Angeles in 2013 and didn't have a plan B, didn't have a job, didn't have an agent down here, nothing, but I was all focused on voiceover and I had already come down here, like the year prior, to sort of get the lay of the land network, take classes with directors here, just to sort of get the lay of the land network, take classes with directors here, just to sort of immerse myself in the LA culture, in the LA VO community.
05:30 And then it just kind of took off and got an agent, started working, getting more jobs and met awesome people like you and Jeff Howell and all these other amazing folks, and just been doing it ever since. And then Jeff Howell is actually the one who got me into dubbing because he had a project come up and he says I need your help, I need you to help me organize all this stuff.
05:50 I'm like, okay, and we kind of started doing dubbing together and did about six movies together. I want to say and he says, okay, you should be directing, you need to be directing. And I had expressed an interest in directing and so it just kind of shifted into I was still doing acting. I love that, but I love directing so much and it was so great. And so.
06:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I've sort of shifted.
06:15 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Now I still do a little bit of acting here and there, Super picky and choosy about what auditions I do, who I read for all that good stuff, because I really have a focus more on directing and stuff. So that's where my passion now lies and that's kind of it.
06:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. I love that because you kind of follow your passion and it all just followed you Do, you know what. I mean, you've manifested it for yourself, which is something that I absolutely love, and I love directing myself, but not necessarily dubbing, but in terms of demos and that whole creative process of being able to take it from the ground up to something beautiful. And so let me ask you. So 20 years has passed or so, and so how has the industry evolved and changed since you first?
07:02 - Jessica Blue (Guest) were in it. Oh my God, night and day Back in the day when I was first started and first of all, I felt like I was coming into this super late because I was already in my 30s, I want to say when I started getting into this. And most people you know get in their 20s. They're doing this or even earlier, so I felt like a super late bird, but that's been the story of my life. I'm a late bloomer and everything.
07:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's funny. I was actually in my thirties too. Well, I was in corporate. I was actually in education. I came from corporate to education and before you go on, I did want to say what did you do in corporate, Because that's always interesting to me You're going to laugh.
07:37 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I was a paralegal manager for the electric company in their law department.
07:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, my gosh Okay.
07:42 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Yeah.
07:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, no, nothing surprises me actually.
07:46 - Jessica Blue (Guest) So, like legal jargon, medical jargon, I've got that locked, unlocked yeah.
07:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's crazy.
07:54 - Jessica Blue (Guest) It's always interesting to find out what corporate places people come from you know it's such a different world, but it's definitely helped my business as far as you know. Knowing how to communicate, being responsive and just general email etiquette, that kind of thing. It goes a long way. But back when I first started you needed to be where your agent was. You had to go in person to audition and it started to slowly switch to where you could record at home and then send it in an MP3.
08:26 But for the most part, like it was super hard to get an LA agent if you were not in LA or even in New York or wherever you had to be there, locally, physically, because they had so many other talent that was right there, hop, skip and a jump that they could grab. So that has completely changed, especially since COVID, because now everything's remote or phoned in or whatever. That's probably the biggest thing. Also, because of that, it's exploded the amount of voiceovers, because there's been such a spotlight on it, especially with all the new animated movies. I mean, back in the day, you know, I had Cinderella and Bambi, you know those movies which were classics, snow White. But now we have a new one coming out, several coming out every year, and they've got these celebrities attached to it.
09:13 So people, the general audience, are seeing these celebs do these voices and they're like, oh, I want to do that voice or I could do that voice, and they think it's like, oh, it's super easy, that'd be fun.
09:22 And they think it's like, oh, it's super easy, that'd be fun, let me go do some voiceover, not realizing it's a process you have to learn, you have to know how to act first of all. It's not just about your voice and take the training, learn the craft. So I think that has sort of opened the door for way more people. So it's super competitive now, and you're not just competing with people in your local area or in your state or now even in your country, right In other countries now, because everybody can now just kind of send stuff in electronically. So technology has definitely improved, as well as having a booth Again, it used to be like I just have a crappy little setup in my closet and now people have these amazing beautiful booths with lighting and all this stuff, and I mean, technology has come so far, so that's a whole nother thing too. So a lot has changed.
10:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) A lot has changed, but you have evolved along with that. And now you mentioned something about acting.
10:17 I always like to talk about acting, when you kind of made the shift, kind of also in parallel working with dubbing. You're talking about acting on the fly, I mean. I think that that becomes like front and center in terms of what are the qualifications that you need as an actor or as a voice actor to really get into this industry. And maybe I can just have you explain dubbing kind of from the beginning for the bosses who are not necessarily as familiar with the dubbing industry.
10:45 - Jessica Blue (Guest) So basically for if you don't know what dubbing is, it's essentially taking a movie or a TV show from another language and putting it into English so you don't have to watch with subtitles. You can actually hear the English spoken while you're watching the video, and our goal is to make sure that the lip flaps match as close as possible so that it doesn't take you out of that and you forget that you're watching a dub. It's a long process, a lot goes into it, it's very detailed, which I'm not going to go into all the gory details of it. But the main thing that I'm looking for when I'm hiring and casting someone to do a dub is that they can act, that I believe that their voice is coming out of the face that I'm seeing on screen and that they're able to give all the nuances of that performance. And it's actually really cool, in my opinion, because it's so much closer to being on stage or being on set and diving into a character and get all that juicy goodness, versus reading a three second tag or a 30 second copy for medical whatever. So there's a lot more that goes into it and it's definitely a skill that has to be learned by doing it.
11:54 It rinse and repeat kind of thing. It does take practice because it can be very challenging and overwhelming at first because there's a lot going on. Because not only are you walking in blind, you have no idea when are you walking in blind, you have no idea when you book a job. You have no idea if you're the lead, if you're an incidental, how many characters you're doing, what the show's about, how long you know all this stuff. You have no clue. So it's the director's job to fill that in for you explain the show who your character is, what they're about, what's going on in the scene, and then you watch the scene and you're seeing this rhythm of band go by with the dialogues screaming by like karaoke and you're trying to read, you're trying to watch the video, you're kind of your eyes are sort of doing this back and forth to try and understand everything and you're seeing it for the first time.
12:38 I've seen it maybe two or three times at this point, right but you're seeing it for the first time, so I'll give you a freebie of but you're seeing it for the first time, so I'll give you a freebie of like you're watching it for the first time just to know what the heck is going on and who are these people and what's happening. And then we'll watch it a second time. So now you understand the scene, you understand what's going on, and now you can start maybe looking closer at the faces on screen and see what their reaction is, the projection of how loud they are soft and then we'll do a take, and then we'll do another take and put it all together and review it. And I'm looking at the dialogue to make sure that you're saying all the right words and you're not mispronouncing anything.
13:15 And all of that good stuff and it's a lot and it takes about, I'd say, for a newbie about 15 to 20 minutes to get into the groove of it, if it's like their first time. But even experienced debbers you know they'll come in and they'll watch it and takes them a little bit of time to get warmed up too, and that's just the nature of it. But it's like everything's firing all at once. It can be very overwhelming, but it's so much fun once you get the hang of it and you get in the groove and you're just. Then you're just like, oh, all right, we're going, and it's so much fun.
13:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, in terms of directing, let's say, if you were directing just a script that was not on the screen and you're just directing a commercial for someone, versus directing a dub scene, it seems like you have to know, I don't know, the directing is different. I mean, I feel like you have to know so much more quicker when you're doing the dubbing, because, because you have to also impart, like the actual scene, what's happening to the actor, and if the actor's not getting it or just not embodying the character in the right way, then you've got to figure out, well, how am I going to get them so that it makes a believable scene? And then, if not, what do you do? I mean, have you had actors that just didn't work out and then you had to essentially say I'm sorry and then recast I can't imagine so explain some of the differences because, like my, directing for a demo is completely different, because we're taking the words and we're creating the scene.
14:34 We're making it up, this. You have the scene already and you've got to try to communicate that to the actor.
14:39 - Jessica Blue (Guest) More, I would imagine yeah, I mean, on the one side it's kind of nice because you already have this template of what you need to do. You basically have to try to match that, match their energy, match their tone, match it. So it looks like what you're doing out of here is coming out of what you see. So in that sense it's a little bit simpler, because you can see what's happening with a commercial or even when you're auditioning for a dub.
15:07 You don't have the luxury of the video to see what's going on or see what's happening in the scene. So you have to make that up in your mind and you have to find those nuggets in the script, in the dialogue, that might clue you into where are they, what's happening, why did they say this line? What does that mean? What is the intention behind that, what might be happening? And you have to somehow create that in your head, make a choice and go with it. Very much like when you're doing a commercial script. It's a lot of script analysis when you're looking at that stuff and so it's kind of cool.
15:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Actually, you don't ever get the scene, you don't ever get the video, do you Very, very rarely?
15:42 - Jessica Blue (Guest) You might if we are doing in-person auditions, do you when you're auditioning? Very, very rarely you might. If we are doing in-person auditions, we do VTKs, which is a video test kit and that will have the actor come in. They'll do an audition in person, to the video, to the scene, so they'll see what's happening, they'll see the actors and everything and they'll get directed. So it's a directed audition. That's about the only time Very rarely will we send out a clip.
16:06 It'll just be the sides and they'll just have that to go on and wing it a prayer and figure it out and make a strong choice. Read through that analysis, look through everything, pick out whatever you can. Make a strong choice, go with it, because again, I'm listening for your acting chops as well as, if I believe, the voice coming out of the face. But even if I'm hearing someone do a commercial, I'm still in that visual sense of who are you talking to? Are you connected? Are you just phoning this in? Are you just reading this? It's very similar because there's a lot of times, too, where I'll have clients like they sound like they're reading. It's like, well, they kind of are because they're reading this girl going by, but you have to make it sound like you're not reading, just like you would a commercial or a video game or anything. You have to make it conversational. That's the name of the game in dubbing is conversational. We want real, grounded, authentic voices, authentic acting. Not, hi, how are you? I am Jessica Mm-hmm.
17:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Mm-hmm.
17:05 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Yeah absolutely.
17:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what tips would you say then? Could you give a voice actor that wants to get into dubbing, like, what can they do to prepare themselves? Maybe, and maybe practice or coach with you? Yeah, absolutely, I do do coaching, yeah, besides coaching with you, but I'm just so, yeah, what can they do if they're interested in dubbing? What's your best tips? Watch some dubs.
17:27 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Go on Netflix, go on Hulu, Disney, Amazon, whatever. Watch some dubs that are good and watch how their acting is, or listen to how their acting is in relation to what's happening in the scene. A way to practice is kind of cool, Not exact, but it will help you with that sight reading of looking up to the video and looking down to the dialogue is put on subtitles. Grab your favorite show or movie, put on the subtitles, watch it with the sound on with the subtitles.
17:57 read the subtitles and get used to switching back your eyesight from the video to the subtitles, switching back your eyesight from the video to the subtitles and then rewind it, mute it and then say it with the subtitles and see how close you can match to their mouths, or whatever. I mean. It's not going to be exact, but that will help you with that skill of sight reading, of going back and forth from the video to the dialogue.
18:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well then, I should be amazing Jessica, because I'm old and I have the subtitles on all the time because I can't hear, so I've got the eyesight going and I don't necessarily practice along with that. But yeah, no, that's a great tip. And to actually watch dubs, I think is great, and I myself have watched dubs and I've watched people do it because I've watched you direct people. Do you think it's something that all voice actors would love to do? Or do you feel like it's a niche where I feel, like people that do audiobooks, they love their audiobooks, people that dub love dubbing, like? Or do you think it's just something like oh, it's another genre, it's just oh, I can. What's your experience with talent? I think it's a little of both.
18:57 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I think it is sort of a niche. I have my core group of actors that you know. It's like the standard dubbers or whatever, but I'm always finding new talent, always bringing new people into the fold. And so and I've never really had someone go, oh, I don't like this or this isn't for me Maybe they did and I didn't know about it.
19:18 But usually, even though they might be scared and nervous getting into it because they're not sure about anything new, any change, once they do it they're like oh my God, this is kind of fun, I really like this. So then they like tell me more, how do I get into it? How do I do what? How do I need to get more of this type of work? And so it kind of fuels their fire to do it or be more interested in it. So I think it's definitely grown a lot in the last couple of years, for sure, and I don't think it's going away anytime soon because there's so much content. There's so much content out there from other countries that are being brought into the United States and getting dubbed into English. So I don't think the work is going anywhere anytime soon. So I think we're okay.
19:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So here's the elephant in the room right Synthetic voices AI. How does that work into dubbing, or does it not? Or what are your thoughts? Is it a threat?
20:07 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I don't think it's a threat now, and if it is, it's going to be minor. I don't think it's going to take over lead voices because, it cannot reproduce these performances, the nuances that humans can, and I think we've got that covered and okay. And also I've heard stories about companies trying to use AI to dub a lead character and the audience isn't buying it.
20:31 They're like that looks weird, that sounds weird, it doesn't match or whatever, and so I think for the main characters, lead characters and everything, we're good, we're okay. It's not going to go the AI route. It might change to where they might end up using some type of AI situation that is ethically sourced. Ai.
20:50 voices for Walla for the background noise, like you know, in airports and restaurants and things like that, because that's just this murmur, this hum bed of voices that you hear in the background, and not necessarily actual dialogue that you can make out and hear what they're saying, but they already have a lot of those like sound beds. You know that we've recorded over many years and they can just plop that in. So it's kind of already done, so I don't know why they would actually need an AI for that.
21:16 So I don't necessarily see I mean, if anything, I think AI might come in on more of the production side, the backside of it, not the performance side, you know, more of the organization of files and management and things like that, or QCing stuff like that I don't know that it's going to really impact the performance side of things for dubbing yet, and I mean who knows Anything's possible but also to get all of these companies on the same page. You know, if somehow this fantastic software came out that you know is able to match the voice to the original actor or change whatever to get everybody on board with that, I mean that's a huge feat in and of itself and I don't see that happening anytime soon. So I think we're okay.
21:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So if you talk about when we dub, we're dubbing from one language to another. Typically for us we would be the English, and so how much of a disconnect is there because of the language differences, you know, in terms of like lip flap and believability is there from certain languages, and are some languages easier to dub than others? Oh yeah, two things.
22:17 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Some languages their lips barely move, so they're talking like this and it's like what do you say? There's no labial movements, oh my God. And then there's some like Spanish and French, where they are motor mouths and they're like and what takes in Spanish? It takes them 10 words to say what we can say in five in English. But there's like all these, like you know, like happy birthday hon. You know, it's like so different, but yet we would then have to add on extra words stretch it out, add on words, because there's still all that mouth flap that we have to cover, so we would have to add on words.
22:57 Or, in the opposite of French, they can say something very short, like two words, and it takes us seven words to say. So how do we? Ah, like they say nothing?
23:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So who does that editing? That's interesting. Who does that editing? Is that you, or it sometimes is me. It's the adapter.
23:13 - Jessica Blue (Guest) So, which I also do Adaptation is probably the most important and critical step in the whole dubbing process. That's basically where the studio will send it to a translator. They'll translate the Spanish into English. Then that goes to the adapter. The adapter then takes that English translation, rewrites it to make it sound conversational, make it match the lip flaps, adding words, subtracting words, making jokes work that might not make sense to us it does in their language but it doesn't jive with us and then also syncing it all up.
23:46 So the lines are matched up to start, of the mouth opening to the mouth closing, as well as adding in all of the vocal efforts. So laughs, sneezes, coughing, crying, breathing, fight scenes, getting punched, coughing, throat clearing, anything like that is always going to be in brackets so that we have those vocal efforts, because it's going to look funny if you're just talking and all of a sudden you do this and like you don't hear anything. Yeah, yeah, what was that? Right, right, it was a sigh. Ok, got it. So we had to put sighs in brackets so that the actor knows that they have to sigh when they see that chest movement.
24:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So it's a lot OK. So business wise it seems like a lot of work right. So I have a film right. And where does the money come from? The distribution, the licensing of the film in different languages?
24:33 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I think so, yeah, because it'll be like a Netflix will go out and they'll buy the property, the distribution rights for a show from the original person, which is probably yeah, where the money comes from and then that pays for it, because it seems like an awful lot of work, sometimes right, it is a huge
24:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) amount of work If you want a huge amount of work to get to a product that you don't know if it's going to. I mean it's like any movie that comes out right. I mean you put a lot of investment into it, so I imagine that, yeah, it's just got to be the purchase of the rights to the movie. That is where the money is, because is is because is the money. Does the voice actor get money? I mean, I'm sure they get paid. Do you know what I mean? But I mean, let's talk about how well does the voice actor get paid or the dubber get paid for this. Is this an industry that is lucrative? It can be.
25:19 - Jessica Blue (Guest) If you book a lead role, it can be very lucrative because that means multiple sessions, especially if it's a TV show, because that's multiple episodes. So you could be a six episode show, a 12 episode show, a 20 episode show. So if you're a lead character, you're in all those episodes. You're getting paid for every single time. You go into the booth for a session and we cover as much as we possibly can in a session until we exhaust all of the lines for that character.
25:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But you get paid per session right.
25:48 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Per session.
25:48 - Intro (Announcement) You don't get paid per airing of you know like a nice national commercial.
25:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There's no royalties, there's no kickbacks.
25:55 - Jessica Blue (Guest) There's no nothing it would be so nice.
25:57 Especially if it like took off or whatever, oh my God. But no, it's per session. If it's a union project, it's under the union contract, the dubbing union contract, which I think now it's like $190 something per hour with a two-hour minimum, and so if you're hired for a four-hour session, that's $195 times four, and if we finish with you in three hours, you still get paid for the four hours. If we have a pickup, you still get paid for that two-hour minimum. Even if you're in there for 15 minutes, you still get paid. So pickups are kind of nice too.
26:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now, do you now negotiate in contracts like the AI writer, because, let's say, you need a pickup and the actor isn't available? Right, can they utilize the voice to create an AI voice to then maybe do a pickup?
26:45 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I've not had that come up yet, and I think myself I don't deal with the contracts with the actors. That's the studio that handles all of that. So I think some of them might have an AI writer, some of them might not. So if you're an actor into dubbing and you want to check that out, make sure you read your contracts and see if it's in there and if it's not ask them and see if they'll do it, because a lot of them will, but at this point I don't think we've had that issue.
27:09 We always find workarounds honestly like even if we missed a line, maybe we have a backup or we can frankenstein something together, or if we missed a breath or a laugh here, I'll just steal it from somewhere else and plug it in there so I don't have to have anything to save that money for the client, so that we don't have to worry about that pickup. And even for incidental. Sometimes I'll jump in the booth and if I just need a line or something to cover whatever, I'll just jump in there. I'm like, let me just do it, it'll be really fast, it's fine, I'll just do it.
27:37 So, but yeah, it can be lucrative if you're a lead, because that means multiple sessions. If you're an incidental, it's just fun practice and maybe it's one session, one and done and you're in and out and that's still fun. But also, I think, when actors do get on the radar of these studios and directors then and they do it one time, two times, and they do well, we like working with cool people, good people, good actors, so we're gonna have you back and you'll get in that roster, in that pool of people, and you just kind of start working, working, work and it's kind of cool that way.
28:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah. Well, that's nice. So then, the first thing, if voice actors want to get into dubbing is, I would say bump up your acting skills, yeah absolutely. Do you have good recommendations for acting classes, like in-person acting classes, online acting classes or working with a coach? Perhaps All of it?
28:30 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Honestly, I feel like if you can do in-person, that's great because obviously you're feeding off the energy of everybody. I prefer being in person with people versus Zoom, but Zoom is obviously much more efficient and effective, especially if you aren't able to travel to do in-person. One-on-ones are also great if you're working with a coach or a teacher, because all the focus is on you and you can really hone in on what needs you need to work on and improve on.
28:59 But also the group session is great because you can learn from others and what I like to say, steal with love and take a little bit of that and that and put it in my pocket I'm going to use that, yeah, I mean it's life, isn't it?
29:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think that's how we do it. I think all of us, when we teach voice acting, we want to get to the same end result. We want authentic, believable performances, and so, however we say it to get the actor to get there, we're all trying to get to the same end result. So, yeah, absolutely, and that, I believe, also is going to translate well to they can do dubbing and they can do voice acting, because acting is just going to help you all the way around, and acting will even help you in medical and corporate. And I say that just because you know that's me, and that's my geeky that's my geeky place.
29:41 I think it can help you even more because that stuff is typically very dry and boring and you've got to make that. You've got to make that come alive in some way to make it interesting to people so that they want to listen to it. I mean, right now I'm going through some online courses and I'm telling you like it is tough. I know I need to know this information and I am just like, oh God, I got to do four more hours of this, and so it really helps when you've got the skills to be engaging and to like connect with the listener on the other end. Yeah, absolutely so, if I am hearing you correctly. Of course, acting would be number one. Acting would be number one to help get you into dubbing, and then, of course, watching dubbed TV shows and really getting in on that. And then what about networking? How can they network with the places that might hire them?
30:23 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Absolutely Research. Google is your best friend. Look up and search dubbing houses, dubbing recording studios in your neck of the woods, See who's out there. And also I will say another trick is when you're watching these shows and movies online that are dubs, at the very end sometimes they'll have the credits for the dubs of who the actors are, who the studio is, who the director and the casting, the producer are, so you can actually see what studios are doing the dubs that way.
30:54 And then you can look those up and see. If you can't find an, email. And a lot of those studios have their own rosters that they're actively looking for talent. So you could reach out to one of them and like, hey, are you open for taking on new talent? I'm interested in dubbing, or I have. I've done a dub here and there. I'd love to be considered for a future dub and just throw whatever you can at the wall and see what sticks.
31:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Would you say that the majority of it is done in LA and in the big cities where, yeah, a chunk of it is.
31:20 - Jessica Blue (Guest) But I know Dallas I want to say Dallas, but one of the big cities in Texas they do a lot of anime with Crunchyroll I think. But there's other dub houses. There's one in Florida called the Kitchen in Miami. There's obviously several overseas, in Europe and elsewhere. So again, it's just you know Google, google is your best friend. Find where they are and search them out and do some research on that to figure out who's doing what and where, and you'll find it. And yeah, I would say networking is to find those people and seek them out and hit them up. But be human and personal about it. Don't just be like needy, like hi, I'm so, and so here's my demo. Listen to me.
31:59 No, make it make a connection yeah, make a connection to be memorable. So that because I, I get. Sometimes I'll get those emails that just say here, here's my demo. I'd love to work with you sometime Like great. I don't know you. From who are you next? You?
32:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) know, yeah, so I've been dying to ask you this because, of course, this goes along with. I feel like we're networking and there's a lot of talk about when you're running your business, because you can be the best actor in the world, but if nobody knows about it, it's hard for you, kind of. Over the years, have established a brand for myself, and a lot of people that know me for the VO Boss brand know that I have the red headphones, or I have the red lipstick because I talk about it all the time, and my Anne Ganguzza brand is blue and guess what? Jessica Blue. If anybody doesn't know Jessica or has never met Jessica, you can find her easily because she's got very signature branding.
32:50 - Jessica Blue (Guest) So let's talk about that for a little bit, if you don't mind, of course you can't really see it well in this lighting, but I do have blue hair and I have really blue eyes. You do, yes, you do Pops when the blue starts to fade and get lighter, and my logo is blue. I always have blue nails.
33:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm wearing blue nails. My car is my favorite color.
33:12 - Jessica Blue (Guest) I've loved it since I was a kid when I actually, when I was a kid and I was sharing a room with my sister, we had bunk beds and everything, and then my mom cleaned out this other room and we got to switch and I got my own room, finally, and I got to decorate it however I wanted I had it was blue carpet. Blue paint on one wall, blue wallpaper everywhere.
33:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I had blue stripes. I mean, blue is one of my absolute favorites. I had blue stripes, I painted on one. I had an accent wall in my bedroom. I'm an 80s girl, right 70s, 80s. It was literally like two different shades of blue and it was like a big, like V. It was hysterical. That's awesome and I loved it, but I will say that your branding works so well for you. Did you do that because not only your favorite color is blue, but because you wanted to become memorable in your business? Is that another angle?
33:54 - Jessica Blue (Guest) that that part never even hit. I'll tell you how so. Loose flash blue is not my real name, it's my stage name. What? Um? Yeah, I know secrets galore. No, it actually came up. So I've been rocking the blue hair since 2001. Okay, and I think it was around 2000.
34:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Before it was a thing, right, I mean really. I mean I would say, when I grew up it was only if you were a punk. And then you had you know, what I mean. I feel like I started, like yeah, I feel like I sort of started this trend like it was acceptable, because also working in a law firm corporate with blue hair.
34:32 - Jessica Blue (Guest) Yes, exactly, and acceptable because also working in a law firm corporate with blue hair yes, exactly, and I'm like, if they don't like it, they can go pound sand because I know how to do my job.
34:37 I'm doing my job and this has nothing to do with what I can do. So but I was in a workout group with some fellow actors and one of my friends, I think I had come in with a blue stripe in my hair. I was testing the waters out to see if I liked it or not and I had just one little blue strand. And she says, oh, you should change your name to Jessica Blue. And I'm like, oh, I like that. I think I'm going to do that. From that point on, I became Jessica Blue in all things voiceover and acting and I've never looked back.
35:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It is so attached to you and I think it's brilliant.
35:12 I mean, whether you intended that to be or not, like I will always know how to spot you in a crowd number one, but I also remember your name and so I'm always telling my students that until people know who you are, I mean you have to establish a brand. I mean, and so I'm like, well, make yourself a great actor and associate yourself with maybe another brand in your demo that people can say oh, I love that Ford spot that you did, or I love that movie you did, or whatever. If you can make yourself memorable in that kind of a way where you're attaching yourself to a brand or a show, right, then I think that that starts to get the ball rolling, because I think success begets success. Ball rolling because I think success begets success. And, like you said, once you start and you get into kind of the circles where you're dubbing and people like you, then it's nice because you get that kind of repeat work and I think that's important in terms of if you want to build your business.
36:04 So thank you for the explanation of your brand. I love it Absolutely.
36:08 - Jessica Blue (Guest) But it also it's not. It's not who you know, it's who knows you, because that's how you're going to become memorable and hired over and over again. So it is very important. I agree with you, but thank you.
36:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you, I appreciate that. So if you make it easy, if you make it easy to stand out and be unique and you've done it brilliantly. So, Jessica, this is so much fun yes, it has. Thank you so much for joining me today. Yeah, my pleasure, and so I do know that you did say that a random listener is going to receive something special with you. Did you say a one-hour coaching?
36:42 - Jessica Blue (Guest) session One-hour free coaching session for dubbing, yes.
36:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what I'm going to do is I'm going to randomly choose one listener, and so, in order for me to randomly choose a listener, you guys have to submit a testimonial, maybe on this episode, saying that you like this episode, and so I absolutely. On the VO Boss website, at vobosscom, you can submit your testimonial. If you do that for this episode with Jessica and you mention Jessica, we will then randomly select a winner within a week of the episode release to get a free one-hour dubbing coaching session. Yay, that's awesome. Thank you, jessica.
37:17 - Intro (Announcement) Of course that's so generous.
37:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) My pleasure, all right. Well, again, thanks so much. This has been wonderful and bosses, keep a lookout for the VO Peeps workout. Which gosh, is it May, june? I'm trying to think.
37:28 - Intro (Announcement) I think it's February. When do we have? When do we have? Oh my gosh February.
37:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, next month. Oh, that's right, it is next month. Next month we have you for VOP. So guys go get that ticket, because Jessica sells out very, very quickly. Thanks again, thank you, I really, really appreciate it. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too, find out more at IPDTLcom Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
37:56 - Intro (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Join Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble for the next BOSS Money Talks episode, as they share tips on how to manage both business and personal finances. From choosing the ideal business credit card to managing your everyday spending, The BOSSES provide the tools you need to enhance your financial efficiency. Anne and Danielle delve into the practical aspects of leveraging credit cards for business gains, highlighting the potential to earn cashback and travel points while simplifying your bookkeeping tasks. They discuss the art of planning large expenses and paying off balances to avoid interest traps, alongside sharing personal stories of their credit journeys. 00:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) At Anne Ganguzza productions. I focus on personal growth and artistic expression and can help you unlock the full potential of your voice. It's a journey of discovery and strategy and I'm here to help guide you every step of the way. Your story deserves to be heard. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.
00:35 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so ecstatic to be back again with Danielle Famble. Hey.
01:01 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Anne, I am glad to be back, happy to talk money and finances and being a boss with you.
01:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love it. I love it, except Danielle. I just had to pay my American Express bill. Yeah, and I will tell you and the bosses I have a business credit card, which I think is the best thing since sliced bread and the reason why I love my business credit card maybe not so much for all the money that I have to pay on it this month, but mostly because I get money back. I mean, I try to strategically use that credit card to my advantage, for my business.
01:34 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah.
01:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I know I have a credit card and a couple of other tricks up my sleeve, but I have a feeling you have a couple of tricks up your sleeve that I would love to know about.
01:44 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh, man, If you want to get me to nerd out on anything ever, you chose the right topic Credit cards. Credit card points and miles is my jam. I'm wearing my nerdy glasses today, Just so excited to talk about credit card points.
02:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So fill us in on how we can take advantage, Because I mean, why not? Right? I'm excited, I'm excited. So I'll just tell you, my American Express gives me money back and I picked it specifically because of that. It gives me money back every month the more I spend with it and I thought, well, that's great. That just encourages me to always use that card to spend. And for me, I only have the one for my. Actually, I have a couple for my business, because I do have a bank account which then gives me a credit card by default. Okay, I've got a debit card, I've got a business debit card, but I also have a credit card with them which I don't use right now. But they are always touting oh, you can save 3% if you buy gas, that kind of thing. But I end up using the one card only because for me, my brain, it makes things simple right now to deal with, but I'm sure that I could be taking more advantage of other things.
02:53 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh, yeah, you talk about your credit card. I actually just opened up a new credit card for my business and when I open that credit card you get a certain number of bonus points if you spend a certain amount of money in the first couple of months of opening the card.
03:08 Mostly, really to— yes, yes, similar to my bank. Yeah, to incentivize you to use this card. Well, this particular card would give me I think it was 250,000 points to travel, and I was so excited about it because I have travel coming up to go to conferences and things like that and instead of using cash to spend the money to travel, I can use these points as another currency as a way to get to a conference or two or three, or travel or stay at hotels. So it's a way of utilizing the money that I'm spending anyway and having a different currency to be able to use it. And that's a way of utilizing the money that I'm spending anyway and having a different currency to be able to use it. And that's just sort of the beginning. You're talking about money back into your business, but I just I love talking about like points and miles because you're spending the money anyway for your business, right, and so you're getting this currency back to be able to do other things with it.
04:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then let me ask you a question Are you looking always for deals, current deals with new credit cards, or is it just if it happens to come up when you make a purchase, sometimes like well, let's say, I go clothing shopping, sorry, and they'll be like well, you can save 20% on your order today if you open up a credit card with us. And there'll be a lot of times that I'll do that just because I want to save the 20%, and then I really don't have any intention of using it again. If it's a store I don't shop frequently, but I will absolutely do that. But now I also know that that does affect my credit score. It's not always a negative impact on the credit score, because I happen to have I'm very proud of the fact that I have a really good, almost perfect, credit score.
04:39 - Intro (Announcement) Oh, great yeah.
04:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) After many, many years.
04:41 - Intro (Announcement) And.
04:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm like. Well, I don't know, is that going to affect if I open up a credit card? How do you handle the credit cards?
04:46 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So again, we've talked about this. For me I'm dealing with personal, totally separate than business. So, for example, with my business credit card that I just opened, I knew that I was going to have a lot of really big expenses coming up for the business and because I was planning that, I was looking for a credit card to be able to capitalize on the amount of money I was already planning on spending and had already planned and put that money aside to pay this.
05:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay, so let me ask you so, for example, not that I'm going to delve that deeply, but I'm thinking was this for travel for a voiceover conference, or maybe new equipment or something new for your studio, or maybe demos right, things that you would invest in, right for your voiceover business?
05:28 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So, big ticket items like a demo or a voiceover conference would be a good opportunity to maybe look into this Potentially yes, I always give a caveat first with using credit cards at all, and you're talking about your great credit score and I'm proud to have really worked to build my credit score as well. To have a great credit score is making sure that you can pay the credit card off in full at the end of the month.
05:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, thank you for saying that. Yes, I absolutely make it a point to do that every single month, exactly.
05:56 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Because if you don't, then you're actually kind of not really getting all the perks and having the benefits of having this credit card, because then you're paying this huge fee for interest and things like that. So for me, when I'm looking at credit cards be it for personal or for the business I want to make sure that I have the ability to pay it off. It's almost like using the cash that I already had on hand to pay off this bill and I'm getting this huge point value, or I'm getting points along the way.
06:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you said that, because I will always, when we talked about our business accounts, our bank accounts, I am so thankful and grateful for that business savings account. Because that business savings account says to me I've got a big ticket item coming, I have the money that I can pay it all off at the end of the month, which I think absolutely is so important. And I'll be the first to admit I mean I have let my credit cards go.
06:48 I mean when I was younger and foolish, I let my credit cards go and have a balance and at one point there was a big balance on it and you end up spending so much money on interest that it's not necessarily an ideal situation, that's for sure, and especially if this is your business and I'm not saying that you have to wait to buy everything until you can pay it off at the end of the month. However, it certainly makes things a whole lot easier.
07:12 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, it makes things a lot easier and also you're able to plan for what's coming up. So you're being proactive about what you're doing for your business. Talk about, like big-ticket items buying a new booth or a microphone or demos Lord knows, they're not inexpensive and so these are things that you need to plan for, and by planning for it and having the financial resources able to pay for it, then really you're able to utilize other tools to get you a little bit more for the money that you are already planning on spending. You are already planning on spending. This is actually something I learned from a personal finance situation when I was trying to really understand like money and finances and learn about, like, how money works.
07:52 I learned in my own personal life that if I didn't have the cash to spend on something, I was putting myself deeper in a hole by spending additional money on interest because I really didn't have the money to buy that thing in the first place. Now I understand. You know, not everyone has the money to like pay everything off in full. I was at my grocery store and, ann, I will tell you they have pay over time at my grocery store. Oh man.
08:18 It's unreal and I get it. Times are tough and money can be really, really tight. Get it, times are tough and money can be really really tight. But I do think this is an opportunity for planning for certain big expenses that you can utilize, opening up a credit card or using your credit card to be able to get you things like protections for that device. You know, if you use a certain credit card, they may cover it instead of needing to get the extra insurance.
08:43 That's actually a really good point. Yeah, there are so many different things that you can utilize by using a credit card for let's talk about business for the business purchases that you're doing.
08:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So warranty like additional warranty or protection, so I wouldn't have even thought that actually, if you buy it with your credit card, does it give you additional protection?
09:00 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, yeah, and also my boyfriend was telling me that his debit card, his number, got like taken or hacked or something like that, and so they were trying to take money out of his account. But if that happens with a credit card, you're dealing with the bank's money, not your own personal money, so it's a little bit easier to get that money recovered if something would happen with it.
09:20 So there are so many different protections that can happen. And even you said you have one credit card for your business for bookkeeping we talked about bookkeepers and things like that.
09:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's one ledger to be able to cross-reference and say, okay, this is what I spent over the course of time, and I mean I'm getting so excited right when I went to a conference.
09:42 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I went to J Michael's Euro Retreat. Actually, when you and I met in person to Amsterdam, you know I flew there on points. My flight was totally covered by points and it was accumulation of points that I had spent by utilizing my credit card for all of the business expenses that I pay monthly. My Source Connect, my Zoom accounts, my all of this stuff. It's paid through a credit card. And then I had accumulated enough points to be able to fly for free Business class.
10:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It was nice. I love using my credit card to pay for all my monthly subscriptions because, again, my one subscription that I have for personal right, which is I have a subscription, peloton which is like $44 a month, which is some crazy amount, but I use it. So for me it's worth it and it's funny because the amount that I'm getting paid back on that credit card pretty much pays for about half of that. So it's kind of cool. I broke my monthly price down from $44 to like $24. And so it really works out. It's $24 a month. So for me that works. And so, if you can look for those creative ways. But like, how much time do you spend looking for deals or checking on the deals? Because a lot of times I think credit cards will have a deal and then it only lasts for a certain amount of time, right, and then maybe interest rate will go back up or maybe it won't get 3% or 4% on gas purchases. You won't get it anymore. So how on top of it do you have to be?
11:08 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I think you would need to be on top of it. If that's something On a monthly, probably on a monthly basis. If that's something that you are planning on, for example, opening up a new card, for example, for me, I was ready to open a new card, and so I spent a couple of hours on Google YouTube like just checking around to see what was out there.
11:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what do you Google? So, if you're searching for a new credit card, what do you Google? What's a smart thing to search for?
11:34 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) For this one, I was looking for business credit cards because again, personal and business. So there are some business credit cards you can get. You can just Google best business credit card in the year. And then, for the most part in Google, it'll tell you, like what options are available and it'll even give you potentially some hints if you were to go into incognito mode. When you're looking for new credit cards, the bonus points may be higher than when you just search for it normally.
12:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, that's so interesting because you're right, because your information is in Google anyways. There's the tip of the day, Guys, we can go home now Because I think that's a great tip. Like you would I never would have thought of that to go in incognito mode, because then they're not necessarily going on information that they already have on you for that credit card and you might get better deals.
12:22 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, exactly.
12:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because more than likely, they know that I have an American Express credit card that I've used online 100 billion times before.
12:29 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So they're not trying to bring you in as a new customer because they don't know that you are or are not a current customer.
12:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So do your searching in incognito mode.
12:38 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I love that, yeah, and that's actually exactly what happened to me. I was looking for this particular credit card and my first Google search said okay, great, 150,000 points. Wonderful when incognito mode, 250,000 points, same card, same everything. And I was like oh, what can I do with 250,000?
13:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) points. I would just say, personally, this doesn't matter. I mean, you could be shopping for studio equipment, right, which I always say. Vioboss has a great studio equipment list that you can certainly click on and buy. But when you are searching for equipment online, I mean you can even like do that in incognito mode, or if you're signing up on a website for the first time, a lot of times they'll give you an offer for, say, 15% on your first order, right, or whatever it might be, and so I might be going back to the same company that I already purchased something and I'll sign up with a different email address so that.
13:35 I can get that discount and that will actually help me to make that decision. Well, all right, I can save 15%. So, yeah, that's good, that's good for me, I'll buy it. So same thing with a credit card, right. So when you're shopping, pretend like you are a new person shopping for that, and I think you'll get a really good deal, yeah, and just look around and shop around Again.
13:54 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) When you're ready to make these big purchases is a good time to start looking to see I'm going to spend the money anyway, what can I get for the amount of money that I'm planning on spending? So that's a really great opportunity. But also there are ways to get deals or to get stuff for the points that you're already accumulating. In some ways it can be just cash back. In other ways it could be travel, which I absolutely love that because I like to travel anyway, and I'm going to be traveling for some of these conferences or staying at hotels.
14:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And hotels too, like, if you are, we're a Marriott vacation owner and so we try to stay at Marriott's whenever possible because we can get points with Marriott's, and so then when I go to a voiceover conference, I can use those points theoretically to either have a room if I'm not provided a room already, but if I'm provided a room, I can use the membership that I have to upgrade that room, yeah, and then get maybe a free breakfast or get access, get free water. Gosh knows that we need water all the time.
14:55 So, I'm always looking for that free water deal. I'm like, okay, I am a gold card member or I'm a Marriott club member and so I need my free water today. Right, yeah, so every time I go to VO Atlanta, they don't put water in the rooms anymore. And now they're doing a thing. Well, they do. I'm sorry, Excuse me.
15:15 There was one place that I went where they don't put water in the rooms they now have, like a place where you can fill like a refillable sort of thing, which I think is a great idea so that you don't have to waste the plastic bottles anymore. But at Vio Atlanta, at that hotel I had credit at the store so I would go down and get like the big because I drink a lot of water. I get one of the big bottles of water every day for my coffee machine. I don't love Starbucks coffee, so I'd make my own coffee. But yeah, there's so many cool things you can do with hotels and airfare.
15:40 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) And even having access to like, for example, you said, american Express. You have an American Express card. There is the American Express card that has access to what's called fine hotels and resorts. So you can book through that relationship and I was actually looking at that for a trip that I was taking and you get like free breakfast and early check-in and check-out and you get like an experience credit at that hotel. So you get more just by having the virtue of having this relationship, which then can possibly make your stay a little bit more comfortable.
16:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So you're saying the relationship with money can help you get more things?
16:22 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yes, and have a different quality of life.
16:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, you can have a good relationship with your credit card, and I think that's a good thing. Have good relationships with your credit card, not bad ones.
16:32 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Exactly, and that actually is a really, really good point, because I grew up and I'll just have a little bit of a transparency moment I grew up hearing credit is bad, credit cards are bad, do not use it, and I actually didn't even get my first credit card until I was in my mid-20s because I was told that I didn't need it because it was bad and nothing good could come from it. But really it's a tool that can be used to enhance your quality of life, to give you more protections, if used properly.
17:03 If used properly, that's the caveat and understanding how it works and what the tool is to be used. That interest, if you're carrying interest, is a tool that can work against you so quickly because that interest rate for credit cards specifically, is so high. And you'll know what it is because you can actually log into your account and see what the interest rate is. This is not secret stuff and see what the interest rate is. It's not, this is not secret stuff. So if you go and you take a look at it and you see, okay, I'm spending 20, 25% interest Every single month, it's working against you. But then we talked about the savings accounts, right, and how much you can make in having interest when you have your money with some of these accounts.
17:48 So it can work for you but also interest, can work against you. If not, this tool is not being used and utilized responsibly and properly for what is needed for.
17:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and it's so hard sometimes when you lose that control. I think it has to do with well, I don't know, maybe we talk about like we're talking about, you know credit cards and all that, and so I think, with all due respect, we do have to say we have to have a respect for it, for the credit card, a respect for the money so that it is being used responsibly, Because when it does get out of control and I will tell you, as a young girl, mine got out of control and I ended up having a huge balance and then spending this atrocious amount of interest on it and I, like you, was told that credit is bad. You should really just pay for everything. You should have the money right. If you don't have the money for it, don't buy it Right, which I agree with right.
18:37 I know where that philosophy is coming from. It was meant for protecting me. However, you still, I think, need to have the money before you buy it, but now you can use the credit card as a tool to get more right and to maybe get more value for that. So I think the idea, the premise, is still the same Make sure you have the money before you buy it. I mean, in an ideal situation you should have the money to buy it, Otherwise maybe not buy it and then use a credit card as a tool that has benefits and perks and all those other things so that you can get more value out of it.
19:11 Absolutely, yeah, yeah. So what sorts of things, danielle, do we have to watch out for when maybe we're using credit cards for our business or shopping for credit cards in our business? Are there any red flags out there? What do you?
19:21 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) recommend? I recommend having a business credit card, specifically one that is for business. You can get like what would be a personal credit card in your business's name, but that goes back to sort of mixing the business and personal. There are business credit cards for a reason. I would utilize a business credit card when you're looking to open up a credit card for your business, and it does need to be in your business's name.
19:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, I agree, I have both a business and a personal. Yeah, american Express and Costco. By the way, I have both a business Costco card and a personal Costco card.
19:58 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, so just whatever is business and personal, they are completely separate entities. Your business, if you run your business in a certain way with like a LLC, for example, it has its own federal identification number. Yeah, so like it's really a separate entity. So if you're going to be looking for a credit card for your business, look for business credit cards, and I have found that business credit cards will offer certain protections for things that we utilize, things for business for. I even saw American Express Platinum has like a credit for the Adobe Creative Cloud, and so if you utilize, you know, adobe Audition, for example, then maybe that's something you know you want to use it for. So, looking for things for a business, looking for a business credit card, is the first thing that I would take a look at.
20:46 Second of all, be prepared to get a new credit card if you do have like large purchases that you're already planning for, going back to essentially having the cash on hand to justify the amount that you're going to be spending, so that you do not start paying interest on this card that you were trying to get you know value from?
21:05 And the other things that I would look at are is there an annual fee for the card Because you are spending money to have this card, and are you able to justify that annual fee with the benefits or the credits or the perks that you're getting by having this card? And there are plenty of cards out there that do not have an annual fee, and that's something to think about.
21:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was just going to say. It used to be a thing where almost all the cards had an annual fee and then they started. And again, I think it's all a sell right, it's all a sell mechanism right. They started most of the ones. I won't even entertain the idea of one that has a fee, unless, of course, the benefits outweigh, and I haven't had a card with a fee for many years. I don't know what about you.
21:45 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I have several cards that have fees.
21:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then that means that the benefits, though, the benefits though are outweighing those fees that you pay every year. Okay, and especially, I think you're going to find that in a business credit card sense right the fees versus a personal card, because I think a lot of times personal cards people are looking for no fees right, they're looking to get the best deal possible. But for businesses, I think companies want to say, all right, for this fee we'll offer additional protection for blah, blah, blah. And it's very interesting because I never actually looked into. I have an American Express business credit card and just because of the simple fact that I got money back every month was enough for me, and I never really looked at beyond that what it offers. And so now I'm going to go back and look at the fine print and see what protections it offers and warranties and maybe additional deals that I'm not taking advantage of Exactly.
22:37 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I mean one of my business credit cards offers protections on rental cars, so it offers that like you don't have to buy that insurance Exactly.
22:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So really which is a huge fee these days Exactly. Oh my gosh.
22:49 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So, taking a look, it kind of becomes a little bit of a matrix of like okay, this covers this and this card will cover these things and everything else. And, like I said at the beginning of this episode, I get really nerdy about these things. So you know, I have a spreadsheet about all the different things that my different credit cards can provide for me in terms of bonuses and value.
23:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And now do you have more than one business card?
23:12 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I now have a second business card. I just this week opened my second business credit card. Like you, I prefer to have everything streamlined on one card.
23:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, but I couldn't say no to 250,000 points, I mean yeah, no, I get you and those points will apply. And then you know what? Here's the deal If you do open up an extra card and then you find out that it's no longer serving you with that value, then you're done with it. There's typically no penalty for not using it.
23:38 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) What I would say to that and for me this is always my calculus, personal or business opening up a new card is is there a downgrade path? So you don't necessarily want to close the account because that may work against you. But is there a way to go from a paid card to downgrade to a no-fee card, and so I always think about that when I'm looking at getting a new credit card. Is there a downgrade path to a no-fee card that I can open up instead?
24:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now you just made me think of something different. Now, when I bought a car again, I was fortunate enough to have money in the bank and I could have paid cash for that car. However, I opted to put half down and pay the rest of the half on the finance plan, because the finance plan was 1%. I had 1% and it was like literally, I think, over the course of seven years, I paid $500 or something, I don't know. It was like a total of $500 to do that, and the reason why I did that was to gain better credit, because if you don't have any credit, you don't have any credit.
24:44 You know what I mean you can't get good credit if you don't have any credit. And so when my husband and I got married, we were trying to consolidate credit cards and pay off debt and get that out of under the way, but we realized that you do need to have some credit cards in order to keep good credit and for people to entertain business loans to you. So having good credit is an important thing for your business and, as a matter of fact, I happen to know that when we were buying a home and myself being self-employed right, they looked at my credit card. They looked at my business credit card because they wanted to see what do I pay on a monthly basis? How much money am I putting out? That was part of my certification that I could be part of that mortgage that we were going to get for this house, and so having good credit actually was working against me.
25:45 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So what I was told and what I understood to be true about just avoiding credit was not going to serve me for the things that I wanted, in the long run, to buy a house or to get a really nice apartment or qualify for certain things, it requires having credit, and not having any at all was not helping me, and so utilizing credit cards as a tool and respecting it and paying off the credit cards in full or paying on time those kinds of things really do help. So not having credit at all really can hurt you, but utilizing it improperly can hurt you even more.
26:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, bosses, use your credit wisely to invest in your business and to get extra value. So great discussion. Danielle, thank you so much for joining me today and again, I look forward to our sessions all the time. I look forward to talking with you about money bosses out there. Great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we will both see you next week. Bye.
26:48 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Discover the art of developing self-awareness and confronting the illusions we create both personally and professionally. Join Anne and Lau as they tackle the challenge of overcoming self-doubt, emphasizing resilience over inherent talent. By embracing our realities and addressing the falsehoods we tell ourselves, you'll learn how profound self-awareness can shape our lives. The BOSSES discuss how trusted companions and self-reflection can shine a light on our paths, leading to greater authenticity and success. Explore practical techniques to turn setbacks into opportunities for growth. We discuss the delicate balance between trusting external advice and listening to personal intuition. 00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know your voice has the power to move, to persuade, to inspire. Imagine taking that power to its fullest potential. With guidance and expert production, I can help elevate your voice to new heights, making every voice script resonate with your audience. Let's empower your voice together, one session at a time. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.
00:26 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anganguza. A VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my amazing, wonderful friend and co-host, ms Lau Lapides.
00:59 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Thank, you so much, I'm already getting verklempt. Incredible to be here, as always, love it Law.
01:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love chatting with you and I have a very interesting topic, I think, today.
01:12 Because, I love me some Peloton.
01:14 So when I'm not Pilate-ing, I am Peloton-ing, or I am pre-coring, but I'm Peloton-ing a lot and I have a favorite instructor. I have a couple of favorite instructors, but one of them for those Peloton people who know, cody I love Cody. I was spinning away and Cody said you know, my therapist asked me how do you know when you're lying to yourself, or do you know that you're lying to yourself? And I thought, wow, what a great question. First of all because it really makes you kind of stop in your tracks and think Honestly, laura, throughout my life there are many times that you kind of know, right, you kind of know when you're lying to yourself. Maybe you're in some form of denial, but you're lying to yourself. And I think that we need to delve deep into this Lau today and ask our bosses do you know when you're lying to yourself and what are the stakes in that and how can you get past that? Because I think that to be productive and to really be successful in this business, you need to stop lying to yourself.
02:20 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yeah, and I think that there has to be at least a brief bullet hit list of how do you deal with that, Like, how do you even know? How do you start to know what are some of the dead giveaways that you may be lying to yourself? The first one that comes to my mind is do you have or are you aware of? I think you have it, but are you aware of your inner voice? Are you aware of it, do you?
02:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) hear it? Oh, I hear mine all the time. That's a very interesting question, because I actually thought everybody hears their inner voice.
02:51 - Intro (Announcement) No.
02:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I actually have read that scientific studies say that not everybody has an inner voice. My inner voice talks to me all the time. Oh my gosh, all the time. What about?
02:59 - Lau Lapides (Guest) you. Yeah, mine is very strong and very loud and I already know all the justifications and lies I tell myself when I hear the voice in order to do something. And that's the next question I have is once you spot that inner voice, what are the common hyperbolic statements or lies, or fibs? That you're coming up with that. Feel really good to you to say in order to void out that voice.
03:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, first of all, what if you're someone who doesn't have an inner voice? Is that something that you can assess? Can you make an inner voice come out? Maybe people don't define it as an inner voice. Maybe they define it as a belief system, right? Maybe?
03:40 - Lau Lapides (Guest) they hide it, Maybe they bury it, Maybe they've been shamed to listen to it. There's a lot of reasons why I think people don't discover or find their inner voice. I think one of the things that I've always done I always chalked it up to just being a creative ensemble type of person but I think it is helpful in a sounding board of understanding what is the objective truth for you and your circumstance if you can't discover it on your own through your inner voice.
04:08 One of the things that I find helpful is surrounding yourself with really incredible people, brilliant people that you know and trust and feel good about sharing certain things with that you can soundboard with and see is it matching what you may be saying internally or not? Because there is a community truth about how people see you, hear you and, especially if they know you, they know your thought process right so they can sort of catch you when you're going off track.
04:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, it depends on life situations, right, I'm going to say the first inner voice is the truth, right? The inner voice, really, I think, is your truth, and do you listen to your inner voice, meaning, do you know when you're lying, do you know when you're lying to yourself, that kind of thing? So I think that's when you're denying that inner voice from having any say in kind of the truth, or you're in a denial of the truth, or you're in a denial of acknowledging that the truth is going. We're getting really deep here, but you're acknowledging.
05:08 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Go right there, I'm right with you.
05:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You're acknowledging that you're not ready for the truth right now. Right, you're not ready for it, because to get through that truth or to listen to that truth may require an effort that is like gargantuan and superhuman to get beyond that truth. And this could be anything. It could be personal, professional. I mean, of course, personal affects professional. But I'm going to kind of focus on the professional, having had an inner voice that I denied through personal issues because I wasn't ready to face them. And so for me it's kind of like you get really good at telling yourself lies, you get really good at justifying why you're not listening to that inner voice. Yes, because it keeps you safe. Right, it keeps you safe in a lot of ways, or it keeps you from I don't know why. Is it that you don't want to look or do the work that's required to get through the truth and to align with the truth?
06:03 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Well, there could be I mean for psychological reasons, lots of reasons, but I think one deeply psychological common reason that I see in a lot of actors, artists, voiceovers and women is the sabotaging effect of arguing with yourself that you cannot be good enough.
06:22 It's not possible for you to get this successfully done because of X, y, z, you're not worthy, right, you're not worthy. So therein lies your inner voice. But is the inner voice being honest and truthful, or is the inner voice a sabotage voice? Yeah, yeah, absolutely that. You've created as like an alter ego to help you disqualify, get out of situations you know, qualify things and get you off the hook. I think artists do that. An awful lot is to say all the reasons why they cannot do something versus why they can do something, and after a while of telling yourself those lies, you actually believe them.
07:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah yeah, I'm not getting work because, right yeah, talk professionally, right Okay, I'm not'm not getting work because, right, you'll talk professionally, right Okay.
07:05 I'm not a successful voice actor because right, no one's going to hire me because, right, I'm not talented enough, my voice is not good enough, I don't have the right equipment, right, and so therefore, does that allow you to? I've spent all this money and I've gotten nowhere, right? So are you going to quit? Because you're listening right to those lies that you're telling yourself, or the inner voices, your inner self is you right? So we're talking to ourselves. So inner self is you, and inner self could be telling lies that you fabricated.
07:40 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Or it's the voices that have been with you over your lifetime that are the cacophony of voices that are not accurate or true. Yeah, that you've believed. You've gone down that road and sort of believed that that's who.
07:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's the role that you are. They've turned into your inner voice, right.
07:59 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And they've turned into your inner voice, where you pick up the things that you believe that people think or feel about you maybe from your home life or your friendship life or whatever that aren't necessarily an objective truth in the larger world, in the larger context of things, and that, I think, is very, very common Also, especially with women. I think just wanting to please, just being a pleaser, is a big driving force in not listening to your inner voice.
08:27 Yeah, You're saying, oh I'll just, yeah, they want me to do it this way, I'll just do it this way. Or they're asking me for this, I'll just give it to them and putting your common sense, putting that to the side for the higher purpose of pleasing, yeah, absolutely.
08:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, that is so, so tough, and I'll tell you what, and I'm not getting into a political discussion, but I will say that external factors also play a part in that inner voice, right.
08:56 I feel like the nation is tired. Female right and we've had discussions on being a female in this industry or being a female in male-dominated industries. I'm tired. I've been fighting for a long time. I've been fighting for a long time and the inner voice wants to say, right, I fight because I believe certain things to be true and that is my truth. Right, but then the other people feeding into the inner voice you're not good enough or you know what? We're never going to make a difference. Now do I feel like? Am I going back to step zero? And what is it that I need to resolve internally, with my internal voice? That's going to help me to deal right with the external factors that are flying at me in every second of the day, and that's important.
09:45 - Lau Lapides (Guest) That's an important factor. It is every second of the day and that's important. That's an important factor because when you think about either your parents or whoever raised you when you were young, you're like a little recorder. You're like a sponge. You're picking up language and sound and cadence and everything. You're picking that up from the people around you and that's implanted in you. It's very hard to get that out and stop thinking that and doing that. So it's really again compartmentalizing. Okay, what my lived and learned experience was and still is good, bad and ugly, which everyone experiences. And then where am I as a professional in what I'm choosing to experience and who I'm creating?
10:24 Someone was telling an anecdote about this and I thought it was brilliant and he said I get annoyed. He's like in his 40s. He's a professional, whatever it was, like a psychiatrist or something. He said I go home and my parents treat me exactly like I'm 12 again, they talk to me as if I'm 12. Mine do Right and you got to love that right. But it annoys him to death because he says I have a family, I have children, I have a successful career. It's like they haven't graduated to that level. But that's where I'm saying you have to compartmentalize all these players in your life that speak to you in a certain way, sure, that code that linguistically code shift right, that say it's okay, they knew me at different times in my life good times, bad times, young, older. Now I have to amalgamate. What does that all mean in my voice? In my voice as to who I am and what I want to be? That's hard. That's the next step. Yeah, that's the next step.
11:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean it's interesting because, as we are talking about the inner voice, is the inner voice really what you think or is it what others think, right? Or is it a combination of both of them? And also, is your inner voice something that you're doing to escape responsibility or escape owning up to a fact that maybe you haven't done everything you can to be successful in voice acting? And then, if that's the case, right, you have to try to ask yourself why, right, why am I afraid of success? And that's a big thing, I mean, look, you can be just as afraid of success, if not more, as a failure, right? Are you afraid to fail? Are you afraid of success? And I'll tell you what. Are you afraid of hard work? Yeah, and once you're there, whatever you've deemed to be your success, right. What's stopping you from growing more than that? Or are you complacent?
12:09 For me, my personality is I cannot be stagnant. I cannot. I need to continue to grow my business. I need to continually evolve. If I don't, I feel like I'm failing, and for me, that's the motivation I need to push myself. Now, am I afraid of hard work? Me, no, I am not.
12:25 But some people might be, some people might think, well, I just want, I just I'm tired, I've got a lot of other things happening and voice acting should not have been this hard for me, right In the beginning. I'm the first person to admit voice acting was hard for me, and it was one of those things where I said to myself God, like, maybe I shouldn't be doing it. If it's this hard, right, shouldn't it just come naturally? Shouldn't I just have a God-given talent? Shouldn't this just flow for me? And over years of continually saying, well, I'm not used to failing For me myself. My personality is like to just keep going until I don't fail, figuring out as I go, I ultimately decided, yeah, damn it, it's hard, voice acting is hard. I think it's very rare that you have anybody that has just an innate talent for reading words off a page and making them like sound amazing.
13:09 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I got to be honest. I don't think anyone in any of our entertainment profession has it easy.
13:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't. I don't either. I really don't. Just because you and I have been in the industry for many, many, many years right and we've been deemed successful, doesn't mean that we feel successful all the time right, doesn't mean that we feel successful all the time right or that we consider ourselves successful at any given moment.
13:29 - Lau Lapides (Guest) No, that's like an illusion that people want to think is a truism, is a truth. When it's not a human truth, it's not a human thing. Maybe it's a robot thing, but it's not a human thing Because we're always going through situations in our life that we're reacting to, as well as human beings in the world that we're reacting to as well as human beings in the world that we're reacting to as well.
13:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And things change.
13:51 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And things change. But I always say, like, what's the difference? What's the main difference between someone who's young and amateur early stage and someone who is a vetted professional? What's the main difference? And it's not talent, it's the fact that we all get down. We all fall down. We all's not talent, it's the fact that we all get down, we all fall down, we all get in trouble, but we're able to get up, brush ourself off and move on.
14:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Get back on the horse and make use of that.
14:13 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yeah, really make use of that, whereas many are not able to do that. It's holding them down, it's holding them back. There's that stone right on top of them that they're not able to move. So that voice is like as heavy as any equipment that could be out there. It's heavier. It can be either a burden or it can be enlightenment.
14:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's up to you. I love what you're saying about the failure Again, like if you failed and you've allowed that inner voice to say I am a failure, right, without taking benefit from the fail, I'd say get back up on the horse, turn the fail around and spin that into positive things. What positive things can you take from that right?
14:53 So, if there is the dialogue happening where I'm not good enough right, I failed, I didn't get that gig right, I was not chosen right, they didn't pick my voice, I didn't nail the audition. Take that failure and I need you to reframe it right and restructure it so that it becomes a learning moment that can be turned into success. I mean, I think that's really like how do you know when you're lying to yourself? Acknowledge it first. I think that's first and foremost.
15:19 Once you acknowledge it right. You then have the power to take that truth and take that knowledge and reframe it, and then reframe it to successful.
15:30 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Reframe it and how do you use, how do you utilize that reframing to be helpful in your life and in others' lives? So it becomes wisdom. It doesn't just sit in a place where it's a bad experience or it's an experience that was a great experience. It becomes a nugget of wisdom for you.
15:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That becomes your proverb of how you live your life and how you utilize that in your life and we're speaking, so I think, so ethereal, and I want to kind of bring this down to like okay, I might have a student who's come to me and said well, I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on this demo and now everybody tells me it's a piece of garbage and I guess I just didn't know or I failed or that's it, that's why I'm not successful. So I always try to tell people look, life is a learning journey, right, and what sort of energy is positive or helpful? If you're going to sit there and berate yourself for getting a demo that maybe some people don't like, right, or that you don't like or doesn't serve you, that energy is wasted on yourself, like nobody else really cares. To, be quite honest, right, turn that, reframe it around, say I've made an investment, I have now learned and know that maybe I wasn't ready to make that demo.
16:38 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Maybe it's learning money for you. Maybe you had to learn that Exactly that's your investment money for your business.
16:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. So you turn that around and you learn, right, you go get yourself a different coach. You learn until you feel because I believe, right, I believe we all know and then say, well, I trusted my coach. Well, I think there's also that inner voice, right, that says I may be not ready, but I'm going to put my trust in my coach and I get it. Guys, I get it. But also I think there's an inner voice in you that says maybe I wasn't ready for that right, but my coach says I am. And so you didn't listen to that voice? Right, you don't know that you're lying to yourself, right, when you're saying something doesn't feel, right, I don't feel ready.
17:17 - Lau Lapides (Guest) That's the lie comes in, that's the pleasing, because you want to please your coach, you want to please your whoever, and say are you happy with me, are you proud of me? Did I do what you wanted me to do? Yeah, right. And that's where you have to start saying okay, they're my trusted advisor. I pay them for that, absolutely. But I can't put them all in one basket?
17:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, exactly, instead of being completely angry and saying it's all their fault, right, In reality. Right, you need to listen to that voice that, hopefully, I mean maybe you did completely put all your trust in them, but then again, now that you've learned right, now that you've learned from it, now you know, maybe I won't put all my trust in my coaches and I will take that little voice in my head that said maybe you're not ready. Right, they said I was, but I don't feel ready and I didn't tell them about it so that they could reason with me and say no, really you are, or maybe you're not right. That's just the demo readiness. Right, like, what about the audition? What about the person that auditioned and didn't get the gig?
18:21 - Lau Lapides (Guest) There's so many lies that we can tell ourselves about this right. Oh, we somehow always believe that voice.
18:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We always listen to that voice and believe that voice, Right? Oh well, all right.
18:31 - Intro (Announcement) I voice. We always listen to that voice and believe that voice, right?
18:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh well, all right, I did the audition and I must have sucked, right, I sucked, so I didn't get the job. There's the lie. There's the lie that you tell yourself Now. You don't know, right, you don't know that you sucked.
18:34 I mean, maybe you do, maybe internally, you kind of know, oh, I haven't really coached a lot, maybe I should get somebody else's opinion to see, because I haven't developed an ear yet. So maybe it's something that somebody else can help me with. Maybe I don't suck, maybe I just need somebody else to give me some tips, or I need some additional coaching, right, or I nailed it, and then I heard the commercial and God, I can't believe they got hired Right. So there's the lie. How did they get hired? You know what I mean, and so how are you resolving that?
19:06 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Right, Right, I think the discipline to say, okay, I want to always pay attention to the inner voice inside. But a very famous neurosurgeon said this and I thought it was so brilliant I believe it was David Amen, he's like on the speaking circuit as a neurosurgeon. He said believe it or not, you don't have to believe everything you think. And I was like whoa, astonishing, Because we somehow think if we think it then it must be true. Yeah, agreed, but we're forgetting all the immense biases, experiences, sort of mental slurs that we go through in our life that help formulate those thoughts. So that's not to say that you don't understand an inner truth or have an inner voice that can't lead you in the right direction. It's just to say you don't have to believe everything you're thinking.
19:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you can manifest. I'm a big believer in manif. Yeah, you can manifest. I'm a big believer in manifesting. You can create. You can create with your thoughts. You can re-envision, you can reinvent, you can redirect. I absolutely believe that, with your thoughts Right, like they are so, so powerful, and of course, that audition that you didn't get right, and then you're like, oh, I must be no good, don't believe that. Right, you're telling yourself aloud and think here are all the possibilities that Ann and Lau have said a hundred times in an audition demolition. There's many, many reasons why people get the job or don't get the job right, and not all of them are directly under your control. I mean absolutely. So maybe you didn't suck, you are good and that's okay, and it's okay that you didn't get the job right. So you audition, you forget it, right, and ultimately you don't believe the lie, that you're telling yourself that you're not good enough for it and whatever you do, you must discipline yourself to not shed and forecast everything you're thinking.
20:55 - Lau Lapides (Guest) They call it oversharing, but it really is forecasting what exactly is in your mind and you're doing that to purge yourself of guilt. Oh yeah, oh, let's collect 500 for this hour. I'm telling you, this is like good stuff. Don't purge on other people. Don't go through that catharsis. That's a private journey for you, Because guess what the casting director or the business person in front of you is thinking why did you just say that? I don't see that at all. What's happening? Are you okay? Like literally they're thinking, are you okay? Because you're forecasting something onto me that I don't even know what you're talking about Right Now? You and I are coaches. We catch that stuff and we try to remedy that. But you do it on the wrong people. You can never go back and make that impression again on them because they'll always. I remember Barbara Corcoran. I look up to her a lot as a mentor in business and she's a more mature woman.
21:51 on Shark Tank if you ever watch Shark Tank, yeah absolutely she says I always Rolodex in my mind, whether you agree with this or not. I just thought it was very interesting the way she put this. Whenever someone, especially a woman, breaks down crying in front of me when they're pitching their product, I always kind of roll a dex that in my mind that that's not someone I can work with. Now, that's not to say that you can't cry. It's not to say you can't feel emotion. You should feel real emotion and not hide that. However, when you forecast and overshare those emotions with people you don't have relationships with yet, they Rolodex you, they compartmentalize you in a place where they say I don't know what they're telling themselves.
22:30 I don't know what they're thinking and feeling, but it's not my experience of them, so from a business standpoint it can be very harmful.
22:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, that translates right into social media Just saying right your responses, right Whether people respond like share or not, right your response. Is somebody's going to Rolodex that response in their brain and say I don't think I can work with that person based upon what they just said. Happens every day, every moment of the day.
22:58 - Intro (Announcement) Yeah, all the time, all the time.
22:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And so understand that as well. Right, and so if you are oversharing, right Again, in a professional setting, especially, like you said, I think the key is with people that you do not have relationships with yet, right, People that do not know do not know your perspective where that's coming from, right. And even if they do know where that's coming from, where that's coming from right, and even if they do know where that's coming from, they may Rolodex it and say I don't think I can work with that person. Right, and I get that, and we get that too as coaches oh yeah, oh, I can't work with that person.
23:28 - Lau Lapides (Guest) No, I can't work with that. And that's like you trying to find the jury. That's the jury, that's the audience, that's the of people that will agree with you on what you're saying. That's not the place to do it Right, and it's not even an objective truth in any way. It's just a whole bunch of people who may be agreeing with you on whatever you're saying. So you have to be careful. You have to like be careful in who you trust with your inner voice and with your inner self.
23:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I'm going to make this educated guess that when I ask the question, how do you know when you're lying to yourself? Right, I think you have to start with. How do you know when you're lying to yourself, when something is not necessarily going the way that you want it to right? I think that's one telltale way to start really looking inward and asking okay, so why are things not happening? Why am I not getting the gig? Why am I not getting the gig? Why am I not getting any business? Why am I not successful? Or why do I feel like I'm not successful? Asking yourself those questions and just sitting quiet in the moment and really thinking about what are the steps to achieve success? Why are you not getting that gig?
24:33 Well, to get the gig, certain factors have to take place. You have to have talent right, but not always right. You have to have talent right, but not always right. You have to have talent, you have to be in the right demographic, you have to be in the head of the casting director, which none of us are. So there's certain factors that are beyond our control. And when that happens, we have to also put in our head that there are certain factors beyond our control. So maybe we didn't get the gig because we have no control.
24:55 The daughter of a close friend. They gave the job to her, versus they changed directions and went with a male instead of female, or whatever. It is right. Understand that there are things beyond your control and that's okay, rather than I am not good enough, right, right, and taking things. Why am I not getting more work, right? Why am I not getting more work?
25:14 Well, sit down and take a look at. How much coaching have you had, right? How much training have you had? Are you as skilled as you can be? Are you marketing yourself as much as you can be? Why, if not, are you not marketing yourself, right? Well, you don't have the know-how, you don't have the money to invest in a marketer. You don't have the money, right. Why are these things happening? And really sit down and just I would say, write it down. Right, write it down. What are the things that you're not achieving, that you want to achieve, and what are the steps that you need to get there, or what are the conditions in which, when they're met, you will have success in that or not success? And then really sit down and ask yourself to be truthful right. How much of this is under your control? How much of this is other people saying this is the way it is and influencing your inner voice, or how much of it is your own self-sabotage?
26:04 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yeah, and what you're really talking about here, which is, I think, the nugget here. The bottom line takeaway is hold yourself accountable to finding your voice, listening to it and understanding it right. So, for instance, if there's danger for you, if there's an instinctive acknowledgement that you're making, don't just ignore it and do it anyway. Don't just ignore it and overlook it anyway. You oftentimes will go wrong when you do that right, or when someone gives you feedback and you have to actively listen and absorb that feedback, and they say 5, 6, 10, 15 times. I don't know why you just said that. To me. It's not true or accurate. You should stop doing that. Stop doing it Like you've got to stop the behaviors.
26:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, now you go to external sources. Right, when you've listened to your inner voice and your inner voice is not helpful, right, that's when you turn to your accountability buddies, your trusted colleagues.
27:01 - Intro (Announcement) Or sabotaging.
27:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) yes, Right, your trusted colleagues, and you bounce that off of them, and then that is what's going to help, hopefully, reframe right. You're lying to yourself, right, and your inner voice that can be lying to you or sabotaging you, whatever that is, wow. That was deep. By the way, vaughn and I are not we are not in the business of mental health, however. This is just based on our own experiences, so, please, take what we say with a grain of salt.
27:28 We're sharing our experiences to hopefully help you with yours, because we are not therapists, so please keep that in mind, and we're just here to share.
27:39 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It's very true. And I have to say, if you're in business and studying this kind of work over years and years and years, you'll find that the more quality the script, the more quality the copy, the more they have something in common with great writers, great thinkers, great philosophers, great psychologists right? So we don't need to be like a clinical psychologist to understand the analysis of a line from Shakespeare. Like we can figure that out at a certain point and say how does that connect to my life, my lived experience, how does that connect to me uniquely as a person? Is that part of my voice and I mean my inner voice and my mechanical voice as well? Yeah Right, and that's what we call finding our voice. Voice and my mechanical voice as well? Yeah Right, and that's what we call finding our voice. Like finding your authentic voice means like doing that work, doing that homework.
28:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Good stuff. Oh my gosh, Woo Woo. I'm tired now. My inner voice needs a break. We need a latte after that, or something I know. All right. Well, before my latte, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom Lau. I love you. It's been amazing.
28:46 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I love you.
28:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And my inner voice says I love Lau, I love Annie and I love Lau and I love myself and I love my inner voice, even when it misbehaves.
28:56 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And we love all of you listening, and that's why we share these inner thoughts.
28:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, Thank you guys. You have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.
29:06 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
2025 is the year to become "acronimble" by familiarizing yourself with one of the most important acronyms in the industry: CRM, which stands for Customer Relationship Management. The BOSSES discuss how the right CRM tool can streamline how you engage with clients, leading to better organization, and more business opportunities. Learn how to maintain meaningful connections without constantly reinventing the wheel, and discover the strategies that help you organize client interactions to promote continued work. Through personal stories and practical advice, The BOSSES highlight the evolution from old-school Rolodexes to cutting-edge digital solutions, empowering you to manage your client interactions like a BOSS. 00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, amazing voiceover talents. Do you ever wish boss marketing was as fun as it was being behind the mic? Well, check out my VO Boss Blast. It's designed to automate and make your marketing simpler. You'll benefit from your very own target marketed list, tailored to meet your goals and your brand. The VoBoss Blast Find out more at V. The VO Boss Blast Find out more at voboss.com.
00:27 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am the BOSS with the VOS. That's the voiceover strategist, Mr Tom Dheere. Hello.
00:59 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Tom Hello. So that's boss VOS.
01:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Boss, VOS.
01:03 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) The BOSS VOSS, boss VOSS.
01:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) The BOSS BOSS with the V-O-S.
01:06 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) BOSS with the V-O-S.
01:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you know, tom, let's continue the acronym party, shall we? Yes, please, Because I'll tell you what it's the beginning of the year, I'm going to manifest multiple new contacts and you know what I need to be able to keep track of those contacts in a BOSS CRM.
01:26 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Whoa, whoa Boss, boss CRM. What do you?
01:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) think Boss, boss CRM I like that. And you know, people ask me about what CRM do I use? What CRM do I use? And so let's talk about 2025 CRM.
01:40 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Fantastic idea, anne. First off, just to make sure everybody knows what we're talking about, CRM is Customer Relationship Manager. It is a fancy way of saying some form of system where you store your client information potential clients, current clients, past clients' information which you can use as a home base for your marketing strategies. So you use the CRM to develop relationships with customers. So just make sure everybody's on the same page.
02:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Then you could be CRM BOSS, you could be a CRM boss.
02:17 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) You could be a crim boss. No, we'll stick with CRM.
02:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But CRM reminds me of crumble cookies. Oh wait, now I'm going off.
02:28 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I diverge into a tangent of cookies. I was thinking crumb, like the god that Conan the Barbarian worships. All right, we're really getting off the rails here.
02:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I can see where my brain is versus yours.
02:36 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) You must be hungrier than I am.
02:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love cookies, me too. So, speaking of CRMs, so, tom, let's talk about why, first of all, is it good to have a CRM? Why do we need one? For a boss business?
02:51 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It is critical for voice actors to have a CRM, because I tell my students that my definition of marketing is the art and science of developing meaningful relationships. That's what it is. You want meaningful relationships with clients. Now, we all know why you want meaningful relationships with clients. Now we all know why we want meaningful relationships with clients and they know too is because we want them to give us money to talk Like. We understand that, they understand that. And at the same time, it's complicated and there's a lot of moving parts to all of this stuff.
03:24 Having a CRM well, why you want to have it is because you don't want to have to reinvent the wheel every time. You want to get voiceover work. Also, it's a relationship manager, since you are trying to develop relationships. Relationships have beginnings. They start in a certain way Hi, my name is so-and-so Nice to meet you Handshake, firm handshake and all that stuff. And then it's the getting to know you stuff develop an understanding of each other, what you can offer each other, what you both need from each other, and developing trust. Trust is one of the most important components of any relationship, be it personal or professional. So why have a CRM? You do it to develop trust and nurture relationships with clients.
04:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And Tom, can I just say I love that. Can I just say, as a girl with about a million and a half and I kid you not a million and a half unread emails in my Gmail, if I don't have a place that I can go to see where are my customers, right, if I'm not doing something to organize that, basically emails just fly through my inbox and so I might forget that I was in contact with my client maybe a month ago and I needed to follow up with them for a particular reason. Maybe they were saying let me get back to you on this and I need to follow up. And so if I just relied on my trusty email system which, by the way, has a million and a half unread email messages and guys in my defense, right, I got a Gmail account in 1990-something Okay, how many years is that? Thirty-some-odd years, a long time.
05:04 When it began, I was one of the first like few hundred people that had a Gmail account and, because Google is a search engine, I just never deleted anything. So I have records, by the way, from my clients, if I want to. I have records going back to like 1992 or 96. I can't remember which year but yeah, that's amazing.
05:21 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I know it's crazy.
05:22 That's amazing, but fun stuff Another thing to keep in mind is that, for a moment, take out the word relationship and replace it with the term sales funnel. Yeah, a good CRM helps get voice seekers into the sales funnel and pushes them through the sales funnel. There's different permutations and levels for different people, but for me, my sales funnel terms are brand awareness, consideration, decision, advocacy. Brand awareness you send the cold email Hi, so-and-so explainer video company. My name's Tom Dheere. I'm an explainer video narrator.
05:57 Now they know that you exist, which means if they open the email, clicked on the link to your website, listened to your demos, downloaded them and replied hey, thanks for sending this, we'll keep you in mind for future consideration. They are now keeping you hopefully top of mind the next time a voiceover gig comes along that you're right for. So that's part of using the CRM to keep moving them through the consideration part of the sales funnel to the decision where they actually have a voiceover that you'd be right for and they remember you and they have your demos and they have your contact information and they actually reply to you. Hey, we think we've got something for you. Could you please read this script and let us know how much you'd charge for this? You do that and then you get the booking and then it goes into the advocacy part of the sales funnel where you did such a great job that they will remember you the next time a project comes along, because you did such a great job on the last project that you worked on.
07:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love how you just explained the sales funnel because I was going to say, like most voice actors are not necessarily aware, you went through the technical aspects of a traditional, like marketing sales funnel. Here I always have to go to my lipstick.
07:13 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Okay, let's go to your lipstick.
07:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's not in Ganguzza, unless I got my—okay. First of all, I have to have a need. I have to have a need, right, and so I may or may not be aware of different brands of lipstick, right, but because I've used this lipstick before, I'm going to start with my Chanel. Right, I have my Chanel lipstick and they're top of mind because literally they sit right here on my desk, because when I do my podcast video, I've got to make sure I have my matching lipstick.
07:40 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh, your lipstick matches your headphones.
07:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, brand awareness. That's one thing. What's the next step in the funnel there, Tom?
07:47 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Consideration.
07:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Consideration. Now, what are the factors that are going to have me consider? Now, just equate this to your voiceover business guys. Basically, this is the layman's terms of like okay, so what is it? The considerations of? Why am I going to buy this brand? Right?
08:01 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, what are the advertising and marketing techniques that that company is going to use to remind you how awesome their lipstick is?
08:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, exactly. And also, what is my experience with the lipstick? Right? So I'm on their mailing list, right? And does Chanel go on sale? Well, no, but that's also brand awareness too. So we know that certain things don't go on sale. Chanel doesn't usually go on sale, but anyways, I keep up with them with their mailings and that's how they keep top of mind with me, but pretty much I also use it all the time and it sits there, so I visually see it. So it's either in my inbox or it's sitting here in my desk, right? What's the next step after consideration?
08:37 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Decision.
08:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Decision Okay, do I have the money at this time? Do I have the need? Do I have the money to buy this? Right. And I make that decision. I click on the email Right Because they say, oh, new colors are out and I'm like, oh, I could use a new color red Right. So I make that decision. I click, go to the website and then what's after?
08:57 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) the decision I buy it, right. Advocacy, you buy it and then advocacy.
08:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So if I buy it and I love the color, oh my God, oh guys, have you seen? All right, all my friends, I'm going to say did you see this color? Isn't this color amazing? Right, and I might even throw up like a social media. You know, like, ooh, branding awareness. Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, right, branding awareness. I love this new color red, because you got to feel confident in the booth so that you can voice confidently. And so there we go, I'm going to advocate for the brand. So not only am I advocating for my brand, but I'm advocating for this brand as well. So that kind of just took you through the sales funnel with, like, just a traditional lipstick. Sorry, tom, you could maybe use a flannel shirt as an example.
09:35 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, I'm a Maybelline man myself.
09:37 Oh, okay, there you go, so I want to take exactly what you said and now let's look at it from the lipstick maker company's perspective.
09:46 They've got people that they want to buy their lipstick and they want them to love their lipstick and come back for more. So they have their own CRM and through their television advertising, through their radio advertising, through their digital and streaming advertising, through their print advertising on the side of a bus or in a magazine of some sort, they are trying to get people to be aware of them, brand awareness, and keep them top of mind, which is why there's always kinds of print and digital and other forms of advertising. And if they get you on that mailing list, they can send out emails at regular intervals based on people who haven't bought their lipstick yet and people who possibly have bought their lipstick yet. They also look at did they open this email, Did they use a promo code to try the lipstick or get a discount, even though they don't do discounts, which is very interesting because a lot of brands position themselves we are so valuable and we are so coveted, we don't need to discount. We don't need to do that.
10:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I did that for many years. It's very interesting for Chanel to do that. It's an interesting psychology behind it.
10:55 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) There is a psychology.
10:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There are a lot of times where, if something is so cheap, I'll be like oh, I'm not so sure about the quality of that. I'd actually rather pay a little bit more money because I feel like I'm getting better quality. And that's the whole like. Know your worth, guys. Right, what should you be charging? Charge what you're worth versus going cheap, right.
11:12 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) More expensive equals superior from a branding and psychological point of view. So Chanel, chanel, right. Chanel sees all of us, potential customers, brand awareness, consideration, actual customers, decision and advocacy, and they use CRMs to get lipstick buyers into the sales funnel and push them through. Exactly Translating that to voice actors. We want to do the same exact thing, right, and a good, robust, interactive CRM can help us get voice seekers into the sales funnel and push them through.
11:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and you'll be able to know at what point in the funnel they are at Exactly. A good CRM will tell you exactly where they are in the sales funnel so you'll know what to do for the next steps. Maybe they need an additional email, maybe they need a phone call, maybe you'll put out some more social media advertisements, that sort of a thing. So really depending on where they are in the CRM is when you make that determination and decision on what to do. So now, tom, the question is we know why we need a CRM right and we understand the sales funnel and all voice actors need to understand that sales funnel, because we are selling our products, we're selling our voices.
12:17 Let's talk about actual CRMs. I mean, there's many of them out there. I know people constantly ask me which ones I use and I think the answer may surprise you unless you've listened to a podcast of mine before but I don't use any one. I use a multitude of CRMs in combination with one another because myself personally, I don't find one that does everything for me that I need. What about you, tom?
12:38 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, different CRMs fulfill different needs. Now, what we are talking about, and what most voice actors ask us about, is the software or app.
12:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If you have a Rolodex from the 70s or 80s or 90s.
12:58 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) That's a CRM. Yep, yep, yep, A spreadsheet, A spreadsheet. Exactly that was the very next thing I was going to say A spreadsheet is a form of CRM.
13:04 Yeah, I had an index card box. So in 1995, when I got my first voiceover demo and my coach told me to cold call because that's back then pre-social media, pre-pay-to-play, free home recording that was pretty much the only thing you could do. I would use a CRM of index cards and I had those little you know with the little tabs that would separate them into production companies, recording studios, advertising agencies, so on and so forth. That was a CRM and then that evolved into spreadsheets. I do still use spreadsheets regularly, but I also use an actual software app CRM.
13:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Myself as well.
13:44 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Now, neither Anne nor I are getting paid to sponsor or affiliate or promote any particular CRM, so we are going to be talking to you about this purely through what our experience has been without hawking, and then we get a little kickback.
14:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I'm going to tell you, my first CRM well before voiceover was a Rolodex, and then, ultimately, it turned into a spreadsheet so that I could keep track of my customers, and that was based off of. You know, I started doing all my accounting online right through my accounting software, and so it was my customer base, right, that was thrown into a spreadsheet and then I would track things that way. So, you guys, crms don't have to be expensive. They can be very simple and it can be whatever you're most comfortable with, and that's what I started with. And then it ended up being my Gmail, right? My Gmail, where I would separate things into folders for different clients and then keep track of them that way, and then a couple of plugins for the Chrome browser that worked within Gmail to help me keep top of mind with them, and then, tom, I'm sure we'll get into the other ones that we use. What?
14:48 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) about you.
14:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You started as a spreadsheet right.
14:50 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) My start is the index card box, which then turned into spreadsheets, and then 2003,. I started using Act. You remember Act by Sage? I used that one for almost 10 years, so yeah, around 2013. And I think it either got discontinued or something weird happened with it, or I didn't like the features, or they started charging too much. I don't remember what it was. Then I did move to Gmail as well.
15:17 I'd been using Gmail as an email account for a while, but then I started to use it as an actual CRM. One thing that's nice is that you can use what? Is it G-Sync or Google Sync? So I synchronize my Gmail with my Outlook folders, so I have Outlook which is how I manage all my email.
15:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I have Gmail folders.
15:40 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right, and this is the great thing about it. I have Gmail folders, but they automatically sync with Outlook every time. So if you look at Gmail, and you look at the Outlook folders. The folders are exactly the same. So if I move one to one thing in one, it moves it to the one thing in the other, which means if I'm at my desktop, on my laptop, on my tablet or on my phone.
16:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Outlook is amazing.
16:02 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Outlook is amazing. Anything I do with Gmail or Outlook, it automatically synchronizes with all of my devices.
16:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) In my defense, I would have Outlook as my most favorite email client ever and when I was working in the corporate world I had an Outlook account. And when I left the corporate world to go into voiceover full-time, I no longer had an Outlook server right to go to and Gmail at the time wasn't syncing up with Outlook nicely, or Outlook wasn't syncing up with Gmail nicely, so I literally got used to using just Gmail. Okay, but it's funny because my husband does use Gmail with Outlook and he just filters everything into his Outlook because Outlook is just wonderful visually, it's just a nice way to organize things in folders. But I've gotten so used to my Gmail in folders that I'm really used to and filtering. I have automatic filtering and that sort of thing, but I totally love Outlook.
16:51 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right, I'm looking at the bottom of my desktop. For me it's Google Workplace Sync, because I have a paid Google Workspace account. And Google Workspace is great.
16:59 It does all kinds of fun things.
17:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I can do it now.
17:02 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, and I never even thought about Gmail as a CRM that I'm using now because I have a folder for every client in Gmail, because every time I have any kind of correspondence with any client, once the correspondence is over, I drag that email into that client folder. Now do I use that specifically to market out of? No, but it is a robust, legit CRM because, like, for example I'll give you a perfect example 2019, a potential client reached out to me and said hey, I'm developing this app, I'm getting a grant, I've got the level one grant for it, so I've got enough money to pay you to do this with the app and then, once we get that done, then we're going to apply for a level two grant. So I did the work in 2019 and 2020. We had an email exchange in 2021. And then a few weeks ago, three years later, the client said hey.
17:53 I got the level two grant. We're ready to keep going.
17:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yep love that. And at first I'm like who?
17:57 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) the hell is this? Because it's been three years? But then I'm like. I looked at the email and then I'm like but you can go back. I went back and I looked in Gmail slash Outlook and I saw the folder with that client and all of our correspondences dating back to 2019 were there.
18:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know it's wonderful. This is also really good, and files, yeah, and everything.
18:17 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) What's also good is often like I'll have a client and years will go by just like that and they'll say hey, I've got another explainer for you Charge same as last time. And I'll be like I don't remember, but my CRM does, because I look in, I see the email and last time we charged this, and then I can make a decision yeah, that's good.
18:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Or it's been a few years. So now I search engine and again, I'm an authority on that because I have a million and a half unread email messages. And, by the way, they're unread because what I do is I subscribe. Just for those people that are wondering, I subscribe to every corporate list, every corporate list, because I want to learn as much about how companies that I want to voice for market to their customers, and so I sign up for a lot of mailing lists and I just let it filter through so I can see how they market. And that's honestly how I learned marketing Tom really through just everybody else and looking at everybody else. So I don't have a problem with not having an empty inbox I know some people do but again, I must have probably, I want to say, a good 300 folders within my Gmail.
19:17 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh yeah, Me too I have hundreds.
19:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, at least, and I have rules that filter emails coming in.
19:24 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Absolutely. Looking at my inbox, right now I have 14 emails in my professional inbox the Tom and Tom Dheere inbox.
19:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have more than that and that's cool.
19:32 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) But, like I said, when I'm done with the conversation I drag it into the client's folder and I've got this archive. For what did we do? How much did we charge, like all this stuff. But I think, anne, people want to know which app software-y type CRMs do we recommend. So what do you use these days?
19:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay. So in addition to my Gmail, I use multiple because it depends on what I'm working with. So right now I have a Wix website and I have the VO Peeps website. I have the VO Boss website. Obviously, I've got Anne Ganguzza.
20:00 So I've got three main brands where I have websites, and so for each of those I have the Wix CRM. So I have people who subscribe to Anne Ganguzza, people who subscribe to VO Peeps, people that subscribe to VO Boss. Each one of them on the Wix website has its CRM utilized by Wix. Because people subscribe, they get placed in the CRM there, which is great because then I can send emails to those lists. I can also check and see if I've sent an email out to a list, I can see how many people have opened it, who've clicked on it and who've actually purchased, and it really has a nice series of accounts for that. And also I can just work from my contact list to send emails and categorize them as clients, categorize them as, let's say, coaching students or however I want to do it. So Wix is my first.
20:48 I have three really for each domain and then I also use ActiveCampaign because I use the VO Boss Blast that I sell as well to direct market to companies. I have a list of over 90,000 creative companies, advertising agencies, rosters, production companies, and so that is part of that marketing package. And so I have ActiveCampaign that I use to house the contacts. Now, most software and you'll agree, tom will charge based on how many contacts you have in there. So, at least for ActiveCampaign, I have like 200,000 contacts in ActiveCampaign and so I pay a hefty price for that and they charge per contact. But I'm doing that because I've got a list of 90,000 and I've splitting that list up and doing marketing for other VO bosses and so I spend a lot of money on that product. So between the two Wix, well, three on that product. So between the two Wix, well three, gmail, wix and ActiveCampaign. I've got three CRMs that I'm utilizing for different needs Cool.
21:48 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Like we've already established, I use Gmail and I do use spreadsheets for very niche-y genres like political, because I like to see in one space who they are, what their contact is, when did I reach out? Did they open the email, did they reply, did I get on their roster, did I book? And then that stuff eventually makes its way into my CRM. Like Anne, tomdeercom and VOStrategistcom are both Wix-based sites, so I have two separate CRMs. The TomDeer CRM is obviously for voiceover clients, the VO Strategist CRM is for students and I have different tactics and strategies and I have different sales funnels and workflows for each of those and they both work great. For many years I also I remembered I used to use MailChimp and before that I used Vertical Response and they were both great they were both great.
22:41 But the one Vertical Response and they were both great. They were both great, but the one the CRM that I was using religiously before I fully migrated to Wix was Cloze. C-l-o-z-e.
22:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) This is a fantastic CRM. I know the name.
22:52 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Just vision this you wake up in the morning, you get an email in your inbox saying, hey, these are the people you haven't reached out to in three months, and then you can click on that name and then it takes you to cloze and it'll say oh, would you like to use one of the email templates that you created? You click on the template and you look at based on what genre of voiceover they cast, where they are in the sales funnel, and it already it populates it with their name. You can obviously do a little extra personalization as you see fit. Click send. Then you'll get a notification if they open the email. You'll get a notification if they clicked on any links in the email and it has a project manager. So if you, for example, narrate long-form e-learning or an audio book, you can set up benchmarks for like audio book record and deliver the first 15 minutes, get approval for the first 15 minutes, record chapter one, record chapter two, record chapter 20, send them an invoice, do corrections, market that this book is now on sale, and so on and so forth. It's fantastic. It's only like 200 something a month.
23:56 And and did not know this before I say it is I just realized that you can rent my video Clothes for Voice Actors at voestrategistcom. Right now it's a rentable video, so you can stream it for $5 for 72 hours. You can just rent it. Most of my videos are 20 bucks, but that's one of the videos that I'm promoting for five bucks and Ann didn't even know that and I didn't even think about that when we were like what are we going to talk about this month? So when we were like what are we going to talk about this month? So yeah, so if you go to veostrategistcom, go to the video section, you can rent it for $5.
24:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now one thing I just want to say, tom, is like, no matter what CRM you use, it does take some time to set up. I mean, there is some work involved in setting up a CRM and getting your contacts in there. I had tried Nimble for a while, but Nim based their pricing on the size of your mailbox and, of course, with over 1 million unread emails, it was prohibitively expensive. Now you said, tom, for the low price of only $200 a month, which may or may not be something that people have in their budget. But I will say that that's really nice. That Cloze will say hey, look, you haven't contacted these people in three months. I think that's wonderful.
24:57 Right now I have like a boomerang app that's on my Chrome browser and, I think, gmail. Now you can schedule emails and if you need to respond, you'll notice it'll come back, say, hey, you haven't responded to this person in five days. So there's kind of that built into it. But just know that a CRM, no matter what you do, if you get one, that you're going to pay a monthly fee. I think Nimble was like 20 bucks and then they're like no, with your blah, blah, blah, it's going to cost you a hundred and I'm like I'm not going to pay a hundred dollars, I've already got most of what I need anyways.
25:26 You really need to just assess what your needs are and then figure out what works for you, because you don't have to pay anything. I don't pay anything right now. Well, I do. I should say that I pay for Wix and I pay for ActiveCampaign, but depending on what is comfortable for you and what will help you to stay top of mind and keep yourself top of mind, because sometimes I'll forget. Oh gosh, I should have responded, or I should reach out to this client, because gosh knows you could be losing work if you forget to. I've got clients who say, yes, I'm going to buy this, or I want to come back to this, and then, if you follow up, sometimes it's just that little nudge that is top of mind, reminding that we'll get you that sale.
26:00 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yep, and one thing I will say clothes is about 200 something dollars a month, but if you think about it, if you use that CRM and you book one explainer video for $300, you made your money back and everything else after that is profit.
26:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely, absolutely Good conversation, guys. I don't know if we'll ever like get the question stopping about the CRMs, but you know what guys Do, what comes naturally to you, what's comfortable for you. As far as Tom and I making recommendations, I mean, we have a combination of CRMs that work for us and we've named a few of them. But really do your research, guys, and know that it will take you some work to set it up. But I think if you've got a CRM that's running, I mean I'll tell you what that CRM saves my butt every month, and more than that, by being able to communicate easily with people that are subscribed to me and people that I want to reach out to. So it's absolutely worthy investment for bosses. So thanks again, tom, for your words of wisdom.
26:59 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) You're amazing. Thank you, as always, for having me.
27:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, bosses. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Tom and myself, real bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
27:15 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
In this episode, Anne Ganguzza sits down with Sean Savage, a seasoned musician and audio producer with a wealth of experience in the creative industry. The BOSSES share how they each authentically evolved their careers in podcasting. They open up about the pivotal moments that defined their path and how they found inspiration for their creative processes. In a world where our digital presence often shapes our identity, Anne and Sean are excited to join forces to launch an inspiring new podcast series called The Myth of You. This podcast is an incredible opportunity to dive deep into exploring the stories we tell ourselves and the myths that shape our reality. Together, Anne and Sean will challenge, inspire, and guide you as you uncover the narratives that influence your life.
In this episode, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Danielle Famble to explore the impact of money mindset on entrepreneurial success. Delve into the ways societal norms and gender roles shape our financial perspectives, and discover the power of open conversations about money. Anne and Danielle emphasize the link between mindset and financial prosperity, especially for voice actors, and share strategies for shifting from a scarcity to an abundance mindset. By addressing subconscious beliefs about money, entrepreneurs can unlock creative opportunities, fuel innovation, and ensure enduring business success. This episode invites listeners to challenge traditional beliefs, embrace a more inclusive approach to money management, and cultivate a sustainable future through proactive and creative financial strategies. Join the conversation to empower your entrepreneurial journey and transform your financial mindset.
00:00 - Advertisement (Ad) I've just finished listening to Creative Brilliance with Improv, Anne and Lau, and all I can say is yes, ladies, improv is absolutely one of my favorite activities, and the life of the pre-life is real. Remembering that the run-in line or your lead-in line does not only exist at the beginning of your read, but throughout, it's a critical activity. The running conversation that has to happen in your head truly makes a difference. So, ladies, thank you so much. I greatly appreciate it.
00:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey boss listeners, are you ready to turn your voice over career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project.
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01:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Money Talks series. I'm your host, anne Ganguza, and I am thrilled to be back again with one of my favorite girls to talk about money Danielle Famble. Hey Danielle, hey Anne, good to be back, danielle. I have a secret to tell you.
01:52 What I love money, and I don't think that's a secret oh gosh, is it just me or is it that some people don't like to discuss their relationship with money, and I think that's a very important thing, obviously for us running businesses is our relationship with money.
02:06 I mean money matters, and I think we have to really talk about what our relationship with money is like. Because, I'll tell you, when I was growing up as a female, it wasn't a thing to make money. Like my parents, my dad went out and it was the breadwinner and it was always kind of like ingrained in my brain that I was supposed to do other things, and not necessarily it wasn't. My critical role was to make money.
02:31 But, in my business, I certainly don't have another purpose than to be able to make money to help survive.
02:39 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, it's almost like the purpose of a business is to make a profit and that profit is making money, money. Yeah, I totally agree. I think it's a sociological thing. I think it's also we're sort of taught that talking about money is too risque and it's not polite yeah don't be greedy. We're running businesses and businesses need to make money, so we should talk about it Absolutely.
03:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I'll tell you what I'm not really shy at least on this podcast about talking, and that's why I'm so happy that you're here to talk about money, and this whole money talk series is just like makes me a happy, happy girl. I just I like talking about it because I think it's something that, as business entrepreneurs, we don't discuss enough of right we don't discuss, and especially for myself and my values and things that were taught to me when I was growing up were completely different than what I need to implement in order to have and run a successful business. Again, one very primary one was that women were not breadwinners. They were meant to have families and do other things, and so I really was kind of at a standstill when I was growing up because I was seeing things that were demonstrated to me that I didn't necessarily think should be true.
03:52 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) And I think there's also this like belief about money that maybe that it's hard to make money or you have to struggle to get it and I really believe that money can come easily to you if you learn about it and understand it and know how it works. But yeah, I mean for me too. I mean I grew up with parents who are entrepreneurs and seeing my mom and dad work together and my grandparents even working together to make money. It wasn't necessarily that imbalance in a way of the man goes out and is the breadwinner, and that actually was totally happening in my home. But in terms of business, I was seeing, in my life anyway, sort of more of an equal partnership when it came to money, but we never really talked about it.
04:41 It wasn't something that we discussed. I just happened to pick up on what I saw and then I made assumptions based on what I saw that may or may not have been true.
04:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you said that because you're right. Money was like one of those things. My grandmother I'm from that age where children should be seen and not heard.
05:00 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) But, money.
05:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You don't talk about money. It's not polite, right? It's just not. You don't discuss money, and you're right. I saw things, I witnessed things and so I made my own assumptions. I'm so glad that you mentioned that because you're right. Some of these assumptions maybe were incorrect on my part and I grew up thinking a certain way and it affected how I thought about money, right, and how I thought about well, I guess I need to go out and get a job. It didn't occur to me that I could make my own money and be my own boss, and I think, had I maybe had a different relationship with money or maybe learned about money at an earlier age? Gosh, I will be the first person up on my platform my soapbox saying that if you're in grade school, you should be taught about money Like from a young age, you should be taught about money, financial, financial responsibility, relationships with money, because I think you need to have a healthy relationship with money.
05:55 I don't think it should consume you. However, I think you should have a healthy relationship with money. That means that you're not afraid of it, you're not afraid to talk about it, you're not afraid to learn about it, and I think one of the best things you can do is educate yourself about anything really, and money is no different. Educate yourself about money, because it truly is something that we do need to survive. Oh for sure?
06:16 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, absolutely. I think you touched on it a little bit. But there is an inherent fear and money can cause a fear response a little bit, especially if you don't have it or you need more of it to get to where you're trying to go in life or in business. I'll tell you a personal story. For me, my education, learning about money and how I needed to interact with money, really came from a trauma response, because I got sick and I needed to take some time away from work, and I was working as a waitress. If you don't go to work, you don't get paid, and if you don't get paid, then you're not going to be able to, like, pay your bills.
06:56 So for me, I was working a job that, like, required my daily attendance, and if I was not able to do that for whatever reason for me that was a health reason then it affected my money and I didn't have the savings in place to be, able to catch me if I needed to take some time away from my income generating source my job, I thought, and I got a random illness that just kind of took me out, and even for a short period of time actually, and I realized that I did not have the infrastructure in place to make sure that I would be okay even if I couldn't go to my job.
07:47 Sure, yeah, educate myself about money and how money worked and how I can be a participating factor and how I can have, like, my own security when it came to money. And for me, having money became a security blanket and that drove me into almost a fear-based or trauma-based response that if I didn't have money I was not secure. And that belief system really got me in a negative place around money and work where I could not stop working because I needed that security.
08:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right or money will get you happy.
08:12 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Right, and that didn't happen either.
08:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So there's that fine line between we need money, we need to have that healthy relationship with money. However, money may or may not make the majority of us happy. However, it is needed for our businesses to survive, right, and it's needed for personally, for us to be able to pay the bills and to survive, and so different people have different relationships with money, and also financial arguments are probably one of the top sources of divorce, right.
08:44 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah.
08:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) For many people, and so it's such a delicate balance. I mean, how can we have a healthy relationship with our money, danielle, how do you secure your healthy relationship with money?
08:56 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I think. First, it requires you to take inventory of where you currently are right. So if you think about and that can be a scary thing that can be a very scary thing because you're having to really assess your own beliefs and belief systems and get down to.
09:15 I had to. I dealt with this in therapy because it took more than just me to get that out. But really, I mean, when you think about money like for you, anne, when you think about money and like making money or having money, do you feel like cringe and does it make you feel small, or are you like oh money, I'm so excited.
09:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I feel like I already know that's kind of my go-to. That's your thing, oh money.
09:43 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) And really having. If money and the idea about money makes you feel small or repel, then imagine that energy is not going to be coming to you or stressed, or stressed, it's not coming to you.
09:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Which is a lot. Yeah, you're right. And so there becomes that abundant mindset, right, I mean? And there are some people who just don't subscribe to that theory of abundance, but I very much am like well, I'd rather be more in a positive abundant mindset than a negative mindset, because just my personality is one where I don't like to be sad or unhappy or stressed and money can absolutely be a source of stress and especially gosh knows in our businesses that we are our own entrepreneurs.
10:22 That is probably the number one reason that most people don't make it in the voiceover industry, right, is they're not making the money they need to survive, of course, for their businesses to survive or them to survive personally, and that becomes then a great source of stress. So how do we deal with it in a way that doesn't bring us so much stress, right, that it is detrimental to our business?
10:45 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) There's so much more to your business than just money, although in this series we've obviously talked so much about money and financial principles and everything else. But there's so many other things to your business and if there is a way that you can have fun in your business and bring that levity and light and joy to your business, the money I have found does come. I used to be a musical theater actor before I became behind the mic and I found that when I was happy and joyful for my friends who were booking work, I actually started booking more work. There was almost like this reciprocity of joy and light and acceptance and abundance to oh there's enough and I see there's enough.
11:33 I celebrate my friend for booking work. That means that there is a job that can come to me as well. So I think it feels, and it seems a little bit woo woo and is there an actionable thing that you can do with it? Maybe just celebrating and being joyful for the work that's coming for other people who are booking work, if they're sharing it, like on social media, for example, but also being grateful for every single opportunity. Every audition is an opportunity to work. It may not be paid work, because maybe you're not getting paid for that audition, but it's an opportunity to work and to do something that you hopefully love to do, and do it joyfully.
12:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, I talk a lot about being joyful and following our paths and really because I mean I'd rather be joyful than not joyful when I have to work, and so if you take that mindset right and apply that to money, right, Be joyful about money.
12:25 Be, joyful about the fact that it can come to you, right, and that, when it comes to you, it affords you the opportunity, maybe not to buy the fanciest new car or the fanciest new mic, but it affords you the opportunity to continue in this creative process that brings you joy on a day-to-day basis, right, the more hours of joy that I can have in a day, the better.
12:48 Right.
12:49 And if I can do that while making money and I can allow the money and have that mindset of abundance, that, yes, I'm happy for anyone that can survive in this industry, and especially now with all this craziness, with people being fearful of AI taking their jobs away and the race to the bottom.
13:06 Right, when you worry and stress out about the race to the bottom and people and things taking your job away, you are taking all that energy and putting it into a place that is not going to help you get more jobs. And so, in reality, if you focus your energy on being the best that you can be and finding the joy in the work, the jobs will follow and I believe that the money will follow. Now, how much money these days, has the market changed? I mean, I think, again, education plays a big role in this and education in regards to the market right and in education in regards to your business sensibilities and your relationship with money. Well, if the market is not necessarily there like it used to be, then what can you do in regards to your financial situation to either rectify that, change that evolve, that, do something different, while still maintaining that joyful, abundant mindset?
14:02 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh yeah, I also like knowing all the different resources that are out there to help us learn, knowing that there's the GBAA rate guide that can help inform how you quote jobs, or what is an industry standard rate, what is a guide that I can use to help me or even other voice actors and just saying, hey, listen, I'm thinking about this particular rate, how does that line up? Or what do you think? Having coaches or mentors line and not being, as you're calling it, that race to the bottom, and then that can be very joyous, because it's a collaborative effort that we're all making sure that the money is staying within livable standards of living rates so that we can all win. That's really helpful and that helps maintain for me, it helps maintain the joy. Also, I just feel like you have to think about where your mentality about money is coming in, because if you are not addressing that, it will come out when you negotiate your own rates for example Sure when you least expect it, Exactly In your daily actions and you don't realize yeah.
15:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You're right. I love that you're talking about negotiation because you're right, that attitude, those thoughts that you have about money will absolutely come out in negotiations, with money and even I would say, in your auditioning and your confidence in your product.
15:32 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah.
15:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I mean it can. Absolutely. Well, I am not worth you know what someone else might be worth, because I'm just starting out, I'm new, and again that relationship directly parallels, I think, with your relationship with money, because as voice actors we are all worth, we are all investing money in this business and we are all worth a particular amount and we should never consider that worth being lower or low, just in general, Kind of like in money. Is money bad? No, Money should be thought of as a means to good and positivity.
16:08 It's a resource, a tool to help us achieve our dreams and our joys and to do something that can propel us further right. Money will help me to take my career further, take my business further right. I can make more investments. I can find another genre that brings me even more joy, that kind of thing. So, really, that relationship I think that you have with money go back to if you're stressed out, if you're nervous, if you're all about like, oh gosh, I'm not going to make it because AI is going to take over or it's a race to the bottom these days. And in reality, I think that if you take that energy and focus it on, how can I resonate abundance, right, how can I resonate abundance in my business? And that, of course, I think again, when you talk about business, I think you can't not talk about money.
17:04 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) It's impossible.
17:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think it's impossible, because you can't run a business without money and you can't sustain a business without money and you can't grow your business without money. Yeah.
17:12 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Because, again, I've said this several times the purpose of a business is to create a profit and you have to be making more than you spend to run the business. You, in order to do that, you have to be making more money and growing your business as time goes on. And if you have a fear or your belief system about money is limiting your ability to grow your business and scale your business, then it's going to be a very uncomfortable time running your business. And if you want to have a business for years and years and years, imagine living your life that way for years and years and years it's just not fun. Yeah, yeah.
17:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, I like to think of it in terms of money, mindset and mindset in general. Right, you have a choice. You have a choice in how you think and how you think about things, and for me, I'd much rather think about things from a positive perspective, just because I don't like to be unhappy and I don't choose to be unhappy, and so I try to think of everything in the more positive light, even if let's say, oh, it's been slow this month, right, and maybe it's been slow for a couple of months, right. So how do I take that worry, that potential financial worry? It's like, oh gosh, how am I going to make the payments this month? How am I going to pay my employees this month, and really kind of take the time that you would spend worrying about that in terms of, all right, sitting down, and these would be positive aspects of how all right. So now maybe we are slow this month, so what can we do to rectify that?
18:40 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) What can we do?
18:41 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) How can I how?
18:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) can I do this, how can I rectify that, so that I won't have this worry, this cloud hanging over my head? What can I do? Can I market more? Maybe once in a while you might have to accept a job that is maybe below what you initially quoted, right, and maybe that's something that you will concede to and not think negatively about that right Totally, in terms of thinking of it as a financial stepping stone, right, and having that relationship where you're not angry that you're making less right For this one time. Right.
19:15 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) But there's joy in making something at all. There's joy in making money.
19:19 What I love about what you just said is think about how much more creative freedom you've just given yourself by turning that fear, that worry on its head of how can I pay the bills this month, into what do I need to do, how can I make some additional money or income or do something different. Then you have the option to say, okay, wow, as a creative, as a person who is a creative, an actor, a person who makes things from other people's words, and I turn that through my body, into this thing that I've created and added value to the businesses and the organizations and the companies and the brands that I voice for. Sure, absolutely. When you think about it like that, oh, my goodness, imagine like the joy and the levity that comes from that. Yeah, because then you can become more creative. Okay, yeah, maybe I will negotiate this particular job and I don't get the amount that I wanted to.
20:14 But look, I made some money. Or look, I'm auditioning different style or genre or work with someone, like there's so many possibilities there. When you open up your mindset to how can I, what can I do, what are the opportunities out there? Because I look at all the auditions that are out there let's say, on a pay-to-play site, if you can see like all the auditions are out there. They're looking for human beings. They're looking for people to do that work, and so, if you look at these as opportunities, the opportunities are all around you. You've opened your mind to it.
20:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I think if you allow and we talk about like, allow the money to flow like a river you know, if you allow that money, if you think abundance, if you think joy, if you think about allowing the possibility of money rather than, oh God, I I can't do this, or I can't charge, or that client is trying to jip me out of. You know that kind of negativity where, oh, they're trying to jip me out of what I'm worth. So it's good to know what you're worth, but it's also good to know that when a company states they have a budget and they can't meet the budget that you initially want, that you turn that on its head and you say, okay, well, it's an opportunity for me to make, maybe not what I originally intended, but also it's an opportunity that I can then take and turn into other opportunities.
21:37 So, rather than being angry and complaining and going to social media about it or that kind of thing, from an educational perspective, right, really trying to take a different look at it in terms of okay, that wasn't what I initially would have wanted, but you know what, this opportunity to work with this company, maybe I'll get another opportunity and it will turn into something that is more positive than negative.
21:58 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Or saying no to that opportunity also gives you the opportunity to work with somebody else, because your time is a limited resource and you can't get more of it. So if you're spending your time with something that is not the right fit for you, you're not making the type of money that you're wanting to make, or you just you're mad because you said yes to this thing because you really needed the money.
22:19 you may not be able to take on something else that is a better fit, so understanding the cost benefit of saying yes or saying no to something might be what brings more into your business, more money to you. It's all flowing to you, you know, like a river. It's called currency for a reason, because it's got to move.
22:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I love that, love that analogy. It's called currency for a reason. Yeah, absolutely. Just trying to take things that maybe are not productive for either your workflow or your mental state regarding money and finances, especially when it comes to this business. And this is not easy, guys, we know this. I mean I've been in this business, gosh, close to 18 years and, danielle, you've been in the business for enough years to know it's a marathon, not a sprint. Yeah, business for enough years to know it's a marathon not a sprint and, honestly, the attitude and the positivity with which you approach your business and money opportunities has a direct correlation with your success.
23:18 I really believe that? Yeah, I do too. It's just one of those things. So, really, I think, sit back and look at your relationship with money and your stress levels around money and maybe just sit down and write down. We can turn this into a goal setting podcast as well, because I do believe that setting financial goals and we have a podcast on that as well can really help to benefit how you can see your relationship with money and help you identify where you might need to work on things right.
23:48 So if you're looking at your financials. You're taking a hard look at what your financials are coming in and going out and then assessing, okay, where are the opportunities? And, instead of being angry or depressed or frustrated or thinking you're not enough, figuring out what did work and then figuring out what other things do you think could work. And I'll tell you, there's nothing wrong with in your business while you're growing it, to get other sources of income from other careers. I mean you don't have to be completely all in voiceover. You can do computer consulting or technology consulting or web design or any other thing. I mean work at a restaurant. There's nothing wrong with that in terms of financial opportunities and looking that as a positive to continue on a good relationship with money that can allow you to expand your business.
24:38 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, absolutely.
24:39 And another thing I can tell you for me, when I was working on my belief systems around money and how I could, you know, improve that was finding a sense of gratitude for the money that I had.
24:51 One of the things just on a personal level, one of the things when I was really struggling with this is when I would open up my bank account and look at the amount of money, I immediately felt shame and scared and sad and just a lot of these negative feelings. Looking at the money that I had, it is simply just a fact of what is there right now, but it also is proof that I have the ability to make money. So one of the things that I did and it could be something that the listeners do as well is develop a practice of just simply greeting your money and saying hello to your money every day. I love that. So what I would do is I would open up my account, look at the money, feel whatever feeling I was feeling and then just say, hey, money, good morning you know there will be more or less or what have you, but like hey, and just looking at it, for what?
25:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) it was let's get more friends.
25:43 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Let's go make friends. Let's go make friends.
25:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Let's go make friends, let's go bring on some more people here.
25:46 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yes, exactly, and really just looking at the account and letting whatever feelings come. But those feelings are not real, they are simply feelings. Those feelings can actually help or hurt you in trying to bring more friends to the money that you already have.
26:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, I love that. So, yeah, you're right, looking and saying hello and addressing your money and facing it right on a day-to-day basis. It's kind of like, gosh, my weight loss journey, right. I didn't want to look at the scale, I didn't want to look at the numbers, I didn't want to. I was scared and every time I would look at the numbers it would bring this feeling of shame and horror and sadness and so the more you do it, the easier it gets right, so that you can try to take that mindset and turn it into one of gratefulness, one of positivity. And the same thing with your money.
26:35 Look at your money scale. I'm going to say, on a day-to-day basis, greet it and then say what can I do? And for this, what can I do to maybe gain more money, weight right and be grateful for what you have on the scale at that time and really assess what is it that you can do to change this in a more positive way? I mean, gosh, what a great conversation. I mean money is a mindset. It really is. And you're right, it really is the way that you feel about it. It's just that they're just feelings, right.
27:06 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I've been told and I heard this saying feelings are not facts. Right your feelings while they are completely like real to you, it may not be the end result. It's just the feeling that comes up and you can, just like you train your body, just like you train your mind, you can train your feelings and really, it just takes.
27:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You can choose joy. These are choices that can be made and you can choose joy. You can choose joy at any given moment of the day.
27:28 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) These are choices that can be made, and then, when you choose joy, imagine how much more abundance will be coming your way.
27:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right. Choose joy. Choose money. Choose to look at your money and then choose to turn that into gratefulness and positivity, and that will allow the currency to flow.
27:45 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) the river to flow.
27:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love it. Oh my gosh, what a great episode. Danielle, thank you so much as always for sharing your gems with us in this series. I really, really am loving it and I can't wait till our next one. Bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipdtl. That allows our currency to flow and our voices to flow over the line. You can find out more at ipdtlcom. Guys, thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you next week. Bye, bye, everyone.
28:15 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
00:01 - Rick MacIvor (Ad) Hi, this is Rick MacIver with the VO Video Village YouTube channel. You know, when I started doing voiceover, I listened to the VO Boss podcast religiously. It was my go-to source of information about the industry and I still listen to it to this day. Every week there's an amazing new guest and Anne is able to really get some great information. I just love it. So thank you so much, Anne, looking forward to next week's episode.
00:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey guys, it's that season again. Are you feeling that tickle in your throat? Don't let a cold or flu slow you down. Combat your symptoms early with Vocal Immunity Blast, a simple and natural remedy designed to get you back to 100% fast. With certified therapeutic-grade oils like lemon to support respiratory function, oregano for immune-boosting power and a protective blend that shields against environmental threats, your vocal health is in good hands. Take charge of your health with Vocal Immunity Blast. Visit annganguzacom to shop.
01:09 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguza.
01:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey, everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, nn Ganguza, and I'm here with the one and only Lala Pitas.
01:40 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Hey, annie, back again. Happy 2025, and yet another year. Here we are.
01:46 How, many years, how many?
01:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) years Lau. It's been years.
01:49 - Lau Lapides (Guest) A decade, I don't know 20?. I feel like you know, we came out of the womb and we knew each other.
01:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't know.
01:56 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It feels like forever, but it is over two years now.
01:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think it's two and a half, at least, almost Two, and a half At least, almost, if not more, if not three Lau.
02:03 I'm telling you, I am manifesting that 2025 is going to be my best year ever, and I say that because we've come off of a tough year, not just a tough year necessarily for your business, but just a tough year, I think, in general for everyone, mentally, physically. I mean. It's just been a tough, tough, tough year of 2024. So I am ready for 2025, despite whatever may happen in the world, I feel like with this political climate, I want this to be the best year ever for my business, and so I had a couple of podcast episodes and we do this all the time right End of year assessment how are we going to make this year the best? But I really want to stretch Lau and talk about how we can go beyond the typical. Well, let's write our goals down right and let's do this for the year.
02:52 Let's talk about how we can really, I think, manifest success and stretch ourselves out to be the absolute best that we can be, and to be mindfully and skillfully healthy for 2025.
03:04 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Stretching. That's my thing. I love stretching, and when I say stretching I mean really kind of motivating our folks to just move in directions that are uncomfortable, that you may not have experienced before. Those are the best, where you have no idea what the outcome is. Because the truth is, you know, in our profession we get seasoned. After a while we kind of know what to expect. We know kind of the behaviors of clients. We get to know that right. But we always want to refresh, we want to feng shui the spirit. How do we do it? Put ourselves in an environment that we're not used to. That's going to help us grow, and as a talent, as a person, as a business entrepreneur, what could that mean? Well, some examples I like to give. Why not take a fencing class? Why not get into a class where you're doing mime and you're not talking at all? I love that?
03:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How do?
03:58 - Lau Lapides (Guest) you communicate through your body, through your mind, through your spirit, without the aid of the copy of the script. This is all going to be tools in the toolkit that you're going to pull when you get back in your booth and say, wow, how did I feel when I was locked into my body, how do I?
04:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) unlock. You know what. I think I love that, but I think, before we figure out how we're going to stretch right, let's sage the space, so to speak right. Let's sage the space, so to speak. Right. Let's sage the space, let's clear the space right. And what are some things we can do to kind of clear away all the? I like to say clear away what was last year and now? How are we going to start fresh? How are we going to start new? How are we going to sage our space, and I mean physically? You could I love sage, I'm a big sage burner. I like to sage it to create new energy. But that saging right could be. Maybe you decide to take up a little bit of meditation, a little bit of breathing exercises. I know that, stretching yourself mindfully, but also physically as well. I started taking Pilates last year and I'll tell you what I feel great, and I do it early in the morning.
05:08 - Intro (Announcement) So, as a matter of fact, this morning I was at 6.30 am class.
05:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, Discipline. I love that so I can start my day right. I do a 6.30 and a 7.30 back to back and I absolutely love the way it makes me feel in the mornings. There's a lot of just default. There's breathing in there, right, and we talk as voice actors how important breathing is. And breathing is amazing. I mean, first of all, we breathe every day, but like focused, right, conscious, like breathing exercises which by default happened in my Pilates class, really helped me to expel the negative energy and take in the new energy and really helped me to feel more balanced, more focused, brings down my blood pressure and you know, what's so funny is I've learned to breathe so well that literally it becomes this challenge. Well, you know that I still go see my doctor, my oncologist, all the time and they're always taking my blood pressure right, so for a while there my blood pressure was high and they prescribed medicine for me, right.
05:56 And so ever since I was you know, I got myself a little bit healthier. Thankfully, my blood pressure is actually a little bit on the lower side, but I also take my blood pressure every single day right Just to make sure I'm on top. I have learned how to breathe so that I can lower my blood pressure. Like it's insane. And in my little Peloton classes too, you can actually see your heart rate and so if you do active breathing right, you can see how it brings down your heart rate. You can see how it brings down your heart rate. So I think staging the space, so to speak, or physically do it, but also stage the space. Take some time in the morning for meditation and breathing to get you in the right head space and physical space for a great day ahead and a great year ahead. Oh, I love all of that.
06:38 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And you know we've got to get out of that fight or flight, breathing yeah, which, the truth is, all of us do it. I mean because we're running around, we're running all over the map and we'll go into the what we call the upper thoracic breath, the clavicular breath. That's our throat, our chest, whatever Can we live, of course? Can we have a great life, definitely. Is it effective for speaking? Nope, it isn't. And that's our gift, that's our craft, that's our job is to speak for a living.
07:06 So we want to move that down into the diaphragm and everything you're doing, annie, is just a gift to be able to do that. And it harkens back to me when I was a young kid in college studying theater, that some of my professors would use this, saying They'd say leave your trash at the door when you walk in the studio. Leave it there, don't bring it in with you. That's your emotional stuff that you're bringing in. I'll give you new stuff to deal with and don't worry, don't worry, when you leave, it'll be there for you to pick up and take with you. I'll give you new stuff, I'll give you new stuff.
07:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Don't worry, I'll give you new stuff to deal with right Unless you're using it right for the scene ahead right. I mean, take it through the door if you need it. But a lot of times that baggage right it's not always. I'm going to say 99% of the time I'm going to say maybe that's not necessary for voice acting, unless you're playing a role that calls for that.
07:57 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Right, right. I think that if you're going to use it as a reservoir of emotion, to call upon, it has to be compartmentalized, it has to be disciplined and dealt with. It can't just be dumping, it can't be unloading your day or unloading your life in the space because it's number one, it's not professional or appropriate, but, number two, it doesn't feel good, it doesn't make you a cleansed breath performer, which is where we want to go. We want to go to a full sort of centered, grounded place of where the breath is coming from. So I love that. I love that. No one loves sage more than me. I actually named my son Sage, oh yeah, well, there you go I adore sage.
08:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think it's really important to just sage out your space Totally, totally cleansing.
08:44 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Are we ready for some how-tos yet, annie? Yeah, sure, let's go, let's do it. I'm going to lay one on the friends. That is really unexpected, but from an actor's point of view it's very elevated technique. And look into it and go online and look it up. It's called Rasa Boxes, something you're never going to hear in voiceover. It's an elevated boxes on the floor made of tape, literal boxes. The actor steps into the box and becomes an emotion in that box and it's very specific and it's very much a deep dive and intense and when they step out of the box they immediately lose that tone, immediately 100% cleanse themselves of that emotion. Think about that. The crossover to me is when you're doing like audiobook or you're doing character work, you're playing 10 different characters. You don't want any bleed of sound, right, absolutely Well, we don't want any bleed of spirit. Sure, we want to know that if you're enraged, you're the witch that's enraged, that you step into the box where you're the peaceful fairy and there's no bleed from one box to another.
09:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But can you evolve that emotion? Can you be the fairy that is maybe angry to begin with and then becomes cleansed of that anger? Somehow Can you have one foot in one box and one foot in another and play that way. You know why.
10:15 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I love you so much Because you're brilliant and you're always 10 steps ahead. You just single-handedly skipped over two years of MFA graduate work because skip a year or two and you're going to start melding and shaping and mixing the boxes together. But the point is it's intentional. Yes, yes, it mixing the boxes together. But the point is it's intentional, it's a choice. It doesn't just happen because I can't control myself and my output. I love that.
10:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that because when I'm teaching acting for narration one of my classes that I've taught in multiple places I talk about how your emotion can evolve from the start of the sentence into the end of the sentence, and that requires control and it requires, it does require focus, a lot of focus, in order to intentionally go from one emotion to another, to add that interest and that texture and that storyline.
11:05 - Lau Lapides (Guest) That's great, yes, and this is a physical, if you will, a physical incarnation of that not just internal but it's actually physical, so you can like.
11:14 We used to do as little kids play. What do we call it? Hopscotch? We used to go from box to box. You're literally going box to box and we're doing that in our life too. We're going from script to script, character to character, intention to intention, but it defines it. I think that's where the stretch comes. How do I stretch the ability of going 100% deep dive immediately and then pulling out of that immediately? It reminds me of a professional ball player. So if you're like a baseball player, someone who's sitting on the bench but they are not warming up, they are 100% ready to jump in the game and go. Is there a script Lau or is it just it's improv? Well, I mean, the experiment of it is all improv, and then you can install that into your scripts so that you know exactly what the boxes are. So there's no sitting on the bench kind of saying, oh, I'm going to warm myself up into it, I'm going to figure it out as I go. It's either you're 100% committed to it or you're 100% out of it. I love it.
12:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think right now I look at, I'm looking at boxes right now. I think we can play this not just physically, but I love the physical aspect of it.
12:21 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It's a cool thing. We can play it On Zoom.
12:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We can do it we can play it on Zoom too, because maybe Anne is the angry box right, and maybe Lau is the love box Right, if you think about it, and then we could just like okay, improv right, there we go. And so I'm not angry right now. But see, that would be tough for me, right? I've got to like work. I'm gonna have to work on that, because I don't like to be angry in my real life.
12:40 - Lau Lapides (Guest) But here's the thing you learn as an actor. You're not just as a voiceover talent, you're not just being that or becoming that. You're playing an action based on a situation, yeah Right. So it's your job to figure out what's the situation.
12:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh yeah, as we say, who are you talking to, right? What's going on? That is so important again, because we talk about, like, how are we evolving as successful businesses with digital disruption and AI and increasing like size of the industry, and how do we compete while we become the actor right that can evolve and meld with whatever we're being asked to do, and a lot of times, I'll ask people to create that scene in which the words on the page will make sense and will allow you to connect with those words in a meaningful way. And so that's where a lot of times, my students will be like but wait, they're like oh, now I'm asking them to think and it's like but this is hard and I'm like it is Like you know, if it were easy we'd all be voice actors making millions of dollars.
13:40 But even then that would be kind of cool.
13:42 - Lau Lapides (Guest) But yes, it's also the commitment in the relationship. So I think that's what makes it hard is like you don't realize you're making a commitment to a relationship immediately, without the intellect or analysis that we want to take to be safe. Right, kids are great at that. If kids played Rasa Boxes as a game, they'd jump right in and be the evil queen. They'd jump right in and be the fairy princess, because they understand it from an emotional EQ, emotional quotient way.
14:12 Yeah yeah, yeah. And so we're so intellectual these days, which is fabulous. We want to be able to analyze our script, of course, but we miss the part where we're connecting our mind to our feet, to our center, to our heart, to the ground. Right, it's actually quite Native American in a lot of ways. When you look at it, it's very soulful, it's very spiritual, it's very grounded to not only the spirits above us, the gods above us, but also the nature, the ground, the trees, the roots.
14:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Love it. I love it. I think we should have like a Zoom class on that. I think we should.
14:47 - Lau Lapides (Guest) We should have a Zoom class maybe during our audition demolition. That could be fun. That could be a ton of fun.
14:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It is fun, it's hard in a good way, yeah.
14:56 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And so what's the name of that again for our bosses out there that want to jot that down yeah, the name of the technique is called RASA R-A-S-A boxes, rasa boxes you should really look it up, and it's a sort of international kind of methodology that's used by actors of all cultural backgrounds to reach their characters deeply and quickly.
15:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, yeah, Deeply and quickly. Now that's the thing, because I've got a lot of students who they're like but this takes so much time and I said honestly, like, if you think about it, like how much time did that really take? Ten minutes, Did I just work with you for ten minutes on it? I mean, it's just one of those things where I asked you, okay, what's that moment before, right? And so, what is that scene? Why are you even saying these words? What's the purpose? All right, so I love that. So we've got we're saging, right, we're saging, we're cleansing and we're meditating, we're breathing, and now we've got something that's helping us to stretch outside of our boxes, or in the boxes, so to speak, for the acting technique that we just talked about. What else is there Lau out there that can help us?
15:57 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Well, I think you and I practice this all the time, subconsciously we do, and that is the grounding, and there's many techniques for grounding. But you need to ground yourself In the acting world. We call it sinking in. We can tell if you're not sinking in because you're floating.
16:13 you're somewhere floating, we can hear you processing the material still yes yes, you're not grounded, you're not centered, you're not sinking in, and there's different ways to do that. Sometimes people will want a stone, a crystal, a liquid, something that's warm, that is with them and touching them and around them. That helps them ground their spirit. Sometimes it's just a mental focus, like athletes may do. They may visualize and say I'm grounding myself to the ground.
16:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now, that's a physical, that's what I like, that I'm getting, that this is physical and I use this. Actually, laura, I did steal this from you and my students because I say grab your heart right. Yes, touch your heart because then it's going to help to connect you with those words in a meaningful way, right.
17:01 Yes and I believe that that will help to ground you as well, like literally. I mean, of course I've got objects in my studio that I can touch, I can feel I can connect to, but of course, since I'm looking at the script right, I have to be careful because I don't want to look away from the script, because I might drop a word or two. But I love like just grab yourself that kind of like just kind of connection.
17:22 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yeah, it's also prep. You can stop your session and do it at any time, but it should be a prep for you, so that you're not going into it cold and expecting yourself to warm up as you go.
17:34 but really grounding yourself and centering yourself as you're there. And you know, I actually have found that to be very disturbing to many students over the years and it probably was to me when I was younger in that we forget that we have a muscle that's the biggest one. We have the heart. We forget what that is, yeah, and so it reminds us of not only love and warmth and connection, but death. Yeah, because it reminds you there's mortality as well as life, and that's something that actors have to come to over aging and over time, because it just is a maturity thing. I think that when you feel your heart and you know, this is my lifeline to living it's also my lifeline to dying as well, and there's a beauty in that not to be morose, but there's a beauty in understanding that you're vulnerable at all moments in life. You're not in control of anything.
18:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think the vulnerability, that's a great word. If I had a word to put in my studio to help me to connect right and to get past the words of it all and the sound of it all, I think it would be empathy.
18:42 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yeah, yeah, well, the mortality, I like to think is also connected to humility. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, modesty and humility and understanding. We're not that great, that big, that important that we can't be gone at any moment, so what that provides for us is the understanding of what others are going through, yeah, what others are traveling through in that journey and that takes away from, oh, the ego of it all right the ego, you know I have something I say a few times in my classes about being a great e-learning narrator is to be a great teacher right yes, and if ego rules your classroom, get out of the classroom, right.
19:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If ego rules your acting in reality, right, it's really not about you, it's about serving your audience, your scene, and really doing that justice Now. So we've got our sage, we've got our stretching to get out of the box and to get back in the box and to get back in the box.
19:35 What are some things that are not necessarily voiceover related that we can do to expand right our creativeness and our creative brain. And I like to say things that aren't necessarily like voiceover related, and I'll start it off by saying aren't necessarily like voiceover related and I'll start it off by saying for me, if you can do it financially, travel Traveling to another country can give you a wonderful perspective.
19:56 Anything that can get your creative juices flowing, that and a good movie right. So I watched a couple of great movies on the plane going out to Europe and then I was in Europe, experiencing different people, different cultures, and just watching and listening and talking and that allows me to grow spiritually, mentally, and it helps me in my performance. I mean it helps me to draw upon different experiences.
20:19 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Huge, huge, it's everything, or even this is what I've been doing recently going to different areas and towns in my state that I've never been to before or have never heard of, and just kind of driving around looking at properties, looking at businesses, looking at to expand my universe as to what surrounds me that I have not paid attention to yet, and how does that make me feel? How do I relate to that? I think that that's important in me being able to bring it into my knowledge base, my mindset, and to that EQ. Think that that's important in me being able to bring it into my knowledge base, my mindset, and to that EQ, that emotional quotient of understanding how others are living, how others are connected to the universe, to the world, to the, whatever, wherever they live. I think that's so important. I mean it doesn't have to be expensive.
21:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, you could go to the mall and people watch One of my most favorite things I like to do when I went to New York was just hang out, sit down and watch people, because you can learn so much by absorbing the energy. It's not even about necessarily like, do you have to go to a class to learn something? I mean you just be absorbing the energy and for me, I like to be around positive energy, but sometimes being around negative energy also tells you like, oh okay, then that's also a learning experience.
21:29 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It reminds you too, like how do you do that when you have to do that? Because you and I are pretty positive energies and we try to stay hopeful in life and smile, but how do you do that when you have to do that? Maybe you're in a very somber or serious script, maybe you're in a character that is deeply defeated or unhappy. How do I reach that? Again, rasa boxes, how do I get into it? Very quickly and deep dive it? By understanding how people live, how they function, how they are in the world. That EQ, I think, is so—I would even venture to say, even though we're super intellectual beings, at least where we come from, culturally, eq is almost more important because it is really taking into consideration the other, the other person in a really important way, in a deep way, that many people just don't do.
22:19 They don't think to do, that it's so about not you.
22:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean ultimately, yeah, ultimately it's not about you.
22:27 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Ultimately, it's not about you.
22:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's not, but it is about you serving others or serving a purpose that can help you in the end. Right, I think it's not like you're not going to benefit if it's not about you. The fact is that it can benefit everyone, I think, if it becomes about the person.
22:43 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Okay, so listen, I feel a quote coming up and I must allow it because I'm working on Shakespeare right now in one of my classes. As for a mirror held up to nature. So that is the human spirit by Shakespeare held up to its audience. In other words, I'm the actor, I'm the performer, I'm just mirroring you, the society, the need, the value. I'm showing you your own humanity. Yeah, absolutely.
23:12 - Intro (Announcement) Or at least I'm attempting to.
23:13 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I'm attempting to do that. So in the mimicry, if you will, in the mirroring, there is a profound psychological effect with your audience. It's not only like this business-like ability which comes. That is important, but it's trust. It's a nugget of heart value that lasts people a whole lifetime. That I know you do and I strive for that. It's sure we want to make money, sure we want to be successful, sure we want to do all that, but we want to make long, meaningful relationships with our audiences so that we can have that legacy.
23:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, I mean I always was that person who had a positive legacy. Absolutely I mean, right, I always was that person who had a positive outlook on life. I mean, it was always like, you know, you and I are kind of bubbly personalities and so I that kind of has run my life, and when things happen that are not expected, like that were not in my control, I had health issues, right that, where all of a sudden I faced mortality, right, it amplified. It amplified that it wasn't about me In amplified that it wasn't about me. In reality it wasn't about me.
24:10 And what do I want to leave? What is my legacy? How do I want to be remembered? Right, right, and it really is about like, well, when you work 70, 80 hours a week, nobody like misses their work. When they pass on, right, it's not like, oh damn, I should have worked more. It's a funny thought though, Right, I should have worked more, but really it's, I should have lived more. And I think that really kind of planning and making time for that is important. So my husband, the other day he you know now where he works, you can take a mental health day he took a mental health day.
24:41 You know where he went? Disney. He went to Disney. And Disney is a great refresher for creativity. I'll tell you that. There you go, because you can just go and relax and have fun and allow yourself to feel right, yes, and not necessarily beaten down by the stresses of your work life.
24:58 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Just be present. Yeah, be present in the moment, having enjoyment, having fun, having an honest enthusiasm right Right Now. Who said this? Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
25:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I have to look up who that was, but it's so true it's funny because everybody's like he went alone, he went by himself and I'm like, yeah, I said look, Jerry looks at Disney, the way I look at shopping, Like I can go shopping for hours. I mean hours, I mean when.
25:23 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Jerry travels.
25:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I go like on a Sunday or a Saturday I'll go to the mall for like four or five hours, six hours, believe it or not. Sure, have some dinner. Sure, just walk around and observe. That's what I do. I observe, that's a lot of what I do. I'm like, yeah, I shop too, but I observe and I literally could do that all day long. So I'm like, yeah, no, I let him do that.
25:44 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Okay, does that fall in? Just to circle back Now is that now falling into the rejuvenation factor, the regenerating? Does that fall into that stretch factor of like? What are you doing to rejuvenate and regenerate that helps you stretch, helps you grow, helps you?
26:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) learn all these things? How does shopping help Anne grow? Well, you know, believe it or not, in a creative sense, right, we know that I'm a fashion buff. Right, we know that I'm a fashion buff, right, I'm not necessarily buying everything up in the stores, but I'm curating, I'm looking, I'm combining, I'm doing that creative, like whatever it is that creative assemblage in my head and building outfits, whether I actually purchase anything or not. And then I'm looking at people. I'm saying, oh, I like that, I like. Oh, look at that, would look good with that. And so I'm exercising Believe it or not, it's a creative exercise for me. And Jerry's like, oh, you're out shopping. No, I'm creatively exercising.
26:38 - Intro (Announcement) I'm stretching. This is going to help my business.
26:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm stretching this is going to help my business, but it is something like that, and you know I always say watching a great movie, something that can move you, move you to an emotion, to tears to happiness, to joy that is invigorating and that to me, is like okay, I want to make someone feel like that or I want to have an impact like that.
26:59 And how can I achieve that? How can I do that? Through my day-to-day voice acting Right, cause I mean we all know cause, we're all in it Right, but it's not to be minimalized.
27:08 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I mean, it's not just, oh, it's just voice acting Hell no, I mean that's something that someone says from the outside, not from the inside right when you're inside of it. Everything's a challenge.
27:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and I'm like oh yeah, meryl Streep makes it look easy, right, she's an amazing actress, right. But that did. It did not happen overnight, and I think that, of course, there are people who have gifts, but I'm not to say that those gifts don't require work, you know, to develop and grow.
27:35 - Lau Lapides (Guest) That's the actor challenge, though. When you see great actors, it looks easy, it looks like it's natural, they're born doing it. They don't need coaching, they don't need classes, they just do it. No, you haven't seen the whole back end of that and they just do it. No, you haven't seen the whole back end of that. And they continue learning growing.
27:56 Yeah, johnny Depp is famous for going right into the culture and the mindset in the background and living it for a couple months before he shoots a film. You know what I mean. It's like hard work. There's a lot of hard work involved in building authenticity. Yeah, absolutely, Absolutely Right. Is there not like a bit of a what's the word? Paradox in working so hard to building authenticity that has a technical kind of fake structure to it and that is, you know, being on a microphone, right, but you have to be able to do that. You have to be able to do that and balance both.
28:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, oh, I love this conversation. This is such a great beginning of the year conversation because it's so different from just write your goals down, and, of course, I still think you should write your goals down. But hey, before you do that, right, take stock, sage out, get yourself out of the box, go through these steps and then stretch right and then do something that will stretch your creativity even further so that you can have the absolute best 2025 ever, ever.
28:52 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Unbelievable. I feel like we should have for that segment. We should have shaved our heads, been on a mountaintop in Tibet and drinking really delicious tea, like. I feel like we missed that part of it, but it was extraordinary, as always.
29:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Next episode, Lau and I will be coming to you from, yeah, drinking our tea. Oh my goodness, bosses.
29:12 - Intro (Announcement) Delicious.
29:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's been amazing. Thank you, Lau. As always, it's just a pleasure and I look forward to our next episode together. Bosses, you too can connect and network like bosses, boss superpowers, and find out more at IPDTLcom. Big shout out to our sponsor. You guys have an amazing year week, year day, all that good stuff, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
29:35 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, real Boss, Tom Dheere and myself have a very special deal for you guys. Tom, tell them what it is.
00:08 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) All right, anne. If you use the promo code BOSSVOSS that's B-O-S-S as in V-O-BOSS and V-O-S as in V-O-STRATEGIST, and the number 24, so that's BOSSVOS24, you get 10% off my 30-minute check-in, my one-hour strategy session and my one-hour diagnostic.
00:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you'll get 10% off all coaching packages and demos on the Anne Ganguzza website. So, guys, black Friday starts now and runs till the end of the year. So everybody, get yourselves on that site and get yourself a discount. BOSS, VOS, BOSS, VOS 24.
00:43 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) BOSS, VOS 24. BOSS. VOS, BOSS, VOS, 24. BOSS, VOS, 24.
00:47 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:07 - Tom Dheere (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series. I am Anne Ganguzza and I'm here with amazing real boss Tom Dheere. Hey, Tom Dheere.
01:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hello Anne Ganguzza.
01:19 - Tom Dheere (Host) How are you?
01:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm doing good. How are you? Happy holidays.
01:23 - Tom Dheere (Host) I'm doing awesome. Happy holidays to you. Thank you, tom. Last week we had an amazing discussion about how to take stock and take a look at how your year has gone so far, and I think that it's very appropriate at the end of the year here to have another discussion about how we can best prepare for 2025 so that we can have the best year ever.
01:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely Now. I've done videos like this or taught classes that discuss this every year for probably the past 13 years or so since I started instructing, I want to do something a little different than the normal thing that I do. We'll get to that, but before we, started recording.
02:03 I was listening to a podcast that was doing a post-presidential election Monday morning quarterback reverse engineer breakdown of like what happened. We're not going to talk about politics on any level, but there was something very specific that the guests talked about. They were talking about identity politics, as in how do you identify and how does that influence what you think, what you feel and, of course, obviously, how you vote, and of course, there's gender and race and all of those types of things. But they gave a very specific example of like, for example, west Virginia coal miners. They said, okay, west Virginia coal miners, we know better than you because coal is naughty, so we're going to take away your jobs, but we're going to get you a job coding, and to some people that's like oh, what a wonderful idea. But to the coal miners that may be a horrible idea.
02:57 And this is why I talk about politics, because people identify in certain specific ways. And I'm also talking about this not from a class level but a vocation level, because coal miner is an identity. Farmer is an identity, zooming out more. I work with the land, I work with my hands, I like to work outside. This is who I am, this is what speaks to me and feeds my soul as a person, as well as puts food on the table.
03:28 The reason I'm bringing up this, anne, is because and I never even thought about this before I identify as a voice actor, and I know that may sound weird. I identify as a coal miner, I identify as a farmer, I identify as a voice actor. But I decided I wanted to be a voice actor when I was 23 years old, like I was a kid, you know, I just dropped out of grad school and I decided this is what I want to do and it's the only thing I've. I mean, I've had a part-time job doing this and that I've had full-time jobs to make money, but it was all the means to an end of being a voice actor. So I have identified as a voice actor my entire adult life. How does this relate to how to get ready for the new year? I think all you bosses should think about how do you identify? And I'm going to break that down into two very specific categories.
04:20 Yeah, as an artist or as a business Now, Anne as the wonderful performance coach that she is helps you realize the artist within you. I, as the VO strategist, help you realize the business that is within you. Right, this is what's really important is that if you identify 100% as an artist and spreadsheets and keeping track of invoices, be damned, you're in trouble. You're not going to be the artist that you want to be and eat. If you're 100% business, I want to do the genres that make the most money and keep all this artsy, fartsy stuff off my lawn. You're in trouble because now you're refusing to identify with the artistry. That is voiceover. That requires emotional journeys, expression. You know there's psychology and inward reflection and all of that stuff.
05:17 - Tom Dheere (Host) So you need to identify then with both. Correct then? Is that what you're saying?
05:21 - Intro (Announcement) Because I was just going to ask you can I identify as an educator.
05:25 - Tom Dheere (Host) I always think that. I say it multiple times. I feel like I've been an educator all my life because I used to teach my dolls flashcards from the very beginning. I mean, that's what brings me joy. And, yes, voice acting, of course. Voice acting because that's the creative aspect of it, right, but probably a little bit more. I enjoy being an educator and sharing things with others and hopefully inspiring and motivating, but also I really love entrepreneurship. So I feel like that teaching with entrepreneurship that's how I identify and it's funny because, tom, that you say that because all my life, through my career, before I was in education in some form or fashion, all along I also was placed in these management positions where I would be the liaison between the art department and the technology department. So I feel like I've got the creative and the business or the technical side within me, and so I think I've always identified with two, really two different aspects of it and I love that you just said that because you just I feel good now. I feel like I feel seen.
06:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely, and part of having an identity or how you identify is you also demand, or you should demand. I would like to say that people see you as who you are and I had this problem with friends, people that I thought were friends in my 30s because I identified as a voice actor, and they didn't take that identity seriously. They didn't respect my identity. And, to your point, the fact that you could work in this corporate environment and liaise with the business people and the marketing people. It means you speak business, you speak marketing, you speak entrepreneur, you speak art and you also speak educator.
07:06 I identify as an educator Also, you identify as an educator. You can identify as more than one thing, but with the artist and the business part, which are two critical components to be effective as a voice actor, you need to be in touch with both of those things, have a level of self-awareness, because some people come in from a theater background, a very heavily artistic background. Some people come from a radio background, which is an art form in itself, but it's very announcer-y as opposed to storyteller-y Storyteller-y, I guess that's a word now.
07:40 - Tom Dheere (Host) That's a good word, Tom.
07:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Storyteller-y. You don't have to identify as a marketer to enjoy or tolerate marketing as a voice actor. It's a part of what you need to do, but at its core you need to identify as an artist. I would say at your core, because this is about expression and engagement and getting people to feel certain ways and obviously do different things. Go buy this car call now. Operators are standing by, but identify that. The business too.
08:08 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, here's what I like about this and this is what I like to tell my students is I always step back when people are like I don't really relate, I don't resonate with this genre or I don't resonate with or I don't like marketing and I don't like certain parts of this running this business. And so, in reality, I always try to tell them to step back and say what is it that you love? Because I would say creative and entrepreneur. Right, creative entrepreneur? You know that kind of thing. I identify with multiple levels, I mean, and under that, creative is voice actor, but I also love, like voicing corporate, and I love voicing e-learning, of course, because I identify as an educator, but I love corporate as well because it's a challenge To me.
08:47 I say step back and look at the things that you don't like and embrace the challenge, because that speaks to your creative part, like solving a problem. And so, for me, I've always told people, if you really truly hate and you're trying hard to find inspiration to get into that character, embrace the challenge. If you don't know like what kind of an actor or what kind of a character to be when you're teaching and e-learning, you need to embrace the challenge of how are you going to teach this lesson in an engaging manner. So step back. If you don't like corporate copy, step back and say there's a story in there somewhere. Where is it?
09:19 The challenge is to find that, and the challenge for me as an entrepreneur, is to solve the problem of how am I going to make money with my product, right? And so it's always that challenge, that intellectual challenge and that creative challenge, that speak to both or three things that I identify as which is creative, entrepreneur and educator. So it speaks to all of those things running a business, and so those things that you don't enjoy, that you hate, try to step back and look at the challenge that they present for you and embrace the challenge and embrace how are you going to solve this problem. And that's what I feel like helps me to love all aspects of it and, of course, the stuff that I really don't love. We've talked about this before, tom. We say go ahead, outsource it to the experts in the field.
10:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, it is difficult to reconcile all of these hats that you have to wear to be an effective voice actor and remember that, yes, you only have one head, so they kind of stack up like Dr Seuss's Bartholomew in the Thousand and One Hats. It's not easy. This is not an easy thing to do. So, with all that in mind, I brought up the how do you identify as a voice actor, or how do you identify as an educator or a marketer or a business person, because that should inform what you need to do and what you need to be and what you need to have to set yourself up for success in 2025.
10:45 Because, yes, a goal, I want to make this amount of money, I want to get this kind of representation, I want to produce this demo, I want to get on this social media platform. All of those are valid, all of those are important, but you can only be effective if you know who you are and understand who you need to be to be effective. Whether you like it or not, if there's one thing I tell all my students is the voiceover industry does not care. If you don't like social media, the voiceover industry does not care. If you don't like spreadsheets, the voiceover industry does not care if you don't like auditioning. It does not care. It has no sympathy. Either you do it or you're out.
11:26 - Tom Dheere (Host) People hiring your voice don't care. People hiring your voice don't care. They just want the voice.
11:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They just want the product, they want the voice, they want the invoice, you know.
11:38 - Tom Dheere (Host) And I do want to say to your point of making sure you know who you identify with, but also know that you can evolve and change right, so your identity can change and evolve. Because if you want to diversify that business, right, Setting new goals for next year If you want to diversify into another genre I mean the broad spectrum part of it is I identify as a voice actor. Is there a specific type of voice actor that you truly identify with? Oh, I really consider myself, you know, an audiobook narrator, right, and so you can evolve and change right that identity or narrow down that identity or broaden out that identity based upon your goals for the following year. Because I know that myself, in order to diversify my business, I've had to do that, and it doesn't happen overnight sometimes. Sometimes you've got to sit with it and think it and let it come, because it's a creative challenge.
12:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. I'm so glad that you said audiobook narrator is the first example, because there's a handful of genres that people will say I'm this genre before they even say that they're a voice actor. What do you do for a living? I'm an audiobook narrator. That's one of what I call the lifestyle genres, as in you can be a full-time audiobook narrator.
12:49 You can be narrating audiobooks five days a week every year and have a pipeline, and do it at the exclusion of all other genres of voiceover and make a good living doing it. So a lot of people identify as their genre before they identify as a voice actor. In general, I'm the opposite I'm a voice actor, and the reason why I say that is because, well one, I love storytelling and I love storytelling in all its forms whether it's a 15-second commercial or it's a 30-hour audio book.
13:19 It's all storytelling. I'll tell any story you want and any style that you want and any medium that you want for any audience that you want. And then some people say I am an e-learning narrator or I'm a cartoon narrator, and that's good and I think it's healthy too, because the firmer of an identity that you have when it comes to setting goals for the new year, which is what this conversation is all about it's easier because I tell my students vague goals will get you vague results. Specific goals will get you specific results and that feeds into vague efforts.
13:51 - Tom Dheere (Host) Exactly. And if you narrow down that you want to get into, let's say, audiobook narrating, then you'll have a specific set of goals that will help you to get there. If you want to be an e-learning narrator, you have specific sets of goals that will get you there. So, yeah, I think if, at the broad level, you say I am a voice actor, I am an artist, I'm a business person, I'm a serial entrepreneur I like to call myself that Because I love the challenge of like how can I make money from this? And it makes me feel like I don't want you guys to think I'm all about money, but it's not really that. It's about the challenge of taking something and building it from the ground up and then that kind of exhilaration and satisfaction when it works is amazing. When it doesn't work.
14:32 You know what I learned from that as well.
14:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, you know what I want to do now, Anne. I want to use this as an example for you. So for you bosses who are watching this, you want to set goals for 2025. Maybe try it through the prism of identity. Let's use this example In 2025, I wish to identify as an e-learning narrator. That's your goal, okay, so what do you need to do to be able to achieve that goal of identifying as an e-learning narrator? Well, the first thing is training and, of course, I use e-learning as an example, because you should go to Anne Ganguzza to get your e-learning training. But can? You should go to Anne Ganguzza to get your e-learning training.
15:08 - Tom Dheere (Host) But can we ask one question? Yes, can we ask one question before we say I want to go into e-learning. Why, why do you want to be?
15:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go. Why do you want to identify as an e-learning narrator? I think that's important, right, and that's a fantastic question, because for some of you it may be I've been a school teacher for 25 years and I'm retiring and that's what you want to do. Or you just may be an academic, you may be a scholar and you just love learning. So you want to share your love of learning as opposed to being a teacher, and you want to share your love of teaching. So figuring out the why is a great way to start. And then, once you figure out that, why? Because e-learning, as Anne can tell you, takes on many different forms. Medical narration is a form of e-learning, narrating textbooks, narrating human resources, resource guides or, you know, forklift, certification for construction workers, or executive summaries or any or a number of things, and some of that you may identify with more strongly and others you may not identify with as much. But once you figure out that why, then you go to the how.
16:15 Why do I want to identify? Why could I identify as an e-learning narrator? And then, how can I do that? Get training with Anne, make a great demo. Then you need to figure out the marketing part of that you also need to build, possibly, a landing page on your website. Maybe you need to build a list of e-learning clients that you could direct market to. Maybe you need to join some online casting sites that have a lot of e-learning casting opportunities and so on and so on and so forth. So you can kind of plot that out. If, by December 31st 2025, you have said I now identify as an e-learning narrator, both inside and outside, and, like Anne said, figure out the why that's the inside part and then training, demo, website marketing, casting sites, direct emails, which turns into e-learning jobs, now you can realize that goal of identifying as an e-learning narrator.
17:11 - Tom Dheere (Host) Now also, if I could just interject and say that, when you're figuring out what it is, what are your goals for the following year? And I think also researching the industry. Tom and I have spoken about the industry and how it's evolved in past episodes and how it's evolved in past episodes, and I want you to know and we also just came back from a conference where we were discussing how are these genres being affected by disruptive technologies such as synthetic voice or AI? And, just to let you know, e-learning is alive and well, as well as corporate. I personally, I talk about looking at the market space, right 33.2 million registered companies. How many of them are going to use synthetic voices? Probably the ones that don't care about engagement or storytelling, right? And that's the same amount of people, I believe, that didn't care that the narrator could tell a story either, and maybe they just had a nice-sounding reading voice, and so they might hire somebody for that, and so the same people that are going to hire for that are going to still hire for that, and they may go to AI.
18:12 But I believe that there's a huge, huge market. It is the largest market out there, really, of all the genres, when you're talking about percentage of opportunities out there. So, guys, just because you might be hearing stories about how all e-learning is going to AI, I stand up and object to that, not because I don't want it to, but, honestly, when you look at the realistic numbers of the market space, yeah, some of it's going to go there, but some of it's going to go there for every genre, right. You still have a really large market to work with here that I don't see going away anytime soon. Tom, I don't know what about you.
18:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I still believe that there's plenty of work for everybody that knows what they're doing.
18:51 And the question is do you bosses know what you're doing? I would say just the fact that you're having this conversation with us and listening to us means you are much farther ahead of the game than a lot of other people, because you're taking it upon yourself to educate yourself about the voiceover industry through the VO Boss podcast. With all that in mind, yes, the industry is changing. Yes, ai is here. It has been here. It is causing the overall voiceover industry to contract. That is unquestionable, and some people are asking it from the perspective of genre, and Anne heard me say this when I moderated the AI panel very recently at the Mid-Atlantic VoiceOver Conference, that I think it's a bottom-up thing, that the lowest budget content will be the stuff that gets eaten up by AI. First and this is why I'm going to talk to you about this part bosses, about setting your goals for 2025.
19:45 Another mission, because there's goals and then there's missions. A mission to identify as an e-learning narrator I think is a very noble mission and we kind of walked through that. But another mission can be to be a better storyteller than AI, and you have to be that because more and more of the work is going to get eaten up on a low performance low budget level, which is, for the most part, entry-level work for lack of a better term for a lot of people who are entering the voiceover industry. So that means you need to make sure that you have quality performance training storytelling training, on-camera theater, opera, improv, stand-up comedy. Get that training to complement Aang Ganguzza's e-learning training and all the other wonderful coaches out there so you can hit the ground running and already be relevant and already be more of an effective performer than AI.
20:40 - Tom Dheere (Host) And you know what else, tom, worst case scenario and I don't want to like worst case scenario for next year, but worst case scenario there is no voiceover industry anymore. Right, if you've gained all these skills, right, building a business Hello, building a business right. Understanding how to have a product, market it and sell it right, you have a business. And also performance wise right, as an actor. Gosh, these performance skills can be put into so many everyday opportunities for work. If, for whatever reason Now I'm not going to say the voice industry is going to fall out, but I think as business people, we have to always be prepared, right. So those skills that you develop right in becoming the best actor that you can be, are going to help you down the road for anything that you do, if you're presenting, if you are trying to sell yourself in an interview, I mean, all of these things really are beneficial, I think, to your personal and professional growth and development. So it's not a waste of investment ever.
21:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't think it's funny because, as you were saying that, I thought of two professions. There are people who train lawyers to speak in court. That requires an acting coach of some sort. And there's another voice actor I know who trains actors to be professional patients at medical schools so they can exhibit certain symptoms, so the medical students can diagnose their ailments.
21:58 - Tom Dheere (Host) So this is not about exit strategies for when?
22:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) AI eats voiceover. But Anne's point is very sound.
22:05 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, no, it's just investment, yeah.
22:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, investing in yourself. Here's another thing that I'm starting to notice. Yeah, search engine results. If you're using Google or Bing or Yahoo, whatever, I've noticed that, at least with the voiceover-related searches, which is most of what I do for various reasons, ai companies are starting to show up more in the sponsored results.
22:32 - Tom Dheere (Host) Have you noticed this, anne. Well, I know that the AI answer is always coming up first, and so I don't know if I've noticed AI companies specifically advertising their services. But AI answers and responses.
22:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, this is what I'm saying. Absolutely, it's both, because, like I use a Chrome browser.
22:44 I tend to use Google the most often and I'll get that AI answer before I get other answers, but it'll be the AI answer. It'll be these AI-sponsored companies, as, pertaining to voiceover and then all the normal Google results, I'm wondering that a lot of these AI companies have been recruiting and contracting with voice actors like us, and now that they've gotten enough of a voice roster of human voices that they're cloning speech to speech or text to speech, and they've gotten all their software ducks in a row and they've gotten all their marketing ducks in a row, that they may be going for it possibly this year. And I say that, bosses, to light a fire under your butts. It's time to stop being professional students. It's time to get out there and start working. Keep getting your coaching with Ann, keep producing your demos, keep developing your skills, but get off the fence. Get on top of it.
23:38 - Tom Dheere (Host) So you can go and advertise your product. All right, so we've got step one. Right is how do you identify right, your, why?
23:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) right.
23:47 - Tom Dheere (Host) Understanding, I would say, educating the industry and what it is that you identify with. And if you want to move into or add additional genres or whatever you want to do for your business, to really investigate, educate yourself on that. And now we kind of have the goal that we're setting and then we're working backwards right, we're like reverse engineering the goal. So what will it take to achieve that goal? What other tips do you have, tom? We're writing this down, I assume, because that's what I tell people. It always helps to write down.
24:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I certainly hope our bosses are writing this down.
24:18 - Tom Dheere (Host) I don't know if I have much writing skills anymore, but you know I do have paper and pen and there's lots of great planners out there.
24:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I will give some quick tips that I usually talk to my students about, now that we're talking about identity, which also is a form of how do you define success? So that's a part of it. How do you identify? Figuring out which genres, like we said, you want to identify as an e-learning narrator in 2025. But then the third one is what are the portals? Your bosses have heard me talk about this before the three portals of voiceover that connect voice actors to voiceover casting opportunities, which are representation, online casting sites, self-marketing strategies. So, for example, if you want to identify as an e-learning narrator in 2025, most agents don't cast e-learning.
25:04 - Tom Dheere (Host) Correct.
25:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Which means you don't need to seek representation in 2025, most agents don't cast e-learning Correct, which means you don't need to seek representation in 2025. However, there are tons of casting sites that have lots of e-learning opportunities and, of course, you can engage in direct and indirect marketing strategies to build lists of potential clients, cold email them more follow-up emails to stay top of mind, so you can see how. Now you can kind of plot it out into I need to be this, why do I want to be this, how am I going to do this and who am I going to connect with to get the casting opportunities that I want?
25:34 - Tom Dheere (Host) And, by the way, part of that direct marketing where you're doing the cold emailing and generating the lists and stuff that Tom helps you to do as well the VO Boss brand has a product for direct marketing as well that could be of interest. That will also help you with all different genres e-learning, corporate and that is using a vetted list that exists and you can find out more obviously at vobosscom and set up an appointment to talk to me about that as well if you're interested. That's another valid marketing. In addition to the marketing that Tom talks to you about, I think you need everything you can get. To be quite honest, get yourself out there, I agree.
26:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I agree.
26:12 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, tom, this has been a great conversation. So, bosses, we are manifesting for you and with you, the most successful 2025 ever for all of you. So make sure that you are taking stock in how your year has gone and let's go ahead and set those goals. And, guys, we're here for you. We want to hear feedback how is it going, how are your goals being set, and what do you guys want to do for 2025? So, tom, it's been a pleasure, as always. Thank you so much for all of your words of wisdom, and I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like real bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. All right, guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next year. Bye.
27:01 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Delve into year-end evaluations and developing a robust plan for next year's voiceover success. THE BOSSES share expert advice on setting clear objectives, utilizing effective marketing techniques, and maintaining enthusiasm in the unpredictable realm of freelance work. They give invaluable advice on maintaining passion, setting precise goals, and implementing effective marketing strategies. THE BOSSES also share strategies for balancing financial and time investments to align emotional satisfaction with professional objectives. 00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, real Boss, Tom Dheere and myself have a very special deal for you guys. Tom, tell them what it is.
00:08 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) All right, nne. If you use the promo code BOSSVOSS that's B-O-S-S as in V-O-BOSS and V-O-S as in V-O-STRATEGIST, and the number 24, so that's BOSSVOS24, you get 10% off my 30-minute check-in, my one-hour strategy session and my one-hour diagnostic.
00:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you'll get 10% off all coaching packages and demos on the Anne Ganguzza website. So, guys, black Friday starts now and runs till the end of the year. So everybody, get yourselves on that site and get yourself a discount. BOSS, VOS, BOSS, VOS 24.
00:43 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) BOSS, VOS 24. Boss. VOS, BOSS, VOS, 24. BOSS, VOS, 24.
00:47 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and of course, I am here with the one and only amazing Mr Tom Dheere.
01:18 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Hello Anne, hello bosses.
01:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hi Tom Dheere. Hi Tom, it's getting close to the end of the year, getting cold, getting ready for the holidays. At the end of the year, I always try to kind of step back and take a look at how did my year go, and I know that this is what you do. This is kind of like this is like your thing as the VO strategist. So I'd love to hear how you evaluate your year, because I want some tips actually, and I'm sure the bosses out there can always use some good end of year tips for evaluating how your business is going.
01:57 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) And I'll be happy to share those. I do the feels. You know. There's the emotional part of it. Just how did I feel about the year? Did I feel energized? Did I feel motivated? Did I feel satisfied? The emotional part of it Just how did I feel about the year? Did I feel energized? Did I feel motivated? Did I feel satisfied with the art of it? Was I able to express myself in the ways that I wanted or needed to express myself as both a voiceover artist, but also as a human being, Because there's a psychological aspect to what we do, Everybody has a different reason for why they want to be a voice actor.
02:26 You know, like Tom Dheere loves to tell stories. I love to talk, I'm a big talker, I'm a fast talker, but I just love telling stories. I love going on journeys and guiding people through journeys. And it's funny because ever since I did my very first paid voiceover in 1996, I've always had the question you know, how'd I do as an artist? You know, and every year the answer is a little bit better because I learn a little bit more.
02:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love how you evaluated, first of all, the why. Right, because I think we always need to step back and say remember your why. Why are we doing it in the first place? Right, because if it gets to the point where it's stressing you out too much or you're I'm like my corporate job did that.
03:04 So I mean honestly like one of the reasons why I did this was to go into business for myself was because I found joy in running a business. I found joy in being creative and telling stories, such as yourself. And I love how you opened with that, because when I asked you, I was thinking, gosh, you're going to bring out your spreadsheet and you're going to be like all right, the business analyst is here and we're going to talk about how our year went, which I'm sure you're going to talk about anyways. But I love how you opened it with what is your why and how did you feel about it? Because I think you have to have the feels first right in order to want to continue and have the passion and the drive to keep moving forward.
03:41 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, if there's no feels, then why are you doing it? And if you're doing it just for a paycheck, voiceover is the worst way to try to make money. It's so hard.
03:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's so hard. Wait, I feel like on the count of three, Tom, it's so hard.
03:59 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) And it takes forever to find out if you can make money and how long it's going to take you to make money, that's going to feel like it validates you at all, and if you wanted to get to part-time or if you want it to be something that's going to cover all your expenses and help save for retirement. Like you know, if there's a hundred jobs out there, there's 99 out there that are better to make money and have a paycheck than this one. So if you are doing this, it better have the feels right Now.
04:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) why do you say that, though I do want to ask you why do you say that there's a hundred jobs better at making the money? Why do we say that and the two of us are like oh my God, it's hard, but give a little more background to that, to that. Why?
04:40 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I'm talking in the context of something that gives you personal fulfillment. Now, in all fairness, if your passion is photography and you want to be a photographer, the principle is the same You're a freelancer. You have to figure out how to make your own work, how to market yourself, how to brand yourself, how to manage your finances. So the principles are all the same. So the self-employed things like voiceover or photography I want to be a singer, dancer, actor, model, musician, freelance graphic artist, I want to open my own yoga business or whatever. But for everything else banking, legal healthcare and healthcare and all of these things can be emotionally and psychologically rewarding, but those tend to be far more stable forms of income, you know. So my point is is that if you're going to get into something as difficult to pursue like photography or voiceover or being a musician, if it doesn't have the feels, then why are you doing it? You're just some kind of masochist who just likes to make your life as difficult as humanly possible, you know.
05:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I read an interesting blog about when you're in freelance and you're doing stuff like we're voice actors. I mean, it's all about certainty. Right, we've given up our certainty, because if we've worked for people in the corporate world like I did, I mean I was certain I was getting that paycheck every two weeks, I mean as long as I was employed. This. Now you've entered into the era, or into a vortex, of uncertainty, and that is, I think, where Tom and I are like it's hard, it's hard and yeah. So if it doesn't give you the feels, then yeah, you have to make a lot of sacrifices for that.
06:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Voiceover the vortex of uncertainty, the vortex of uncertainty.
06:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'll tell you. Not that we don't love it. I mean, gosh, we've both been in this over 15 years, right, tim? So it's like, really, I mean I would not have stayed with it. I don't think I could ever work for someone again, unless it's like an in-out get paid for the job and we're done.
06:33 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh no, I can't work for anybody again.
06:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All my jobs? Yeah, I enjoy my, and the first step is to assess the feels right. So do we still have the same feeling about voiceover. Do we still find the same joy in it as we did when we started? Okay, all right, that's good, that's step number one. Then what, tom?
07:05 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well then, it's time to break that down, because everybody has dreams in voiceover and people like Ann Ganguza, who is a masterful genre coach and demo producer.
07:09 That's part of the journey of helping to make your dreams come true. Get quality training, get a demo that you can use as a marketing tool to get the casting opportunities that you want to help make your dreams come true. But I tell all my students, vague goals will get you vague results. Specific goals will get you specific results. Yes, I also say that vague efforts will get you vague results. Specific goals will get you specific results. Yes, I also say that vague efforts will get you vague results. Specific efforts will get you specific results. So, when it comes to analyzing your business and reconciling the feels with what do I need to do and be and have to fulfill me? Narrate cartoons or video games or military history, audio books or college textbooks or whatever it is that blows your hair back to get the feels that you desire? You need to be able to put in the time and money and energy and effort on a business and marketing sense to be able to get the casting opportunities that you want so you can get the feels right.
08:00 Yes, absolutely, and this is why, I tell my students the more specific you are about what you want, the better of a chance you're going to have to get what you want, and your goals can change from year to year.
08:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then, is this the step that's next in terms of like figuring out goals that you want for the next year, or are we still in the assessment phase of how, this year, went.
08:21 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It directly flows into the goals that you want, because your goals also are going to change from year to year. So like, for example, this is 2024. One of my main voiceover goals was to book political voiceover work. I'm doing my research and taking classes and listening to experts in the area. I knew this was going to be a big opportunity to be a political voice actor for a lot of people.
08:46 My worry was that my sound, which is not the vote for this person and if you don't, the other one will eat your children. Like, I can't do that. My vocal folds are just not thick enough to be able to pull off that, or at least I just sound like I'm trying too hard. So it's like is there a place for me with my personality, my skill sets, the thickness of my vocal folds, to be able to get voiceover work? So I set a number for myself of how many political jobs I wanted to do this year and what are the things I need to do to be able to achieve those goals. So training yes, check. Little JMC, little Brandon Perry Okay, check. Demo yes, got the spots. Also added and embellished the demo with previous political work that I'd done in 2022 and 2023, because that's when I decided I wanted to give this a shot. And then marketing acumen Get representation that specializes in booking political voiceover work, going on casting sites and keeping an eye out for political work, as well as optimizing my profile to feed the algorithms to get political voiceover work. And use direct marketing strategies to be able to develop relationships with production companies that specialize in political work and develop relationships with them and get work.
10:05 And I did all three of those things and, to a greater or lesser extent, it worked in all three of those ways. So I did hit the number of political spots that I wanted to book this year. How do I know that? Well, I can count, but how does one keep track of this stuff? So I use my cash flow sheet, which is a free download at vo strategistcom, and it tracks every penny that goes into my voiceover business and every penny that goes out of my voiceover business.
10:34 So obviously I track all of the voiceover work that I did, what kind of genre it was, how much money I made, who did I work with, how I got the booking this is where being able to look back on your year and figuring out how you did, because having the feels, like I said, is critical. It's the most important thing. But you need to find out how much money did you spend this year? Where did you put your money Training, demo production, marketing, other things? Where did you put your time and energy? Cold calling versus auditioning, versus blogging, versus social media, versus workshops, versus conferences, versus local events versus national events? And how did all of that stuff pan out? What efforts did you put into 2024 that turned into what you want, which is the voiceover bookings, to get you the feels, to get that fulfillment of yes, I am realizing myself as a voice actor.
11:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And that free downloadable has all of those aspects on there, like social media, like this is how you got the job social, oh wow, that's fabulous.
11:38 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, so I'll talk everybody through. It is that the first column just has a little code. It's VO for voiceover, VOS for VO strategist. Because I track all my coaching stuff on there too, and then it's either the expense like you know, paperclips or whatever I bought, or a class that I took, or whatever that I attended, or whatever the voiceover is, and then I so I track what the voiceover is Do you buy paperclips, Tom?
12:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I haven't bought paperclips in years.
12:02 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I have so many paperclips from you know my analog days that I'll never need to buy another paperclip again, so maybe that wasn't the best example.
12:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know, no, but I love it. I just was thinking about it. God, do we use paperclips anymore? Anyway, sorry.
12:16 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Barely, barely. I barely use paperclips. I use my stapler all the time, but I don't use my paperclip anymore.
12:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I do too. I still use my stapler.
12:23 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah.
12:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay, Staples.
12:25 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Anyway, at Staples, yes, one of my favorite places. It's like Disneyland for me that and the container store, if you've ever been to a container store.
12:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, yes, I love the container store.
12:35 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Love those.
12:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There's one not far from me Stupidly expensive containers, but boy do I love them. But boy do I love them. They're worth every penny.
12:49 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I just love walking around in there. They are, it's like Willy Wonka Good stuff Anyway. Oh, my mileage. I tracked my tolls, you know, because I drove from Manhattan to Virginia, specifically, and back. I tracked all the tolls in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel across the Delaware Bridge.
13:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Can I tell you, please Can?
13:05 I tell you, I tracked my $6 butter that I bought from the bar so that I could put it on my Royal Cousin bagel Because I'm a girl who loves butter on her bagels. And so it was like late at night and I went to the bar and I said can I buy some butter? And he's like butter. And I said, well, I have a bagel. I said, have you ever had a bagel from New Jersey? And he's like okay, and the first he comes back with two or three. Like I'm like no, no, no, no, that's not going to work for me.
13:35 He's just two or three little pats of that container, like I need like two or three per like square inch of a bagel for that. And ultimately he says I'm going to have to charge you and I said, okay, sure, so how much is that going to cost me? He goes and I'm like I thought about it it was late at night and I really wanted that bagel and I said, all right, put it on my tab. So that's been tracked.
13:56 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Just wanted to clear the air on that. Just wanted to clear the air of that $6 butter. It's a tax deduction because it's a food expense at a professional event.
14:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you, roy. Thank you, roy for my bagel.
14:10 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I allowed myself to eat a bagel. This time. I had half a pumpernickel myself when I was down there I ate an entire bagel.
14:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I might have eaten one and a half, tom, because you know.
14:16 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I gotta have a lot of butter. Yeah well, I understand you had to make it worth the $6 that you put out.
14:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you, Uncle.
14:21 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Roy. Thank you, roy. I track all the traveling expenses and obviously, every meal, I amount of money that I made. I enter the invoice that I generated for every voiceover that I did, the form of payment check, direct deposit, paypal, credit card, wise, formerly known as TransferWise. Oh, I also currency, because I get a lot of European clients, so I get paid in euros as well as dollars and British pounds.
14:51 But this is how to look at your voiceover business marketing-wise is that I have a section which I either type in AB for audition booking or DB for direct booking, because I like to know did I get this through a one-to-one audition I auditioned once I booked one gig or is it a regular client or a legacy client that just said oh Tom, here's another explainer video and you don't have to do an audition? So this year, 2024, my direct bookings were roughly 80% of my voiceover work and the audition one-to-one auditions were roughly 20% of my voiceover work. And the question is you get these numbers, but what do they mean? What that means for me, tom Dheere, is that I have legacy clients dating back to 1997 that I don't audition for anymore. So that's clearly an accumulation of building regular clients over an extremely long period of time.
15:45 And that's great, but I also need to know how relevant I am in the voiceover industry, because if you book an audition this year. That means that your voice, your sound, your performance is in demand and you're keeping up with casting trends.
15:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Love that and 20% is pretty good.
16:02 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) The other thing I do is I track the portal. How did I get this casting opportunity? The three portals in the voiceover industry are representation, online casting sites, self-marketing strategies. So, looking at my spreadsheet, so we're not quite at the end of the year yet, but we're pretty close. Right now it's only 8% of my work came through representation, 42% came through online casting. That's both free sites and pay-to-play sites. 26% came through direct marketing, 23% came through indirect marketing.
16:33 So what do those numbers mean? Well, it means a couple of things. One, you line up the genres of voiceover that you want to do with the portals that you need to use to get them. So, for example, agents don't cast audiobooks or explainers. So if I did a lot of audiobook work this year, that means I probably got it through ACX or Findaway, voices or Ahab or any of the other audiobook-centric casting sites. Or and this also happens a lot is that you develop direct relationships with audiobook production companies Hachette, podium Publishing, Oasis, a whole bunch of other places and so I can look and go oh okay, well, I got a lot of work through that too. So it's reconciling the genre of voiceover, the type of bookings that I got, with how I got them. So, for example, political so far has been my best genre. 23.9% of my voiceover revenue was political. Second best was e-learning. I do a ton of e-learning. I've had clients dating back to the 90s, so that makes sense.
17:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, does your spreadsheet calculate the percentage? Do you have like formulas built into that spreadsheet? That's awesome.
17:41 I do, I'm going to just ask, because I know there's a lot of bosses out there thinking this oh good Lord, it's a spreadsheet, and their eyes are already like rolling back in their heads because it's like overwhelming. Right, but tell me, how much time does it take for them to account for this? Because, if you think about it, this is nothing more than an expense report, really, and a little bit more right If you were to travel for your job, right? And so I feel like you always have to fill out an expense report in order to get paid for it. So this is kind of like your expense report slash income statement, inflow, outflow yeah, report for your business. And so how long should you expect to sit down at the end of a day, at the end of a week, and fill that out?
18:20 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) A couple minutes.
18:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay. So see that, guys. It's only a couple of minutes, yeah it's only a couple of minutes.
18:27 And so even as overwhelming, like Tom is coming up with all these numbers and these statistics from his own job and his own year, but yet he's only spent a few minutes a day jotting this stuff down, and I think it's just something like muscle memory. As much as you go and practice character development or practice your scripts, it is time invested that you have to put into your studio, and I just want to say that. I think I want to clarify, tom, that there's a number of people that get into this industry because they find joy in reading books or they find joy in creating characters. However, not everybody finds joy in the work that's required, right, to actually create and delve in deeper to that character or delve in deeper to growing a business. As much joy as these things bring you, there is work involved and I just want to acknowledge and, tom, we've said it before multiple times it's hard, right. I mean not every single aspect of your business is going to be like, I mean, until you're probably established right, eight hours in the booth doing joyful, light character work.
19:27 If that's what you want to do, there is the other work that it takes to get you to that place to feel joyful, as you were explaining right so you can derive the feels right.
19:38 And so this assessment, this end of your assessment, can give you such valuable insight into where you've gone and where you want to go in the future and how much time you're going to have to dedicate to different aspects of it. And so it's worth the couple of minutes and I say that it's worth a couple of minutes, like to my students that are in performance. I say it's worth a couple of minutes to do that copy analysis, to do that character development, to do that scene writing, because in the end, that's what's going to pay off and get you the gig. Because in the end, that's what's going to pay off and get you the gig. Because ultimately, you can go in and create characters all you want, but until you make a profit doing that right, that's just all you're doing is going in your studio and creating characters, and if it's something that needs to pay the bills, that may not happen. Until you put in a little more work, that may not be as pleasant.
20:25 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right. I mean I've been developing this spreadsheet for 20 years, and I have been developing this spreadsheet for 20 years and I have all sorts of little formulas and things in there, yeah.
20:34 - Intro (Announcement) You get the benefit and you can have it for free.
20:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tom, is this for free? Oh my God, for free. That's so awesome, right? You don't have to put the work in that Tom. You're getting the benefit of Tom. This is why we call him the VO strategist, right? And if you need help, there he is, tom. I'm sure people can come see you and work with you, that you can help streamline this so that it becomes something that isn't so tedious or isn't something that you're questioning Well, why am I not booking work, or why is this not happening in my business? So, if you need an accountability partner and I'll tell you what I'm the first person to say that in my business, I will invest in something that will keep me on track, something that will keep me going. I have a business coach I invest in on a monthly basis, an accountability partner. Tom is like one of the best out there and he's done all this work for you. Sorry, I'm just. I'm gushing right now, tom.
21:27 But, bosses that know me like I don't bullshit sorry, I just don't I. But bosses that know me like I don't—bullshit sorry, I just don't. I'm honest to probably a fault, but I would not talk about Tom, nor would I have Tom on my podcast so many times if I didn't believe in what he's doing and I didn't believe that you're going to gain such value. And again, this won't be an month for Peloton so that I can get on that bike and be inspired and motivated by the Peloton instructor.
21:57 This is kind of no different right. It's worth it to me because the benefits, right that I get health-wise and joy-wise from getting on the bike and exercising and being inspired and motivated are very well worth the investment. And being inspired and motivated are very well worth the investment. And so, if this is something that you are not going to be disciplined enough to do, I believe that it's well worth your investment to really start seeing where your business has gone so that you can understand where to take it in the future right and guide it towards success. I stepped down from my podium.
22:29 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Thank you, that was very kind of you. Thank you for all that.
22:32 - Intro (Announcement) I have an accountability too. I stepped down from my podium, thank you.
22:35 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) That was very kind of you. Thank you for all that I have an accountability too. I'm being truthful, I appreciate that, and I have a business coach too, and I have people in my village that hold me accountable because I have my days of self-doubt and self-loathing and laziness and stuff, and I have people that keep me on track.
22:48 But I, with my mentorship program, you're basically paying for an accountability and a business coach all in one, because folks I know bosses this stuff is hard. It's challenging on a logistical, financial, emotional, spiritual, psychological level and I am here for you. But you're grownups. You need to be able to invest in yourself and be consistent, be kind to yourself when you need to be kind, be firm to yourself when you need to be firm, and I frankly, don't care if you don't like the grownup stuff. I don't care, because the voiceover industry doesn't care either. You want to do this for money. You want to make all your goofy voices in the booth and play all day. Great, you got to put in a ton of work, a ton of work, and it never gets any easier. It just turns into different kinds of hard.
23:38 Anne has been doing this for a long time. Right, she has her own challenges, internal and external, that are just different from the ones that bosses who are earlier in their journey have. Same thing with me. But if you really want to know who you are, what your business is, what your relationship to the voiceover industry is, beyond just your talent, and how great coaches like Ann can help you realize your talent. You need to hunker down and use my damn spreadsheet and analyze your business and take a hard look, hunker down, Hunker down and use the spreadsheet. I'm wearing flannel today for you podcasters, so I'm feeling very, very very rural, use the damn spreadsheet.
24:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my God, I feel like hunker down and Use the damn spreadsheet. Oh my God, I feel like hug her down and use the damn spreadsheet. See, like even Tom and I have fun with character development. So I mean honestly like it just makes sense.
24:26 And I'll be completely honest with you, we run our businesses for a purpose and we're doing this for a purpose, right? And I want to support the joy that I have in doing what I do and, yeah, there are days when, gosh, it's painful. But I also outsource some of this stuff as well to an accountant, and I've said that multiple times. I have an accountant who takes care of all my inflows and outflows and categorizations and that's a big help right then, and there she doesn't track my auditions or how I got the job, but I mean honestly, like that's just a couple of extra steps. Now there's another piece of software out there there's I think it's voice overview that does that as well. Voice overview with Danny States. Is that correct, right?
25:07 They have kind of a CRM and people will say, well, can I do this? Can I track this with my CRM? Yeah, you probably can, right? I mean, you won't have the benefit of the mentor, a monthly kind of meeting with Tom, and even if you're using voice overview, I don't think there's like a mentorship built into that. But you know, it depends on what level you need and what level you're requiring.
25:27 The thing that I like about your spreadsheet, tom, is that it's local, right. I'm very leery of a database that I'm necessarily putting confidential information in, like what I'm getting paid per job, unless I know that that system has like security that nobody's going to hack in and like steal my contacts. That goes for a CRM system too, right, I want to make sure that that is secured and that there's no possibility that somebody is going to go in and get financial data on me that maybe I didn't warrant anybody taking or seeing, or my client base. And so I like yours, because yours is local. You can just download it and you copy it to your computer and there it is and that's as secure as your computer is, and then you can meet with your mentor right On a monthly basis, weekly basis, however, that works and that, to me, I feel good about and I'm leery about CRM software anyway, just because a lot of CRM software doesn't do exactly what I want it to do and people are always asking me what CRM to use.
26:26 I use multiple CRMs depending on what I need. I'm not necessarily putting in financial data. I have my trust in my accountant and I have trust in the software that handles that accounting data and that is where that data goes. Everything else is my computer and my business partner. That's it. Nothing that's sitting out there on a server. And you know I'm not trying to disparage anybody who might be subscribing to those other services, but that's just my personal feeling. I don't know, tom, how you feel about that.
26:55 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, you got to work within your comfort level, your comfort zone.
26:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And like.
26:58 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Anne said you can download the spreadsheet. It's on your desktop and then you can back it up to your external hard drive and it never sees the internet and you're totally safe and you got to work within your comfort level of your CRM.
27:18 If you feel that you just need to have another spreadsheet backed up to your hard drive that has a breakdown of all of your contacts, that's all fine too, just as long as you're able to be able to interact with it effectively, so you know when it's time to market to which potential, current or past clients and how you do it, based on this work that you've done with them or the genres that they cast.
27:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't want bosses to misunderstand to say that I don't trust CRMs. I have CRMs and I put my data on them, but I would need to know the specifics of the CRM. You know if they're a major company, I mean if they're not securing their data. You know what I mean and the reason why I'm like this is because I used to work in technology. I used to be the person that needed to secure the data so that nobody could hack in and get it, because I worked for a school with under the age of 18 children, so I needed to make sure that that data was safe. So I'm particularly anal about it. That's where my thoughts come from, so I don't want to like disparage any product out there. Just this is the way I feel about it.
28:09 Anyway what a wonderful way to assess how your year went, because how do you know, like, where you're going if you don't know where you've been, kind of thing. Right. It's nice to be able to assess how your year went, because how do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been? It's nice to be able to assess how your year went so that you can really assess that, make improvements for the following year, because I know for a fact that I want to grow my business every year after year after year and, like you said, even though we've been in this business for so long, it doesn't get any easier even for us. I still have to strategize.
28:36 How am I going to grow my business next year? How am I going to evolve and change with a shift in the industry? Or, if there's shifts in the industry, how am I changing? Am I getting different performance coaching? How am I marketing myself differently? How am I planning my business? And I can't tell those things unless I've really assessed how the year has gone. So, tom, I so appreciate and we'll be putting the link for that download on our show notes page. And, of course, tom Dheere is always available to chat with. I'm sure you've got like one of those free consults that people can sign up for if they're interested in finding out more.
29:12 We have that also in the show notes. And with that I will say bosses, I hope you had an amazing year. I had a great year compared to like everything that's been going on this year. It's been a crazy year, but you know what? It's been a positive year and I always like a positive year in my business. So, Tom, thank you so much for all of your wisdom and, as always, for being a real boss.
29:35 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh, thanks as always for having me, Anne.
29:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, All right, Bosses. Big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing year coming up. I hope you had an amazing year. Make sure you assess it using Tom Dheere's downloadable PDF, and we will see you next week. Awesome Bye, guys.
29:59 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
This episode is a deep dive into character acting with the esteemed Anna Garduño, a voiceover artist and coach. The BOSSES share their invaluable insights on mastering the art of engagement in voice acting. Anne and Anna emphasize the importance of enthusiasm and authenticity, and use examples from industry legends to discuss how to breathe life into every line by using script analysis and character creation. The BOSSES also dispel the myth that success in animation voice acting is about being a celebrity, emphasizing that unique and authentic acting choices are what leads to booking success.
00:02 - Jen Keefe (Ad) Hi Anne, this is Jen Keefe from Real Women's Work Podcast. I just wanted to come on and say thank you, thank you, thank you for the series you're doing on AI and voice. I've listened to VO Boss Podcast for a few years now and it's always been informative and helpful, and not only is this series not an exception to that, but it is just the cherry on top. It has been so comforting and helpful to learn about this industry and I just thank you for taking all of the time you must have taken to research and understand, to know what questions to ask so that we're all better informed. It is just awesome, awesome, awesome. I feel excited and confident going forward into the future in the VO industry, all because of this series that you're doing. So, thank you, into the future in the VO industry, all because of this series that you're doing.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So thank you, hey, how's it going? Bosses Anne Ganguzza here. Elevate your voiceover game with our VIPeeps membership. With VIP membership, you can access our extensive library of over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops. Whether you're interested in commercials, promos, character animation, audioos, character animation audiobooks, video games, corporate narration, audio description or dubbing, our workshops cover it all. Plus, as a VIPeeps member, you'll enjoy a 15% discount on current workshops and complimentary free monthly workshops to further develop your skills. Join VIPeeps today at vopeepscom and take your voiceover career to new heights.
01:31 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here today with very special guest. I'm so excited, Anna Garduno. Anna, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you.
02:04 - Anna Garduno (Guest) I was completely thrilled when you asked me because the truth is it's been a bit of a goal, a little career goal. To please get me on with the boss.
02:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I love it, oh my gosh. Well, bosses out there. For those of you that are not familiar with Anna, Anna is a boss. I was just saying this before you came out of the womb.
02:20 A boss, Hilarious you came out of the womb a boss, but recorded her first radio spot when you were 15 years old, shot your first TV job at 17, and currently teaches classes for VO, commercials, animation, promos, narrations and games, and has been nominated Best Voice Over Teacher two years in a row by the readers of Backstagecom. And I wore my Teach, love and Inspire shirt just for you today, Anna. I love it Again. I love the cougar aspect it's a little bit of that sexy?
02:52 - Anna Garduno (Guest) come on, make it happen.
02:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) fabulous, you got to add that little bit of flair to it. But, gosh, anybody that knows me knows how much I love teaching. It's so important. It is who I think. I was born to be a teacher and I love talking to other teachers, such as yourself and bosses. So the combination teacher boss love it, absolutely love it. So thanks, first of all, for being here. I know you've got a busy schedule and you know what's interesting. Another fact that you wrote in your bio is that your students have booked over a million dollars in jobs and continue to thrive, which is such a great. I love that you have a number.
03:29 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Well, I imagine that yours have too, and absolutely because I'm sure your students every week say hey, I booked this. Hey, I booked this.
03:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, I booked this. They do, thankfully. Yes, I'm grateful for that. And when?
03:40 - Anna Garduno (Guest) you really think about it when you've been teaching for years, as you and I both have, because I started keeping track, really, and I was actually like, oh well, this is exciting and encouraging. I know you're such an encouraging teacher and there's so many cynics out there and I like to be encouraging. Come from joy, Come from possibility.
03:58 I believe in that too, you know it's so important and I think when people see that they go. Oh, because once in a while I hear people say does anyone really make money in voiceover? And I try not to laugh. Yeah, there's a reason, it's a global industry. So, yes, get that negative interject out of your head Absolutely and go forward.
04:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know what's so very interesting. Now I'm going to tell you. I was in Pilates this morning and there was a substitute that came in and she was teaching. I'm all about teaching, she was teaching, but she was teaching with a very like kind of monotone sort of and this, and then next we'll put our left toe over our right ear while simultaneously rotating our hip. The whole class, I mean, we're talking 45 minutes of no emotion, and I understand that she was trying to maybe put us in a Zen mode, right, but it was.
04:46 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Pilates Maybe sleepy, not meditation.
04:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And she was really good. Like technically she was really good. But she was shouting out all these instructions and I was listening so hard because her voice was so like even keel, with no like real I would call it elevating the teaching moments. So I was listening so hard, I was exhausted, mentally, okay, and physically. But at the very end, right after this, I had decided, like literally 10 minutes into it, I don't like this class, I don't like this teacher. She's not like. I don't feel an emotion, I don't feel encouragement, I don't feel anything. And when she was done she said oh my God, you guys did so good. And then I immediately loved her and I thought why. You know what I mean. So it really made me reflect on being a teacher for my students and also for the whole e-learning genre. And anybody knows I'm like a broken record, like you have to be everyone's favorite teacher.
05:36 You do, you just do Not just if you teach, but if you're doing e-learning, and so you've got to bring that emotion and that point of view, which I consider and let's have a discussion on this I consider that to be the frosting on the cake, that's the top element when you are there as an actor, right, that is what you're bringing to the copy, no matter what genre you're in.
05:55 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Oh, absolutely. And you bring up such an important point because this I know exactly what you mean. I've had teachers exercise teachers like that also, and I think one of the most challenging things in our industry right now, in whatever genre and I'm sure you've come across this, but correct me if I'm wrong where people say we want it natural, we want it real, yeah, yeah. And actors unfortunately misinterpret that and think, oh, passive, yes, oh, my god, that's casual, so it sounds like you have this passive teacher right now, nobody's passive in life.
06:24 We speak for a reason. We have a lot of musicality in our voice. Even if we're calm and relaxing, there's an intention behind it, even if it's the poppy reed.
06:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm just saying I'm just saying the poppy reed has dynamics to it. Oh my God, so much If you were to score that reed and really try to copy it.
06:40 - Anna Garduno (Guest) She goes up, she goes down, she takes pauses. There's all of this musicality. It's not a sleep, and so you bring up a really good point. You have to be engaged with who you're talking to and then it's engaging and it brings people along. Voice work is communication, obviously, but I find too that people get so quiet Sometimes they're disconnected from their breath and not to be too focused about it. But your breath is literally like your life force. So I'm not saying yell, but be connected, and that's why my little company is called Voice Forward, like send your voice forward. You want to connect through the microphone, through whatever, to that other person. You don't want your energy to go here and hi.
07:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm halfway to you.
07:20 - Anna Garduno (Guest) And then you stop. You don't want that.
07:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's so interesting. I think about it as an older, more mature woman, about communication, right. I mean today everybody's texting right, and it's the communication is changing. But I also feel that for us as voice actors right, our voice is so, so important, and especially in this world of technology and digital everything and synthetic voices right, technology and digital everything and synthetic voices right I think it's more important than ever that our voices really keep that engagement, keep that human aspect of emotion and point of view, because that's what makes us interesting.
07:54 And, honestly, when I choose what I'm going to listen to on a day-to-day basis, honestly it has to be interesting to me and, I think, right for your listener. When you're being engaging and you're behind the mic reading a commercial whatever you're doing a commercial, e-learning corporate you have to connect with that listener to get their attention. Otherwise, I mean, it's always self-serving. Because why do I listen to somebody? Well, I listen to somebody because they've got something that I need right. Either they're educating me or they're entertaining me, right, and hopefully both at the same time. Those are the best teachers and that would be great. So I need to have a reason to listen. And so if you're coming at it from behind the mic where you're like, no, listen to my beautiful voice, you're not connecting.
08:38 And I think that today more than ever, we need to connect and we need to be the actor, and I know that you put in your notes that this is something that you wanted to discuss today about. How can we, as voice actors, get there? I have my methods. I stand on my soapbox all the time and say it's so important, more important than ever, to really bring that connection. Let's talk about how you have your students. How do you elevate your students to be able to do that?
09:03 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Okay, sure, well, I have. There's a couple of things you know. We all come to this as actors. My training, my background, everything is an actor, particularly a theater actor.
09:11 I've been blessed to work with incredible teachers through the years, primarily with Larry Moss and Patsy Rodenberg, who's you know, the premier voice Shakespeare teacher in the world and Stella Adler, who's all about script analysis right For teaching or plays and theater and film, and that's what we do, right, we get a script and then how do we communicate best? And there's two basic things that she talks about that are very rudimentary, that I like to give my students a place to start, which is when you look at text, what is your point of view about people, places, objects and events that you're talking about? Right? So that's how you start, because so often people can do sort of like hi, I'm a generic, happy read sort of like this or I'm a very generic seductive read you know whatever it is.
09:53 So you don't want to be generic, right? So the easiest example is something like about the people I'm talking about. Let's say you have a thing where you say and it's the best ice cream from Ben and Jerry's. So many people do. And I say, well, pretend that Jerry's your absolute best friend and he's a bit of a goofball. So from Ben and Jerry, you know what?
10:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, you know Jerry.
10:11 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Just that. Or say you have a thing where you say so my husband came home with a new computer. Now, if the ad is about the right computer, right, then you're going to say husband, he did a great thing. Now say but the wrong, the anti-commercial, so my husband came home with a new computer.
10:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What is your point of view?
10:29 - Anna Garduno (Guest) about the husband and about the new computer. I mean, it's so basic. And then also, where you are is who you are is a big way to connect to a script too. And are you a CEO talking to another CEO about finance? Or are you that reassuring financial advisor for someone who's really nervous making their first investment?
10:48 Because you can have the exact same text but depending on who you're talking to and I'd like to think like what are you wearing? Really helps me personally. There's a million ways in, but I know if I'm playing a character on TV or something or movie that's like in a full-on business suit, I'm going to stand differently, I'm going to present differently.
11:06 My tone of voice is going to be different, whereas if I'm playing, like you know, the hippie chick from Laurel Canyon which I mentioned, who I am, it's going to be a whole different vibe, a whole different thing. So these are two very simple things that you can look at text right away and circle oh wait, here's the event, here's the object. Or in an animation example, I have a piece of copy I like to work on where someone's putting together a potion you know like to get revenge on somebody, and one of the lines is my potion will be ready and one of the lines is one more lizard leg and my potion will be ready. And so often people will go one more lizard leg and my potion will be ready, right? So I would say, you know, the people who wrote this copy, whatever it is, are often the people hiring you, right? Which wasn't always the case so often, right? So if you can make their text pop out just a little bit, because they could have said anything, they could have said one more batling, one more toad head, they could have said anything, but they said lizard leg.
11:57 And I always joke with my students. They got that approved. You know, disney approved lizard leg. They think they're going to get a bonus at the end of the year for coming up with lizard leg and plus, it's funny, with the two L's, you know lizard leg and the G. So instead of just saying one more lizard leg and my thing is ready, how about you take the number one and it's like you're thinking about it, right, and you go one more and you're looking at your stuff in your mind.
12:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Lizard leg. Lizard leg.
12:23 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Exactly so. It's specifically a lizard leg. So it's really simple and it's what we do in life when we talk about you know, I got these new glasses that I love. I got these new glasses. You know what is your point of view, and so that's the basic thing that I do with people all the time how do you feel about what you're talking about? Not moody, how do you feel, but literally.
12:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. How do you feel it's so important? And how you feel changes and can evolve from the start of your sentence to the end of your sentence can absolutely evolve and it can evolve throughout the script. So I feel like what you're really talking about is, first of all, we need to assess the script, right. We need to assess what's the purpose. The script, right, we need to assess what's the purpose. Why are we saying these words? Right? Who are we saying them to? And again, changing who we're saying them to can make all the difference in the world.
13:11 And what I like to also say is that, like, especially in corporate like, no, you're not talking to your best friend. I need you to be engaging, but Sally could give a crap about SAP. Sally doesn't even know what SAP does or who they are or what they make, right, right? So don't talk to Sally because it's not relevant to Sally, right? And so that whole conversational talk to your best friend. Yes, they may put that in specs, but in reality, you need to talk to the person that's going to benefit from listening to the context of the script, right? So what's the purpose? Are you trying to sell a product? Are you trying to explain how it works, you know, and who is it that needs to listen to that?
13:47 And I had a discussion with La the other day, la Lapidez and we were talking about there's always stakes, right, there's always stakes in the script, and so you've got to know what those stakes are as an actor, right, I mean, we are actors. It is not enough to just read that. And I love how you did the melody in the head about the lizard One more lizard. And it's funny because in our head that's the melody we all hear and I swear we're all on the same wavelength, right. One more. Where does that come from? I don't know, because we read the words and we feel like, oh, initially this is where the emphasis has to go Right, but in the real world we're thinking about things. Well, every sentence is a new idea.
14:25 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Exactly Every sentence is a new idea, and when you're reading or anything like that, and so that's another thing I say is it's a new idea and also a good example of you bring up such a good point about talking to a friend Like what does that mean? Or conversational, what does that mean? And I always say to people going back to you have different kinds of conversations.
14:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Every day.
14:38 - Anna Garduno (Guest) We have conversations every day Exactly, and I tell my students, like, say, you get an audition for Lexus and Subaru the same day and the specs are going to be pretty similar, conversational, real, talking to a friend blah, blah, blah. But Lexus, as we know are usually kind of seductive and a little bit like this and all that. And so I'll say to one student what do you call that? Like, I always have my students come up with titles or names for different types of reads.
15:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, what's that?
15:02 - Anna Garduno (Guest) read yeah, and one of my students had the best thing ever. He said I call that my I've earned it guy. Is that great?
15:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I like it.
15:09 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Yeah, Now the I've earned it guy is right next door to what I like to call the. I know you want it, so it's the same volume, the same note of your voice right the same sound, but there's a slightly different intention. And then the Subaru, which is getting a little more rugged now, but Subaru, as you know, they always end with that love. It's what makes a Subaru.
15:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's the family. Family You've got like dogs and kids, exactly, you know, on a picnic Soccer equipment.
15:37 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Yeah, sauger equipment, exactly so I always call that one like the kind of the save the planet mom, yeah, yeah. And what I tell students is those styles cross different brands. So the person who does the Subaru, the save the planet, mom is going to do Kashi, seven whole grains on a mission, and Patagonia and all that. You see they're both having conversations. So I know you know this, but I find to be able to come up with names for the different types is helpful.
16:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, and characters You've given a character to it, which is great, rather than I want this sexy read or this seductive read. You've given it a character which I think gives it more definition.
16:13 And I think when you're analyzing, too many of us run into our studios and like, oh, I got it and they play to that melody in their head. Right, they play the melody in the head that probably 90% of everybody that is going in their studios doing the same darn thing. And we've all talked about what do casting directors want? They want to be able to hear something different than 200 of the same kind of melodies right, and so if you're coming up with a different melody or a different story, that's immediately oh cause for, yeah, I'm shortlisting.
16:44 I can tell you me as a casting director, every time I hear somebody that enters into a script and I can tell they've got a story, I'm like shortlist Because there's an actor, there's an actor, there's an actor.
16:53 - Anna Garduno (Guest) And it's about having that point where you bring up a really good point, too, about how do you make your reads stand out, and At that point you bring up a really good point too, about how do you make your reads stand out. And I'm very big on playing with pace, particularly in the first sentence.
17:02 Yeah, yeah, yeah, Almost any first sentence you can play with pace, because often a sentence as you were saying, looking at the text has two ideas in it. So like to use an animation example. I have a piece of copy I love to work with. The first sentence is hey, you know what's the best thing, about being a jellyfish, so that's it right.
17:18 So everyone kind of usually does it that way, like enthusiastic surfer jellyfish. Now, if you just play with pace and you go, you know what's the best thing about being a jellyfish yeah, yeah, yeah, like all of a sudden he's mischievous, or the other way you do it fast.
17:34 You know what's the best thing about being a jellyfish. So already that first sentence is engaging yes, so little things like that. No, I wanted to ask you, anne, I found and you probably come across this too a couple months ago I started working with students on animation who were getting this spec which I thought was hilarious where they would say we want it like you're in a movie, but louder. And my poor students would be like what does that mean? We want in a movie? And I like, when casting people not you, of course, but some people you know don't act, just do it like you're in a movie.
18:06 - Jen Keefe (Ad) Okay.
18:06 - Anna Garduno (Guest) You're. You're acting in a movie, just so you know. So I was sitting there, I go. What do they mean? And I it was what we talked about earlier it means to not be passive, you're told do less, so they've been getting reads. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're told do less. So they've been getting reads, obviously, from people being very quiet, very hello. I have a mic right here.
18:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes hi, yes hi.
18:22 - Anna Garduno (Guest) I'm going to read like this yeah, exactly, and it's like I'm in a movie and I don't have to do anything.
18:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's so boring, or you're in a movie theater where you have to be quiet.
18:32 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Yes, exactly. So what they mean is Point of view, don't be passive. Yeah, so they were getting all these under, these de-energized voices, and of course, it's not engaging at all.
18:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you can be quiet and have a ton of energy. I mean, it's so much about the energy, but it really has nothing to do with volume, right? The energy of the Well, I use a term.
18:52 - Anna Garduno (Guest) I say to people you need more vocal vitality. I don't mean louder, I mean vocal vitality, and it's exactly what we're talking about. You need to have presence in that you're engaged with whoever you're talking to on the other side of that copy, because you're never just talking to yourself, ever Exactly.
19:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, let's talk storytelling. I mean, how important is storytelling? I mean I say it all the time, like I think exhaustively, yeah, but there's storytelling in every like, everything, everything everything right?
19:20 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Yes, absolutely. And also, you're always in the middle of a conversation, too, even if it's e-learning. You've already been talking to somebody about something and now we just happen to pick up the conversation in the middle.
19:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I love that. I'm always telling people you don't start a script with once upon a time because, right, like cause, that means you just, oh, I thought of it and I'm going to go into a monologue, right, Right. And that means you're not going to engage.
19:41 If you're going to go in you're like that friend that doesn't shut up. You're like, hi, it's all about me, me, me, me, me, me, and I'm just going to talk and I'm not going to allow you to interact at all with me. And I didn't even hear what you said.
19:55 - Anna Garduno (Guest) It was tiring for the listener.
19:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, exactly, and so you do have to start in the middle, and that's why I'm always saying that moment before right.
20:04 - Anna Garduno (Guest) It's so important, which is your basic acting thing. Right, like what happened before you came in the door, the scene, what happened, like how was the drive over?
20:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, and I'm like no, no, no, no, no. I hear the events that are happening. Tell me what the other person said and then how you responded. And I don't want you to respond with the first word. I want you to respond with maybe something that's rolling into the first word of the script.
20:30 Yeah, give yourself a lead in, because then it doesn't sound like the note like once and we all start on that same pitch. Right, I broke it down technically into musical notes, but still, you don't need to start like, hi, I'm just starting to talk.
20:45 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Yeah, you know no, of course not, but see, the moment before is really important. I imagine you do this with your students too. One of the benefits of doing these auditions at home and working at home is you can try a lot of things, which is and you can also give yourself a lead in, sometimes so that you are literally starting in. You say absolutely.
21:04 Don't stress about that credit card. Let me look. Let me look at the credit card. Like I have a piece of copy that starts out Wait, did you book the bartender? $200 last week. Like that's a good sentence, actually, but how much better is it if you imagine that your friend's upset crying. They're freaking out, Exactly. Listen, let me see you grab it. You go, okay, let me look at this for a minute. Wait, did you? $200? Which really means like, how drunk were you, Dear God?
21:30 - Jen Keefe (Ad) what was that about?
21:32 - Anna Garduno (Guest) And it's just taking that extra moment to put yourself in this situation Absolutely. And then, because you do it at home, you can do that lead in and cut it out. And that's one of the benefits, I think, of doing these auditions at home Because, as you know, in the in-person auditions which are starting up again thank God a little bit you usually get one shot and you can't do that lead in ahead of time.
21:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, exactly so. We've talked about the moment before, which, again, I think is so important. We've talked about storytelling. What other things would you say are important for a voice actor to know today in order to get noticed and stand out?
22:06 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Okay, well, this is such a basic thing. It's going to sound so silly, but it's very important to do some homework. We'll just talk right now about two areas, about commercial and animation, but this is true for everything. Actually, listen to what is actually on the air to hear what the styles are, what the tones are and everything. I have students and I'm sure you do too Some, you know, women students who've gone off and raised children and they're coming back 20 years later, right, and everything is like it's in the eighties or the nineties. It's so amped up. I'm like, okay, have you actually heard a commercial? And I'm shocked at how people say, well, no, I stream.
22:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't watch TV. Yeah, I don't watch TV. What?
22:46 - Anna Garduno (Guest) What does it matter with you? And what's so nice is you can that's research, yes, and also watch some different animation too, because, as we know, that natural voice, right, which is sort of the BoJack Horseman model, and then there's, you know, slightly more character-y things like in Spongebob, and then there's super cartoony, right. I am shocked at how many people do not actually pay attention to cartoons and they'll say, well, there's so many. How do I start? I go okay, watch movie trailers.
23:12 Watch the movie trailer, for inside out it's three minutes. There's five women and five men. Watch that and take notes. Don't just watch it passively. Write down what are the archetypes, what are the things, and then you put a check mark. So I'm very surprised at how people don't do their research. And I also tell my students it doesn't take long. If you spend half an hour a week listening to commercials in a very specific way and half an hour a week to different animation, listen to 10 minutes of three different shows and take notes on them, you do that for a month solid. Oh my God.
23:43 You have such a better foundation than everybody else. Oh my gosh, it's a very basic thing It'd be hard to audition for a play if you'd never seen a play Right. It would be hard to audition for an hour-long TV show if you hadn't watched hour-long TV in 20 years. You had no idea what those shows are like, because they're different than what they used to be.
24:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And before you run into audition for no Matter what, can you take five to ten minutes to just look up the brand yes and look and see what's their website look? Like what is the product that you're talking about actually do. Do you know the product? Are you familiar with it? What is their demographic? Who are they trying to sell to? I mean, there's so much backstory.
24:22 Again, it's almost like you're doing character study right, but you're doing it about the brand because the brand is looking for a voice. Even if there are casting specs, right, you can always go to a brand and find out, like, who are they selling to and how are they trying to do that by just literally a Google search. Absolutely, and I don't see why people don't take the time to do that. I mean it could take literally five to ten minutes before you rush in and everybody's like I've got to get the audition in. I've got to get the audition in, but do the homework first. Spend five or ten minutes. I don't think that you're going to miss the timing. I mean, I know people are like I've got to get it in first.
24:52 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Also, it's going to be much more efficient. Right, you take five, ten minutes, so like, oh, what is this new? Obviously, I don't know anything about tech stuff. So what is this new tech thing about? I need to find out what it is, and then you can do almost anything in three to four. Takes Almost you know after that.
25:06 So it's not going to take you that long. But I think one of the things I recommend my students do is so that you're not always in a rush right, trying to do the audition and get all this stuff in is set aside a specific time, wednesday morning from 10 to 1030. I'm going to look at ispottv and I'm going to watch 10 car ads in a row and I'm going to write down the differences between them. So if you just set a specific time, then it's part of your ongoing kind of homework and then when you get that audition for Lexus or Jeep you've already seen it and you know what it is.
25:40 And you're like oh, or you can say oh, this is like the absolute vodka ad I just watched. Okay, and that's what that is. So you're not playing catch up. Yeah, and it's the only area of acting I've ever come across and where you can get better at it really fast, because if you have a good ear, you can hear, like students where I've done this myself right, I think I'm sounding very sexy, yeah yeah, and I just sound sad, sad and depressed.
26:07 I'm like, okay, that's bad. Or I'm trying to be enthusiastic and I sound crazy, like I've had 15 cups of coffee, so you can hear it and you can adjust it immediately and that's so satisfying. I mean, I love to do dialects, as I know you do, and you know dialects takes years to really be super great at them. And this is another area about the voiceover world is you can move forward very quickly if you are just consistent, consistent with your study consistent with your class?
26:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, absolutely.
26:42 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Consistent instead of stopping and starting all the time.
26:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. I love that and I try to tell my students you know, look, it's better for you to do one or two scripts a day because I give homework right. And I say it's better for you to do one or two scripts a day because I give homework right. Yeah, and I say it's better for you to do one or two scripts a day, then wait until the night before and then do all the scripts at the same time, because then you're in the same performance mode, right.
26:58 - Jen Keefe (Ad) You're just like, oh God, I've got to get my homework done.
27:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I've got to get my homework done and so I'm going to listen to you. And so one of the reasons why I give homework is to hear, for me I'm vocally branding my students as well, so that we're prepping for the demo. Right, I want to hear them talking about Toyota or I want to hear them talking about Subaru or some other brand and I want to say, okay, I hear that, you know, and for me it's just a creative thing where I'm like, yes, I can hear that she sounds great with that brand, and so now we're going to focus on a spot on our demo for that brand. And so I give lots of homework because, number one, you should be able to practice what we're doing in between our sessions. Otherwise, like you want me to just live direct you once a week, that just, I mean, I don't feel that you're going to progress quickly.
27:45 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Well, what you're talking about, anne, is giving them the structure and the tools to become their own best director. Exactly that's what you're talking about, and that is a gift to give to students.
27:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you for calling homework being a gift. I love that. Oh, it is a gift. Yeah, I love that, and also I always say to people it's optional okay. I don't want to stress you out, yeah me too.
28:03 - Anna Garduno (Guest) I don't want to stress you out, but you're giving them. It was a new student, they go. Well, I just need to be. You know, if I have a director or a cast member, they tell me what to do. And I said to them okay, well, what might they say? And she said, well, they would tell me to be more conversational. I said, okay, and then what would you do? Blank face, yeah, and everyone's different. Like for me to be more conversational. In general, I have to slow down and I have to bring my voice down just a little bit.
28:31 Other people have to go faster.
28:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Typically people pitch up when they're reading. That's just a, I think, human nature kind of thing, but you're right. And then sometimes they just go fast through everything or they go too slow through everything and then they sound too consistent. Consistency is like. I think I can't be stagnant in my business. That's the death of my business, and I think consistency might be the death of a voice actor. Because you can't be consistent in any sound right, because then it sounds robotic, it sounds with no point of view, there's no right, it's rhythm, and point of view is everything.
29:05 - Anna Garduno (Guest) I think Point of view drives the rhythm and sometimes the rhythm is like there's one style that sort of is kind of the opposite of all we're talking about a little bit is I call it a cello read Is that Eternity by Calvin Klein?
29:16 - Jen Keefe (Ad) Right when they just say do less, do less, do less.
29:18 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Right, hi, yes Hi, I'm not going up or down, but that's its own rhythm.
29:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So that's why I call it a cello.
29:24 - Anna Garduno (Guest) So if somebody plays one note on a cell, that's what it is. Yeah, it's like that. So even that is a very specific point of view.
29:32 - Jen Keefe (Ad) Yeah, absolutely.
29:35 - Anna Garduno (Guest) And it makes it dynamic because you're right, if you're just consistent all the way through the same way, it's so boring, yeah, you just stop. It loses any kind of dynamic.
29:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It loses point of view too Correct, it really does.
29:44 - Jen Keefe (Ad) Oh, absolutely yeah.
29:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's interesting how musical it can be and then yet I don't want my students to approach it necessarily musically. I want them to approach it like an actor, because if you can do that, then ultimately things just fall into place. When you're responding to something, you're acting is reacting. When you're reacting right and you're reacting with the lines in the script, it falls together naturally. It really does.
30:08 And so the rhythm and the melody just fall together, and the emphasis on the words. It just falls together Like it's an easy thing for me to say. However, somehow, when people get words in front of their face, yes, because I was taught to read aloud, you know, in grade school, and I was like yes, me, I love to read, I'm a good reader, and let me hello, I'm going to read my text now, and so you have no time to put a point of view on when you're just reading from left to right, you don't know what the story is. There's no history there, there's no. Who are you talking to? Well, I'm just reading to the air, right?
30:40 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Well, I think you bring up also a really good point too. The approach isn't after the voice will follow the musicality, all that will follow. And something that's a particular challenge is since when we're reading or working, a lot of times we have headphones, so we're hearing ourselves while we're talking and there's a big temptation to be the director, the producer, all at once while you're literally saying your words absolutely you have to not do that.
31:02 So I'm a big advocate just put one headphone on, because you don't ever hear what you actually sound like through your head or your headphones. It's close because you're listening through the speaker of your head, right? So that's that's. The other thing, too, is I tell students don't judge your read like. Listen to it back first before you start making adjustments, or you stop in the middle or you change it or something.
31:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that's good, I like that. Wait until you're done. I have the advice, which is interesting I get the one ear on, one ear off. For some people yeah, for some people, because for me, when I was initially starting, I had a lot of like noises coming out and I was evaluating my booth and so I couldn't tell if there was noise and also being directed right. So when you're directed, you kind of have to have your headphones on.
31:42 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Oh no, absolutely Right, You've got to be able to hear the direction.
31:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I always say your headphones are amplifying your sound, yes, and so if you get used to not listening to your sound and you're into the storytelling, it won't matter if you have headphones on or not. But that's a hard thing for people to do sometimes, because I know when I first started hi, oh, I love this. It's amplifying my voice, you know that kind of thing and it just gets to be a little egocentrical there for a minute. But I don't think any voice acting really should be egocentrical at all. It's something you are gifting right to the person who is listening to you and that is a gift you give to them. It's not about you listening to yourself.
32:20 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Well, even though you're just doing one side of the conversation. You're in fact interacting. Yeah, you are always interacting, and that's when they say talking to a friend. That's what they're trying to say is you're talking about this paper towel is going to soak up that spilled wine. Because you just came to your friend and said, oh my God, I spilled red wine all over my couch, I don't know what to do. You say, oh well, actually this thing is going to help you. You're interacting. Right, it's not about you at all. And it is a challenge sometimes not to fall either, to fall in love with your own voice or to decide.
32:49 You hate everything about it which is also not helpful.
32:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's so true. So you have to not judge.
32:54 - Anna Garduno (Guest) You have to wait and listen back and then see do I sound like I'm engaging with someone? Because you're always talking, like you say, for a reason. You know, even in animation stuff. You know I was talking to someone the other day about BoJack Horseman because that's such a common spec.
33:10 You know they say we want to like bojack horsemen, not rugrats and things like that. And I had somebody once I think was at sad foundation, wasn't a regular student said, and they said, well, you know, will arnett, they just hired him because you know he's just will arnett all the time. And you know what I said. I said, okay, I see why you're saying that, but my guess is a lot of people would like to play bojack. I bet chris rock would have loved it, paul rudd would have loved it.
33:28 Paul Rudd would have loved it. Owen Wilson would have loved it. There's a lot of comedic Seth Rogen, there's a lot of guys, and Willa and I get it, not because of the sound of his voice, but because he created a character that was engaging. So don't self-sabotage by saying, oh, it's a star. That's all they do. Don't diminish their work and don't diminish your possibility to do work as good, absolutely.
33:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I think that that's really interesting. Oh, I love that. I love that. Gosh, Anna, I could talk all day to you.
33:58 - Jen Keefe (Ad) Well, that's why we're going to get together and have cocktails and dinner.
34:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There we go Well, there we go Well. I have to say thank you. So so much. Thank you so much and I know that it's been a pleasure having you on. Now you've got a special offer for boss listeners. I do Special offer.
34:12 - Anna Garduno (Guest) Talk to us about that a little bit so for boss listeners. You get 10% off any classes, 10% off any private coaching or things like that, and also 10% off any demos you may want to work on or refresh or anything like that. Just say that you're a fan of the boss lady. The queen herself Love it and I'm very happy to do that. And you can reach me through.
34:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) My direct email is AnnaVoiceForward at gmailcom, and just say hey, heard you on the boss, and we'll put that link in the show notes as well to get to your website. And so thank you so much, anna, for being with us today, and I look forward to working with you more in the future. For sure I want to have you as a VO Peeps guest director too, so coming up, so I'll be sending you that schedule. Yay, I would love that. So perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, and so a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. See you next week, bye, thank you.
35:20 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPD TL.
In our next episode. of the BOSS Money Talks series, the BOSSES talk about how to set and achieve financial goals like a pro by transforming daunting yearly objectives into achievable, bite-sized milestones. Anne and Danielle guide you through the process of reverse engineering your target income, allowing you to create efficient tracking systems for auditions, marketing, and follow-ups. This ultimately can help you to manage the unpredictable nature of freelance work with confidence. The BOSSES share personal stories and insights on analyzing past successes, pinpointing what truly works, and making informed adjustments to your approach, fostering a mindset of steady, systematic growth. 00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hello amazing bosses and voiceover talents out there. Hey, amazing voiceover talents. Do you ever wish boss marketing was as fun as it was being behind the mic? Well, check out my Vio Boss Blast. It's designed to automate and make your marketing simpler. You'll benefit from your very own target marketed list, tailored to meet your goals and your brand the VO Boss Blast. Find out more at voboss com.
00:32 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, nne Ganguza.
00:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited to bring back to the show Danielle Famble. Danielle, yay, hey, thanks for having me back. How are you? I'm so excited to talk money with you this morning.
01:09 - Danielle Famble (Host) I'm good. I'm always up for a money conversation, so very happy to be here Cool.
01:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you know why? Because I actually just started taking and you know I've taken these courses before. But you know I always love to take goal setting classes because even though you kind of know, like I've set goals before, I do it every year, I do it periodically. I think that it's important to just kind of get your motivation and inspiration going and I thought it would be a great time to talk about setting financial goals and how we can successfully reach them as entrepreneurs.
01:41 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, I think that's really important because in business you always talk about goals like business goals, or the point of a business is to make a profit, and so financial goals are kind of tied into that. So it is good to be intentional about your goals, even if you don't hit that goal. Absolutely being able to track where your progress is is really important, so I love that you're doing that. It's something I try to do every year. I think it usually happens for most people around like the end of the year sort of a New Year's resolution, but doing it in the middle of the year is really pretty great. I love that.
02:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think one thing that I'm learning that is important is to set realistic goals. I mean, it's all well and good to want a million dollars, but I want to be able to set a realistic financial goal for myself and I think how important is that actual number, like I know you just said, if you don't make it? But what if we create a more realistic goal? And then, I don't know, maybe reverse engineer, is that a thing?
02:39 - Danielle Famble (Host) Is that something that you do? Yeah, totally. I read this book, the 12 Week Year, a couple of months ago. It's a really good book and it really is about like breaking your year down into almost like quarters, really breaking them down into 12-week years themselves so that the goal doesn't take the length of time like a full year for example.
02:58 And then you're able to break it down further from those 12 weeks to individual weeks. So that is sort of reverse engineering your goals. So, for example, if your goal was to make, let's say, $10,000 in the 12 week time, then you can go and say, okay, well, what do I need to do incrementally to get myself there? Is it going to be marketing more? Is it going to be increasing the number of auditions that you do? Is it going to be figuring out which genre that you want to go into, because maybe a certain genre may get you to that 10,000 quicker? I think actually, reverse engineering your goal makes it so that the goal itself is not so big and all you're working toward they're little sprints. So you're working toward the next milestone in that bigger goal sphere.
03:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think there's something to be said for breaking it down into smaller parts, because I think number one of the fact that our business is so volatile, right, we don't know where our next job is coming from. And that is a completely different mindset and pathway to making money than maybe some people are used to if they come out of the corporate world. Right, because there's a set amount of money we're getting paid every so often. Now, all of a sudden, we've got to be everybody and everything and we have to go out, generate the leads, follow up on those leads, get the job, do the job and then charge the money and then collect the money. So there's all these steps and we don't necessarily know where the second job is coming or the next job is coming.
04:26 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah.
04:27 And I think also, you can think about creating systems, right. So a lot of the things that you just said are repeatable processes. So if you can create a system where it's I'm going to audition for X number of jobs, that's not guaranteeing that you will book all of those jobs, but it's sort of a numbers game, right? Sometimes, especially with commercials, for example, it's sort of a numbers game. So if you can increase the inputs, then the output may be more bookings. Perhaps. Same thing with like leads If you are sending out maybe a few more emails or phone calls, then that potentially could mean that you're going to possibly book more jobs.
05:07 So how can you create systems or templates for each individual section of that process that you're reverse engineering for your goal? So then you don't have to get stuck in the weeds when it's time to go to the next step. And the next step Did I follow up this person? Did I do this? Did I send out this contract? Did I sign this thing? Making sure that you have a template or a system for it really can help.
05:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that and I think that it's important to make sure that you're dedicating the time for those steps to happen, because it's all well and good when you're like I've got the job right and the money's coming in and that's something I can account for. But yet now there's all these unknowns in the equation, and especially when we're talking numbers like I like numbers to be concrete right, I like to say I've got this coming in, you know, I've got this going out. But then there's that uncertainty of like okay, I don't have that job yet, so I need to put that system in place in order to try to make the goal that I want to achieve. And again, I think it's important for bosses out there to again set realistic goals. But again, there's nothing wrong with saying, hey, I'm currently making X amount of dollars per month, or I like to look at it on a monthly basis as opposed to, I mean, yearly too.
06:19 I'm like, yes, it's great to have a six-figure, seven-figure, whatever income you're looking for, but then break that down into months and then those months back into weeks, because one week maybe I won't make any money, right? And I have to make sure that that doesn't necessarily stop me from trying to reach my goal or create a mental point where I'm just like, oh well, I can't do this right. I think goal setting a lot of what I'm learning, as well well as writing it down, putting it concrete on the paper here's what I want. And then you're talking about setting up the template and the steps to get there, going back and reviewing those steps and making sure that if you didn't achieve a step, that's okay, because maybe next week you can achieve that step even more so, so that you're not getting upset or depressed and then just giving up on that goal.
07:04 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, I also really love what you said about like dedicating the time to it. One of the things that I implemented in my own life, in my own business, about a year or two ago and, admittedly, I've sort of slipped in it it's something this conversation is reminding me to go back and do is implementing office hours or implementing the time dedicated to make the system run.
07:25 So if it's implementing an hour every single day, or Monday, wednesday, friday, for example, to make sure that you've got your auditions, or to follow up with clients that have not paid, or to do whatever it is in your system that needs to be done. Really setting the time aside to actually do it will ensure that your system does actually work, because it If you kind of sometimes arbitrarily go through the process of trying to hit your financial goals then you may not actually be consistent in hitting those goals.
07:55 Another thing that, when you were talking about it, I was thinking about is, yes, thinking about things in a monthly 30-day window. I think that's great because it's that short sprint like we were talking about earlier.
08:06 One thing is, maybe consider a percentage Like maybe I want to increase my revenue by 1% or 2%, so you can actually check and see did I do that? Is there a way to say I did hit this goal or I didn't hit this goal? Because a lot of times with goals they can be vague, it feels good but you can't really check and see did I actually hit it or not?
08:27 That's the thing about numbers. Is it this number or no? You know if you hit it or not. That's the thing about numbers, is it this number or no.
08:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know if you hit it or you didn't. Right, right, it's very black and white. You're right, I love that checking and being accountable and that also has an effect again, and it's so funny because there's hardcore numbers, right, there's here's what I made last month, here's what I made the month before, and what did it take to get to those numbers? Going back and being accountable and seeing, was there a system that worked? And again, if something's not working or you're having a slow month, again I want to reiterate that manifestation of abundance and faith, right, faith that you can achieve the goal right. And so if you can kind of manifest and see that, have that vision, see it's written down and then see the systems that were put in place that help to make that work, when you maybe have a week where nothing happened or a couple of weeks and you start to doubt yourself, go back and take a look at those accomplishments.
09:21 Go look at what you've achieved and the systems you use to achieve them and see if maybe you didn't implement that in quite the same way or maybe there's a way to take what you did that was successful and increase it. Maybe I would say, reach out to that repeat client, right? Or go ahead and maybe increase if you did a hundred auditions and you're not really seeing anything, well, maybe. What type of auditions did you do? Were they all commercial auditions, were they corporate auditions, were they e-learning auditions and find out which one's booked. And then maybe, if you're like I seem to be booking a lot of e-learning lately, then maybe increase your percentage of e-learning auditions.
10:01 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, and the only way to know everything, what you just said is to make sure that you're tracking.
10:06 If you're not tracking that information, the dollars are in the data and if you are not tracking your data, you may not be able to track your dollars as specifically, to be able to get to the next step, that next 1%, because if you increase your revenue by 1% every month over the course of the year, it's exponential growth of your business. And then you can go back and look and say, okay, look at what I did, how can I repeat those steps to get even greater returns the next year? Or to do that in a different genre that maybe you don't work in, because you know that what you did works. How can you take what you know and move it to a different genre?
10:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. You said if you increase your revenue 1%, right every month, which gives you 12% over a course of a year. And I just want to bring that back to bosses by saying most jobs don't give a 12% increase like at all anymore. As a matter of my husband just got like an 8%, which was incredible. I mean that took years and I remember back in the day when I was working in education I got a 3% every year and that was great. So, 1%, bosses don't think, oh, that's nothing. And I can tell Danielle that you are a money girl because you know, oh, just 1% and that's realistic, right. And so that's something like oh, I want to increase my revenue 100% or 50% or even 20% is I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying that you want to take a look at how can I like literally systematically increase that income by 1%, 2%, and that's incredible.
11:36 - Danielle Famble (Host) And then, year after year after year, the compounding of that incremental increase is really where, like, it'll make your eyes pop because it is amazing and it can be life changing.
11:47 - Intro (Announcement) Oh yeah. And so when you say like reverse engineering your goal.
11:51 - Danielle Famble (Host) That's really where it is. It's not in these big leaps and bounds. It's how can you grow? Just a little bit more, and a little bit more, and a little bit more. And then when you look back over time because this takes time when you look back over time you can say, oh, wow, like look what this did, look what I grew, look what we've made. It's really amazing. It's like any financial investment. It's really amazing.
12:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's like any financial investment. It's funny because you know, back in the day when I did work for a company, I remember I invested some spare change that I had like $500 in a stock in the company that I worked for, and then I just didn't look at it.
12:24 I just let it sit there for about 20 years. And I'll tell you what over time, when you look at a stock, if it's a decent stock and it's not like a company that's in and out and out of business, a company that's been around for a long time, I mean that grew over time even though, like, one month it went way down, another month it went way up, and then it was like, and if you looked at those numbers and you got crazy about it, it would make you insane, and so I just left it alone. I said you know what that was? Money, that it's kind of like.
12:47 I feel like if I go to Vegas and I'm going to spend money on gambling which I'm not a big gambler, but I always say, well, that's my spare change, right, and then I just don't worry about it. When it's done, it's done. So I invested that money and then I didn't look at it until 20 years later, when I went to buy a house, and then all of a sudden I cashed in on it and well, over the years and of course I didn't like completely ignored it I did look at it like on a yearly basis, but it wasn't like every day. I was not looking at it and freaking out if I wasn't getting a return on my investment. And so I think maybe if you kind of look at your business like that right, step back from it and look a little more long term and you can't do that unless you've been tracking it right and see how you grow, like that tiny little growth spurt over time makes a humongous difference.
13:38 - Danielle Famble (Host) Absolutely.
13:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then let me ask you how, like in terms of I know we talked about this a little bit in other podcast episodes so in terms of tracking this right, what's the best resource for tracking this? I mean, I know we talked about, like I use QuickBooks so I can do a profit and loss statement. I can generate any length of time. I could say give me a monthly profit and loss statement. What other things would you suggest to track? Because that's just the financial part of it. How are we tracking like marketing, how are we tracking those types of things?
14:09 - Danielle Famble (Host) I think that can be done in several different ways. When I first started my business, I was tracking everything in an Excel spreadsheet down to every job that I booked, the details about that job, how much I was paid, how much do I need to set aside for taxes, and keeping that set aside separated by month. That's one way to do it Currently. Now I have a Notion database where I actually will put in every single audition that I did and it turns into a pipeline. So it's. Did the audition turn into a booking? Did I get an avail check for that even though I didn't book it? I want to know the details about that. What were the specs in that audition? So it's like a whole sales funnel.
14:46 - Intro (Announcement) It's an entire sales funnel, I love that An entire sales funnel.
14:49 - Danielle Famble (Host) That's what I'm doing, that's amazing.
14:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm again sort of a nerd. Yeah, no, no, no, I'm right there with you.
14:54 - Danielle Famble (Host) That's wonderful, but I want to know everything about the jobs that are coming my way and then the jobs that turn into actual bookings, because there's information in that data for me and it's important for me to take a look and see. I even want to see maybe I auditioned for something a year ago and the rate was X.
15:13 - Intro (Announcement) What is it today?
15:14 - Danielle Famble (Host) I want to know what is the market overall doing? So there are ways to look at it, like that, crms that you can take a look at and put your data in.
15:23 However you do it, do it and that's where your data is and then have a way to go back and take a look at and put your data in. However you do, it, do it and that's where your data is and then have a way to go back and take a look and take the time to go back and look at the data and see comprehensively, maybe by quarter how did I do? At the end of the year how was this year and what did we learn and what can we do a little differently? I love that.
15:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I think tracking your goals not just here's what I want to make right but tracking your business and tracking the progress of your business will really help you to get a great view of your business over time, and so it will help you to make more educated decisions as well. Right? So not only are we setting financial goals and we're manifesting right, and we're having faith in the fact that we can achieve these goals right, and we're creating small little pieces, small little segments of those goals that are achievable right, and then we can look back on our success and be encouraged and gain confidence from that success. And again, when you do that, that can just exponentially grow your business and grow your success. And to me, you've got to take the time to track that. So how much time. For me sometimes it's like, oh God, I've been auditioning all day, I've been coaching all day, I've been doing this. I don't have time to track this. What is your method of tracking? Do you track on a day-to-day basis or weekly? Or what do you do?
16:40 - Danielle Famble (Host) I track, like I said, with the inputs in my sales funnel or my system. I do that every single day, really like inputting it as it's happening and how much time does that take?
16:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Do you know what I mean? Are you spending like 10 minutes, half an hour, an hour?
16:54 - Danielle Famble (Host) Every input is maybe a minute or two, so it adds up to a few minutes a day, maybe an hour a day.
17:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, think of that boss. It's just not even an hour a day right, yeah, not even I day.
17:05 Wow, think of that boss. It's just not even an hour a day, right? Yeah, not even. I say that for my students too, who want to pursue this as a career is that you need to spend, you need to dedicate a certain amount of time per day on your business, and that tells your brain, it tells your body, it tells your being that you are serious about this business and you are manifesting along the way as you do that. And plus, I think it's a critical part of again that tracking system that helps us to understand where are we, where do we want to go and how are we going to achieve that? Absolutely, yeah, fantastic, wow, I love that.
17:33 So what sort of goals would you say for, let's say, a beginning talent? What sort of financial goals should they have? Because I know there's a lot of people that are like quick, they're like I want to make the money now, right, and I know, as a coach, sometimes that is something that just doesn't happen right away. I mean, they're not making thousands upon thousands of dollars right away, and I think that's where most people get the most discouraged right in the beginning of their career. So, in terms of financial goals, what would you say are realistic financial goals for new talent that are starting out.
18:06 - Danielle Famble (Host) I think the first thing that a new talent should take a look at is where are they currently at, to look realistically and then I think really like the percentage that maybe 1% or 2% maybe not per month but per quarter might be a really great target to hit. So where are you at currently and how can you do just a little bit better per quarter to get you to that 4% per year? And I would also take a look and see things outside of the returns. But what are you doing today? Is it that you need to coach with someone else? Do you need to invest in yourself and your business? Do you need to learn how to use your DAW a little bit better for editing your auditions? Those kinds of things can really help with your bottom line because once you have a little bit more skills in your business, then you're able to use those skills to generate income. But I think, looking at it from where you're currently at, then looking at maybe a one or 2% increase from where you currently are, is incredibly realistic. Yeah.
19:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and I think also, when you're starting out, you have to be realistic in terms of, like, financial success, what you consider to be financial success and what you're considering to be investment in growing the business, because there are lots of businesses that need to take that time to grow. They need to invest in their product, they need to invest in their marketing, they need to invest in their storefront, right, which? These are all things like what is your product? It's your voice, right? Well, that's your coaching. It's your demos. What is your storefront? That is your website, what is your marketing? All of these things. Have you taken a marketing course? Do you have a mail service? That kind of a thing.
19:49 So, what are you investing? And a lot of it might take more investing than you're getting back in the beginning, and longer time it takes, longer it does, it does. And so I feel as though your financial goals at this point need to be realistic thinking. I have some people saying, well, I want to make $5,000 a month and they're just getting out in voiceover, and I'm not saying that you can't do that, but I'm just saying that until you really start to grow and make those investments.
20:08 I think marketing is a big, big part of that, because you can be a new talent and you can be amazing, but if nobody knows that you exist, right, they can't pay you and so you can't meet those financial goals. And so you've got to really get out there in front of people, and that requires your marketing efforts either direct mails, creating content out there. The quality of your auditions is marketing Exactly, exactly the quality of your studio out there. So there's a lot of things that will go into this in order to help meet your financial goals. And the better you are, the more skilled you are right, the better your product is right, the better you're able to market that product. Then I think the more skilled you are right. The better your product is right, the better you're able to market that product, then I think, the more able you're going to be to meet those financial goals in the end.
20:51 Yeah, absolutely so, for, let's say, talent that have been out there for a while. Is it realistic, do you think, for them to think, oh okay, well, I made six figures last year, I'm going to make six figures this year, year, I'm going to make six figures this year, or I want to increase that by 12% this year. How realistic do you feel that is?
21:08 - Danielle Famble (Host) Oh yeah, I think that's incredibly realistic. I think that really taking a look at where you currently are, or what happened last year versus what you're attempting to do this year, I think that's incredibly realistic and you can go back and you can look at your systems and say, all right, this is what I did. What of it worked? You can look at your systems and say, all right, this is what I did. What have it worked? What things do I need to improve? What maybe should I invest in my business to help get me to that 12% or more return? I think that's incredibly realistic. Also, it does mean that you need to look at the genres that you're working in, yeah, and the market the market that you're working in as well.
21:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, so important. Yeah, don't leave out the fact that you could be. You know, I want to do animation or I want to do character work, whatever that is Right, and you can be an amazing character animation, you know, have a great demo, have a great product out there. However, you've got to figure out where's the market, right? Where's the market at this time? Are there trends in that market? Am I able to reach that market and how am I able to get in front of the eyeballs that can hire for that market and what are they willing to pay Like? That's the part where I think most people they forget. Oh, so now there's a money, right, there's a value put on that on the market. Not that you're not worth a million dollars.
22:23 However, there's a term for it, danielle, and I don't know if I know what it is, but there is a rate out there that is the going rate, right, it's a competitive rate for people that want voices for animation or people that need a commercial voice. There are rates all over the place. Of course, we always say go to the GVAA rate guide, right. But I mean, sometimes the market can't pay that rate, right. That particular client just can't pay it. They don't have the budget for it, and sometimes that's the truth, right? A lot of times we want to say, oh no, I can't do that job. I know what I'm worth and I can't do it for that rate and that's OK, that's your business decision.
22:58 But don't dismiss that sometimes clients literally don't have it in their budget to pay that value, and then that's a decision that you make, right? Whether you want to accept that, to do that maybe below your rate or not. And I'm not saying you should do that for everything. But there is a value. There is a value that the companies put on it and they will have budgets. I mean, people have budgets for a reason. So you have to be considerate of the company and not just be angry at the company if they can't meet your budget.
23:28 You know, I think a lot of times we tend to so quickly dismiss and say, well, they're not paying me what I'm worth, and so therefore and yeah, I say, if that's your decision, that gives you time to go find somebody who will pay you what you're worth. But sometimes understand that it is possible that the company doesn't have the budget at this moment Doesn't mean that they won't have the budget in the future, or that you can't work on that in the future. So yeah, just a thought Wow, good stuff, danielle, wow.
23:54 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, that's a really good discussion. I think that talking about goals is incredibly important, not just about the financial goals, but the inputs to your goals as well, because that can just be general business goals, life goals. Once you learn how to do this in one aspect of your life, you can really move it to other aspects of your life. Oh yeah absolutely, absolutely.
24:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right. Bosses Love this conversation. Danielle Can't wait for our next one. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network and make money like bosses like Danielle and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and go out there and let's set some financial goals and meet them. We will see you guys next week. Bye, bye.
24:38 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere reflect on their time at the Mid-Atlantic Voice Over Conference (MAVO) and show listeners how to align your conference choices with professional objectives and comfort zones. The BOSSES talk about embracing the vibrant energy of smaller conferences, where meaningful connections and enriching learning experiences await. Anne and Tom share personal stories that capture the joy of stepping out of the studio and into creative spaces filled with camaraderie and collaboration. Whether you're new to the scene or a seasoned pro, this episode is filled with invaluable strategies to enhance your career and make every conference moment count. 00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, real Boss, Tom Dheere and myself have a very special deal for you guys. Tom, tell them what it is.
00:08 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) All right, anne. If you use the promo code BOSSVOSS that's B-O-S-S as in V-O-BOSS and V-O-S as in V-O-STRATEGIST, and the number 24, so that's BOSSVOS24, you get 10% off my 30-minute check-in, my one-hour strategy session and my one-hour diagnostic.
00:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you'll get 10% off all coaching packages and demos on the Anne Ganguzza website. So, guys, black Friday starts now and runs till the end of the year. So everybody, get yourselves on that site and get yourself a discount. BOSS, VOS, BOSS, VOS 24.
00:43 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) BOSS, VOS 24. BOSS. VOS, BOSS, VOS, 24. BOSS, VOS, 24.
00:47 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series with the one and only Tom Dheere. Tom Dheere, yay, hi, anne, tom, I get to see you like. I just saw you at MAVO, which was so wonderful. We have to just meet each other at conferences, I feel like there needs to be a change to that.
01:27 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) You live in LA, I live in New York City, so you know we have some logistical challenges.
01:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know, but I feel like we should be seeing each other more, because what a great time.
01:36 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well then, they need to produce more conferences so we can hang out more, right.
01:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I don't know. Well, I don't know. There might be some people that disagree with that, I'm not sure. Some people are saying that there's more conferences than are needed in this industry. But you know, I like people to have a choice.
01:51 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, and different conferences meet different needs. Some of them are different sizes, like Mavo is very boutique, like under 100 people, as opposed to VO Atlanta, which is wonderful in its own way, but that has 1,000 people and that can freak out a lot of people. And then one voice is like somewhere in the middle with attendance and there's different focuses. Some have a bilingual track or a Spanish track, some have an audio book track and some have a children's track, like Mavo did. So you just got to find one that's right for you, based on your budget, your professional needs and just your social comfort level.
02:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, let's do a recap about Mavo, then, because it was my first year at Mavo, oh, and I truly, truly enjoyed it. It was, it was my first year speaking at Mavo and I loved it. It was small, it was intimate, and she had a boatload of great speakers there, and I really felt as though she worked her tail off to make it a nice experience for everyone.
02:50 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I agree, this was my fourth 2018, 2020, 22, which was virtual, and then 2024 now. So, like most conference presenters, they like to have people come every other year so they can mix up the speakers and the content, and I always have a lovely time there. Val Kelly, who's the producer of the Mid-Atlantic Voice Over Conference MAVO for short always does a lovely job and, like you said, she puts together a fantastic group of speakers. Like, considering the size of the conference, it's like, quality-wise, a disproportionate quality. Like the quality of speakers, considering the size of the conference, it's just such really high-end.
03:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, Really high-end people. It was incredible high-end speakers, especially because you and I were there. Well, no, I'm sorry, I love it. I think her theme in the beginning was more character-based animation, because that's what she did, and she mentioned to me this is the first time she was going to have somebody coming in that was really talking about things other than character animation, and, of course, I did a general session on corporate, and then I did two mastery sessions which actually were oversold, which I loved on e-learning, and the other one was on acting for narration oversold, which I loved on e-learning, and the other one was on acting for narration, and I just loved the response of the attendees that were there to my classes, and so I had a great time while I was there, but I worked hard, and I will say, though, that the speakers that she had were amazing.
04:18 You were there, I mean, jessica Blue was there, everett Oliver was there I mean I'm just going on and I met some people that I had never met before in person, which was there. Everett Oliver was there. I mean I'm just going on, and I met some people that I had never met before in person, which was great Casting directors, andy Ross. I mean, I just had such a good time meeting new people and now I've got new resources.
04:35 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, I had a fantastic time too. What did I teach? I did a breakout session or I don't remember what the name of it was. The term, but it was make taxes less. Taxing had a great turnout, with people trying to figure out how to file their taxes. As a voice actor, that was fun.
04:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that's important.
04:49 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It is important. I'm noticing a slight uptick in people going to conferences and wanting to get a little bit more understanding of the business side of voiceover, which and considering that's what I do as the VO strategist obviously I'm thrilled that people are expressing more of an interest to complement all the great performance training that they want to get and that they know that they need. But I also did one on smaller voiceover market mastery how to, if you live in a suburban or rural area, how you can thrive both online and in person.
05:15 But the one that was extra interesting is and we talked about this before we started recording is that I was the moderator for the AI panel.
05:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah.
05:24 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) And you were in the audience and you participated I was. It was very, very interesting and we had the board of the National Association of Voice Actors, or NAVA, as the panelists president, vice president, director of operations and a member at large and the conversation was very interesting. What I thought was interesting is that I read the room at the beginning, if you remember, and I said who here doesn't know the first thing about AI as it pertains to voiceover? And not a single person raised their hand. Now, maybe they were shy and didn't want to admit they didn't know anything, but I think a lot of them are now that it's been a few years that the voiceover industry has just become aware at all that AI has been permeating the industry long before we understood what was going on. People are making a point to educate themselves, and you have been a huge contributor to that with your VO Boss series. When you interviewed, was it 30 or 35 companies At?
06:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) least At least 35 CEOs of companies, of AI companies Some are of companies that don't exist anymore and some that do. So, yeah, and that was back. I think I started two and a half years, maybe three years ago, doing that and talking about how do you create a voice, are you ethical, are you, you know, how are you utilizing the voices and how do you feel about voice actors and treating them fairly and giving them compensation for that voice? And so it was something that I really have been on a journey to do, to research and educate myself, because I think, I mean, we're both educators, tom, and it's so important for voice actors to educate themselves about the industry, about the business and how they can run their business to coexist with disruptive technologies like AI.
07:04 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right, right Were you in the room when J Michael Collins did his presentation.
07:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I actually was finishing up a mastery session and he was talking about trends in commercial, I believe, or trends in performance, since the new administration or the upcoming administration change.
07:22 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, that's why I brought it up, because I sat in on that and took a page of notes. He did a fascinating history of how you can line up who's president of the United States with trends in commercials and tone and what affects us as casting specifications.
07:39 So he made a lot of interesting points about those who voted for the winner and what kind of reads are maybe called for, and those who did not vote for the winner of the election and the type of reads that are going to resonate with them for the next few years. So I bring this up, bosses, because this is part of the value that you get out of attending any voiceover conference, much less going to MAVO. It's education, it's networking, it's the opportunity to meet great coaches like Anne, or get to know a casting director or someone like that. But also industry trends what's going on in the industry right now and how you need to adjust or adapt your understanding of the voiceover industry and how you can adjust your business model to adapt to what may change in the coming years.
08:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) One thing that I like to think about in regards to trends is trends. You have to keep your eyes and ears open and assess what you feel is happening in the industry, as well as what your clients are saying. And so, while I would never say this is the trend in black and white, this is what it's going to be or this is what's calling for, and then say that's it, I'm only going to practice that trend. I say be the actor, because when you're the actor, you can be versatile and you can cover any trend and so just know which ones seem to be resonating along with culture and the current status and the current flow of advertising. But also be that actor. Take that coaching, training that allows you to be the actor that can be versatile, that can follow direction, no matter what they want, because there can be trends all over the place.
09:19 So, for example, after the Super Bowl last year, there was the Poppy read. Right, there was that read. I was not asked for that poppy read very often, even though that was spouted as the latest and greatest big trend. So, again, my customers had their own specific direction for what I do. Also, it depends on genre right, genres that you're working on, and I feel that if you are a well-versed actor, you're gonna be able to adjust yourself to any trend. However, it is important that we all educate ourselves on what's current and relevant out there, because you probably don't want to be out there doing that old announcer read, although that's one of the reads that could potentially come back, or it can be a read that one of your clients wants, and a lot of times we get the gig with one read and then they direct us to something completely different, and so keeping your ears out and eyes out for trends is great, but also that age old advice that sage, wise advice to just get your acting skills in order, I think is absolutely still relevant.
10:20 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh, 100, 100%. And this is why you want to have good coaches that can help guide you through the voiceover industry, teach you the basics of voiceover, that are the evergreen content, like breath control or microphone techniques, script interpretation, and then obviously layering that with the genre training, like what you do with your e-learning and your narration training. And this is where the advantage of going to a voiceover conference is, for both attendees and for speakers and presenters like you and me, is that we can have conversations with speakers, other coaches, other casting directors. What's going on, what trends are you noticing, how have you had to adjust your teaching or coaching style to adapt with what's going on in the industry and how we can prepare for what's going on next.
11:06 And if there's one thing I noticed is that, yes, you are technically J Michael Collins' competitor and he is technically Everett Oliver's competitor and he is technically Nancy Wolfson's competitor. But like the level of camaraderie and the very from what I've noticed over many years free-flowing exchange of information. Well, you know the old thing the rising tide lifts all boats. So we're all happy to exchange information, Like if I go to the same conference that a Mark Scott does or a Paul Schmidt does, and Paul Schmidt. He was hanging out at the bar for this conference. He wasn't an actual attendee.
11:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) He was there he was living in the.
11:41 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) he lives in the area, so he's like yeah, let me go hang out with my friends, and it was. It was awesome to see him.
11:45 There was a couple of people that just showed up and just like, hey, what's going on? A couple of people that just came to hang out. We all are in these little booths talking to ourselves all the time in a vacuum and we have to build characters and connect and engage, but just to be able to stop wearing sweatpants all day, get out of the booth and just go, just hang out and get dressed up.
12:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love getting dressed up.
12:18 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, and look fabulous, fabulous every day, and I actually got the chance to wear a suit which I haven't done in so long.
12:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I had costume changes, Tom. I had costume changes you know, I call them costume changes, but I love it.
12:31 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Like you're hosting an Oscar.
12:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I had a few of them, which is pretty cool.
12:35 Yeah, Right, Okay, and now it's hand-wearing and a lot of it is just the energy, right, the energy at a conference and the energy especially at a smaller-sized conference too. The energy at, let's say, a larger conference can be overwhelming, right, it's great and it's exhilarating, but it can also be overwhelming and stressful For something for a much smaller venue. I really enjoyed the energy because it wasn't like we couldn't hear each other over the loud din of thousands of people. We were all a close group that kind of gathered in the restaurant slash bar area every night and ultimately had a great time talking to one another, and I absolutely love it. And we did fun, crazy things, Like I actually have a little video that will be coming out. We all had everybody say the same line and be the actors that they are, and so I literally recorded multiple people saying the same line with their drinks in hand and that should be a cute little video coming out in a few days. Everybody just had a blast. Whether you normally do that type of a thing, it was just nice to see the improv and the acting and the laughter and just so much fun hanging out after hours or after the classes are done, and typically when I'm at a conference.
13:51 I know that for myself I don't know, Tom, if this happens to you too the more conferences I'm presenting, I'm very, very hyper-focused on my presentations because I want to make sure I'm ready and I've got the energy to teach a three or four-hour class, which some of these ended up being, and so I'm not always socializing late in the late hours because I'm like well, I got to get up early, but I noticed that none of it was overwhelming for me, so I was able to hang out and really visit with people later on in the evenings. That I typically do at larger conferences. Just because I find that there's so much noise at the bigger conferences, I get a little more stressed out quicker and I'm like well, I got to go to bed now because I got to make sure I'm up and I can do my class in the morning. I don't know what did you feel about that, Tom?
14:35 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, I noticed the same thing because we were both at VO Atlanta this spring and, like I said, there's 1,000 attendees and probably what 50 or 60 speakers plus a couple of dozen staff. So it's an amazing, wonderful experience, but it can be a little overwhelming Canva presentations and making sure my outlines are just so and timing it a little bit to make sure I have time for Q&A and sidebars and stories and stuff like that.
15:05 So, I found myself staying. I was at the bar for a little while. I think I turned into a pumpkin around sometime between 10.30 and 11 o'clock at night, which I think is a yeah that was me.
15:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's a long time for me. Oh, really At home I'm usually in bed by nine, so I mean oh yeah, I'm like I'm a wimp.
15:22 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Back in the day. I'd be at the bar until two, three, four in the morning, but I just don't have the battery power for that anymore. Also, I'm hitting the gym in the morning, so like I was in the gym, Me too. Friday, saturday morning and Sunday morning I was in the gym at 7.30. Oh.
15:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I missed you those. I missed you those times because I was prepping for a nine o'clock class.
15:43 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, yeah, I didn't have any nine o'clock classes this time, so I had a little time to be able to go down. I just did like a half hour on the treadmill just to kind of get my steps in and get my circulation going, have a nice breakfast and then get some tea and make my way down. But I was wondering, Anne I'm sure there's a lot of bosses here who have never been to a conference before what would you suggest as some like voiceover conference strategies for someone that's never been to one?
16:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Ah, yes, for me I really like to get the most out of, and I'm like, probably sometimes the worst, I'm the worst offender because I'm so busy and I'm not looking at the schedule. But I would say look at the schedule, decide ahead of time, right, what classes look good for you, and and really kind of create your schedule before you get there. It's nice you can make last minute changes, you know, once you get there, depending on, like maybe somebody says, oh no, no, no, you really have to go see this talk or this presentation or I've seen this person before and they're really great and you might make changes then. But I think, really having a plan and of course, old school, I'm either a notepad to jot things down or I like to do notes on my phone a lot in order to get things from the presentation. I know that for me, because I've lost my talent to write, tom, I mean, I don't know like, do people like I can barely sign my name these days because I'm typing so much. So a lot of times what I'll do is I'll take a picture, like a screenshot, of the presenters or the screen, if they've got a display, and then I'll just jot down notes while I'm talking in my notes on my phone, or I'll just create right a note on my phone and I'll take pictures while I'm doing it as well. So now I've got the notes and I can take pictures and then I have that across all my platforms, and so that's kind of the way that I take notes for that and I also make sure nowadays to get people's contacts.
17:28 And, tom, I'm the old school. You probably saw my cards on the table because I purchased them for one other conference and I'm like you know what? I'm just going to leave them on the table. On the back of it I made sure that I had a QR code that basically, when you scan it, I'm right in your contacts in your phone. So it's got my name, yeah, it's got my name, my address. So it's no longer just like oh, it's a card that just has your email, your phone. It has a QR code that you can scan so that it automatically goes into contacts, and I find that that is super beneficial. Like all the contacts that I made, we basically just touched each other's phones or we called each other and then filled out information so that it went right into our contacts. Not so much exchanging cards these days, but I say always have some for backup. What about you?
18:11 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, for those of you who are listening to this, I just flashed my VO Strategist business card, which also has a QR code on the back. I also have I think it's hopbio, h-o-p-pbio, where you can kind of make a little mini type of website, and I have one for Tom Deere, voice actor, and I have one for VO Strategist. It's a QR code also, so people scan it and then they can see it's also linked, so it has all your contact information on there. You can even hyperlink your blog to it. So it's just kind of like everything that you are in like one little place. It's like one-stop shopping for marketing. As to note-taking, I have to let everybody know that Anne took a picture of some of my notes at a class at a workshop that she wanted to go to but she couldn't make it to, which is perfect.
18:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yep, I absolutely did, and I love it. I mean, it's now it's in my phone so I can refer to it at any time, which is great.
19:01 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I'll deal with your one of two things. I'll use Google Keep, which is a Google note-taking app. But what I've been doing more and more lately is that before I go to a conference and I pretty much know I mean I've got all my presentations, but then I look and see when I'm not presenting and what workshops I have time to attend and be a student of is that I'll set up in Google Drive. I'll set up a Google Doc and it'll just say, like 2014, mavo. So if you go into my Google Doc for those of you who have broken in you see I've got the year that I attend the conference and the name of the conference, so I can just see, in chronological order, every set of notes I've taken for every conference that I presented at or attended. So I'll often bring my tablet and I'll just be typing directly into the Google Drive doc that I had already set up. So when I get home it's already there. I don't have to do anything.
19:48 But I do take pictures of screenshots, like you do pictures of slides and what I'll often do is, I'll take a picture of the slide and then I will just copy and paste that picture into that Google Drive doc. So I don't have to transpose it either.
20:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly that way, you've got your notes and your photos. Yeah, it's all together, so it's all together.
20:07 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) One bit of advice I will give our bosses who do attend a voiceover conference is find a note-taking buddy that looks like they're going to be presentations that you want to go to as like the primary ones you know, like if you want to go to all the ones about cartoons and video games.
20:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like you were my note-taking buddy, yeah. Yeah, be a note-taking buddy, you were my note-taking buddy for Jay Michael's presentation Right.
20:33 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Because you're just like click there, you go, so like, but based on what you want to do. If you have a friend who wants to focus on business and marketing and tech and you want to focus the performance ones, they go to all the other ones and you just take notes and you just swap, yeah.
20:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I'd like to really like give props to the business classes in the conferences, and I know because I used to teach business classes Sometimes I mean it used to be that they were the hard sell right.
20:56 And the funny thing is is I think what people need the most is business sometimes, because it's so easy to take performance after performance after performance classes. But your performance is wonderful in your studio by yourself. If you're not selling, if you don't have the business savvy, you don't have the marketing savvy and you're not selling yourself, well then nobody's going to see your beautiful performance. So I do want to give a big push for those of you that go to conferences, give yourself I mean I know you might hate business or you might hate marketing but do yourself a favor and sign up for a marketing session so that you can understand, like, how marketing has trends have changed or new ideas. I mean you could come out with one, just one new golden nugget for how to market yourself and that can make all the difference to get you seen or in front of a casting director, or in front of a talent agent, or in front of a new client and then, boom, it's been able to grow your business.
21:51 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well as the person who teaches all the business and marketing breakouts and workshops and mastery sessions at all of these voiceover conferences. Obviously, I have a vested interest and I want all of you to attend my classes and take my content. But Anne is 100% right attend my classes and take my content. But Anne is 100% right. There is and I've noticed it over the oh geez, 13 years or so that I've been attending and speaking at voiceover conferences is that they tend to be populated by a lot of professional students. They just keep taking performance class after performance class. They don't take any business and marketing class and they never pull the trigger. They never go for it.
22:26 Now I can't speak to why any one of them can't or won't pull the trigger. It may be financial they can't leave their day job. It may be psychological they just have certain emotional mental blocks that are preventing them from pulling the trigger. But I say this in almost everything that I speak at is that your talent will get you your first gig with a client. Your project management skills will get you the next gig with the same client. Project management is all the stuff you have to do between the moment that the email hits your inbox and the moment that the check clears. So if you're able to use your talent to get an audition and book it, if you don't know what to do when it's time to press the red button and I'm not talking on a performance level, I'm talking on a technical and a business level you're useless as a voice actor and they're not going to come back.
23:11 So I speak at a lot of these and there's a lot of other great business and marketing coaches that presented a lot of these. I think it's really important for you to take the time yes, if there's a certain casting director that you want to meet, if there's a certain coach you'd like to connect with to see if you'd be a good fit for getting coached for them and booking a demo, which I know Anne experiences that all the time make it a point to go to one or two business or marketing related things, because it's not even just being about a well-rounded voice actor, it's about being effective at all, because if you don't know that stuff, you're not going to get anywhere. All the best video game and cartoon coaching in the world isn't going to get you anywhere if you don't know how to demonstrate your value, to get you those casting opportunities and if you don't have the business savvy to capitalize on those opportunities, yeah, I mean, I agree, a thousand percent, a thousand percent really.
23:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, and I've seen it conference after conference and I used to teach the business classes early, early on, before I knew Tom, I used to do like social media classes, business classes, and it was interesting because people were just so drawn to like the character and the animation classes and those performance classes and I think you really just need to have I mean, this is one of the reasons why I started the VO Boss. It was really about the business strategies for voiceover artists and really that's what this podcast was all about to hopefully help educate in the business sense of it, business and marketing sense of things, because you can have the best voice in the world but if nobody knows about it, there you sit, there you sit, wow. So some good tips and tricks, guys. I highly recommend the Mabel conference. I know Val, she just works so hard at it and it really was a lovely conference and I hope I get asked to go back next year.
24:53 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I hope you do too, and I had a wonderful time and I always look forward to it, and hopefully I will get asked again as well. Hint, hint, val, if you're watching this.
25:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, Val, we love you Val. So yeah, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
25:17 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipdtl.
Anne Ganguzza sits down with Rolf Veldman, CEO of Voice123, for a riveting discussion on navigating pay-to-play platforms amidst the shifts brought on by disruptive technology. Anne and Rolf go in-depth on pay to plays, social media, and the opportunities and challenges that voice professionals need to navigate. They discuss the complex algorithms that dictate audition opportunities on platforms like Voice123 and the balancing act to make it fair for the different levels of subscribers. As more companies test the validity of AI and synthetic voices, Rolf discusses Voice123's strategic partnerships with specialized companies, highlighting their commitment to protecting voice actors' work through digital fingerprinting. 00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Imagine a voiceover journey where every step is filled with discovery and growth. That's the path I want to work on with you, through nurturing, coaching and creative demo production. Let's unveil the true potential of your voice together. It's not just about the destination, it's about the gorgeous journey getting there. Are you ready to take the first step? Connect with me at Anne Ganguzza dot com. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, anne Ganguza, and today I am so excited to have a very special guest, Rolf Veldman, coming from the Netherlands. Rolf, it is so wonderful to have you today.
01:07 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I'm very happy to be here, Anne.
01:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, for those of you that don't know Rolf, I mean probably everybody knows of you, but Rolf is absolutely a boss who enjoys turning great ideas into great businesses, and I, for one, have been following Rolf for gosh since he stepped into the CEO position, because I like to watch bosses when they work. So Rolf leads a diverse, globally remote team of achievers who are pushing the boundaries of the voiceover industry and maybe pushing the buttons of the voiceover industry too, as we all know and, yes, based in the Netherlands, where I just was, I absolutely love it there. You also like to garden because you live near a national park near the German border, which is awesome.
01:49 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah.
01:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, it's always nice to know those other things besides being, you know, the CEO of one of the largest online pay-to-plays that you also like to garden. I love it.
01:59 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) No, I don't want to say it as my main hobby, but like I'm sitting here in my office but I tend to take my laptop downstairs and then, when it's sunny out, I sit in the garden dogs around me like couldn't make me happier with that.
02:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Love it and it's so beautiful. The country is just beautiful.
02:16 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I don't know exactly where you are, but every part of it that I visited I just absolutely loved.
02:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, it's tiny, You're through it in a heartbeat Right, but you're close to everything else.
02:21 I feel so that's what's so cool about it. Well, Rolf, I know we have a little bit of time not too much time and I know that there are, as I mentioned a little bit earlier, there are two things typically that people want to know with pay-to-plays, right, they all want to know about the algorithm and they all want to know about AI. And so start me off by telling me first how, since you've come in to be at Voice123, how the industry has evolved and how Voice123 has evolved.
02:52 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I mean that question alone could be two hours. I guess I know right, Because a lot has changed already. I know that AI was already there from the beginning, but since we'll get to that later, I think the main difference is is in the last five to six years because I joined in 2018 the audio part of advertising has exploded. The fact that we're doing podcasts now and not radio, I mean it's open doors to kick in, but so many people are consuming content on their phone by audio more and more and more, like audiobooks have skyrocketed. So many of these industries that voice actors are part of have been growing tremendously and as part of that, also the number of people who want to be in voiceover. So it's been an explosive amount of people coming into the industry. And when new people come into the industry, that changes things all the way from how you offer your services to how relevant certain companies become.
03:44 Like I felt the last five years, and even now, Voice on 3 is constantly at risk of being replaced. We might be here for the last 20 years, but how do we stay relevant? So our goal is always to stay at the core of what we do. In the core of what we do is we want to make sure that voice actors and their clients they build great relationships don't get in the way like that's sort of our vision of what our role is in the voiceover industry. By staying close to that, I think we're still very much a relevant player and it's still a popular place for people to find each other and do VO.
04:11 But especially the amount of people that came in and the type of work that has changed the last couple of years has been wow. Like, just to build on that, like we have a search bar in Voice on 3 where you can see where clients type in keywords what they're looking for and you can see trends that used to last maybe six months or nine months in terms of style of voiceover or popular niche. They now change week over week. Really depends on what is hot on TikTok or Instagram. Advertisers jump on it straight away and you see that reflected in how people are getting booked on Voice on 3. Like the space, part of it has changed.
04:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, what's so interesting is that we talk in our industry. We're like, okay, what are people looking for? And we go to these workshops with casting directors and we say, okay, what are people looking for? But what's so interesting is that you have a really good idea of what people are looking for, and I think that voice actors sometimes we have a narrow view right of what do we need to do to. First of all, you mentioned the word relevant, which I think is so important, not just for your business, but so important for us to remain relevant and to be able to deliver products that our clients are looking for. And you have a great idea of what people are looking for.
05:19 So, bosses, listen up. I mean, rolf is kind of the guy that has a really good idea of what trends are happening, what people are looking for in the online space and maybe just in general, right, because there are so many people now that are seeking voice talent online as opposed to going through agents. And so the people that go through agents, right, think about, in the United States, agencies and talent agents that book commercials, promos, those types of things that are broadcast. Well, you probably get pretty much. Well, you get some of that, and I'm sure that you get quite a bit of all the other non-broadcast stuff too, and that's where we as an industry right.
05:59 We don't always know what are people looking for. People constantly ask when I'm coaching them what do people look for? What are people looking for for corporate narration? What are people looking for? People constantly ask when I'm coaching them what do people look for? What are people looking for for a corporate narration? What are people looking for for e-learning and that sort of thing? So I love that you, number one, said that you need to remain relevant, because we also, as bosses, need to do that, and also you can tell us a little bit more about trends that are happening.
06:19 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, there's so much we can zoom in, but let me start with some fundamentals.
06:22 That I think that people sometimes underestimate is that while maybe, as a voice actor, you are nervous because you have to audition and you have to start this relationship, on the other side is a person that's often in the same place. Most people don't know vo and most people are either creating a video or an ad and then voice over is just the other thing that they do. So so they come in with especially new clients. They come in with complete misunderstandings of how this industry works and what they're looking for is almost like handholding, and not from us but from you. Like we see that the people that are most successful on voice on the three actually spend a great deal in being very consistent in their communication, like being almost like your own customer support agent, and that you're very crystal clear in what your availability is, how you respond to these clients, because most clients are afraid of two things Bad studio quality, which is still number one problem for a lot of people who book voiceover. That there are still many, many people who record via the phone.
07:23 And that you can stand out by just having your environment checked and being sure that you have a fair minimum on that one and again you beat out 80% of the people on places like voice on the 3 and voices in other places just by doing that.
07:35 The other one is that first contact point, and that first contact point is all about that customer relationship and being welcoming, being helpfully trustworthy towards the other side.
07:45 A lot of voice actors not a lot, but some voice actors come at it with a lot of distrust with the first message is the list of demands, and we see that they don't succeed so well If the first interaction is a question or a welcome. We see that just those messagings are so important on a digital space, because the difference between going online and going through an agency is if you want to work with an agent, most likely what the end client wants is an experience, the experience of doing the ad and going to a studio and look at us, we're doing the real thing, like people are just people. They go to work, they want to experience their own little piece of hollywood. That's what you get by an agent. But on casting sites there's a lot of people that have a deadline, they want to meet it and I want to make it a joyful experience. So they want to collaborate. So if you start from collaboration, you have so much of an advantage.
08:30 Then there's two other things that I think are trends.
08:33 The other one is the pandemic has changed or accelerated the amount of people who want to turn their content into audio.
08:43 One of our fastest growing clients on Voice on 3 is universities and colleges, because they used to give in-class lessons, but they took what's left of the pandemic and basically turned every course into an e-learning course as well, just on the side or as a way to get back to it. So that's a fast growing segment of voiceover. And the other one is that more and more clients know that they have to stand out, but they also have to be consistent in their messaging, so they want to work exclusively with one or two voices that represents their whole brand. That used to be like Coca-Cola has a celebrity. Now, even on a midsize and lower size companies, they want to have a consistent voice and they want to work with that same person. And that means that you as a voice actor need to be more versatile. You need to not just do specializing the commercial side of it, but be available for maybe some of the in-house aspects that that company wants to do.
09:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I like that A couple of interesting things. I like that, yeah, a lot, and one thing I've always liked about Voice123 is that you basically allow us to nurture that relationship with the client. You don't get into it, you don't do any managed sort of projects that I know of, unless that's something that you're thinking of doing or is that, yeah.
09:50 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) So the whole fundamental aspect of Voice on the 3 is we know that we succeed if the voice actors succeed. We know that the only way to succeed as a voice actor is if you can turn a client into a returning client.
10:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes.
10:01 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Right.
10:02 So, for that. We need to make it an open space Like we would love to build the perfect features for everybody to do everything on Voice on the 3, but we know that people work in their own way, so we will never make it forced to stay on Voice on the 3. People put their emails in their profile. Often the first message is this is my email, let's move over here. Or maybe you've experienced this yourself, but you can see people being contacted on LinkedIn based on an audition they did on Voice123. Oh yeah, absolutely.
10:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I still have a client that I got on Voice123 from ages ago and I wasn't even a member, I was in between memberships and I was on the free. So I still have one client that I've retained through that relationship and I love that. You brought up how important the relationship is and nurturing the relationship and how people online are, yes, absolutely looking for an experience. You're right, there's a lot of companies out there. Well, first of all, they don't know a lot about voiceover, they don't really know how it works, and so it's up to the voice actor to really kind of handhold and take them through that process successfully, and then they have a great chance of that client returning, which is one of the ways that I've been able to stay in business for so long.
11:07 I mean, honestly, I do a lot of things Everybody that knows me, I do this podcast, I do a bunch of other things and so I'm very fortunate that I have a lot of returning clients and that's how my business is maintained and that's an important thing these days, especially when economies shift and they go up and down, and so it's really important to have those clients that keep returning and know that there's a lot of successful people utilizing Voice123 that have been able to do that.
11:32 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) And there's a position of strength that you have as a voice actor is that you have the word actor or artist in your name, which immediately creates awe. Like every time I talk to you or any kind of voice actor or professionals, I always feel that I'm exposed to my own incompetencies, like I cannot do what you do. You're the one in the booth, you're the one who can act. Most companies have tried this with somebody in-house and then suddenly you record. It's such a massive difference. So you, you come in as an expert, so it's okay to then guide the client in the process to a certain of course.
12:03 Of course there's always the client, the agency, the production houses that roll out a lot of ads and a lot of videos. Those are also good relationships, but those are relationships you manage differently. That's more about being available. You let them know that, okay, I'm available. My reply time is like 10 minutes. Well, for another type of client where you can see this is the end user or the people who are actually going to make the ad themselves. That's where you are the professional. So you have to know those tiny nuances and how you portray yourself in that relationship. I think are fundamental.
12:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I think all of this is wonderful and great, but the one thing I know that are on the boss's minds right now are so how do I book that? What would you recommend that I do? How do I get the jobs to my inbox right? And that's controlled by something called an algorithm, which is probably the one big main point of dispute on every pay-to-play, not just voice one, two, three right, like what's the algorithm? Because you're getting the jobs and then somehow there needs to be a method to distribute those jobs equally amongst your members, and then there's different membership levels. So explain a little bit about how that works.
13:08 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah.
13:08 So it came from a very practical problem that we basically got too big.
13:12 So the algorithm is basically a fancy word for a decision process and it's very straightforward where a client posts a project and if it's US, english, female, like, you're still in a group, but as soon as it's male, you're no longer in the group, right.
13:25 So there's a couple of basic requirements of who you are as a person and what your services are, and then we go into the next stage where our goal is to get the client the most relevant auditions for their project right. So what we do is we invite the first group of people, and in that first group of people are a mix of people with good performance scores and with memberships. So if you pay the highest tier, you're stepping up compared to the lowest tier. We control the highest tier, otherwise it would be a monopoly but basically it's a mix of what you pay and then there is the ranking score, as we call it, and that is based on the client's feedback, whether a client books you from a job or likes you in the process of auditioning. That's what we take back and we use the last year's worth of data for that and that makes your score fluctuate.
14:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So it's a whole year's worth of data. So, how do you convince your client or your potential client to rate you? I guess that's a question, right, because some clients are just they're not going to bother with the rating, right? Yeah?
14:24 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) no, that's the flaw in the system, right? Ideally, every client that comes through we tell them let us know who you work with, but, as you know, most clients don't use us that way. Only like 40% of the work goes through the auditions. The other half is a mix of what happens on our search or on landing pages that are separately, because you can also just go through our directory.
14:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, right, right, and then they can contact separately.
14:47 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) So all we know is from the audition, and in the past we've tried to force the client to close the project. Let us know who won or force the client to close the project Let us know who won or force the client to book a project, but all it did was scare the clients away and they don't want to use us anymore. We have to keep that open because we also want to keep the platform open, because if we make booking, Difficult.
15:07 Yeah, if we make it too forceful for you, then we become a middleman. We don't want to be a middleman, so we have to balance the fact that we don't want to collect that much information. We have to have enough information to know that it's relevant. So there's a flaw in the system that not every client likes all the proposals. That's why voice actors can now tell us hey, I got booked through this job and that counts also to your algorithm. But yeah, it's a fundamental issue in the algorithm Over a year's worth of data. That works and I have to think in big numbers, right, because we have about 120,000 active voice actors on a platform. So for 100,000, that works. But every now and then people fall off the edge and then we have to make sure that they don't waste their money on a membership. So that's why we're constantly tweaking the algorithm to make it better.
15:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I was going to say. So what percentage? Or is this the percentage that changes is based on the feedback score, because I think the feedback score for most people is obviously it's the most variable, right? So when I make a decision to join Voice123, I have how many different membership tiers? I want to say eight or something, yeah, eight tiers to choose from. So do I pay you more money? And then how do I know, and you know what? I mean, how do I know which tier to pick?
16:15 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I know, and you know what.
16:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean Like how do I know which tier to pick?
16:13 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, so that's why we try to show you like in which market you're competing. One of the reasons we have the extra tiers is that we operate in every country, but like North Korea and some other sanctioned countries. So in a marketplace like the Netherlands, where I'm from, vo is not that big and we don't get a lot of jobs for Dutch people on Voice on 3, but enough and we have enough voice actors, so those people pay a lower tier In the US, which is very competitive if Voice on 3 is your only casting site that you go on, I would suggest paying a higher membership.
16:45 If Voice on 3 is something that you have on the site or that you partly work on and you work on other casting sites as well and you have agents, I wouldn't necessarily recommend a higher membership tier because throughout the year you get enough auditions and you have to be very selective about them, and you get enough direct messages to pay for itself.
17:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I think what most people don't think about and you just pointed it out to me actually is that because it's global and because of the availability of the different jobs that come in, right, I think a lot of people maybe I can speak for people in the US they're like well, if I pay more, I should get more opportunities and I should be able to book more, but that's not always the way, because we don't want people who our clients consistently tell us not good to pay their way to the top. Got it.
17:29 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) But we also know, if you pay a little bit more for a membership you get very into voice on the dream. So they become very active. That's very good for us as well, because that means clients get fast additions. There's multiple aspects to it.
17:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and this is a part that I never thought about and I'm so glad that you're bringing it up because you know, I think that with a better understanding of how Voice123 works, we can then as members of Voice123, make an educated decision as to maybe, which membership tier would be best for us and also what sort of issues you face, because there are so many variables in casting. And one thing I'm going to bring up before I let you continue is that I've always maintained that online casting companies pay-to-plays they don't have any accountability necessarily I'm not saying that about you, but I'm saying some of them don't in the fact that where did the job come from, did it get booked and who booked it? Right, and you just brought that up. I mean, you don't always know, the client doesn't always fill it out and the client is sometimes scared Well, maybe not, it's too many steps, right? They just want to be able to get in get their talent cast it Exactly.
18:35 So you've brought up like a fundamental fact that I think a lot of people just they don't think about when they're making that quick decision and they're just saying, well, I pay all this money, I should be getting the auditions, and how am I not ranking? And it's not fair. So I love that you're bringing up all the different sides of how you cast and I think you, especially by coming on this podcast and for the amount of times that I've seen you go, I mean literally put yourself out there at the conferences so that you can explain. I have so much respect for you for that and I thank you for that, Rolf, because that helps us. Do you know what I mean? And it helps me as, look, I recommend you guys all the time to my students and so it helps me really think, yes, I like the way this company operates. I'm on board because you're transparent.
19:17 I really believe you know and I appreciate your transparency with all of these things that we don't think about necessarily as actors, because we're not running that part of your business. We don't know what it takes to put together an algorithm, or we don't always know like what your clients and that's the biggest thing, we don't always know how clients operate, and I'm always telling my students that you know. If you're reaching out to a company directly to say, hey, I'm a voice actor, do you need services? Like, at any given point they may or may not need the service. You know what I mean. And so a direct marketing method is completely different than, let's say, somebody who comes to a pay-to-play because they have a need, Right Direct marketing. You don't know when that need's going to happen. Every company every day doesn't necessarily have a voiceover need, which is crazy.
20:00 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) And I think to bring this back to like you're a boss yourself, like if you do three things half-assed, you're not going to succeed in any of those right. So I would for any starting voice actor, particularly if you're constantly forced between the decision do I go hard for an agent? Do I go hard for these online casting sites or do I go direct marketing? Especially in the beginning. I would tackle them one at a time and even within the casting sites. Being on a casting site like Voice on the 3 or Voices or Badalgo, is so different. You cannot duplicate your profile or your behavior among these companies because they're their own ecosystem. So you have to really spend time to get to know it, because you're spending your marketing budget on these sites. So I would say tackle them one at a time, otherwise you're spread too thin.
20:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I get you, I get you. But I would also say, though, that as you progress and as you advance, and then people will say to me they've been in the business for years and they're like, well, I spent all this money on coaching and demos and a pay to play, and why am I not getting any work? Then I think I'm sorry, but you got to throw the spaghetti up against the wall, right. You've got to get yourself out in front of as many people as you can, and there's multiple marketing methods, and I think that that's what people don't understand. They think it's either putting all your eggs in one basket for pay-to-plays I should be getting work, I'm not getting work. I'm going to make any money in it? I think you really have to explore all the different options of marketing that you have right Direct marketing, pay to plays and, of course, agents and understand the intricacies of each. That is, I think, just as important as keeping your skills up to date, and your performance up to date is understanding the marketing and understanding the market that's out there.
21:33 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, and understanding your own business, your business's relationship, and you know that you don't nurture a relationship in a day.
21:39 That's months If you're starting out that means that only in your second year or in your third year VO starts to pay off, because then all these people that come back start to compound. So you have to do a lot of the legwork, which is the scary part, especially on, maybe, sites like Voice123, where you feel like I'm auditioning, I'm not getting stuff back like it's working, but there's a patience to it. That's one of the reasons we have yearly memberships. We use them quarterly but we know that, okay, it takes about six to seven months for people who are starting out to get really booked for the first time properly, and actually it takes about two years for people to make about five times their money back. That's what we learned.
22:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's very interesting to know, and I like that you brought up the fact that a relationship doesn't happen overnight. It really does take time to culture that relationship, and so I think that that's important for people to know too is that sometimes they quit too soon, too quickly, before they've given it a chance. So I love all that you've brought up so far. So let's get to the chase and talk about the other area that everybody wants to know, and that is synthetic voices and everybody's feeling very threatened by them, and so talk about Voice123's stance and position on synthetic voices.
22:46 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, maybe I said this before, but when I joined the company in 2016 and in 2018 I became CEO, it was already my first mission to say okay. The board told me then AI is coming. It's either going to replace us and that's the fear back then Like it's going to replace voice actors and therefore voice one to three. What do we do? My view has shifted the last couple of years and even the last couple of months. Even though AI is everywhere, what I keep coming back to is the thing that we're talking about this entire podcast. It's relationships and the creative aspect. I think AI will do great in any industry to reduce inefficiencies, but it will never replace creative work or never replace art. That's why it's art right. So what our idea has been these last couple of years? We can go in so many directions, but we need to stay at the core and that is, we need to amplify that. You have a relationship with a client.
23:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How does AI play that role.
23:36 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) We first thought maybe we should build our own AI model. But we realized, okay, that requires its own company and a lot of work. There's geniuses that work everywhere.
23:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know that from interviewing so many people have realized this over the time.
23:48 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, so that's not a side thing you do.
23:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, it's not a side hustle.
23:52 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) No. So then we realized, okay, maybe we should partner or acquire a company that does this already. But then we realized, same as with VoiceOver, ai goes into specific niches. So there's a company called Replica Studio they're all into gaming, right. There's a company like Respeech here that's more into movie part of it, and they have speech. And you see all these companies specializing on VO purposes. So we realized, okay, no, we need to instead of thinking about that technology. The technology will be there In two or three years. Anybody can build voiceover technology.
24:23 So, let's wait for that to happen. Let's set up the Voice on the 3 ecosystem in such a way that it is a secure place, because even before AI, voice actors have always been worried about is my audition being used without my permission? Right, are my files being stolen? So we learned from companies like Adobe, who have created all these kind of initiatives, to start stamping and IDing and signing all these different designer files to protect these freelancers. We have decided to sign every piece of audio file that flows through Voice on 2.3. Have decided to sign every piece of audio file that flows through Voice on 2.3. So that we have, like, a history and a protection layer within the system, without it being a watermark that beeps everywhere, but just a layer of protection that you always come back to. And we take basically a three-step approach. We sign every audio, we make it searchable for you in a cloud where you can access all the files that are being signed on Voice on 2.3. And you can check. That's the last part.
25:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So it's digitally signed. Got it All the audio that gets uploaded? Yep, okay.
25:21 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) All the audio, and that includes audio that isn't like.
25:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) This is just all audio additions, yeah.
25:27 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) And samples and everything that flows through the system. We just tag it, say it is found on 1, 2, 3, and it acts like a fingerprint that's unique, which also means that we got to a place, because there's so many samples that we got to ID your voice, so on top of that, we sort of added a Shazam for your voice.
25:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So if I have uploaded stuff to your system, you know that it's mine and you also know that it's voice one, two, three, and if it gets out of your system it is still got that mark on it and it's not audible. It's a digital fingerprint.
25:56 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) That's. I mean you should have done a pitch. That's way faster, yep. The last part of this is that, even if you hear your voice somewhere else and you think this is me, somebody has used my file or I don't recognize it, but you can upload it and then we can say, hey, this is with 95% certainty.
26:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, that's fantastic.
26:12 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) So we thought we need that layer of protection in the system for people to feel safe to start also working on AI, and that's then. The next part is that we have a better life where voice actors who have a relationship with an AI vendor so let's say it's Respeecher, or Replica Studios or Eleven Labs I mean there's 50,000, I shouldn't name them all but if you have a relationship with any of these vendors, then we want to make sure it's available to our clients, in the same way that we let them know that you use SourceConnect. And what we thought would happen is that, okay, we have a version of our search where you type in a script and it automatically generates the audio. If you have an agreement with one of those companies, we thought, okay, they will start buying it. Nobody buys it. Nobody buys the audio file. What is happening is all those generated audio files turn into conversations where the client says I liked your voice in my script, let's work together. So what it is doing is it's creating a new type of audition.
27:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Very interesting.
27:09 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Which I like, which is, for the clients, a fast way to get to know. Does Anne sound good in my script? Yes, okay, let's book Anne and do the real deal outside or inside. It's changing that part.
27:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So they're listening to the AI voice and then saying I want to work with Anne and get her human voice. That's very interesting.
27:31 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Now that sounds almost too good to be true, rolf. Yeah, but so far it's what we see. But so far that's what you're seeing. So I think it's the 90-10 rule I think I mentioned this before where, in the end, ai is going to be part of us in the same way that all these other tools source connect and 10 years ago you had to start having your own home studio. The people who did that first, they pioneered that part of the industry.
27:44 Within the next five years, every voice actor will have an AI model. A client will ask them hey, I've generated 90% of this commercial or this audiobook with your AI. Can you do the last, the last 10? Can you come in for this scene? Or can you come in for this piece or the other way around? Great recording. We're going to do some post-production, maybe change some words. Do you consent to this that I use your ai for this, and so it speeds up those kind of moments? But in the end, people want to work with an and part of an is an's ai voice and we think voice on three's goal. Okay, let's make it the place where that happens. We don't make money on what any of the interactions is between you and the voice actor, like we do now, but let's make sure that this is a safe place where you can give clients access to your AI model in a way that you want to.
28:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So how are you actually giving clients access to? If you have an AI voice, how are you actually giving access to it? Are they able to generate it there on your site or no, they cannot download it. Oh, they can't download it.
28:39 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) They can buy it, and then all the money goes to the voice actor.
28:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Say that again.
28:44 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) All the money goes to the voice actor, okay.
28:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So you're not taking any percentage of that.
28:48 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) No, we add a fee on top of it, but never from it. Okay.
28:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, okay, yeah, and so do we price our voice ourselves.
28:56 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, it's your rate card. Okay To be honest what I think will happen. We have this debate internally as well, so we're now in a first beta mode of this. Let's say it's six months from now or nine months from now no-transcript. You give them access to your model there and you can see what they're doing to generate it. It's like a logbook of how they generate it. That would be my ideal scenario of how it's getting used, because then you have full control.
29:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And so the talent is creating a rate card for their synthetic voice, then yeah, so let's say, when I create a profile, do I also upload a version of my synthetic voice? How do I make that available?
29:37 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, right now you can just sign on to. If you go to the Voice on 3 search, it says connect your voice and you can start the process there, got it, and then we'll ask you these questions. But later on, ideally, it becomes part of your signing up. Hey, do you have an AI voice? Yes, what's your rate card? Then go here If you don't access to the client and you can embed this on your own homepage. Right, you can use the same logic on your homepage without showcasing the logo of Voice on the 3.
30:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, wow, that's interesting. So you have an API that allows us to embed it on our own website.
30:09 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) You can already do your playlist of Voice on the 3 on your own website without showcasing Voice on the 3. So, it's the same logic. And then if you connect it with the cloud, where all your files are being stored and being signed, then it's hard to put it into order. But that was the whole six-layered strategy that we have. Okay, let's make sure there's trust. Let's make sure there's enough that we can track everything that's happening.
30:30 Let's make sure that we expose the relationship between the voice actor and the client, and that's sort of the vision that we have for AI.
30:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's great. You know, I'd love to meet up again with you in you know a couple of months and have maybe a visual demonstration of this. I think it would be really great. Or if you have a visual demonstration of it. I'd love to link it up in my show notes.
30:47 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) All right, yeah, we'll share something yeah absolutely.
30:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That just sounds very interesting. There's a lot of layers there and there has lot of protection in terms of they can't download the file, but can they have, like I mean there's lots of ways to steal audio.
31:02 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) You know what I mean. That's not AI related, right? It was there before AI and will there be after. That's true.
31:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's true. So there's nothing theoretically, I'm a tech girl, right? So there's nothing stopping anybody from taking our voices from this podcast right now, and making an AI voice out of them. So I just want bosses to be very careful of that. So the one thing about the signing right that you have the digital signing like this is Anne's voice. It came through Voice123. Is that open source technology?
31:26 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Yeah, we're building on existing open source technology.
31:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) OK, because a lot of us voice actors right now we're like, ok, we keep hearing about it, we keep hearing about it. It isn't available to us yet. You know, I would like to have something right now that, even if I'm not a member of Voice123, I can just filter it, put it through and then my voice has a digital signature that later on somebody can tell if that audio or if I become a voice somehow, that they will be able to tell that it was my voice.
31:52 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I agree. That's the whole idea. Yeah, so, and one of the reasons here we're pivoting more towards this is in part because we're going back to the beginning of this podcast about trends. We see that auditioning becomes less and less popular in the industry. The old school I want 50 auditions and I want to see as many talent as possible. I can see the new generation doesn't really want to do that. The next generation of people who book voiceover. They want to do the direct contact approach. They want to listen to some of your samples and then contact you directly and move it off.
32:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's lovely. That's a really good trend. I like that, Rolf.
32:25 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I think so too, but it also means for companies like ourselves okay, we have to reinvent ourselves a bit, yeah yeah, yeah, we have to make sure that we're relevant, and that's why we're focusing all about security and tooling, and your algorithm has to change then, too, right?
32:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because then people searching on your site for a particular style of voice right? How do you get up at the top of that list without necessarily the feedback on any auditions, right? So you have to evolve with that as well. But that direct contact, I like that trend because I can actually see that happening myself outside of pay-to-plays, because it's becoming almost like overwhelming, right. With social media and data out there, it's becoming overwhelming, and I think people that are looking to cast for a voice they want it to be. That's why talent agents are good, because, again, they're a trusted source. They are the ones who like shortlist and say, okay, here you go, and it makes it less overwhelming for the client.
33:17 So you're experiencing that as well on pay-to-plays and I like that. I like that because I feel like it gives everybody a fairer shot of it. I mean, I get how, like auditioning, people want to hear you speaking their brand, but also I think they want to just kind of weed out all of the. You know there's a lot of people out there they want to weed out all the voices. Maybe I don't need a male voice or I want a female voice and I want somebody that has good audio, and I love that you brought that up, because good audio is still at the very core of a good product.
33:47 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) So many people in Voice on 3 put in their tagline what they do like a perfect girl-next-door kind of approach. That's the kind of voice I do. If you put in your tagline studio quality, you're beating out half the team.
34:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Ah, thanks for that tip, I like that. That's a golden nugget, rolf. So what a great conversation. I almost hate to have to cut this short, because I'd like to see a demonstration of the whole synthetic voice, ai, integration, and I might be calling you back in a couple of months.
34:15 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) I would love to yeah, yeah, thank you to you?
34:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, thank you so much. It's been an honor. I love, I love talking to you, ralph. So you are a boss. You are definitely a boss. Thank you for always being transparent.
34:32 - Rolf Veldman (Guest) Thank you for bringing us on the other side of the glass, so to speak. It's the other side of the discuss these kind of things, like we only know the voice actor experience by talking to all of you, so this is our way also to get to stay in touch.
34:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, good stuff. Rolf, thanks again. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl Connect and network like bosses using IPDTL and, of course, voice123 and bosses out there. I have a nice little discount for you. If you are interested, I'll put that in the show notes. You can get a little discount if you are a first time sign up to Voice123. Ralph, thanks again. Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
35:12 - Announcement (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Audio tech expert George Whittam, the genius behind George the Tech, joins Anne Ganguzza, on the VO Boss Podcast. The BOSSes tackle the technical hurdles of the industry - from unreliable internet to optimizing studio setups. George's solutions help empower voice talents to keep their focus where it belongs—on their craft. The BOSSes delve into strategies for leveraging technology and outsourcing to scale operations effectively. Adapting to change is non-negotiable in this rapidly shifting market, and finding a mentor can be crucial for navigating its complexities. The BOSSes highlight the importance of forming meaningful industry relationships and the camaraderie that can fuel professional success. 00:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey guys, it's that season again. Are you feeling that tickle in your throat? Don't let a cold or flu slow you down. Combat your symptoms early with Vocal Immunity Blast, a simple and natural remedy designed to get you back to 100% fast. With certified therapeutic-grade oils like lemon to support respiratory function, oregano for immune power, and a protective blend that shields against environmental threats, your vocal health is in good hands. Take charge of your health with Vocal Immunity Blast. Visit anneganguzza dot com to shop.
00:41 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so happy and elated to be here with my special guest, audio tech guru and owner of George the Tech the one and only George Whittam, Woo-hoo.
01:16 - George Whittam (Guest) Hey, can you hear me okay from the Chili's in Palos Verdes, california.
01:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I can I, can I love it. You know George is. He is technology on the go, guys, and for those of you I don't know anyone that doesn't know you, but for those of you bosses out there that don't know George, you need to know George. He has been doing this since 2005, dedicating his life and I know this because he's helped me to serving the technical needs of bosses out there voice actors, podcasters, recording studio owners and in 2017, he launched georgethetechcom to assist anybody that needs support with just about anything. And he has an amazing team. I know firsthand. I have used that team. I've used George for many, many years and among his many successful clients I'm gonna say, in addition to me, are Don LaFontaine, bill Ratner, mr Beast, david Prog, melissa Disney, randy Thomas, joe Cipriano and Scott Rummel. Well, welcome, welcome, welcome and thank you for checking in with me, george, from your very busy schedule. George actually just popped off the road and said I will join this interview from the Chili's after my customer that you just went to go fix a studio.
02:32 - George Whittam (Guest) I did, I did. I do most of my work from home, of course, remotely, but I have a few clients who do have me on a membership program that I've been doing for many years and I make regular visits. So today was one of those days and technology, once in a while, it just flails miserably at letting you know that there's something you're supposed to be doing, and this was one of those moments. You texted me from the car. You're just, and you're like out of the blue tech, just checking in, and I'm like, oh, that's so nice, and it's just checking in, see you're not checking in.
03:03 You're like where the F are you right now?
03:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) George, george, where are you?
03:07 - George Whittam (Guest) In our Riverside room right now. So anyway, thank you. I hope this isn't too distracting. They find me a quiet corner of the restaurant, so we'll see how it goes.
03:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love it. I will say, though, here's the deal, my video now Riverside. Anybody that's been on Riverside knows that it's uploading video and audio separately, and right now my upload is at 94%, Yours is only at 55%, so that 5G connection keep your fingers crossed that that internet is going to upload that video successfully and the audio Don't worry. Well, guess what I get to do this again.
03:42 - George Whittam (Guest) I got your back because I'm recording it. I was about to say, I was recording in QuickTime and it said that you've stopped recording, so I'm going to start recording it again, just so I have another layer of redundancy to this whole thing. But that is the really cool thing about Riverside is that, yeah, it doesn't want QuickTime, won't let me. Okay, fine, fine, we're going to rely on new technology today. But, yeah, riverside is really cool the way it keeps a local record and even if my internet isn't, great.
04:09 I'll eventually get it uploaded to you, so don't worry about that. Yes, Awesome.
04:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, it's always a good excuse to chat with you again, because it's so rare these days, I mean except when I'm desperate in need of technical support.
04:22 - Intro (Announcement) And.
04:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'll have the bosses know that George helped me with my past or my latest studio upgrade. And I remember, george, that we were talking about me moving my Apollo solo into my studio which, by the way, it is moved in here and we were testing out this very long cable that went from my Mac studio out there into my studio and guess what it's working, and yay, technology. And so, george, you're instrumental in all of my studio upgrades and actually my original studio building when I moved to California back in oh my goodness, 2008. And so you've been through a lot of my studio builds. And let's talk a little bit about, oh gosh, what bosses need audio-wise right for being successful voice actors. They have so many technological needs.
05:14 - George Whittam (Guest) It is so many. You know. The thing is not everybody is like you, anne.
05:19 You love and embrace technology in a way that a lot of actors do not right and so on the cover of the laptop that you can't see because it's on the other side of the camera. I have a cover on my laptop and it's a picture of the left brain, right brain thing, right Like you know, the left being very technical, the right being creative, and I'm such a big proponent of finding the perfect middle balance. Maybe that's because I'm also a Libra, I don't know, but you know it's like I'm such a big proponent of finding the perfect middle balance. Maybe that's because I'm also a Libra, I don't know, but you know it's like I'm always trying to find that balance and I'm also trying to figure out who you are as my client. Are you more Ann Ganguza, or are you more Lori Allen, who's my quintessential super right brain, crazy actor talent, you know, and she knows that I'll say that and she'll laugh that doesn't love technology or doesn't care, right, I mean I get it.
06:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean we go into this industry. I mean some of us are just super, super creative and brilliant.
06:18 - George Whittam (Guest) If we had our choice, we would let someone else run all the technology and take care of it for us, which is what you do Absolutely. In a perfect world, we would all have our own little virtual assistant engineer people who just log into your machine and run everything for you. I do know a precious few actors who have actually availed themselves of such a thing, which is a pretty nice position to be in, right, and that would be a really cool scenario where you really don't need to think about it. But the fact of the matter is, the vast majority of the time, we have to think about and know what's going on with the technology and ensure that we're giving the client super clean, great quality audio quickly and on time, reliably, etc. Etc. And that's the goal.
07:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It is about good audio, but it's about a lot of other things beyond just good audio, you know, willing to really experiment and figure out solutions for your clients that are not like status quo. So if they have a budget, you can fit yourself within that budget and you make things work and you say, all right, so if you need this, we can maybe substitute this or we can work with this. And I'm talking bosses, my firsthand experience, not just on what microphone or give me a stack to put on my audio, but like home studio builds from the ground up, like what can I do to save money here? Or what can I do? I have this in my budget and you literally have created things from like the ground up, depending on your client's budget.
08:01 And I think that that's really awesome and it really goes to show like the versatility and the amount of skills that you have in, not just like one thing. I mean you have to be great at everything, because everybody has different technology, everybody has a different microphone, everyone has a different DAW, everyone has a different environment in their house that you have to kind of assess and then say, well, okay, here's a solution. And then I'm quite sure, myself being one of them going, no, I can't do that, so you'll come up with multiple solutions. Or if something doesn't work, you'll actually get it to work. You'll figure out what it is that's not working and then make it work.
08:38 - George Whittam (Guest) Yeah, it's so many different things because there's a lot of things that you can get away with or there's certain things that you can make work or get it to work. Here's my black bean burger and fries.
08:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right.
08:50 - George Whittam (Guest) There's a lot of things you can get away with, so I'll try to talk while you take a bite. I will eat when you're talking, okay, so there's a lot of things that you can make work. There's a lot of things that you can get away with, and that's where people start out right. That's where you begin, that's where you learn on your own.
09:06 That's where you get used equipment. You get hand-me-downs, you buy what you can find on Amazon, right, you get away with it. You make it work. But at a certain point your clientele requires this consistency, quality and this quick turnaround, and that stuff starts to be cumbersome, it becomes a bother because it's getting in your way, right. So that's a big part of it. And then I'm glad you said earlier budget.
09:33 You really need to know where you're at. I mean, this is why voice acting, especially now as an entrepreneurial pursuit, you really need to have a pretty good idea where you're at with your budget. When you come to me, be honest with yourself, be honest with me. I'm not here to spend unnecessary money. I'm not here to push you or upsell you. I'm going to tell you exactly where you're at, based on where you are with your budget, and make sure it fits, because that's my goal is to help you out and get you where you need to go at the budget you've had to spend.
10:07 And then if it's either really too low, I'll let you know if I think it's not going to work, or I will speak up if I think you're overspending, if I think you've got this budget and it's unnecessarily. You know it's like, oh well, you've got that much to spend, all right. Well, let's think about that. Should we really spend all of that? Or should we really be spending 20% of that on the mic and maybe 50% of that on building your website, getting your demo, that kind of stuff right? So I'll make sure your money is spent the right way, but be really honest with yourself about what your budget is. Know where you're ready to spend so we can get off on the right foot.
10:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let's talk about the types of services that you do offer, because I'm happy to recommend you and your team to my students, and I think they might have preconceived notions as to oh well, george can just create a stack for me, or George can just tell me what microphone to buy, with lots of experience in multiple operating systems. So it's not just the mic or not just the studio, it can be your computer, it can be your software, it can be how to use Twisted Wave or how to use I just had a student the other day Studio One. I'm sure you have somebody on your team that can help with somebody with Studio One, and so can you create a filter for that? And so I'm constantly saying to myself I know lots of different audio engineers that specialize right, and I think that's great, but they're all independent, right? And so I can't be like, oh gosh, well, who knows Twisted Wave or who knows Studio One, or who knows?
11:48 And I'll think about it. What's great is you're like a one-stop shop, because now you've built yourself up a team. What's great is you're like a one-stop shop because now you've built yourself up a team, and I love this, because when I hired you in the beginning it was just you and you're I mean, you're busy back then and I love how you've like I mean, talk about being a boss, right. You've actually grown your little empire there and created a team of really amazing people that work for you, that have great skills and very specific skills. Speak to that a little bit.
12:14 - George Whittam (Guest) It's been a dream for a really long time to expand beyond myself. It started probably 12, 13 years ago in New York City. I knew I couldn't be in New York City that often and I had a few clients in New York and I thought, god, it'd be a no-brainer to have somebody else backing me up here in Manhattan. I actually had interviews in Borders bookstores with people that responded to ads, sat down, interviewed people and onboarded some folks and it just turned out that, one, maybe it was too soon to do it and two, it wasn't enough demand, because at that time it was a different time. But New York it was almost 100% studio town. Right, all the gigs were in studios because they're all over the place, they're all like walking or a subway ride away. So New York was a different environment.
13:05 So flash forward now quite a few years and I decided, with the new website that I had built by Skills Hub a couple of years ago, that it was finally time to properly expand the team. And now that I have a system built, an infrastructure, a booking system, the whole thing that allows me to essentially infinitely expand, I can build it as big as I want. I finally had the tools and everything in place to do that, and so we have that. Now you can go onto the website. Let's say you need help with Adobe Audition. You can see who is available that is actually an Adobe Audition expert and then you'll see their availability and you can book into the system right then and there and get help with someone that actually knows what they're doing. I realized after a while there's a certain point where I don't necessarily learn and retain new information the way I used to. I think that's just life, that's just age, right?
14:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, there's so much now.
14:04 - George Whittam (Guest) And there's so much more.
14:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I know you're like right Anne.
14:07 - George Whittam (Guest) Right, but I get that I totally get that.
14:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But think about this what I really love. What I really love is, again and again, this is the VO Boss podcast. So I really like to always relate things to how you can really be a boss, and I think all of us voice actors are bosses, obviously in our own right, and I think we really need to look for ways that we can grow and expand. Right and it's not an easy thing, right, it's a scary thing how can you scale? How can you provide more services for your clients so that your business can move forward successfully? And you are such a great example of I mean, not everybody that's a voice actor, is an audio engineer and they're going to scale their businesses in the way that you did, but it's all relative right, as voice actors, how can you scale your business? And so if you think outside of the box and you think about what can you do that's efficient as a voice actor, right, maybe you don't like technology, maybe you don't understand your computer, and I'm saying there's a certain element that we have to be technologically adept, but you can consider outsourcing these things as a voice actor so that you yourself can scale your business, and you've offered this great place for people to have all kinds of options, and so it's not just like a one-shot deal.
15:25 George, I need help. You have like 24-7 support, and I know for a fact that you've got emergency tech support, which I know, having worked in technology for how many years prior to voiceover. Technology is awesome until it doesn't work and then people panic, right, and that's when it's almost the most important to have that type of support. And so I'm sure lots of you voice actors have had something happen with your computer, like, and all of a sudden you're at a loss, or something happened in your studio, you're at a loss, and now all of a sudden, do you have a backup? Do you have a way that you can deliver your goods, deliver your product to your client?
16:01 And I think we all need to really start thinking about how can we outsource, how can we scale, and you've got a great place where, if voice actors don't necessarily love working with technology or learning technology, nor do they have the time right For me. I have no desire to be an audio engineer, I know what I know right, and if I have problems, let's say I'm setting up my new Mac studio. Well, I don't want to spend my entire weekend trying to learn anymore. I mean, I love learning, don't get me wrong but I don't want to right now. That's not an efficient use of my time.
16:33 So I'd much rather call you and say hey, george, I know you've set up Macs, I know you've done the Apollo on this iOS and I'm running into these problems. Or I know I'm having a problem like with Zoom and then sending my audio through Zoom. How can you help me? So it just makes sense for me, as a boss, right to outsource that. And so make sure, out there, guys, that you have a source, and I highly recommend George a hundred times If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm recommending him a hundred times over. Have a source, have a place that you can go when you run into trouble technology-wise or with your computer, or you want to just learn. You also have educational resources. You have tutorials. Yes, you have one-on-one help. You've just got all those options and I think it just really lends itself. Not only are you showing people how you're a boss and you're scaling your business right. They can scale their business with you.
17:26 - George Whittam (Guest) Yeah, being a boss is what I've really become now. I was always solopreneuring. In a way I still am, but now I do actually have people that look to me for getting paid, look for me for getting jobs, look for me for communication and support and actually training. The content we create for you guys we use internally to train our own team. I want more of our team to be comfortable with the Universal Audio Apollo. I've been encouraging them to watch the content we already have. Everybody who does work for me gets complete carte blanche access to my entire library of content right, so they all can learn.
18:03 I want to work with you, then I would love to have you. I mean, honestly, the point is that we've built the network, we've built the system, we have the infrastructure. Now it's just a matter of what's the next thing a voice actor needs, or what's the next thing podcasters need, what's the next thing people that do media appearances need, studios, people that need to do executives, c-suite folks what do they all need? And we're trying to eventually fill these different gaps right, and so my role now is more of a boss, more of a CEO, more of a director, even beyond. I spend way more hours of my day doing director, boss, ceo work than I do actual build time nowadays, and that's just how things have morphed. But it's great.
18:52 I love finding out that somebody got a service from one of our team and I didn't even know about it. That's the coolest thing ever. Oh, you helped that guy. Awesome, I had no idea. That's great. That means things are working. I don't have to micromanage everything, and so that's been a huge thrill for me, and it's just allowed us to be so much more helpful to more people.
19:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's such a relief. I know my own business. When you said about micromanaging, and in reality, you know, we talk all the time about voice actors, we're solopreneurs, we wear all the hats, but now's the time to really start thinking about, okay, what is the most efficient use of my time? Right, and I want you bosses to really open your minds out to thinking that a lot of people they get stuck in this whole thought process that, oh, I can't afford to hire somebody. But in reality, if you sat down and you marked what is your price per hour? Right, how much money do you make when you're doing voiceover, versus how much money are you making when you're trying to, like, do the billing yourself? Right?
19:50 - George Whittam (Guest) I'm so glad you mentioned the hourly thing because a while ago somebody made that clear to me.
19:55 There's the hourly rate that you charge retail, right? I know what my hourly rate is per hour. If you want to consult with me directly, it's $360 an hour. Whoa huge number. Wow, that sounds really crazy. That's not what I make per hour. What I make per hour is actually what I made last year. Subtract my expenses, take my net revenue right and divide that by I don't remember the magic number is whatever. It is 52 weeks a year, you know. And then you basically whittle it down to what your actual hourly wage actually is and you start to realize like, oh my gosh, that's what my actual time is worth. And so you're going oh, now it is worth spending $25 an hour for a virtual assistant or somebody because I'm actually worth $50 an hour.
20:45 You know what I mean. So that's. It's really good to know that.
20:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, exactly.
20:50 And I think that we need to look outside of, like, the numbers that are just spent, because somebody might say, oh, I spent a thousand dollars on this microphone.
21:00 If you figure out what your value is per hour, right, and you're doing tasks that I always say, don't bring you joy a certain standard where, if I want to be able to direct somebody right that I'm going to outsource stuff to, I need to learn enough about it so that I can direct intelligently, right.
21:20 I know, you know, if somebody's saying to me well, it's taking me five hours to do this, when I know, in fact, maybe it shouldn't be taking five hours, because when you become a boss and you start employing people, you have to be concerned about, okay, what's the value of your employees and what are they bringing you, what are you paying them right and how efficient can they be? And I think also, george, it becomes where you now have to inspire the people that work for you to want to do their best for you, that they want to help move your company forward, and to do that, you've got to pay them a fair rate you definitely do and you've got to inspire them with things that they like to do right so that they join the team right.
22:01 And that's a whole other set of boss skills that's a whole other set of boss skills which I love.
22:06 - George Whittam (Guest) The amazing person I brought in to do our customer service and actually kind of act as a bit of an assistant to me as well. She also is a graphic designer. So when I realized that she was getting these skills, she was literally studying and I said you know what? Let's try some things, let's get you doing some more creative endeavors, and I'm paying her more for that. I said you know, track your time when you're doing graphic design, when you're creating our thumbnails and our promotional content for the socials and our webinars, and that's a different rate. You tell me what you think is a fair rate for your graphic design and then you have a rate for all the other general work and she breaks up her billing that way and so she's getting paid better for that work and that's going to be much more fulfilling for her because it's creative stuff and I think it's been working out really well. You know, my biggest fear is her going away. If she goes, away.
23:02 That's going to be a giant pain in my neck to find another person like her Finding good.
23:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's going to be very difficult, so I want to keep her around.
23:12 - George Whittam (Guest) It's a delicate balance and I trust her. It sure is, you know, but it's a tricky one. The more you rely on outside help, the more you start realizing you need to make sure what will you do if that person needs to be replaced? It's another skill.
23:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And the people that work for you. They need to be better than you, and I think that's an ego thing for a lot of people. Do you know what I mean it's like? Oh no, I want to do it because I want to have control over it. I mean, I'm a control freak. I know this. I mean it took me a while, but once I started realizing that when you hire people who are better than you at the tasks like I'm not a graphic artist, so I want to hire somebody who's amazing at that and then pay them what they're worth, they aren't bitter, they don't feel like, oh, they're just working for pennies, and so they get excited because you want to work with them and collaborate. They get excited about helping you grow your business and you get excited about helping them grow their skills or grow their career as well under you. So I think it's something that bosses out there can really start to think about.
24:10 How would you expand right? And I think now too, with the technology and with AI and all this talk about the industry and how it's changing, I think technology it's always good to educate yourself on the technology evolve with the technology, those other things that we're talking about in addition to voiceover, like on-camera work, right? Voice actors maybe this is something that you know. You want to present yourself more professionally to your clients. What's involved in a good I don't know webcam or good lighting for your studio and that sort of thing. So that's the sort of thing that you can help them with as well in terms of expanding and broadening their horizons, even outside of voice acting.
24:51 So I love that you said that you were also delving into on-camera and technology for expanding businesses, because I think voice actors should also consider things like that. I mean, it's something we've talked about on the podcast as well, as we're moving forward along with this technology. What other services can you offer your clients? What other things can you do? Are you going to be making TikTok videos, right? How can you get your message out there? How can you market yourself right so that people know you exist, so they can hire you? And a part of that is getting out there, getting heard, getting seen, and you can help with that.
25:26 - George Whittam (Guest) And you might also be able to parlay that thing, because now you've become the spokesperson for that channel or that brand or that explainer and if you can now take that ability to create content into a visual medium and you might move beyond just doing voice, if you end up being comfortable on camera. You may not know if you're comfortable on camera until you do it. When I started my first podcast or really web channel, YouTube channel East West On your Body Shop, you can go back and watch episode one.
25:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh yeah, and I was like a deer in headlights Myself too.
26:01 - George Whittam (Guest) I got a lot more comfortable on camera. So you know, as I evolve and I start doing more and more interviews and interviewing others and I'm going wow, I'm really comfortable doing this. I've actually really enjoying this. How can I parlay this into a different? So now I'm thinking about speaking engagements and doing speaking roles.
26:21 I've gotten to teach in a couple of universities now. Wow, I love doing that, so maybe I need to parlay that into another thing. So I'm looking into speaking now. So it's just ever-evolving. If you get stuck in one lane, you can quickly start feeling discouraged. When that one lane that you chose starts grinding to a halt, you really need to be ready to try new stuff Starts getting traffic right and saturated.
26:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean now I'm just thinking of that, you know, because after the pandemic I mean I had so many people that I think got into voiceover because of the pandemic and now I thought we were saturated before. But there's a lot of people in there. I'm not saying there isn't enough work, voiceover work. However, there's an awful lot of people doing voiceover. So I think it's always healthy for us to consider how we can always grow and always evolve. So I'm going to ask you one last thing, george, before I have to run for the day what would be your best advice that you would give someone out there just getting into the industry?
27:21 - George Whittam (Guest) Definitely work with a coach that understands the spectrum of what you need to learn in a holistic way. That coach doesn't have to be an expert in every aspect, but the coach should be very aware of that. You need to learn these separate skills right. So someone like Anne, for example. She knows a lot about a lot of things, but she also knows when it's time to get another person involved a demo producer, an expert engineer.
27:47 Yeah, that's so, so helpful, right, and it's so easy. These days it's almost like getting support is just like dating. It's so easy to just keep swiping right or swiping left. Which one is it? Because you're like well, that was nice, let me try that guy, and I hear that guy's good. Let's try that guy.
28:03 Hook your wagon to somebody for a while and focus in on what they have to say and learn before you start constantly seeking fresh perspectives. It doesn't mean fresh perspectives are bad, but you really need to focus on one person's methodologies and get behind them and then, after you've done it for a while, consider well, is it the best way? Well, maybe I could learn a new skill, or maybe I have another way to learn this that could save time. I never am offended when a client says I worked with somebody else along the way, but I do get concerned when somebody's pretty new and they've already taken, let's say, consulting from three or four different techs and four or five different coaches, because they're going to have a lot of conflicting or somewhat differing opinions and you're going to get so off base.
28:51 So find somebody that is well vetted, somebody that has like we have our trusted partners page on our website. Everybody on there is somebody we have worked with and trust. And hook your wagon to somebody like Ann, so you have that one point of focus to help you navigate all of this, and then they can help shut you off into different directions for those specialty things. Otherwise it can feel hopelessly confusing and there's just too much conflicting information out there. So that's the best thing I can say Just find one single point of trust, follow that person, get the advice they can give you and find the expertise in different areas when you need it, and go to georgethetech early and often. Yes.
29:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes, I was just going to say how can people get in touch with you, george the tech?
29:44 - George Whittam (Guest) You have your landing page right, Absolutely Slash.
29:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yep, is it slash? Be a boss, my gosh.
29:50 - George Whittam (Guest) I don't have it memorized.
29:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have it like in a link, I think so I'll check it, I'll look it up.
29:56 I'll put that in the show notes. Yeah, I'll put it in the show notes for services. I do have a nice little link that I can send to you. That will save you some money on your first services with George. So highly recommend. George. It's been so nice to have you and I appreciate you pulling off to the side of the road and being safe and talking with us today, and I'm going to give a great big shout out to IPDTL you too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom and George, it's been so wonderful talking with you. I feel like we should do a series. We should do a whole series with George the Tech.
30:31 - George Whittam (Guest) We'll do another one in a proper environment when I'm in my home studio, I promise. And, by the way, it's slash AG, so georgethetech slash AG for Ann Ganguza. That'll take you to all the information we have and our discount codes and come and visit us and learn from us. We have so much useful content that's affordable and accessible. So happy to be of service and thank you, ann. Thanks for being so cool, a friend and being always a pleasure to talk to yes. You're a blast to be around.
31:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I feel the exact same way about you. So thanks so much. All right, bosses, you have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Take care, bye, bye.
31:13 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
In this episode of BOSS money talks, we guide you through the essential financial and managerial responsibilities of running a voiceover business. Discover how to budget for employees or contractors effectively, distinguish between different types of workers, and ensure fair compensation. Learn about the mental preparation required to step into an employer's shoes, the importance of training and feedback, and how to create a nurturing work environment that drives growth and success. Whether you're outsourcing tasks or managing an in-house team, this episode is packed with insights to help you effectively grow your business. We also highlight the critical role of trust and communication in any business operation. 00:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, ever feel overwhelmed by marketing? I get it. Let's tackle it together with a VO Boss Blast. We're all about making marketing as enjoyable as voice acting itself. Dive in with me and let's blast off together and let's turn those marketing challenges into victories. Sign up today at voboss com.
00:27 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm your host, nne Ganguza, and I am so excited to bring back to the show money girl Danielle Famble to the show, hey.
00:58 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Danielle, hey, glad to be back.
01:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How are you?
01:01 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I'm great. How are?
01:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) you. I'm good, you know, it is that time of the month, yeah. I'm talking about that financial time of the month.
01:09 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Oh yeah.
01:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know what that sounded like, but anyways, it's that financial time of the month where I have to pay the people that work for me, and so I have to pay my employees. Do I call them employees, my contractors, my virtual assistants, whatever that I have, or whatever you may have bosses out there that help you to run your business, and I highly highly recommend them because they can really help you to grow, but it is something that, financially, I need to make sure that I account for it, and so I thought it'd be a great topic to talk about in our episode, because I know a lot of voice talents that are either they don't want to do marketing or they don't want to do social media, and so they're hiring assistants and they really need to know how to account for this financially in their businesses.
01:56 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, no, this is a really important topic because what you're talking about is being an employer, being responsible for the people who are helping you grow the business that you have created, and that's a really big responsibility. So not only is it about, like, accounting for it, but it's also making sure that you mentally are prepared for all the things that comes with being an employer. So, yes, being ready for the financial implications every single month is really important. But also, what are you wanting your employees to help you do? Contractors, whomever and there's a designation there. It depends on if they are specifically working for you and you've onboarded them from a tax perspective.
02:40 But if they are a freelancer, then a contractor, and there are different ways that you have to kind of deal with that.
02:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know what? I love that you brought up the fact that not only like financially right, we have to figure out, okay, first of all, we're going to be outsourcing things in our businesses and we will be paying as an employer or as a contract, whatever, we'll be paying somebody, and so, financially, we need to be responsible, but also as a boss right, as a VO boss, you need to be a boss, and so there's also not just financial implications, but also are you ready to be a boss? And really, what are the criteria, what are the qualifications for people that you bring on board that can help you to grow your business, to be successful financially and growth wise?
03:24 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, I think you also need to take a look inward.
03:26 Before you become a boss of someone else is really to figure out is there something for them to do consistently, what do you want this person to help you with, what are the tasks? And being able to train them on those tasks so that whenever they are doing whatever it is you have them doing in your business, they know how to do it. You know how to do it and you know if it's being done correctly or incorrectly and there's some feedback that needs to be given. So really knowing that, but also understanding that when you bring someone into your business, when you become a boss, you're responsible for, in a way, their livelihood. Personally, I take that responsibility seriously because I know before I became a boss, before I was running this business, I know what it feels like to be sort of at the whim of your employer and it can kind of be a bit of a vulnerable position. So you get to decide what kind of boss you want to be when you are the VO boss of your own business.
04:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. I love that you brought that up. It is something that you're right. You need to look inward. You need to really take consideration.
04:30 If you've never been a boss of someone else, there are lots of different aspects to it and how to be a good boss, right, and so, financially, I'm going to say that number one, if you've worked in the corporate world at all and I say this so many times, like we just we want to be appreciated for what we do, right, we want to feel that maybe we can make contributions to the companies in which we work. And if we are not getting that happiness or that joy or that satisfaction, then typically we look elsewhere or we're like I got to get out of the corporate world, I just want to do voiceover. So the same thing when you're an employer, you're a VO boss and you have somebody that's working for you, you want to make sure that number one, you're paying them a fee. That is, I think, something that motivates them, inspires them, is fair, right Compensation, and you're not just trying to like get somebody because you don't have a ton of money and so I can't afford to pay you a whole lot. I really look at it differently. I'm like right, this is someone's livelihood. They're depending on the salary or whatever it is. You're paying them this little stipend for their livelihood and a lot of times they're freelancers themselves. If you happen to hire within the voiceover community, or if not, it is a portion of their income.
05:37 So you want to be a good boss number one, financially. You want to make sure that they're getting paid fairly, that they're getting paid, I would say, competitively for what they do, like if they're social media, if they're doing accounting, if they're doing whatever they're doing. You want to make sure that they're getting paid a fair fee, because you want to make sure they want to work for you and they want to be part of the team. That is the whole mental thing, right? You want them to work their best for you so that you can grow together, and so I think that's one thing to take into consideration. You're paying them fairly and then also, you're willing to manage them, because these are living human beings and there are emotions at play, right?
06:27 - Danielle Famble (Guest) There's all kinds of things that come into being a good boss, and I love that you talked about managing them, because really a huge step really comes from you being the person who is working in your business working your business to managing and overseeing other people who are taking on those tasks.
06:37 Again, this whole thing really is like a huge mental shift, because you need to now be able to articulate what it is that you are looking for, how to give feedback to that person and receive feedback, because once the person that you've hired becomes the one who's responsible for this task, they will likely become better at it than you were, because they're spending more time doing it than you did, and so maybe hearing and receiving feedback on a different way to go about this task, for example, might actually be better. But do you want to just stick with what you said and how you went about growing the business to bring them on in the first place, or do you want to take that feedback from them? It really is about like how much do you want to micromanage or not micromanage at all, and a huge part of it is also creating and crafting the vision for your business. Where are you going? Because you now the boss, you're the leader and you're sharing this vision and the people are helping. You know you're growing together, as you said. I love that.
07:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, and you want them to be motivated and inspired to help you achieve that vision, especially for those of you that work in the corporate world. Right, how much? If you sit back and think about it, how much did you really care if you were helping the company to grow right? Was it just a salary for you or were you invested in it? And I think that, for me personally, the happier I was at my job, the more involved I was in being proud of what I had to contribute and being proud in seeing the company do well, and to me, that was when I was happiest, and that's how I want my employees to be. I want them to be happy to watch us grow together and to be proud to be part of that vision, and a lot of that absolutely requires, number one, that I pay them fairly and give them bonuses for jobs well done, which I actually do to keep them motivated. And also very much what you said listen and be open for feedback, not just giving orders or saying here, do this, but listening to them if they're inspired and motivated to want to help grow the business.
08:41 And I'm so fortunate to have a wonderful team that works with me that I think I can proudly say that I have had two people that have worked for me for over five years, if not coming up on eight to 10 years of working with me. So I needed to every year make sure that I was keeping them inspired and motivated and happy and giving them compensation when they're due, Like I'll give them. Oh, you know what I really appreciate that job that you did. Here's a $100 Amazon gift certificate, and that also requires, when you're an employer, you have to be comfortable with paying people. I mean, I think there's a whole mental thing about that, right. It's like, oh my God, you have to be confident enough in your business so that you're not worried about money all the time. Have that confidence, right, I will have the money to pay. And you have to secure those systems in place, right, so that you can pay.
09:37 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, I mean it can be for some VO bosses out there like a one-time thing. I have this one task and that make it a contract thing and once it's done, it's done. But when we're talking about having assistance or help, that is helping on an ongoing basis. That means ongoing pay. And, to your point, when I was working in the corporate world, to be honest with you, I was happiest when I was making the type of money that would allow me to live the life that I wanted to live.
10:02 And I wasn't really thrilled about anything else other than how it affected my life. And money affects my life in so many different ways.
10:11 So it's really just making sure that you can keep people fair in their compensation, but also make sure that you're paying on time oh yeah, I like to get paid on time for the work that I've done. And making sure that you can pay on time and to your point, it's making sure that you have the resources and the money and the revenue coming into your business, that paying your assistance is not a monthly freak out moment.
10:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly that's so, so important. Yeah, I like how you said that, yes, it was all about like money was something that made you comfortable, right, that you were being paid and being compensated on time, to the point where that's what made you want to work for that company, being paid well. And also, I will say back in my younger days, I was being paid well and I had the bonus that I was really proud of how I was contributing to the company and I really believed in the company. So that was like such an added bonus and actually I think that it really set a lot for like why I was in the career I was in for that length of time because I was happy, both compensation-wise and also like motivation-wise and purpose-wise. So I do feel that when you have assistants, if you want to, let's say, have them for any period of time, maybe you're just hiring them for one job and it's one and done. But if you do want to have them on an ongoing basis, there's also a whole relationship that becomes important for you to develop with them so that they look forward to doing whatever they're doing for you and it's not just a boring job that doesn't give them any joy. So whatever you can do to make that joyful for them and make them want to continue to work for you and want to continue to grow the business Financially wise.
11:55 It is a thing that I do every month. I have them send me invoices and I have different people that I pay at different times of the month, and so I want to make sure that I'm paying them in a way that I'm not like PayPal, where fees get taken out, so it's pretty much bank to bank sort of transaction wise. And when I do that, also it's important to have my accountant who knows what I'm paying, because technically speaking, right and we were just talking about this earlier If I pay over a certain amount to someone, I do need to declare that on my taxes. So having a good bookkeeper slash accountant that can understand, okay, this money is being used to pay my employees.
12:37 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, and we talked about this earlier how does your bookkeeper or accountant account for the services that's happening? So these are business expenses, these are business services that they are providing, and you are paying for the service of having someone you know run your business.
12:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They're like a vendor. Can you really say they're an employee if they're an independent contractor? Not really right, because independent contractor is more like a vendor. For you, sure, and for, I think, most of us. For me, that's what it is. I don't actually employ someone where I'm paying health benefits or anything like that. So, I want to make that distinction where I'm not that type of corporation where I'm paying somebody full time and they're getting health benefits, I'm paying an independent contractor, but I still also have to account for that to the IRS.
13:23 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, and most VO bosses will probably find themselves in a similar position. I also have essentially a vendor, a contractor, who I'm not paying their health insurance and pension and things like that, as we did when we were working in the corporate world. So it's a different distinction. But it also requires the level of bookkeeping and making sure that you know how much you've paid them throughout the course of the year so that you can get them the correct tax form at the end of the year. And that means working with an accountant or working with a financial professional who can help you do that, unless you feel super confident in doing it yourself. But if you're running a business, in my opinion, and you are paying someone to help you run your business, another part of that is paying someone to help you keep track of the finances of your business.
14:10 It all works together.
14:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I do think that ongoing education for your contractors or employers is important. Oh yeah, in terms of, first of all, I make sure that I meet with my people, at least my assistants that do the majority of, let's say, my social media work or marketing work, that sort of thing. I make sure that we meet once a week actually, and that works for us in our business. But I don't necessarily meet with my audio editor at all. That's usually done through email and then after a month's worth of podcast audio editing he'll send me an invoice.
14:42 But anybody that's doing work for me that requires a little bit more than just audio editing. That might require helping me grow my business out there on social media, which I think is important that they know me and they know what I'm looking for and that I can specify that. And I don't like to micromanage at all because, frankly, I'm busy and so it takes some time to get the right employee right that you trust to handle things A control freak like me. In case anybody didn't realize that you know, A-type personality.
15:17 For me to give up power and just say go ahead, please do this for me and be okay with that was a big step for me as an employer, because I'm very much a control freak. I very much said, well, I can't hire somebody to do it because they're not going to do it as well as I do. Yeah, exactly, and you have to give up. That's a big mental aspect. You have to give that up because there are people who are better than you at certain things. And why not, right, hire someone like we talked about with a financial accountant or bookkeeper? Right, why not hire somebody that that's what they love to do and that's all they do? I want people that are better than me doing things for my business to grow my business. So you've got to give up that ego, the fact that nobody but you can do it. Right, you have to really place trust in your employees, because when you do that and you hire people that are better than you, that's what's going to grow your business.
16:09 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Oh, absolutely, and a huge part of that is communication. As you said, you meet with your team once a week. I also have a weekly In person.
16:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, not in person, I shouldn't say on Zoom.
16:19 - Danielle Famble (Guest) On Zoom.
16:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like a Zoom. I don't just text back and forth. Although I do text a lot of times, but-.
16:24 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Right.
16:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We meet on a Zoom meeting. On a Zoom meeting.
16:26 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I also with my assistant. We meet once a week on a Zoom call and then we use Slack to communicate. We communicate via Slack every single day and at the end of our meetings I always say, if you need anything, I'll be in Slack. I mean, it's the way to get to me as quickly as possible. I love Slack.
16:42 Yeah we talk every single day and the more communication actually the better, because then that person gets to know you and they can kind of hear your voice and your tone of voice and how you're wanting things done. They get to know your style, how you give feedback. That open communication actually really just helps person to person. You're dealing with, in some ways, hopefully a human being who can really start to craft what they do to who you are, because this is a brand about your personality, about your voice, about your style so it's huge.
17:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I really do feel that I make it a point to express my appreciation frequently to my assistants, because they're like my right-hand people in reality and I'm always like, oh God, I appreciate you guys, thank you so much. I'm always making sure to do that because, again, I want them to feel appreciated. A thank you goes a long way to really having employees work their best for you, which is what you want. I mean, you're investing money in your employees as well as your business, right? So you want to make sure that your investment is going to pay off for you. And now here's the question what if you hire someone that is not necessarily working out well for you? What are your best tips for that? Because that's happened to me too, and that's not always easy as a boss to fire someone.
17:56 - Danielle Famble (Guest) It is not always easy. It is a very real possibility. Whenever you bring anyone into your business as a contractor, as a one-time gig work, whatever, whenever you bring someone in, it's very real possibility that it doesn't work. So I think, before you bring that person in, have a very clear understanding, write it down. I would even say with what it is that you are looking for, what are the checks and how do you know if this person is working or not working.
18:22 Have the metrics so that you can say hey, this is what I'm hoping to accomplish, this is what I need, and you know if that person has it or not.
18:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and you bring up a really good point, because when you say, write it down, so everybody that works for me has to sign an.
18:40 NDA right Number one and they have a contract Like I have a statement of work, here's what I expect, here's what you'll be paid, here are like the terms, and you can actually create that NDA or that contract fairly simply.
18:54 I have a lawyer that I hire all the time, but there are templates out all over the place, but that kind of keeps me I feel legally secure, so that, let's say, I'm discussing something about growing my business, that I don't want them to go out and then implement, which is always like an issue when you hire people within the same industry, because if they work for you and then you discuss ideas like here's how I want to grow my business, what's to stop them from necessarily taking those ideas and implementing for their own business? And sometimes I'm not saying that I'm completely possessive, but there were cases. A long time ago, I hired somebody to work on development of this podcast and there were a lot of ideas that were flying around about how to grow which then, after the person did not work out for me, ended up somehow being implemented by them. And so that's just one of those things. I think. To safeguard your own business and your personal brand, you need to have a contract in place.
19:50 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Absolutely. I think having a contract in place again, this is, you're running a business and so doing the things that businesses do to keep themselves safe. Contracts are a huge part of it. Ndas are a huge part of it. Sometimes I have to sign an NDA in order to audition.
20:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yeah exactly.
20:06 - Danielle Famble (Guest) There needs to be that sort of level of secrecy and security. So that's incredibly important and making sure that the person understands why and understands what they're assigning is incredibly important as well. So there are so many layers to it, not just oh, I need help with my marketing, let me just bring somebody in. It goes deeper than that and to your point of if it doesn't work out, have the off-ramp. How do you offload this person from your business? How do you off-board them? And understanding, like, what does that look like? And it needs to take time.
20:39 But before you get to that point, I would ask the VO boss themselves if it didn't work out, why? If it's a personality thing, completely understand that happens too, because personality traits if you're working with someone, you need to be able to work with that person. But if it didn't work out because they weren't doing things correctly, did you train them correctly? Really understanding, like your role in it? Because, as the boss, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are running the business, your business the way that you want it to be run, and it needs to be run If the people that you've brought into your business are not living up to your expectations. Did you set the right expectations, did you communicate those expectations to them, did you provide feedback on those expectations and then did you give consequences for what is going to happen if those expectations are not met?
21:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I mean that is employer 101 right there. Absolutely, and that's covering yourself, and you want to make sure that you've covered yourself because your assistants have potential access to your life. I mean a lot of times like they'll have passwords to social media accounts. My accountant has the password to my QuickBooks. I mean my gosh.
21:48 Essentially, that could be very damaging if that person was not ethical right, and so there's a lot at stake for you. Passwords, personal accounts, branding, I mean just so many things that you're going to entrust them with. And I realize that, as an employer, again, as I said, if you're that type of person that says I'm the only one that can do it correctly or I'm worried about that, that is a mental thing that you will have to step back and take a look at. If you want to hire somebody and make sure that, if that is the case now, you want to make sure that you're protected, and so that requires NDAs, that requires contracts, and again, mine were not difficult. A consult with a lawyer that had me fine tune. A template for a contract for working for me worked, and all I have to do when I hire somebody else is just change the amount they're getting paid and change the name and change the address and then have them sign it before you start giving them access to your life and your business, because that is sacred to you.
22:44 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, and it's a vulnerable thing, like you are putting yourself knowingly in a vulnerable position where other people know intimate details about your life and your business.
22:56 - Intro (Announcement) However, large or small you?
22:58 - Danielle Famble (Guest) want to give out that information and if you are not prepared for that mentally going into it, it's a really hard transition to make when that person is actually there. I would say really ask yourself are you mentally prepared to be a boss of other people? Are you financially prepared to pay them and the finances not be a thing that other people? Are you financially prepared to pay them and the finances not be a thing that stresses you out, Because this entire process is quite a lot and are you ready to manage? Are you ready to share your vision and make sure that your vision is being executed by other people, that's not just you. All good stuff.
23:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And in the end, guys, I promise you, it may be scary, it's worth it but.
23:38 I'll tell you what it's worth it, and it's the only way, I believe, that I could have grown my business to the point that it has grown and to allow me the freedom. I'm a little bit of a serial entrepreneur and I think, danielle, you probably are too, and so it's been the only way that I've been able to really do the things that I want to do in my businesses, to progress and move forward, and it's taught me a lot. Being a VO boss number one just in my voiceover career, but also being an actual boss, has taught me so much about myself and helped me to grow personally as well as professionally. So I think it's a win-win. It's a challenge and it's scary, but it's so worth it, oh man.
24:19 - Danielle Famble (Guest) I couldn't agree more. You learn so much about yourself when you are now responsible for other people. I'm not a parent, but I can imagine there's a very humbling sense when you become a parent, that you are now responsible for this other person and you have to think about yourself and them in a different way. Similarly with business, you learn so much about yourself, your capacity to lead, your desire to lead, your generosity, all of those things when you have someone else that you are bringing into this thing that you created your business. It is a journey. You'll run into adversity, you will have to figure it out, and then you learn about yourself how you're able to do that. And once you learn those things about yourself, the next hurdle may be just around the corner, but you know that you've been able to do it in the past. So that resilience, really that muscle builds up. It's totally worth it. I would not be able to have the business that I have if I was responsible for doing everything. You can only do so much with the amount of time.
25:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You're only one person. You have only so many hours exactly in the day. So, oh, I love this conversation. Thank you so much, Danielle.
25:28 - Danielle Famble (Guest) Yeah, this is great, I love it.
25:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) For having this conversation with me. Bosses, I'm going to give a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too can be a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
25:44 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Join us as we dive into Anne's enlightening experience at the Podcast Movement conference in Washington, DC. Discover the critical lessons Anne learned by stepping out of the voiceover industry bubble and mingling with top podcasters and corporate reps. The BOSSES tackle the complexities of measuring podcast success, the evolving role of advertisements, and the innovative strategies that can set your podcast apart. Passion and authenticity are at the heart of this episode as we explore how genuine storytelling can elevate both podcasting and voice acting careers. Learn why being relatable and embracing video content is more important than ever for voice actors. Consistency and authenticity are key, and we provide practical tips for maintaining a successful show. Finally, we wrap up with advice on continuous personal and professional development, reminding you to stay proactive and always seek growth opportunities.
00:02 - Bonnie Marie Williams (Ad) Hi, this is Bonnie Marie Williams, and I was listening to VOBoss for years before I began working on the show. It was actually the first voiceover podcast I ever heard and I absolutely fell in love with it the energy, the humor and how much information it provides to the voiceover community. But what I love most about VOBoss is how it takes on the current topics in the industry, how it discusses things we really should be talking about, all of the positivity and how much time and energy Ann devotes to the show to make it so valuable for all of us. I mean, we just want to rock our businesses like a boss, right? So, ann, thank you for bringing me into the boss family and for all you do for bosses everywhere.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Imagine a voiceover journey where every step is filled with discovery and growth. That's the path I want to work on with you, Through nurturing coaching and creative demo production. Let's unveil the true potential of your voice together. It's not just about the destination, it's about the gorgeous journey getting there. Are you ready to take the first step? Connect with me at anneganguzza.com.
01:17 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am delighted to be here and it seems like it's been forever with my bestie, Lau Lapides. Hey Lau, how are you?
01:52 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Hey, annie, it has been forever. It's been, I don't know, two months or whatever. It's been, but two months for us is like two years.
02:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So much happens. It's been too long. I mean, a lot of things have been happening. I just got back from podcast movement in DC and I had a really good experience there that I wanted to share some takeaways if you didn't mind.
02:15 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Actually, that's cool. I was going to ask you about that because so many of us and certainly us as talent as well are doing podcasts or want to do podcasts, and that kind of a movement is something we want to know about. So, please, sharing is caring.
02:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I had a lot of takeaways. Number one was, first and foremost, it was so nice for me to get outside of my bubble, outside of my studio bubble, my dealing with voice talent, voice actors and people in the industry. Not that I don't love dealing with people in the industry, but actually going to a conference and immersing myself into a marketplace where I want to sell to right, because there are podcasters here, which, yeah, of course, I have some podcast consulting services, of course, but I mean that wasn't my primary purpose. My primary purpose was to mingle with the corporates, because, guess what, everything I do voiceover right, corporate narration, commercial all of this really directs itself to that market. And it's so nice to be able to immerse yourself in that market and just, hey guys, this might be a novel idea, but just listen, right, listen to what your potential clients need, what are their problems, what sort of frustrations are they experiencing and how can you, with your voice or your voiceover product, help them?
03:45 - Lau Lapides (Guest) them. Annie, can you give us the infrastructure of it, because I don't know about that particular world in terms of what a trade show or a convention would look like for podcasters. What did it look like? How many folks were there? How long was it? Did you meet any like top level podcasters who we need to know about? Oh, yeah, I did.
04:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I met celebrities. There's like celebrity podcasters the Diary of a CEO those of you that listen to podcasts. I met the scrappy podcaster. I met the guy who actually, you know, is in all the videos for Riverside too. So the conference was four days long and it was in DC, and this one in particular, it was a little bit more corporate centric. I go to two of them every year.
04:23 The other one is PodFest, which is very much creatives like ourselves, independent creatives, a lot of hey, I've got this show and how can I make money with this show? That's really like the question on everybody's mind and I know that anybody who's ever asked me about podcasting is like, well, how can I make money? And I'm always like, well, don't bank on that right away or don't depend on that, because it is a passion project for the most part. But this show had a little more of a corporate audience, a lot of those people that are really looking to try to get an ROI, not just from the podcast but about advertising, advertisements on podcasts and those of you that listen to the VO Boss podcast know that very recently I've been actually adding some advertisements on for my own business. Now we've been doing the VO Boss podcast for about eight years and I thought well gosh, maybe it's time that I do one or two. One or two, I mean you know you guys listen to my podcast.
05:17 I can tell you, hey, look, I also offer these things, but it's all about how do you measure success of a podcast. How do you measure if you have ads running in your podcast? Are they effective? Are people listening to the ads or are they fast forwarding through the ads? And so the overall feel that I got from the conference is that there's so many different platforms right now there's. You know how do you listen to your podcast? Is it on Apple podcast, is it on Spotify, is it on YouTube?
05:43 And they all have their own measurements, their own stats, and so what advertisers want to know is how many people are listening to your podcast, and sometimes that's really difficult to tell unless you have the statistics. And then these statistics don't all come together so that you can say, overall I have 1 million downloads, or I know from my service provider, my RSS feed provider, how many downloads I have, and that can give you a fairly decent number. But again, they've changed the way that they've measured those stats as well. So a lot of times the corporations or the people that are advertising want to know how can I get ROI on this investment if I'm going to spend money for ads and the other thing which is really important is that there's a lot of people that do ads on podcasts and they sound very different from the podcast, right, because we've got you and me just bantering back and forth and then all of a sudden they've got hey, it's allergy season.
06:38 - Bonnie Marie Williams (Ad) What happens?
06:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) is, the podcast host doesn't necessarily do voiceover for a living, so what they might read might sound a little stilted, so that was really interesting to understand that. Okay, I understand how I might be able to serve them by doing ads or by helping them do their ads better, that kind of a thing, but it was really wonderful to just sit and listen and learn oh my gosh for four days all about the things that I've been doing for eight years on this podcast, and a lot of it was very validating.
07:08 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And now the one you went to was in DC. Right, that sounds like a really large a really big one. Did you find that there were people that you could meet? That really helped you understand the road to sponsorship? And the understanding of, like, how you sell ads and how you get into that place because I think that's where a lot of early entry podcasters fall down is like they can create a great program and they can get it launched and it sounds terrific, but what happens next?
07:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, the thing is is that you really need listenership, you really need people who follow. I mean, everybody refers to Joe Rogan, right? Of course, if you're an advertiser, you want to advertise on Joe Rogan's, but when you're first starting out, you need to first of all make sure that your content if you have a podcast and I think every voice talent should have a podcast, because, gosh, we're equipped for it, we have like really great sound already, and so it just makes sense that if you are a voice actor, it doesn't cost you anything necessarily except for your time right now. If you have a passion, talk about that. I mean, over and over and over again, what I heard as the theme is that podcasters are storytellers and guess what, so are voice actors. Yes, so if you have a topic that you're passionate about, I think you can start a podcast on.
08:22 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I mean it doesn't have to be about voiceover. Now, when you go into podcasting because I've been doing podcasting for a number of years as well the question is you go into it because you love it, you have a passion for it, you want to educate, you want to tell a story, mm-hmm. But how do people know when and if they're ready to monetize? That's a big question. I think in the podcast world, absolutely, you've been doing it for eight years.
08:46 That's a long time to do a podcast while you're running a business and while you're doing everything in your life yeah. So when and if you should monetize how that happens.
08:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, you know, that's a really great question and that is, like I swear it's the question on everybody's mind, even at this conference, like how do you monetize? I mean, what are the questions that get answered right in podcast? What are the big questions of the day? The big question is how do I know who's listening? Right? How do I track my downloads? How do I grow my podcast? That's the other question, asking the same questions, right, because it is such a popular medium.
09:23 When you get somebody like I'm going to say, joe Rogan or any of the more celebrity podcasts where you get a lot of people's ears right, listening, that is an opportunity to sell and so, while the logistics aren't necessarily quite there yet, you have to showcase that number one. You've got listenership. You've got listenership, you've got a following. Now VO Boss has a following, and it's a very faithful following, because, for me, when I was telling people about my podcast, I would say, okay, I have been a podcast for eight years and while my numbers may not be, I do have close to a million downloads. I mean very close to it.
09:57 Actually, I haven't looked in the last few months, so I probably have a million downloads, but it's over a course of time, right, and so what advertisers want to know is how many downloads per episode are you getting, and that kind of gives them an idea of how many ears they have listening to their potential ads. And then, of course, it has to be on the effectiveness of the ad, and I had an interview with Steve Pogac, who is with SiriusXM and Pandora, talking about podcast ads. It's kind of the new area where advertisers are really interested because they've got potential ears to do the selling. Again, it's just you've got to be able to prove to those advertisers that you have downloads, and so right now you have to use the methods that are with you. I mean, there are separate methods. Apple has their own stats, spotify has their own stats, youtube- has their own stats.
10:46 And what's interesting is that while we're doing this now on video right, whereas before we were strictly audio we're now also on video. So it's kind of like, well, let's use YouTube and put shorts out there, which is it was good, that was validation for me I heard that again and again was to use YouTube for shorts to kind of draw your audience into the audio podcast.
11:08 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Love that when you think about like discussion about synthetic voices.
11:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, we're in the wild wild west. Well, guess what? We're in the wild wild west of advertising and podcasting. Right, and seeing if podcasting is a popular medium, we know about that. We know that as voice actors we are primed to be great podcasters, because we've got the technical worked out already for the most part. Right, we've got the technical. And if you've studied enough, you know how to storytell. You know how to storytell, you can certainly transition to any kind of ads really well. And of course, there's the other thing. Law and I know you'll like this is that there's a lot of ads that are done with improv. Celebrity endorsements do a ton of improv while they're doing the advertisements.
11:46 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Isn't that cool.
11:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There's another skill that voice actors have, so it really translates well and, if nothing else, right. It costs you your time and, as you and I have discovered, right and I've discovered, after eight years of having this podcast and you since you've come on with me, people now say oh my gosh, I love listening to you guys.
12:06 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Right.
12:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like they met you by listening to you on the podcast. That's absolutely a way to reach out to potential clients or potential people, no question.
12:14 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Fantastic and I can say personally that you know, in the last two years, or however long we've been working together on the podcast, god, how long has it been? Almost two years, I think.
12:23 It might be longer when I'm flying around and people come up to me and say I love your podcast. For a second I'm like, oh, the VO boss. They're like, yeah, you girls are great. It's a weird thing if you're not used to it, because there's that disconnect, there's that sense of disconnect from your audience that you know the audience is there, you see them, they're there, but if you're not meeting them, yeah and you don't know them, you may not hear back from them, the feedback you may not hear back from them.
12:53 It's really incredible.
12:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's the engagement. A lot of it was talking about engagement and again, so many parallels to voice so many parallels so many parallels. You have to engage your audience and I'm going to tell you. One of the things about podcasting is that we engage people through audio right and or video, if people are watching us, if they like to see the two of us talk to each other. It's all about engaging and being interesting, and it's either educational or it's entertaining, right? No?
13:20 - Intro (Announcement) question Whenever.
13:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was watching a presentation on the stage with any well-known podcaster when they were speaking about that podcast, it was all about their storytelling and it was all about how it was their passion to talk about a particular subject, something that they loved, they were passionate about, and that's what caused and everybody's like.
13:40 Well, how do you go viral? Right, I mean, there is no magic solution to going viral. I think a lot of it is being engaging right with your audience, and then you got to get it in front of your audience's eyes, very similar to our own businesses, right? So how do you grow your podcast audience the same way you grow your business and voice acting? Right, you've got to get yourself in front of the eyes of your potential clients or your potential listeners. So it was really so wonderful to be validated in so many different areas, because a lot of times, like you said, we're podcasting out into the air and I don't always hear anything about it unless I speak to someone and they say, oh my God, I love your podcast or I love what you said about this.
14:19 And what's really cool is then you get the benefit, you reap the rewards of being an instrument and being able to hopefully motivate and inspire somebody.
14:28 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It's incredible and you and I we get letters like all the time, literally every single month, that says I just want to let you know that I can't get in my booth on a Saturday morning without listening to the podcast and hearing your motivation and hearing what you have to say and on the most literal basis, you don't realize what kind of impact you can make on someone's life by just speaking and speaking a truth and speaking an experience that is maybe common to their experience, or maybe the next level to their experience, when they're stuck and they don't know where to go.
15:04 It's incredibly powerful and I'm just honored to be a part of that. But I think you scared a lot of people when you said, or reminded us because this is not a new thing that we're also on video too. We're also on camera as well, because a lot of voiceover talent traditionally went into voiceover so that they wouldn't be on camera. They say, with all due respect, I don't want to put makeup on, I don't want to look good, I've got the face for radio.
15:28 - Bonnie Marie Williams (Ad) I don't want to look good, right.
15:29 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And I said no, no, you can't look at it that way any longer, because you've got to market your business, your podcast, your voice, and you have to do that on video now.
15:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If you think about it and this is the trend, right, also, like on camera work, right, it's not about you don't have to be beautiful and young and pretty and handsome anymore.
15:47 It's all about authenticity, it's all about being able to engage with your audience, and so we invite right the perfectly imperfect, perfectly imperfect I want to hear and see like imperfections, because I know that I'm not alone, right, when that happens, and that's for on camera, that's for audio, that's all of that Just being able to be authentic and really communicate and reach out to your audience, just like we have to do being voice actors. It's becoming more and more and more prevalent every day. That that's really what we have to do, I mean, and that's what we like, I mean as humans, like, why do you think reality shows became so popular? I mean, it wasn't about the perfection of people on a sitcom or a drama or you know, it was real people and we're real people and we can talk about real things, and so if you guys are thinking about a podcast, please gosh don't.
16:41 We don't need another voiceover podcast, I don't know Exactly.
16:45 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Talk about something that you're passionate about, that you can engage with other people, and it shouldn't be any surprise that, you know, when we're auditioning as voiceover talent and we see that breakdown of relatable and real and conversational. Well, that's what we want to see as well.
17:02 If we're seeing the visual of you. We don't want to see you on as the 70s announcer, nor do we want to see you on as the supermodel of the 80s or 90s. Really, the real person works more often as an actor and talent than the aesthetically beautiful person according to the industry, and gets cast more often because it really represents the demographic of the people.
17:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure Right. It cuts through the chaos of something being like anticipated or expected or stereotypical right.
17:36 - Lau Lapides (Guest) There's an empathy factor too. I mean, I want to see someone who kind of is me. There's a deeply psychological aspect to everything we see and hear in entertainment. I would gather that a lot of folks and I ask them. When they talk to me about your podcast, I say why do you like it? Why do you follow it? What is it doing for you? They say I feel like you are me, I feel like you understand me, I feel like you're almost in my head, Right Like the voice in my head, and I think, oh, that's a lot of responsibility. I better be careful what I say. Isn't that true? It is true when you talk about influencers.
18:13 I always think of the influencer as like the young Gen Z or the young, young millennial who's on social media, but that's really not true. The influencer is anyone right who is out there in the public square and really is connecting to their audience. They can have very powerful influence, positive and negative. So be careful what you say, be careful how you present yourself, be careful and just be thoughtful about it, because you can impact a lot of people. Now, from a marketing perspective, that's great, because for the people that don't know anything about marketing or are a little scared of it, you know you can have a huge influence on people just by being visible.
18:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely Absolutely, and it just amazed me the amount of parallels. You think I would have figured this out by now, but it was good reinforcement as I went to this conference. So I highly highly encourage you, if you can get out there, listen, find the people that you're trying to sell to, if you can get to a conference. Conferences are great because I had presentations to go to and I also had vendor booths that I could visit, right, and so the interaction. I really listened to the interactions in both instances and I noticed that when people were on stage talking about something they were passionate about, you know, I have this little pet peeve about millennials have a potential to upspeak and I'm always telling people when we're doing corporate please don't upspeak, because it makes you sound a little less confident, and I want you to be confident about your product. So, when there was the occasion for me to go to a booth and speak to someone about their product, right, and I encountered a millennial, yes, upspeak is alive and well. However, when that same millennial was up on stage and this happened on more than one occasion, right, no matter who was up on stage talking, discussing, interviewing, interacting and speaking about their passion there was absolutely no up speak. Maybe once in a while there was one word or two, but nothing that was consistent, Because I think it presented a different kind of situation and I think that as actors we need to always read those situations, like, perhaps for a commercial, you're going to have that kind of casual engagement where upspeak is absolutely desired, but maybe in another instance you need to sound more authoritative about that product or confident that you're sure that it's going to help someone and therefore maybe upspeak isn't as appropriate.
20:35 So that was just an interesting little tidbit and, trust me, I listen really hard because, you know, I'm a coach, I want to be a better coach and so I want to be able to communicate with my potential client better. So first and foremost is listen. And you guys, even if you can't get to a conference, you can do this online, right, you can join groups that are not necessarily just voiceover groups. You can join e-learning groups, you can join a company newsletter, look at how the company talks to their potential clients, and then you can just really learn about in what situation and how you might talk, the tone of voice that you might use, the emotion that goes along with it. It could be for a quirky brand that has a little bit of humor in it. It could be for a quirky brand that has a little bit of humor in it. It could be for a brand that's a little more serious and a little more formal, a little more suit and tie kind of thing, and you adjust your performance accordingly.
21:23 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Now, you were talking earlier to me, before we started recording about at the podcast forum. They were talking about memberships and I thought that was very fascinating, thinking about creating content and how you can get your subscription base or membership base going with supplying that content. What did you learn from that one? What did you take away on that?
21:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) one. So that was advertisers, who again were looking to monetize, right, and so until they felt that people have the capability of fast-forwarding through an ad that might be on the podcast, However, if they need to subscribe or have a membership in order to get to that content, if let's say the content is valuable and it's something I've thought about doing for VIA Boss having a certain amount of episodes that are bonus content, which then help fund the cost, because, as we know, and as I've spoken about multiple times, this does not run itself. I mean you and I, you know it takes our and, as I've spoken about multiple times, this does not run itself. I mean you and I, you know it takes our time. And then I literally have a team of people that help me to distribute this podcast and put show notes up there, to advertise it on social media. There's just lots and lots of components to the spokes in the wheel, whatever you might call it, but there's a lot of things at play here and it's not free.
22:34 So it's helpful to be able to recoup some of those costs and even monetize the living, make a little bit of money, because I mean, this is our time and we do talk about all the time. Law right, we need to charge what we're worth. If somebody said to me well, do you feel bad charging for a podcast when most people can listen for free? Well, you know, honestly, I've been doing it for eight years. I've given over 400 episodes for free. To be quite honest, if somebody wanted to donate three to five dollars, maybe a month.
23:04 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I don't think that's unreasonable, I think it's fantastic. I think it's a great idea and makes total, total sense. I have a feeling that's something that a lot of podcasters are going to be doing. They're going to be interested in doing that, mm hmm, because no one really realizes except for you, annie, how much goes into it until they start doing it.
23:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Until they do it.
23:20 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Oh, I'll just talk. You know it's the old voiceover, read a paper and talk, but they don't really realize to produce something, yeah, something of value, something specific, something that has guests, something that has planning. Producing engineering it costs, it's an investment. Yeah, engineering it costs, it's an investment?
23:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely. And getting yourself out of your bubble and going out and really researching the market in which you want to sell, I think is so, so, very helpful for our businesses so that we can grow and serve those businesses and voice acting. This whole industry is evolving, like as we speak, minute by minute. Things are happening on the AI and synthetic end of things in the market. The economy has a lot to do with it and we really need to understand what's happening out there and evolve along with what our clients are asking for so that we can serve them better, because we can have a great voice. But if we don't know how to serve somebody with that voice or how to help them solve their problems, then we kind of sit here just having a great voice, exactly.
24:23 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Which is great.
24:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But you know, then you and I can just talk with our great voices, but it may not get us anywhere. It may not pay the bills Very true, In which case? By the way, even if you don't get advertisers right away in your podcast, the fact remains that you are putting yourself out there, you're putting your brand out there, and that is a form of marketing all in of itself.
24:42 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Do you have tips, annie, for people who want to either start a podcast or who are early like within the first year of doing their podcast of what they should be thinking about or be planning for, so that they don't fall into any holes along the way?
24:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's a great question. The one thing that you absolutely have to be concrete on right now is kind of like your why, like why do you want a podcast and what is your topic and is it something that you can sustain? Because consistency once you get people who start listening, they expect consistency. It's like look on my run every morning I want to be able to turn on the latest podcast of right, or I want to be able to. It becomes a thing. So content creators, like everywhere, know how it's difficult to create content. It takes a lot of time.
25:29 So figure out what it is that you want to talk about, what it is that you can consistently deliver on a regular basis to an audience. And one thing I definitely found out is that these kind of serial podcasts that only have like six to eight episodes they don't do well. They don't do well with advertisers. Advertisers don't want to invest in that because they can't expect a great return on investment. It's got to be something where your audience can grow, where you can continue to get the ear of the listener, and so really try to find your why. Try to find whatever it is that you want to talk about and then be consistent about it Now. You don't have to hire out like I do right now for my podcast. I mean, I did everything on my own to begin with, and so you can start simple and commit to what you can do and make it a priority that you deliver consistently, consistently, consistently.
26:22 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Love that. So it doesn't have to be constant, it's just consistent, yeah, absolutely, which makes a lot of sense. And being authentic, yeah, and really caring about what your audience cares, about the pain points they have, what problems they have to solve and connect to Right. And also I would add into that that like what style you want that podcast to be in Do you?
26:43 want to have a lot of humor. Is it very serious? Is it meditative, is it calming, like, think about the kind of style that you want to have, and are you having guests on, or is it really you speaking from your point of view? I mean, these are just kind of basic things that we have to be thinking about it from the beginning. Also, how long Like you and I are really consistent about our time, we typically go about 25 minutes per episode.
27:08 Like how long can you talk? How long do you want to speak about your?
27:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) topic. I mean, gosh, some are hours long. You know what I mean. Some of the best video ones are hours long where there's something visual to look at, and I think Joe Rogan's is, I don't know, an hour or two hours. I have not listened recently, but really I mean we try to keep ours. I think the stats say anywhere from about this time 30 minutes, but honestly, I think it depends on the content and what you're talking about and just really feel that out and try to make that consistent as well.
27:36 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Well, you know, thanks for bringing this to our attention, because this is a world. It's not a new world, but it's an ever-growing world. Yes, absolutely, and it's becoming complex and very nuanced. And it's something that a lot of talent of all different backgrounds really want to know about and want to be doing and be plugged into it.
27:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So this is kind of exciting news and I'm excited because I got another podcast that's formulating on the back end. So stay tuned, guys. Something new is coming along for me and I'm very excited. Probably be launching that sometime I don't know later this year, so look for that and I'm very excited.
28:10 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Keep growing, keep expanding, keep creating and keep developing that's really the name of the game, isn't it? Absolutely? Throughout your lifetime, Fabulous.
28:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thanks, law, good conversation. Thanks for asking me about it. I had a great experience and I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses and find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
28:39 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
This episode is all about maximizing your business potential, whether you're just starting out or already established in the market. Learn how to leverage casting platforms for direct bookings and master direct marketing strategies. This episode is packed with actionable insights to increase your return on investment. Implementing mid-year performance reviews can be a game-changer for your business, using powerful tools like cash flow spreadsheets and client churn reports to meticulously track your financials and client engagement. Discover the added value of integrating financial data to set and achieve your financial goals, ensuring sustained success. Explore how to turn one-off projects into recurring gigs and the crucial role of tracking booking sources. Learn how to use social media, direct emails, and client referrals to build a solid client base.
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, who says marketing can't be as creative as voice acting? With a VO Boss Blast, we're proving it can be. Let us create a marketing campaign that helps get you hired. Our master list of over 90,000 creative contacts can get your message in front of your potential buyers. Find out more at vobosscom. That's the VO Boss Blast at voboss.com. That's the Voboss Blast at Voboss.com.
00:29 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a Voboss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with the illustrious Mr Tom Dheere.
00:58 - Tom Dheere (Host) Hello, hello, oh, I'm illustrious now this is very exciting.
01:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You are illustrious, you are illustrious. Oh my gosh Tom, how's your week been?
01:06 - Tom Dheere (Host) My week's been. It's been pretty good. It's been pretty busy. It's one of those weird times of year this is early summer when we're recording this and people are at schools getting out and people are starting to figure out. You know they get their lighting up their vacations and all that stuff.
01:25 So you know, I'm using this time to capitalize on how I'm going to figure out what I'm going to be doing with the second half of my year, because I always, at the end of the halfway point of the year, I take a look at my voiceover business, see how it's doing, what's working and what isn't, and if I need to make any adjustments for the second half of the year.
01:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think that's an excellent idea because, as a matter of fact, I was just this week. I got an email from my email service provider who notified me that they were going to increase the cost of my yearly fee almost like one and a half times as much, and so I was like, oh, I've got to really sit back and take a look at my return on investment, and so I think that is something that bosses need to do absolutely to make sure that their businesses are on track and make sure that their growth is happening. And if it doesn't appear that it is happening, maybe how do you evaluate growth that can happen in the future?
02:17 - Tom Dheere (Host) So, yeah, Okay, so, oh, there's so much to talk about with this one. But, bosses, if there's one thing I want you to walk away with, is that the industry changes constantly. What used to work may not work as well as it used to, or it may not work at all anymore. In my 25 years of being in the voiceover industry, effectiveness is really the key to be a voice actor, and learning what it takes to become effective early in your journey as opposed to what's effective later on in your voiceover journey.
02:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like mailing CDs to potential clients. I just had to say that which I did, which I did.
02:58 - Tom Dheere (Host) So did I. Let me tell you, my post office hated me so much because I'd come in with a lawn bag of padded mailers and they'd be like oh.
03:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I used to have to walk to my voiceover studio for 10 miles in the snow.
03:11 - Tom Dheere (Host) Sorry, Uphill both ways.
03:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Uphill Anyways. So yeah, how do we determine how effective our businesses are and how do we strategize moving forward?
03:21 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. The ultimate determiner is like how much money am I making? And it's like, okay, did I make more money than I did last year or week or quarter? So that's obviously an indicator. But that's a very broad brushstroke because, like I've noticed over the years, because I track my voiceover revenue meticulously, gig to gig, Doesn't surprise me, Tom. I know right. Not surprising that the VO strategist meticulously tracks his voiceover revenue.
03:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go. Well, me too, but I have my accountant that has probably more of a hand in it than me, and then she'll report to me if I need to know things.
03:49 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. So one thing I do like to do what's called a client churn report. So basically I look at the end of every quarter, I look at how many gigs did I have, how much money did I make, how many of them were from new clients, how many of them were from return clients, and then I look at the same quarter from the previous year to see if the amount of money new clients and old clients went up, went down or stayed the same.
04:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now let me ask you what are you recording that data into? Do you have?
04:23 - Tom Dheere (Host) a CRM Okay, okay, I was going to say do you have a?
04:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) CRM. Do you have a CRM? Okay, okay, I was going to say do you have a CRM or do you have a spreadsheet?
04:27 - Tom Dheere (Host) That I do in a spreadsheet because I have a cash flow spreadsheet which tracks every penny that goes into my voiceover business and every penny, that goes out of my voiceover business. It's a free download at voestrategistcom. You can just type in free in the search bar and you can find it and download it. It and you can find it and download it. It also helps you run reports. It's got little auto sums and I've got little formulas in there so it can help track your stuff.
04:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's awesome, tom, and can that be integrated? Like would I be able to export reports from my QuickBooks and be able to import, do you think into that's a?
04:55 - Tom Dheere (Host) great question. It may require some reformatting.
04:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Finagling.
05:00 - Tom Dheere (Host) And a little finagling, but actually I'm so glad this came up. When it comes to analyzing your voiceover business, that cash flow spreadsheet does so many things. It tracks all the money that I make. I also list all of my revenue and expense goals for the month, the quarter and the year. But here's the other fun thing that it does I have little columns where I have little codes. So, for example, there are three what I call portals in the voiceover industry. I'm sure I've talked about this before Representation, online casting sites and self-marketing which includes inbound and outbound marketing.
05:34 So every time I book a voiceover gig, in that column I write down whether it was RE, which it was a gig I booked through my representation, if it's OC, through an online casting site, either free or pay-to-play, like Voice123. And then the last one is S-M, or self-marketing, which means did it happen as a result of a cold call or a cold email, or indirect? Is it a result of someone finding me on Google?
05:59 Or was I referred to that client by a fellow voice actor or a fellow client, because I have clients who refer me to clients all the time and so whenever I type that in, there's a little section to the side of the spreadsheet that has, by revenue and by percentage, how much money I'm making based on the portal that I'm doing. It also does it for genre. I have a column for genres e-learning, commercial, industrial.
06:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, that's awesome. I love this. And you say that this is a free download.
06:25 - Tom Dheere (Host) It's a free download, that's awesome, that's a great tracker. Yeah, because it lets me know just how I'm doing with the genre of voiceover, because you can break it down by genre and you can also break it down by portal. But I'm not getting all my e-learning through one portal and I'm not getting all my explainers through one portal.
06:44 Because sometimes I'll get an explainer through one of my reps. It's rare but it happens. But I'll get a lot of e-learning through online casting sites and self-marketing, so to be able to really look and see how my voiceover business is doing and be able to go to last year's spreadsheet and see how it's doing I love that, tom.
07:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you have a free resource. I have to. I'm sorry I didn't have to exclaim that and interrupt you and say that, because I will tell you that I created a spreadsheet myself when I started to track auditions, to track jobs that I booked. It is a thing you do have to remember to put the information in, but it was very, very valuable to find out and I'll tell you, I love a person who can really work a spreadsheet, because you've got it all figured out already, yeah, and you've got the columns there. I mean, bosses, take advantage of this. We're going to put a link in the show notes. Okay, continue, tom. I'm sorry.
07:32 - Tom Dheere (Host) I got so excited.
07:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I had to interrupt you.
07:34 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, yeah, I've been building this spreadsheet for 20 years.
07:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, I think 2004,.
07:38 - Tom Dheere (Host) 2005 is when I first built this spreadsheet first built this spreadsheet, so I'm looking at it right now.
07:43 So yeah, genre so like. For example, so far this year, 23.8% of my voiceover revenue has come from e-learning. But also I do it as the VO strategist. So it also tells me how many 15 minute consults I've booked, how many one-on-one coaching sessions I've done, how many conference appearances, how many mentorship sessions, how many people bought my videos at the VO strategist. So I use it for both as a voice actor and both as the VO Strategist, because this is tracking all the money.
08:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, good, I'm going to download it to track and ganguza business. However, I will say that there's reports that are generated off of QuickBooks or whatever your accounting software is, but I like that you have the added columns. Like I can't add a column in QuickBooks that says where did you book the job?
08:25 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, I probably could, but I haven't done that that's why I stopped using all the accounting software in most of the CRMs, because it wasn't giving me the data that I need. Also this is a running total that I can see on my screen all at the same time. Here's another one no-transcript.
08:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Everybody talks about that.
08:56 - Tom Dheere (Host) I believe it's one of the most useless data points there is, and here's the reason, and you know this.
09:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm going to agree with you, but I want to hear your reason.
09:05 - Tom Dheere (Host) The reason why is because the casting process is so random and arbitrary.
09:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes.
09:11 - Tom Dheere (Host) Because the best voice actor does not always get the gig, get the gig.
09:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes.
09:15 - Tom Dheere (Host) And the best audition doesn't always get the gig. Like there's a great documentary called that Guy who was in that thing? And it's about 12 character actors in Hollywood and you know all their faces but you don't know any of their names and they talk about what it's like being a character actor on TV and film in Hollywood and one of them talks about the absurdity of the casting process and he says something like one week I'll get a gig because I remind the casting director of her brother-in-law.
09:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah.
09:42 - Tom Dheere (Host) And then two weeks later, I won't get the gig because I remind the casting director of her brother-in-law.
09:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely so.
09:48 - Tom Dheere (Host) we have no earthly idea what the thought process is behind a voice seeker. There's another story of how a woman cast a male voice actor and she was asked why did you cast that person? And she said he sounds like my father.
10:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Mm-hmm.
10:06 - Tom Dheere (Host) And then, upon further conversation, she said I trust my father.
10:10 So, that means A I trust my father. B I want a trusting sound, for this voiceover equals C. I want someone to do this voiceover who sounds like my father Absolutely. But what if her father sounds like Gilbert Gottfried or Bobcat Goldthwait and they probably have kids? I know Gilbert Gottfried had kids, I don't know about Bobcat but and I'm sure if their children hear their voice it's a trusting I'm going to be okay, I'm safe. But that doesn't work for the rest of the universe.
10:40 Absolutely so, that's why that's kind of an absurd thing to analyze.
10:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I just want to tailgate off of that really quickly. I don't want to get off the track of what's my ROI. However, that's why you don't self-sabotage yourself if you thought, well, I did a great audition and I didn't book the gig, or I'm not good enough, don't let that feed into. I mean, of course, you want to be a great performer and a great actor. That always gives you, I think, the most competitive advantage. However, the casting process is wild and crazy, and anybody that's taken an audition demolition class with Law and myself we've done, I believe, six of them so far. By the way, you can check them out on the VO Boss YouTube channel if you want to watch one.
11:20 Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason as to why you receive a job, and so I agree with you there that tracking that is not always going to give you the most useful information. However, I know people will be like, well, my booking ratio on Voice123 or my booking ratio on Voicescom. Again, in reality, all you can do, I think, is validate that you have ample opportunities, right, right, right. And within those opportunities, it would be nice if you, on average, booked a certain percentage, but again, I wouldn't let that dictate whether that is a good return on investment, would you agree?
11:53 - Tom Dheere (Host) It doesn't necessarily dictate your worth as a voice actor.
11:57 What it can dictate for the pay-to-play sites in particular, anne, is how effectively are you feeding the algorithms to give you the casting opportunities that you want, that you're right for, and are you effectively auditioning for the casting notices that those algorithms served up? So, with that in mind, I do track my booking ratio on Voice123. I have the $2,200 tier, so I have the second highest tier. So obviously I want to make sure there's a return on my investment. However, the number is skewed because I I'll give you a perfect example Two years ago on Voice123, I booked a gig.
12:34 I did an audition. It was for a grocery store chain doing an internal video about produce. I think it was about bananas. You know, like, if you work in their produce department, here's how to make sure the bananas, how not to bruise them, how to check them for quality, how to display them properly, how to rotate out bananas that are going to expire or whatever. And it was one gig $550 for like a three-minute in-house thing, directed session took all of 15 minutes. It's like okay, perfect. A month later they needed one on shrimp. A month later they needed one on avocados.
13:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I did not audition for those. You didn't have to audition, but you got the job. Yes, right, the recurring client.
13:11 - Tom Dheere (Host) But if I wasn't on Voice123, I would not have gotten that casting opportunity.
13:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) The majority of my work, too, is a lot of referral clients. Referrals and or clients that I got because I'm on pay-to-plays but not on a certain subscription level just because of my schedule, and so therefore I can't really count that. But I still get, believe it or not, if my profile is up there, every once in a while I will get a direct job, and then that client will come back.
13:35 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, right. So, with that in mind, on the spreadsheet, the cash flow spreadsheet, I do have a new column where I track audition bookings versus direct bookings.
13:45 Oh, okay, so audition bookings versus direct bookings. Oh okay. So how much did I get? Was this an audition and pray gig or was this a legacy client gig? So, just as an example as of this conversation, my direct booking percentage is 79% and my audition booking is 21%, which means roughly 80-20. Four out of every five bookings that I get, I didn't have to audition for them. Now, that is something that a lot of voice actors.
14:10 Yeah, that tells me something about my business model and it tells me about my effectiveness in marketing, about my effectiveness in auditioning and my effectiveness in client retention, because it's one thing to book a client once, it's another thing to book a client twice, and it's another thing to book a client a few times a year for years and I have a couple clients.
14:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I have some clients I've worked with for decades, myself too, and I don't audition for them.
14:33 - Tom Dheere (Host) Some of them I never auditioned for in the first place, I just sent them the demo and then they're like, okay, great, and they here's your first gig work, which is right, that's the best kind of client, isn't it? That's a regular client, the one that you don't have to market to or audition for. However, audition and pray, I think, should be part of a balanced breakfast of all voice actors, whether it's through their agents, or through a casting site, or whether it's through their marketing strategy.
14:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Agreed Because auditioning and pray I mean. First of all, it gets you exposed to potential new clients in a multitude of ways. Because, first of all, if the agent hears you continually submitting good auditions, they might refer you to someone or they might shortlist you. Even if the client doesn't pick you, or if the client hears the audition and they may not cast you this time, they may save you for a future casting or come back to you for a different casting.
15:26 - Tom Dheere (Host) Here's another example. So for you VO bosses who have or are considering working with Anne, you decide you want to work with Anne. You want to get e-learning coaching. You may have been in the business for a little while. You may have gotten a smattering of e-learning gigs here and there, but now you want to really hunker down, get some quality training, get a quality demo, come up with a quality marketing strategy. So you work with Ann, you get your e-learning coaching, you produce a spectacular e-learning demo and then, of course, then we say Ann, what do I do now? And then she talks to you about marketing strategies. So you start to market that demo. The other thing you do is you put that demo on your website. So you come up with a marketing campaign. I'm going to put this demo on my website. I'm going to build a list of potential e-learning clients and if you have already done some e-learning work, it's supplemented by the work you've already gotten from existing e-learning clients and then you put it out there. Direct email.
16:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Direct email through a boss blast. Put it out there.
16:27 - Tom Dheere (Host) Direct email, direct email through a boss blast or direct email for cold calling, exactly, posting it on social media, talking to people on LinkedIn, so on and so forth. That's where this spreadsheet and your analytics can be an extremely powerful tool, because you can decide all right, this e-learning marketing campaign is going to take one month, so the first of the month the page the e-learning landing page goes live, and then you start through the VO Boss Blast. You start scheduling and sending emails to potential current and past e-learning clients. You post content on social media, you do things on LinkedIn. Maybe you record a video on TikTok or Instagram or YouTube talking about the demo or your experience with Ann or any part of your journey which is a part of helping people see your humanity.
17:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And, by the way, with any good coach right, I will if you provide a testimonial page. I also put demos on my YouTube channel, so there's the marketing that happens through that as well. So you're getting potential opportunities as well as my own referrals to you.
17:27 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, so you do all of that stuff and then at the end of the month, now you can figure out.
17:32 These are the analytics, so you can obviously go to your website, regardless of where the website was built. You should have some form of dashboard where you can look at how many times did people visit your e-learning landing page, how many times did they listen to your e-learning demo, how many times did they download? Because remember, that's the most important part of a campaign like this is to get downloads. You want people to download your e-learning demo and have it on file for when a project comes up that you would be right for. They have that demo on hand because they're not going to remember you and they're not going to remember your website. It may not be bookmarked. That's why most voice seekers and Anne may agree that most of them have a folder, a file of digital shoebox of some sort that has a pile of demos. Absolutely, and when a project comes along, because the odds of you emailing somebody your demo and the odds that they have a project that you're perfect for.
18:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) At that time Extremely slim. It's all about timing.
18:26 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, it's all about timing.
18:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I just did a teachable moment all about timing. Like you just don't know when people are going to need or require your service and you can't expect that just because you got the demo yesterday that there are all these people that need something today.
18:40 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. So you have to manage your expectations by the analytics. So should it be e-learning bookings in that one month? I don't think that would be fair to you because it's extremely unlikely. What you can look at is how many times did they go to your website, how many times did they listen to that demo? How many times did they download that demo? How many emails were opened and clicked on?
18:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You brought up a really good point. Is that? Okay? So a boss blast. You can go to the VO boss page to find out more about the Boss Blast. But the Boss Blast is simply allowing to cast the net out into a potential audience that could have a need, and you don't know exactly at what time that need is. So there's that direct marketing from the Boss Blast. But also I love the point that you brought up about the website.
19:23 Bosses, you have a website, it is a tool, it is your storefront. It is your responsibility to have enough knowledge about that tool so that you can go find out, like did somebody download my demo? How many times has the page been visited? Right? Because, just as there is with the Boss Blast, we have statistics. I can work with you, like when we send out a campaign, we have all the stats, we know who it was sent to, we know who opened it and we know who clicked. Now, once they get to your website right, they can click either the demo that's there or they can click on your website, and so once they do that, that's it. I just know that they've gone to your website.
20:00 Now, on your website, you need to be responsible for how many times has that been downloaded, how many times has that page been visited? And that can really help to see who's listening to your demo and what your booking ratio could be after that. And so those stats are important to know. So if you do not know how to access the back end of your website and we will have a podcast probably very shortly on just websites you must make it a point to educate yourself, and if you've had a website designer that did that for you, then you must either ask them how do you find out these stats right? Can they set up Google to actually allow you to see those stats, so when people visit your website, that you can find those stats and just know that, even if you may not be technically minded, you should really educate yourself on how to find that information out. That's important stuff to know. Sorry, I'm on my soapbox there, but gosh, it's so important.
20:52 - Tom Dheere (Host) No, that's amazing advice, Anne. Now here's the next part about this is here's some real life, practical real life experience that I have had this year is that one of the genres that I've been focusing on in 2024 is political. Over $10 billion is being spent on political marketing and advertising this year, so I updated my political demo. I've already had a list of political contacts because I've been marketing myself as a political voice actor since 2022.
21:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Are you direct marketing yourself, or are you on a roster as well?
21:24 - Tom Dheere (Host) Both, I'm on rosters, but I'm also direct marketing. I did a direct marketing, I did a direct marketing email blast, updated my political landing page and I sent out, I'd say over the past month and a half, roughly 150 emails to production companies that are dedicated to and specialize in creating political content radio, tv, digital streaming that require a voice actor. And do you want to guess how many replies I got to this?
21:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) email of 150?. Oh, I can imagine.
21:54 - Tom Dheere (Host) I can imagine the answer is zero, zero Now. At first I freaked out.
22:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But did you get hired?
22:01 - Tom Dheere (Host) No.
22:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Ah, okay, not yet.
22:03 - Tom Dheere (Host) Okay. So the question is what's going on? So, after some reflection and talking to other political voice actor friends, is they are so busy. These political production companies are so busy they do not have the time to open, much less read, any of my emails, much less click on the link download the demo or reply.
22:26 They don't have the time because everything has gone bananas this year, so because the debates have started the conventions are starting soon and then everybody's going to go crazy, from the presidential election all the way down to dog catcher and everything in between. However, I do have some existing clients who just send me work. They're like hey, here's another one, Can you do it today? Hey, I've got these five spots. I need them by first thing in the morning.
22:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Is that going to stop you from sending a direct email in the?
22:55 - Tom Dheere (Host) future? No, not at all.
22:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I wanted you to make that point.
22:57 - Tom Dheere (Host) Because this particular genre at this particular time of year. I have now, through experience, learned to manage my expectations about what's going to happen Because, like nowadays, if you're doing a direct marketing email, if you're getting one, to 2% of people replying to you, you're doing good, that's awesome.
23:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that's what I tell my boss blast people yes, if you're getting one to 2% click or open you used to look for. If you get a 10% open rate and then 1% click rate.
23:26 - Tom Dheere (Host) Those days are over.
23:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah Well, 1% is good. So, yeah, it's absolutely good. But there's still again if you know your audience and you know what to write to them, it's still effective. I would still say there are still people that open their emails and there's always that chance.
23:39 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, so the point is just because they didn't reply to your email. I guarantee there's a folder in their Gmail or their inbox where they just took that email and just dragged it into that folder.
23:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, which is why when I go through stats with people because we will go through who opened it and who clicked on it but then after that you don't know what they're going to do with it and, honestly, unless you're hacking into their systems, you really don't know if they've put it into a folder or not. I love the fact that you also are mentioning that you have to manage your expectations. Again, it's about timing and managing expectations as well, but that initial data can really help you to find out is it worth your investment?
24:18 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. So the aforementioned e-learning direct marketing campaign that you do from the Boss Blast yeah, looking at how many people opened it, how many people clicked on the demo, how many people downloaded the demo, which, if you're using a good CRM like there's a bunch of great CRMs out there which we could talk about in another conversation it can give you a good idea of what's going on.
24:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They don't have to download the demo either. They could just play it. Do you know what I mean? That's the other thing too. And they keep the email without downloading the demo.
24:44 - Tom Dheere (Host) So again, it's like everybody has different habits. Some people will save the email, not open it. Some people will save the email, open it. Some people save the email, open it. Click on the demo, listen to it, but not download it.
24:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Some people save the email and then forget about it right so that you need to consistently right every once in a while.
25:00 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, do a follow-up every few months. Do a follow-up in that top-of-mind email, right, Right. So the lesson here, bosses, is that analytics don't always tell the story. You can't live or die by your analytics, but at the end of a year I can look and go, okay. Here's a trend Right. Here's an example 2023, looking at the three portals. So last year, 12% of my voiceover revenue came from my representation, 49% came from online casting sites, 23% came through direct marketing strategies, 16% came through indirect marketing strategies.
25:38 Now, if you look at five years ago 2019, I had my representation percentage was one or 2%.
25:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, and I would say your pay to play your roster was high pay-to-play was non-existent because I wasn't a paid member of oh, that's right. At that time I took a long break because in the beginning I had a high percentage rate right, but my direct and indirect marketing strategy was like 81, but I also made 20% less in 2019 than I do in 2024.
26:10 - Tom Dheere (Host) So how did me going from focusing on direct and direct marketing to focusing on online casting sites, increase my representative percentage? What happened? What are the analytics? This is my theory. In 2019, I auditioned 450 times. The whole year 2023, I auditioned 1,854 times. I got better at auditioning. Voice123 made me a better auditioner because I got reps in. Also, it helped me keep a better idea on casting trends. What are people?
26:40 - Intro (Announcement) looking for.
26:41 - Tom Dheere (Host) How can I read a casting notice and match it up with who I am and what I can provide as a problem solver, as a voice actor? That fed into increasing the quality of my representation auditions. I got better auditioning on online casting sites and, by extension, I got better at auditioning for my reps. So that's why I went from like 1% or 2% in 2019 to, five years later, booking 12% of my revenue.
27:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. I think it's kind of like goal setting right If you don't write it down. It's kind of like in your head you're like but I've auditioned, but I've sent my direct marketing email, or I've sent my emails and I've done my marketing, but in reality if you're not writing it down or recording it, it's really hard to track what you've done. I mean, it wasn't until I started tracking my auditions and where I was booking and it helped me to determine a genre. Oh, I should pursue more work in this area. There's so many things you can learn from it, from just recording it. So consider it like a goal right. Consider that document recording and gosh, it doesn't get any easier than downloading a free template from Tom.
27:42 - Intro (Announcement) Dheere's website.
27:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's for darn sure. I mean really. This has been such an enlightening conversation, tom. I mean the amount of information you can find out just by tracking your return on investment where are you auditioning, where are you spending your money, where are things happening can really inform you to make great decisions about how to evolve and how to move your business forward. So do it, guys. Download that document and understand that, yes, this is a marathon, not a sprint. We'll probably say that for every podcast that I work with with you, tom. I mean, I say that all the time, but you guys it is. Tom, thanks so much for your invaluable wisdom on this. I love that you're such a geek about all of this, and if anybody can produce a really cool spreadsheet, I'm sure it's Tom Dheere.
28:22 - Tom Dheere (Host) I am a happy mutant, so yeah.
28:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network, connect and download documents like a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Thanks, tom Bye.
28:40 - Intro (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
00:01 - Tolu Kolade (Ad) Hi Anne, my name is Tolu Kolade. I am a Nigerian and I love your podcast. I listen every week and I discovered it last year and I must say it has been an incredible eye-opener for me, helping guess what. You inspired me to also create my own podcast, which is also based on voiceovers. So I love what you do and keep doing what you do, thank you.
00:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, are you struggling with that ever elusive, real, conversational, authentic, like you're talking to your best friend, Reed Book? Coaching with me and I'll help you take your voice over to a real and believable place. Find out more at anneganguzacom.
00:54 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the lovely Lau Lapids. Hey, Annie. Always happy to be back in the sack Lau. You are so lovely. You know what this week I've been thinking there are so many of my students and I'm quite sure that this happens to you frequently, being an agent and being a coach is that people are always trying to put on these particular voices right, that they feel like should be the voiceover voice right, and I know we've done episodes on this and we sound like maybe a broken record or maybe bosses out there.
01:54 You've heard this before. We really love your original voices. I think there's so many people that get into voiceover because they feel like they've got these great voices in their head, they can do great imitations and then when they get behind a mic, they perform and in reality, what most people want, I think, and what I demand from my students is give me your voice, because that pretty voice just is super boring. What are your?
02:21 - Lau Lapides (Guest) thoughts on that Lau. Yeah, we were just talking about this just a moment ago that casting directors and agents are really, really now looking for the real voice, the real sound, and we've been doing some animation in-house workshops and talking to animation casting directors who are saying 80% of the talent that they are hiring now for big feature film and TV series are their voices. It's their voices, real voices, their real voices. It reminds me of when we saw the earlier animations of like the 90s and the 2000s, when we saw the Ice Age and all of that. We'd see the A-list actor personalities Queen Latifah and Ray Romano and all of that, and they were them and they of that and they were them and they were recognizable and they were them and you thought, wow, why aren't they putting on a character? They're actors, they can put on a character. Well, why would they? They have a huge following. We want to hear their voice.
03:17 We want to know who they are. So I think some of those trends started with some of the A-listers, the Tom Hanks that came in and really provided their everyday sound for these heightened, larger-than-life characters in commercial as well.
03:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, I always wonder, like, what is it about voiceover, when I get my students in?
03:39 - Intro (Announcement) What is it?
03:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) about when people first start, when they think that we don't want to hear their voice. They're always like and now I'm going to read a medical narration and I'm like no, like, no, I don't want to hear it like that. I want to hear your voice telling me or educating me about it in a confident way, but I don't want to hear this hi, this kind of air that they have and that they put on their voice. And I think a lot of times people like listen to what they hear out there. There's a lot of that out there and that's kind of unfortunate because that gives people preconceived notions of what is the right way to sound. There is no right way to sound. I think there's really just your way and your genuine way to sound, and that's what we find so intriguing, it's true.
04:25 - Lau Lapides (Guest) And many of us too, at least in our generation. We grew up on Disney and we grew up on programming where we did hear those sounds. That was in our heads. As little kids. We were imprinted with those sounds and we had the bedtime story when we heard Snow White and Cinderella. And when we grew up with the fairy tales, the folklore, we heard those exaggerated character and sometimes even caricature sounds in our cartoons as well. Many of our cartoons as well were over the top, larger than life, over the top unrecognizable to who that person was. So there was a style of those times that doesn't translate quite as well to these times. These times are much more real, authentic, down to earth, relatable. All the things that you see in the specs of your breakdown, of your auditions for like a commercial, you're also going to see the heightened characters as well. So be prepared for that Like. Start to be at home with what your authentic sound is.
05:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And then I'm going to add on top of that right, be comfortable with your voice, embrace your voice, and embrace your voice in all levels of emotion and point of view, because that's where I think a lot of times people will think but I sound so flat and I sound so boring and I'm like but you're not when you talk to me right in this session that we're having right here. When you talk to me, you're not boring, you're not flat at all. There's a dynamic to your voice, there's emotion, there's point of view, and I think that's the real key right there is bring you with that point of view and that emotion that really brings the story to life.
06:04 I talk to my students all the time and I say we all, we tell stories all the time and when we do that, we have evolving points of view that happen throughout the story, right From maybe the beginning of your sentence starts in one point of view and then it ends up in another because, oh my God, you're not going to believe what I did last night and let me tell you.
06:25 And so, in reality, like you can be excited, you're not going to believe what I did last night and let me tell you. And so, in reality, like you can be excited, you can be exaggerated and then mysterious, and then like, well, first of all, this unfortunate thing happened, but then, oh my gosh, right. And so your emotion is evolving as you tell the story and I feel like that can be in your voice, and it allows your voice to have many different textures and many different sounds that are very much authentic and not character-y, that's right and the truth is is like when we're in a conversation, whatever that conversation is, it would be the last thing that comes to our mind Oftentimes what we sound like or what we look like Because we're thinking of other things.
07:02 - Lau Lapides (Guest) We're connecting to the person. We're thinking of where we're going. Next we're talking of other things. We're connecting to the person. We're thinking of where we're going. Next, we're talking about our cat. We're doing whatever we're doing, but we stop the action, we stop the authentic doing. When we go into process and start looking at critiquing, criticizing, ripping apart whatever action verbs you want to use, when we look at ourselves and listen to ourselves, that's when we break the chain of the actual connection. So if a casting director says to you after an audition disconnected, you aren't connected that means you were in your head, you were thinking about lines, copy, or what you sound like or the mechanics right, like you're not at that last final destination yet You're not with me, yet You're not in the room with me, you're inside of yourself, and so that, to me, is a quick indication.
07:51 If you're saying what did that sound like? Did I sound real? I already know you didn't sound real. You didn't sound real because we wouldn't be thinking about sounding real. We would be thinking about persuading that person to get the prescription medication that they really need so that they don't die. Right, we're not thinking about did I sound authentic?
08:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) talking to them about the medication.
08:13 And I think a lot of it is. When we get those words in front of us. That's what throws everybody off right, because all our lives we've been trained to read out loud, right, to read out loud. I say that three times again read out loud, which is nothing like acting, right, reading out loud is nothing like acting. And so I have so many people are like but I don't understand, like, how do I connect to it? I would never say that.
08:35 And again, that is our job is to make those words sound believable and create the scenes in which those words would come out of our mouths in a believable and authentic way. And so you have to stop looking at the words as if they are words. There has to be so much more beyond those words on the page Right, and I think a lot of times I emphasize what's almost more important is it's easy to figure out who you are if you're just you, right, you're you. You're representing a company, you're trying to convince somebody that this is a great product or whatever it is you're trying to do, but really thinking about the person you're talking to. Like, have empathy. I say this so many times is that empathy is like number one rule, I think, for being really engaging and understanding who it is that you're talking and being able to connect with them, because having empathy and understanding what are their pain points, how is it that your product is going to help them? Is going to really, I think, help you to tell that story or be more authentic sounding.
09:32 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yes, no question about it, and you and I have that sensitivity about the word read. Read is kind of like it's not in our realm to read. We don't read for a living. We read scripts. We have to read scripts. Not in our realm to read, we don't read for a living. We read scripts. We have to read scripts.
09:46 Yes, the brain process is the reading of it, first for comprehension's sake, yes, and then, once you're comprehending what is being done, you're processing it. You don't want to go into auditions and you don't want to go into recording sessions. Processing it, that's before. And then, as you process it, you get to your interpretation. Then now we're talking, now we're talking, then you want your interpretation to start, come out into your delivery. So, allowing that time, allowing the brainpower to happen, allowing that, to say my reading is at the beginning of the process. It is not when I'm auditioning or when I'm working on a gig. I'm not reading. In fact, I should even know the copy is the truth. Really, great actors who are doing voiceover copy half of them are not even reading it. They're just already interpreting it and memorizing it because they're actors for on camera, so they're taught to memorize.
10:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and memorization is helpful if you've got a short script. However, a lot of the genres that I deal with it's not a short script and it's not practical necessarily to memorize. However, I will say that you're doing something similar. Not necessarily you're not memorizing, but you're reading far enough ahead, right, so that you understand where did the story go. Right, Because you got to know where the story ends up, so that you can like formulate how it begins. It's like you can't tell a good story unless you know that story, and so you can't evolve a point of view unless you know, like, where you're going with it. Really, you can discover it along the way if you have really well-written script. Really you can discover it along the way if you have really well-written script, right, or if you have easy-to-understand script.
11:20 And I'll tell you a lot of times, in commercial copy or corporate narration copy or e-learning copy, it's not the easiest script. A lot of times it's not a dialogue between two people, which I think is the easiest to understand. Right, and to be the most comfortable with sounding like you're talking to someone is if you're actually reading copy that's written that people are talking to someone. When you have copy that's written in any other kind of format like second or third person, then it becomes a whole different story. How are you making that sound like you're actually talking to someone? Because it's not written in a dialogue format. And so that's where I think the disconnect comes for a lot of people, when they don't know where they are in the scene and they don't know who they're really talking to. They haven't thought about it or researched it or analyzed it. They then just read the words and then it becomes very neutral.
12:08 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It becomes neutralized, and that's fascinating. In your daily conversations too, I think you'll notice that people stop speaking when they're processing information, and a lot of times I'll have people. My husband says this to me all the time. He said stop bulleting thoughts at me, I'm still processing what you said earlier. I can't. I can't interpret what you're doing right now. It's too fast for me, so would you say stop bullying.
12:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Did he say stop bullying?
12:31 - Lau Lapides (Guest) your points at me no bulleting, bulleting, Like shooting it at me, like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, that kind of thing. But in the daily conversation of many people you're actually not processing quite as fast, especially new information or technical information.
12:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And so it would be unfair.
12:49 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It would be unfair to say, well, give me emotion about it, give me a feeling about it, which I do to him all the time. Tell me how you feel. He said I don't know how I feel, I'm still processing it. So that's the lesson of the day. Is like. That makes sense. If you're not emoting authentic feeling, it's because you're still processing it and you've got to do that first. You've got to get through that first. That is not the end, though.
13:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's not the outcome. The top layer is your emotion, is your point of view. That is what brings your unique perspective and your unique read and what casting directors are looking for, usually all of the time right, they're looking for that All of the time.
13:25 Bring you to the copy. What does that really mean? Well, that means bring a point of view to that copy, and bring a point of view that makes sense. I mean, obviously, if you're championing a product, you want to make sure you're championing a product and you're not like angry or miserable about it unless the dialogue calls for it. So you need to get to that last layer, which is that evolving point of view, which makes the connection and really allows people to also comprehend what you're saying easier.
13:53 Because if you're neutral, if your point of view is just like hi, I'm going to read the words really nicely and very consistently and I'm not really going to put any sort of emotion on it, and I'm going to do this for the next two minutes, right, and I sound like a voiceover artist, right, but in reality you haven't told the story, you haven't allowed anyone to hear that and then process it. You haven't helped them in their comprehension, typically like as you and I are talking today. Right, I'm like well, I don't go. Well, we've got this right, I don't go well, we've got this Annie that sounds excellent to me.
14:31 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Yes, yes, it does.
14:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it helps really people to hear and comprehend and understand what you're saying so much better than a simple like run-of-the-mill, medium, neutral kind of a read which most people seem to do on long-format narration copy. They tend to think it's like a documentary, but in reality, the focus of you, if you're actually doing a documentary and I always tell people like what's the difference, it's written like a documentary. Why should I not sound like a documentary? Well, typically with a documentary and those of you that love documentaries, such as myself, you're watching a video which completes a story. For you, there's a visual right and there's also music maybe, which also helps in the story right.
15:10 Your voice is simply supporting the documentary. So you need to just be able to tell the story, no matter what the media is underneath you, and the best kind of story to tell is one that's real and authentic. And that's why I think so many casting directors and correct me if you think I'm wrong, but I think so many people ask for that real read, because you can put any kind of music under a real read. You can put any kind of video under a real read and it will work. You can put any kind of video under a real read and it will work. You put something really dramatic and if somebody's like hey, this is the story and I'm going to tell it to you, like it really is Right, you can put dramatic music behind that, you could put dramatic visuals and it works. And you can also put something that's very soft and not dramatic and that storyline still works.
15:50 But if you're dramatic and you're fighting with other dramatic elements of a production that doesn't always work.
15:56 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Nope, doesn't always work. Doesn't always work. That's a good little formula to think about. And then I want to take a couple steps back and say, okay, here we go to the tough stuff. And that is before you even do anything meaning reading, prospect, audition or copy how do you feel about yourself? How do you feel? Ooh, we're getting deep. How?
16:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) do you feel about yourself?
16:16 - Lau Lapides (Guest) How do you feel we're getting deep? How do you feel about what you have to say, how you say it, how you feel about it, how you feel in your life, because that is also going to be transmitted as well through all of this. You lack confidence, you lack self-esteem, you lack your know-how about who you are as a person. The more you're going to be freaking out about the work that you're doing, you're just always going to feel like you're never bringing it. You're never bringing it to the table and you're going to start to become super biased and super, super, highly critical about yourself, where you can no longer trust your self-direction.
16:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, I hear that a lot from some students that come into the industry and they try to sound a particular way, right, and they think do I have what it takes? I get that question probably on a daily basis, right, do I have what it takes? Well, do you have what it takes to be brave enough to bring you yourself to the party?
17:11 - Intro (Announcement) right.
17:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And if you do, if you have the courage to do that right. There's a lot of people that don't have the courage and they hide behind that voice, they hide behind that persona. That is hi, I'm the voiceover voice and that is almost like a. It's almost like a false confidence, right?
17:26 lau or it's like oh, it's a mask I'm sounding it's a mask, it's a mask which is how interesting I always say a lot of character actors are very confident, right, and it's always really like when we listen to character acting, it's easy to become more emotional, right, because we are a character, it's a dialogue and we can formulate those emotions. They're kind of written into the copy for us. But when we're talking about some other type of copy, which may not be obvious, right, may not be, you know, a commercial, oh, I don't want to sound too selly, right, that's what I know about being selly, right, be a real person, don't sound announcer-y. Well then, that's my emotional like. I guess starting point, right, but in reality you've got to do more work to figure out that story, to figure out where your emotion lies. If all you know is that you can't be announcer-y and you can't sell and you need to sound, you're talking to your best friend. You need more work than that. You need to do more work than that to tell the story, right, lau.
18:23 - Lau Lapides (Guest) No doubt about it. Okay, so that's the honesty that you need, and sometimes you don't possess it. So that's where we always say circle yourself with great people to help you figure out what your most authentic you. And delivery is and connection is, because sometimes we don't see it, we don't know what it is, we don't know how to reach it We've never heard it and it takes years sometimes to get to, and that's OK.
18:48 Have patience, but you really do, as you said, have to have the courage, the bravery, to say I need to feel something about this, I need to care about something, I need to connect with who I'm talking to, because I was just working with a client yesterday, coaching, and they were literally what was it about? Oh, it was an adult acne product. It was like an infomercial type thing and this talent is so talented, it's like so gifted, so wonderful, was not connecting in any way. And I turned that into her sister having adult acne and, surely enough, the onion peeled. And then all of a sudden it came to her after almost an hour. She said I think I'm just going to talk to her because she really does have this problem actually and it really does bother her.
19:32 And I'm like you have to think about what's at stake for the people or person that you're talking or discussing with. Anytime you're going to sit down and have coffee or go to your diner and have breakfast. You're going to talk about a lot of stuff with your people and there's always something at stake. What's at stake? Are you talking?
19:50 - Intro (Announcement) about politics?
19:51 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Are you talking about religion? Are you talking about sexuality? Are you talking about finances? High stakes on all of those. High stakes on all of those. Your kids going to school high stakes on all of those. So why would we not think about that and connect with all the scripts that become in front of us Because there's stakes to those scripts, right, Absolutely.
20:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love the way that you phrase that that there's stakes to that. There is. There's a reason why the words are there in front of you and you have to discover there is. There's a reason why the words are there in front of you and you have to discover really what those stakes are Like. Why, why are you talking? Purpose is so important, really. I mean, purpose is so important. If you don't understand the purpose of why you're saying something, it's kind of like, well, let me just gloss over the words, then it drives us, it's our lives.
20:35 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It's like that's why so many actors will say who are career actors? They'll say what else would you have liked to do? They say I don't know. I do what I have to do, I do what I love to do and I do what I need to do. So there is the authenticity. It's not I'm doing this because I want to sound a certain way.
20:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm doing this because I want to look a certain way Right.
20:58 - Lau Lapides (Guest) We don't want a doctor that looks good and sounds good, we want a doctor that can help us with our health.
21:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you know, I like that analogy because we don't want a doctor to look or sound good Like. When I go to a doctor and I connect with a doctor, I want him to help me, I need him to cure me, right, and that is the underlying reason as to why I'm listening to him in the first place, right, and if he's not addressing my needs, if he is all concerned about how he looks and or how he sounds when he's telling me about it, I'm not going back to that doctor. And so guess what? That's why we need that in advertising. We need you to be able to connect with that potential client when you're talking about that product, because there is, there are high stakes I love how you put that. There are stakes and what are they and understand your purpose for telling somebody about this product or talking about this product, or communicating with someone and empathizing, right, empathizing yes, I know that you're upset that you have. You know what I mean. Adulterated acne is not fun. I had it.
21:54 It was just like shouldn't I have been over this by now? You know, I mean it is just a thing.
21:59 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It's devastating actually, and acne of all ages is devastating to the people who are experiencing it. It's stigmatizing, it's all of those things. So it's like when you think for a moment of what that's like to go through, that will help you connect in a really personalized way. I think personalization is a part of it too. Personalization is a part of it too. So even if it's a business read of some kind or maybe it's a how-to, like how do I organize my closet, there's a personalization about that, like how do I go through the process, how do I feel about it, what does it do for me? And it's a truly deeply psychological process. We see that in all the shows, from hoarders to organizing to everything.
22:38 We have a lot of emotion, a lot of memories, a lot of psychology in our closet as an example, right. So there is almost nothing that I can think of that doesn't have high stakes to it for someone who is involved with it. It may not for me, but it will for someone else.
22:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I want to reiterate that that applies across the board, really for any script. It applies for medical narration, it applies for corporate narration. Again, people have such misguided thoughts about what is corporate narration or what is medical narration. Well, I'm just going to deliver the information articulately and clearly and teach somebody. In reality. No, there are stakes. Companies have products to help people to solve a problem and you've got to understand what that is.
23:23 Medical narration is all about either education or you're selling to solve a problem, that somebody needs to come to the hospital because you have the latest technology to help with their recent cancer diagnosis. You know that's high stakes. You're educating young doctors about the process of electrocardiograms because you may save a life right. There's high stakes to all of that and in getting to understand the purpose and what those stakes are is going to be what helps you connect and what helps you be the better reader, even if you've never heard it that way before. You're not coming to myself or Lau to be coached to give a pretty read. You can do that all on your own and, as a matter of fact, I don't want you if that's. All you want to do is a pretty read.
24:07 - Lau Lapides (Guest) No, I don't want it either. It's not authentic?
24:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, it's not authentic and that's not what I can help you with the most, because you don't need me. I'm not going to have you give. Give me your money for that. Give me your money if you want to really sound connected and really understand how to evaluate your scripts and analyze your scripts and understand those stakes and then bring that script meaningfully to your audience Right and, if a talent says well, I don't know much about this industry or I don't know if I feel anything about it.
24:35 - Lau Lapides (Guest) I'd say two things to that. I'd say three things to that. Number one you can train with us and become an actor, and an actor should be able to connect to every world in the world. And number two if you don't think you can connect, go to a big building downtown in the area you live in and just walk in the lobby. Don't look scary or creepy, just walk in the lobby and just like, have a cup of coffee in your hand and sit in the lobby and watch the people, listen to them. How do they feel?
25:13 How do they dress? Are they moving fast? Are they on their cell phones? Are things busy for them? Are they moving and shaking? Try to capture that as you're looking at your script, because that's the organization, that's the industry, that's the thing you're talking about and the people you're connecting either to or you are posing as right. Do that little bit of work. I know Johnny Depp did that for years and years as an actor.
25:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) He would physically like go live in the culture and you couldn't talk to him for like a month until he figured it out right and, in addition to that, go ahead and research the product, Research the company, Sign up for their mailing list. You're going to find out a lot. Go to their YouTube channel or just talk to someone.
25:56 - Lau Lapides (Guest) How about talk to someone. Annie, just talk to someone and say hey, I'm not a solicitor and I don't want to freak you out. Can I talk to you for five minutes? Because I'm an actor actually and I might be hired by this organization and I kind of just want to hear what your life is like when you work in the office in the day.
26:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How do you feel about this company? How do you feel about?
26:12 - Lau Lapides (Guest) the product that you offer. That's going the extra mile. Why not?
26:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I guarantee you you might have somebody who would actually enjoy talking about it.
26:20 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Oh my God, They'd be excited. They'd say how do I know you?
26:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But yeah, especially if you say look, I'm not here to freak you out, I just I'm an actor and I might be hired. So I just I'm curious to get your opinion. What is life like at this company? Are you stressed? I mean, do you love the product?
26:43 - Lau Lapides (Guest) Do product. What can you share with me? That's a good idea. I like that. Isn't that a great idea? By the way, annie, we just did one on podcasts, and when you're talking about self-promotion, you're talking about self-producing, you're talking about becoming a business Like why not be the guy or gal on the street that does a one-minute interview with someone who's on the street coming out from the building, right? Some of our biggest podcasts and some of our biggest programs were built out of kids that said hey, I want to talk to entrepreneurs, let's go around and let's just drive around, let's just talk to them and put the best ones on.
27:09 Oh, we love that stuff, we love that stuff, right?
27:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yep, in business, people love to talk about them. They do, they do. For the most part, they love to talk about themselves, right, especially if you make them feel important and guess what? Guess what our entire job is as voice actors, right.
27:23 - Lau Lapides (Guest) They love it.
27:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) To make our potential clients or whoever it is we're talking to right about that product, to make them feel important. It's all about them. It's not about us or how pretty we sound when we talk about it. It's about them and how we're going to help them be better, look better, make more money, do all the things and make them the richest, most popular adults. I mean honestly, if you think about it, it's all about them. That's why we listen.
27:44 When we put our attention towards anything, it's kind of egocentrical. It's like what do I need? What am I going to get out of this? Am I going to learn something? Is this going to give me a sale on a product that I've been looking to buy, or is it going to give me information about the product that I've been meaning to find out what's in it for me? Yeah Right, what's in it for me? And so you need to, as the voice actor representing you need to tell them, like, here's what's in it for you. I'm here to help. I'm here to deliver this information to help you. I'm not here to sound good, necessarily Well, maybe I will sound great while I do it, but I'm more sincere about wanting to help you.
28:16 - Lau Lapides (Guest) So we just gave like a ton of tips about how you can actually sound authentic, and that is to live the authentic. And I like to say too go to lunch, go to dinner, go to coffee, go to tea. It's not about spending money, it's about going to places where you can sit with people and really talk to them. Talk with them and to them and about them, with them and to them and about them. And that's how you learn. How to talk authentically is to really be in conversation with people that you're fascinated by, you're interested in, or you want to help, or you want them to help you right.
28:50 We're not just the end-all, be-all helpers. We get a lot of help from them as well, so we get a lot of information from them that is very usable for us.
28:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love how this conversation went. I mean, it's just really brought up some really great new ideas for you know, you guys, and how you can really continue to develop as an actor and continue developing your authenticity and making those words really come alive.
29:14 - Lau Lapides (Guest) It's a conversation about conversation.
29:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go, all right. Well, I'm going to have a conversation about my sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and communicate like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week, lau. Thank you so much, and we'll see you guys next week. Bye, see you next week.
29:36 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Val Kelly, the brains behind the Mid-Atlantic VoiceOver Conference, joins Anne Ganguzza in a special BOSS preview of MAVO. The BOSSES discuss Val's journey into voiceover, the challenges and lessons learned from organizing the conference, and the evolution of MAVO over the years. Her passion for the craft is evident as she discusses creating her own company to champion voice actors, offering a fascinating glimpse into the challenges and rewards of hosting a successful conference. The BOSSES shares insights on adapting to online events, the importance of providing educational resources for voice actors, and the exciting lineup of speakers and sessions planned for the upcoming conference. With a diverse lineup of guests, this year’s conference is a great event for anyone looking to elevate their skills and overcome the industry's evolving challenges. VO BOSSES can save $75 by using the code VOBOSS at checkout when purchasing your MAVO tickets
00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza here. Are you ready to take the next step in your voiceover career? At Anne Ganguzza Productions, I specialize in target marketing, coaching and demo production. That gets you booked. If you're thinking about elevating your performance or creating an awesome demo, check me out at anneganguzza.com.
00:24 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited and happy to be here with a very special guest voice actor and owner, president and very boss CEO of the Mid-Atlantic VoiceOver Conference, Val Kelly. Yay, hey, hi, val, it's so wonderful to have you here today.
01:08 - Val Kelly (Guest) Oh, thanks so much for having me on your show. I really appreciate it.
01:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and I'll tell you what I am so excited to talk to you today. Number one, first of all. So what does it take to be boss and CEO, not only just being a voice actor I know a lot of people that listen to the Boss podcast for us to be successful voice actors, but you're also an educator, which I love, and also to run a conference. Now my husband I'll just say my husband works, he's an event manager for multiple companies for many years and I know what it takes to run an event and it's no small task. So I'm excited to talk to you about yourself and what it took for you to become such a CEO of such a great event, and I'm excited. I'm going to let you talk, I swear I'm excited because it's my first year presenting with Amevo. So I'm very excited to do that this year and I'm already planning my wardrobe.
02:03 - Val Kelly (Guest) Oh my gosh, same same.
02:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right, what am I going to wear? So I'm very excited how many outfit switches.
02:09 - Val Kelly (Guest) Am I going to have Right?
02:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) exactly what are my costume changes. So let's first talk about you and how you got started in voiceover, because I know that you still are teaching, correct, yeah?
02:23 - Val Kelly (Guest) So I'm doing a little bit of everything. Yeah, nothing wrong with that, I'll tell you are teaching, correct?
02:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, so I'm doing a little bit of everything. Yeah, Nothing wrong with that. I'll tell you Nothing wrong with that, and especially if you're teaching, because that's just near and dear to my heart.
02:33 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah, absolutely. So I got started in voiceover in. About 1999 was when I first kind of stuck my foot in it a little bit and I didn't really know what I was doing of course, because back then there were only a handful of people that were really booking work. So basically, I just took a class and you know they were like oh, you have a lot of talent. Of course, like that's. You know, the typical thing when you take a class. They're like, oh, you should definitely do this with your life, you know.
03:06 And you're like, oh great, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks for telling me what I wanted to hear. And then I took a class with these people for six weeks and then I recorded my first demo after six weeks, which was totally crazy. I had no idea what I was doing and it was a commercial demo, so I also really just had no concept of the technique or anything about what I was supposed to be doing.
03:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And probably even the industry, right? I mean being educators. Right, we know Like six weeks is really nothing. It may not have been every day for six weeks. Right that you were training. You were probably training once a week yeah.
03:40 - Val Kelly (Guest) No, it was like once a week yeah exactly Exactly.
03:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, being educators, we know it takes a while to acquire skills.
03:57 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah for sure. But I mean fast forward to basically 2011, when I just had my second daughter and I never stopped thinking about voiceover and I just said to my husband you know, I really want to get back into this, like I feel like I have a lot of talent to offer to this industry and I just really want to try and make something of it. You know, not give up teaching because I had been teaching French for such a long time and that's a big part of who I am as a person.
04:19 But I wanted to add this creative side that I have. I wanted to offer that as well. So I started training with a studio in New York and then just kept training with them for a couple of years with multiple coaches and things like that, and then it was probably 2010. 12 or 13 that I went to Voice Over Atlanta for the first time and I met so many people I think that's actually the first time that I met you and I was just so impressed by that whole event and everything like that, and so that really opened a lot of doors for me in the Voice Over world. I started booking more stuff after I went to that event and then a few more years passed and I just thought there's something here, like in this mid-Atlantic region, that's missing, you know, and I want to give back to the community in a way that's going to be helpful for other voice actors.
05:16 So I was flying to France actually on a trip, and I said to my best friend on the flight I was like what if I started my own company? And he's like, okay, he's like maybe you should get some best friend on the flight. I was like what if I started my own company? And he's like okay, he's like maybe you should get some more sleep on this flight. And I was like, no, but seriously. And he's like, oh, can we talk about this when we get to France? So the whole trip I was, you know, working and everything like that. It was for work, but I was also thinking, like, you know, I have a lot of ideas, like maybe I could really pull this together. So in 2014, I started Minute Landing VoiceOver and it was a real eye-opener, that first event with 28 people showed up for it.
05:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) you know Was your initial idea with your company? Was it to do specifically just the event, or was it just to start a company of your own to do voiceover? And it evolved.
06:06 - Val Kelly (Guest) I think my idea was to do this event but also to see where else I could take it you know what else could be offered through this company and then also to like expand it and kind of umbrella my own voiceover work underneath it, which ultimately it's separate from who I am as a voice actor. But that was something I kind of had to figure out a little bit later. But the first event was really great, even though it was tiny. It was absolutely tiny and I just I remember like calling you up and being like and what am I going to do? Like there's only 20 people signed up for my event, and you're like okay, val, okay, okay, let's send some email blasts.
06:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I mean honestly, I think sometimes smaller is better. I have been at VO Atlanta since pretty much gosh every year, except for the first year, and there's something to be said. That's a big event and it got even bigger. But there's really something to be said for a small, intimate event and people can be overwhelmed by going to an event that is so large, especially those people starting out in the industry. So I think that your conference really serves a niche where it can make people feel more comfortable. It can be a first conference or it could be a 10th conference for them. There are just lots of people who feel comfortable in a smaller conference, a smaller environment. They feel that they get much more out of it. And so, yeah, with that first year being smaller, what did you learn?
07:28 I guess my question would be is and having organized my own smaller events not huge events, but, and also having a husband who works in the event industry, I know how much work it takes, especially when you want it to be a great conference and you want people to get something out of it. It's a lot of work behind the scenes that a lot of people don't see. What they see is a ticket price. And they say, oh, all they do is multiply that ticket price by the amount of attendees. And they say, well, you're making a ton of money. I mean, I don't understand, why is it so expensive? And I'm thinking to myself, oh my gosh, there are so many, so many things.
08:00 So let's talk about the evolution of this conference and things that you learned along the way. And had you planned an event before? I mean, did you love planning an event? Was it your first time? I mean, I liked planning my wedding and I thought, oh, I could do event planning. And then I'm like, well, you know what, it does take an awful lot of time. So what was going through your head when you're like, oh, it was fun to manage event, this is my first event. Was it your fifth event?
08:26 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah, that was my first, I mean, as you said, planning a wedding, which I did plan, my own wedding and that was a big. I loved it, it was great and I was very, very good at planning my wedding which I felt like was a good preparation for the first event, you know, I said to my husband I was like it's like planning a wedding every single year, except no one ever gets married. You know. And he was like yeah, okay.
08:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Except you to the event. You get married to your event. Yeah, yeah.
08:56 - Val Kelly (Guest) So yeah, I mean, I learned so much after that first year. I just learned so much about the business side of everything that I didn't know. You know, that was one thing. I wish that I had had more business training before I decided to start, because I had to learn everything. I mean, I had my friend help me figure out how to build a website. And that took. I mean just the countless hours of work that go into just trying to do everything yourself because you're starting out and you can't afford to hire anyone.
09:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, right.
09:30 - Val Kelly (Guest) And so those are the biggest lessons I've learned, I would say from the beginning until now is just every year I learn something new about the business and how to manage the money side of things. And you know, like you said, people look at the price and they go oh, she's making a billion dollars.
09:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's like actually actually no.
09:51 - Val Kelly (Guest) Actually no because I have to pay for the venue, I have to pay for all the guest speakers, I have to pay for the marketing and all the stuff that goes into it.
09:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And.
09:59 - Val Kelly (Guest) I do a lot of it myself, just simply for the fact that I am a small company. It's a boutique you know sized company and we kind of evolved into that whole boutique world where I had this idea Maybe this happened about five years ago where I said someone said to me, why don't you call it a boutique event?
10:19 And I was like, oh, that's cute you know, and that's how the whole thing kind of started and I was like, oh, that's cute, you know, and that's how the whole thing kind of started. And then I took it and really had to explain to people what does that even mean, you know? And just being a French teacher, it's like, well, when you think of a boutique, what do you think of? You think of like a high-end, smaller place where you're going shopping and you're buying super high-quality items and everything is planned down to to like every tiny detail you know, and that's kind of what I wanted to transfer to my event without being snobby about it, obviously, like you know.
10:54 So that's kind of how I delivered that message to people is just like think of it as a high-end boutique. You know you're coming in.
11:01 I'm hiring only the top tier talents that are in the industry, people that are not appearing at every single event every year because I want to offer something different, and once we had that, we kind of ran with in the conference as far as the number of people and just the organizational part of it and just understanding how things work. And then after that, 2018 was really great too. We skipped to 2017. And then in 2020, covid hit. So then we had to go from being what was supposed to be in-person event, switching it to an online event at the last minute, and that was totally crazy.
11:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It was so nuts, I'm sure that was a whole new learning curve for you, because online events are so much different than in-person events and, plus, I don't know if you had already like secured a venue. At that point I mean because typically the planning for events like this it runs all year. That point I mean because typically the planning for events like this, it runs all year. Right, I mean, you're planning for this event, you're planning the next year before the one is even done, basically.
12:12 - Val Kelly (Guest) So when we had to take it online, luckily because it was COVID and out of your control type of scenario I was able to figure it out in enough time to say to the venue we're canceling. And then I took it to a virtual studio in Baltimore and I had someone do like the live streaming for me because. I had no idea what I was doing.
12:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I can vouch for that because myself doing mostly I mean after 2015, I stopped doing in-person events at my home and I started doing everything online and that live streaming. Back in the day, it hadn't really evolved or developed, and so there were lots of live streaming technologies that were just coming out, and so I literally yeah, I had to learn it myself, and then I also hired somebody to help me live stream it, and then I also wanted to do a hybrid event. So it was crazy having people at my house plus live streaming it online, and so that alone and especially if you want it to be a quality event right, that live stream you have to have good cameras, you have to have the ability for people to be able to switch between people that are presenting to the audience and just to make it engaging. Otherwise, one of the biggest complaints about COVID right and online teaching I'm sure you taught online as well was the fact that it was hard to engage, and I know that even today, people like they're fatigued by Zoom.
13:37 I still love it because I feel like Zoom filled a void for, let's say, just people that couldn't physically be together. I mean it was the next best thing. However, when you're trying to educate over an online platform, it really does become difficult or harder to engage people, and so running an online event you've got to be that much more paying attention to detail so that you can put on a great online event, and that is not a cheap thing to do either. To hire somebody for the cameras and that knows the technical backend to do the live streaming, to make the recordings right, you probably offer the recordings to be available for people who couldn't attend every session, and all that backend work on the website is crazy. It's crazy.
14:22 So I have a lot of respect for the fact that you were able to turn that around. And so, what year is it this year for Mavo? How many years has it been that you've been running?
14:31 - Val Kelly (Guest) So we've been in business since 2014. So, this is 10 years in business and it's actually our ninth conference this year, wow.
14:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So there's a lot to be said for that as well, for the longevity of it. I mean the fact that you know you didn't give up after the first year and you weren't frustrated, right, because it's tough, I mean, and you learn as you go. So you must have a passion for this conference and a passion for putting together something great, educationally resourceful for the community, which I, as a teacher with a teacher heart, I can totally appreciate and respect. That because it's one of the reasons why I started the VO Boss podcast. It's one of the reasons why I did the VO Peeps networking groups, because I wanted to be able to provide a resource. And I believe that that's where your heart is in terms of wanting to provide a resource for the community.
15:18 Because I know it's not about the money and I always try to strive to remind people that venue costs are not cheap. I mean my gosh especially when you're talking about wanting to host someplace. Decent rentals of ballrooms and just sites are so expensive it's along the lines of like tens of thousands of dollars, I would imagine to do that and especially when you're doing it over multiple days and then you're trying to provide reasonably priced rooms for people, and especially when you're keeping it on a smaller scale. It must be harder to find a venue that wants to work on a smaller scale with you. Is that correct? Or they get more expensive.
16:00 - Val Kelly (Guest) I think it's not so much the venue that is not willing to work with you on a smaller scale, it's just the difficult balance, I think is, if you're saying, okay, we're only going to have 120 to 150 people, well, the venue isn't going to lower its price because of how many people you have, because they its price because of how many people you have, because they don't actually care how many people you have.
16:24 What you end up paying for is the meals that you provide. So that's where the big, big expense comes in with any type of food that you offer, because it's based on how many people, and so it's really a difficult challenge of saying like, okay, if we're going to keep it this small, then we actually have to raise the price, so that I can cover all of my costs and at first people were like whoa, what the heck.
16:50 And I was like guys, like you have to understand, like if you want me to hire good people to come in, like great people to come in and speak at this event, they won't do it for free and nor would I want them to, you know. So it's like that's the biggest. Biggest expense beyond the venue is the guest speakers.
17:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know Sure sure, I know how hard it is to sell to this industry because I mean, I sell events myself, I sell coaching services and demos, and so you're selling to an industry where I think we all wish we had more money to spend.
17:23 I mean, I think that's just human nature, I wish we had more money to spend. But especially when you're talking about a creative industry where it is their own business, they're all their own CEOs, they're all entrepreneurs and everybody's kind of just as they go learning the ropes of the business, of it all, it astounds me how much people are willing to spend for, let's say, performance classes, but yet business classes, which I think is imperative for us as voice actors and businesses to be able to make a profit right in order to support, support your habit, support your business, to pay the mortgage, to feed the family, that kind of thing. And so business skills are essential. And I know that your conference in the beginning it was very much geared towards, I would say, more animation and character, but you've evolved it now, especially because I'm involved, you've evolved it to really include many more genres. So let's talk a little bit about what you're offering this year and maybe last year, what you've done to kind of broaden the offerings of the conference.
18:31 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah, I mean, I think what we had to do was really gauge over the years what the level of interest was with. You know, everybody loves a good animation guest speaker because they're so interesting and everybody wants to work for well, maybe not everybody wants to work for Disney Channel but you know you know, and so that's kind of always where my creative mind went and like where do my interests lie?
18:58 a little bit selfishly, but not really, because it's like I know a lot of people are also interested in that. So I would always try to go with a keynote that was somehow involved with animation, just so.
19:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's a big seller. I know that, even A big seller. Yeah, it's a big seller.
19:15 - Val Kelly (Guest) So then last year we had Serena Irwin who is a casting director and she casts freelance for a lot of different studios and has been on Spongebob and she's amazing like, and I really tried to find somebody that was kind of off the grid a little bit for last year because I wanted to find a less mainstream type of person kind of, I guess I would say. And so it was really successful to have somebody who is a casting director, because getting that viewpoint for people like in the animation world, what are you actually looking for? You?
19:52 know, so for me that was very interesting, for a lot of people was very interesting. And then there have been certain years when we've offered a lot of you know know audio book stuff and it's not to say that we're not ever going to offer audio book guest speakers again. But I felt like for this year I wanted to kind of go in a different direction completely and I feel like having Tim Friedlander as the keynote is such an important thing because Tim is doing such amazing work for NAVA and the National.
20:23 Association of Voice Actors and I just have so much respect for him as a person and as an actor that I just felt like it was like the natural. That's what my creative mind was telling me to go in that direction for this year.
20:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's very relevant to the times in our industry. He's done a lot of work with NAava, along with Karin and the board, and they've done a lot of really wonderful work and so they're going to bring a lot of value, I believe, to your conference, absolutely. So let's talk about who else you have this year that might be different besides me, I mean, but we'll talk about me in a minute. I mean, we can talk about you.
20:58 Well, I'm just super excited to kind of bring what I consider my specialties all of the genres, the long format narration, all the stuff that I think right now is really it's important to be an actor, no matter what genre we're talking, whether it's animation, whether it's promo. I mean it's important to be an actor, and even more so now, with all of the synthetic voice, the AI stuff that's out there. It's more important than ever that we hone our skills as actors, and so I want to bring that aspect to the conference to help attendees that are looking to really up their game in the narration, which is a large part of the non-broadcast market out there, and so I'm happy to be there doing. Do you call it a breakout session or a session?
21:45 - Val Kelly (Guest) A mastery session.
21:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) A mastery session.
21:47 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah, the three-hour sessions are mastery ones and I'm so excited about especially about your e-learning one, because that's a genre for me that I've always wanted to explore and I haven't enough, and you should.
22:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you should because you're a teacher.
22:03 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah, it seems like a natural thing to kind of dive into that world a little bit. So I'm very excited, I'm very honored to have you this year and I think it's going to be really great. It's been a long time coming to actually be able to invite you and everything like that, and so I'm very very excited.
22:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, so I'm going to be doing two mastery sessions one on acting for narration, and that's all types of narration corporate, medical, all of the geeky narrations explainer and then also the other aspect of the narration genres, which would be e-learning or training. So I'm very excited to have one of each of those to address all those topics. And so, guys, in order to do this, you need to sign up for MAVO, and so hopefully you'll sign up and then you'll look for my mastery classes, but you've got a lot of amazing offerings this year for MAVO, so you want to talk about who else you have for mastery sessions.
23:02 - Val Kelly (Guest) I mean, we have so many great people on board. I'll just highlight a few of them because there's just so many. But Jessica Blue is coming and she's doing some sessions on dubbing live action dubbing and I'm so excited about that because I've never had the chance to meet her in person and we've never offered sessions on dubbing before at Mavo.
23:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's great.
23:22 - Val Kelly (Guest) So it's something brand new and very exciting for people. So she's amazing, so that will be really great. Ever Oliver is coming and offering a special teen program on Saturday only of the event, so that's for teens from ages 13 to 17.
23:37 Great and he's doing like animation, video game and commercial voice acting with them, so it'll be a great opportunity for kids to experience working with Everett, which is amazing and so much fun. Also, luanne Regis is coming and she's a casting director and she used to be a talent agent, and so she's going to be offering some great sessions at the conference as well. Just giving her from a casting director's perspective of what are we really looking for and I think that's what everybody really wants to know- is like what do I?
24:12 need to do to actually book this. And then, also really exciting, we have Daniel Ross, who is Donald Duck. He's an Emmy Award winning actor and it's so exciting to have him offering a mastery session on animation and making bold choices, which is so, so important in the character world of trying to book those roles when you have so much competition with everybody trying to also audition for them.
24:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, yeah, I mean, there's so many people.
24:43 - Val Kelly (Guest) It's a long list.
24:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So how can bosses sign up for MAVO this year? Where do they go? What's the website? All that stuff.
24:52 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah, so wwwmidatlanticvocom, and they're going to click on MAVO events at the top tab and it will bring up all the events that we have going on. We have some like happy hours that go on virtually beforehand, so it 'll mostly be like every other week from now until the actual conference takes place and people can come to those happy hours online for free or they can like make a donation to Mabo if they want to. That's always an option like just to help support the company, but they can also certainly come for free and we're happy to have everybody there to just like network and chat. But yeah, everything is on the website the schedule and all about all the guest speakers and yeah, Fantastic, and you're going to be offering a special discount just for bosses.
25:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) For boss listeners out there, talk a little bit about that and how they can achieve that discount.
25:49 - Val Kelly (Guest) Yeah. So for the VO boss listeners, we're going to offer a $75 discount and you can just go to the website and click on Get Tickets and when you go to checkout you're going to just enter the code VOBOSS and it will take that $75 off for you on full weekend tickets.
26:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Awesome, that is so helpful, and guys don't forget to sign up for my mastery sessions and I'm also doing is it an hour long session too, which is for everybody at the conference. Oh yeah, there's a general session too, so that would be really great as well. Great Well, val, it has been such a pleasure chatting with you about Mayvo. I'm so excited and of course I'll just continue to plan my wardrobe.
26:33 - Val Kelly (Guest) Same same but.
26:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm so excited because you do have a wonderful lineup and I'm excited, of course, to see all of my friends and colleagues again. Wonderful lineup, and I'm excited, of course, to see all of my friends and colleagues again and I'm excited to work with the amazing talent that I know is going to be there in this boutique, wonderful, intimate setting for Mavo. So thanks again for joining me and I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom Val. Thanks again, bosses. You guys have an amazing week and I'll see you next week. All right, take care, bye-bye.
27:12 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vo boss comm and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPD TL.
As voiceover entrepreneurs, we face unique challenges, especially when it comes to retirement savings. Join Anne Ganguzza and Danielle Famble, as they share invaluable insights into the power of high-yield business savings accounts. You'll learn how these accounts can act as a safety net during lean months, accrue interest, and instill the discipline required to save consistently. The BOSSES recount their personal experiences to illustrate how a robust savings account can bolster confidence and enable you to take calculated risks in your business ventures. Plus, discover how the evolution of online banks has transformed the ability to manage finances and receive money easily to benefit our businesses.
00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey Boss, listeners Anne Ganguza here. Think about the legacy you want to leave with your voice. It's more than just getting gigs. It's about creating moments that resonate, that shine, that linger in memory. Let's craft those moments together with coaching that's as dedicated to your artistry as you are. Your voice, your legacy, our journey together. Visit anganguz for more information.
00:31 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, nne Ganguzaa.
00:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Money Talk series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am tickled to bring back Danielle Famble to the show.
01:03 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Hey Anne, thanks for having me back. I've been really inspired by your red lipstick, so I'm wearing my own today. It's called Boss Lady.
01:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love it and you are definitely a boss lady. Speaking of being a boss and finances, I of course, check my bank statements all the time.
01:21 And can I just say that I first of all, love my business savings account to the point where I think it's like a must have for anybody in the business to just have a savings account, Because when times are lean and we know that this is a volatile industry sometimes we have good months, sometimes, you know, maybe not so good it's important to talk about having a business savings account. And, by the way, I have a high yield business savings account.
01:48 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh, my goodness. Oh, I love high yield savings accounts.
01:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That is a thing, and one thing I do want you bosses to know I am not a financial advisor nor is. Danielle, even though we love to talk about money, we are not financial advisors, so that is our disclaimer. We're just giving you our experiences with finances and growing our company, so let that be our disclaimer.
02:11 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yes, this is not financial advice. We're just talking about what we know and what we love and how it's helped us.
02:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go, so business savings account.
02:19 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) What are?
02:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) your thoughts on business savings accounts.
02:22 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Like you, I love my high-yield savings account. I absolutely love seeing how much interest that it brings into the account every single month. It is amazing when you think about it. But you also need to make sure that you are putting money into your savings account.
02:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) In order to gain that interest, in order to gain that interest.
02:42 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So really it's not spending or utilizing every dollar that comes into your business, similar to personal finance making sure that you have enough money for the volatility of this industry so that you can pay yourself and pay your assistants or whomever that your business needs to pay in the lean times. It's really important.
03:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now let me ask you high-yield savings account Now. It used to be back in the day when you had a checking account, banks were offering all these incentives and you would get interest, you know, if you kept in a certain amount of money. Same thing with savings account. But it seems like all of a sudden there's high-yield savings account. Or is it just that I didn't pay attention before? Because all of a sudden I know that my money sat in the bank because I have my Bank of America for like ages, because that just was my bank, but yet it wasn't earning a lot of money, it wasn't earning a lot of interest. And then all of a sudden I was like, oh, look at this from American Express, there's a high yield savings account here and wow, look at that interest rate. I should be maybe throwing my money over there because it wasn't making a whole lot of money. Sitting there Is high-yield savings account, just a thing nowadays. Did it just happen where it just became a thing, or was I missing out all those years?
03:51 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I have to be honest with you. I'm not exactly sure how old or new high-yield savings accounts are. I can tell you that for me, when it came to personal finance, I got clued in into the power of high yield savings accounts and being able to make more money on my money in terms of interest, really, when I started to get serious, which was about six or seven years ago, so it could be relatively new. Typically, these banks are online banks and because they don't have the overhead that brick and mortar banks do, they're able to offer these incentives and offer higher interest. A way to look up a high yield account is really just to go online and Google and try to find one that has a business account, if you can. That's what I have been able to do, me too. Again, I don't know how old or new it is, but I do know that being able to have access to these products it's really important, and being able to have the discipline really to save is actually what fuels the ability to get the money and the interest.
04:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I will say that I was not confident in growing my business or taking risks in growing my business until I had a substantial amount of money in my savings account.
04:57 - Intro (Announcement) And what?
04:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) is substantial. I mean for me to feel comfortable that maybe I could pay my rent or pay my mortgage right if I didn't do any business. You know, like they always say, like you want to have as much money in your savings account like accrue three months worth of what it costs you to live in your savings account, and I would say that still holds true. I think that that made me feel comfortable.
05:17 Once I was in voiceover, knowing that if I had a lean month I was okay because I had that money in savings and so it is something that once I was able to accrue that and whatever it took right, I was putting $100 a month away or $50, whatever I could afford at the time.
05:33 And then, as I made more money, I just made sure that I always put into my savings account until I got to that point where I had a good three months. And then I was like it was so freeing and it was so confidence building that I had that good three months. And then I was like it was so freeing and it was so confidence building that I had that money that I could say, hmm, maybe I'll try a new genre, maybe I'll get a new demo or maybe I'll invest in this type of marketing or whatever it is. It allowed me that comfort to invest money to grow my business, and that, I think, is what was so instrumental in having a business savings account. Whether it's high yield or not, right, just having that amount of money aside was what gave me the confidence to grow my business. Other than that, I was living paycheck to paycheck. Who wants to live paycheck to paycheck?
06:19 I mean, that's just not the way to grow your business in voiceover and it's tough and I know a lot of people that might be where they're at and I encourage you to find a way to put a little bit away each month or each week or whatever you can do to grow that savings account.
06:37 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, that's huge. It's a psychological boost too, because you know that if there are lean months which as we know there are there are lean times that you can take care of yourself and the ability to sort of dip your toe into maybe a different genre or do something that makes you feel a little bit more uncomfortable, that your security blanket is this account that can buoy you If it doesn't work out or if it takes a little bit longer. It makes you feel much more confident and secure because you are, because you are the one who is securing yourself. It's a really big deal. It's a big deal to be able to have that and the confidence that it gives you. It was a game changer. Yeah, it's a game changer. A game changer for me.
07:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It really really was, and it catapulted my business into different areas. I mean, everybody knows I've got multiple brands, and so I would not have been able to grow those brands had I not had that comfort or confidence level of having a little bit of cash so that, okay, I could spend more time building up this brand instead of auditioning, or I could invest in a demo, or I could invest in a virtual assistant, right. Again, we just had an episode talking about hiring assistants, right. And so that savings account gave me such a big boost in order to grow, and I continue to make sure that I have money in that. And what's nice is that, even though, let's say, some months I may not be able to put as much into it, right, the one that is a highield savings account is such a bonus, right now because it's accruing a higher interest rate than any of my other accounts, and so I am continuing to get more confidence in putting money in there.
08:16 So the more you make an interest, the more you want to put in it.
08:18 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, the account is helping you out.
08:20 - Intro (Announcement) Exactly.
08:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So the high-yield savings account is a boon and again, we're not financial advisors, but look into it. I mean Google. I know that for me. It's really given me even more confidence than I had before. So always, always, really make it a point to have a business savings account and business savings account. I mean it's great to have a savings account your personal but, as we discussed before, right when you're running your business, you really want to separate your accounts, exactly.
08:46 Into business checking and business savings and most banks right. If you're going to open up a business account with them, they're going to have options for you to open a business savings account.
09:01 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, and you really just kind of have between the personal savings and the business savings Because, as Danielle, I have my own personal savings for me and then the business that I'm running has its own savings account that I'm going to be able to utilize that money if I need it for any sort of business expenses, and keeping that separate. Going back to the basics of finance, keeping those two things separate really helps me out when it comes to tax time. It helps me out in the day-to-day running of my personal life and my business. So, yes, keeping them separate, and the same way that you keep your money separate from your business and your personal, keeping your savings account separate as well. And knowing what are you utilizing that savings for? Obviously, it's not meant to be used for everyday purposes, but what are the criteria for when you would need to dip into that savings account? Really just kind of having a plan for your money.
09:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yeah, and it also helps in your financial well-being in terms of how banks perceive you. Your FICO score. All of that contributes. Right, these are your assets, right, this is money that you have. And it's one of those things when I spoke to you about making that $500 stock investment in the company that I worked for, right, and I just forgot about it because it was, I considered it my spare change and I'm just going to put it in and, well, I'm going to look at it, but I'm not going to obsess over it and just kind of forget about it. And the nice thing is, when you have it in a bank, that when they want your business, they're going to offer you perks of that, and so high yield savings is one of them, and so that money just grows, right, I can just put it in there and it just grows. And when I look at the monthly statement and I say, whoa, look at how much interest I got this month.
10:39 It makes me want to put more into it. It makes me want to find ways to put more into it. And when you're talking about manifesting abundance and you're talking about positive things that spur you on and having faith and thinking in terms of having abundance, that is really helps. I'll tell you, when you're looking at that account and it keeps growing, that can really be a big mental help to you feeling successful in terms of your business.
11:06 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, it's the evidence right. It's the evidence that what you are doing and what you've been doing is working and that it's growing. So, having that sort of tangible you know the statement to see I put this much money in and this is how much my money made, without really me doing anything other than putting that money into this account, it's evidence that what you're doing is working and to keep going.
11:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's not like you're taking a risk like the stock market. You're investing yourself in your business, exactly, so it's a fairly stable. Unless the bank goes under right, it's a fairly stable yeah well, that's a whole nother podcast but it's a fairly stable way to grow your money.
11:41 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Right and also to grow your confidence. I really love that and I think it's really important the distinction of, yes, you're growing your business, but also you're growing your confidence and you're growing your ability in your business to grow and invest and take risks, which helps you potentially grow your business. You're investing in your confidence, not just monetarily, but in that emotional feeling of security that only you can give yourself. It's a big deal.
12:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and it doesn't take much.
12:10 I mean, bosses, you're already risk takers, right, because you've decided to get into voiceover, you've decided to become an entrepreneur, you've decided to start a business.
12:18 This is just another aspect of it, and it's an aspect of it that can give you that cushion to weather all types of storms that can happen within your business. There's just so many people I know that are like they gave it all up to invest in voiceover but yet they don't necessarily have savings. And I know as a coach, when I'm talking to students that want to get into this industry, and there's a lot of people during the pandemic right that lost their jobs, that wanted quick money, and I was careful to say that voiceover does require an investment. It's not that you're going to be able to make quick money right away, and we all know that those of us that have been in the industry, this is the same kind of thing, really that you want to make sure that you've taken the risks and now you've got another savings account that can help you survive and weather those storms as you move forward in your business.
13:06 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) It's infrastructure. It's setting up the infrastructure for the what-ifs or what could happen in your business and it's creating sort of more cushion for yourself, just in case things happen. Also, saving maybe totally different, but saving for things that you need to do in your business. Maybe it's setting aside a certain amount of money for taxes, maybe it's setting aside a certain amount of money because you want to attend conferences and you need to travel and take the time away. That can be part of the business savings. But I think making sure that you have the mindset that the money that is coming into your business, not all of it, needs to be spent or used now you do need to put a certain amount of money aside for certain things taxes, education, investing in your business, investing in yourself in the lean times and in the slower times. It's really looking at what is happening in your business and creating the infrastructure for what could happen.
14:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you know, what else is interesting too is that with some banks, they'll give you more benefits, right, the more you have. So if you open up this type of business savings account, you need to maintain a certain amount of money in there, and when you do that, you'll get free checking, you'll get a lower interest, credit card from them, all types of things, different perks, you'll get 3% back or you'll get money back, and so it behooves you to do that, because they're also offering you incentives to kind of keep money in that savings account, right, and you're not going to just have it to like blow in the first month on a new microphone or a new demo, but to maintain funds in there, right, so that you can keep up the benefits.
14:40 - Intro (Announcement) And so.
14:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I like that. There's like a double incentive. Really it's nice to have that cushion and then you'd want to keep it in there, and it's not like we haven't really discussed retirement funds or mutual funds or anything like that, and again, we're not financial advisors. However, they work differently, where, if you keep the money in there for a certain amount of time, or you're required to keep money in there for a certain amount of time or until you reach a certain age as retirement.
15:04 A business savings account is simply just a business savings account where you're not penalized if you have to take money out. So I think it's got like everything in it. You know what I mean? It's got that added cushion security. You get benefits if you keep more in it, but yet you're not penalized if you have to take out of it. Necessarily.
15:21 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, it's access, potentially very quick access to the money that you have that you've put aside for whatever it is that you are saving for. I think it's important to have access to the sort of quick access to the account, so like a business savings account and then other more long-term, like you were discussing you know we're not financial advisors but having access to your money for retirement or things like that. It's really important to have the infrastructure for short-term, medium-term and long-term savings.
15:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, especially because, as entrepreneurs, you're not necessarily contributing to a pension fund from your own business, right? There's a lot of people that we haven't even really talked. We'll probably have an entire podcast dedicated to retirement, but you probably are not thinking about contributing to a retirement fund, so this can be one step towards money that can go into that Although I do think that's another separate podcast episode that we need to talk about because I'm very lucky because I have a pension coming from my experience in education and my husband has a pension fund coming from a job that he worked for previously. So when we retire, we're going to have that money, and so I'm not necessarily contributing to a quote unquote retirement fund.
16:38 But I do have mutual funds through my financial advisor that I'm investing money in, and I have an independent retirement fund that I basically take $100 a month for that particular account, and I would recommend that as well for anybody that is not necessarily have a retirement fund, because all of a sudden, you're going to be at retirement age and you're going to be like oh, wait, a minute, I don't have. Where's that money? Do I have money in savings? Do I have that money in a fund that can help support me when I'm no longer working and most people say, well, I could work in voiceover forever. But I mean, look, I love voiceover but I'm not going to work in it forever. I mean, at some point my voice will crack and sound old and I'm going to be tired. I'll be happily traveling the world living off my savings slash retirement because I invested.
17:27 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Now so it's something bossy. You're painting a wonderful picture of your life, and I'm just like me too. That's it. That's what I want to do.
17:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm going to be traveling the world and it's because I'm thinking now about those things, right, and of course, in reality we should have been thinking about it and people tell you all the time, right, Thinking about retirement when you're like 18.
17:47 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) But think about savings.
17:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Best time to save and invest is yesterday and next best time is now and so, in terms of some people were like, well, I just don't have it right To invest in savings. And again, if you are in voiceover and you're living paycheck to paycheck, really consider thinking about that. You know, I mean, and I did it when I first started full-time in voiceover, I had a part-time job.
18:09 I worked my butt off contributing and saving and having a fund so that I could ultimately, when it got to the point where I was making more money doing voiceover, I could ultimately stop that part-time job, but I do encourage all of you if you are living paycheck to paycheck on voiceover, maybe it's time to consider a job that will bring in some steady income that you can put into a savings account.
18:31 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Exactly have something that will help invest, input capital into your life and to your business. This is a long process. Entrepreneurship is a marathon and you have to learn how to pivot as time goes on, and maybe that means that you need to bring in something that will help bring in capital to your life and your business. Maybe that's a part-time job, maybe it's freelancing, maybe it's figuring out how you can pivot to make money elsewhere. Whatever it is being able to have again, the infrastructure of savings around you is incredibly important because it's a long game and there's nothing wrong nothing at all wrong with having outside resources. That's bringing you in money outside of voiceover.
19:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Gosh, no, I mean I was just talking to somebody the other day. I always talk about my Chanel lipstick or whatever it is, but I love fashion, right, and so if I love something like that and I'm spending a lot of money on clothes because I recently did lose a little bit of weight, so congratulations.
19:32 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh, thank you.
19:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I mean, what's wrong with finding something that brings me joy? So maybe I'll be an affiliate or I will do some form of my business that will allow companies to maybe send me free clothes or make some money off of the clothes that I buy so I can buy more clothes. So it's that kind of a mentality. And I'm still doing voiceover. I'm still a coach, I'm still, but I happen to love fashion. So I just added that kind of to my alternate. This is what Anne's going to do on her free time. Maybe I can make a couple extra dollars that I can put into that high yield savings account and have fun along the way, right? Yeah, so it really is. I think, up to us as entrepreneurs, right? There's nothing saying you have to do 24-7 of voiceover in order to have a successful business.
20:20 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Absolutely. What can you do and how can you do it that will bring money into your ecosystem, your business, your life, so that you can use that money to fund really everything else about your life. And that means also saving, because saving is really just putting money aside for future you so that future you can benefit. That's right. It's also a discipline too. For me it's been a discipline of looking at the amount of money that I have access to and dedicating some of those funds to my longer term savings maybe retirement or maybe, as you were talking about, mutual funds and investments but also to my business high yield savings account, to my business account, because I know that one day I will need access to that money.
21:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and a lot of times the banks will make it very easy. You can have it $100 or $50 or $25 or $500, whatever it is on a monthly basis, literally just streamed into those accounts, into your savings account, into your retirement fund, whatever it is, it can be done automatically, so you don't even see it. It's like when you worked for my company and they would ultimately take out so much money for retirement or whatever it is, automatically and then match that back in the day when companies did that. Very few companies do that anymore, but it's similar to that. So when it's taken out automatically, you don't necessarily notice it. So try to implement those things right so that you can contribute regularly and consistently to a savings account, so that you can have that money for when you want to go travel or retire from whatever it is you're doing.
21:51 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I will tell you that automation is the way that I was able to consistently put the money in savings in the first place.
21:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's hard when you manually have to do it, you know.
21:59 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Because it takes away the human element. The human has emotions about money and may not want to put that money in these accounts. Oh, so true. The automation doesn't have that, so it's going to continue to do what you've set it up to do, and actually that's how you get the result that you're wanting when you take away the human element.
22:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love how you said that there's the emotional element to money, and again, we could write a book on that right there's an emotional element to money.
22:24 In so many ways. We have such a connection to it, whether we want to or not, right? I mean, it's how there's a roof over my head, it's how I afford this microphone, it's how I can afford to put clothes on my body and food in my body, and so there is a lot of emotion tied around money. So if you can make that emotion as painless and as easy, and even as possible.
22:48 Yeah, make it invisible, I mean. And they also say that one of the most frequent causes for divorce is financial right Issues and troubles. So if you can make it easy and seamless, why not? And a business savings account for me, having it taken out automatically, having my money grow on a monthly basis and being encouraged and inspired to contribute on a regular basis to it, it's a no brainer. It should be a no brainer, I think, for everybody that wants to run a successful business.
23:16 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, and it's a tool to be able to utilize and run your business successfully. It's just another thing, it's another tool in the tool belt. It's a way to help you feel more confident when times are a little bit tougher, and it's a way to know that you can fund the business that you are running. It's invaluable. I love it.
23:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. And again, we both decided early on bosses that we could just spend 27 minutes saying I love my high yield savings account.
23:43 - Intro (Announcement) I love my high yield savings account.
23:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love my high yield savings account Again, not that we're trying to push anything on you, but we are not financial advisors. How many times do I have to say that to this time? But no, really, I mean it's the most amazing thing, because I'd been sitting there for years, like literally for years, watching getting pennies, like every month, in my bank account. I'm like what happened? It used to be the banks were like here, we're going to give you so much percent each month for keeping this money in our bank, and it just became a little bit different until, like you said, the online banks who don't have the overhead costs of brick and mortar, can offer those things right and again.
24:16 And my bank has really upped its game too, by the way, because when I told them about my high yield savings account, I said, well, why are you not matching that? And so they actually came up with because I wanted to have a business savings account as well as a high yield business savings account. Right, with them, they upped their game. So it's something you can actually talk to your bank about and say look, why can't you offer me this amount of interest? A lot of times? Banks, if they want your business, they're going to work with you.
24:48 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So yeah, and also just educating yourself of what is out there. To be completely honest with you, for the longest time and for me, coming from a musical theater background I never, ever, ever considered what I would need to do to have savings for my business. The education for me happened from my personal life, for personal finance and then bringing that into how I'm running my business. But, to be honest with you, for me I wasn't even really thinking about savings because I was just looking at what was coming in. I need this money now, okay.
25:16 It kind of just kept cycling through the moment, but really stopping and taking a look and saying, okay, I can be the person to fund my level of confidence and security when I'm in an industry that is volatile sometimes. That is a complete game changer and it requires thinking about things differently, but it also requires educating yourself of what options are out there for you to be able to do that.
25:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And bosses repeat after us like I love money, right, danielle? I think the two of us could just say I love money, I love money.
25:48 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I love money.
25:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That is our emotional attachment, right? We just said that there's a lot of emotion attached to it. I love money, and so if I didn't love money, if I hated money, it would not want to come into my life, right? I mean, I can't be hating things that I want to manifest, hating things that I want to manifest, and so I love my relationship with money. And at times, yes, it's tough that it runs the world, it's tough that I have to spend so much on a monthly basis to put the roof over my head or that oh my gosh, you know how much is food these days. It can be frustrating at times, but in reality, my relationship with money is to have a love affair with it so that I can manifest it in abundance.
26:23 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yes, and a love affair that is not fear. Yeah, because when you're running away from something, even if it's trying to catch you, then it really seems like it's just chasing after you. So a love affair and being open to it and wanting it, and wanting to learn about it, and wanting to invest the time into it. I love money too, anne. I think we I love money too.
26:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's it. That's it. We can go home High-yield savings account and we love money. There you go, bosses. What a great conversation. Again, we could say this 500 more times, but I think you guys get the point. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect, network, make money like bosses and find out more at IPDTLcom. There you go, you guys have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.
27:10 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a bosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPD TL.
00:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, ever feel overwhelmed by marketing? I get it. Let's tackle it together with a VO Boss Blast. We're all about making marketing as enjoyable as voice acting itself. Dive in with me and let's blast off together and let's turn those marketing challenges into victories. Sign up today at VOBoss.com.
00:27 - Tolu Kolade (Ad) Hi Anne. My name is Tolu Kolade. I am a Nigerian and I love your podcast. I listen every week. I discovered it last year and I must say it has been an incredible eye-opener for me, helping me to get better in my craft, even as an Nigerian and an African. There are many tips that are so useful for me and, guess what? You inspired me to also create my own podcast, which is also based on voiceovers. So I love what you do and keep doing what you do, thank you.
01:02 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a vo boss.
01:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) ! hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the boss superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza and I'm here with the very lovely Lau Lapides today. Hey, annie, so happy to be here. As always, law, you look lovely.
01:37 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Thank you gorgeous today. You do too. We're getting ready for summer that's right.
01:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's right. You know it's funny because I just celebrated my eighth year for VO Boss. Woohoo, woohoo, yeah, eighth year and things have changed. I'll tell you what in podcasting and, of course, in our own industry, but I used to only do this audio. But the way technology has evolved I mean, everything is video content and on camera and it just has changed. So we have to be prepared not just for doing the voice, but I had to do my hair this morning and do the color coordination and the outfit, so wait are you trying to tell me that you may have to be on camera?
02:16 yes, we may have to be on camera as voice actors, and that's like remember everybody in the beginning I got into voiceover so that I didn't have to show my face. But guess what, guys? There's an entire world of opportunities that law firsthand can talk about in terms of casting right and on-camera work.
02:36 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yes, and you can talk about it too, because you're always webcasting. This is true Podcasting and on-camera social media.
02:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Content Casting with.
02:44 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Zoom, I mean it's endless. On-camera social media on-casting with Zoom, I mean it's endless. We are on, on, on camera and we were just talking about this before and I think it's really important for voiceover talent at all levels to be thinking about potentially nabbing some on-camera work. Yeah, Really, the opportunities are there, they're vast. Yes, it gets slow and there's ebbs and flows, just like there are in voiceover.
03:04 But if you are going to reach out, say, for instance, to an agency, and you say, well, I want to get some more reps or I need a rep.
03:10 I don't even have a rep, how do I do it? One of your checkboxes, if you can, is the fact that you are able, capable and willing and wanting to do on-camera work, because a lot of the agencies, especially the boutique agencies, will sign you what they call across the board, meaning they're interested in you as a voiceover talent, but they also want to know you can do on-camera commercial work or print work or anything that has to do with, maybe, a non-broadcast industrial. So I would say I mean one of the things I always say to our coaching clients is think about it. If you absolutely do not want to be doing it, be honest and don't do it, because there's a huge line behind you of actors that want to do it. Yeah, absolutely. And we convert many voiceover talent to also do on camera and have that combo on their resume and they love it. And oftentimes they say, oh, I had no idea how fun this was, I thought I had a face for radio. And I say you have to retire that old, stupid phrase.
04:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, it is old and stupid.
04:15 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) You're absolutely right, and let me tell you the stranger, you look the odder, you look the more real, you look the more work you get. You're going to get more work than a supermodel.
04:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, the more desirable you are. Absolutely Flaws and everything, guys. I mean I actually love that the camera is embracing these things now, because real people, right, real people.
04:38 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Real people. There's an agency in New York, Annie, that's pretty hip. It's called Funny Faces and they represent only real people. Now, those are actors still. They're trained actors. But they're actors that specifically do not look like model types, which is most actors and they're getting most of the work because they want just like in voiceover today they want real people. They want real people who look like real people and who sound like real people.
05:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, absolutely, absolutely. I love that. So I would have my students say to me oh gosh, I thought I was just training for voiceover. I just spent all this money training for voiceover. What do I have to do for on-camera?
05:21 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) law. One thing I would say is and I hear this a lot, I've heard this for years and years is oh, that's an interesting idea, I wouldn't mind doing that. I mean, if they asked me, I'd say I wouldn't mind it. I'd say listen, don't ever come into it that way, Because I wouldn't mind. It is like saying yeah is like saying you know, yeah, would you clean up the table? I don't mind cleaning up the table. No, you have to have some passion for it. You have to have some real wanting to do it Because, just like in voiceover, you're up against trained actors. You're up against people who really are dying for jobs and want the job.
05:55 So you really want to have. Find that in you. Test it, train Coach number one, just like in everything we say. Coach for acting for on camera. Take some improv classes. Make sure you're in a few acting classes, that you're having fun. You must have fun. If it's against your grain, if it's like taking medicine when you're sick, don't do it. You really have to do it. If you're saying, oh, this is kind of enjoyable, it's kind of sassy, I'm having a good time with that, or all right, you have to come into it with the right spirit and the right positive mindset, otherwise it's like don't do us any favors because you're not doing us any favors. We can find and work with trained actors very, very easily. So come in with a good attitude, coach, and take your classes. Start thinking right away about getting involved with films, student films, independent films. It's not about money at that point.
06:50 It's about building an actor real and building your resume and getting some experience in front of the camera.
06:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Certainly, theater if you're interested in theater, great, but that's a different path and how simple is it now, with social media and our iPhones, that we can get comfortable in front of the camera. And it is a thing, guys, because I know when I first started getting out there, okay, you've got to look at the camera, like right now I'm looking at the camera and I want to look at law on the screen in front of me, but no, I have to look at my camera because that's where my eyes go and so, like little things like that, and then just being able to be yourself, being able to go off script, being able to be on script and sound natural, and to just have that again, that authentic, you come out, gosh. We have all the time in the world and all the resources at our fingertips to start to see if maybe that's something we're comfortable with.
07:41 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) So true and one of the things that people don't realize is 90% of your casting for on camera is the way you look. Maybe 95% is the way you look. It doesn't mean you don't have to have talent you do. It just means they're going to cast you first on your physical type and then they're going to see what you're bringing to the table. So working on memorization is a big deal. That's really part of your job. To memorize scripts, learning how to use a teleprompter on their laptop, which is a wonderful skill to learn. If anything, it focuses your brain and keeps you very calm. There's just some interesting skills that are going to help you in your voiceover, your character building, your analysis of a script of a character.
08:26 You're thinking fast on your feet in improv. How do I create off other people and really acutely listen to what they're saying to me and really be able to create? I'll tell you, I know firsthand that when you're in a film, set or TV— Listen without interrupting.
08:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Written on my shirt Listen, Listen to my breast without interrupting. I know, and I just interrupted you while I said that. So See how I took my own advice yeah, there we go, that's great, that's great.
08:57 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) But I mean, I'll tell you, especially with the younger generation coming up, annie, the directors are different nowadays, like they are really wanting actors to come in and be prepared and give them ideas, give them characters, give them stuff that they can have fun with, steal and run away with and enjoy with you. Hasn't that always been?
09:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) the way I feel like that's always been.
09:19 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I feel like in voiceover.
09:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) People are always like well, why do they write the script like that when they want us to be real? Well, because I think they want to hear your interpretation of it, and so I think half the time those scripts are written with an intensive purpose yes, to make you get creative and really figure out how you're going to tell that story, even though you have no idea what those words mean. That's really what it is, and a lot of those directors.
09:42 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) No commentary on them, in particular, on that generation in particular. They're not trained to train you. They're trained to cast you and to have you get as close to the role as possible. Where they're tweaking you. They're trained to cast you and to have you get as close to the role as possible. Where they're tweaking you, they're doing adjustments with you. They don't want to give you the character, they don't want to build you from the ground up. They don't want to give you an acting class. They want you to make yeah, it is like voiceover. They want you to make life easy for them, fast. For them, time is money. They're renting equipment from houses. They don't want to have that extra day of shooting and oftentimes you won't even meet the actors until the day of the shoot.
10:19 That's your husband, that's your child, that's your—so you have to learn. That's why we always say take improv, take improv. Because you have to learn to say oh, annie is now your therapist. Oh, anne's now your sister. Oh, anne's now your lover, now your therapist. Oh, anne's now your sister. Oh, anne's now your lover. Whatever, you have to learn to buy into it very quick and say yes and yes and yes and and for the voiceover on a script. I think it's invaluable because it really allows you to walk into the world of the copy very fast.
10:47 Oh, absolutely, and not second guess it quite as much as we would, as us but to say, okay, well, you know, mcdonald's could be in a fairy tale land. Sure, why not, you know?
10:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I talk to people all the time and my voiceover students all the time about the script and I'm like how many times do you run into your studio and you simply recite the words in a melody that you hear in your head without understanding the story behind it? And when there are words that come up and you're like I have no idea what that means, you just say them, and when you say them with no point of view, you haven't been able to tell a story, you haven't shown that you've done the work. And that's why, when you audition and you can come in with that story and that point of view and you've got that improv, that subtextual understanding, that character backstory, you've got that all figured out, even for an e-learning module I'm just saying Even for corporate then they know that you're an actor and they know that they can cast you and direct you to just about anything and that is the work that we actors must do and if we do that work in voiceover, it's absolutely plausible and possible for you to do it on camera, no question.
11:55 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) And there is that spirit that actors talk about, that takes them over, where it goes from words on a page I'm comprehending it, I'm analyzing it, I'm trying to understand it and profile it to oh, this interpretation that comes over you, that starts to personalize from your reservoir, your emotional reservoir. Well, we're always asking for that in voiceover too. Like, how do I personalize the script, how do I get to my reservoir of tone and emotion so that I don't get sing-songy and I don't fall into cadence and rhythm? It's what a lot of our agents in casting say after they audition talent. That person is not connected.
12:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, absolutely, you need to be connected. You need to be connected. I kind of keep bringing this back to voiceover, sorry, because there's so many parallels where so many people will complain the way the script is written. I'm like that's not your job to complain about how the script is written. I mean, it's your job as an actor to interpret that script and to interpret that script in a way that makes it authentic and believable.
12:57 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, and the reality is, if you really don't like it and you have a right to disagree with it, not like it or just not want to do it then don't do it, rather than coming into the job and saying, well, why is it written this way and why?
13:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) is it?
13:10 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) this way. Well then, already I'm not open to the job, I'm really not open to the job. So we always say when you're coming into a role, don't judge it, don't adjudicate it, don't make commentary on it, as you, as the actor, just try to engage, try to communicate with it, try to personalize it in every way you can, as quickly as possible.
13:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes, yes, and that takes practice and we had another podcast that we talked about the amount of work that it takes. Right, that takes practice to do that, to understand that, to do the analysis, to get the acting to understand the subtext and to really do the preparation needed to execute voiceover or on camera, that acting, so that it is something successful for you.
13:56 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, I hear voiceover talent all the time say things like well, this is hard. I would never, say this.
14:02 I would never say this. I said because this isn't you saying this, this is someone else saying this. You're embodying the spirit of someone else. You really are. I mean, we're not asking you to say this or feel this in your kitchen. We're asking you to do this as part of your job. So if you say, well, as part of my job, I'm capable of doing this and this could possibly happen, Well then you open the door Psychologically. You open the door to really authentically, authentically playing it. You open the door to really authentically, authentically playing it. Yeah, absolutely, Because you've already bought into the idea that this could happen. This way.
14:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes, you have to buy into the idea. I love that.
14:41 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) You have to buy into it.
14:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You have to buy into the idea.
14:44 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) That's why acting is so fun. Even if you never do anything on camera related or theater related, still do acting class, do improv, do everything you can because it shifts your mindset into a more playful fun place.
15:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I love that. And so what advice would you give people that are in voiceover that want to expand into on-camera? First and foremost, what do they need to do? Who do they need to contact? What classes would they take right? Do they need a reel? What are the essentials?
15:17 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Right, well, our studio does these. I mean, many studios do classes. Now we do our online, of course. I would say one thing, though if you can take an in-studio class in your city, in your town, in your state, definitely do it, because it's a different experience when you're physically in a room with people as an actor versus online. And I would say, do both, because being online is great too. We get to see you on camera, you get to see what it's like just dealing with all the technical elements on camera, but I would also say, be in a room with people as well, see how you like it.
15:50 You have to feel it out, and I would also coach in it as well, so that you can understand audition material. You can see what your type is Similar to voiceover, right, like what is a realistic type for me to go after? What are the different genres I might be interested in? And then, what is an actor reel? How do I build an actor reel? That's all video-based. How do I put that together? What does actors access and casting networks have to do with it? This is before you seek representation. Do not seek representation until you get your trade down, like voiceover. You really have to have the background of understanding an actor's vocabulary. Once you get that actor's vocabulary and you know that, oh, if I go after a commercial, they're going to expect me to memorize the script, I know that. So this is the vocabulary that we speak of. And then you've got to have practice time, practice rehearsal, coaching, classwork. Now.
16:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) La, let's distinguish. I want to hear from you. I know how to distinguish. In my words, how do you distinguish on camera from, let's say, on stage, oh, it's a totally different world in the sense that they're both highly technical worlds.
17:14 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) But it's a different kind of commitment when you do theater, because theater oftentimes is longer, it takes a longer time to rehearse, oftentimes, the performance runs are longer and you have to physically be somewhere in person for a length of time. That can be difficult for theater. That's what they do. They're artists oftentimes, so you should experience that too. Like again go take a stand-up class, go take an improv class, go take something that's short-term, where you're live and you get to be on a stage or you get to be in a studio.
17:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So if you are a theater actor, is it easy to transition to on camera? That's a question I would get from my students, because I have a lot of theater students that come into voiceover.
17:41 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I would get from my students, because I have a lot of theater students that come into voiceover. You know what? I don't know. I don't overthink that. I think that there's too much chat about that when really excellent actors, like all the Hollywood actors we know and love, all started out in theater. Almost all of them started out in theater and they found ways, as they worked, as they auditioned, to transition, to internalize emotion, to not allow as many physical gyration and physical largeness to happen, but I wouldn't overanalyze it because I think it's a very interesting craft.
18:11 It's a craft and it's one that you learn as you do it. You have to do it to really learn how to do it. You have to work with different directors, different crews, different folks to see how do they see you Similar to voiceover how do they hear you, how do they see you and really start buying into the archetypes that they're seeing you as Like. If I get called out for a role, I'm almost always being called out for some sort of mother role yeah, almost always. So I'm seen as that archetype of that, whatever that is, and then there's all sorts of variations on that theme.
18:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So really have fun with that you know, it's so interesting because a lot of my theater actor students will come to me and then they'll find it somewhat difficult to transition because now that they're behind a microphone they don't have another physical presence to play off of, but they have to bring that imaginary physical presence into the booth with them.
19:06 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) That's exactly right. That's exactly right and that's the thing. I think that's hard for theater actors Some transition well and some do not transition well because they're used to ensemble style rehearsal, so they're used to showing up. There are other people there. You've got a director and they've got energy back and forth.
19:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely, that's something you've got to create in the booth, and same thing with on camera. Even on camera, I mean, there's energy of people maybe behind the camera or maybe energy of people within the scene that you're working with, but a lot of times if you're just being a a one person on camera talent, you've got to play to that camera. So you do and you have to show up prepared.
19:46 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) So when you go in, you have to assume OK, they have X amount of time, they're renting equipment, they're renting location, they're doing all these things so that they can help me shine. I have to know my lines, I have to know what playing a mother is, and then I meet the other actors. So I have to do all that work before I even get on the set, and that's very different than theater, whereas theater is much more organic. You come in and you do your table, read, you discuss it, you grow the characters together. It's a very different kind of process and that's why people love theater and they get addicted to theater.
20:20 Sure, absolutely, because they want that energy back and forth, that energy give and take.
20:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's so interesting because in all of the voiceover theater on camera there are all the similarities in the acting. It's just physically and mentally what you need to do slightly different to get to a place in either one. It's all incredible. All being said, you got to be an actor. So what a great, interesting conversation today, law. Thank you so much for your input and your wisdom on that.
20:47 I love it. Bosses, think about this as a way to maybe expand in your business, and, of course, it's always great to expand your actor skills. It will all help you in the booth in the end. So, absolutely so. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and communicate like pros like Law and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, see you next week. Love you guys.
21:16 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL coast connectivity via ipdtl.
21:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, I'm so excited to announce our third audition demolition coming up live september 27th, and our uh diet. Ugh, oh shit, all right, damn it. Good morning, kiss me off. That was good too, I know, fucking shit. Audition deadline the 20th Okay, september 27th. All right, that's my problem. I have it written here, but I just don't have it in front of my face, so That'll end up in bloopers next time, ugh.
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Let's create your next demo together. As an award-winning demo producer, I'll work closely with you to craft a demo reel that showcases your unique talents and strengths. My personalized approach is going to ensure that your demo stands out from the crowd and gets you booked. Book a free 20-minute consult today and get started at annganguzacom.
00:27 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, nn Ganguza.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and I am delighted to bring back to the show for our Real Boss series, Mr Tom Deere. Hi, Hi.
00:58 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Tom Hi, hi hi.
00:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hi Tom Dheere, Real Boss, Tom Dheere.
01:01 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, Real Boss and Ganguza. Always great to talk to you.
01:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You too. You know, tom, it's been a week. Oh yeah, yeah, it's been a week, for some reason. I gave a couple of workshops and I've talked to a few people that have just started out in this industry and a few people that have been in the industry for a couple of years, and I constantly I know you hear this all the time because you're the VO strategist I constantly get people who are just so frustrated and they can't get work and they want to give up, and I don't know how many times I can say it's hard, guys. I mean, it just is hard. The work doesn't just come easily, and I feel as though we need to spread some encouragement out there for those bosses who are wondering what's going on. What did I just do? Am I embarking on a career and I'm not seeing any work coming in?
01:53 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) But I think we need to maybe get real, tom yeah, and talk to our bosses, okay, well, the first thing I want to say on that is that for those of you who have put more than one cent, more than zero cents, into trying to become a voice actor, congratulations.
02:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah.
02:14 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) You should be Absolutely Praised and applauded for putting out money and money. You know money is money. Money is obviously what it is, but it's also what it represents. Spending money always represents an investment of some kind, whether it's buying a piece of bubble gum or a new car. Is that you're investing in this thing that you hope will make you happier or make your life easier or move your life forward in some way. So that's encouragement nugget number one. Be proud of yourself. Be proud of yourself that you're watching this video at all bosses. Be proud that you're taking the time out of your very busy day to learn ways to move your voiceover business forward. So just the fact that you're listening to this at all should be applauded.
02:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And even if we back up further, I mean, first of all, congratulations on actually taking the step to being an entrepreneur. I mean, really, that's like step number one is that you had to make a decision, that you wanted to go into business for yourself, and that is something that the majority of people don't do. And so for those that do, take that leap of faith and say I am going to start a business, that is to be commended. That is to be commended. It takes bravery, it takes courage and, again, as Tom said, with the investment, that's a risk. So right now, right off the bat, you've taken risks that you're not quite sure if they're going to pay off or not.
03:37 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right, and Anne and I will not blow sunshine up your nose and tell you that everybody who works with us or wants to be a voice actor has a 100% chance of becoming a voice actor, because that's just not the reality. But Anne and I do everything in our power to set you up for success so you can make all of your dreams come true of being whatever kind of voice actor is your perfect voice over day, whether it's an e-learning narrator or a cartoon narrator or an audiobook narrator or what have you. But putting yourself out there and saying, I'm going to take this risk, I mean you should be commended on an internal level that you've made that decision. But here's the other thing and I have a lot of experience with this is all of the external factors that are telling you not to do it and you're like, screw you guys. I'm going to be a voice actor Because I had a lot of people in my life, professionally and personally, who didn't understand what I was trying to do Me too and didn't respect what I was trying to do and would mock me behind my back and to my face.
04:40 I remember I was a head host at the time the busiest Applebee's in the world and would mock me behind my back and to my face. I remember I was a head host at the time the busiest Applebee's in the world and I was the guy that ran the door and would get screamed at by everybody for how long it would take for them to get a table and I had some representation. I was booking work here and there, but not enough to leave my full-time job and a hater fellow employee got on the PA in the middle of a busy shift and said Tom, your agent's on line one and your mommy's on line two.
05:11 Click Ha ha, ha, ha ha. Yeah, that actually happened. I'm getting a little PTSD.
05:19 - Intro (Announcement) You know what I mean. There's a lot of haters out there.
05:21 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) There's a lot of people who are jealous because you are trying to make your dreams come true and either their dreams haven't come true or they don't have any dreams at all.
05:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you brought that up, tom. That's a really lovely perspective Because you're right, just that beginning step, taking that leap of faith and doing something when people assume that probably no, that's not going to work for you, and I think we've all encountered it. So, now that you've taken that step, right now, tom and I are here to encourage you, if it suits you, to encourage you not to give up, because, god, tom, it's hard, it's hard, it's hard, it's not easy. Does it get easier, tom? I don't know. I don't know.
06:00 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) No, it doesn't get any easier, Anne. It just becomes different types of hard. We've talked about this in previous videos, but the challenges that you have when you're early in your voiceover journey, which is I think, those are the toughest sometimes. They are the toughest because they play with your brain. They mess with your head.
06:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They mess with your head.
06:16 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) They mess with your head of? Do I have the ability to make money telling stories, which is really essentially what this is, which is the same problem that actors, stage and theater and on-camera actors have. It's the same problem that musicians have. Musicians are storytellers, you know, all forms of actors are storytellers. Can I make money telling stories? That's really what it comes down to, and many are called, few are chosen, but many are called. Few make the right choices and you, as VO bosses listening to this, are making the right choices.
06:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Few of them stick around right To discover that they did make a good choice. Right, because if you give up too soon, you never know. Right, and again I'll say, the departure from, let's say, corporate is huge. For this right, there's no stable paycheck coming in, and so I think that's a huge sticker shock for people because it's like well, all right, I've done the work, I've paid for coaching, I've got this great demo. Now where's the work?
07:22 And so you're not finished yet, right, that's just the first part, just the first part of your journey is the actual training and then the demo creation, and then, of course, you should always keep up your training, because things change and evolve and you always want to get better. But that's only the very beginning of your entrepreneurship and the beginning of your business. And so, as we mentioned, it does play with your head in the beginning, because a lot of times you're questioning well, do I have what it takes? Am I talented enough? Why am I not getting work? And so you really have to now, if you haven't gotten the proper coaching right, If you haven't spent more than oh, my goodness, I'm going to say you need to spend more than five or six hours coaching with someone before you can really embark on a successful voiceover journey. And we've said that over and over again but, also performance-wise, but also business-wise.
08:10 I mean, thomas, what you do? You help people set up businesses, like all the time. That's what you do, and so that is also a steep learning curve.
08:18 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It is a steep learning curve. I think one of the biggest challenges for people entering the voiceover industry is that they don't know what they don't know and they need to know. What do I need to have in place to start my voiceover business? So I talk about the four pillars. Every structure needs a solid foundation and in voiceover it's exactly what Anne said Quality training, a professionally produced demo, a setup, vetted home recording studio. And then that fourth pillar is a website, which that's a whole other video.
08:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, it's another podcast episode too.
08:52 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, that's another podcast episode right there. But to have those four pillars in place is critical. But the concrete that you pour, that is that foundation, is the business sense, the business acumen, the business plan. You can have the best demo in the world, but if you don't have a plan to market it effectively, the demo doesn't matter.
09:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And if nobody hears it, they can't buy.
09:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, you could have the best website in the world, but if you can't get anybody to it, it doesn't matter. So think about that. So many voice actors coming and put the cart before the horse. They decide they want to be a voice actor and then start buying a microphone or jumping on TikTok and making videos and it's like those things are important. But there's an order to do this, because the fact that you, as VO bosses, know what the basics are, what the foundation is training, demos, website, home recording and then pour the concrete of the business and then you can build the house, build the structure, build the business around that.
09:49 Having those things, now you know, are they perfect when you start out? No, do you sometimes need to start over again? Yes, you know what's the carpenter's rule Measure twice, cut once. A lot of times you don't do that, you just dive in with the buzzsaw and hope good things happen. So be encouraged if you have gotten training. Be encouraged if you've produced a demo with Anne or another great coach. Be encouraged if you've built the website. Be encouraged if you've got the basics of a home recording studio. If you've got that in place now you can start to really build and grow and make accurate assessments about who you are in the voiceover industry and how you're doing.
10:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. And again, it takes that perseverance to understand that it's coming and it's not going to happen overnight. That overnight success took what? Over 10 years to cultivate.
10:41 In that respect, and I think about all of the people who I've known that have stuck it out and have grown. I've seen them grow in the industry, people that are just hot today in the voiceover industry because we've been gosh Tom, you and I have been around for a while. So I've seen people who when they started out, I was with them when they started out, as maybe they were a peep or maybe I worked with them a long time ago, and I'm not saying it's just me, but I mean I've had students that I've seen really stick it out, progress, do the work, and I've really seen them come into their own. But it did not happen in a year, two years. A lot of them have been on a journey for five, six, seven years and it's wonderful to see them really shine.
11:24 And I can name a few of people that I've seen shine. The other day, jen Henry right, I saw she got SAG-AFTRA status. And so there's Jen Henry, there's Stefan Johnson, there's Tawny Plattis, who have been at this for years, making content and not necessarily going out there and saying hire me, I'm a voice actor, but doing their thing and creating so much content so that it got their name out there right, and it got them noticed and then it got them hired, yeah.
11:53 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) We have to mention Danielle Fanball.
11:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, absolutely Danielle. I mean of course as well.
11:57 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) She was a student of mine a few years ago and she has just gone on to be a force in the voiceover industry, getting a high-quality representation, working with tons of clients and all kinds of great projects. She's a perfect example of that as someone who came into the industry hungry, open-minded. She just knocked my socks off, she knocked my socks off.
12:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And, as a matter of fact, we're doing guys if you haven't checked it out the Boss Money series with Danielle. She is not only super talented, voiceover wise, but she's got a very savvy business mind. And we do a series on just talking about money, because that is another point where people can sabotage themselves in the whole money area, absolutely.
12:36 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Here's the thing about that, anne, is that your relationship with money is critical to your success as a voice actor. And I don't just mean having it, I mean having it is obviously important to invest and reinvest in your voiceover.
12:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I'm glad you're speaking about it.
12:48 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, some people were trained to hate money, some people were trained to be afraid of money, some people were trained to covet money. Some people were trained to not care about money in the house, at school, at their place of worship, among their friends and relatives. And so often you're fighting against the tide of all the preconceived notions that you have about the voiceover industry and about money. Here's the biggest one, anne, is that employees work for money. Yeah, absolutely, self-employed voice actors make money, work for them. That's Robert Kiyosaki, rich.
13:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Dad, Poor Dad stuff. I love that.
13:26 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Learn to make your money work for you and with you. Learn to have a synergistic relationship with money and your attitude about money when it comes to, obviously, spending it, making it and, most importantly, how to save and invest it in your voiceover career. On a short-term level, you know training, which is also a form of long-term, but also on a long-term, like investing in retirement and long-term investment plans and things like that. So if you are educating yourself, bosses, on what it means to have, make and spend and invest money, you are setting yourself up for success. So, any class you can take with me or with Anne, or any YouTube video that you can watch about investing, empower yourself. Oh my.
14:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) God, and that's the biggest thing, how to empower yourself. And I feel like compelled, as I'm thinking of this, to offer more examples. Christina Milizia, as I'm thinking of this, to offer more examples. Christina Milizia gosh, talented from the get-go. I mean, she's been doing voiceover for gosh. How many years? 30 years, over 30 years.
14:28 - Intro (Announcement) A long time.
14:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I know that she always had her sights set on being in animation and she really has taken off, but it took her many, many years to get there and she was super talented from the get-go. So, christina Melissa, lila Berzins I mean my gosh, I remember talking to Lila. She was a peep of mine a long time ago and she was just so talented and yet she was always wondering how can I get work, how can I get work? How can I get work and she's so talented? And now, man, she's like so hot and all these people that I'm just so happy for that. They had the gumption to just keep pushing forward, keep doing the work, keep marketing and just keep plugging away and ultimately finding their way in this industry so that they're really reaping the rewards and the benefits.
15:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) What all of these fabulous voice actors that you mentioned just now have in common is that they're hungry, they're persistent and they're consistent. Yes, absolutely To be consistent in the voiceover industry with your efforts. You need to be relentless. The voiceover industry does not care how tired you are.
15:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely.
15:36 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) They don't care what's going on in your life.
15:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It doesn't care about the drama in your life. It really doesn't.
15:40 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Nope, nope, nope, nope. You either have to learn to put the drama aside or use whatever energy that you get from the drama that's going on in your life and learn how to channel it into something positive or at least consistent. Like I have anxiety. Yeah, I have diagnosed anxiety and I have turned it into a superpower. Anxiety is the fear of not knowing what's going to happen next. You worry and fret about whatever usually social, interpersonal situations or things like that. But as a result of me getting lots and lots of great therapy and just being around and sticking around, I've learned how to turn my anxiety into a superpower, because I'm prepared for everything.
16:22 I'm a firm advocate of Murphy's law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. So I have all of these tools logistical, physical, environmental, financial, mental, emotional, psychological to anticipate any problems that may arise in my voiceover career, and I am prepared. So if the worst thing that I can think of happens and I'm ready for it it and I am prepared. So if the worst thing that I can think of happens, and I'm ready for it, it's going to be okay. So I turned a disadvantage of mine into an advantage, and you can do that too. All of you can do that too. All of you have your own hangups, anxieties, worries, fears, physical or mental or psychological challenges, but you can either figure out how to overcome them, set them aside or harness them, use them to enhance your voiceover career and enhance your efforts and your results.
17:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I think also too, is be aware. Be aware of the industry. I mean, be aware of trends in the industry, and not just trends in voiceover industry, but be aware of customers who want to purchase your voice. Be aware of what they want, be aware of what their needs are and really take some time to investigate.
17:24 I don't know many people that take it upon themselves to investigate the market right. So many people are like I've got a great commercial demo, I've got a great animation demo, I've got a great oh gosh. If I could give a nickel for the time somebody said I want to do museum tours, if I could give a nickel for the time somebody said I want to do museum tours or I want to do history. But I implore you, I implore you bosses and I'm not saying you can't do museum tours or be history documentarian I implore you to understand the market size, okay, of how many museums are there, and I'm just using this as an example how many museums are there right in the United States and, by the way, I Googled this just the other day there's about 35,000.
18:03 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Okay, I was just about to Google that. Thanks for doing the work.
18:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So how often are there new exhibits that might require voiceover? Okay, not that often, because there's a season for exhibits right in museums A lot of times. It's historical, it's been there forever and probably they've got a voice that has been the voice and they've got that system that you put on the headphones and they've had a voiceover there and so they probably don't need to change it if the history hasn't changed, right about it.
18:32 And so if you put all those things together and you say okay, so how many opportunities do I have to become a narrator for museum tours? Right, that's not a huge market compared to again, I always tell people corporate, because that's my shtick but corporate 30.4 million registered companies. They all need to sell a product. They all need to train somebody on that product and or a customer on that product. They need to train their internal staff on safety policies and HR procedures and also how to sell their product. So that's a lot of opportunities. So if you want to know why work isn't coming your way and maybe you've spent all of your money on just the smaller markets, consider really investing time. It doesn't take a lot right to investigate the market for things. All I did was Google how many museums are there in the United States and then think about it how often are they going to need a voice?
19:25 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, one thing that a lot of voice actors do early in their journey is disqualify themselves from work that doesn't seem to appeal to them because they only want to do this one thing, yeah, yeah, yeah. The strain of voice actors who want to do the museum tours. I call them PBS voice actors.
19:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, there's so many of them. I'm a PBS person too, me too.
19:44 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I watch PBS all the time. We adore it. But those that are interested in the intellectual, historical artistic documentaries.
19:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How many documentaries are there? I've done that Google search Also.
19:54 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Very, very few yeah yeah, right, but it also applies to the cartoon and animation voice actors that are out there.
20:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
20:02 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) This is another one.
20:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And now, not only how many animation shows are there, then you've got to think about who hires people to do animation shows. Right, that's typically broadcast, right? Broadcast, you know, on the air or streaming.
20:14 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Or streaming or streaming right.
20:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But again, those amount of companies that we'll hire are finite, right? 25,000 networks I think you have to Google me and check me, but I did that research as well 25,000 networks, again, compared to the amount of companies out there who have a product to sell, right. Right 25,000 is nothing. And again, remember, they might already have a voice. They maybe aren't looking for a new voice, and so, when those opportunities come around and evolve, those are the ones you'll audition for, along with all the other people who want to do animation.
20:48 I could do corporate narration that talks about the history of a company. Right, it's similar. It's similar. It may not be exactly the same, but it can feel similar. A lot of corporate documentaries are lovely if they've got good writing, but think of those other markets that are larger and will give you more opportunities.
21:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, I always tell my students that all voice acting is storytelling. All genres of voice acting are storytelling. All stories have a beginning, a middle, an end, an arc and a message, whether it's a cartoon character or it's hours of corporate narration.
21:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, or even an e-learning lesson. Every lesson has an introduction, points to the lesson and a conclusion.
21:37 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I approach all of my voiceover work and I do a lot of different genres. Like every week I'm doing political explainer, corporate commercial. I'm doing all kinds of genres every week. I approach all of them from a position of play and a position of storytelling. So people are like, oh you know, but the HR stuff is boring and I'm like you know what so is being hungry, so I find the joy in it.
22:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You have to find the joy in it, because if you find the joy in it, the people that are listening to you will also be inspired and motivated.
22:07 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right. So here's something I've learned recently, anne because we're talking about how to motivate our bosses is that I have learned that there are between intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators. So you want to find intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to get you to do the things that you need to do to move your voiceover business forward. So, like an extrinsic motivator is, if I do five auditions, I'll give myself a cookie, because you may have trouble being motivated to do auditions, for whatever reason.
22:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I couldn't be giving myself a cookie.
22:36 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, no well, you just lost all that, Maybe an article of clothing or a lipstick?
22:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm not sure.
22:40 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Fine, that's an and thing or whatever, or it's an action figure or a comic book or whatever. So find, if you need some kind of carrot to be able to motivate yourself to do a task, whatever it is voiceover related, whether it's auditions or invoicing or anything else. And then there's intrinsic motivators. What can you find within yourself to make the task more pleasurable? You know like, for example, I'm going to give you the worst, dumbest example in the world is that there's this Disney short. Remember the Disney shorts when we were growing up.
23:08 Yes, absolutely. So there was one of like the chunky park ranger. He would talk like this no-transcript everywhere.
23:23 And the park ranger's like, oh, bother, I wish I wouldn't have to clean all this up by myself. And then all these bears are just lying around hanging out and he's like, hmm, that gives me an idea. And then he goes hey, everybody, we're going to play a game. And all the bears are like, yeah, let's play a game. And he gives all of them a bag and then like a stick with a little spike on it that you use to clean up. Then he's like all right, here we go. First you pick it up, then you put it in the bag, bump, bump. Then you dance around, then you do this Bump, bump, bump, da-da-da-da-da. And then they saw him in the hammock.
24:04 Just kind of relaxing and they're all like wait a minute and then they threw all the garbage all over the place. But he found not in the right way. He found an intrinsic motivator to make a boring or tedious or frightful task more fun and interesting. So it would get done.
24:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I like that example. First of all, thank you, Tom, for that. That's going to be some good sound clips here.
24:25 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It's in the bag, by the way. Go on Google and just Google. Disney in the bag, and that's the short. It's delightful.
24:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love it. I love it and you know, honestly, the fact is, most people say I don't know the subject, or it could be boring, or HR policies are boring. I mean, in reality, that, to me, is the challenge. So, if you want to have a creative challenge that stimulates, you, take the most boring material and I want you to make it motivating and inspiring for somebody to listen to, right there. That's all I need. That's all I need is the creative challenge of it for me to be excited by it, and when I'm excited by it, I can stand a chance of making you excited by it. Right, or at least I'm passionate about getting my point across and like saying here OSHA regulations dictate that you need to do this to be safe.
25:10 Now that to me. I want to make that very maybe not exciting for the listener, but I want to make sure that they hear me, and so I have to make sure that I am inspiring and motivating in my own way for my audience, and so I have another.
25:25 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) We'll call it a trick, but, like the stereotypical, most boring form of voiceover is guiding employees through their insurance. Right, that's the stereotypically most quote unquote boring, but this is what I do Whenever I'm tasked with that. I've done that for clients over the years. Is, I think, about the single mom with three kids, one of which has special needs? Sure, and that mom is terrified of picking the wrong prescription plan.
25:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely.
25:54 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) So I intrinsically motivate myself by talking just to that single mom, through my subtext and my tone and my cadence and my rhythm. I'm telling that single mom, everything's going to be okay, I'm going to walk you through this.
26:08 - Intro (Announcement) It's a lot easier than you think.
26:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We're going to go through this.
26:11 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Together. We're going to get through this and you're going to take care of yourself and take care of your children.
26:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you said that, because I have a lot of pharmaceutical stuff. I read the back of labels and so I'm always imagining I am that patient that I'm frantically looking at the back of the label because I need to know what my dosage is, or obviously I've probably had 10 of the symptoms already and therefore I must take myself to the hospital immediately because I'm experiencing all the symptoms. But I say that sarcastically, but in I say that sarcastically but in reality that is kind of me, I mean, and so I will read that label with that compassion and understanding that people need to hear the important things and that's what makes me excited about what I do. And I love how we've just discussed the motivation for people to because this is hard, right to make it less hard so that you can experience joy in all aspects of this career, in all stages and phases of this career, because it's not going to happen overnight, guys. It just it does not happen 0.00001% of the time. Maybe there's one person who has experienced success, but not overnight. I don't know of anyone in this industry.
27:18 So good discussion, bosses, don't give up. Don't give up. Motivate yourself, stick it out, do the work, understand that it's not easy. And does it get easier? I mean, I know that we discussed this already. Does it get easier? Not really, because I think we always find new challenges, we're always evolving, we're always growing. So keep your eyes on the marketplace, keep your eyes on how you can evolve as a business and, because that is going to help you stay in the market, it's going to help you stay successful once you get there. Good discussion, tom. Thank you so much for that valuable input and that wonderful character that you I don't remember the name of the park ranger.
27:56 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) But you can find it Now.
27:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I've got to find the park ranger name. All right, bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network and listen to Tom Dheere like a boss, while he does his character impressions and myself I didn't do any character. Maybe next podcast, tom.
28:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Now. You have to do it next time.
28:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now.
28:24 - Intro (Announcement) I'm going. You have to do it next time. Yeah, now I'm going to have to do it. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission, coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
The BOSS Anne Ganguzza sits down with the dynamic Laura Doman, discussing her creative journey from high-tech sales to on-camera/voiceover actor. Her story is a testament to the power of following your passion, no matter your stage of life. The BOSSES explore the evolving landscape of on-camera and voiceover work, highlighting the growing demand for diverse and older talent. They discuss strategies for combating ageism, including the use of humor and embracing one's unique qualities. The BOSSES reflect on the dynamics of working with younger teams and the importance of authenticity in creating memorable roles. The conversation also touches on empowering women in the voiceover industry and how past professional experiences can complement new ventures.
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Imagine a voiceover journey where every step is filled with discovery and growth. That's the path I want to work on with you, through nurturing coaching and creative demo production. Let's unveil the true potential of your voice together. It's not just about the destination, it's about the gorgeous journey getting there. Are you ready to take the first step? Connect with me at anganguzacom.
00:32 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am very excited to have with me in the studio a special guest on-camera actor, video communications coach, speaker and author, Laura Doman. Laura's voiceover and on-camera credits include commercials and industrials for AAA, home Depot, the United Way, equifax and Bobo's Oat Bars, as well as many more, and lead and supporting roles in films, tv web series and new media. Laura, I am so excited. Thanks so much for joining us on the show today. Oh, thank you, anne. It's such a delight to be here, yay. Well, let's start off for the bosses who are not familiar with you Tell us a little bit about your journey into acting, because I know you've been in acting forever and voiceover and, yeah, how it all started?
01:40 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Well, I guess I would just say I am in my second childhood andA having the time of my life. I am definitely in that third stage of life, but acting is something I've always loved. I was the little kid putting on plays in the neighborhood all through school. I did the morning announcements in high school.
01:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, of course you did. I can totally hear that yeah.
02:00 - Laura Doman (Co-host) And I had a lot of fun. I even trained other kids how to do it, because the school found it was one way to get the kids to finally quiet down in homeroom and listen. Well, I ended up going into a corporate career, but I ended up in high-tech sales, where my favorite thing was surprise, surprise presentations, being able to go to conferences, be a speaker, anything where I could just do a little razzle-dazzle in front of people. After I did that for a number of years, though, I took a straight turn off to the right and became a stay-at-home mom, something I never envisioned, but that gave me a chance to take a look at what do I really want to do with my life? And once my kids got old enough, I decided hey, you know, we're not getting any younger. When I'm on my deathbed I don't want to have any regrets. And when I was in my corporate job, I would sneak out of some of those sales calls.
02:53 And I did do on-camera commercials. I did some film roles, I did some TV commercials. I did a little bit of everything, and I said you know what? I'm going to dive into it, what the heck? And so I did, and I started first on camera. And just for anybody who's wondering if you're too old to get started, that was, oh, I was in my mid to hear it, but she is. She was in the musical theater and she was begging Mom. I really want to do film and TV and all I could think of, as the responsible parent, was school let's think about this. And I thought, well, she may not get into any agency. Somebody picked her up and then they were looking for older actors, so I dusted off my materials. I did that. I ran into a friend who told me you can get some real voiceover training. I found the Atlanta VoiceOver Studio, which is incredible, and then I had both of those going and that's where my acting career just sort of took off.
03:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, so did you find that you were getting on-camera roles first and then voiceover, or were they both kind of coming at the same time?
04:05 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Well, definitely the on-camera. And I had enough hubris to think well, I had experience, I had training way back when I could just do it and I booked a bunch. All of a sudden I realized I don't know enough and I went back for training and then I started getting a request for voiceover, especially anything with the teleprompter. Now, in my personal opinion, the teleprompter is the love child between on-camera and voiceover.
04:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure is yes, that's a great analogy that is a great analogy.
04:33 - Laura Doman (Co-host) I love it. It is the best of both worlds. First of all, you're on camera, but you don't have to memorize a darn thing. I know.
04:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's such a relief. I mean because when I was in school I was in plays and I just remember, oh God, memorizing those lines was just so. I mean I loved it, but it was so tedious and I'm like teleprompter now. This is pretty cool. I don't have to memorize anymore.
04:56 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Especially the older you get. Yeah, it's hard. Now, one thing I did find by memorizing a lot of lines not so much monologues but big scenes was that the brain cells started waking up, and it's a muscle. The more I did it, the better I got at it. So if you want to stay young, Memorize yes.
05:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I like that you mentioned this, and actually one of the reasons why I really did want to have like a conversation with you today was you talked about you've evolved over the years and your second childhood, and talking about voiceover and on camera. I'd like to talk to you about your thoughts on ageism because, being a woman of a certain age, I have experienced a certain amount of ageism in my careers over the years and I think we should have a discussion. Let's talk about that. How has ageism affected you in the on-camera world and or in voiceover?
05:51 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Well, it's kind of interesting because we all have a mental age of what we look like and it's usually, in my case, 15, 20 years younger than I really am. But you have to go with how you look. Now, with voice, it's how does your voice print sound Right and you could be many decades younger. But on camera usually you play within about 10 years of your real age. So it could be a bit of a wake-up call first of all, to come to terms with it. Yeah, you could take great care of yourself, but they also cast people a little bit younger. So I have been doing things for AARP and Medicare and retirement communities. Now that I'm getting into that age it's not that unusual. But they never know what they really want. Oftentimes they want people who really look old and in the on-camera world they're not necessarily looking for pretty model types For a long time. They're looking for what they call real people. Yeah, anybody off the street. Thank goodness it turned to that, didn't it.
06:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, would you say like reality TV kind of, at least started the evolution of maybe having real people on television. I mean, even though real TV I mean that could be a whole nother podcast, if it's really real TV but in terms of not everybody on television has to be attractive and young.
07:02 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Oh, yeah, you know what? I noticed this when I compare it before reality TV to now. Back in the late 80s, early 90s, when I was sneaking out doing all this stuff, I was told that I was too get this exotic for the Atlanta market, where I live. I should go to Miami or New York. Why? Because I look Middle Eastern, I look Hispanic, I look New Yorkish and I have dark hair. And whenever they would ask me to play a businesswoman, they just said you're not quite right, I am a businesswoman. Oh, no, no, no, those are pert little cute blondes with little pageboy haircuts. It's completely reversed. The people that they're looking for are of multiple ethnicities, mixed ethnicity, and they don't want model types. And I think reality TV did play a big role because people want to identify and they want real stories.
07:54 So I do believe that's part of it. As far as the ageism is concerned, I definitely was seeing that in the corporate world and my friends who are still in it are having a horrible time, but I haven't found it so much on camera Now. Partly it's because they do need older roles and thank goodness they are finally running some really good juicy ones. You know, I just did a web series where I was playing an evil, murderous stepmother. I love it. Usually I play sweet mothers and grandmas.
08:24 They had a stunt coordinator who was showing me how to slap, punch, hit, take a knife, stab. I normally don't get those kind of roles and they're realizing older people have some interesting things going on. But sometimes they're going to be worried and I had a series on camera a little well, I stick it on YouTube now called Actors Over 50. There are some casting directors wondering can you memorize? Can?
08:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) you handle all this.
08:50 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Are you going to be able to physically handle any of the movements we require? Do you have the stamina?
08:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, and those are things that I wouldn't have even thought. I mean, my next question was going to be what strategies do you have for combating ageism? And those thoughts about yeah, can you, do you have the stamina?
09:07 - Laura Doman (Co-host) You know what? You just probably announced who you are and I have found that when you're older, you care a lot less what people think and you can have a lot more fun. Older, you care a lot less what people think and you can have a lot more fun. And I've been using humor and everything so I make light of it so I could be like the snarky grandma I can be the person who has something funny to say. Sometimes, when you have a very young group of people you're working with, you are going to be sidelined because you're not their generation and you're older and you're ignored. But there are many others who want to hear what you have to say and they love it when you say something they didn't expect out of you.
09:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I love that, and so in voiceover, do you have any instances where you might have been looked over because of I don't know your age? Or was it something that wasn't really relevant, because we're behind the mic and we're theoretically not seen?
10:00 - Laura Doman (Co-host) I haven't found that so much, mostly because they're dealing with a voice. I did do a directed session for a group in Milan, italy, and they were looking for a younger voice. This was a few years back and I think they did a double take. When they saw that I'm not in my 20s, they were fine with it Again. They only wanted the finished product. I don't find it so much, except that when I'm dealing with a very young group of people, sometimes they just aren't comfortable with you. They don't know how to relate to you. I try to warm it up by being friendly and professional, but I also realize okay, that's where they are in their lifetimes. They're just not comfortable with people over a certain age. I remind them too much of their mothers, grandmothers that nasty old aunt.
10:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't know, I don't have a nasty aunt, but I got it. So then would you say that opportunities for, let's say, bosses just starting out that might be older, like are there ample opportunities both on?
10:55 - Laura Doman (Co-host) camera and inover for their age. Yes, there are tons. Now the one nice thing about let me talk about on camera first, think of it as a bit of a funnel. You got a lot of young people at the top of the funnel. They're teens and they're 20s. But as you work through it, as people get older, a lot of people, especially the women, drop off. A lot of those who start young often will drop off when they have families or when they get to 35, 40. They don't want to be seen on camera or they just find there are fewer roles.
11:24 But for those of us who've started later on and who don't feel like we need to be the lead and we're not going to ever be the ingenue, let's scoop up and take advantage of the vacuum and if we have a unique type and we can bring our real selves which is something you learn and train in voiceover they love it because they're not necessarily casting for a very specific type. Sometimes. They are Most often like with voiceover. They want to know what do you have to bring to the table? We want to see the authentic. You Just like in voiceover, they want to know what do you have to bring to the table. We want to see the authentic.
11:57 You Just like in voiceover, just like you've always told me and countless others, don't worry about what you think they want. Bring yourself, because then they could be delightfully surprised. And there are some really great roles. There are going to be smaller ones. For the most part we are going to be supporting characters, but we can be memorable and you'd be surprised by how many times you can be called back in because of that particular memorable role. So think quality I love it Not necessarily quantity.
12:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then, over the years, you've done just a wonderful job of evolving and growing and actually reinventing yourself right, and I think that's definitely a wonderful trait of a boss. So talk about what were some of those challenges, when you were starting to reinvent yourself, that you faced, because it's not easy to do.
12:49 - Laura Doman (Co-host) It's not easy to do, especially if you're older and you're used to being somewhat successful in a previous career. All of a sudden, you're starting at ground zero. That's where you want to adopt a Zen mind, the beginner's mind, because when I was starting out in voiceover, I was already in my late 50s and I looked at people like Ann Ganguza and I went, oh my gosh, how can I possibly compete with Ann? And then I would do the same thing in the on-camera world. I'm way behind. I only have so many years. What do I do? That is where you just clear off all that junk. It's your journey.
13:24 You are a unique person and, yes, it probably will take a long time to build up momentum and when you're older, you can lean into things, though that other people have a hard time doing. Your life experience for one. If you come from another industry, like the corporate world, I can bring the voice of experience and authority and knowledge. You want tech terminology. I'm going to give you tech terminology which other people may not be able to do or be comfortable with, so you just have to be willing to pay your dues.
13:54 Start off, be humble, listen to people that are younger than you that could be your kids and follow your own journey. Personally, I don't want to leave any regrets on the table and I don't know how long my run is, but I am going to make the most of the time I have and I am scooping up and repackaging everything I've ever learned in my life, including that corporate job, and I'm finding it extremely useful. For example, while I do my acting on camera and in voiceover, I am also bringing everything I've learned now as a service coaching, consulting to business people who want to get better on camera themselves, like for videos, zoom presentations, interviews, online appearances. If you're older, you've got that. I'm scooping up my business know-how with the entertainment, giving them the best tips, talking their language and sticking it out there.
14:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wonderful. So how do you juggle it all? Because you're doing voiceover, you're doing on-camera, you're doing coaching. How do you juggle all of these? And I say that as a person who has multiple I call it multiple divisions of my business myself and I know how hard it is to manage VO boss, vo peeps and ganguza coaching and ganguza demo production. So talk to us about how you do the juggling act successfully, because sometimes people can say, oh, you're stretched too thin and you're not going to do anything. Wonderfully well, yeah.
15:19 - Laura Doman (Co-host) I'm told sometimes I'm very busy, but first of all I do stay up late when everything is quiet.
15:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I can get things done. I work seven and a half days a week. Yeah, no.
15:27 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Yeah, the other thing is my husband is retired. A lot of women find this he's underfoot, so I have to throw him out of my office more times than I can count. So you got to have a backbone. But mostly it's a matter of prioritization what's most important, what are those top things you have to do? And when you're juggling things, I look to see how they are integrated and support one another. When I go after opportunities, my favorites are the ones that require both on-camera experience and voiceover, and occasionally I found one that includes all three, because there's a teleprompter thrown in and sometimes they're looking for somebody who could do it all. So I try to find those opportunities. Sometimes it's voiceover for film or TV. I was just at Tyler Perry Studios. Talk about cool For voiceover.
16:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I saw that. I saw your post on Facebook. Very cool, very cool.
16:19 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Yeah, incredible guy to work for, I mean, an amazing studio. There have been e-learning where they also want to make it into a virtual reality and their employees are supposed to learn about DEI but they don't want to preach. So I did a job a few years ago which was on camera, voiceover, teleprompter and print and they wanted to take it into the future, into a fantasy world where genetic splicing was a thing and the kids were all into it and I'm the mother of a high school senior looking at colleges going, huh, these kids are putting animal DNA. There's a cat boy and a girl dog. You're not bringing one of those home. I don't think you should be with those people. They're not really people and the whole training was to see what's the right course and either you answered correctly and the mother was open-minded or, boom, you go back and try again.
17:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow. Well, let's talk about how you market yourself for all of these things, because you're like you're finding these opportunities, but how are you finding them and how are you marketing yourself? Because I've seen now you're doing a lot of video online, which is great, and it's not about hire me, hire me. It's basically just showing a really cool aspect of your personality. So talk a little bit about your marketing strategies.
17:35 - Laura Doman (Co-host) I try to share, teach and also entertain, and by doing so I can highlight everything that I'm doing. I'll start off with the entertainment. You know those little sayings you see on cocktail napkins and towels when you go into a gift shop. I started writing all those down a few years ago and I call them my mom-isms and I go in and I act them out Five to ten second videos that are cute, funny, boom, and they're very popular on LinkedIn.
18:01 It shows what I could do on camera. It shows what I could do with voiceover, sure, and it shows a sense of humor. I also share my tips on on-camera confidence and I make everything now in short video form under 60 seconds, and again, I try to pack a lot of value into it so people will watch it from start to finish, and I share that widely. I've done the same thing for older actors, to show people, not just older actors as a service, but for anybody else who'd be looking. And then I've got a few other series in mind. But it's a matter of sharing what you know. Don't be afraid of that and let them entertain themselves while they're watching it, and that way you're memorable.
18:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you know what I love. You know what I love. I love that you said LinkedIn, and I caught you on that because I like how you're directing those videos on a platform towards the audience that you are selling to. And LinkedIn, yeah, absolutely, because I was going to say what about TikTok? Well, tiktok is another story these days, but what about Instagram? What about videos on Facebook? So are you choosing platforms based upon where you feel that your market is strategically?
19:08 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Well, right, now I'm putting them out just about everywhere because I can. The biggest focus is on LinkedIn where ironically, my momisms are the most popular. I get the most response from that. Instagram is great for on-camera work and I have been advised to divide it into two channels One which is just showing me as funny, humorous the actor part of my life, and then another one which is showing the on-camera confidence and that's going to be all the professional content. I am heavily into YouTube.
19:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was going to say I didn't want to neglect the YouTube platform, because I also do a lot of shorts on YouTube and Instagram as well, and LinkedIn as well.
19:46 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Yeah, I mean, I have a YouTube channel for me and one separate for momisms for the humorous. I also put them on. I have a Facebook, which is more personal, but I've started a Facebook page Because you never know where you're going to find people. I've been throwing my momisms on TikTok to see if there's an audience for that.
20:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I'm everywhere and I keep a strong calendar to keep track of everything. Sure, I was going to say, like, do you have specific days where you're recording these things and let's talk about, like, your posting strategy? Is it every day, is it once a week, and how are you tracking your progress on different channels?
20:20 - Laura Doman (Co-host) I should have brought it down because I could show you a book. It's actually one of those little free realtor books you get when somebody's trying to market their service. Yeah, and it's a big calendar because I like to be able to see at a glance how much I am doing on any particular channel. I will be putting the name in little notes here with the color of that particular social media. Blue is LinkedIn. This does not surprise me.
20:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Just knowing you, Laura.
20:46 - Laura Doman (Co-host) No no.
20:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Laura, it's probably beautiful and I would love to see that someday You're going to have to send us a photo and I'll put it on the show notes for people, because I'm sure it's wonderful, because I'm like, oh gosh, I mean I wish I could be color coordinated, or I mean I'm as organized as I can be, but I'm not quite color coordinated, organized, but yeah, You'll also see things that are crossed out because, oh my goodness, I just got so busy I didn't get to it.
21:12 - Laura Doman (Co-host) But I try to lay it out. So when I'm creating my videos, I will go ahead and schedule it that way. Anything that I could load ahead of time natively on a social media platform, I will. I do not use a scheduler.
21:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was just going to ask you because Facebook has changed the rules just FYI and Instagram now, because I think they're trying to. If you're verified and you pay the subscription price, you're not getting the traction that you were before, and that is one of those things that everybody's freaking out about.
21:40 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Yeah, and one advantage of doing it on your own and I got this from Hunter Peterson and I'm happy to put a plug in for him because he helped me with the YouTube strategy is that you want to use your mobile phone to be able to put your videos natively, because if you just do it on your desktop or other, you don't have any control over the thumbnail, and that thumbnail is so important, whatever it is. So I do it on my own natively and I just schedule them out. I try to batch the videos I'm creating. I might do four or five momisms at a time, three on camera confidence.
22:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yeah, because you have to prepare. I mean, I know, for me I have video day, which is typically Thursdays and Saturdays. I've got to be camera ready and that doesn't always happen on a day-to-day basis. And that takes part of my day too. I'm like this takes a long time. The hair Well, that's a whole other conversation.
22:35 - Laura Doman (Co-host) No, it's a good conversation.
22:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, it's definitely something that we need to talk about.
22:39 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Well, I'll tell you that there are oftentimes I have to just throw the whole calendar out the window because in the on-camera world, when something comes calling that has to take priority Very short turnarounds because you got to memorize and you got to get the hair all done up?
22:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I love this conversation about being camera ready and voiceover ready, and scheduling has always been one of those things. It's incredibly important. I live by my calendar, so you have the posting calendar, but I live by my Google calendar, so is yours just? Is it straight up on a physical calendar or oh no, no, no, you do digital as well.
23:15 - Laura Doman (Co-host) We can learn from our children. My daughter is so proud of me because I always did something on a little pocket calendar. Remember those Hallmark calendars?
23:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, I do. I used to write in them myself, yep.
23:27 - Laura Doman (Co-host) I used those ever since my grandmother bought them for me when I was little. Yes, well, my daughter just said Mom, google Calendar, you can color code it. Oh, yes, so that's what I do and I love that. But when it comes to scheduling, my Realtors calendar gets a lot of use and I could put everything there because I'm still very visual and it was very helpful because I was gone for, let's say, a month traveling and I was trying to plan everything out and I even brought that thing with me so that when I had something specific to add in, I had a lot of flexibility. Like, I'm very big into in-person networking and when I am there and I have photos, I want to be able to put them in. And I relate it to business? Sure, absolutely.
24:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, oh man. I'll tell you, laura, what advice would you give for bosses maybe starting out a little bit later in their careers and wanting to do on camera or voiceover what's your best tips and advice for them?
24:25 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Have fun, the only reason you should be doing something really, especially later in life. We all have freedom. Many of us might have the financial freedom from having bankrolled from previous careers or there is somebody else in the family who is still working or you've got a retirement. Do it because you love it, because that joy, that sincerity, that authenticity is going to come through.
24:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that and you know, that's just something that I didn't even think about, because when you don't have the stress or the worry of like that financial burden, where you're like I've got to feed the six kids and pay the mortgage and yeah, that really brings a lot to your plate and is, I would say, a huge advantage for those later on in life.
25:09 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Absolutely yeah that and the fact that you might as well do something you've always wanted, and you would just be very surprised by how many people don't know things. For example, when I was in the corporate world, people were amazed by anybody who shows any level of creativity. When I was working on the flip side and I was helping to organize meals for monologues, they were amazed my God, you're an actor and you're so organized.
25:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you're an actor who has a head for business, which is another thing that I love about you, laura, is that really? I think that it's something that, as creatives and bosses, I think it's one of the hardest things for some people to grasp hold of is that this is your business and there's a lot of business things you need to do in order to be successful, and you've proven it as you've evolved so successfully over the years.
25:59 - Laura Doman (Co-host) And you also have to be able to change with the times. When I started my corporate world back in the early 80s because I'm that old I was dial in for dollars. Now everything is done with social media and social marketing or emailing, and so you have to be willing to learn. Like I'm part of Mark Scott's Veopreneur community, I did the mastermind. I think what Paul Schmidt is doing is incredible. There's so many others. You have to be willing to be open-minded and it's one thing to be older and experienced and know something about this, but you have to be aware that you don't know a lot about that and there's still a lot to learn from younger people.
26:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think we just have to be lifelong learners. That's it. I mean, that's the educator part in me, and I love to learn. I think we should always be learning and, laura, we've definitely learned so much from this discussion today. Thank you so much. You've just shared a lot of wisdom that even I like kind of go through it myself as a woman of a certain age, but I'll tell you what you really brought it to light. And thank you so much for spending time with us today.
26:58 - Laura Doman (Co-host) Well, thank you. My pleasure and I'm delighted to be here Awesome.
27:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network like bosses like myself and Laura. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
27:20 - Intro (Announcement) Bye, bye-bye with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry-revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Learn how to transform money aspirations into concrete financial plans in our next episode of the Boss Money Talks series with Danielle Famble. The BOSSES guide you through setting precise financial goals, breaking down larger targets into manageable segments, and preparing for the variable and unpredictable income streams that are so common in the voiceover industry. The BOSSES dive deep into strategies for creating financial freedom through strategic growth. They discuss the powerful impact of investing in yourself and your business, whether that means hiring help, taking breaks for self-care, or seeking out coaching and training. Tune in to discover how financial stability can lead to better business decisions, higher quality work, and long-term success in the competitive world of voiceover.
00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, amazing voiceover talents. Do you ever wish boss marketing was as fun as it was being behind the mic? Well, check out my VO Boss Blast. It's designed to automate and make your marketing simpler. You'll benefit from your very own target marketed list, tailored to meet your goals and your brand the VO Boss Blast. Find out more at voboss.com.
00:28 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, nne Ganguza.
00:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talks series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and I'm here again with the lovely Danielle Famble to talk money today. Hey Danielle, hey Anne, it's good to be back with you. Yes, I love talking money, me too.
01:05 Money money, money. So, speaking of money, we were just having a conversation where we love to. Well, I love to shop online. I will readily admit that, and I think it's important that we think about do I have the money to spend on this? Do I have financial goals for my business? Do I have the money to spend on this? Do I have financial goals for my business?
01:24 Because another thing that I will also do with my students is when they first start working with me, they have to fill out a goal sheet, and I think that a lot of times, we know what performance goals I want to get work. I want to work in this genre, I want to get an agent. We have all the performance goals and, oh, I want to have a business, or I want to have a thriving business, but I don't think many of us get very specific about financial goals. Again, it's one of those things where I think people think if they don't look at it it's kind of like don't look at my credit card statements that maybe they'll go away. But no, we've got to really keep our eyes open and look to the future, and I think it's a good time to talk about how to set financial goals for your business.
02:04 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, no. That's really important because for me in the past I've always just said with a financial goal, I just want more. I want to make more money, I want to have more, and it's not specific at all, it's just more or mentality. What you're lacking in that specificity tells you what is enough and how you know when you've reached your goal, so that you can either make more goals or become more targeted on that goal. So more usually was my goal and I never felt like I hit it.
02:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Or for me it would be like oh well, I want to make a six-figure income, and so I don't think that's specific enough. Right, right, like how do I get to that six-figure income from day one right and day 30 and day 60, like on a monthly basis or on a weekly basis? How am I achieving those goals?
02:58 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, and I think what you could do then is say, okay, if you want to make a six-figure income, okay, what is six figures? Is it specifically $100,000? Is it $ Five hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand dollars? All of these things are absolutely possible, but what is the specific six figure For me? If I were saying you know I want a six figure income, I would want to say, all right, is it one hundred thousand dollars? If it's one hundred thousand dollars, then you can divide that by 12. Yeah, just round numbers and then figure out that you need to make that number per month and you'll know monthly if you're on target to hit that amount or not, also considering things like expenses and taxes and things like that. So it's a question of are you wanting to just bring in that amount of money? Are you trying to bring in that amount of money after expenses? Like, getting specific about these financial goals really helps. You know when you've hit your target or not.
03:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, right. And the more specific I think you can get, I think, the more achievable it may seem to you. Because it's all well and good to say I want to make I don't know. $8,000 a month, right? So $8,000 a month times 12, right, that doesn't quite get you to 100, right. So $8,000 a month times 12, right, that doesn't quite get you to 100, right? Or $12,000 a month will get you $120. I'm pulling out my calculator because now that we started.
04:14 - Danielle Famble (Host) As much as I love talking about money, math is not my.
04:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, we need calculators.
04:19 - Danielle Famble (Host) Math is not my ministry, so sometimes I have to just pull out a calculator.
04:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I got it, I got you. But let's just say I have that money goal on a monthly basis, right? What is it going to take for me to achieve that? And that is especially difficult, and I think this is why most voice actors it's so hard for them to set these financial goals, because our industry I mean we are entrepreneurs, I mean we have highs, we have lows.
04:45 There's no expected income coming in, which makes this so much different than my corporate job where I made a salary per year and you divide that by the amount of times I get paid, I know exactly what I'm going to get on my paycheck, right? And that takes away that uncertainty, all that risk, right? Because it's a stable kind of an income that's coming in every month and so we could count on that if we're working a job and working in corporate. But now, all of a a sudden, we're entrepreneurs and so that monthly achievable goal, or weekly or whatever you want to set it to, becomes like what I mean there's no guarantee. So what do we do? What do we do? We have that goal, how do we get there? There's the question of the day.
05:30 - Danielle Famble (Host) So you can take a look at what you're currently doing now. I think looking at where you are and then making your goal achievable within where you're currently at will help you, hopefully, get closer to that goal than if you are at making $1,000 a month and you're saying I want to make $10,000 a month next month or next year. There are things that you're going to need to do. So if you can look at where you are now and see where you are in relationship to that goal, that will help you understand the time frame that it will take, how long it will take you to hit that goal.
06:03 What else do you need to do? Do you need to study more? Do you need to have different kinds of demos? Do you need to take a look at what genres are you auditioning for? Maybe you're not going to make that kind of money doing a certain kind of genre. Maybe that money comes from a different genre that maybe you don't work in as much. So do you have the demos and the training that you need to make that amount of money? Once you start getting specific, it actually starts to add more questions so that you can figure out how to get to that financial goal that you have.
06:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I like that because it really brings in all the other elements into play. Right, because, all right, in order for me to make and I'm just giving it a number, in order for me to make $10,000 a month, right, that's four weeks, right? So how many auditions do I need to do? Right? How many times do I need to book? And you're right, absolutely Like, what kind of genres I mean, what kind of money are you making? Especially because we never know, like necessarily from job to job, what that money is. We can have a baseline, right, and we can say, well, I'd like to charge this for the job. It may make us rethink what we're charging people right?
07:14 - Danielle Famble (Host) Absolutely. That's a huge part of it too are your rates. If your rates are completely out of alignment with what your goal is, then that tells you. Maybe you need to take a look at your rates. Maybe you need to take a look at the types of jobs that you are auditioning for what you are saying yes to, because when you say yes to something, that inherently means you're saying no to something else, because you only have a certain amount of time to do what needs to get done.
07:38 That's actually something that I've had to take a look at in my own business is, if I say yes to certain things, is that actually getting me closer to my goal, or is it getting me closer to more, and more is not specific. So sometimes you're going to need to say no so that you are available for the jobs that will get you closer to your financial goals your financial income goals, if that's what your financial goals are.
08:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, the power of no, it is a thing, it is an absolute, tangible thing, the power of no.
08:09 And I think also you've got to be aware of the market, right, it's all well and good to say I want to make six figures, you know, and I'm going to charge this amount, so there's also the other side of the coin, where you're going to be, let's say, maybe pricing yourself out of the market. And so education I feel like this whole series, like we need to start off by saying educate, educate, educate, educate. It's so important because now, all of a sudden, there's market price, right, we're dealing with the dark side of synthetic voices coming on the horizon. And so what are consumers willing to pay? Right, and you know you do have to take that into account, right, and so sometimes you can be price undercut by another talent or somebody else on a roster who will do it cheaper, and it's unfortunate, but I mean that's the way the cookie crumbles, or there's got to be some sort of money analogy for that, danielle, that you might know, that's the way the dollar gets spent.
09:02 There you go, yeah, I mean, there's all these variables, danielle, and it's so intimidating, which is why I think most people don't really set those financial goals.
09:11 - Danielle Famble (Host) And also adding in negotiation. Being comfortable negotiating your rates and negotiating what a company or client is willing to pay is really important as well, and getting comfortable and competent in how to negotiate is actually a lever that you can pull as well. There are so many things that are in your control when it comes to bringing in the income for your business that just saying okay, I want to make six figures, that's all well and good. Now what can I do? What's in my control? What are the levers that I can pull? Maybe it's negotiating. Maybe it's making sure that I'm quoting industry standard rates, educating myself on what industry standard rates are, maybe going to a GVAA rate guide or looking at what is the industry charging.
09:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Marketing more yeah.
09:59 - Danielle Famble (Host) You can also say no and say hey, listen, this is below what I'm willing to accept for my time, because this is not going to get me closer to my goal. There's so many things that you can do not going to get me closer to my goal. There's so many things that you can do. Just saying this is the goal and I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing really takes away the agency that you have in getting to this goal.
10:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, one thing that I will say that allows me to be bolder in moving forward in my business is having and I've said this in numerous other podcasts, but I think it bears repeating is having that financial cushion. That means having money in the bank that allows me to be bold with my saying no if I need to right, maybe delving out into a different genre or getting more coaching or whatever it is, making another investment in my business so that I can move forward Again. I wish it was all like oh, this is the absolute path I must go in order to achieve this. But there's so many variables that you say and I love it because it's so positive that we have in our control to do it, and I like to really think about it like a challenge. I mean, I'm a girl who loves a challenge, right, I mean so for me. I've always said that I love voice acting and I love coaching, but I love the business I love the business of making money right.
11:13 I love trying to figure out how can I make more money and if I treat it as a challenge and I treat it like a game right, as long as I have that financial cushion right in the bank, I have some leeway. I have a little bit of play where I can actually go out on a limb and take a chance and take a risk, actually go out on a limb and take a chance and take a risk, and if that pays off for me, yes then that can be something that catapults me into the next tax bracket.
11:39 - Danielle Famble (Host) Absolutely, it's so empowering to be able to walk away and say no or to go for a different genre or whatever your goal is or your challenge, as you're saying, would be. It's so empowering to be able to back that up in your mind of saying, if this doesn't work out, I'm still okay. For me, that goes for financial savings goals. So I want to make sure that I have a certain amount of money in the bank, in savings, so that I'm not destitute. Yep, you can pay the bills.
12:05 Desperation is palpable and if you are operating from a place of, this has to work or else it may not work out as well for you. But the confidence in the back of your mind of saying, if not me, that's totally fine, I'm still okay, that's you taking the power and the agency of your future, of your financial future, your business's future. So, going from I need to make a certain amount of money to I need to have a certain amount of money so that I can feel safe and confident in being able to say no. Is it really important financial goal? That has taken me a long time to understand that it's as important, if not more important than just revenue goals.
12:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, your strategy to get there doesn't have to always revolve around jobs that you do. It can revolve around, like for me everybody knows I've been on a health journey, right, I worked myself to the bone, to the point where I was unhealthy, right, and then that was also taking away from my product. Actually, do you know what I mean? I wasn't at my 100% best, and so for me I was like I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop, I want to continue. Like I had a nice financial cushion but the workaholic in me said, well, let's just keep putting money in there. But at one point it became a little bit detrimental to me, right, because it affected my health. And now I'm okay with saying you know what, I can take that hour, that maybe hour and a half, to do some self-care, because if I am healthier, I'm going to have a better product and I'm going to be able to serve my clients better, I'm going to run my business better. And so the goal goals there, you know, in strategizing are not just like okay, this is what I want to make and these are how many auditions I'm going to have to do to get there, or this is how much marketing I'm going to have to do. It also can encompass whatever it is that affects your product right, to make your product better.
13:56 I think that's an avenue we need to look at, including coaching right, including new demos, which is why I feel that that part of the strategy in your financial goals. They're hand in hand Because it's all about the product really, right. I mean, we are a company. I always tell people like, especially when I'm teaching corporate narration, I'm like look, you can't just be an information deliverer when you talk about corporate narration, because the word corporate in and of itself says we need to sell something, right? There's no other reason why companies are formed. Can you think of any reason?
14:28 that companies are formed outside of to make a profit and they have a product and a service to sell. There's no other reason. So that means that you exist to make a profit, right.
14:39 - Intro (Announcement) You exist to make a profit.
14:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Your product needs to make a profit. And if your product is not making a profit, then you need to look at improving that product. And how are you going to do that? Or how are you going to make sure that you have a good product and that you're maintaining it, but not just maintaining it, but evolving it and growing it and making it better so that it's competitive?
14:59 - Danielle Famble (Host) I appreciate you saying that, because where you were when you realized that it was time to make a change is quite literally where I am right now.
15:08 I've said to myself recently I would love to be that person who goes to the gym at four o'clock in the afternoon. Well, normally I'd be doing auditions or trying to make sure I have a session at that time, or it's during the day. I need to be in this booth making money. I must be here, because if I'm not here working towards these financial goals, then what am I doing? But I need to pour into the instrument that is, the product, and to be able to do that I need money. So I need to be able to strategize that I'm making money enough to be able to take that four o'clock hour or whatever hour and go and take a workout class or go to the gym or just go outside and get some vitamin D, because sometimes I don't do that. So that's where you can take your financial goals and make them applicable to your daily life, not just as the person that you are, but the product of your business, which is how your business makes money. It's cyclical.
16:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I mean, if we had a physical product, it would be a different story. You know what I mean, like if I was like I'm selling pens, oh, I'm selling my Nganguza pens, right? So that's a different thing. I mean, you've got physical inventory here. Here we're talking about your voice, right, and so it encompasses that's what makes it so unique.
16:25 It encompasses so many different things in order to put out a great product and those goals whether you think so or not, I mean those goals that you set, financial goals. There's so many ways to get there that don't include just how much money do I invest? It can be how much do I invest in my product to make it better so that I can ultimately charge more or ultimately get more income coming in? So I didn't want to miss out on saying how important that was in terms of strategizing and goal setting, because I didn't realize it. Do you know what I mean? I just kept thinking, oh my God, I just have to work, I have to be at the desk, I have to work, I have to work, and then I realized that ultimately, my product was suffering, and so you don't want that to happen.
17:09 So, always being on the lookout of how can I be better? How can I and for me it's always been like the challenge and how can I grow? And growing takes. Growing is scary. You know what I mean. Oh yeah, growing your business is scary. I mean, okay, all of a sudden, now I might need an assistant. Oh, that means I've got to put more money out. That's scary when I don't feel like I have control over that. Income is not steady anymore. So all of a sudden it's like well, I don't know if I can afford right, which is what a lot of students can't afford. There's only so much they've allowed in order to develop their product. But in reality, taking it all in and understanding what's involved in putting out a great product, I mean, at least you don't have a storefront, that you're leasing a building.
17:55 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah. And the question that you can ask yourself, instead of saying I can't afford, is how can I afford?
18:01 - Intro (Announcement) to have an assistant, because then that starts to open up a lot more questions.
18:07 - Danielle Famble (Host) How much does an assistant cost? How much time commitment would I need for this assistant? Maybe it's a part-time assistant, a certain number of hours a week, Okay. So it's going to be 20 hours a week at, let's say, $15 an hour, Okay. So now that I know it's this amount of money, how can I afford this additional amount of money? And then you reverse engineer the problem.
18:31 Yeah, I love that so if it's, how can I take off at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to go to the gym? All right, that means that I need to make sure that I'm making a certain amount of money per week or per month, however I want to view it. Per week or per month, however I want to view it, and I'll know if I'm maybe negotiating a certain rate and I hit that target. Anything else for the week is gravy, because I know that I've made my target amount of money, I've hit my goal, I know the enough number and anything else on top of that to me is pure profit, which I love profit.
19:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We love profit.
19:04 - Danielle Famble (Host) I love profit, and so I think that's really how you can look at it. Instead of saying what you cannot do, ask yourself the creative in you how can you do it?
19:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was absolutely just going to say you know what I love about you, danielle, because you're always about what you can do right Versus I can't afford, I can't do this to grow. You're always like you're reversing it, like literally everything that we've talked about in this series is you with the positive manifestation right of how you can. Let's reverse, engineer, let's see what we, what here are our goals, here's what we can do to get there. And I absolutely love that about you and I believe that it's instrumental in your success. I think it can be instrumental in every boss's success that instead of what you can't do, what can you do and just manifest from abundance that whole mentality.
19:53 - Danielle Famble (Host) Thank you. I believe in that. We are creatives. That's what we are doing. We are actors. We are creating worlds and stories out of someone else's words, sometimes our own and we're creating something that didn't really exist before we breathe the life, the voice into it. That's what we do.
20:13 So if that is what we do in our business, how can that be that we don't do it in creating the abundance in our business? It's really important to me. When I get negative and I do often when I do get negative I want to try to get out of that by flipping to where is my power, what can I do about it? And if I need help, then that means that I need to figure out the resource to help me. If I don't know, then I need to get a coach or get someone else's perspective. But there's something that you can do, and it's probably in business. It's going to cost you some money, which is why talking about money and finances is so important, because it is the vehicle for how we get what we want in life and in business.
20:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, it is so true, and I think there's a lot of creators that may not want to believe that, like, I'm going to do it for the love of it and that's okay. I mean, I think every day, we should be doing something we love if we absolutely can, and if it can help us pay the bills, I mean, my gosh, how fortunate and how wonderful is that. And I always say how lucky am I? Am I lucky? I manifested it. Just saying, I mean, I manifested something that I love, right, and turned it into something that I can make a profit with.
21:21 And so how much luck was involved in that? Well, maybe a little bit, but there was an awful lot of hard work and there was awful lot of manifestation and saying what can I do? Right? And I believe, bosses out there, that you need to again educate yourself. Right, take that real world, look at your finances, set some goals that are realistic goals and do it working backwards, right, because it's not enough to just say I want to make a six-figure income, right. Well, okay, give me a number and then work backwards from that, right. And what are you going to have to do to get to that number? And maybe, guys, maybe it's not about how many auditions you do. Maybe you need to go outside. I mean, I hate to say that, but I don't hate to say that there's nothing wrong with going outside and getting a supplemental income while you're building your business Absolutely nothing.
22:08 - Danielle Famble (Host) Oh, for sure it can be actually one of the best things that you do for your business, because it's less work that you'll have to do in bringing in income in your business, because you've already got additional income kind of helping you out and that keeps you afloat and that buoys you.
22:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that's your cushion, that's your cushion, that's your cushion so that it makes you confident to move forward. So go deliver Instacart. I mean. I mean, why not? I mean I've thought of all these other things that I would love to do. I mean there's all these things that I find joy in that I'm like you know what, if I ever had to change my career, I could do that. I'm always thinking. I'm always thinking, and I'm not saying I'm getting out of voice, acting at all or what I'm doing, but I'm always evolving and always thinking about what is it that's going to help me to be joyful and bring money in. It's like joy and money, and I'm not afraid or ashamed to say joy and money in the same sentence.
23:03 - Danielle Famble (Host) Oh no, making money can be quite joyful. I've also made money in a way that has not been completely joyful to me, but spending that money was a little bit more joyful. And that's how I got my joy Spending money is joyful to me.
23:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, absolutely, and making it, of course, because you got to have it to spend it Absolutely. Oh man, what a great conversation. So I believe financial goals take it work backwards right. Figure out what your goal is, what you need to do to get there, and always as Danielle has so eloquently and wonderfully demonstrated in all of these podcast series episodes that we've talked about is be positive. What can you do right and not that you can't do it because of right, no excuses, what you can do and bosses. There's no shame in strategizing and coming up with ideas outside of the box to get there and give yourself that financial cushion to push even further to those financial goals. So I love talking to you, danielle. I love it. Thank you, anne.
23:58 - Danielle Famble (Host) This is fun, you get me all charged up.
24:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Not charged up. I might go charge something now. Oh, I'm going to go manifest my next level.
24:07 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, I'm going to go set some more goals, some financial goals.
24:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Manifest the next level of bossness setting some financial goals. All right, guys. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and be a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and manifest those awesome financial goals. You guys can do it. We believe in you. All right, have a good one. Bye, guys, thanks everybody, bye.
24:33 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO boss with your host and gang Guza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VO bosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Join us as we navigate the captivating world of character creation in voice acting with MCVO Agent Lau Lapides. The BOSSES unpack the essence of building characters across various domains—whether it's animation, commercial, corporate, or e-learning—emphasizing the crucial role of authenticity and depth. Discover how understanding a character's choices, morality, and actions can elevate your performance from mere impersonation to truly embodying the character. By thoughtfully considering the script's intent and adding your unique touch, the BOSSES aim to help you craft characters that deeply resonate with your audience. Tune in and embrace the complexities and creative challenges of character development with us, ensuring your performances are both genuine and relatable. 00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Do you ever wish boss marketing was as fun as it was being behind the mic? Well, check out my VioBoss Blast. It's designed to automate and make your marketing simpler. You'll benefit from your very own target marketed list, tailored to meet your goals and your brand the ViBoss Blast. Find out more at VioBosscom.
00:24 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here for the Boss Superpower Series with my lovely guest co-host, Lala Pides.
00:55 - Lau Lapides (Host) Hey Anne, so happy to be back, as always.
00:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Ah Lal, I love you. You're such a character.
01:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) I love you right back, super lady.
01:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, speaking of characters, I have a lot of friends who do character acting a lot of really wonderful friends and they absolutely love it, they're very passionate about it. As a matter of fact, a lot of students that I talk to that want to get into voiceover. They want to be a character, they want to be in animation and I thought it's appropriate because we're characters, no matter what we do in voice acting today, and not everybody thinks of it in those terms. So I thought maybe we could concentrate on what characters we are today.
01:36 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's an interesting topic because I think that a lot of creatives think of character in a very artificial kind of sense, as almost a caricature a caricature instead of a character, a well-drawn character with depth, and dimension. So like, yeah, what is that character? How do we define that character? It's a great question.
01:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's a good question. So, Lo, how do you define character and how you need to be a character? Or do you need to be a character, or do you need to be a character in voice acting?
02:07 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, I think the first thing I think about is from that morality standpoint of thinking about character. When we say, oh, that person has a lot of character, they build their character, they have a very strong character, they have a moral character. I always think of it as someone who is strong, someone who has a backbone, who has courage, and someone who is well-drawn, well-built, someone who has those three dimensions, who has depth, who's interesting, who has integrity. I mean thinking about all the layers that go into what character actually is. I don't necessarily think of like cartoon or animation or something that's unreal. I think of something that is actually real and dimensional. And then I go from there, I start to dive in and say, ooh, what does this building of this character from an actor's standpoint? What does that mean? How do we build a character from the ground up, taking our breakdown, taking our description and really detailing it, really adding our own unique dimension to that that becomes our character?
03:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And is it necessary that you are a character in voice, acting for every script? Are you a character?
03:19 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, I think that only is about how you define character. If I define character as every single solitary role that I could possibly play is a character, possesses character and has character elements to it, then I would imagine yes, you're a character, whether you are a narrator an audiobook reader or whether you're a medical tech person, you're a character.
03:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and I think that in order to really resonate, I think, with the script and resonate with the listener, you need to truly embody that character, and I think it's important that we're not trying to necessarily impersonate a character, right, it's more or less being that character in the moment, right, and I know that a lot of times when you are speaking in the moment, all the things that used to matter to you like oh, how do I sound right? Kind of flies out the window. And that's why I think it's important that we actually get ourselves in the moment, in the character, because we don't necessarily need to consider what we sound like. We need to consider who we are and what we're reacting to, what scene we're in and how we're talking to our listener.
04:34 - Lau Lapides (Host) And who we are. From an actor standpoint, whatever kind of character you're creating is determined not only by the writer's point of view, but also by the moment-to-moment experience, directorially, from your perspective, your point of view, what's your POV? So, therefore, we need to be fully present, fully engaged in the moment, to really figure out the character, build the character from the ground up and really start to ask questions about what is your character, who are they, what would they do, what would their decisions and actions be? And I like to even go and say are they like me, or is this within me to do, or do I have to create this as part of my character? I don't want to mimic, as you said, I don't want to impersonate, I don't want to be a parrot in that way, but what do I need to do to get the qualities of that character and then put it in so I can organically bring that out as part of me?
05:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) and who I am. I like how you actually brought in the fold that there's a point of view from the script writer, right, let's say, if we are voicing a commercial or, in my case, like corporate or e-learning right. In my case, like corporate or e-learning right, there's a point of view that you need to consider from the copywriter or whoever it is that is providing you with the work right, because they want you to consider their viewpoint. But then you also have to bring in your own point of view, and I think that sometimes people get confused as to the point of view. Is there just one or is there one that you're melding in with your own point of view? Is there just one or is there one that you're melding in with your own point of view in order to make your take on that a unique take that will engage the listener?
06:13 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, you know, it's interesting, A lot of VOs who also do on-camera work hear the language of the technical crew talking about POVs when it comes to the camera shot. So I like to think of it in those terms that you know, if you're shooting one scene, it could take four hours, eight hours, 12 hours to shoot that one scene, because the crew is concerned about what are all the POVs in the shot list that we need to get. So when we think about voiceover and we think about, well, we're not on camera, but what are we doing with our voice? What are all the points of view that our voice can stylistically shift to, whether it's written in the script or not, really could take time to develop that.
06:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know. I love that. You said that because I think you're right and it's funny, because I'll talk to my students and I'll say it's a point of view that evolves, because if you have the same point of view throughout an entire script, it becomes almost like white noise and it becomes very predictable and consistent and it doesn't necessarily tell the story, because I'm constantly in this particular point of view and I'm going to talk to you like this for the next minute or two minutes or maybe even ten minutes, and I'm going to continue with this particular point of view and it starts to become really repetitive and it starts to become where repetitive and it starts to become where whew, that's exhausting to listen to, right? So I think a point of view is constantly evolving and changing along with the storyline and that's something that the actor makes, those choices right, those choices on how to evolve in a unique way that takes the listener on a journey.
07:43 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yes, and it is the very thing that you and I, as coaches, are always pushing home. Pushing home. It is precise, it is detailed, it is specific. We should never be making choices that are like whitewashed, or universal, or generic, or not making choices at all, which is what?
08:01 a lot of talent do because they want to just let happen what happens? Sure, but the truth is we're on a mission for choice making and we know we're going to attain the objective if we make the choice to go get that. If we don't make any choice, chances are we're not going to achieve that objective.
08:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, then it just becomes like a neutral, flat, kind of like where is that point of view and what makes that different than somebody reading words to me really?
08:26 - Lau Lapides (Host) So therefore we lack character? Yeah, we lack character and characterization, and characteristics, how about characteristics? So therefore, we lack character? Yeah, we lack character and characterization, right right, and characteristics, sure, how about characteristics? I like that.
08:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And moment to moment I love the moment to moment in between the periods throughout the scene Like the scene can evolve, and I think what's so cool about that is that it offers the actor such an amazing spectrum of creativity to just draw upon in order to make that read come to life.
08:53 And it's different for all of us. I think there's, I think, the point of view, that's the intention of the script, that makes sense for the words that are on the page, and then there's what you bring to it moment to moment. It evolves over time, it may change and shift and you may not know what those scenes are specifically Like. We don't always get the storyboard, we don't get the video, we don't know what the music or any of those things are going to be, but we have our own creativity, we have our own imagination, we have an understanding of who we're voicing this for and the context of the words that are on the page, and then it's up to us to interpret them in a logical way that would make sense to accomplish what the client wants from us.
09:35 - Lau Lapides (Host) Exactly, that's exactly it.
09:37 And I think that if you don't do that work, if you don't do the homework or the pre-work, as we call it, the pre-work if you don't do that prep, pre-work, you're really messing out a lot, because you want to be free, that when you're doing the gig whatever that gig is you want to be free to really play and enjoy the character and say, okay, I've created a framework, I have a little blueprint for myself, I can see the visual in my head, I have a sense of where they're going and make some decisions, so that when I veer off and I go outside of the box, I know that I'm breaking my own rules, which is what I want to be doing as a creative.
10:13 I want to set my rules, I want to see if that works, and then I want to break the rules and that might work even better. And so those characters are like, no matter how rule-oriented they are, they're always breaking rules in certain ways as well. And really finding out like, where's the rebel in the character? Maybe she's been saying lines just like this, she's been delivering just like this, and then maybe on this one she changes it. She changes it for a reason to show that she is awake and aware of what the problem is in the community, right. So I'm really developing a character and characterizations that then become relatable and about empathy, that an audience can listen to and go ooh, I do that. Ooh, that's just like me.
10:58 Wow, and all of a sudden they're not thinking of character. They wouldn't even use that word.
11:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They'd say that's a person that's like my sister right, and you know what A lot of times I'll tell people to do. Maybe for the second take right is maybe change your character a little bit, One that still makes sense, but change your character or change the scenario.
11:16 - Intro (Announcement) Change the scene.
11:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like maybe you're in a hurry or maybe you're in a different place, Maybe you're outside, or maybe you're inside in an office and maybe the person you're talking to right has a different reaction or has got different issues with what you're saying. Or maybe they've got a backstory that you're responding to and that backstory changes, and so you're responding in a slightly different way, but one that still makes sense, right for the words on the page. Right.
11:44 And that can give you a really great second take, more so than oh, that second take just has to sound different, right? So if you can push I'm going to say if you can push your creative mind to always take in the scene creating that character and moving that character through the scene, and then do a take two right, create a different scene, create a slightly different character, one that still makes sense and Law, I'm going to ask you, I'm going to have you probably reinforce what I always tell people Does it matter that we don't have the storyboard? Does it matter that our story is correct from the final version of the video or whatever it is that we're creating, or the commercial? I think?
12:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) that in every single thing we do, Anne, I think that in every single thing we do, Anne, there's blind, there's stuff behind walls that we don't see and we're not privy to and we don't know, and that's okay. That's where us, as creatives, come in and say I can create different interpretations, I can create different scenarios. And then, as they give me the feedback or direct me, or maybe they just say hey, you gave me three, they're fabulous, we like it, we're done.
12:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know what I mean. And let me ask you another question, which I know a lot of times people will complain about this. They'll say well, why do they write it this way, right? And then we don't know what it means. I have no idea what it means, but yet they want us to sound like we're talking to our friend, or they want us to what they really want. Maybe they're not telling you for a very good reason, right? Maybe they're not giving you that storyboard for a good reason because they want to hear your creative, artistic interpretation or impression of it.
13:28 - Lau Lapides (Host) Right. Typically, I would say don't waste too much time or energy wondering why it was created this way, why it was crafted this way it was. Now let's see what we can do with it. And you know a lot of directors, a lot of young and up-and-coming directors I've noticed stylistically are very different than years gone by. They're doing a lot more impromptu, a lot more improv, a lot more stuff like that. So sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes you're going to have the license and the leisure that you're working with someone who says is that natural for you or do you need to change something there? Right? And that actually happens a lot more than we think, where, in essence, we're editing the script on the spot when we're doing a job because we're coming up with something that they didn't realize works better.
14:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, absolutely Absolutely, and a lot of times it can spur them into new creative avenues as well, to say, well, I didn't think about it like that, but you know what I really like your take on that, and so how wonderful is that? It's wonderful. I often think that we're given this creative challenge and we should embrace that challenge and not be so determined to get in 100 auditions a day in our studio where we're just going and I know what it should sound like. I really feel as though we don't take enough time and sometimes even I have to remind myself right in a busy day. We're always so busy that I need to really sit back and let's think and let's kind of enjoy the process, let's enjoy the creativity, let's enjoy and embrace the challenge of creating a character and really figuring out and it's not easy Law, is it easy?
15:02 - Lau Lapides (Host) No, I mean human relations. Right, human behavior is never easy because you're always dealing with true, authentic interface with another person, like we are doing a reasonable facsimile of real life. That's what we're doing. It's not real life, we're in a booth under a light, but in essence we're doing that reasonable facsimile of it and we have to understand that your character is capable of anything. When someone says, oh, I don't know why she's saying that she would never say that, I say, oh, I don't know why she's saying that she would never say that.
15:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I said, yes, she would. Yes, she could If the situation were appropriate. Yeah, of course she could. If you want me to be conversational, you know, and I feel like that word is now got it's a dirty word now, but I just want to say Well, it's exhausted.
15:45 - Lau Lapides (Host) It is exhausted, they use it a lot and conversational.
15:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) there's so many different ways to be conversational. I mean law. I have conversations every day, like every single day of my life. We have conversations.
15:54 So, it's a fact of life that we have conversations. Now, when somebody gives me the direction that they want it to be, conversational, there's so many different, like 360 degrees of conversational. It could be casual, it could be authoritative, the conversation could be authoritative, the conversation could be shifting, and again along with the character, right. And so I think that conversational is just meant to be. Well, let's not make it sound announcery, right? So what's the other word for it? But honestly, I engage every day with other people and with things and with circumstances and so-.
16:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's your practice. That's your practice is to really do it right, and I can tell you, one of the biggest mistakes that actors make, whatever they're doing, is to say how do I sound, do I?
16:35 sound real, Do I sound? And I said, listen, if I came into this coaching session, I said with Joe. I said, coming in, I want to sound real with Joe, I want to coach Joe and I want to sound real. Wouldn't you think I'm crazy? And he'd say I think that was crazy. I'd say, well, that's what you're doing right now. You're doing that right now with a real person or a real entity, a character that's not coming in and saying I want to feel real, I want to look real, I want to sound real. They're saying no, I want to get a point across to you. I want to help you with something, I want to do something with you.
17:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I'm going to say that, well, I wouldn't say that right in a normal situation. But the deal is, is that that's not you as an actor? It is your job to make the words on the page sound logical and sound like they would be something you would say. That is your job as an actor. Right? There's no excuse. What do you mean? You would never say that it doesn't matter. We're not asking if you would ever say that In this particular instance, you need to act as though that is a perfectly natural thing to say and a perfectly understandable, logical, emphatically lovely thing for you to say.
17:39 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, you're an actor, act right. But I mean, how do you know that? Do you know that? For a fact Like, why limit your potential? Why put caps on your creativity? Why not say, okay, the craziest thing I could possibly do, I'll think about doing it Now. Maybe if the circumstance and context were right for that, you would do it. Oh gosh, yeah, but chances are, you may never know right.
18:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And what I always am arguing with people about is saying well, yes, you absolutely could say that, as long as you understand what the story is leading up to it. Right Again, you picked that moment before. What is that conversation you're having? What's happening before? Tell me about who you're talking to and what is their pain point. What is their problem? What are they reacting to? Or why are you talking to them with the first words of the sentence? Why are you saying that to them? There has to be a reason. They said something to you, there was an action that happened and you are reacting to it.
18:35 It doesn't mean that your first words out of your mouth may be the exact first words in that, but you can lead into it and you can say well, actually, yes, here's your issue, and I want to tell you about first word coming now, right? So what happens is the first word coming now doesn't just pop out of the air, like I don't think law when we get together, I don't just go welcome to module one or, once upon a time, law. No, we've evolved into a conversation. There's been history. You know I have empathy to. Right now, you're in a hurry, right? So I want to make sure I'm not wasting your time, and so there's a backstory that you have to develop.
19:13 You have to develop it. And I don't care what script, any script, any script. Even if you're reading about a pharmaceutical medicine and the effects that it has, do you know what I mean? Like, I want you to be like telling the person that's reading the back of the label, that thinks that they might have 10 of those symptoms and making them feel better about it, right? So there's a story there. Make that story make sense, okay.
19:36 - Lau Lapides (Host) So the listener says, great, all well and good, but what if I haven't experienced any of this, I haven't gone through it, I don't have the context for it. I say, well, if you can surmise a bottom line for your character, what is happening? Say, the character is jumping out of a plane right now, that's what your characters do, but I've never jumped out of a plane. I don't know what that is. Yes, but you've taken extreme risks and you know what fear is and you know what that moment is. Even just building a business is very risky and fear-based. Call upon that moment in you.
20:06 That's real. It's a substitution method that we have to use, because there's a lot of things in scripts we haven't experienced or industries we're not in. But we have to connect it with very real reservoir of emotion so that the character doesn't become one-dimensional or plastic. It is real. You're fooling us, you're tricking us, what they call in ancient Greek theater you're a hypocrite with a why meaning. You're able to mimic a feeling, an emotion that is very, very real for you because it's coming from you, even though you didn't have the actual experience. And that's what building your character is really all about is really taking from your life, your real history, your real experiences, and matching it up with the characters in her life, the characters' experience, even though they may be different.
20:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I agree and I'll tell you what. And again I stress that, no matter what you're looking at, even if it's like a telephony script like thank you for calling Rite Aid, right, yeah, why are you saying that, right? Obviously somebody's called you on the phone and they literally need to check on their prescription. They're probably frustrated because maybe the text came through and it's not ready yet, and so they're calling Rite Aid and they're frustrated.
21:19 Right Now I'm building empathy, right. I'm building empathy for the person who's going to be on the other end of the line from my message that says thank you for calling Rite Aid, right. So I understand that they are busy. I understand that they're frustrated, so I'm going to approach that with a character that's going to make them feel at ease or feel better, and so I've developed this story, I've developed my character and maybe I'll be bright, but I'm not going to be overly bright so that they get really annoyed at that. And it's funny, because I do telephony, I have no ego. Look, I get paid to do it. I do telephony, I do corporate, I do explainers, I do e-learning, I do commercial.
21:58 I mean I do a lot more of the non-broadcast Of course, but the funny thing is is that for every single script I am talking to someone, I am a character. I have a couple of different characters that I have worked on for my telephony scripts and, depending on the on-hold messages which, by the way, lollapiedes, on-hold messages are nothing more than 15 to 20 second commercials. Did you know?
22:22 - Intro (Announcement) Right and I actually have.
22:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) the majority of my customers ask me to be very relatable and not like that. Hey, did you know 99.9% of people do this and for $9.95, we have today's special deal. No, they want me to be real and so I have to create that character that is engaging with someone who's super frustrated, that doesn't want to be on hold, that is going customer service customer service and you know what.
22:53 - Lau Lapides (Host) If anyone has hosted a party or hosted a dinner in their home or in their apartment, you know what it's like to host. You know what it's like to welcome people into your space and make them comfortable, and that's what they're asking you for in that situation.
23:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How do you say thank you for calling and mean it right? Everybody in the world wants to go. Thank you for calling right, hello, no, I want to hear it as if you really are thankful, that you're really thankful that they called Right and so you've got to really dig deep for that. I'm just saying dig deep for that telephony because you are a character, no matter what.
23:31 - Lau Lapides (Host) We could talk about this forever. Character is in everything, it's everywhere, and everything it's all of life.
23:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah Right, it's a wonderful conversation. I think we should have part two of the series.
23:41 - Lau Lapides (Host) I was just thinking that Part two, part two for sure.
23:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, bosses, be a character. You are characters. Be a character for everything that you do in voiceover, and you can be a character and find out more about IPDTL, who is our sponsor, going to give them a great big old shout out. Find out more about IPDTL at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we will see you, bosses, next week. Bye, see you next time.
24:06 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
24:37 - Lau Lapides (Host) Absolutely. You know what I mean.
24:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Otherwise.
24:38 - Lau Lapides (Host) I wouldn't. I wouldn't do it so quickly. Hang on one second. Do you hear that. What is that? I don't know. Okay, maybe it was something outside. Jerry, okay, I'm podcasting, I'll be. Was something outside Jerry?
25:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay, I'm podcasting. I'll be out in a few minutes. Okay, is Jerry out there? Yes, I think that's my husband being loud. Well, jeremy's out here.
25:10 - Lau Lapides (Host) So it was one of our husbands. Oh, was it one of our husbands For.
25:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) God's sake.
25:14 - Lau Lapides (Host) Jerry's over there and Jeremy's over here.
25:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tell Jeremy to be quiet.
25:20 - Lau Lapides (Host) Annie says be, he's over here, tell Jeremy to be quiet. And he says be quiet, shut the fuck up. What are you doing, jesus Christ? Oh my God, that's so funny. I can't even close these doors.
25:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my God, but that's so funny because normally I don't hear anything, but I couldn't tell if it was Jeremy, if it was outside of yours or mine. But my, my husband just opened the door and I was like, what the heck Like so well, we did, we did the show. You want to do an outro? I mean, we did this is going to be well, just FYI, uh, this is going to be good for you, james. This'll be like an outtake. So, by the way, bosses, when you're, when you've got people running, this is why studios still have signs that say shh, recording, because even though we have great studios and I've, I've got, you know, acoustic panels and everything, if somebody's right outside this door and they're screaming or they're being loud, we're gonna be able to hear it. Yep, so, anyways, back to our back to our, uh, our discussion. Okay, so pick up.
Discover indispensable strategies for maintaining an engaging online presence, even when social media fatigue sets in. From MySpace and Facebook's early days to today's multifaceted platforms, Anne and Tom explore how social media has transformed into a cornerstone for business promotion. Learn to create content that captivates both human audiences and social media algorithms, and understand how mastering these algorithms can elevate your marketing game. Gain insights on how social media plays a crucial role in purchasing decisions and the etiquette voice actors must follow. The BOSSes share essential tips on how potential clients vet companies and individuals through their social media presence. Experience the power of video content and the importance of authenticity in connecting with your audience. Learn why the algorithm favors video and how being genuine can build trust and likability among your followers. Anne. andTom address the continuous challenges in voice acting, emphasizing the need for consistency, strategic planning, and adapting to industry trends.
00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, how's it going? Bosses Anne Genguza here. Elevate your voiceover game with our VIPeeps membership. With VIP membership, you can access our extensive library of over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops. Whether you're interested in commercials, promos, character animation, audiobooks, video games, corporate narration, audio description or dubbing, our workshops cover it all. Plus, as a VIPeeps member, you'll enjoy a 15% discount on current workshops and complimentary free monthly workshops to further develop your skills. Join VIPeeps today at vopeepscom and take your voiceover career to new heights.
00:44 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
01:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm delighted to bring back Real Boss Tom Dheere to the show.
01:15 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Hello, hey, , hello, hello, hello.
01:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How are you?
01:19 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I'm good, how are?
01:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) you, I'm good, tom. I have to apologize for being late because I was creating content for my social media. And it's still a thing you would think, after all these years, tom, both you and I have been active on social media, it would get easier, like maybe quicker, but it just doesn't. I mean, it is time consuming. I think we should talk about it, because real bosses need to get out there on social media and present themselves as real bosses.
01:47 - Tom Dheere (Guest) This is also one of the questions that's most asked of me, as the video strategist is talking about how to come up with an effective social media presence. So, yeah, I think this is one that a lot of people are going to want to tune in for.
01:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, social media has just well, it's just blown up, obviously I mean, but back in the day, back in the day when I first got into voiceover, there wasn't much social media out there. Facebook was just now. I'm dating myself, right, facebook was just evolving.
02:14 I think I've been part of Facebook since its evolution which was in gosh the early 2000s right, and so Facebook was the first social media and then other ones popped up after that and they've just exploded and then I think they kind of went beyond where people are now like, possibly social media tired. Oh God, yes, I have social media fatigue, social media fatigue, but yet there's still very much a necessity for running our businesses and advertising our businesses.
02:47 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yes, I think I joined Facebook in 2007. And before that I had a MySpace account which I was active on. If you remember MySpace.
02:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I do.
02:56 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And there was a little bit of voiceover stuff going on on MySpace. And then Facebook came and the interface was just, you know, superior, so everybody migrated. Myspace still exists, but it doesn't even look remotely what it used to look like or function Now. It's only for musicians or something like that.
03:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Facebook was great in the beginning. Remember.
03:11 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, back in. It was just like what are you doing? You know, you just post what you're doing. This is what I had for lunch.
03:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yep exactly. Nobody still cares what I had for lunch.
03:23 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I don't care what I had for lunch.
03:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I do, because now I'm into health and so sometimes people want to know what I mean. There you go.
03:31 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, okay, I think that's the first thing to talk about is like why should you post anything on social media as a voice actor? Right, and it's evolved. When I post on social media and also here's, the thing with you and I, anne, is that we're both full-time voice actors who are always marketing, looking for clients, voiceover clients, but we're also coaches, thought leaders, presenters, guests on podcasts, you know, and doing things like this. So we are also on social media looking for students as well Students, listeners, followers.
04:09 Students, listeners, fans. You know connections of fellow voice actors, of aspiring voice actors, voice actors in all parts of their journey because we can help them with all of our products and services. So you and I have like a dual agenda when we are on social media.
04:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We have a broad audience. We have a broad audience that we want to reach.
04:24 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right. So if you're one of the VO bosses who's watching, who is most likely not a coach, not a demo producer, not a thought leader, not a podcast host, you're just like what do I do?
04:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, if you're a boss, you're always a thought leader.
04:35 - Tom Dheere (Guest) That's what I like to think, Ooh, I gleefully stand corrected. Yes, I like to think that.
04:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I mean that's fantastic Because to be a thought leader, let's create content around that.
04:45 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yes, okay, so that's what I wanted to get to is like why are you on social media, who are you talking to and what do you have to say? So, in its broadest terms, I've learned that to be effective on social media as a voice actor is to feed the humans and the robots.
05:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I like that. Feed the humans and the robots Absolutely yeah, just similar strategy for anything digital these days, right.
05:12 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, it's always been true, but now, just as my understanding of marketing in general and social media marketing in particular, and all the platforms, I tell all of my students your job is to feed the algorithms.
05:23 Feed the algorithms of search engine optimization Google, bing, yahoo to increase your page ranking. Feed the algorithms of online casting sites like Voicescom, voice123, badalgo, so on and so forth, but also feed the algorithms of social media. Figure out what those robots like to eat and feed it to them, and also understand that different social media platform algorithms, because this is what we're really talking about. Different algorithms reward you for different behavior. Yes, absolutely. Instagram is primarily photos.
05:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, and video now, and video now.
05:57 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Well, that's the next thing is that, like Facebook used to be for typing, twitter used to be just for words. Back then, it was 140 characters.
06:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, remember that when we were restricted.
06:08 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah you for typing. Twitter used to be just for words. Back then it was 140 characters. Oh my gosh, remember that when we were restricted. Yeah, you're restricted to 140. Then it went to 280 and it may be unlimited. Instagram is just for pictures, youtube is just for videos, but now all of them are competing with each other so much that all the platforms are super watered down because they're trying to take users away from other social media platforms. So, on all the social media platforms, you can write stuff down, except for YouTube, but you can post photos, you can post videos, you know, and you're encouraged to do all of those things. So that's why it can get really confusing. But when the coders first made all of those platforms, they had one thrust in mind.
06:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You're right, they had specific. Yeah, all of those platforms, they had one thrust in mind. You're right, they had specific. Yeah, twitter was the short post. Yeah, absolutely, youtube was always the video, instagram was the photo, and they all had, like, their purpose.
06:52 But, you're right, now that they're competing with one another, they're starting to kind of have all these different capabilities, and now the amount of content out there is insane. And so, as bosses, you need to be able to stand out right and kind of cut through the chaos, and I think there's two things to be really aware of. Number one is your purpose, right, your purpose on social media, and especially if you want to get work right on social media versus use it as a social platform, remember that there was a personal and a business page for Facebook, and you could do the same thing for a personal and a business page for Facebook, and you could do the same thing for, like, instagram and all of the other platforms. You can have a business page and a personal page. But I think, with the whole authenticity, be real, real bosses, with that kind of evolving over the progression of social media, now you want to make sure that you are authentic and being who you are and not being selly because now people are like, no, don't sell to me Right right.
07:50 - Tom Dheere (Guest) A video that we did not too long ago was about branding, and I think I talked about in that video that voice actors can be grouped into two categories public voice actors and private voice actors. The public voice actors are the audio book narrators, the video game narrators, the cartoon narrators, because those are the ones that when someone listens to your audio book, plays your video game, watches your cartoon, you know who the voice actor is in that.
08:15 Everybody else is a private voice actor and people want to search you and everybody else is private, voice actor, e-learning explainer, corporate. When you narrate that content, the only people that are going corporate when you narrate that content, the only people that are going to know who is voicing that content is the producers of the content. The consumer of the content, the employee or the student, have no idea that Anne or Tom or anybody else narrated that content. So why do I bring this up? Think about that as it applies to social media. If you are an audiobook narrator, if you're a video game narrator, if you're a cartoon narrator, you've got a lot more tools in your tool belt to effectively use social media, because you're not just trying to connect with voice seekers, like all voice actors are in all genres You're also, if you're an audiobook narrator, you're trying to connect with authors.
09:01 You're trying to connect with rights holders. You're trying to connect with listeners. If you're trying to connect with authors, you're trying to connect with rights holders. You're trying to connect with listeners. If you're a video game narrator on social media, you're trying to connect with the people who play the video games and can become a fan of the characters that you portray, same with the cartoon voice actors.
09:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And with that it's dual purpose. Right, because you, as the voice actor, are not only voicing, but you're also marketing for the company. Right, marketing for the.
09:28 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And there's a little more responsibility with that, because when you are marketing on social media and saying, hey, I was the voice of this character in Halo or Fallout or Arkham Asylum or in this Cartoon Network show, you are representing that company. So you need to be very, very careful how you comport yourself, because you don't want to do anything to damage the reputation of the product, service company, stockholder, shareholder or whatever.
09:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, that's actually really good advice, no matter what you do, because, again, you think about even if you're voicing e-learning or corporate, but yet you might be on social media bashing the script or something and saying how poorly written it was or how you're annoyed at your client, and so it's always a good idea to just serve it up with a little bit of professionalism, because you don't know how many eyeballs are on Right.
10:18 A lot of times it's really hard to tell who's watching, who's looking, and a lot of times people aren't commenting either. There's so many things that I scroll through on a day to day basis on social media that I read and I just don't comment on. I don't even comment, I don't like it, I don't react. But yet I've formulated opinions about certain people depending on the post, and if I thought, oh, that is a little bit harsh or oh, I'm not so sure, I'd want to work with that person, and so I've made my judgments based on the post. And gosh, this has just been preaching to the choir, but we've been saying that for years. Is you have to be aware of what you post? I mean, it has an effect.
10:58 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I'm sure that you have a list in your head of fellow voice actors who you've observed on social media that you're like oh, I love what they have to say. They're so thoughtful and so smart and so funny and so insightful. I would just love to come up with an excuse to work with that person based on their social media presence. And then the other side of the coin.
11:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) In reality, I remember those a whole lot more sometimes.
11:15 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Do you know what I mean Because?
11:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) the ones who are not presenting well on social media are the ones that are like, oh, watch out, watch out for that one.
11:23 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, and that's the thing is like we all have a little list in our head of the people voice actors that we see on social media and, based on how they're comporting themselves, it's like I will never work with that person, either as a coach or as a fellow voice actor maybe as a coach to maybe try to help them see the error of their ways with how they are presenting themselves on social media.
11:42 But it's just like it's very easy to behave yourself out of the voiceover industry based on your social media content. You and I have seen it happen multiple times where people implode on social media, and it could be for any of a number of reasons, and that's just a peer-to-peer thing. I mean. What our bosses want to know is about voice seekers who are navigating social media. I will say this is that the vast majority of voice seekers are not paying any attention to anything that any of us are doing on social media. Why? Because they're too busy making their own social media content in hopes that they can get clients to give them money to make their content their explainer videos or e-learning modules or audio books.
12:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Unless of course.
12:30 I'm going to say there might be that exception when, when you get somebody who finds you on the Web, right, you've been referred. And then they go to your Web site, they see who you are and you've got your social media links there, right, they've listened to your demos, they like you. Or even if you're reaching out to them on email and you've got your social media links on your email. I would suspect. I mean, I know I've done it with certain brands that I found interest in. I will go to their social media just to check it out. I don't investigate, unless, of course, it's.
12:59 I don't know, maybe it's a product that I want to buy, but I'm not going to go crazy in depth, but I will take a quick look at oh, there's a YouTube channel. Let's see what they've got there. Maybe they've got other products, or maybe they have like a help section or they have something, a tutorial, and so I will kind of breeze through the social media to see if it's something that I want to follow. Because I'll tell you what the way I'm making my purchase decisions these days is really a lot online, through influencers, through following on social media, through SMS text messages. That's a lot of the communication for people saying here I've got a product, are you interested?
13:39 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right. You've made an excellent point, which is that if they do, and when they do, check you out on social media, which is usually related to, you've done your marketing you have social media links on your website and then they give it a click. They're vetting you. And you know what? In my experience, when they are vetting you, they're looking to see and you said this if you're a client, basher they're looking to see if you're an.
14:03 NDA violator. You'd be shocked at how many voice actors implode on social media because they're posting videos of their auditions. This is the cardinal sin of so many people.
14:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If you take nothing else away from this podcast, that is yeah that is the cardinal sin.
14:23 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Assume that every audition that you do is under an NDA. Always do that.
14:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Audition and client. Like don't even speak a client name until you've got something that's out there published and you've got permission, that's all. I say All that humble bragging I mean I think that's fine, but it's great when you've got the permission to do so.
14:41 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah. So what I always tell my students is that if you want to record yourself doing auditions to have social media content, do it Great, Go for it. Then you wait, Do it Great, Go for it. Then you wait. You wait until the project's been cast, whether it's you or somebody else and wait until the finished product is posted online. It's front-facing, whether it's you or not. Once you've cleared those two hurdles it being cast and it being posted then you can post it.
15:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But even then— but honestly, why not? Just write your own script.
15:12 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I'm just saying yeah, if you want to show off.
15:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I mean write your own script. There's so many tools out there. Tom and I think we had an episode. Yes, yeah, there's so many script libraries out there.
15:23 - Tom Dheere (Guest) What tool could I use to write a script these?
15:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) days, or where could I find a script? There's tons of stuff out there. I mean honestly. There's Scripps, libraries everywhere and, as a matter of fact, there's tons of finished products and commercials out there already in reality, and you could just rewrite one of those.
15:38 - Tom Dheere (Guest) You know what else you could do. Anne is like. I've seen a lot of voice actors over the years who will find a company and they'll look at their content online and listen to the voice actor and the voice actor is awful and what they'll do is they'll re-record it and send it to them and say compare the difference. Wouldn't you rather work with me? If you want to find something that's on social media and the voice acting is not great, you could record yourself doing a better job. You got to be careful about that because you may insult the client because they didn't make good business choices and you may insult the voice actor who did the job.
16:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, don't try to get the work by insulting. That's the biggest thing.
16:14 And I always say that you know to my students when they're quick to say the copy is not correct and so I'll just record it the correct way. And I'm like, be careful of that, because usually that copy has been through rounds and rounds of approvals and if you just come up and say, oh, you made a mistake like nobody wants to hear that they've made a mistake, especially if it's gone through multiple approvals right, so you're better off. I would say, subtly communicating with your client, like, hey, I recorded this extra take just in case that's what you meant for the script and give that to them. Don't charge them for it.
16:43 Give that to them, and then you'll be the hero, you'll be the savior of the day, and that is honestly they'll be like thank you, anne. I can't believe it got through all of these people right. Or I can't believe I made that mistake and forgot the S on the end of that word or whatever it is. You know what I mean. Nobody wants to be finger pointed at and said well, you just did a stupid thing and you made a mistake, Right.
17:02 - Tom Dheere (Guest) So I do that all the time. I have a lot of European clients, yeah, and it's a lot of translated scripts, because often I'm asked to do an explainer video that's already been produced in French or Italian or whatever. And they say here's the updated script.
17:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I have so many clients now who say Tom, make whatever changes you need to make in the script Exactly, which is lovely, but if you, don't have that permission structure with a relatively new client, give them alts.
17:26 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Oh, yeah, yeah, give them alts, just give them alts All day long. Give them alts all day opportunity and don't charge them for it.
17:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I never charge them for that To me that's nickel and diming and that's not the professionalism I want to show my client.
17:37 - Tom Dheere (Guest) So, on social media, obviously avoid insulting anyone on any level, but one of the most important things to do to try to put yourself out there as a voice actor on social media is to demonstrate value and progress. What is your value as a voice actor? How can you demonstrate that on social media? What progress have you made as a voice actor? How can you demonstrate on that social media? I'm now going to contradict myself, anne. Oh, okay, the most important thing is just be a human. Yes, be a good human, hanging out with good humans, collecting good humans, sharing good human stuff with good humans. That's more important than any explainer video that you could post.
18:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, it doesn't have to be work-related.
18:14 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Exactly A lot of times, when you're posting content about voiceover accomplishments, it comes out as very braggadocious, yes, and self-aggrandizing.
18:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and, yeah, I think, if you just showcased your personality, showcase who you are and bring some. I'm going to say these days, a lot of social media is either educational or entertainment-based, right? So why do I watch videos? Right? And videos, of course, I mean. This is why we're recording in video, tom, because video seems to be the media of choice.
18:43 - Tom Dheere (Guest) The algorithm rewards it the most.
18:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, in order to cut through the chaos. So of course, there's video. So, guys, you got to get brave and I'll tell you what. I've been making videos for many years and it's not something that you can do quickly. It does take some thought, some strategy and some practice to get good at it. But if you're authentic, right, and you're showcasing and you're trying to really bring value to the people who are watching, that's going to come through, and so it makes it, in a way, easy. You don't have to be like, oh, I do voiceover or even demonstrate, Because if you're just talking into the camera and you're being authentic and real, guess what? Guess what 90% of the casting specs are written to hello real conversational authentic and allow yourself to come through.
19:27 allow that and it's interesting because I always say for my students, like the last layer to put on top of your voiceover script or your audition is the point of view, is your emotion right? And that is what. When we're talking to one another, gosh, we bring that out in spades, but yet somehow, when there's words in front of us that aren't our own right, it's very difficult to figure out what point of view, or we can't get past the read of it to even showcase right the point of view. And so when you're out there on social media, connect to people with your heart, connect to people with your authenticity, and people hire people they know like and trust. Isn't that like 101, like marketing 101? People hire people that they know like and trust. So have them get to know you on social media have them get to like you on social media and have them trust you on social media.
20:12 All the get to like you on social media and have them trust you on social media All the three things.
20:16 - Tom Dheere (Guest) My most powerful social media tool that I've had for 20 years is blogging, Blogging, putting it on your website and then getting it out there on social media and the specific tool within my blog is a video.
20:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) A video and a blog, I think.
20:33 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Video. Oh God, the combination is it's a synergistic combination, but the tool within the blog that I would put on social media. That was a big part of getting me to where I am today, as both a voice actor and the video strategist was talking about all the ways that I screwed up.
20:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I had a tip of the week.
20:52 - Tom Dheere (Guest) For like almost 15 years. I had a tip of the week in all of my blogs, which is this is the mistake that I made last week as a voice actor. This is what I learned. And I'm going to pass along that lesson to you, so you do not make that mistake. Before that, all of it was just self-aggrandizing. Look at me, look at me, look at me. And nobody read my blog Once I started talking about my vulnerability and my mistakes and my humanity.
21:15 My social media presence got a lot stronger. I was connecting with a lot more people. I got a lot more readers and subscribers. So it's always made a difference because social media, it's social media. They use that word for a reason.
21:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's so interesting because you want to present yourself in a certain way on social media or it's always been like oh, you know the whole filter thing, right. So you talk about the filters, especially for like women, and people are like okay, I'm showing my face, I've got photos, I've got video now and here's a filter. And I think that people are just again, they can see through the filters and they really want that authenticity.
21:53 And for me, as much as I want to say I want to look great on camera a lot of times if I sit here and say to you well, my gosh, you know what, I've got these wrinkles, or I've got some sort of physical like I may have just lost a bunch of weight, but I'll tell you what I've got loose skin now. So I'm really working hard, right, so that I can feel better, get better. And so if, by admitting that and the vulnerability of how I still feel, like, oh, I want to look perfect, but I'm certainly not, and I tell people about that, that's what's going to connect people with me, to want to follow me, is that okay? So she's not that perfect looking filtered face or body or gosh, I have so many flaws. And I think if I say my flaws, that's what makes people say, oh, identify, I've got those flaws too. So I feel like if she can feel confident, then I can.
22:44 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, right. If there's one thing I've learned over the past few years, is that voice acting it doesn't get any easier.
22:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, it doesn't, it just doesn't.
22:54 - Tom Dheere (Guest) There's just different and new types of hard. So Anne and I, who are much farther along in our voiceover journey than many of our bosses, we have our own struggles.
23:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We just have different sets of struggles.
23:06 - Tom Dheere (Guest) You're having struggles as bosses when it comes to getting training, getting a demo, building a website, setting up the home recording studio.
23:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Figuring out what to post on social media.
23:15 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Figuring out what to post on social media and you recording studio, figuring out what to post on social media, figuring out what to post on social media. And you know, anne and I have checked off those boxes years ago, but you know what. We still need new microphones, we need to replace cables, we need to upgrade our dogs, we still need to record content, we still need to follow industry trends to make sure our performance is relevant to what current casting is calling for.
23:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And we need to evolve with social media because that is honestly how we get eyes on our business, that's how we market. And, tom, if I had a nickel, for the amount of times I consulted with somebody that said, how do I get work? I mean, this is what you do, too right? How do I get?
23:51 work in voiceover. Well, you can have the best voice in the world, but if nobody knows about it, they can't hire you. I say that over and over again, and so how are they going to see you, how are they going to hear you? Right?
24:02 You've got to advertise, and advertising is more than just. Of course, you can do the mining on LinkedIn and get yourself some contacts and do some cold calling. You can even do some direct mail marketing. But I'll tell you what. As I just mentioned, boss has a great product for that, a Boss Plus. But you've got to make sure that these days, you are really tailoring it to your audience. You have to tailor it because there's just so much information and even email now it's harder and harder to get through somebody's inbox, and so you've got to be very strategy conscious when you are creating those emails. You have to know who your audience is. You have to know how to talk to them, just like you do on social media.
24:39 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, To be great is to be consistently good, and you can't just do the occasional blast on social media, get bored, tired, scared or busy and then just wander off and then go back. Because here's another thing the algorithms of social media need to be fed consistently, you know, and not all of your content is going to be top notch viral content. It's just not going to be what the algorithm recognizes. Consistency as a result of persistency on your part. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon.
25:13 So to be consistently posting on social media, whether it's photos or videos or blogs or other content. You have to be consistent. Come up with a long-term strategy. Come up with a schedule. There's so many content schedulers out there. There's so many AI-related tools out there to help you come up with ideas for your social media content, Create your social media content Schedule and post your social media content. It takes thought. It takes work.
25:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It takes time and it's not easy.
25:42 - Tom Dheere (Guest) No, Anne and I were talking about this before we started recording. It's a constant struggle to come up with new interesting content, assemble the content, edit the content and then schedule the content. And then the second you click that publish or schedule, it's like, okay, what's the next thing I got to do? Amen.
25:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean amen Again. Like I keep bringing this up, like if I have people that sign up for my free consults and they say you know what? I've got a great demo, but I can't get work, there's two things right Either it's your performance and your auditions, or it's you haven't marketed yourself enough. And again, I can guarantee more than half the time it's going to be the fact that you didn't market yourself enough. You have to market yourself, like insanely, and these days, to market yourself, social media is a huge part of that picture. It just is.
26:28 And so what do you do when you're just a voice talent, right? And how are you going to market yourself? How are you going to, like, think outside the box? Well, as Tom and I mentioned before, what can you bring to the table that brings either some educational value or some even entertainment value? I feel like voice artists can really bring the entertainment value, because that's really, when I scroll at night, that's what I'm looking at, things that bring me entertainment value, because my brain is fried, because my brain is fried, and so I feel like as voice actors, as actors, we can do something creative and gosh. There's always podcasting, too. That's a form of social well, it's podcasting, but I consider it like a social media marketing.
27:07 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Oh, it absolutely is. What do you do? The second your podcast is published. Where's the first place you go?
27:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I social media market the podcast.
27:13 - Tom Dheere (Guest) You put it on social media.
27:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly exactly. And that podcast doesn't have to be talking about voiceover. That podcast can simply be whatever you're passionate about, whatever you're experienced in. Bring that past experience to your podcast. I mean, the possibilities are unlimited. And with that, without you direct marketing and hard selling your voice, you've got a platform where people hear your voice and they hear your voice on a consistent basis. And if you end up doing like Riverside, like we do, or some sort of video podcast, they're going to see you as well. So look at, you've just like killed how many birds with you know. I mean, you've just literally checked off multiple boxes just by having a podcast, that's video recorded.
27:52 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, and they're hard to put together and you know you need a creative team. You need to be able to be objective and figure out what are you lacking, what skill sets are you lacking, and do you develop those skills or do you outsource those tasks? But the most important thing of all of this stuff, regardless of the social media platform you use whether it's video or audio or pictures or whatever is that your most valuable asset to having a strong social media presence as a voice actor is you. You are unique. You have your own set of thoughts and feelings and opinions and experiences. Everything that happened to you before this moment informs you in this moment. So so many of my students try to sell themselves short. Well, I just started to be a voice actor, so I'm not worth anything. Yeah, but it's like weren't you a teacher for 20 years?
28:41 Yeah, well weren't you a registered nurse for 25 years? Well, maybe you know, it's like you have so much stuff to share.
28:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You have so many amazing life experiences and stories, all of which can be analogous you know, or allegorical, or anecdotal or any other SAT word I can come up with, because of all the A words you've just come up with A lot of A words in there, like Ann, to informing Thomas.
29:05 - Tom Dheere (Guest) There's an A in Thomas, but no one calls me Thomas, except for relatives that aren't with me anymore. But, like, all of those things can inform your social media presence, because who you are is authentic. The more authentic you can be, regardless of the content, the more you're going to resonate with people. Just to be successful on social media, be a good human, collect good humans, share human stories. That's your best bet to be successful as a boss.
29:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What a wonderful note to end our discussion on actually yeah, be a lovely human and bring that to the masses. Oh gosh, we could probably go on forever about social media, but guys bosses, do the thing. As Mark Scott would say, do the thing. Or who else ever says that? It is something that does take time, it takes a strategy. It is a marathon and not a sprint. So thank you, tom, for chatting with me today about that. Always lovely to chat with you.
29:57 - Tom Dheere (Guest) You too.
29:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right bosses. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
30:09 - Intro (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne welcomes the talented Tawny Platis, an accomplished voice actor and viral content creator. Tawny shares her compelling story, from her early days in childhood acting to launching a successful retail business at just 18, and ultimately thriving in the competitive voiceover industry. Their conversation unearths the business behind content creation and the effort required to engage audiences effectively. The BOSSes insights reveal the importance of passion and joy in crafting content that resonates, whether it's through comedy or informative storytelling. Tawny recounts her own path to becoming a viral sensation and shares how blending various skills and experiences can lead to a fulfilling and impactful career. Tawny shares practical tips for newcomers, from adapting one's voice for various professional settings to building a solid business foundation.
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, are you struggling with that ever-elusive, real, conversational, authentic, like you're talking to your best friend, Reed Book? Coaching with me and I'll help you take your voice over to a real and believable place. Find out more at annganguzacom.
00:21 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey, everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so very excited to have with me in the studio special guest voice actor and boss viral content creator, tawny Plattis, packard, raid, shadow Legends, raycon Headphones and a billion more Too many for me to read. She's also currently the voice of Harmony's mom in the House on the Outland series by Make Animations and is going to play Sophie Bott in the upcoming Garbage People film now streaming on Tubi Tawny yay, you're here Finally.
01:23 - Tawny Platis (Guest) It was a long time coming. I'm so happy to be here.
01:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, thank you so, so much for taking a piece of your busy day and talking with us. Gosh, I've been following you for a long time and, I think, to a lot of people in the industry. All of a sudden they're like hey, have you seen this girl with this? Is it the 10 different styles of voiceover? Which is where I? That's the big one, that's the big one, right? Have you seen this girl? I'm like gosh, she's amazing and I'm like I've known that for many years. So perhaps you could take our bosses, who are not as familiar with you as I am and, by the way, I've been a fan of yours and I've watched you like rebrand, like through my eyes, and we could have five episodes talking about what a boss you are. But why don't you tell our bosses a little bit about your journey into voiceover and your career as it stands today?
02:13 - Tawny Platis (Guest) Yeah, I actually got my first voiceover job when I was six years old for a local radio station in San Diego, but my first on-camera role was for a baby blanket ad, also local to San Diego, when I was about four months old. So I've been doing this for a lot of decades now and kept doing that, you know, local child actor type of stuff until I turned 18. And then I started a retail store because I think we both know at this point, you know, the acting biz is very volatile.
02:41 So I was like I need to make sure I have like a backup plan just in case. This doesn't work out. So my backup plan was to start a retail business. Funny enough, what were you retailing? Just out of curiosity, if you're familiar with like consignment type stores like Buffalo Exchange, I did that, but it was like baby and maternity stuff.
02:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, wow, I love that. And was that just something you decided to do on your own Kind of?
03:03 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I had worked retail. I started working retail when I was like 15, 16, I want to say and I had a knack for it. I was pretty good at sales and I was like I think I could open a store, I think I could do this. I love that. So I was 18 and I did that my senior year of high school. I started doing that. Everybody else was getting ready to go to college and I was opening a store in the neighborhood over to mine and I built it up. It was just me, one other person from this little 500 square foot hole in the wall spot over two years to a 5,000 square foot warehouse type of store and it had 10 to 15 employees. And our biggest year, we did a little under a million dollars in sales.
03:40 So I went from doing like $150 a day in sales to doing that and being able to be financially independent by the time I was 23.
03:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, that's fantastic. Now, that's one part of your story I was not familiar with and that's fantastic. At a young age, the entrepreneur comes out, the boss entrepreneur. So I can only imagine that that really helped give you a great foundation for running your own voice acting business. I feel like you're so multifaceted that you're not just a voice actor. Right, you're an empire, and a lot of that empire and I want to kind of get right into it, because I know there's so many people that are like how did you do it? How did you become viral? Because that is so elusive to many people out there. So talk to us about the foundations in your business right in your retail business that helped you in evolving and growing in voiceover and how you've come to really not just be a voiceover actor but like, literally, you are a content creator, an influencer.
04:41 - Tawny Platis (Guest) Yeah, influencer that word? Yeah, I am though.
04:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, but you are, I mean you probably are sick of hearing that, but in reality you really are. I mean you've got the reach out there to really influence a lot of people and affect them. And I know from people who've come to me I'm like have you seen that girl? I mean of course I know that girl, she's super talented. But yeah, talk to the experience of your retail years and how it helped you.
05:05 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I think that is what has helped me the most, to be completely transparent, being able to also have that background with coming from a family that owned businesses, like for generations, you know, and it was all very much like very squarely middle class businesses too. That's another thing is like it definitely wasn't something where, like I came from, a lot of wealth or anything.
05:26 Everybody has always been right smack dab in the middle, but the privilege that I had from that was knowing how to run a business and know how to go about using LegalZoom just to start an LLC, and like knowing how to find the information that I needed to do what I wanted to do, and that's a huge leg up, and I often tell people that do ask me about voice acting so what do I need to do? What kind of agents do I need to pursue, what accents, what microphone do I need? And I'm like, like, but honestly, get a business plan, like I was like learn business.
05:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. I love that.
05:59 - Tawny Platis (Guest) Yeah right.
05:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because if people don't know who you are and can't find you, they can't hire you right as a business.
06:05 - Tawny Platis (Guest) And get good at sales. That's another thing too is like that has always been, I think really a huge part that gets overlooked in what we do. Like we have people that take all these classes and they're so into the microphone. What microphone do I need? What microphone do you have? Because that's the missing piece of the puzzle. I need to get the microphone, and it really isn't. You know, like that's the easiest part is like getting your sound studio, your recording space, set up. That part's easy. You pay some buddy $100, $200. They do a sample for you, they get you all set up and then you're good to go.
06:34 How are you finding work? How are you finding jobs? And then are you staying consistent with this? I can't tell people enough that, like there are admittedly so many incredibly talented voice actors out there who send me their stuff and I'm like you're better than I am and they don't do anything with it because they don't know how to sell, they don't know how to run a business. You know, which is kind of an unfortunate part about being an artist and a creative is like we are so focused on that, which is wonderful, but the reality, the unfortunate reality is like.
07:03 We have to know how to turn that into a business and be able to boss ourselves, because we don't have somebody telling us what to do. So learn how to run a business. That's the biggest piece of advice to doing well in this industry is being able to manage yourself and learning how to sell your product, which is your voice.
07:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then let me ask you I assume that your content creation, even though sometimes it seems to have nothing to do with voice, although there's a lot of videos that you've done that talk about voiceover you've also done a lot of videos that don't necessarily talk about voiceover.
07:37 I mean, you did one video, actually, which I really loved, on synthetic voices, and I was like, where does this woman come from? Because, look, as you know, with the VO Boss podcast and I say this all the time literally for about a year I did extensive interviews with CEOs of AI companies and talking about synthetic voices and talking about ethical practices and all that stuff, and you came out with a video that was so in depth about your thoughts and your take on it, which I was just I don't know where this girl comes from I was just so, so impressed with that. I had to tell you that, as a fangirl and, doing the work that I've done and studying it, I thought that that was an amazing video. So your content is not just about the 10 voices of voiceover. So talk about how the type of content that you create, how does that help you to market?
08:26 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I love that. You asked that. So the way that that helps me to market is I'm talking about things that are relevant right now, and so much of how I figured that out is what made me, I think, successful in retail as well, which is very much like analytics driven. It's observational. I spend hours, you know, researching what's trending, what are people talking about, how are people moving, how are successful people who are doing what I'm doing? What are they doing? And then to juxtapose that, what is nobody doing either, you know, and how do I combine those things? So it's like I'm filling a need that's not being filled here, but am I doing it in a way that I have seen as proven successful? Like when I had my retail store it was 2009, so cut me some slack here but like I was obsessed with Mark Zuckerberg and what he was doing. You know, I'm like how is he figuring this out? How is he doing all this? Like how? And then Apple I was obsessed with Apple. Like how is Apple dominating? Like this, like, how is this so?
09:21 relevant dominating the market?
09:23 yeah, now we know what we know, um, you know, but that has continued in my career with voice acting, with content creation. You know how are people editing their videos, so it's not like copying, like verbatim what somebody's doing, but it's like not doing the millennial pause, for instance, like that's like such a huge faux pas when you're creating content. It's like setting up your camera and then, like you know, right then, like you know, like it's recording, and you leave this big old gap in the beginning to make sure you're recording. It's quick edits, it's speaking quickly and then the topics that you know are trending right now. So so much of I think what goes into that is being very aware of trends, and I say the same thing with voiceover.
10:02 It's something I have noticed twice now in my career is like the way that I market in content creation is very similar to like what I do in voiceover, in the sense of I'm very much obsessed with the trends and analytics and tracking all of that, and I have noticed that a couple of times in my career now in voiceover, where we've had these big shifts in style and people are often blindsided and I can usually tell those are the voice actors that have stopped watching commercials.
10:30 They don't take that time every day to go on iSpot TV or Hulu or YouTube or just wherever you find commercials and to watch them and to listen like, okay, who's getting cast what's popular right now? And we had that shift from the announcer read in the 90s and the 1000s to conversational, you know in the 10s. And now we're detached conversational, like with that Poppy commercial in the Super Bowl, and I'm seeing that with voice actors. They're like what does detached conversational mean? What is this? You know, and I'm like I hear it all the time, you know. So I think that, like making sure that you are staying just up to date with everything that's going on, and that means taking those classes, being involved in the community. That's going to ensure that you stay relevant.
11:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and also for those people that are doing non-broadcast work like e-learning and corporate narration, it's also important to see what is corporate narration. I have so many people that don't really understand what corporate narration is, and within the word corporate narration is the word corporate. Okay, companies are formed for a reason right To sell. So in corporate narration your focus is a sell. Now it's a longer style, it's a longer format than, let's say, a commercial. So your sell is very nuanced and guess you know what? It's not just information delivery, there's a sell.
11:43 You have to connect and you have to have a back and forth in order to connect with your listener and that becomes a conversation.
11:49 And so if I say I want it conversational, it doesn't mean I want it casual and I may not want it detached if we're talking about corporate, because in reality, for corporate, you're an authority, you know what you're talking about and you've got a long time to talk about it, so you may not be detached unless you're shooting for a specific market.
12:06 So I love the fact that you talk about market research, because anybody that goes and all of you bosses out there can go and do research on okay, what's trending in corporate narration? What's trending in e-learning. There's lots of externally facing e-learning modules out there as well, and the one thing that people say is that e-learning is going to get taken up by synthetic voices. But I say that most people that really want a connected teacher and student connection are not going to go that way, and that's the way it should have been all along. But we ended up reading our material like robots and that's kind of why the first thing people think is that, oh yeah, synthetic voices are going to take that over. So the people who thought that was okay, the buyers are going to continue to think that's okay and maybe have a synthetic voice. But those who want a person that can connect right, no matter what genre, they're going to hire that human.
12:58 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I hope so. That's my thoughts on it.
13:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's my thoughts on it until, ultimately, our ears become attuned to maybe a different sound. But I love the market research and I love the fact that you kept the word conversational in there, because I don't want to disband the word conversational, because conversation indicates that you've got a back and forth Right. So let's talk about content. In terms of being a boss and creating content, what percentage of your day is thinking of content, creating content? What does it take to create great content? And is there a secret to having that content go viral? Of course, everybody wants to know the secret, that kind of thing.
13:32 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I'm so glad you asked that too, because everybody's like what's your secret to going viral? From my standpoint as somebody who does this, I don't think there is a secret beyond the secret being like you got to be in the right place at the right time.
13:45 So often which I don't think people like to hear, because that's very scary that there is a luck component to everything we do, and that doesn't mean it's only luck.
13:56 That means you have to be really good at what you do, you have to work really hard, and then you also have to get lucky.
14:00 And I think that's terrifying to people, as they're like so I can do everything right and it still won't happen, and I'm like, yeah, so much of it is the right place at the right time, and then it taking time to.
14:11 You know, like I've been doing this for years, yes, and then I am, within the last year or so, I'm at the point where it's like I pretty much just need to upload a video every day, couple days, few days, whatever it is. I pretty much just get emails at this point in my inbox that are like hey, we'd like to hire you for XYZ, and I'm very grateful to be in that position to where it's like that's pretty much all the marketing I really need to do, unless I'm after something really cool and specific. Like I'm like I want to do more, like big animation now, so I'm going to reach out to some people, but like now it's like I'm able to like make a living just posting that content and having people find me as a voice actor and hire me for these jobs, and it has taken, you know, literally decades to get to that point of being able to be your overnight success took decades right.
14:57 Yeah, so yes.
14:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And the viral thing was the luck component of it being in the right part at the right time. But I mean, you've been posting videos for gosh since I've been following you, which is years, and you had, I think, in the beginning and I always thought that this was such a tough shtick, is you were comedy. I mean, a lot of what you do has a comedy element to it. Do you think that that has something to do with, let's say, your success in terms of being viral or just having people love your videos?
15:26 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I do. I think that you have to choose one of two things when it comes to doing content creation, or both things. You have to entertain or you have to educate. Yes, I agree, and you know, if you're like me and you don't have a degree, you're not an expert in anything. You can't be like look, I have the piece of paper that says I'm smart. Yeah, you know, you just went right out of high school into the working world. You have to entertain, you know, or you have to establish yourself so much that you do become an expert in something. And again, that takes time just the amount of years you've been doing it. So I was like okay, I don't have the piece of paper saying I'm an authority to speak on something, so I guess I have to be entertaining. And I think that there's a couple ways you can do that, and one of the ways is through making people laugh. You know, and I think that's a big draw to something. It's like oh, I like this content because it makes me laugh.
16:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Everybody likes to laugh, so that's where that really came from was just not being educated enough to make educational content to me, since I've been following you with the comedy and then also with your experience in retail and having that, I feel like you took on the challenge and you loved it, and so now you've got this really cool mix of. I know maybe you don't want to be called an influencer, but in reality when now people are asking you to create content and sell right and then also use your voice right and you're on camera, so I feel like it just took every piece of you that you've maybe been passionate about or loved. Listen to me, I'm analyzing you right now and it just brought it together into this beautiful like. This is where you are today, unless, of course, it doesn't bring you joy, but I kind of feel like it might. I don't know. I feel like you like what you do. I do like what I do.
17:05 - Tawny Platis (Guest) I'm very, very lucky that I get to do this and I'm very lucky that I was born into a certain situation where it was truly the perfect storm, where it was like having that family that like could teach me how to run a business. Right, right and like you know, for better or for worse, being put into acting as an infant and doing that for 30 some odd years. I'm extremely lucky in that way that, like I really did have kind of all of that stuff that allowed this to happen.
17:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, it's like all the pieces together into like where you are today just seem to be like it's all the pieces that you're amazing at and that have just come together to work well for you. I always tell bosses that for me it's worked out to kind of follow where my joys and passions are, because the energy that I'm putting out really is what people can connect to. And that is where I think success comes, and it doesn't necessarily have to be success just financially. It can just be success in like I've created some really great content that has changed people's lives and you have certainly done that. And that, see, I'm going to get all choked up because I know what that's like.
18:09 Do you know what I mean? I'm not saying that I'm viral, but as a teacher, right, my mission and my joy is to make an impact right and to really help people or make them smile when they're down or, you know, inspire them. And you, I mean I mean you've done that and see, I get, I get. I'm like emotional. I get emotional because I just love that. I love when people can do that and they do do that and they realize it and that seems to be like their mission to really just help and inspire and entertain and make people smile. So Thank you for that.
18:41 - Intro (Announcement) Thank you for that.
18:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And now I'm going to ask you do you miss any one part of it more than the other? Do you miss, like on-camera acting, or like, do you feel like in the future you might want to do, like, maybe more of that, or maybe you want to open a new store? Where are you going next? I mean, what's up next?
18:58 - Tawny Platis (Guest) for you, it will never be retail again. I will live on the streets before I ever do retail again. Retail is so tough, oh gosh.
19:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What about online retail? Though you don't have the inventory, you don't necessarily have the brick and mortar.
19:09 - Tawny Platis (Guest) That's the problem.
19:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, I mean, you don't have the brick and mortar.
19:12 - Tawny Platis (Guest) Let's put that right, I always make this joke that I'm like you know, retail is unhealthy. When you go from retail to going to entertainment and go, people are so nice and like encouraging, encouraging, and this is so healthy for me, it's so healthy being in entertainment, you know, like that's really an indicator of how horrendous like working with like retail and customer service and with the public, like that that's so funny that you say that, because I remember when I got married, my in-laws owned a wedding, a bridal shop, and I was like you know, I think this could be a fun thing.
19:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They're like oh God, no fun thing.
19:42 - Tawny Platis (Guest) They're like oh God, no, you don't want to go. No, you don't want to go. Oh, I've worked bridal.
19:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I've worked, bridal, you don't want to go bridal and God forbid, you don't want to go bridal retail.
19:46 - Tawny Platis (Guest) And I'm like, oh okay, I've worked bridal and I've worked with parents and I don't care for either of those demographics. You know I get you there.
19:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let me ask you a question in terms coaching, voiceover coaching Tell us a little bit about that.
20:04 - Tawny Platis (Guest) Sure, yeah, I do business coaching for voiceover. That is like kind of my main thing. And then I do the surrounding stuff around that. So, like I do like voiceover 101, which is like very like step one through a million of like how to go, and specifically for that person, when it comes to like private coaching, I'm like, okay, what are your goals, what is it you want to do?
20:28 And then what's your background you know, and then we can talk about like how to get from point A to point B and then also like my opinion on kind of like what you should do, let's get you a voiceover evaluation, kind of get an idea of like how much coaching you're going to need here roughly. And then I also, you know, do the specialty coaching, where it's stuff that I particularly have mastery in. So I teach stuff like you know, the content creation that I've been doing for a lot of years, the business side of things been doing business for a lot of years and then the areas of voice acting where I predominantly work, which is a lot of corporate e-learning and then commercial. I don't think it's really ethical to teach voiceover stuff that you don't have like at least 10 years of experience in, so yeah audiobooks is not one of those things I teach just for that reason.
21:07 I'm like audiobooks. I'm still newer in that game. So, yeah, that is what I do coach and I have pre-recorded classes that are more generic. So it's more like this is all the ins and outs of the industry as of the beginning of 2024. So that's always a great option for people if they're looking for something that is like more. Let me just hear 130 plus minutes of like what the voiceover industry is and how to like kind of go about it. That's always something that is really really helpful, I have found, for people. But, yeah, I do that kind of coaching and typically with my private sessions, I try to only keep a few people that.
21:42 I work with at a time so I can really give them the time that I do have, because that's another important thing. If you're teaching voiceover, I think you should be working in voiceover and I am booked every day, agreed, agreed.
21:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know myself, I'm scheduled to the max because I do voiceover and I coach and I produce demos and I do a couple other things. I do this podcast, so it is every minute of the day is scheduled for me, which I assume is exactly the same for you. So, absolutely, that's wonderful. So, in terms of the future, where do you see yourself in the future?
22:12 - Tawny Platis (Guest) Honestly, I have no idea and I think that that is because I very much follow where my career is going at the time, where the leads are, and I'm very open to what that could be. I didn't think I'd be here Like I oftentimes tell people, particularly in with what got me into voice acting full-time. I never thought that was going to be where I ended up. I went into corporate and I was like this voice Because like I pitch my voice lower so I sound like an adult, but like I have a very high pitch, like I don't usually show people my natural voice, but like my natural voice is really up here, like when I talk to people, but I sound like a baby. So I'm like always like sound like an adult and like one of my teachers told me that in high school she was like you need to do something about your voice.
22:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, interesting, yeah, otherwise nobody's going to take you seriously.
22:58 - Tawny Platis (Guest) And I was thinking like, even with this being my pretend speaking voice. I still feel like it's pretty high. So it was like nobody's going to hire me for corporate. And then somebody found me for corporate and that's where I ended up and I do a lot of that kind of e-learning corporate stuff in San Diego that's so interesting.
23:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So now, when you're completely relaxed, does your voice, do you let your voice go back up, or is it something you've just kind of muscle memory trained yourself to kind of just speak in a particular pitch?
23:25 - Tawny Platis (Guest) It's very muscle memory. The only time when that does come out is when I am really comfortable and relaxed. So, like you know, if my voice starts going up, like that, like that's how you know I'm like really comfy with you.
23:37 So if I start talking to you like this, that's how you know that we're really tight, so pretty much like my roommate, my best friends, like family, like they will hear that one, but even with them it usually like it'll take a few minutes or a drink to like a drink or two, and then it comes back. Yeah, I got you, I got you.
23:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow. Well, what would be your best tip for those bosses just starting out in the industry?
24:03 - Tawny Platis (Guest) My best tip business class, like from somebody who teaches business, like and general business, is great too. I think it applies, I think retail applies so heavily to voice acting funny enough or maybe not so funny, but I think like just that is such an oversight. You know so much of voiceover you can learn very quickly, and then the rest of it is practice, which there's no rushing, there's no rushing practice. You know, some of us have, I think, kind of more of an inclination similar to like learning piano, where like you have that friend.
24:32 that just it makes sense to them and it doesn't make sense to you and you have to practice more and that's just is what it is. But I don't feel like there's enough emphasis put on the business and the sales side of what we do. So, like that's, my biggest advice is like get those classes, do your research before you pay for anything like ask around, make sure you take your time so you find somebody who's reputable. I think we both know that's another big issue in our industry. So, yeah, I think that is probably the best piece of advice I could give to people who are starting out in this.
25:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, that's great advice. So how can bosses get in touch with you if they would like to find out more and overwork with?
25:10 - Tawny Platis (Guest) you? Yeah, my website is tawnyvoicecom and I have all my contact information there. Depending on how you want to get in touch with me, there's a lot of different ways, awesome.
25:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, thank you so much. Oh my gosh, I could talk to you for another hour or so, and then maybe we'll be at that level where you're talking with your real voice to me. But anyways, thank you so much. We so appreciate the words of wisdom that you've given to us Bosses. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too, can network and connect like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Tani, you're the best. Thank you so much.
25:45 Thank you, Bosses have a great week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
25:50 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a bosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipdtl.
Discover the keys to financial success in your voiceover business with our latest episode featuring the savvy money boss herself, Danielle Famble. Learn how to categorize your business expenses to maximize tax benefits and streamline your finances. From new equipment to that signature lipstick you love, learn how to turn everyday purchases into strategic business investments. Danielle shares her expert advice on the importance of collaborating with accountants and bookkeepers to ensure every dollar spent works for you, boosting both profitability and business accountability. Our conversation also includes actionable tips for managing your finances effectively, focusing on understanding profit and loss statements. Regularly reviewing your financial statements can prevent overspending and foster business growth, and we provide the know-how to keep your budget healthy.
00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguza here. Are you ready to take the next step in your voiceover career? At Anne Ganguza Productions, I specialize in target marketed coaching and demo production that gets you booked. If you're thinking about elevating your performance or creating an awesome demo, check me out at annganguzacom.
00:22 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, nne Ganguza.
00:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Money Talk series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm delighted to bring back our resident money boss, Danielle Famble, to the show.
00:55 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Danielle- hey Anne.
00:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yay, welcome. How are you today?
00:58 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Hey, I'm great. How are?
00:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) you doing? I'm doing awesome. Well, danielle, I bought a new lipstick for the show, a new lipstick the new Red Boss lipstick. Those people that know me know that I'm all about my lipsticks and I talk about my lipstick brand and I use my lipstick and my colors for my branding, for my business. And I started to think, well, okay, can I expense this lipstick? Right, can I expense this lipstick? And so I chatted with my accountant to find out if it was possible to do that, and you know what it is. So I am so excited that I can now put lipstick. And we all know about these headphones. I was like, yeah, I know I could have expensed these headphones. It's a business expense, but guess what this lipstick is too.
01:45 And I think it's important for bosses to understand a little bit I think more about. We talked in our last episode about how important education was to the bosses. It's important to educate yourself on the basics of, let's say, bookkeeping for your business, like what sorts of things do you spend money on and how do you categorize them. I think that's an important aspect of bookkeeping. What are your thoughts on that, danielle?
02:09 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh yeah, that's really important. It's important to know how your business is working and bookkeeping is sort of the daily ledger of what money is coming in and going out for your business, knowing even the basics of bookkeeping and the basics of bookkeeping. In our last conversation, our last episode, we talked about the bookkeepers or people that you might have on your team, which they may be doing it, but you, as the VO boss, should understand even just the basics of bookkeeping for your business. So you know, when I spend money on this lipstick or these headphones or a new microphone, these are expenses that can be expense for my business. And what are the categories that you can expense things in your business. I recently bought a ticket to go to another one of the voiceover conferences and so I was thinking, okay, how am I expensing this? What account am I using for it? Making sure it's in my business account and it's going to be expense for continuing education. So I know the different categories and what you can expense in your business.
03:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I think it's so important because before I actually had an accountant and I was trying to do this all on my own and I'm like, well, all right, at least I learned that I needed to have right. We talked how important it was to have that separate business account.
03:20 But, then all of a sudden it was like what are my expenses, right? I just started throwing everything in and then it would always ask me what's the category? And I'm like, oh, I didn't think about what are the categories that are useful in your bookkeeping for voiceover? And I thought, wow, there's equipment, my internet connection. How do I classify that right? Subscriptions.
03:40 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) SourceConnect. Even I pay for extra storage with Google, with my Gmail. That kind of thing can be expensed. The people that you work with. So we talked about the bookkeepers and the CPAs paying them for their services.
03:55 Working with professionals, so professional fees there are so many things.
04:00 That's what's great about running a business is that you get to make money and then you can expense all of these different things and then you're taxed on that.
04:10 It's completely the opposite, for as a person, you get taxed on the money that you bring in, right, and then anything else is sort of just like deductions but like running a business is really amazing. That's why I love getting into the weeds about money and finances and bookkeeping, because once you learn how to sort of not play the game but kind of play the game, you can really make your business work for you much more efficiently. So learning about what it is that you're trying to do and making sure by being educated through a CPA or just finding you know education on your own, making sure that you can expense that appropriately for your business, sure, legally, in a tax efficient way, you can do a lot because we we use our bodies for our business. The chair that I'm sitting in in my studio is like an expensive ergonomic chair that normally I would not have ever purchased, but I'm in this chair for hours and so back support is really important, so that was part of the furniture of my office space.
05:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And even medical that isn't covered by insurance, right? Medical expenses? Because is my Peloton? Is that an expense for my business?
05:19 And I love what you said about knowing these things right and understanding the basics of what can be expense.
05:26 What category am I putting it in? Because when I first started, I all of a sudden thought, oh God, there's categories. And then I didn't really categorize them properly, or I didn't quite know what categories to create, I mean. But in the end, when you look at your profit and loss statement, which is something that's so very basic to any accounting, right, I would look at the number and I'd say expenses, and it would be one big lump sum and I'd be like, well, what did I spend my money on? Right? And so that's where I think the importance of being able to categorize things really comes into play. And the fact is is that when you know about categories and things that you can expense for your business, it opens up the door of so many possibilities. It allowed me to confidently say, all right, I can do this, knowing that I'll be able to expense it for my business, and I think it helps me to actually go forth more confidently and also be more willing to try new avenues to grow my business.
06:21 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, the confidence that comes from the education is second to none. And I will say, the best place to get that level of education for your business, for the business that you, vo Boss, are running not my business or Ann's business, but your specific business is to go to the person who has the knowledge about the numbers of your business it makes no sense to expense everything and who has the knowledge about the numbers of your business. It makes no sense to expense everything and then at the end of the year it looks like you made no profit because, again, the idea of running a business is to make a profit. It's not just to break even. We want to make money. That's why we're here.
06:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And, by the way, if you report to the government that you've lost money for over five years in a row, they're going to start getting suspicious. And then the audit will come and, by the way, I've been audited twice and.
07:09 I'm not ashamed of it because there's no foul play there or anything like that. I mean, literally, it's just when you run a business and you make money, they get a little bit interested in it and you can't have any red flags show up. And if you're going to be expensing everything and not showing a profit for a certain amount of time, then it might get a little bit suspicious. So you really need to work with someone, I think, that has an awareness of what's in the realm of reality, so that you're not necessarily taking advantage, even though I have my accountant. I literally purchased Rocket Money last year because I had so many subscriptions and I lost track of them, and that's like a big thing. Now is everything digital, is you're buying a subscription to it? I had subscriptions I forgot about right, and so I paid, of course, a subscription price to use rocket money. And then the funny thing about it is that if you do rocket money, they'll go and they'll find all your subscriptions, and then ultimately, you can even say at the end I'm like, oh gosh, do I really need to pay seven? I think it was $7 a month. Do I need to pay $7 a month to Rocket Money now Because they found all my subscriptions. They also offer to reduce the amount of money for your subscriptions because they'll go and negotiate with the companies to get a better rate.
08:22 A lot of times you can say you know what I mean, I just can't afford it. I'm getting ready to cancel. And then they'll renegotiate with you. But you can also renegotiate with Rocket Money and say I can't afford the $7. And they'll say, well, what do you feel is fair? And so I said, all right, I can pay $3 a month. And so guess what? I? That's fantastic. But I've already paid them for two years.
08:42 And all of a sudden I realized down at the bottom, I was thinking about canceling. And then they're like, hey, why don't you pay us what you think is fair? I said, all right, well, I can do this. Suffice to say, it's just one of those things that it helps you to really identify, like where your money is going. And so categories to me seem to be such a fundamental part of basic accounting and bookkeeping. And so what are some other like? If you look at a profit and loss statement, like I know some people, their eyes are maybe glazing over Profit and loss. It seems so formal. But what sorts of things are we going to be looking at when we see a profit and loss statement Like what's important for us to know as business owners?
09:22 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) The main thing with a profit and loss statement is it really is sort of the name of it Profit, how much came in? How much money did the business make in this given period of time? Let's say it's a quarter or a month and I've been receiving monthly profit and loss statements. But how much money did you make during this given period of time and how much money went out during that same given period of time?
09:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Inflows, outflows.
09:45 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Inflows and outflows, how much came in, how much went out. I think it's really important to first think about how much came in, because you have a lot of control over that. That could be how much you're quoting for your clients, how many jobs that you've done, what your bookings are like. You have control over that aspect of it and you also have control over the loss side of it. How much is going out? So things like your subscriptions, which for me, I will say, when I really started like digging into my profit and loss statement, when I looked at subscription, I was like, well, what am I spending my money on? This is so much, it's crazy, crazy. Apple. Google Source.
10:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Connect Internet connection.
10:27 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Internet connections Internet connections, all the things. Quickbooks, yes, quickbooks.
10:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) My account.
10:32 - Intro (Announcement) All these different things.
10:34 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I mean it's just like I probably just named $100 just in that you know. Yeah, so it's knowing what is going out. Subscriptions for me is huge. Also, sometimes equipment but I don't buy a lot of equipment for my business that often Like, yeah, maybe I'll buy another microphone or an interface or an extra cable just in case For me.
10:57 And again, this is something that a VO boss can look at their business and say, what do I need for my business? And then you'll know, okay, this is the category and this is how it's going to affect my profit and loss. But normally for me anyway, my business with the profit and loss, with the monthly expenses, it's really those subscriptions. And I think I love what you said about Rocket Money, where you can take a look and see like, do I really need all these subscriptions? And then you can kind of tune what is going out on your profit and loss statement. Another aspect would be the people that you pay. So if you have an assistant or a bookkeeper or if you're working with a CPA or whatever else that's going on. And it really is kind of going back to personal finance. It's kind of like looking at your budget for the month how much is going out for your budget every month in your home and then how much is coming in. It's the same kind of thing.
11:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So profit and loss, your profit. And then, of course, what are some other, let's say, terms that you might see on a profit and loss statement, and I'm thinking like expenses right, obviously or inflows, outflows, assets I know I see that term a lot. What do you consider to be an asset in a voiceover, in a VO business?
12:11 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) So, assets are anything that you own, that your business owns. I consider assets to be things like my booth is an asset. I could sell my booth for a certain amount of money, and so that's an asset. My microphone is an asset. My interface is an asset, any sort of like business furniture, that kind of thing those are the assets.
12:33 A physical item, a physical item Like what the business owns. I'm a physical item, but my voice is the business, and so I am an asset of my business as well. I mean, you can't sell me.
12:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You can sell your voice.
12:47 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yes, I license the use of my voice. I sell my voice, but really, assets are anything that your business owns, but those are things that may or may not show up in your monthly profit and loss. Well, they might show up in your monthly profit and loss, but for me, when I'm looking at it, I'm looking at expenses.
13:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, when I'm looking at my overview, I'm seeing assets in there. So that was just a term that I thought oh God, assets. It just seems so foreign. You know what I mean Because I'm not a financial person, so to speak. I mean, but I have to be a financial person enough to understand what I'm looking at on any given month or any given report, a profit and loss statement Also, so I know. Another term that I've seen on my reports is liabilities. What would be my liability?
13:31 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Liabilities would also be like your debt, so what you owe For me? I put most of my expenses on my business's credit card, yes, and then I pay that off at the end of the month, so I'm seeing sort of a rotating liability.
13:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I was going to say your credit card would be considered a liability then right, because that's something that you owe on.
13:51 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Right, and for me that's, generally speaking, what it looks like in this business.
13:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that makes sense. And one note that I'll say about my I have a business credit card, which is I think it's one of the best. In addition to that separate business account, having a business credit card makes it so, so easy. I have a business credit card and a business debit card, and it makes it so easy to keep track because, again, everything is like electronic these days, and so I can feed it in as a stream into my QuickBooks, and so the only issue I have, though, is I have a business American Express Now my American Express.
14:28 In and of itself, that credit card categorizes things, but it doesn't necessarily categorize it as it comes into QuickBooks, so that's something that my bookkeeper or accountant will do to make sure that we know, okay, what was that $100 charge or what was that charge that just came through, that charge that just came through, and so I think that having a if you can keep it simple we talked about that before if you can keep it simple, having a business card that you use just for business expenses and that can include, like, maybe, paying stuff online or physically buying like a new mic, or going out and buying dinner for voiceover people during a meetup, right, that kind of thing. I will always use my business card so that that can just go automatically into my expenses.
15:12 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Absolutely. I do the same thing. My business credit card is through Chase and what's interesting is that Chase will do its best to categorize things, but it's not quite right all the time and then bring it into QuickBooks, because I have QuickBooks automatically linked to. Chase. It's not the same thing. So part of the basics of bookkeeping for me is making sure that I have done the homework of categorizing it correctly in Chase and in.
15:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) QuickBooks. That's a good point.
15:46 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Really, the person who's doing the QuickBooks, more or less, has in the past been my bookkeeper, but I'm starting to take more responsibility for it because my bookkeeper makes assumptions and will ask me about it. But I have the single point of truth because I was the one who swiped it. Sometimes I'm like what was that? What version of Danielle swiped that card?
16:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) for that thing I always be like what is this charge? I would say, bosses, it's so important to do. When you do have a business card, a business credit card or a business debit card, it's like really visit those transactions like frequently, because there'll be a lot of times when it'll be fresh and you'll be like I have no idea who that vendor is Like, what is that charge for? I have no idea who that vendor is Like, what is that charge for? And if you can immediately just kind of make that adjustment, it's going to be so helpful, rather than waiting until the end of the month and then saying, oh my gosh, I have no idea who this vendor is, and then maybe you find out you have that subscription you've paid for six months in a row and you didn't need it. So I think it's important to always be checking those expenses all the time and looking at them, because sometimes and I will say this as a girl who loves to shop and I love to shop online Amazon has ruined me.
16:51 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I'm just saying I'll tell you Same, same.
16:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I need it now. I need everything because Amazon seems to sell everything and I need it before 24 hours. This is a side note, but anytime I work through another vendor and it takes like five days to ship, I'm like really what? Yeah, you don't have that two-day shipping what is that what's going on? And then when Amazon delays the order, I'm like what? Like I get angry, but anyways, I digress.
17:14 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) No, but you're making a really good point and I'll speak from personal experience, because this is something that I did not do for the longest and I'm currently in the moment going through three or four months ago of expenses because I didn't do it even though yeah, my bookkeeper will, but I'm sort of like after the fact, following up on what my bookkeeper did, because maybe it is or is not the correct yes thing to categorize.
17:38 It's something that can be done at the end of the week and it takes just a few moments, yeah, but if you put a little bit of time into it more frequently, it will save you hours and googles and headaches later.
17:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Calling. I agree I don't do it as much as I should either, and it's just one of those things that when you have to go back and figure out, oh my God, what was that expense? So I think it's important absolutely that you are looking at your cards and your debits and outgoing expenses and, of course, incoming as well. The other thing that I want to talk about is the fees. Right, Because the fees are not something that aren't automatically handled all the time by QuickBooks. When you have a I guess you call it a feed your bank feed right, it could be things coming in from PayPal. Well, PayPal takes a certain amount, a percentage, for transactions. Stripe takes a certain percentage, Everybody does. Quickbooks takes a certain percentage. You have to account for that in your bookkeeping and that is an important thing to categorize, because maybe you think you're making $100, but in reality you're making $98.53. And so that becomes an important thing.
18:43 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) It's incredibly important too, because, yes, you are not making the $100 to your point that you think you are, but that fee is a business expense, that fee is a cost of doing business, and so it does need to be accounted for appropriately. Now, does that mean that I am the person going through and marking every single fee?
19:03 No, that is why I have eventually outsourced that to a bookkeeper, but I do need to know the difference between how much should have come in and these fees, because the fees are an expense and those expenses do add up. So when you're looking at your profit and loss it's like whoa, what is this? You should understand that some of this is fees. Some of it is Danielle swiping the card for whatever thing, maybe a subscription, or maybe buying something for my business. But you should know the difference. And then that actually gives you the opportunity to decide and plan and budget for your business. Oh yeah, so if I can see what's going on with my expenses, maybe I've been spending a little bit too much on subscriptions. If I can cut that back, then I can use that additional money to take a class or to do a coaching or whatever. It gives you the knowledge and it arms you with like what you need to be financially responsible for running your business.
20:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And also it helps you to determine as well what to charge. Yeah, because sometimes I take fees into account. I do believe that fees are part of being a business. So I'm not that one person who says, can you pay me friends and family? Because if it's a business, I mean I'm willing to pay that. I mean, if I can get away with it, sure, not paying that fee, but in reality I'm a business.
20:24 So I've come to accept that there will be a fee and so if I want to make it accountable, right, I'm going to have to pay that fee. So I might. Then, instead of charging $100 for the job, I might charge $125. And then I've accounted for that fee in my head, but I haven't told anybody that I'm accounting. Necessarily, the company doesn't need to know that I'm charging $25 more because I want to account for that fee, or whatever I decide to do. I mean, that's one thing is being aware of those expenses as you are getting paid will help you to determine your fair compensation. And of course, we always like to say that you are worth it. Yes, you are, so price yourself appropriately.
21:03 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) And I think being aware it means really looking at like the data of your business. That's how you become aware. Really looking at like the data of your business, that's how you become aware.
21:13 If you allow someone else to deal with it, then you're not really aware of what's going on with your business and you're missing out on some opportunities for maybe charging more or maybe how you can save money because you're spending a certain amount more than you should or more than you've budgeted. Staying on top of the basics of the bookkeeping really kind of keeps you aware of what's going on in your business. Again, I'll say I've not done a great job at this in the past and I'm learning from my negligence in the past is really that like. If I can keep my mind and my eyes on the day-to-day expenses and profit in my business, that actually makes me feel so much more confident and competent when I am requesting or making a quote for a certain amount of money. However, I'm running my business.
21:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's giving me so much more confidence because I know the day-to-day data of my business financially speaking, yeah it is absolutely important and, as I was alluding to before, being an online girl, like an online shopper, when I went off on that tangent of Amazon, sometimes it's like a little bit of an addiction. It's like here, click, buy, and it's so easy. And again, it's so easy to not look right, it's so easy to not look at your credit card expenses, or so easy to like kind of avoid it. And I'm that person. I'm willing to admit it. I mean, I've been in denial. I might have had a month or two where I was like way overspent, I shouldn't have purchased that.
22:36 But I think keeping your eyes on your finances it's kind of like you know, I've been on this health journey, right, and before I wouldn't look at the scale, I would not look, I did not weigh myself for a long, long time and now, all of a sudden, when you're watching right, it makes you become more conscious and it keeps you more on top of things.
22:51 So I do believe it's very important for you to really check those finances, check the bookkeeping, and it'll really, like you said, make you feel so much more confident and so much more competent right in running that business, because you will have a handle on. Okay, I know that I'm not really utilizing this subscription software anymore, so I can maybe give that up and then maybe invest in something else. So it really clears the path for you to grow. And I think that is one thing that is so important in our businesses that we should always be looking for opportunities to grow and financial anything should not be inhibiting us from doing that. If you can find ways to save, find ways to be aware of your finances and understand, oh, I can save something here, so that means I can invest more here, that's just going to give you a whole lot more confidence moving forward.
23:41 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, I love that. And also, if you're not sure and you have questions, the best place to ask those questions or the best person to ask those questions is to the person who knows your business intimately and also what the implications are. So that would be an accountant or that would be some sort of professional. It's not going to the Facebook groups and saying, hey, can I expense? Blah, blah, blah, because what I can expense in my business may be different than what you can expense in your business and my revenue and ability to expense certain things in my business can maybe withstand me spending a certain amount of money on a certain category.
24:16 So my answer might be not the right answer for your business. So I think it's really important to educate yourself. Find the perfect person to educate you, and it's someone who knows your business. And if you don't work with an accountant already, find someone, have them look at the numbers of your business. And if you don't work with an accountant already, find someone, have them look at the numbers of your business and then they can tell you specifically the answer to your specific unique business.
24:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And they can help you set up those categories which we say are so important, right and then? So I would say absolutely kind of, to recap right, your essentials of bookkeeping are to really keep an eye on a daily, weekly basis on inflows and outflows, understand your categories and if you don't know how to categorize something, you can certainly talk to your bookkeeper or someone knowledgeable that can help you with that. And is it an expense, yes or no? You can find out more that way and ask someone that this is what they do for a living I mean, I'm a big proponent of that and educate yourself on the basics of looking at a profit and loss statement, because I think that's going to be so important in helping you to really organize and make plans and strategize your goals for the future.
25:24 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Absolutely.
25:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, another wonderful Money Talks with Danielle today. Thanks so much for joining me again. I'm looking forward to our next podcast, Thanks and me too.
25:36 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Yeah, I love it. I love talking money.
25:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, and a big shout out to IPDTL you too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and make sure to check those books. We'll see you next week.
25:52 - Intro (Announcement) Bye, guys, bye join us next week for another edition of vo boss, with your host and ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Immerse yourself in the art of building and sustaining your business. In this episode, the BOSSES highlight the critical role of consistent auditioning and active marketing, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining strong connections with industry professionals. Overcome fears and harness your unique personality and energy to make genuine connections. Get inspired by our creative marketing techniques, including SMS and email outreach, and learn how to ensure you're always top of mind with potential collaborators. The path to success requires more than just setting up a business; it demands passion, dedication, and relentless hard work. Join us and discover strategies to elevate your voiceover business and rock your business like a true boss!
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey Boss, talent Anne Ganguzza here with a quick shout out to those who are a little freaked out about marketing VLBoss Blast is your secret weapon making your marketing manageable. Your voice deserves to be heard. Join us at vlbosscom and start your marketing campaign today.
00:22 - Testimonial (Announcement) I've just finished listening to Creative Brilliance with Improv, nne and Law, and all I can say is yes, ladies, improv is absolutely one of my favorite activities, and the life of the pre-life is real. Remembering that the run-in line, or your lead lead in line, does not only exist at the beginning of your read, but throughout, it's a critical activity. The running conversation that has to happen in your head truly makes a difference. So, ladies, thank you so much. I greatly appreciate it.
01:02 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.
01:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with my boss superpower business buddy, Lau Lapides. Hey, Lau, how are you today?
01:38 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Annie, fabulous, how are you I?
01:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) missed you. I know it's been a while it has been too long Lau, and so I asked how are you? How's it going? I mean, what have you been working on?
01:46 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Well, let me just say this I haven't had a booking in a while.
01:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Really yes. Well, how often are you auditioning?
01:54 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I'm auditioning every day for like an hour, maybe even two, and I'm waiting for my agents and I have a few agents to send me things and they haven't.
02:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I'm really upset. Well, I think maybe it's time for us to sit down and have a talk about getting real and really talking about what does it take to get work in this industry. I don't think. Maybe waiting for your agents and you know this as an agent is necessarily something that you want to be doing. I think let's talk about how we can be proactive as actors, because I hear that a lot. I mean, thank you for that little role play Lau.
02:31 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I was just about to say. I actually spoke with a coaching client this week who gave me that exact conversation and I wanted to role. Play that with you because it's common.
02:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now I have so many students that talk to me and say are we ready to make that demo? I mean, why do I need more sessions? I'm like if you could do some more homework I give homework, I'm a homework girl and so they could be practicing scripts like an audition, like auditions, every single day. And yet at the end of a week they might've recorded one or two. And then they're like well, why am I not any closer to my demo? I'm like well, how much work have you put into it?
03:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, that's an excellent, excellent topic.
03:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What does it take? How much do we have to put into our careers? Yeah, get out what you put in.
03:19 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Well, listen, you're taking the words right out of my mouth. Like we're sisters, east West Coast sisters. I was just about to say you get out of it what you put into it.
03:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It sounds so cliche, but I'm telling you, I'm saying that more than ever now, and the truth is.
03:35 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) The truth is we're even grinding more these days for less at times, because of the saturation of competition, so you just have to put that into your equation.
03:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I like that you brought that up, because now we've got evolving moving parts too, right. I mean, 10 years ago, the industry was a particular way. There were so many people in the industry, but I'll tell you what it's more saturated than ever. I'm not here to say that there isn't work, because there's a ton of work out there. However, my goodness, you have to realize that and I say this how many times have I said this? On how many podcasts Lau when we go to school and learn a skill, I mean we practice that skill for hours. We go to school for years, and so I don't understand why people that come into this industry think that they can just immediately go out and book work as if they've been doing it for years.
04:32 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Well, you know, that's very interesting. You say that, annie, because I'm seeing especially an older set and some have been in it for three, four, five, six years and feel like veterans. Three, four, five, six years and feel like veterans and to some degree they are veterans say, okay, where's my payoff, okay, where's my semi-retirement, so to speak, like it should just be coming in like mailbox money and I don't have to do much, when the truth is, if you look at and I always go back to, like the biggies, the big box stores, they're running advertising, they're running sales, they're thinking up new campaigns. What aren't they doing right? And they've been around for 50, 60, 70 years. Think about that. It's because their competition is shifting, the generations are shifting and they really have to keep up with those tides. They can't sit back and say and they really have to keep up with those tides. They can't sit back and say, oh, but we're Target and we've been around now for 60 years.
05:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, you have some competition now, especially online, and so yeah, I'm glad that you brought that up because it affects everyone. It doesn't just affect new people coming into the industry. It affects veterans in the industry as well, because if they're not moving with the times and they're not paying attention and their eyeballs aren't open and they aren't thinking outside the box these days and that includes, maybe working with different coaches on different genres because every little bit, even though you might be a polished actor and you've been doing this for years I mean, I'm a lifelong learner I think you can always get something from more education, and so I really feel as though it's important for actors to continue their education and continue their quest for thinking outside the box. Days, voiceover industry because it is truly the whole digital online thing has really just disrupted disrupted what used to be, and we need to be prepared for that and we need to be able to roll with the changes, roll with the punches, so to speak that's a perfect word you're using.
06:37 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) That's like the new word disruptor be a disruptor. Well, I'm going to disrupt you right now and I'm going to say you do have to work harder. And that's not welcomed by a lot of people who are being brought up in this ideology of work-life balance. Well, I'm telling you, when you're building business and you're grinding in business, there is not the work-life balance that you would like to have. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. You just cannot as much as we try to generationally. And I'm not saying don't take care of yourself or don't be good to yourself and be healthy, but I am saying you will have somewhat of an imbalanced life as you're building business and sustaining and keeping business, because you have to grind, you have to work really hard.
07:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You made a big distinction. I'm going to tag on to that and say that this is your own business and so, yeah, that only needing to put in the work for so many hours per day and not necessarily doing more than that, I don't know if that holds water when you are running your own business, because in reality, it's not like you're depending on someone to give you that paycheck every week or every two weeks. Now you're the one that's going out and doing everything and generating the leads, and so I mean absolutely I'm not saying you can't work nine to five if that's what you choose. However, if you choose that, understand that there's consequences for that, especially when you're first starting out. I mean, in order to get the work, you've got to generate the leads, and a lot of times I mean I think people have to know that they probably have to work harder than they thought to generate those leads.
08:11 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I think that's really it. Everybody's like well.
08:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm not booking. I'm not booking. I have great demos and now I'm not booking and I'm like well, okay, let's just talk about the first thing. I asked you about auditioning. So, auditioning, how often are you auditioning? How many auditions? Now, I know if people aren't paid to plays, they might get penalized if they audition too much. However, there is a multitude of opportunities out there and I'm not saying you should spend eight hours a day auditioning. However, you've got to go out there and search the opportunities. If you're not auditioning, you should be marketing to people who can give you opportunities. Right?
08:42 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Right. And how many of these folks too, when you really dig a little deep and dive in there, annie, they're not keeping up with their current connections. Oftentimes they haven't flagged them, they're not in their calendar. Maybe they did an audition, a showcase, whatever, a year ago. They haven't been in touch with them. It's this ideology of I'm still waiting for things to come to me rather than proactively going out and getting them. And the building and sustaining of relationships, as you and I know, is really about reminding. It's like think of yourself.
09:18 Top of mind. Hey, I'm here. Yes, think of yourself in terms of advertising. Right, Advertisers have to show you something 10, 15, 20, 25 times in a day, maybe even more right? Well, we do too.
09:29 We have to remind people that we're here, remind them what we do, remind them that we have a relationship together. That's on me, that's on you, that's on the onus of us, right? And you and I are great examples. We've been in our businesses for 15, 16, 17 years. Now you and I are texting each other on a Saturday in the middle of the night, absolutely Now.
09:50 True, we're on different time zones, but we're still obsessively up in the middle of the night thinking, ooh, why don't we do this on Wednesday? And what's next? Exactly so isn't there a part of that like, if we take out the obsessive quality, which I understand, I'm obsessive To your audience, I am, and I admit it but isn't there a part of it that's so fun, that's so much joy, that's like you get a kick out of thinking up new ideas and executing them and going after six people that you haven't talked to in a few months, and I feel like it, authentically, is missing from a lot of people's like persona to do that. They feel like, oh, where's my job and where's my money and where's my credit? Versus where's my process, yeah, yeah.
10:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you brought that up.
10:40 You need to give a reminder to these people.
10:42 I mean, that's the whole, and I know that people are scared about spamming, but, honestly, if you take a look at the trends now in marketing and email marketing, especially on the retail level right, because I joined a lot of mailing lists and I always encourage people to join mailing lists for companies that they want to work for, so that you can understand how they market and then you can learn a lot from other companies marketing really Retail wisewise I get reminders, I get text messages and I'm trying to think outside the box about okay, how can I SMS text my clients, which is now becoming an option for a lot of the new marketing methods out there.
11:21 I mean, I know the Wix backend now enables you to SMS remind people or text them within your sales promotions, and that's kind of a cool thing that people can, of course, opt out of, but I'm doing a lot of my business via text. So for me, my brain is thinking how can I keep connected with my clients right Via text, so that it's not intrusive, but yet says, hey, I'm here, by the way, and kind of spark that top of mind where they're like. Oh yeah, ann would be great for this job.
11:53 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yes, yes, yes, I mean anything you can be thinking about, even one new methodology that you bring into your business. It doesn't have to be every single day, it doesn't have to be all day long, it's just one new concept. One new idea can change the whole face of what you do and really how you work. I oftentimes say to folks that we're coaching do you know, if you reach out to one new person or one new company a day, which for you and I is not a whole lot, but for someone else it might be a lot to take on? One, that's five a week in terms of work days, that's 20 in a month, yeah, 20. And then you say, but Lau, I can do three or four in a day. And I say, well, then do it, because then you're going to be 100 prospects richer by the end of the month. Absolutely.
12:42 And why aren't you doing that? And you know what the reason is. I'll tell you one of the firewalls reasoning behind why they're not doing it is, I'm afraid, Laura. Why are you afraid? I'm afraid. I don't know what to say to them. Yeah, yeah.
12:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I say, let's start off by just being human and making sure that you have done your research on them so that you can make a good introduction and that you're not going to be wasting their time by giving them like paragraphs and paragraphs of all about you, you, you. But really it's got to be about how you can help them.
13:15 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yes, and one of the things that I can tell you I live my whole life this way that books jobs is your energy and your tone and just like, ironically, how, as an actor, you would read and think about what's my tone for this commercial, this e-learning copy? What's my tone when I reach out to someone, when I talk to someone, and you get hired for your energy and you get fired for your energy or lack thereof.
13:45 And you have to rely sometimes on your personality and say you know that books a lot of jobs if you're likable.
13:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Can I be completely honest and say that your personality, when it comes out in your read right, that's what makes you unique, that's your point of view right, and that's what connects us as humans to each other. And so people always say well, how do I sound, how does my voice sound? Am I cut out for this industry? I'm like no, it's not really about that. It's about being able to bring yourself to the party, and how many times have we heard that said over and over?
14:19 again and I just want to say it differently, so that maybe people like, all of a sudden, I want that light bulb to go off because honestly, it's that innate, like non-touchable thing that when we meet somebody and we say, god, I like her, like when I met you, I was like man, I like that girl, I felt the same way about you going?
14:37 on and thus began this relationship, and so I can tell people when I do consults all the time I've got a few coming up after this but they'll say do I sound like I can make it in this industry? I'm like, but in reality it's all about bringing yourself to that read, that special uniqueness that is you, and if you can develop the skills to allow yourself and the permission to allow yourself to do that, that's what's going to connect with the listener at the other end and that's what's going to make you successful, right? Is that connection with?
15:05 the listener and, of course, all the other stuff should just come by the wayside, right? It's kind of like we're storytellers. Well, how do I tell that story when the script is written in this way? Well, you have to create that story right, Create those opportunities right. And how are you going to lock in those opportunities? By being your human, wonderful, beautiful, awesome self and just connecting.
15:27 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) So wait a second, annie. Are you hitting on something deeper now? Are you really talking, maybe, about the fact that there is a true and honest lack of self-confidence, which may even be deeper than that, a lack of self-esteem and a lack of self-value, because it really does challenge us to say if we're reaching out to someone, there's a reason and we have to share who we are and what we do with that person.
15:54 If you don't know who you are and what you do, then there's a real lack on your end that you have to go and dive deep. You have to go coach, get therapy, go meditate, whatever you need to do to find that the end user, that audience, they do whatever you need to do to find that the end user, that audience, they do not care, they're not there for that. They're not there to build you up, they're not there to give you confidence, they're not there.
16:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They're there for you to help them and they're not there seeking you out necessarily, right? So, again, the work that needs to be done for success in this industry, especially today, you have to work your butt off. I'm just saying, even for us, that we've been in this business for how many years, we know how hard we have to work, and now we're working even harder, right?
16:36 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) But, annie why is that a bad thing? Why is that being given a bad name? Why is that something that is sort of shoved under the rug, like, oh, we don't want to do that. We want to work less hours in the week, we want to take more vacations, and I'm thinking, well, it's all well and good, but don't you want to build a business? Sure, and to build a business from the ground up and sustain it, especially during hard times, economic times, whatever. During war, you got to work really hard. That's the old school work ethic you and I have.
17:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yes, and I'm going to say that, okay, do you have to work that hard 24-7? Well, I mean, I do just because it's an ethic, but honestly, like and we're totally obsessed.
17:17 Yeah but besides that, but in reality look, you can be super talented, you can get a great campaign right, but every person that I know that has really made it in this industry that has been uber successful. You can never count on that client being there tomorrow. And so, even though you might have a great gig and a great contract and it's been ongoing and you're making good money, I don't think any of these professionals out here have ever stopped looking or cultivating or continually growing. That's what makes them successful. So you can't just necessarily just say, well, I've got my client, I did great this year and so therefore I can kind of rest a little bit and maybe not have to work so hard. I mean, once in a while, of course, you need to take your time off, but in reality you're constantly looking for that next client, constantly, and that doesn't just happen in an hour a day.
18:12 Now, for those people that are working right now and you know again, I always tell people don't give up your day job. Yet, you know, until you find out that this is something you're truly passionate about and that you truly want to pursue, because the time required to generate those leads, the time required to audition, the time required to do all the things that is necessary to build and grow your business, not just exist and have a business. Okay, I set up my business. I have my demos, here I am. That's not enough. That is this tiny little tip of the iceberg, do you know what?
18:43 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) that reminds me of, annie, when we had brick and mortars pre-COVID and we did most of our work pre-COVID in brick and mortar, that was like, okay, I set up my shop, I set up my physical location, I had my coffee maker there, we had our computers there, we had okay, we paid the heat, we had toilet paper. It sounds ridiculous, but you have to think of all of that. Yeah, yeah, you have a brick and mortar, all right. How come I'm not successful? Yeah, mm-hmm. Oh, because I haven't started the work. Yeah, I haven't started. The work was just preliminary. Yeah, the, the house, there's a ton preliminary. But to actually build a house, that's a whole other set of things, right? So if you're doing your due diligence by training and getting your demos and setting up your booth, you get big applause from me, you get big kudos from me because you beat out half the competition already. Yeah, absolutely. But don't think that that's the work. That's not the work of owning a business, that's just the brick and mortar, if you will.
19:40 Yeah, absolutely the setup of the business, and the setup is always changing and upgrading too. Yeah, now you've got to work the business.
19:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now you've got to work it. You've got the business.
19:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now you've got to work the business.
19:52 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) And you and I are workers Like we're worker bees, we like working, we like the validation I mean. Look, my mother in real life is 85 years old.
20:01 - Intro (Announcement) Guys, don't tell her that I told you that she's amazing.
20:06 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) She's a licensed family therapist and she works still full-time, 85 years old. She says I will never not work. It's my identity. I want to be helping people, I want to be giving to the world, I want to be making money, I want to be this and that there's this sense of like kicking back and going what's coming to me? I'm 85, now what's coming? No, no. Taking on new clients and seeing how she can help them solve their problems, which are more complicated these days by the way, right, that was a key thing that you said was that she wants to help people.
20:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So it's not that she doesn't deserve a rest or she doesn't deserve to kick back at this point in her life, but it brings her joy. She doesn't want to. Yeah, exactly, and a lot of people feel that way.
20:51 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, a lot of people want to be in the world. They want to be a part of the world that spoke in the wheel, so to speak, but be a part of a large community, which we are, a very large global community but really be doing our own unique part of that, our own unique feel to that. And you and I I mean I take on pro bono projects, I take on projects that I'm giving back. Why? Because I want to. It fills my soul, it fills my spirit. I love working with maybe younger people coming up in the industry or people who don't have a budget that really need help. I like that. Listen, if huge civil rights attorneys can do that, I can do that too. Yeah, absolutely.
21:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right.
21:34 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I'm not saying to work for free. I'm just saying the point is what's your process? Why are you doing it? You know, take a step back and say if I want to have it easy and I don't want to work too hard, then ask yourself a more important question why am I doing this?
21:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Then get a job and work for someone else.
21:52 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, get a paycheck every week, right.
21:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Don't expect to come into voiceover land and have that same kind of mindset where that's going to work.
22:02 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, go be a middle manager at Chipotle and you're all set, you got the good food, you got the salary, you got the benefits. It's a whole different mindset about things, very much so you know I mean my dad, who is an entrepreneur. He always said to me you know, there are two people in the world, one is the employee and the employee mindset, and one is the employer.
22:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, and they're two different mindsets. Absolutely, absolutely. We are an employer mindset. Yes, we have to be an employer mindset. So, look, this doesn't mean right for the bosses out there. Well, how much time right? Well, I mean, for us I work a 16-hour day, but am I in the booth for 16 hours? No, I am not.
22:44 I am marketing, I am creating content for marketing, I am reaching out to clients and, of course, I'm doing stuff in my studio as well. I'm auditioning. I'm auditioning for my agents, I'm auditioning for rosters. I mean hours, and so I know how hard it is and I will speak to working a full-time job and then just seeing if voiceover is. For me, that's the hard part about doing it part-time. I almost thought that doing voiceover part-time was harder than doing it full-time. I mean, the risk is greater when you quit your job and go full-time into voiceover, especially financially, if you don't have that cushion and I don't recommend that you do that if you don't have a financial cushion, do not quit your day job, but if you're working full-time and you're doing voiceover, you've got to work so hard.
23:28 Oh my gosh, so hard You've got your nine to five or whatever that might be during the day, and then every spare moment of the day has to be working on voiceover. And that's the hardest, especially when you're starting because you're practicing, you're getting better at acting. Hopefully you're coaching with somebody, you're working towards a demo or you've gotten a demo. So now, if you've gotten your demos, then when you get home from your day job, you've got to be marketing right and you've got to find your leads. You've got to create content. You've got to create content. You've got so many things to do in those hours and you've got a family to take care of, so it is excruciatingly tiring when you are doing this with a full-time job. I get that, guys. But again, if this is something that you want to pursue and this is the life that you are looking for, that's just what you've got to do to make it work. I mean to be quite honest. I mean otherwise.
24:19 I have so many people that kind of half-heartedly put their time in Well, they'll do the coaching, they'll get the demo and they're working full time. But then they're like well, but I haven't gotten a job yet and I'm out of pay to play. I haven't gotten a job yet. Well, you've got to audition your tush off. You've got to market your tush off at this point, and that means hours a day. That doesn't necessarily mean like five minutes a day, but if you can do something every day, I would say do something voiceover related every single day. That, to me, is something that says you are dedicated to making this work, to making this be successful. And it's tougher than ever these days. You know you're fighting a lot of people in the industry.
25:00 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) You're fighting. And I would say too, as you said earlier, annie, do the homework, do the research, don't come in cold. Talk to people, see what they do in the career. We used to call those internships or apprenticeships. Well, you kind of have to do your own.
25:14 You don't want to try to make a living on a scaffold 50 flights up. If you're scared of heights, yeah Right. You have to know what the occupational hazards are. You have to understand what the hours put in, what the dangers are, what financial issues you could run into. You really have to be smart up front. Rather than saying, well, why aren't I making money? That to me is a very sort of novice-y green question. To ask if you've done some of the homework and talk to working professionals who have been very successful. They will all tell you. Even the most successful people who are making livings doing animation or they're a series regular on a TV show. They'll say, listen, I know when I book something I better save that money, I better invest that money, I better do whatever, because I may not work for a year.
26:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I may not get another decent booking for a year, and I have to know that I have to like plan for that.
26:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, bosses, go out there and get the work. Go out there and do it, spend the time, put in the hours, and I think you're going to see results. I mean, it's as simple as that Put in the work, you're going to see results. It's probably a lot more than you think, yep. The more you put in, the more you'll get out. Absolutely there, it is All right. There, it is Great. Big shout out. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys, bosses, have an amazing week and go out there and get it. Go out there and get it. We love you. All right, bye, bye.
26:46 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at VOobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
27:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Five, six, 7, 8. I'm trying to go faster. I'm trying to go 5, 6, 7, 8. I know I think it's waiting for me. That's probably what it is. I am waiting for you. There's a delay, guys. There's a delay, alright, wait.
How do you determine your worth as a voice actor, especially when you're just starting out? Join Anne and Tom as we unravel the complexities of setting rates in the voiceover industry. We challenge the misconception that newbies should work for less and emphasize the need for a solid base studio session fee. From understanding SAG-AFTRA and Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) rate guides to navigating the nuances of broadcast and non-broadcast work, we provide practical insights that empower you to establish your value right from the get-go. Efficiency and quality are your best allies in commanding higher rates and securing repeat clients. Learn the essential strategies for managing your career, from cultivating new leads and staying updated on market trends to understanding client churn. We'll share actionable advice on how to keep your pipeline full and stay ahead of the curve in this ever-evolving industry.
00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey boss listeners. Are you ready to turn your voiceover career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project. Find out more at anneganguzzacom.
00:26 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next project. Find out more at anganguzacom. It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. The boss, a VO boss.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and I am here on the Real Boss series with my co-host, Tom Dheere. Hey, Tom Dheere, how are you?
00:57 - Tom Dheere (Host) Hello Anne, how are you doing?
00:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Real boss. Yeah, hey, Tom, as a real boss. How's your year going? By the way, it's gone by so fast already.
01:06 - Tom Dheere (Host) First quarter gone.
01:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, first quarter and tax season is already coming.
01:10 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, I mean, we filed, I filed and I got paid already. So yeah, oh, very, very nice.
01:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, speaking of numbers, you're a numbers guy, so how's your year going?
01:20 - Tom Dheere (Host) It's funny because I just did my first quarter analytics financially and I think I'm like literally like $300 ahead of first quarter 2023.
01:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Congrats.
01:33 - Tom Dheere (Host) Can't complain about that.
01:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Being ahead is always a plus, always a plus and myself as well, and I'm ecstatic that I got paid already from the government, so that's good. I'm going to reinvest that in my business. But I love talking real numbers, like real money. So I thought it would be good to talk about real money, because so many times I have students who just get into this industry and they get that first job where somebody's interested in their voice and then they panic and they say, oh my God, they've come back to me and they want to know what I'll charge for this job and I thought we should actually. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about those numbers. How do people come up with those numbers?
02:13 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. It's funny because, like we could just say, well, just go look at the SAG-AFTRA contract if you're union, or go look at the Global Voice Acting website if you're non-union, and this will be the world's shortest podcast episode.
02:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's it. Gvaa rate guide and SegAftra Boom and you're done.
02:28 - Tom Dheere (Host) But, as you well know, it's a lot more complicated than that. But I want to do a little bit of myth busting real quick. A lot of voice actors coming into the industry think hierarchical. They think vertical, as in. Since they're just entering the voiceover industry, they should get paid the lowest and the people who have been in here the longest should get paid the highest. And that is not necessarily true. I mean, if there's one thing I've learned in the 25 plus years I've been doing this is that the last gig I got isn't always the worst paying gig I've got, and then the next gig I've got isn't always the best paying gig that I've got.
03:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It fluctuates, it just does right. I mean, before the rate guides. Well, I think there was always SAG-AFTRA, but SAG-AFTRA mostly concentrated on things that were national and broadcast right, and so national, regional, local, anything that was broadcast. So what was a girl to do back in the early years when I was there trying to figure out what do I charge? And literally it set myself into a panic and I always, tom, had to pretty much just kind of wing it and guess what? I think that that's even still true today.
03:44 - Tom Dheere (Host) I mean, now we have guides that we can look at as benchmarks, but in reality every job is absolutely different, especially when you're talking non-broadcast rates, so broadcast rates, radio, tv, cable, internet, streaming right, all the front-facing stuff, where there's going to be a session fee, which is how much you get paid to record the voiceover audio files, and then the usage fee, which is how much you get paid for giving license, because you're literally licensing your voice to the voice seekers for them to use your audio files in a certain period of time and in a certain area.
04:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely.
04:31 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. So that's broadcast in the broadest sense, for lack of a better term, and just by giving your listeners that basic explanation. That's what sets up this avalanche of other questions. It's like how big of a market, how many listeners, how long are you getting paid for? It's, in simplest terms, the more listeners or viewers, the more you get paid, and the longer that they're going to air this spot, on whatever medium they decide, the more you get paid. So the question is where do you start with that? So actually, that leads me to a question. Anne, do you have like a turning?
05:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) on the lights fee. Do you have a base studio session fee? Yes, I absolutely do. For me to step into the studio, I have a certain fee and a lot of my work is non-broadcast. So if I am doing any work that's broadcast. Typically that's either handled by my agent, right? Who's negotiating that for me? Which is why it's awesome to have agents, because they handle that and they're always fighting for the most part, if you've got a good agent for your best interests.
05:35 If it's not an agent fighting for the rates, then I have to go to a rate guide to start somewhere and figure out what that is. But for non-broadcast, absolutely. I have a rate for stepping into my studio and that is my studio session fee, which.
05:51 I try to equate everything non-broadcast to the same equivalent on the broadcast side, because these days, with synthetic voices right, I want to make sure that nobody's going to be using my voice for a purpose that it wasn't intended for, and so I will actually put and I'm probably getting ahead of myself on my non-broadcast, I will put an actual length of time, whereas previously this was not something we talked about in perpetuity in another episode. But I want to absolutely address that. For non-broadcast, typically it was you gave somebody a rate for usage of that file and it was forever. And now, with synthetic voices and the fear of getting our voices stolen or used for purposes other than intended, I now put in for non-broadcast. I put in a length of time that they can use that for as a safeguard.
06:42 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right and for certain things I mean there's explainers and corporate and e-learning and stuff like that.
06:47 Most of that stuff isn't evergreen anyway, because, like an explainer video, for example, the company's branding may change, the name of the company may change, the product, the service, the widget may change, so they're going to need a new explainer video.
07:03 If they have just like one explainer video which is parked on their website and their social media channels just saying we are this company, this is what we do, in two, three years, maybe five at most, they're going to need a new video and they may go to you and they may go to somebody else. But when you see non-broadcast in perpetuity, you want to be smart about it. You want to give it some form of shelf life, and that's a big part of this conversation, anne is how do you communicate this? How do you educate your clients? By explaining, like look, in a few years you're going to need a new one of these anyway, because I've noticed that for like non-broadcast, most of them want it in perpetuity, not because they want to synthesize your voice or because they want to hose you financially, it's just because they just don't want to be bothered. They just want to do this and it's done, and it's there and now they can go focus on other things.
07:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, they say that it's theirs.
07:49 - Tom Dheere (Host) And they say it's theirs. For non-broadcast genres there's a whole bunch of different ways to charge. Sometimes you charge by the finished minute. If it's an audio book, you charge by the finished hour. If it's long form e-learning modules, you could get paid by the word.
08:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, I mean, those are the big ones there used to be per page but I don't remember the last time I got paid per page and you know what. I'll be completely honest, tom, I don't remember the last time I quoted an e-learning module on a per word basis, because most of the companies or most of the people that I'm working with I'm not on a roster that is paying on a per word basis or working with an instructional e-learning company, that usually is on a per word basis.
08:31 Whenever I get e-learning clients, I always price them on a per hour, per finished hour basis and I get paid the same for e-learning as I do for corporate pretty much.
08:41 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, I mean they're both informational, non-broadcast, so in the broadest brushstrokes they're pretty much the same genre-wise, with the exception that e-learning is usually used to train students and new employees and corporate is for internal communications, like an HR video or a memo, or here's how you pick your employee benefits, and stuff like that.
09:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Or even a corporate narration video. That's what I meant. Corporate training and e-learning to me is the same. Do you know what I mean? Corporate training and academic e-learning rates are the same to me, except most educational institutions can't afford what a company can Right.
09:15 It's harder for them to get the money, but I think one thing that I want to emphatically tell the bosses out there that are just beginning for non-broadcast is that really every job is unique and we don't always have a rate guide to go to, and it's up to you as a business person to understand what would be an acceptable market rate for that and price it accordingly to that and also know your worth because, again, like you had mentioned before, you think that just because you're newer, you should charge less, and that is probably not the. That is not the way I would be thinking about it at all as a new person into the industry. Because you're being paid for your voice right, you're being paid for your voice. You can get just as much as I can or Tom can for that voice. It is your business.
10:11 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. Here's the thing about that is that a lot of my students immediately devalue themselves. Yeah, and you shouldn't do that to yourself, because, think about it on the other side of the equation is that if you're a voice seeker, do you care how long the voice actors have been doing voiceover Really? I mean in the abstract. Well, of course we would like an experienced narrator, but when it comes down to the audition, within two, three seconds, either they like you or you don't. It doesn't matter how long you've been doing voiceover.
10:43 Now there is obviously a correlation between the ability to tell a story effectively and how long you've been doing this. But ultimately, if you've got quality training from Anne and a quality demo and that demo is submitted and you've been trained by Anne to audition effectively for projects, I'd say 90, 95% of the time, it's a level playing field. Regardless of how long you've been trained by Anne to audition effectively for projects, I'd say 90, 95% of the time, it's a level playing field regardless of how long you've been in the industry, and I agree with you there, completely agree with you.
11:10 So you take that data point and then you extrapolate that. Well, if that's the case, then that means everybody should get paid the same who's auditioning for that, because if one of my students auditions for an e-learning project and I audition for an e-learning project, if I book it, I shouldn't necessarily get paid more than they should.
11:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I agree with that, completely agree with that. Again, they're paying for the voice. They're not necessarily paying for the experience. However, in dealing with the client, your level of experience might have a part in it because after you get the job, in order to maybe keep the job or have the person keep coming back, that's where your experience and customer service comes into play and that's where I feel that you can command. And again, you can command just as much if you can give them a good experience.
12:00 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. This is what I tell my students is that your talent will book you the first gig with a client. Your project management skills will book you the next gig with the same client, because if me and a student are auditioning for the same gig and they book it. Great, they should get the same that I get, but then they better deliver the goods, communicate the retake policy, understand how to use their DAW, understand how to edit and deliver the audio files, being able to take direction if it's a live setting those are skills that.
12:31 Yes, there is a correlation between your experience level and the ability to execute good project management, but if you work with Anne or if you work with myself, part of our jobs is to teach you that and how to be able to be professional and communicate effectively and do all those things, because it's not just getting the first gig, it's getting the next gig and the next gig and the next gig without auditioning.
12:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly. And it's funny because it reminds me of a conversation I had in my Voices in Podcasting Clubhouse the other day with Jodi Krangel and Cheryl Holling, where we got into this discussion about acting right, because a lot of coaches these days will say it's more important now more than ever to have your acting skills so that you can separate yourself from the synthetic voices. And Jodi said you know, I don't know if I'm completely convinced about that, because in reality it also has to do with your customer service. And I'm like, yeah, well, you've got to get the gig first right, which is your auditioning talents and your performance talents and your acting talents are going to get you the gig.
13:34 Then what's going to help you keep it is going to be that customer service that business aspect that you just mentioned, in order to keep them coming back and then commanding that good rate, moving forward.
13:48 - Tom Dheere (Host) And that's when it comes into so for the audition, to book the audition it's about your talent and your storytelling ability. After that, it's about your ability to manage the project effectively. Because, also, if you can demonstrate that you can deliver the goods and do it quickly and do it right, then, yeah, you're in a better position to command higher rates and slash. Or you're in a position to just get more bookings without having to audition for this end client that you got that initial gig with and other end clients at this production company or recording studio or ad agency or marketing firm or political production company or explainer production company has they're like yeah, you work with Ann. Ann delivered the goods on this series of explainer videos. She can do that for you and your series of explainer videos too. So it's not just about getting as much as you can for the project in question, it's about delivering the goods so you can get paid over and over and, over and over again.
14:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And aren't those the best jobs?
14:46 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, we all want regular clients, like everybody, everybody, in every part of the country.
14:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You don't have to audition for them, that just takes out a complete amount of steps. And it's funny because I think for me and for my business right. I'm always telling people you always have to cultivate new leads, because if you've been in the business for a long time, undoubtedly you'll probably have repeat clients. Right, tom? You must have lots and lots and lots of repeat clients Many, many, many, many, many repeat clients and me too, and I'm grateful for them.
15:10 but I always have to be cultivating the new clients as well, and that means I have to really continually assess and understand rates and what I should charge and understand my worth in the current market, in the current market.
15:24 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yes, my friend Adam Werner, audiobook narrator, fellow FAFCon attendee. He taught me about client churn, which is every quarter. I look at all of the voiceover gigs that I booked and all the clients that I worked with and the genres that I booked and how I got the gig whether it was through my representation, whether it was through an online casting site and whether it was through my self-marketing strategies and I look to see how many new clients did I gain and I keep a very close eye on how many new clients I'm getting, because if I'm getting a regular stream of new clients, that means my marketing strategies are working well, yes, yes and your marketing strategies.
16:03 Is your self-marketing strategy? Cold calls, cold emails, indirect marketing, social media, blogging, whatever. But also, am I just auditioning better through my representation? Am I auditioning better through my online casting sites? Because clients are just going to naturally go away, they're going to retire, they're going to go out of business, they're going to change their business model.
16:23 They're going to hire their nephew who wants to do musical theater, to do their phone greets. And now you're out. Ai is going to replace and already has replaced some of us voice actors. For certain clients, that's just going to naturally happen. So you always want to keep the till full.
16:39 Yep, yep, absolutely absolutely want to keep the till full, yep, yep, absolutely, absolutely, and making sure that you understand what you're worth in today's current landscape on a per word, per finished minute, per finished hour, per studio hour. You always want to keep an eye on that, yeah. So how do you keep an eye on that, anne? How do you keep an eye on current rates? What are your go-tos? What are your habits?
16:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, my current rates. I actually make sure that I check the rate guides frequently because they're continually being updated by people more than me out in the industry. Back in the day I was a core contributor to the GVAA rate guide and I think you were too Tom like e-learning and corporate and telephony and medical and those were the rates that I helped with on that rate guide. I make sure that I'm continually assessing those rate guides, but I'm also assessing the market. I mean, I work in the market and so I do a lot of research on the client and I try to understand, like, where else could they be going for potential business or another voice, and how can I remain competitive with that voice? And so how do I keep myself current? It's continual research, really, and assessment with the rate guide and some of it, honestly, is just pulling it out of the air. That is really what happens Sometimes. It's nowhere to be found and you just have to use your best judgment. Always use your negotiation 101 tactics on asking what is the budget?
18:06 That's like the most important first question I think you can ask a client.
18:10 - Tom Dheere (Host) Do they have a?
18:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) budget, and if they have a budget, can you work within that?
18:13 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, my go-to's is just looking at my agent casting notices and looking at my online casting site casting notices yes, yes, yes.
18:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Market assessment notices. And looking at my online casting site casting notices Market assessment.
18:23 - Tom Dheere (Host) Market assessment and what Ann does and what I do. You should be doing both of those. You should be doing both of those because when you get a casting notice from your representation, it's been pre-negotiated. They've already gone through the rigmarole of negotiating with that particular client, so what you get is most likely the finished product of what the actual rate is going to be for that project. So that will let you know, because, along with that casting notice, in addition to the rates, is the specs, the session fee, the usage fee, the market, the exclusivity and conflicts and the rate of usage, how long it's going to be used for. So you can use that to greatly inform your broadcast rate sheets. And then for non-broadcast, looking at the online casting sites and just noticing trends in e-learning versus corporate, versus explainer, versus telephony, versus medical versus voice of.
19:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) God. And in order to do that, in order to do that, do you need to be a member, tom? I know, because some of them will post job rates without you necessarily actually being a paid member if you're a free member, but I believe you've got to be a paid member to get that information these days.
19:33 - Tom Dheere (Host) For places like Voice 123, I believe you won't have access to the casting notices unless you're on the tier, because the only way you'll get them is if they make it to your inbox, and the only way it makes it to your inbox is having a subscription tier, unless you have a free site, a free membership and some casting notices come in and some say here's the jobs you missed and here's the money.
19:53 Right, voicescom, I think you can run searches but you can't audition unless you're a paid member. But you know what? There's other places to go. I mean you could look at Backstage and Badalgo and Casting Call Club, even Twitter. Now Casting Call Club and Twitter, there tend to be lower no-pay jobs, which is why a lot of voice actors early in their journey go to Casting Call Club because it gives themselves a great opportunity to kind of develop their audition skills, their rate negotiation skills, build up their portfolio, resume, genre awareness and confidence, all of which are extremely, extremely important things. But if you're able to hit the ground running and you have more resources at your disposal which I've got, a pay-to-play site like a voice123 or voicescom you can get a much better idea of what current trends in the rate structure is for voiceover gigs.
20:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you know what's so interesting. What I'm hearing from you, interestingly enough, is not just understanding the rate guide and then understanding the principles of negotiation and what you're worth, but also your audition techniques, right. Auditioning techniques, it's a first impression, right. And so if you're looking to command a particular rate for a job, even if you don't get a job that you've auditioned for right, you're submitting auditions into your agent and you're just, you're nailing time after time after time, or you're nailing the auditions in the pay to play, right, you're getting consistent in people's minds and that is building your value.
21:16 And it's interesting because when people come to me and they say I want to get a corporate demo or I to get a medical demo or I want an e-learning demo, I've, over the years, evolved into the type of coach that is really coaching how to do the audition to get the gig first, because, honestly, we all can do that. Read, that's a really pleasant, nice read. You know that's reading the words, but it takes acting skills to really tell the story. And so I really work on building up students' storytelling skills and acting skills and that, I feel, is going to command you the higher rate.
21:51 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yes, I've got some numbers for you.
21:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know you love your numbers, I do, I do, I do. Tell me Okay.
21:56 - Tom Dheere (Host) In 2019, I auditioned roughly 400 times. Okay 1% of my voiceover revenue came from representation. 18% came from casting sites. I wasn't on any paid casting sites back then. Fast forward to all of 2019, 5 years later, 2023, I did 1,854 auditions. My online casting site revenue percentage grew from 18% to 50%.
22:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, that's incredible.
22:26 - Tom Dheere (Host) My representation revenue percentage went from 1% to 12%. Wow, that's incredible, and my overall revenue increased by 20%.
22:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And now, what would you say that was due to then?
22:39 - Tom Dheere (Host) Auditioning Auditioning right and auditioning skills.
22:43 Getting my reps in on specifically Voice123. And you can hear, if you haven't watched our casting site VO Boss Video, go check that out. You'll hear me talk about Voice123 in severe detail, about my voiceover journey, the fact that I was auditioning so much on pay-to-play sites I was just getting better at auditioning. I was auditioning so much on pay-to-play sites I was just getting better at auditioning, which meant when I was getting those agent and manager-driven auditions, I was just getting better at auditioning there too and as a result, I booked more gigs and I booked better gigs.
23:12 So, if nothing else, don't put all of these things into separate buckets or silos, pass judgment on them and ignore them, or covet one and ignore the other. It's through data and money I've shown that the online casting site portal and the representation portal are clearly linked. There was clearly a synergistic relationship between the quality and quantity of my auditions on Voice123 and the quality and quantity of my audition efforts through my agents and managers. I love that you're backing it up with the numbers and quantity of my auditions on voice one, two, three and the quality and quantity of my audition efforts through my agents and managers.
23:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you're backing it up with the numbers, because I mean, it's so easy right To point the finger and say, oh well, pay to play suck, or there's too many people on the pay to plays, or the pay to plays are bottom feeders. And so, therefore, I didn't get to the audition on time, which you know that plays a certain part in it.
24:03 But also it could be like my agent keeps sending me the same auditions to everyone. So it's easy to point the finger and lay blame. But I'll tell you what a lot of times, if you can increase your audition skills, you can increase your net worth, you can increase the rate that you can ask for. It's kind of like this what came first, the chicken or the egg, the audition or the value right that you can charge your potential client? I mean, honestly, it just goes hand in hand. If you are a better actor, if you are a better auditioner and that's going to require an investment, typically in working hard with maybe a performance coach that can give you good feedback. Because if you're like I don't know what's happening, the pay-to-plays suck these days. I'm not getting any work or my agent is not getting me work, and I hate it when people blame their agents for not getting them work.
24:50 It really is up to you to put in that investment into your business so that you can audition better and then command those better rates.
24:58 - Tom Dheere (Host) Absolutely so. Creating a rate sheet from scratch or using the SAG-AFTRA guidelines or using the Global Voice Acting Academy rate guides is an important thing to understand what is a voice actor's worth in relation to the genres and the broadcast versus non-broadcast market. But I'll be honest. I mean, yes, I have had rate sheets that I built from scratch and talked to other voice actors over the past 15, 20 years, but these days I don't really look at it anymore. I just kind of just know, through repetition, what I'm worth, what the genre is worth, what the gig is worth based on the broadcast or non-broadcast usage. Is it going to just be in a museum exhibition or is it going to be on a corporate website that has 10,000 employees?
25:40 After a while you just kind of get the hang of it, but that does not help our bosses who are early in their voiceover journey. So bookmark that SAG-AFTRA rates, Bookmark that GVAA. Have your own little Google Doc. Keep track of the agent auditions that you get if you have representation. Keep track of the online casting site audition rates. Just start to note them. Just make a little simple spreadsheet Genre rate terms.
26:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I did that right in the beginning of my career. It was like audition. Where did the audition come from? Did I book the gig? What was the price? Literally? That can really help establish for you rates to charge and just make sure that you're keeping up with those rates and really doing some market research. If you're new to the industry, those rate guides use them as a guide only. That doesn't mean that they're the be-all, end-all of what you as a business owner should charge. But I would say, rather than going to the lower number because you want the client right, make sure that that number is well within what you are worth. And just because you started just recently doesn't mean that you can't command the same rate that Tom and I can.
26:47 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, and here's the thing about that is that the lowest bid doesn't always book the gig. It does not always. It does not always win.
26:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I get nervous when I buy things that are too cheap. Then I'm like oh, I don't know about the quality of this Right, because you know there's going to be.
27:01 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, there may be a lack of quality. I mean, think of it this way Like my wife and I were just in the big Macy's flagship store a couple weeks ago to see the Macy's flower show, and we walked through the departments and you see, like on the top floor of Macy's is the luggage and you luggage and you've got five different suitcase sets. The first few are worth $100 and then the last one is worth $400. What are the ones people are going to look at first? They're going to be like why is this one $400? What is it that gives it more value than the other ones?
27:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I'll tell you something too Sometimes I can't believe I'm going to admit this like on the air top as a female when I go shopping clothes shopping right and they have huge, huge sales. When there's like bins of clothing that are slashed 70%, sometimes that's almost too overwhelming and exhausting. And now that the prices have been slashed so much, I'm like I don't know people have been handling these clothes. I don't know. Are they not in fashion anymore? I question everything right.
27:58 Oh my gosh, they're so low, yeah, why are there so many of those in the bin of the same like style? Is that because it's not in style? And then I question all the other aspects of it. The quality, is it in style? And so, literally I will. To save my brain the overwhelm of low prices, I will go to the stuff that is priced higher and it's usually presented much nicer right and it's less overwhelming. Think about your voiceover right. Think about your voice and presenting it in a way that you are worthy, right. You are worthy of commanding that price. You are worthy of the elegant luxury brand of that voice, right and people paying that money. There is such an attraction to that for a lot of buyers it's like a psychological aspect.
28:45 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, look, look, vo bosses. If you have gotten your training, if you have gotten your demos, if you've built your website, if you have your home recording studio set up and you have a rate sheet built, you're worth it. Yeah, absolutely, you are worth it. You are worth it and you have a rate sheet built, you're worth it. Yeah, absolutely, you are worth it. You are worth it and you are worthy, yes, absolutely Good stuff.
29:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We could go on and on and on about this, but I find, tom, when I talk to you, like our podcasts run a little bit long because we have so much to talk about. You're so easy to talk to.
29:14 - Tom Dheere (Host) Aw, you too.
29:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you, Tom, for the wonderful, wonderful, sensible business head that you have. I absolutely love, love, love our sessions together and, bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl, that allows me to connect with Tom and talk numbers, because I love to do that, and all sorts of other wonderful business things that we should know as voice actors. You can find out more at IPDTLcom, tom. Thanks again so much. I just love our sessions together and I can't wait till our next one.
29:45 - Tom Dheere (Host) It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me back.
29:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Bosses, have a great week. We'll see you next week. Bye.
29:52 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at V? O bosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business Like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Get ready for an epic conversation with the one and only Jon Bailey, the voice behind Honest Trailers and one of the voices of Optimus Prime. Jon shares his unique journey into voice acting, from his unexpected start and overcoming the early hurdles of being labeled "just a YouTube voice" to establishing himself as a renowned actor in the industry. We discuss the importance of performance background and how platforms like YouTube have become integral to shaping modern voice-acting careers. Authenticity and resilience are the cornerstones of lasting success in the entertainment industry. This episode illuminates how maintaining a genuine persona can inspire others, with practical advice on consistency, branding, and leveraging mentorship. 00:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, bosses want to be that well-rounded talent that's always in demand. I offer coaching in a variety of genres, including commercials that grab attention, medical narrations that educate, corporate scripts that inspire and e-learning modules that engage. Find out more at anganguzacom.
00:24 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.
00:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited to have a very special guest in the studio with me today Epic voice guy of the four-time Emmy-nominated Honest Trailers, the sixth voice of Optimus Prime and over 20 other Transformer characters and voices for Marvel, disney and many, many more and the credit list just goes on and on, but this is a finite amount of time that I have with you, so I am going to let you talk. Welcome, Jon Bailey.
01:17 - Jon Bailey (Host) Thank you. It's good to see you again after 100 years. I said 500.
01:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So, yes, we go way back. At least we were just discussing it like 16 years it is. I said 500. So, yes, we go way back. At least we were just discussing it like 16 years, gosh, when you first got into voiceover and I have watched you over the years become this incredible success. Bosses I mean, this is the VO Boss podcast. We are talking very boss-like. We are talking very boss-like strategies and hard work. Jon, I am so, so happy for all of your successes and so proud of you, my gosh, because I know in the beginning it was a struggle for you. So maybe for the bosses I don't know anybody that probably doesn't know who you are, but in case they don't, tell us a little bit about how you got into the world of voice acting, it's good to be back.
02:06 - Jon Bailey (Host) Thank you for having me back on. It's been a hot second. Yeah, it was all kind of accidental. I had background in performance from school, all the way from, I would say, kindergarten, through college and public speaking and improv and things like that.
02:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) In fact, I think that's how we met is through Rebecca's love. That, oh, yes, that's right. Oh my gosh, I feel like that had something to do with it.
02:27 - Jon Bailey (Host) It's been so long ago I don't 100% remember, but I feel like that may have been how we connected. So that was back in my R&D days, which was two years before I even did anything professionally and, like you had said, before, we started the show. Seriously, I would go in, for my first manager kind of found me on the Internet by accident because I'd started YouTube out of boredom.
02:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) really, Little did you know?
02:49 - Jon Bailey (Host) Yeah well, the main reason why I did it was because I saw other people taking old cartoons and dubbing over them and making funny things out of them. I was like, well, that's what I wanted to do. If they can do it, then why can't I do that? And I had this small following just based off the comedy stuff that I put together involving Transformers and the movie trailer voice, the inner world guy and my first manager, family from that video. And then I ran into the problem with him, like he pitched me to Sony because I would feel like we've heard your voice before and something. I'm like, oh, cool. I was like, well, I did this little tiny thing online and caught on his trailers and they, oh, because you're not a real voice actor, you're a YouTube voice actor. And I was like there's a difference.
03:30 And it's so funny how much just changed in a decade, because now that's considered a major platform.
03:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That is what is so impressive, Jon. You just forged through, because I remember that they're like oh yeah, honest Australia's. You're not a real voice. I remember that and I remember your struggles and your frustration with that, and you have like a trillion followers. I mean literally.
03:50 - Jon Bailey (Host) Not that I'm inflating.
03:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But you got what?
03:52 - Jon Bailey (Host) over a million, over a million, yeah, combined across all platforms, which is impressive. For voice actors, yeah, who haven't been the main character in some major popular anime or cartoon or whatever game? I kind of coined the phrase recently where it's like I'm the guy everyone's heard but no one's heard of, right.
04:10 Because I'm so in everything like my manager, my agents, whoever, or sometimes just directly from the clients. They just throw everything at me and I'm just willing to give everything a shot. I know that can't hurt to try, so as long as it doesn't violate my personal faith. There's some things I'm just like no. And other things I'm like well, I'll check it out, but I can't make any promises and some stuff. I'm just like you know, don't bother me with this stuff because I'm not going to work on it.
04:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, so you've worked on such a wide range of projects. I mean, what would you say, say I mean outside of? I know in the beginnings were really like getting started and getting your feet wet and getting known. Talk about some of the biggest challenges that you've had as a voice actor, because, gosh, we all run into what we think are challenges. But I feel like just with the amount of exposure and the amount that you've grown over the years, I mean your challenges I feel must equal almost sometimes your follower size.
05:04 - Jon Bailey (Host) I think my challenge is there's been a lot of them, but I'd say if I had to narrow it down for an interview with you, I would say that you really need to have some organization to your personal life, because if you don't have the availability for this job, you're wasting your time because you really can't do anything else.
05:24 You have to find a way to work around their schedule instead of your own and be available for them, and that often leads to that thing between voice actors where it's like why did they get the job instead of me? Well, it might've been because they had a home studio and you didn't, and they had immediate availability and you didn't. Or they might've decided to move to a town like Los Angeles rather than the middle of nowhere, because sometimes it doesn't matter how great you are for the job, it really doesn't. For some reason, some people out here are just too scared of change and they would rather have a real human person that can show up at their studio at a specific time and day and record the thing. And unfortunately, you have to sacrifice a lot. I mean, you have to kind of give up your freedom, so to speak, and I'm thankful that technology has changed, where there's mobile options now, where I don't feel like I'm stuck in this particular physical space 24-7.
06:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I was just going to ask how much do you actually go in studio now?
06:21 - Jon Bailey (Host) Still probably more than me, I would say it's more than it used to be only because I'm booking more, but I would still say, you know, 90% of the time it's still here. In fact a good percentage is. Just to look at the bookings for this coming week, I have four bookings the first week of June and half of those are in studio and half of those are home studio. So it sometimes varies, but I would say the majority of the time I still feel like the majority of it is here. But certain projects they really want to work with just the studios that they've already recording all their other actors at, because they want the quality to sound the same. It makes sense to me, but at the same time people's home technology has gotten so good they don't really need it anymore.
06:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) COVID kind of proved that. Yeah, exactly Now. Did you have to do any upgrade? I'm sure you probably had a great studio already, but did you have to do any upgrading to your studio?
07:08 - Jon Bailey (Host) I mean it's still the same booth. It always was this one I've had, for I would say I've had this one for at least five or six years. Todd Haberkorn's misfortune was my fortune. He got this booth for his place, which is not too far from here, and he moved here from West Hollywood, which it fit perfectly fine in his old place, but it just happened to be a few inches too big for his new place. So he had to sell it for a third of what they normally run and I'm like well, I can make payments.
07:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And he was cool with that.
07:36 - Jon Bailey (Host) He just wanted to get rid of it because it takes up so much space and it's so heavy and so bulky and big. It's bigger than I need. It's an 8x4 and I don't recommend anything bigger than 4x4. But the truth is you really don't have to have a booth that looks like yours, no offense, but it looks beautiful on camera. That's great.
07:52 That's one of the main reasons why I had it, because if I want to make content and look like a pro, it needs to look like a pro. And no matter how great the audio quality is, no matter how many studios or clients that you've worked for, when it looks like the inside of a closet you don't look like a very good pro and I guarantee people out there it sounds better in that ugly closet than it does in that fancy studio of yours. Even the guys from VoiceOver Body Shop they recommend you don't have to have a whisper room, you can just have that freaking closet. But I figure that half my career is content creation. Freaking closet, but I figure that half my career is content creation. Half my career has been voiceover, so it might as well upgrade that because the opportunity presented itself for such a low price.
08:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and I agree with you that image, I mean, it's how you present yourself really.
08:36 - Jon Bailey (Host) They don't teach you about how much branding is important.
08:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Back in our day, when we first started.
08:40 - Jon Bailey (Host) Branding was not part of the education. It was all about the voiceover, the career. They never really talked about, like your social media presence or having a color scheme. Well, you were developing that. We were still figuring it out.
08:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We were, and I remember like first time physically meeting you at a VO Peeps meetup. We were talking about how important it is to start branding and things were just getting popular on the internet. They were starting gosh. We're talking back in our day when we walked to school 10 miles. I know it's funny, that was only 10 years ago I know, I know, and it's incredible how it's grown.
09:12 And you know, you mentioned content creation, which, wow, I mean, like I said, you were ahead of your time back in the day on YouTube, and so I concur, yeah, you were ahead of your time, and I like to think of myself as being a little ahead of my time because I was broadcasting from my living room back when people weren't broadcasting on the Internet.
09:31 My VOP's made up and, that being said, I feel like we're kind of pioneers together, forging our own little paths in our business, which is why I'm so excited that we're talking today and you mentioned content creation. So let's talk a little bit about content creation and what it takes for you on a day-to-day basis, creating the content that you do, because, gosh, I've been following you for the longest time. And then I have another question that I'm going to talk about in a minute, because you have transformed. Not only have you voiced transformers, but you have transformed yourself. But let's talk a little bit about content creation and how important it is for bosses today and people wanting to build a successful business. What does content creation mean for that business?
10:11 - Jon Bailey (Host) Well, the one thing I learned and I have always been a trial and error person People always ask me every freaking day. I would have said you need to find reliable, trustworthy coaches that are affordable and just get coaching, instead of trying to do this the cheap, free way and learning it all the hard way through trial and error and just free research on the internet.
10:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It can be done.
10:39 - Jon Bailey (Host) I'm proof that it could be done, because I didn't get any coaching until I'd already been at this job for like almost a decade and I just didn't see the point because I'd been. Unfortunately, a few not so great coaches can ruin it for everybody else. I'm like I don't hear anything here that I couldn't find on the internet.
10:55 I personally have a theory that when we got started, people were gatekeeping the information. I think people were only telling they were so insecure in their own careers they were afraid if they shared this information, this is going to create more competition, which is going to screw me out of work, and I don't think that this is the kind of career where you should have to worry about that because it's so freaking huge. There is enough room for everybody in this job.
11:19 And if you're great at the job and you do a good job and you take the time to grow your brand and create content, do all the things that you need to do in order to be able to show what you're capable of, you'll be able to get work. There's no doubt in my mind. I've always been kind of ahead of my time, but I've been that guy that like I'll do it and until some huge voice actor does the same exact thing after they've seen me do it, then all of a sudden it becomes popular. I was one of the first voice actors to stream my own video games on Twitch. It didn't really go anywhere and I was like you know what and I told a few other voice actors about it. I said this is a great idea. Now all of them are actually making a separate income from doing the same thing I was doing, but nobody even showed up for me.
11:57 I was also one of the few people out there like I should create content about what I do, or just do career centered content. That's entertaining slash, maybe a little informational way to show what I do, just to promote myself. Because the thing, like I started off, the thing that I learned by making content, was that your representation. They will never represent you as well as you can represent yourself. And when I found out that my agents only just get the auditions and sometimes they'll have some relationship with clients and they'll pitch you to somebody they're never going to know you until you get out there and show them who you are. So take whatever thing that you do and just formulate your content around what you're best at, whether you're best at creating creatures or you're best at doing impressions. Whatever Impressions won't get you anywhere in professional voice of a career.
12:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) but they're fantastic for content.
12:48 - Jon Bailey (Host) That's not the advice I got 12 years ago. I was told you will never get anywhere in this business doing impressions. That's not true, because you can grow a brand and all of a sudden you're so popular Clients can't do anything except they can't ignore you once you have millions of followers and you're like, oh man, we should hire this guy because people will buy our brand or at least consider our product or service or whatever, just because this guy has so many people.
13:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. I love that.
13:15 - Jon Bailey (Host) So growing your brand and making content is a way for you to represent yourself and not just sit back and sit on your hands and wait for your agents to do it, because they're not. Your representation's primary job is to make you look good and let people know what you're booking even if they didn't book it for you, and get you auditions and opportunities. They're not out there promoting you specifically, they're not putting out visual audio demos of you doing stuff and working on things, and everything is content Everything.
13:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now question for you because you create so much content and now that you have so many followers, I would imagine yes, of course. Now you're getting sponsorships. You're getting people who want you to talk about their things, because you do have a big follower base. Do your agents have control over the type of content? How careful do you have to be now creating your content?
14:00 - Jon Bailey (Host) I think that agents representatives have to be careful depending on their talent. I think if their talent is smart and they're wise, obviously they're going to hit me up and say you can't post that, you need to take that and sometimes I just have to kind of self regulate.
14:15 I'll give you a perfect example of that. There was a project that was coming out and I thought it would be funny to make a prank video because it's a project that I have been known to work for in the past. So for an April Fool's joke, I created a fake thing for this thing and posted it on the Internet and all of a sudden it reached a point because my content has gotten so big and my career has grown so much that people were using that as a potential news leak of some nondisclosure stuff. I'm like oh crap, I've reached the point where I can't just be regular Joe fan that makes funny stuff for the internet. And then they're like oh, that's so.
14:54 I had to be way more thoughtful and because of, like I said, I learned everything the hard way because of some NDA scares and because of some reprimands from some agents in the past. Over the last decade and a half I've learned like what is okay and what's not, and I'm just always very careful because it does help. I've been working for Hasbro for eight years. Eight years I've been doing voices for the same company, for the same franchise, and only within the last couple of years? Did they even know I was working for them?
15:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow.
15:15 - Jon Bailey (Host) Because when you have a massive corporation they drop down all those little jobs down to other companies that are lower on the pole. So they can just like look, we're just going to license this brand out to you. You tell us what you're going to make, you do the entire production, We'll approve, and then you know it's got our official stamp on it. They have no idea who's working for them. So when I get out there and I start making content, I'm really starting to push something like Transformers, for example, because I remember that.
15:39 I do remember that, so they'll send me products or they'll send me news, information or images, digital assets whatever to repost because it makes sense for me, and the more that I do that, the more that people are associating me with my favorite brands that I already work for or it's making other companies go wow, he does a really good job for them. As long as there's no conflict between clients, maybe we should get them to check out our stuff or whatever. So, for example, for Transformers specifically, I have probably four different companies that send me stuff that I don't have to pay for, that I can make content with, or I can resell or give away. There's a lot of different ideas that you can do. You just have to think outside the box.
16:37 It's all about thinking outside the box and doing the best you can to represent yourself in a way where your reps don't have to worry about what you make because they're afraid that you're like oh my gosh, you said you're not a chub on that, I mean, I even had to think about that whenever it came to anything marvel related, because when I started booking sound likes for some of these actors for marvel, I'm like does that mean I can't make comedy, marvel content or whatever, because that might be a spoiler for something that I don't even know about because I'm not working on a project. But I feel like anything I'm doing to help it boils down to this. This is the very, very important part. It boils down to only doing positive things about the clients, brands, products, whatever that you want to work with or that you're a fan of, whatever Because let's just say you like.
17:18 Snickers. If you like Snickers, you don't want to do negative Snickers things. You want to show yourself eating a Snickers, show yourself talking about Snickers, making funny things based on Snickers, and eventually you get enough followers and enough people are like this is really funny, this is really entertaining. This makes me like Snickers. This makes me want to support you by getting whatever. Eventually, snickers is like hey, you know what, we'll send you some free Snickers, send you money in a brand deal. The important part is to do it positive. Don't do anything negative about a brand that you like.
17:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was just going to ask you. There's the other side of the coin, where any publicity is good publicity, so sometimes negative.
17:52 - Jon Bailey (Host) True, but I feel like you're playing it safe and smart if you just stick to only things that, for example, if something comes out, that's not that great, but it's for a company that I like. That's the truth. But it's also about growing your brand, about being seen by enough people to be considered like, oh, and it's also about showing all the things that you do, whether it's your skill set, whether it's your sense of humor, whether it's just your perfect, whatever it is that you're doing it helps them understand like this person has all these positive traits that we like. We would like to continue to work with them, or we'd like to start working with them.
18:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I like that. I like that a lot.
18:34 - Jon Bailey (Host) The whole Mint Mobile ad with Ryan Reynolds. It did not come from my voiceover stuff, it came directly as a result of social media stuff. I was one of the first people out there doing an impression of Ryan Reynolds, because I've seen people out there doing impressions for decades. They started doing it on YouTube when it was first brand new a thing. People were trying to do it as some kind of bit where it's like here's this tiny little cartoon picture in the corner and here's one second of me doing this character. Like I could do 500 cartoon characters in three minutes. And I was like, okay, I see what you're doing, but it's also terrible. It doesn't mean you're a good voice actor, it just means you've made clever content that a lot of people watched.
19:09 But wouldn't it be better, instead of doing those impressions, to just take your skill set and promote yourself in a different way and do something nobody else is doing? So I started looking. It's like man, my gosh. All these voices are old. These characters are ridiculously ancient. It's always Mickey Mouse and Kermit the Frog and stuff that anybody pretty much could do, because the guys who came up with those characters they didn't want to stray so far from their own voices. They were just doing whatever. So I was like you know what? I should just look at who's popular right now, who's the number one top dogs right now? So I started looking at the A-listers. I'm like nobody's doing Chris Hemsworth Nobody's doing Ryan Reynolds.
19:43 Nobody's doing.
19:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All of a sudden.
19:51 - Jon Bailey (Host) Now everybody's copying that pattern. It's just one of the first out there and because I did such a good job with Ryan Reynolds' voice and I made positive, funny, entertaining content, it eventually got the attention of Maximum Effort who reached out to my agents, said we really like Jon, we have this funny idea. We don't really know what we're going to do yet, but we'd them on commercial. There's a good paycheck for it involved, also good social media. Because he's smart enough to know, because Maximum Effort is very good about this. They think like I do. They're like there's a potential for this stuff. It's all in the internet and how you present this More people to see that than you can by throwing this up on a television commercial. So, yeah, it just kind of became that formulation of is it positive? Does it show off my skill set well, does it make me look like we should work with this guy and want to work with this brand? Would this brand be like? This is a unique or entertainer insert thing here of a way to promote our product. We'd like to work with this guy more or continue to work with him. So, yeah, it's going to be, became the whole mindset and the main goal was always not to make money from.
20:49 I make hardly any money from social media, just next to nothing, because the primary goal was not to make money. If I wanted to monetize, there's a very particular set of rules that you have to follow in order to make money from social media. My goal was to get more eyeballs on it, get more followers, because at some point you want to be indispensable, you want to be invaluable to people and like well with me. Not only do you get 16 years of professional experience, all these credits, all these working with all these great companies or clients or studios or whatever. You also get somebody with over a million followers on social media who will promote your project and make content about it for no extra money, just because that's what he already does, because that also helps. It's a cycle. It helps me get bigger, which helps me book more jobs which helps me get bigger, which helps me get more jobs.
21:32 It all works together and it does kind of feel like you're working half your time for free, but that's why you should do things you enjoy. Make your content something that you enjoy, based on things that you like. Just build it around your skillset around your talent.
21:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, I love that and I love the whole positive spin that you put on things, as well as authenticity. To take a moment to talk about authenticity you have been very authentic, having known you for so many years now, about things like in your personal life, like your transformation right In your family, and so let's talk a little bit about what authenticity means as well in terms of I feel as though it's not a put on to get more followers. I just really identify with you through your stories. I think you and I have a similar story about, let's say, our body change, our health. We've transformed a little bit in that way, and I've seen a lot of posts from you about that and also stuff about personal struggles that you've had. Let's talk for a moment about the authenticity and how important that is.
22:30 - Jon Bailey (Host) Well, I think you should keep the majority of your personal life offline. Nobody needs to know all your personal business. But I do feel like, when people have been supporting you for so long, they feel an attachment to your story and to you and they want to root for you. They want to be in your corner, they want to see you succeed. Some of them even live vicariously through you. But a lot of people are just looking for inspiration. They're looking for somebody else to give them justification for whatever it is that they're going to decide to do, and when they see somebody like me give up, it makes them want to give up. When they see somebody like me keeping on and pushing on and just never quitting, it makes them not want to give up.
23:09 I inspire other people and, as a person of faith, that's kind of half the reason why I do what I do, because I feel like it's better to be genuine and be yourself, because if you have to mask, eventually it'll all fall apart. You won't be able to keep that up for forever because it's not really you. Jim Carrey's talked about this a lot because he used to be that guy. He thought he had to be like this all the time. That was a persona that he created. It was just a different version of himself where he literally was not Jim Carrey, he was whatever character he was portraying.
23:38 That was Jim Carrey. And when he finally dropped the mask and started being himself, he felt better. And yeah, he's not a super energetic I mean, he's still funny, but he's not that crazy, energetic, over-the-top, ridiculous guy all the time. He's actually just a normal human being who happens to have a very clever mind and sense of humor, et cetera, et cetera. And he talks all the time about how the word depressed has the words deep rest in it and how our brains can't keep up with that fake facade.
24:05 And I know exactly what he's talking about, because my personal life is not rainbows and skittles all the time. I don't go into great detail about it, but people do know. They know that I'm on the spectrum. They know that my son is very much on the spectrum and he's had a lot of issues. They know that my home life has not always been a hundred percent fun. And they also know that financial struggles and all I go through the same thing everybody else does.
24:29 There's a really great interview with Larry King, with the actor who played Abed in Community, which is one of my favorite TV shows and I did promos for it, which is how I became a fan and he was being interviewed.
24:40 Larry King's like give me a luxury that you can't live without. He's like cup of coffee. He's like no, no, no, a luxury. He's like a warm pair of socks. He's like no, a luxury, you know. Like a private place, like I work on duck tails, larry. It's like people don't get that. We're struggling just as much as I don't think, until the strike came forward. This feels like the first time ever that a strike has actually finally got people to realize we don't make a lot of money, we're not sitting around floating in a pool of money and everything is fancy and expensive.
25:09 I literally live from paycheck to paycheck. I don't know how I get from point A to point B except through faith and hard work. That's all there is to it. And you have to find things that work with your schedule in order to stay in this career, because you can't just go get a grocery store job or whatever and be able to make it. You'll only be able to work when you're free. These clients don't care when you're free, they only care when they're free. So so you have to make yourself available until you get to the point where you've reached the career level, we're like no, no, no, we'll wait for you, we can reschedule for you, don't worry. That didn't used to be the case when you first start off like next, because they have a million other people that can do what you do. No-transcript, how fast they can get it done, reliability, all these different things that are factors they're going to succeed. They see that, they can just tell, and part of it is that I am a really hard freaking worker and I'm very genuine and open about.
26:09 I'm just always going and doing stuff, but it's gotten a little better with content creation wise, because while I'm still just being me, I do take the time to like look ahead and see, okay, what's coming out. What am I working on? What am I allowed to talk about? What am I not allowed to talk about? What's trending right now? Since right now, I only have this free time on Saturday, and that's it. I'm going to make a whole bunch of stuff that week, and then I'm just going to drop it online whenever I have time, rather than so.
26:34 it's not like I'm making stuff all day long, every day. I can't do that. I can't keep working for free because people don't realize if they're not sending gifts or they're donating to your social media you're doing it out of the goodness of your heart on what little spare free time you've got. I don't have all day long to stream and et cetera. Content creation is. I absolutely agree with you, it's no small feat it is a full-time job that does not pay.
26:59 No small task at all, but it does pay off in jobs, in exposure.
27:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, absolutely, and that's interesting. My next question was going to be what's your best tips for people starting out in the business? You just gave it to me in that last Well, I got a lot more tips than that, but I loved it because hard work and I'm going to say determination, and especially now that the industry has shifted, I mean and evolved and I think you, more than anyone, really understand how to roll with the changes and to really evolve.
27:23 - Jon Bailey (Host) Well, you've brought up challenges, and that's what the challenge is that this job has become far more public. It's gotten much bigger. It was already big, but the career itself is already bigger and we have all these factors to be concerned about now, like AI replacing jobs like ADR.
27:50 And the competition has increased by a ton because now people understand technology is caught up, where you can pretty much do this anywhere with a decent Internet connection, which makes a big chunk of the industry going to be much tougher. But if you do all those things in conjunction, if you get training, get training from good, reliable coaches that are honest, trustworthy and affordable, you'll spare yourself years of research and development. Start creating a brand. I say this to people when I coach and all of a sudden it's like people realize all this stuff is just common sense stuff.
28:06 Make your profile picture Be the same. Make your bio Be the same across all your platforms. Just be consistent with making something. Find free time, bank up a bunch of free stuff. Post it when you don't have time, because you may not have time to make stuff later, but be showing what. Like I said, everything is content. If all I have time to do is be in the booth doing my job, then I'm going to record myself in the booth doing the job.
28:29 Add some different audio to it, so I don't break non-disclosure agreement when I'm recording auditions and just post something else over that and make that into a video to show people like I'm freaking, working, I'm doing this stuff here, I am in my booth, or just take a picture, do something, but make content and keep something going out there. Yes, it helps if you stay up with current trends, if you have a particular genre. I'll give you a couple of examples, because people probably think that this is just confined to well, you work in cartoons and movies. It's easy for you because you have all this stuff. That's not necessarily true. You never know which horse is going to win the race.
29:00 I would have thought that Mad Max would have been a great thing to post content about, but it's not doing as well as I thought it would do. So all the other stuff that I do content for is like okay, well, I can keep making that, but you just kind of have to keep an eye on it. But you have inspirational stuff, you have creepypastas, scary stories. There's just so many things that you can do and it be your brand, as long as you keep consistent and keep making something. And in the meantime you're doing auditions, you're out there, whatever, and as you're growing you can start adding that to like oh well, if you book me, you also get this.
29:30 I have a protege. I would love for you to interview her sometime. Her name is Hunter and she did not know what a voiceover was before she met me, but she did have performance experience. She used to be a haunter in haunts and let me tell you something it is harder to be a haunter in a haunt than it is to do stand-up comedy, Because you have an infinite amount of time that you're going to be doing this little performance. You've got about 10 minutes In a haunt. You're in there for hours coming up with characters, terrifying people, improvising, doing all the makeup and stuff yourself too. So there's on-camera stuff as well and you develop crazy skill sets that she didn't even know was a valuable skill set. She can create creature sounds that I've never heard a woman do before.
30:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I've only heard Dee Bradley Baker, do what she's done.
30:13 - Jon Bailey (Host) And, like you, have any idea how special that skill is in this industry.
30:17 You need to make content and show people what you do, and especially if it's something that you can do that they cannot do and all of a sudden, within three months of just doing a little voiceover coaching with me showing you the stuff that I know after 16 years, she was booking work, which proves that you don't have to have two years to 16 years to book that kind of stuff. If you have the information and you work hard and you supply the stuff that you learn, you can book stuff right away. This industry is easy to get into. My biggest problem and I'm going to hurt a lot of people's feelings right now my biggest problem is that people come to me with their hands out and that's all they ever do hey, what can I do to blah, blah, blah.
30:52 And I tell them they're like that doesn't sound like I'm just going to be able to do it without you giving it to me. So I'm like if you don't want it, if you're not willing to work for it, then don't ask. It's not a job where you can just go get an answer and I give you a key and you go open the door and you receive the rewards for it. It took 16 years to do that, yes, yes, it can be condensed down to shorter amount of time. When you find somebody like me who coaches and I've made all those mistakes already in 16 years' time I've gone through every version of how not to do the job, then finally figured out the right way to do the job wouldn't it make sense to invest a little bit of money and save yourself a lot of years to get that information and actually use it and apply it and just work hard at the job? It's kind of like Shawshank Redemption All it takes is time and patience.
31:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely Well, before we go, I do want to talk to you about your transformation.
31:42 - Jon Bailey (Host) You look amazing.
31:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I imagine you must feel great. I feel a lot better today, not so much because I injured my shoulder.
31:45 - Jon Bailey (Host) I'm sorry, that's right, but again, like I said, everything is content and I'm like you know what. A lot of people are already supportive. They want to see me succeed and I wanted to show them that if I can do something, anybody, if you just put your mind to something and you're just consistent at whether it's your health or your career or whatever, if you're just consistent at it, that's all it is. People just fall out of it because they go too hard, too fast. Whether it's your physical health or whether it's the career, they think that, okay, all I have to do is this one thing and then when it doesn't work out in a couple of months, people just quit. Or a couple of weeks, they just don't give it enough time. You don't get healthy in just a couple of weeks.
32:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It took years of back and forth and bouncing up and down, you and I both know, because we both been there.
32:25 - Jon Bailey (Host) I remember, I remember.
32:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You look like a different person too.
32:29 - Jon Bailey (Host) I've lost an entire person at this point I'm down 145 pounds.
32:33 - Intro (Host) I haven't had my biggest, I was 335.
32:36 - Jon Bailey (Host) That was around the time when you and I met I was literally that.
32:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No neck guy and my overall goal was 170 pounds, but still is wonderful.
32:42 - Jon Bailey (Host) Thank you. I've only got 25 pounds left to go.
32:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Good for you. I still have some to go too, and it's funny People are like what? But I need to continually have that challenge. I feel like I'm like you in that way.
32:53 - Jon Bailey (Host) I'll give everybody something that really helped me, and it's going to seem like a silly thing, but if your health is important to you and you have people that depend on you and need you to be around, then you should make it a primary thing. Number one. Everything is content. You can film and take pictures of your progress. My progress stuff gets more traction than my professional career stuff does Mine did too my picture of me shrinking. Those are just pictures not even a video.
33:20 Those pictures had over 3,000 likes and I don't even have that many followers on Instagram. People want to see you succeed and it also inspires them and makes them want to do better for themselves, which is great. So you can literally make that as part of your journey, and I remember incorporating it into my routine. I'm like you know what, instead of it feeling like it's a job and that I have to go lose weight and I have to go hike and I have to go to, I'll make content while I'm out there. I'm make videos of me doing the thing, or make I did different celebrities going to the gym, you know, or working out or exercising, and it became where it was fun and eventually I'm multitasking. At that point, I'm making content and I'm working out.
33:57 At the same exact time, I'm also finding cool locations while I'm out doing whatever that like you know what. This would be a cool place to make a thing. There's so many different cool factors involved in just doing things better for yourself. The gym that I got for the backyard I was like you know what this would make great if I want to do gym videos because they have a very strict policy about making content inside of a gym, so having a gym in my backyard makes it a lot easier for me.
34:21 But it also I got it from another voice actor. Dave Fennoy got rid of his old gym because his studio flooded and he did not feel like putting it back in there.
34:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I got a great deal on it. Oh, that's awesome. I didn't realize that was Dave Fennoy. It helped me network more with yeah it helped me network with Dave Fennoy who's?
34:37 - Jon Bailey (Host) also a local to Memphis, which you know, I've only known two or three other voice actors that came from where I came from. So there's so many positive things about. Everything is interconnected, everything's all part of one big giant thing and it does sometimes feel a little bit like a video game because you're just like this doesn't feel real, but it's just all the parts working together and just looking for opportunities. I'll put it to you this way there's a movie I hate to bring up Jim Carrey again, but the movie yes man. I don't live quite that strictly to that kind of policy, but I do feel like you should say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. Unless you have a very solid like there, unless you have a very solid like, there's just no way I can. If it feels like there's resistance, then don't do it, but unless there's just something that instantly red flags, I'm just trying to be like yeah, I'll, absolutely. I'll do my best. I'll give it my best freaking shot, whether it's my health, whether it's my content, whether it's a voiceover job.
35:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I've been shocked at how many times that has worked out for me.
35:31 - Jon Bailey (Host) Just give it a chance. So many people are not confident in themselves. They don't have security in themselves. I don't think people understand the term fake it till you make it. It's talking about acting. It's literally talking about pretending to be okay and pretending to be fine and acting like you're good even if you're not good, even if you are nervous. This will change your entire life and I'm only going to give this one, and this is just an example of what you get when you coach with me. By the way, if you can pretend to be another person when you go into an audition, it completely changes things, because when you're already acting like you already got the job, you're going to do a better job performing the job. So, whether it comes to in-person auditions or whatever, or social situations or networking situations, you can literally just get comfortable acting like the person who is confident and who is a success until you are that's what faking it do to make it move.
36:22 People on the spectrum and voice actors and actors and performers. We're all very good at masking, and does that make us an exceptional liars? Probably All of us are not like that in our personal lives.
36:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But when?
36:34 - Jon Bailey (Host) you're very good at pretending to be someone else. You can make that into a viable career and it works for your content. It works for your overall brand. It works for your auditions. It also works for your booking. When you actually get the job, People will like you better, when you act like you belong there. In other words, when you go into a session, don't sit there and go. I'm sorry, let me do it again. I'm sorry.
36:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I messed up.
36:55 - Jon Bailey (Host) Hang on. I messed up. Hang on. I'm sorry you shut your mouth. Just say let me try that one more time.
36:59 I got a better one in me Change your mindset, change the way you speak, change the way you act. You're faking it till you make it, because eventually you'll start booking those jobs and it's just. I hate to keep using nerd references, but I am one it he could do it because he saw himself do it, and this is exactly. There was a life changing moment for me when I went into record Bumblebee for the third time and it's one of my favorite movies that I've ever worked on. It's my favorite franchise, my two favorite characters that I got to voice. I had no idea who I was working with in that studio. I didn't have a clue. Nobody told me that anybody from the movie was going to be there. The only people that I saw that were famous were some of the other voice actors that were working. So on the third session I was like I wonder who the director of this film is. And I looked it up and it was the guy I'd been working with for three sessions.
37:48 I didn't even know he was the director of the movie. I thought he was just the engineer at Paramount and it was like dude. I was nailing it, not even knowing I should be nervous. So why even be nervous? The next chance I got to work with another director, it was Michael freaking Bay. I wasn't even concerned anymore. Everybody was warning me. He's hard to work with. He's difficulty blah, blah, blah. I'm like dude. I worked with Travis Knight, didn't even know I was working with Travis Knight. I'm fine Because I can just act like I belong there and and people will believe it because I'm being very confident. Even though it's fake confidence, it's still confidence and eventually you'll start to believe your own confidence.
38:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's kind of manifesting.
38:24 - Intro (Host) Manifesting that it's faking it till you, make it I didn't understand.
38:27 - Jon Bailey (Host) I heard people say that for years and years and years until I realizing it's just faking confidence until you're actually doing that job, because you really kind of need to prove to everybody else and yourself that, yeah, you can do this, and once you can do it you don't need to worry about it anymore.
38:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And what I love is knowing you for so long Like I've seen this happen. I've actually watched you become this incredible success, confident, and it's. I love it. I'm just so, so happy for you.
38:54 - Jon Bailey (Host) I appreciate that it really is just about kind of like learning all the cheat codes. It takes me a little longer than most. I had friends tell me like it takes 10 years to get into cartoons. I booked an anime in eight and thought I was doing good, but then it was just crickets for another four years. So you just never really know. But then when I started realizing it really is all about faking that confidence and just believing in yourself, even if you don't believe in yourself. If you can fake it, other people will believe it.
39:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm signing up to coach with you, but actually this is a great segue into, first of all, how can people follow you If they don't know they should know because you're all over the place and then how can people work with you.
39:29 - Jon Bailey (Host) I recently. I won't say it's finished yet because I'm trying to add a couple more pages to it, but I recently overhauled my website thanks to my awesome mentor who also does website design. So if you need a voiceover website, I know somebody and the contact page. There's a section on coaching. My rates are all there. I've expanded from when I first started. You probably remember this. There was a long time I did not want to coach because I didn't feel like I had enough experience for it, because I was like I've only been at this five years. Even though I'm doing great, I don't feel like I've got anything to say to anybody. Brand new, because I'm brand new Now. I don't feel I've got a decade and a half plus two years of research and development.
40:01 I've worked for the biggest studios out there. I have gone through every version of how to do this job wrong, just like Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb wrong 99 times. I figured out the right way to do it by doing it wrong so many different ways. So I haven't named it yet, but it's kind of like the gamer's guide to voiceover.
40:17 - Intro (Host) It's a little cheat code magazine.
40:18 - Jon Bailey (Host) Love it. So, yeah, I'm really easy to find Epic Voice Guy on every major platform and you can contact me via my website page or any DMs across any of the social media. I'll probably still sling you over to my website because it goes straight to my email address, but my coaching rates are ridiculously affordable compared to most people and you won't have to keep coming back for more coaching sessions unless you want to, because I didn't like that when I got started. I think we had this conversation before. I was very against the overall coaching community because I felt like so much of it was predatory. They were giving some of the same information over and over that you can find on the Internet for free. And now they have a website. D Bradley Baker God bless his soul created Iwanttobeavoiceactorcom, and now I don't even have to like look, if you don't want to pay me, spend a few weeks on this free website. No skin off my teeth, you don't have to pay me a dime.
41:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If they're not willing to look at that website for a couple of weeks because there's a lot of information there, then they don't really want to do this job and that's my number one go-to thing.
41:12 - Jon Bailey (Host) But yeah, I coach and I also do other stuff too. I also offer, if they want, fan stuff, a little bit of everything Awesome.
41:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, you do. I remember that you were doing that back 16 years ago too.
41:23 - Jon Bailey (Host) Yeah, I try to look at the industry and see where the gaps were and see where is something missing. It's like, oh, I started realizing these brands that reached out to me like, oh, we realize, you make a lot of Transformers content. I was like, well, you know, as a voice actor and having a professional page, I should freaking have a shop page.
41:39 And then call those companies and say hey, would you like to advertise for free on my website? Duh Three or four, I'm like, yeah, we'll give you some free ads and we'll even throw you a commission if they buy some stuff through the way I mean.
41:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) there's so much opportunity.
41:51 - Jon Bailey (Host) We just don't. Nobody really takes the time to think they're just looking at insert job here in the voiceover business and they don't think about all this other stuff.
41:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's the business mind too.
42:01 - Jon Bailey (Host) Yeah, the simplest way I can put it, because I know your time is valuable too. The simplest way I can put it is if you're going to fish because you're starving to death and it's your only option, you have plenty of opportunities to fish, but you have a boat and you have a place to fish Do you put one hook in the water or do you put them all in if you have the opportunity, to put them all in there If you have a chance to catch more fish? Look for every single chance, every single opportunity, whether it's a YouTube and a TikTok and a Twitch and a whatever. If you're a gamer, game, if you're a reactor, react but do something. Build it around your skill set, make content on every platform out there. Look for every opportunity networking opportunities, voiceover meetups like what Anne and I used to go to the coaching sessions from people that are reliable free website resources.
42:47 There's a ton out there If you just put in the freaking effort. That's where you guys make me angry. Put in the freaking effort.
42:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) This podcast is a resource.
42:55 - Jon Bailey (Host) Exactly, I've been doing this podcast for eight years, eight years weekly. So yeah, I just celebrated my eight year and you guys are not paying for it. This is free resources that are extremely helpful, Jon.
43:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Bailey, john Bailey. Oh my gosh, it has been so wonderful. We should have like five more, no, 15 more episodes.
43:11 - Jon Bailey (Host) I mean I would if I didn't have a game to record I know right.
43:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I could go on and on and on and I have a session I got to get to myself. I take that back. Five sessions.
43:19 - Jon Bailey (Host) I forgot one. I just booked another one today. Five sessions and two out of five are at home. That's not normal though.
43:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I did want to be fair and honest. That means you got to drive three out of the five too, so that's time involved as well. Knowing this area.
43:32 - Jon Bailey (Host) Oh, that's aed. There you go, there you go, oh my gosh.
43:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) John, it's been amazing. Thank you so, so much for this. Bosses out there, follow John and coach with John. I'm telling you, you were like a fountain. You're a fountain of wisdom and information and again, thank you I keep telling people they should go to me.
43:54 - Jon Bailey (Host) I've got living proof. If you want living proof of how far you can come with a little information for me, if you are properly motivated and you work hard, go to VoxyDitch on any of the social medias. That's my mentee. I'm mentoring her and look how quickly she has people coming to her asking her for voiceover advice. Awesome, only being in this job for a few months.
44:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Awesome. Well, John, thanks again. Bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can network and connect like bosses like John and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Everyone have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.
44:33 - Intro (Host) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Join us as we sit down with Steve Pogatch, Senior Manager of Voice Over Operations at Studio Resonate, SiriusXM and Pandora, to uncover the transformative journey of voiceover and audio advertising over the past decade. Prepare to have your perceptions of podcast advertising turned upside down. We dive into the fascinating differences between host reads and announcer reads. Gain valuable tips on delivering standout performances, crafting compelling commercial reels, and handling ambiguous scripts with finesse. Steve underscores the importance of prompt communication and reliable turnaround times while highlighting the industry's efforts to protect voice talent amidst the rise of synthetic voices. Finally, discover the impact of the Sonic Diversity Initiative, a significant step towards inclusivity in voice casting.
00:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, upgrade your voiceover game with VIPeeps and access our extensive library of over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops. Whether you're interested in commercials, audiobooks, corporate narration, video games, promos, our workshops cover it all. Plus, as a VIPeeps member, you'll enjoy a 15% discount on current workshops and complimentary monthly workshops to further develop your skills. Join VIPs today and take your voiceover career to new heights. Find out more at vopeepscom.
00:39 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level the boss level. It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.
00:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, anne Ganguza, and today I'm very excited to have with me in the studio a very special guest, senior Manager of Voice Over Operations of Studio Resonate, which is SiriusXM Media Pandora Stitcher, Steve Pogatch. In addition to producing thousands of high-quality audio ads in the past 10-plus years that he's been at Pandora, steve has been the go-to guy for all things VO casting, direction and quality. He's responsible for recruiting, auditioning and curating new talent for the Pandora VO roster, as well as managing that roster. Steve, I am so super excited to have you with us today. Thanks so much for being with us.
01:42 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. I feel like I've reached the upper echelon of the VO world now that I'm on the Boss podcast.
01:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So thank you so much. Well, thank you, thank you. Well, we're super excited to glean all of your years of wisdom and I'm just so excited that we had this opportunity that I saw you in person. I had to see you in person to beg you to come on the show. So let's kick off things by talking a little bit about your journey at Pandora. You've been there for 10 years and I know in the past 10 years in my voiceover career, I've seen a ton of things change. Talk to us a little bit about what you've seen as far as changes in audio advertising, casting and voiceover.
02:24 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Sure. So yeah, about 10 years ago when I started I was just a producer and our voice roster was maybe about 60 talents or so Wow, and yeah, when they started their advertising department they were getting talents off of Craigslist and other places that I really didn't know. So when I got there, that roster was on an Excel spreadsheet really and it was just filled with all kinds of information and it was really hard to manage and navigate. But a lot of the voices were that terrestrial radio, you know announcer-y style voice.
02:56 And one overarching theme is that voices and everything we've been doing for the past 10 plus years has really just escalated from the announcer-y like hey, pandora listeners, you know like radio style, to hey, pandora listener, you know it's like instead of talking to a group of people talking to one person, you're interrupting their music flow, you're tapping them on the shoulder. You know you're in their earbuds and you just hey, let me tell you about this Tide detergent or Cascade dishwashing liquid or something like that, and just the gentle approach. So it's really gravitated from the super announcer-y, terrestrial radio style to super conversational. The directional word I love to use nowadays is casual a lot. Everyone's sick of conversational already. They're like oh yeah, you're talking to a friend, blah blah, blah, you know yeah.
03:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, what's so funny is just my own personal feelings about it is, I get that Like I think they're just sick of the conversational word, but in reality we have conversations with each other every single day, and so there's all different styles of conversational. It could be authoritative conversational, it could be like super casual conversational. I think that when it comes to advertising, though, one of the reasons why it's kind of gotten to that in your ear one-on-one sort of, I think that's what sells and I think that's the evolution of advertising over the years. Would you say that that's true?
04:18 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I think so it's. You know, the more personal you can get, or targeted, you know, with an ad, or I mean not to the point where it's creepy, but to the point where it resonates with the listener. You know where it's like, oh yeah, the same thing with VO talent getting into a script and connecting with a script. It's like you want to connect with that listener, like, oh yeah, I do use that dish soap every night.
04:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, yeah, I want to.
04:40 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Oh yeah, that sounds interesting to me, you know.
04:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then I guess my question would be is and this is probably something you're very familiar with is that they ask you to have that casual, like engaged, sort of sound, but yet they don't always write it so that it's easy to achieve that? Do you find that, in terms of the copy that you're seeing come across your desk over and over again, like people still want it to be very, you know, like you're talking to your best friend or that casual, but yet sometimes it's written like super announcer-y?
05:08 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, and that is hard. That is really hard when you get the bullet point style our orange juice has 100% fresh pulp and made from only Valencia oranges. It's like there's three other facts attached to that and you're squeezing that into 30 seconds spot. It's like there's three other facts attached to that and you're squeezing that into 30 seconds spot. It's like how do we get these bullet points to be super conversational?
05:30 - Intro (Host) That is hard.
05:31 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) That is very hard for a talent and for a copywriter. So we do have some great copywriters on our team on Studio Resonate that actually really write great scripts and whenever I can get scripts with humor in them or stuff like that, it just really makes the whole experience better.
05:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now in the studio, are you always writing the copy, or do the clients come and provide copy as well, or do you make suggestions? Let's say, when they come with copy and then they ask for a super casual read, or they have 5,000 words when they need it in 30 seconds.
06:02 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, that happens. The struggle is real.
06:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) The struggle is real.
06:06 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I'd say I don't know the exact percentage, but from where I sit I don't do the writing, but it feels like maybe half and half half are our copywriters and half might be the clients, and sometimes we'll actually take the clients and go here, let us try and rewrite this in a Pandorified way or something like that. And sometimes again, it's like those bullet points-y stuff that really need to get in there and don't even get me started on like some like pharmacy disclaimers and stuff like that.
06:32 - Intro (Host) You probably know from medical narration and stuff like that.
06:34 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) It's just like woo. You know, it's like 90 words in a 30 second script.
06:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, but they're changing too. It's interesting if you actually listen to some of them now I don't think they're as fast as they used to be, because I'm almost positive that because it's a legal disclaimer that they have to be, like, understood by the listener, and so sometimes if they're talking too fast then it's not clear, or because I've really noticed that trend and I don't know if it's the same in terms of I've seen it on television at least.
07:04 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah.
07:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't know about Pandora, but very interesting. So then my question is is the casual read dying? Are people coming back to announcer style, or are you seeing variations on the type of casual?
07:20 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I hope it's not going back to announcer, because we've really worked hard on this whole gentle approach. Yeah, exactly, and you know personally, when I meet a voice actor who's locked into that whole radio world like I have 27 years of radio experience how do I get on your roster and I just kind of go well, how do I let you down gently?
07:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, exactly Because you're looking for an actor.
07:44 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Some talents and again talents who haven't really evolved with us in the 10 years that I've been there at least, or may not be on our roster anymore because there has been that evolution. But yeah, it's really difficult for some people who have been locked into that radio world to actually shift and change and it's part of their muscle memories.
08:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right Interesting. I know that even when it comes to, like, long format narration, I know that just reading it it doesn't cut it anymore. I mean, you have to be in their ear and that's super hard, given you've got more than a minute's worth of copy and it's not always written in a first person kind of way, so that I know the struggle is real for that as well. So, in terms of advertising, would you say that there are more advertisements from 10 years ago today, or how are you seeing the trend? Because I know in podcasting there's a lot of people who, like they find advertising annoying and so they fast forward quickly, and so I'm just curious to see how advertising is received in terms of listenership and in terms of popularity of people. Yeah, let's advertise on Pandora.
08:49 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) It's funny because when I first started this job, I would meet people at like a party or something like that, or a dinner, you know a get together, and they were like oh, where do you work?
08:57 - Intro (Host) I'm like, oh, I work at Pandora.
08:58 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) They're like I love Pandora, and then I just sit back and wait for the next sentence. They take a breath and they go, but the ads, yeah, exactly.
09:14 - Intro (Host) You, he knew it. And then I go, hey.
09:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I make those ads and then talk about like an awkward. You know you can hear a glass drop in the background, but it's just like, well, we're trying to you know to make these ads gentle and not as abrasive and in your face like real radio ads.
09:22 And then they turn around and they start to agree with me. I'm like yeah, yeah, you know, okay, but I think the Free Pandora, you knowora, has really kind of survived on the advertising and I haven't really done a count in a while, but I don't think it's that many ads. I don't think it's really changed over time either, like in terms of an ad pod and an hour listening session.
09:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think it is what it is. I mean, you have to support the medium and I know that for myself, like on the VO Boss podcast, I've had sponsors which I wait until the end typically to say anything about the sponsors. But lately I'm like gosh, I've had this podcast for seven and a half years and I've never done any advertising, and so now I'm kind of doing my own ads. Now we'll see how that turns out. But my question to you is is that podcast advertising is now really started to become a thing just because podcasts are now becoming a thing? So what are your thoughts on that? Are you seeing trends? Are you seeing changes in how people tolerate ads and podcasts?
10:16 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I mean, I actually am guilty of fast-forwarding through a podcast ad recently, when I was listening to a podcast.
10:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It better not be mine.
10:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Shame on me.
10:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's like a voice actor who fast-forwards through a commercial on television.
10:27 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Right, it was their own. No, no, no.
10:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I don't watch commercials Really.
10:34 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) But since SiriusXM bought Stitcher a few years ago, they were a podcast company. So we had to kind of figure out okay, we're going to do a lot more podcast ads now, so what does this sound like? So I feel like in the past few years we've been kind of sculpting this. There's a couple of different versions of what we work with in our group, on our team, and one is host reads. You know, it's like you have your Conan O'Briens and they're just handed a sheet of bullet points and they're ad living.
11:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes, and I think that's effective.
11:02 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, if you ever listen to Conan O'Briens ad reads, they're incredible.
11:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, it's smart list. I'm going to put my vote in for SmartList. Okay, Really, really excellent. It's Sean Hayes, Dustin Bateman and oh my gosh, Will Arnett.
11:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah.
11:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And so each one of them take turns. And you're right, they get the bullet points and they add them. They're amazing, they're funny. That's the best yeah, and so I agree. So that's just so so interesting yeah.
11:25 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) So that's the host read, and then we also do this thing called announcer.
11:29 Read now again that word announcer is not used in the same context that I just told you that we've evolved from. It's just quote announcer read, it's another package or whatever. So we've been trying to sculpt what does this announcer read sound like? Well, in my eyes it's like an offshoot of the conversational, because you're listening to a podcast and it's usually two hosts, you know, or whoever the hosts are, they're just shooting the breeze, you know, talking to one another, you know, we've all heard that. And then boom, a podcast ad comes in. So how do we want that ad to be? And it's the same thing as interrupting someone's music flow Again. But this is like. So we just want that super casual approach.
12:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But you can still tell the difference, because it's not necessarily ad-libbed right Like a host Right.
12:14 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, you can definitely yeah, but we're trying to write that way as well, and we've been working on this for a couple of years already, and I feel like we're getting there and we have a select group of talent.
12:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think I'm going to hire you guys. I wrote my own and it took a long time because trying to write it as a host and in trying to like write something to sell something, I'm doing it myself, not bouncing it off anybody, and so it's a tough way to write. I mean, it's a whole different way of writing. Very interesting.
12:41 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I actually. You know, I produced a podcast for my wife and her sister my sister-in-law and my wife is a therapist and a coach and she has products and stuff like that and she finally said oh, I should advertise myself on there. Sure, I said, you know, go to chat GPT and have them write some scripts for you and adjust it.
13:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) She didn't ask you to write them.
13:05 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) No.
13:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, Steve, I think maybe.
13:07 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I already do too much. Producing this podcast is a lot more work than I expected, but I said feed in your website or something like that, so they know who you are.
13:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Again, I'm not super experienced with it yet I did have some help with ChatGPT writing my own ad, yeah and she came up with three, and so I created three commercials for her.
13:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Now I put them in a rotation for her midway through her podcast, so it's cool. And then they also turn it on ads wherever they're uploading their podcast to as well, so it'll be her ad, and then whatever ads they decide to put in there as well.
13:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, let's talk a little bit more about when you're recruiting or trying to find new talent for your roster. What is the process and what are you looking for? What sort of qualities in a voice actor are you looking for that are suitable for your roster? I know before it used to be a thing in the industry where it would be like, oh, they're opening up the roster, so everybody would be like, oh my God, did you get an invite, or it was that kind of thing. Or did you submit? Did you submit and did you get asked to be on the roster? And it was a big thing when you weren't thing, when you weren't. I remember that it was years ago. I submitted. I just remember, like going in the underground VO circles, it was the big thing.
14:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, and I will say it's very hard. We have 260 talents on our roster, or 250 talents on our roster right now, and I'd say it's pretty jammed up, so it's like it's really hard to like find what are we looking for now. You know, I feel like every time someone applies or sends me something, the number one reason I have to tell people is you know, you kind of sound like one or two other people on our roster and I feel bad like you are a superstar.
14:41 But yeah you know I can't give the people on our roster a disservice and I can't give you a disservice by oversaturating those kind of voices. So it's been tough to manage and we don't open the roster at any particular time. I know at the end of the year I do a little house cleaning. So people who aren't really, who are maybe booking one or two jobs a year, it's like, let me tell you, that's the hardest thing about saying goodbye to someone because they're not booking enough, like sorry, you've only booked like two gigs in the past two years. It's like you know that's not sustainable for you as us being a client of yours. It's like you're firing me. I'm like no, I'm not. No, I don't want to use that word, no, but again, it's not sustainable for you to just book one spot a year from us. You know.
15:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I book one spot a year from us, you know. So, right, I agree, and I also think that it's hard for talent because they take it very personally when in fact sometimes it's not. I mean, sometimes, yes, it may be performance related, correct, but myself, having been in casting and having done Vio Basta as an audition demolition, but in casting and for projects like that, I just know that sometimes it has nothing to do with the performance, it has everything to do with oh okay, I have this product and this voice is not the demographic that I'm looking for, and so a lot of it is based on the client and what kind of voice they're looking for and who they're trying to sell to. Is that similar to what you feel, as well as to why some people get picked on the roster, like is there a trending sound right now, like millennial, like that kind of thing?
16:13 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) No, I mean there was the millennial thing, I think, but we've gotten everything we need right now and I just like what I really watch out for is oversaturating certain age ranges, you know, and just like you know, okay, we already have some, you know, senior age, males only a couple and then it's like do I bring one more on? No, because again it's that oversaturation thing. That's the thing I have to watch out for the most these days.
16:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what would be your tips or secrets to help voice actors deliver their best performances? Not necessarily to get on the roster, but because I mean you've been casting for years and casting talent and performances. So what would be your best tips for helping VO talent deliver a great performance?
16:59 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Sure, I mean, I think the number one thing in the way we deal with talent is we're not doing a lot of live sessions, we're booking via email. So in those cases you're going to have to send us three takes, and your confidence and your self-direction is really what's at play here. So I would say that's like the number one kind of thing that we really hope you have is that confidence and self-direction, because you're going to send us three choices and you can't be unsure and you can't send us three of the exact same carbon copy. We've had some talents in the past?
17:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, how often does that happen?
17:33 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) It's happened where I actually have taken all three of their takes and put them on top of each other in Pro.
17:38 - Intro (Host) Tools or whatever.
17:39 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) And it's just one thing, echo and there's no difference between any of them. It's almost like it's eerie. Yeah, so that's a no do. But other stuff, definitely a good commercial reel. I think from like listening to a ton of commercial reels, I'm starting to learn like what makes a good one these days. You know, and also sitting on the speed dating with your demo panel the past few years at Solvus, I've had people give me demos that are, like you know, sound effects heavy, and then there's another voice on there and I say you have 60 seconds, add up the sound effects, add up the other voices on here. What's that? Four, five, six seconds? Okay, that's 10% of your demo.
18:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's not you. That's real estate.
18:21 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, so you can have sound effects, but not have it just be by themselves or start your demo with a big explosion or something like that, right, unless you're going for terrestrial radio or whatever I don't know. But yeah, other stuff is like. One thing I really appreciate from a talent is I call it VO intuition. If you have a script that, for example, it says finance or something like that, and you're not sure the way the client wants it, you know it's finance or finance and I want to write a book that has those words in VO data data. You know, I wonder if anyone's done that yet. A book that all the words that could be said two different ways.
18:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh right.
18:57 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) There's my quarter million dollar idea. I guess I don't know. But if you have a script like that and it's like 9 o'clock pm and the producer's not available, send it both ways and say hey.
19:07 I gave it to you. So that's what I call VO intuition. I really appreciate that when it's like oh, I didn't know if you wanted data or data, so I'm giving it to you both ways or I'm picking up this sentence. Stuff like that is really great, but it's not a requirement. Good communication If I send good communication, you know, if I send you a request, I want to hear back from you within, you know, three or four hours, say, yes, I got it, I got you, I'm going to hit it by the deadline, no problem, our turnarounds are like 24 to 48 hours, so we need that as well. So, yeah, stuff like that and other stuff. I mean definitely the commercial demo is number one. These are nice to have character work singing, but, again, not required got Got it.
19:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what qualities in addition to like, let's say, the demo? Right, let's say you have a demo and the demo is amazing. And then, all of a sudden, do you find talent sometimes that don't equate to the demo. Meaning what you hear on the demo is not necessarily what you get back when you give them. Okay, here's a job the customer picked out for you. Can you give me three versions of it? And then, all of a sudden, it sounds nothing like their demo. And then what happens at that point?
20:09 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Do you direct them or yeah, I mean, there is always a chance for us to get on the phone or do a live session. But in terms of our recruiting and the way it works to get on our roster is we listen to the demos and if we really like it, then we'll reach out with a whole packet of auditions. Oh god, this is like 12 different scripts you know from like automotive, university, healthcare, retail, and then we've just created a podcast script and cpg, which is consumer packaged goods, and a conversational script and ad lib script. So it's like 12 of those scripts. So that gives us. So you'll find out. Yeah, did you record in a fancy studio and now you're at your kitchen table and what you did on your demo? Is that also translating as well to our scripts?
20:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let's talk a little bit about I always call it like the technological disruptor in the room synthetic voices. Are you finding that you have clients that are looking for that these days and, if so, do you have a source or how do you feel about it? What's your take on synthetic voices and their place in the industry today?
21:13 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I think there are some spots where it would be good for a talent, you know, like if you had your clone and you were in control of it. I think that is number one. Again, I want to shout out to Nava and everything they're doing for. Ai Because I believe in all the stuff that their manifesto, everything about how they stand for the vo industry and ai.
21:34 I'm just so into what they're doing so I gotta shout out for them. But there are places, you know, suppose you were given something you know where you needed to read like 2500 addresses or something like that, you know, and you're just like, oh god, I can't do, I can't do this, I'm going to blow out my voice or it's going to take six hours. And then you're like, all right, I'll just do the body of the spot and then turn my clone on to do that. It's hard to figure out. What are the rates? What is a good rate for that as well? You know, and that's kind of stuff I think about, you know, when I'm what is a good rate? I always want to stand for our talents and try and get the best rates possible for them. So you know, that's something I need to think about if we ever were to go into an AI world Right now. I mean, some clients are asking for it and stuff like that.
22:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And what type of applications Are they asking for it in terms of it's because they can't afford or they have, let's say, volume material that they think it's an ongoing thing where just a date will change or a price will change or a couple of things will change.
22:30 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I don't think it's gotten that expressive yet or that detailed yet. I think they're just like wanting to touch the new toys that are out there Play around yeah.
22:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I actually almost I agree with you on that, because I feel like it's kind of novelty. People just want to see how good it is and I think for certain things, as you mentioned and a big shout out to Nava and one of the reasons why on the VO Boss podcast and Bosses if you haven't listened to it I did an extensive set of interviews with a number of AI companies to talk to them about ethics and the industry and synthetic voices in general, and I got educated. I did a lot of work and I got educated and I think that's wonderful and Nava is a really wonderful source for being educated as well, and so I think if we own the creative license to our voices and we can control it, I think that's moving in a positive direction and we just need to get it there first so that we can do that Absolutely.
23:27 But I don't think that the technology is there yet for emotion or rhythm or that kind of thing, although there's lots of great examples out there, and the scary thing about some of the great examples is somebody will say, oh gosh, listen to this. And everybody's like, oh my God, it's really good. And then everybody panics and gets scared. And in reality there's a lot of technical things on the backend and this is just from my own education, from interviewing so many people that worked in the AI industry that there's many, many different ways that people come out with these samples and you don't know how much engineering is done on the back end to make them sound that good.
24:01 And there's different technologies too. I mean there's text-to-speech, and then there's speech-to-speech, which is an entirely different technologies too. I mean there's text-to-speech, and then there's speech-to-speech, which is an entirely different thing, which is what they use for high-end Hollywood movie dubs, and that's where it sounds scary good. And so a lot of times you don't know. You don't know how it was produced or how it was manufactured. But kudos to NAVA again. And the sooner we can get legislation in place so that we can be protected, the better. You know, I've always said that we should, as an industry, just evolve. I mean, we're not going to make it go away, that's for darn sure. So we need to evolve and somehow work with it as it evolves as well. I don't think anymore that AI's high power is in synthetic voices anymore. I really feel that it's in data manipulation and data curation, and that's where its true strength is in terms of helping the world, you know, and hopefully in a good way.
24:55 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I think there's also in my mind. There's a difference between, like the synthetic voices which are just like sprinkling stuff into a blender, and creating a new voice, versus a real person who owns their clone and they're in charge of their clone. That, to me, feels like the more comfortable situation.
25:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And to me I feel like that's like money-wise, it's an equal split, right? I feel like I should get 50% and the company that has my voice and generates my voice and hosts my voice right with their engine should get 50%. That's where I start in terms of why not, right?
25:28 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) yeah, if you need a pickup and you're like I'm sleeping, I'm on vacation, I'm in charge, I'm going to push the button, I'll get you that pickup, but I'm just going to set it for my phone right here, you know, or, yeah, you're in charge of that locker or whatever it is.
25:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, well, what other predictions? So I guess I'll say, if you took a look into the crystal ball outside of synthetic voices, what sort of predictions do you have for the future, at least for yourself and audio production and advertising?
25:54 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Well, this is what I'm enjoying a lot more in my day-to-day is more immersive sound design in audio advertising.
26:05 We are starting to do some cool stuff in the 3D space, where and I'm now the go-to guy Well, I'd like to think I'm now the go-to guy on my team for horror movie trailers or all things horror, because I just did something the other day that was really cool for this horror movie coming up and I just enjoyed taking an alien and going whoo whoo, whoo, whoo whoo, but in the headphones, where it comes from the top of the head to the bottom, or you can go around in that 3D space in headphones, which is really cool.
26:41 So anytime I could do that where you're just getting more theater of the mind stuff to actually immerse a listener and just have the VO be a support to that. I think if we can get more into those kind of things almost cinematic ads in your headphones I think that might be the way to really get people to enjoy ads too and really just be like whoa, did you hear that? You know, imagine people talking about did you hear that audio ad? You know? Like when they're in the same way people talk about super bowl ads, you know it's like, yeah, I'd love to get there.
27:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, audio ads like that. One other thing before I have to leave you, we could probably do five podcasts with all this really great conversation. Tell us a little bit about you started something called the sonic great conversation. Tell us a little bit about you started something called the Sonic Diversity Initiative. Talk to us a little bit about that. Sure.
27:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) This is like something we started during the pandemic. It's called Stand for Sonic Diversity and is a website we created called standforsonicdiversitycom, and basically we just started to take a look at our casting practices and other advertising agencies and we kind of put out almost like a pledge to other advertising agencies hey, will you guys pledge along with us to make your casting and your rosters more diverse and more inclusive? And as a result, I've worked really hard and I'm proud to say that our roster is now more than 50% voices of color. So I'm really proud of that work and we're trying to also make sure that our casting practices are that way.
28:10 Because, back then it was like you know, you're just like, unless a client specified, you would maybe assume like, oh, if they don't specify, then they want a white talent as their go-to and it's like no. So we decided we can move the needle from within by just making these changes internally and smartly, and it's the right thing to do. And so we also put this pledge up to other agencies and other advertising conglomerates and stuff like that, and hopefully they all join in as well.
28:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wonderful, wonderful.
28:39 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Well, thank you for that, yeah if you go to that site, there's a really cool audio spot that you can play there, and I am I'm proud to produce that spot as well.
28:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what's that site again? Stanforsonicdiversitycom okay, awesome, so all right. My last question, which is here's a fun question for you if you were stranded on a deserted island and you could only bring three albums or podcasts with you, what would they be? I mean, I figure you must have some music preferences, for sure yeah, oh man only three, wow all right.
29:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) One of them is Prince.
29:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Ah, Of course I say 1999.
29:21 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) No, it's a double album.
29:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, just saying Prince is enough for me. Yeah, yeah, I would absolutely.
29:27 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I like that it's the one with Housequake and Starfish and Coffee. I don't know why the name has escaped me. It's one of my favorite albums too he's brilliant. He's brilliant. Yes, and then I'm also a metalhead and I like kind of like heavy hardcore music and there's a band I.
29:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Why did I know that? Why did I know that somehow?
29:44 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I play in two bands actually, so that's my weekend. Therapy is going and playing super loud music.
29:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go, and what do you play if I can?
29:51 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) ask I play bass.
29:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, okay, awesome, my brother plays. Brother plays bass. Yeah, wow, okay, can we hear you anywhere? Is that a thing? Can we hear you somewhere?
29:59 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Uh-huh, I'm in a band, it's an all-dad band, and this is the best name for an all-dad band. It's called that Ship has Sailed. I love it, I love it. We're on all the streaming places and I'm in're called Converge and their album is called Jane Doe. Okay, and then one more.
30:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh God, it could be a podcast too, if you have a favorite podcast.
30:29 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah.
30:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because you've got to keep yourself busy.
30:32 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Right.
30:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So maybe the podcast would be more refreshing because it would come out on a regular basis.
30:39 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) There was one podcast I listened to by a co-worker introduced it to me and it's not something I can listen to over again because it was pretty intense, but it was really cool. It was called Sweet Bobby, I think. Okay, it was like a kind of a true crime kind of podcast.
30:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that I have.
30:53 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I wouldn't take that with me, though. I'm sorry you put me on the spot.
30:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's okay, that's all right. I think you did really well.
31:00 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Thank you.
31:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let me ask you I'm really excited by the way that, before I let you go, that I'm going to have you as a guest director for my VO Peeps group, which is going to be really amazing coming up in July. So thank you, Very excited to have that happen. If a voice talent, Voice talent want to reach out and find you, see all the good things that you do, listen to your band and also the other website that we mentioned, when can they find you?
31:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) You can probably hit me on LinkedIn or my email address is spogach at pandoracom. It might change to SiriusXM shortly. But one thing I like to tell talents and I guess I'm overly nice this way is like I'm always happy to lend talents their ears, like, for example, if someone sends a mission out or they want you, they want to know oh, why didn't I get that audition? You know, I'm happy to give feedback on there. It's like almost like you're all sending resumes out in the world. You don't hear anything back. You know it's, and it's like you're sending auditions out and no one ever gets feedback. So I'm always happy to lend an ear and give feedback. Or someone's like oh, can you listen to my demo? If I have time, I'm glad to take a minute and listen to someone's demo, give them feedback and stuff like that.
32:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's wonderful, I guess I'm too nice, I don't know. Now I'm going to send everybody your way out.
32:14 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I know.
32:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) By the way, I'm changing my email address. There you go, yeah, right, well, steve, it has been so wonderful to have you here. Thank you so much for taking the time. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. Yes, you too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Steve, thank you again, it's been wonderful.
32:35 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Thank you, can't wait to see you. It was great talking to you.
32:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah for VO. Peeps and bosses, you have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
32:44 - Intro (Host) Bye-bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IP.
Explore the intricacies of financial success in your voiceover business with our new series "Boss Money Talks," featuring special guest Danielle Famble. Discover how assembling a team of financial experts, like accountants and CPAs, can help you track expenses, handle taxes, and ensure consistent profitability. The BOSSES highlight the benefits of separating personal and business finances and the advantages of having ongoing relationships with professionals. They discuss the benefits of quarterly meetings to assess profit and tax liabilities and the complexities of running a business, including payroll and compliance. This episode is packed with actionable advice to help you build a reliable financial team and set a solid financial structure for your voiceover business.
00:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey boss listeners. Are you ready to turn your voiceover career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project. Find out more at anganguzacom.
00:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.
00:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and today I am so excited to start a new series called Boss Money Talks with the one and only Danielle Famble. I am so excited, Danielle, to have you on the show today to talk about something so important to our businesses, and that's money. Welcome, hey.
01:10 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Anne, thank you so much for having me on. This is really exciting.
01:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I have to say it is my honor to have you. When I interviewed you and bosses if you didn't catch our last episode together I was just blown away by your savviness financially and, of course, voice actor and all that other good stuff. But it's very rare to find someone who really is all about the financial aspects of things and you're just right on top of everything. And I just was so excited to ask you to create a series with me on this because I think it's really important for the success of any boss out there for their business.
01:47 So, kicking off the first episode, I thought maybe we should talk about forming your team, because I recently spoke to my accountant and she handles things for me and I absolutely love it and I said it so many times across many, many episodes how important my accountant is to me. I thought, wow, we really need to like go over this again for any bosses that are out there really starting their own business how important it is to get your finances in order. Do you have a team of people that work with you? I mean, I know you have background in finance, but do you have a team of people for your business?
02:22 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I do. I think it's really important to talk about having a team, because as a solo entrepreneur, you want to do everything yourself, and some things you could do yourself, but it's just better to have an expert in that field. Oh, I so agree, and so, for me, I think I am the expert in the business in voiceover, in what I do, and so I want to bring in experts who are good at what they do so they can help educate me on how I can run my business better, because the main point of having a business is to create a profit, which is more money coming in than goes out, and if someone can help you exactly that's like kind of the basic, that's what we're doing here and if you can have someone who can help you exactly.
03:03 That's like kind of the basic. That's what we're doing here, yeah, and if you can have someone who can help you understand the profits and the business and what to do with the money and how to handle your taxes, all of that stuff, like having that team will help you grow and scale your business.
03:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and I think accounting isn't something that I love to do. I mean, that's like one of my biggest reasons for when I got my accountant was that. Not that I wasn't financially savvy, but it certainly wasn't my main focus. I didn't go to school for it, and so when I started my own business, I was like, oh my gosh, I have to keep track of all of these things, like I'm spending money on equipment, I'm spending money on coaching, I'm spending money on demos, and God, I have to report this at the end of the year, right, and it just.
03:46 I remember I didn't really have great record keeping in the first year. Now, granted, I was doing it part time, but still I had to account right for the money that I expensed and the money that came in, even though it wasn't a whole lot. That first year, I wanted to make sure I was taking advantage of the fact that I gave up the corporate job. And now, all of a sudden, I've got to account for things, because at the end of the year, uncle Sam is going to want to know what I've been doing and when I waited too long to be very organized in my expenses and accounting, I, at the end of the year when I got ready for taxes. It was hell. It was just pure hell.
04:23 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) No one wants that. Like two or three months or two or three weeks I've been there of like just the worst possible aches in your stomach because you're like, oh no, in, like March or April, it's just horrible.
04:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's like oh God, tax season, it's here. I got to do this. I got to do this and I was using oh gosh, back in the day, I was using QuickBooks, but on desktop, and so it was like I want to talk about like 15 years ago, and it just was like one of those things where, like God, I got to enter another transaction.
04:55 It was just one of those things that just became very tedious and I was like I really don't like this. And ultimately I was very fortunate to have a recommendation for an accountant that could work with me. And that first year because again it was so long ago QuickBooks wasn't online or anything and, as a matter of fact, there was that whole stigma of you don't want to do anything financial online because it's scary and your security and that kind of thing. But how lucky are bosses in this day and age you know what I mean to kind of have that advantage that now things are so much more secure. Now you might say, well, is it really secure? But I have to say it's a whole lot more secure than it used to be, or at least I was always comfortable.
05:37 I remember in the 90s paying my bills online and I was one of the few people to do that. I mean, in the beginning I was just like, look at some point, you just have to trust the technology at some point and it's so much easier to pay things online. When I got my accountant for my business here, it was like magic. It was like we would meet once a week and she got to know my business and she got to know, like, what sorts of things were expenses, what sorts of things were income, and especially important was separating those expenses so that it wasn't all I had one account. I mean, I think when we talked before in our past episode we talked about how important it was to have a business account. Talk to us a little bit again about business accounts and what's important about that.
06:20 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) The most important, especially when it comes to taxes, but really just for simplicity, is to be able to separate your personal life from your business life. Your personal life, hopefully, is affected by your business life, as in your business, pays you to do the job that you do for your business. But keeping them separate is going to be very helpful, especially when it comes to taxes, and it will be easier for your financial team, as you build it, to be able to say okay, this is tax, this is business and this is personal. Here's how we keep them separate. There may be tax implications. You may be able to write certain things off if it's business, whereas if it's personal you can't. So it's helping you, but it's also helping your team keeping everything separate.
07:07 It's like legally, you kind of have to. I mean, imagine if, like any major corporation, the CEO of that corporation is just like swiping their own personal credit or debit card, Like you've got to treat your business, no matter the size or the scale of it, the way that other businesses are treated because they are taxed similarly. So this isn't necessarily just about business practices, but for me, with money, all of it I think about is like, come April 15th or come like the quarterly tax period. How can I set myself up for success now so I'm not feeling crunched and stressed for a couple of weeks during tax time when my CPA is probably not as available to me because they've got other people to work with? So keeping it separate will help you with bookkeeping. It will help you with, like the way that you think about your business and personal, how you can pay certain bills on time. Just keep it two separate accounts one for your personal and one in your business name.
08:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, now question for you. Now my I guess I would call her my bookkeeper. She also does my taxes, so I don't know if yours is one in the same, but what I found to be super helpful and convenient is that I literally just have her on retainer. She does everything for me, and what is wonderful is that now we use QuickBooks online and so literally we can have a meeting and the two of us can be on the phone talking on a weekly basis or whenever I need to meet with her regarding okay, what is this? Is this a new category or is this an expense? And she pretty much knows my business because she's been doing this for me for about 10 years, so she pretty much knows what's going on and it makes it so easy. I cannot tell you that this year at tax time and the last few years really have been like oh yeah, hey, oh, it's April. What do you need from me for the taxes? Do you need anything specific? Because she also does our personal taxes as well as my business taxes.
09:07 And so in reality, like we barely have to do anything except send her the paperwork that we get and boom, she's done, I mean, and it's so stress free, I don't ever have to worry, she's got a good handle as to where I am. The other thing is that she's got a good handle as to where I am at any given point during the year, like how am I doing profit wise, how am I doing compared to last year? And she can generate reports and so she can really keep me up to date on what's happening in my business. And then I can say, all right, maybe I need to cut back here or I need to invest more here, and so it's really so helpful. And for me then she is the one person I guess you would say on my team that handles pretty much everything. But let's talk about creating a team. Who do you feel is necessary to have on a team to set yourself up for financial success in your business?
09:56 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I think this is a situation where you can expect to grow as you go. So I would say the first person to add into your financial team, your money team, is a CPA or some sort of accountant who is going to be helping you specifically when it comes to your taxes. But you made a really good point because you have an ongoing relationship with your accountant and for me in the past I would only go to my tax person when it was time to do my taxes once a year.
10:27 But if you can plan to have an ongoing relationship and I also have my accountant team on retainer so they know where I am throughout the course of the year we have quarterly meetings where they give me quarterly reports on where's the profit, what is my potential tax liability as of that time of the year, as of that quarter. So, looking past just April 15th and saying, okay, this is a relationship that I'm going to have with a person ongoing For me. I didn't realize that in the beginning and that's something that I've more recently figured out. So I would say to bosses out there make sure that the relationship that you have with your accountant is not a once a year relationship.
11:11 This needs to be an ongoing relationship throughout the course of the year, because then they can help you with tax planning and if you're forecasting for what's happening in the future, then you won't feel so shocked. I've been there. You won't feel so shocked when it's time to write that check or maybe you get a refund.
11:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean hallelujah if you do Absolutely, and you know what else too is that a lot of times I'm shocked by the state of California and taxes. But you know, that's just a whole other issue that has nothing to do with my lack of preparation for it. But anyways, the other thing too depending on the type of business, if you have a DBA or you know an LLC or an S-corp which I do I also have to pay myself, and so I have to do that on a regular basis, and so she takes care of that as well.
11:57 For me, she took care of the registering of it, and anytime I get a letter from the IRS or from and which happens a lot with this S-Corp because, they're either keeping me up to date on the newest things that are happening or maybe, for whatever reason from two years ago, they always seem to find, like you owe us $1.30. And I'm like, really, like you couldn't tell me that like $1.30. And the funny thing is is that my accountant has always been so. On top of it, she's like, no, actually, no, we paid that and so she will take care of all of that for me. I'll just have to like scan the paperwork that gets sent to me directly because my business is here at this address, and then I'll say, ok, what do I need to do? And she literally will say, ok, here we need to go to the IRS and we need to file this or do that, and it's more than just what you owe.
12:42 I'm talking about all the paperwork that needs to be filed for running an S-Corp for me in the state of California and as well, as she pays me so that, again, I'm not surprised at the end of the year and as a matter of fact, I've not been surprised really. I've been surprised when I actually got more refund than I thought, which is great, but I've never been like, oh God, I have to pay money, which always makes my stomach twist and knots, because we've planned so well. And a lot of times she's up on the laws, right, because that's what she does, right. This is why I'm like why try to do it yourself? She's up on all the laws and so she'll say okay, so this year or now they've introduced something new where you can expense so much of your mileage or so much of your medical expenses, and so she's up on all those things, and that way we can take full advantage, because who wants to pay more taxes if you don't have to? That's all I have to say.
13:35 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Exactly, and it's not even just about taxes as well. You go back to what you're talking about being an S-corp. I didn't know when it was the right time for me to be an S-corp. And so getting that information, if you can find in your accountant, your CPA, whomever you're working with, find someone who has the heart of a teacher. Dave Ramsey says that. And find somebody who can help educate you, because I wasn't trying to work with someone who just I handed things over.
14:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, especially your financial data. I mean that is personal and sensitive right and it's got to be a. I think you have to have a special relationship with your accountant.
14:13 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) To be honest, yeah, and personally I'm curious because I love money and numbers and talking about this and also I love my business. I love what I do and profit is a huge part of my business, or at least even the income, the money that's coming in, is a huge part of my business. So I want to understand it. Sure, I want someone who can teach me how to think about things, what I need to know going forward, that informs what decisions that I make, what conferences am I going to budget for? How am I paying myself? All of those things as part of an education, so that person isn't just telling you what to do. You are working with them and then you can direct them with your business goals and ideas and they can help support them with your business goals and ideas and they can help support you with what they know.
14:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Which I love.
14:56 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) It's a huge part of the money team and for me. You said that your accountant and bookkeeper are one and the same. Mine are two completely separate people.
15:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, okay.
15:04 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Okay, so the accountant does just the taxes and tax planning which we have our quarterly meeting, and then the bookkeeper is a completely separate person who does work at the accountant's office and they do my monthly profit and loss reports and send that to me Any day-to-day. They have access to my QuickBooks so they're seeing everything that I'm seeing basically. So they're kind of a different point of contact and I appreciate the separation because my bookkeeper is an expert in the bookkeeping aspect. So if I have questions I go to that person, if I have questions about taxes I go to this person. I like that separation but it doesn't have to be that way, it just happens to be that way.
15:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, no, and I agree, I feel like mine is a very unique case because she did our taxes before, but she always did her taxes. First I didn't have her as my ongoing accountant forever. I used to just go to her once a year and then I realized we developed a relationship and I realized I was like God, I hate entering, I hate having to do this every month. She goes. Well, I can do it for you. And I was like oh, yes, please.
16:08 So I think also, what's wonderful is isn't it nice that now we have things that like, especially in our business, our income comes in electronically and that can be filtered right into, so I don't have to manually like oh, I wrote a check, I don't have to manually enter it into QuickBooks like I had to do 10 years ago, 15 years ago, right, oh, I have a checkbook. Who writes checks anymore? I mean, I still have a checkbook and I do have to write checks every once in a while, but I mean, gosh, it's so nice that if I get a client payment that comes in via PayPal and I think it could be a whole separate other episode was what are your methods of payment? Because you got to make it easy right and what's important to know about that. But PayPal, Stripe, Wix, backend payments, QuickBooks allows payments, so I have lots of different banks
16:57 right. These are considered banks, right. Paypal's considered a bank, stripe's considered a bank, and so the fact that QuickBooks can integrate these in automatically it doesn't do it perfectly, but the fact is is if I get something that comes into my PayPal, simultaneously, it is fused into my online QuickBooks account, which is nice, so I don't have to enter things in and again, like I don't, but she does, and she'll make sure that it's categorized properly, because sometimes it tries to automatically categorize and it doesn't work right, but she's on top of the categories and making sure that. Then I know, oh gosh, I'm spending a whole lot of money on subscriptions or whatever. That In a lot of ways because the manual method was tedious.
17:40 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) It's super tedious. And imagine throwing into that someone pays you personally instead of paying your business. How much that like throws a wrench in the whole bookkeeping plans and everything else, which is why it is important to start with the separation of business and personal accounts. It's enough, you know, just the bookkeeping itself for your business is enough. Then adding in additional things to have to add and subtract, and forgot that I have this card. I use my credit card for everything personal business. It makes it really difficult down the line, especially as you grow your business. So, yeah, it's great to have everything electronically, it's great to be able to be paid in multiple different bank accounts or different accounts, but keeping it all under the umbrella of your business, separate from you personally, is really, I would say, like the baseline.
18:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I think the simpler the better. But then again, for me and anybody that knows me, I have multiple departments of my business, or multiple businesses really. I'm not just Ann Gengu's, I'm not just VO Boss that's one of my brands and then I'm also Ann Gengu's of Voice Productions and I'm also VO Peeps, and so I've got really kind of three different streams of business that come in. And you know, of course I'm always looking for more streams of income. And so you know, of course I'm always looking for more streams of income. And so you know, I think if you can keep it simple, I'll take income any way you can throw it at me, but for my accountant I've got to make sure that it's organized and easy. So the more that I diversify my business and again I'm thinking of diversifying yet again for another brand, just because I like to keep it interesting. So I've got another brand coming up, but I'll discuss that later. Got another brand coming up, but I'll discuss that later and so I want to try to make it as simple as possible for my accountant but yet still allow clients to pay me in a number of different ways.
19:26 I will make mention that I had my one business account, which I had to, actually had to change over to a new business account, and the reason why is because I changed my name. I originally was a DBA under and speak and then when I went and I created the S Corp, I became Ann Genguza Voice Production, just changed the name. But because I did that, all of a sudden it became like a thing with my bank that said, hey, who's this? Ann Genguza Voice Production. So because I didn't have the two registered at once, I didn't go back in DBA and add it in. They registered at once. I didn't go back and DBA and add it in.
20:04 They then said my business account was not valid under the name and speak. So I had to open up a new business account. And so it amazed me just how tied in that one business account was to everything that I did, to my PayPal, to my Stripe, to my website here, pay me. Everything would go on my Venmo, all my Bank of America was tied into that account. Or my cards, my debit cards, were all tied into that one business account, and transitioning it over became like oof. That's an event. As a matter of fact, I still haven't completely transitioned over and completely closed the old account, so I still have money coming into two accounts. Now it's even more important that I have a team or I have people really watching both accounts.
20:44 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Oh yeah for sure your new business is being treated as a new business, even though it's not.
20:50 It's the same business under a different name.
20:52 But that kind of tells you why it's so important to really start and plan it, to create almost the foundation for how you're going to be separating your accounts, the names, how you're getting paid, what's being paid in taxes, who's going to be your team to oversee all of that. Really setting up the structural foundation of the financial components of your business how that's run is really important. The unfortunate thing is it really is tedious and time-consuming when you're in the process that you're in. But you only have to do it once and you learn the process so that you know what to do in the future. I just recently purchased a rental house in my home state of Texas and I was speaking to my accountant about like I've never done this before, what do I do, and she said oh well, you just treat it like you treat your other business. And for me, having the experience of doing this with my business my voiceover business has actually taught me what I can do. To copy paste the principle the idea, so once you get this.
21:54 Once you understand how you're working your business and creating the structure for your business and the team that you need to help you, you can actually take that knowledge and just copy and paste it to whatever the next thing or the next industry is, which is really pretty great.
22:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. So, in addition to, let's say, your bookkeeper and your accountant that does taxes, is there any other member of your team or anything else that you can recommend for bosses? And also I'm sure the bosses are like oh my God, I'm not even making money at voiceover, how am I going to afford? Right, I want to address that as well.
22:28 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) Right. So, like I said, this is a grow as you go situation. I did not start by having a CPA and a bookkeeper, and you know the other members of my team, which I'll talk about in a second. So I would say, start with what do you need in the moment. If what you need in the moment is an accountant, which I would say everybody's got to pay taxes, so I would start there is having an accountant. Maybe it's not somebody that you have on retainer, but it is someone that you can maybe check in with once or twice a year outside of tax time, so that you can make sure that you are educated on what you need to be doing to prepare yourself for tax time. I would start there if you can, and then, if you can, grow to having that person be more of a person that you work with on an ongoing basis. That will definitely help you as you grow. Bookkeeping is something that I think you should understand how to do on your own.
23:24 Oh, I agree, I think you should educate yourself first, you should definitely educate yourself, but eventually it's something that you might want to outsource to someone else. For me, my metric is do I like doing it? Am I good at doing it? If the answer to both of those things is no, I will find someone I like that. That is their gift.
23:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Shop around. I mean, it's got to be somebody you trust. Again, your financial life is, I think, very personal and people want to be very secure about it. So it does take a special relationship, I think, with a person that you trust, with your numbers and your bank accounts.
23:59 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) And you might need to, yeah, shop around. You might need to work with multiple people.
24:08 The CPA that I'm with now is not the CPA I was with two years ago, and so this is still a relatively new relationship that she and I that we're cultivating, even with this bookkeeper. So there's a lot to learn, but you need to learn about it from a person who, like I said, has that heart of a teacher who wants to help educate you. That's how I would take it, and that's actually what I did was at first, I was working with someone who was just doing taxes and it was up to me and I was clearly not up for the job of bookkeeping, which is why I had those three weeks of panic in late March early.
24:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) April.
24:43 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) But you can grow as you go and find the people who can help educate you. Now I also have I think we talked about this in our past episode but I have an assistant who for the day-to-day applications in my business making sure invoices are sent, making sure they are paid, making sure they're marked as paid, not only in QuickBooks, which she and I do together, but also making sure that there are no outstanding invoices like that kind of day-to-day thing.
25:12 Some people have a bookkeeper do it, I do it with my assistant and, to give her credit, she's really the one who's like more on that day-to-day in terms of data entry and things like that. Obviously, it's something that not every VO boss is going to have an assistant at whatever stage in their business. It took me a while to get to that point, but I have found it helpful because then it's like one less thing that I'm doing in terms of the day-to-day touch points. That I'm doing in terms of the day-to-day touch points. And then, finally, I work with a financial advisor, because I wanted to work with someone who could help me understand my finances as a whole as a business owner and personally, and what's great is that I will have quarterly meetings with the financial advisor, the bookkeeper, the CPA and myself.
26:00 we are all on a big like money call quarterly.
26:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And.
26:03 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) I have monthly meetings with my financial advisor about my personal goals with money and also, you know, with the business, and she can give me feedback. Like one of the things she said to me was hey, if you don't understand something in these meetings, I would love to see you show a little bit more courage and ask if you don't understand, because while I say yeah, I have the heart of a teacher.
26:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sometimes I don't even know what to ask, and so I just you shake your head and go okay, uh-huh yeah sometimes you're just like okay, yeah. I get it uh-huh and I'm like I have no idea. I have no idea where they're going with that yeah.
26:38 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) But it's totally okay, even as the boss, the VO boss, to not understand, and that's why you're relying on these people.
26:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely.
26:53 - Danielle Famble (Co-host) But really, truly like lean into your curiosity and understand, because these people that you're working with like I said, the ones I'm working with now, I wasn't working with two years ago. You may work with a new team at some point, and so you want to go in with a level of armed with the knowledge about how your business is run and what your goals are for your business, so that you can direct your team instead of them telling you what to do, because you are the boss, absolutely, and what a wonderful note to end on.
27:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you are the boss and so, yeah, you need to educate yourself so that you can direct these people with your financial aspect of your business, which is so very important and so very close to our hearts as we run our successful businesses. So I manifest that, danielle, thank you so much. I could go on and on and on. Now I just thought like a hundred other questions which I'm going to ask you in our next episodes. But, bosses, stay tuned for this brand new series called Boss Money Talks with Danielle Fanville. I am so, so happy you were here today, danielle. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and knowledge. Bosses, I'm giving a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at ipdtlcom. All right, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, thanks, y'all.
28:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Grow your voiceover business with actionable insights and expert advice from THE BOSSES! We dive into pivotal resources and strategic investments necessary for your success. The BOSSES share transformative coaching strategies that can shift your whole perspective on script interpretation and character understanding. By aligning your unique strengths with market demands, you can stay relevant. We emphasize the lifelong commitment to ongoing training and professional coaching, along with the need for top-notch demos and a polished website. Your website serves as your professional storefront, boosting your visibility and credibility with potential clients. Practical advice on budgeting, wise investments, and cutting unnecessary expenses will help you navigate financial challenges and maximize your resources to grow your voice acting career.
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, bosses want to be that well-rounded talent that's always in demand. I offer coaching in a variety of genres, including commercials that grab attention, medical narrations that educate, corporate scripts that inspire and e-learning modules that engage. Find out more at anganguzacom.
00:22 - Testimonial (Ad) As I was getting more and more into the voice acting industry, I started realizing that it'd probably be really good to start specializing in certain sectors. I started talking with Anne and we realized that corporate might be really good for me, both in the way that I thought about things and in the aspect of the industries around me, what would be good for me to market with. So we decided to go with corporate, and it only took a handful of sessions with Anne for me to realize that with. So we decided to go with corporate, and it only took a handful of sessions with ann for me to realize that I was looking at sentences differently because of the way that she was teaching me, um, the way that I had to think about my character in the mint in the middle of like a paragraph or in the middle of even just the sentence itself. She really drove home the fact that you have to think about these things. There might not be a place given to you whenever you get the copy. There might not be a person there whenever you get the copy, however, that has to be there. There has to be some sort of connection in order for you to really understand that character in your corporate narration.
01:18 Moving past that and into other sides of different industries, I started doing more video game work and realized that the way that she taught me about sentences, the way that she taught me about my character and realizing that there is another person there even if it's not in the copy, there is another person there it was almost revolutionary. I absolutely love the way that I look at sentences now and the way that I go about my work, and she really changed all of that. I have to give her as much credit as I can. I know I know it sounds weird saying that the fundamentals were revolutionary, but the way that she teaches it, the way that she makes you think about it, it was revolutionary to me and it definitely has helped me a lot in my journey.
01:55 - Intro (Announcement) even now, it's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.
02:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my lovely special guest, co -host Lau Lapides. Hey Anne, hi Lau, how are you Fabulous? How are you? I am awesome. Thank you so much. Ah, Law, I've had a busy week, a busy week with students, and I've made an observation that I might have mentioned to you before, but the observation to me is that lately, especially with the economy not being the best, I've had a lot of students who spend time talking to me about how they're very frustrated that they've not been able to move ahead, and that they know that they need coaching, or they know that they need more coaching, or they need a new demo, or they need a website, but yet they can't afford it, and so I wanted to like maybe talk to the bosses about resources and how maybe we can wisely utilize resources in order to grow our businesses, because I just have been hearing it so so much lately, Lau.
03:20 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Me too. I mean, when we work with students and have clients, it's a constant state of conversation. And it really is true, it's a bad economy and we understand inflation.
03:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We're the starving artists, we know what's going on.
03:32 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, exactly yes we understand how much milk and eggs cost, like everyone does. We can't shove that under the rug. It's real. It affects everyone. There's an impact. We totally get that. But I'm of the belief system and the training and background that we have to make money. Yeah, so we have to make money before we make money, right. What I mean by that is we have to create it like an alchemist out of nothing. We have to make it happen so that we have those resources to go out and do what we need to do.
04:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I like that, yeah, we need to have money so that we can invest money, so that we can grow our business, and if we don't have that money, there's got to be ways that we can create that money. As you said and I like to manifest it right Come from abundance right, and not necessarily have my dark cloud over my head saying it's not possible, I can't do this. I really think that the mental state has a lot to do with it, as well as being resourceful. So I know that for some of my students, when they talk about what are they doing to invest in their business and Lau, what are the absolute essentials that people need in order to run a successful voiceover business in terms of things that money that they have to invest? What are the things that are the absolute essentials?
04:49 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Right. I think we all can agree those of us who are in the industry that training, coaching, classwork, is just a basic. It's just the most rudimentary that we have to have, and it's something that is a lifelong learning. It's not just five weeks, six weeks, one day's something that is a lifelong learning. It's not just five weeks, six weeks, one day. It really is a lifelong learning, and so we have to be careful how we invest in that, because we know it's for the long run. It's not just a quick hit, overnight success and go. It really is going to be throughout your career that you're going to need retraining, you're going to need to upscale your training, and so we have to be careful how we plan for that and how we utilize our resources. But I would say training leading to your production work of your demos is baseline.
05:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yes, I am a coach and a demo producer and so, of course, I'm going to agree with that. But I agree that I mean honestly not just because that's part of that's my livelihood, but honestly, bosses, your product is your voice, right, and you need to showcase that product to your potential clients. And so the best way to do that is to make your voice the very best that it can be. And I mean, how else do you do that outside of getting training and coaching and practice and classes and workshops and that sort of thing? And then you need to have the medium in which to showcase that range of talent and that range of acting skills that you have, and that is, more often than not, your demo, and it has to be able to be available for people to listen to, right, so it needs to get in front of people's eyes, it needs to be distributed so that you can then sell it as a product.
06:25 And so the very essentials I'm right there with you are the training to get your voice to be the product that it needs to be, to be competitive right in this industry and to be competitive so that you can make money with that voice, and you need to have the demos so that you can showcase that. And a lot of people will say to me well, do I really need the demos? I do auditions right. So my answer to that is yes, you need to also audition and do the custom auditions that your potential clients want. But also you need to have that medium that sits in your online storefront or somewhere on a roster, like on a pay-to-play, on a roster, in all the places that it can sit while you're sleeping, so that other people can listen to it and make their decisions and say, oh, I need that voice.
07:13 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, case in point and we had a big job, big client come through about a week ago and we did the call and it was right on the script, the audition was right on the script. Sure enough, they came up with two of our people that they wanted to shortlist and they said we need to hear their demos, yeah, yeah. Now if we came back as agents and said sorry, they don't have demos, can they just record something for you? Already your credibility goes down the drain Because they're thinking of course you have demos, you've selected them for your agency roster, so they're sitting there ready to go right, which they are With these particular people. They are, and we sent it, we expedited that right out. It wasn't a question, it wasn't a problem. And so the least amount of problem that you can cause, the least amount of friction that you can cause in terms of having the best practices ready to go, well, you have to pay for that. That's one of those resources you just have to pay for. You have to have it.
08:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you have to have the training, you have to have the demo, and that showcases your product.
08:16 Then, once you have your product right, you have to have a storefront right or a way to distribute that product, and there's lots of different mechanisms to do that.
08:24 The first and foremost that I can see is, if you're a business today, you have to have a website, and so investment into a website. So it means the hosting of the website, it means the creation of a website that deems you as a professional right, so that it looks as if you are a professional voice actor and that's what you do for a living. And so I did not go to school for website creation right, and even though I did try to do it myself I mean, I managed a website a long time ago but I'm not a graphic artist so I do believe that you can invest some of your money into having somebody help you make a beautiful place to showcase your product, because for me, it makes a difference. The packaging makes a difference. I don't know human nature, right, I love pretty packaging and a website that is done well and done professionally and is efficient so that you can sell that product, is absolutely worth the investment.
09:15 So that would be my next thing I would say that is so important is your online storefront, and so that includes somebody who's going to host it, and that's typically going to be like a monthly or a yearly cost. You have to buy that domain name too, which is yet another like yearly cost or monthly cost, and then you have to have somebody that designs that website and maybe maintains it or keeps it up to date, and if that's something that you can do, then that's fine, but I would say, if it's not something that is your specialty, I say that there's another worthy investment, right.
09:47 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) And of course it goes without saying, but we have to say it and that's having some sort of home studio set up. Oh gosh, yes. So for all of the new folks who are listening in right now, I know it's so obvious to us, but a lot of new people are coming into the industry and saying how do I set that up? What do I need at home? How much money do I spend? Well, I'll tell you. You have to have the basics for your home studio setup, and that does include SourceConnect.
10:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So now, when we sign a talent under a contract, they have to have SourceConnect, it has to be available to them. Now I have so many people that say that they have SourceConnect but they're like, look, I'm going to wait until I get the job and then I'm going to get SourceConnect Right, just having SourceConnect myself. I mean, unless they've changed things considerably, it's not an easy thing to do within a short amount of time. I mean, I know that there needs to be ports opened up in your router in order to allow the stream and not be firewalled out, and so for me, the setup I mean required some time, and I would hesitate to say wait until you get that job before you invest in it. I mean, I invested in the one-time fee and there's also a monthly option so that I'm at the ready whenever I'm needed, and so it sits there waiting for my client, and so I would say don't skimp on that. And so, yeah, I can't believe I like. That just eluded me. I just assuming everybody has that studio.
11:09 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I know right, and yet a lot of new people coming into the industry don't know yet. They really don't know. And I would say okay, if you want to wait, you wait. But I'm telling you this it's a psychological decision you're making, because what you're saying is I could wait on an excellent mic. I could wait on a good computer. I could wait on almost everything. I, a good computer, I could wait on almost everything. I could wait until I'm working. But which came first, the chicken or the egg? You have to have good stuff. You have to invest in yourself before others are going to invest in you.
11:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, and these days you have to have great sound.
11:42 I mean you have to be able to—and, like you know, with our audition demolitions. When we are judging and giving feedback and criteria, the first thing that will make me throw out pretty much unless if somebody's completely botched up the name of the file, because there is a specific way to name the file that most casting directors prefer, and so if you can't follow directions, that's number one. But number two is if the first thing I hear is that you have a poor studio sound, I'm throwing that audition out the window, because that's something that I need right to be pristine. Hear is that you have a poor studio sound, I'm throwing that audition out the window, because that's something that I need right to be pristine.
12:16 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yes, absolutely, absolutely. I also would say you need to invest in some sort of SEO in terms of your marketing. I know that's the big buzzword now. Everyone marketing, direct marketing. Half the people don't know what that means or know what that is. And I say listen, don't think of it as marketing, Think of it as building relationships, Like you're connecting with people, you're connecting with prospects, you're connecting the dots so that you can work. That's really what you're trying to do. Well, that's expensive and time consuming. After a while, Just think about this how much do you pay for Wi-Fi? How much do you pay for your computer access? That's all stuff you pay for. You can't do it without paying for those things. Right? Those are your investments.
13:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I've got to piggyback on that and say technologically right, pay for an internet connection that is stable and allows you to communicate efficiently with your clients and potential clients. So don't go cheap on your internet connection because, especially with SourceConnect, you need it to be a good ethernet connection to your router, and it has to be an ethernet connection, by the way. So that's another thing I would say. Now your studio needs SourceConnect. You're going to have to make an investment to make sure that you can get to that router using an Ethernet connection versus a Wi-Fi connection, because that is unstable. A lot of times Wi-Fi will cut in and cut out and the last thing you want is to be doing the best take of your life ever while you're connected to another studio using SourceConnect and just have the connection cut out and that doesn't look good for you as a professional and it doesn't look good for any of us and have business speed.
13:55 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, you know what I mean have your best plan that you can have Get fiber if you can I have gig fiber?
13:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Get boosted.
14:00 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, get boosted, get a boost.
14:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If you need a boost, like do whatever, you need't connect or why you're dropping out, or why the transmission is bad, right, sometimes you can't help it, but most of the time you can, yeah, and I'm going to say that have students that are in all stages of coming into this industry and some of them aren't quite sure if it's going to work for them right, so they're hesitant to spend the money.
14:26 But if you come to someone in your initial steps of trying to get into this industry and you're training and you already don't have enough money to train properly, then that tells you something.
14:38 That tells you that you need to get that money together in any way that you can right in order to advance and move forward.
14:46 And so, really, if you're coming into the industry for training and then you just want to get that demo right away, I think you need to change your mindset, because it's not going to be obviously, as we've said a billion times before, it's not that you can do this in a couple of sessions and then get a demo and go out and start making money. I mean, this is a process that if you look at things wisely and you use your resources wisely, you can steadily grow and move forward. And so that means that when you are starting and you are investing the money into training and then you're finding out if this is something that I find joy from and I have passion about continue to invest that money, but maybe not spend trillions of dollars right away on something that you need to continually invest in and then not have that money. I mean, I had a couple of part-time jobs that kept things flowing in the household while I was transitioning to full-time.
15:39 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Listen, you and I are old school in the sense that we had more demands. We'd just get another job. We'd get another side hustle, we'd make it work, we'd go under the seat cushion and save our pennies, like there was never an excuse in our backgrounds as to why we couldn't do something. I'm not suggesting you should get into major debt Like I don't love debt, don't get into debt but there are times where you do need to acquire some debt in the investment of your career. Like a lot of college people are going into college and spending $75,000 a year. Well, they're making an investment in their career, right?
16:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) How interesting is that? Like you bring that up, I think things have probably changed in terms of are people spending $75,000 a year to go to a school now for college education? I mean, things are changing. I mean people do, but back in the day it was a thing it wasn't even thought about twice. You paid that money because it was expected that you paid that money for training, got the education and then you went out and got that job and that investment was going to pay off in a nice job.
16:38 Now things have changed a little bit, I would say in terms of like, is it necessary to have that college degree? I mean, I think it's necessary to have education in some form. It doesn't necessarily have to be a college degree, but education in the career path that you plan on pursuing. And so if voice acting happens to be that one, then you're going to have to have some money to pursue it. It's not that quick money grab. We're going to make a lot of money and not invest a lot of money. So you have to step through, I think, carefully and wisely, and so maybe give up that Starbucks on a given day. That can really help you. I mean a couple of pennies here and there can really help you to save up for the training that you need or that demo that you need.
17:20 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I would agree. Yeah, I would look out for your expenses. Make sure you're budgeting so that you know exactly what you're spending monthly. Look at all the surplus stuff that you're getting that you really don't need, whether it's a membership you don't need. Whether it's a latte you don't need. Whether it's taking excessive trips that you don't need to do, whether it's I mean. I could go on and on, and I'm not a financial advisor. This is not professional advice. I'm just telling you from my experience how I come up with a lot of money at the drop of a hat by sacrificing. Well, we can be frugal.
17:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We can be frugal right.
17:55 Of course, yes, we could. It's one of the reasons like so now I'm going old school but one of the reasons why, when I was a child, my parents took us camping, right, they couldn't afford big, expensive trips, so we went camping and so, you know, we went to the parks where we could get in for like five dollars a night and that kind of a thing, and so that's how we were able to live a comfortable life, I think, and really also have fun. So I think you mentioned the trips and gosh, I love taking trips, but there are times when I can't afford the trips that I want to take, like every other day.
18:28 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, I know, here's another obvious one for you a great computer.
18:34 - Intro (Announcement) I need a great, relatively updated.
18:37 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) It doesn't have to be spanking new, but I work with so many people, annie and I know you do that say oh, my computer's like 10 years old. I don't know if it can hold the audio. I'm like well, upgrade it. Go, update it, because it shouldn't be 10 or 15 years old.
18:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that's a wise investment, Absolutely. I mean, you're talking to a girl, a tech girl, here. I'm like at this point, actually my computer at home needs to be upgraded. I just know that because now it's starting to do weird things. You know, when your computer starts to do weird things, like it reboots on its own and it's like some unknown error.
19:07 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Yeah, launching 12 programs without you being there.
19:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean, there's a time when it becomes a necessary investment, and I just know that I'm reaching that time to get a new computer and I know that I'm reevaluating my monthly subscriptions right now as well. Case in point here that my email service provider has now doubled their price to me, and this is the email service provider where I send out the boss blasts. And so now I have to go back and actually crunch the numbers and make sure because I'm charging a certain amount for a boss blast and a certain amount for a monthly boss blast, and now that they've raised the price on my email service provider, I have to make sure that I'm still generating a profit, at least enough to pay for it right and to reinvest for another year of it. So periodically you've got to just take a look at those numbers to make sure that you are still okay with making a profit and moving forward in your business, because you don't really want to.
20:04 I mean the first few years though of your business is probably going to be in the red. A lot of new businesses show in the red for the first few years, but you can't do that for too long, otherwise the IRS will be like, hmm, that sounds familiar. There's something going on there, then we might get audited. And I actually have been audited twice already, not because I was suspicious or it showed any suspicion, just because I mean it is our own business.
20:29 And I've been in business long enough, you're in business long enough, you're going to get audited.
20:32 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) And so yeah, you want to make sure that if you get audited you're ready. Yeah, you're ready for it.
20:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And that's your next investment is an accountant, oh my gosh Accountant.
20:43 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I'm married to one. Everyone needs one. I'm telling you Accountant, someone who really can deal with your books, who really understands that you run a business, you're an entrepreneur, deals with your receipts in an appropriate way, what are your tax write-offs, getting you money back at the end of the year? You need someone who's clever, creative and wonderful and works cleanly and in an organized way. If you don't have someone, hire someone and a lawyer and an attorney, someone who can go over contracts with you.
21:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes because none of us are attorneys. A lawyer is lovely. I just engaged my lawyer the other day, so, yes, it's wonderful to have one that you can go to if you should need to.
21:23 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) And then, of course, another obvious one that I have to say you need a smartphone. It's really important, and those of you who are actors, you have to have a smartphone because all your self-taping is going to be on your iPhone. But you really have to have it because oftentimes people would describe it including myself, as your walking office. Like a lot of us don't have home phones any longer. We put all the investment into the cell phone, into the mobile, and we're on the road. Annie, are you not in a car day and night, working from your car? Well, I mean hands-free, of course. Well, you're in California, so, of course, hands-free. But the point is, I was in my car half the day today. I was working. The whole time I was working, yeah, absolutely, because I don't have to be back at an office.
22:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You need to be able to respond to your client inquiries right all the time. So that is important and that is something again like that can be expensed that smartphone.
22:15 And so those are the things I mean. Gosh, I can come up with a lot of things, and it's funny because a lot of people will say, oh well, I didn't realize that was involved. I mean, when you talk about marketing right, that effort of marketing I mean half of the episodes in VO, boss, more than half are about how to build your business, and marketing is such a huge part of building your business because I always say that you can have the best voice in the world, but it doesn't do you any good if nobody knows about it, and so marketing is key. And then that includes marketing is like your time, right, your time in finding leads and generating leads and nurturing relationships, and so that's something you have to invest in and you may want to invest in some help in doing that.
23:00 You may want to have a boss blast. I'm just going to say that.
23:03 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Well, you took the words right out of my mouth because I was going to say when you're at the tipping point, and you'll know when you're at the tipping point, meaning you just can't handle more than you're doing, you need to hire a VA. It's really important to get that one assistant in that can take the load off, that has expertise that maybe you don't have, that can really take on some of your projects and push the needle of your business forward Absolutely.
23:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and so what you need to do, get yourself a business mentor too. I mean gosh. I just want to say that I do a once a month special, the once a month special with Tom Deere, the VO strategist, and he's wonderful. I love Tom, yeah, he's amazing, and so I highly recommend Tom in terms of helping you to, like, get your business together. Do you need to register your business? How do you do it? Do you have a plan? Do you have a strategy? I mean, that can really be a wise investment. And again, maybe not that Starbucks, maybe not that of course, I say that because I've been buying clothes all the time but maybe not that extra pair of shoes, or maybe not. It's one of those things. Where are the priorities?
24:07 - Intro (Announcement) And I don't want to be like a mom.
24:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm not, but honestly, it becomes where I hear this so often and it's exhausting. I'm just going to say it's exhausting because I think to myself gosh, I mean, I, when I first started, I had quit my full-time job and I was like, oh, I'm going to go into voiceover full-time, and so now, what do I do? Right, you become resourceful. Right, you have to become resourceful, you have to really do what it takes if you want to make a go of this and you want to be successful. And there's a lot of people who have support, people who will be like hey, so what's going on? Are you making money? What's happening? And so I mean we've got enough of that as it is. We need to really question our own selves to make sure that we are making the wise choices that we can make in order to move forward.
24:56 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I love that I mean, we could go on and on with this, but I don't want to scare everyone to think you need everything at once. You can layer as you go.
25:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, and it can be something that you wisely invest. You make a plan and it happens little by little. I mean, gosh, our overnight success Lau. Mine took a long time.
25:16 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) I laugh. My 30-year overnight success? Yes, exactly.
25:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, it was a lot of blood, sweat and work, and work.
25:24 Tears, a lot of work and a lot of work doing stuff that maybe I didn't want to do, right, that I was like damn, I wish I could have taken that trip. Or I really want that pair of shoes. But right now, right, I want to grow my business, and so what do I need to do? I've got a payment coming up right for my internet. Or I'm going to upgrade my internet, or I need to upgrade my computer, or I need to improve my studio sound, which the one thing I'll say about studio sound, I mean, once you get it set, it's a no-brainer, it kind of just stays, it's great. I set, it's a no-brainer, it kind of just stays, it's great. I mean equipment doesn't really die. I mean I've had my microphone for years, this studio here, it's not falling apart, that's for sure. So I've made the investment and I'm done For the most part.
26:07 - Intro (Announcement) I've got everything for a good long while.
26:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So that's okay, I got my backup right. I got my backup mic, I got my backup computer. I have things in case things break. I've got the backups, and so that took time and you know what.
26:20 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) Get help in determining. Yeah, it takes a long time. Yeah, get help in determining what you want versus what you need. Yeah, I like that. Like, really keep that journal in front of you Want and need. Do you have like wants and needs Right? We think it's so strong. When we want something, we want to get it, but we don't oftentimes need it. We need what we need and really determining what do we need first, and then later we can reward ourselves when we're making extra money.
26:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think it's all sequencing it is, it's choreography, and we did touch upon and I'm going to say, just because I know that training we talked about that was like one of the first essentials. But sometimes there are professional students who train and train and train and train and train and yet it's almost like they're scared to start and so you've got to be careful with that too, and I would highly recommend that you go back and listen to that episode.
27:06 Bosses, We'll put a link in the show notes, but yeah, you've got to start at some point.
27:11 - Testimonial (Ad) You've got to start no-transcript.
27:27 - Lau Lapides (Co-host) And with that, don't go down rabbit holes you don't need to go down. Don't go into major technical fixes, don't go into major learning curves during your workday unless you have to, and don't overload on the training throughout your day. That will procrastinate from what you need to get. To Make sure you get your work time in first, then do your professional development and education time if possible, because you don't want to take up a whole day or a whole weekend or whatever, unless you really need it, unless you plan for it. Absolutely, I think you just need to plan for it,
27:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know it's tough out there, bosses, but we have the faith that you can do it. I mean, if you become resourceful and you invest wisely. I really fully believe, if you've got the passion and the desire and you blast as always. Yes, it was. I'm going to give a great big shout out to one of the things that I've invested in, that's IPDTL. You, too, can invest wisely and be a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye, see you next week.
28:36 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via IPDTL.
In this episode, Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere dissect the key components of building a robust online presence. From identifying customer pain points to harnessing the power of color psychology in your website design, The BOSSES explore what it takes to convey competence and reliability. We also delve into the subtle yet vital aspects of maintaining an easy-to-navigate, professional website that establishes credibility and trust. Learn how consistent visual cues and coherent storytelling can make or break your brand's effectiveness in today's competitive market. Finally, The BOSSES tackle the nuances of maintaining a consistent brand across social media platforms. We underscore the importance of professionalism and how off-brand or controversial content can jeopardize client relationships.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Boss Series. I'm here with my special guest co-host Tom Dheere. Hey, Tom Dheere, how are you?
00:30 - Tom Dheere (Host) Hey Anne, I'm good. How are you? I'm awesome.
00:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Thank you very much.
00:34 - Tom Dheere (Host) You look fabulous today.
00:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Why thank you? So do you. I love your coloring.
00:39 - Tom Dheere (Host) Thank you, it's one of my Hawaii shirts because my wife's from Hawaii, so we go to Hawaii all the time.
00:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go. It's very boss.
00:45 - Tom Dheere (Host) Thank you. I love your blue because it kind of matches the coloring in the background. You look very branded today.
00:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Why, thank you. You know I have multiple brands and multiple colors for my brands, and so it's interesting because red is typically my boss brand. But I thought, you know, let's work a little A&G and Guza brand in here as well, which is my blue, my signature blue. So I'm kind of combining them right now. And, yeah, I've been branded for a while yet, but I don't know, tom, what are your thoughts? I think we should talk about branding, because it is a big discussion among voice actors and it's like everybody makes a big deal like oh my God, I have to like figure out my brand, and they and it's like everybody makes a big deal Like, oh my God, I have to like figure out my brand and they stress out over it. And so let's talk about brands. I mean, how important is it for voice actors to brand these days?
01:33 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, my thoughts have evolved on this quite a bit over the past 15, 20 years or so. I used to be of the mind that every voice actor absolutely must brand themselves. They should design a logo, they should pick a font, they should pick a color scheme and then their demos, their business cards, their website, their social media content, all of their outbound marketing content newsletters and things like that should be 100% branded. It should be 100% aligned.
02:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well then, I fit the bill there for you. You're perfect. Okay, you're perfect.
02:08 - Tom Dheere (Host) But over the years when I had that perspective, I was focusing primarily on direct and indirect marketing strategies to get the bulk of my voiceover revenue.
02:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I agree, myself included.
02:21 - Tom Dheere (Host) I have representation. I'm on casting sites, but for me, direct and indirect marketing was the place and it's like the old mentality. It's like Anne, why aren't you wearing my glasses? Because they help me see better. So obviously they should help you see better. But gotten a little older, hopefully gotten a little wiser, and just looking at myself and looking at all the students I've had over the years and watching what other successful voice actors do, I don't know if everybody needs to brand themselves.
02:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, gosh Tom, for many years there was no branding, right, there was no internet. Well, I shouldn't say there was no branding, but it wasn't as visible. And so how did voice actors in the 80s stand out?
03:02 - Tom Dheere (Host) They didn't, they just auditioned and booked.
03:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They were managed by their agents, right or managers. And so they didn't have to necessarily brand their businesses. They became known for their voice and their agents were out there kind of branding for them, right.
03:20 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, their reputation was built solely on the quality of their auditions and the quality of the experience when they were in the recording studio working with the clients. And that was it. The value promise was the audition Sure, the value delivery was the recording session. Yeah, platforms on top of that. Most voice actors feel obligated in a way that they have to brand themselves because they have to be on all of these social media platforms and they have to be spewing out content all the time in the hopes that they will catch somebody's attention to stay top of mind to get them into and through the sales funnel and all of that stuff.
04:01 But to your point, if representation was the only casting portal in the industry, no, we wouldn't need to brand. There are online casting sites too pay-to-play sites, voice123, voicescom, vidalgo, what have you? You don't need to brand yourself on there either, because all it's about is the value promise of the audition and the value delivery of the recording session or delivering the files properly formatted, with the proper amount of takes, and you took the direction on the casting notice or whatever. You know what I mean.
04:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What about Fiverr? Just out of curiosity. I know we've had this, I know that's a bad F word but I think it depends on how the platform is marketing you right, or how are people finding out about you right On the platform?
04:38 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, and it's interesting because Fiverr and Upwork, which are technically online casting sites, they weren't designed as voiceover casting sites like Voice123 and Voicescom, but they seem to be conducive for voiceover casting. There's very little auditioning happening on Fiverr and Upwork.
04:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) People come and look and listen.
04:55 - Tom Dheere (Host) It's direct bookings. So, with that in mind, yeah, your branding actually is very important.
05:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Your headshot's very important, I agree.
05:05 - Tom Dheere (Host) Your tagline, the verbiage, how you package and present yourself. Yeah, branding is important.
05:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then, if you're direct marketing, right, I feel that a brand is very, very important. If you're direct marketing and if people are finding you online, let's say at your website, like for me, tom, and we have different businesses, right, you and I I have multiple brands. I don't have a ton of time to audition, except for my agents, right, which that's a whole different way that I obtain my job, and I don't have any time literally these days to audition on pay-to-plays. However, I do exist on pay-to-plays because I want to make sure that I know the platform so that I can recommend to my students. So for me, my branding is still relevant, I would say, because that's how I get a lot of people that say, oh, the Ann Ganguza brand or Ann, I see you everywhere, and that's good, because that's kind of my purpose.
05:53 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, I have two brands. I have the Tom Dheere the H is silent, but I'm not voice actor brand and then I have the VO strategist brand, and both of them serve different needs. Well, obviously, one for me as a voice actor and then one for me as a voiceover business and marketing consultant and coach and mentor. What's interesting, and tell me, if you have this experience, is that your branding as Ann Gangu's a voice actor greatly informs your reputation and branding as Ann Gangu's a voiceover coach. Because, with a very precious few exceptions, like a Maurice Tobias or a Mary Lynn Wisner, you need to be a boots on the ground, successful, consistently working actor to be taken seriously as a voiceover coach. Absolutely, absolutely.
06:39 So a part of my branding as a VO strategist is go check me out at tomdeercom, listen to my demos, look at my YouTube channel, see all the work that I've done, because the fact that I've done a bunch of e-learning modules is one thing, but the fact that I was the voice of Inspector Gadget in the Inspector Gadget video game last year gives you a lot of street cred. So that attracts certain types of voice actors who want to do that sort of business. And even if they don't. They grew up on Inspector Gadget, so I'm writing the coattails of the brand of Inspector Gadget when I brand myself as Tom Dheere voice actor, because I was Inspector Gadget, which also then feeds into well, if he's able to book work like that, he's competent as a voiceover business and marketing coach. So they all feed into each other.
07:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that. You said that you branded on the coattails of another brand and I think that's definitely a strategy. I mean he used to talk about that all the time is that to get credibility? If you are the voice of a brand that is out there and that is heard and seen, then that is your brand right, gaining credibility from another brand, and so it's kind of a strategic partnership. However, I think you can get that strategic partnership. It doesn't necessarily mean like oh, I'm Ann Ganguzza, I have to have blue. That's only a visual part of my brand, that is one part of the encompassing brand when people come to my website. But people if they don't see anything right. So there's a visual part of your brand, there's an audio part of your brand and then there is, I would say, an in-person, physical part of your brand as well that all contributes to who you are and if people decide if they want to work with you or not.
08:20 Right, there's that personality, part of your brand that says I'm reliable, I'm fast, I am accurate. I have the voice that can work with your brand and make it come alive. So there's so many aspects to branding besides, let's say, a website, which is what I think most people think. When they talk about branding, they think, oh, I've got to have that tagline Gosh. I gave up my tagline years ago because it just wasn't pertinent for my particular brand. It just wasn't, and I was out there showing my photograph a long time ago because for me it worked. I felt like people wanted to connect with a person and not necessarily an image of a microphone.
08:59 - Tom Dheere (Host) Sure, it's funny that you say that, because I've been teaching branding for well over 10 years and I've always told my students that branding is telling a story what is the story of you? But also there's usually two ways that you can tell your story as a voice actor from a branding perspective. You can brand your sound or you can brand your personality. So the more distinctive your sound is or the genres that you can do, the easier it is to brand in that direction. If you've got a particularly young voice or particularly deep voice, or if you do movie trailers primarily, or if you do military fiction, audio books exclusively or almost exclusively, it's a lot easier to brand. But the branding of your personality is what is the experience of working with you? So for years I used you as one of my examples of, yes, branding your personality using your tagline are you ready for awesome?
09:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's true. Are you ready for awesome? I like that. I did use that and I haven't used that in a while, so let's talk about that. Tom, tell me, what was it that attracted you to that particular aspect of my brand?
10:06 - Tom Dheere (Host) What attracted me to that is that you were setting expectations of what the experience of working with you was is like. So there's the value promise. Like I said, value promise and value delivery. This is about the value delivery. If you work with me, you're going to have a great experience. You're going to be working with a professional, intelligent, excited, ethical, prepared voice actor. That's what are you ready for. Awesome means to me.
10:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Geez, maybe I'll bring that back, Tom.
10:36 - Tom Dheere (Host) I mean, why not?
10:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that, I like that it meant something to you and yeah, absolutely, and it's not that I actually got rid of it, tom. Before that one, I had Dream Out Loud. That was my tagline, and I thought Dream Out Loud didn't do anything for me, necessarily because Dream Out Loud was kind of more focused on me rather than my client. Right, in terms of like, are they dreaming out loud? No, they need somebody that's not dreaming, they need somebody that can speak. Their brand, right, and so therefore, are you Ready for Awesome, kind of helps out their predicament in a much better way. So, yeah, actually I think that that's a great brand. I'll have to talk to my web person.
11:15 Your webmaster, business coach my webmaster to maybe bring that back. And it doesn't have to be all over my page, right it can be in certain parts of my page or in, let's say, in my signature file. It could be in a lot of different places, but I like that. You're right. It basically tells people this is what you're going to be working with.
11:32 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, and one of the key aspects of any successful brand, regardless of whatever sector that you're in healthcare, automotive, beverages or whatever is that an effective company is able to identify the pain points of the customer. What do you need, what are you struggling with? And then your branding helps you tell the story of how you can solve their problems, how you can address those pain points, how you can cure what ails them, so to speak. Are you ready for awesome is a great way of letting them know that if you work with me, everything's going to be okay, Everything's going to be taken care of, you're going to have an awesome experience and you're going to get what you need, which are quality audio files delivered on time, properly formatted and that help you tell the story of your company's brand most of the time right.
12:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now I do believe that people visually see that text, they read it, they comprehend it. There's also something to be said for your website in general, and we can have a whole other podcast on websites. But I do believe that, like when I go to purchase something from a website, I have to see that website and feel that I trust it and that the people behind that website have a valuable product and I can purchase that without fear that I'm not going to get that product delivered in a timely and quality manner. And so I assess a lot visually the product by looking at a website. If the website is not constructed in a professional manner, of what standards are today, I hesitate to click and buy. And so I do feel that if you are a voice actor that has a website out there and people happen upon your website, at least have it functionally and visually professional enough so that it instills trust in your potential client, so that they can say oh, okay, this looks safe, right For me.
13:31 I mean, gosh, it's like oh, I buy online all the time. I mean this is like the 21st century, right? We buy online all the time. So again, that place where I buy needs to instill trust in me. And now a quick word from our sponsor, which could be me. Hey bosses, are you looking for even more voiceover resources? Head on over to vopeepscom and take a look at our special Vopeeps VIP VIPs membership. You get access to over 350 hours of on-demand video workshops in addition to free live monthly workouts. Plus, you'll get 15% off each monthly VO Peeps workshop in the future. Sign up now at vopeepscom.
14:12 - Speaker 4 (Host) Hi, this is Debra Elaine Fowler sending a huge shout out to Anne for her VO Boss podcast. I've been listening now since the very first episode six years ago, and I always learn something new. The guests are interesting and Anne brings up topics that maybe I haven't thought about. I find myself researching new topics almost every week. Anne, keep it up, I love what you're doing. And now back to the show.
14:38 - Tom Dheere (Host) The website tells the story of you and of the experience they're going to have as a result of working with you, Because they're immediately. Obviously the first thing that happens as they go to the website is they see the website. Yeah, you know what are the colors that?
14:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) come out?
14:51 - Tom Dheere (Host) What are the fonts Right? How is it organized or laid out? What are the colors? What are the fonts? Is it easy to find your demos?
14:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Can I contact this person that's like so important to me?
15:01 - Tom Dheere (Host) Can I contact this person in the way that I want to contact them? Do I want to pick up the phone? Do I want to email them? Do I want to message them on Instagram, or do I want to use their contact form or any of a number of ways? So this tells the story of your competency as a voice actor, and it needs to be consistent. That's why you should be looking up the psychology of color when it comes to establishing a brand. It's like what is the type of voiceover work that you do? How does that reconcile with your personality? How does that reconcile with the needs of the customers that you want to attract? A lot of this stuff is very subconscious or unconscious on the part of voice seekers when they go to your website, but what's there and what isn't there speaks to your brand.
15:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. And there's something to be said, like there's something almost intangible. When I go to a website and I say oh, oh, I like that, Like it's like pretty packaging, right, I mean.
15:52 I like that package, and so that makes me interested to want to find out more, and if the verbiage on the website helps me to find out more and gets me to where I need to be quickly. Because, again, I don't know. I mean, how many people go around just looking at websites to say, oh, that's a pretty website or, oh, I don't like that website. I mean, really there's a purpose, right, people are shopping around going to a website either finding information.
16:18 Maybe you somehow attracted them to get to your website to find out more about you and your brand and your voice. And if they can get that information easily and it seems to speak to you as being a credible, professional, trustworthy business, product right that they can purchase, then I think that really all has a handle on. It's like a part of the sales funnel, right? I feel like your brand is part of the sales funnel.
16:41 - Tom Dheere (Host) It absolutely is, and that also extends onto your social media platforms and the content that you're creating on the social media platform. If you're trying to brand yourself effectively and consistently, the branding on your social media platforms should line up perfectly with what's going on on your website the font, the logo, the color schemes, the banners, the verbiage and the content that comes out. All of this needs to be consistent Verbiage.
17:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tom verbiage, and that means if you're on a social media platform and verbiage is coming out of your mouth that isn't necessarily conducive to promoting your brand in a positive way. You might want to think about that. That means if you're going to be controversial or you're going to be spewing verbiage in your social platforms that may be off brand. You might want to consider maybe not doing that or having a completely different brand. I feel like personal brands and voice actor brands are very close.
17:40 It used to be, where, okay, I have a business brand and I'm going to only talk about business on that and I have a personal brand, but I feel like those two brands have really melded together over the years, tom.
17:51 - Tom Dheere (Host) Oh, yes, no, they've completely blurred for a number of reasons. I mean, one reason right now is that if, through your marketing strategies, you've been able to get a voice seeker to go to your social media platforms or to your website, one thing they're trying to determine is are you human?
18:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah or are you an AI? That is slowly becoming more of a consideration for voice seekers, and if you're human, are you a good human.
18:12 - Tom Dheere (Host) And are you a good human there?
18:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) can be human actions that are controversial that would potentially harm their brand if they were to align right Strategically. We talked about strategic alignment with brands If they were to align with your brand right, it could hurt their brand.
18:27 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right. That leads me to a great point, Anne, is when it comes to your branding. To be perfectly honest, the vast majority of voice seekers aren't paying any attention to anything we're doing on social media, and they're not paying attention to much that's going on on our website. However, they will vet you. They will check out your brand for the aforementioned AI reason and for exactly what you said because nobody wants to work with a voice actor who is an NDA violator.
18:52 Sure sure, absolutely. And starts talking about auditions that they did for projects that haven't been cast yet.
18:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Or negatively about companies that they've worked with.
19:00 - Tom Dheere (Host) Or client questions, whether it's warranted or not.
19:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, whether it's warranted or not, guys, just don't do that.
19:05 - Tom Dheere (Host) I see, specifically audiobook narrators regularly complaining about the publishers because, oh, I didn't get enough of a pronunciation guide or there were too many spelling errors on this manuscript, and I'm just as they're doing it. I'm like, what are you?
19:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) doing yeah yeah, why Because?
19:18 - Tom Dheere (Host) audiobook publishers are the ones that are the most likely to pay attention to your branding and pay attention to your website and pay attention to your social media platform and if you're kvetching about your client like that's a great way to lose a client.
19:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's like anybody complaining about their employer. Right, hr is continually going out online to see if you're making complaints and then that's the first line of fire to get fired if you're speaking negatively. And so even if you think it's private, like in a Facebook group, and it's marked a private group, it's not. Screenshot is like literally a couple of keystrokes away, and even if it says it's private, it's not. We all know things are not private.
20:00 I mean yesterday I happened to be on a family outing at Disney and everything I talked about came up on my Facebook feed just saying so nothing is private. And so really just for your brand's sake, and so I do want to. I know now we've got into the whole what's good for your brand, but let's go back to Tom. If someone is just doing jobs through their agent, is it required that they have a website now and a brand specifically, or maybe not?
20:28 - Tom Dheere (Host) Website yes, brand maybe.
20:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay. Maybe, what's on the website then?
20:33 - Tom Dheere (Host) Okay, well, from a branding perspective logo consistency of font on the logo itself and the tagline and with the verbiage on the website the color scheme that you have established on this logo needs to align with the color scheme that is on the homepage and all the other pages, unless there's a possibility you've branded yourself based on genre or subgenre.
20:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Is this for voice actors who are managed or who have talent, agents only, or is this?
21:00 - Tom Dheere (Host) It's a great question. I can't speak to what voice seekers that work through managers and agents are doing. How much are they vetting the voice actors that are represented by the agents and managers that they're working with? Most of the time they're probably not. It's usually just send me these auditions. We'll pick the person that we think is the best who vocally represents this company brand message.
21:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Unless you're well-known, I would say right as a video game, character or an animation, character and then I think, your brand is important online. Right your actions in your social media. I'm thinking Daniel Ross, who recently, you know, is now the voice of Donald Duck. Bob Bergen has the voice of Porky. Pig, I mean and Christina Milizia, who I just interviewed as well on this podcast, and Christina Milizia who?
21:41 I just interviewed as well on this podcast the characters that they represent. She has to be careful. They have to be careful what they do online and also their actions, because a lot of them might go to cons and do autograph signing, and so that's an in-person branding as well, so they have to be very careful about their brand.
21:58 - Tom Dheere (Host) Okay, there are two groups of voice actors. There's public figures and private figures. Public figures in voiceover are those who do cartoons, video games and audiobooks. Okay, because if you're an audiobook narrator, you're being followed by authors, rights holders and listeners of the audiobooks. Okay, and it's a very public thing because these are very front-facing products audiobooks, cartoon and video game voice actors are also public figures, also just because of the fan base. The fan base really wants to know and loves to adore and follow the voice actors who are the voices of their favorite cartoon and video game characters. Everybody else is kind of clumped into the private voice actors. With the exception of, for me, inspector Gadget, red Dead Redemption and a handful of other things. I'm primarily a private voice actor. So me talking about my e-learning and her explainer experience online, nobody cares, nobody cares that?
22:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tom Dheere. I'll tell you what his e-learning module.
23:03 - Tom Dheere (Host) That HR video he narrated oh for God's sakes. Like nobody does that. Nobody does that, nobody cares, nobody cares about that. And yes, that, nobody does that, nobody cares, nobody cares about that. And yes, your branding should be influenced by that Absolutely. So you want to be careful. So if you're a private voice actor, yeah, don't be an NDA violator. Don't be a client basher. Don't be some religious political whack job.
23:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's all you have to worry about. And even if you're a public figure in a way that you don't think like because I know there are people who are out there that troll. I've been trolled. If you're out there as a coach, as a demo producer, I guess you can say if you've been trolled, you've made it.
23:39 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, because then, so you actually matter. I matter in a way, but yes, I've been trolled and that's very upsetting, but Tom, I'm sure you've been trolled too, Maybe.
23:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't know if Inspector Gadget has, but I mean Inspector Gadget.
23:51 - Tom Dheere (Host) I only got trolled in that. I'll just put it to you this way. There was one person who hated my performance so much that they took the trailer for the Inspector Gadget video game and replaced my voice with Don Adams, who was the original Inspector Gadget. So You've made it Tom, congratulations actually I'll take that as a proper trolling. There you go.
24:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I guess then, in essence, tom, I know you've evolved over the years with your views on branding. You don't know if it's as necessary, or maybe just branding in general has evolved. I still feel like, in this sea of voice actors, if somebody is going to see you online, then brand is important.
24:29 If you're not necessarily online, if maybe you're part-time and hey, there's a lot of amazing talent that we hear every single day on national spots that don't have websites that I don't even know. We don't even know who they are, right, Because they don't need to have that brand. So I tend to agree with you and I think that we have to continually be educated about what's important for your business when it comes to being recognized. Now, what about voice actors that are new to the industry? Is it important that they have a branded website, that they have a tagline? Is it important that they have a headshot?
25:07 - Tom Dheere (Host) Okay, I think at first it's a terrible idea. I think it's a terrible, terrible idea because what drew them to the voiceover industry may not necessarily be what keeps them in the voiceover industry. In other words, they may not be any good at what they want to do and they may turn out to be really good at something that they don't want to do. So from a branding perspective-.
25:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They don't know their brand yet.
25:28 - Tom Dheere (Host) They don't know their branding because they don't know what they can book. So if you're early in your voiceover journey, us bosses are taking a little pressure off. You Don't worry about branding yet Book gigs.
25:38 See what the voiceover industry tells you are the types of genres and subgenres in the markets that you can book Then you can build a brand around that because if that's something that's bankable, if people are willing to give you money to say this kind of voiceover work, then you can build a reputation on that because, like we said, branding, storytelling, reputation all of these things are intertwined. So just to have a basic, nondescript website with your contact information, basic information about you and downloadable demos which is the most important thing to have on a website- yes, absolutely.
26:12 Then let the branding come about you and downloadable demos, which is the most important thing to have on a website. Yes, absolutely. Then let the branding come to you and then you can and you're talking visual branding. Visual branding.
26:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, I'm going to say vocal branding. I'm very much into vocal branding, depending on what genre you study with me, right. So vocally branding, that's something that you can have a good coach help you with, because they're going to help and you will discover that vocal branding in the beginning.
26:34 For whatever genre you're studying Now, that doesn't mean that you won't evolve over time right To have more vocal brands. I think you can have multiple brands that are related, but you cannot, like, if you're a young person and you sound young right, for the entirety of the time that you are younger, for a few years at least, you're going to be more of that youthful sound, probably if that's how you've been vocally branded. So I think if you're new it helps to have a good coach to help vocally brand you. But visual branding and you're right, tom, as you go you'll find out. What do you get hired for? Right, I never thought about medical and all of a sudden I started getting hired for medical and now, oh well, that makes sense now because I used to work in the medical field. So you know something I didn't know before.
27:21 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, what a great coach like you can help people with is what celebrities do you sound like? What sectors of the voiceover industry can you get work in? You know there's commercials in general, but then there's automotive in particular, or home and family products, or alcohol, or boots you know what I mean or cowboy boots or whatever that sort of thing. Anne can definitely help you with that. And then when you are positioning yourself, and then when Anne helps you make your demo, it can help with that vocal positional branding. So the spots that you would do on a demo with Anne would align with the celebrities that you can sound like. Not imitations, but just like reminiscent of.
27:58 You know what I mean. I'll give you an example For me right now. For the past year or so it's been Ryan Reynolds. I've been booking spots because I have a Ryan Reynolds sound.
28:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you do.
28:08 - Tom Dheere (Host) A voice actor just connected with me on LinkedIn and said do you know that you sound like Ryan Reynolds and I don't have that branding anywhere on my website. I'm seriously considering doing it because these casting notices that tend to have the Ryan Reynolds celebrity reference I'm booking. So that may be something I would need to consider. But again, that's the industry. At this point in my journey, that's the industry telling me, because Ryan Reynolds wasn't a factor when I started in the 90s. But if I was starting now and working with Anne, she's got a good enough ear to know that like, yeah, you got kind of a Ryan Reynolds sound. Maybe we should get kind of these kind of quirky, fun, cute little spots on your demo to showcase that particular sound.
28:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely Well. That was a very involved branding conversation but I love it, I love it. I feel like we still could go on, and, on, and on. But, thank you, tom. So much for that. Guys, I'm going to give a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too, can network and connect like bosses like Tom and myself. Find out more at IPdtlcom. Have an amazing week, guys, and we will see you next week. Thanks so much.
29:20 - Intro (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry-rev, revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne welcomes Heidi Rew, commercial voice actor and co-founder of Atlanta VoiceOver Studio. Heidi shares her journey from radio to voiceover and offers insights on booking jobs and finding success in the industry. The BOSSES emphasize the importance of perseverance and training, highlighting their own experience of steady climbs in the industry. They also discuss the qualities of a good coach and the value of personalized instruction. They advise newcomers to discover their unique voice and niche through training and collecting feedback. The BOSSES share their thoughts on overcoming self-doubt and the importance of perseverance in the voice acting industry. They emphasize the need to uncover personal insecurities and fears in order to succeed in business The BOSSES also discuss the importance of demos, online presence, and easy accessibility for potential clients. Anne (00:01.142) Hey everyone, welcome to the V.O. Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited to have very special guest, Heidi Rew, joining us to the show. Hey Heidi, yay! Oh, awesome. So a little bit of information about Heidi for the bosses who are not familiar with her. She started her career on air in radio, but was introduced to voiceover by her coworker who eventually turned into her husband.
Heidi Rew (00:12.922) Hey, Anne! So glad to be here.
Anne (00:29.922) She is mainly a commercial voice actor and has voiced national TV commercials for Jiffy Lube, Secrets Resorts, Redfin, Kohl's, Danimals, and Baker's Chocolate, excuse me, and probably many, many more. And about eight years ago, she and her husband started the Atlanta VoiceOver Studio, a training and recording studio. Heidi, thank you so much for being with us today. It's so exciting.
Heidi Rew (00:54.092) Oh, I am so excited to be here, Ann. And we already talked, Ann already talked, she was our guest on the Atlanta VoiceOver Studio podcast. And it was so good, we had to do a part two, which is the first time that's ever happened. So yes, I'm so excited to be here, Ann.
Anne (01:09.166) Well, thank you so much. And I'm actually going to just turn around and ask you some of the same questions that you asked me. For those bosses who are not familiar with Atlanta VoiceOver Studio and Heidi, why don't you start off by talking a little bit about yourself and what that journey was like going from radio to VO?
Heidi Rew (01:15.77) Okay.
Heidi Rew (01:25.654) Yeah. Yep. I always wanted to go into radio. That was kind of my career goal. And this handsome coworker came in my studio one day and was like, hey, do you do voiceover? Because I could listen to your voice all day. And I know. He always says that's like his one and only line. But it worked. And he told me all about the voiceover industry, kind of got me going.
Anne (01:44.754) What a line. I love it.
I love it.
Heidi Rew (01:55.554) And I really did think, oh, this will just be something that I do on the side. And then five, six years after that, things were changing at the radio station. And at that time, then Mike and I were married. And so to find on-air jobs in another city for both of you is really, really almost impossible. And so.
Anne (02:13.527) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (02:20.19) things had just changed and Mike was like, why don't you just quit and just do voiceover and on camera stuff full time? And so that's what I did. And there we go.
Anne (02:28.658) And there you go. Now, when we were talking before, we were discussing about agents, and it took you four years to book a job with your first Atlanta agent. Let's talk about that journey, because I'll tell you, for me, when I started, I'm gonna date myself, I literally, I was working for four years before I even thought.
Heidi Rew (02:36.059) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (02:39.622) Yep. Mm-hmm.
Anne (02:53.406) about an agent because back then we didn't really have like Facebook groups or there was there wasn't a lot of ways to communicate with other people in the industry, which I believe is one of the reasons why you might have started your studio as well to like see people face to face and
Heidi Rew (02:57.088) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (03:07.075) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (03:10.734) Yes, totally, and have that community. Yeah, I had a great agent here in Atlanta. And I would get auditions and everything, and just wouldn't book. And I thought, I really suck at this, obviously. And I would ask my agent, I said, you know, gosh, why?
Anne (03:12.939) Yeah.
Anne (03:18.091) Mm-hmm.
Anne (03:22.903) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (03:30.026) Richard, it was Richard Hutchison management who's, he's retired at this point, but I said Richard, why haven't you dropped me at this point? You know, and he said Heidi, because you're doing good auditions. It just sometimes takes time. Just keep going, keep going. And I did. And then year five was when I started booking a lot. It's when I booked a national spot that ran three years, gave a sag health insurance for three years.
Anne (03:32.215) Mm-hmm.
Anne (03:41.91) Mmm. Mm-hmm.
Anne (03:54.754) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (03:56.162) So it was just one of those things where it just took some time. And I had some other clients on the sides from self-marketing and a smaller agency that I was with in Florida. But yeah.
Anne (04:03.817) Mm-hmm.
Anne (04:07.862) Now do you think that it had, I mean, was there, was it possible that maybe you were needing feedback? I'm assuming four years your performance, you know, was improved, you know, and that is, takes a lot of resilience sometimes. I mean, I remember my early career as well too, and it was difficult. I mean, when you didn't get feedback or you didn't book, it was kind of like, oh my gosh, now.
Heidi Rew (04:16.995) Oh yeah.
Heidi Rew (04:21.658) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (04:24.986) Mm-hmm.
Anne (04:36.734) Now what do I do? I mean, do I even belong in this industry? I mean, did you ever run into any of those feelings? Yeah.
Heidi Rew (04:39.154) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (04:42.794) Oh gosh, yeah. I mean, I would tell Mike, like, you liar. No, I'm just kidding. Like, what in the world? I don't have a good voice, obviously. But he really was always, he's always been an encourager of mine. But a big part of it was, you know, I was doing radio full time, full time. And also, you know, I was on air, so I was doing like events on the weekend. I mean, it was busy. And so I really.
Anne (04:47.524) Hahaha! Mm-hmm.
Anne (05:02.187) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (05:09.322) voiceover was a side thing. I didn't do the kind of training that I needed to do to get to that level. I was very lucky to even get on with Richard at the very beginning because, I mean, you know, all I had kind of was Mike's training and tutelage. And that is why I say to so many people, too, that, you know, one, you never know how long it's going to take to book, so keep going. But also, right, but also,
Anne (05:11.106) Mm-hmm.
Anne (05:16.514) Mm.
Anne (05:24.76) Mm-hmm.
Anne (05:32.142) Right? For that overnight success. Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (05:36.982) you do need to train and I, you know, if I had trained more, who knows that four years could have been shortened to a much shorter time frame.
Anne (05:41.559) Mm-hmm.
Anne (05:45.91) Well, you know, it's so interesting because, you know, I just was looking at your website again, and your studio offers, gosh, everything. And you have a team of coaches that basically covers every genre. You know, I think anything that anybody ever would want to do in voiceover, you guys cover at your studio. So let's talk about coaching because we had a discussion about it on your podcast. What is it that you feel
Heidi Rew (05:56.08) Yeah.
Anne (06:17.387) key qualities or qualifications of a good coach and what you look for your own team and for yourself.
Heidi Rew (06:19.407) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (06:23.83) Yeah, well, you know, first of all, one of the things that we really look for is for people that have a heart to teach and that aren't just in there to make extra money or to be known that they really care about the students that they're trying to reach. And then a big part of that is we
Anne (06:33.996) Mm.
Heidi Rew (06:48.898) With Atlanta Voice over Studio, we have three values that we run our decisions through and really have just kind of been the compass for our business. And one of those values is grace. And Mike and I define that as meeting people where they're at. And so we always talk about that with the instructors of like, you have no idea where somebody is gonna come in, whether they walk through the door or they appear on the screen.
Anne (07:03.691) I love that.
Anne (07:12.106) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (07:14.458) You know, you have no idea where they're at. And so our goal is to find out where they're at and how do we get them at least one step closer to their goal, if not two steps. But that's the goal. It's like really meeting people where they're at, which was huge during COVID. Like that, oh my gosh, that was so helpful to remember. So those are some of the biggest things and just being able to really personalize the...
Anne (07:23.086) Mm-hmm.
Anne (07:30.878) Oh my goodness, yes.
Heidi Rew (07:43.01) the instruction to each person, which kind of goes with that meeting people where they're at. It's just not everybody responds to the same type of technique or you know what I mean? Like you really have to find what works for that person, you know?
Anne (07:45.205) Mm. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Anne (07:48.938) Sure. Yeah.
Anne (07:54.414) True. Very true.
Anne (08:00.702) Yeah, and it's very much a personal journey, I think. Because it is a creative journey, and I do feel that that.
Heidi Rew (08:04.868) Yes.
Anne (08:10.934) Gosh, everybody reacts to it differently. Everybody learns in a different way. And I know that just from my years of teaching in front of the class, that you do have all different types of students. And I think it's even more important to meet them where they are when you're talking about something as a creative endeavor that is so deeply personal to them. Because any, you know, any...
Heidi Rew (08:20.804) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (08:28.098) Yes. Yeah.
Anne (08:34.218) any frustration or any kind of like, you know, roadblock can be really devastating. And that can, you know, that can affect performance like this. And so I think it's so important that you have teachers who care that I love that, that you have, I mean, that's where I always talk about.
Heidi Rew (08:41.064) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (08:45.57) Oh my gosh, yeah. Yes.
Anne (08:54.238) My students with eLearning, you've got to be that teacher that has a heart that cares. And that's important when you're... It's a journey you're taking these students on. And it's a delicate journey. Yeah.
Heidi Rew (08:58.364) Mm-hmm, yeah.
Heidi Rew (09:03.962) Yeah. Yes. Because your voice, that is really important. And there have been some people that come in that have been told certain things about their voice or believed certain things about their voice that are not right or not correct. And to be able to show them, like, hey, you actually have power in your voice. And you thought that maybe you didn't, or you thought that it was.
Anne (09:15.547) Mm-hmm.
Anne (09:24.438) Mm.
Anne (09:31.303) Yeah, yeah.
Heidi Rew (09:33.65) You know, some of the biggest ones that we've had come through the studio is like I always Was kind of told that I was weak because of the way that I sounded Man that does that does something? Yeah That is hard. So to be able to help them discover that and how do you? How do you find that empowerment through your own voice? You know, that's That's really crucial
Anne (09:42.374) Mmm. That's a hard, that's hard to take. Yeah, gosh.
Mm-hmm.
Anne (09:56.844) Mm-hmm.
Yeah, absolutely. So then let's talk a little bit about then as they're on their journey discovering, like where, you know, thinking about where do they feel the most passion or joy or where does their voice fit in the industry? What advice can you give, let's say people just entering in this industry in order to find their niche? And I don't know if like, I think niches can be ever evolving, I don't know about you, but you know.
Heidi Rew (10:15.182) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (10:23.458) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (10:27.939) Oh, 100%. Yeah.
Anne (10:28.994) How do they discover that? What's your best advice for that?
Heidi Rew (10:32.894) So one of the things that we do that's really important, but you can do this whether you're working with a private coach or whatever, but we have one of our foundational training is called the Beginner VoiceOver Intensive, and it's a three month thing. It has like this curriculum that goes with it. So one of the weeks that we do, you go into the booth to record and you do just a bunch of different spots that are in different types of tones and specs and everything.
Anne (10:57.719) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (11:00.022) And then your class and the instructor will write down what they feel like is your natural three top reads. Just you as yourself and that you can just, as you're speaking, it just comes so naturally. You don't have to push it or force it or anything. And then they also write down descriptions about your voice. So maybe it's like, you know,
Anne (11:09.158) Mm. Mm-hmm.
Anne (11:17.614) Sure.
Heidi Rew (11:27.314) grandfather that always has a funny joke. You know what I mean? Like it's like that warmth caring but also he can be funny and you know what I mean witty. So they write down all that stuff so then that person that comes out of the booth they have all this vocabulary of some of their strengths with their voice right which is kind of just the step one of figuring out like where do I fit you know what is that uniqueness that I can bring to the table.
Anne (11:30.955) Mm-hmm.
Anne (11:43.571) Yeah.
Anne (11:50.812) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (11:55.334) So you can do that even with like a private coach. They can help you discover that. But another thing that's really important, I think, is just be a collector of data, you know, yourself. And because it's, we forget so quickly when people give us like specific encouragement or things of like, oh, I really love, you know.
Anne (12:08.289) Yeah.
Anne (12:18.698) Mm.
Heidi Rew (12:22.294) the way that you've got that texture in your voice. It kind of feels like a warm blanket or whatever. Anytime somebody says something about your voice, write it down. Collect that data because then you're going to have this whole data set of stuff that you're like, oh, this is me. This is who I am. This is what I can bring to the table. And then when you do that, then you can kind of figure out, okay, what is, what are the specific genres that maybe
Anne (12:25.08) Mm-hmm.
Anne (12:32.911) Mmm, great idea.
Anne (12:42.19) Mm-hmm.
Anne (12:50.379) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (12:51.627) that I would fit in the best. So, yeah.
Anne (12:53.214) Yeah, that would cater to those qualities. Yeah, it's so hard to assess. It's kind of like, I think that's why self-direction is so difficult, right? I mean, you have to assess where you're at by yourself. And I think that I love the fact that you have a whole class where you have other ears involved in the process and other people helping, saying, well, this is what I hear. And it can really help you to help define where your space can be and where your niche can be.
Heidi Rew (13:05.437) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (13:16.315) Mm-hmm.
Anne (13:22.826) and also where you might want to grow. Because I think there are a lot of times somebody will say something about your voice that you didn't expect. Like somebody will say, oh my God, that's a great character. And I'm like, but me? I've never thought about doing character work or animation work or that kind of a thing. So I think that the process with a great coach or another set of ears that can help you.
Heidi Rew (13:22.894) Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (13:33.818) Mmm.
Heidi Rew (13:44.409) Mm-hmm.
Anne (13:46.382) to establish that can really help you to grow and then can help you to develop your ear. I think there's a whole science to developing an ear, which is it doesn't, that doesn't happen overnight.
Heidi Rew (13:49.134) Yes.
Heidi Rew (13:52.63) Yes. Yeah.
Heidi Rew (13:58.006) No, I still feel like I'm fine tuning my ear. And as things change, you know what I mean? Like I've grown up learning that polished sound and that polished sound in commercial is just like, so many people don't want the polished sound. And it is so hard to like make sure that I'm hearing the right things, yeah. Cause I wanna default to that, so.
Anne (14:01.01) Yeah. Oh, right. Yeah.
Anne (14:06.951) Mm-hmm.
Anne (14:13.866) Yeah, yeah. Not be perfect. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's so interesting. So outside of performance, right, what would you say are key factors for any boss out there in order to grow their business? What sorts of things outside of, of course, keeping their performance, you know, and I say coaching and training all the time, but what else is important for a successful business?
Heidi Rew (14:44.71) Yeah.
So personally for me, I am all about relationships. That has been one of the things that has helped me create a sustainable full-time voiceover career. It really is. Not only do I seek out relationships and I don't seek them out for like, oh, what can you give me? But I have the mentality of like, give more than you can, more than you get.
Anne (14:51.531) Mmm.
Anne (15:06.164) Mm-hmm.
Anne (15:14.375) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (15:14.682) But I just think that the more relationships that I have and the more people that I know, the more potential opportunity is gonna come my way, because of people that they work with, people that they know, they like and they trust. And so I am really a big proponent on creating those relationships and maintaining those relationships as best as possible over the longterm. And that has been...
Anne (15:24.502) Mm. Mm-hmm.
Anne (15:28.415) Mm-hmm.
Anne (15:38.168) Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Heidi Rew (15:41.654) That has been one of the biggest things that during times where things aren't, I'm not booking as many commercials or whatever, that those clients come back. It's just like, it feels like magic. Yes.
Anne (15:53.098) right, in those lulls. Because I think the biggest difference, right, in our businesses is that, you know, as opposed to it, because I worked in the corporate world, you know, I expected that paycheck and got that paycheck every other week. And now all of a sudden, we've got, you know, our own business, which, ooh, now we got to hustle. We got to go get that business. We have to nurture those relationships. And we have to sustain, which I think you said the word sustainability, which I really love, because over the years, I mean, my gosh.
Our overnight success, which for me has been how many years? Like 10, something like that. I mean, it's been sticking with it. Talk to me a little bit because you've been in the industry for a long time. What is it that you say, what would you say is key to success in terms of having a career that can continually, I guess, evolve along with the times and be sustained for a long time?
Heidi Rew (16:26.769) Right.
Heidi Rew (16:30.811) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (16:46.61) Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I want to share really quick this, I don't know if you've ever read James Clear's Atomic Habits book. It's so good. But he gives an example of bamboo. And bamboo, if you've ever seen, there's a bamboo forest here in Atlanta that's on this beautiful hike. And it's just so gorgeous. It's so tall and everything. Well, bamboo, when they first are planted, you don't see hardly anything for five years.
Anne (16:55.398) I have not.
Anne (17:04.96) Mm-hmm.
Anne (17:15.467) Mmm.
Heidi Rew (17:15.598) and then all of a sudden within six weeks, they shoot up like, I don't know how, I'm gonna say 90 feet, that's not true. You can fact check me on that if we have fact check. Anyways, it's something along those lines, very, very tall, in about six weeks. And the reason why is because they develop such a strong root system.
Anne (17:23.607) That's tall. That's tall.
Anne (17:34.461) Mmm
Heidi Rew (17:35.314) that that's what they're doing in that five years. So you don't even see you're like, what's going on? Nothing's going on. And actually a lot is going on so that way they can stay strong for years and years. So that's part of it is, I think, you know, creating a good foundation. But I think the other part and I think this is really true and I don't I can't give anybody a certain like applicable thing to do to discover this. But the problem about.
Anne (17:42.122) Wow, yeah, I love that.
Heidi Rew (18:04.558) becoming a voice talent, especially if you're in another, you know, job or whatever, is that it's all on you to do every, you are the business, right? And sometimes the biggest hindrance to growth is ourselves and things that we find ourselves doing, you know. For me, I, one, I want people to like me. I want to do a really good job. Like I don't ever want to not do a good job, obviously.
Anne (18:14.058) Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Anne (18:21.07) Mm-hmm.
Anne (18:32.973) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (18:34.886) And I can get really caught up on my performance and it just makes me want to go I'm done. This is too much I want to quit well that has nothing to do with my business. It has nothing to do with numbers It has nothing to do with data. It's all on me my own Insecurities my own you know fears about things so I think that The more that I'm able to uncover things about myself like little hiccups that I put my own way
Anne (18:45.27) Mmm.
Heidi Rew (19:01.99) actually the better my business is, you know, and it's just it's easier to not have to face those. I think when you are in another business where there's a lot of other people coming to your aid, you know, and being able to do things and, you know, make up for your weaknesses and everything.
Anne (19:12.147) Oh yeah, absolutely.
Anne (19:20.01) You know, it's such a thing when we talk about, you know, having moments of doubt and wanting to give up and wanting to quit. I mean, you know, self-sabotage. I mean, we talk about that quite a bit. I mean, what can you, what's your best advice? What can you say to those bosses out there that are just, they're like frustrated. I, you know, I'm not booking any work. I can't continue to, you know, fund.
Heidi Rew (19:32.486) Yeah.
Anne (19:47.334) this career if I'm not making any money at it. Because that just happens quite a bit. I hear that a lot from talent.
Heidi Rew (19:54.83) Yeah, of course, of course. I heard there's a wonderful psychologist, Angela Duckworth. She's written books and everything. And she said something that I will never forget. And this one thing will help so much. She said, don't quit on a bad day. If you're having a bad day and you want to quit, do not quit on that day. Now, if you have a great day and you just booked a great thing and you still want to quit, OK.
Anne (20:11.906) Mmm.
Heidi Rew (20:24.39) Then quit, because you know that it is, it's not the challenges that are coming your way, but it's just the actual job itself. But if it's those challenges and those hard days, push through, because I mean, there are, I still have days like that, and I'm how long into my career? Like, it's crazy. And you think, and I think.
Anne (20:41.578) Right? Isn't that true? Like, and we've been in this forever, right? And we still have days.
Heidi Rew (20:49.314) If people looked at it, you're like, but you're making a great full-time income from this job. And there are still days that I want to quit. And I just think, OK, you know what? I don't quit on a bad day. And then also, sometimes I do quit just for the day. You know, I'm like,
Anne (20:54.442) Mm-hmm.
Anne (21:02.879) I like that.
Don't quit on a bad day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I like that. I'm quitting for the day.
Heidi Rew (21:10.046) I am, I'm either burnt out or I've got just too much. I need to quit for today. I need to go on a walk. I need to do something else for my mental health. And then tomorrow, jump back in.
Anne (21:12.607) Mm-hmm.
Anne (21:23.102) Yeah, I like that. So what are some important tools that you would recommend for voice actors in order to further their career?
Heidi Rew (21:34.822) So I will say that I have had a CRM since I started, but let me tell you, this CRM is, I mean, it's Google Sheets. Like that was my CRM for years. And I honestly, and yeah, and same, I'm literally right before we got on here, I've been trying.
Anne (21:42.145) Mmm.
Anne (21:49.334) Yeah, yeah, yeah. My name is Google, too. That was my CRM. It actually still is. OK. Ha, ha.
Heidi Rew (22:01.382) to migrate all of my clients over to Voice Over View. Because listen, my system works for me. I get it. The only problem is a search function. I don't like that because I love to be able to go, I don't have a great memory. And so I mean, I just had a session where I booked a job. And the guy was like, hey, Heidi, we worked together years ago on this. And I'm like, ugh.
Anne (22:05.011) Uh huh, uh huh.
Anne (22:08.992) Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (22:28.654) So I'm typing in word war, you know what I mean? Like who did I, what was this? And I found it, it was fine, and I have all my notes there, but I really do need to be able to quickly search things. Because two, if you've been in this business, you probably are the same way for a long time. The people that are at one company that you worked with years ago, they may be at a completely different company. And so you need to be able to reference things and search things.
Anne (22:29.559) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh gosh, yeah.
Anne (22:40.162) quickly get to it. Mm-hmm.
Anne (22:50.122) Yeah, yeah, mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (22:56.618) So that CRM says no matter what you do, have a way to track your clients. Have a way to track your clients. And don't get frustrated if it's not perfect or whatever, but just start doing it. Start putting those notes in there. Because again, relationships, that's so big. And if you get to the point where you're booking a ton, it's really hard to keep track. I know it sounds so weird, but it's just like, I can't.
Anne (23:03.263) Yeah, that's yeah.
Anne (23:22.592) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (23:23.138) Remember this the guy that I was talking to about his kids softball game that weekend that I would love to mention to him You know in the follow-up email And so you really so that's that would be my first tool for sure and then the second tool to be honest with you and I would say maybe you can't do this at the very beginning of your career, but a bookkeeper
Anne (23:29.558) Mm-hmm.
Anne (23:49.338) Oh gosh, I'm right there with you. Right there with you. I say over and over again, my accountant is the best investment I ever made in my business. Yep. Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (23:53.422) I mean, and I-
Heidi Rew (23:59.126) 100% I agree. I agree. I mean, I, when I was learning QuickBooks, I mean, I remember crying at the table in front of my CPA and accountant, like I was like, I just, I didn't make, make it make sense, you know. It was so, so hard. And so it is, oh my gosh.
Anne (24:08.862) Oh god, I know.
Anne (24:19.486) And it's tedious too. It's not, if it doesn't bring you joy, outsource it. That's what I say. Ha ha.
Heidi Rew (24:25.63) And do you like reconciling? Because I hate it. I hate it and it is the easiest thing. It's like, come on.
Anne (24:28.174) No, I hate it. I hate it with a passion, but my accountant loves it. I mean, that's why they're an accountant for a career. They love numbers, for the most part. Yeah, I can't stand it. Yeah.
Heidi Rew (24:35.522) Exactly. Oh my gosh. I hate it. I would just dread it. I would put it off and then all of a sudden at the end of the year I have to reconcile like months and I'm like okay.
Anne (24:45.218) And I've had my accountant, I want to say, for a good eight years or so. She knows me so well. She knows my business so well, which is really wonderful. And she's not anywhere near me. So we use QuickBooks online. And literally, the two of us can meet once a week or every other week.
Heidi Rew (24:49.654) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (24:57.922) Yeah.
Anne (25:02.13) to kind of go over things and she can generate numbers for me. She does my taxes. I mean my taxes I don't even have to prep anything. That's the cool thing is that you know before it was like Oh my god tax season was just you know the end of the year would come and I'd be like Oh god, I've got to get everything together And I've got to somehow figure out how to do and QuickBooks keeps updating and you know It's like trying to make things simpler, but I don't like it and so it's just like I don't want to spend time Yes
Heidi Rew (25:09.186) Right.
Heidi Rew (25:17.529) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (25:25.654) Yeah. So what we're saying is don't quit on a bad day or on tax day because it can get better.
Anne (25:32.062) Yes, or on tax day. I can't tell you though how wonderful it was to have taxes done, you know, so.
Quickly, I mean, literally, I just said, hey, it's April. Are we all set? She goes, yeah, I'll have your numbers tomorrow. Literally, it was like, oh, god, I didn't have to really organize anything. Every time I would get something in the mail, my forms, I would just forward them to her. She had it, and it was just, boom, she was able to do it. And it was wonderful. So those are some good business tools, a CRM and an accountant. Anything else? What about, let's talk about,
Heidi Rew (25:40.728) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (25:51.492) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (26:02.906) Yes. Yeah.
Anne (26:10.364) What about demos? I mean, I consider a demo a portfolio of your product, and your product is your voice. Let's talk about demos. How important are they these days? There's been some discussion out there about how important really is the demo. I mean, isn't the audition more important? What do you think?
Heidi Rew (26:11.252) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (26:16.182) Yes. Yeah. Let's talk about.
Heidi Rew (26:22.734) Mm-hmm.
Yeah. I mean, I think that the demo is still important for a lot of different reasons. I mean, one, if you do want to get on with an agent, you need a good demo. And it needs to be really, really good.
Anne (26:38.518) Yeah, kinda need a demo.
Because you can't audition at every second of the day. And your demo is kind of there as the representative voice of you when you're not available to audition at the very second that a client might want to hear your voice.
Heidi Rew (26:45.187) right.
Heidi Rew (26:50.342) Right. Yeah. Plus, I think that being able to be ready for a demo, and I'm speaking more, I will say I'm not an expert on a lot of the demos, but commercial demo, you know, we do at Atlanta VoiceOver Studio. We let everybody else do all the other stuff. But also, that's kind of your way of going, I'm ready to do this. Like, as a talent, I feel like when
Anne (27:06.647) Mm-hmm.
Anne (27:16.63) Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (27:21.426) to do a commercial demo, then it also shows to you, like you need to be able to, it's kind of like just showing your work, like I'm ready, look, and here's what I can do, yeah. You know, we, so we actually, we used to have like a long wait list for our demos, and now we hardly, we don't have a wait list, and part of it is because we put all these like barriers for people.
Anne (27:29.598) Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Here's my work, yeah.
Anne (27:40.279) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (27:46.394) before they did their demo. So I think people are scared. They're like, oh gosh, there's a lot of work to get to that. But we're like, well, you know what? That's fine. We're not out to be a demo factory.
Anne (27:48.125) Mmm.
Anne (27:55.606) Well, I kind of really respect that because, you know what I mean? It's one of those things where nobody will ever come and say, well, you guys are just a demo mill. And that there are prerequisites. I mean, I always put a big, huge disclaimer saying, I'm not gonna produce a demo if you're not ready because you need to be able to replicate that sound. I mean, and so I do feel demos are an important tool.
Heidi Rew (28:04.974) No.
Heidi Rew (28:09.185) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (28:14.455) Right.
Heidi Rew (28:19.042) Yeah, 100%. Yeah. Yep.
Heidi Rew (28:25.488) Yes.
Anne (28:25.99) for a business. What else? What about, I mean, I feel like every voice actor needs to have an online presence. Website slash social media slash...
Heidi Rew (28:32.994) I 100% agree with that. Yes, you need to have a website. So with Atlanta Voice Over Studio, we have these industry pro workouts where we'll bring in agents or creative directors or casting directors or whatever. I've had several people that have been our industry pro that have said, you know what? We wanted to book somebody.
Anne (28:45.329) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (28:55.586) We couldn't find them. Or they're like, I love this voice, and then we couldn't find them. They had no website. We couldn't search for them. You need to be searchable these days. You need to be searchable.
Anne (28:57.402) Ah, interesting. Mm-hmm, yeah. Mm-hmm. That's a wonderful, yeah, I love that you brought that up because I mean, I host workouts as well with agents and casting directors and yeah, an online presence, a website, and a way to get to your demo or a sample that can be downloaded and passed around.
Heidi Rew (29:20.23) Yes. Yeah.
Anne (29:23.73) I think I can't tell you the amount of times I've gone to a website and you can't download their demo or there's not an easy way to get in touch with them. Like where's the contact information or there's a form somebody has to fill out. And I'm like I just really give me an email address or a phone number or you know so that I can I can get in touch quickly because you don't want to make it too hard for somebody to get in touch with you and everything. But I'm afraid to maybe post my phone number to for spam. I'm like really? Like I mean you're a business. You're a business.
Heidi Rew (29:32.203) Yes.
Heidi Rew (29:38.312) I know, yeah.
Heidi Rew (29:44.343) Right.
Heidi Rew (29:50.706) I have my number, phone number up there, I know. I agree, I agree. Yeah.
Anne (29:54.826) a phone number or some way to get in touch with you. I mean, I will say that I literally, this is on a personal note, there have been some vendors, some very large vendors that have foregone phone support and gone completely digital where they'll have like a chat bot on their website, which I think is fine. But when you've got those problems or those questions, or you need to contact them for, you know, something that isn't covered by their chat bot,
Heidi Rew (30:09.873) Hmm.
Heidi Rew (30:17.967) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (30:23.247) Yeah.
Anne (30:24.31) Being able to contact somebody either in a Zoom, a video meeting or a phone call is really, really helpful. And a lot of companies I know to save money have foregone that tech support or that phone support. And I will say right now, I don't know if that's gonna last very long because there are always those conditions where people need to get in touch with you, like quickly.
Heidi Rew (30:31.776) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (30:39.067) Hmm.
Heidi Rew (30:49.154) Yeah. And this is for vendors. No voice talent have done it, right? Or.
Anne (30:52.96) Yeah.
Well, I always, I mean, I make sure that people can get in touch with me in any which way. I'm like, here's my email, here's a phone number, here's a Zoom link, here's a Source Connect link, here's an IPDTL link. Go ahead, get in touch with me. And I deal with spam. Yeah, I deal with spam, you know, and it's just, it's just it. I mean, there's lots of spam protection filters in place. So for me, I would rather have somebody be able to get in touch with me because gosh, they might want to hire me. But.
Heidi Rew (30:58.926) Right. Yeah. I agree.
Heidi Rew (31:08.546) I know. I even put it on my social accounts too.
Heidi Rew (31:14.358) Yep. Mm-hmm. Yep.
Heidi Rew (31:20.218) Yeah, of course. Do you think that it matters what type of genre you're into? Because I know commercials, I mean, they move so fast. I lost a job just the other weekend because I couldn't do it. I literally had Lasik surgery, so I couldn't get it done. But they needed it right then and there. And I couldn't do it. But I couldn't do it.
Anne (31:30.391) They do.
Oh, all the time, because you can't respond in time. Mm-hmm.
Anne (31:40.698) Yeah, yeah.
Anne (31:45.854) Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Well, I know if I can't contact somebody, if they don't get back to me right away, I'm like, well, fine, I guess you don't want the work. I mean, sure, you don't want my business, that's fine. I'll just go find somebody that does. So, gosh, so what's next for you and the Atlanta VoiceOver Studio? What's in your future?
Heidi Rew (31:47.822) So that's another reason why I'm like my phone numbers everywhere and
Heidi Rew (32:01.102) Yeah. Yep.
Heidi Rew (32:07.954) Gosh, honestly, some potentially big changes. But not, yeah, I don't even know if it's, so the place that we rent, the lease is up in October. And our original plan was to buy something. There's just not a lot available in Atlanta right now that's the size that we need. And
Anne (32:15.905) Ooh, sounds exciting.
Anne (32:24.322) Mm-hmm.
Anne (32:34.064) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (32:36.534) and stuff so we'll probably move spaces. So that's a big thing, that'll be a move in October. And yeah, so I don't know, we're gonna have to change some things. To be honest with you, the studio has been wonderful, it's grown so much. I mean, we're about to celebrate eight years this summer, which is crazy.
Anne (32:42.117) Ooh, that's a big thing.
Anne (32:56.622) Mm-hmm. Wow, that's fantastic.
Heidi Rew (33:02.198) But it's been a lot on Mike and I. So it may even be changes of like we fine tune things or we shrink some of the things that we offer, to be honest with you, because it's a lot of work on our part. And we try and take the weekends off, but you know, we don't take a paycheck either from the studio. And so that's been like, ugh. Yeah, I know you do. I know.
Anne (33:04.579) Mm-hmm.
Anne (33:09.403) Mm-hmm.
Anne (33:14.034) Yeah. Do you have a day off?
Anne (33:19.314) Okay, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'll tell you what is funny. I don't have a studio and I work six and a half days a week. So, and I really try not to because you're right. I think for my own creative mindset and health, it's important to have that refresh time. So.
Heidi Rew (33:32.964) Yeah.
I know. Well, and let me ask you this too, because this is something that I think we've experienced is like we, Mike and I love to give to people. And that's been the thing with Atlanta VoiceOver Studio, but if you keep giving and giving and giving, it's really easy to get burned out. And you're just like, I...
Anne (33:43.8) Mm-hmm.
Anne (33:54.95) Yeah, it is. It is.
Heidi Rew (33:57.03) wasn't able to fill up and we recognize that too with like it like COVID was really hard going through all of that and then coming out of it and yeah I you know it yeah.
Anne (34:05.281) Yeah.
It is hard, it is hard. And I know I did that with Vio Peeps for a long, long time. I mean, you give, you give, you give. Vio Boss, this podcast is one of those, I wanted to give back. And if you're not careful, it will burn you out. It is one of those things. And I thought, well, maybe I'll give up the Vio Peeps and it'll just be Vio Boss. And I couldn't do that, because I don't know, I liked my bird, I liked my little Peeps bird. And I love my Vio Boss. And I, so.
Heidi Rew (34:17.722) Hmm.
Heidi Rew (34:22.331) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (34:30.307) I know.
Well, and we like to give. Yeah, it's not, yeah, it's not gonna stop, but it is a tricky thing to try and find that balance of like, how do I fill back up myself so I can give to other people, so.
Anne (34:39.322) Yeah, it is. It's yes to navigate. Yes.
Well, absolutely. Well, you guys have just been amazing and you're just an icon in Atlanta there. And it was so wonderful to actually get the opportunity to have you on the show because you guys are bosses and you are a boss. So, yeah, thank you so much. And we really appreciate you sharing your nuggets of wisdom.
Heidi Rew (34:51.402) Uh...
Heidi Rew (34:59.05) I know. Oh.
Anne (35:17.406) when you have self doubts. Because that really means a lot to people out there that think, gosh, she must have it all, because she's been doing it forever. And it really helps to know that we're not alone out there. And so I appreciate your transparency. So, yes.
Heidi Rew (35:19.026) Mm-hmm.
Heidi Rew (35:25.188) Mm-mm. No.
Heidi Rew (35:29.476) Yeah.
Heidi Rew (35:33.146) Yeah, thank you so much for having me on, and thank you, VO Bosses, for letting me be with you in this moment.
Anne (35:39.314) Yay, yay, awesome. All right guys, a big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like Heidi and I. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
The BOSSES talk about practice this week! Through personal anecdotes and expert advice, they reveal that practice isn't just about refining technique—it's a journey to discover new habits that can benefit your career. The BOSSES talk about why many voiceover students skip practice sessions and how accountability partners and workout groups can be game-changers in your pursuit of vocal excellence. The BOSSES discuss the risks of practicing without professional oversight, and how it can lead to bad habits that are tough to break. They shine a spotlight on the undeniable advantages of participating in structured groups like Audition Demolition and VO Peeps, which offer both expert feedback and the kind of networking opportunities that can kickstart a career. We equate voice acting to mastering a musical instrument, asserting that progress requires commitment to practice beyond the four walls of coaching sessions.
00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses. Anne Ganguzza, you know your journey and voiceover is not just about landing gigs. It's about growing both personally and professionally. At Anne Ganguzza voice productions, I focus on coaching and demo production that nurtures your voice and your confidence. Let's grow together. Visit Anne Ganguzza.com to find out more.
00:33 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Ann Ganguza.
00:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Hey, Lau, hey.
00:58 - Lau Lapides (Host) Annie, it's great to see you, as always. How are you Wonderful, ready to talk and chat it up?
01:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Awesome, awesome.
01:06 - Lau Lapides (Host) So, Lau.
01:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) As you know, I am a coach, and as well as you, and it seems like every week I have a few students that they always want to do live reads with me during our sessions, which I think is wonderful. But, as a coach and a former educator, I always assign homework, because I want people to get the most out of their sessions.
01:25 So I feel like it's very important that they have different scripts that they can read, they can record, they can practice getting used to different styles, and I want to make sure that in between sessions they are doing that on some sort of a daily basis. I think that's super important for their growth and development. It amazes me Lau how many times I will have students say well, I got really busy and I get it. Like life happens, there's families, there's things that happen and you can't always practice, but sometimes there are students who just never seem to take the time to really work in between sessions. I thought we should have a discussion about that.
02:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, it's a good point. It's a good point. I used to think, and my team used to think and oftentimes mistake, when that happened, and it happened quite frequently with us as well that they didn't care, they weren't engaged, they weren't serious, they were lazy, all of those things. Sometimes, it is true I don't know if that's it or they procrastinate, procrastination was very, very big.
02:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's a whole other episode.
02:27 - Lau Lapides (Host) It's a whole other episode, but I mean, I have found that the learning process of how you cement technique and how you utilize your tools and how you really discover organically who you are as a performer is through the practice session and there's different methodologies that you've got to look at to make it successful for yourself. And, of course, one which is very hot today the accountability of having at least one other person, one partner, out there that's going to meet you, that's going to be with you, live real time and work you through. It has typically been very successful for people that their schedules match. Sure, they're well matched together, they enjoy being together, it becomes a professional friendship for them and it can work.
03:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, now you're talking about accountability like an accountability group, right, that can just say all right. So what did you do this week to further your business? So I want to make sure that we're talking not just accountability in terms of hey, what did you do this week to secure more leads, to get more?
03:32 - Intro (Announcement) work.
03:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We're talking accountability for, let's say, if you want to get better at the craft and I think there's lots of things that you can do to help yourself get better at the craft- and now it's hard to have an ear when you haven't developed an ear yet, and so sometimes I'll give homework and people will get very upset if they're like, yeah, but I did the homework, but now that you've told me these things, you shouldn't listen to that homework anymore. But, honestly, the homework that I gave or the scripts that I give, no matter what performance level you're at, right, there's so many good reasons to do the homework.
04:09 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, no question about it.
04:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because even if you don't have an ear yet, there's many advantages of you experiencing and attempting to record by yourself and get things submitted on time. Gosh, there's just so many things right, it's like auditioning techniques.
04:28 There's editing techniques you're getting better at, you're experiencing different styles.
04:32 I mean you could be within a genre and have multiple different style scripts come your way that you have to analyze and figure out.
04:40 And so, for me, if you don't have a discipline of doing something voiceover every single day performance-wise right, I think you're kind of missing the boat. And I'm not going to say that you're lazy if you don't do it, but I am going to say that having something that you do every single day is important because it helps you learn, as you said, who you are. As you said who you are, it helps you learn like, oh, if I record a script in the morning, I realize, oh, I have a lower voice in the morning, or I have more energy in the morning, or versus recording after a long day at work, right, oh, I sounded a little bit strained in that performance. So it helps to know who you are as a performer by having those practice, having the exercises, having the homework, whatever you want to call it. And also, yeah, I think having an accountability buddy is very helpful. And also, la, let's talk about workout groups.
05:33 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, absolutely. And I'll tell you, you know, before this idea of accountability, buddies came in, which really came from other industries, completely like the gym. Working out at a gym, you'd have an accountability partner at a gym. You know, way before I knew about it for voiceover, I always learned it as an actor In conservatory level. You would always be in rehearsal. We didn't call it practice sessions, we called it rehearsal. You were always rehearsing your roles, always. And could you rehearse alone, rehearsing your roles always. And could you rehearse alone? Of course, and you have to rehearse alone at times, but when you can be with another person, that level of energy and stimulation and fun factor I think helps to cement a discipline of saying I got to come to it every day. It's like I have a class that I'm going to yes.
06:23 I have to get to that. I have to do that. I'm being held to that. So then, when you go to your workout classes, you have a lot to bring to the table because guess what, you're not just relying on the workout class to give you everything You've already been working out on your own right. And then you're bringing that in for your director or your coach or your facilitator and saying here are things I've been working on, here are things I've been coaching and practicing and rehearsing every day. Now let me work through it with a live group in the room.
06:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, and I think that that gives you yet another level of practice that can really help you develop auditioning skills, and it can, again, it makes you accountable.
07:06 You're like, well, I don't want to be a complete fool, I should probably right, I should probably work on my technique or my performance, so that when I get in front of the group, right, I'm not going to necessarily seem like I don't know what I'm doing. And so I do want to say one word of caution when working out with peer groups right, peer groups without necessarily someone that can really guide along the peer group that maybe have more experience might be just floundering, shall I say, or misguiding. If that's the case, if you have a bunch of new people in a workout group and you're all directing one another, sometimes you can get direction that may not be helpful because everybody is new. So at least if you're working out with a group of people, if you can try to have a leader of that group that can oversee or that has some experience, some casting experience, some coaching experience that can help guide, if there is feedback that may or may not be helpful to you for your performance.
08:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) I couldn't say that any better, annie. I'm not a fan of pair workout groups and the reason is because it's not that you can't have professional friends and you can't help one another, you can. But I get concerned about and I'll bring it back to the gym again, because it's an easy analogy that if I meet up with two or three or four people and we're all lifting the 50-pound weight or whatever and I'm just not doing it properly and they're not aware of that, they're not catching that, they might even be saying great job, lau. Oh my God, look at your biceps. And meanwhile I'm straining my back, I'm hurting my lower back. I'm hoping that the facilitator or the coach or the trainer has that knowledge base to say hey, hey, hey, no, no, no, no, we don't do it that way.
08:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Here's your proper technique, here's your proper form.
08:51 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's my biggest concern. And the other concern I have about a peer workout group as well is be careful, like, have your gossip antennas up. We shouldn't be going into a practice rehearsal, performance group to talk about the business or gossip about other people or whatever. And oftentimes it can go down that road of like oh, who did you audition for today? Oh, I got that script. Oh, what do you think of her? How come she sent that out? And then all of a sudden all sorts of things are said in that room which are not appropriate, makes people feel really uncomfortable and is completely off topic from what you came in to do in the first place, which was practice.
09:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, and we're talking again bosses. We're talking performance and techniques, not necessarily business meetings, right, we're business accountability and in that place I think you can talk about the business, the industry as it exists. And I agree with you. I think gossip we have to be very careful about gossip, just because I don't think gossip serves any useful purpose really, and it is one of those things that gets to think of let's gossip around the water cooler. It happens.
10:00 I mean, we do it, we do it, but I think that business accountability groups or performance groups should probably steer clear of that, if it's possible. I don't think it's really constructive in a lot of ways. And in regards to workout groups, I mean I can't sit here on the VO Boss podcast and not say we have an audition, demolition, which is a really wonderful group where you can work out, and we have a simulated audition and you can get feedback from coaches, lau and myself and also work up your live performance skills as well. As I have the VO Peeps, which has a workout group that happens once a month. That is part of the group and you've got TIC right.
10:39 - Lau Lapides (Host) Then you have workouts that happen for your group, lau, yeah, we got weekly workouts happening and I wanted to say about Audition Demolition, when we came up with that, Annie, like I don't even think we realized really the impact that that kind of a live directed session has. And I'll be honest, I mean you can edit this out later. It's educational, it's developmental, it's social. But let me be honest, I have pulled a few of those people for my roster that were amazing people that came in that I said, oh my goodness, they need an agent or they need representation, like ASAP. So whenever you go into a professional work experience like this, you're in a room, you're auditioning, You're actually auditioning. It's the real deal. It's not a mock audition, it's not a mimic audition, it's a real Well, even though we say it is, but it is real.
11:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's not a mock audition, it's not a mimic audition, it's a real. Well, even though we say it is, but it is real, it's real.
11:35 - Lau Lapides (Host) Annie could be casting something or have a friend that's producing something and she may be thinking about you because she just saw you in the room. So I'm just saying come in and really experience the live directed session and observe Also observe what's happening with others with your colleagues. It absolutely. And observe also observe what's happening with others with your colleagues. It's fabulous.
11:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And with your weekly workouts as well as mine. I have guest directors that come in on a regular basis and I cannot tell you the amount of times where I've had a casting director come in or a talent agent and I can never promise right. As a matter of fact, I even have to have a disclaimer saying that this does not guarantee you representation at all. However, there have been a number of peeps that have come into my workout groups and performed well and they have been signed with an agent or they have struck up a relationship with a casting director and then gotten hired. So I think that these are the things that I think are very beneficial for bosses out there in really growing in the performance aspect of your career, and it's so, so important because I am a business owner, I am a coach. If you say to me, I want to do live reads every time we meet, of course I can do live reads, but I also want you to be working on them in between sessions, because otherwise it's going to take you a really long time to get to the point where you're going to be ready to, let's say, record a demo or ready to really get out there and do work. It's kind of like I used to take piano lessons back in the day and if I didn't practice in between my lessons, boy did my teacher know it, because she would give me music to practice during the week. And so when I would meet with her the following week, if I didn't practice, it guess what? It was very painfully obvious, and she could take my money week after week. And if I didn't practice, well, my mom would be angry, because you know she's like why am I spending all that money on these sessions? And if you think about it, really, bosses, you're spending money and you should be getting the most out of your sessions that you can. So, in addition to the I would say, workout groups that are led with coaches or people that are experienced, that can really help move you forward, also yourself in the studio, working on these scripts and even fumbling, which is fine. That's what they're there for. I mean, that's why I give homework.
13:57 And then struggling through the editing, and people always say, well, do you really need me to edit it? And I said I want you to edit it, like it's an audition for me, right? So then I'm going to play it back for you and then we're going to talk about it and I'm going to redirect you. And the reason I do that is not because I want to just give you busy work. It's not busy work, it is giving you so much more.
14:18 Like this is what's going to happen when you get a job right You're going to have to record in your studio, you're going to have to self-direct, you're going to have to edit that audio and you're going to have to present it. Or, if you're doing an audition right and you're going to have to put it in a form that someone can actually listen to, you're going to have to understand your editing skills. You're going to have to in certain cases in e-learning and corporate, you have to remove breaths or you have to really de-amplify your breaths and you have to do all those things. And I'm like, look, the point of me giving you something on a day-to-day basis to do is not to stress you out.
14:51 It is to help you get the most out of our sessions together, and I think that it's important that you have a discipline. If you can spend 20 minutes a day, if you can spend an hour a day, if you can spend more than that, that's wonderful. But take time set aside and make a discipline and sometimes I say mix up the times, like if you can do it in the morning before you, if you have another job that you go to do it in the morning before you go to the job, and then maybe, if you can do it during the lunch hour, maybe try it when you come home. And then you get to know yourself, know your performance level, know, oh, I sound good in the morning, I have a lot of energy, or I sound horrible after a day's work, when it's been horrible.
15:31 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well said. Couldn't have said it any better. I mean, that's really what it is, and when you show up to, whatever you show up to, don't underestimate it. What I mean by that is whether it's a partner of yours, whether it's a workout group, whether it's in front of a casting director, whether it's audition demolition. Put yourself together as if you are a professional in a professional environment, and I don't care if people are showing up in pajamas and they're coming from bed. Don't do it.
15:58 Don't make the mistake to do that, because not only will your psychology not be up to par with the level at which you need to be sustaining and working at, but you could literally lose connections, you could lose jobs, you could lose potential opportunities, because I don't know about you, annie, but I see the weirdest things and tick Like all of a sudden I see a bed and I'm like why am I looking at an unmade bed and I have to take out the video. Like I have to literally watch out and take out the video. I see the weirdest things and I'm like why would you show up in bed? Why would you show up just coming out of the shower? Why would you show up in these ways? These are meetings, professional meetings, and I think that the casualness of being at home has trained people into thinking well, I'm on Zoom, it's just I'm here. No, you're still in a professional meeting environment where people are thinking about the work you're doing. They're observing you.
16:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, it is about more than just your voice. I mean, it is about the professionalism and professional demeanor and how you act, what you look like. It's all part of the package. And that's that whole discussion. Like, do we even need demos anymore? Of course we do. Do we need performance coaching? Of course we do. I mean, in reality, I mean this is what makes us who we are. It helps us develop and move forward in our businesses.
17:18 And again, I cannot stress enough that if you're not dedicating a certain amount of time on a day-to-day basis to get better at this craft, then I'm not quite sure what you're doing. And that's fine if maybe it's just a hobby for you, Maybe it's just something you're trying out to see, if you enjoy it. And a lot of times there are people who are like oh gosh, I didn't realize it was going to be work, I thought I was just talking behind the mic and a lot of times, right again, you don't know what you don't know. And so if you think it's easier than it is, that's another reason why I give the homework that I give so that people can see that it really isn't and so that you can get the feedback, you can get the evaluation and I can say you know what it sounds like. You need to improve on your studio a little bit. I'm hearing a little bit of noise, or, hey, I'm hearing some mouth clicks, or I'm hearing whatever that is, or your performance sounds like it's not. I don't believe it, it's not authentic, and so those are the things that your practicing is going to help you.
18:16 And again, at some point, it's like you practice and you don't hear yourself. You don't hear yourself and then you get feedback and then you come back, you practice some more and then you get some more feedback, which is why I think having that coaching or having that professional that can give you feedback is so incredibly critical to improve in your career. I mean, can you do it all on your own by watching videos? I think that can be a supplement if you have a good group the VO Peeps we have videos that you can watch that were people that have worked out before with guest directors who are amazing in their field. I mean Lau, you've been on it a couple of times with guest directors who are amazing in their field. I mean Lau, you've been on it a couple of times. And Audition, Demolition gosh guys, we have the Audition Demolitions on the VO Boss YouTube channel. You can go and watch them now and learn from those. So, yeah, I think that those types of workouts, those types of group practices, are something that can be very beneficial for you.
19:10 - Lau Lapides (Host) Absolutely. I couldn't have said it any better. You're taking the words out of my head. I would say this, though, too I think you and I take for granted how much energy and stamina and willfulness we have in going from session to session, hour to hour, moment to moment, through a very, very long day, because we've been trained that way, we're used to that, we expect that to some degree, we enjoy that, we love that. Well, I have found like, when I run classes and as it goes after the first hour into 90 minutes, I start watching the group to see is their energy going, is their stamina going? By two hours, people are starting to pop up. Yes, yes, I am so shocked at that Listen.
19:56 Mama lau knows, mama lau, mama lawu knows that they're lying when they say, oh, I got an appointment, I have to go.
20:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, they're getting tired. Yeah, they leave after two hours. And you know, that's so interesting that you say that, because it used to be years ago I would have three-hour workouts and if it were like a guest director, that was like top in their field. People would stay until they left. I mean, it was just like they couldn't get enough of it. And lately, lau, I have had sessions where my guest director goes a little bit past two hours and people are like I got to go, I got to go, I'm off, right, and I find that a little bit disturbing.
20:35 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, therein lies the background and the history of that talent, and where has their training come from? Where has their experience come from? I'll use an example, because a lot of voiceover talent are also on-camera actors as well. Many, many, many. If they're on a film set, they know they have to have patience for 7, 8, 11, 14 hours. They're not just going to be released because they get tired. They're going to have to stick that through and figure out what makes them stay with it throughout that time frame. I mean same with, like, if you do theater, many voiceover talent come from a theater background. Well, that's a big rehearsal process. You could go in for three, four, five hours at a time to rehearse a show. So those folks that come in, I find those folks that come in already have a built-in understanding of time and energy and stamina.
21:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I mean stamina, stamina. I'm just going to say there is something to be said for stamina and especially because, let's say, I mean I work a lot in long-format narration, right, you need stamina to be able to be present in that script, to execute that 45-module e-learning right. And audiobook narrators, I find, have good stamina, but there's also material that may be completely interesting to them, right. Whenever it's story-driven, right, I feel like, well, at least there's some story in there, and sometimes there may not be stories within the stories, but you have to develop a vocal muscle. You really do.
22:08 And it's kind of like me when I gosh back in the day when I was teaching, and I would be teaching class after class after class after class, your voice had to get used to talking. That much. I mean I had to build up stamina. You go to the gym, right, I got to build muscle. You have to build vocal muscle and you have to build not only vocal muscle but mental muscle.
22:26 That really helps you to stick it out, to be present, to be that actor for the amount of time that you need. I mean, if there's breaks in between, right, and you're watching somebody else go in a group session, right, and all of a sudden it's like but I'm on the East Coast, right. I get people that say that I'm on the East Coast and I got to go to bed. Okay, I get that, but still, there's stamina. Right, there is a muscle that you need to build up If you really want to see yourself succeed, and we might have people that argue with us and say is it that hard? Yeah, I mean, I feel like it can be if you want to be good at this, right.
22:59 - Lau Lapides (Host) But wouldn't you say also, though, annie, that there's this whether it's an addiction factor or a dopamine kick or whatever it is, I find so many of us that come from these backgrounds and work through a long day, work through a long shift, love it. We just can't get enough of it. There's an insatiable need to keep doing it. So if you're practicing, for instance, you shouldn't keep practicing at five minutes or 10 minutes for a year, two years, three years. You should be building that time frame and that stamina and the passion for why you're staying longer with it. I just love what we do. I love what I do. I enjoy what I do. I want more of it. I want to do more of it. You know what I mean.
23:42 If I teach a live class and I teach a live class in a studio, which is more rare nowadays they're typically six to eight hours in length, and the kids that sit in the class, that are like in the 20s or in the 30s. They will start to fade about halfway through. I'll see them kind of like fade, and I'll be like you know what? You guys, I'm not used to taking as many breaks, but you tell me when you need a break. I don't want to lose you Just tell me when you need a break.
24:07 But those kinds of things in your training is so important because then when you go practice on your own, if you've done six hours of training or eight hours of training in a row, to do 15 minutes or 30 minutes is no longer a big deal for you. It's all relative right in a lot of ways.
24:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. So Law, what are your best tips for developing that stamina muscle that you would say voice actors can do to help their performance?
24:37 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, perhaps this is redundant. You need to do it and you should do it a lot, and so, like, let's say you're joining a class or a group or a workout or whatever it is. You need to, like, top yourself, keep challenging yourself, keep topping yourself. One group may be one hour. That's going to help me practice. That's all I need for now. One hour is perfect. But then I want to also join a group that may go two hours in length, because I want to be able to see.
25:04 This is one of the things, annie, that graduate school taught me. I didn't realize at the time, but later I realized they taught you how to teach your craft, direct your craft, produce your craft. Why? Because you weren't always performing, you were observing all the people in the room. Yeah, you were made to give feedback to every single person in the room, until you were blue in the face and said I don't know what to say anymore. They said you better figure out what to say, because if you're teaching in a program, if you're producing a project or you're doing whatever and you have to give feedback, you have to give feedback. So that's a muscle. That's a muscle where you have to just keep exposing yourself to more and more people simultaneously and more and more time. I just want to say one more thing about actors. Actors oftentimes beginning-level actors would get very annoyed if they're in a room where they only get to work for a very small part of the time.
26:01 And then they have to watch 15 people right, and I said you better thank your lucky stars because that's going to be one day, your company, your team, your classroom, your whatever and you're going to have to have the stamina and discipline to go through every single one of those auditions, every single one of those performances student or someone that really wants to learn as much as they possibly can, will understand the value of sitting there and listening and watching other people.
26:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And you're right, there's a lot of people who will be quick to complain that, well, they might do a group workout, but they only get 10 minutes on mic, and so I believe that you should have individual attention, which is great for one-on-one coaching as well as the group workouts.
26:47 Yes, I do too. That together builds your muscle and really is something I advise everyone and to get experience and exposure with different directors, which is why one of the reasons why I have the VO Peeps group and it's one of the reasons why you have TIC right and you bring in guest directors, because it's very important for you to get exposure from different teachers, from different feedback from different people, because it just helps you become a more well-rounded actor. And, of course, if you can make that discipline I mean you don't want to be investing all your money into sessions and not be getting the most out of your sessions, out of your sessions and so, with that, if you are making the investment to get that coaching, then make sure that you start to exercise that muscle on a daily basis or every other day, whatever you can work in on a consistent basis. I think consistency is key.
27:42 - Lau Lapides (Host) Right, it doesn't always have to be constant, but it should be consistent. That's really important, and I would build in every time work, a new tool, something that you have observed, picked up, been coached or directed to do. Write it down. Don't just keep it in your head and forget about it, because there's a million things that coaches and directors are going to be offering to you throughout your career that you're just not going to be able to conjure up and remember. So you have to document. However, you document, document and pull one thing out, say, oh okay, annie coached me, okay, she gave me builds. This week I got to work on my build. Let me look at this script. Let me work on my build. That's going to take my focus into a very specific zone, rather than me standing in the booth going has 15 minutes gone by yet? Have I practiced enough? Right, exactly.
28:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly, and I'm going to say when you practice, it requires your focus. So for me to be the best actor that you can be, it requires 100 plus percent focus into your scene who you are, who you're talking to, because it's so easy to just read, so easy to just read. So don't just get in there and read. Get in there and create those scenes, figure out who you're talking to be in the scenes. And that requires imagination, it requires a lot of focus and that's tiring.
28:51 - Lau Lapides (Host) And take care of yourself, like don't dehydrate, don't overheat, don't feel like I'm standing for so long I can't see straight. If your eyes are hurting you from the light, turn the light off. Be easy on your brain so that your brain can focus on the more important things, that's, your work at hand. Make your environment conducive to practice. How many times, annie, have you seen one of your clients that you meet on a coaching session on Zoom and they're in the dark? They're in the dark and I'm like where's your light? Where's your light? How do you see? Aren't you straining your eyes? They're like, oh yeah, let me set something up. How do you see, aren't you straining your eyes? You're like, oh yeah, let me set something up. You got to do what's best for you. What makes your work more palatable for you is what's going to make your practice sessions more enjoyable. Right, absolutely.
29:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Good stuff, Lau, great stuff. So very important bosses, practice, get your practice in, get your discipline in All right. Practice, get your practice in, get your discipline in All right. I am going to give a huge shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl, which allows Lau and I to get in our vocal practice and talk to one another like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
30:03 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Join Anne Ganguzza and guest co-host, Lau Lapides, as we share the personal rituals and support systems that keep us at the top of our game. From the mental clarity of Anne's Pilates routine to Lau’s cherished moments with her furry friends, the BOSSES unravel how these treasured practices not only lift spirits, but also propel BOSSES through the most demanding business battles. The BOSSES guide you through the creation of an optimal workspace designed to awaken your most productive self. They also tackle the often-overlooked aspect of sound, from the tranquility of headphones to the creative surge provided by the right playlist. Plus, discover tried-and-true methods for diffusing work stress, to improve your business performance #likeaboss 00:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know your voice has the power to move, to persuade, to inspire. Imagine taking that power to its fullest potential. With guidance and expert production, I can help elevate your voice to new heights, making every voice script resonate with your audience. Let's empower your voice together, one session at a time. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.
00:29 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here in the Boss Superpower Series with my amazing special guest co-host, Lau Lapides. Oh hey, Annie, hi Lau.
01:01 - Lau Lapides (Host) So good to be here.
01:03 - Anne ganguzza (Host) So good to be here too. I am all set to record another amazing episode with you, and I've got my trusty cup of coffee right here, you got your cup of coffee and I got my trusty big dunks.
01:18 - Lau Lapides (Host) I think that's 32 ounces of water from dunks.
01:21 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Wow, look at that. Do you get your water from dunks?
01:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) Not always, but if I'm going to go and get coffee anyway or something there anyway, I always ask for a large water. Even if they charge you a little, I ask for a large water, my double-fisted coffee.
01:36 - Anne ganguzza (Host) And these are actually my Ultima replenishers, which are electrolytes, which I love so I make sure that I'm drinking. I'm supposed to drink close to 100 ounces a day, and these help me to do so and to make sure that I'm getting all the nutrients that I need so that I can run my business like a boss.
01:54 - Lau Lapides (Host) I love it, I love it.
01:55 - Anne ganguzza (Host) So those are just a couple of my I guess, tools that support me while I am working and keep me energized and going and running my business like a boss. Let's talk about, maybe our tools or our support mechanisms that help us to keep running our businesses like bosses today.
02:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, that's a great topic. I love that. Just thinking about that makes me all cozy and fluffy inside, because when I think about the rituals, the routines, what I consider to be necessities of the daily run, what keeps me engaged and energized, going from morning till night, what is it that does that? For each individual person, there's so many different support options.
02:43 - Anne ganguzza (Host) We just showed you one. Yeah, and I'll tell you what right now. It was so funny because I happen to be watching Saturday Night Live last night and that tells bosses that we're here on a Sunday. I'm just saying we're here on a Sunday recording some boss episodes, but I happen to be watching Saturday Night Live and there's a whole comedy skit on Pilates, because it makes me think of. I've been getting into Pilates this year and it is something that I do early in the morning before I start my day. Usually I have a 7 o'clock class that goes till 8, and I get myself in the studio by 8.30 and really start running either with students or recording stuff in my studio, doing demo production by 9 at the very latest on a day-to-day basis. So Pilates, or getting my daily exercise in, has now become one of my go-to things. That is something I need to do. I need to feel like I've been able to exercise and get my heart rate up and be invigorated. Mm-hmm.
03:37 - Lau Lapides (Host) I love that, I love that. And if you miss it, if you miss that routine or ritual, how different do you feel, how different is the start of your day? So it's like patterns, you know. We're also talking about the discipline of creating a pattern in your social comfort that you need to really perform. There's all sorts of different things I pull out depending on the season and how I feel, but one of the things you and I discuss is the importance of our fur children. Oh gosh yes.
04:07 Because we're fur mamas and I've got my two Frenchie bulldogs, you've got your beautiful cats and we both love animals so, so much.
04:16 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Oh, my goodness, yes, and that love, that passion, helps to fuel the business as well, right when I need a break, when I'm having a lunch break or something, I make sure that I go and have playtime with the cats or I'm like I need a hug from one of my kitties, and so I'll go seek them out and get a hug and it's funny because animals, I love animals.
04:37 The other thing is that the horse show season has started here by me and for those of you that have not seen my photos on social media, I love, love, love horses and back in the day, Law and I, when we were talking about what we used to do when we were in our younger years, I used to ride horses and show horses. And so for me to live literally a mile away from a showgrounds where they have amazing, top-rated shows every weekend during the season Just makes me so happy.
05:08 - Lau Lapides (Host) It's such a big deal and it really infuses your spirit in a different way that really, I would say even redirects any kind of negative energy that I'm feeling, which we all have for different reasons. You know what's going on in the world, or what's going on in your family, or what's going on in your home, or whatever. It has the power to redirect you onto something very specific, very detailed, that is positive, that is something uplifting for you and something you can take that energy and put it right into your work. And I know you feel the way I feel about the animals. After a while I literally forget they're animals and I treat them as people and I feel like the energy and spirit of people are in the room. It really feels that way.
05:55 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I just live in the house with my cats. They run it pretty much. They let me live there and anybody that has been to my house knows there is a cat condo in just about every room. I think we have five. I think we have five cat condos.
06:10 - Lau Lapides (Host) Those condos are HOAs, aren't they? They're gated communities.
06:14 - Anne ganguzza (Host) They really are, and I'll tell you what the good thing is is that our cats actually use them, so that's a good thing If they never looked at them.
06:19 I would feel really bad and they also have their boxes of toys which they dig out and get new toys. And you know it's funny because Law I don't know if this is the way with your dogs but like, literally I've collected cat toys for the past. I mean I've owned cats ever since I was little and since I moved to, I would say, new Jersey, like in my 20s, I mean I've got like 40 years worth of cat toys that they just keep getting reused by the cats that I acquire.
06:44 - Lau Lapides (Host) It's hard to get rid of them, isn't it? Oh?
06:45 - Anne ganguzza (Host) it is. It's like a favorite stuffed animal. I mean, how can you when the cat plays with it? And of course they have boxes and boxes of toys, but really it's the paper bags that they like.
06:55 - Lau Lapides (Host) And we have those plastic bags. You know those really beautifully designed. So we have one on every floor brimming with stuff and I'm literally praying at times that the dogs rip them apart so I can start throwing them away. Oh my God yeah. Because I won't throw them away unless they need to be thrown away for some reason. Like I'm hoarding dog toys, so I get you right there. I get you right there, and it's like the joy of watching them play with one of those toys while you're working is so fun.
07:23 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Well, you know, as much as I say that we're working on a Sunday, I mean, and we work hard both of us, I mean there's something to be said for just taking that time to kind of reset and refresh and re-engage and have things that we enjoy doing and that we need in order to continue moving forward in our businesses, and that is watching our animals play, watching our fur babies play, or going to a horse show, or something that really takes us out of the work day so that it can really refresh our brains, which I need. I need to have that brain power to run my business as efficiently and as effectively as possible.
08:02 - Lau Lapides (Host) There's a softening there too. There's a softening of a hardness which happens throughout the day, not necessarily becoming jaded or cynical, but becoming expectant of difficult things or expectant of challenges on a daily basis. It softens those blows I always say it keeps me more human. It keeps me more human as they're human. It keeps me more human in the keeps me more human as they're human. It keeps me more human in the situations that I'm dealing with. How about the room itself that you're in the studio, the office, the space you're in, having a support within that space that really allows you to flourish and grow? I know I love having sayings that I believe in so much so when I'm in a meeting I can stare at them and remember what they mean. Remember what they mean. Here's one of my favorite ones that's hanging on my wall in my office and I'm not always in my office, but when I am I remember it says create the things you wish existed. Oh, I like that. That's wonderful.
09:01 And that gives me a little frisson every time I see it.
09:03 - Anne ganguzza (Host) That is wonderful. Well, I think that I might have shown this to you before, but when I open the door of the studio and I don't know if you can see it, but I do have pictures of my fur babies, and over on the other side I have a picture of Jerry and I. And so that is something I can look at, and I plan on getting another one, actually, and hanging it, and so I think that being able to look at those things that just give me joy and some creative inspiration is paramount in the studio and of course I think for me I have to have windows with sunlight.
09:39 I am a big, big sunlight person. For me, and especially when it's the winter months and I get cold and you work and you know we're not moving a lot when we sit, sometimes when we're in the studio, or if I've got the headphones on and I'm doing some editing. I like to be able to get out into the sun and just soak up that vitamin D for a few minutes, when I get a break and that always, always refreshes me.
10:05 - Lau Lapides (Host) Always. I have a porch, annie, that's a screened-in porch. I also have a patio, which I love during the summer months, but the porch during the winter months, when we have some of the harsher, colder weather, has the sun pouring in so I can go out right in the middle of a winter and it's 30 degrees warmer on the porch where I can get that like you get that vitamin D, get that solar energy going to take a nap or refresh me or whatever the case may be. How about this? Sounds really weird, but the CEO of Starbucks was one of the first ones to study this over years and years and that was the shape of the desk. The shape of the table and where you sit in the table affects you socially and it affects the quality of connections you make with others.
10:56 - Anne ganguzza (Host) The shape of the table. So in regards to, I have a standing desk, which I love because if I don't feel like sitting, I can stand at it, but for me, placement-wise, I like to be right in the middle. I also like to also be in a cozy corner with a high back in terms of. If I ever go out to a restaurant, I always feel like I have to sit in a certain place. But tell me more about the shape of the table.
11:20 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh it's really interesting.
11:22 - Anne ganguzza (Host) In terms of like, if the table is round versus rectangular versus L-shaped versus….
11:28 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, I don't know these days, I don't know if they've kept to this original thinking, but they found through their studies, through Starbucks, that the round table, the circular table, is more connecting in terms of the community that you're sitting in oh that makes sense Than a square table that has edges Right of the community that you're sitting in oh, that makes sense Than a square table that has edges right. I don't always find that, though, because I sit at a lot of square and rectangular tables that I feel really good at.
11:52 - Anne ganguzza (Host) So I don't know. You know that's interesting, but I think, if maybe you're talking about community, yeah, community. It's why it's always nicer to sit at a round table, because it's easier to talk, easier to communicate. Right At a round table, I think, well, a square table because you can have people on equidistant sides, but rectangular, you might have somebody all the way over you can't see people on your side, right, that makes total sense.
12:15 Or they're far away, Right, but in terms of placement on my desk, right, I like to be right in the middle and for me as much as sunlight, right. I was talking about light. I love a lot of light and actually I love a lot of white light in my office area, Like for me, fluorescent lights make me happy and I don't know if that's just me.
12:35 There's a lot of people that don't like fluorescent lights. I like a lot when I'm living and not necessarily working. I like more of a softer yellow light, but for me, for working, I love the white lights and, as a matter of fact, I have LED lights that are white lights that I can actually change the percentage of the lumens, but I like to have very white, bright light in my work area.
12:57 - Lau Lapides (Host) That makes me happy, fascinating, and I like to have, if I can. Of course, for us in New England, weather permitting, I like to have an open door or an open window at all times. Oh, interesting, if I can. I can't always do it, but even in the winter, if it's not horrible out and I have the fireplace on, I have the heat on, I can still have the porch door open, or I can even have a window open to fresh air. There's something about air and wind that the dynamics of that re-energizes me in a certain way.
13:31 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Luckily in California I can do that quite a bit.
13:34 - Lau Lapides (Host) And I like to keep windows open for the cats.
13:36 - Anne ganguzza (Host) It's interesting because when I moved to California, there's a lot of Californians that will just leave their doors open if they're in the house.
13:43 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, I grew up that way too. My neighborhood was that way too, but I don't love bugs and so if a bug happens to fly in.
13:50 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Living in the East Coast, in Mosquito, Aladdin, New Jersey, or humid places where there's a lot of bugs or moths at night. I just no, yeah, of course Cannot have an entryway for bugs to get into the house. Okay.
14:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) I got a good one for you. I got a good one for you, and maybe this is bordering on my OCD, I don't know but I need it neat and organized to a certain degree, where I do the physical cleanup right before I work, and it might be a minute, it might be five minutes, it might be whatever that activity gets me going in the dynamic of doing things.
14:29 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Interesting, so I like to, before you start, have a clean desk. Is that correct? Or one that's not cluttered?
14:36 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's me, I'm not so sure it's about the cleanliness per se. I think it's telling my brain that you're physical, you're active and you're able to accomplish something, even if it's very small and detailed. So cleaning up my papers, neatening my pens and pencils, making sure my monitors are there, making sure my coffee is ready to me, sets a dynamic in the feng shui of my energy that is easier for me to tackle my goals than if everything is all over the place.
15:06 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I have to have a clean sheet of paper because I have my little to-do pad and I still write it down and I know I have lots of lists.
15:11 - Intro (Announcement) Do you have your stickies? I don't have stickies.
15:13 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I don't have stickies but I have like a long to-do pad and that's where I write everything that I need to do, and I do that on the night, like when I'm done with work. I write things to do for the next morning and sometimes, when I sit down, if I do have things that I need to do for the day, I'm writing that down too. But I like to have a fresh, clean sheet of paper.
15:30 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's a generational thing. I do that as well. I think it's our generation. And it's tactile, it's physical. There's a physical thing there you're interacting with, you're writing, you're checking things off. I can barely write anymore.
15:43 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I mean, but you're still doing it, You're not doing it on your computer, right, I'm still doing it. Yeah, I'm still doing it. You're right, I can barely write legibly anymore and I don't even know if they're teaching like— Are they even teaching cursive writing anymore today? They're coming back to it, Annie. They're coming back to it.
16:02 - Lau Lapides (Host) There's something about handwriting.
16:03 - Anne ganguzza (Host) After my mother passed away. There's something so special about seeing her handwriting that brings back so many good memories.
16:10 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, I got a tear because it's so—why do we keep the cards, the letters, the notes? Because it's that handwriting for us it really is. You know, I also want to say too and this may seem a little odd, like to go into this, especially when you have other priorities, but I feel like if I can make it through X amount of emails, first thing in my morning number one I'll catch all the time priorities, and then, from the agency perspective, it's like you better catch it, Okay. But beside that, there's a click in me, there's something generated that's very open and very fresh and excited when I can make it through X amount of those and then I can get to the new thing, the next thing, the layered thing, whatever that is. If I have a lot waiting, if I have a lot in the wings that hasn't been done, my brain has a hard time getting into gear fully of what is happening throughout my day.
17:05 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Very interesting. Right, it's interesting You're talking to the girl that has all these unread emails in her mailbox. Some people have to clean their mailbox, right.
17:13 - Lau Lapides (Host) I kind of I guess I have to clean my mailbox because I have to clear my brain in that way so that I can have the appointments or go through the new things or whatever has to happen, and I feel like, even if it's just three or four or 10 or 20, I feel like that's an accomplishment. That's an accomplishment, right? Yeah, absolutely. It may not be the biggest one in our day, but it is one. It is something to celebrate in the day, whatever that means for you, whatever kind of organization that means for you. What about, like do you listen to a TV or music in your day or have that outside entertainment source coming in as you're working?
17:55 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Very rarely do I listen to anything other than my own audio or somebody else's audio during the day, because I need to be focused on it. Every once in a while, though, there is certain music that I can play, and it can only be like ambient music. Right, that can't disrupt my thinking, if I need to focus Like a white noise.
18:16 Well, no, it can be like Sirius XM chill, because chill is very, there's not a ton of dynamics to it and it can just be chill music and so I can listen to that and sometimes I like that. It's therapeutic. But it's very rare that during the day that I listen to anything other than the headphones are on my ears pretty much the whole day, because I'm either working with students or I am recording in the studio or I'm editing audio or I'm editing a demo or whatever that is. I Pretty much have these on and I could put music on, I absolutely could, but I need to make sure that I'm focused on the audio that comes through my ears, which is not always music and not always for enjoyment, but for work-related purposes.
18:59 - Lau Lapides (Host) Gotcha. I have to say I've always loved music.
19:03 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I love music too.
19:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, meaning that I've always had to have music around as I'm functioning throughout the day. And it's funny, my husband is opposite. He never has music on. He almost never has to listen to music. Well, he's a numbers guy, is he not?
19:17 - Anne ganguzza (Host) He's a numbers guy he might need to concentrate on. I'm just thinking that for me it's hard to concentrate with certain types of music. Maybe, maybe.
19:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, it just gets in the way of his thought process and his patterning For me. I was a dancer for many years in my younger years and I always had some sort of sound. There was some sort of sound happening that would transport me in a certain way. So I yearn in the day for a transportation of moments where I can daydream or I can concoct a new idea or I can think about something else. Oh, that's lovely. That's an interesting vehicle for me to do it, and I know it is for many people too.
19:55 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Well, when I'm not at my desk, then yes, and I do love music, I mean and music is so important when I'm exercising, for sure.
20:05 I mean, that is so very important that I have music that can help motivate and inspire me while I'm exercising. And it's funny because if I'm doing something like out in my gym, in the garage, which might be like on the pre-core or on the bike, and I'm not following a class and I'm just moving and doing long-term movement, that is where I need to have music. And it's funny because I have lots of playlists that my husband and I, through the years I met my husband he was my spin instructor we've created all these playlists.
20:35 We have hundreds of playlists that are pretty much essentially our favorite music and it's a whole lot of fun. So for that, yes, I do need music to inspire and motivate myself. But then it's funny because when I go to Pilates classes there are some instructors who like music kind of in the background and some of them that find it to be very distracting and really don't want the music on because they want you to concentrate and focus on the muscles of your body and not worry about the music they're playing.
21:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) Do you ever find that you need to step away in the middle of the day and do something completely different? Yes, absolutely Absolutely the day and do something completely different. Yes, absolutely, absolutely. That's a support right there, whether it's exercise or clean, something like do the dishes or make a phone call to a friend that you have to make a contact with, or whatever. Absolutely. I find that's very refreshing. That's a support that I look forward to.
21:26 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I think it's since my transition of working out in the world to working from home and working in my own studio.
21:33 Getting out is one of those things. It's kind of like going out to lunch or running an errand, and I do love the fact that we work for ourselves, that we can schedule those things. In. A lot of times on my off days, when I'm not coaching, I might have a doctor's appointment, or I might have a regular appointment where I go shopping or I pick up stuff at the grocery market and that, to me, is just a nice getting out, breathing the air, going for a walk and getting the mail. That is something that can really help Huge.
22:03 - Lau Lapides (Host) They may sound like small, insignificant tasks, but I really feel like they can not only fulfill my sense of accomplishment, but also recalibrate my whole mind and my body, to relax, to pull out of a situation recalibrate and then come back in more refreshed, more rejuvenated and more balanced right.
22:24 - Anne ganguzza (Host) What can you do? Or what do you do if something at work is frustrating you right Outside of trying to resolve it immediately? What do you do for support?
22:34 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, of course it depends on what it is. So if I feel like I need outside support of the problem solving, I have my little inner circle that I'll call or email and say hey, I got a situation, what are your thoughts on this? I'd like to get your thoughts and I usually get really quick response of those inner circle of people. It's exhausting because you're going from one session to another, one moment to another, one audition to another, or people are misbehaving, people are misbehaving Any number of things right that you can't really help or do People are misbehaving.
23:04 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I have my circle of friends. You are in that circle a lot and I will like I'll be like texting you.
23:11 - Lau Lapides (Host) I love it. In the middle of the night we'll be like, yeah, let's just talk it out on text, let's just make it happen so that you get to a new place, you get to a new place. I still tend to physically do something because I feel like, kinesthetically, my muscles need to shift out of stress or tension mode into accomplished mode. Even if it's like do the laundry or do the dishes or something simple like that, I do find that helps me a lot. It allows my brain to rest through an activity that I need to do anyway. That's useful anyway, but something that is not taxing.
23:47 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I will say I will. Sometimes. I'll either get off of social media because that might be the source right, or I will go to social media, but it won't be within voiceover. It'll be looking at something in social media that is, other interests of mine Like cooking or something Right, I watch a lot of horse jumping. I watch a lot of cats. Does that surprise you?
24:08 - Intro (Announcement) I watch a lot of cat videos, no, so all those things, it does not. A lot of humor, it does not.
24:19 - Anne ganguzza (Host) A lot of entertainment, music, so that sort of thing. So I will either unplug or plug into the social media. That brings me joy and entertainment versus work stress.
24:25 - Lau Lapides (Host) Exactly To me. They're not only ritualistic disciplines, but they're also support. They're not only ritualistic disciplines, but they're also support. They're comfort and support that we know how to self-medicate in a really positive way. Here's the thing. I don't want to dull out my senses, I don't want to dumb myself down, I don't want to water myself down, so I don't feel it. I just want to give myself a momentary break and then be able to come back to it with a fresh eye and a fresh ear and a fresh thought. I think there's a big difference between the two of like I have to run away from this, I don't want to think about this and I don't ever want to come up against this. Right, you have to be willing to come back.
25:00 - Anne ganguzza (Host) You know it's interesting. I'm trying to think like I've never really tried to run away from things because for me, the sooner I can resolve them, I think the better.
25:10 - Lau Lapides (Host) I feel and for me.
25:12 - Anne ganguzza (Host) I really am trying not to run away from things, and I don't know if that's a personality thing or if that's something I don't know. Bosses what do you think I mean? Being bosses of our own business? Sometimes we can't run away and we have to face issues and try our best to resolve them, and these emotional support mechanisms, or support mechanisms that Law and I have been talking about, may be something that can help us to ease our minds, ease our emotional psyche, so that we can come back better, stronger and resolve them, so that we can move forward in our businesses.
25:48 - Lau Lapides (Host) I love that and it's so interesting how we do this unconsciously until we really recognize. It takes time to recognize. What am I doing, what am I actively doing to either soothe myself, help myself, whatever, and what am I doing? That's not helping, that's counterproductive, right? And really being honest about that, like being aware, having a self-awareness about that yeah, absolutely Even just like writing it down or taping yourself or having someone report back if they're seeing you doing certain activities or doing certain things, I think it's really important to document that and figure out what's working for you as a business.
26:28 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Absolutely so. Yeah, I mean it's been a fun episode. I mean talking about our little emotional support mechanisms and bosses out there, as you said, it may seem like, oh, it seems like just well, this is what we do every day, but in reality, they do a lot to help us to move ourselves forward in our businesses. And so, bosses, what do you do, Right? What do you do to help get yourself through the day? What are your rituals? What things do you need? We'd love to hear from you.
26:55 - Lau Lapides (Host) Absolutely and really claim them, really own them and really be proud of them. You want to make sure that you're able to talk about them and be proud of them and not hide them away.
27:05 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Cool episode Law. Very cool, Very cool. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and let's hear from you guys. We'll see you next week. Bye.
27:23 - Intro (Announcement) See you next time. Bye, join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL. Via IPDTL.
27:52 - Anne ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the boss. Did I say podcast? I didn't say podcast. Take two, take two.
One of the first places voice actors often look for auditions is on Pay to Play sites. For a fee, these sites let you audition for jobs from potential clients all over the world. But these sites can have downsides, including unethical business practices. Controversy over these sites has been highlighted at voiceover conferences and throughout social media. In this episode, the BOSSES delve into navigating online casting platforms and cultivating loyal client relationships outside of these sites. We discuss the investment of time and resources needed to be successful and the importance of evolving with the industry to avoid getting left behind. Ever-evolving AI technology challenges us to redefine our roles and strategies, and we tackle this head-on sharing insights into how we can adapt to remain indispensable.
00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey VO Bosses. Ann Ganguzza here. Are you struggling to market that boss voice of yours? Well, let me tell you about the VO Boss Blast. With a custom vetted list and personalized emails, we can help you get your marketing message out to those who hire. Find out more at vobosscom and let's blast off together.
00:24 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, everyone welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and we are here with the Real Boss series with my good friend and guest co-host, Tom Dheere. Hey, Tom Dheere.
00:55 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Hello Anne Ganguza.
00:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tom Dheere, it was so awesome to see you at VO Atlanta. I have to say.
01:01 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, the drive-by hug Right.
01:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know and I saw you for like a split second, but still it was good for that split second to get the hug in. Absolutely, I know the two of us were insanely busy but getting back together since VO Atlanta. There was a big bomb dropped at VO Atlanta with the Drama, bomb.
01:17 Yeah, with the online casting panel, which began with an apology from the CEO of Voicescom. And so, hmm, let's talk, shall we? Let's dish, let's dish, let's, let's, let's fill some tea. So what were your initial? Were you surprised and what were your initial thoughts? And actually we should just recount for the bosses who were not there at VO Atlanta, the very first thing, on a panel of online casting with J Michael Collins, j Michael asked the acting CEO of Voicescom was he prepared to apologize to the voiceover community for the actions on behalf of Voicescom in the past few years, now that David Cicerelli has stepped down and indeed there was an apology. So, tom, were you there, present in the audience?
02:07 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, yes, I was there. I was asked to be there actually. Me too, me too Okay so you were part of that little group of people that were asked to make sure that we would be present at the online casting. Because then we could talk about it like this so then we could talk about it, or we could step up to the mic and ask some pointed questions.
02:23 But to give everybody a little bit of background is that Voicescom has had a pretty bad reputation for a good 10 years, Because I think the first great resignation was in 2014, which is when the interview with Graham Spicer came out and the article that somebody wrote showing how, you know, the same casting notice was posted on Voice123 and Voicescom, but the Voicescom was thousands of dollars lower. So they were caught kind of red-handed doing what many would consider some unethical practices.
02:53 Double-dipping, triple-dipping, Right so Jay O'Connor, who is the acting CEO of Voicescom, is also the son of the recently deceased Supreme Court Justice, sandra Day O'Connor, and he also works for Morgan Stanley.
03:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And Morgan Stanley was the company that put $17 million investment into Voicescom, not a voiceover company.
03:13 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Not a voiceover company. They invested that roughly six, seven years ago. So I'm assuming that David Cicerelli stepped down because he didn't come through on his promise to make their money back. So that's why they put one of their own people in there. So I'm assuming Jay's job is very simple make their money back. So that's just kind of the background. And JMC who I just had him on my Ask Me Anything said that one of the conditions of Jay appearing at VO Atlanta was that he apologized for the past business practices and behaviors. So it made me think about the word responsible. Jay was not CEO of Voicescom when all the interesting stuff happened. However, if you break down the word responsible, it's response able able to respond.
03:57 Oh, I like that Well yeah because, if you think about it, Jay is not guilty of the stuff that Voicescom did under their previous administration, but now he is able to respond to all of that stuff. So you know that late last year Voicescom signed the Fair Voices Pledge and altered their terms of service, the Fair AI.
04:19 Thank you Nava and Tim Freelander and Karin and all those wonderful people there. So what was extra funny is I was sitting next to Miranda Ellis, who's our buddy, who helps run VA for VO, and we were talking about it. We're wondering who's that guy up there? And then I was telling her about the whole Jay O'Connor thing and then JMC said and here is CEO of Voicescom, jay O'Connor, and we're like oh okay, there he is.
04:47 And yes, he did apologize. He gave them an F for how they handled the situation, but they said they're going to be working on moving forward and a lot of pointed questions were asked. I was surprised that he was there. I was surprised at the apology. I think he handled most of the questions from the audience pretty well, pretty professionally.
05:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I wasn't surprised at the apology. I mean, j Michael basically said are you prepared to apologize? And when you are a CEO of a company, I mean at some point, like I imagine, you're going to work that out politically correctly in front of an audience of thousands, knowing that we would be talking about this. What was he going to say? To be quite honest, I mean, I wasn't surprised that he apologized. I wasn't surprised that he took Jay Michael on it, because, guess what, there's business for him sitting there in the audience.
05:33 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh yeah, potential customers. There was a sea of potential customers in there and ones who had left the platform who now could be persuaded to return to the platform as well. I did make it a point to talk to him afterwards. I as well. I did make it a point to talk to him afterwards. I first said I'm sorry about your mother's recent passing.
05:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, thank you.
05:47 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I say thank you on behalf of I know he's a person.
05:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) He is a person, yeah, Like he's just a guy.
05:52 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) He probably didn't know Voicescom existed, right? So, like he doesn't know about this stuff and we have to give him the benefit of the doubt, of course of the doubt, we have to assume he's an ethical, response-able person and I said hey, if you need some insight from boots-on-the-ground people, let me know. I gave him my card. He said thank you, he was very kind. So am I optimistic about Voicescom? Cautiously pessimistic? No, yeah, cautiously optimistic. So I'll say cautiously pessimistic. But you know what? I'll tell you something, anne. I rejoined in September of 2023 because they did change their terms of service, they did sign the Fair Voices Pledge and also, as the VO strategist, I have students who want to understand what's going on and if it should be used and how it should be used Yep.
06:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) completely agree with that. So if nothing else.
06:39 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I wanted to create an account to understand how the platform functions, how to feed the algorithm.
06:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) If we are going to be working with students I mean myself included. I mean honestly. I mean we have to know about these platforms so that we can talk about them and recommend them or not to our students. So I feel like I'm a member of Voice123. Now I will say that I was not able to stay for the full session at VO Atlanta because literally they scheduled that right in the middle of my X session, so after 20 minutes I had to leave and so I did not get a chance to speak to him myself personally. But I know a lot of people that I've talked to did, and Mark Scott also did a nice recap on his podcast about the conversation and his conversation with him as well, and myself and Law had a discussion about it as well on a podcast. So I think it's good that we're talking about it. But I'd like to go further, tom. I'd like to talk to you about pay-to-plays in general, what part they play now in the voiceover industry and where you might see them going in the future.
07:36 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) It's funny because maybe 15 years ago they were a disruptive force in the voiceover industry, not unlike AI right now, which is currently a disruptive force in the voiceover industry. And, like I've said about AI and you and I talked about this a couple of episodes ago when it comes to disruptive technologies or business models, you can fight it, you can ignore it, you can adapt to it or you can embrace it. So everybody has their own journey and their own path on how to define success as a voice actor and what they need to do. You want to do all high-end cartoons and video games. You need representation. You need to join SAG-AFTRA. You may need to move to LA or New York or Dallas and do a boots-on-the-ground thing. If you want to narrate audiobooks, that's a different track. If you want to narrate e-learning modules, that's a different track. The best way that I can illustrate this is talking about my journey on Voice123. I joined Voice123 in 2006.
08:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) no-transcript.
08:49 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, I joined it the first year that I went full-time as a voice actor. I learned a lot on there.
08:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It wasn't my first year as a voice actor, but it might've been my second or third, and it was an opportunity. It was a new opportunity to get work, and I remember at the time. How else did you get work outside of if you had an agent? I did not have an agent at the time. I was working on the online platforms like Freelancer back in the day I mean, it was Freelancer, I don't know if it was Odesk.
09:18 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Odesk Elance, Elance.
09:23 - Intro (Announcement) I was on all those too.
09:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I was on all of those too, and then Voice123 came out and I joined in 2006 as well, and actually it worked well for me Although you have actually created a record of how well you've done on that platform throughout the years, and so I'm eager to hear about that.
09:42 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Sure. So for those of you who are listening to this, I'll just read this to you as best I can, but I've got a little slide up here. So I joined in 2006. There was only one tier, it was $200. That first year, I made $1,100. So a great return on investment. Next year, rejoined, made $2,750. So that was great. 2008, it went up to $300. I made $2,650. 2009, made $1,. I made $2650,. 2009, made $1950,. 2010, I made $13,000.
10:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What changed.
10:09 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I got better at auditioning and I also landed a big textbook like a science textbook. So that was a big chunk of that $13,000.
10:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let me ask you, in those years, in those early years, how many auditions were you doing? Were you doing 10 a day, 20 a day, as many as possible?
10:26 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I was doing a lot less than that. I was doing a handful a day, but also my direct marketing strategies were working pretty well, so it was complementing. So I was blogging and doing social media and posting on Facebook and Twitter and stuff like that, so it was part of a balanced breakfast, absolutely. 2011, made almost $8,000. 2012, I renewed, but I only made $350. Now what happened in 2012 is that my voiceover career turned the corner. I went full-time in 2006, but late 2011, all the seeds I'd been planting for all those years started to bloom. So I found myself auditioning a lot less because I was just booking a lot more as a result of my direct marketing strategy.
11:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right and then also probably repeat clients at that time were starting. I was also getting repeat clients.
11:13 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) So yeah, so that was happening too. Now, in 2013, I did not renew. I made only $300 just from a legacy client. But the main reason I didn't renew is because there was a cultural thing going on in voiceover where a lot of voice actors were saying that if you are on a pay-to-play site, you are contributing to the lowering of rates, you are a bottom feeder, you're enabling predatory practices, and I made the dumbest decision in my voiceover career, which was I stopped auditioning on Voice123. It was a huge mistake. So, 2014, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, I made virtually nothing because I didn't have a paid account.
11:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But also what happened in those years. Had you gone more to direct methods of marketing? Yes, okay.
11:57 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yes, direct marketing was my main jam. 2014 was, to be totally honest, and that was the year I made the most money as a voice actor. And then in 2015, 16, 17, 18, my income started fluctuating wildly $20,000, $30,000 rises and falls year over year. One of my top 10 clients replaced me with AI back then too.
12:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) In what year was that?
12:18 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) That was 2018, I think, A top 10 client. I was replaced by AI and then 2019, I made nothing. 2019 also, there was like a major downshift in my voiceover revenue because I noticed almost all of my direct marketing strategy stopped working. So did I all of a sudden become a lousy voice actor? Maybe Did industry trends change and my voice was out of fashion? Definitely not. It was becoming even more in fashion more young, energetic, friendly guy next door sound, which is still in demand. So, after contemplation and talking to friends and professionals, I rejoined for $888 in 2020. And now there was a tiered plan.
12:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, exactly I was going to say at this point bosses, pay-to-plays evolved. They used to be just one fee and it was usually around $200 to $300. I remember when Voicescom came on the scene it was the cheaper of the two, for $200, when Voice 123 was at $295, I believe, or something like that. And so then there was a bunch of people that joined Voicescom because they kind of undercut the competition, so to speak, which maybe we should have looked at that in the beginning and said, oh, look at that Now there's competition in the online community and online casting community because Voicescom was the second, I would say, largest platform to come out and they grew fairly quickly, I think because of that lower price point.
13:42 And they also did a bunch of good marketing, I would say, on Google. I think they did a bunch of Google ads and they had a bunch of. Seo that they were working on, and so they became really, really popular around that time.
13:58 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) So what happened in 2020 when I rejoined? So I rejoined like it was a Black Friday sale. Basically, I had one month and in one month I made $1,300. But here's what I noticed. Well, I made my money back immediately. But the other thing I noticed is that when you're on Voice123 and you can click on the client number, sometimes you can see an email address associated with that client profile and often it's the extension of productioncompanycom and I started noticing production companies that I used to work with or that on Voice123. So I was like oh, interesting. So apparently there has been a migration of ethical, well-paying production companies making quality content that had been slowly making their way to Voice123 and probably Voicescom too, because it's easier to curate a roster, it's easier to post an audition.
14:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, yeah, you have hundreds and thousands of people of different voices on these platforms and it can be a little bit cheaper. I know that was the whole thing, because here you're not necessarily saying how much will it cost, right, when you have a direct contact, versus specify your budget, right? A lot of these pay-to-plays asked you to specify a budget and so if you specified a lower budget, you could still have hundreds of people responding to this, because it was like freelancer Odesk. It started to become the lowest bid, wins almost.
15:23 - Intro (Announcement) Yes.
15:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like kind of thought, and especially when you're talking after the many years of online casting, it just then became a thing where, oh, I can get cheaper voiceover, and for a business, right, I can have lots of different voices I can choose from and it's probably cheaper. And so for a business, I mean really, where's that business decision, unless you've caught them right and you've become like a valued voiceover actor for them, that you've given them value over and over and over again. Now, all of a sudden, they have hundreds of thousands of people they can choose from that are credible, right, and they're cheaper. So business decision, tom?
16:00 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, here's the thing about that too is like since 2020, since I rejoined, my gigs aren't $100 or $200. They're $4, $5, $6, over $1,000.
16:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because you can specify that.
16:15 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Because I can specify that and that also tells me that there are ethical, well-paying production companies on Voice123 in addition to bottom feeders. So in spring of 2021, the algorithm changed All of a sudden. The auditions there was a lot less and they were a lot lower paying, so I didn't renew.
16:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, they redid their platform a couple of times completely. So that caused a lot of commotion in the voiceover world.
16:35 And, interestingly enough, tom, I just want to bring this up who else was sitting on that stage at VO Atlanta but Rolf Veldman, who was always the one from Voice123 that got a lot of heat from these conferences. But I love Rolf. I think, rolf, he took it year after year after year right as a person who was not necessarily in the voiceover business either, but he would show up and he would respond and he was, I believe, transparent, which then I gave him my respect for that Because, if nothing else, he was transparent.
17:11 He finally was on the stage and probably going wow, the guy from Voicescom is getting all the heat this year.
17:18 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Oh, he was grinning from ear to ear. He was eating it with a spoon. He loved it. So 2022, I rejoined again, but this time I joined on the $2,200 tier. So this was late March 2022. In that year, I made $12,000. And then 2023, which is my first full calendar year of being under the $2,200 tier, I made almost $19,000.
17:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's a definite return on investment. So.
17:42 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Yeah, and as of this year, 2022, and today, as of literally today, April, I have made $6,200.
17:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now is the majority of that from new clients or clients that are coming back to you.
17:55 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, that's the thing, it's a combination. So there's two sets of clients, you know, there's your audition and pray clients, and then there's your legacy clients.
18:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Audition and pray Yep, absolutely Right.
18:06 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Commercials tend to be audition and pray. Cartoons, video games tend to be audition and pray. E-learning, corporate explainer, more of the audio book. Often those tend to be non-audition and pray because often you join an e-learning roster or you join a telephony roster and you don't audition, they just send you work. So with Voice123, there's a lot of them. One particular one comes to mind I auditioned for a corporate, short, three-minute, corporate industrial about bananas in a grocery store. If you work in the produce department, how do you handle the bananas to make sure they don't bruise, how to display them properly, quality check and all that stuff. It was a gig. Three minutes directed session, $550. So I'm like okay, that's like right in the sweet spot for that. That's like perfectly fine For three minutes directed session, great. And then they sent me nine more without auditioning.
18:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
19:00 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) So an audition in Prey see, that's what people think about Voice123 is that it's an audition in Prey machine. It is if you suck, and it is if you can't audition well, and it is if you can't deliver the goods once you audition and book the spot. So I do have a lot of new clients, but a lot of them, a lot of them, have come back for more.
19:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And with Voice123,. One of the big differences of the platforms is that you can take the client off the platform. They have never intercepted and I don't believe that they will, because I think that's Rolf's claim to fame and how they lasted right through the turmoil of people being angry at them was that you could always take the client off the platform. Now, voicescom does everything in their power to make you not take the client off the platform, and that is where they get into people labeling them as double and triple dippers.
19:50 So not only are you paying for that yearly membership fee and they also have different levels. But when you have a managed job or any job you cannot disclose, you won't know their email address, you cannot work with them off platform and people have been threatened if it's found out that they're working with them off platform. So thoughts on that business policy. Tom, what do you think about that?
20:17 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I'm going to answer that question with a question. Do you think voice actors should pay to audition for anything?
20:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, you know, yeah, that's a really, really good question. I mean, I don't think so.
20:27 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I don't think so to a point.
20:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think they should pay for a platform that gives them opportunities. So that's a tough one, right? I mean should they pay to audition.
20:38 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Well, I think of it this way If you told me 20, 25 years ago that I would have to pay to watch a Yankee game on television, I would have said you're out of your mind. And now they have the yes Network, where you have to pay to have access to get the quality content that you want. That being a Yankee game and auditions are quality content and that's a subscription model of a lot of businesses today.
21:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, and even I've considered it for this podcast, right, all right, so you can get a certain amount of listens free, but there is quality content or maybe more in-depth content that you would subscribe to.
21:13 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) And you do keep it with subscriptions, like Patreon pages do, and things like that. Yes, it's a common business model. Here's another question Do you think voice actors should get paid to do auditions?
21:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, that's a good question. Not necessarily. It depends on if that gets used right, If their audition gets used for the job, if you're getting paid.
21:32 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Is it a demo or a scratch track?
21:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so. But now, okay, let's just say you pay for the option or you pay for the opportunity to get auditions. Should then there be an escrow fee? Right, and that's what a lot of people have the problem with an escrow fee. And should there be a managed services fee? And should there be a managed services fee? Now, anybody that manages a job, right that project, manages the job. A manager takes a percentage, an agent takes a percentage, but then on top of an annual fee right to audition, plus an escrow fee. Now, if you remember, tom, in the beginning Voicescom's escrow fee was an option and I believe is it still an option. If you want to do, because escrow was an option back in the early days, you could choose to have them hold the money or say I'm going to get my money guaranteed if I put it in escrow, and then you paid a fee for that.
22:27 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I think it's mandatory now.
22:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, so that's triple dipping to a lot of people right, Get rid of one of those fees, I mean do you feel that's right.
22:40 - Intro (Announcement) I mean, I think it's fair that it's either you pay to be on the site and there's no additional fees or being on the website is free and then they're taking a percentage of it, not both.
22:48 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Now, you weren't there for the Q&A. Our friend, miranda Ellis, who I was sitting next to in the audience, got up and she said I have a problem with the fact that one of the casting spec options is broadcast in perpetuity. And she said that's a big problem for a lot of voice actors because that can create permanent conflicts. She asked are you going to get rid of that? And he said no, because we would lose a lot of business that way. That's not a good answer. That's the only thing I was truly unhappy about with his answers, but he owned it.
23:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, honestly, I think that it's a responsible action for an online platform like that to like lead the way. Right, because here's the deal. Right, you're talking about consumer mentality. I mean in voiceover jobs, I mean if people are not used to. If you're a small company, you're not used to hiring a voice artist and you're not sure, like, how does that work? Right, I mean in perpetuity. I mean if you work for a company, right, and they hire you, you sign a contract, you're working full-time, everything you do for that company is property of the company, and that just became that same mentality. Right for the freelancers Okay, I'm going to pay you.
23:53 Work for hire yeah work for hire and I pay you and that's it, and that's where the mentality stayed for a lot of companies. I think if you are a large service provider to a voiceover, you should take the lead and do what's right and do what's ethical, and that to me would be like start it and say no in perpetuity. There's not an option for in perpetuity.
24:14 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Right.
24:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And that would be a nice thing. Otherwise we sit here and we fight, and we fight, and we fight like we've always fought right To get rid of in perpetuity. Do you think in perpetuity will ever go away, tom?
24:24 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) I think it will always exist in some form yeah, I agree.
24:30 The thing that concerns me the most about it is that, like, if there's a casting notice and it says erotic, there is explicit sexual content. Everybody knows what that means. They know what they're getting into. If it's a casting notice for a political ad Democrat, republican or whatever you look at the script and you go oh okay, do I feel comfortable with this? You know what you're getting into. You can make a value decision. If it's these text-to-speech things, some of these casting notices, or if it's an online perpetuity, a lot of the voice actors don't know what that means. They don't know what they're getting into, and that's where SAG-AFTRA, nava and other organizations that's where the onus is on them to educate, to make sure that people are aware of what these things mean. That should not be the case. Voicescom should not have that option or the ability to modify the option.
25:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Exactly. You know what I mean Exactly.
25:17 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) Because there's genres and sub-genres. You know like, if you want a public service announcement forever to technically broadcast and have that be in perpetuity, you can make a case for that.
25:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know what I mean.
25:27 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) But it's too broad and it isn't explained. There should be like a little button or a little like question mark or a little thing next to it. You click on that and it's like this is what this means.
25:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And voice actors should have been educated many, many, many years ago, right? And what does it mean when you deliver an audio file, right? This is where, okay, we're creatives, we're good at what we do, but we also this is where the business sense comes in. Right, here, have my audio.
25:53 And usually what happens is something bad has to happen for us to like say, oh shoot, I probably should have a terms of service or a statement of work or a contract for all our non-broadcast stuff. So all our non-broadcast people are like, yeah, sure, give me a hundred dollars or give me $500, give me a thousand, that's perfect. And then all of a sudden, they find that their voice is out there on TikTok, you know, I mean, I'm not saying that that was Bev, but things like that happen, right. Or it even happens today with agents that are looking after our best interests, where sometimes you'll find a commercial that was supposed to only be regional which is now in a different place. And how do we know about it? Not until somebody tells us about it. And so we should. Now, with the technology, there should be a way to voice print and tag our audio so that we know if it's not where it should be, and it's being used.
26:41 - Tom Dheere (Co-host) And they're working on that? Yeah, exactly, they are working on that, exactly.
26:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, I really feel as though we should have a part two and a part three and a part four with this conversation. But wow, tom, good stuff. Thank you so much for sharing. I love that you shared the real numbers. I mean, anybody that knows me knows how much I love talking numbers because it really brings a level of realism to the bosses and I think that we all need to really see those numbers and it really helps to educate us on making good decisions for our businesses. So, thank you, tom, it was wonderful talking to you again and I look forward to the next podcast. Bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses real bosses like Tom and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. All right, have an amazing week, guys, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
27:33 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
When Danielle Famble traded the bright lights of musical theater for the voiceover booth, she didn't just change careers—she embodied the essence of a true entrepreneur. Grab your headphones and join the BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, as we navigate through Danielle's remarkable journey, discussing how her roots in musical theater have equipped her with a unique resilience and CEO mindset for her flourishing voiceover career. From emotional trials to asserting her worth in the industry, her story is a masterclass in transforming her performing arts discipline into a voiceover triumph. We discuss the intricacies of a successful business mindset, emphasizing the need for mentorship, community, and the wisdom of collective experience. We uncover the secrets behind tracking progress, efficiency, and how a transparent approach to finances can empower artists, especially women and women of color, helping them to assert their worth and command the rates they deserve.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am really excited to bring on a very special guest and Boss Danielle Famble. Danielle is a full-time voice actor with a performing background in musical theater and on TV, and transitioned from the stage to the booth in 2019. And since that time, she has voiced for amazing brands like Google, pepsi, etsy, prudential Hertz, the US Army and more, and she recently presented this almost viral breakout presentation at VO Atlanta, which I heard nothing but amazing things about, about how to build your business like a CEO With a CEO mindset. It was very, very well received and I am so excited to talk to her today about that CEO mindset. Danielle, thanks so much for joining us.
01:12 - Danielle Famble (Host) Hey, thanks for having me, anne, this is fun.
01:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah. So let's talk a little bit first about your career, because I feel like anybody that transitions into the career voiceover has to have an entrepreneurial mindset to begin with. Transitions into the career of voiceover has to have an entrepreneurial mindset to begin with, and so that really works well with being a boss. So tell us a little bit about your career and how you went from musical theater and are you still singing, I hope into voiceover.
01:37 - Danielle Famble (Host) Well, I grew up actually, I'm from Texas originally and my family, my parents, my grandparents they were entrepreneurial. My mom and dad had a water store. They sold water in the 90s Crazy.
01:50 Everybody needs it, right, everybody needs it. So they were good and my grandparents had like an afterschool snack truck. So I grew up around businesses and seeing my family, my parents, running businesses, and I'm also a middle child, so I love attention, I guess is the polite way to say it. So I always grew up, you know, singing in church or performing in school. So it was sort of a natural progression for me to go to school for musical theater, majoring in classical music and minoring in theater, and I knew, based on a trip coming to New York City in high school, that I wanted to do musical theater and move here.
02:31 So for me, I just I don't know I had this entrepreneurial background with my parents and my family and loving to perform, and realizing it took a while, but realizing, especially moving to New York, that this is a business and you have to market yourself and learn and do all the things that you need to do to run a business.
02:51 So my transition really was from doing musical theater, I performed on cruise ships and performed, you know, all over the country at theme parks and regional theaters, and then in 2020, the pandemic happened and I had this background of acting and performing, but I really wanted to figure out how I could make that background work with voiceover. So that's when I transitioned from like 2019 up to 2020, made that transition to voiceover and realized that my entrepreneurial background really helped because, unlike being on the stage for me anyway, I was able to look at what I could do with and without the help of agents and managers and realize that I could carve my own way myself with the help of reps, agents, managers, things like that. So it kind of just all dawned on me that my past and my upbringing really was helpful in creating this CEO mindset.
03:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now, do you do anything outside of voiceover? Are you still in music or in theater as well? Or is it just something that you just fell in love with? Voiceover and that's it? You're just full force.
04:06 - Danielle Famble (Host) I kind of fell in love with voiceover and I'm full force. I will say I miss singing, I miss being on stage, I miss people. And so to fill my soul, I think what I'm now doing is I live in the New York City area, so going to the symphony or going to a Broadway show, I'm going to go tomorrow night to see my friend who's made his Broadway debut. So filling my soul in that way and maybe even getting back into singing lessons.
04:33 This is a new development. Yeah, that's, I think, what I'm going to be doing. But there was a lot of, I guess, trauma from growing up and it can be a hard business on your emotional state, and that part of it I don't really miss, and so I think it was a good voiceover Well, yes, that's true, that's true. I think I've learned how to navigate it better.
04:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think maybe that prepared you Probably Right, because I think that well, maybe people who are not familiar with stage and music and that is hardcore, facing like rejection or that type of thing, and so you have to really develop a thick skin and I think by the time you get to voiceover, maybe that helped prepare you in some way for that. But also, I think your experience from growing up with your parents and your grandparents who are entrepreneurs I mean I love that that was a great showcase. It was a great example for you as a young child to see that you could do anything. My parents were kind of the same way and I really attribute it to my entrepreneurial mindset, where there was a belief that if I wanted to pursue that and it was something that brought me great joy I could do that for a living and I could pursue that and be able to pay the bills by doing that.
05:45 So let me ask you, what would you say would be the biggest challenge that you faced in that transition, in creating a business for voiceover, because it sounds to me like you had a good idea of okay, I know that it's more than just performing right, I think a lot of people want to just go into their studios and do voiceover all day, but I think there's so much more to it, because you could be the best voice artist, the best singer, the best actor in the world, but if nobody knows about it, you can't get hired Right, and that's where I think your entrepreneurial business mindset has to come into play. So what was your biggest challenge when you transitioned from one career into the next?
06:24 - Danielle Famble (Host) I would say my biggest challenge was honestly recognizing that it was a business, because I wanted to jump in. The actor and the performer in me just wanted to get really good at how to perform in front of the mic and do the perfect read and the perfect conversational read, or at that time it was the we're all in this together read right.
06:44 So that was a hard transition for me to realize that there was more to this job than just talking into a microphone. Once I realized that I think it was mostly just needing to send out invoices and collecting the payment on time and answering questions that I just didn't know the answer to, and there were a lot of I don't knows and then learning as I went. That I think, was the hardest part, because at that time you don't know what you don't know, and part of running a business is realizing all the things that you don't know and having to figure out the answer to it or at least come up with this next answer, and then iterate as you get better?
07:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, yeah, absolutely. So then what would you say was your most successful path into really making this more of a business mindset? Did you read a great book? Did you do a lot of research? Did you talk to your parents? What was it that helped you to really create that CEO mindset?
07:40 - Danielle Famble (Host) I would say getting help and finding a mentor. I coached with a lot of different people. I coached Facebook group Voice Actors of NYC to be invaluable because there are so many people who will offer help or resources or ideas. But not going it alone, I think, would be the best resources. Find your tribe, find a mentor, find someone who can help you, because it's so much faster for you to progress when you have other people to bounce those ideas off of.
08:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely. Now you talked a little bit about the importance of being able to scale your business and to be able to track your progress in terms of how to mark your success and how to move forward in your business. Can you talk a little bit about that?
08:44 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, I noticed and I learned and I knew this from even my parents and grandparents the data is the most important thing that you can have to know where you are and where you want to go. So tracking my numbers was incredibly important to me, and I don't just mean income. I wanted to get better at how quickly I could do auditions, and so I was tracking how many auditions I was doing a day and I could tell by looking at the numbers if I was getting faster or more efficient. I care a lot about money and numbers and love to talk about money actually.
09:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wait, can you repeat that? Because I love a woman who can— oh, I care a lot about numbers and money.
09:23 - Danielle Famble (Host) It is not a bad word.
09:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It is not a bad word. Thank you, Danielle.
09:26 I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I was so excited that you could say that I was maybe I was the only other person that said look, I love to make money and I love the challenge in how can I make more money? And so I think having a healthy mindset with money is very important. Let's talk a little bit more about that, danielle. I think a lot of it stems too from different mindset or different ideals that you have as you grow up Like. Is money a bad word or is money a good thing? And especially being female, can a female make a lot of money and is that a good thing? Let's talk about that.
09:58 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I think there needs to be a healthy conversation about money with women, specifically For me I preach it women of color because sometimes, as women, we feel uncomfortable asking for what it is that we want, yeah, and what you're worth and what you're worth, and being able to say it with confidence and say this is my rate or can we negotiate on a rate? Can you do better with the rate that you've proposed? Having these conversations is important because me, as a business, I'm running a business and having business conversations with other businesses when they're asking me to license the use of my voice for their project. So I don't feel weird talking about business with a business.
10:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sure, because that's what I'm doing, and money is the language of business.
10:48 - Danielle Famble (Host) So finding that level of comfort and being able to feel comfortable in talking about money, sure, and knowing that you are worth the amount that you've stated, or more, it's baseline, I think.
11:03 From there, that's when you can grow and feel more comfortable.
11:07 Another thing for me was getting over that starving artist mentality.
11:12 I feel like it's kind of glorified, especially when I was coming from a musical theater background.
11:17 I mean, I remember standing in line for hours on end waiting to sing my 16 bar cut so that I could maybe book a job that was going to pay me $300 a week at some regional theater and I was grateful and while that is fine and it happened and I needed it at the time, it's not where I'm at anymore. I couldn't do that anymore and that's one of the reasons why it was important to me to sort of figure out what else I could do outside of theater, because it was no longer aligning with how I wanted to live my life, because my life cost a certain amount of money and I needed to find other ways to live the life that I wanted and be able to pay for it. And that's not a bad thing knowing that it's going to cost you money, and I'm okay with asking for what I want and also saying no if it doesn't work out. No is a full sentence and if a number doesn't work for you.
12:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's great. No is a full sentence. I love that. It's a full sentence.
12:15 - Danielle Famble (Host) And if it doesn't work for you, be okay with saying no and holding by your no.
12:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, let's talk a little bit more about that, because I and holding by your no. Well, let's talk a little bit more about that, because I think that for a lot of people starting out in the industry, they're just afraid to ask for what they're worth, or they're afraid to negotiate. And so if a potential client comes to you and they don't have a budget to pay you what you feel you're worth, like what does it take? Like in terms of how do you get up the confidence to say no? And for me it's always been well, you only have to do it once, because once it works out in your favor, then it gives you all the confidence in the world. But tell me about your experience. Did you have an experience where you were scared to say no? Or you thought, oh my gosh, maybe I should do this job for this low pay?
12:57 - Danielle Famble (Host) Let's talk about that no-transcript, still want to do it, even at a lower rate? And if the answer is no, can I tell them no and have that uncomfortable conversation like you're saying just once, saying something like unfortunately, this number does not work for me or align with what I would normally quote. I wish you all the best, finding the right voice talent for this project. And then that's it. And I've noticed that when I do that, I've left my day open, my time open. Another job could come my way that pays me the rate that I'm looking for and that I need, or I can do something else, and maybe that something else is getting out of the booth, getting out of the house, going and seeing some friends or doing something that enriches my life, and there's no monetary value that I can put on that.
14:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think when you can enrich your life, it enriches your product, it enriches your business, because I think it all feeds.
14:28 It's just a wonderful, wonderful cycle and I love that you mentioned that you're going to go see your friend on Broadway and I feel like for me it's like I need to watch a great movie, because it really stirs up the creative juices and it really helps me to be even better at my job, at my business, and to be more creative, because that's what really we do for a living is we need to have that creativity, we need to bring that to life, and I feel like anything that you can do externally, even outside of voiceover, to enhance that is absolutely a good thing for your business. So, yeah, go out and enjoy life, because that's going to help your business. I like to think of that. Let's talk about your business and growing your business, because I think there's a lot of people that they get to a certain level where they're happy and then sometimes they don't advance or progress or they stagnate and then they're like but I don't know how to get more work. Or talk to me about growing your business.
15:26 - Danielle Famble (Host) Often looked at growing my business from a financial perspective. Again, I have no problem talking about money, and so for me growth looks like a monetary jump or incremental growth even. So I'm tracking how many jobs I've done in a month or per year. I'm tracking how much revenue I brought in. I need to know how much I need to pay in taxes, so I'm staying on top of that.
15:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Speaking of which, it's like almost April.
15:56 - Danielle Famble (Host) Can we talk about it?
15:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) This happened quickly, my goodness, yeah, yeah, now are you working? Just thinking of numbers, because you don't have a problem talking numbers. Are you doing your own accounting? Oh no I am not.
16:07 - Danielle Famble (Host) Oh, that's another thing, I think, outsourcing, outsource what you are either not good at or not passionate about. I agree, those are the things that I have outsourced, and one of the things I talked in my talk about was finding your different departments in your team. So I have a financial team and I have a bookkeeper. I have a CPA.
16:25 I have a financial advisor. It's an S-corp, my company and so there are so many different moving parts that I don't know and I need help with people who know better so that they can help educate me and I can make the right decisions, because we are working together and they are working with me so that we can move my agenda forward for where I want to be with my business and my life. So I'm not just doing as they're telling me to do. I want to know and I want to learn and I want to be with my business and my life. So I'm not just doing as they're telling me to do. I want to know and I want to learn and I want to understand. So finding people who have the heart of a teacher to be able to help me understand why I need to pay this much money in taxes or whatever has been really very helpful.
17:06 But in terms of growing my business, I look at it from a place of numbers and the finances, but I also have certain goals when it comes to I want to maybe have the non-broadcast side of my business be a certain amount of money, so that can be a specific goal, but typically I just look at the end of the year, going to the next year and see where I was and create goals typically financial goals in my business, and that's how I mark growth. Lately, though, it's been for me wanting to be a better business owner and entrepreneur and pushing myself personally. You talked about me speaking at VO Atlanta. That was my very first time speaking at a conference at all, and while I absolutely love talking about business and everything with my friends, I've never really said it in a room full of people, so I think that is a way that I'm hoping to grow as a person and as a business owner to feel more confident, sharing what I know and what I'm passionate about, and letting people know that that can be part of the growth as well.
18:08 It may not be something monetary, but it's something that I can mark as my own personal growth and that will help me be a better voice actor.
18:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, you know, what's so interesting is that because you have no problem talking about money, I think inadvertently, without you maybe even realizing it. What I love is that because you kept really accurate, probably track right of finances in and out and you goals and you actually wrote them down with numbers. I'm a big believer in writing things down and writing goals down and that helps you to manifest. I mean, yes, of course there's hard cold numbers, right, but also, I think, writing down goals and writing down an actual number, because so many people are afraid of the numbers I mean I'll talk about before I owned my own business. It would be maybe my spending right, you've got that credit card right, and I might be like here, have my credit card, and I wouldn't really look at the money that was going out. And the more you kind of are in denial of it right, the more right you're unaware, and I think that you need to be aware of the numbers, probably more so than most people. You seem to be really comfortable with numbers and I think that's something to aspire to for a lot of voice actors, because a lot of voice actors are not necessarily an accountant or like numbers or like doing the finances.
19:21 I don't like doing the finances either, but I also outsource. I have an accountant that I have on retainer and I am forced to look at those numbers consistently, in and out, and it helps me to set goals and it helps me to make those goals too. I think that's so important and I love that. That just seemed to be second nature for you, and now I think what you're doing is you're pushing yourself to let's do more, maybe more ethereal goals, personal goals, growth goals, like I want to speak at a conference, and that's a really lovely way for all of us to like, push ourselves to think outside the box in something that maybe doesn't come comfortably to us. And now, what else can we do? Because if we grow personally, we're also going to grow in our business.
20:03 - Danielle Famble (Host) Absolutely, and I really like your point about how your personal finances correlate to how your finances are going in your business, because that was, for me, as well, the same thing. I had to get good with my personal finances and once I was able to look at the numbers, look at my bank account every day.
20:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Look at the hard cold facts.
20:25 - Danielle Famble (Host) The hard cold facts of it and deal with that. Then that practice went into how I run the numbers for my business, because if I was a hot mess with my personal finances, how could I expect to be running a business that pays their taxes on time and doesn't have debt, and all that?
20:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) stuff, and just because you hire right or you outsource for your finances doesn't mean that you are not educated about it. Right, you have to be educated in order to manage anybody that you're outsourcing right, you need to be able to manage people, and you need to be educated so that you can manage it properly and make educated decisions, and so I love that. While I don't love to do financial I don't like to balance the checkbook on a day-to-day basis I certainly don't have a problem outsourcing to my accountant, and then we meet once a week, once a month, and we talk about, okay, inflows and outflows, and where did I spend my money? Where can I save my money? Where should I invest my money next? And I think that that is really.
21:23 I think taking the cold hard look at numbers financially is what is missing, with a lot of voice actors that just start out that especially think that, well, it's just talking behind the mic and so therefore, I don't need to invest. Let's talk for a moment about investment in your business, right, and outsourcing is one part of it. How important do you think investing is in order to have, maintain a successful business and grow your business?
21:48 - Danielle Famble (Host) It is vital to invest in your business and ways that you can invest in your business, be it the equipment, so your booth, or your microphone or anything like that the hard products and it doesn't need to be that you are investing a ton of money. I really, truly believe in grow as you go. So if you can afford a certain amount of money for a microphone or an interface or what have, you get that because you can always upgrade as time goes on. For me, it's very important to not have a lot of debt with my business, so I will buy what I can afford at the time and then I will upgrade. So that's very important.
22:26 And then also investing in yourself, because you are the product, so investing in classes or going to conferences or coaching or reading business books, taking business classes, getting outside of the world of voiceover for your education Not saying that there's anything wrong with the education in the voiceover community but we are also running businesses. So what kind of business education are you getting? Do you need to take a course on how to use QuickBooks or something like that? There are so many different ways to invest in the hard product and the soft skills that you need to run a business. Also, we said it already, but investing in help, because the help can be the education. So my CPA is helping inform me about certain things. I have a virtual assistant who I'm outsourcing some of the day-to-day work in my business and she's helping me and we're coming up with systems and processes to be a little bit more efficient every single day. So those kind of investments, when you're pouring into yourself and you're pouring into your business, that's how you can start to see your business grow quickly.
23:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. I think investment is also something that scares a lot of people when they first get into this industry, and it is something that I think is absolutely essential. It's essential to be prepared to invest in your business and in yourself, and so that means, because I'm a coach and I work with students, and I have been doing it for quite some time I will encounter new students that will be like yeah, but can I just get my demo because I need to start making money in the industry, but yet they haven't really fully prepared themselves for investments that they might make, and that includes investing in themselves, investing in the possibility of outsourcing. I've had so many people say but I can't afford that right now. First of all, I always say don't quit your day job before you get into voiceover full time. Now let me ask you a question. I know that you are in musical theater, but do you also have an additional job at some point to help support your business or to be able to have money to invest in your business?
24:27 - Danielle Famble (Host) I was working at. So picture this I was working at, so picture this 2020. Yes, right, I was working a day job at the Apple Store, okay, and I was waiting tables at night at a comedy club, wow. So I was working two jobs and then auditioning and wanting to sort of move into voiceover around my two jobs. And the good thing was working at the Apple store. I had access to Logic Pro and I had access to buying certain equipment with a discount, so that job was very, very helpful for me to start acquiring what I needed the computers that I'm using, like all of those things. It was really helpful and I did not want to quit my job until I knew for a fact that I could be self-sustaining.
25:18 And even then I was 16 years old, with two jobs in high school. Like I have always worked a lot, so I do think that making sure that your job is not a hindrance your job can be one of the best assets that you have while you're growing your business, and even while you're in your business. Your job is an asset, so make sure that you treat it as such and you think about it as such Changing that mindset will be so helpful really.
25:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely. I think there's a lot of people who they're either they feel like they're stuck in a corporate job or they feel like that they can't do a job in another sector if they want to call themselves a voice actor. I'm always like, look, side hustles are what helped me to be able to invest and to grow my business, and it was a wonderful way to be able to have the money to invest in, let's say, outsourcing or invest in coaching or invest in a new demo, so that I could grow my business. And I did multiple jobs and I still like to think of my business like I'm not just full time voice actor. Anybody that knows me knows I have this podcast, I have the VO Peeps group, I love coaching and so I'm a voice actor. So I have multiple divisions of my business, just like anybody else would have in their business. So I feel like that there's no shame in having multiple passions and multiple divisions of your business if it can help you to grow.
26:43 - Danielle Famble (Host) Yeah, and it helps you stay well-rounded as well, like that job can be the thing that keeps you afloat so that you can say no, and that's bolstering you to maintain your standards and your rates that you need I love that it's an asset that can help you say no I'm just going to reiterate that to the bosses.
27:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That was so important, right, because when you're out there, desperate because maybe you just gave up everything so that you could do voiceover full timetime and then you're possibly like desperate for a job and you'll accept low pay I love what you just said that your job is an asset and it can help you to say no when it's necessary. Right, so that you can have that money and you're not dependent on it to pay the bills or anything, so yeah, Fantastic.
27:26 What would be your top tip or the best advice you could give somebody just starting out in the industry to be the best CEO, the best boss that they can be?
27:37 - Danielle Famble (Host) I would tell people to make sure that you are educating yourself Education, I think, would be the biggest tip yourself by finding a mentor or a coach or someone who you can work with. That will help you where you feel that you need help or support Educating yourself on how to be a voice actor and do the type of genres that you're wanting to do. Educating you on how to run your business, if that's what you need help with. But I would say the first thing I always will tell people if they ask me like, hey, I want to be a voice actor, get in a class, take a class. Maybe it's a performance class, maybe it is a business coaching something, but take a class, because being an entrepreneur is just learning every day as you know, You've got to learn something new every day and be open to the fact that maybe you don't know and you need to learn.
28:30 So keeping your brain moldable and learning. Being in a class is the best way and it's low-hanging fruit because you're learning. You're not quite doing it every day all the time, quite yet. It is vital to find out what you don't know and then write that down, write down your process and then iterate on that process. Love it.
28:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh my gosh, Danielle, I could talk to you all day and I really, really appreciate you sharing these little nuggets of wisdom, and I feel like we could maybe do five podcasts at least. So thank you so, so much for joining us. How can bosses get in touch with you, danielle, if they want to follow you or be the boss like?
29:10 - Danielle Famble (Host) you, danielle, if they want to follow you or be the boss like you. Yeah, you can follow me. I'm on at DanielleFambul on all socials, and then you can go to my website, daniellefambulcom.
29:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Awesome. Well, it was definitely a pleasure. Bosses out there, I'm going to give a big shout out to my sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and connect like bosses like Danielle and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week. We'll see you next week and thanks so much, danielle. Bye, thanks, anne, bye.
29:38 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Arm yourself against voiceover scams with insights from Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides. The BOSSES shine a light on the potential dangers of casting scams, providing you with the necessary tools and instincts to recognize when something simply doesn't look right. From notorious overpayment traps to false urgency ploys, we dissect the mechanics of these schemes, emphasizing the importance of due diligence and healthy skepticism. Navigating potential job offers can be intimidating, but this episode will help you confidently sidestep the dangers. The BOSSES unpack the nuances of vetting opportunities, the significance of physical company locations, and the red flags that warrant a second look.
00:01 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with the lovely Lau Lapides. Yay, Nice to be back, Hi Law, as always. Hi Annie, Lau, you know I'm wearing my red today.
00:37 - Lau Lapides (Host) You're looking all red and crimson-y and like ready to rock and roll Like a red flag.
00:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I'm so punny sometimes. So now what are we going to talk about today? Let's talk about, maybe, red flags and or scams. I know that they are a popular topic, but I think it's something that we need to watch out for in the industry these scams that go around and ask us to submit our voices and then gosh only knows what happens after that. Typically, it has something to do with money, but, yeah, law. What are your thoughts about scams and how we can avoid them as bosses?
01:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, totally prevalent. We get it. It's in every industry. And I have to tell you and I know you've been experiencing this too in the last few years tell you and I know you've been experiencing this too in the last few years there have been an onslaught of hackers and slackers and scammers and bammers and everything you call them. They're around and they are literally coming at you. So, as a business owner, you have to be ready for it. They're literally trying to get through your firewalls, whether it's your website, your software. I have, unfortunately, a resident new stalker who leaves me voicemails. You got to be ready for that. You got to take the personalization and emotion out of it and protect yourself, protect yourself and protect your business Absolutely.
02:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I know that there's some great first of all resources online that you can find out. I mean, the number one thing is is if you, let's say, get an email or a phone call and it's asking you to submit something personal, like your voice file or an audio file or give money, the first thing that I think you can do is to take action is to Google. Google is your friend and again Google here. Google is your friend and again Google here. Google is your friend because a lot of times, especially even if you get like a phone call right, you can put in the phone number and you can see if it's a phone scam, or you can put in the subject of the email and see if you can find anything out there that talks about it.
02:39 There might be discussions in Reddit. There might be discussions on Facebook that say, yes, this is a scam, don't believe it. But the thing of it is is to make sure. If something doesn't feel right or something is off, then definitely take the first step and research it, go to Google. That's what I would say would be your first step, and then there are lots of other tips and tricks that we have for you. Bosses out there Law. What would you say is your first and foremost line of defense if you feel you've been taken advantage of or are being scammed Right.
03:09 - Lau Lapides (Host) There's a bunch of stuff we can do and, by the way, I would take what Annie said even a step further and I would make sure you're talking to your inner circle of your coaches, your uppers in the industry, people who are in the know, Because I have found, Annie, that if I go to Google, or a lot of you may be now using DuckDuckGo only because Google has a lot of online drones that go after you now. So if you use DuckDuckGo and you're on there, you're going to find they do have websites oftentimes and they do look legitimate and they lift that information. It's very easy to make a landing page. So you have to really talk to people in the industry that really would know to really cross-check. I always say go with your gut instinct. Your gut instinct is telling you something. Listen to it. One of the big scams, Annie, that is out there is the overpayment scam. This is big in our industry. That's where the client sends you, right.
04:02 Well, let's describe what it is for people who don't know what it is. It's a client sends you money, right, and they say that they're expecting to ask you to send the overpayment to someone else. It's like this. We used to call them chain scams. Right, don't do anything of the sort. Never accept money, never send money.
04:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, never send money to somebody who claims to be your client number one. I mean Never, never.
04:26 - Lau Lapides (Host) I mean that's a red flag right there. Right, that's your red flag, right there.
04:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So basically they've sent you money, but it's typically it's a check that is not legit. Yes, exactly. So when they ask you to, send money back, then you basically are just giving them money, the overpayment. You are giving them money for nothing because they've given you a fraudulent check.
04:47 - Lau Lapides (Host) Hello, and what about the urgency one? This plays on your emotions. This is the sense of urgency making you feel like you're under pressure. Right, the client pressures you to like, handle the payment processing really fast, because there's a reason to handle it really fast. And they want to scramble your brain, they want to get you confused and discombobulated. So you're not thinking straight and you're just acting because you may feel like, oh, I want that job, it sounds great. Or you're a little desperate, you haven't worked in a while, sounds like a great job, you don't want to miss out on it. So they'll put that urgency on it for you. So be very, very careful of that.
05:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And that urgency can be to submit voice files of which they will not pay you for. That goes back to law. This is like a business practice For me for many, many years. When I negotiate a job with a client, I especially a new client that I'm not familiar with I will always ask for payment upfront. It is not a big thing to ask, as a matter of fact, the way that I'm not familiar with.
05:47 I will always ask for payment up front. It is not a big thing to ask as a matter of fact, the way that I word it in my email is payment is appreciated and preferred up front. Otherwise, other options are available upon request, and so for a new client, I will request that they pay me up front before I even send them an audio file, and I'll tell you what. 99.9% of the time, unless it's a large client that has to go through a process to pay, like through purchase orders or something like that I will get payment and I will request payment electronically, because that way I can guarantee that the money lands in my account first. Then I will send them files, and so, therefore, when it's requested up front after you've negotiated and then it's a statement that is right on my email that says payment in full appreciated made to my Venmo or my PayPal and then basically other options available upon request and I get it.
06:42 Guys, I get it. I've been doing this for years. It's amazing how people are like well, charge 50%. I'm like, no, just ask for the full thing up front. Now, if somebody doesn't want to give you the full thing up front, then get on the phone with them. Make sure there's a human being at the other end of the line. This is not all done through email. These are some tips that I've learned over the years. Right is make sure you've got a human at the other end of the line and check out the business Again. There is a way to research those things online. Is there a business? Is there a phone number At the end of the email? Is there a signature file that has a company name, a way to contact them via email, via phone? I don't care how old school I sound, bosses, I get on the phone and I call yeah, you need to contact them.
07:26 - Lau Lapides (Host) I make sure there's a real person at the other end of the line. What about you? Because here's the other thing too. There's a double reason why you should contact them, especially by phone. If they're going to give you a phone number and that is, if it's a scam they need to know about it. So they need to know their identity has been stolen, and then they can put a post out online that people are coming at you using our name and our identity and it's not us. Yes, yes, absolutely, and they will really appreciate it. So there's the double reason to protect yourself, but also to protect that company, because sometimes they're just not going to know about it right.
07:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Sometimes they're stealing the identity of the company. Absolutely Right Filling the identity of the company.
08:02 - Lau Lapides (Host) Absolutely. One of my clients fell into this one, unfortunately, and that was she was already knee-deep into a job and she had submitted a bunch like 10 pages, 15 pages on a long form, and there were no edits. That's a red flag right there. So, unfortunately, she had already submitted something and she already saw oh, there are no edits. There's something wrong with that job, there's something strange. Also, if you see in your breakdown you're going to get, say, a form letter online asking you to be a VO for AI or for this or for that it could be for anything, right, and the numbers they use are weird. Look at weird numbers. Like we're going to use this from three and a half to 11 and a half months. You know the numbers look strange, they look off.
08:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, that's interesting. I would not have thought about that.
08:52 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, strange numbers, like strange configurations of numbers. We used to look for grammar and lowercase, but now we can't do it anymore because they're going through chat, gpt, so everything is formatted fairly well. How about this one, you guys? How about this one? They're deeply, deeply focused and over-focused on the payment versus the job.
09:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I agree.
09:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, payment, it's all about getting the money quick right.
09:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So they can get in and get out right, Because they really don't care about your audio files or they care about the audio files, and then they just ghost you and won't pay you. And that's a different type of a scam. Typically, that kind of falls within. What kind of clients are you working with? And again, I always say educate yourself on the client that is contacting you as soon as you get an email. That's typically how we get inquiries right. We'll get an email or we'll get a direct message from somebody. Make sure that they have a legitimate domain on the end of their contact information.
09:51 - Lau Lapides (Host) And what if they have a whole bunch of domains that lead you in circles?
09:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Different emails, different domains that confuse you, or a domain that doesn't exist for a company. It could just be somebody at gmailcom or somebody at hotmailcom. I would always look at those people twice because if they're a legitimate company they should have a company domain. It should be yada yada yadacom, and if they don't have that then I would be very suspect. If they do not include a phone number, I would be suspect. If they don't have a real signature file, I would be very suspect.
10:23 - Intro (Host) And as the law said back in the day.
10:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We used to look for grammatical errors, and now that's less common. Now you've got to look at more people that are stealing identities, and or maybe people who just don't put a valid domain at their email address or there's no way to contact them, even if they have a website. I can't stand when I go to a website and I can't find a phone number to contact someone. That to me— Well, that's unfortunately more common too.
10:49 - Lau Lapides (Host) That, to me, is a red flag. Yeah, and here's the problem with technology is it's getting so good that certain elements are cut out of our industry that used to be there. Like a lot of the bigger companies we work with do not provide you even customer service numbers anymore because they don't have staff to answer phones, so everything is a bot now. So you could be contacted by a bot. You don't know they're a bot. The bot is scheduled to get information, so never give your information out online. No account numbers, no bank numbers, no social security nothing.
11:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm going to say that any legitimate company will have a phone number, or at least any legitimate company will provide that they're harder to find, Annie, and I'll give you an example.
11:32 - Lau Lapides (Host) I'll give you a direct example. We're on the Calendly link. Whether you're using Acuity or Calendly, I dare you to find a phone number for them. And they are a legit global service, their calendars that we use all the time. You use them, we use them all the time.
11:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I'm going to say that's dedicated to maybe software, right? I'm just going to say if you've got a company with people that maybe you're doing a corporate or an e-learning right, yeah, go after it. Yeah, you should absolutely be able to find a way to contact them. I mean, even like I buy a lot of clothing online just saying, Is that a surprise and I have a customer service issue. I want to be able to talk to a human being, right and you're right.
12:14 It is getting more and more difficult to find. However, I'm going to say that your chances are better if you do have a phone number that you can contact a human being at the other end of the line.
12:24 - Lau Lapides (Host) Of course, of course. But remember, I still caution people because I ran into this myself. For the banking fraudsters, because identity theft is number one in the US. So for the banking, they'll send you something that looks exactly like Bank of America exactly like. Paypal and they'll say you owe us $500.
12:43 - Speaker 4 (Host) Here's our invoice yeah, click here to resolve.
12:46 - Lau Lapides (Host) Click here, don't click on anything. Never click on anything. And if you call them, just know you may be calling someone that they hired within their fraud service. So I suggest, if at all possible, go to a location. Go to the location. If it's a bank or financial or whatever, you should be able to find a location where you can talk to someone live, like Annie's talking about, to try to get some sort of vetting on it, because you don't know, they look exactly real, they totally look real. And how about the big game show host? Oh gosh, yes, the game show host. The assignment for the game show host right, everyone's getting excited about that because you've been assigned to be a game show host? Yep, absolutely no, you haven't. No, you haven't, no, you haven't. The next step is going to be asking you for account information. Yes, exactly.
13:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And that's been going on for years and years. And so what they do is they appeal to our emotions, they appeal to our oh my. God, you've got a great job. You've been selected. I even at one point got contacted by Disney, who said that they researched me online and wanted me to audition and I'm like, I'm not so sure about this.
13:54 - Lau Lapides (Host) I don't think so. I mean as good as you all are and, I'm sure, even if you have excellent SEO.
14:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, that's an even bigger target. You're an even bigger target, that's a bigger target.
14:05 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's a bigger target Don't fall into. We found you online. I want you to audition. Well, go through my agent. Go through my agent.
14:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I will say that I am very much an online business and I do have a lot of people that contact me for legit jobs through my website and through my social media channels and through referrals, and again, those are the ones that I trust. If they're coming through referrals, right, Because then I basically, oh sure, I have the job, but I always have the ability to contact someone or speak to them.
14:35 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, that's totally different. I mean, very rarely do I and I think I have pretty good visibility online. Very rarely do I have I found you online. That would be specifically through, like Google Ads purchased SEO. They'll get information, they'll be like a wannabe client of a coaching service or something like that, and you can feel that out very, very quickly. But when it comes to giving you a job as a talent, beware, keep those flags up. How about the interview, annie? Have you seen the online?
15:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) interviews, the online interviews.
15:06 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, I've heard of them vaguely they invite you on to like Signal or Telegram, zoom, skype, whatsapp. Be careful of WhatsApp, you guys. Now, I love WhatsApp because it's free. It's an international community that can get on there for free. Who cannot text you? So I love it. We have it for our Talent Inner Circle members. That being said, do not jump on WhatsApp for interviews with anyone until you have vetted them, because that's a very common scam platform. It's just known to be that, so just be careful. Be aware of that. The language you have to be careful of too. Like does it look weird, even if it's gone through chat GPT. Like does it look strange? The sentence Does it sound strange?
15:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's not formed well, right? Yes, If English is not the first language, right formed well, right. Yes, If English is not the first language, right. So be careful of that. Well, first of all, I'm just going to say that clients that are international and I have a lot of international clients Typically the international clients that I work with are very well-spoken, well-versed in English, because they've worked with clients in the United States before. So if they are not as well-versed, I'll investigate them more. Because number one I want to make sure I get paid. There are certain clients that are known to not pay a whole lot for voiceover and they will give you lots and lots of promises for lots of work.
16:20 A lot of e-learning companies and I'm going to mention a lot of e-learning companies that are not based in the United States that want to hire you for as little money as possible per word. I'm a big person on e-learning that I don't quote per word, but I know a lot of people do, and here's my philosophy is that if somebody's asking you for a particular number per word, then probably right, they're hiring you. Right, You're a company, a curriculum developers or an e-learning company that's hiring the voice talent, so you're not the first line of paying. I'm just going to say because they're hiring you and so they want to negotiate the cheapest price because they don't want to pay a lot.
17:00 When I deal with e-learning clients, I deal with companies directly and I'm able to negotiate a much higher rate. So I don't typically quote on per word. But if somebody starts asking me for my price per word, I will get a little more rigorous about my investigation, because I want to make sure that I'm not going to be haggling over five cents or a penny or a word. And then also I'm going to make sure that I have a point of contact that I am able to contact either via email and that they get back to me right away, or that I can text them and even text if it's a new client. I'm going to try to see if I can call them or have a Zoom call Sure, absolutely.
17:38 - Lau Lapides (Host) Or have a Zoom call Absolutely absolutely. I would also be careful of wiring. Oh yeah, wiring. Wiring is tough nowadays. My partner won't do it anymore. They won't do it anymore, they just won't. They won't do it anymore, they just won't. They don't trust it. So they don't want to do that anymore. They'll do PayPal, they'll do Venmo.
17:53 - Intro (Host) They'll do it any other way.
17:54 - Lau Lapides (Host) But they won't do that. And I mean, needless to say, don't ever send money out for any reason. Ever Don't send it out unless you're sending your commission cut to your particular agent.
18:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's different. Well, that is legit. If a company needs to pay you and wants to pay you ACH, and wants to pay you right into your bank account, you will need to supply your bank account information and, for what it's worth when I investigated it, god, many years ago there's nothing dangerous about providing your account number. The bank itself has security in place so you can provide a full account number to somebody if they request it, and a routing number.
18:39 - Lau Lapides (Host) So all right. So I have a question about that. So let's say you haven't worked with a company. They've reached out to you. You want to work with them. What kinds of practices, Annie, do you use to vet them? Do you ask them for references? Do you ask them for clients? I know most legitimate companies that I know of and have worked with have actually put their client lists out. They're on their website, so I could really reach out to them and say, hey, do you know of this company? Have you worked with them? Whether I reached the right person or not is another thing, but the point is what do you do to vet a company?
19:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, that's a great question. So the first thing I do is I research them online. I do I research them online. I go to their website. I make sure that they have contact information on their website. If they don't, I'll ask the person that emailed me or reached out to me for their contact information. And then I'll say but I can't find a website, or I can't find any contact information. Do you have a point of contact in case I have questions about the project?
19:39 Right, and it becomes very much about you know, I'm interested because I want to be able to get a hold of someone in case I have questions, so that I can service them better, right? So it doesn't appear that I'm paranoid or not trusting, but I am asking in order to serve them better. So I make sure they have a website. And if they don't have a website, then I'm suspicious, because who doesn't have a website these days? If they don't have a website, maybe they're very small, and if they're very small, they might have budget issues. And then I want to make sure that they're going to pay me in full prior to my job start, like I request, and that they will pay me electronically. There will be no checks, or if there is a check, I won't start or deliver the job until I've cashed the check, and that's very rarely the case. I don't know when's the last time you wrote a check.
20:21 Almost never, very rarely, people who can't pay via any sort of electronic method these days or through a credit card, you know that kind of a thing then you're protected by all of that. And so, yeah, definitely research, definitely point of contact. And my last point is like literally talking to someone, and there's a lot to be said for a company's brand and a company's longevity, right. So how long have they been in business? Am I familiar with them? As you mentioned? What other companies have they dealt with? Have they dealt with other people?
20:51 I don't necessarily ask for references right away, because if it's a corporate entity, I might ask around the groups to see if anybody's worked with the company before. And yes, there's an actual group before Nava became very involved called the Red Flags Group. It's a Facebook group started by Dave Kavosier and is still around, where when we all had questions or we're all like hey, have you heard of this? We would post in that group. It's a wonderful group. It's still there. And there are some other groups like, I think, Veopreneur, Mark Scott. Actually, people will ask in that group if there's been contact or if people have worked with that company. And again, it's something you can talk to your accountability buddies or colleagues in the industry to see if they yeah, and I would add on, too your coaches.
21:35 - Lau Lapides (Host) So if you have a coach or a coaching team or have coach, your coaches really should know about this stuff. If they don't know about this stuff, they should be willing to reach out and find out about it. If they're not, that would be a red flag on the coach. Yeah, absolutely, because the coach should really be in the know. Even if you haven't worked with them for a while, they should be in the know.
22:02 I'll give you an example this student that I had in class not too long ago. She wrote to me and she said hey, I want to go FICOR and here are my reasons and I need help. How do I do it? Well, if I said I don't know, I have no idea what it is and I don't know, go figure it out. I would have a red flag about her looking at me saying that and saying well, let me just find out for you, let me figure it out, because I need to know myself. I actually know exactly how to do it, but my point is is that that would take me aback, like who am I working?
22:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) with who's my teacher?
22:28 - Lau Lapides (Host) You know what I mean, because this is a very huge issue right now in the union, so it's very relevant and current.
22:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, and that's another great aspect to a scammer, right, how do you know you're working with a legitimate coach and or demo producer? And I'm going to say, any coach worth their weight is going to offer a consult, a free consult so that you can kind of get a feel. And again, that's something where you're meeting with them on Zoom or you're meeting with them on the phone or you can kind of have a back and forth with that coach so that you can get an idea of their style. You're open to ask any questions and also, again, I think that word of mouth is really valid there I think a coach should have previous student references and or work and or testimonials on there and you can get a lot of knowledge from that. So don't just spend thousands of dollars before you do your own investigation and research and talk to a potential coach and or demo producer.
23:23 - Lau Lapides (Host) And be reasonable about weighing it out. If you're asking your coach who's been in your coach base out of New York, well, what do you know about Mary Jane's out in fiscal Wisconsin? It's not reasonable that they're going to know the answer to that. But what do you know about joining the union these days? They should really know some of those answers to resource you.
23:44 So, anything that's of a national or international. Now, everything's international but national base. They should be in the know, even on the most basic level, or at least be able to resource you to the places you can go.
23:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, they're not just voiceover, they should be business. They should also understand the business and the marketplace and the industry enough to be able to guide you. Yeah, right, right, right.
24:07 - Lau Lapides (Host) I always come back to your survival instinct. You have a gut instinct for a reason Like listen to your gut. What's the worst that happens? You lose a job, you miss out on a job, so what? Yeah, that's the worst that happens. You may have saved yourself from a lot of heartache and a lot of hell by jumping into it because you really wanted it or were desperate for it when you knew it was going against your gut instinct. So always go with your gut instinct.
24:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I get a lot of people who are like okay, so I did a job and I didn't get paid. I can tell you, I've been in this industry over 17 years. I have never not gotten paid, Never, never.
24:42 - Lau Lapides (Host) Wow, never not gotten paid.
24:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's lucky, wow, is it lucky or is it me vetting my clients Could be. I'm going to say yes, I vetted my clients. If I found somebody that I thought was a little bit, I don't know if I want to work with them. If I was hesitant, I chose not to work with them and I'm very fortunate. Again it comes down to I requested that money up front.
25:07 I'm going to say that I feel like that saved me in many, many ways is having that, just that simple statement on my quote that says payment in full is greatly appreciated and available via my PayPal account to annanganguzacom and basically that is it. I never have anybody really contest it and if they do contest it it's because they're a large company that I'm very familiar with and I'm able to get in contact with the people in purchasing who can give me a PO and who can give me the net terms of payment, which sometimes can be 90 days Now have you ever had a company sign that and say, yeah, we're going to give you whatever 50% upfront or 100% upfront and not come through and still do the job?
25:45 No, no, I've always gotten either paid upfront or I've gotten my payment. I've never, ever had that happen. Yes, I'm fortunate, but I also think it has a lot to do with me being savvy and not necessarily picking up clients that are questionable. Right, gotcha and I do have clients where I signed contracts. They went out of business you know what I mean After so many years but ultimately, because I had been working with them for so long, either transferred me to the new owners, right, and then I might've had issues with the new owners.
26:12 But again, I've never where I didn't get the job or I didn't get the offer. I'd say I worked with a company for a very long time and then my point of contact changed, right, that happens quite a bit when you work with clients over a period of many years, your point of contact changes and then maybe you don't have that job anymore because they've brought in somebody new and maybe they want somebody cheaper and it's time to change voices Either way. So that's happened to me, which I think has happened to anybody, but thankfully, I've always gotten paid and knock on wood.
26:42 I'm grateful. And again, just keep my eyes and ears peeled. Now, if you are working with an agent, right, that's what your agent does, right, your agent negotiates those contracts for you. Now, have you ever had at a point where one of your clients didn't come through and pay and then you weren't able to pay? The talent.
27:01 - Lau Lapides (Host) No, I've never witnessed that or seen that happen, not within our agency, but I've had it happen in my coaching business. I've had it happen under Lollapeda Studios a number of times through the years.
27:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Where you've had a student that didn't pay you.
27:13 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yeah, or whatever. Or someone came for a first time, they looked super legit, they took an hour this was in the days in person, right and then they just cut out, they just never paid for it, and then I learned okay, so I have to get it up front, that's okay.
27:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I mean for coaching services, learning lessons.
27:29 - Lau Lapides (Host) I call it learning money. I tried not to get angry and hold on to that because I said that's the nature of some people, so you have to just know your audience.
27:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I did have where, let's say offering services through VO Peeps, where I used to run events, and people will come to events and say I will pay you later, right, can I come? Is there a spot available? Can I come? And yes, being young in the business, sure you can come and then ghost and then not pay. That has happened not often, because after that I got very smart and it's gotten to the point where I host events that are non-refundable at this point.
28:06 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, that's important actually because everyone would pull out. Everyone would pull out for some reason, even for sickness right.
28:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I try to be very like with coaching if somebody gets sick, I will be very understanding and lenient about that. But now with events, when I run events and I have to sell spots, even if somebody gets sick, I'm sorry. I have a no refund policy and that has developed over 15 years of doing events.
28:29 - Lau Lapides (Host) I do find, though, Annie, honestly, because I've been an event organizer for a long time, most, most, most people take no issue with that. Yeah, exactly, they know most most people take no issue with that. Yeah, exactly, they know. Hey, listen, I punked out, I didn't make it Well yeah, absolutely.
28:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's all right.
28:42 - Lau Lapides (Host) And they just forget about it. Very rarely do I have people fighting, because that would be like they would think that they're in the right.
28:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have people that want credit.
28:49 - Lau Lapides (Host) They get sick and then they want credit and sometimes I'll do that Some big events do that, but I don't think it's a good policy because I think it gives people an out.
28:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, agreed, Guys, be educated, be smart and be savvy and try to avoid those being taken for granted and being scammed. Great episode, Law, Great episode.
29:09 - Lau Lapides (Host) Good stuff, great episode.
29:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right, I'm going to give a great big shout-out to somebody I have been with for years and years and years and that is IPDTL. I love IPDTL. Still continue to actually do all of my coaching sessions via IPDTL. So many advantages to that. It's a great quality, fantastic audio quality. My students can record their sessions. It's amazing. I have playback. It's super easy. Guys, you can find out more at IPDTLcom. Connect and network like bosses Law. Thank you so much. It's been amazing. Bosses, have a great week.
29:41 My pleasure We'll see you next week. Bye, see you next week.
29:46 - Intro (Host) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission.
30:06 - Speaker 4 (Host) Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL and corporate narration, and even just working with her on my e-learning reads has made me a better voice actor when it comes to the corporate narration work that I get in, and I can hear the difference from the first day I coached with her up until today when we had our session, and I'm really excited to see how much more I'm going to keep growing and keep outsmarting all the AI bots, because she'll give you tips on that as well of how not to sound like you're just reading or how not to sound like an AI voice but actually sound like a human.
30:51 I love that Anne cares about her students and their success, because she's such a good teacher and she's a teacher at heart, and so you know when you're gonna work with her, you're going to do your best and it might really push you sometimes, but when you can look back on your growth and see just how far you've come, you know all the tears, the blood, sweat and tears is gonna be worth it. So thank you, anne, for taking your time with me and helping me get past those moments of frustration to finally understand and grow as an actor. I really appreciate it.
We've all been there—faced with the decision to work with a business whose practices don't quite sit right. It's a crossroads that can define not just your career, but your character. The BOSSES tackle this head-on, discussing what it really means when corporations say "I'm sorry" and whether change follows their apologies. They also peel back the curtain on the pricing battles both in voiceover work and in the consumer world, questioning why we shouldn't always accept the status quo and, instead, fight for what's fair. This episode isn't just about the voiceover industry—it's a broader look at how we, as professionals and consumers, navigate the moral maze of modern business.
00:01 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am back in the booth with the lovely, illustrious Lau Lapides.
00:31 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh, hey Lau hey girl Nice to see you Love being back.
00:36 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know I feel like it's been an age. I feel like we just haven't seen each other in a while, but yet we did just see each other at VO Atlanta and it was not enough time. The two of us were so insanely busy that I feel like I didn't get enough quality time with you or quality time with anybody oh goodness.
00:53 - Lau Lapides (Host) And that's really funny when you think about it, because when you go to a conference, especially those of us who are going in and we're speaking and we're facilitating, part of the reason why we go is not just to educate but also to meet people and talk and have conversations. And I'm telling you, between the sound, the noise factor, the lights, the running around, the coffee I don't know about you, but I'm taking many naps the coffee, I love it, I love it. The coffee, it's a lot, it's a lot on you at once in a very short amount of time.
01:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, but we did learn a lot, didn't we?
01:29 We did, we definitely did.
01:31 One of the panels that was brought up and I don't know if this discussion should be entirely about this that most of us are familiar with that in the very beginning of this voiceover industry emerged as a top player in the pay-to-play space who had some questionable business practices and ethics, and I think that that is a really wonderful topic to talk about your clients and business ethics and how you choose to work with your clients or not work with your clients depending on, let's say, their business practices or even your own.
02:07 Have you taken a look at your own business practices? Are they ethical? Where do you stand on that? And I think that here's the elephant in the room. So the CEO of Voicescom was present on a panel at VO Atlanta and the very first thing that Jay Michael asked him to do was to apologize to the community on behalf of his company on the way that he treated the community in terms of maybe double, triple dipping into the funds that voice talent pay to be on that platform, and I thought I'd ask what your thoughts are and what your knowledge is of Voicescom and their past business practices.
02:46 - Lau Lapides (Host) Right. Well, I think you know we're all in the know about that it's a large industry but it's a small industry. If you stay in this industry probably like many others, for your lifetime and you're in it, you really learn a lot and you know a lot and you know a lot of people. It's very in a facetious way. It's very incestuous in that it's a family-driven business where our friends are like our family and we treat our clients like our family and we really get to know one another quite closely. And one of the issues that we're talking about now, especially with Voicescom, is really just taking care of one another and being aware of best business practices that you want to have as your guiding light for your business. Right, and Voicescom really for a long time, has really gone down the path, the dark path, right.
03:33 The dark web or whatever they call that, a dark path, the deep path of nefarious business practices that have caught on very early and now I think most people know about it, unless they're just coming into the business. And you and I feel the same way. We're just not for it. We're not for working hard and working ethically and working with integrity and working for clients, but not doing it under fair practices.
04:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, you know, back in the day, voicescom, when they emerged actually, I believe the very first platform to emerge was well outside of freelancer and those types of platforms was Voice123. And I remember I was an early adopter of Voice123. And then Voicescom came along not too long after that and the owner of that company, the Cicerellis, david and Stephanie, I believe it's- yeah.
04:22 C Cicerelli, were well-known in the community and used to show up to VO Atlanta and the conferences, and they really made a stake in the pay-to-play and became a popular pay-to-play in the industry. And along the way, somewhere I can't even say exactly when it happened, but along the way there became like a fee that was known as the pay-to-plays developed. You would pay a fee to belong to it and so that would give you the opportunities to audition. And then there was this thing that they introduced called escrow, and escrow was if you wanted to make sure that you got paid, then Voicescom would hold that payment for you and then when the job was completed, they would then release that payment, and so as a fee for that holding right the escrow, they would receive a fee.
05:05 And so I remember at that time people were kind of like I think after a year or so of that, people started to question that Isn't that double dipping? It's like you're charging the talent twice, they've already paid to belong to the platform and now you're charging an escrow fee on top of that in order to hold the money. But it was a guarantee that you would get paid. So consider them like a bank right. So first of all, let me ask you your opinion of that. Do you think that that is a fair and ethical practice for a business? Oh, okay. And do you think that is considered double?
05:36 - Lau Lapides (Host) dipping. I do, I do, I absolutely do. You know it's funny. This was me in my early naive mind. I always thought of those platforms as online agencies in a certain way, because what they're doing is they're matchmaking. They're presenting clients to you that you're not going to get on your own, most likely You're not going to meet on your own, and they're presenting it in a way where they do not want you to go private with those clients. In other words, they don't want you to acquire those clients offline. They want you to stay within the platform and use them as the agents. So I'll call them an agency. They don't call themselves an agency, but that's the same premise, right? But a legitimate agency does not charge you anything to be with them. They're going to take their commission off your booking. So it's a totally different business model and therefore they're not an agency.
06:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So interesting. So I'm going to play devil's advocate here and I'm going to say not coming from the agency world, right, but coming from the business world, right, the escrow was an option. At that point, you did not have to decide to put money in escrow. But if you decided to put your faith in them and use the escrow model, they would then take a fee on top of that. So let's say it wasn't an agency, let's say it was a bank fee, right? Would you agree?
06:53 Then, if you thought of it that way and you weren't thinking of them as an agency, in order for you to belong to the platform, they provided you, maybe not matchmaking, but they provided opportunities for you. I mean, they were matchmaking through the algorithm, so to speak, but as a business, as strictly as a business, not thinking of it as an agency. As a business, they were providing you with opportunities. So you paid for that on a yearly basis or whatever, a monthly basis. And then if you wanted them to guarantee the money and hold on to the money because if the client didn't pay them, well, they still had to pay you then you would pay a fee no-transcript.
08:01 - Lau Lapides (Host) I don't want that service. I'm willing to take the incurred risk.
08:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And they allowed that Right. They allowed that in the beginning. I do remember that.
08:07 - Lau Lapides (Host) That is okay. I'll go down that road with them because I'm paying for a service, I'm paying for a platform service and those are valued leads. I get that, it's legitimate, it's valued leads, I'm getting bookings, perfect. But still the control is in my hands when they took that away, when they take that option away, then the nature of it changes in the mind of the consumer. So to me it's not an easy yes or no. It's more like how much control do I have when I'm working with that partner? Sure, sure. What do you think, annie?
08:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think, because I remember seeing it evolve right and it evolved slowly over time. So I think in a lot of instances they thought that the evolution of those policies and practices would not be noticed by the community. Now, I believe once they decided to not allow people to take customers off the platform, right, that became more of how were they going to enforce it right?
09:01 So, in order to, enforce it, escrow became like non-negotiable. It was a thing that they did, and so they took control of that. Now, a few years down the road, right then, it turned out to be managed projects. Now, on top of that, right as a service, they would manage the entire project, in case it was a larger project and you needed to cast, let's say, multiple roles or it ended up being a long-term project.
09:27 They would manage the project and then there was a fee on top of that. It was no straightforward fee. At this point it was okay. It was a separate negotiation between Voicescom and the client for a particular amount of money which they did not then disclose to the member or the voice talent that got the job right. Then they became the company that managed the job and paid the voice talent and paid their own employees to manage that job, which there is a certain overhead in managing a job like that. I've been a project manager yeah, they're casting.
10:01 - Lau Lapides (Host) They're casting, they're doing project management. They're taking care of the money. They're doing reach out for the leads. Exactly, they're getting the leads in right.
10:08 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So there's an additional fee. So now to some people in the industry not even thinking about that, it's triple dipping and your thoughts on that.
10:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) I agree.
10:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes, at that point, because there's no control left for the voice. Talent, right, yes, correct, I'm on that side At this point. When you don't offer the talent an option to opt out of escrow, now, theoretically you don't have to accept a managed job, right, you do?
10:31 - Lau Lapides (Host) not have to accept a managed job.
10:32 - Intro (Host) So, see how they played the edge.
10:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) They played the edge of, I would say, good business ethics and good business practices, but not unlike a lot of big companies out there who maybe you're not so privy. It's just because they're managing income that you are generating. Think about it right they took your choices away. That's what they did. Well, they really didn't take your choice away on a managed job. They did not.
11:00 - Lau Lapides (Host) Okay, but let me ask you this question I don't know how many tiers they have. I have a client that recently showed me something like six or seven tiers or eight tiers of options of different levels. Well, why aren't you doing that? On the other end, just give us the option of the tiers of involvement that we want to have you as a partner. So if I'm early, I don't know what I'm doing. I need all the help in the world. I might go for a higher tier because I'm going to want you to manage everything. I'm going to want you to bank the money. I'm going to want you to take care of me and hold my hand. But if I'm into it five or ten years, I don't need that because I know the practice, I understand how to take care of myself and take the calculated risk. But the option could easily be there. They're offering all these tiers for the membership itself.
11:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I think, when it comes down to it again, I'm playing devil's advocate, right? I don't want people to say, oh my God, shelovesvoicescom advocate, right? I don't want people to say, oh my God, she loves Voicescom. But honestly, from a business standpoint, right, I do believe if you've not given the talent an opportunity to opt out of things, then you are triple dipping. However, they kept it right on the edge there where at one point and I'm not exactly sure, forgive me for not knowing this I'm not exactly sure about the escrow anymore. I don't know if that's an option or not anymore, if it's just it grow anymore.
12:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) I don't know if that's an option or not anymore, if it's just it's now like standard that they will pay you. I don't know if that was that ever an option, oh it was.
12:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It absolutely was an option.
12:20 - Lau Lapides (Host) That was a long time ago. It was a long time ago, that was early.
12:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because I remember joining Voice123 back in 2004,. Maybe even earlier than that, I can't remember In the early 2000s, but it was an option. You did not have to choose escrow, and so I believe that if that's not an option anymore, they're definitely double dipping. And I think with the managed yeah, I mean absolutely with the managed. So there are people who say they should give up the yearly fee right for providing opportunities, or the membership fee, or they should give up the escrow or they should give up the managed fee.
12:56 - Intro (Host) Right Any one of those, and so.
12:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I do not know exactly what the new CEO at Voicescom said in the panel, because I had to go teach my own ex-session at the time, but he did indeed apologize on behalf of the company. So here's my question, laha what do you feel about an apology made? And of course, he was not CEO of the company back then? Here's my question, laha what do you feel about an apology made? And, of course, he was not CEO of the company back then? He had no prior knowledge of what was happening. He doesn't even come from a voiceover background. What is your thought about the apology?
13:24 - Lau Lapides (Host) Well, I treat it the same as any business and certainly as politics as well. I think he's a front man, I think he's probably a diplomat in certain ways, as a leader and someone who knows it is the right and ethical thing to do and what is expected of a community that he does not want to lose the partnership with. So is it honest? I don't know. Is it meant to be followed through? Who knows? And is there going to be a policy change? We will only know once we see it. It could be completely empty. It could be completely to satisfy the emotional feelings of talent which, quite frankly, at the end of the day doesn't mean very much if there's no policy change. So I say, wait and see. Does anything change after that? I think it was a good first move on his part.
14:13 It was a smart chess move. It was no skin off his nose. He probably doesn't even know what voiceover does for the most part.
14:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And everybody's like, well, he took a beating. And I'm like, well, I mean gosh. Remember Rolf a few years back from Voice 123. Every time he came on stage he took a beating. And I remember seeing Rolf this year and saying well, rolf, at least you won't get the brunt of it this year. And he laughed.
14:36 - Lau Lapides (Host) Exactly, and you know what, annie, I have to say. He said that's what a CEO does. Let me tell you, these Wall Street-type cats could care less. In fact, they plan those for their Saturday morning. They have a ball at Target practice. No one knows, no one understands, understands like what a boardroom is like unless they lived in a boardroom or lived in corporate America or lived in executive C fights. Like no one gets that. I remember my husband, who's now a CFO controller type. He said boy, when I was coming up the reins and I was already a controller at that I was dealing with ownership of a company and they would literally get up and throw a vase of flowers at me and it would hit the wall and crash. Literally, they would throw things at each other.
15:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I really think— it's dog-eat-dog kind of. You know what I mean. Yeah, I think that.
15:24 - Lau Lapides (Host) that's like we want to feel as talented, satisfied that we got some comeuppance in the deal.
15:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I'm sorry oh my God, I just rolled my eyes.
15:35 I mean, guys, I love the voiceover community Do not get me wrong but sometimes the drama, okay, I'm just saying we've got to remember guys, we are dealing with businesses, when we deal with these platforms and when we deal with our clients, they are businesses and in reality, in our own little bubble, we may think you know what I mean that, oh my God, yes, and I want. We may think you know what I mean that, oh my god, yes, and I want to say, you know, I'd love for everybody to be human and say, yes, they need to be good people and good humans and ethical. But gosh, it's not that way in a lot of places it's not that way, you have to open your eyes and be savvy and be smart.
16:08 yes, when you are dealing with businesses, that now for me and I would say a lot you too, I mean, do I want to deal with a business that I feel has questionable ethics and practices? No, I don't. I am fortunate that in my business I'm not dependent on that money, so I can choose who I work with, and I think that's the really wonderful thing about us in our industry that you can choose who you work with. Right and for me, that's always been where I felt like I won the corporate game If I was working for a particular company. And I work with a lot of students who they work in the corporate world and at some point they all want to get out of it because they don't feel appreciated or loved or they do a lot and they're working for someone else, and now that we have the option to work for ourselves first of all, I think we're the hardest CEOs, but also we have choices as to who our clients are.
17:03 So we can absolutely choose not to work with somebody who we feel that their business practices are questionable. That gives you more time to look for people who are right and get that business to somebody else.
17:14 - Lau Lapides (Host) Exactly. And to piggyback right onto that, I was talking to a client this week who is also in my agency as well and who said, listen, I have a friend and he's on Fiverr and he came to me and we're actually accountability buddies and I told him everything I thought about this and he said but Lala, I don't know, Did I do the right thing? What do you think about that? What do you think about that? What do you think about what?
17:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) he's doing To be a friend. Is somebody on Fiverr? Well, no what he's saying is.
17:38 - Lau Lapides (Host) He came to this person and he said what do you think of me being on Fiverr? I know that it has some dark imagery in the business and people are dissuaded away. What do you think? So I said and I had to be a diplomat as well, because I'm not here to wreck businesses and give businesses a bad reputation but here's what I said and I honestly believe this. I said listen, whether your friend goes on Fiverr or not, or a million other platforms or not, you're the accountability buddy, which is terrific. Keep them checks and balance and remember this. That exactly what you're saying, annie.
18:16 Your business is your business, it's yours, it belongs to you. It's private to some degree. It puts food on your table, it makes you happy and sleep at night. You're an artist, you're a business person, but you're an artist and I don't want to sit in judgment and jury of other artists. I don't want to censor their moves. I say you do what works for your business.
18:38 Now, if you want to go into areas that are illegal, criminal, whatever, I'm not going to go there. That's just not where I'm going to go. It's not what I do and what I'm about or what my personhood or brand is about. But I still. I don't want to judge anyone, I don't want to be in judgment of anyone, because I feel like they're the ones, at the end of the day, who have to get up in the morning and go through a whole day supporting their business, and I don't know what their lives are like. Right, they might be poor, they might have no money in the bank. They might say law, I can't even afford a simple ad in like you know whatever.
19:15 And I said, well, listen, you do what works for you and that's going to bring you to the next thing. I mean, that's just the way I roll. You know what I mean? It's the same discussion we've had about FICOR, about financial core. We get a lot of people. I just got an email this morning from someone who is in my class who said I went SAG and law. I need your help now. I need your help. I want to go FICOR. I'm a little conflicted. I don't know what to do, how to do it. I know the union doesn't want to talk to me about it, of course, right. And I say listen, you know there's pros and cons to every choice you make, but as a coach because I'm still a coach. I'm going to talk to you and educate you about what your choices are Sure absolutely.
19:56 And then you go and make your choices and I'll support you in the choices you make. It doesn't mean I agree with them.
20:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It means I support you Sure, absolutely, absolutely.
20:04 - Lau Lapides (Host) Right, and isn't that at the end of the day?
20:06 Annie where we want to go is like we're not always going to agree with. This has been a big ethical. For a week I had another from my roster. He emailed me about an AI company that reached out to him and wanted to work with him. He said number one is this legitimate? Is it a scam? And number two I don't like it. I don't like their rates, I don't like the usage. I don't like it. I don't like their rates, I don't like the usage. And I said, well, go with your gut. Yeah, absolutely Go with what you feel, Otherwise you won't be happy. Absolutely, Absolutely.
20:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right and I'm going to say that I do believe that when a company is not acting in an ethical manner, I do believe it's important that people speak up and speak their mind about it, because that is the only way that change will become enforced, or change can happen, if there are enough voices that are raised up about it. So I do believe organizations like NAVA, even the Facebook groups and again, like I said, I say there's so much drama, but I mean we are creatives, I mean there is drama in our world, but I also want bosses out there to, yes, embrace your creative and embrace your drama, but also embrace the business aspect of things and try to understand that it's not an affront against you personally.
21:20 I mean Voicescom did they insult you personally by charging a fee?
21:26 I mean it can infuriate you absolutely, but it wasn't a personal attack.
21:30 However, it is up to you to educate yourself on the practices of any given business and then decide whether that is something you want to support or not.
21:38 And if you feel that you're being taken advantage of, absolutely, I say raise your voice. But I don't say raise your voice and stomp off like a spoiled little child. That's not getting your way, but raise your voice in an educated and smart way that can help to promote change, I would say, or promote awareness in the industry, which is what VL Boss I set out to do was to provide a resource for the community so that we could talk about things like this and it could be open and we could discuss and I will be the first to say there's many of you who know the VL Boss podcast from the very beginning and there was a question, there was a question of certain people that I had on my podcast whether they were ethical. Now, I was not educated at the time and that could be something that people may or may not believe is true. However, at the time, I was not educated about business practices no-transcript.
22:57 - Lau Lapides (Host) You're buying items, retail items from big box stores. Right? Let's say you're going to Target, walmart or a Macy's or Nordstrom's, whatever, and you walk in. I'm going to guarantee you you are paying 50% to 100% over retail in terms of the profit margins that they are charging you, but somehow, somehow, many of us go.
23:19 Well, you know, you know. And are you going to go to the manager and you're going to complain about that? The manager will say hey, with all due respect, ma'am, I don't make decisions. You got to go up. Are you going to spend all day? I'm asking a real question to the audience Are you going to spend all day, every day, fighting that good fight, even though you're right, you're right fighting that good fight to get to corporate, to get to the CEO, to make sure the prices come down, to make sure they're affordable? Probably not.
23:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love that you brought that up. Law, probably. But one more thing.
23:53 - Lau Lapides (Host) I want to say and I'm not talking about boycotting, that's up to you. I'm not suggesting that in any way. I'm just saying we make ethical decisions every day of our lives, all day long. Where am I going to go to the gas station? Am I going to pay that for gasoline? Am I going to go to the gas station? Am I going to pay that for gasoline? Am I going to whatever? So everything you could be fighting, I think there is a level of toleration we have to find in our lives to stay happy and healthy, knowing we're being taken for a ride.
24:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I love that you made that comparison. That is so, so important, because I think we're in such a bubble and we think that everything's in front to us personally.
24:32 And it's not. It is business business in this country, I mean. So we ourselves are free to set our prices, right, we are free to set our prices. And so what if the tables were turned and somebody said, well, that's not ethical, I mean, in a very weird sense, right? If you think about AI and you think about synthetic voices and people's value of, okay, what is a voice worth?
24:58 Now, my human voice and my acting and my personal brand is worth a lot. That's where I will make that bold statement to say this is what I charge, this is what I'm worth, will make that bold statement to say this is what I charge, this is what I'm worth. However, there will be people who need a voice that may not see the value right for their project, for a human voice. They don't have a need for it, right, and they make that choice not to work with us. And so, again, we are in the free societies where we can make our price, in the free societies where we can make our price, and the rebellion against us, right, or the speaking up against us is hey, we don't have that budget or we don't feel the value is there to pay that amount of money for a voice. I mean, I hate to sound so cold, but that's just the reality of business. That's the reality of it.
25:48 - Lau Lapides (Host) When you deal with people and you deal with budgets, you're going to run up against the same thing. I had a client of mine in my roster that said law, I need your thought because I have a long, long, long time client and she's just not going to pay me what I'm asking. She's not going to pay me what I'm worth. She's not going to. What should I do? Should I walk away from it at this point, or should I stay with it, or whatever? We talked that through. But the point is, that's your world, that's our world, that's business.
26:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's what we do every day.
26:15 - Lau Lapides (Host) That's not going to go away. I mean, whether you call that unethical or not, I'm not sure, but thousands of years ago I'm sure, we were being overpriced for fish and beef and meat on the open market. You had to haggle, you had to negotiate, you had to figure out what you're willing to pay for that item, and there's also supply and demand. So when you have a tremendous supply, tremendous supply, you don't always have the demand to meet that, and so therein lies the ethics, exactly exactly.
26:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And supply and demand has a lot to do with paying me what I'm worth. I mean honestly like if there is more demand for our voices.
26:55 - Lau Lapides (Host) We can afford to pay Go higher, go higher.
26:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, if there is less demand, then you know what We've got to kind of compete in the marketplace.
27:04 - Lau Lapides (Host) Right, and let me qualify it by saying we're in no way suggesting for the listeners that you need to sell out or you need to do things you don't want to do or you're not comfortable doing. We're saying you live in a world, you live in a world and no one said that world is going to be fair.
27:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh yeah.
27:20 - Lau Lapides (Host) So fair practices, best practices, are ones that you set and your clients set, and you have what they call a meeting of the minds. And if you don't and you want to fight for it and it's worth fighting for, then fight for it. But just know you got to pick your battles wisely.
27:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, because you could be fighting all day long, every day, yeah, and it can be exhausting. And in the meantime, if you're spending all of your time fighting those battles, then you're not making money in your business, right? So and again. I always bring it back to this right. I find value in this. For me, my Chanel lipstick is worth the money that I pay, right, and I always like to bring it back to my Chanel lipstick.
28:00 But in reality now I found that the quality of the Chanel lipstick has gone a little bit downhill, and so now I'm on the hunt for something new, right, that can give me the quality that I am willing to pay the price for. So, bosses, keep in mind, you will have clients out there that will go out there and hunt for that voice, right, that is the quality that they desire for their project. So you can be that voice and you can, at that point, charge, right. You can charge, as we were mentioning before. It is your option, it is your option and so, ethically, I think it is up to you guys out there to educate yourself right on business practices and then take a deep look at yourself, take a deep look at what it's costing you in your business Not necessarily, like, as Law was saying before, fighting every single day and taking up a lot of your time and energy in fighting that so that you have no time to have a business.
28:57 - Lau Lapides (Host) Yes, you want to choose your battles wisely and I always like to say I don't mind losing some battles and you will throughout your life but I want to win the war.
29:06 - Intro (Host) And what that means is I want to win my business.
29:09 - Lau Lapides (Host) I want to win overall my business practice and my goals. But that doesn't mean every day is going to be fair and every day is going to come out the way I want it to come out. And you know it's like I love Dunkin' Donuts and when I go through, if I get a donut, that donut is two or three bucks, is half the size now, and you'll say but Law, with all due respect, you shouldn't be eating donuts. Well, that's beside the point. The point is I have a choice. I'm not talking about health, I'm just talking for fun. Now I don't have to buy that donut.
29:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You don't have to pay the money for that donut, but am I going to?
29:41 - Lau Lapides (Host) go fight the CEO over the size of it and the cost of it? Probably not, because it's not a battle that I really want to take up Wise words Law.
29:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, what a great discussion. I really really enjoyed it so good.
29:52 - Intro (Host) Yeah, bosses.
29:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So remember, educate yourself and look deep within and pick your battles. So, all right, I'd like to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Law and myself. Find out more at IPDdtlcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, see you next week, bye.
30:15 - Intro (Host) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss dot com and receive exclusive content, industry-rev, revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
30:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, we are so excited to announce our audition demolition, our third audition demolition coming up September 20th. That is our live event F***.
31:00 - Lau Lapides (Host) Oh no, f***, oh no, you got to submit this for bloopers.
31:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah For OVC, yeah right, all right, stop Record.
Wondering how to convert your cluttered space into a voiceover success story? Let Anne Ganguzza and the ever-resourceful Tom Dheere, be your personal guides in the transformative journey of setting up a home studio that screams professionalism but whispers in costs. Starting with the bare bones of our make-do booths fashioned from closets and basements, we'll share how to shield your sound from the noisy world outside, using everyday materials to master the art of sound absorption. Our candid conversation is a treasure trove of relatable anecdotes and practical wisdom, perfect for any voice actor eager to refine their recording environment and captivate their audience with crystal-clear audio. 00:01 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO BOSS. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast in the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited to be back again with Real Boss guest co-host Tom Dheere. Hey, tom.
00:33 - Tom Dheere (Host) Hey Anne, I'm feeling very bossy today, but not in a mean to tell people what to do today. I'm just feeling bossy, but in a good way.
00:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You got good boss colors on.
00:40 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, and I got some good boss vibes going today too. Yeah, and you sound good, Tom. I do sound good today. It's funny, so do you, as always Well thank you.
00:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm going to be speaking next week at a conference to podcasters who are interested in becoming voice of artists. Part of my conversation is going to include the equipment they need, the skills they need and, of course, what's so important to us as voice actors our environment, our studios.
01:08 And you know it's so funny because we are on opposite coasts and I feel like we also have opposite type studios, but yet they both work amazingly well for our businesses. So I wanted to talk to you about your studio and our differences so that this could be a good reference for those bosses. Just starting out that you don't necessarily need a $20,000 recording studio, because when I first started I certainly didn't have one, and I know that Tom has the same story. As a matter of fact, when I first started, I was in my basement in New Jersey, because basements are a good place where you don't have to deal with, let's say, external noises as much because you're half underground.
01:50 It was a closet for me that I started off with, and, tom, I mean talk to me about when you first started. What was your first studio like?
01:58 - Tom Dheere (Host) Okay, my first studio was also in New Jersey, parcipany, new Jersey. I'm sorry, where were you in New Jersey?
02:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't remember Northern Jersey. I was in North Haldon, oh, right, by Wayne. Okay, I know exactly where that is.
02:10 - Tom Dheere (Host) I was in the 20, 25 minute drive west of North Haldon, so I lived in a garden apartment. For those of you who don't know New Jersey, garden apartments are these sets of apartment buildings.
02:21 They're almost always red brick, they could be white or other colors, and there's usually there's anywhere from like three to 50 of them. And I lived on a second floor and my first home recording studio was the front closet which was over the steps that would lean to the door that would let you go outside. So what I did was I went to Home Depot and I got carpet remnants on the cheap. I had a quilt that I think my mother-in-laws aunt made. It's a lovely quilt but like oh, this is a good use for it, I wove it into, you know, like the bar that you'd hang your coats on. Sure.
02:56 I would weave it through there.
02:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So it's like a little tent.
02:59 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yeah, actually it was even better than a tent, because the shelf that was above the bar rested on wooden blocks in this apartment so you could lift it up. So I actually threaded it through, threaded it back and folded it under so it completely encapsulated the shelf that was above the bar and that was that. So the quilt was around there. The carpet remnants from Home Depot were on the ground and in front of me and behind me and I made a point to, since the closet was a square box instead of having be an angle, I wouldn't push the corner of the carpet remnant all the way into it, so it would be curved.
03:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So all of the corners, so it would be like square, sharp corners Right.
03:36 - Tom Dheere (Host) So I would put it in with penny nails. And then I had, you know, those football blankets, the kind that you roll up to take a football game. I had one of those and I nailed that into the closet door and that was it. And then I had a little snack tray with a desktop mic stand and my mic was there. And then I got a monitor which I drilled into the well, no, that back then I didn't drill it into the wall, it was on a stand which was on the snack tray. And then I got a splitter, so the monitor that I would sit at at my desk would show the same exact stuff that it would show inside the booth. And then I would bring my air mouse into the booth and sit down and I would just, and then it's.
04:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, you were actually advanced because you had a monitor in your booth and you had an air mouse.
04:20 So, for me. I'm gonna tell you, my first experience was when I moved from one place in New Jersey to the next and I had my second studio in the basement. Was really cool, because you don't know what you don't know. And so for those bosses just starting out and I've done multiple audio episodes, just a real quick recap you need to really have a good environment before, I think, you even make a decision on your microphone and within that environment you have to make sure that you're not having any kind of echo or noise. So there's internal noise of your studio and there's external noise that might be trying to come into the studio and you certainly don't want any of the noise that you're making, right as you're voicing, to be echoing off of walls or hard surfaces. So it's important to kind of have yourself surrounded with some sort of material that can absorb that sound rather than have it be reflected back into the microphone. So when Tom talks about having his blankets and his carpet remnants up above him, to the left, to the right, keep in mind you wanna have some form of absorbing material that's in front of you, to the left, to the right, behind and above you and that will help curb any type of reflective sounds that might come back into the microphone. And then, of course, there's always sounds that come in from outside of the studio that we can't always control. I mean, studios have a recording sign for a reason. So even in a real studio, right where this is what they do for a living, you can't run down the hall screaming at the top of your lungs while people are recording, because not everything is completely soundproof.
05:53 However, getting yourself in an environment where you're not gonna get that much reflective sound and sound that might come in is best, and so one thing that that proves, tom, is that for both of us, when we started, we didn't really have to invest a lot of money into our studios to get good quality sound.
06:12 You just have to be a little bit educated about where you're gonna place those materials, and I think it takes a lot of experimentation. I do know when I first started, I didn't know what kind of sound I was supposed to have, and so really helpful to me was getting an engineer on the line and kind of assessing my sound and assessing my studio. However, in the beginning I didn't know anybody, and so I basically it was trial and error, trial and error, and sometimes you can place a blanket and it doesn't do any good. And sometimes you can put another blanket and it still doesn't do any good, and at that point it's helpful to maybe have somebody come and assess your studio sound. And with that I've got multiple places that I recommend. I know, george, the Tech is one of the best.
06:57 That's the first one came to my mind and I think both of us recommend him and bosses will put that link in the show notes for you. But it really can help to have a trained ear, assess what your studio sounds like but also know that you don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars. Now I remember back when I moved right from New Jersey to California. Then I had a town home and I was up on the second floor and then I had an office. Well, I had a second bedroom which was right outside of the kitchen and I had a closet and I said, oh great, I've got a closet, I'll make a studio out of that.
07:31 Well, that closet had no clothing in it, right? And that became a whole different set of circumstances where I thought, oh, it'll be easy, I'll just hang carpet, or I've got some old carpet, I'll hang some blankets. Well, it was actually more difficult to create a good sound with an empty closet than it was to actually build. My father actually built me a structure, so it was a little four by four by eight foot room in a room which actually works better than my closet which had nothing in it, like no clothes. So I feel like a clothing closet with clothes in it is really something that can help and can be better in a lot of cases than a clean closet.
08:10 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, I think I don't remember who was it said it, but sound functions like water and you have to understand where the sound flows and it always has to go somewhere. It's gonna go down, it's gonna go towards you or behind you, it's gonna get bounced around and moved around. So, under a standing, how and where the sound goes will help you figure it out Whether that involves getting bass traps or whether you gotta get Aurelix.
08:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now people are going what? Or some people buy pool noodles. What are bass traps?
08:39 - Tom Dheere (Host) Aurelix is a form of acoustic foam. I don't even know if I can properly define bass traps are. They're usually in the corners of the room, corners of the room, padding the corners there.
08:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think what you're trying to do is not have any. The other thing, if you can, because of reflection, right, Sound bouncing If you have walls that are perpendicular to one another or parallel.
08:59 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, you don't want angles, you want curves.
09:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Curves or angles, or if you do and I'm gonna get to our studios in just a moment if you do, you wanna make sure that you've got adequate coverage for sound absorption in there.
09:11 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right, but at the same time you don't want a dead space either. Too much acoustical treatment can be a bad thing, because your space has to have some kind of texture too. Not like a signature texture that is like oh, I could tell I listened to that commercial. I know Ann did it in her booth. It's not like that, but just something that doesn't sound like you're talking in a safe. You know what I mean.
09:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Absolutely, absolutely so. Ultimately, tom, it wasn't until I moved and this is after 14 years of actually being a full time doing voiceover and making money and so I had to have a booth that created good audio that people didn't reject. And, trust me, I did have a time when people rejected my audio, and that was when I didn't have an ear for what I needed to know, and that was very distressing.
09:53 By the way, all I can say is that once you figure out how to get your sound where it needs to be, it is a big load off your shoulders. But once I decided to move, I actually was able to kind of plan and really think because, okay, I'm 13, 14 years into my full time business, I wanna actually have a space that is created just for recording. And so I was fortunate and I researched, I researched a lot of different things. I thought, well, I can't bring the booth. My father had constructed a booth for me at my town home in Irvine and I couldn't really deconstruct it and reconstruct it again to have the same properties and everybody. I love that booth, by the way, and it was really wonderful and I had had that assessed and blessed by George the Tech, by the way, at the time. But now that I had an opportunity to actually have some time to sit down and think about it, I decided and I looked into researching, I looked into buying a Studio Bricks and it was gonna be really expensive at the time and at the time they were shipping it from Spain, I believe. There was no timeframe as to when I would get it and I thought, oh God, I can't move to a new home and not have a place to record, and so I said, well, let me look into something different. I spoke to George the Tech, who said you know, you might consider having this built for you a custom booth built for you and I started looking into that and fortunately I was able to find someone and, of course, everybody that's ever followed me or I definitely have a podcast on this with Tim Tippetts who designed and built my booth a custom built booth for me and I'm going to tell you that it was a luxury, but it was also something that it was great, because everything was custom tailored just for me and I'm sitting in it now. So if you're watching this podcast on YouTube, you can see my studio.
11:36 I've got sound panels in here. I actually have something that's not quite 90 degrees to one another, but you wouldn't know it by looking at it. It's just very slightly angled, but I do have ceiling acoustic tiles. I have acoustic tiles on my left, to my right, behind me, and I've got a double door, and so that cost me some dollars. I'm gonna say my first studios were a few hundred. Once I upgraded the studio that my father built for me, I would say that cost me about $1,000 with all the treatment and improvements to that, and this one was in the thousands of dollars.
12:09 But it's kind of set it and forget it and done, and so, comparatively, I live in a very quiet area to you, tom, and we'll make that comparison Cause, right, I'm West Coast. I live in a home, I'm in a studio that is dedicated and built custom for me, with double walls, green glue, acoustic panels. I live in it over 55 retirement community, on a cul-de-sac. There's not people racing around here. Well, if there are, that's some other issue. And so I have all the blessings of being able to sit in here and very rarely have to stop recording because there's something noisy happening outside. But, tom, tell me about yours because, again, mine cost thousands of dollars and I'm not saying it was super expensive, because I think for a custom built booth I got a really great deal. But, tom, talk about your studio because, again, you have an amazing studio that you've been working out of for years and just producing broadcast quality like beautiful stuff, one after the other.
13:05 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, it's funny because I lived in that apartment in New Jersey for 12 years, so I was recording from that space for 12 years and it was regularly a pain in the butt because there was landscaping going on, there was a lot of cars driving by, there was Snow shoveling, there was kids going to school, coming home from school because the high school was right across the street, so there were a lot of problems with that one. Now I live in Midtown Manhattan. For those of you who don't know, there are certain cross streets in New York City 9th Street, 14th Street, 23rd Street, 34th Street and then higher. I live on 34th Street, which means it's one of the two-way streets. Also the Lincoln Tunnel entrances just stones throw away. So I am literally living in the second floor of an apartment building over one of the most heavily trafficked Streets in Manhattan, if not the country.
14:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, not the world.
14:02 - Tom Dheere (Host) Wow. So what's crazy is that when I moved in here about five and a half years ago, there was a front closet, just like I had in New Jersey, and I'm like, well, let's not try to reinvent the wheel, let's just do what I did there and do it here and see what happens. It turns out that it's even better. The sound is even better than the one in New Jersey, and here's why is that. I'm sitting here at my desk and the front door to my apartment is like literally right here. I can't quite touch it, but it's pretty close and then there's a closet front closets right here, so I sit in it. When I'm sitting, my back is to the hallway and behind me this wall separating the hallway from the apartment is concrete, so that's yeah, concrete is always good.
14:45 And I using my Sennheiser 416, which is facing the concrete now.
14:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Why is that important that it's a 416?
14:53 - Tom Dheere (Host) the 416 is great because it has a very, very tight field. It doesn't pick up a lot outside of here, which is why, if you get a Sennheiser 416, your angle to the microphone makes a very, very big difference. So you need to find that sweet spot where you're sitting, how it's angled up like this and where it is like this, and where you are seated In relation to it to kind of get into that very tight Right and that's what makes that an ideal microphone for, let's say, a less than ideal Space right and it's also one of the reasons why I use it for travel as well, because of the pickup pattern, is very Concentrated and you don't have to worry so much about.
15:32 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Like I also have a TLM 103, which is a beautiful microphone. However, it picks up when you breathe because the pickup pattern is much broader than a 416. So yes, I think in terms of studio spaces, if you have less than idea, 416 or a shotgun type of mic that has a smaller pickup is much more ideal for that right.
15:51 - Tom Dheere (Host) The other thing is that the windows this is a 60-something year old apartment building here in New York City, but the windows are very new. They're very, very tightly sealed.
16:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Are they double-pained?
16:03 - Tom Dheere (Host) They are double-pained.
16:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think most apartment buildings that are in in cities are double-pained anyways, right, A lot of them are double-pained yeah and I used the same exact carpet remnants and and Bessie's quilt.
16:14 - Tom Dheere (Host) From there I said everything I love it.
16:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You got Aunt Bessie with you, see I ban out Bessie's quilt. She's with us, ann always she supports it.
16:22 - Tom Dheere (Host) Yes, and the monitor. Actually my wife, who's actually more mechanically inclined than I, and she actually drilled the monitor into the wall, so we set up all the acoustical treatment. She drilled it right in there and then it's still. It's a new set of monitors since the ones I had in New Jersey, but they're also networked the same way, with a splitter I bring the earmouse into the booth and so I just scroll, scroll, scroll. So I haven't printed a script in years, in years. And the quality it's even better than it was in New Jersey and I attribute it to a more solid floor and the concrete wall and better treated windows, so I actually didn't spend anything on the new booth actually.
16:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right. And the other thing, too, is you probably have to be concerned A lot of times, like an inside wall or a wall that has concrete on the other side of, or a wall that isn't near plumbing is very helpful, and so if you're too close to a window, sometimes you don't have the protection I mean because that's yet another medium that can allow sound in or out or be reflective. I, literally right outside of this door, probably five feet away, is my front windows, and so I've got double windows there. But because I've got double doors here, if the waste removal trucks come right, actually I don't hear it through this, which is really fantastic, but if I've wanted the doors open, or if I have both these doors open, or if I'm sitting outside, yes, obviously I won't be able to record.
17:42 - Tom Dheere (Host) I've had jackhammers outside.
17:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wow, that's fantastic.
17:46 - Tom Dheere (Host) The only thing that really really gets through is if my upstairs neighbor is vacuuming. That's the only thing that makes it impossible to record.
17:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So you're talking about the closet, then your actual studio is the closet behind you.
17:57 - Tom Dheere (Host) Right now that I'm seeing right, there's a front closet right here and then these other doors actually leading to the kitchen.
18:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And how big is that closet?
18:03 - Tom Dheere (Host) Three, by three maybe.
18:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay, and do you have anything else in it besides your recording equipment and or absorption material?
18:10 - Tom Dheere (Host) Not really. I mean, there's two shelves above it which we use for storage of various things. This time of year I've got two winter coats in there, but the rest of the year they're not in there.
18:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So actually, the two winter coats actually make it even a little more insulated, absolutely Especially if they're puffer jackets, right, I mean you can-.
18:26 - Tom Dheere (Host) One's puffy and then one's like a really nice one, like when we go out out. Actually, the only thing I did buy was the cable. I needed to make sure that the cable can run. So I'm sitting here and it runs and it runs across the floor right all the door and then I've got a rug that covers that and just snakes into the booth. I think that was the only additional investment and I live it by B&H, so it was like 20 bucks. I just went across the street, got it. Whatever, this is a 15-20 foot cable. I think that was the only additional expense to moving here from the old department and that was it. I also want to say this, ann, is that I was ashamed of my studio setup for a very, very long time. I thought that I wouldn't be regarded as a true professional, much less the VO strategist, if I didn't have a $5,000 booth. I am proud of my space.
19:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You should be.
19:07 - Tom Dheere (Host) I am proud of the work that I do in it and the work that me, and with the a lot of help from my wife, did to get it to where it is. No, it doesn't cost a lot. No, it isn't pretty, but your job, bosses, is to be effective as voice actors on a performance level, on a logistical level, on a financial level and on a technical level.
19:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So I don't care if it ain't pretty Well again, nobody's necessarily looking, and even if they are looking at you and your studio, really what comes out of that studio is what's important, right? It's not what the studio looks like, and I know a lot of bosses out there. I think it becomes complicated to them and sometimes a pre-built studio solution or a studio solution like Studio Bricks or Vocal to Go or LA Boos or whichever is out there, it becomes a solution that's simple to them. Well, you don't necessarily need to spend that kind of money. If you have it, of course I think that's great, but I think if you're just starting out in the industry and you're just trying to see if this is something that is going to be good for you, and if you're going to really make a go at it and have a successful voiceover business, I don't think you need to invest a lot in a studio right away.
20:15 I mean, gosh, I always talk about when we are traveling and on the road. Tom, we certainly don't have optimal recording situations in a hotel room, because a lot of times you've got the ventilation system, you've got fans running, you've got people out in the hallway in your hotel room, you've got windows and what's happening outside of windows to deal with. And so for us again, what's important is that we protect ourselves to the front, to the left, to the right, behind and above. And so a lot of times when we are away and traveling, I do the old pillow fort, the non-glamorous pillow fort, and that is literally put the pillows in front of you, to the left, to the right, above you. I take the actual luggage rack and put it on top of the desk.
21:01 And then I take the extra comforter and I make a tent out of it and then I take my 416 and that's what we do. Now I also have a tri-booth, which is great. A tri-booth, love the tri-booth, and I've got a review of the tri-booth on my blog for any of you that are interested in it. That is a PVC kind of put together constructed booth with moving blankets and a stack that has been created by George the Tech so that you can recreate your home studio on the go, and so I absolutely love my tri-booth. If I decide that I want to take that, I can check that right on the plane. It comes in its own suitcase and it's super, super easy to assemble, and so you can do that.
21:42 It's not always necessary, though. I say Create a studio, try to get yourself acclimated to what sound it is that you're looking for, great sound. If you are somewhat into audio today, if you're a podcaster, make sure that that studio really does have your acoustics properly set up and oriented, because sometimes a podcast I mean I know that when I first started podcasting I would listen to other podcasts and go why are they not concerned about their room, their sound? Because I would hear echo, sometimes the sound quality just wasn't there. But if you are coming in from another segment of the industry or another part of the industry, understand that your environment is important so that you can create good quality audio Does not have to cost a lot of money.
22:29 And, tom, I love our conversation because you are proof that you can have an amazing sounding studio and not have to invest a lot of money. You can be in a crazy city with tons of traffic, not a lot of space, and create an environment that you can do work and excel at over and over again and you don't have to invest lots of money. So thank you so much for talking to me today about your studio. Any other tips that you have for, let's say, bosses, maybe just starting out, or investigating what kind of studio to get or things to do to create a great studio.
23:07 - Tom Dheere (Host) Well, I do at vostratagescom. I also have blogs and videos that talks about gear, and I also have a gear section on my site.
23:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I believe you do too right, I do Absolutely Studio gear.
23:16 - Tom Dheere (Host) Check out both, because I guarantee there are some gear recommendations I have on my site that Ann doesn't, and then she has some on her site that I don't. So definitely check them out. There's different price points and I've talked about this stuff for many, many years, just like Ann is. But do your research. Harlan Hogan's Guide to Home Recording Studios is a great book. Sound Advice by Dan Friedman is another great book those who can be a very, very big help. And you can always book a free consult. I believe George the Tech has free consults, or at least you can contact him through the George the Tech website, because he's got an army of great engineers and that between all of them they know every microphone, they know all the hardware, they know all the software, they know all the acoustical treatment secrets.
23:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have an affiliate page with him too, so do I VO Boss can get you a discount as well, so there you go, whether you come to Tom or VO Boss, absolutely you can get a discount ona consult with George I don't promote that because I am an affiliate with him, but literally George has been with me from the beginning. I mean, he is the one who and I have blog articles written on that who literally took my father and my homemade booth and when we were like, okay, what else can we do? There's something missing, he was the missing key. He was the one that was able to take what we had done and make it sound.
24:31 And I used to get complimented all the time by audio engineers saying what is your studio?
24:36 It's amazing and in reality it's hysterical, because if you saw what my studio looked like, it certainly wasn't glamorous or elegant, but it really did the job and just like Tom's. I mean absolutely. And I think you can be proud and it's important for you to feel proud and feel good in the space that you're in, because it is our personal voice and it is our performance that needs to excel in a booth or in a space that we feel good in, and so you want to make sure you create that space. And so if Ant and I'm sorry, your Ant's name again, bessie, so if Ant Bessie is fully supporting you in your booth. I mean, I cannot tell you the affection and how good I felt being in a studio that was designed and built by my father and my father, by the way, had a lot to do with this studio as well and it does help. I sit in the studio and I feel good, and when you feel good, you can produce good audio, and I think that that's super important. And what a fun conversation today.
25:29 Tom, thank you so much for sharing your space and talking about studios with me today. Bosses, I want to invite you to imagine a world full of passionate and empowered, diverse individuals giving collectively and intentionally to create a world that you want to see. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceshukerorg to learn more and, of course, our sponsor, ipdtl. I love IPDTL and use it on a day-to-day basis. I just love it. Use it for all my coaching students. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Thanks, guys, bye.
26:10 - Intro (Host) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Anne Ganguzza and special guest BOSS Emma O'Neill talk about enhancing your voiceover performances through a fusion of fitness and wellness. Emma is an award-winning voice actor who's also a seasoned yoga instructor. the BOSSES discuss how the disciplines of health and performance are deeply connected. Emma shares her inspiring transition from a gym enthusiast to a holistic voice professional and illustrates that a strong body fosters a strong voice. Anne also discusses her current health journey, shedding light on the profound influence of nutrition and exercise on the art of voice acting. Navigating the world of mindful eating is no small feat, especially with the demanding schedules of voiceover artists. The BOSSES talk about instinctual eating and its benefits for those who rely on their vocal cords for a living. Plus, we delve into strategies for managing mental health and how a strong support system can be your ally in maintaining peak performance for both mind and body. 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzzaa.
00:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am absolutely thrilled to have a very special guest, Emma, O'neill, with me today. Hello, yay, Emma is a multi-award-winning voice actor and gosh, don't I know what. I've seen her receive multiple awards at these ceremonies in the last few years. She specializes in radio, tv commercials, tv narration, promo and corporate training videos and, of course, outside of her major success in the booth outside of the booth, she is a fitness and wellness enthusiast and I'm so excited to talk to her, and she's been a certified yoga instructor for more than 25 years.
00:59 So, emma, thank you so much for joining me and I'm so, so excited to talk to you today. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here, absolutely so. I'm excited because you've combined now two of the things that are becoming my favorite thing, and what I've proven to myself over this health journey is that fitness and wellness has really helped me in the booth so much, and I'd love to talk to you about it and your experience, because, I mean, you've known this for forever, I'm sure, and, however, for me it's just kind of like wow, I can't believe how amazing I feel and how it's really helped me in my voiceover and my voiceover business. So tell the boss listeners a little bit about your journey, how you got started and how you got in voiceover as well.
01:43 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) My mother was a dance teacher, so I was in dance as a kid, in gymnastics, and then we moved to Canada and I continued with gymnastics but discovered the gym and discovered step classes at the age of like 16 or something and it was just really fun Step classes.
01:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have to interject and say that my husband, when I met my husband, he was teaching step at a gym in addition to spin, and I would watch him on the step. I just have to say this because I'm not coordinated and he'd be like doing great vines up around the step and all sorts of dance moves and I would be like in the back because I liked him back then and I would just be kind of like trying to follow along, you're cute, but I'm not going to kill myself on the step.
02:19 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, I'm just going to stay in the back.
02:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm going to beat him so I didn't want to hurt. Well, maybe hurting myself. God is attacking right? Didn't ever know.
02:28 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, so I did step. I was a gym kid for a really long time and I got into yoga because I was at the gym all the time and I had hit a plateau. I was into fitness competitions and I was training for a fitness competition and I had hit a plateau and nothing was changing. Nothing was working. I would change my nutrition, I changed what I was doing, and someone suggested going to a yoga class and I was like, yeah, that's just like stretching. They're like no, no, no, go to this woman's class. I went to this class and the woman was in her late 70s, early 80s. One of her arms did not work. She had a stroke and I crawled out of that class. She handed my butt back to me. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done and I was like, oh well, now I must do that again because, yes, it was something. I just fell in love with the practice.
03:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's fantastic. I can't believe you're doing step when you were 16. One thing that I'm excited to talk to you about, because I mean bosses who have been following me know that I kind of went through a health journey. I've been through a few health journeys in my life, but this last one seemed to be more significant than others After I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
03:34 Things just kind of catapulted after that and literally my hormones got thrown off balance. I had actually just lost a significant amount of weight before I was diagnosed and I believe that that saved my life, because I think that my doctor was able to find my tumors because of that, because otherwise I had had a little, you know, she was able to feel them, so I'm very thankful for that. However, after treatment, mine was estrogen-based. I then had some chemo treatment which started kind of trying to block estrogen, because that's it was an estrogen-based cancer. I went through menopause and then it became one hormonal thing after another and then the pandemic, and so everything catapulted.
04:12 I gained a lot of weight. I gained at least all the weight back on that I had lost previous to it and then some, and this shirt that I'm wearing right now. So if bosses are watching on YouTube is my Wonder Woman shirt, which was given to me by Natalie. It's a big shout out to Natalie because after I was reconstructed and declared cancer-free, she said you are like Wonder Woman. And I'll tell you what. I have not fit into this shirt, since I have now discovered again how important nutrition is and exercise, and I've come back from my health journey losing a significant amount of weight. So I feel like Wonder Woman and I think you're going to be able to explain to our boss listeners why that's so significant and how that can really impact us in the booth. So I'm really excited. Tell us, tell us, tell us. What are you seeing is the most important thing that bosses can do to positively, let's say, affect their performance in the booth through nutrition and fitness and all of that good stuff.
05:09 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Thank you. One of the things I always try to drive home and people tend to not want to believe it I think it's not that they don't believe it, they don't want to believe it is that health and fitness is 90% nutrition and 10% what you're doing in the gym, on a walk in a yoga studio. It's 90% what you're putting into your mouth. And the health and fitness industry I put that into air quotes it's a business and it's a multi-billion dollar business because we're fed all of these lose a dress size in 30 days, but no one's taught how to maintain the loss.
05:41 - Intro (Announcement) Hello, exactly, so we yo-yo and all of us do it, and all of us.
05:44 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, you are not alone. You are not alone. We need to learn how to reverse diet, and reverse dieting isn't something that's taught. So, yes, you need to cut calories, calories, calories out it's just science. But you need to learn how to then build back up the calorie intake to maintain the weight that you've lost without gaining back the weight by increasing your calories.
06:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think that's key, and I think if we all had the magic pill or the magic injection, that could help us to do that right. Isn't that what the craze is now? Everybody wants these injections to magically lose weight, and I think there's one thing to be said for me, having had a significant amount of weight to lose, it took me a significant amount of time to lose it, which I think is good because, during that time I was able to really develop, I think, what I hope to be health habits that will stay with me.
06:31 I, for one, will tell you, I've lost and gained multiple times in my life, and I am at this point in my life. I am too old. I do not want to gain it back again. I'm terrified. I'm terrified to gain it back again, and so I literally am committed right now in my mind, in my mental space, to continue with the eating.
06:49 I think that's where it starts, right With the nutrition that you put in your mouth, because for the first year I couldn't exercise really, because I was so out of shape. I just couldn't. I thought I might die. To be honest with you, and people say that, oh my God, you work so hard, but I literally had a hard time breathing and so I couldn't exercise for a good year. And now I'm finally starting to and I've seen where I still need to make sure that I know exactly what's going into my mouth at all times and that's what really is helping me to keep weight off right now. That and I want to be accountable, which is one of the reasons why I'm so happy to talk to you and to find out more from you, because I feel like if I'm accountable to the bosses out there, I'm accountable to people who can educate me on this. I'm going to stand a better chance of keeping the weight off. Yeah.
07:38 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Movement is important, like one of the best things you can do for your body is walk. Walking is fantastic. If you're sedentary we're all sedentary being voice actors it doesn't matter if you're working out on a daily basis. You're sitting for longer than you're moving, so that means you're sedentary. But if you can get your 5,000 to 10,000 steps in a day, like aim for 5,000. If you're sitting down all day, aim for 5,000, that's a good start. If you can get up to 10,000 by increasing it by a minute of walking a day, it's doing things in bite-sized pieces and it's the same with food. Everyone's biodiverse, so it means they're bio unique. So what works for me isn't necessarily what's going to work for you or what's going to work for anybody else, but in general, especially for women, we tend not to eat enough, especially during the day, and then we over eat at night.
08:25 Because then we're really, really hungry, and especially as self-employed people, and our business hours are crazy and they're all over the place and we're working as the work is kind of coming in. I know that's what I do. So it's like I'll get up in the morning and I do my meditation and I do my workout or I do a yoga practice and I have a great breakfast, and then it's six o'clock at night and I've had tea and I'm like now I'm going to stand in front of the fridge and eat the contents of the fridge because I'm hungry.
08:49 - Intro (Announcement) Why am I making dinner?
08:50 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Why am I making dinner? I'm eating the contents of the fridge. Meal prep is a huge step. It's very helpful to have grab and go foods in your fridge, because the grab and go foods will grab bread will grab, chips will grab a banana will grab easy food.
09:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) The quick stuff.
09:04 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, but if you've got like boiled eggs, tuna salad, chopped salad ready to go, chopped vegetables with hummus, if you have things that are grab and go and easy to grab and go but they're good for you, it's much easier to maintain or it's much easier to lose. If your goal is to lose weight, you have to meal prep. If your goal is to maintain, I think that everybody really needs meal prep, meal prep, meal prep. Just keep repeating myself Grab and go and meal prep.
09:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, what's so interesting is that I've tried every diet under the sun. I've been on every diet. I've lost weight on most diets. It comes down to like maintaining and keeping up, but the one difference about this last plan that I went on was that I was eating, every two and a half to three hours, small high protein meals, and that worked for me, and I was that person that said no, I need to fast. I never was a person who ate breakfast in the morning. I always waited, and you're right. I mean when you wait, when all of a sudden you're like, oh my God, I'm hungry, I'm starved, and then everything goes in my mouth quickly, and then it's hard to really control what it is, and so I like, six times a day, at least tiny little meals, and for me that's perfect as well.
10:07 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) You don't need to be full. It's one of those things. I come from Ireland, originally born and raised there. I came over to Canada. We did not have a pot to piss in, so it was whatever was put onto your plate. You consumed because you did not waste.
10:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What was there?
10:20 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) And if there was too much food on your plate, it didn't matter, you had to eat it Like it wasn't put away, it was. You will sit there and you will finish that. So I was raised with that mentality. So you would eat a meal and you would be full, full, full, full, full, full. You don't need to be full, you need to be satisfied, and it's learning how to instinctually eat that you're eating until you are. I'm good Like, could I eat more? Absolutely Do.
10:43 - Intro (Announcement) I need to.
10:44 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) No, I don't, Because I'm going to eat in another two hours anyway.
10:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, right, and that makes a lot of sense, because I found that when I did eat small meals, I could hold off until the next two and a half to three hours. I will tell you, though, the other day I came back home from a trip and I'm still kind of on that plan, but I my time was off, like I went from the East Coast to the West Coast and so I was overtired. And then, when I'm overtired, I think that's so dangerous, because then you just don't, you're not thinking straight, and then you just want to put anything in your mouth, and I probably ate one more tiny meal than I should have, and I actually got full, and I was like whoa, it's been so long, and I was really uncomfortable at that point because I had not been full. And then I was like I might have indigestion. I'm not sure, and that certainly doesn't help me when I try to voice anything in my studio, right when I've got like reflux, because that definitely affects my vocal chords.
11:36 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Well, especially speaking of being full when you're in the booth, you don't want to feel full, you don't want to feel bloated, you don't want to feel gassy. You're voicing something and your tummy's making all sorts of noises because you're like oh, hang on a second. Oh no, there's another gurgle in the belly, so you want to be eating fibrous foods, high protein foods and thermogenic foods. Thermogenic food basically means that it takes your body more energy to consume, to digest the food, than the food is worth.
12:04 It was like there was the old myth that celery was a negative calorie food because you consume more energy eating the celery than the celery had in caloric value. It's not true, but it's the same idea. Instead of having a protein shake, have a piece of chicken. It takes your body longer to digest something solid than it does to digest something liquid. That's what thermogenic means, very interesting. So you're asking your body. It's like so you need to burn more calories to consume this food. Cool, because it takes longer. It also keeps you fuller for longer.
12:35 So, you're not full. It's not that I can't take a proper deep breath. I can't use my diaphragm. It's I'm full, I'm satisfied, but I'm going to be fuller for longer, so that when I'm reaching for food again I'm not starving and shoving. It's usually carbohydrates we're looking for when we're really hungry.
12:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yeah, I find, if I try to stay away from carbohydrates, that was my guilty pleasure was carbohydrates. It wasn't sweets, it was carbs, because I was also well raised in a large family and I think my father might have had a piece of bread and butter with every meal and it was like that kind of bread, potatoes sort of thing and that's what I loved, and so that did not do my waistline any good for sure. But how do you feel? In addition to like what you put in your mouth, how do you feel about your mental state? Because when I got into this I was like, oh, I just can't. I've lost weight before it, just nothing I am doing is working. I find that I had very negative. I can't lose weight. How do you feel mental health effects? And I also had very bad body dysmorphia so I couldn't look at myself, and so how does that affect weight loss and how does that affect your performance on any given day in your business and in the booth?
13:43 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Your mental health is paramount, absolutely. I start my day every day with meditation. When the alarm goes off, I sit up and I meditate because I'm still in kind of theta brain, so I'm not in awake, let's do things. Brain. I'm still in a different state where you can kind of program your brain to learn new things and it's about exercise releases serotonin, which is the happy chemical, like you want to feel good and so you want to find ways to feed your brain and calm yourself down.
14:18 Losing weight can be really challenging. If you are struggling with your weight, it can be challenging and it's also it's the devil, you know. It's so much easier to just go back to old ways because you know them, even though you know they're not good for you or they're not healthy, they're not beneficial. They're easier because you know them and it's more difficult to stick on a track that's initially a little bit challenging. Once you get past the first hump, I think things get easier. But mental health is really important, like getting off your screen before you go to bed. Easier said than done.
14:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, that is the truth.
14:49 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Surrounding yourself with really positive people, surrounding yourself with cheerleaders especially in those times because we all have them that we're not going to be kind to ourselves, like we're not going to be our biggest cheerleader, we're going to doubt ourselves, we're not going to be. As I can do this, as we possibly can, you need to be surrounded with people who pick you up when you're in that state. So feeding your brain proper foods, breathing, exercises are fantastic. What you're reading, what you're consuming from an intellectual and mental level is really important for your brain health. But this is why yoga, for me, has always been. When I found yoga, it was so helpful for my mental health because I struggled with anxiety and I'm an introvert.
15:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So talk to me a little bit about. I do some cardio. I actually, because I had complications with my weight gain and age. I was also diagnosed with diabetes, which also affected my feet a little bit and my balance, and so walking on uneven terrain is sometimes a little difficult for me. So for me I have a pre-core in the garage, which I always love pre-core because it's not impact. So if I want to walk right, that is my walking, and I also do Pilates. So for me, I think trying to build some muscle through that is also going to help me. But let's talk about yoga a little bit, because I've not really done much yoga. But tell me, what does that incorporate for your body and also for your mental health, and how can that help us?
16:14 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Me personally, I practice what's called Ashtanga yoga, and Ashtanga yoga is one of the older lineages of yoga. It's kind of the parent of power yoga or vinyasa yoga. So the faster paste, the faster moving styles of yoga, and I studied extensively in India. I spent a lot of time in India at the source with a guru and it's not Western yoga at all Like, it's not pretty.
16:37 You don't listen to music, no one tells you to open your heart, you are told to shut up and bend your knee and do what you're told. And it's a really interesting way of being, especially from a Western mindset. When we're speaking like I am independent and don't tell me what to do and I will do it, but it's like no, then you can't be here. Ashtanga yoga is about doing the practice, doing the movements and paying so much attention to what's happening in your body and your breath that you stop thinking. You stop the spiral of the I have to do this or the negative thoughts or any of that, because if you think too much, you're going to fall over the practice is. It's challenging, it's a very physically complicated practice to do so it gets to a point where it becomes a moving meditation, because all you're doing is paying attention to where your foot is, where your hand is, how you're going to balance.
17:25 Pull your core in. Where's your breath?
17:26 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's so interesting. Do you incorporate that at all in your booth, maybe, or during performance? Because that's so interesting. I find that for my students. When I talk to students, I say stop thinking about what you sound like and be in the moment and be in the scene. It almost sounds like you could use those principles to keep you in a scene so that you can be more authentic as a performer.
17:48 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) That's a really interesting way to put it, because I'm a classically trained actor and I haven't been in proper acting class for decades. So I decided to go back to actual acting versus voice acting, and I've gone back to Meisner, and Meisner is exactly that. Like Meisner is about making something real in imaginary circumstances, and it's the same idea. All of this has nothing to do with the sound of your voice. It's got everything to do with connection.
18:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, absolutely.
18:12 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) And your breath. Mind, body connection is what we're trying to do in all forms of movement. And it's the same in what we're doing in our booths. It's breath, mind and body.
18:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, and it's absolutely. We are trying to connect with our listener and that is.
18:25 I think it's such an important concept and it's such a difficult concept, I think, for people that are just starting out in this industry, because they just know it should sound like this, and I'm always trying to get my students out of their listening, out of their brain and into a scene where they can actually react and tell a story, and I feel like that's got to be so interesting in terms of you practice it in that style of yoga that that makes sense, that you could do the same principled thing in the booth.
18:54 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) It can be difficult to cross the two of them over. But when you have those moments of magic like I mean, obviously you don't record with your cans on. You've got your headphones off so that you don't fall in love with the dulcet sounds of your voice, and we all do, and a lot of people will talk about like you've got your engineer hat on and you've got your actor hat on and they should never be worn at the same time. So that's why you're not listening to yourself when you're recording. There are those magic moments where you just feel like you've dropped into. I am really telling this story.
19:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It felt right. I'm always saying like what did it feel like to you? Did it feel right? Then it probably was, it was probably authentic. You were in the moment. It's so hard, I think, for people that are thinking so much and they're in their head when they're in the booth. So do you have any special tips or exercises that you would recommend for voice actors to kind of help them? Because I think a lot of times it's a performance anxiety in the booth, even when you're by yourself. Sometimes you can just be too much in your head. Is there an exercise that you can do that can help you maybe relax, so that can help you get more into your performance?
20:02 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) You can do. I think it's called square breathing. I speak in Sanskrit when it comes to yoga stuff. I don't know the English translations of a lot of the stuff, but I think it's called square breathing and it's just about balanced breath, that you're counting your breath in for five, holding for five, exhale for five, hold for five and repeat that until you calm down. But the breathing is about it's diaphragmatic breathing. So you're trying to make sure that when you're taking an inhale, when we're nervous, when we're scared, we only breathe into the very, very top part of our chest, like from our collar bones, kind of like to above the boob, and there's nothing else happening. And with breath that's going to calm you down, you have to get it into your body. So, putting your hands on your belly, putting your hands on your lower back and trying to feel your body expand, as you breathe and not trying to stuff breath into your body.
20:50 So it's just a very simple kind of seeing your body as a jar or a vessel and you fill that vessel like any vessel, from the bottom to the middle to the top. Let it hold and then exhale it from the top to the middle, to the bottom, and if you just let yourself, slow down for a second and feel the breath enter the bottom of your body, the middle and the top, immediately the nervous system calms down.
21:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, you know, what's so interesting is that I don't want this to be all about Anne's health crises, but I'll tell you what I mean. Being unhealthy, I mean it affected every part of my body and the other part, besides being overweight, being diagnosed with diabetes, having neuropathy, I also was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I mean that's what my oncologist had said to me, that I want you to get more blood work because your blood pressure is stroke level high, which scared me, really scared me, and so, interestingly enough, I had done a lot of breathing exercises since I had a double mastectomy and when you have surgery on your chest after that surgery, it was hard for me to. I did a lot of long format narration, so I needed to figure out new ways to breathe, because a lot of times narration is lots of long sentences. Sometimes they're not written wonderfully well, and so I think the better you can breathe, the better you're going to be able to execute your sentences that are long and unwieldy and make them sound more natural.
22:16 And so there's a lot to breathing, and I found that being diagnosed with high blood pressure. Then, of course, they put me on medication which I'm now off, which I'm so thankful for, but I still take my blood pressure every day just to kind of keep it in check. And I found that if you're breathing and then exhaling and you're breathing before you take your blood pressure, it's amazing how low your blood pressure can go once you've done a few of those breathing exercises. And it's funny because my doctor will ask me she'll say are you breathing before? Because my blood pressure was so significantly lower. Every time I go in there and I take it and I said, let's see how low I can get my blood pressure this time right, so I'll just do some breathing and then exhaling too through my nose really helps a lot and it lowers your blood pressure amazingly well. That and mentally going to that place where you're happy and not stressed.
23:06 So, it's incredible Like I see the numbers change, how it really can help. And it's so interesting because people say, just take a couple of deep breaths and I'm like, yeah, what does it really do? Okay, but in reality I've seen the numbers, I've seen the numbers go down and it's incredible Just what good breathing will do and what good breathing will do in order to execute your scripts more believably and authentically, because you're not just like, oh my God, I'm just going to read and then I just went. Oh, I just went out of. Because we don't really run out of breath when we talk, naturally, because we pace ourselves right and we know where we're going to take that breath. But when there are words that aren't ours, if you have good breath support, you can certainly navigate them and make it sound a whole lot more natural. So breathing to me is incredibly important, and especially in a live directed session, I would imagine that. Do you ever get nervous, like when you're in a live directed session, and do you practice your breathing?
23:59 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, yeah, it probably just comes naturally to you, like breathing is meditation and there's a great book that I got one of the trips that I was in India. The preface began with people think that meditation is about turning your mind off. That will only happen if your friend hits you on the head with a hammer. I don't recommend it.
24:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I like that because that's what I always thought. It's not.
24:21 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, it's about not getting engaged with your thoughts. The way I describe it is like you're at Starbucks, you're reading your book. It's really quiet, yeah, but then it gets busy, like now the lunch rush has come in, but you still want to read your book and you don't want to leave because you've got the chair in the sun. It's great, it's wonderful, but everyone's talking around you and you're being really distracted. So you focus on that book. And you're focusing on that book and you fall straight back into the story and all of a sudden, everybody else in Starbucks fades away. They're still there, you're just not paying attention. That's meditation, and you do that with breath.
24:51 I love that. It's just you paying attention, that's all meditation is. And if you can do that with your breath, of paying attention to the feeling of the inhale, feel the breath coming through your nostrils.
25:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right. So in the morning, when you're up and you're meditating, right, are you simply just breathing? You're not necessarily thinking.
25:07 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Let's say positive thoughts or some days I do positive thoughts. Most days I just do breath because it helps me start my day with a really calm peace of mind. I feel much more grounded because you know an alarm will jar you as you're waking up and it kind of pulls you out of your sleep. You're not necessarily ready to be out of sleep. So if you give yourself five minutes, 10 minutes, before you get out of bed and just sit in a comfortable position and breathe and ground yourself, it starts your day in a completely different energetic place than launching yourself up out of bed, running to throw the coffee on, do whatever it is that you're doing in the morning. Take five minutes, 10 minutes. It doesn't need to be long.
25:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Our days are busy, so you just sit, breathe and start your day from there In terms of, let's say, if you're in the studio for a long amount of time, maybe somebody is doing an audio book or a long e-learning module. What are your recommendations? Because, for me, I know what my limit is in the booth before I have to kind of get up and shake things around and go pet my cat. Because, for me, I'm super hyper focused because I am trying so hard to just be in the story and to be in the moment. It's exhausting mentally at some point. What are your tips on if you have to be in the booth for a really long time, in terms of should they get up and stretch, breathe? What are your thoughts?
26:23 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Yeah, absolutely Generally I stand for most of my sessions just because I'm comfortable doing that. But for long stuff I do have a stool that I bring in to sit in. I do chair yoga if I'm in a booth where I'm sitting for an extended period of time. So just simple body stretches, twists, bringing my knees to my chest, turning my body side to side, deep breaths, back rolls. Spinal rolls are really helpful, especially when you're waiting for release or you're waiting for approval for something. But yeah, get up. If you're sitting down, get up and move around as quietly as you can and stretch, breathe, reach as high as you can to the ceiling and stretch, especially stretch out your ribs, stretch out your torso. It's helpful.
27:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Have you found that physical stretching exercise breathing has actually changed your voice in a physical sense?
27:08 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Probably. I mean you can change the shape of your body by changing your lung capacity. So because you can change your ribs, because it's just muscle, it's the same as working a bicep, right I?
27:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) mean it's muscle and bone.
27:19 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) But if you're working your intercostals a lot, you can actually change the shape of your torso and broaden your ribs. But yeah, I think that in general with my voice, when I'm calm, my voice is much deeper.
27:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) When I'm not calm, my voice pitches up into my head because I'm tense and I'm breathing Sure, that makes sense and I feel like your voice is coming from here in your vocal. Any specific exercises that can help maybe relax vocal cords, because I feel like that's where a lot of tenseness is, when people are reading and their voice tends to pitch up a little bit higher. Anything that can help relax in terms of I think your tongue out, does a ton of fantastic stuff.
27:58 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Oh really, uh-huh, uh-huh. I love that you grab your tongue with a tissue, just because it's difficult to hold your tongue with your fingers, because it's slippery.
28:04 - Intro (Announcement) But if you grab your tongue with a?
28:05 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) tissue and pull it out and try to speak. It actually stretches the tongue root. Simple pressing in with your thumbs into your tongue root and turning your head up, so you're pressing underneath the jaw, because the tongue root can get really, really tense, especially again if you are uncomfortable, if you are stressed out, all the things that your tongue will hold. So getting your tongue out of your mouth and then tying toothpick, as I said, tongue turning up will relax the tongue root.
28:33 And one of my favorites, which can be uncomfortable but very, very beneficial, is stretching out the muscles of your jaw. Okay, by putting your heel of your thumb, okay, just below your ear, underneath your cheekbone. Yes, so you go underneath your cheekbone, so up over your jaw, between your jaw and your cheekbone.
28:51 - Intro (Announcement) Oh yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh.
28:52 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) And push and pull down. So you're pushing you pull down and the bone of your thumb will press right into that muscle. It's like oh yeah, do them both at the same time. Wee, I love that.
29:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I want to be able to keep my voice in a more relaxed, lower sound, and I feel like that might be something that could help me to do that, that when you said, when you're more relaxed yes, when I'm more relaxed, my voice is lower.
29:18 - Intro (Announcement) At the end of the day.
29:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I have to be careful when I'm doing long. That's the e-learning modules, right. Because if I start to just go into like automated mode, right, then my voice tends to get higher and higher and especially, I think, for females, it tends to get a little screechy, and then I'm kind of talking like this, I'm a little bit more stressed and I will tell people like, shake it out, do some breathing, because what you're not realizing is that all of a sudden, your voice is now starting to sound very strained. So what tips can you give for our boss listeners out there? What would be your best tips for mental, physical health, for impacting positively their voice and their voiceover careers? What are your best tips Take?
30:00 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) time for yourself. All of us just people in general tend to give too much Like we're making sure we're taking care of the kids, we're taking care of our partner, we're taking care of whatever we're doing we're taking care of. Make sure to take time for yourself because you cannot. You cannot pour for an empty cup, so you have to make sure your cup is full and then from there you can give.
30:21 So it's again as you're waking up in the morning, take five minutes and it's like if you've got a busy house. Take five minutes in the bathroom, sit down and close the door. No one's allowed in. It's five minutes and just be with yourself and breathe. If you can get out for a walk, whether it's on a treadmill or outside, it doesn't matter where you're walking. Walk it's just beneficial for your lungs, it's beneficial for your mind and it's beneficial for your body.
30:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm so happy you said that, because I finally have made that time for myself.
30:53 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) It's so important. It's so important you have to take the time and meal prep. I take about an hour on a Sunday to meal prep for most of the week. It doesn't take that much time. Keep things simple. It's almost like when you're packing for a trip and you don't want to take too much clothes, so you mix and match, Like you make 12 outfits from like four pairs of pants and four shirts.
31:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay well, I have already done that. I know I'm terrible. I have a really hard time doing that.
31:17 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) I haven't figured it out, but other people are good at packing. We're just using this analogy.
31:22 But it's the same kind of thing with food that if you pick kind of like eggs, tuna, chicken and tofu, they're your four proteins that you really like, and you really like this type of lettuce and you really like this type of vegetable and you really like this type of carb, like sweet potatoes or whatever it is that you're liking. Make all of those and then you can mix and match them into meals and they're ready to go already there.
31:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, so I want to kind of expand on that. So what do you do? Now? We're going to be at Vio Atlanta, so what would you recommend when you are traveling? Are you prepping food for when you go or are you researching, like places that you might eat and healthy options?
31:59 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) I am known at conferences for figuring out where the grocery store is or if I can order from a grocery store into the hotel. I always bring a blender. Oh okay, so always I always bring a little magic bullet.
32:13 - Intro (Announcement) So I can make protein shakes.
32:14 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Okay, so I'll bring my own protein powder. I'll bring anything that I can. I'm probably going to get arrested at some point flying because I've got all of these powders in Ziploc bags.
32:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I've been doing that too, I have that like I'm drinking my electrolytes here and I have all the powders and yeah, I did get stopped, actually, and they said, oh you've got a lot of special food in here.
32:33 And I'm like you're right and it's helped me so much to plan. As a matter of fact, I end up either losing or maintaining weight for the last few trips that I've gone on, and I'm so thankful for that, because typically that's the time where I'm just going to let myself go and have a drink or I'm going to let myself go and have the bread at dinner, and thankfully that has not happened.
32:51 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) So yeah, there's tricks around it. It's like if you want to have a glass of wine, have a glass of wine, just like if you have generally. If you have a lot of fruit during the day, cut out a couple of pieces of fruit and then you have your glass of wine. So it's about balancing things out and understanding where calories come from and how things are burned. But yeah, big planner, I always get spinach and boiled eggs and whatever fruit. I'll always have something in the fridge so that I have breakfast in my room. So I get up and I go to the gym.
33:17 And then I have breakfast in my room and I have snacks in my bag, whether they're protein shakes or something handful of nuts or whatever. And then I only ever have dinner in the restaurants.
33:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That makes a lot of sense. I'm so glad you said that You're validating me, because I bring all of my stuff for breakfast and during the day, but then at night I'll go and I'll have my lean protein and vegetables.
33:39 And it's amazing how accommodating restaurants are these days, which I'm very, very happy for. I'll just be like, oh, I have dietary restrictions, and if I think they're not, they don't understand. I'll just say I'm allergic. I'm allergic to potatoes, I'm allergic to bread, no, but they always come through for me. So I'm very happy that I've been able to make that work. So I'm excited to kind of see you in Atlanta, and so now I feel validated. Thank you so much.
34:03 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) Oh, absolutely.
34:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And it's been an amazing conversation. How can bosses find out more about you and find you on the internet and maybe, if they have any questions for you, chat with you about health and fitness? And voiceover?
34:14 - Emma O'Niell (Guest) On the interwebs you can find me. My voice website is Emma at EmmaOniallvocom, or my yoga website is mysoretocom, like my M-Y-S-O-R-E-T-Ocom. I love that Because that's where it comes from, and Instagram is my name, emma.
34:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oniall. Okay, perfect, I'll put those links on the show notes. Emma has been so wonderful talking to you. I'm so excited to see you in person again at Vio Atlanta and maybe I'll get to work out with you in the morning, absolutely. And we'll compare notes on our meals. I love that.
34:46 I love that. Thank you so much, bosses. I want you to take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate and powered diverse individuals giving collectively and intentionally to create the world they want to see If you can make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network, like Emma and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
35:17 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of Vio Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Free distribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Ever find yourself wondering how a thick Boston accent might play out in the voiceover world? This week is about speech impediments and regional accents in the voiceover industry. It's not just the hurdles; the BOSSES cover strategies and encouragement for those voice talents looking to make their mark while staying true to their sound. From the importance of clear articulation to embracing the quirks that make your voice distinctive, they cover the gamut of what it means to stay authentic. It's not about mimicking a character; it's about bringing them to life with your unique vocal fingerprint. And for those thinking about their own twang or drawl, we discuss whether it's a hindrance or a hot commodity. This episode isn't just a discussion; it's a roadmap for voice actors striving to find their niche and shine in the competitive voiceover landscape.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss super power series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my very special, wonderful friend, special best boss guest co-host. Well, that was a big old mouthful.
00:35 - Lau (Guest) Well, I'll see you next time. Thank you, Anneie. It's awesome to be here. What a great introduction, oh.
00:40 - Anne (Host) Lord, you know how I was like. That was such a mouthful to say and literally I try to talk for a living, and it's a great segue into the topic that I'd like to chat about today, and I know we've discussed this briefly before, but you and I have both had either people on your roster or people that submit to you, and I have students that ask me. They come to me, they have a heavy accent or they might have a little bit of a list or a speech impediment and they will say to me so is this going to affect my voiceover career? Will I still be able to do this Lau? I'm going to ask you, how do you approach that?
01:21 - Lau (Guest) It's a lot, Anneie. Well, truth to tell, the agency does get quite a few submissions. We just got a couple today that clearly, if anyone has a pretty decent ear can pick up some sort of speech issue going on, whether it's an impediment, a slur, a sibilant sound, whatever it is, and it's common. It's actually quite common and I'm careful not to tell people oh, forget it, count yourself out, can't be in this game, forget it, forget it. I always like to say let me offer some.
01:52 If I'm going to do it, let me offer some strategies based on what I'm hearing and what you could be doing as the talent to see is it accurate what I'm hearing.
02:02 So the first thing I would suggest with talent is cross check it and pull it with six or eight of your closest peeps connected to the industry, if you can, whether it's an audio engineer or a coach, a couple of VO talent, and say, hey, listen to my recording. Do you hear any kind of an articulation issue? Do you hear a slurring issue? Do you hear anything? And be honest with me and get kind of like an informal poll on that first, because I never just take one person's opinion on it. So that's the first thing I would do. If they are hearing issues, if they are hearing problems, I would actually say, okay, let me see who is around that I can be getting on a consultation with, who is maybe a therapist, a speech therapist in figuring out how do I diagnose where I'm at right now with my speech and who can help me get to a cleaner, clearer sound. That's really the first thing you have to figure out.
02:57 - Anne (Host) Yes, my prerequisite is that I need to be able to understand you. So I like to say there's a lot more acceptance for, let's say, minor speech impediments and dialects and regionalisms. I mean. It's more accepted than ever before. However, I need to be able to understand what you're saying. So if it gets in the way of me understanding what you're saying in a normal conversational speed, then I feel as though you might want to either talk to a speech therapist or a dialect coach to see if it's something that can be cleaned up.
03:28 Sometimes it's a physical impediment, like it's placement of your teeth, or I've had people that come to me with braces and they're like I want to do voiceover, and so they have a big mouthful of lists and saliva and sometimes that's not going to be hireable and I'll just say well, at some point you'll want to make sure that you're going to be getting those off and whatever it takes for you to be able to speak a little bit clearly. Now, I'm the big fan Lau and I don't know about you, but I don't want people to be too articulate.
03:56 I need to be able to understand you, but too articulate creates a persona which is maybe not forgiving enough for the copy. A lot of times it might sound too proper, it might sound too robotic, it might sound too perfect, and I don't want that.
04:11 - Lau (Guest) But I certainly want to be able to understand you Right and I think it's the old rule of thumb, like if it's something that is pulling focus away from the messaging and people will tell you. A listener should be able to tell you. Even just a layman listener should be able to say am I focused on what you're talking about or am I focused on the particular speech or the particular dialect issue that you may be having?
04:33 - Anne (Host) Sure.
04:34 - Lau (Guest) And I would even talk to voiceover coaches that deal with speech, articulation and breathing, as many of us do. Many of us are trained in that and oftentimes that unto itself can help Learning breathing. Are you breathing properly? If you did have those braces and you had them taken off 10 years ago, did you ever learn to speak with proper placement, based on now where your teeth are and where your tongue is going and all your major articulators? Did you ever acclimate to the speech? Of that, I think it's a really good question to ask. And also we can't discount any mental acuity when it comes to our habitual patterns that we're doing. Are we even aware of them? Do we even hear them? Do you mumble? Do you mumble? People will say, oh, I know, I do that Lau, oh, I know, I've been told.
05:22 - Anne (Host) And I said well, do something Exactly. Yeah, right, right. It can't just be all. I have knowledge of it. Right, I have knowledge.
05:30 - Lau (Guest) Right, exactly, and it gets me into accents and dialects a little too, in the sense that we just had met with a potential client today and talked about that, where he came from. I said where's your background and where do you come from? You have such an ethnically amorphous dialect and it's so fascinating. And he said here's what one of my coaches told me Don't bother trying to eliminate that sound, it's going to be really hard, really impossible. You get to a certain age. You know you don't want to be spending tons and tons of cash on dialect coaches. It's immense to do the training to really flatten out that sound, to get what's called a North American dialect, which you probably can't get after a certain age. It's very difficult. So I said no, you have to celebrate what you have. You have to celebrate, celebrate your diversity.
06:17 - Anne (Host) Celebrate your uniqueness, yes, but Absolutely.
06:19 - Lau (Guest) But yes, but instead of yes and yes, but you have to be real about what placement that's going to give you. Sure, I'm a commercial agent. If I got a bunch of North American clients coming through, they're probably not going to want your particular sound just because the target market you don't represent that and basically tacking on the end of that Lau.
06:41 - Anne (Host) I get a lot of people British accents right that want to do commercial and I'm like, well, your market is probably not the United States right now. The wonderful thing about voiceover is that it's global, but probably in a commercial market in the US you don't hear a lot of commercials that have British accents right. However, you'll hear a lot of e-learning that has British accent, because, hey, who isn't a sucker for a really lovely British accent and it's pleasant to listen to you, for sure. But I think you have to talk to someone, and your coach or your agent should be very real and very honest with you to understand that there can be limitations to your market, for sure, and they should advise you as such.
07:21 I would welcome the diversity, I would welcome your uniqueness and your sound. If you have an accent or a regionalism, and I think that it's wonderful. I mean, I am so happy because, god, how many dollars did I spend trying to get rid of my? First? I had an upstate New York accent and then I moved to New Jersey and then I had a Jersey accent and then I moved to.
07:39 California. So I've got a mishmash of all of them and over the years when it was important to people to have that very neutral whatever a neutral accent is these days right, and I beat it out of myself and so in reality it's not uncommon for people who've been in the industry for a while, they're used to that. But I think today I welcome, I welcome people that sound unique, that sound like themselves. I think it's wonderful. But again, you have to understand your market may be limited, but also embrace what it is. And if it is an impediment or it's a problem physically with how you're speaking or you're physical in your mouth, I think it's something to maybe take a look at if you truly want to be in this business.
08:22 - Lau (Guest) Oh, I couldn't agree more. And the vocal patterns that we create over time. I'll get a lot of submissions of people that again, they have a beautiful voice and they're articulate, they're fine. But they're in these patterns and what we call them as mono patterns, where they're not one tone specifically they change their tonality. But it's patterned, it's like rhythmic or rhyming, or there's a certain cadence to what they're doing, so that it's formula, it's expected, it's a rhythm. And I say, take your acting classes, work in your coaching sessions to break that.
08:53 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, that's absolutely where acting comes into play, because you're basically just trying to do voice acting by mimicking what you think you hear, or what you hear in your head is to what you think people want to hear, and in reality, just wipe that out and just act, because we don't ever think about what we sound like when we talk to one another. We just, you know, I'm not, oh, do I inflict up? How do I, how do I sound?
09:17 - Lau (Guest) You know I'm talking to you right now, laura, I'm not concerned with how I sound, to be honest with you.
09:22 - Anne (Host) I mean, I just we're talking, we're having that conversation, but yeah, you're right. There are patterns and anything that is repeated or consistent can become very white noise, very robotic, very reedy sounding, which does not engage your listener, and the whole purpose of what we do is to be able to connect with our listener.
09:44 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, and I think that just the basic rule of thumb is and again you can ask around to get this feedback is is there anything that's getting in the way of my messaging? Like, whatever it is, just tell me what it is, and it may even be something beautiful like oh I have a sexy seductive sound and I turn that on. I turn that on all the time. Well, sometimes it's not appropriate to do that.
10:04 Yeah, stop that Sometimes it's, yeah, sometimes it's coming out on a product that they're not looking for. That Exactly so it's getting in the way. The mechanics of that are getting in the way of the product itself.
10:16 - Anne (Host) And I have a big issue, and I know that you brought that up. I have a big issue with females trying to sound that way and people expecting that female sound that way. Because, number one, that's a horrible stereotype and that's the chocolate commercial or the alcohol commercial you know what I mean.
10:29 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, I can't take another job commercial. I just can't. I just can't.
10:32 - Anne (Host) As a matter of fact, there's so many ways to be sexy with your own voice and not trying to put on any kind of sound. So, yeah, ladies, please leave that one, or even men, too, that have that please. And women who have that voice, that can be yes, hello, it's my elegant. Well, elegant is different than sexy. And then there's the male voice that you get a lot of Anneouncers right and they just wAnnea hear themselves land the word right, and then we'll land it like this and they like to hear the end of that and that becomes a pattern, it becomes repetitious, it becomes something that is expected and certainly does not engage your listener. It just becomes something that becomes boring after a while.
11:11 - Lau (Guest) No, and credibility in any kind of style that you're doing is a sort of unintentional kind of delivery that it really is about connecting with the other person that you're connecting with, rather than sounding like you're connecting with the other person you're connecting with Right, and so that sameness whatever that is that sameness oftentimes comes from let me manufacture, let me create, or I hear a lot of clients say Lau, you want me to sound like this. I say no, I don't really want you to sound like this, I want you to be this.
11:43 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want you to be it.
11:45 - Lau (Guest) I want you to be it. I don't want you to sound like it, because it would be like in our terms, like can you just sound like a mother? Well, I'm a mother and I can tell you there's many different sounds to being a mother. It isn't just a mother sound Right, or I want you to sound sexy. Well, there's many different intonations of what that could be like, so I would caution people to be careful of sounding the mechanics of sound and getting too much into that versus the landscape of intrinsic emotional value and authentic connection?
12:17 - Anne (Host) Oh, absolutely. And especially when you get, when you're auditioning, too right and it'll say you might have a sound delay. So what you do when you have a sound delay, you're trying to just sound like them. And then what you forget to do is you're trying so hard to sound like them that you forget to tell the story.
12:31 As a matter of fact, I always say when casting specs come out and they say think Jennifer Garner or think whoever they might have, whoever the voice of the day is Chris Pratt, don't think that way, but just chAnnel their personality and that's where the acting will come in. And then, because nobody wants you to necessarily, well, sometimes there will be special occasions where they really do want a sound alike, and in that case I think there are people out there that have very, very, it's unmistakable, and you're like, oh my gosh, you sound just like, and that, I think, is a separate marketing tactic. However, for the most part, when casting is asking for a particular sound, I always say, well, don't try to reproduce the sound or mimic the sound, just chAnnel the actor.
13:16 - Lau (Guest) Oh, I love that. ChAnnel the actor. And you'll notice, with actors, especially those that are mimicking, say, a political figure or something, because they're comedians, they're going to throw their whole body into their whole, their mind, their body, their content, their whatever. They won't just sound like that person, they'll start becoming that person.
13:36 - Anne (Host) They have to embody that person.
13:38 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, they have to embody that person really, to do it authentically and to do it well. And so we do the same thing. We're mimicking as well in terms of we're mimicking a real person in this industry, but in order to do it, we have to embody.
13:50 - Anne (Host) Yes, yes, so you know you don't sound but embody the sound.
13:54 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, it's like oh, can I mimic an executive? Let me mimic an executive. Sound, don't sound B. It's hard because I have to know, like, well, where are they and what's the situation and what industry are they in and how old are they, and that's going to give me a lot of cues as to the authentic connection versus just the pattern of a sound that they're creating. This is a great conversation. I love this.
14:14 - Anne (Host) Yeah, so if you have somebody who is Latino and has a very heavy right Spanish accent, what would you say to them?
14:20 - Lau (Guest) Well, in regards to there's a market, there's certainly a market, I think. In regards to Latino, you've got a lot of different dialects. I'd say. First thing that comes to my mind is Are you accent free in your native language? You would know that, or you could ask to find out if you're accent free and if not, what is your dialect? What is the particular dialect, so that we know for the particular castings, if they're looking for certain dialects, that you've fallen to that, and a lot of them are not. A lot of them are saying we would like native, authentic Spanish, latino, but not particular dialect. So that's interesting. That opens up the playing field for you.
14:56 - Anne (Host) I think it's great yeah.
14:58 - Lau (Guest) I think being able to speak Spanish is just like a gold card.
15:01 - Anne (Host) Oh, absolutely, to a ton more work, right, absolutely. And understanding that and understanding where the markets are for that. And so I might have somebody that says to me, well, will this work for e-learning or will this work for corporate? And I'll say, well, you have to understand that your market is going to be more of a global market or your market will be those companies that are looking to be able to expand in that region. So I'm not going to say no and I'm not going to say that you necessarily need to go spend thousands of dollars on dialect coaching, right, and it's also difficult.
15:32 That's not like oh here let me sound like somebody from Minnesota, but yet I I'm.
15:37 - Lau (Guest) And also Anneie. It's not fun. It's not fun work.
15:40 - Anne (Host) No, it isn't. It's very hard, it's very boot camp.
15:43 - Lau (Guest) It's very drill. It's very hardcore, Like in conservatory actor training. Oftentimes they'll do a training system where they'll learn a particular dialect or they'll have to get a particular accent. It's hard. It's a regimentation that you have to go into and really prescribe to and you have to have a reason to do that. Most people don't have a reason to do that.
16:02 - Anne (Host) Yeah, so that's a good question, laugh. Now, is there a reason? I mean, there used to be a thing we have dialect coaches, but we also have coaches that teach dialects, right? So I have a role and I need to have an Irish accent. So is it something these days that you believe voice actors should pursue, and what type of genres could be looking for that these days, or are they all looking for authentic? That's a?
16:26 - Lau (Guest) good question. Right, it's a good question. I think, years gone by, when I was training, yes, you'd have more reason to do it Now. No, you don't have as much reason to do it, because even in animation, oftentimes we're looking for more authentic native sounds and accents of people, talent that really come from the place that they are voicing, and so I'd be very careful of spending too much time and energy and money and resources learning accents when really oftentimes you're going to see those auditions calling for indigenous speakers to these particular areas, absolutely.
17:01 And if it's something that they're asking you for and they're interested in working with you, then it's really a pointed reality of why you would do it Like there's an end game to it. You know what I mean. Otherwise I wouldn't. I wouldn't do it so quickly.
17:14 - Anne (Host) All right. So we've discussed people who have, let's say, accents, dialects, regionalisms let's just say a Boston accent that are not necessarily a different language but definitely a regionalism, and what would you say to them in terms of their marketability, let's say in commercial or their marketability, right, okay, so I have a strong Boston accent and I want to get into voiceovers and do commercials, and what do you do when you get a demo where you hear that everywhere?
17:47 - Lau (Guest) Right, I mean. I personally love it because I know there are a lot of gigs out there that look for authentic New England dialects, and there's many of them. There is no such thing as the Boston accent. Massachusetts has like over a hundred dialects. So, it really is specific. But the first thing I ask is can you drop your accent and do North American? Many Bostonians can, actually, if they're actors, they can and many cAnneot. They just know the difference whether you can do it or whether you can't do it.
18:14 - Anne (Host) Is it worth it for someone to invest in doing it, would you say, if they wanted to get into voiceover as a career?
18:20 - Lau (Guest) No, I do not think it is. I honestly don't think it is, because it only takes one or two slips on a vowel sound yeah.
18:28 And you know it and you know it. I think it would be very, very highly stressful to do that kind of thing, especially like as an adult. If you're a kid, that's different. You can pick it up young, but if you're an adult, I don't think it's worth your time. I think you should just go for the gold, just like, go for every single thing that that Boston dialect will offer to you. Yeah, absolutely, and just claim it. Say I'm the Boston gal, I'm the Boston guy. This is what I do.
18:54 - Anne (Host) And I'll tell you what I've created many a demo, many a corporate demo and an e-learning demo for people in New York and people in New England and people who have a bit of a regionalism Now, Southern, even Southern, like South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas I've definitely done Texas, so anybody that has somewhat of a Southern accent, as long as it's not, like I said, as long as it's not impeding my understanding of what it is that you're trying to convey, and I don't think that it's so full of the regionalism that other people can't understand either. But I always, always make sure that my students know that there may be a slightly limited market because of it.
19:32 - Lau (Guest) That's all, oh but listen, you know what, Anneie. Here's the truth. If you're in the larger market of, say, the commercial world in North American sound, it's highly competitive, Absolutely. Just because you're in the majority of what the sound is what they're looking for. It does not mean it's easier to book, oh gosh, it's harder.
19:49 - Anne (Host) In fact, oftentimes it's harder to book. It's harder.
19:51 - Lau (Guest) I'll give you a quick example, because you were talking about British earlier we just had a casting for British, authentically British, and we had in our roster we have about 500 talent.
20:00 - Anne (Host) Authentically British. I say, that's another topic.
20:03 - Lau (Guest) Native, native British. We had four people audition four and out of the four we had to drop one who we know was not Native British, and why she submitted, I don't know, but we ditched it, we dropped it right out. The others are natively. They live in the UK, right, and there you go, so they have much more chance of booking their job.
20:24 - Anne (Host) Oh, gosh, yeah, well, that's it.
20:26 - Lau (Guest) Then the 85 who just auditioned for our North American bank commercial.
20:31 - Anne (Host) That's just my thought and that's understanding your market and understanding. So, like I'm a big fan of target market specific demos right. So if you have a regionalism, if you're bilingual, if you have that capability, I always say let's showcase that in a demo right, so that the people who are hiring or want to hire you or potentially hire you, understand those are what I consider to be unique specialties and also understand for yourself that those are markets you will seek because it's great to be we always talk about. Well, you need to be versatile, but also knowing what your niche is and knowing where your market is is amazing because you can be the go-to for that market.
21:11 - Lau (Guest) Right, like I can't name all the talent in my North American roster, but I know my British talent. Wow, they're memorable, yeah. Well, it's not because the North American talent are not as important, it's because there's many more of them. Sure.
21:27 And a lot of them are very similar in traits, in terms of how they sound. So that's just me. But I say listen, if you're in a minority, I would boast that, I would brand that, I would have a ball with that, I would not hide that and I would never. Here's the thing don't try to be something you're not. Yeah, be the best version of you that you can be. If you want to work on the side, let's say you have some extra income and you say, oh, but I want to work on it I say, well, then go work on it. But don't have unrealistic expectations of being able to compete in a market with people who have those native sides, absolutely.
22:03 - Anne (Host) Wow yet another really amazing conversation, wow, I love it. Bosses, so embrace, embrace that individuality. If it happens to be something that might be a physical impediment speech impediment you might want to take a look at maybe how can you take steps to correct that if you truly want to be in voiceover to do that. And also, yeah, get the opinions of trusted coaches, trusted colleagues and friends, just to see. And if somebody tries to sell you a demo right away without addressing those things, I want you to just literally just run, run the other way. You should absolutely. If you're looking to get into this industry and you do have a regional dialect, if you do have a speech impediment, if it's your most cherished dream, I still don't want you to go ahead and get a demo right away. I would absolutely, absolutely speak to a few coaches about it, speak to trusted colleagues, trusted friends and family and absolutely get their opinions on it. So, la, thank you for great code as always Wonderful chat, as usual.
23:09 And, of course, bosses. We want you to create a world in which your voice can absolutely make a difference and you can by giving and finding out more at 100 voices who care to learn more, all right, big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. See you next week, bye, bye.
23:39 - Intro (Anneouncement) Join us next week for another edition of VOBoss with your host and Genguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
24:07 - Anne (Host) Hey, la, do you know what time of year it is? What time is it? It is the audition demolition holiday, holiday Audition. Oh my gosh, la, I am so excited for this audition demolition. It is, of course, holiday themed. Guys, it is on December 14th. Get those auditions in and of course, you're going to have so much fun with the themed scripts and what. I don't even know what I'm saying. Oh, I can't say A blooper. Yeah, there we go One more time.
Today's voiceover landscape is brimming with untapped potential, and we're here to map it out for you. From acing live Zoom auditions to nailing in-person meetings, we've got you covered with all the preparation and adaptability tips you'll need. Join us as we delve into diversifying your voiceover skillset and why leaning into a variety of genres, like e-learning and corporate narration, could be your ticket to consistent work. Plus, don't miss our candid discussion on the art of evolution in the voice acting world, emphasizing the importance of ongoing training and a measured approach to carving out your niche. Whether you're a newbie to the mic or a vocal veteran, this dialogue is tuned to resonate with your voiceover aspirations.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hello everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my super special boss guest co-host Lau Lapitas.
00:33 - Lau (Guest) And it's great to be back, as always, yay awesome, all right Lau.
00:39 - Anne (Host) We've got a topic that I know is probably pretty common that you hear. I've been hearing it quite a bit lately and it's all about and I have been at this for a year now and I just am not booking. What can I do? I don't know what to do at this point. I don't know if I should just give up voiceover, or how do I get more bookings? So there's a good question, Lau.
01:09 - Lau (Guest) It's a great question and it's a common question. I know you and I have fielded that one for years and continue to do so, and I just had a client in a coaching session who the entire session was about that. Right, she was angry, frustrated, she was frustrated, she was hitting a wall, depressed, yeah, but just kind of like at a loss. Really like what am I doing wrong? Or at a loss. And I'll say one of the first things on our hit list that I'd like to talk about is redirecting the energy. So the first thing I did was and I know her very well for many years I wanted to redirect the energy towards her, not in the sense that she's doing anything wrong.
01:48 It's not about right or wrong here. It's about how am I moving forward in my marketing plan? Do I have a marketing plan? Is this something that is a real part of my day? And going into a time management, looking at a time management organizational tool of some kind and really, really making it real. Because she kept saying to me Lau, you know me, I'm a realist, I'm a realist. I said I'm a realist and I'll tell you for real you got to have a calendar in front of you For real.
02:16 Every day, every day. What am I doing in this day to put myself into the universe? That's really on me, that's on you, that's on me.
02:26 - Anne (Host) Right? Well, first of all, amen, applause, applause, applause. And so I want to just say the word that I think is so important, that so many people miss, and that is marketing, marketing, marketing, marketing. When you are not getting work right, you can have the best voice in the world. How many times do I say this Lau?
02:44 And it doesn't go good if nobody knows about it, okay, and so nobody can hire you. Like, nobody can hire you if they don't know you exist. And so if you're not booking, the first thing I say to look at is marketing. And I again will say to you companies hire departments full of people who are marketers, and those marketers, their only job is to go out and get leads, send emails, create marketing campaigns, do social media, do all of that stuff just to get a lead. And I can just tell you, like my husband who works in event management, right, they go to conferences, they sponsor booths, they talk, they present and they spend thousands upon thousands of dollars in their marketing efforts just to get business right and to stay afloat and to keep that business thriving or build the business, no matter what they're doing.
03:35 So I think that voice actors tend to really miss the mark when it comes to thinking about how important their marketing is, or their marketing because they're not familiar with it. They're not marketers, they didn't go to school for marketing. They kind of just go oh yeah, I got a market. And so then they think maybe a post on social media is marketing. Or they think I sent an email, nobody responded and you have not tried hard enough. I'm just saying Lau. What are your thoughts on that? Because I think most people have to put like a thousand percent more effort into their marketing than they do.
04:07 - Lau (Guest) I really think that when people come into this profession and I'll call them actors because it could be any kind of performer yeah, I don't think it's specific to voiceover the marketing element is something that we're just oftentimes not trained in, we're not aware of. It isn't like business 101. I didn't get an MBA, so what am I doing? Kind of thing. Well, it's just kind of the coach throws it at you and you go what? Wait a second, I thought I was becoming a voiceover talent. Now you're telling me I have to be my own production team, I have to be my own talent, I have to be a producer, I have to be a marketer, I have to brand myself. Yeah, you really do. So. I see it step by step.
04:45 I think it's important to understand your schedule first. A lot of folks that I work with come in and they literally don't know what they're doing. They don't know their schedule. I say how many hours in a week are you dedicated to putting your business out in the world? They say I don't know. Maybe a couple hours in a week or maybe six hours. I said not enough, not even close to marketing departments.
05:05 - Anne (Host) eight hours a day and more Eight hours a day.
05:07 - Lau (Guest) You got to go into it every single day and have a. It doesn't need to be constant, it needs to be consistent. So the consistency is really what you're looking for. You don't have to be marketing all day long, because you may be auditioning all day long, but you have to be able to multitask as you're editing, as you're delivering, as you're talking with a client, as you're auditioning. You have to be able to multitask. And here is the homework assignment I gave to her. I said I want you, once you understand your calendar and you have your schedule in front of you. Thank you too. Pull three leads for me every single day. Three, right. So if you do it five days a week, that's 15 leads in a week. That's pretty sturdy. If they're leads, they could be cold, they could be warm, you could be connected to them, they could be out there in the universe. But I want you to do that because every potential lead you have, every suspect that turns into a prospect, opens up potentially a door to a whole world that you don't have right now.
06:10 - Anne (Host) And I want to now kind of tack on to that and say that now that you've got leads you did three leads a day, you've done five days and 15 leads. Now understand that those leads are just that. They are leads. Right, those are people that you want to be able to market to. However, you also have to assess are they at a point, right at this time in space, to hire? Right? Do they have a need for you? Do they have a need for your particular animated character voice that is female and is high-pitched and young sounding? Do they have a need for it at this precise moment? Probably not.
06:45 I'm just going to say right, More than likely, the lead that you have chosen, if you're really choosing lead after lead after lead, right. They more than likely do not need it at this moment. However, they may need it down the road, and so that's where the consistency has to come in consistent, consistent, consistent. You have to revisit that lead, right, and you have to revisit that lead because they may not need you today, but they might need you tomorrow, they might need you six months from now, and you have to really be consistent with that and then keep good track of those leads so that you know when you last contacted them. So you're not contacting them every day and you're not Anneoying them, because, God only knows, I have had Anneoying people contact me over and over and over again.
07:26 - Lau (Guest) You have the stalkers.
07:28 - Anne (Host) Literally trying to sell me SEO services or web services or whatever it is that they're trying to sell to me. And I can tell because I see the thread in my email right. There's like oh, there's the sixth time they've tried.
07:40 Sorry to bother you, but not really so you do need to understand that those leads that you get more than likely aren't ready at this precise moment to purchase your voice, unless, of course, your leads are hot leads right. Then we talk about cold leads, warm leads and hot leads right. Hot leads you already have knowledge that they need a voice that fits your particular description. Right, and that would be something that is timely. You want to make sure you're timely and that you address that at the time. Otherwise, you've got cold leads, which is what most of us right, because we don't wear.
08:14 We just want anything. Right? We want any kind of job, right? I need a commercial, or I need a corporate narration, or I need an e-learning from this company, right? Well, there could be a multitude of things that the company needs, but maybe they don't need a commercial voice right away, maybe they are not doing any training because there's no new products. So just understand everything involved with that, with the marketing, which is again why companies hire entire departments with lots of people to do this, because the more leads they secure, the more chances, right of making a sale.
08:46 - Lau (Guest) I love that. I think it's terrific and I think too here's the second thing, technical tip I want to put out there as well that I said to this particular client I would suggest that you go out into the world. It's up to you how often you can do that, depending on your life and your transportation, but you should be going out into the world to a live event Now. We should be able to find them around, okay, whether it's a Chamber of Commerce, a BNI, a Toastmasters or whatever a women in business, there's a billion groups out there. All you have to do is make Google or DuckDuckGo your best friends and then you can find your lists of live groups that most of the time they're gonna be hybrid on Zoom and live if they're doing live.
09:30 I love the energy and the feel of meeting people in person and oftentimes you'll find that when you do meet people in person, there's no one in that room that does what you do, because what we do is very unique and a lot of times we have to educate the people on what a voiceover talent actually is. They don't even know what a VO really does. So it gives you an opportunity to practice a pitch, to practice a handshake, to practice a live networking in a room, to practice putting on your face, your clothing, your whatever right.
10:03 - Anne (Host) It's different than being in a booth Very very different and it's also different from sending an email, because you get that physical presence, that energy, there's a synergy to it and you're gonna be a lot more memorable.
10:15 And again, I think it's a combination of all of these things that we're talking about that can be effective marketing.
10:19 But absolutely I don't think there's any dispute over the fact that face-to-face networking can really generate relationships that can get you hired. I was thinking about relationships the other day because I just had headshots taken by my photographer, who I've worked with for 10 years, and I realized that we have such a great relationship. Like she knows me so well, she's able to capture my very best so that I can actually promote my business and I can promote myself in the very best light. And I feel as though your relationship building in those face-to-face networking can really help you to become memorable to someone and while they may not need your services, they might know somebody that will, and then you can come highly recommended. And word of mouth I think there's no better marketing than word of mouth. Oh, I have this wonderful talent here that I think will be perfect for your next campaign. You should hire them and a lot of times those are the best types of referrals to get, because then you don't have to audition your butt off for them.
11:18 And essentially, that's just a wonderful way to acquire work.
11:22 - Lau (Guest) I think that's terrific and listen, call it old school, but I'm a big fan of live. I think when you live whether you're on Zoom in real time or whether you're in a room with someone it has a whole different stress level and pressure that we need to perform. That you're just not gonna get in crafting an email, you're not gonna get in submitting your website, you're just not gonna get it. That's much more at your leisure, right. But when you're in person with someone, you have to think about what. If I only have five minutes with that person, what do I want to do for them? What is it about their business? How can I help them?
11:58 Okay, so, I have to educate them on what I do oftentimes, but how does it benefit them? Because that's why they're standing there. They're standing there to meet you, not because you're so fabulous, but because what you do is potentially what they need. So it's up to us to figure out well, how do I apply what I do to your particular industry? Therefore, you have to do your research, right? You gotta go on your websites. You gotta go on the YouTube chAnnel, look at the advertising campaigns. You gotta go in their literature and take a look at what they're doing. I also wAnnea suggest that you open up you were saying this earlier and I loved it open up your possibilities of the kinds of work that you can do, the genres of work you can do?
12:41 - Anne (Host) Oh, absolutely. You just segued so nicely into that, Because the other thing was that I just had a student who said you know, I've been doing this for a year and I can't seem to get anything booked. I can't get any work. And I said what have you been auditioning for? And they said commercials. And I went well, tell me, do you have other demos? Do you have other places, other things you're auditioning for? No, just commercials. And I said well, that's part of it.
13:05 You have to understand that the market for commercials well, it's probably one of the most popular market for new people to get into or want to get into. What you don't understand is that the commercial markets maybe only 5 to 10% of what's out there. Right, there's a big part of that which is narration, it's corporate narration, it's e-learning, it's medical narration. It's like 80% of the market, is that? And so if you're only restricting yourself to one specialty, to one genre, then yeah, Also, we just did an episode on transformation, right? This is where you might want to now expand your offerings, right, Get yourself coaching in a genre in a market space that is plentiful, such as corporate or corporate training, and that can really open up your possibilities.
13:51 - Lau (Guest) It's also one of the most highly sought after and competitive varies of the industry, the commercial industry, you know like 100% of the people that are swimming with you are out for commercial and want to do commercial work. So you just have to be realistic about that.
14:08 - Anne (Host) I'm going to just say, bosses, get over the fact that corporate narration or e-learning isn't glamorous. Just get over that, because, honestly, you've got a business to run. And I'm just going to say that most people are like, well, I want the national spot, or I want to do the next animated series, or I want to do that video game. But here's the deal. Probably everybody I know, whether they're an animation specialist or do promos they also do corporate narration, they also do e-learning. They just don't talk about it. It's not as glamorous, but I'll tell you what it's the bread and butter for a lot of people out there in the industry.
14:42 - Lau (Guest) Absolutely it is. And remember, I mean I can speak as an agent having a base and I'll tell you that I don't know anyone in that roster that only does commercial work. I mean, I think it's a little delicious part of the toast on the bread, but they have a lot of other spreads they're putting on that bread and not just for the money's sake, but also they're multi-talented. They have a lot to offer. They have a lot of different. They might be producing an animation pilot and doing audio book.
15:11 - Anne (Host) Right, exactly, e-learning thing, exactly. And how many people Lau? May I ask as a talent agent and I know as a casting director, how many people do you know book a national spot every day or book a commercial, even a commercial every day?
15:24 - Lau (Guest) No, not at all. Some won't book for six months to a year Exactly, and those could be super talented people too that get national spots.
15:32 - Anne (Host) They're not going to book a national spot every day. They might book one a month, one every two months, once every six months, and the rest of what they do is a smattering of other genres and a smattering of other projects. So really try to expand. And again, this is not where, oh, I want to do everything. I am the voice talent that is doing everything. However, the other options that you offer for clients should be well thought out. You should be trained in the genres so that you can really understand the most effective way, the most effective read, the most effective techniques, and that includes not just performance but also marketing for the market it does.
16:09 - Lau (Guest) It does, and diversifying what you're doing is a really, really smart thing. I hear a lot of newer talent what I call newer talent in the first three years of their business, talking about niching in and niching down and choosing something specific, and I said you don't even know what your business is, yet you don't even know what you like. You don't even know how people hear you, yet They've not even explored the other genres.
16:32 - Anne (Host) And that's another thing. When you talk about brand evolution and how you evolve, or how do you find out, like, what you're good at right? Unless you try it, unless you audition for it, unless you train a little bit in it, and you can. I mean, I found a passion in medical. Now, of course, I worked in the medical industry, but did I think about going into medical narration right away? No, I didn't.
16:52 I was all enamored with commercial and I thought, oh, I'm just going to do a bunch of commercial work. And that was just me being new way back when, not understanding right, not understanding the business and all the different genres. But ultimately I started saying, well, I can't, I'm not getting any work commercially right away, or I only get very few jobs. So I need to do something else, otherwise I'm going to have to go back to work, I'm going to have to go back to corporate and I did not want to do that. So really thinking about how you can expand your offering, so marketing number one, and then expand your offering.
17:27 And then I'm going to talk about, I think, the third thing, and that would be performance skills, right, and we even had a whole episode dedicated to this bosses about how sometimes talent think they're actually better than they are and they really could use some performance coaching to make their reads more competitive. No doubt about it. You know this is an agent Lau, probably every single day, right, and I do it when I cast and when we do our audition demolitions. We hear a lot of people auditioning and I think to myself there's a lot of people who could really utilize some specific one-on-one coaching or more workshops.
18:07 - Lau (Guest) No doubt, Anneie, no doubt, and I'll tell you what I'm hearing over and over again with submissions that are coming in that are looking for representation in the roster, is the fact that they sound like the tool of their voice is strong and it's beautiful and they seem like very nice people, at least on paper, but they either do not have the skill set just yet to where they would need to be competitive in a commercial market.
18:31 Yes, absolutely, and I'm really speaking about a real read, understanding what a real read is, how that happens the mechanics of how that happened.
18:40 I've even been sending out notices to people. Instead of saying, ok, you're not a good fit right now and they're sending me demos, I said, can you just send me a couple, just a couple dry reads of you doing your most natural read and they'll send it to me and it's authentically a Anneouncer, authentically, absolutely and authentically all of that stuff. So already I know they don't really know what it is, they're not sure what it is.
19:05 - Anne (Host) And you know right away as a casting director, as a talent agent and so yeah, also, guys, we don't need to hear that over and over again If we listen to it and we say, oh, you don't have it yet we know you don't have it and we're probably not going to ask you, we're not going to refer you, you're probably not going to get it until you do have those skills. And it's so interesting to me the students that come to me that just, they want to hurry up and get their demo done and they don't want to do the work they don't want to do a rush.
19:31 They're in a big rush. They don't want to do the work to figure out. What does it take to be an actor? And especially, I see it all the time with corporate e-learning and what people typically assume to be like I just want to teach e-learning or I just want to speak corporate. I hear the corporate this way all the time and again, you need to be the actor, and even more so with longer format stuff. You just do.
19:54 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, and inevitably yeah when you hear someone say how much money will I make? Or I'm quitting my job and I'm coming into this so that I can make money and do what I love, and yet, and yet.
20:07 - Anne (Host) The first question is you don't want to put the work in.
20:09 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, and ironically, the first question is will I make money and when will that happen? Yeah, well, if it's something you really love, the first question will be I'm excited about what you're providing here. Can you talk to me more about what the process is like or what the clients are like or no? If it's money first, I say you know you're asking the wrong question. I have to tell you you're not in a position yet to ask that question.
20:31 - Anne (Host) I'm not in a position to answer that question and I'll tell you that I offer consults to people and I will have so many people and I know that there are many people, many coaches, that offer consults, that offer the free consults and people will just say, yeah, well, I'm a singer and I'm a theater actor and I already have a studio at home and I can make my own demo. So you'll get those people that are not aware and you know, it's just one of those things I will always say look, I'm not going to put on any rose colored glasses here and I'm going to tell you exactly. Here's the story. It's difficult.
21:01 Even though you already do theater acting, even though you're a singer, even though you've got the equipment already, you've got the studio competitively, it takes some time because there is a difference. Obviously there's a big difference between theater acting, on-camera acting and voice acting, and most the time it's assumed that voice acting oh, it's just simple, I can read pretty, I've got a great voice, and again, it's just the same old story. But yep, literally it's. You don't know what, you don't know, you don't know. It's okay, I mean, I think this is a journey of education, but if you are really frustrated, if you have not been booking for a year or however long, if you're frustrated.
21:42 I want you to look at these three things, right marketing, look at your marketing. Look at your offerings. What you're offering, make sure that it's something that people want out there. Right, you can be a great character actor, but your market is smaller than, let's say, a corporate narration specialist right, and it's a whole lot more competitive. Your national market commercial is a whole lot more competitive than an e-learning module. So, understand your markets, understand who you're selling to and then, of course, take a hard look.
22:14 - Lau (Guest) Take an honest, honest look at your performance and how can you improve that yes, yes, be honest with yourself and develop what we call the hustle muscle. You need a hustle muscle so that you understand I'm not waiting for work. The newer ideology is don't work harder, work smarter. And I say, okay, work smarter, but work harder, yeah. Yeah. Smarter doesn't take the place of harder.
22:38 - Anne (Host) You have to grind and working smarter means you realize that you probably need more skills right. And working smarter means, oh, you probably need to expand your offerings. Working smarter means yes you understand marketing better right and you understand what people are looking for, and why didn't you get picked? Or why didn't that person respond? Well, that's just. They don't have a need for you, right?
23:01 - Lau (Guest) now, right right and look at, look at some of your idols. If you have an idol the gurus that are out there in the world pick someone that you really respect, that you follow. Maybe you read their books, maybe you go to their webinars, maybe you follow them. You know, just popped into my head I saw him on a network tv last night was tony robin. Some people adore him and some people don't follow him, but the one thing about him and his brand that's last at a hundred thousand years.
23:27 - Anne (Host) Right, he's been around forever is.
23:29 - Lau (Guest) He's a grinder, he is a hard-working person and he's had his tentacles in everything. He was in Hollywood, he had little bit parts in movies, he was on the conference circuit, he did a. What didn't he do? And now I don't know how old he is. He's got to be 60. At least he looks fantastic, by the way, he looks amazing and he's out there. He's got a new summit and he's got a new book and he's got it and he's very wealthy. Let's be honest, he's a multi-millionaire. But it's really the joy, the excitement, the challenge and the energy of moving forward.
24:05 - Anne (Host) That's what he sells his motivation right, he sells, he's motivating, he's motivating, he's inspiring and so, yeah, you better believe he's got that muscle developed. So absolutely, and people want that, right, but it's what you were saying.
24:17 - Lau (Guest) Anneie, it's exactly what you were saying. If I'm not moving, if I'm not doing, then I'm static, I'm stagnating. And I always have to bring it back to myself and saying well, if I'm not getting enough work or if I'm not booking, what can I do? Don't ask the question what am I doing wrong? That's not the right question to ask. Ask the question what can I be doing to strategize, work harder and smarter and make better use of my work days so that I can be putting myself into new leads, into new situations? And also here's another one for you. I got a bonus one for you you should be producing, you should be self-producing projects at all times, whether it's a little whatever, a little web series or a little YouTube commercial.
25:01 For your business or an adult Sure that'll help you to market, right, I mean, and it's exciting because you can get your friends and colleagues involved you can maybe pay someone a couple bucks to help you edit it or whatever. Incorporate work, work breeds work, at all times so that you feel like, wow, I'm creating, I'm creating to be creative and also to breed work.
25:21 - Anne (Host) Absolutely good advice. Wow, all right, yet another, I think, very empowering episode for the bosses out there and bosses so just really sit down, take a hard look at what you're doing now and, if the bosses can be of any assistance, we are here to help you guys. Also, take a moment to imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals such as yourself giving collectively and intentionally to create the world that they want to see. Find out more at visiting 100voiceswhocareorg. And our shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl you too can connect and network like a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Thanks so much, guys. Have a wonderful week and we'll see you next week. See you next week.
26:10 - Intro (Anneouncement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host and Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
26:38 - Anne (Host) Hey La, do you know what time of year it is? It is time for the audition demolition holiday Bosses. We are so excited for this episode. Why can't I just do this? Sorry, let's try that one, okay, movers.
In this episode Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides discuss health and business transformations, sharing personal journeys and business changes. Together, The BOSSES dissect the essence of finding a compelling 'why' to fuel profound changes and prevent old habits from creeping back. They navigate the intricate process of embracing a new identity after such shifts. The conversation takes you through the peaks and valleys of goal setting and the importance of evolving these goals to sidestep complacency and promote growth. Whether you're toasting to recent victories or charting the course for your next big achievement in voiceover or other business ventures, this talk is peppered with inspiration. Tune in and let the shared experiences and guiding wisdom propel you toward seizing new opportunities and savoring the ascent to success and fulfillment.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:19 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. I'm here with the lovely Lau Lapides, my very special boss co-host. How are you, annie? I'm doing amazing, Lau, I'm doing amazing. How about yourself?
00:39 Wonderful, amazing as well Good, you know Lau. I've been thinking about this a lot. I mean, for me, I have gone through a little bit of a transformation over the past few months Actually, I would say year and a half. Physical transformation, because I've been trying to get healthy. I lost a little bit of weight and I was thinking about in terms of wanting to transform my habits or what I do on a day-to-day basis and transform and evolve into something that can really move me forward and progress.
01:12 I thought that we can also apply the same kind of transformation thoughts, mentality, rules maybe not rules, but strategies for our own businesses. I thought it would be a good time to talk about transformation and transforming our VO businesses, because I think it's something that it's the beginning of the year. I think it's always a good time to think about. Everybody talks about New Year's resolutions, but I don't want to talk about resolutions. I want to talk about transformation and how you can assess if your business needs to transform, if you need to evolve, and what it would look like for you to set a course or a strategy on how to transform your business, because I think our markets have shifted Lau and we need to really evaluate that and transform our businesses to evolve along with them.
02:02 - Lau (Guest) Well, that's amazing stuff. I love talking about transformation and I can't help but bringing up the fabulous frog, because the frog in Eastern culture is a representative as symbolic of transformation when you think about leaping forward. And, by the way fun fact, I'm sure everyone kind of knows this, but this is leap year, which means in the leap year calendar, you have an extra day in this year for your leaping, for your transformation, for the new calendar and thinking about wow, what am I going to do in that extra 24 hours? Right, but I mean what you have done in terms of your physical, your mental, your spiritual transformation is nothing short of like miraculous, amazing.
02:50 - Anne (Host) Now here's the question.
02:52 - Lau (Guest) Here's the question what do we do once we are transformed into something else? There's a great question. Right and how do we acclimate to that? How do we that's a wonderful question Assimilate with that, how do we, in essence, blend into the form that we want to be and, all of a sudden, are becoming Sure Now we're a new entity, right?
03:15 - Anne (Host) Yeah Well, first of all, I want to say thank you for that. I really appreciate that. One thing I will say, and I want to stress this to you bosses out there, that transformation doesn't happen overnight. Very rarely does it happen overnight.
03:28 And I will say that my transformation, my physical transformation to better health, literally was a journey, and I really had to make sure that I gave myself grace and patience with myself in order to be able to transform. And I know that, gosh, we've been in business for so long and we've been transforming our businesses for years now, and I do know that it's not a simple nor a quick process. And so I want you bosses out there to give yourself some grace and to kind of be prepared and enjoy the journey as you evolve and transform and go through it. And, yes, law, one of the biggest questions is once you have transformed, how is it that you will maintain consistency or continue to progress or continue to keep moving forward, if you want to, with that transformation? And I will tell you that for me physically because this is multiple times I've kind of been there and gotten healthy and lost weight, and so I think this time it means a little bit more to me, I think there's always that what is your why, right, what is your why? Why do you want to transform? Well, I want to be a successful voiceover artist. Well, I want to be healthy. Well, I want whatever it is that you are looking to transform.
04:44 Your why is so very important and that why can evolve over time as you are transforming, right, that why can change and I think, depending on the importance of that why to you, right, that really becomes a catalyst for being able to sustain that transformation and to make sure that it's something that is moving forward. You're not going to let necessarily, let's say, slip back into bad habits or slip back into the things that will not move yourself forward. And I am the first to tell you that I am terrified, terrified of slipping back into old habits, right, I do not want. Health wise, I do not want to slip back. Business wise, I do not want my business to go backwards, and so that, right, there is a great motivator for me to figure out ways and strategies to actually maintain and or move forward from that. So I think really understanding your purpose and your why for the transformation is key.
05:45 - Lau (Guest) So here's the question, the million dollar question what is or what was your why?
05:53 - Anne (Host) Oh.
05:53 - Lau (Guest) Annie, for doing what you did in this major transformation, powerful stage that you've been in and still are in in your process and your progress. What was this last? Why?
06:08 - Anne (Host) for you. Well, that's really a good question. So if we're talking about my health transformation, I will say that it was an eye-opener from my doctor who said Anne, you are at stroke level high blood pressure and I want you to get some blood work done. And that's just the simple facts of it which just literally scared me straight into getting blood work done. And that blood work was not good.
06:33 And as a result of that blood work, I was then diagnosed with some other health issues which then I was prescribed lots and lots of medication for. It scared me and I thought, after having been through and people know my cancer journey, I thought I'm invincible, right? Well, no, no, I had kind of slipped into some habits. There was lots of reasons. I don't want to say that all of them were excuses for poor habits. I mean, some of them were just consequences of medication, but ultimately that was a priority that my why all of a sudden became like, well, goodness, like I beat cancer. I certainly don't want this new revelation of these new health issues to take anything away from me that.
07:13 I worked so hard to build in the first place, and so that kind of just woke me up right, and I think we all kind of tend to get into those things. I know there's many, many people that are either trying to get healthy on a weight loss journey that will slip back. They lost weight, they slip back, and then they're like oh, and they beat themselves up. But I think that things evolve, as we were talking about right, your why evolves, your reasons evolve, and I think you always need to keep an eye on that and you need to really, if you want to make that change and that transformation, you have to really keep your eye on that. Why write it down and really understand what now is the strategy, what are the consequences if you're not going to be making those changes?
07:57 - Lau (Guest) And really understand that if you are serious about transformation in your business, in your life, in your inner world, your inner being one has to have discipline. You talk about habits and rituals and routines and patterns, and so do I and the importance of that, the success of people that can stay with a successful discipline, a habit, and even if you fall off sometimes the frog does fall off the lily pad and gets wet and then has to come back- on.
08:27 That's okay, but are you moving forward? Are you moving backwards and really keeping track of that, whether it's goal setting, whether it's just about your inspirations for the year, or whether it is something as grave as oh, this is very serious for my health. I almost have no choice. I have to move in that direction or I'm compelled to move in that direction.
08:47 - Anne (Host) Absolutely.
08:48 - Lau (Guest) Understanding like prioritizing. What transformations do I want to have? Will I prioritize those? Because you and I meet so many talent that they want to do 12,000 things.
09:01 - Anne (Host) Oh, yeah, absolutely.
09:03 - Lau (Guest) They want to transform everything in one day, all at once, and you and I know it's just not possible to do all at once. It really isn't. The day isn't long enough and our life isn't long enough. So, really understanding, like what is most important, where is that going to get me? What is my end game in that? Sure See, it's really. I think and I speak personally as well, because I'm a creative too, I'm an artist too. It's easy to fantasize, it's exciting to dream and get inspired, but then sometimes we fall off the cliff on the other end, because there is no real end game to some of those dreams. They just feel really good in the making.
09:42 - Anne (Host) Or it feels good in the dreaming law, right.
09:44 - Intro (Announcement) Yes, you know what I mean, and so, but when it?
09:46 - Anne (Host) comes time to putting it into action. I think that's where most people they're really looking for. How do I get motivated? How?
09:54 - Lau (Guest) do I Right and that really becomes that.
09:56 - Anne (Host) Why that priority? It's almost like you're clawing your way sometimes to get that motivation, because you don't think that for 2 and 1 half years or three years, during that pandemic, I wasn't commiserating, saying oh my gosh, I'm not feeling good, or you know what I mean. I feel like I'm so busy but I don't have time to take care of myself or my health. And really you have to be able to somehow find that motivation to start the climb. And it is a climb and it's not more than likely. It's not an easy climb. The dreaming is the easy part.
10:29 And I like how you said inspirations instead of resolutions, right, because resolutions, a lot of times people get dejected from the beginning because they make a resolution and after the first week of the new year they're like yes, I'm going to go to the gym and I'm going to work out and literally that's just been something. And it's interesting because now that I've gotten healthier, now I'm on that mad terrified like, oh my gosh, I've got to maintain it. So now I'm physically working out every day, right, and the only time I have to do it is early in the morning. So literally I am like at 7 AM, sometimes 6, 30 AM and I don't, I'm tired and I literally I get on that machine or I go to Pilates and I'm like I am so tired, I almost feel sick. You know what I mean? That's how tired I am, I can't. But I push myself through it and usually you get through that lactose, burning through that lactose, and then you'll start to feel better.
11:18 But before you start getting better, boy, there's a lot of pain and it's hard. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it.
11:25 - Lau (Guest) But isn't that a great metaphor for exactly what we do in our industry is that we want to reach that zenith. We all want to reach the apex of whatever we're doing.
11:34 - Anne (Host) The first thing I thought of we want that. Yes, we want every day. We want to get work for commercial work.
11:39 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, exactly the first thing I thought of was a film I just saw about the Andes Mountains and I thought of a huge mountain like the Andes and how impossible it is to climb it. And we want to be right up on that little sliver, right up on that vista, that we can walk on the absolute top, and we say, I want to get there, that's my dream. But rather, what are the plateaus, what are the places that we have to get to in order to make it up there? And there are many stopping points, there are many resting points, there are many points where you're going to slide down, you're going to fall, you're going to roll over, you're going to stumble. And, really understanding, in order for me to get to that zenith, I have to think through and have almost a mapology of all the sticking points that could happen and how I'm going to deal with them when they happen, not if they happen, but when they happen because they will happen.
12:32 - Anne (Host) What's also I was thinking about in terms of inspiration? Right, because I thought, oh, have I reached my goal? Have I reached the place where I want to be? Have I reached the apex? No, I have to keep moving that apex Now. Does it have to be upward? I like to think it's moving upward, but I'm going to say it's moving in a positive direction, so I'm not going to lose 100 more pounds.
12:50 - Lau (Guest) Do you know what I mean?
12:51 - Anne (Host) But no, what am I going to do? Well then, maybe I okay. So now my goal has shifted right. My transformation goal has shifted, especially, let's say, in our voice ever business right? Oh, I want to do national spots, or I want to be in animation and I want to be on Cartoon Network or whatever. Your goal is right so you can have that apex. But again, where are those places that are going to get you there? And then, let's say, you ultimately get to the apex and you get that national. You get that. What are you going to do? Are you going to sit there? I'm going to say complacent in that, of course, I'm not saying you shouldn't celebrate that but I also feel as though you need to be continually evolving and moving that goal to continue transformation or continue growth.
13:35 I've always said this multiple times in the podcast, that the death of me is when I feel stagnant, when I am not changing anything, when I'm not doing anything. So in voiceover, maybe you can explore a new genre. You can work with a different coach. There are so many different things you can do. Take an improv class, right. Work up the relationship with your agent, right, like there's so many things that you can do. Yes, and what do?
13:59 - Lau (Guest) you do with the prize, with the celebration once you have it, once you get it. I once had an acting professor in grad school who talked about that. He said you know, once I reached where I wanted to reach, I got incredibly depressed. I got severely, clinically depressed. Yeah, because I reached it. I said that what else is there? Right, right? And I said there's no place but down from here. Well, we had smart colleagues that said you're wrong, your perspective is wrong. Now you need to reach the next level of where you're headed next. And remember you're not just headed north, you can go east you can go, west you can go diagonal right you can pivot in different directions.
14:38 The meter diver is going to go down south, so it's really about how you open up that framework for yourself.
14:44 I like that I like that Of success, and when you do reach a success, take the time, celebrate it. Yes, do something with it to make it real for yourself, make it count, make it something that you can apply to life, because you're going to want to move on to something else and you don't want to forget about that. You don't want to imagine that that never happened. Have you ever felt that way? I've had that many times where I've achieved exactly what I wanted to, oh yeah, and then by next week I forgot.
15:08 - Anne (Host) I did it. I forgot Exactly. You need to always celebrate that, and you're so right because I'm literally, I'm not quite at my goal right, but I'm pretty much at my goal right, and I'm like, oh gosh, now what, right, now what. And so, in reality, I needed to make a new goal. And so now I have a new goal. And now my new goal is well, okay, maybe health wise, I'm good.
15:28 I got most of my medications are. Now, you know, I don't need to take them anymore. Now I just I need to build up some muscle. This is just physically right. I need to build up muscle. So I don't have any muscle.
15:38 I got a lot of that weight had to go somewhere in my skin, said what, what, where did my skin go? It didn't disappear. So so I need to bulk up a little bit, and I love that, because I didn't feel depressed. I thought, oh God, I've done everything. And everybody says be proud and I am proud.
15:54 But I also was like, oh God, well, what do I do now? And so therefore, I will say to you law, I'm so glad you said that, because everybody that knows me knows I have all the different divisions of my business right and I always say well, it's because I can't be stagnant and I don't want to be bored. And so I decided, well, let's open up another brand, right? So I've got another brand, and people are like I don't understand how you do it. And I'm like, well, literally, I am one person, I have so many hours in the day, right, and so, yeah, am I doing a lot? Sure, but I also hire a lot of people too that can help me, right, and they're helping me to get to my transformation and my goals, and that is the way that I can do that.
16:32 - Lau (Guest) And so again keep setting goals, keep setting.
16:35 - Anne (Host) And you're right, you can go east, you can go west, you can even go south, but I think you always need to continually grow.
16:42 - Lau (Guest) That's right. And just remember with transformation comes change, and it sounds like well, obviously, but change is something that frightens us oftentimes because we like control and we like to know exactly who we are and what's coming next. So when you welcome transformation, you welcome change, and when you welcome change, you welcome the unknowing at times. So just keep that in your mindset.
17:06 - Anne (Host) And I think also there's something to ask yourself too is to really be truthful with yourself. Are you fearful of not just failure, but are you fearful of success? What will happen when you get to that successful level and that, of course, you know part of the fear of the unknown right? What will happen now that you're successful with that? Success may come like a whole new series of maybe problems or issues or things that you'll need to think about or deal with that you have not ever experienced before, and that is scary, yeah very scary.
17:39 - Lau (Guest) So as wonderful as it is and as much as we're going after it and chasing after it, we have to know that there's also a fear factor involved with transformation. And I say recognize the fear and do it anyway.
17:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah, just lean into it. I think really don't run away from it. Lean into it and just know that it's scary, no matter what.
17:59 - Lau (Guest) It's scary.
18:00 - Anne (Host) It's scary for all of us, really, and you're not alone. You are not alone, and I think that one of the reasons why I love this podcast is that we can talk about topics like this, so that people don't feel alone, because, again, we are in such an isolated business and you're an entrepreneur, and so, therefore, there are many things that are scary being an entrepreneur because it's so funny because, having come from corporate right where I was told what to do here, here's your job, this is what you do, and if you want to advance, this is what you do. And that was it. It was easy. I could take instruction. It's kind of like taking direction right.
18:35 But, as entrepreneurs, when we're trying to move forward and transform and evolve, where are we evolving to? What are we transforming to? Well, I know that. Let's just say I've had a lot of frustrated students who will say to me I've not been able to book work right, and so I've been here for a year and I've not been successful, and my loved ones are asking me what's going on and I feel like a failure, I feel like I'm not successful, I need to do something, and so I think that really, it could be a why right All of a sudden, if something's not working for you, right, that could be a good why to propel yourself to make a transformation.
19:14 Now, again, as I would always say, as being the teacher, right, educate, educate yourself. If you don't know where to go, you can ask a trusted colleague, ask a trusted coach. What do you think I should do? Where should I go? What do you think is next? Read up on the industry. I think that's another really helpful tip is read up on the industry and understand what the trends are, understand what's happening culturally in the world and in the market. Right, in the global market, because and I think we talked about this in one of our previous episodes right, that will dictate what are your buyers looking for? Right, how are you going to transform your business so that it can be something that will serve, right, the market and serve the buyers?
19:56 - Lau (Guest) Absolutely, absolutely. Do your homework, because it's not easy to transform. It takes a lot of work, a lot of research, a lot of homework, a lot of practice and then, all of a sudden, before you know it, you've turned into something else and hopefully it's in the direction of where you want to be. On behalf of your whole audience, you know, I thank you for being an amazing, transformational, super beautiful frog. Thank you, I appreciate that, and you as well we are all frogs.
20:25 - Anne (Host) Right, we are all frogs, we are, we are all frogs, and so I think that it's inspiring and it's motivational and it's exciting. I like to always embrace challenges and I try to embrace fear. It doesn't make me feel any more confident I have. So many people are like you're so confident. I'm like, well, okay, I put it on a good show, don't I? But I always like to look at things with positivity and I realize that if it doesn't work out the way that I think right and maybe it didn't work out I always say, well, look look at what I learned. Like, how cool is that? Absolutely Turn that into something good. You have to love the leap, yeah yeah, love the leap, love the leap.
21:04 And it's funny because when you first started talking about the frog, I was thinking, oh yeah, because frogs. Well, tadpoles, right, I mean gosh. When I was young I used to like I love little polywogs, polywogs that turned into tadpoles, that turned into frogs, and literally I mean look at them, look at how they grew. Look at how they grew. Yeah, they're incredible Caterpillars that blossom into butterflies. That transformation. So, bosses, we have complete faith, complete faith in your ability to transform yourselves, transform your business. And transformation doesn't just have to be business For my health, that's affected. My business, right, everything personally. We talk about how personal this business is. Everything that affects me personally affects my business too, Absolutely.
21:47 - Lau (Guest) You can't separate the two, because you need your energy, your focus, your mindset, your health. You need everything working in tandem to make that transformation happen. So take care of your inners before you take care of your outers. There you go.
22:00 - Anne (Host) I love it, guys, and we have all the faith in the world that you can transform Great conversation, laugh. Thank you so much, my pleasure.
22:08 Bosses, here's your chance to use your voice to not only transform, but to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to commit and big shout out to IPDTL, our sponsor. We love IPDTL. It allows me to connect with law and my clients every single day and I love that relationship. I love the building of the relationships with my clients and with law. So you guys, visit IPDTLcom to find out more. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
22:46 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host and Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
The BOSSES discuss how to embrace the intricacies of your finances as owners of your voiceover business. As tax season approaches, they delve into self-employment, discussing how different business structures, such as S-Corps and DBAs, can significantly impact your taxation and payment schedule. They also examine the emotional factors that can influence your approach to money management, taking into account personal backgrounds and societal pressures. Health insurance options are also discussed, from leveraging a spouse's plan to state programs. The BOSSES also explore the merits of keeping distinct business bank accounts and utilizing tools such as Health Savings Accounts and business credit cards. Whether you're a spreadsheet enthusiast or a QuickBooks aficionado, they provide insights on tracking transactions, automating invoicing, and the smart utilization of business credit cards for cashback rewards.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:19 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, Again back with the amazing Tom Dheere. Tom, I'm so excited to talk to you today.
00:33 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yay, always glad to hang out with you.
00:36 - Anne (Host) Except I don't have such a fun topic to talk to you about today, tom, oh no. Well, my accountant. The other day she sent me an email saying well, anne, I'm going to be taking out thousands of dollars for your free payment, for your taxes, for your S-Corp. As April is coming along here, I thought we should probably talk about finances, and I know it's not everybody's favorite topic and I've talked about this before, but I think, getting closer to tax time, it's important for us to have an intelligent discussion right and talk about why it's so important, bosses, for you to have some financial intelligence surrounding your business, and I think, tom, you're going to be the best source of information for this. So let's talk about financial intelligence. What does that mean?
01:25 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Okay, I derive my understanding of financial intelligence versus emotional intelligence from Robert Kiyosaki rich dad poor dad books. If you've never read rich dad poor dad, it is a must read for people who are self-employed in general, and it's really great for voice actors in particular, because it talks about making decisions based on feelings versus making decisions based on facts, and part of my philosophy is that everybody has their own weird relationship with money.
01:55 - Anne (Host) A lot of people are afraid of it. That's a polite way of saying it. It's a weird relationship with money.
02:01 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, Well, yeah, because some people are terrified of it. Yeah, some people covet it, some people hate it, and a lot of that is influenced by you, but it's also influenced by what your parents taught you or didn't teach you about money, or your culture, or your home or your school or your friends kind of taught you what your relationship with money is, not necessarily what it should be. So, as the VO strategist, there's a lot of grown-up poopy stuff that I talk about.
02:28 - Anne (Host) You made me snort, sorry Sorry.
02:30 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Or maybe I should do them more over there. That was pretty funny. What I mean by that is that a lot of people try to get into the voiceover industry to get away from the grown-up poopy stuff, and what they find is that they have to do all that stuff too, yeah, but they don't know how to do it. No one has told them how to do it, or when to do it, or where to do it, or why to do it, nor being held accountable for it. And the financial literacy is a huge component of that. Yeah, understand the difference between how employees get paid versus how managers get paid, versus how self-employed people get paid, and how they get taxed is very, very different. Yes, and can I just interject really quickly?
03:12 - Anne (Host) I said my accountant right, and of course, I always talk about my accountant and how wonderful it was one of the best decisions I ever made for my business. However, even though I have an accountant, I need to be able to direct my accountant and understand what my accountant is saying. So, yes, I need to be financially literate, I need to understand what's important, I need to understand how things operate, and she can be part of my education. She can talk to me about that. But also it's definitely upon myself to be educated and smart, because if you're going to have someone helping you with your financials, then you want to make sure that you've got the right person.
03:48 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yes, and there's a lot of ways to do that. There's a website. I'll have to find it. I'll give you the link. I think it's the AEA or AEE or it's like the American Association of Accountants or something like that, and you can do a search based on where you live and what kind of financial advisor you need help with. So there are CPAs certified public accounts who specialize in working with people who are self-employed. So because the way that someone who's self-employed files their taxes, because the way they get paid what tax, if tax is withheld, what tax is withheld, how it is withheld and all of the expenses that you can write off in deductions that you can make is completely different from a person who has one nine to five job, who gets a paycheck every 14 days and gets one W-2 in the mail every year and you take the standard deduction and you're done.
04:33 - Anne (Host) Now I have a bunch of different information right At the end of the year that if I'm paying people I need to provide or I get a bunch of information depending on how much money I've made from different clients I will get a bunch of different pieces of information that are important for my taxes, and I will also mention that, having been a DBA prior to an S-Corp, right, things are different now that I'm an S-Corp.
04:54 I mean, I used to, as a DBA, I would quarterly make an estimate on my taxes and pay it, but now I have to pay myself a salary, and so that is also different and I have different paperwork to file. I'm gonna say the S-Corp saved me a whole lot of my taxes. And again, what's the difference, right, between the different types of businesses and how can they help me when tax season comes about and how can they help save me money? And so, while I am saving money with an S-Corp versus my DBA, because of the amount of money that I'm making, it also becomes more time consuming on my part because I've got more paperwork to fill out, more things to mail in, and I've constantly, for whatever reason, the government is always coming back to me saying, hey, you owe us $13. No, I don't, because there was a number that was reported incorrectly.
05:40 And I'm not always getting it, but it certainly happens a little bit more than when I was working for a company and just had one piece of paperwork to file at the end of the year.
05:48 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Your VO bosses may be freaking out a little bit right now, but I wanna put them at ease. The question is should you incorporate or should you form an LLC, or should you stay self-employed? The answer is different, for everybody. Just because Anne is an S-Corp doesn't mean she advocates that everybody should be an S-Corp.
06:06 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely, Because you all live in different right, Right exactly.
06:12 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And that has a huge effect because different states have different incorporation laws. So what benefits her living in California and forming an S-Corp? May not be good for me in New York forming an S-Corp. So that's why you need to have a living breathing CPA, not filing it via QuickBooks or stuff. You need to have a human.
06:33 - Anne (Host) And I'm gonna say yeah, and not just once a year for taxes. I really highly recommend some sort of an advisor. Now your accountant doesn't have to tell you what kind of business, but mine did because she was very familiar with working with people who are self-employed. So that helped a lot, tom. What do you recommend for people who don't have a clue, like what sort of company should they form?
06:55 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, okay, talk to. Well, not all. And to your point, not all CPAs are financial advisors and not all financial advisors are CPAs, right? So if you are gonna have a conversation with someone about it, I would strongly recommend you find in your state a certified fiduciary, that's a person who has literally taken an oath and certified that they will give you financial advice that is in your best interest. This is why you should not walk into some national franchise bank looking for financial advice, because there's always some guy or girl sitting in the corner at a desk who don't care if you are penniless when you retire, they're gonna try to sell you the retirement packages that will give them the best commissions. So I say, stay as far away from them as you can. Go to your credit union also. They may be able to help you. Your credit union is more of a vested interest in your financial wellbeing too.
07:49 - Anne (Host) I just caught you saying I'm gonna sell you a retirement package. Now, that's something that most voice artists, right? If you're working for yourself and self-employed, you're not even really thinking about, right? That's in addition to registering your business, paying yourself a salary or whatever it is that you're going to do. Are you going to incorporate? Are you going to be a DBA? There's also other things like retirement funds and healthcare, right and so?
08:13 - Tom Dheere (Guest) That's a whole other thing too.
08:14 - Anne (Host) Let's talk about that for a moment, Tom Sure.
08:17 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Okay. So if you have a spouse who has an insurance plan, get on it. Yeah, that's probably your best way to go. Also, sag-aftra has a fantastic health insurance program. If you are SAG-AFTRA, you need to earn a certain amount of money every year to qualify for that. So if you can get it through a partner, great. If you can get it through SAG-AFTRA, great.
08:40 - Anne (Host) If you cannot, If you work for the government too, county or state before this this county-state government employees also have fantastic plans.
08:46 - Tom Dheere (Guest) When I was a teacher yes, I had a great plan because I work for an educational institution and I have a nice pension Right.
08:51 Also, the Freelancers Union has healthcare. Nava has health insurance packages that you can look at. I, who live in New York, go through this state New York healthcare program. So my wife and I built an account. We entered all of our information, all of our assets, all of our expenses, and then it says okay, based on your adjusted income, you qualify for these health insurance programs through these companies and it will cost this amount. So that's been fantastic for us. The big thing is that if you are self-employed, you can write off legitimately, legally, ethically, a lot of stuff. Yes, yes. So when it comes to applying for a mortgage, it doesn't look good because your income looks a lot lower.
09:30 - Anne (Host) Absolutely.
09:31 - Tom Dheere (Guest) But if you are applying for health insurance, first-hand experience.
09:33 - Anne (Host) It's great for you yes, first-hand experience. If you're self-employed and then asking for a mortgage, it is something. You will have to provide a trillion pieces of evidence of the money that you make. It is very difficult, because that was my experience when we applied for a mortgage a couple of years ago, before we bought this home, and so, being self-employed, you have to be more financially intelligent than you ever thought, because you're going to have to have lots of different proof of income when do you get your income and how much income, and what are you writing off? And the cool thing is is that, yes, you can write off a whole bunch when you're self-employed. However, sometimes it makes the government look at you a little closer too.
10:13 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yes, you gotta be careful about that Because if you take a loss too many times, they're gonna designate your voiceover career as a hobby and then financially, you're kind of boned when it comes to that. I will also give another piece of advice regarding health insurance. Is that the best advice that I can give that I give my VO strategist students is to try to get a health savings account, or HSA. This is separate from a health insurance policy. Hsa is basically an IRA or a retirement account, but the purpose of it is to put money into it and take money out of it only for medical expenses. And what's great about it is for those of us who get paid voiceover gigs where there is no withholding. They don't take taxes out. You can deposit that money in that HSA and it will not get taxed when you take that money out for a legitimate medical expense.
11:08 That money does not get taxed, it is protected and a lot of them function like actual funds, like retirement funds where you can choose. It's like an index fund or a retirement fund where you can choose Apple or Microsoft or whatever, and it will be influenced by the market and some of them are purely interest rate based, like a straight up IRA so you can have multiple HSAs. I have multiple HSAs. Some are performance based, some are interest based, and what I do is I don't take anything out of them ever, even if I have medical expenses, because what I'm going to do is that down the road you can reimburse yourself for medical expenses as long as you provide the receipts, anytime you want. So if you've got $1,000 in your HSA and you take out $500 to repay yourself back for a medical expense, you've only got $500 in there. That's growing or performing. If you do it 10 years from now, that $500, and you have $10,000 as a result of market growth and additional putting more money in. Now, when you're taking $500 out, it's a drop in the bucket.
12:10 Yeah yeah, absolutely, and when you hit 65, you can just withdraw from it like a retirement fund. So I strongly recommend a health savings account. It's very, very powerful. A lot of your credit unions may already have one, or you can go to hsabankcom and check it out.
12:25 - Anne (Host) Well, I'm also going to say now what's so important right that establishes you as a business is a business bank account, which is something I think is imperative, and also a business savings account, and I have a high yield business savings account, which is really. I don't take money out of that If I don't have to. That is really, and I don't know if it's just in the last couple of years, but I've seen more and more offerings of this with different banks and with I actually happen to have one with American Express which is doing really well, and so I have that.
12:55 I just put the money in it and I don't touch it and it just sits there and it really is doing well, interest wise, and so if I ever do need it, that's going to be kind of like my little nest egg. But talk about the importance of separating your accounts out from personal into business.
13:11 - Tom Dheere (Guest) This is so important. The biggest reason why you need to do this is so you have a clean audit trail, because if the IRS does ever come and knock in, they can look at your accounts and you can say this one, all of my business expenses went in and out of this account. All of my personal stuff went in and out of this account. They are separate because if you are mixing it all up, it's a big mess and you could get in a lot of trouble.
13:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and it's horrible at tax time Horrible, horrible at tax time, horrible, especially if you're not keeping track.
13:40 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yep. These accounts are super easy to open as well. Most of us can just go online, log on to your bank online and just open the account. You don't even need to talk to a human, you just go, click, click, click.
13:49 - Anne (Host) You just transfer money and they want your money, they want your money and, as a matter of fact, they will reward you if you have a certain amount of money in that account. Free checks, higher interest, that sort of thing, lots of different. So I think you can shop around for a bank, because banks want your money right now.
14:04 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, because, like, my business checking account is with one major bank chain and then my personal checking account is with another one because the interest rate is so much higher in the other one. But I like all the benefits. Sure, the business one. That's also the same one that I got my PPP loan when the pandemic happened. So when I applied and lined everything up, I got approved in 15 minutes and the money hit my account within 24 hours.
14:25 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, same. For me, it really makes such a big difference when you have those accounts separate, and I cannot tell you how easy it is to have those separate accounts when you're working, let's say even with an accountant, right, because I actually happen to have the same bank for both my personal and my business. However, they're entirely separate when it comes to my software. So how important is it, tom, to have a software that helps us to financially understand what's happening in our business? You know inflows, outflows, profit and loss.
14:57 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I'm going to give you an answer that you may not expect, but I hate those. I hate them.
15:02 - Anne (Host) Okay.
15:03 - Tom Dheere (Guest) What I do is I have I know this sounds terrible, but I have a spreadsheet. Well, of course you do what the spreadsheet does is I know because Tom dear loves a spreadsheet.
15:14 - Anne (Host) Yes.
15:14 - Tom Dheere (Guest) My spreadsheets, which you can download for free at vostratigistcom. You sign up for it, you will get the spreadsheet that I'm talking about. I log every penny that goes into my business and every penny that goes out of my business.
15:25 - Anne (Host) Okay.
15:26 - Tom Dheere (Guest) So what's also nice is I've been messing around with some formulas lately, so the 2024 version, which I have yet to upload, but if you email me at tomatomgcom I can send it to you directly is that I log the amount, whether it's me as a voice actor or as the VO strategist. I have separate columns for those revenue streams and then I have the genre of voiceover in another column and then that populates a report, a running, living report.
15:51 So I can see exactly how many e-learning things I've done this year and how much money I've made and what percentage of my overall revenue that is.
15:58 - Anne (Host) So now does that also incorporate? Now the only reason I'm gonna say to you that, yes, I realize that you hate them. The reason, one of the reasons why I like them it use QuickBooks online is that I can integrate my bank account and so if somebody's paying me through an invoice and it goes into my bank account, it automatically gets recorded and because I am working with an accountant, she can remotely log in. She's not in California. She can remotely log in and manage my finances and the two of us. I can see what she's doing and that basically works really well for me.
16:30 - Intro (Announcement) And I have.
16:31 - Anne (Host) PayPal coming cause clients can pay me via PayPal, Venmo, my QuickBooks invoicing, which is three different streams incoming, and so those three act as banks and get automatically entered into QuickBooks and it can also take the fees, cause you know PayPal and they all charge fees.
16:49 That's the one thing, and so that can be yes, that can be separated automatically, so it's not something that I have to go and say, oh, all right, so $20 was paid to me. However, I only netted $18.57 because of the PayPal fee. So all of that can be automated and that just makes it easier for me and my accountant.
17:08 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I will say that I do use Wave for my voice actor invoicing, which I have my credit card set up on that, I have PayPal set up on that and I have direct deposit set up on that.
17:19 - Anne (Host) My VO strategist revenue goes through Wix, so I don't really generate invoices manually as the VO strategist Wix does, wix does it for me, and then it collects all the payments.
17:30 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yeah, wix is great for that, and then I have it set up where once a week it'll take all the money I earned from Wix and just put it in my business checking account. So I get an email saying here tomorrow you're gonna get a direct deposit for this amount.
17:42 - Anne (Host) And then I just I write it in my checkbook and then you know, this is all income. Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense.
17:46 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right and I just write Wix in the right part of the side, or PP or DD or whatever. So also I'm so anal and I am so diligent with my spreadsheets and my CPA loves it because everything is auto-summed. So at the end of the year, when I don't bring my receipts to my CPA ever, I just send in one print out that has all of the expenses added up Automatically. I do very little math.
18:11 And then another spreadsheet that has all the 10.99s that I collected and all of the W-2s that I collected and then like the interest on my savings accounts or capital gains, the insurance interest and all that stuff and I just give that all to her. So I like my system. It works for me.
18:27 - Anne (Host) Yeah, no, absolutely.
18:29 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And working with the QuickBooks works for her, so it's good.
18:32 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, I will tell you in terms of expenses, like so, my expenses. I have one business credit card and everything it's put on that business credit card, and so the statements from that credit card become my expenses.
18:45 And the nice thing is I just get a credit card that gives me all kinds of benefits. It actually gives me cash back, so again, that also is a bank that can be input into my QuickBooks and so all of my business expenses are also there, and so again, that works for me. So, and also my business checking account, obviously in savings account, are also in the QuickBooks. So yeah, I mean, I think, whether you do it via spreadsheet. Now, in terms of the amount of time, tom, that you spend doing financial things every day, once a week, once a month, how does that work for you? What's your time?
19:18 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I mean, the spreadsheet is open every day, so if an expense comes in or a gig comes in or I work with a student, I just log it as I go. It's just part of my workflow. It takes a minimum amount of time. I pay my credit card bills like twice a week. And that's the same time I'm updating my checkbooks. I send out invoices. Well, I mean, it depends. There's some clients where the second I send the audio files, I send the invoice. For some clients I wait a week for retakes.
19:43 Then I send the invoice and then I have some clients who all the work that I did in one month I'll send them one invoice for, so I don't have a set time of day or a week where I'm invoicing. It's usually that. But again, I've been doing this for so long and it's just such a part of my workflow and I'm one of the weirdos that likes doing the invoicing and paying the credit card bills and balancing the checkbook and logging the spreadsheet.
20:04 - Anne (Host) And I'm one of the people that doesn't I actually enjoy?
20:06 - Tom Dheere (Guest) it and that's fine. You're the minimum majority.
20:08 - Anne (Host) I'm the weirdo on this one, but that's okay. I mean, I think, your method with the spreadsheet. I mean the spreadsheets are so, so valuable.
20:16 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Number one yes, especially if you can find the right formulas, because, like, I like to know what percentage of my voiceover work is coming from my agent, so I know at the top of my head in 2023, 12% of my voiceover revenue came from representation Wow, and that's important, because I need to know how my business is functioning and why my business is functioning and I also learned things on a marketing level.
20:39 - Anne (Host) Yes, yes, absolutely About how my voiceover.
20:41 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Business is doing so. If I do a marketing campaign to put myself out there as an explainer video narrator and then I notice in third quarter 2023, my explainer video bookings went up by 20%, that means that marketing campaign worked. So these things all have a relationship with each other how your money comes in and out, your marketing methods, the tools that you're investing in, the training that you're investing in on a genre level All of them are interrelated. Everybody thinks they're these separate silos, and I love this one and I eat this one. I love them all because they're all related to each other. They should have a synergistic relationship. Most people coming into the industry, as you know, dump all their money into performance training, which they pretty much should at the beginning because they need to know if they can do this and how to do it. And then they invest in the demo and while they're doing that, they're investing in the home recording setup and all that stuff.
21:31 But what they're not a lot of them are doing is investing in their financial literacy. While they're doing this, they kind of wait till later or they don't know they have to work on this, because if you can start to develop your financial literacy as you are developing your performance skills and working with great coaches like Ann, when it comes time, when you've got that shiny demo in your hand and your website is up and your home recording studio is ready, you can hit the ground running, not just on audition and pray mode, but also on what do I do when I get my first gig. Oh, my God, I did the gig.
22:01 - Anne (Host) What do I? I got to do. What do I do now? Oh my God, what do I do? I got a gig. What do I do now?
22:06 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And what do I do with the check? How do I invoice them and what do I do with the check?
22:09 - Anne (Host) Well, first of all, if you go, oh my God, what do I charge? And then it's like, oh my God, how do I invoice? And then it becomes like, okay, now I've got the money and think about it. You don't want to just throw that in your personal checking.
22:18 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, and that's why Ann can help you with that. I can help you with that Kind of developing your financial literacy muscles and your marketing muscles, your business muscles, along with your performance muscles. So you are well rounded and when you're ready to hit the ground and really start your voice over career, you'll be firing on all cylinders.
22:36 - Anne (Host) Well, absolutely. And Tom. I just want to promote you, tom, because for all of those bosses out there that are just starting out like a lot of people out there going, oh my God, I don't even know where to start. Do I incorporate, do I create a business? What should I do? How do I even go about getting a separate account for my business? All of these questions you've got the VO strategist right here at your fingertips. And Tom is just amazing. He's been in the industry for gosh a billion years already and he didn't even pay me to say this. But I am highly, highly recommending for you to get with Tom. Get yourself a plan right, get yourself a strategy so that you can go into this as a business and not be panicked and be prepared for success. I love it. There's probably a whole lot more that we can talk about financial literacy.
23:20 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Tom.
23:21 - Anne (Host) However, I think we've really covered a lot of ground here. That I think is important for all bosses out there to understand and know that again, we're not just in the booth performing. That's not who our business is. There is that other component which I think is super, super important for us to understand so that we can go and make a profit, because that's what the whole purpose is. That's why we've become unless you're a hobbyist and I don't think VL Boss is I don't think we're talking to hobbyists here. I think we're talking about bosses. We are entrepreneurs, we are business owners, and let's get yourself prepared financially so that you can be on the road to success. Tom Dheere, is your pathway to get you started. I'm telling you, tom, thanks so much for talking with me today about this lovely topic which I know most people. I'm going to have to title this episode something completely different. Maybe I don't know, because I think sometimes, when people even see the word finance, they're like, oh God, my head hurts.
24:20 - Tom Dheere (Guest) But it doesn't have to be. Learn to love it. Yeah, love your finances. Yeah, that's what it's going to be called Love your finances Right, love your finances and have business success.
24:31 - Anne (Host) All right, tom. Well, thank you so much again for your wisdom. Bosses, big impact, simple mission, 100 voices, one hour, $10,000. If you want to know more, that's four times a year. By the way, bosses, visit 100voiceswhocareorg to find out more. And big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and connect like VL Bosses, the VL Bosses that you are. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
25:01 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Free distribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Voice actor and entrepreneurial spirit Cristina Milizia joins THE VO BOSS podcast to share her VO and GVAA journey. From her iconic performances in "League of Legends" to her shows on Nickelodeon, Cristina's career has spanned, toys, games, animation, and more! Cristina talks about her artistic influences and passion for performance, how being bilingual influences her career, and unexpected stardom in the face of adversity. Beyond the microphone, Cristina's legacy is amplified by her profound impact on the voice acting community through the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) and its pivotal rate guide. We discuss the ethos of leadership, the cultivation of a nurturing community, and the unyielding push for fair compensation in the industry.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzzaa, and I am so excited to be here with a very special guest who is not only super Uber talented but one of my closest friends. Cristina Milizia is an award-winning bilingual voice actor and coach specializing in animation. She is a 2022 Voice Arts Award winner for outstanding animation character, film or TV best voiceover and is best known for voicing Annie and a Moo Moo on League of Legends, poison Ivy on Cartoon Network's DC superhero girls, Jessica Cruz for Lego DC Carlitos on the Casa Grande's, teresa for Barbie, mattel and Baby Bottle on the Cuphead Show. And while most of you know her for her acting roles, guess what? She is also a badass entrepreneur and a boss like no other, and she's the founder of the GVAA and the creator of the GVAA Rate Guide. Ah, Cristina, I am so excited to finally have you on the show.
01:19 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Thank you so much for having me. Also, any excuse to get to be with Ann is, like you know, awesome. I feel so fancy with your introduction, so thank you.
01:30 - Anne (Host) That long list of credits is amazing and I just want to reiterate, bosses out there, while most of you probably know her for her amazing acting abilities and her characters, I wanted to bring Cristina on because she's a pioneer woman. She is an entrepreneur from gosh knows. We've known each other for how long, Cristina now 10 years, 10 years about yeah, I think, at least 10 years.
01:52 Cristina was like a baby when she started the GVAA, and there's nothing more entrepreneurial than just starting an online school and then having the idea for the GVAA Rate Guide. So let's talk a little bit. Maybe brush people up on your career, because you've been acting for also, you're like 12 and you've been acting for 31 years.
02:12 - Cristina Milizia (Host) At least right. I have been acting for 31 years, so I am about to be 40 on February 1st, so very shortly, Happy birthday.
02:19 - Anne (Host) Thank you.
02:20 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Happy early birthday. Yeah, I know, that's a big 140.
02:23 - Anne (Host) Right.
02:24 - Cristina Milizia (Host) I'm feeling that when I'm like, wow, that's impressive, but no, I started acting when I was about eight years old. Again, my parents are musicians, so I was used to being on stage with them because they couldn't afford babysitters, so they were just like hey, kid, shake this maraca on stage, and that's what we did. So I learned to play all kinds of random instruments and sing three-part harmony and I got used to from a very early age just being like and I say this to my students you need to get used to being a dancing monkey to a certain degree which is like hey time to dance.
02:54 Okay, yes, I can do that. Ta-da Be ready to just go. And I had training really early on for just taking direction, performing on call, being on stage, which was an incredibly valuable skill set to have at an early age before you get to that point where you're more self-conscious.
03:11 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I was going to ask you were you ever scared to be on stage or scared to perform, or was it just because it was so ingrained at a young age? Did it just happen?
03:20 - Cristina Milizia (Host) No, I was never scared again because it just happened. Since I was so small it just seemed like part of my family life, along with sound checks and winding cable and everything else we did. It actually just got embarrassing when I got to like nine or 10 and my parents are performing at the school and I'm up there and I'm like, oh my God, please, all my friends are here. This is so embarrassing. I don't want to be like you are, family is playing and I'm just like, oh my God.
03:46 So, yeah, around between eight and 12, I got embarrassed about it and then I wouldn't play with them anymore and then I wanted to do my own thing and I danced as well and I ended up dancing professionally for quite some time, before I had an accident when I was 25 that made that no longer possible. So, yeah, it was a very artistic upbringing, so that definitely prepped me for just being in the booth. And so when I started doing some voiceover, the very first audition I did I booked and it was with casting director Ned Lott, who went on to cast for Miyasaki and Disney character voices. And, yeah, he cast me my very first job ever and I still work with him, which is really cool.
04:22 - Anne (Host) That's awesome. That's really awesome. And so your transition. I guess, when did you transition full time into voiceover?
04:29 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Well, I was determined not to be an artist because my parents, you know, were very much like kind of starving musicians growing up and it's a very difficult lifestyle, it's a very difficult profession to really make a full time living in, and so I was determined not to do that. So I studied like statistics, I went to like the school of management and I was like, oh my God, no, I can't.
04:47 - Anne (Host) Not unlike being an entrepreneur right and having your own business. I mean, we're all kind of starving artists, aren't we In our own right? Yeah, so you studied statistics and said uh-uh.
04:56 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yep, and then I went to the School of Management and actually that was very helpful because, even though I didn't stay there, I actually learned a lot about management and communication with teams and how to deliver messaging and communication and people management, and so that actually was very useful. Even though I didn't complete my education there, I ended up going back to transfer to UC Berkeley and then studied theater, but dipping my toe in the business world and management was actually something that was very useful later on when starting GVAA.
05:25 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, and so let's talk about your career then, kind of full-time and voiceover before the GVAA that would be GVAA. How long were you working and doing voiceover before you decided to start a business and what was it that led you to Actually want to start a business or an online school?
05:45 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Well, so I did voiceover from eight years old all the way through lower school, middle school, high school again. I just did it just here and there. It was never like a big deal, it was just something fun and a cool way to make some money, and we saved it, or my parents would use it for things that I needed. What type of jobs did you do at that age? Oh, that's a really great question.
06:02 The Bay Area they have a wonderful, a very robust toy and game industry up there and so all of my early work was toy work, toys and games. So leapfrog is up there in Oakland, so I did a lot of work for leapfrog. And then I worked for a company quite often called creativity and the music annex and they did a lot of work for just toy companies across the US. And I worked for another company called shoot the moon and they did like invention work where they would Create concepts and then present them to the big toy companies to purchase them. So I did a lot of invention work.
06:34 I did a lot of demo vocals as well, so like they'd want to have a product or a toy where they'd have like a celebrity doing, you know, the official voice of Barbie or whatever singing it. But I was like the guide vocal got, so I would do all the guide vocals and I would go through all the revisions of the song to get it to the final form and then they would give it to the celebrity and they would listen to my voice as their guide vocal before they did the final Things did they ever just pick you instead of the celebrity, or was it always the celebrity was because they wanted the marketing efforts, I guess, of the celebrity voice no, there were a few.
07:06 I actually did get cast and I got to do that, but it was actually fantastic training for animation, because a lot of these toy products are from animation Animation losses, you know, like Elmo and Barbie and Dora, and so I had to do a lot of voice matching, so it was actually great training because I had to mimic these characters and get as close as I could to have the client feel what the product was gonna be like.
07:28 So you got then into character then as well as yeah, I tell people all the time, toy work is fantastic training for animation in terms of just the level of skill required, in terms of what I kind of call vocal gymnastics, mimicry, really wide-ranging characters, really big characters that are very silly. I've been asked to do very, very silly things and again, just very like you know, singing a song in pig or in chicken. I did do a whole song, like it was a whole, like it was great, like we did all the notes were second and then they'd make music out of it and like it was wild, like it was just crazy stuff sometimes, and so there was just already a level of silliness that translated so well into animation later, because I was just not shy about You're gonna ask me to do some crazy thing.
08:17 I'm like yeah, sure.
08:17 - Anne (Host) All right, let's go. How do you embody the pig singing oh God, is that work? How do you get yourself into that character? Absolutely, I can totally see that as Helping you and also why you're so successful as a character actress today.
08:31 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Thank you. Actually, one of the areas of animation I've really started transferring in more lately in past year or two, has been creature work and it's been like gibberish, kind of sure, or emotive, like animals or like mystical pets or things that are just like you know just where it's just there's no words, but it's just an emotional performance where you can hear a message but there's no words to it. Sure, very freeing art form. That again, you have to be willing to just let whatever come out of your mouth, right.
09:04 - Anne (Host) Absolutely Come out of your mouth and that's been really cool, so I love that and I would imagine that that also allowed you to really delve into a lot of different ranges for your vocal Performances as well, because I know for a fact that you did a lot of little girl baby voices for the toys and so now, I guess, evolving into creature work, you get to do all sorts of ranges and I always think that vocal placement and understanding where sounds are coming from and where your Voice is coming from is so important in delivering different performances.
09:33 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Well, I originally started as little girl stuff that was on all this really cute. You know I gotta get my game down if I'm gonna do that. I started with just little girl stuff all the time, and then I just got younger and younger and younger. I Went into the baby stuff and that turned into you know, you know whatever, just really crazy. So yeah, I don't know, it just kind of evolved. People just kept asking me to go higher and higher and I was like, okay, now what about lower and lower?
10:10 Yeah, you know, we've done that too as my voice is matured, did get lower, yeah, like, so now I'll do stuff more, like down here yeah, you know, it's like my more big girl voice and then when to get really crazy, like we'll do weird stuff like that, that's awesome.
10:28 - Anne (Host) I know that I fully have to take advantage of my morning voice if somebody wants me at a lower register Right, and then also being able to get yourself down to that place if you can after you've been voicing for hours, that's another skill. That's another skill set. So tell us all about your claim to fame. League of Legends. Was that your first big gig as a character, as a major character?
10:49 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah, I would absolutely say so. I think that was in 2009. There were two characters that were introduced in the very beginning, and one, I believe, was rise, and the other one was Annie, and that was me. So a lot of people have a lot of nostalgia for Annie.
11:01 Sure she's also one of the very first characters that you get when you play, and so she's again nostalgia. She's one of the first characters that you get to play with, so a lot of people have a very attachment to her, and there's also an enormous statue of Annie and a moomoo at Riot Games, which is amazing. That blew my mind the first time I saw, but, yes, that was definitely the first big thing, but when it was done, it was nothing, it was not a known game.
11:24 It was an unknown game. I was one of the first two people to do it and so, wow, I did it and promptly forgot about it, never heard anything about it again. Yeah, because I didn't know that it had become anything. And they give us code names. I didn't even know the name of the game.
11:37 - Anne (Host) Oh, okay, yes, so you didn't even know what game, and so when it came out, did you know that had to come out?
11:42 - Cristina Milizia (Host) No idea, no idea. I didn't know until I met my husband and that was in 2012, so it was like three years later, and he actually worked at Riot Games at the time, working on League of Legends, and we were on our first date. And I laughed and he said your voice sounds really familiar. Oh my gosh, how do I?
12:00 - Anne (Host) not know this story, Cristina, I should know this story.
12:04 - Cristina Milizia (Host) It was part of the magic of our first date. And he was like your voice sounds really familiar If you've heard anything for Riot Games. And I was like I don't know, let me check my resume. And I'm like looked and I was like yeah, I'm some character named Annie and a moomoo, and I pronounced it and he was like your Annie and I was like yeah, and then he told me he's like your voice is famous all over the world and I was like that character really didn't.
12:27 - Intro (Announcement) Wow, you really didn't know.
12:29 - Cristina Milizia (Host) No, and I thought he was just like blowing smoke.
12:31 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I thought he was just trying to like Cause first date.
12:32 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah, yeah, I thought he was like trying to butter me up.
12:35 - Anne (Host) Or like.
12:36 - Cristina Milizia (Host) I thought maybe he had a small cult following somewhere like you know something? And he was like no, go, look it up.
12:42 - Anne (Host) And I was like and so it never occurred to you to look it up, because you weren't necessarily, let's say, a gamer at the time or you were on to other roles or what happened, just probably forgot about it.
12:53 - Cristina Milizia (Host) I didn't even know the name of the game, right.
12:55 - Intro (Announcement) So I didn't even know what to look for.
12:57 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah, like they didn't tell you later. So I knew I was someone called Annie, and a Moomoo is more specific. But again, there are so many games that you do and then they just either don't become anything or they're small. And you know I wasn't doing big big games at that time. You know I would get and I was doing smaller more mobile games, toys. I wasn't used to anything going on a very large scale. So that was, yes, definitely my very first big thing that I didn't even know had become a big thing until I met my husband. And that's been. The funniest part is that my laugh is Annie's laugh, just higher pitched.
13:27 And one of my favorite moments ever is that I was at the airport getting off a flight. I was just in the airport and I laughed about something and then all of a sudden I hear this person and they're all Annie, annie. I love it, annie. And they just are running around the airport Like we see this person running trying to find her. Like Annie.
13:48 - Anne (Host) Like I was like. Did you answer yes?
13:51 - Cristina Milizia (Host) I said legal legends, annie. They were like yes, and they were like you're Annie. And then we had to like sit down and have a conversation and I had never been recognized by my laugh at an airport. It just blew my mind and so that was like how you knew you were kind of famous, but it's fun because it's just the voice, like if I hadn't laughed no one would know, and that was like my big, like celebrity moment, right, it felt like I felt important.
14:14 - Anne (Host) Well, that was the beginning of them, right, and I know how hard you've worked. I mean, having known you like literally I met you, I think, right after you got married, like maybe a year after you got married, and so we have known each other for 10 years and I know how hard you have worked to just make a space and to really claim your talents, which I always knew were amazing in the animation space, and you've gone on to these amazing roles. What was your evolution for that? Like, talk about your ethic, because one thing before I talk about your entrepreneurial ethic and getting into GVAA was you were focused. I remember you saying you were just focused on wanting to really do well in animation, so talk to us a little bit about that.
14:58 - Cristina Milizia (Host) I think I had been doing toys for so many years. At that point I had literally done toy work for every company in the US and the skill set was so close to animation. But the truth of the matter is that toy work doesn't pay very well and it's completely non-union. I believe and it was then as well A lot of it was non-union and it's not a robust industry. They don't make a lot of money and that's why you see a lot of toy companies branching into animation in order to survive. You know, like Mattel, having to go into animation now even live action films that was a big change in the industry is because kids didn't want toys anymore.
15:35 - Anne (Host) They wanted iPhones they wanted all of them and technology Right exactly To survive they had to evolve with technology. That makes a lot of sense actually.
15:42 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah. So toy work really just it was not high paying work, even though it was fun. Also, toy work is not, in terms of acting, nearly as demanding or deep. It's fun, it's great, it's educational, it's cute, but you really have most like can you find the red ball? Great job, you know, it's not like meteor rolls with deep acting, in-depth acting, yeah, yeah. And so I knew that vocally I could do it, and so I just made this resolution that I was going to work for Disney, cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and I was like and your overnight success took how long?
16:16 - Anne (Host) Because I'm always about the, my overnight success took at least 10 years.
16:19 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Right, well, I arrived in LA in 2012. And I don't think I booked my first animation job until probably 2016, 2015, 2016. And that was the beginning.
16:31 - Anne (Host) So it took a good three years three or four years before I really actually started working in and you had a great agent at the time which I think had a lot of faith and belief in you and I think I would say fairly significant in terms of your growth in that area. Would you say that?
16:47 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah, no, I had a wonderful agent who believed in me and actually went with him from one agency to another agency that had more animation connections and we had an honest conversation and he told me. He said you know, honestly, at the other agency you weren't making me any money, he said. But he said I feel like it's because you weren't getting the animation shots that you should be getting.
17:05 - Intro (Announcement) You got it the opportunities.
17:06 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah, and that has to do with the relationship that the agents have with the animation studios, and so when he took me to AVO with him, he said I think you and Sandy are going to do really well and Sandy is one of the best animation agents in the country, and that's when things just exploded for me.
17:23 - Anne (Host) But what a credit to what we're always telling voice actors and voice talent is to really develop those relationships with your agents and how they can really help you to blossom, and that two of you working together can really help to move careers forward. And it's so important because maybe had you not had that good of a relationship, you wouldn't have sat down and had that talk and you wouldn't have moved over to a different agency. That gave you different opportunities. So I love that you said that, so let's continue to talk around. That time you probably also had the idea for the GVAA. So your little entrepreneurial mind was like, okay, I don't have enough on my plate, but let's do something else, right?
18:03 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Well, I think I actually started GVAA sooner than that.
18:05 - Anne (Host) I started GVAA.
18:07 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Was it 2010? No, it was like 2013, I think. Okay, okay, 2013, 2014,. It was before I started booking a lot in animation. I was coaching because I had coached for many years at Voice One in San Francisco Toys and Games and that's because I had also worked as a casting director for a production company for Toys and Games, and so I was not only an actor for it, I did casting. So I taught classes for Elaine Clark at Voice One, and so I was taking some private students and I was getting these students who had just been put through well, I don't know how to call it, but a demo mill or these weekends where they're like become a voice actor in a weekend and make your demo and people who had invested large amounts of money and were completely unprepared and they didn't understand why they weren't booking.
18:51 And I was seeing it more and more and it was so devastating to me. And I remember one man in particular. He had come to me, had spent like $5,000 or something on all his demos in a new website and he was like I don't know why I'm not booking. And I listened to his stuff and he had a list. He had a speech impediment nothing that's gonna ruin everything that can be corrected and things can be worked on. But nobody said anything to him, you know, and I had a list growing up and it's something I had to work on. It's not like the end of your life if that happens, but it does need to be addressed because you will book more if you don't have one in certain areas you know, for your own narration and that's just what it is.
19:28 And he was so devastated he had no idea that he had a lisp and he was so sad at the end of that call and then I was so angry that somebody had done this. And that's when I was like I'm going to start. You know, I knew all these wonderful coaches from Voice One. I knew Elaine Clark and David Rosenthal and Doug Honoroff again, fantastic coaches and I said there are great coaches out there. There needs to be a resource, there needs to be a place where people can access quality coaches that are not going to lie to them, that are going to give them, you know, the real information they need to succeed. And that's when I started that and David Rosenthal reached out to me and said you wanted to be a part of it and we shared the same dream and then we just took off together and he was wonderful because, again, I was only like 28 at the time You're like 12?.
20:18 I'm sorry she was so young, I was little. I mean, you know, it's not that little, I was 28, maybe 29.
20:26 - Anne (Host) I just jest, but you were very young and very ambitious and I remember when I met you. Do you remember how we met, how we got connected? Oh my gosh, I don't. Somehow the name Dave Kovosie, right? Oh yeah, doesn't that just like, comes to mind. I believe that he introduced us via email and we met probably 2013 somewhere along, when you first began GVAA and bosses out there, if you did not know, I was a coach for GVAA in the very beginning and loved, loved, loved my experience, worked with amazing people Cristina, of course, and David and really I saw the whole online school blossom, and so I love Cristina.
21:05 When we would work together I mean you in the true spirit of entrepreneurship, right, you were willing to learn as you went, you were willing to try things, you were willing to listen to the people that you believed in that worked for you and would ask advice and literally built that from the ground up yourself. I'm going to say you know, along with, probably, david, but I think in the very beginning, it was all you really trying to create something for the good of the community, which is something that I love, and I was very proud to work for GVAA and it was my honor to. Whenever you would ask me a question, you know like, hey, what do you think about this? Or what do you think about this? And I also remember the rate guide, which is so instrumental. I mean, we're talking, you're a pioneer woman. I was considered, elaine Clark, a pioneer woman as well.
21:54 - Cristina Milizia (Host) She was really one of my biggest inspirations for doing it.
21:57 - Anne (Host) She's wonderful. She's absolutely wonderful, and I like to consider myself a bit of a pioneer myself.
22:01 but also just for you to be able to say, look, this is what's needed in the community, this is a resource that's needed, and then to evolve that into a school where you hired. I mean, literally, you were still a voice actor and you literally were running a business. You were hiring people, you were paying people, you established an online school, which, at the time, was not something that existed, and there was coaches that were out there, but there was no real website out there. I remember where you could actually go and say, oh, I want this coach or I want to learn this and let me pay for it here, or let me do this here. And so everything was advanced for its age in 2013, just because it didn't exist before. And so you I consider to be one of the pioneers of those technologies, of having online schools and having them be successful, something that people can trust, and then I mean, let alone, the rate guide. Let's talk about, first of all, what were your challenges in building GVAA, and then what was it that led to the evolution?
23:05 - Cristina Milizia (Host) of the rate guide. I think in the very beginning it was actually Jonah Rosenthal. David Rosenthal's son was one of the very first people who helped me put together, and a wonderful woman as well who was an assistant to me, just putting in just all the content, building the website, building, you know, all of that stuff, and then David Rosenthal, of course, as well, through every aspect of it, and that was just getting again all the content in there, organizing everything. How were we going to do all of it? And again, the biggest motivation was just I felt like there was just this tremendous social injustice, you know, and I wanted to protect people Because, again, I'd also grown up very poor and it really bothers me when people are being taken advantage of. It's so wrong. So, yes, and we definitely were one of the very first, and David actually had something called online voiceover coach.
23:49 He had also started going in that direction, which was one of the reasons why, when we kind of merged our ideas, he already was right there with the mentality of how we're going to do this and having you and bringing on all these people that had so much more experience, because I had the original vision but there were so many people that were aligned with that vision and had more life experience, more experience, coaching.
24:10 - Anne (Host) And I had run VOPEAPs as well. So I had run some online things educationally based, and I had also worked for some other institutions, some other coaching institutions, but nothing as large as the GBA, really trying to bring together all different genres and all different coaches.
24:25 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Right. So I got a lot of advice from you, from David, and I think one of the biggest lessons I learned. I think people have this idea of what leadership is you have power and whatever else, and the truth is that leaders eat last. Your job is to serve. Your job is to serve everyone else. You come last, putting their ideas first, listening, staying calm, being humble, trying to keep a cool head and having a larger vision of things. It is not easy to be a leader.
24:53 - Anne (Host) And I think at that point it's very hard and you really have
24:56 to have self-control in terms of emotionally and sorting through everything and you have to have courage, and I love that. You said that it's not about the leader, it's about who they're serving, and you read any good book on leadership and that's like, first and foremost really is the best things you can do as a leader is to put together a team that supports you and that is amazing at what they do and can even be better than you in all those areas, and working together that's what creates a successful business and a successful team together.
25:27 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yep and I asked questions of Elaine. She was very, very helpful. In the beginning I looked up to her very much you, david, a number of our other coaches and because I knew that I had a lot to learn. And again, I had the passion, I had the drive, I had the vision, I had the desire to create this. But you have to reach out to the people to fill in those holes and you can't just try to assume you know how to do it all yourself, because you have to take advantage of the resources around you. So it was a very humbling experience and in the process, you know, it started to do really well.
25:57 We started going to conferences and presenting, which was wonderful, and then at one of the conferences or I remember if it was at the conference or perhaps before, but I had connected with David Tobak and I was mentoring him. He had come to me for some advice. I was either coaching him or mentoring him and he had decided that he wanted to make a little rate card for himself for his website, to kind of just establish his rates, which I thought was very smart. And he showed it to me. And Tobak is excellent with organization, he's very detail-oriented and it was just beautiful, like it was just beautifully laid out and I was like this is fantastic.
26:30 I was like this is great and I was just like I suddenly had this vision of doing this on a much larger scale. And there was a reason for this too. And I had actually just had an experience, not long before this happened, where I had been hired for an animation show, where I found out later that they had let go of their cast, that they were paying, I think. It was like I can't remember the exact number but normal animation rate, but non-union and then they had decided to hire all new actors at half the rate and I was one of those actors and this was through an agency.
27:03 - Anne (Host) Wow.
27:04 - Cristina Milizia (Host) And I was just. You know, I was like, oh, that's one of my first animation jobs. I'm so excited, you know, I've been doing this for so long.
27:08 I'm just excited. And then I found out later what had happened, and I didn't even understand really the dynamics of any of this, and that even though I had been hired to be a different character, it was still the fact that they were trying to hold the line of no, this is the rate that we're going to ask for, we're going to walk, and the company was just like well, bye, I'm going to recast.
27:29 And then me being, I had a lot of experience as a voice actor, but I was hired and again I'm just all starry-eyed because it's my first animation job, which just happens to every voice actor. Everybody, you're starry-eyed. Oh my God, it's my first job. That's absolutely what happens.
27:43 - Anne (Host) Yep, and I remember that at the time happening a lot and there being at least the starting of some discussions, because even Facebook groups at that time hadn't really materialized. I know I had one for VOPs, but there weren't like there are today. There weren't groups that could discuss those things, but it was one of the things that people were starting to discuss, including rates. It's one of the reasons why people would say do we publish our rate guides online on our website? That was a big question of the day and I remember there was a discussion about that. But I also then remember, just at the touch, in the beginning of it, when people would talk about oh my gosh, like here are actors trying to stand their ground and get paid a fair rate, and the company just saying, well, that's okay, see ya, and then hiring starry-eyed voice actors half the rate, and I remember that being an issue. And here you go wanting to take a stand about that, and I think that's wonderful.
28:36 - Cristina Milizia (Host) And this was also the time my husband reminded me we were discussing this before I came on today that this was also the time that this was really the rise of the pay to plays. Yes, this was the time when Voicescom and Voice 123, they were just taking over.
28:51 The rates were just plummeting, plummeting, plummeting.
28:56 And so in the midst of all this and I was just watching more and more work go non-union because I'm FICOR, so I see union and non-union work.
29:05 Toy work is exclusively non-union, so I wasn't going to go full union, I was going to be FICOR, so I didn't lose my toy work that I needed at the time, which was my only income aside from my one or two animation jobs which I was starting to get, and I just felt like I was watching my industry fall apart and everything that I had worked hard to try to get out of which was just these little tiny non-union job rates and being taken advantage of many times in my career up until this point.
29:31 And I was like, no, I don't want this to happen to any other talented people that are coming in this, where maybe they have a strong performance background, strong acting background, they're trained opera singer, whatever, and so they do a great job, but they have no idea what they should be paid for that skill set and they're just excited to be on a show, and it happens every day. And so when he showed me this little guide, I was like you know what? This is what we need. We need this for the non-union world. Yeah, absolutely.
30:01 - Anne (Host) And you know, what's funny is that when there was all the discussion about the rate cards like, do we publish our rate cards Everybody at the time was saying, well, okay, what's the benchmark? Is there a benchmark? What should I charge? And especially for all of the non-union stuff that I was doing corporate work, explainer work, e-learning work everybody would say, well, what do you charge? What do you charge? And they'd say, how do we even know what's the benchmark?
30:22 And when we were all back in the day before there was a big band and there was the GVAA rate guide, there was a bunch of us that used to talk to one another and say, well, here is what I charge, but I'm not going to publish it on my website because every job is different. However, it's always good, especially for anybody new, and they still find this to be the case whenever I have a new student and they're like, oh my God, somebody just asked me what I would charge for this e-learning job or for this corporate job and what do I do? And you get into that panic and you have no reference, you have nothing to look at, to even benchmark your pricing on. And I'm so glad that the GVAA rate guard was started because it gave us something other than SAG-AFTRA okay, because SAG-AFTRA is what we were looking at, but SAG-AFTRA didn't have rates for e-learning. Really, it was one of those things where it was just a bunch of us who did a bunch of it and we would talk amongst each other and you were actually asking all those people, including myself, like what do you charge?
31:16 And so it was great. You were able to bring together everybody at the time to really get a good set of data for this rate guide and it literally is iconic now in the industry. I mean, I say this over and over again how many times do people reference the GVAA rate guide? And I am so proud to know you, christine, I'm so proud that you did this back then, knowing it would be a good resource for the community, and it's really just become legendary today. It's epic, it's the GVAA rate guide. I mean, it's literally it's its own entity. Now you know it should have its own website just for the usefulness and functionality.
31:55 - Cristina Milizia (Host) And we have more plans for it.
31:56 And first of all, I just want to say like, too, that a lot of people don't know the original story of the rape guide, and so I was really excited to talk about it with you today, because what happened after Toback showed me that little card, as I said hey, toback, will you please come work with me, work for GVAA. I want to build this for every area of voiceover, because exactly what you said that the union didn't talk about no, I don't think they talk about telephony. They don't know about all of these other areas. And I knew a lot of people. I knew a lot of coaches and I just started making phone calls and I spent a lot of time with you. I spent a lot of time with Josh at GoVoices, eric Shepard at Shepard Agency, wonderful agents and I did actually spend some time with union workers as well who explained their rape structures and I tried to translate it kind of in a non-union format for different areas, and all those people generously gave their time to build this, because we all believed in it.
32:51 - Anne (Host) I remember at the time, we all believed in it and we all said, yes, this is exactly what's needed. This is what's needed in the industry.
32:58 - Cristina Milizia (Host) And there were so many areas, we were like what do we do? If I'm doing an airport announcement, I'm like I have no idea Let me go look.
33:05 I'm being played in a lobby of a dentist's office. I'm like, let me go research that. What if I'm a voice in a card that opens up and sings something? A hallmark card? Right, that's okay. And so we got this barrage of people just asking, and so it was built, and it was so much, so quickly that, unfortunately, I burned out a little bit. Well, I burned out because I was getting emails and messages and messenger notices at all times of day.
33:32 - Anne (Host) Well, at this point, I know as a coach before the GBA rape guide, I know as a coach oh my goodness, when you set your students out into the world of working in voiceover and they've got their coaching, they've got a demo, and then all of a sudden that first job request comes in or how much would it cost they flock to the people like insane and just panic, panic, panic. Oh my God, what do I charge? Oh my God, what do I charge? Oh my God, what do I charge? What do I charge for this? So I know you, on a grand scale, were being barraged, because I was being barraged before the GBA rape guide existed and it became like one of those things where it's like I'd love to help you but I cannot answer you in this next second, right At two in the morning.
34:14 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Yeah, exactly.
34:16 - Anne (Host) And so that's what is so wonderful about having that as a resource and congratulations on that. I mean, really, it's a wonderful, wonderful resource for the community and I'm just so proud to have been a small part of it back in the day and so proud of you and so proud of GVAA and just guys, bosses, this is a bad ass entrepreneur right here. She's a VO boss and you may not even have known that, but I am bringing that to light now and shouting it from the rooftop. So, Cristina, it's been amazing. How can people, if people need to get in touch with you because I know you're coaching a lot now and you're high in demand but how can people get in touch with you if they need to?
34:53 - Cristina Milizia (Host) So I am very excited to be coaching again. I took a long break to focus on animation, but now I am back and I feel like I have so much more information to share, which is really exciting. You can find me at globalvoiceacademycom. That's the website. If you look up GVAA rape guide, it's all connected on there too. If that's already in your normal search engine, it's all connected. You'll see under one-on-one coaching that I'm there.
35:16 I focus on animation, character work in general, toys, video games and career strategy things of that nature, and now that I'm back from my break also, you can expect some really cool stuff that we're going to be doing the rape guide.
35:29 We have plans for adding a whole, much larger non-union animation section very soon, doing research right now on audio description as well, which is a new area that's really exploding as well, and if people do have other areas that they would like to see on the rape guide, you can also reach out to us at globalvoiceacademycom. Let us know if there's stuff missing on there that you'd like to see, because we definitely have big plans to continue growing it. And, as I think it was Tim Friedland who told me or maybe it was at the Navigala that 80% of voiceover work is now non-union. I believe that is yeah, absolutely so. I am as dedicated to this project as ever. I took my little break and now I'm back and I'm here for the community and I want us all to rise and support each other and be able to fight for what we're worth.
36:15 - Anne (Host) So thank you, Cristina, so much for that. It's been an absolute pleasure. I can only hope to have many more conversations with you in the future Me too, for the podcast. And so, bosses, here's your chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities, just like GVAA and Cristina Malizia have done. Give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to commit. And also a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect a network like bosses, like Cristina and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week. I love you, Cristina, and we will see you next week. I love you.
36:53 - Cristina Milizia (Host) Bye.
36:56 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host and Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
The BOSSES discuss why adapting to an ever-evolving industry is crucial for standing out in a sea of talent. Anne discusses her own expansion into ventures like VO Boss, VO Peeps, and podcasting, illustrating how you can diversify your skillset and find fresh opportunities without losing your creative spark. Plus, the BOSSES spotlight the immense value of networking through conferences and workshops to elevate your voice-acting business to boss-level status. Join us, for an empowering session that promises to reignite your passion and strategic approach to your voice-acting venture.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VEO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Gangusa.
00:19 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Gangusa, and I'm here with the lovely, lovely Lau Lapides.
00:31 - Lau (Guest) Hey Lau. Oh, amazing to see you, as always Amazing. Oh, thank you, Lau.
00:36 - Anne (Host) Wonderful to see you as well.
00:40 - Lau (Guest) What are we talking about today? I can't wait.
00:42 - Anne (Host) Okay, so I always have to open it up with a story. So lately I have heard a lot this year because it's been an interesting year. I've heard a lot from my students that they're frustrated. They have been making investments and they've been doing auditions and they're just not getting any work and they're just like frustrated to the point where they just want to give up. And I'll tell you what. I remember that feeling very well. I want to talk about voice actors who give up too soon, because I really feel like there's something to be said for sticking it out. I mean, building a business is not something that happens overnight. I know we say this all the time but, like my, overnight success took 10 years. I mean truly Lau thoughts on that.
01:32 - Lau (Guest) I'm right there with you and I think that that's a Listen, let's be honest, shall we? It's a very Western philosophy to think I'm opening a business, therefore I'm going to work and be successful right away. I mean, eastern philosophy is like no, at 10 years you're starting your business, right, yeah? So the idea of investment of time and resources and capital and sacrifice has got to be in our vocabulary and that's why we say in the first, three to five years is a typical timeframe, that we're looking at the metrics for what businesses are surviving and what businesses have gone under. We'll give it the three to five years, because you can't do it in a month. No, three to five years is the baseline. Can't do it in a year, can't do it in two years.
02:15 - Anne (Host) I'm constantly saying, oh, but I've spent so much money and I'm like have you? Have you really Like, have you? And again, I think we've spoken about this in many a podcast about the investment aspect of this career I'm like, well, thank goodness you didn't have to open a storefront or buy inventory. I mean honestly, your investment is investing in yourself. Because I constantly, as a coach and a demo producer, I hear this all the time because people are like I just don't have the money. Or I've taken so many lessons and I'm like have you? And I don't mean to be obnoxious here about it, but really, if you think about it and again, I've said this multiple times I always tell people look, we go to school for years. How many years do you go to medical school? How many years, if you want to become a vet, do you go to school? How many hours in a day do you spend at your job? Eight hours a day, maybe.
03:05 And so all of a sudden I'll get people who are like, yeah, but I've taken so many coaching sessions and I just I'm not getting the work and I'm like how many coaching sessions have you taken? And this is how many hours of your life have you actually spent studying the craft of voice acting, and not just for coaching. But let's just say, how many hours have you spent marketing? Like companies have entire marketing departments. They hire multiple people like you know, 20, 50, hundreds of people to generate leads. You are one person, and so you want to know why you haven't gotten work yet. You know what I mean. You're spending your time auditioning, you're spending your time doing a bunch of stuff, but also you've got to spend that time marketing, and so people, I think, are just giving up too soon. Lau.
03:50 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, they're also not paying attention to their environment. They're thinking that I'm in my own private Idaho. I'm going to be successful. This is what I want, and here it comes. You got to look at the world, you got to look at global economics.
04:03 You got to look at the US we're now in a high inflation state right now and how that affects other industries. That's going to make you feel I mean, we don't want injury and suffering of all industry, but you want to pay attention that if all industries are suffering, then it stands to reason that yours will be suffering as well too. And so there's misery. Does like a little bit of company, and so do the work, do the homework. Look around, however, you do that just so you can keep it in perspective, because otherwise we get so isolated and we get out of the bubble times.
04:37 How many times have you heard Anneie, oh, great, I got my demo, I'm ready to work. Okay, how do I work? And you're thinking, no, no, no, this is only the very beginning, the very, very beginning. Right, you're not in the middle, ready to work. No, this is the beginning of like, how do I put a little bit of a footprint out there? How do I get people to know I'm in the world? How do I do that? That's on me, that's all on me to do that.
05:02 - Anne (Host) And people will be very quick to blame people selling the dream, okay. So yes, there are people that sell the dream, but there's people that sell the dream for many an industry, right, and that's part of how they have their business flourish. However, there's a lot to be said for what you just said, and that is pay attention to the world, pay attention to the global market, pay attention to what is it that people are looking for? How is our voice profession being viewed in the marketplace right now? What's in demand, right? What is the going rate? What are people getting paid?
05:38 You cAnneot just say I've practiced, I've got a demo and now I'm ready to work, because there's so many other factors at play. One of the things is that you've got to evolve with the market and you've got to give yourself enough time in the market so that you can get hired. A lot of times, it's people who are established in the market and can show that they're established in the market for a very long time. Clients will tend to gravitate to them. I mean, I know for myself, right? If I'm looking to work with a particular we always use the dentist. It seems like I want a dentist who's got experience?
06:14 I want a doctor who has experience. I needed a breast surgeon right, obviously, for my breast cancer. I shopped for a breast surgeon. Of course, how long they were in business and how many surgeries did they perform it was a factor in who I hired to do such a thing. I think most of the voice actors that get super frustrated and say it's just not working. I put in all this money. I ask you to step back and think about what you just said. Did you really invest a lot of money? Maybe, yes, you thought that you could maybe create a business out of a whole lot less. Maybe it's because somebody sold you the dream. But also do not discount the fact that maybe you didn't look or educate yourself on what this industry is all about. And what investment do you need to make? That's not just monetary investment, it's also-.
07:06 - Lau (Guest) That's exactly right.
07:08 - Anne (Host) What sort of time is invested? What sort of education is invested for you?
07:13 - Lau (Guest) I always think to myself, Anneie, when, even though you may be in inflation, even though it may be hard to get clients at a particular time, I always think, when I'm very low, meaning I'm not getting enough action, I'm not getting enough energy, I always think and again, this is the work ethic of our generation I always think what am I doing wrong?
07:31 - Anne (Host) Did I lay back.
07:32 - Lau (Guest) Am I not working hard enough? Am I not working smart enough? Am I not strategizing enough? I may not be doing anything wrong, but the point is I always put it on myself. I don't look at the universe and say why isn't it coming to me, why isn't it just there for me? Why am I not busy and getting hired? I always think, well, am I putting myself in front of enough people? Do I have the right materials that are suiting the kind of job that they're looking for? Am I missing something? And typically I find it's on me.
08:03 - Anne (Host) Typically, I do find that, yeah, I agree, it is something that you really need to step back and take a look at. If you're not booking number one and I have so many people are like people that are newer to the industry that think, well, I've got a great commercial demo and I think to myself, well, commercial is only a certain percentage of the market. What about the other part of the market? Right, and so maybe you're auditioning, but you're only auditioning for your agents, who are typically commercial. Or maybe you're doing a ton of auditioning on the pay to plays.
08:35 Well, what is the majority of the genre that you are auditioning for? Is it commercial? Because, I guarantee you, there's a ton of competition for the commercials, because that's what all the voice actors tend to gravitate toward, that's what everybody thinks they need to audition for. Well, you can audition for e-learning, you can audition for corporate, you can audition for all different types of jobs. And, ultimately, I think that you need to really again step back and look at and maybe assess right down. Okay, here's what I'm doing on a day to day basis. Right, I'm auditioning for this type of job, I am auditioning for the majority of commercials or e-learning, the majority of whatever corporate, and so now really try to assess what's the demand out there globally right for that product. And are you marketing yourselves, are you writing that?
09:24 - Lau (Guest) letter, especially if it's on a pay to play.
09:27 - Anne (Host) Usually, you can respond with some sort of a hey, would love to be your voice, and make sure to take a look at my additional demos here on my website. Blah, blah, blah, whatever that is. Is that note up to par? Are you writing a novel? Are you quick into the point? Is your auditioning up to snuff? Is your acting skills? What about your audio? Gosh, we've done enough audition demolitions and, by the way, we've got to have another one coming up here soon. Yes, a lot of times audio has something to do with it too. What's your audio like? So there's lots of things that you can take a look at to see where you might evolve, where you might improve.
10:03 And also again, those things don't happen overnight. Great sound, although I will say great sound once you've got it kind of figured out, you shouldn't have to revisit it too much after that, Unless maybe you get new microphones or you move or there's more landscaping going on. I'm not sure.
10:18 - Lau (Guest) Yeah Well, it's inevitable to you and I on the coaching side of things that we'll get so many emails of people that say I don't understand how come I'm not booking what's happening. Could you please do a session with me and give me some feedback? And you and I will do the same thing. We'll give a session and just spend a whole hour with feedback and it looks like a ball, hit them between the eyes like, oh my goodness, I didn't even realize any of that. I didn't think of half of that.
10:45 Thank you for that value, because that value didn't save me and getting a job. That value helped me produce a career potential. Sure, and that's what smart people would say. They wouldn't take offense to it. They'd say, oh wow, this could help me build my career, just knowing one of those things that I would not have thought of. But I somehow feel like and I don't know what it is, I don't know if it's a generational thing, I'm just not sure this idea that, oh, I just know it. I got it all, I learned it all, I trained, I coached with five coaches, I know it all. And I'm thinking I don't think any of the great thinkers, philosophers or religious leaders think they even closely know it all, so chances are you don't know it.
11:26 - Anne (Host) All Right. Isn't that the truth? How about that? Isn't that the truth? I?
11:28 - Lau (Guest) can't imagine someone like Gandhi saying I know it all. It's kind of like the more you don't know.
11:33 - Anne (Host) The more you don't know, right, the more you don't know. Yeah, what was the saying? The more you know, the more you don't know.
11:40 - Lau (Guest) The more you realize you don't know right.
11:41 - Anne (Host) Yeah exactly.
11:42 - Lau (Guest) I think that that's true wisdom.
11:43 - Anne (Host) Can we just stop and say that again? The more you know, the more you realize that you don't know, right? Yes, that, I think, is key to understanding and not giving up Because you can again. We had another episode that we talked about. Well, people just they thought they had it all and they're like well, yeah, no, I sound great and in reality sometimes that is ignorance, is bliss right, or I sound great but in reality do you Like I've invested a lot.
12:11 Well, in reality, have you I market in reality. Do you Like you think about what companies do they spend thousands of? And also, do I spend money? They don't have money to spend on marketing. They don't have money to spend on coaching? Think about the amount of money that companies invest in their marketing departments. First of all, they hire more than one person, most of them, right. They hire a team of people and then that team of people work eight hours a day, maybe more than that, right Trying to generate leads and trying to close sales. And so are you doing that, really so?
12:45 - Lau (Guest) right and it's almost harder when that talent would come to me and they're fabulous and their demo is spick and span and they've got some great credits and they're just not booking the work and I don't have the heart to tell them that I've got 50 people just like that and it's kind of like not insulting. It's so sad for them, it's so doleful for them to have the realization and recognition that it is saturated and there are a lot of talented people and prepared people and people who have spent the investment.
13:20 They're not the only ones, and I think that they might intellectually know that, but put it in the back of their brain. But it's important to know that you have a lot of competitors. You're not so unique. You've got a lot of people.
13:33 - Anne (Host) that are unique too. You bring up a really good point. I'm glad that you said that because, yes, that's the other aspect of this. Do I give up, right? Or should I just give up because now there's just so much competition? Right, and yes, you nailed your demo, you have the acting skills and now, all of a sudden, have you really marketed? I always think, if you really are coming to that point where you've got the demo, you've got the skills, have you truly marketed it as much as you think you have? Or is it possible for you to up that even more again? But you're right, it's a saturated market. There's a lot of competition.
14:10 Now, if that's the case, have you thought about how you might evolve into maybe a different genre, or evolve your business to have another parallel set of skills that you're going to develop or evolve? Now that, I think, Lau is something to keep your business afloat. And I always talk about IBM. Ok, ibm has been around forever, right, and IBM is considered a technology company, but look at how they still are here. They're still relevant. They may not be considered a cool company, but guess what? They're still in business, right, and they've had to evolve their products, they've had to evolve their thinking. They've had to evolve over time, and take a look at any great company that has been around for a long time. They have evolved their brand, they've evolved their products, and so if the market is indeed saturated for, let's say, the genre that you love so dearly, well then maybe you think about how you can evolve into another genre or another aspect of the business that will bring you some income.
15:15 And sometimes only doing voiceover, it's wonderful, yes, but sometimes maybe you do something that's parallel to voiceover. Maybe you do audio editing, maybe you do copywriting, maybe you do virtual assisting right within the industry, maybe you do a podcast. Again, there are so many divisions and, again, I have always said to people that I have multiple divisions of my company, mostly because I love to challenge myself, right. So I've got the VO Boss. I've got this podcast, which I just wanted to learn how to podcast. I've got the VO Peeps. I've always wanted to network. I missed my teaching and then I'm demo producing, and so there's so many different evolutions of my business. I even coach outside of voiceover now, for wellness and healthcare. Why? Because I love it and I'm developing, evolving different aspects of my business that are going to serve me and bring me joy.
16:09 - Lau (Guest) Yes, and, let's be honest, Anneie, those of us that consider ourselves creatives, which most of us are, love doing different things. Yes, absolutely why aren't we sitting at a desk doing the same thing all day long, my God? Yes, exactly Because we're creative minded people. So that idea of multitasking and bringing out different qualities, and skill sets and loves and da-da, and maybe this year I want to try this. Yes, I want to move into that. It's not a cop out, it's not the side hustle that you shouldn't be doing.
16:40 It's an added layer of frosting to the cake, so to speak, that you really want to keep building over your lifetime, because not only can it be a service that you could really offer and make some extra cash, but also it could be really delightfully fun and inspiring and give you new ideas and be very satisfying to you in a way that the current daily situation is not or maybe it is, but it's not in that particular way and also branching out what I always called the divisions or the tendrils of my business.
17:12 - Anne (Host) Branching out allows you to expand your potential client base for voiceover here's an example, I'm going to be presenting at PodFest at a podcasting conference.
17:23 Now, podcasting is not what I do full-time. I am a full-time voice actor, coach, producer, that sort of thing but I certainly have been doing the VioBoss podcast for seven years and it's definitely a division of my business. Now I'm going to go and present and so ultimately that's outside of the voiceover industry, but yet I'm going to present to podcasters to talk to them about how they can utilize their skills in voiceover and also how they can improve their voice on their podcast, and so that is outside of right, and I'm not ashamed to say that it doesn't mean that I'm not doing voiceover anymore. No, it's another avenue that I find challenging and I find intriguing, and I want to pursue that as an additional piece of my business. There's nothing wrong with that.
18:12 - Lau (Guest) There's nothing wrong with that?
18:13 - Anne (Host) You don't have to be eight hours in your studio doing voiceover if that's not where your entrepreneurial brain wants to be, I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, and sometimes it's more healthy for you to branch out into other arenas to function way and refresh your brain and bring in new people, new ideas, new ideas, understand the perspective from a multitude of different perspectives. Right, yes, Really.
18:43 And that I think, is very healthy in terms of developing and growing your business. So if you don't get that national campaign this year, it's okay. I say a good entrepreneur will always evolve and develop their skills in a multitude of places so that they can have a successful business. And does it matter if you're not booking a national commercial every day, because I don't know anybody who is, to be quite honest. And so it really comes down to what is it that brings you joy, that can pay the bills and that you can do day in and day out?
19:18 Because most of the time, people get into this industry because they're super unhappy with what they're doing in their lives. So I always try to remember your why. Why did you get into the industry or want to get into the industry in the first place and then keep that why, especially when you're feeling like giving up, and especially we started this whole conversation about why people give up too soon. Well, I think you absolutely have to define your why and revisit that why over and over again and evolve your why as you grow.
19:48 - Lau (Guest) Yes, I mean you're the princess of pivoting and that pivot that change, that updating and upgrading we have to do it on our computer systems, we have to do it on our bodies. Yeah, you have to do it in our homes. Why wouldn't we have to do that in our businesses? And so that sense of like I have to clean up shop and I have to add something to this element that I don't have, because why? It's going to change the whole space, it's going to change the whole environment. That it's never just one thing, one effect. It really is. It has a whole rolling effect on everything. So if you learn to podcast or you become a producer or you learn how to write copy, that could have a whole riveting effect on your business. Absolutely, absolutely.
20:36 - Anne (Host) I love that, oh man. So let's talk about voice actors right now who are frustrated and want to give up. What is your best advice Lau? What can they do right now?
20:45 - Lau (Guest) I hear it every day. I'm going to throw out a quote. I love a good quote. Eleanor Roosevelt, the great Eleanor Roosevelt.
20:50 Okay, never, never, never give up. Don't mistake that. That does not mean don't give up on voiceover. It means don't give up on yourself and your potential within the business. That may morph into something else, absolutely. It may become something else, but don't throw that baby out with the bathwater and just give up on everything, because then what you're really saying is I'm not worth my time, my patience, my effort, my investment in really investigating my true potential, yeah, yeah.
21:24 - Anne (Host) And giving up is that, oh gosh, you don't feel worthy. And how many episodes have we already dedicated to? You must understand you're worth, you're worth it, you're worth it, you are worth it. And again, there's a reason why you got involved in this industry in the first place, and I think that maybe you're thinking the dream, or somebody sold you the dream, but I think, ultimately, you are responsible for educating yourself about this dream and educating yourself about how to navigate this dream, to turn it into a reality, to turn it into a success, understanding that this does not happen overnight.
22:00 There are constantly changes in the industry and there's a lot of changes. I mean, gosh, ai has thrown a wrench into a lot of this. Then there was a strike and then, every time I turn around, there are things that are throwing wrenches into the industry that you need to know about and you need to then say, all right, how can I evolve, how can I grow with this, if I'm not getting work right now? What can I do to maybe get work? Or can I create a new path for myself?
22:30 or create an alternate an additional path. Not just another, but an additional path.
22:35 It can be done, I mean gosh knows that I have created multiple, multiple divisions of my business just because it's a cool challenge, right, and it always forces me to grow. And I will tell every single boss out there right now that you don't think that I am scared every single day when I decide I'm going to do this and you don't think that scares the bejesus out of me. It still does. It still does, but I try to work through that. I've just been challenging myself constantly and I'm constantly afraid and I just try to work through it. Maybe it gets a little bit easier. I kind of doubt it. I still get just as scared sometimes when I say oh gosh now.
23:13 What do I do, Right?
23:14 - Lau (Guest) What am I going to do now?
23:16 - Anne (Host) Or I know what I want to do. How do I get there? How do I make that happen? Because now it's been what? 16, 17 years I didn't come this far to go work for somebody again. Right, this is my business or I am in charge of my own business. I will not go back. I cAnneot go back.
23:33 - Lau (Guest) Yes, absolutely, and I didn't even know when my dad always taught me you know, if you want to go in business for yourself, just know you're never going to sleep well again. Just know that that's so true, Like in as long as you understand that, you'll understand that you know you're going to set a very high bar. A lot of us that are perfectionists make the mistake of making the bar so high. It's unattainable, and then you're always disappointed. You're always letting yourself down. Really, no one's keeping score.
23:58 It's really about setting the bar at a place that is sensible, you can reach it. You can have small increments of success. Yes, right, yeah, I'll leave you on this quote. One of my favorite quotes is failure is the opportunity to start again more intelligently.
24:16 - Anne (Host) Yeah, love that, love that Love, that Is that good.
24:19 - Lau (Guest) Yeah, I don't believe in failure, really, but I don't either Use whatever word you want to use that I'm not achieving, I'm not attaining, I'm not getting. Allow you to grow. Allow you to grow. Take a step back and learn from it, you know start again Good stuff and don't give up, bosses.
24:34 - Anne (Host) Never, ever, ever give up, don't give up. All right, no Bosses, take a moment. Imagine a world full of passionate, empowered people who are giving back to their communities intentionally to create a world that they want to see. You can find out more at 100voiceswhocareorg. Also, big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can network like bosses with awesome technology. Go to IPDTLcom to find out more. Guys, have an amazing week. Don't give up. We're here for you. All right, we'll see you next week. Bye. See you then. Bye.
25:10 - Intro (Anneouncement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host and Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Join BOSS Anne Ganguzza, alongside guest co-host, Lau Lapides, as they explore the landscape of female entrepreneurship, including in the voiceover industry. Listen in as they discuss the historical and contemporary hurdles women have faced, from the 1950s through modern times. Lau shares her experiences in juggling motherhood and a professional career, providing a real-life perspective on the intricate dance of working from home with children. Anne discusses her non-traditional path to business success in the tech and VO industries. This conversation celebrates the resilience and creativity of women who are redefining success in their entrepreneurial journeys.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my special, awfully lovely boss guest, co-host Law Lapides.
00:32 - Lau (Co-host) Oh, thank you, Annie, hey Lau. Thank you, hey. I'm excited about our topic today.
00:38 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, so Law, I've been watching Lessons in Chemistry and that is on Apple Plus for those of you who have not seen it. But basically it takes place in the 1950s and the main character who is Elizabeth Zott? She has a dream of being a scientist and works in a lab, but she is constantly challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere. And I just watched the episode and I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but I'm going to give away one spoiler here. So, guys, if you want to watch it and you don't want to have a spoiler, just turn this down right now for sure.
01:14 So basically, she gets fired because she's pregnant. So now that I'm going to date myself. But I said to my husband, jerry, that doesn't make sense, they can't fire her for being pregnant. And he goes oh my gosh, back in that day they absolutely could. And I was like whoa, that just blew my mind and I thought, gosh, I think women have it hard now these days. And that's what I want to talk to you about Law, because I just want to talk about what it's like to be a female entrepreneur. And I want to talk to you because you're one of the best entrepreneurs I know. I mean, you run a studio, you're a talent agent, I'm a demo producer things that aren't typically prevalent, I guess, even now in today's day, for women to do so I thought we should talk about that today.
01:58 - Lau (Co-host) I love the leading lady subject. I just think it's one of my favorites Absolutely. And you're right about that Jerry's right about that Because I remember my mom talking a lot about that that even into the 80s, 90s and 2000s in corporate America there was something called the mommy track. So anyone who was training for financial advisor, accountant and such was very careful about what they said about getting married or having children, because they didn't want to be rerouted into the mommy track, meaning they're capped in every way.
02:33 - Anne (Host) They're capped on promotion, they're capped on salary, they're capped on all of this, they won't get their job when they come back. And it's funny because, now that you mentioned that, I do remember that in the 2000s and it's incredible to me. So here we are entrepreneurs, bosses, out there, you're entrepreneurs as well, and I don't think that this needs to be. This is certainly not a discussion where we're just going to be bitter and complaining.
02:55 However, I think we need to talk about some of the hardships of being an entrepreneur. First of all, being an entrepreneur is a hard thing. What sort of hardships have you encountered yourself, Law, and how have you overcome them? Because I think that we can learn a lot from that, from your story.
03:12 - Lau (Co-host) Such a great question, that's such a huge, open-ended question and the first vision Annie that came to my mind was a client that I work with, a coach on Zoom, and she's a mom and she has a couple younger ones, meaning under the age of like 12, a couple young kids, and when I'm coaching her as a voice over talent, the kids are running in and out of her studio, in and out of her booth, in and out of her curtain and one side of it she's a great mom, like she's really patient, she never yells, she's just great. But one side of me I have to be honest with you. I'm going to be honest with your people because they deserve it. One side of me thinks it's awesome because she can work from home, she can multitask, she can save money, she can still be a mom and be a good role model to them so they can see her working and being impassioned. The other side of me is irked, irked to death, because I'm thinking to myself you're not going to do that with a client, right? You're not going to do that if I represent you and send you out, and then your little kid is pulling down the curtain in the booth right, and I lose trust in that situation. I'm going to be honest. Maybe it's a non-PC thing to say, but that's how people think when it comes to running something. So is a fine line, I think, and I was one of those.
04:35 I raised two children. I was one of those moms where I raised them out of my studio. I actually homeschooled them as crazy as that sound. We had a whole village of people working with them and it was out of my studio and I was constantly multitasking the noise level. I'm killing each other, legos everywhere, them under the desk, and there was a beauty to the whole thing that there was this bonding that you could go through with them. And then there was a horror show as well, because it was embarrassing and there were clients there and some clients love the kids and others hate kids.
05:10 So it's like there are all these levels and layers to that kind of parental mindset, at least from my perspective, that you have to go through step by step, year by year, age by age, and it changes, and it changes often dramatically. It never stays the same Absolutely. And women, no matter how progressive the male is, whether they're a husband, a partner, a friend, whoever maybe they're working from home, maybe they're whatever I find more often than not with all my friends, all my female colleagues, it falls on them, the heavy falls on them. There is still this mindset in 2024, that I got to go to work, I got things to do, I got priority tasks, but because you're a female, you're so good, you can handle it all, you can do it. You take the reins while you're trying to run your business.
06:05 - Anne (Host) Sure, that's the thing, and I think that also there are many, I would say, women pioneers of many different things, and I am of the belief that, yes, women sometimes have to work three or four times harder in order to get any type of credit, and a lot of times there are women who pioneer things who never get credit and ultimately that is very frustrating and I find it even today, as progressive as we've become, I mean, there's still a long way to go, I think.
06:34 For number one, just to be an entrepreneur, I think it's looked upon in terms of, like gosh, when I was trying to get a loan when I worked for myself full time, I felt like I suffered a little bit of, I don't know, discrimination. It was very difficult to assure things like loans, where I feel as though a male counterpart would be able to get a loan a heck of a lot easier if they were an entrepreneur. Also, just getting ahead, I'm going to say that right now there's not a ton of demo producers that are females out there in the industry and I feel like it's tough trying to get noticed out there because there's not many of us out there, and then ultimately, it would be nice if there was recognition, maybe more recognition for the female demo producers out there and I'm just talking about demo producers, but just female, any entrepreneur out there and it wasn't that long ago, really, that women couldn't even get loans.
07:30 - Lau (Co-host) They couldn't even open a bank account without permission from their husband. It wasn't that long ago. So, when you think about just the freedom of being able to have credit go into debt, who would call that a freedom? But I mean the point is, it's like it's an independence as a business owner to be able to say, okay, here's what I'm investing in, here's what I'm incurring for debt, here are the accounts I'm going to do, here's my investments for retirement. And, as a woman, there's a tremendous freedom in independence, in being able to do that. It's not to say that you shouldn't have a team or a partner people helping you and working with you. It is to say, though, that you should take that right, and you should run with that ball and enjoy the right of being able to do these things that we could not do even 30 years ago some of those.
08:24 - Anne (Host) Well, I've spoken to people about this. We even had a podcast episode where we talked about what we did prior to our businesses today, and I was a female engineer in the late 1980s. That was kind of a tough road. And then I went into technology as a female and that was also a tough road, and so being a female entrepreneur is even tougher. Sometimes I'm finding certain things are difficult difficult for us to achieve, difficult for us to get recognition, difficult and, like you said, with the loans and all of that, it's just so interesting. So, la, what do you do to progress and move your business forward as a female?
09:04 - Lau (Co-host) entrepreneur. Yeah, it's a hard thing to answer. I mean, there's one technique that I found myself doing just kind of like, in an autonomic kind of way. It wasn't a planned thing, but I noticed there have been situations where I've been with many men or all male like. Let's say, I'm in a conference room or I'm online and I'm in a meeting and there happens to be very male heavy, which I adore, and I have, like you do, many, many male colleagues which I absolutely love working with.
09:30 But I find there's a different dynamic that happens in the way I communicate versus the way this kind of energy communicates, and oftentimes I find that I start to role play, or I'm either seen in a certain light or I start to role play, and usually it's like the role play of the mother, the wife, the sister, the whatever that I know. To some degree they're seeing me in just because of the qualities that I exude, sure, and I kind of role play with that meaning. You know, I don't play a character, but I role play in the sense that I know that they're looking at these qualities and I also know that there are times where they just bulldoze right over me like they literally won't hear what I'm saying because they're in the middle of their communication and I let that happen. I let that ride. I feel actually empowered by that because I know I have no problem.
10:24 This is a technique we always taught live presenters. I've no problem interrupting them culturally, doesn't matter to me whether it's appropriate or not. I have no problem talking right over them. And I found that in order to redirect energy, sometimes you have to be culturally rude as a woman, because you have to have your voice heard Absolutely. And you have to have that without and here's the thing we were talking about in the last podcast without ruining or stomping on their spirit, without making them feel like I'm at them or I'm hurting them or a threat. I think that there's a fine line, there's a strategy in that, like how you strategize, like being heard, inserting what you need to insert into listening attentively, but making sure you're not the daisy on the wall. You're not forgotten Absolutely.
11:15 And that's on us. I mean, it really is, that's on us. I could easily sit back and get really angry at that and say I can't even get a word in edgewise. Are they not listening to what I just said? Or whatever. Instead, I go in and I correct it. I go in and I redirect it. I go in and I do whatever action verb I can come up with, because I always view it as a teaching moment. Sure, it's a teaching moment where I can teach my audience how to communicate with me.
11:40 - Anne (Host) I love the redirection of it. Yeah, like you said, rather than getting angry or stomping on someone's ego, which it really is a lot of ego anyways, I know in the corporate world that's really what it played out to be. It was a lot of ego and a lot of times, if I was in the boardroom and I was the only female, or maybe one of two females first of all, they always wanted me to take notes or be the secretary. People would always say, well, yeah, you can be the secretary.
12:06 You can be the secretary of the board and I'm like actually I'll be the president.
12:10 - Lau (Co-host) I like that.
12:11 - Anne (Host) Right, and that's really how it worked. I was the president of a board and ultimately, they wanted me initially to be the secretary, and I said, well, yeah, no, no, I'm actually not a really good note taker, so I redirected the energy to say, you know, I'm just no.
12:26 I'm not fast. I'd love to be fast, but I'm not. I'm not fast at all. I type with four fingers. That's great, I love that and that's basically what happened. And so I love how you say to redirect it, because, yeah, I mean I don't necessarily want to stomp on anybody because, again, you take that risk of being looked upon as being the difficult one, the difficult one, the angry one, the witchy one, and honestly, you're darned if you do and you're darned if you don't.
12:50 Sometimes with that, that's right. But I like how you say you don't have any problems interrupting and redirecting. I think that's a great tactic. It's a good thing.
12:57 - Lau (Co-host) It's a good thing to learn how to do that. I also think another option for you and again I try to look at it take a step back and look at a strategy, a choice redefine the role. If someone says I want you to play this role in this moment and I'm like I don't want to play that role, or that's a typical role that they'd ask their mother to play, right, I might say yes to that, and the reason I'd say that yes to that is because I can do it. It's not a difficult thing for me to do. I want to be helpful. But then I'm going to redefine what the role is so the role does not become a passive role of like, in your case, a no-take or a stereotypical role, or get me a coffee, or I don't know whatever
13:34 that stereotypical thing is. I would want to play it as many of the female leaders political female leaders in the world, where they don't mind cooking for their colleagues, or maybe they'd get them a coffee, but then they're going to tell them exactly what the strategy is for the company or for the war or for the whatever. So if you do become that omnidynamic kind of person I don't know if you saw a Barbie you know the billion-dollar Barbie movie, right? But Barbie was always known as, at least in our time, was like. Barbie kept re-envisioning and redefining what a woman could be and evolving.
14:12 And evolving, and that's why we really liked Barbie or loved Barbie, because it wasn't just this one thing that you were in.
14:18 - Intro (Announcement) Absolutely.
14:19 - Lau (Co-host) It was really kept going and still today even keeps going, and I see it as that. I see it as I can make the choice to keep redefining the role that others see me in.
14:30 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and I love that. I love that so much, actually, and I think that, as entrepreneurs, right, take on the role and then create your own definition, or redefine the stereotypical definition Now, in terms of being seen right, being seen as a leader, right, being seen as an entrepreneurial leader. What sort of tips do you have for that? Because I like to say, when you redefine the role, you don't necessarily have to lead everyone, but you have to be seen as competent, as being as competent as everyone else within your role, right? Yes, so I am just as competent, if not more competent, as the role of a demo producer or the role of my Angangusa voice production company, as any other person, yes, I mean play to an audience at all times, even if it's an imaginary audience yes, the imaginary jury, so to speak, that I'm always a leader, whether someone is there or not, and I'm alone.
15:29 - Lau (Co-host) Love that I'm still a leader, or at least I perceive myself to be a leader. Sure, I don't want to lose the qualities of the leadership and the leader. I want to continue that role. I want to play it every day, I want to manifest that role. So, in essence, it feels at home to me, but it also keeps me practicing the role. It practices how I would react, how I would behave, how I would make problem-solving choices, how I would do all of these things. Because I know and this is what keeps us up at night, right as entrepreneurs is I know there's going to be difficulties and they're never going to end, and so I have to be able to face with courage and just say listen, I just am not always going to want that or like it or feel comfortable with it, and sometimes I'm going to be scared to death. Oh, yes, I have to feel the fear and do it anyway. I have to practice it.
16:20 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, that's so wonderful, I mean, and that's just great advice for entrepreneurship in general is face the fear. And I think that, no matter what you're doing and just saying this, and having been in the industry a long time and mostly being in roles that were traditionally not female oriented, I had to, I think, work extra hard to educate myself so that I could prove to myself, first of all, that I could do it. And when I was able to do that, I gained the confidence in order to be able to manifest further progression and advancement. And again, like you said, you're the leader, whether people are looking or not. And so and it is scary my gosh I face fears every day, just as an entrepreneur, and sometimes even more as a female, because I don't know necessarily what I'm doing, when I'm defining a new role.
17:12 And so, therefore, I'm defining a new role. I'm going to educate myself as much as I possibly can about everything that surrounds that role. And if it's a role that hasn't been defined, then I need to educate myself on everything that is around that role that can help me to define it. And, of course, sometimes you just have to manifest it and you just have to take a leap of faith and say here it is, here is how I define it. And there you go and be confident in that, and that's scary as sh**t.
17:44 - Lau (Co-host) Law, and not only that, and as women, at least women from our you're like the fifth friend of mine, colleague of mine that we literally said the same exact thing over and over again the last week. That is, we are from a generation of really hard work ethic. We get up, we work, we do it, keep doing it. Forget about yourself, just do it do it.
18:05 Please, please others, be likable, be amenable. You know all these things which in essence is good. From a spiritual perspective it is good, but from a business perspective it can be very harmful, because when you do that, I want everybody to like me, law, I need your thing. It then becomes about you rather than about them, about the client. So I have to keep check of that all the time.
18:30 That's a fight I have too Pleaser, a very much a host type, and I don't want to lose that quality, but I don't want it to take the place of true grit and leadership and leadership of making sure that what I'm saying and what I'm doing is not being done for the wrong reason.
18:47 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I totally agree with you. There's a lot to be said about leadership and leadership qualities, and what does it take to be a good leader? Yes, to define roles that haven't previously existed. I think it takes definitely a lot of courage, and I think having people on your team, no matter who they are, can be super helpful in this, because it's a scary road, especially when you're doing things for the first time and they've not been done. And so having somebody to bounce off an idea to say, well, what do you think about this, do you think?
19:17 And not worrying, that's tough. Not necessarily worrying so much about what people will think will people like me? Especially because, yeah, I think you and I I'm people pleasers and, of course, I want people to like me and it really upsets me when people don't, and that's just an ingrained part of my personality. But I realized that if I want to be a leader and I want to break new ground and sometimes I will do that and not get any credit for it, and you know what that's okay, I have to figure out. Do I try to spend all my energy trying to get credit for it? Not necessarily, because for me, it's more about the education and the challenge to myself and then, ultimately, I believe, or I want to believe, that at some point people will recognize it, just because I've proven things over and, over and over again. Absolutely.
20:08 - Lau (Co-host) And I think many of us, in many fields, can concur with that, that feeling of like. I just said that, wait, I did that years ago. I actually did that. And this person is, you know, they're acting as if it's a first yes, and so I think that that is a generational thing as well, because it's like it reminds me of the joke of like when a younger generation gets married or they have children, they oftentimes feel like they're the first generation raising children, they're the first ones who understand how to be a good parent, they're the first ones that. And then the joke is always like, you know, by the third child, you can watch them. Yeah, it's fine, I don't even know what I'm doing, it's just so the idea of like, okay, I'll humor you, I'll allow you to think that you're the first one because maybe that's the phase you're in, but the reality is is we know it's never the first.
21:03 There's always so many people going through it in so many different ways. It's just who's discovering it, who's observing it and who's reporting on it.
21:12 - Anne (Host) Oh, that's so true, isn't it Like right? It's so funny because you're absolutely right, like we're all just trying to, we all just want to be loved, don't I always say?
21:21 - Intro (Announcement) that, like we all just want to be loved All of us.
21:23 - Anne (Host) As people, we all want to be given the credit that we feel is due to us, and sometimes it's not worth the effort If you've already been there, done that kind of thing. It's not necessarily the effort to bring it up, because sometimes that will look different to different people. Right, it could look catty, and so for me I try to just again. That's one of those it's mental games where you try just to like okay, you know what. I've done, that educated myself on this, and being angry or being bitter certainly doesn't allow me the energy to progress forward from this point on, and so it doesn't make sense to spend the energy on being bitter or being angry but, simply just using that energy to educate myself and move forward Yet again, to make myself the very best version of myself and my business that I can be.
22:17 Yeah time.
22:18 - Lau (Co-host) I really trust time. Time will teach all, time will definitely teach all. And I think that it's hard to generalize because we're also different in different cultures, different generations. But there is one thing I do believe many females have in common, and that's powerful, powerful instinct. And how we treat instinct. Is it real for us? Do we pay attention to it? Do we listen to it? Whether you think of it as a survival mechanism or you think of it as a spiritual guide, I really do feel strongly. It's a compass for us. Oh, gut instinct.
22:51 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. I love my life. I've got instinct, I know.
22:54 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, to know that something is right, something's wrong, something doesn't feel good, something is unsafe. I do believe a lot of female colleagues I have go very wrong when they don't listen to their instinct or they no longer hear the voice.
23:08 - Anne (Host) I think anybody. If they don't listen to their instinct, they don't trust it. Yeah, I mean anybody, certainly Anybody certainly you know what I mean.
23:15 - Lau (Co-host) But there is that built in thing with women. I totally agree. They're always looking out for the cubs. Even if they don't have cubs, you know, your cub may be your client, yeah.
23:25 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely, Absolutely. That's so interesting that you say that because I think I've always in my lifetime I've always run my business and run my personal life by my instincts. I've always trusted it and it's never failed me so over and over again. And I think if you just trust it, just try it. If you're not used to that, try it and see what happens. And ultimately it's kind of like the first time you say no to a client who wants to not pay you what you're worth, right, and you just learn that negotiation tactic where you're like, yeah, that's great, I'm going to pass on this, and you find that you'll have the time to get a client that will pay you what you're worth and so that first no can be so powerful. Very similar to just having that power as an entrepreneur.
24:07 - Lau (Co-host) And isn't it ironic too that we want people to hire us for our voice, for our vocal delivery, but oftentimes we're not willing to listen to our own voice.
24:19 - Anne (Host) Yeah, so true.
24:20 - Lau (Co-host) Isn't that ironic when you think about that. So true.
24:23 - Anne (Host) So wise, very sage law, ooh, we like it Absolutely.
24:29 Good stuff, wow. So yeah, entrepreneurs, bosses, you've got this and we've got you. So, guys, really reach out to us, let us know what your struggles have been and how you've overcome them. We'd really love to hear that Also. Simple mission, big impact 100 voices one hour, $10,000. Guess what? Four times a year, visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more and to join us. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network, like bosses and strong, powerful female entrepreneurs such as Law and myself. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. See you next week.
25:12 Awesome Bye.
25:15 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL hey Law.
25:43 - Anne (Host) Guess what time of year it is.
25:46 - Lau (Co-host) What time of year is it Ann?
25:48 - Anne (Host) Time for the audition demolition holiday Holiday. We're very jolly, so I can't wait for this edition of the holiday edition of the audition demolition Guys get your auditions in Live shows on December 14th and we've got some great scripts. Of course, they are holiday themes, so you guys are going to have a ton of fun. There is cash, there is swag, there are prizes. You guys get in on the fun, get in on the learning. It's only seven. How much is it? Law Shit? It's only oh. You don't need to say the price, do you? Well, I want to say that it's like. It's like it's the best gift. All right, let's try that again.
This week Anne and Tom Dheere discussed the landmark agreement between SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios. They discuss how this deal will shape the compensation, usage rights, and ethical considerations of voice performances in the age of AI. They look at the details of this complex partnership, examining the potential ripple effects for both union and non-union talents. They emphasize hinges on the necessity for voice actors to stay informed and proactive in the face of advancing technology that could redefine our industry. They confront the pressing issues that voice actors encounter, such as leasing AI technology and the critical need to secure royalties and licensing fees. The BOSSES cover the intricacies of fair AI voiceover rate structures and underscores the urgency for collective bargaining and new legal frameworks.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VEO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss Podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Ann Ganguzza, and I'm here with my special guest, co-host Tom Dheere. Tom, I'm so excited to have you back, yes thank you so much for having me again this has been so much fun.
00:35 So, tom, there's been some news in the industry and I think all bosses should always be following up and be current on news that's happening in the industry, because it directly affects our businesses and so there has been a groundbreaking agreement between SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios, which is an AI company, and I think we should talk about this and how it affects us and how it affects our businesses.
01:01 - Tom Dheere (Guest) I agree. Now just to get disclaimers. One I am a SAG-eligible member. I am non-union, so I am not a member of SAG-AFTRA. So I was going to say I don't have a horse in the race. But all voice actors, regardless of union status, has a horse in the race of what's going on in both the union ecosystem and the non-union ecosystem, because they all have a major effect and influence on each other. So I am a member of NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors.
01:29 - Anne (Host) Myself included Yay.
01:31 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And we know that NAVA, including providing health insurance and education of the industry, is also a major advocate of making sure that voice actors are both safe from predatory AI practices but also are empowered to embrace AI to move our voiceover business forward if we feel that it aligns with our value system and our business model.
01:52 - Anne (Host) And Tom, I know you and I both we have taken time to educate ourselves within the AI industry and about synthetic voices, and I think we are hoping to encourage others to do the same so that they can make smart, educated decisions, and this is going to be part of that very important discussion. So, absolutely, myself, I am non-union. However, things that happen in our industry this can be setting a precedent for how I'm going to say how AI companies work with voice actors, as well as how consumers view AI and synthetic voices, and I think one thing I remember Tim Friedlander mentioning in one of his discussions was that, if nothing else, it's really started to bring awareness to not just our community but everyone out there of what sort of impact synthetic voices and AI can have on our industry, on our voices and our rights, our intellectual rights, our intellectual property. So talk about what you know of the agreement.
02:54 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Okay, so the first thing I'll say in regards to that is about late 2021, I took a meeting with replica studios to talk about their voice cloning process, and I'm pretty sure you've talked to them too.
03:06 - Anne (Host) Yes, I actually interviewed them on the VioBoss podcast. So, bosses, make sure you listen to that one.
03:10 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Exactly, and different AI production companies have different business models. They have different reasons for entering the industry and how they go about their business. What replica studios does is they work, at least right now, in the video game bubble, which is they work with voice actors to create very specific performances. So, like I think I auditioned for the part of, like the crazy old West speculators there's gold in them, not huge Like. I'd submit it to be considered for one of those. So, and if you do get that, you get paid, and that performance can only be used for that performance, both on a technological level, because they can't turn your crazy mining prospector into an astronaut voice or another voice Now.
03:54 - Anne (Host) is that because that's established with the company? Are you talking about all companies?
04:00 - Tom Dheere (Guest) or I'm talking about Replica.
04:01 - Anne (Host) Okay, replica, okay. So Replica has an agreement in place where, if you create a voice with them and it is used for a video game, it can only be used for that particular video game in that particular instance and they cannot make additional dialogue or additional games from that voice or.
04:19 - Tom Dheere (Guest) It is my understanding. Also, I watched the Navas wonderful but two hour long question and answer thing. So forgive me if I misquote.
04:28 - Anne (Host) No, everyone should be watching that as well, oh absolutely.
04:31 - Tom Dheere (Guest) It's on YouTube. Go to the Navas website and there's a link and you should definitely watch it. It was fascinating, Cause you learn not only about AI, you learn a lot about how Sagrafftro works. Cause Zeke talked in severe detail wonderful severe detail about how bargaining works and contracts work and agreement works, and all of that. But historically, replica would use your voice as a placeholder during production of the video game, as opposed to using your voice to be cast in the video game. Smaller roles.
04:57 - Anne (Host) Yes, yes, when I interviewed them, that was their process and you were paid. You were compensated on it. Not a character, a video game character, but a character. How many characters were used? You get paid on a character basis in a monthly contract.
05:11 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, and that one character could be used as a placeholder in production in multiple video game production companies making multiple video games and smaller roles could also be used by that and you would get compensated for that. So this agreement Sagrafftro agreement with Replica basically just sets up the relationship how Sagrafftro members can work for Replica studios and they have set up a studio per hour rate you know of the actual performance and then they have set up the usage or licensing of what happens when your voice is used and how long it's used for and what the compensation is. I think it was per 300 lines or something like that and then there's incremental payment. Zeke made some very, very interesting points, because one thing that a lot of people have been saying is like why isn't Sagrafftro fighting AI? Why aren't they trying to ban AI? And he said that. To paraphrase, he said they had a choice they could either try to prohibit AI or they could try to regulate AI.
06:10 - Anne (Host) Absolutely.
06:11 - Tom Dheere (Guest) And he and Tim agreed that they are five to 10 years too late for prohibition of AI, even if they wanted to prohibit it. So, as a result, their only recourse is to get involved with regulation of AI.
06:23 - Anne (Host) I think we should reiterate that, Tom, yes, rather than prohibition of AI, which, look, technology happens with or without us, right? And so prohibition of AI could have been really difficult, really really difficult to enforce and probably would have, I think, destroyed the industry, to be honest with you.
06:38 - Tom Dheere (Guest) That's what he said. That's exactly what he said.
06:40 - Anne (Host) Therefore, again, we don't have a choice as members of the industry, we don't really have a choice. I mean, we either fight back and quit or we evolve and we work with it. And I think that it's admirable of a company because right now I wanna talk to you about there's no regulation for companies right now, and it's interesting because I just interviewed Auskirkowski from DeepDubb AI, another AI company that does dubbing and localization of voices, who are also very much in the fair transparency, compensation to the voice actor, and there's something to be said for companies that say right, that they are fair and transparent and compensatory. Is that a word?
07:21 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Compensatory.
07:22 - Anne (Host) Compensatory. Thank you For voice actors in the industry, but it's also another thing because there's no other regulation. They say it on their website, they say it in their policies, but there's nobody enforcing it. So I think for Replicca to come forward to SEG-AFTRA and make themselves accountable, at least to an organization that directly deals with our industry in such an impactful way, I think that that was great. Now the nitty-gritty of the contract. I've not been privy to see that. However, what makes me a little bit nervous is that, first of all, we're voice actors. We know voice acting.
07:59 Replicca is an AI company. They know AI, and so I know from working in technology for 20 billion years that there's a lot of misunderstanding. People that don't understand the technology can be talked into things. Possibly they can be coerced into agreeing to things that may or may not serve them in a positive light. However, at some point you've just got to put faith in a company that they're going to be ethical and transparent, and I think this was a good move, and I guess possibly there's loopholes in the contract, but I do believe we're working towards something that's positive in the industry.
08:33 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Here's one thing I've been talking to a lot of people about. Is that? Well, for one thing to your point is that there is no federal legislation to hold AI companies accountable for artists IP right now, and Nava has been working with Capitol Hill and there are multiple bills in the works If you go to the Nava website it has links to show you the legislation that they are working on which is great.
08:59 There are a lot of people I've been hearing in the voiceover industry saying all AI companies are, by definition, unethical. These, I think, are also a lot of the same people that have been saying for 20 years that all pay-to-play sites by definition are unethical. Neither of those are true. They're patently false. No matter where you go in any industry, in any sector of any business all over the world, a certain percentage of the people involved are going to be unethical.
09:26 - Anne (Host) Bad actors, bad actors, bad actors.
09:29 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Every industry. The voiceover industry is no different. So that means a certain percentage of people who are voice seekers on pay-to-play sites are going to be predatory and will try to rip you off, and a certain percentage of voice actors on pay-to-play sites will underbid, underbid, undercut, which damages the industry. Same thing with AI. There's no difference. It's just that people are going to be how they're going to be, so all you can do is bring your value system with you. It's like a bad client, yeah, and we all have bad clients.
09:56 - Anne (Host) And it's something that I'm always talking about. Right, it's one of the reasons why I have my voice in AI series, with over like 35 interviews with AI companies is to educate yourself, and that was really the basis for myself. Educating myself about the industry is just talking, and one thing I think that is so important is that we have a dialogue with these AI companies, we make it known and I think Nava is just doing wonderful work in helping that to happen and for really fighting for voice actors on behalf of the organization and I think that all of us just need to educate ourselves on what is happening and, just like a bad client like I educate myself on a client. There are telltale signs when I can get a feeling about a client, if they're going to be a bad client or going to be difficult to work with. And I think AI companies are no different, and I think, first and foremost, companies that are out in the forefront of the industry today and there's a lot of AI companies or a lot of little tiny ones that have popped up and not survived, but the ones that are there in the forefront, the larger companies I think that they are responsible for providing an ethical ground, Because I don't think that consumers first of all will stand for companies that are not ethical in their treatment of humans, because it becomes like this whole thing.
11:16 I mean again, we're also a product of or a slave to the industry in which we work, right? So if consumers are wanting synthetic voices, or if synthetic voices will provide a space in the market, will provide something of value to a market, and Oz said to me the other day he said well, normally there would be all of this content that wouldn't be dubbed, that wouldn't be created, because it's simply the process of doing so takes such a long time and it's kind of like the audiobook genre and the audiobook AI companies that we're trying to make audiobooks with synthetic voices, and so there is a lot of content out there that won't get produced simply because it is a process to do with a voice actor, now that a voice actor isn't desired or better. However, there's some content that it may not be as necessary to have a human voice.
12:08 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Yes, and I'm pretty sure we've had these conversations before in various circles that there is some content, like a product manual, that would never get narrated by a human because of you know, there's just so many of them and it's not cost effective. But an AI can do that. Our good friend, karen, vice president of NAVA, uses the example of no human can narrate the New York Times overnight, and those who are visually impaired have just as much of a right to enjoy the New York Times with their morning cup of coffee than any other sighted person Absolutely.
12:43 - Anne (Host) An.
12:43 - Tom Dheere (Guest) AI can help provide that service. It's where you get into other areas. And actually there are people who because I've had conversations with people who say, nope, that's still not art, that's still taking jobs from people. That is still unethical. There is a certain percentage of the population that there's just going to be no talking to.
13:02 So it's like okay there's going to be no convincing. And if that's their value system and they think AI is an affront to art and an attack on art, and with some of the bad actors and predatory companies, yes, it absolutely is. But this conversation and it's not really about art, it's about technology Technology always wins. It always wins. Now, when I say that that doesn't mean well, we should all surrender and sell out and clone our voices and get paid a nickel, you know five cents on the dollar and just eat dog food and live in a hovel because we can't thrive as artists in the voiceover industry and get paid rates that are commensurate with the industry standard.
13:45 But there are ways to navigate the industry, whether you are pro AI, anti AI or can't be bothered with AI and have the potential to still be able to thrive as a voice actor. And this agreement with SAG-AFTRA and Replica is a major step, major, major step in that direction. Because, as you also know, the rate structure for compensation for AI whether it's to have your voice cloned or some other service where they're gonna synthesize your voice just for their website or just for this bit of software, much less getting it put on a website where anybody can subscribe and use it. It's still the Wild West. Now, with SAG-AFTRA, they are providing, thank goodness, the beginning of some sort of rate structure that we can all start to work with and find out if it's a viable one.
14:31 - Anne (Host) I'm so glad that you brought that up, because that is still we talk about. The Wild West rates have always been a Wild West right, especially for non-union. So what's really wonderful is that, yes, if SAG-AFTRA is getting involved. And of course, I've been telling the GVAA to get on with AI rate structures because, again, how much do you charge or how much should you get paid? And of course, now you're actually doing like a royalty share really with a company that produces that voice, because you cannot produce your own AI voice, I mean literally you have to lease an engine to do that or work with a company for them to produce it, and then ultimately, they're the ones.
15:07 Let's see if they have an interface that allows you to go in there and do a text to speech or a speech to speech generation of those files. You're still leasing that engine that does that, and that is something that you do not have control over. I mean, that is not your studio, and so, in reality, you have to pay for the rights for that studio to produce that audio. That's what I think about it, and I think about it as being it's more than just a studio to produce that synthetic voice or those audio files. It is the studio and it is also pretty much kind of the voice actor in a way.
15:44 It's like a percentage of you that is being used and so we can't possibly get paid what we're probably used to because we were used to controlling that ourselves. And it can only help the more people that get involved in this discussion, because I will tell you that a couple of years ago, when I started interviewing companies and we started talking about rates, there were no rates set and in fact nobody really wanted to like even comment on a rate. There were some people that flung out oh 10%, Voice actors would get 10%. And voice actors heard that and got completely insulted, not understanding the technology.
16:21 Now I say well, who says 10%, why not ask for 50%? Right, it's my voice and their engine, so why not start at 50%? It seems reasonable to me, Any good negotiator, right, If you're going to work with a company and you're going to have an agreement on a rate structure or a fee schedule, you can always negotiate. And so if SAG-AFTRA is working with rates and we've got other companies that are setting the rates, this is the thing when the company set the rates. It's kind of like who says the number first, right, they win right.
16:54 Or you know what I mean. If I ask what's your budget? Right? That's the proper way to negotiate, right? You don't say the number first, but if you set it, I feel like we have some footage. We have some ground to discuss and talk about what would be a fair compensation. Because, again, we want our voices to be valued. And again, this whole agreement with at least replica saying we're willing to step up to the plate and we're willing to be held accountable by an organization right For fairness, transparency and compensation for actors to get paid for their value. But what is that value? That's the question in terms of a synthetic voice.
17:34 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, right, voice actors are in the business of licensing our art. That is what we've always done. That's always what we've done. We're the artist in the booth, yeah, which is our session fee, and then, if it's a broadcast commercial, union or non-union, then we license that performance, which is the usage fee. There is zero difference between that and what the SAG-AFTRA replica agreement is. They will get paid a certain amount for being in the booth and then they will get paid for the use of that. So, union or non-union, you're in the business of licensing your art. This is just more of a codification of it in relation to the. I don't know if you'd call AI a genre, or I don't know what you well pay to places in a genre either. It's a portal, I guess, because I've always said there are three portals in the voiceover industry for casting opportunities representation, online casting and self-marketing. Maybe this is the fourth one? Yeah, maybe.
18:30 - Anne (Host) AI.
18:31 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Maybe it's like a three and a half one, but we want to license our art. Look, unless you don't and if you don't, then you work for the seeing eye here in not here in New Jersey, but across the water or you do stuff for learning online. Yeah, and you narrate stuff pro bono, which there is a place for. That that's art too. It's just you're not licensing your art, you're donating your artistic ability to do that.
18:53 - Anne (Host) And when you do that, by the way, it's kind of scary because anytime, like our podcast, like this podcast here, or anytime I put my voice out there, out on the internet, right now there's no regulation of it and so, theoretically, bad actors, companies that are not ethical, could be taking that and making voices, which they probably have, I would assume that.
19:13 I guarantee it I guarantee that, if you're known in the industry at all, you've got your voice out there, that your voice.
19:18 And we've seen that also where there have been some companies, unethical companies that have been producing voices or taking, you know, scrubbing the internet for voices, and that is something that is unfortunate. However, it's something until there are regulations, laws in place, that I mean. Gosh, how many times we talk about it, like with our phone, have they been listening? Have they been recording? Absolutely, and so that data is theirs. They can use that to develop anything. But at least now I think that, yeah, we're kind of backpedaling, but we now need to at least make our voices heard and the more organizations that can help us to do that right SAG-AFTRA, with this agreement with Repuka Nava helping us talking on the podcasts about it, and you and I being open and transparent saying, hey, I have a synthetic voice. I have a synthetic voice partially because I was educating myself on how voices got created, what companies I would want to be working with and really, until I take those risks, I don't know and I'm not educated.
20:21 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Right, and being a voice actor is a risk in itself.
20:23 - Anne (Host) Sure is.
20:23 - Tom Dheere (Guest) Because it's such an unpredictable, chaotic, no guarantee of any income ever kind of industry. And also I've been doing online auditioning since 2006. Right, so I guarantee I've had multiple auditions stolen and I'm sure my voice has been cloned in some capacity many, many times, just like every website you've ever been to or ever will go to has been or will be hacked, and our social security numbers are all over the place, and it's terrible and there's really not much we can do about that. Retroactively moving forward, we do everything we can to protect our intellectual property and engage in safe practices. So auditioning for some text to speech thing on a pay to play site, I think is a terrible idea.
21:05 Scheduling a meeting with a AI production company and asking questions about how do you operate? Sure, what is your compensation structure? Sure, what's your licensing structure? Can I see an example of your agreement so I can take a look at it or send it to an attorney to review it? Even if you don't want to clone your voice, I strongly recommend doing that so you can just have an understanding of what the industry is, because this is going to be more and more a part of the industry and there will eventually come a point where there will be legitimate ethical casting notices on pay to play sites. In regards to AI, which Nava has done a great job with Voice123, for example, to help curb that tidal wave of felonious casting notices that was proliferating the Voice123 site until they had a conversation and said, if okay, so if clients want to post a text-to-speech casting notice, they have to answer these questions and really answer them. And then all those casting notices vanished literally overnight. So that tells you something.
22:01 - Anne (Host) It does.
22:02 - Tom Dheere (Guest) So the VO bosses, the bosses out there, need to know how to protect themselves, while at the same time understanding that this isn't going anywhere. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ai is a disruptive force, just like the light bulb disrupted the candle maker industry. And who gave a darn about the candle making industry, except for the candle makers? Yeah, very true, so you know what I mean. This is a part of the industry. You got to learn to embrace, adapt evolve and grow or you're going to get left behind.
22:29 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, and you need to educate yourself about how the industry is evolving and again, you will be left behind if you are not educating yourself. So, bosses, go out there and sign up for Nava. I cannot recommend that anymore. Nava is doing wonderful things. Listen to the VO Boss Voice and AI series. Listen to Tom and I talk about it. We have a couple of episodes We've already talked about it on the VO Boss episode and really just read everything that you can familiarize yourself with, everything that you can, so that we can move forward and have successful businesses along with this disruptive technology.
23:03 Because if it's not AI, it's going to be another disruptive technology, and I'd like to challenge any boss out there and ask them if they are not using some form of AI to help their business right now and being hypocritical and saying, well, you can't use my voice, but yet they might be using I don't know chat, gbt to do something to make their business run more efficiently. So there are multiple AI opportunities out there that you can utilize that I think are wonderful to help your business run more effectively, and Tom and I just made do an episode on those. That's not a bad idea. So, all right, guys. Well, tom, this has been an amazing discussion. I'm sure we could talk about this forever, but thank you so much for joining me again.
23:48 And, bosses, I implore you, if you want to take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals giving collectively and intentionally, you too can help to create a world that you would like to see and make a difference. Visit 100voiceshoekerorg to learn more. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can network and connect like a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Thanks, guys, bye.
24:21 - Intro (Announcement) Bye yeah.
Anne welcomes Oz Krakowski from DeepDub, a company specializing in dubbing and voiceover end-to-end localization. Oz and Anne discuss the evolving technology and the importance of protecting the integrity and earnings of professional voice actors. They look at the ethical landscape of AI, the significance of artist compensation, and the transformative effect technology is having on voiceover work. With the rise of deepfakes and synthetic voice replication casting shadows of concern, they discuss the pressing need to protect voice artists' identities. They also navigate the intricacies of consent and compensation in voiceover AI models. This episode is a call for trust and clarity in the dynamic dance between technology and the voice talents that bring authenticity to AI-generated content. 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VEO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Ann Ganguzza, and I am truly excited to be here with a very special guest, Krakowski. Oz is an experienced executive with a rich background in business and technology, especially in the entertainment industry. His current role at DeepDub showcases his deep involvement in the realm of media and film, where he leverages innovative technology to enhance the industry's landscape. His extensive knowledge and insights have made him a sought after figure in film and media conferences. Oz, thank you so much for joining us today. We're so happy to have you here.
00:57 - Tom (Co-host) Hi Anne, so pleased to be here and thank you for inviting me and looking forward to our discussion.
01:02 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely. I'm excited to talk to you about the technology. So, first and foremost, for our listeners, tell us a little bit about DeepDub and your role there and your particular experience in working with voice actors.
01:16 - Tom (Co-host) Absolutely so. Deepdub is a company that is focusing on AI, or generative AI, I should say solutions for audiovisual content, with an aim to democratize the ability to globalize content. We started by focusing on entertainment content, working with big studios small and large, actually and localizing and providing them the capabilities to use synthetic voices and different generative AI tools in order to localize their content. Specifically for me, I'm based in Dallas in the United States. I am responsible for business development, partnerships, strategic accounts, been with the company almost from the beginning. The company started in 2019, so we're pretty young in the world of, in the traditional world of localization. However, in the world of AI, we're among the first.
02:06 - Anne (Host) You're veterans, you're veterans.
02:08 - Tom (Co-host) Exactly, exactly. I always joke that it's like dog years every quarter it's like another leap forward in technology and advancements. We were there before. Generative AI was a common phrase on everyone's discussion. Absolutely this is generally about DeepDub DeepDub is really committed to the entertainment industry and asked about how we work with voice actors. There is a lot and I'm sure we're going to unpack it here in the discussion.
02:33 - Anne (Host) Oh yeah, obviously, as you know, being a voice actor myself and you having worked with voice actors in the industry, I'm sure you understand the concerns of, basically, actors and artists in the creative fields and their concerns about AI. I think that it's important that all of us, voice actors included, we educate ourselves on this evolving technology to figure out how we can work with it, because I don't think we're going to stop it. Number one I've certainly seen lots of evidence of that in the past few years. I mean, it has just been breakneck speed in developing synthetic voices. From your perspective, what would you say are the major concerns surrounding the usage of AI in entertainment? In the entertainment industry?
03:21 - Tom (Co-host) Absolutely. I followed your podcast and I see the work that you've done on AI. I truly respect the will and intention to actually be aware of it. Like you said, I think it's also acknowledged today that this is pretty much unstoppable. The question is, how do we get in front of it? How do we actually address the concerns? How do we work together and not necessarily try to do anything that is one-sided?
03:45 In the end, everyone has fear when it comes to change and changing landscape or changing conditions, especially when it comes to a person level. People have their fears and a deep that we're trying to address them instead of not trying to behind anything. We're addressing them by working with the industry, by adhering to common practices, to the most recent laws or ethical codes that have been published. One of the things that we've just recently announced about a month ago I think it's almost like a month and a half ago, just when the actor strike was concluded we announced what we call the Voice Actors Royalty Program, which is a clear step forward in terms of giving voice actors, specifically professional voice actors, the ability to get compensated for the use of their voice in AI-powered projects.
04:40 That specifically addresses professional voice actors. We did not open it to the public. In fact, when you join the program, we actually ask for proof that you are a professional voice actor. Once we get that proof, we vet it. We actually make sure that this is the right that you are indeed who you claim you are, or with the specific credentials.
05:00 - Anne (Host) You have to do that today, in this age of AI.
05:04 - Tom (Co-host) Because essentially I have a microphone, I can claim that I'm a voice actor. It's not that it's not going to be open ever to everyone, but the intention initially is to ease voice actors that we are not going to use their voice without their full consent and without them getting compensated for it. I think that's very important.
05:23 - Anne (Host) Yes, I agree with you 100%. I think one of the biggest issues now is because it's the Wild West out there I like to use that term all the time in the voice acting industry because it's always been like a Wild West of rates. With new media and digital media, it's the Wild West of synthetic voices in AI. Now there are so many technical things that arise in terms of how can voice actors protect their voice? There are… a lot of companies out there drafting up these ethical policies and agreements that they post on their websites, and I think there is a bigger issue at stake where I think that it's wonderful when companies can proclaim and create policies and ethical guidelines, but what's out there? Who's out there that's enforcing them? Number one, I think really at a federal level or a global scale, there needs to be laws and regulations on that, and I think that's where we're going to be playing catch up, for maybe I don't know, this is my guesstimation the next 10 years, maybe more. What are your thoughts on that?
06:23 - Tom (Co-host) You know what? You're absolutely right and this is, I think, the key challenge that we have, that the legal system is so slow to progress. However, you know, technologically we're advancing fast. So what happens? It leaves the playing field, you know, open for interpretation, and this is where it really matters.
06:42 - Intro (Announcement) And, just like you, said this is the wild west.
06:44 - Tom (Co-host) Exactly, and this is where it's really important when you partner with a company to actually do the background work, make sure that you're working with a company that really cares about not only the output, but also how you achieve that output, because today you can achieve that output in many ways, but it's really important who are the people, what's their track record, how do they do things, and not only what do they achieve in the end and why? Because there is no global enforcement right now.
07:12 I think it's going to get there eventually. There's no way around it.
07:15 - Anne (Host) It's going to have to get there, but it's just going to yeah.
07:18 But what happens in the interim? I think that's the biggest thing. I have so many questions for you and one of them, of course, I wanted to like wait a little bit, but obviously I'm sure you've heard of the groundbreaking agreements between SAG-AFTRA and Replica, another AI company, in terms of working with actors and voice actors to protect them, and I think that that was a step in a positive direction, toward companies wanting to be more accountable, to not just themselves and not just their own ethical guidelines. Like I know, there's so many wonderful organizations out there trying to create guidelines and research, and I think that that's great, but I also think that is a step towards I would say, at least a company solidifying that they are serious about protecting the rights of creatives and actors and voice actors. What are your thoughts on that? Is that something that you have been looking into or a place where you might go in the future?
08:09 - Tom (Co-host) Absolutely. First of all, sag-aftra is in the United States, so I think it's a great step forward for sure Definitely protects and sets the tone for unions and guilds worldwide. We have been discussing for some time with the BFFS, which is like the SAG-AFTRA or the similar union in Germany. I, just for the sake of discussion, I was invited by them last June to talk about AI in the film industry at the Munich Film Festival and we had a very interactive panel discussion there at that event, and I think that goes back to how we started the discussion today, saying that we need to acknowledge that this is coming and let's be in front of it and have the dialogue and talk about how we do things, and I think that agreement with SAG-AFTRA is important and an important step forward.
08:57 I believe we're going to see similar things happening also worldwide, not only in the United States, and I think also from SAG-AFTRA perspective, it will be their intention to have that type of agreement with as many, I would say, ai companies create some kind of standard in a way.
09:11 - Anne (Host) Yeah, let's talk a little bit about in the technical aspect of things, because, again, I don't work in AI, but I try to learn as much as I possibly can so that I can make educated decisions about how I can go about evolving with the industry as we move forward with the rapid advancements of AI technology, specifically generative AI I mean, is it discussed in any other realm anymore as generative AI? How can artists protect themselves from their unauthorized usage of their voice or their likeness or whatever that might be? I mean, right now there has to be technology that can be put in place so that we might be able to find out if our voice is being used without our permission or our likeness.
09:52 - Tom (Co-host) The reality, I would say, is that technology today allows that to be abused. I mean, that's the reality. And it goes back to what I said before If you're a very famous voice, talent or it could be a talent or just a voice, talent or talent of your voice.
10:10 I mean, or a celebrity, for example, and there's enough information about your voice. We actually today we don't even need a lot. Then your voice can be out there. We don't need much. You know it's like a sentence. Basically, your voice could be out there. The thing is, you know what happens. If it does. You can take it, for example, into places where we see non-entertainment related voices, like political people. You know people from politics where you know their voices can be replicated and can be abused. Actually, you know, especially if we're going into an election year in the United States deep fakes are very real very real, exactly I will say that.
10:49 - Anne (Host) That gives me hope, though, that it is a political season, that maybe it'll get more government level. There may be more action taken quicker because of that. I don't know, that's just. That's just my speculation.
11:01 - Intro (Announcement) But in reality.
11:02 - Anne (Host) So, and even this podcast. I mean gosh, I've had a podcast for seven years. I mean, not only have I done thousands of auditions and given my voice freely, after being paid for a job, to my clients, there are so many ways that my voice has probably already been put into a database somehow. And I think that, technologically speaking, how does deep dub? First of all, how do you create voices? I guess the creation of the voice and then usage of the voice. How do you protect your actors, your voice actors, in both of those cases? Can their voices be used for training other models, and what's the usage requirements?
11:40 - Tom (Co-host) Yeah, and that goes back basically I'm connecting my two answers before basically of first, there is no way really, I mean, everyone can use your voice because your voice specifically, you have that podcast with hundreds of hours it can be used without your knowledge. And then it combined it with partnering with the right company that actually you can trust, that is committed to working with you in terms of doing things in a legal way, in an ethical way and also compensation wise. So this is, if you combine it together. Now it goes back to the way we had deep dub require voices.
12:16 There are two ways for us to acquire voices. First, with non-professional voice actors, where we actually pay them for the voice. We approach people that do not use the voice as their profession and ask them in a very consent way to contribute their voice. They're getting paid for it and once their voice is in, we actually use those voices as the baseline for our bank voices. They're not necessarily going to hear their voice in the outcome, because those voices get transformed internally and mixed with other voices, essentially, and the output is different. But this is the baseline for how to acquire voices.
12:54 - Anne (Host) Yeah, so they're being paid for their voice being a training model then, to generate or create new voices, and then do they get paid if that new voice is being used since they were part of the training model or no?
13:06 - Tom (Co-host) No, not necessarily. No, they're contributing their voice and, again, they're not professional voice actors. They're not getting paid. They're getting paid for the work that they did and they're not gonna see their voice in the output. Also, it's not gonna be their exact voice yet.
13:19 - Anne (Host) Okay. So then now the case of a voice actor. If a voice actor wants to be on your roster.
13:24 - Tom (Co-host) So in a voice actor, it's a different case. A voice actor, their voice is actually going to be in the output and they're going to be paid in the same way as they're getting paid today for doing the voice acting, only that they don't need to be in the studio.
13:40 They could pretty much be anywhere else or be involved in a different job. So, essentially, you know, they're basically going to contribute their voice. We're not going to use their voice for training. We're not going to offer their voice as a bank voice. It's going to be offered as a voice that is essentially a royalty based or not royalty based, but a professional voice actors voice, which, every time this voice is being used for a project, they're going to be compensated for it. Now, mind you, like I said, it's very similar to the way their voice actors are getting paid today. When you participate in a production, you're getting paid for the participation. You're not getting paid for every time this is being broadcasted.
14:22 - Anne (Host) Well, it depends on the type of job. I mean, if it were broadcast media, yes, you would get paid each and every time it gets broadcasted.
14:29 - Tom (Co-host) So yeah, so it depends exactly in the end, and we're talking about the similar level of compensation as if you were doing the actual work, only now it's without attending the studio.
14:39 - Anne (Host) Sure, sure. Now, how does that work in terms of when the voice gets chosen, is the actor then contacted, and then are they privy to how the voice is being used in terms of is it only for dubbing or could it be for other purposes as well? I mean, I may or may not want my synthetic voice, if it sounds like me, to be represented in a movie that might be something that I wouldn't consider myself wanting to be in you know what I mean or a production that maybe would be saying something that I wouldn't particularly want my voice reference to, for people to recognize and say, oh, and then assume that I would be of the same opinion.
15:17 - Tom (Co-host) Yeah, listen, it's a great question. I will say that this is a place where that constantly evolves, because there is no enforcement, because the laws, there is no real legal framework. We're kind of like swimming in an open ocean and trying to define the land. Basically, for us right now, the idea is that when you do this, you're concerning to specific types of work. There is right now we didn't really set it up in that way, but the intention is really to give you the ability to try to actually vet yes or no based on types of work, ahead of basically your voice being used.
15:50 So when you sign up to have the ability to actually say alright, this type of genre is I don't want to be in, but essentially we have a producer of the work that sits down. In a similar way that it's done in a real production, a producer will sit down and is casting voices from a list of voices. They can choose a bank voice or they can use a professional voice. If they use a professional voice, in the end there's an output saying this specific voice actor, their voice, has been chosen. It's not in the intermediary output, but the final output has a professional voice, artist voice in it. Then they're going to get compensated for it.
16:26 - Anne (Host) Got it. Is it on a project by project basis? The payment, the compensation, in terms of how am I compensated? If I can get more in depth, because you know, what's so interesting is that I love you telling me that I'm being compensated. Now the question is okay, so what is that royalty share? What is that percentage? And is it varying depending on the project? Or is that something that I would have any input into negotiating with you? Or is that something and I realize because obviously you have created that synthetic voice and you're the one generating the files that yes, there is a certain percentage? Wise, that is obviously it's your work in generating that voice. Is it something that the voice actor can negotiate or is it you have just across the board? This is the royalty fee and it does it very based on, or some actors more, let's say in demand is one more of a custom voice than others.
17:16 - Tom (Co-host) Yes, yes, yes and yes, yes, it can be negotiated. Okay, yes, some are more in demand and basically it's a yes on all of them. There's like a baseline you can negotiate if you have the ability to negotiate it. So yeah, overall, the answer is yes.
17:31 - Anne (Host) What's the turnaround time? Just out of curiosity, if I would say that you're working on a production and I'm going to assume that these would be films that you're working with in terms of the amount of turnaround time and what this means for, let's say, the dubbing industry, like what is the advantage of using the synthetic voices and also I assume it's not just the voicing in order to make this? I guess a good experience for the consumer. You're also doing video effects as well, is that true?
18:00 - Tom (Co-host) or we're not necessarily focused much on the video side, although we can. We figure we first address the challenge with the voices themselves and then move on to the video. That's coming up as well, the ability to actually change the video, to do a perfect lip sync, but at this point, you know, focusing on the audio itself. So there's like multiple ways of actually creating a production to localize a content. And let's step away for a second from a film, let's talk about a show, because the challenges with the show are, I would say to some extent are bigger, because there's just more content. And especially, what we've noticed is that the challenge becomes substantial, especially when we're talking about a big volume. You know when we're trying to scale it. And why is that? Because now everything becomes when you're working traditionally, everything becomes, you know, sequential, it's all serialized and it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort. You know you need a lot of resources. Think about a show that has I don't know 10 episodes, especially again, if we're talking about catalog content. It could be a show that has I don't know 10 seasons and now localizing it would take a lot of time, would take more than a year. And the thing is that without technology, this project becomes irrelevant, meaning it wouldn't be localized at all. So what happens is that we are suddenly enabling and quite frankly, our first focus is to try to address those because there's so much demand for localizing even sometimes older titles that have new markets and have never been localized, and it's impossible always. So what we do is we're enabling to do this very quick. When I say very quick, I mean we've recently dubbed the voiceover. So there is like difference between voiceover or you know, if you address with scripted, but we've done 100 episodes of 30 minutes in about six weeks for a customer, which is pretty fast. Another project that we've done was eight seasons of a show Again, it's catalog content, but it's still high quality scripted content, french to English that we dubbed 85 episodes in four months, which is without technology. It's just impossible to do it. The speed, or you're just taking the quality, really, really low, yeah. So we're looking at it as an enabler, not necessarily. And when you look at it this way, by the way, I have to mention to say that you should actually consider that not as a something that takes jobs, because those jobs would not have been there at all, because our customers would not dub it traditionally otherwise because the turnaround, time and the costs.
20:32 So what happens in our process? It's never fully automatic. There's always people involved, whether a voice actor, sometimes too, a dubbing director. There's a studio sometimes involved in the process. There are linguists, we have translators. There's a lot of curation. That is done because, like you said, we care about the output. We really is done in a way that will actually be in line with the quality standards for streaming, for example. We have to align on that level of quality, otherwise, you know, we don't have a product. So that's very important. This is where we bring in people to be involved in the production itself.
21:08 - Anne (Host) So I assume that after you are using the synthetic voice for the localization, for whatever it might be, you then have a little bit of post production on that, because I know that with the advances in technology things are really great. But how much are you having to also then additionally work on that to kind of get the emotion, Because of course people are all about it's the emotion that's lacking in the synthetic voices. And so what sort of work is involved these days after the synthetic voice is applied to bring that emotion and to bring that scene to life?
21:40 - Tom (Co-host) Well, first, I must say that there is a lot of work that is done before we even apply the synthetic voices because, again, when we look at it, we look at it from an holistic point of view. At least the deep dove were not only a voice company where an end to end dubbing or localization house. We do the transcription, we do the translation, we have professional translators involved, together with the machine translation, to actually create the adaptation that is specific for that content, whether that's only referencing the cultural aspects or even addressing lip sync related issues, for adaptation related issues. Then we can record in two ways, whether we are using voice conversion or speech to speech. The same way I've seen some of the other guests you had here on the podcast talked about it, so we use that in a similar way or we also have the text to speech option.
22:30 We recently launched our emotive text to speech that allows us to control the emotions of the output of the text to speech, which is also something pretty new and I would say to some extent mind blowing, because it gives us the ability to simulate a performance to some extent right on the output, right, right, we create those voices, whether in this method or the other, then we also mix. We always have a sound engineer at the end of the process where they will be able to take that and if we need to create a 5.1 mix, master the output, deliver it. There is some level of mixing that is also done using AI. That can be done automatically, but we always, always have a person in the process to curate and make sure that the output is in the right quality summits that we're aiming for.
23:20 - Anne (Host) Just my own experience with speech to speech and understanding that speech to speech is not necessarily quicker in one respect, you know what I mean, because there's still an actor that's involved for that source acting. But I can absolutely see that the technology to probably put this together and make it realistic is mind-blowing to me and I actually wish I could see the process, just so I could know even more about it. But until that happens, talk to me about how voice actors can get involved, and I guess do you call it being on the roster, being on your roster? And again, you said there's a vetting process. What's involved if a voice actor is interested in having their voice with your company?
23:59 - Tom (Co-host) So, first of all, like I said, we are already working with voice actors in different regions to provide the performance when we use the speech-to-speech. So we've done this over thousands of hours already. But if voice actors professional voice actors want to join our royalty program, it's as simple as going on our website and signing up to the royalty program. We're in a slow process of bringing people in.
24:23 We're not rushing into it just because we are trying to vet everyone in and trying also not to create an oversaturation, Also on our end we're still a small company, so it does create some burden on us to actually make sure to vet everyone, but we're trying to do this in a very clear way that everyone is on the same page, there's no misunderstandings, and make sure that once we have someone on board, they know exactly what the process is. Go on the website, click the button, join the program, be part of this change.
24:55 - Anne (Host) So one of my last questions is kind of a more generalized question about companies in general, because you are one of the handful of companies that I have spoken to that are actively speaking out and saying that you're supporting and wanting fair compensation for the actors and the creatives involved. So, from an organizational level, from a business standpoint, how can companies that develop and utilize AI act responsibly and manage the IP rights and concerns and ensure that they're respecting the rights of both human creators and AI generated content?
25:26 - Tom (Co-host) I think it starts from the ground up. When you build your platforms, when you build your technology, you have to think of it from the ground up. If you did the majority of the way not thinking about, it is going to be very difficult to now reshuffle everything and now decide oh what? Now I want to be, go ethical and go legal, because you've already built, some from the beginning.
25:49 Exactly, and this is the way we looked at it. This is one thing. The second thing is have dialogues, have communication. You know, listen. Part of the things, the reasons that I went to that Munich Film Festival and actually had several discussions with different units is, first of all, listen, empathize, try to understand the other side, try to understand how we can come up with solutions to actually address those concerns and not necessarily go on the highway and don't stop. So I would say this is the second thing. And the third thing is adapt. The landscape continuously evolves. We're just at the beginning of it in terms of the legal frameworks that are being put in place. So be able to adapt and adjust according to those changes. I think all three are important.
26:32 - Anne (Host) What do you see coming in the future, not only for deep dove and yourself, but the future of AI technology. How do you see it evolving even more?
26:40 - Tom (Co-host) Listen, I don't know if you noticed, but Riverside offers AI transcription.
26:46 - Anne (Host) Yes absolutely, absolutely. My whole podcast is probably using AI. I mean, I use it to generate show notes and video clips, so absolutely.
26:56 - Tom (Co-host) Yeah. So I think in the end, what I think it's going to get to, to a point where AI is going to be part of our lives in a very seamless way. Right now we are very judgmental about it, we're thinking about oh that's AI, and we're nitpicking on everything. But when it becomes seamless, you know it's just like. You know, cell phones in the beginning were bucky and huge and you had to carry a bag for it and it was. You had to actually think about it. Today, it's obvious that you go out of your house with a cell phone. You wouldn't do it otherwise.
27:30 I think at some point, looking to the future, maybe a few years from now, ai is going to be more seamless, more integrated in many ways that are not necessarily trivial to us Even today. The simple ones are like transcription right, I mean, you wouldn't put someone right now to go through the podcast to transcribe it. When AI can do 95% of the work pretty good and the rest of the 5% you can do on your own, it becomes manageable. At the same time, I think that there's still going to be a place for us human beings in the process, basically responsible for the creativity. I don't think a lot of the fear is like AI is going to take our place. It's going to take over the world. Yes, absolutely, skynet is taking over. I think that eventually, what we're going to see is that it's just going to change the way we approach things more curating, more directing and guiding the AI, rather than trying to do it around.
28:23 You know, for me, for example, today I want to write a formal email. I'll just go to chat GPD. It's not that I cannot do it. I can't do it myself and I've been doing it for you know, for years myself. But chat GPD, if I just give it a few point of reference, it'll give me something in seconds. And now I'm going to take it not as it is. I'm going to make a lot of changes in it and make it my own. Yeah, but I have the baseline and I think that's an indication of how it's going to be in the future in many other aspects of our lives.
28:52 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I agree, and I think that as we progress forward, as it becomes more seamless hopefully it also becomes more regulation takes place so that we can be protected, so that it's not being used without our permission or knowledge and AI for good.
29:06 I'm a believer, I want AI for good and I have seen where I think AI is so beneficial in so many ways and it's just a little bit scary to see it when it's not being used in great ways. But I press on and I think bosses out there, we need to educate ourselves so that we can evolve along with it and use it for positive. Use it for good. And, Oz, I want to thank you so much for joining me today. It's just been a pleasure talking with you and thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us.
29:34 - Tom (Co-host) Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me and I look forward to future podcasts.
29:39 - Anne (Host) Absolutely All right. Bosses, here's your chance to use your voice, okay, not only possibly to do dubbing, but also to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to commit and big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network as humans and bosses, as I just did with Oz. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Thank you.
30:08 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host and Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Voice acting is more than just a dulcet tone; it's about connecting, taking direction, and sometimes swallowing your pride. In this episode, we explore how frustrations in the booth can mirror challenges in personal and business relationships—choosing success over being right is an art in itself. We underscore the importance of humility and remaining teachable in an industry that demands constant evolution. Whether you're a newcomer to the mic or a veteran seeking to refresh your skills, this episode promises to arm you with insights and strategies to elevate your voiceover career. 00:01 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Ann Gangusa, and I'm here with my very special guest boss co-host Lau Lapides. Hey Lau, hey, Annie, how are you I? Am doing amazing. How about yourself? Wonderful? Happy New Year. Happy New Year to you too.
00:40 - Lau (Host) This is our first podcast since New Year's.
00:42 - Anne (Host) That's right. Right, you know I'm starting off the New Year with some new students and I have come across this before and I want to ask you if this has happened to you.
00:53 There are some students if they're just starting out and I know we've spoken about this before Sometimes you don't know what you don't know, and sometimes it's hard for you to hear what you sound like. And there are many students who come to me thinking that they don't need coaching and that they're fine. They just need to be able to create a demo and they sound fine. And people tell them that they have the best voice, and so I like to call them voiceover virtuosos, and I was just wondering if you've come across that as well, where you've had maybe talent that seemed to think that they don't need coaching, or that they're better than maybe they are, and I don't mean to be so bold to say that, but I'm not quite sure how else to explain it.
01:37 - Lau (Host) And this is a really tough kind of non-PC conversation because we want to be kind and have some etiquette, Absolutely, and be courteous. We're not here to rip people apart and make them feel bad about themselves. That's counterproductive to who we are and what we're here for right.
01:52 - Anne (Host) Right and actually Law. I remember when I first started I did not have an ear and I would think to myself I think I'm delivering what I'm supposed to be delivering. It sounds like what I hear out there in the other commercials, and so I don't hear where my coach is coming from. I don't understand their direction, I don't see what I'm doing wrong.
02:11 - Lau (Host) So I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, and so I understand it from that perspective, because, as a talent, I felt that way a little bit myself, and I think it could be a combination of all sorts of things, whether it's lack of resources, whether it's pure laziness, whether it's not having the ear, or it could even be that I don't know what I don't know.
02:33 - Intro (Host) I don't know what I don't know, like I don't know what I'm missing because I haven't done it yet.
02:37 - Lau (Host) I haven't done the training right.
02:39 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and I don't know what it's supposed to sound like.
02:42 - Lau (Host) And so how do I know if?
02:43 - Anne (Host) it's incorrect. And sometimes it ends up being where you're like I don't understand what my coach is saying, and then sometimes you'll question the coach. Even I've actually had some people question the coach. It's so interesting. It's such an interesting phenomenon.
02:58 - Lau (Host) It is an interesting phenomenon and it happens at all levels too that I observe. I had a coaching session for a client, a brand new client, on Saturday and a working actor a working voice actor clearly booking and booking a good ratio overall was frustrated. She wasn't getting the natural read and getting commercial bookings. Long story short, she's a pro, she's working no-transcript. After we did that hour she confessed. She said I have to be honest, law, my mind is a little blown because I didn't even think of any of this stuff. I didn't work on it. I said well, that's our reality. That's why we're always in professional development. Yeah, yeah, there's new ideas, new techniques, new ways of thinking about things that bring out Something in you that you simply can't do on your own. You're not able to do it on your own right.
03:46 - Anne (Host) Well, I think, when it comes down to it, you are providing a service to someone and you need to be able to be directed To the sound that they would like to have, right? There are lots of performances out there that are simply directed to how the person that's directing here's it in their head. Now, does that mean that it is, I don't know, that natural Conversational read that everybody asked for in the specs, because that just seems what everybody asked for a lot of times. No, I mean what comes out in production. It may not be that.
04:19 However, over and over again, casting directors and agents are looking for that read. And I think when you get to the level where you have an agent and you have casting directors that are asking for that, you need to bump up your acting to that level. And just because you're booking Over and over and over again, first of all, consider the source of where you're booking, consider the source of who you're booking with. It might be an e-learning gig, it might be a corporate gig, and they may not be as how shall I put it as Selective, yeah, of a director that's looking for that natural read. Now, myself as a coach law and you as a talent agent, I am always asking my students to give the most natural engaging acting performance, because that is the only way I know to teach my students to be able to have the Versatility to give a director what they want. No matter what they want, whether they want a commercially sounding read, an Announcement sounding read or a natural read and there's.
05:18 - Lau (Host) You know, you can't skip over the fact that there's a fun factor.
05:21 There's a performative fun factor that when you're working with a director or a coach or an outside party who's giving you suggestion, giving you food for thought, pulling things out of you, there should be a right keyword, should there should be this Excitement, this energy, this yeah, herb about doing that and making discoveries and having that audience with you.
05:42 And I think if you miss out on that, you say I don't need any, that I'm gonna skip over as much training as I can, I'm gonna save money. I think you're really skipping over a pivotal part of what makes us us that when we're in the booth alone and when we're doing our own self-tape or whatever we're doing, we can call upon those experiences. It's like a sense memory thing. I can remember what my coach said to me, I can remember how I was directed and then I hear their voice, like as an actor, I literally hear their voice and I can go with that. If I miss all of that, then I almost have to put a lot of stress on myself to create that, to inspire the creation. Yeah, you know what I mean.
06:25 - Anne (Host) I think there's a lot to be said for really knowing the director, or understanding the director that you're working with too, in terms of there's a lot of things that come into play here. Where is this going to air? Is it local versus regional, versus national? Is it going to be an internal website? And so understanding and being able to supply the read that the director is looking for is so very important, and I think that the more you develop your acting skills, the better you can understand that and be able to give that director what they're looking for and also understand, like, for example, I was just discussing with you earlier that I had a local political spot right, and, of course, they ended up putting a ton of verbiage into a 30 second spot, which is almost impossible at the speed.
07:17 I was going to sound natural and engaging and conversational, because I needed to step up the pace. I kind of knew that. I knew, okay, here's a local spot, I'm going to have to step up the pace a little bit. I'm not going to be able to give this person a natural read. They weren't asking for it either, though, and so they really just wanted certain words that were inflected properly, and just having the experience and understanding what they were looking for, I was able to provide it almost I'm going to say not immediately, because there really were too many words for the scripts that we did have to cut out a couple of words.
07:48 But once that happened I mean I had a good idea in the beginning of what they were looking for. And I think as you get more experienced in this field and you start working with different directors, you'll understand. You'll be able to kind of read a director and figure out what it is that they're looking for and then be able to adjust your performance appropriately. But you need to have those acting skills in order to be able to adjust your performance.
08:12 - Lau (Host) That really is what makes you the pro that you are, because it's not only about the talent and the delivery, it's also about the timing, how quickly you work.
08:21 Are you focused, like all the bad habits that we have as people in the world we have to train ourselves out of, and we need help doing that, because sometimes we're just not aware of them that I'm constantly looking at my cell phone to check messages, or I'm fixing my whatever, or I'm not listening, or I'm not acutely taking notes on what I'm hearing, and so that's really important too, to practice that, that taking direction.
08:48 Really, that could be the kiss of death for you. If you're not good at listening, if you're not accurate about interpretation, asking just the right question and giving them what they need, then you look like a time waster, then you look like someone who's just kind of like flailing around and costing a lot of money on the other end, versus someone who can get right to. You know, one of the bad habits that I have a number of actors that do this and voice over, that do this is they explain, they start to get into explanation mode, they start giving the narrative oh, I'm so sorry, and the apologies unnecessarily. I'm so sorry. I was only doing that because you know I was thinking about my mother and not understanding the difference between what is a coaching session and what is a casting session and what is a booking session and what are really the differences, you know, and not expecting something from the wrong person, like I can't expect feedback from casting, necessarily, or from a client necessarily.
09:44 Sure sure, you're either going to book me or they're not going to book me, right? So clients are busy, right? The coaches should be giving me the feedback that I'm looking for. So if you don't do the process, then you don't get the feedback, then you literally are in the dark. Yeah, what you're giving, right? What you're giving out.
10:00 - Anne (Host) It's also hard to and again, we're not trying to shame anybody or make people feel bad.
10:04 It's just simply when you are first starting out and you're questioning. But here I feel like I sound. I sound better than that commercial, I sound better than that person. Again, developing an ear and I think there's a whole scientific process to it as well is what you hear in your head and what you hear in your headphones. If you have your headphones on and you're delivering something or you're recording something is very different than what somebody else is hearing on the other side of the glass.
10:30 I should say across the pond, across the pond on the other side of the glass, because on the other side of the glass they have their own ideas as to what they are looking for. That sound to be like Right and you always want to assume that if they've given you casting specs where they want it to sound natural, like you're talking to your friend Right? There's so many things to take into consideration. Yes.
10:53 And first of all, I'm going to say there are some clues. If it's probably someone who's been in the business for a long time, I think you can bet on the fact that they're going to be able to tell you if you're sounding natural and authentic. And also sometimes, if all they do is automotive commercials, what is it? Tier 3? Cliff Zellman would know this. Tier 3, tier 1. Tier 3 automotive commercials. That's typically a high powered cell. You'll also be able to tell a little bit by how it's written. So I think there are clues that you can research before you're in the middle of that session and also understand that when you're in a live directed session, just like you said, that can be entirely different than when you're in a coaching session. And so when you're in a coaching session with a trusted coach okay, it has to be a trusted coach, and again, that's hard for people that are just coming into the industry who's a trusted coach? Well, there's lots of ways to find that out and I think we probably have a couple of episodes on that.
11:46 How do you know, like, who to coach with? And a lot of times, word of mouth will be one of your best bets on that, and also testimonials and ask around and talk to potential coaches to see what's their experience level. Do they work in the industry? I'm not saying all coaches need to work in the industry in terms of do they need to do voiceover. There's very few out there that are good that they're not actually voice artists, but they're actors, they're teachers who teach acting as well. But also, if you've got a coach that works in the industry, that's going to be helpful too. And if you're new, just because you're frustrated and that's a big thing law that I see is that people get so frustrated and when they don't understand well, I don't understand what you're asking for, or I don't understand what I'm doing wrong, or you're not.
12:34 - Intro (Host) And they start to argue and they say you are not.
12:36 - Anne (Host) I don't understand your direction, and so they'll start to put the blame on the fact that there's not good direction. Now, sometimes there isn't good direction, right, sometimes there just isn't if you're not with somebody who may have been in the industry for a while and is good, which is why I don't love pure lead workout groups law only because I don't either. When you're listening to direction from another peer, who may not have enough experience.
13:00 - Lau (Host) that may set you on the wrong path, in a way though, annie, isn't it good in the sense that you're going to get bad direction at times? Yes, you really are Like we can't assume that. Oh, they're professional, they're a company, they're going to give us great direction. Sometimes you're being directed by Jim in Cubicle C who knows nothing Absolutely. It's kind of an interesting improv exercise to learn how to say yes and learn how to say oh. That's interesting, okay, let me try that. Oh, how, wow, okay, and you're thinking what? That's ridiculous. I don't even know how he came up with that.
13:32 - Anne (Host) That's half my directed session. That's your whole world.
13:35 - Lau (Host) But the point is that's the reality, right. We have to deal with that Absolutely. We have to be able to tolerate that and you have to be able to deliver and not argue.
13:41 - Anne (Host) Not argue it Not question that you have to be able to deliver what they're asking for and, by the way, anybody that coaches with me, of course you can give me the read that you hear in your head, but that's not the read I'm looking for and even if the script doesn't seem like that's what it's written for. That's the biggest argument I get is people are like but the script isn't written that way and I'm like I don't care.
14:00 The worst thing is that you'll get a script that's written very advertising, very selly, and then you'll get the specs that say give me something like you're talking to your best friend, and then, ultimately, my student will deliver it the way it's written and very advertising and very annoncery and other things. But that's not what I asked you for, but that's not how it's written. I'm like that doesn't matter. I'm asking you to give me a very engaged read and that is a very tough read and one of the reasons why I insist on that is because if you can get yourself to that level, to a very engaged, authentic read, when it's written very advertising, very selly, that's going to get your acting skills Up to the level that I think you need to be able to give versatility.
14:43 - Lau (Host) Yeah. And ask yourself this question, which really we could ask ourselves in a lot of situations like being married. I've been married 23 years. Sometimes I literally have to self direct and say, all right, do you really want to argue that? Do you really? Is it that important to argue that? Do you want to be right, yeah, or do you want to have a happy marriage? So, in terms of your business relationships, do I always want or need to be right, yeah, yeah, absolutely or do I really want to have success in this connection? And I choose the latter. I try very hard to choose the latter. By the way, did you see that catch of the light falling over? That's my theater experience.
15:21 - Anne (Host) I don't know if you caught that. No, I didn't, it was falling right on me.
15:24 - Lau (Host) I was making a point, I put it right there. That's kind of like the metaphor of life. You always have things falling on you, right, but it's just kind of like is it more important to have it perfect or is it more important to have it done? Just get it done, please, the client, have that callback for the next job. It's not that important that I make the point that the script is wrong.
15:46 - Anne (Host) Oh God, absolutely. That's the last thing you want to do.
15:47 - Lau (Host) That's what I'm trying to say we never answered that funny question at the top about how do we deal with all the talent that come in and they really kind of think they're ready for certain things they're not ready for.
16:01 - Anne (Host) Well, and then there's always the difficult position. If they think that they don't need additional coaching or additional sessions, then they think that you're trying to take advantage of them.
16:11 - Lau (Host) Oh, of course, and make money, yeah, to make money, that's right.
16:15 - Anne (Host) I mean, look, I guess you just have to know who you're working with and there is a level of trust you have to have. And again, it's so hard for people that are just starting out in the industry and we always emphasize to see if you click with your coach, Trust your gut instincts as well about your coach. I'm going to say and I'm going to say that, like if you don't know the industry and if you start questioning your coach, then it becomes like is that a relationship that you want to continue? If you're?
16:44 at that level where you're questioning if what they're saying to you is correct, exactly.
16:49 - Lau (Host) And if all else fails, you have to do what we used to do in the theater when we'd go to see our friends in a really bad show and a really bad performance, and they'd always come out backstage and go what did you think of it? Did you like it? I was like great, I worked hard. You have to think diplomatically. What would you really say to them? And we would have a ball coming up with things like. That was interesting. You really challenged yourself. I was moved. I mean, you really surprised me there, right?
17:19 So you have to think about how do you respond to people that really need a lot more. They need more training, they need more time, they need a better demo. And they're like oh, I just spent 3,000 on this demo. You telling me I suck. I'm like no, I'm saying this is your starter demo. This is your first demo. It's a process demo. It's good for what it is. Now you want to get to the next level of things. It's not about yes, no, right, wrong. It's not structurally black and white in that way. It's much shades of gray shades of gray nuance, nuance, nuance. You know what I mean? Absolutely. And the talent has to realize that it's not. You're good and it's done, or you're not good and it's not done.
18:00 - Anne (Host) Gosh, that's so true. It's not like, okay, I'm good, I have my demo, I'm good, I'm ready, I'm ready, I don't need any additional training. I'm constantly telling my students actors spend their lives honing their craft. Yes, I feel as though, like if you're thinking about like Meryl Streep, do you think Meryl Streep achieved her acting from the get-go, from the very beginning? Has she not, over the years, improved, taken on more challenging roles and just really challenged herself?
18:28 And I think that, as voice actors, we all need to do that, whether you're just starting out even if you get booking after booking, after booking after booking and again understand who your client is. If you're doing a lot of e-learning, you may not have a very demanding client. They may just want you to read it nicely and articulately. But when your coach says to you, please do not just read it to me, I want to feel as though you're my teacher, I want to be able to listen to you for the next two hours and be engaged, then understand there's a reason why they're saying that and maybe not question that and say, well, it's good enough, because I think to really get to the upper echelon right, to make it and to be successful, it takes time.
19:12 It does, and I think there should be a whole episode of like how long does it take? I know I've done it before, but I feel like it bears with eating. Yeah, and there has to be. It can take more than a year and honestly, it should take more than five or six sessions with a coach to be a good actor. Goodness gracious. No, it takes much longer than that.
19:31 - Lau (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. And just know that there has to be an element, or there should be an element, of humility and being humble and having some modesty about your work. I always have a red flag If I work with people that they're very egocentric and they're all that. They're great. You should recognize that I feel like the best actors talent colleagues I know are people that have value. They recognize their confidence level, their self-esteem. But there's a lot more to learn.
20:01 There's always there always so humble I think there isn't that sense of like. You're talking to me. You know who you're talking to. I'm a pro. I always have a red flag about that, because I feel like they've stopped their process.
20:13 - Anne (Host) They stopped their learning, they stopped their growth, they stopped their learning.
20:16 - Lau (Host) Yeah, they stopped their growth and they're going to challenge you. They're going to question you, they're going to argue with you, they're going to take it up with you if you don't agree with their mindset, and so I think they're going to be harder to direct harder to work with. Yes, yes, yes. So I think it all goes hand in hand. It's like be kinder, be more open and modest, be a little bit. I'm not saying be insecure about who you are.
20:37 I'm saying have security, have confidence, have joy about who you are and what you're doing, but also leave a lot of space for growth and development and discovery. You have to have humility in order to do that. You can't think you've done it all and know it all and are ready for everything. None of us are ready for everything, yeah.
20:55 - Anne (Host) Yeah, agreed, agreed. And also, when you are challenged from your coach right, and there's something that you're not agreeing with, try to keep an open mind. I think that's the one thing that we can ask of you as an actor try to keep an open mind about what they're saying. So try not to take it so personally, number one, like when somebody is telling you that this is not. I don't think a coach will say, oh, that was horrible. But there are some that might say, oh God, no, no, no, no, no. Let's try that again, and it might be, really fighting with your confidence level.
21:30 So really just try to. When you're being challenged by your coach, try to keep an open mind, try to not take it personally, and I know it's so difficult to do that because to me it's like, oh my God, like you're telling me, I'm not good, and that's the first thing that comes into my head. I'm like, oh my God, I'm not good, I'm not good.
21:47 - Intro (Host) And so then that just ruins the next read.
21:50 - Lau (Host) It's a catapult and don't explain. Yeah, don't narrate, don't explain, don't justify, don't do any of those things, because it's not a blame game. It's a time to give more information and more detail. And then on our side, we promise, annie, and I promise not to say things like don't quit your day job.
22:09 - Anne (Host) Exactly, exactly, unless it's a joke unless it's a complete joke and that you're aware of it, of course.
22:14 - Intro (Host) But yeah, I basically don't say that.
22:16 - Anne (Host) But I am tough, I don't want to waste my student's time and I don't want to waste my time, and so if a read is not going the way that I like it, I will say nope, nope, I'm going to stop you right there and let's pick it up again. I'm not going to have you go through an entire read and then I'll say no, because, first of all, I think that for a lot of the work I do, it's long reads anyways, it's long format, and so it's better if I stop at the point where I can make a teaching moment and the student can learn from it at that particular time. But sometimes people will get discouraged by that and it's such a tough thing it really is Because, again, what we do is so personal.
22:54 And if a coach is continually stopping. Nope, nope, that's not it. Nope, that's not it. Okay, I don't believe you, I don't feel that You're not connected, and that's what you can look for with your coach.
23:04 - Lau (Host) Right, how does your coach respond to you, give you feedback, give you critique? Do they lose their temper? Are they getting angry? Are they getting irritated? Is it taken personally? I mean, just start looking for that.
23:14 - Intro (Host) Right.
23:14 - Lau (Host) Some people love that. I've had people come to me and say look, be tough on me, S&M style, rip me apart. I'm tough and you know, the funny thing is the first thing I say they fall to pieces because I can be really tough and they're like Really, Are you really think that I'm like? I thought I could be tough, so? But I mean, I think that there's a professional barrier there. Yeah, absolutely, that you have to pay attention to just as a best practices protocol. Yeah, you don't want people tearing you down. You don't want people making you feel bad about being a person and what you're doing and the choice that you're making in your career. You want someone to say I'm going to make the leap of faith and assume you want to be doing this, You're going to get good at this and you care about it. Now let me take you to the next level of where you're at.
23:58 - Anne (Host) I work with people all the time because long format narration right, and it's tough. Yeah, I work with people at a very intense level and so it's frustrating. People think they're going to get it by tomorrow and it's one of those things. It's no, it's just really difficult. I really ask a lot of my students and so there are a lot of times my students will get very frustrated and they will start to take things very personally. But it is not that at all for me.
24:22 I mean, I'm an educator and anybody that's worked with me knows my heart of hearts is to educate and that is what I try to do. And even though it is very tough sometimes then it becomes like not only am I educating on the acting part of it, but then there's the whole mentality part of it where you've got the added oh gosh, now I'm hurt, right. Or I've instructed somebody, I've given them direction and they have now taken it personally, and so that then is also affecting their retake or their read again, and so there's a lot of things that can build up. So just know that if you've got a good coach that's working with you, their intent is to really make you a better actor. I think that's something that your gut intuition can really tell you a lot about that.
25:05 - Lau (Host) Yeah, and be honest with yourself.
25:07 Like, take a checkpoint and say how much honesty am I willing to take? Can I put on a little bit of armor and be able to take the truth? I've had a lot of people say law, just be truthful with me. I'd appreciate it, because they're spending money and they're spending time, and so truth does not mean like kick my butt. It does not mean like rip me to shreds. It means be truthful about what your perception is, so that I can get better. That's all it is. You know what I mean. Absolutely. I love this Great conversation.
25:37 - Anne (Host) Yes, law. Oh, my goodness, wonderful conversation. So, bosses out there, we know, we know you can do it, but I want you to just give yourself some grace, listen to your gut and really find a trusted coach that you can work with and work through all of this, because it's not something that's simple and, more than likely, if you haven't been doing this for a few years now, you may not be as good as you think you are, and I mean that in the nicest way possible, I mean that in the most teacher-centric way possible. So give it a shot, guys. All right, yeah. So take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals giving collectively and intentionally to create the world that they want to see. You can make a difference and you can find out how at 100voiceswhocareorg. Also, big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too, can connect to network like bosses. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. See you next week, bye, bye.
26:42 - Intro (Host) See you next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
27:09 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, woohoo, I'm so excited to announce our third audition demolition coming up live September 27th and our uh, it died. Ugh. Oh, all right, damn it. Good morning, kiss me off. Kiss me off. That was good. I didn't know. F*ing sh. Audition deadline the 20th. Okay, september 27th, all right, that's my problem. I just don't have it in front of my face, so that'll end up with bloopers.
In this episode, we talk all about relationships with your agents! We provide insightful advice on timing your communications effectively, being respectful of the recipient's time, and staying top of mind by sending short, meaningful messages. Also, we stress the importance of following up and consistently being professional. In the latter part of the episode, we highlight the essence of open communication and mutual trust between voice actors and agents. So, whether you're a voice actor looking to break into the industry or an established talent seeking ways to enhance your networking game, this podcast episode has you covered. Join us as we bring you the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today!
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my lovely, amazing boss, co-host Lau Lapides. Thank you, ann, awesome to see you today. Hey Law, yes, so awesome to see you too.
00:38 So the other day I was prepping for a new year of my VO Peeps group, where I have guest directors come in once a month to do online workshops, and the very popular ones are typically ones that have agents such as yourself and casting directors. And I was going through the list okay, what casting directors, what agents do I know? And there are some agents that I don't know but I would like to know, and agents that I do know that I've dealt with before, and I thought there has to be a protocol because I need to introduce myself to them. Right, and I know a lot of people when they want to get an agent, they have to introduce themselves to an agent, and so I thought it would be a good time to talk about protocol when working with an agent or reaching out to an agent or casting director and then maintaining a relationship.
01:29 - Lau (Host) That's a great topic. Let's talk about that. Yeah, absolutely.
01:33 - Anne (Host) So I'm going to ask you, because you are an agent, so tell me, what is your preferred method of? Let's say, a new talent wants to be represented by you. What do you recommend, or how do you prefer that someone reaches out to?
01:48 - Lau (Host) you Right, that's a great question.
01:50 I'm one of those people that is out in the world, so I'm not just at the office, I'm also out in the world.
01:55 So I'm speaking at conferences, I'm invited to events, I'm doing online training. I'm like all over the map and partly it's to educate and partly it's to meet new talent, and I make that very clear. I'm very transparent about that and that's a very New York LA sentiment for actors that if they want to meet casting and agents, they oftentimes will take classes, they'll work with those people in the training, in the conference, in the group, so that they can see a little bit of their work or at least get to talk to them, because I feel like a human interface is so much better for me than just getting an email if possible. So I love it when people are in a class, in a group, in a session, and they point themselves out, and that could be as simple as maybe they ask a really smart question or maybe they volunteer to do a read, if they're allowed to do a read, or maybe they put their contact information in the chat if it's online.
02:51 My point is I love proactive people because I know proactive talent are going to be much easier to work with than talent who's passive or shy or just unknowing or newbie and they're waiting for magic to happen. I love people who are partnering with me and creating magic on their own too, so I love when they reach out in person at an event, at a class, at a happening. Number one that's my favorite. If it doesn't happen that way, it's okay to email and submit. I welcome that and I need that because we're still growing our roster. However, I will say one thing Kiss it, keep it short and sweet. I get too many emails and I know you do as well that are three, four, five, six paragraphs long, telling me everything that's going on. Do it Even with someone. I know I can't get through it. I just don't have the time to read through that whole thing. Just one paragraph right and just throw in your links.
03:51 - Anne (Host) I think anytime you send an email these days, the shorter and the sweeter you can make it the better, the better. Every person has time to read a full page of email.
04:03 - Lau (Host) No, and I need to see it right up front, like we call it, above the fold. So if I get to the website for instance, if you have a website that's terrific. Anything you have online I just need to see it quickly. If I have to scroll all the way down or go to another page, it's hard because I don't know what I'm looking for and I don't always want to hear all of the animation, demos or all of the other kinds of work that you do. It's a great reference point to have, but I don't always need that. So targeting the person you are courting is really important. If I'm courting a commercial agent, the commercial agent just isn't going to be as interested oftentimes in your animation work.
04:40 They'll like to know you have it, because they'll consider you're working pro, but they may not represent that kind of work versus an animation production house. You have to have your animation demos with an S, not just one, but more than one, and that's got to be front and center. So I say target your market, know exactly who you're reaching out. To. Keep it short and sweet, kiss it. Keep it short and sweet and give them exactly what they're looking for upfront. If they want more info, they'll ask you.
05:08 - Anne (Host) Oh, I like that. So how do we know what information to send?
05:12 Because here's the thing, right, let's say, if there is an opportunity to meet them in an online workout or at a conference, that's a great way to get in front of an agent and I think that that has worked really well for a multitude of students I know that have gotten taken on a roster after they've appeared in a workout at VOPEAPS and also at conferences. I've seen that work out really well for people. But what if there are some agencies that maybe are not looking to fill their roster just yet, or maybe their roster is full but yet people want to introduce themselves and maybe make an impression? Is that a favorable thing to do and how should they do that?
05:48 - Lau (Host) Absolutely. And you have to remember just because you're in front of someone does not mean they're interested in working with you. It doesn't mean they're even interested in receiving a submission from you. So I do find the more I meet fellow agents and casting and producers, the more articulate they are. If they're on a panel or if they're doing a workshop, they'll tell you oftentimes the very straightforward people and they'll say hey, yeah, I'd like to see your submission, I'd like to see your work, or no, I don't give out my contact information. I'll check in with you in a couple of months if I need anything. So typically they're pretty articulate to say if they're comfortable you contacting them or not.
06:27 And if you do contact them, what exactly are you contacting them for? They don't fool around across the board. They wanna know exactly who you are and what you want. What are you contacting them for? Otherwise you're bothering them. You know what I mean. Like it's a typical letter that you would send out to any prospect in business. Like say don't give me your life story, no one cares. What they care about is why are you coming to me? Sure, what are you looking for?
06:53 - Anne (Host) And I think that it's very important to understand. Just as in direct marketing, I deal with this with the VO, boss Blast, right. I have a lot of clients that are like look, I sent out my marketing materials to all these people on the list but nobody's contacted me. It's very much a timing issue, meaning there has to be a need. It's not like you've submitted auditions right. When somebody's come to you with auditions, right here I've got an audition for the spot. There is a need, right. It's a demonstrated need that I've got a commercial I'm producing or I've got some sort of promotion that I'm going to produce and I need a voice artist or I need a voice actor for that. When you're direct marketing and kind of saying hi, I'm here, can I get on your roster you don't know at what time you're reaching right. Is there a need for you on that roster? And if not, it's gotta be one of those things where it's a gentle sort of inquiry into and, as you said, keep it short and sweet, because otherwise you are bothering them because maybe there is no need.
07:54 And I always go back to my old how do we buy? How do we purchase, how do we acquire things, or how do we get things that we need Right now? It's been a crazy holiday season, right? So I am signed up for all these mailing lists, right? And I get three or four emails a week from the same companies, but yet I don't have a need for anything that they have. But when I do have a need, I'm then looking at that subject line, I'm looking into the email, and that's a very important part of determining whether I'm going to read that email and then purchase or, let's say, entertain the option of having somebody on my roster.
08:34 So the timing has to be right, and so sometimes you could send emails and nothing happens, and that's very true, I think, with reaching out to Asians or casting directors, right. I mean, you may not get any response, and then you might be like, oh gosh, have I done the right thing? And I'll tell you that, the one thing that you want to do, just as in yourself, right? You don't want people to be annoying. You don't want to read a book because I don't have time to get through that book. It needs to be short and to the point and respectful of their time.
09:04 - Lau (Host) I would agree, oh my gosh, totally agree. And I would say, you know, it's the old FOMO thing. It's like keep top of mind. If they see you, enough, you're branding yourself, so you're seeing you they get to psychologically feel that you've been in business forever. Even though you've been in business for two years, they start to say, oh, they've been around, I don't want to miss out on just seeing quickly what John Smith is doing like and then they trash it. Great, that's what you want. So that then when they have the need, they think John Smith, I always get his stuff right. So it's that sort of keeping your finger on the pulse of what is happening in all of their worlds and not falling into that mindset that you and I speak about all the time, the narcissism of, like I'm ready to work, I'm here, why aren't they hiring me? Well, they don't need you.
09:51 - Anne (Host) Right, top of mind is so interesting for an agent, right, like I love that. We said you do need to be top of mind. So that means you reach back out, right. If you don't hear anything, you reach back out. But how often, law? This is the question. How often do we reach out Now for marketing and soliciting voice acting services?
10:09 I think you can reach out to somebody once, twice a month, three times a month, and if you give them the option to unsubscribe right For direct marketing, that's awesome. I personally think we should add that option to unsubscribe if you're reaching out too many times to an agent or a casting director, because that will tell you right away if they have a need or not, or it shows that you're considerate of their time. And I actually just kind of came up with this right now. I'm like gosh, that would be nice, a nice option, if you just threw at the end of your email just say hey, I would love to connect with you. Please let me know I'd like to follow up with you. Maybe not next week, but I'd like to follow up with you in a few months. If you would prefer that I don't, please let me know by hitting reply and that kind of thing.
10:52 - Intro (Announcement) I love it.
10:52 - Anne (Host) I think that would show number one, that you're considerate of their time. Number two, that you know how to conduct yourself professionally and not be a pain in the butt, because I know that when people send me unsolicited emails, I get annoyed. If there's more of them that come in the next day, or what happens in I have Gmail, it shows in a thread. So I see like, oh, you've sent me five emails already pretty much following up and I have not responded to you, so you would think take me off your list, right?
11:19 - Lau (Host) Right and I think that that's honestly. I think it's inferred nowadays that if I don't want to get your stuff, I go to the bottom of your email. I find my preferences, I find my M subscribe me or my assistant can do it in like 15 seconds. It's okay, I'm used to doing that. It's like that's part of our thing that we do these days. But most of the time I actually don't do it, unless it's a big box store or a huge corporation that I have no interest in at all.
11:42 I want to know what my talent's doing. I want to know what prospects are doing, and what we will say is we try to be really kind, both as the studio and an agency. So if someone comes in and they're sending me their stuff and they're not a good fit, we'll write to them, we'll let them know. We won't just let them hang in the balance. We'll say, hey, you're not a good fit for our roster right now. Could you please come back and check in in the next three to six months? Perhaps you'll have updated materials, perhaps you'll have a couple of cool jobs to share with us and we'd like to relook at that later which we would we would, and that's really nice of you, but not all agents will do that.
12:16 No no, they won't, and so if they don't.
12:18 - Anne (Host) I think that it's absolutely a professional thing to actually, in the email at the very end, just say I would like to contact you in three to six months Again, if that would be okay with you. If not, please let me know that kind of thing and that just shows that you are respectful of them and their time. And also don't forget, bosses, to really research the person that you're sending out to, like you should know like what is this agency specialized in? What does their roster look like already? Are you filling a hole in that roster? Because, again, there has to be a need. I have to have a need to buy from Old Navy that pair of shorts or that T-shirt.
12:55 - Lau (Host) I'm glad you said that Because so few people are Googling or going to websites Like you should be. Before you blast anyone, go to the website. Make sure they're legit, see where they're located, see if that's the market you want to cover. See the kinds of voices that they're working with. Now when do you fit in that whole realm? It only takes you five minutes or less to do that. And let's say you're going to paste. What I call pasting is doing a blast of like 50 or 100.
13:20 - Intro (Announcement) So spend a Saturday doing a little bit of research.
13:23 - Lau (Host) It's worth it, because what if they're interested in working with you, then you know nothing about them, right? You want to have some working knowledge if you meet with them or if you go back and forth with them. I also want to say any, too, because so many talent have a lot of reps, which is great if they're freelancing, if they're not signed exclusively, they should. Our agency is freelance, not exclusive, so we know they're going to work with six or eight or 10 different people. Sure, keep them straight, keep them straight. Here's what we found. We found a number of auditions that come in every couple of auditions have the wrong slate on them, with the wrong agency, because agencies, as we all know, on the national front, will get some of the same science and some of the same scripts and be very careful that you don't do.
14:11 We were really offended by that oh gosh, yes, I would be offended because number one, that told us they weren't playing it back and listening to it, but number two, that they would send that in. And number three is, like, have an awareness of like who's sending you what and who's doing what I'm just going to say.
14:27 - Anne (Host) Way to get yourself kind of blacklisted.
14:29 - Intro (Announcement) You know what I mean. We didn't do that, but we were making an impression when you do that.
14:35 - Anne (Host) And that impression sometimes lasts for a long time.
14:38 - Lau (Host) We won't forget that. We know exactly the people that did that and they didn't do it on purpose and we're not going to have any malice towards them, but we're watching them. If they do it again, they could be dropped, because we don't want to not hear that, because we're too busy. Send it out to a client and then it goes to another agency. Okay, so that's one thing. The other thing too is like when you sign a contract and I'm sure most of these places you're going to have you sign a freelance agreement of some kind. Read it. Some of the folks are not reading it.
15:07 And we've had a few people that don't have source connect and they're up for bookings and we're like wait a second, you signed her agreement. It said right, we've dropped a couple people over that, because we're like, we're not going to be at your home doing this for you.
15:21 You got to do it for yourself and that's sad, but it's like that's the nature of the protocol and etiquette scene. Oh, another question. We get to law. I don't want to offend anyone, so if I'm getting the same script from a couple different offices, how should I treat that? For us, it's very simple. For me, it's simple. You do my script. Well, some offices do say that they actually threaten the talent. I've heard that behind the scenes they will threaten the talent to drop them if they don't do theirs, which I don't like that. I don't like scare tactics. I would say it's up to you. You can either go with the first one that sent it to you for time sensitivity, just go with the first. Or, if they're coming in the same time, two or three offices, just choose the one you have the best for them.
16:01 - Anne (Host) I agree, I agree.
16:02 - Lau (Host) It's up to you. We're not going to be offended in any way. Oh, and the other thing I want to say too is please and I'm only talking for us, I'm not talking about every other agency, I'm only talking about MCVL Don't tell us you're passing on a job, just pass, because we could get 20, 30, 40, 60 emails saying sorry on vacation, sorry, I'm passing, sorry I'd be like it's okay, we got plenty of talent. We're going to be submitting for this, it's okay. I think sometimes talent feel like I'm being selected personally for this audition.
16:37 - Anne (Host) I feel like I have an agent who does select personally, and so if I can audition, they will get upset if I don't. But you would know that. See, that's the thing. You should know your agent enough. Exactly, you should know your agent enough.
16:48 - Lau (Host) Yes, we do that too. So if we have a hand selection, we'll say, hey, we chose you for this Exactly, or our producer asked for you and we did it. You would know that. Otherwise, just assume it's coming to a number of people, not just you, right? Unless you hear from them.
17:03 - Anne (Host) Well, I remember when I initially signed with you, I was like, look, if I cannot respond to an audition, you won't be offended, right, because I do have an agent. That will be like, no, why did you not respond? And you were like, no, that's entirely fine, that is up to you, and so it behooves you to understand or have a relationship enough with your agent so that you know about these things.
17:23 - Intro (Announcement) You know if it's appropriate to respond, Just ask Now look.
17:26 - Anne (Host) How do you feel about people keeping up with you on their latest accomplishments? I think new demos are always good. Hey, you know, I just produced a new commercial demo. I wanted to send it to you so you can have an update.
17:39 - Lau (Host) Yeah, they do it, annie, they do it, it's fine, our pros do it. Pros in the roster will do it. That they'll say, hey, we got a new demo or we just did a job for this, or whatever. Tim and I always give really positive feedback and it's really great Just to kind of know what's happening. I don't need that. If you're not represented by us, I really don't need that. What I would need is, clearly you're submitting to the agency. So every couple months, just send a nice little letter and have your website updated and that's enough. We don't need to hear every single thing that you're booking or everything that you're doing, unless it's so huge. Now we kind of have to know about it.
18:13 You know what I mean Just be careful how much time and brain space you try to take up of people that you're working with. Less is always going to be more. I also wanted to talk to you about something that recently happened with one of our roster talent quite by accident, I think, not intentionally and that was this person auditioned for a gig in September and the clients didn't make their decisions. They're now whittling it down and checking availability. So we put it out to the couple talent we're checking.
18:42 - Anne (Host) That's three months bosses. By the way, that can happen, just FYI, over three months. Yes, over three months.
18:47 - Lau (Host) Yes. And this person came back and said, yeah, I'm going to pass on this because it's not up to speed with the rate guidelines that I'm looking at and I'd feel more comfortable and I know this talent and their phenomenal right. And we came back and we said, listen, we have to tell you you already auditioned for it. You forgot about it. Here's the MP3 right here and you have, in essence, agreed to the terms that you auditioned for. That's not to say we're not ready and able and willing to go fight for some more money, which we do, fight for more usage, which we do. That's like innate with us to do that. And that talent came back because they're a fabulous person, and said, oh, I'm so sorry, I literally forgot. It's okay, I'll follow through, I'll execute, I'm available, I got my source connect. That's what we call a mensch in the industry. That's a good person. That's a person that says, okay, I may not move forward on those kinds of jobs in the future, but I already accepted those terms when I auditioned.
19:43 - Anne (Host) That we make really clear, like because we may not be able to get more money on that or more stuff on that, sure and it shows that you're working together in partnership, and I think that that is something that is so important for voice actors to understand that it's not a one way relationship. It really is a give and a take and you are working together in partnership to get this job. I mean, you're both there to satisfy the client and make some money, and I feel that if a voice actor is not gonna follow through or they're gonna all of a sudden become difficult and then start demanding I mean, look, I am all about getting a fair wage and getting fair compensation for our voices, and I think we've been fighting for that all along, and if you don't have belief in your agent that they are also fighting that battle for you right then maybe you shouldn't be together anymore.
20:33 I mean really.
20:34 - Lau (Host) I mean that's the job of the agent. I mean the job is not just to accept the terms and say, oh this is great whatever, but to say, okay, that's what we call leveraging.
20:43 So if we have a great talent that comes on because, remember, the talent is not seeing the relationship in the background that you have to assume there's this whole like a horse with blinders on, there's this whole thing going on that you're not privy to. That is, how well do we know the client? Can we go back and forth with them? Can we shimmy, which we always try to do? Tim is great at it and I try, on my end as well, to say, hey, we got you another 500 bucks and another 1,000 bucks on that one because they saw the logic behind it or they saw it was difficult to get the talent for it. But the truth is I know the truth is non-PC, but the truth is, if this talent decided not to do it, I would still love this talent because they're awesome person and fabulous, but we can replace them in a second. That's just the truth of it.
21:31 I have a hundred people in that category right now, ready to sort of kill nuns to get that job. So it's not something that our agency would be willing to give up. So it's a balance, is what I'm saying? Like, we wanna be fair to the talent, we wanna be fair to the client, we wanna have good working practices, we wanna come back and do more work. So we're pushing. We're always like pushing, pushing, pushing. But sometimes you have to stay and you have to make the decision if you're gonna move forward or not. And it's okay. If you don't, there's other talent who will.
22:02 - Anne (Host) Absolutely Another great discussion. So I think always important to really just get to know your agent, get to know your manager and really educate on the agency. Educate and really be a human being. I think Just be a good human being because that's really when it comes down to it. We are interacting with human beings and we both want a positive experience as a voice actor and as an agent.
22:27 - Lau (Host) And if you do get a manager, I would say make sure the manager knows your agencies and works well with them. You don't wanna hide people under the rug, you wanna have a team, have a team approach. A lot of people feel like if they tell me about their other agencies they're cheating on me in the marriage and I don't treat it that way. I feel like you're making a viable career that makes me happy. That you book something somewhere, it's great. So have that team approach Makes you more marketable for you actually.
22:53 - Anne (Host) So yeah, for sure. All right, bosses, simple mission, big impact, 100 voices, one hour, $10,000 four times a year. Bosses, visit 100voiceshoocareorg to join us and big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Law and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
23:21 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
23:51 - Lau (Host) And it's 4th of July. I noticed that I have no idea why.
23:54 - Anne (Host) Move your mouse. Maybe that's so funny. I don't have a mouse.
23:58 - Lau (Host) Oh, my God, that's so funny. I'm back. I don't have any mouse. This is amazing. It's almost like your screen.
24:03 - Anne (Host) It's almost like your screen is going to sleep or you're making it Going to sleep.
24:08 - Lau (Host) Yeah, or you're making it explosive, I'm making it explosive, I love that.
Intimidated by the daunting world of finances, specifically in the voiceover industry? Tag along with the BOSSES as we demystify the intricacies of money management. Our banter-filled conversation is set to shine a light on the critical role of financial discipline, understanding taxes, and the art of investment categorization for your business growth. We provide crucial insights on all things expenses - from domain names and web hosting to the nitty-gritty of audio editing software. We also tackle home studio costs and the relevance of physical inventory for product sellers. And for those lean times, we've got you covered with our practical strategies that ensure you stay on top of your game.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VEO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm here with my superpower boss co-host, Lau Lapides. Hey hey.
00:30 Lau. How are you? Hey, I'm fab. How are you? I need to activate my accounting financial superpowers because it is a new year and I've got a business that I want to grow and I need to make some investments and I need to really, I think, get my finances in order. So I think we should talk. I know people hate talking or even thinking about finances. However, I think we need to discuss what could be on the agenda for your business this year and how can you financially prepare.
01:09 - Lau (Co-host) I love that, and if we don't understand our status with our money and we don't have a good relationship with it and we don't have trust with money and we don't know how to treat it, then we will not have financial discipline and therefore not have the cash for the investments we need to make throughout our year. And I speak about that at every level. I mean, if you're making millions, even more so because I know colleagues of mine that are millionaires that are busted by the end of the year because they don't know how to save, they don't know how to spend, they don't know how to invest.
01:43 They're used to being managed by other people, and I think management is wonderful when you're at a certain level, but it can also be a curse and take a lot of that micro management over you and then you're left with like, wow, how do I live life? How do I earn money? What do I do with it?
02:01 - Anne (Host) Absolutely.
02:02 I've always tried to be so independent, just in my life and financially independent as well, and so it really behooves us as business entrepreneurs to understand even if we do let's say, I always talk about my accountant and the best thing I ever did was outsource my accounting but you also need to have an underlying understanding and concept of financials so that you can direct your accountant or also understand where's your money going, because maybe sometimes your accountant I don't know maybe they're taking it or maybe they're putting it in place is that you're not familiar with. So not that I want to infer that there's anything shady going on, but hey, we want to be educated.
02:43 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, I also want people to think let's talk taxes, baby. Oh yes, I am not an accountant, my husband is.
02:50 I do not get into that, but I will say running businesses, as you know, Annie, everything at the end of the day, whether it's quarterly, whether it's annual, you have to put you know one of the first things we say and we're fairly conservative fiscally my husband and I we joke. We say, oh, we just got a ton of money and that's awesome, what are we going to do with it? Put it away. I'm going to say I'm going to put 50% of that away from taxes for the next quarter and I'll say good move.
03:16 - Anne (Host) And I'm so glad that you brought that up. As a matter of fact, for the next three months I have a certain amount of money that is coming out because it might escort. I need to pay myself, and so I need to pay myself. I need to prep. So by the end of the year I'm not going to be paying tons and tons of money and taxes.
03:32 - Lau (Co-host) And has that ever happened to you? Because that happened to us a couple of times. It's devastating.
03:37 - Anne (Host) Gosh, when I first started off in voiceover and I started making money and I wasn't prepared, right At the end of the year I was just like, yeah, I'll do the taxes at the end of the year, put it off, put it off, put it off. And then, ultimately, at the end of the year I was like, oh, my God, I owe. And then it was like, oh, I don't just owe a little, I owed a lot. And then I was audited one year. I'll be very frank in telling you that?
03:58 Not because I mean, I wasn't doing any funny business, but literally sometimes you're a small business, right, and a lot of times if you are making claims, they want to substantiate those claims and make sure that you're doing your taxes properly.
04:12 So it was a random audit. Actually, I was audited twice. I passed both audits with flying colors. As a matter of fact, the last audit they owed me. So it really goes to show that I was prepared, and thank God I was prepared.
04:24 Again, like I said, I don't wait until the very last minute and I don't know if I was intending for this episode to be talking about taxes the whole time, but it all comes down to the end of the year, right when you got to pay your taxes. And so you have to understand, like, where is your money going, where is your investments going, what costs do you have? And I think that's super important, what are your costs and what is your income coming in? And you should be looking at your profit, your PNL statement. What is a PNL statement? I have people like I'm not even sure what a PNL. It's a profit and loss statement. So that is something that you should be familiar with, and if you're not, we're here to kind of talk to you about the basics at least. I'm not a financial advisor. However, I can share my experiences and I can tell you how important it is to be educated and to understand that there will be investments and you need to categorize those investments and you need to categorize your profits.
05:19 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and at the end of the day, even though we don't want to talk about taxes the entire time, we're not on a barter system. If IRS comes, they're not going to take a cow right. They want money, they want cash. So, just being honest, having integrity about your business, just doing everything by the book, being very careful, having a bookkeeper, having an accounting team having the people you need on your side couldn't be more worth.
05:43 It just couldn't be. But let's talk about money in terms of, like, fixed costs. Putting together your understanding what are my fixed costs versus my movable, shakeable, flexible, variable costs, which do vary month to month? How do you set it up, Annie? When you set that up?
06:01 - Anne (Host) Well, I don't remember which episode it was, but I did touch upon this at one point. In terms of fixed costs, like for running your business, there is the cost of I'm an S corp, so I have to pay a certain amount of money every year right to maintain that license, and so I also have to make sure that things that it costs for me to run my business so not only the cost of the business itself, which I pay to the state or I pay to the federal government I also am paying things that would be like my website, my web hosting right. That is something I pay on a monthly basis. That happens each and every time. So those recurring costs I found to be well managed, number one by my accountant and it's categorized in my system.
06:46 But also I downloaded an app. I pay for this app on a monthly basis called Rocket Money, and Rocket Money will go out and grab all your subscriptions, cause a lot of times you can be subscribed to things that you forget about. This is the new way of doing businesses those subscription models which I pay monthly for my domain names, for my web hosting, which is the place where I host my websites, kind of think what else, my subscriptions to my audio editing software, twisted Wave or Adobe Audition. I also pay Adobe because I have Adobe Acrobat, the Adobe Suite that I pay for. Goodness gracious, this is so much, and I pay for a lot of things too, like my Riverside subscription. Right, this is what we record our podcast on. I pay for my Zoom connection. I pay for gosh, all these backblades, which is my backup system Right.
07:40 - Lau (Co-host) So here's the key, though, annie, is like we're lumping them all together because that's everything that you do every month and in your mind because you've been doing so long. Those are fixed costs, right To a new person coming in for the first couple of years. Some of those may be more variable in cost because, let's say, let's say hypothetically, you're ready to do a blasting service like Constant Contact or MailChimp or VO Boss or VO Boss, but we're blasting things out to your hundreds or thousands of leads, right, and you're gonna pay for that monthly. Now, we consider that kind of fixed because we've been doing that collectively so long. But someone coming in who's fairly new and say, well, can I spend that $40, $50 a month or $90 a month to do that? That's more of a variable cost, because they may or may not feel like I'm at a point where that's gonna be beneficial. I may not have enough leads to do that too. I'll do that in a year and see where I am in a year, but I can't do that with my rent or my mortgage.
08:39 - Intro (Announcement) I have to do that every month.
08:41 - Lau (Co-host) That's a fixed cost right. So that's really interesting for us to just reevaluate every year or every quarter, like what are our variables that we're thinking of as fixed, Like if I think of Google or I think of like storage on?
08:57 - Anne (Host) Zoom, or I think of this. My mind it's fixed. My iPhone, my phone bill for myself, I'm paying on a monthly basis that to me. I consider that a fixed cost. But you're right, I mean, it all comes down to what is it that is necessary to run your business? But, interestingly enough, because most of us are home-based businesses, now, brick and mortar, brick and mortar. Are you paying Brick and mortar as well as I mean, we gotta consider our offices, our home studios, right? Yes, as part of it. So for me it translates into I've gotta pay the mortgage because if I don't have a house or I don't have my home studio, I don't have my studio in my house.
09:33 - Intro (Announcement) You gotta pay.
09:33 - Anne (Host) Your insurance, gotta pay the water bill, gotta pay the internet, oh my gosh internet.
09:37 - Intro (Announcement) Utilities yes, Gotta pay electricity.
09:39 - Anne (Host) Otherwise I'm not gonna have all of that to be able to run my business at home. And you law have a brick and mortar as well, so there's all of that which is considered fixed for you as well.
09:50 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, it is, and that's not to say it can't shift and change. So if I decide to move to a different place, then the costs would shift and change, but they're always there. In other words, they don't really leave, unless the caveat is I'm 22, I'm trying to save money. I move in with my parents. They're gonna pay a lot of those bills for me for a year. I don't have to worry about that. They're gonna let me save money. Okay, that's your caveat. But other than that, when you're in the world, those are now part of our business, because if we don't take care of those, we literally can't run the business.
10:22 - Anne (Host) And, believe it or not, on a very small scale. Right, I have physical inventory because I sell a vocal throat care line and a vocal spray along with my vocal essentials, right? So there's inventory. I need to purchase inventory so that I can create those sprays, also to run that business.
10:41 - Lau (Co-host) And we would have merchandise Exactly that we may wanna take to a conference or we may wanna do a swag bag giveaway at a networking meeting or whatever. That's the inventory you speak of. That is really variable, it's not really fixed, it's still a variable cost. But for us it's important that we continue to do that to promote the business.
10:59 - Anne (Host) Absolutely absolutely.
11:00 - Lau (Co-host) Right, I love this conversation. This is so good. So what happens? I get in trouble. I find that I'm not doing as much voiceover work this month as I see happen Quite often times. People come in, they start crying, they're upset, they're like I might have to get another job. I might have to pull back on my spending. Where do we go first to pull back on that spending? We go to the variables.
11:24 - Anne (Host) Yep, great question. Yeah, absolutely, the variables. I mean, what can I do to save money, number one, or cut down on costs? And again, as your business evolves and as things evolve, everything, that's really important that we take a look at that, gosh, at least I mean I look at that every month, if not more than that. And I know that, especially when things are lean right, you've got more time right. If you've got more time, you've got more time to. Let's take a look at our marketing. Let's take a look at our investments. What are we spending right and what can we cut back on?
11:59 And I know, for me, some of mine was subscriptions that were no longer serving me, right, I was like, okay, well, I guess I don't need that. And then I've got things like I have a Peloton subscription. Am I using it? Because that's a certain amount of money? Am I watching the Discovery channel? Can I cut back on that? Those subscriptions? And in reality, by the way, my cable, and well, I guess, do you call it cable, my streaming, my streaming subscriptions are part of my business because I am researching the market, right, and I'm listening to commercials, I'm seeing what's out there, I'm educating myself on trending sound, trending voices, educating myself as a coach for my students right. So that is considered a business expense.
12:45 - Lau (Co-host) I would add a personalized list to this. So you have your fixed cost, you have your variable, but then you have your very personal expenses. That could be one or the other but if I'm hurting for money and I gotta go skinny one month, I'm gonna go to that personalized list.
13:01 So a very simple example of that is I'll always ask a client. I'll say listen, what are you doing this weekend? What did you do last weekend? Oh, I went to the movies cool. What did you spend on that? Oh, that was 15 bucks great. Did you get any food or drink there? I did. I think that was about 30 bucks great. Did you go out to dinner Super. I think I spent 25 bucks on fast food great. Did you spend on gasoline? Yeah, I think I spent five or six bucks. Add that up. That is the money that can go into your investment piece when you really need the coaching session.
13:32 - Anne (Host) You really need that event. You really need that. Can I skip the Starbucks? I remember that's the biggest thing. Can I skip the Starbucks? I'm gonna skip the Starbucks.
13:38 - Lau (Co-host) And I have to say, annie, I'm not a financial advisor, so I'm not advising you financially. I'm advising you from a logical perspective of saying be careful of saying to yourself, lying to yourself and saying I don't have the money, when really you should be saying let me find the money or create the money Absolutely.
13:59 We used to go under the cushions to find the change and put it in a big jar. Now we can go to what we're spending, what we're actually spending, and find the change in that jar. A Starbucks which we love five, six bucks. A cup of that that I may need to put into my coaching session.
14:17 - Anne (Host) Absolutely Hands down. One of the smartest things I ever did was create that business savings account. And then where are you going to put that business savings account? I literally just moved my business savings account from my bank to a higher yield interest bank and I'll tell you what it made the difference between oh gosh, I might have made gosh my bank was paying me nothing. I was like 0.001. And I think I was making like maybe $5 a year.
14:42 Well, guess what? I'm 5% APY 5%. And when you invest that now, I've made thousands of dollars for this year and then that can be reinvested in my business. So that savings account also is what saved me from when things get lean, when the jobs aren't coming in, when things slow down and then all of a sudden, oh my goodness, what am I gonna do. And it saves you from that panic where you probably do yourself more harm than good with that guttural like oh my God, I am gonna have to like get a job or I'm gonna have to quit.
15:17 Voiceover it's just not working. It's in that panic that I have a lot of people they come to me. I just I can't. I can't invest in a demo, I can't invest in coaching, because I'm just not making it back. And again, that is something that you really do need to understand that there are investments to be made. If you have the money put aside to make those investments right, that makes you feel a whole lot more comfortable and a lot less panicky, whether you're like oh, I said I gotta get out, I can't do this anymore, or you become discouraged, and then it really becomes a whole mental game. And that, I think, is the toughest part about voice acting right Voice acting the acting we can always practice.
15:55 We can hone our skills, we can become better at what we do. But that business sense that when the business is slow, when all of a sudden it's like, oh my God, this isn't working or how do I survive, you go into that like fight or flight kind of mode and really having that nest egg, having that savings account that can be earning interest, having that passive income, all that good stuff, that can be that little pocket of confidence that's what I say that little pile of financial confidence is huge in, I think, growing and pursuing your voice of our business successfully.
16:32 - Lau (Co-host) Yeah, and we all know those of us who have been in business for a number of years it's never what you make. It is never what you make. It is not about gross, it's about net. So it's about what you take home. That is, showing us how you are spending and investing your money, your gross income. And so having that level of sacrifice, of humility and of modesty to understand that just because I want something does not mean I need it or should have it. So if you're willing to sacrifice and give up something, you probably have more shot of building an actual business, because the business has the needs. You don't have the needs as much as the business has the needs.
17:14 And I wanted to say too what you're talking about, which is so important and we're doing that as well as diversification of your money. So not only if it's not making interest, if it's not building wealth for you, then you move it. But here's the thing there's a couple of really important reasons to move the money. Not only does if your bank goes bust. You don't have everything in one pot.
17:34 - Anne (Host) Exactly.
17:35 - Lau (Co-host) You're only insured, too, for a certain amount, right, but also you're literally setting up accounts for yourself that you hopefully will forget about. So you're not spending it, you're not touching it. It's growing, it's working for you, right? So that you don't have this. Don't think of it as like one clump, one lump of something. It's really different pieces that you're diversifying into the world. You may want to invest, you may want to go into the stocks, you may want to do that kind of thing, right? So the point is is like okay, I've got my business, it's great, it's moving in the direction I wanted to move in, but what am I sacrificing? What am I doing to make money and make it grow for me, and how am I treating it? Like? How do I think of money? I hear a lot of people, especially women, talk about money, talk about negotiation, talk about contracts in a really negative light, like in a very heavy way. They are either fearing it, they don't want to talk about money.
18:30 - Anne (Host) I think most of it is fear absolutely Based in fear, and most of it is fear right.
18:34 It's kind of like I don't want to go there, I don't want to talk about it, I want to kind of just go back to something we were talking about in terms of investing and kind of making sure that you have the money to invest in that next piece of equipment, or do I need that new microphone? Do I need? I'm going to give you an analogy and I'm going to be very frank. I have in my clothes closet. I have these little cubby holes for my shoes.
18:59 Now I bought them gosh a long time ago and I think I I don't know if I got them in IKEA, but they're great. They're little cubby holes and you can fit a pair of shoes in each cubby hole, and so I bought a series of them to put around. We have a walk-in closet to put on the floor and my husband has one of the boxes which holds 12, right, and I literally have probably eight. I have 70 cubby holes Okay, 70. Now I made a deal with myself that I would never buy more shoes than could fit in that cubby hole, and so if I wanted to purchase a new pair of shoes, I had to give up another pair of shoes or donate it or sell it on Poshmark or what.
19:34 - Lau (Co-host) Wait a second, annie, I just did some math. Are you saying you have 98 pairs? If you have 12 and you have eight of those right, or 90,? What is that? 96? All right, so I say 70. Should I call?
19:49 - Anne (Host) you a melda now.
19:50 - Lau (Co-host) Should I really name you a melda?
19:51 - Anne (Host) I'm going to say it's 70. I don't know how many boxes there are, so, whatever right, 70. I have 70 holes. I have 70 cubbies.
19:57 - Lau (Co-host) You just have to stay in that denial, stay at 70. Stay at 70.
20:01 - Anne (Host) Now I can't purchase a new pair of shoes until I decide that I'm going to let another pair of shoes go. And if I can't, I'm going to try to sell those shoes. But if I can't, I'm going to donate them right so that they go to someplace. I'm that kind of person where I have to love my shoes right, do you wear?
20:17 - Lau (Co-host) all those shoes? Be honest, do you wear all?
20:19 - Intro (Announcement) Not anymore.
20:19 - Anne (Host) I don't no but I used to right and so, literally, as I've aged a little bit, I mean the heels got to come down a little bit.
20:27 - Intro (Announcement) I can't quite fit in those.
20:28 - Anne (Host) Well, I can't walk in those higher ones anymore, but I still love to look at them. But that is like I feel like your business needs to operate in that way, right, you cannot make an investment more than you have. Like, you should not spend more than you have. I should not have more shoes than cubby holes, right? Because then it starts to look cluttered, it starts to look like a big mess, and so, therefore, I have put myself on a plan, right, where this helps me to. This helps me to manage my shoes, like I would say, manage your finances in the same way, right, you don't want to make investments with money you don't have, right, and you want to make sure that, if you have, how many microphones do you have? Like, you should not have more microphones than places to put those microphones right, okay, all right, I have a term for that.
21:14 - Lau (Co-host) This is from my husband, jeremy, who is actually a controller CFO type accountant his whole life.
21:19 He says listen, and I always hated this, it always made me cringe, it was cringe worthy, but he's so right. And that is don't live above your means. Absolutely Don't live above your means. And he's not only talking about financially, he's also talking about emotionally and spiritually as well. So I have taught myself. My father, who's an entrepreneur, taught me this too. He said buy something, get rid of something. Yes, oh my God, buy something, yes, yes, and not just kick it to the curve, but give it to the right place.
21:47 Give it to the right place, give it to the right place and boy, did that save my day learning how to do that and really learning to let go and learning to move around it. That's really good.
21:57 - Anne (Host) That's really good, for I mean being frugal and being wise financially and also like mentally, like I feel like you can't have too much clutter, because physical clutter turns to be clutter in your head. And I actually took a feng shui course many, many years ago. It was like a six month course. I mean, it was intense.
22:15 - Intro (Announcement) I love it, I love it, you should never put things under your bed.
22:19 - Anne (Host) Don't store things under your bed. Don't store things because it's kind of like clutter anywhere, really like clear out your corners.
22:26 - Lau (Co-host) Clutter anywhere physically means clutter in your head, right so when it comes to your money, you need to compartmentalize it Absolutely. How do you call that when you label it like we would give away key?
22:38 - Anne (Host) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. What do you call that? We label it. We're Maria Condoing, right Condoing, but that's what it is.
22:44 - Lau (Co-host) It's like knowing what you want to do with each piece of your life financially. Yeah, it's very freeing. There's a very openness to it, there's a breath in there, you know. Yeah, absolutely I love that. I love clearing the financial space.
22:58 - Anne (Host) That's what I like.
22:59 - Intro (Announcement) Clear the financial space.
23:01 - Anne (Host) Especially in the beginning of the year. It's always a great time to do that, to really sit back, and it may be hard. Right To sit back and take a look at where is the money going. How much are you spending? Are you spending more than you're bringing in? But again, like no more shoes than you have cubby holds.
23:18 - Lau (Co-host) And also test yourself, like once you give it away, like let a month go by and test yourself, say what did I give away? Do I even remember what?
23:26 - Intro (Announcement) it was, and I never remember.
23:28 - Lau (Co-host) I never remember the clothes or whatever.
23:31 - Anne (Host) If I haven't thought about it or used it in a year, it's good to go right.
23:35 - Intro (Announcement) It's good to go right. As much as I love it, that's most things.
23:37 - Anne (Host) I'll kiss it and I'll give it away and I'll say this deserves to go to someone. I'll donate it. This deserves to go to someone who will love it as much as I did. Really.
23:46 - Lau (Co-host) And then you're very Native American about it. It reminds me like, take the shoes to the river and just write a note and let them float away. Absolutely you know To someone else's feet. But that's what we need to do, because it makes us open to what is coming, like if you're so cluttered in your financial portfolio you can't invite anything in and allow the money to flow to you like a river right?
24:10 - Intro (Announcement) Oh, I love that you don't want your river to stagnate.
24:12 - Anne (Host) You don't want to block your river Again. No more shoes than cubby holes. Don't block your river with twigs, Just say allow the river of money to flow, I mean we're out of all here. Let's just imagine that financial flow coming to you and manifesting that.
24:28 - Lau (Co-host) Hallelujah and manifesting that Amen. I feel like doing a song right now, but I mean it's like language. If you're scripting, be careful the language you use to describe your money and your financial status. Don't be cheap, don't be dumb, don't be unknowing.
24:46 - Anne (Host) You're not greedy. If you appreciate money and you invited it, you are not greedy. That's like an old one. People say, oh, you're greedy. Although rich people are greedy, they just want more. Honestly, people who are wealthy are some of the most philanthropic people that give.
25:00 - Intro (Announcement) And we've had that discussion before.
25:01 - Anne (Host) But I mean really being rich isn't rich right Money rich, financially rich and spiritually rich.
25:09 - Lau (Co-host) It's all about you allowing the flow and not blocking it right with clutter and paying attention to details, Don't ignore it and don't act like you don't know how to deal with it. It's like treat it as if it's a person and you have a relationship with it. Would you say some of the things you say about money, about the person like, oh, I don't know how to deal with that, I just ignore it and I just let someone else deal with it? I don't think that relationship would go very far. You know what I mean. It's like treat it like a person, in the sense that there's a lot of potential movement and liberation that can come with that and what it represents. It's just symbolic of the kind of life and lifestyle and mindset that you want to have.
25:52 - Anne (Host) Absolutely.
25:53 - Lau (Co-host) And I always say too, you know, someone says to me Law, why do you want to make a lot of money? I've had the executive coaches ask me that and I said the first thing that comes to my mind is because I want to have more money to pay my team members. Yeah, oh, I love that. Yeah, I think in terms of investment, I always think in terms of what can I do with this money? That empowers even more, versus, oh, I'll buy another thing or I'll have another, whatever, I don't really need it. I would rather see it move in directions that can make a lot of people happy and things going on and that can only help your business, because, honestly, I feel like you're in toys.
26:30 - Anne (Host) I think about myself in the corporate world. What does it makes us miserable in the corporate world? Oh God, we don't like our colleagues, we don't like our boss. We're boss. It's a toxic environment. I don't make enough money. Exactly Like, if you think about it, if you're treated well in your environment, if you have employees that you're paying and you treat them well and you appreciate them, they're only going to work that much harder for you and you have to incentivize them to want to work for your business, and that is one way to do that.
26:58 So I love this conversation. Again, it's probably something we could have. 20 episodes on Law, I think we will somehow. I think we will. But speaking of allowing yourself to allow that money to flow, if you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart and you would like to keep the cycle and keep paying it forward, if you've ever wished you could do more to help them, you can visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn how and big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl you too can connect and network like bosses, just like law and I. So you guys have an amazing week and let's keep that river flowing. All right, bye, have a great week, bye.
27:40 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL yeah.
28:07 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. I don't know why I wasn't ready for that. Take two, Take two, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I am here with my super power.
28:26 - Lau (Co-host) Take three.
28:27 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss. Hey everyone, welcome. God, take five, yeah, take 105.
Get set to embark on a riveting journey into the world of visual branding, specifically tailored for voice actors. In this enlightening discussion, the BOSSES will empower you with a comprehensive understanding of the critical role visuals play in effectively communicating your brand. We unravel the nuances of building a robust visual presence, which extends beyond just your attire and accessories and dives right into the realm of headshots and text titles for demos. Throughout the episode, we impart our own experiences and valuable insights, showing you how to leverage visuals to connect more deeply with your clientele. 00:01 - Introduction (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my lovely boss co-host, Lau Lapides. Oh, hey, Annie.
00:31 So good to see you, how are you Fabulous, how are you? I'm great, I have to tell you. All right. So I apologize for being late to our little recording this morning because I was trying to coordinate the outfit law. Now that we are a visual kind of a brand and we've got video, I'm like all right, so now am I going to wear silver jewelry? Which glasses shall I wear? I'm trying to get that visual brand out there and I've got a set of headshots coming up, oh gosh, in a couple of days. And so I have been literally making a list and coordinating outfits because it is such a big part of my brand and I thought, wow, we should really talk about this for voice actors out there. How important are visuals, how important is that branding and those visuals to your brand and your business?
01:19 - Lau (Co-host) I love that topic and I'm so glad we're going to talk about that today, but I have to bring up the fact that you're on the West Coast. I'm in the East Coast, 3,000 miles away, and yet the mental telepathy of like what you chose to wear today and the fact that it's kind of color coordinated with what I chose to wear is like same way.
01:39 They go great, same wave. Like I'm all over the visuals, I do do do think it's important these days, and you and I do remember the days when the voiceover would hide ourselves, we would not be seen we would never have a photo of us out there ever, because we would be worried about a potential client looking at us and saying, wow, they look like this, but they sound like this.
02:02 - Anne (Host) I'm not going to cast them, right, right it was a thing I mean I remember distinctly when I got into voice herers like you know what I don't want to be in a career that's based on what I look like, okay, and I want to be able to be creative, I want to be able to act, but I don't want it to be dependent on me being young looking or beautiful or anything like that or how I look, and so I was very much into the voice acting.
02:25 However, as I've evolved my business throughout the years, I've really kind of settled into the fact that, as people, we need to connect with other people, and so the visual I've changed my mindset so that I don't have to feel like I look perfect or a particular way. However, for my business and for my brand, I take a lot of care and I take a lot of pride in that, and so I actually strategize. I mean gosh if I tell you I literally been making a list, a list of the outfits, the colors, the props that I'm going to use for my headshots, because I'm envisioning my website right, representing me, who I am, knowing that my clients want to connect with the person. Yes, and I want to stress that it's not about necessarily what you look like. It's about conveying who you are as a person, who you are as a brand, who you are as a business Right.
03:20 - Lau (Co-host) Listen, we can't get out of the fact that we live in a world. A lot of it is visual, it's what we see. Most people are visual learners, so when they pick you up, they're picking you up in 10 seconds less than that visually. So when we're meeting a client, when we're meeting a talent, when we're meeting a prospect, they're going to look at you. If they see you, sure, if they visually see you, okay, what's the first thing we see? It may be a website, it may be a social media post. It may be something that is not physically you. So thinking about what that visual brand is from the start, I think is wise and necessary and important in a visual society.
03:57 - Anne (Host) And when you do have those photos right that are showcasing you in action in your studio and again mine aren't just gonna be your typical headshot, like I mean I will have those, but typical, like from here up they're gonna be like lifestyle shots, they're gonna be shots of me, literally law. I am bringing a desktop boom arm with my microphone, with the headphones, with the laptops and the cables by the way, and the cables.
04:23 And I am dragging that all to the studio where I'm going to get my headshots, because I want those shots to represent who I am in my business and how I interact right with clients in my business and showcasing that so that ultimately people get a sense, a visual sense, because if they do come to my website first, right before they connect with me either on the phone or on a video call or even just hear me, they're seeing me in action and they're seeing my business in action and I think it's so very important for voice talent to really understand that. And again, it's not all about like that typical, like headshot, which it can be, but I really want that to show more about who you are. How is that headshot going to reveal your personality, your business? Because, again, our voices are product right, but our visual brand can also showcase that product.
05:17 I always talk to people about their websites and make sure your demos are above the fold. But, like, when you're placing your demos above the fold, put a text title by the spots that you have in that demo, because otherwise they don't know what's in that demo, they can't see it right, they just see that. Oh, there's an audio file that I can click on and listen to, but three quarters of the way into that audio file I don't know that. You have a Toyota spot right, and so if you're listing those spots out visually right, really it's just text that also helps with your SEO, but that can really, at a glance, somebody seeing oh, she's done work for Toyota right, that can make an impression.
05:54 - Lau (Co-host) Now here's my question of the day. I'm seeing a lot more demos that are video-based demos, so I know the people that that's their real jobs. They have a right to show it. That's their actual jobs and they're utilizing that because it's been aired. Others are creating these visual elements to their demo. I wanted to run that by you and see how are you feeling about that these days. Do you like that trend that's happening? Is it fun and exciting, or do you feel like it's a little edgy showing those visuals that they haven't really been a part of? How?
06:27 - Anne (Host) do you look at that? I'm a big fan. I mean, I've read in the forums. Some people are like, well, are they really giving you a return on your investment? I'm here to say, look, our demo is a marketing product, right? And it's kind of the same question Do we put produced spots or do we put sound effects and music behind an e-learning spot? Because typically there isn't. I'm like, well, this is a showcase, this is a marketing piece, this is a demonstration. Yes, there are times that you'll have music behind your e-learning. You may or may not know that. You don't know what the client is doing with it, necessarily afterwards, and so they're very well-could be, and I've actually seen a lot of e-learning modules where it could be character-based, it could be storytelling, video-based, it can be a lot of different ways to get the interactivity or the engagement with the listener. So, yeah, why not? I mean, it is a marketing piece, and so I feel like a video demo is yet another way to showcase your product. It's not the only way, I feel the same way.
07:26 - Lau (Co-host) Yeah, I feel the same way. I think we're living in a day right now where your visuals mean a lot. I oftentimes say to talent listen your voice actors. So don't be surprised if you have people at a showcase that are a producer or an agent type or even just some corporate prospect, say hey, are you an on-camera actor? I would like to use you in a print ad along with your voice. I would like to use you in this and that, and be prepared for that answer whether you welcome doing on-camera commercial work on-camera TV, film work, print work.
07:58 I think that throws a lot of talent off who only identify as a voice over talent. And don't get me wrong, that's fine, you can just do voiceover and specialize that and don't do anything else. But there's a whole bunch of people that are really open to that idea of doing more. Like, if I get signed by an agency and they want to sign me across the board and they say, hey, we're going to submit you for everything theater, tv, film, voice over, whatever I say, why not if you're interested in pursuing that, yeah, I agree, I agree.
08:30 - Anne (Host) Now let me ask you what sort of tips would you give to people who are really trying to figure out their visual brand? Do you have any tips?
08:40 - Lau (Co-host) I love that and I'm so glad we're talking about that today. I just got out of a coaching session looking at a Vio Talent's first headshot shoot and we were talking about what happens in the face, what happens in the eyes, what people are reading very, very quickly out of that.
08:58 So I think that it's very important to talk to people that are specialists in particular areas. So, for instance, a stylist that's really good may wanna provide for you a look book before you go and take your photos of some fashion looks, some professional looks, some business looks, some whatever looks, so that you can start to mimic those looks that would be right for your styling and your branding. It's hard to come up with that yourself.
09:28 - Anne (Host) I don't think I could even come up with it myself. It's so funny that you mentioned that because literally I just spent a weekend with my very good friend. She's always been a style icon. I've always considered her a style icon. In the last year she's gone into the business and I'm gonna give her a plug. Styled by Gianni yes, gianni, g-i-a-n-a-i yes, styled by Gianni. She's amazing. She's got all different types of packages, but she's sustainably conscious. I mean, she's located in LA. She can work with you remotely. She can work with you in any capacity. She's got all sorts of cool things. If you're just open to a consult, she can chat with you and then discuss colors. If nothing else, right, what colors, what color palettes? What's your body type? She'll take your measurements into consideration. I love it. What type of clothing would be best suited for you? And again, it doesn't necessarily just have to be about you and your clothing and your look, but it can also be about colors, colors that reflect who you are.
10:23 Colors that reflect who you want to be or what you want your business to be. And again, I've got multiple colors. We all know that red and black is the color for VO Boss. However, ink and guza is blue, and I've got a different color for VO Peeps, which is a teal blue, and I love those colors and it's one way that the brand is separated. So think of me. Now I'm gonna go to my photographer, my head shot artist. I'm gonna call her and I'm gonna go over there with I've got three different brands to represent. Literally, if I could ever come to my house, you could just like take photos in my closet, because I've got all these options of clothing and all these options of colors.
10:59 And some of the colors may or may not even have to go with my brand, but they go with my personality, right, I also think too, people are not thinking about the fit of things, so your stylist needs to help you with.
11:11 - Lau (Co-host) I might love this color, but how does it fit my body? Is it showing my body off? I know women, especially younger women, have a tough time with this and oftentimes we'll have things that are too big and baggy or have things that are too tight or showing a mid drift or whatever. Whatever the case may be, that may not be appropriate for your particular branding. So you need someone who understands style but also understands the brand that you want in terms of your fit, your color. Are you trending? Are you moving forward? Do you want to do retro?
11:41 A lot of VO's are very retro. They like doing fifties, forties, voguing stuff. Absolutely, I would say you know what, annie, and this is something you do really well. I would have fun. So many people. It's such a drudgery to go through this kind of thing and I'd say wait a second, especially the talent who are animation artists who are having fun. They're being outrageous a little bit. What if you had one shot on your website under your cartoons where you have little bunny ears or you're doing cosplay, anything, right, right? Who am I thinking of?
12:14 - Anne (Host) Jessica Rabbit.
12:15 - Lau (Co-host) No, no, no, the famous singer piano man. He started out wearing costumes Elton John, Elton John.
12:22 - Anne (Host) Elton.
12:23 - Lau (Co-host) John. Who could be more prolific and serious now? Yeah, really serious about everything. Started out wearing bunny suits, oh my gosh.
12:31 - Anne (Host) And now, if you're going to talk about that, you can talk about Lady Gaga and all of her outfits, cher.
12:37 - Introduction (Announcement) It's endless. And all of her I just saw Cher who looks amazing.
12:40 - Anne (Host) By the way, Awesome she does not age, she does not age, she doesn't age at all, barry. Manilow. I just watched the.
12:45 - Lau (Co-host) Holiday Special of the Dream Lighting.
12:48 - Anne (Host) Yeah, all the icons.
12:50 - Lau (Co-host) I'm getting the clem to it that one, barry Manilow, but I was just thinking about, like an Elvis Costello. If anyone knows Elvis Costello, he was very forward thinking by retching back oh, david Bowie, in his cool black and white suits. You know, david Bowie. So the point is, you don't have to be a pop star, you just have to be authentic to you, your personality, the kind of work you do Absolutely, absolutely, and they work that into their brand.
13:15 - Anne (Host) I mean the way they dress, the way they style. I mean even rock bands, if you remember back in I'm showing them age, but you know, like Kiss, right Makeup and platforms, that kind of thing Anyhow, aren't they doing?
13:26 - Lau (Co-host) I just saw them on TV. They're doing their last. What is it? Madison Square Garden, their last concert? Yeah, their last tour and retiring. It's just pretty amazing. But the point yeah, they were in mask for how many years you never saw their real faces. So the point is is like get yourself to start out, wean yourself into it. Get a good headshot. Just start with a good headshot so that for your PR, if someone says hey, mike, susan, jay, I need you to send me a good photo, you have something and you're not going, let me go through my photo camera roll let's see if I have anything Like have something, and I also would have. You and I were talking about props earlier too. I love that idea. It could be your pet it could be your mic, absolutely.
14:07 - Anne (Host) What is it you're passionate about? Whatever, if, I could bring my cats. If I could put them in a car and drive them, I would bring my cats because yeah, Obviously, yeah.
14:16 - Lau (Co-host) So things that define you in your work day, but also in your personal life, that you love, you care about. Remember one of our favorites, betty White, who I love so much. She was known for the animals. Every time you thought of Betty White, you thought of the animals she was. I remember the PSA she did, annie, where she was surrounded by all the animals because she was helping save the animals. That was something she always had in her PR. Where she could was an animal, absolutely, absolutely.
14:43 - Anne (Host) So these are all visuals for you to be thinking about and not only can they go on your website but they can go in your social media campaigns and promotions. Youtube channel, I mean, again, if you are out there creating something visual, like if you are out there doing a podcast, right, I think today if you're doing a podcast and you don't have a video element to it and I'm not saying maybe the whole podcast has to be video, but honestly I mean everybody's kind of going that way, even though I also have an audio version, you and I have an audio version, but we have a YouTube channel right where we have videos, we do shorts, and so if you want to promote your business and you're doing any type of video or YouTube shorts, obviously you're on camera and there is branding to think about. I mean, if you've gone to all the trouble to create a logo, right, and figure out well what colors, what font, why not just extend it to your personal body, your personal self?
15:37 Because, again, our product is so very personal and I'm going to give a tip that gosh I got a long, long time ago when I worked with my business mentor, who was helping to brand me at the time, was that we created a private Pinterest board and she said to me I want you to just create a board and I want you to put everything on that board that's your favorite thing, like favorite places, favorite colors, favorite things, hobbies, activities, and when you put that board together, when you have your favorite since, she said, I'll include your favorite fonts, right? Well, that was a big mistake.
16:12 - Introduction (Announcement) Cause I have like a thousand favorite fonts.
16:14 - Anne (Host) But anyway, I put that board together and shared it with her and it was a great visual representation of who I am and from there she was able to create a website she was able to help me with branding and help me with marketing campaigns and that really came up with my Angangusa brand, because when I was doing it myself, it's so hard to brand yourself. I think we've had episodes where we've talked about branding. It is hard to brand yourself.
16:39 And even now I have ideas because I help people so much with it. But it's always nice to get that second set of eyes, that second set of ears. That is saying you know what I see you in this light, where you think maybe here's what I'm projecting out. But I need to know how do you see me, how do you see my business and what demographic am I speaking to and what does my look? Or what are the colors? What do the images on my website have to do? What feelings? I think you got to go so far as to what feelings are evoked when somebody looks at your website.
17:13 - Lau (Co-host) That's great Very pathos, very visceral. You got to revisit it too. I think that a lot of talent it evolves.
17:20 I don't know why they think, oh, I've done this, I made a demo, I'm done. I said you made a demo. Honey, you're starting, you're not done, you're going to make another thousand demos over your lifetime. Like, this is just the process. So if you choose a logo that may change in a year or two or three, if you've evolved, all companies rebrand. Yeah, I was just going to say I like to think of it. You've got an interior designer for your home, potentially.
17:44 - Anne (Host) Well, this is an exterior designer for the world and VO Boss has already rebranded once and it is a thing I mean. Rebranding is a thing you need to evolve. I know that my husband's company is going through a large rebranding right now and they're a well established company. So you need to evolve your brand. And we've all seen it with products that we buy, like Coca-Cola rebrand you know it's just people rebrand. When it's time to refresh, rebrand, yes, it's time for you to always revisit these things and I always say come at it from a perspective of where's your heart, where are your passions for where your company is going. And I'm evolving. My Anganguza brand will be evolving and broadening out to a larger audience. And even this podcast.
18:28 I've been always wanting to evolve this podcast to a larger audience so that it's not just voiceover artists. However, it's been voiceover for a good seven years. Now I've got a thought do I start a new podcast if I want to venture out of not that I'm venturing out of voice acting, but if I want to also explore right other avenues, like just podcasting in general, entrepreneurship? Like, do I keep this podcast and then add a new one, or do I rebrand this podcast and evolve? It's not something you do by tomorrow. It's something that takes some thought and sometimes the idea just has to sit with you for a while.
19:05 I remember a few years back, law, I went to rebrand and I was trying to consolidate VioPeeps and VioBoss and I had new designs. I actually had my VioPeeps bird and I made him edgy. So I changed the colors from the VioPeeps bird, from the blue, and I put him in black and red and he's like edgy. I had like a leather jacket, he had like some sunglasses and he was very cool and I got some really cool graphics out of that for a complete consolidation of a brand.
19:34 - Introduction (Announcement) And I decided not to do it after that, but it was something like I said.
19:38 - Anne (Host) It doesn't always have to happen. I mean, I decided against it only because my little bird was just too cute to give up and I loved him, and you know what I said. That's it. I'm going to keep a separate brand, but I think it's something that every year, and especially since we're in the beginning of the year now, right, it's something that people can think about. Right, what are you doing for this next year? What are you doing? Are you evolving? Are you growing? How are you doing that and how are you changing things up? I mean, gosh knows that if you change up your website, it can actually put your SEO into high gear, right? Especially?
20:12 - Introduction (Announcement) if you update content.
20:13 - Anne (Host) If you update pages, update looks, maybe update capabilities.
20:17 - Lau (Co-host) Yeah, and there's a functuary in that it's such a refreshment in doing that.
20:21 You know just when you think you know your favorite company's tagline or slogan. Just look it up. You're going to see sometimes hundreds of slogans that they've used over the years because they're reaching out to different demographics of people and they need to have different visuals right that appeal to those demographics. So I love that. I think you should stay really you know you don't want to change things every two seconds because then people get confused as to who you are but keep it fresh and trendy so that you give yourself flexibility and fluidity to say, um, that color scheme isn't me anymore, or it doesn't really represent the people I work with anymore, or the thing itself, the website itself or whatever, just doesn't look like me anymore. Here's one of the things that I discovered, annie, I know you already know this, but I discovered it only about a year ago and that is why was I in the box of thinking I just needed one website.
21:11 Oh yeah, right so people are having the discussion should I get a website? I'm having the discussion how many websites should I have? So now, for every event I have, I want to do? I'm driving my web people crazy because I'm like it's so inexpensive to get it. People don't have to fight through your website to find the thing you're looking for right.
21:33 To me, that's been my personal playground of visual branding and also ease of navigation for the client to say, oh, it's this particular project, it's a big one, I want to represent it visually aside from everything else we're doing. So when you talk about your different brands, in case people don't understand what that means, it could be something as simple yet sophisticated as having separate websites, absolutely, absolutely.
21:58 - Anne (Host) I mean, for years I've had medicalnarrationcom, I've had phonevoicecom and I've had, for each genre that I specialize in, of course, vopeaps and VOBOSS. I mean, I think at one point I owned like 13 domains and I still have domains. I have domains right now because I have ideas. How many sites do you have now? Though I probably have, I've got VOPEAPS, voboss in Gangusa, automotive, annie medical-narration phone-voicecom, e-learning-voicecom. Gosh, I've got a bunch.
22:31 - Lau (Co-host) And those are all actual websites right. Those are landing page websites that you can get to see what it is.
22:38 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I'm going to revisit and see what my SEO value is for those right now. But if you definitely are pointing people towards your website for promotions or for purchasing, it definitely can help to have it just go to a website. And of course I always, always, always recommend people say, and Gangusa or yournamecom, because you are a personal brand and that's the first and foremost domain I think anybody should get. But it's not expensive to purchase domains these days, unless of course you have a very common name or you want, like voiceactingcom, which that's already taken, but your first and lastnamecom. If not, then your first lastname, voicecom or voice acting or voice actor, those things all are viable.
23:22 - Lau (Co-host) I love it, I love it. And one more thing, Annie, I want to bring up. That's what my dad always called ATD attention to detail, which really makes a difference.
23:31 Now maybe more viable in a time where we were meeting people in person more than we are now, but I'm going to say it anyway because I personally like to get out and go to physical events. If you go anywhere to meet someone outside of your office, in your studio, not only worry about the way you look, but be concerned about if you drive watch your car. That's something that we always said oh, do I want to do the deal with this person? Their car is filthy. I just got inside of it. It's a mess, right?
24:02 Real estate agents used to talk about that a lot because they'd get inside other people's car to go look at properties or they'd get in the real estate agents car. So I know it may or may not like pertain to some of the listeners right now, but some that are going out physically to meetings, to networking, to this, to that like how you show up physically to the parking lot, come into the room, whatever, just it all kind of matters, it all matters. Don't think, oh, I'm offstage right now, no one sees me, no one cares. Until I enter the room, they do care, they look at you and they say is this the kind of person that I want to know Is it the person that I want to work with?
24:40 - Anne (Host) potentially, it's just never thought about that. Never thought about that.
24:44 - Lau (Co-host) Right, If you're meeting for a Zoom coffee or a real coffee, you're going to Starbucks or whatever. Like, just think about. Right, Bring your notebook, take notes. That's a visual right, good advice. Wow.
24:57 - Anne (Host) Well, this was a fun topic. I love it. Fun. We could go on and on, we could Bosses. As individuals, it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, together we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never before thought possible. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn how Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. We love IPDTL because I love talking to law and I love connecting with other bosses. You can find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Awesome Bye.
25:34 - Lau (Co-host) See you next time. Bye.
25:37 - Introduction (Announcement) Yay. Join us next week for another edition of Vo Boss with your host and Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
26:08 - Anne (Host) Law you just had, like a series of fireworks.
26:15 - Lau (Co-host) I know what happened there. I should keep that in there. I don't know, I have no idea. Oh my goodness, I thought it might be something on your end. I don't know, I've never, but you and I, we are making fireworks together.
26:28 - Anne (Host) There you go, we are making fireworks.
Prepare yourself to delve into the beautiful dance of giving and receiving - a balance, when maintained, that can have profound impacts on both your work and personal life. We’ll explore the joy of giving and the ripple effects it carries for both the giver and recipient, as well as the importance of receiving recognition in the business world. As we navigate this conversation, we'll also challenge the constant need for validation and discuss how rewarding achievements can foster healthier self-esteem. Join us as we explore the complexities of acknowledging one's worth and the importance of fair compensation. Essential listening for anyone who struggles with receiving, this episode promises to enlighten and inspire. 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VEO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:19 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my amazing, awesome, most wonderful boss, co -host Lau Lapides. Hey, Lau, hi, hi, Annie. Happy Saturday, yes, happy Saturday, Lau. You know, Lau, it's a new year and I am full of promise and full of motivation and inspiration and we've just come off the season of. I like to call it the season of giving, because I love to give gifts and I love to donate to my favorite charities. And you know what? I also like to receive gifts, but we don't always talk about that. We talk about giving, but what about receiving? And sometimes Lau those gifts, they're not in a box. So let's talk about the gift of receiving, shall we?
01:14 - Lau (Host) It's so interesting to me. I love this topic and because there's so many cultural differences of how we receive. There's gender differences, there's age and generational differences and I don't hear anyone really talking about how do we get something, receive something, take something, and how do we behaviorally deal with that. Yeah, like something is simple. I'll tell you what's in my brain right now. When someone comes into my home or my studio, the first thing I do and this was in my training was to offer them something. I offer them a hot drink.
01:51 - Anne (Host) I offer them a warm beverage.
01:52 - Lau (Host) I offer them a warm beverage of their choice, right, and that is definitely generational, but it's also cultural because that's the background Eastern European background. We are gift givers. We give a lot to others, right, and there's different schools of thought business-wise as to how you receive that, and how I train my clients is take it, take it. You don't have to drink it, you don't have to want it, but take it because it's giving a message to the person who's giving it to you that you are cordially receiving something that they're offering to you.
02:29 That's part of their protocol and they're etiquette right.
02:32 - Anne (Host) Well, I'll tell you one thing that's always been hard for me to receive and I think a lot of maybe women, maybe a lot of people share. This is a compliment I'm just saying that is so difficult for me, without downplaying it, and honestly, the best thing you can do to receive that compliment is to receive it with gratitude even if you don't feel it right.
02:55 I mean, how many times do people send a compliment your way and you're like, oh no, it was nothing. Or, and especially, though, when it comes to our businesses too though, isn't it funny. When it comes to our businesses, I am more than happy to take a compliment from a client. Do you know what I mean? If a client's like, oh my God, great job, right, I'm very happy about that. Inside, I'm bursting with pride and joy and hopefully that's every boss out there when they get a compliment or good feedback from their client, and I think that you must receive that. And if you receive that, that really speaks volumes to professionalism, right and courtesy, and understanding what it means to the other person when they're giving you something such as a compliment doesn't have to have monetary value, of course.
03:37 Well, like to have gifts of gold but in addition to that, gift of a kind word is really something I think that is truly like giving of the other person, and if you reject it, then that's a little insulting and hurtful.
03:53 - Lau (Host) I think you hit the nail on the head too when you said, especially with women, how we're not always in the mood to receive that or expecting that or even deserving of that. In our mindset, it's a little bit of that imposter syndrome that comes in when someone gives you that compliment and that moment of like oh, how do I take that? Do I deserve that? Oftentimes we'll say, oh no, I just got this dumb outfit.
04:19 - Anne (Host) You know it was on sale. Anyway, you look terrific, you look great and I throw it.
04:22 - Lau (Host) This old thing, yeah, this old thing, it's been hanging in my closet Doesn't mean but you look terrific, you look amazing. We'll throw it right back at the other person, which they don't realize oftentimes. That is a passive aggressive non accepting value, because it's not just a compliment, it's showcasing your value.
04:43 - Anne (Host) It's almost like when you throw it back and it's not that you don't mean it, but sometimes when you throw it back immediately, it's almost like you don't accept what they're giving to you and you're like, oh no, you look great. And so then it becomes that kind of a battle of maybe, well, who's giving here and who's the gracious receiver right?
05:00 - Intro (Announcement) There's gracious giving and there's gracious receiving.
05:03 - Anne (Host) And I truly believe that it needs to be within our boss superpowers to be able to receive and something that's we're talking a little more on maybe a loftier level in terms of nothing that has monetary value, but definitely has value like a compliment right, an act of kindness, that sort of thing. What about money Lau? I mean, how hard is it sometimes for us to accept for a job Well done, I'm happy to accept money, but thinking about, am I worth the money, am I asking for enough money? And what if I get more money? And is that hard for me to receive? Because, again, we have some of these mental issues sometimes with accepting money and that really kind of, I think, goes back to our value or our feelings of self worth.
05:47 - Lau (Host) Yes, yes, yes, yes. And you know what that money may be in money form and it may go towards an actual gift right. And I recently received. One of the gifts in the mail I literally just got within a week ago was from a client of mine who sent me one of those beautiful boxes for a holiday for. Thanksgiving that was chock full of coffee, beans and caramel and just everything under the sun.
06:09 - Anne (Host) And.
06:09 - Lau (Host) I was so surprised when I opened it up. I was so amazed that someone was thinking of me in that way, but how I reacted to it now, on retrospect, when I look at that, what did I do immediately? I thanked her, I loved it, and then I immediately started to give it away. I immediately started to offering to my clients coming through that.
06:29 - Anne (Host) I see to my family.
06:30 - Lau (Host) Oh, here, let me share, let me, here, let me give this to you. Let me share this to you. And I oftentimes wonder is a gift really meant for you when it's given to you, or is it meant for you to do what you see fit with that gift? So, if you get the monetary cash and you want to give it to charity, how would that person, how would the giver actually feel about that if they really wanted to give it to you? That's an interesting question.
06:56 - Anne (Host) Yeah, that is an interesting question. Well, you know what I think? That if a gift is given, it is because or at least for me, the person that is giving it wants to extend a gift for the other person to experience joy, I would think, and appreciation, and I feel like for me, whatever they choose to do with it, I mean, unless I feel like they secretly hate it and they gave it away and they're like, oh gosh, this is like what is it called?
07:21 - Intro (Announcement) An elephant gift. An elephant gift yes exactly.
07:24 - Anne (Host) And so then I would be a little hurt if I knew. But I think my intentions are to provide a token of appreciation, a token of here's how I feel about you. And if the other person doesn't accept it for themselves graciously at first, and then I realize, oh, maybe they've immediately given it away or something, then I would be hurt. I would be hurt by that Feeling like they've rejected my gift.
07:45 - Lau (Host) But, annie, let's be honest, we've all done that. Haven't we all gotten that scarf? Or those gloves that are just the ugliest thing in the world, do you think? Oh, they're itchy, they don't really fit me. Well, let me, elephant, gift that to someone who will appreciate it. And if not, you notice people are starting to say if you don't want it, it's okay, pass it on. I'm like a donate.
08:05 - Anne (Host) The other thing would be like here's one things that people have made for me. Now, this could be homemade food. This could be homemade gifts. This could be my grandmother knitting me a sweater, or my mother knitted me.
08:18 I'm gonna get me all teary, but my mother, she knitted me afghans and blankets, and my aunt used to so close for me, and it reminds me of the bunny suit on a Christmas story with Ralphie, and so you accept that and you're grateful for it, because there was thought and love put into the gift and so receiving that means that you're receiving that love. You're receiving that gift.
08:41 - Lau (Host) You're receiving it, you're suck it up. You do you do. You're totally, because it's not the color of your bedroom and it just is not the feel that you wanna put on your body, but you love it. You put it on display somewhere. You just have to appreciate that, right. What about this one? What about from a philosophical point of view? As we live our lives every day around the holiday season, how are we viewing gifts that are given by others or by the universe? Are we recognizing any gifts, gifts?
09:09 - Anne (Host) from the universe Locke. Let's delve deeper into that. So what gifts from the universe? What would be some examples? I like that.
09:16 - Lau (Host) Well, I'm a New Englander, so on the New England track. I think all of us can relate that come from cold weather climates and when I have more, temperate weather or. I have a winter where we're not like snowed in and killing ourselves with the slush. To me, I recognize that as an immense gift.
09:35 - Anne (Host) Nice and Californians are very grateful for rain.
09:38 - Lau (Host) Yes, oh yes, yes, yes, yes. How about the gift of looking in the mirror and seeing yourself for what you actually see, not for what you want to see? So that is, as you age, seeing the wrinkles, seeing the imperfections, seeing the scars, but then feeling like, wow, there's a gift in there for me of understanding.
10:02 - Anne (Host) That represents my life, my heart. Here I have to tell you because my own personal experience. I have lost a little bit of weight and so I look at my body, which is now kind of a wrinkly because I got some skin, and I look at that and I'm like, ok, that could be considered by some to not be attractive, but for me it's almost like it's a battle scar. It's like you know what I'm proud of?
10:23 my body I am proud, I am grateful. I am actually so grateful for my body, for being resilient and for the things that my body has been through, and I think that we can apply this to our businesses as well right, our journey as our businesses. But, like my body has been through a journey, my mentality, my entrepreneurship has been through a journey, and I'm grateful for all of it because I've survived it and I've been able to come out the other side more joyful and educated and more motivated to do even more. And so I really try to take a look at that and be grateful for that gift from the universe right that I have received. And I love that we kind of brought the gifts from the universe into this discussion, because I think we have them every day and we don't always recognize them for what they are and we aren't always receiving them or acknowledging them with the amount of gratitude or thought that I think we should.
11:23 - Lau (Host) Right, or even just mindfulness, conscientiousness of seeing it and observing. We talk about it from an actor's point of view, but from a human point of view, are you really seeing what is in front of you? What are you uncovering? And since we're diving deep, I'll go one deeper, because you're not only surviving and you're thriving in the gratefulness and recognition, in the gift of that, and that's what makes you so beautiful, both aesthetically but also inside. There's a beauty and a light that happens in you. To me that's very recognizable and I'm going to dive even deeper. I'm going to say I have someone very close to my family suffering from a very deadly illness and eating it and I watch it every day go into remission and I watch it turn around and I watch it Now, from the outside, this person is somewhat suffering and all of that. From the inside, I see that little soul, that little spirit winning and I'm like a gift a gift, a gift, a gift every day.
12:28 - Anne (Host) It's so true.
12:29 - Lau (Host) If I lose the job, if I don't look good one day, whatever, this is the gift that I'm going to keep coming back to, of course, and I totally identify with that.
12:38 - Anne (Host) I mean it is, and we've talked about this before.
12:41 I mean, yeah, when someone that you love or someone you're close to is going through a challenge mental challenge, health challenge, whatever that might be I mean, in reality, it really points us towards knowing and understanding what those gifts are. And I've said it before, when I was going through my own health challenge, I mean, once I got back in the studio, I was like gosh, what was I ever worried about? You know, here I was thinking, oh, my voice doesn't sound in a particular way or I'd worry about those things, and I'm like my gosh, I have just been given this immense gift and I'm here to be able to experience and here to be able to just do what I love in this booth and just be, just be and be grateful. And well, I'll tell you what that comes through in our voices, doesn't it? It emanates from us and, as performers, I think that it behooves us to be good receivers, right Of the gifts that are being given to us, because it just absorbs into our energy and just radiates out from our performances.
13:39 - Lau (Host) It so does, and I mean the gift of knowledge of how to give as well, so like, for instance, when it comes to philanthropy and charity. I love that. I'm big in that. I'll give a quick plug to our 100 voices who care.
13:54 - Intro (Announcement) We love.
13:54 - Lau (Host) Claire and the gang we love so much. I'm a member and to me it's such a relief, it's such a relief gift to me to figure out how to give in a very safe and impactful and thought away. And as long as I make money, I'm going to give forever because I don't have to think about it. It's one less thing I have to think about because I know it's vetted, I know it's legit and I know the people come from their heart and soul. Wow, to me that's a gift.
14:23 - Anne (Host) Exactly, and you know, the cool thing about 100 Voices who Care is, honestly, it does not take a lot of money, and that's really what the big thing is, and it's literally $100, four times a year, and that's it. And ultimately that, combined with the community, the togetherness that is also in kind, donating that, that is $10,000 that can be given to people in need or organizations in need, and I think that that's absolutely wonderful and I think, really, whatever giving charity that you want, again giving that and then expecting that the people who are in need are receiving that and they're grateful for it right, that's what makes the world go round and that's what I think really giving is so easy to talk about, because I love to give myself and I mean I consider the VoBoss we're giving of ourselves joyfully, because it's something that we both love to do, we love to share, we love to be a resource, we love to help if we can, and that's what we're here for.
15:19 But I really really also want bosses out there to understand the importance of being able to see and acknowledge and receive in kind and be okay, it is for you, it doesn't have to be for anybody else, you don't have to feel compelled to turn around and give it somewhere else.
15:36 I fully believe that if a gift is meant for you and you love it and you keep it for yourself, you give in other ways, right? I mean it doesn't have to be that you have to turn around and feel like, oh, I either need to give that gift or give a portion of that gift, or you can keep it. I mean it's okay, it was meant for you and love, and that is something that I think is really wonderful. And, of course, I mean let's make it more from a business perspective, right, being able to ask for the money that you deserve for a job that has been well done is, first of all, when you do that yes, do that but when you get that actual money and you receive that money, then you'll notice that I feel like the cycle or the circle has been completed.
16:18 - Lau (Host) Yes, absolutely. And here's another one that is amazing but can be tricky in how it's received. You and I, I know I'm grateful and fortunate that we're nominated.
16:27 You and I and our companies for SOVA's nominations, which I'm thrilled I'm over the moon. So when I learned that now you've been nominated for years now that was my first time around being nominated when I learned that it challenged me a little I'll be honest with you. It challenged me. I had to sit there and go, well, okay, do I deserve that? Is that okay, do I deserve that? Was there anyone that deserves it more than me? Or, like it challenged me in a way, I was over the moon, thrilled. I love to be a part of it, the community be recognized. But at the end of the day, you have to sit alone with yourself and say I did this, we did this, I did this and I accept the good things coming my way, along with the challenging things as well.
17:14 It's like you have to have a little conversation with yourself about that and I'm very careful, like I don't want my head to be big. I don't want to be gloaty about it, I don't want to hold it over anyone else. I want to be very humane about the recognition that I slash we as the company get because I feel so grateful for it. I don't feel like, oh, of course I deserved it, I'm the best. I feel like that's going in a direction of morality that is not of high integrity. The highest integrity people are people who are humble and they're modest and they have humility about themselves and their work. Those are the people that I always have admiration for yeah, absolutely, I love that.
17:54 - Anne (Host) And receiving acknowledgement right Receiving acknowledgement is absolutely another important, very important, I think, factor in really having fulfilling and successful entrepreneurial journeys and businesses right.
18:08 I think a lot of times what happens? We get a lot of people coming into this industry that are so unhappy and there are jobs, because I always tell people in the corporate world all we really want is love. All we want is love and acknowledgement right Like validation. It helps to make money right so you can pay the bills. Absolutely, I mean that's first and foremost.
18:26 But I think a lot of times when people are dissatisfied with their work, it's because they've really put their heart and soul into it and nobody's acknowledged that and nobody has really recognized that or given them a compliment or credited them for that, and so that, I think, is one source of people really wanting to come into business for themselves. And so now when we're entrepreneurs feedback that we get and it's rare that we get feedback from clients right, unless we go out and ask for it, which I'm the biggest fan of, going out and getting testimonials right Get yourself that acknowledgement. But also, when it comes unexpectedly, it's something that I think we need to be prepared to just receive it and be grateful for it and really know that you're worth it, because there's something to be said about people who are constantly degrading or downplaying or shunning those compliments or acknowledgments or awards, and we did a podcast on awards. There's just there's lots of different opinions about awards. Do people need an award to do their business? Not necessarily.
19:26 But I'll tell you sometimes that recognition very similar to being in a corporate job or whatever it might be getting a little bit of recognition can really help emotionally. Mental I mean. I feel like everything in life it all stems mentally and then it kind of I'm going to say, pushes out physically, right. Like I feel like everything is in our head, like that's what is controlling the earth, right? Our thoughts, right, I feel it's our thoughts and how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about others and how we treat it. It just directly affects the physical everything and I think that it's so important.
19:59 - Lau (Host) I just rambled off on this kind of tangent, but I think it's all related, right, it's all related because if think of any relationship we have, like I love acknowledging, I love validating, I love giving compliments, I love that it doesn't only make me feel good, it's necessary, it's like, okay, we're going to be tough on someone, we're going to give honest feedback, we're going to say no to someone, we're going to be harsh at times, but it's really important to have those moments where you go you know what, I'm really proud of you. Or hey, you did it, Nicely done. I'm so excited for you.
20:34 Because otherwise I find people in general get really down on themselves very fast and then lose steam, lose energy, lose motivation, because they ultimately start to want to please or be liked by the casting, producer, coach, whatever, and it becomes personalized in that way. So it's like a fine line. I of course, want to have that no-like and trust factor. Of course I want to have that in the business world. But there's a fine line Like we don't want to be motivated to only be liked and only be validated, right.
21:11 Otherwise you're seeking to receive things all the time which are not earned they're not always well earned. They're just that little honor, that little star, for no reason. I want to live in a meritocracy. Still, I want to be rewarded when I'm earned.
21:27 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that you brought that up because you're right, Seeking to receive all the time is not good either. Being able to receive is one thing, but seeking to always have likes or stuff like that is also not healthy and doesn't create for a healthy business either. Right, when you're constantly seeking approval and I think that really kind of stems from other issues, like when you're seeking approval all the time, and that could be a whole other podcast Lau.
21:51 - Lau (Host) That is a whole other podcast approval. Yeah, how do we respond to all of the things that happen in our world that are not what we want or not what we're expecting to come back to us? How do we respond to those things Like not being nominated, not getting the award, not getting? How do we respond to that?
22:13 - Anne (Host) That always is a little pain, oh, always a pain, even when you know better, like myself, and we know we've been on both sides right when we want that acknowledgement, we want that award, we want that feedback, and sometimes it just doesn't come back to us the way that we want. And so how do we deal with that right? Again, that's not necessarily a rejection right of something that you're receiving, it's that you haven't received it. And so now, what? Now, what do you do with that longing, that desire, that hope? How do you get yourself back in balance?
22:44 - Lau (Host) That's right. That's right. Balance is really the key because the more balanced we are, the more we can easily give and offer and receive and take. And not do it from an ego point of view, not do it from this heavy ego centric, really do it from a place that's very balanced and very open and very like. It's like a give and take of Feng Shui. You know what I mean. Like you're cleansing Every time you give something away. I find when I Feng Shui my office or my studio and I give things away, if it's received well, I feel cleansed right, and if I'm receiving something, well, I feel cleansed.
23:19 There's like a cathartic thing that happens, a purification that happens if it's not coming from pure ego which. I love. I think it's fabulous.
23:27 - Anne (Host) I can talk Clear the clutter, clear the clutter, clear the clutter, physically clear the clutter in your brain. I mean it can really do a lot to propel you and your business forward. Absolutely, absolutely. What a really cool conversation Lau. I love it, I love it Beautiful I love it, guys.
23:43 And, as we spoke about before, 100 Voices who Care, simple Mission, big Impact 100 Voices, 1 hour, $10,000,. Guys, you can really make an impact. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to find out more and big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. Gosh, I love IPDTL, I just love IPDTL. They give us the opportunity to give and receive Lau at UNI back and forth for this podcast, and I absolutely love the fact that we can connect and do so. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
24:19 - Lau (Host) See you next time.
24:21 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VoBoss with your host, Ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Are you ready to become the architect of your own success? This episode is a catalyst for inspiring business transformations. Anne and Lau uncover exciting possibilities that come with starting something new, and guide you on how to kindle creativity for innovative ideas. Discover how the power of writing can become a game-changer for your creativity and personal development. Delve into how expressing your thoughts and ideas on paper encourages new, innovative ideas. Learn why feedback is crucial, and the profound impacts a business mentor can have on your business. The BOSSES emphasize patience, persistence, and maintaining an abundant mindset when investing in yourself and your business. From successful direct marketing strategies to the creation of tangible proofs of concept, we've got you covered. Let's level up your business together! Transcript 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my amazing special guest co-host Lau Laupides.
00:33 - Lau (Host) And how are you? Welcome to be back. I'm fabulous. How are you?
00:37 - Anne (Host) It's a brand new day. Lau, it's a brand new day. It's a new year. I am excited, Speaking of new. I think it's time for us to maybe talk about setting goals, starting something new. I always get a great thrill, a great anticipation and excitement when I start something new, and I think it's something that can really help bosses to grow their businesses, to be continually moving forward and progressing, and I think it's wonderful to challenge ourselves. What about you? I?
01:06 - Lau (Host) love it. I would love to do some tips on how we can start something new, because it's that feng shui of your soul, your spirit, your closet, your studio, your whatever, your car, your relationship. It's like how do I not only cleanse and clean things out, but how do I make the fire happen, how do I create it? And do it on a reguLaur basis as a soloprenor, as an entrepreneur? That's what our job is. It's really to constantly create things. Create, that's why we're creatives. That's why we're creatives.
01:37 - Anne (Host) Yes, and we really need to embrace. Embrace the creativeness, even if you feel that you're not creative, right, and you feel, and it's scary, I'll tell you a lot it's scary to start new things, because what if we fail? Right.
01:49 - Intro (Announcement) What if it doesn't work?
01:51 - Anne (Host) What are we going to do? And so I think that there's a lot of anguish that happens before we start something new, or goodness gracious knows that I can procrastinate along with the best of them right, but once I get a focus right.
02:04 I'm focused, but I'll tell you what. Getting started and starting something new A lot of times I know that bosses will be like I don't even know where to start. So what are some tips on? How can we generate new ideas right? I mean, some of them can come from within ourselves, but I'll tell you what. There's technology out there that can help us to maybe spur some new ideas for how to grow our business right.
02:26 - Lau (Host) I would have a little something, a little trinket, a mechanism, a toy or whatever. That is your reset button, that's your little thing that you go to. I used to have staples button.
02:35 - Anne (Host) When I worked with staples. Yes, that was easy.
02:37 - Lau (Host) I literally hit it on my desk and go boom, that was easy, so you need something physical in your environment whether it's a stuffed
02:46 animal, whether it's a little bell, a little bell or something. It sounds ridiculous, but I'm telling you your brain takes recording really well. Ironically, we're in the business of recording everything. We do, everything we say, every move we make. We're being recorded. So every time you do that little Pavlovian dog behavioral thing, your brain goes something good is coming, something new is happening. I'm going to accept it into the reality that I want safety, I want comfort and I want to know exactly what's coming up. So it's going to reset that for you, so that you've got a mindset focus reset before you do anything. I think that's really important.
03:26 - Anne (Host) I feel like we could do a search on Amazon or something and something like a reset button or a new button or something that will help us. So if you're looking for that physical thing, that button to push, or there's always the staple, that's easy button, which I love.
03:39 - Intro (Announcement) I had a bell and that kind of thing.
03:40 - Anne (Host) But, yeah, I like that. That's a good start now. So what? What are we going to do? That's new. How are we going to come up with ideas? I think a lot of us have ideas on what we'd like to do to move our business forward. Oh, build a new studio. Maybe there's roadblocks, right, but these roadblocks can actually, I think, motivate us to get started on something new, because we can then work towards achieving our goal, and I don't want this to necessarily turn into the goal achieving episode but it's very simiLaur.
04:07 Because what if? Okay, I want to start something new, I want to go into a different genre of voiceover, or I want to build a new studio, or I want to rearrange my office space right so it's more conducive to working more efficiently? Whatever it might be, I think it starts with the idea and it starts with that little thing. Here we go Right now. What are the steps that it's going to take to get there right, To start this, to actually accomplish this?
04:35 - Lau (Host) By the way, you could go very Eastern philosophy. You could do either a gong or you could do some chimes. I love the chimes. The chimes is really cool to my ear. I have tincture bells.
04:44 - Anne (Host) I don't know if those of you out there.
04:45 - Intro (Announcement) I love tincture bells.
04:47 - Anne (Host) Tincture bells are, I think, very good vibrations and good energy, and tincture bells are just a beautiful sounding bell.
04:53 - Lau (Host) All right, I have a really cool exercise, annie, that I use for a number of the soloprenore cLausses that I teach, that I myself love doing, and that is we put on some really cool music. My favorite is bonobo. We put on some fabulous music and we do like a timed brain dump, and the timed brain dump usually for me is six minutes, but it could be whatever you choose, and it's a time where we put on that music. We focus our pen or pencil on the paper. Now we are not allowed to pick the pen or pencil up for six minutes, meaning I don't allow critiquing, I don't allow editing, I don't allow review. It's not grammatically correct. It is a creative writing exercise for you to dump out everything in your brain, refocus. But, most importantly, Wait.
05:41 - Anne (Host) You don't pick up the pen until six minutes, and then, after six minutes, you pick up the pen.
05:46 - Lau (Host) No, it doesn't matter what you're writing. You're allowing your subconscious to drain itself. So that you and your intellect have nothing to do with it. It's really about so you're not writing. You're dumping, You're writing. You're actually writing what you're dumping.
06:00 - Anne (Host) Oh, I thought you said you don't pick up the pen.
06:02 - Lau (Host) Well meaning, you don't pick up the pen to stop writing, you keep your pen to the paper.
06:06 Oh, I see, I see, I see and you write and it can be tiring, it can be physically demanding for people who are not used to writing, but it's important because we get in the way so much of the ideas Like we got to get ideas out there before we can dissect them or critique them and sometimes nothing comes of it. But oftentimes there are things lodged in our brain that are either exciting us, bothering us, sticking, coming back, that we need to awaken and pay attention to, for that new idea.
06:37 - Anne (Host) Now, during this exercise, you're writing everything that's coming into your brain Everything, Even if it's not a new idea right, even if it's like oh my gosh. What are we going to have for dinner tonight? Or I'm hungry. Or okay, even that.
06:48 - Lau (Host) Okay, it's a total stream of consciousness. They used to use this in psychotherapy, where you would speak it out loud, but I like the privacy of being able to write it because you're not necessarily sharing it with anyone, absolutely Unless you choose to. It's really for your own purpose of writing everything out, so it might look like oh, I'm hot right now and I need a banana and that coffee hurts me. And he sucked. And why did he break?
07:12 - Anne (Host) up with me and I don't have money for a microphone. I need a banana. I need a banana right now.
07:18 - Lau (Host) Right, but see, notice that banana jumped out at you. That may be my next creative idea about the banana, about the banana.
07:26 - Anne (Host) I love it. No, I love that. Okay, and so after six minutes, then what happens? We've got a bunch of writings on our paper.
07:32 - Lau (Host) Well, that's up to us how we want to facilitate that. We can either leave it alone, put it in our corner where we put our writing and just feel like we've been drained a little bit, we've been fungshuated a little bit, or we can look at that in my coaching. I'll look at that a lot, circle and have people pick out yes. Emphasize the words, the ideas that resonate to them in that moment.
07:54 - Anne (Host) I love that.
07:55 - Lau (Host) And usually there's a couple in there. I love that. Usually there's like hate my mother oh, that's interesting. Hate your mother Okay. So let's look at that right. And then that can go in many, many directions. It could be anything. It could be comedy, sure. It could be absurd. It could be not even a reality in your mind. It could be a podcast on your mother Right. It could be something. It could be the evolution of a podcast on your mother.
08:17 - Anne (Host) It could be a film.
08:18 - Lau (Host) I saw that was called Hate my Mother, and I can't get it out of my head because I love how they shot something or I love the sound of the film.
08:26 - Anne (Host) See, as you go deeper into that, right, did you love about it? It sparked something creative, like you could do this. Yes, or we should do something like this, or, you know, it would be cool if this were developed. I have so many good ideas. How many times bosses out there have you had an idea and you're like, oh man, or you'll see a new thing that comes out, a new gadget, and you'd be like man, I had that idea, that was my idea, like years ago, right, and we never really kind of took action on it. And a lot of times it's because it is something new.
08:56 There's not a lot of things out there to reference it. We don't know quite how to wrap our heads around it. We don't know how to get started, we don't know how to maybe put it into action. And I'll tell you what. I think that those circled words or whatever those things that are in your brain. You can then start to say, all right, how can I make this happen?
09:15 And if this is going to be something, hopefully it's something that will move you ahead in your business. And I'm a big believer that if you're moving ahead in your personal development, you're also moving ahead in your business Because, again, our business is so much connected to who we are and ourselves and so really that can be motivational to really moving forward. So, yeah, you've got those ideas. Now what is it going to take to put those ideas in motion? What is it going to take? And a lot of times people might say, well, money, okay, all right, money might be what you consider to be your barrier, right, but we can figure out what are ways to overcome that barrier of money. How can we make more money? How can we put some money aside every month to be able to continually add to the budget to make this happen?
10:01 - Lau (Host) Mm-hmm. I also find, annie, that when you write something down, it becomes more real when you pull it out of your head. I agree it's not real in your head. I mean just because this is what neurosurgeon had famous talks. Just because you're thinking it doesn't mean it's real. It doesn't mean it's true right, like I need to hear that from a neurosurgeon. But it's true because when I think it, I think that it's actually true.
10:24 But when I put it on paper, all of a sudden I can clean that shop, I can decipher it differently, like what I want to be tackling, what I don't want to be tackling, right. So when I tackle it, when I say I'm gonna emphasize that I'm gonna tackle that I and this is just my process I like to start sharing that with confidence. I like to start coming together and colLauborating and brainstorming before I even get to money and budgets and all that stuff. I like to come with someone and say am I crazy? Am I sane? Is this worth time? What do you think? And if I hear this common response of ooh, that's interesting, yeah, that's cool.
11:00 - Anne (Host) It inspires me, or would you buy this, or would this be something that you would like, or that kind of thing?
11:06 - Lau (Host) Absolutely, absolutely cuz it's not real yet in my mind it's not even real if I believe in it yet. I want to see what our community response is. I don't share it with a million people, but I share with a few confidants to see what their gauges. I'm gonna tell you.
11:19 - Anne (Host) For years now for oh gosh, probably 15 years I have had a business mentor, somebody that I meet with, and I used to meet with her a whole lot more when I was first Initially starting in the business. But we could brainstorm together right, how can I grow my business, what do I see for myself in the future and what does it gonna take to get there? And we still do that to this day. It was, again, outside of my account and I always love my account, but one of the best investments I ever made in my business was hiring her to be that and she's not necessarily in the business, right, so somebody that can help me to figure out. Okay, what's new? Right, and we actively talk about things at the end of the year or at the beginning of the year like what's new. But I think, more importantly, it's not just end of year, beginning of year, it is every month. Right, I have a standing appointment with her every month and we talk about okay, what are we gonna do now? What are we heading towards? What are we evolving towards? And we talk about having a pLaun B for your business or a parallel paths of passive income. I love that parallel path of passive income. We've got a lot of peas in there, and good thing I'm not too close to my mic, but those things are always Evolved and developed during those monthly meetings.
12:29 Now I think it's something that you can absolutely start every month yourself or put yourself on.
12:34 I think every month is good to be able to come up with new ideas, come up with new things to try. It doesn't have to be an entirely new idea, but it can be a new offshoot Based upon, let's say, a long-term goal you have of oh, I want to be able to do animation, and so that may be a long term goal. So then, what's a new goal for next month? Well, let's decide on a coach, right, let's start working with a coach. Let's call a series of coaches and let's see who I click with, right, and then let's do one session with each coach and then really find out who I jive, who I meld with, and then we can then start training. So it can be something new every single month, and I think that really helps you to gosh. Stagnation for me is the worst. That is when I think nothing moves forward. Their businesses don't move forward, and then people end up maybe not being in business anymore, or quitting or being discouraged.
13:27 - Lau (Host) Exactly that's when you start getting down on yourself and you become a saboteur and you sabotage things. So yes, I'm all for that, and I'll even say to piggyback onto that find groups or find specific moments of events that you can sit in on or be a part of that. You can conjure ideas up as you listen to the group. Be careful of not spending your whole time, your whole week, in groups, because then that can confuse you because you're going to hear a lot of ideas and a lot of different thoughts.
13:55 A lot of opinions, but pick and choose yeah, pick and choose your group really, really well and wisely, so that what you hear, you know, is coming from a very high level and that will help inspire ideas. That, oh, I never thought of that. I never thought that they would view me in that way. I never thought of that kind of project that can be an inspirational force as well.
14:14 - Anne (Host) Now there can be times when I feel like you can have so many ideas that it's overwhelming right, and then it's like no ideas at all get developed right.
14:22 So you want to be careful of overwhelming yourself with new ideas, and I'm going to say that goals are wonderful.
14:28 I'm thinking ideas, they evolve into goals.
14:30 But I think ideas are wonderful because it's just a great like inspirational spot to start from and then I think it can turn into a goal based upon the market, based upon realism, based upon okay, I've got an idea for an extension of my business, but then maybe when you talk it over with some people, you find that maybe there isn't a ton of demand out there for it, because it can be a cool idea, but in order to turn a profit, it has to appeal to other people too. So there's got to be time spent in researching those ideas to make sure. Are you going to spend the time and effort in developing them further? And so try not to overwhelm. I love that you said be careful with being part of too many accountability groups or too many groups, because, yes, you can get too many opinions, you can get too many ideas. Here you should do it this way. Here you should work with this coach, here you should get this demo and then you're confused and then you're like, oh God, I just don't even know what to do.
15:26 I think, honestly, if we sit down, I love the brain dump on the paper. I think that is really amazing because that is starting with you. It's starting with your desires, your passions, whatever you're feeling, and I feel like, rather than somebody telling you this is what you should do, here's what you have a gut feeling about. I'm a big believer in your gut right. This is what I'm passionate about, and if you're passionate about it, you're going to have the motivation to go and get it.
15:52 - Lau (Host) Yes, and here's a role pLauy for you. I do this with myself all the time and it makes me feel so good, something neutralizing about it. I'll refer to myself as a creative agency or the idea person of an advertising agency. Those are the people who would sit around drinking soda, hitting hoops in their offices and just shooting the Dick Van Dyke ideas all night long.
16:17 - Intro (Announcement) Absolutely.
16:18 - Lau (Host) Being unafraid to do that, but I would structure it. I would say, okay, we can do this day and night. I know I can do a day and night structure. Say, listen, one week out of the month or three days out of the month are my idea days. Those are days that I'm brain dumping. I'm talking to people, I'm sitting in on groups and I'm coming up with my top three prioritized ideas so that it doesn't become but I have 50. What do I do with the 50?
16:43 No, let me see if I can come up with three and then choose the one that I actually might want to take action on so that I'm structuring my time and I'm structuring through priority as well, and then I'm also giving a deadline too and saying if this doesn't materialize in three months in some real way, I'm going to shelf it until Lauter.
17:03 - Anne (Host) I like that I kind of reLaute it to when people come to me and they say, well, I don't know what genre I should study voiceover, and we'll talk about okay. So what do you do now? Do you have a corporate job? Are you an actor? Do you have a side hustle? However, that is, and a lot of times it'll come down to okay, it'll be easy for you to step into this genre because you've got experience in it. Let's say I'm talking to a teacher. I'm like well, look, you already teach. You already have a concept of what it takes to be a good teacher. So stepping into the e-learning genre might work really well for you. However, you might have another loftier idea that you want to get into animation, right, Well, you can develop the one that you step into a little bit easier so that that will help you to then make some money while you're also pursuing the other goal, and I think that that usually works out really well.
17:49 And I like to equate the whole doing something new and the inspiration to my demo creation process, because for every student right, that end goal of a demo to me is a creative process. It is a creation, it's a song, it is something that is completely unique for each and every student, and for me the process is the same. To get there, there's a lot of work that is involved, but there's a lot of time where, yeah, I sit there and throw the crumpled paper into the basket because there's the creative inspiration that's happening to really just bring it all together and to make it amazing, and so I can really appreciate that part. And each and every time and each and every demo becomes like one of those new things that I'm accomplishing, and I cannot tell you how satisfying that is, because at the end, I'm like yes.
18:39 And I can see it. When I'm getting towards the end of creating the demo for the student, I'm like, oh, oh, oh, it's coming together. It's oh my God, yes, and now I'm going to do that. Oh, yes, oh, now, okay, now I'm seeing it come together and that, to me, is exhiLaurating. It's exhiLaurating.
18:53 It's kind of like the way I attribute starting something new in your business. Right, you get that idea, you're like this could be really cool and now, how am I going to get there? And then you do steps to work to get there, to get there, to get there, you sit there, you shoot a few crumpled pieces of paper and you think about it.
19:08 You sleep on it and then the next morning you get up and you go oh, let me try that Right. And then, when it starts to come together, that's the most amazing thing.
19:17 - Lau (Host) See, that's really the thing, because I find that, with creatives, one of the sticking points for most creatives, no matter how successful they are, is the execution of things. It's getting through what I call the theater days technical rehearsal.
19:31 That's the worst, dirtiest, muddiest, ugliest, disgusting. Like what have we worked on? It looks like yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, and then it just comes together, right. So you have to be able in your business, you can see it right. Yeah, you have to be able to move through that disgusting kind of uncomfortable kind of like, but I worked on this for months. Why does it look this way or feel this way? Right, I was going to give another tip too, annie. I was thinking you know, if you get together with that confidant, with that person, with that creative buddy, make use of that time by doing a structured business improv with them saying I'm going to take 20 minutes with you, 30 minutes, here's my goal. If you want to work on yours, work on yours. But I want to talk out. I want to talk out this idea I have, that I'm looking to execute, and you ask me questions and you shoot, you fire, you do things to make me think about it and give you more real response.
20:25 Cause it takes it off the paper and makes it even more real when you have to speak about it to someone.
20:31 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. I mean it's not just on the paper and you looking at it, going okay, and then you don't look at the paper. That's kind of like when you do write things down right and you have goals. I'm a big believer in putting them somewhere where you can keep looking at them. I mean, they can't just stick in your brain.
20:46 If they stick in your brain. It's easy for them to just, oh, I lost it when to go and you can forget about it. But having those in front of you and also talking it out with somebody, like I said, when I come back to meet with my business mentor in another month, she'll be saying to me okay, so what did you do about this? Or how are we moving on? And I'm in the process of that right now. I'm making a shift to another cool part of the business that I want to open and I don't quite know what I'm doing, and it's one of those things where it's going to take me some time. But it's okay, I'm patient with myself because it's going to be kind of a cool path that I've not explored before.
21:20 - Lau (Host) So I'm patient with myself.
21:22 - Anne (Host) So I think you need to be patient with yourself. So many of us are not patient when it comes to oh my God, I want to be a voiceover actor and how come I'm not making money. All of a sudden, it becomes like well, okay. And the same thing with marketing. I'll tell you, I have people that we offer the boss. Bless. That we've talked about multiple times and and I always talked to people about direct marketing right, marketing yourself is one thing. Again, you're putting things out into the universe and again, when are you going to be able to collect on them? So I made an investment. It could be a financial investment, a time investment, whatever that is Well, all of a sudden. Well, it's been three months, why haven't I gotten anything? It's been 12 months, why haven't I gotten anything? And again, one of those things we know, I mean Lauw. We've talked about this. I did an audition two years ago and all of a sudden, I got a contact by the casting director saying hey, we think your voice would be great for this.
22:14 The same thing for your ideas, right your ideas to develop. Just don't give up and be patient. It is one of those things You're marketing. Direct marketing is huge in that convincing an actor to spend a certain amount of money or invest money on a reguLaur basis for marketing is, gosh, pretty much close to impossible, and I know you know that right. Everybody's like I don't have the money, I'm broke, I'm not getting a return on my investment. People are so quick to say that I am not getting a return on my investment. But well, they have to think about.
22:43 - Lau (Host) Are they coming from a full, rich, abundant pLauce? Are they coming from a cheap, overly frugal, not willing to invest pLauce? Because people want to invest in you if they see that you're willing to invest in yourself first. So in essence, you are the proof of concept If you're willing to invest, then you give someone else permission to invest in you, so that abundant versus a fearful, cheap pLauce is really, really important. There's one other thing I was going to say, annie too. Now, maybe this is pushing it a little too far, but I'm that kind of gal If you want to start something new, create something real. Upfront. I'll give you an idea. I used to teach in a very competitive entrepreneurial program in a business college and in the freshman year think about this, 18 years old the project was they take the whole first year, annie. They would create in teams a product that at the end of the year they pitch in a real way at the end of the year right, so it was whatever, it was a shirt a clock, this or that.
23:44 I never forgot, 18, 19 years old. I never forgot because they said we don't care if you make money or not. This is about making money. This is about you learning that when you create a process, there has to be something real and executionary about it, and something that you perform. It's performative. It's not in your head. So at the end of the year, they had to physically manufacture the product Sure absolutely.
24:06 Yeah, and then they'd have to pitch it to see if they could get money, I love that love. I think here's the thought. Here's the thought. We create something, whatever it is, it could be anything. Create something that is a sticker of it that makes it real. So, for instance, let's say you have an idea for a new service in your business, or I have an idea for a business, create a logo, pay money for that logo. It could be 50 bucks, it could be 200, whatever, but it becomes real in a different way.
24:35 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, I love that you said that because, honestly, like when I worked at the academies the Bergen academies, I mean every student had a year long project, literally where they formed a company, they created a product and they actually were all part of here's the marketing department.
24:48 Here's the engineering department and honestly, it gave them a reason to learn engineering. It gave them a reason to learn marketing. It gave them a reason to learn SAP software. It gave them a reason to learn they just had to create the prototype and then they had to, like, market it and sell it, and then they had to present it. And we're talking about ninth graders. Okay, back in the day. That's amazing. Now, if you start them at ninth grade thinking in that way, thinking in that entrepreneurial, corporate way, where they ultimately have to create something and then present it, they end up learning all of the things they need to learn in order to accomplish that goal, and that becomes a really wonderful education for the students as well, as I cannot tell you how many of those students are blossoming like amazing successes today.
25:34 - Lau (Host) Amazing.
25:35 - Anne (Host) They started off early knowing that and doing that, and so I think that's a wonderful idea for you bosses out there to go and create something, make your initial investment, something that doesn't have to take like a billion dolLaurs. No, but something that represents that and is part of your goal to getting there, and I think that that is amazing.
25:54 - Lau (Host) If someone says but Anne, I'm worried. What if I spend $100 on this and I don't like the way it looks or it doesn't come out the way I want? Here's my answer to that. You made an investment in your education, absolutely so. It's not the logo that you created, it's the educational process to know what do you want at the end of the day to represent your company. You don't know until it's actually happening. It can't sit in your head and come to perfection. It's got to be that like, done, done, done every moment in your process. Done. It's not about perfection, it's about done. Now move on. What did I learn?
26:30 - Anne (Host) Right, I'm going to tie that to the logo to even. You know, go further website, start a website. And so many people are like, yeah, but I shouldn't start it yet until I know what my brand is. Okay, yeah, here's a little piece of advice. Your brand evolves right. It's not like your website can't be changed.
26:42 It's not like your logo can't be changed or evolve along with you. As a matter of fact, I just went to the Way Back archive and I saw my very first website where I was Anne Speak. By the way, you guys can look at that, Anne Speak.
26:52 - Intro (Announcement) A&E Speak.
26:54 - Anne (Host) And you'll see that my logo was a microphone, right, with little flourishing things coming out of it, because I love flourishes right. And the thing is is that I've evolved, I mean, and our business has evolved, and so it's okay. Make that investment, the education you're going to get by hiring somebody to create a logo, forcing yourself to think about who am I, what does my logo represent? Or what does my website represent, what are my colors, what is my brand that education is going to be invaluable. Yes, love, what a wonderful conversation Yet again.
27:21 I say this at the end of every podcast. It doesn't seem like.
27:24 - Intro (Announcement) Anne is like a broken record but honestly we have such great conversations.
27:29 - Anne (Host) And you know what I just love, love, love having you as my co-host, and bosses love you too, and we love the bosses. And so, with that in mind, bosses, I want you to take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate and powered, diverse individuals, like we are, but we're giving collectively and intentionally to create the world that we want to see. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceshoocareorg to learn more, and big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week, guys, and go start something new. We'll see you next week. See you next week. Bye.
28:09 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
28:31 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm your host, anne Gangusa, along with my very awesome, amazing lost co-host, Lauw Laupita. Hello, happy Saturday. Uh oh.
28:57 - Lau (Host) Uh oh, Lauw, where'd you go? Lauw, you're frozen. I know you were frozen. So we lost transmission for a second Transmission lost. It might have been lost Alright.
29:06 - Anne (Host) Yes, it might have been lost. Alright, let's try that one more time. I'm going to stop it and pause for a bit.
Get ready to redefine your understanding of the voiceover industry as host Anne Ganguzza and special guest co-host Tom Deere, pull back the curtain on the reality of the business and its inherent struggles. We dive deep into the pivotal SAG-AFTRA strike and how it's much more than just a Hollywood issue. It isn't about the glitz and glamour - it's about the hard truth of what it means to be a part of this industry, as a union or non-union voice actor. We'll tackle the misconception that all actors are high earners and shine a spotlight on the majority who are fighting for fair pay and intellectual property protection, especially with the advent of AI technology. 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Ann Gangusa, here with special guest co-host Mr Tom DHeere. Hello, Tom.
00:31 - Tom (Co-host) Hello Ann, so great to see you.
00:33 - Anne (Host) Yes, wonderful to be chatting with you again and you know, at the time of this recording we just had kind of a major industry event happen the SAG After Strike ended and I thought it would be a good time to talk about external factors that affect our industry and how we can prepare ourselves as bosses to really handle events that happen like that, that are sometimes not even within our control, and what do we do to sustain our businesses.
01:04 - Tom (Co-host) Yes, absolutely Off the top of my head. Keeping up with industry trends is extremely important, which is why, being subscribed to Hollywood Reporter, variety, backstage Magazine publications like that, our friend John Florian's VO Extra, which is sort of an online magazine just being aware of what's going on in the industry, because seeing the highlights on the nightly news can only get you so far, absolutely. Because just a little B-roll and a little this, that and the other thing is see Fran Drescher for five seconds blah and then like going on to the next subject.
01:36 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, and we should know that Fran Drescher what her role.
01:39 - Tom (Co-host) Yes, as president of SAG After.
01:42 - Anne (Host) Yeah, know who the people are, know how it's impacting the industry and even if you are not a member, that was the whole thing. Even if you were not a member of SAG After and you felt that it didn't affect you, in reality it affected our entire industry as they were vying for fair pay and rights for creatives and actors and voice actors in regards to synthetic voices and AI out there Absolutely and streaming.
02:09 - Tom (Co-host) And streaming. Yeah, everything that SAG After does, all of their collectively bargained agreements and the rate structures and the minimums and all of that stuff, all of that has obviously a major impact on all the SAG After members. But it also has a huge effect on the non-union members, because non-union voice actors most tend to use SAG After CBAs collectively bargained agreements, if not a baseline, a guideline as to, in generally, how genres of voiceover charge, both in the structure of it and then the actual dollars and cents of it, and it will trickle down into the non-union world directly and indirectly. So, yeah, absolutely Everything affects everything in our industry.
02:48 - Anne (Host) And it's something to consider again I say this over and over again that it absolutely affects even though, as you mentioned, if you're not even a member, it affects the industry. It affects the perception of creatives and their value and their worth, and one of the reasons why we are in this as a business is to make money. In order to sustain our businesses and to do what we love for a living, we need to make money and we need to be able to pay the bills. We need to be able to have essential things like healthcare and, even if you're not a member of the union the perception of the market who has services or purchases our voice or hires us and pays us money. It's very important that that perception is one of value and one of worth, so that we can have this as a career, and have it as a sustainable career, so that we can survive.
03:44 - Tom (Co-host) It's interesting because most of the time when you watch the news or you're talking to people in other industries and there's a strike of some kind, it's usually we just want more money and then very things here and there. What was interesting about the SAG After Strike is that it was obviously nationally. Everybody was watching what was going on, because everybody who watches movies and television shows and streaming are impacted by this. This fall lineup and then in the spring we're really going to be feeling it because it's going to be rerun city. But what was interesting about this is that, yes, they wanted like a 7% increase and they wanted certain things, but the fact that they were talking about protection of our livelihood.
04:26 Ai has the potential to take away our intellectual property, our IP, for on camera actors for their image, voice actors for their voice and then in other industries, musicians for their music, artists for their art, writers for their writing those five image, voice, music, art and writing. Ai is causing a lot of disruption, some of it in a good way, but most of it in a not good way, because of lack of understanding of it, lack of regulation and oversight on a federal level, and which was a big part of the SAG After Strike is that AI wasn't really taken into consideration in any of the collectively bargained agreements, so all of that needs to get back in there to protect actors from their IP being stolen. I think a lot of people didn't understand that if you're an extra and you get scanned and you get paid one fee and then they use you your likeness forever in a movie you just destroyed your extra career and so on and so on and so forth.
05:26 So what was going on with AI in many ways is an existential threat to voice actors, so that's a big part of what this wasn't just about. Oh, those actors, they just want more money to be, to be movie stars. No, this was. If we don't do something about this, we won't be able to act anymore.
05:40 - Anne (Host) Well, yeah, and it brought awareness, I think, to the general public about our careers and the perception that, oh, they're just celebrities and more money and they're greedy. In reality, what was the percentage of people that make enough money, that are the high earners? There are only like 1% of actors in the union, and so the rest of them, the rest of us, the struggling actors, the starving artists, so to speak this is something that I think really was a good thing, so that we could have artists still pursuing this career feeling like, oh, I can possibly make it, I can possibly sustain this as a career, and so I think that's a good thing. Otherwise, you just end up with maybe just the high paid, high earning actors.
06:27 And what happens to the creative process? What happens to movies, what happens to voice, what happens to music, what happens to the writing, when you just don't have the wide I would say broad spectrum of people vying to do this because they're passionate and they love it and they're good at it, but yet they need to be able to make a living at it. So, I think, bringing public awareness to the craft, public awareness of just how much that creatives are dependent upon, especially I go back to the pandemic. When? What do we do during the pandemic?
07:02 We watch streaming, we watched movies, we listen to music and all of that was so important to help keep our I guess I want to say our- spirit and our sanity and our mental health that really was something that was crucial, I think, and of course, it goes back to support the arts, support the arts and our educational institutions, and really I think that this was just another wonderful example of bringing public awareness to what it is that we do and appreciation to it, yeah, I have a story with that in mind.
07:34 - Tom (Co-host) Just a week or two ago I live here in Midtown Manhattan. I went around the corner to the grocery store and I see some SAG Afterhab members striking and I noticed that the strike captain was an old friend of mine I've been friends with her for 30 years and actors hey, how are you doing? And we were talking and she explained to me that the reason why she's been able to keep her SAG After Health and pension benefits for the past few years is because of extra work. Not because starring or a supporting role or some Netflix thing, it was just being a New York working actor and just doing extra work. And she also does theater and other things. But like I don't think a lot of people realize that, just that relatively innocuous, almost unseen extra work pays her medical bills and goes towards her retirement. Because that's what the strike was about. It wasn't about the big movie stars. They're fine.
08:23 I mean protecting their intellectual property from predatory AI practices is obviously a very big deal, and we're seeing deep fakes and all that stuff all the time and video game actors getting their voices harvested. But yeah, this is a blue collar strike if that makes sense Not unlike the auto worker strike that has been recently. I think it's mostly over now, but yeah, it's not unlike that. It wasn't about the movie stars, yeah.
08:44 - Anne (Host) And during the strike, because it was a it was a fairly lengthy strike I know that there was lots of speculation. You know Hollywood is dead, that kind of stuff or is that going to happen? And in reality, I mean understanding the people that hire us and pay us for our services and understanding like what it is that we deserve as a contributing asset to their products, to large streaming companies. Of course, without movies and actors and actresses, the streaming companies won't have anything to stream. And so I think also it brought to life a little more of an understanding of corporate mentality and how it can be, and it was kind of a wake up call, I think, to a lot of voice actors understanding that there is a beast out there that ultimately, when you are contributing to a product with your voice or with your likeness or with your music or whatever that is, that there is a fair way to be compensated for that and that it should be compensated. And I think that that was a major win for the union and for us as an industry.
09:50 - Tom (Co-host) Absolutely. Sometimes it's hard to understand, to reconcile the fact that we're trying to be expressive artists but at the same time, we have volunteered to be commoditized. You know what I mean. You're commoditized for how you look, you're commoditized for how you sound, and so there's a literal contract and a social contract which is okay, based on how you sound, we will give you this money. We understand that.
10:11 Your training, your experience, your talent, all of those things the aggregate of that is you being able to do this Metro PCS commercial or be in this video game or narrate this audio book. So it's hard to sometimes separate the art from the commerce part of it. I like talking for money, but I'm an artist too and my AI voice is part of the commoditization. Commerce part over here. And then I go over here and I'm narrating this audio book or I'm being Inspector Gadget or I'm doing that sort of thing. It's complicated. It's very, very complicated. I think that the SAG After Strike brought to the surface exactly how complicated our industry is, and it's not just a matter of pretty face movie money or pretty voice radio spot money.
10:56 There's just a lot more to it, and our IP is what we are.
11:01 - Anne (Host) Exactly, that is who we are.
11:02 - Tom (Co-host) I mean, that is who we are and what we are.
11:04 - Anne (Host) Yeah, our product is our voice and who we are, and that really is different from a product. Here's my physical product and so protecting our personal product, I think, becomes paramount. In doing that Now, when the strike was happening, there was, I would say, a definite impact to the market, to the voice over market in certain genres, specifically broadcast, and I think there was a lot of people who originally purchased likeness, voice music that were really like, ooh, we're going to step back to see what happens, to see how this plays out. So, tom, what are your recommendations for, let's say, anybody in the creative industry when these things happen? Because I'm not going to say that every strike is different, but there are things that happen in industries that we really don't have a lot of control over, for example, the synthetic voice. Right, we don't have control over technology that's coming.
12:00 So, what do you suggest to voice actors and creatives when something impacts the industry, like this how to survive and how to maintain? What sort of tips or tricks do you have to encourage their business to continue growing? Or smart strategies to maybe pick alternate paths?
12:19 - Tom (Co-host) Well, in addition to my suggestion that I said earlier about reading the trades and understanding what's going on and I was witnessing this directly throughout the strike on social media there was a lot of hysteria, there was a lot of fear, there was a lot of judgment on various sizes, and you could see who didn't really understand what was going on, both union and non-union voice actors.
12:41 Why it was happening and then they were just putting everybody in a bucket and labeling that bucket, so it definitely had a cultural and psychics not the right word but a psychological impact. So one of my biggest tips is yes, the AI and other things and what the AMPTP were doing and their offers was posing, in various ways, existential threats to our industry. However, you need to keep your eyes open, you need to remain objective, you need to collect facts and you need to make thoughtful, informed decisions about what to do to move your business forward.
13:20 - Anne (Host) Yes, amen, amen. That was just wonderful advice. Yes, absolutely Education. Education is so, so important. I say it Gosh. I feel like I say it almost every podcast Like what do we do? How do we handle things? Educate yourself, educate yourself.
13:35 - Tom (Co-host) And be objective whilst educating yourself. Don't prejudge the information that you're getting. Don't bias yourself while you're doing your research by listening to the loudest jerk in the Facebook group you know, or listening to your own FOMO imposter syndrome whatever's going on in your head that could get in your way.
13:54 - Anne (Host) It's always sensible to have a plan B. We've spoken about this briefly before, but, like having multiple income paths, and passive income paths too. I think I'm a big fan of passive income.
14:06 I love having passive income and something that can help sustain you while maybe things are slow in your business and the market is reacting Again. We are slaves to the market in reality. If people don't value our product, they are not going to purchase our products. So therefore, we need to keep our eyes on the market and find out how we can provide a valuable product.
14:28 - Tom (Co-host) Yeah, developing voiceover adjacent skills, I think, is a really good way to do it. A lot of people develop their audio engineering skills because to be an effective voice actor, especially in the 21st century, you need to be competent when it comes to recording, editing and delivering audio files. Then there's other things that people do virtual assistants, proofreaders, translators if you're a bilingual voice talent virtual assistants, social media managers.
14:56 So I mean what I just named five or six or seven things. So like, if you're early in your voiceover journey and you want to do this for the long run but you still need to sustain yourself and you maybe don't want to or can't, for whatever reason, have that full-time job, developing skills that will ultimately help you and complement and enhance your voiceover career and make money at at the same time can be a really great way to go.
15:18 - Anne (Host) And I always recommend that. I think we all bring our real world experience to the voiceover career. Like, I mean, I had a previous experience in teaching and in engineering and so those things and working in the healthcare industry, so those things I could bring to my voiceover career. But I could also consult, I could also continue to do those things, and I don't think there's anything shameful in pursuing multiple paths for generating income, especially when this is such an entrepreneurial endeavor. I mean, it is one of the things that most people, if they come from the corporate world, they're just used to I'm going to work and I'm going to get paid. Well, this is a completely different flip the switch kind of thing where, oh gosh, where's my next job coming from? That's where, I think, a lot of people who are not necessarily prepared or have never experienced being an entrepreneur before or being a business owner before this is new to them.
16:14 So you need to really prepare yourself as much as you possibly can for fluctuations in the market.
16:20 - Tom (Co-host) One thing I teach my students is that your last gig isn't necessarily your lowest paying gig and your next gig isn't necessarily your highest paying gig, because people think it's this like vertical, incrementally thing that next big gig will be bigger, bigger, more money, bigger, bigger, more money, and that is not remotely true.
16:39 - Anne (Host) And I will ultimately make six figures. You know that I feel like they have climbed. I've made six figures. Now I'm going to make six figures for the rest of my career. That doesn't always happen. That does not always happen Again. Fluctuations in the market. There's a lot of factors in play. What are you investing in? What money is going out versus what money is coming in?
16:56 - Tom (Co-host) Also, is your voice trending, yeah?
16:58 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely.
16:59 - Tom (Co-host) Oh gosh, yeah, I would like to think you're getting better and better at your craft, but if your voice becomes less and less demand I mean all the guys that sound like this when, 25 years ago, when I decided I wanted to be a voice actor and I was like hi, I want to be a voice actor. You know what I mean and you know all these basic bearded guys with Hawaiian shirts and you know what I mean.
17:19 And now I mean is there still a demand for that kind of voice actor? Yes, exponentially less of a demand for that type of voice actor. But if you didn't develop your abilities as a storyteller? And develop your genre awareness and the ability to do different things than just this one announcer read, then your income will go down.
17:38 - Anne (Host) I talked about this with Law in a previous episode about casting. When it comes down to demographics, right the company's product that they want to reach a particular demographic. So it may not be that you didn't perform or you didn't nail that audition. It just might be that you're in the wrong demographic for the effective sale. I mean, if they're targeting a younger audience and you have a more mature voice, that may not make sense and vice versa. So again, it really it has to do with understanding the market and understanding where your product fits in that market. I cannot stress that enough. I mean that just to me is like you must think of that.
18:17 - Tom (Co-host) And your product will change.
18:18 - Anne (Host) Yes, exactly. And so if you have, let's say, a mature voice right, understand where you can fit in the industry so that you can get in front of people who are going to purchase that sound, that more mature voice, versus, let's say, I have a really young, millennial voice, or I have maybe a voice that is very trending with, let's say, non-binary and other types of genres that people are looking to fill in those voids. So, and don't be put off or set back or feel like, oh my goodness, I don't know if I'm going to be successful in this industry. You just have to find your niche.
18:55 - Tom (Co-host) Yes, let the industry tell you. Listen to the industry. People come in oh, I want to do this, I want to sound like that. Sometimes that works, but usually it's watch your auditions. If you're on pay to plays, who's liking your auditions? Why are they liking your auditions? What are the keywords in those casting notices that you keep seeing over and over again? I did that exercise not too long ago and, for example, I found that my number one online casting site buzzword for me was upbeat.
19:21 I'm like oh because I kept getting booking and getting liking those it's like, oh okay, well then that's something I can put over here. But then I've also found out recently Ryan Reynolds is a keyword.
19:30 - Anne (Host) Oh yeah, I totally can hear that.
19:32 - Tom (Co-host) Yeah, that I've been getting. I literally just booked a commercial just last week because they wanted a Ryan Reynolds sound?
19:39 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, yeah, it's always good to know who your doppelganger is and who your sound of like is, and putting that as part of your marketing campaign can really help. Absolutely, seo keyword. Any other tips on what you can do when, let's say, the market is not necessarily looking for your particular product outside? Of education what else?
20:00 - Tom (Co-host) I was gonna say the easy one is get coaching. Talk to you, fabulous voiceover coach, but also talk to casting directors, talk to a Mary Lynn Wissner or someone else and say, okay, my sound seems to be out. Can you help me find a voice within my range and demographics that I can do and invest in some education, some training to kind of adapt, because your money voice isn't always gonna be your money voice? I know mine's definitely changed over the past few years. My Tom Plus has now gotten into more of this Ryan Reynolds, more sassy conversational kind of thing, and once I stopped fighting against that I started booking a lot more. Especially, I've been booking more commercial work.
20:42 Yes because I'm bringing a lot more just plain old Tom to it.
20:45 - Anne (Host) Well, isn't that funny Because?
20:47 as we progress and as my career advanced as well, becoming more of myself and understanding who I am and understanding my product and how I can bring more of who I am to the read always has gotten me more work. I mean it just progressively has gotten more work. So and again I say this on a lot of podcasts but it is so important more than ever now to be that actor, to bring your own unique point of view to the read, because that's what's gonna get you noticed and that's what's gonna get you hired.
21:16 - Tom (Co-host) As a demo producer, how many times have you worked with a student and you're talking before the demo record and they're just da-da-da, da-da-da-da, and you're like, okay, take one, and they go blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah like how many times does that happen?
21:28 - Anne (Host) Oh, yeah, a lot of times, a lot of times, and it doesn't take much to put you out of the moment, in the acting moment, and go into a read. It really doesn't, and sometimes it just takes a note or a loss of focus for like one second and it brings you right out of the read. So if you are not consistently in that scene, acting, reacting, doing that, you can just lose the read, which is why in long format, like narration stuff that I specialize in, a lot of corporate and e-learning to just lose your focus for even just a second can take you right out of that, and that's noticeable to the ear, it's noticeable to casting directors, but it's also noticeable to the people that are listening and the intended audience, which is something that you just don't want. So if the market is slow or you're wondering, what can I do?
22:14 Yeah, education and coaching. I think, and again, I say that as an educator, I say that as a coach, but not just because I'm a coach. I mean, really, what else is there when you want to refine and upgrade and everybody's always trying to improve their products, right? Any company is trying to create a better product and that is not just a one step one and done process. I mean, that is something that if you're a company that wants to remain competitive and have competitive products, then you will continually evolve and improve that product.
22:44 - Tom (Co-host) Yes, marketing is also the thing to do when things are slow, always, always, always. The more you can demonstrate your humanity when it's slow, just to let people know that you're still here, you're still working in the voiceover realms and, even though you may not have a big gig to talk about, always be demonstrating your value and your progress.
23:05 - Anne (Host) I attended this conference.
23:07 - Tom (Co-host) I just got out of a session with this coach. I had such a wonderful time. I learned so much. Those are the things that are part of your longterm investment in your social media strategy, your online presence, your search engine optimization, and for people to know that, no matter what's going on, you are consistently there, you are consistently positive, you are consistently learning and you are consistently growing, and that helps keep you top of mind.
23:29 - Anne (Host) Absolutely top of mind is important. Well, what a great discussion, Tom. I feel like we could talk about this all day.
23:35 - Tom (Co-host) We could.
23:35 - Anne (Host) But I want to keep this top of mind because I think it's important. Bosses, here is your chance to use your voice, not only to get hired, but to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. You can visit 100voiceshoocareorg to commit and big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. I love IPDTL. Ipdtl gives me connections with wonderful bosses like Tom Deere here and many, many other clients. You can find out more at ipdtocom. Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
24:10 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Ready to confront the cold, hard truth about the financial investments necessary to forge a successful career in the voiceover industry? Tune into today's episode, where we pull back the curtain on the often glossed-over monetary aspects and break down the costs associated with making your voiceover dreams a reality. We tackle the burning question of how much it truly costs to get started in this competitive field, and underscore the commitment required to make it a sustainable career. Get ready for an honest exploration of the give and take required to make it in voiceover, including the virtue of frugality, the benefits of community involvement, and the necessity of budgeting for risks and technological advancements. Let's get real about the dolLaurs and sense of voiceover. 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower
00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Gangusa.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower series. I'm here with my amazing boss co-host, la La Peters. Hey La, hey Annie, welcome back, I'm excited. Yay, oh La, let's talk this week about money, money, money, money, money money. How much does voiceover cost? Oh, you mean, I get that question. How much is it going to cost me? How much do I have to invest? How much does it cost? I think we should have a discussion on the financial side of things, because that's something that most people don't want to think about it. They don't want to talk about it A lot of times. They don't want to spend it or invest it. Yes, yes, yes.
01:09 - Lau (Co-host) I like to liken it to any other profession out there, and preferably the most expensive professions to get into. For instance, if I want to be a financial advisor and I'm going to go through college and then graduate school, and then I'm going to invest my money, my tuition, in my education, and then I'm going to invest my money to purchase my tools, then I'm going to invest money to get my either brick and mortar or online presence. Guess what? I've spent a lot of money for that type of profession, and not just a few hundred bucks.
01:44 - Anne (Host) No.
01:45 - Lau (Co-host) Not just a few thousand either.
01:47 - Intro (Announcement) Exactly, exactly.
01:49 - Lau (Co-host) I always set it up that way and just to give perspective to people that this is really a profession, it's a viable career. But also the truth is and I can say this because I live this myself it's a drop in the bucket compared to becoming a doctor or becoming a banker or becoming even SCPA a drop in the bucket.
02:12 So just to kind of keep that in mind up front. It's not an overnight success career. It's not a I don't have to spend any money but I can make a ton of money out of it. It's not that kind of career at all, and it's good we kind of put it out there, annie, and be honest about it, right?
02:30 - Anne (Host) Okay, so what are the popular topics to talk about in voiceover? Well, how can I be a character actor? How can I get my demo and start making money? But, in reality, all the other aspects of being a voice actor and having a business are going to require financial investment one way or the other, and we really shouldn't expect that it's going to be cheap. I don't have a lot of money, but I want to be a voice actor, so can you help me? Well, I think that we really just need to sit back and have a dose of reality where, as you mentioned before, voice acting is a career, and for many other careers, we invest our money. We've invested our money in education, we invest our money in inventory, in storefronts, in product, whatever that is. We invest our money, and the same is true for voiceover. And so if you are coming into voiceover without any money to spend, I think you need to rethink that decision.
03:31 - Lau (Co-host) Yeah, I would say that money should go along, in your mind, with the other types of investment that you're going to be giving to this Family time. What is the time investment? What are the sacrifices that you will be making in order to launch your career and keep it viable and keep it sustainable? I mean, what are you investing into this? How about just energy? How about talking about energy investment? It all goes along with your money. So don't think, oh, if I throw 50,000 at this, I'm going to be rich and famous. No, it's not just about money. It's about my level of commitment and what commitment actually means. Money symbolizes my commitment and it also is a monetary dispensation for someone to give me a service.
04:20 - Anne (Host) I love that you said, oh, if I throw $50,000 into this, because I'll tell you what not one person that has approached me in the last year or so, ever probably that it could cost up to that. But I'll tell you what, over the years, law I mean in reality. I mean there are thousands of dollars that are invested in my career, in my equipment, in my studio, in coaching, just in running the business. I mean absolutely, and I love that you just said that off the top because I think it will hit our bosses like a little bit of reality.
04:49 I mean, if any of you bosses that are out there have been listening to the VEOBOSS podcast, we've been going for seven years and so if you think about what have you really spent in seven years and you looked at your accounting, you looked at your books, I'd like to know what that number is, because 50,000 is actually small compared to what I've invested for equipment and websites and subscriptions and coaching and demos and conferences and all of these things that I have invested my money into.
05:17 That is really nothing. And so I really want you to kind of take a hard look at your numbers and I know a lot of people don't like to do that because it's scary. It brings, I think, a reality to people's lives. That voiceover isn't just this oh, I can do it from home and it's so simple and I don't have to invest anything. And I love how you also mentioned it really is a time commitment as well. It's a commitment to really make this a serious commitment and a serious career, because if you're not serious about it, well then I don't know how much money will you be making. You know?
05:55 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and I know for a fact you and I come from the same background, the same training methodology and work ethic and generation that you come into it. Not every happening or event is a monetary compensation, this idea that, oh, if I spend time doing this or that, I'm gonna get paid for it. It's just not always true. There is a building block time and even when you've built your studio or you've built your company over five years or seven years, you're still wanting to get to the next level. Well, how do you get to the next level? Well, you are doing sacrifice all the time. Look at you and I, like you're doing this incredible podcast for seven years. I've been in it with you for a year and a half. Right, and one could say, well, we're not sitting here having dollars flying at our head on a Saturday afternoon for taking two, three hours of our time unpaid relatively unpaid to do this.
06:52 - Anne (Host) then you have to pay an engineer and an editor, whatever, so what's?
06:57 - Lau (Co-host) the return then? Well, the return becomes the belief system that what we're offering is educational value to our people we love and adore and care about our client base, our audience, new people coming in and that of course, to some degree you're going to close a number of new clients that come in that hear your project, but guess what? You may not.
07:20 - Intro (Announcement) And if you may not, if you may not.
07:22 - Lau (Co-host) That's the risk reward that you take in saying I'm going to take every Saturday to record, I'm going to pay that editor, no matter what, I'm going to hire that engineer, no matter what. It's that sense of jumping off the cliff and saying my career is worth doing, that I may not always see a dollar per dollar of time spent and energy spent, so it's not a tit for tat that way. I think too many people are looking at it in that way, like, well, what am I going to get paid for? Every single moment I work and think about this, I said, well, nothing. You're going to get paid in education, in value, in relationship, whatever. You're not going to always get the dollar bills. Baby, right, just remember that payment is not always about Money. It's about different value of forces in your life that come together that sustain a whole career. We don't want jobs, we want a career. Yeah.
08:20 - Anne (Host) And I think a lot of assumptions come from the fact if this is the first time you are getting into voice, acting and creating a business, it is all about creating a business, which is different than working for people, where you do tasks and then you get paid for that. When you are setting up and creating a business, there are investments that you need to make, and this is a completely different mindset than oh, okay, I did work and I expect money for it. Now you're going to have to put work in. You're going to also invest money. You're going to have to invest money into it. So most people they have a job. They're not investing money in that job, they're just receiving money. But here you have to understand that this is now something that will require an investment of your money and of your time and of your commitment really to make it work, and it's not just a one-time thing. I don't want people to think that as well.
09:11 It's not like oh, I can sink in $10,000 and then I'll have my career. No, that is something that you need to maintain. You need to continually invest and reinvest in that business to have growth, to have any kind of growth, and I think if you sat there with your business and never invested another cent in it, you're probably not going to have a business for very long. Right? I like to think of it as gambling.
09:35 - Lau (Co-host) It is a gamble. It's a gamble we can do the research, we can do our homework, we can make ourselves knowledgeable and we can hone our skills and talent, but it's still a gamble because you're dealing with a lot of variables that are not in your control. So I like to say, all right, if you have a pocket and let's say you're going to stash in, you know you're going to Vegas or something you're going to stash in $1,000 in that pocket on the left-hand side, that $1,000, I'm willing to spend and lose, because I know I'm going to Vegas and I know I'm gambling it and I know that there's a good chance the house will win and I'll lose it. Then in my other pocket I've got like $5,000, I'm not spending that, I'm saving that. I have that as a safety net, I have that as my backup, okay, for my life.
10:22 Let's say that and I'm not going to spend it unless I absolutely am up against a wall and would have to. So, from a gambling perspective, your business is one big gamble. Sure is, you know, sure is, and I'm only using $1,000 as just a number. It could be $100,000, but I'm not using $1,000 as a number. I know I'm spending that, will I get it back into my right pocket? Sure, that's the question, right? That's the gamble, right.
10:49 - Anne (Host) That's the gamble. That's the gamble, that's the gamble.
10:52 And that's where I think the investment in commitment right, commitment to making that business a success right Really comes into play as well, because it's not just a one-shot deal Let me just do this because I can do this from home. No, you're going to make an investment and, of course, we hope that, as bosses, you enjoy that investment or you're enjoying that creation of a business and also enjoying the performance aspect of your voice, acting career. So it's not just performance, it is business, probably more so almost, than performance. However, performance affects your product, right. So it then becomes a business because people are buying your product. Well then, you need to invest in your product. Your product would be your voice, that would be your coaching, that'll be your demos, that'll be your marketing, that'll be your website, anything that's going to get your product out in front of prospective clients. And again, that becomes investment and money that needs to be spent by you.
11:48 I'm not quite sure where it's coming from If it doesn't come. Oh, maybe it could come from other people. If you're lucky enough to have somebody invest in your business, that is wonderful, but it's still going to take some cold, hard cash and a lot of you that are just getting into this need to take a look at your investments and need to start tracking your finances. And again, I've always said that the best thing that I've always ever done for my business was to hire an accountant to help me do that on a day to day basis. So every bit of money that goes out is accounted for and all the money that comes in is accounted for, so I can do a P&L statement and then find out how is my business doing. Do I need to cut back spending on certain things? Do I need to? Maybe I don't need that new mic, even though I might want it.
12:34 You don't need that other color pair of headphones, although that's an investment.
12:38 - Lau (Co-host) I did you one better, annie, I actually married one.
12:44 - Anne (Host) There you go, but you got to have a great accountant.
12:46 - Lau (Co-host) An in-house accountant on your side. You have to have it, it's so important to say have a great attorney, have a great doctor have a great accountant.
12:55 It's really important, I would say. Wouldn't you say it's fair to to say that every year of your business, for however long you own your business, you are going to have fixed costs always and you are going to have variable costs always. And to just kind of understand the difference between the two, so that I hear a lot of talent get very upset about the fact that their fixed costs are not doable for them. And I said, well, I can't even talk about the variable cost to you yet, because you haven't understood and been honest about your mortgage or your rent or your food or your car, whatever that fixed every month cost is for you. That's unavoidable. You must deal with that.
13:40 Then you can deal with the microphones and the demos and all of that stuff and you're going to have a very peaceful state of mind to know the most important things are taken care of. Like you and I have a team, so we hire people all the time, so we have to be able to pay those people right, absolutely. So if we can't pay those people, then we can't talk about the upgrade of the microphone or taking a trip around the world or whatever, because we've got a certain fixed cost that we are responsible for and that's really the ownership of a business is really understanding what your financial, fiscal, health and responsibilities are of your business on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis really are?
14:24 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. It really comes down to knowing those numbers and then understanding are you able to handle those numbers? And if you cannot handle those numbers with the voice of a career, yet there's nothing wrong. We did a whole episode on side hustles. There is nothing wrong with a side hustle, or even a full-time job, until you can get yourself to the point where you are able to support those fixed costs on a voiceover income and that is getting increasingly difficult to do in these times, I'm going to say but not impossible, not impossible. Number one I'm encouraged by the strike being over and encouraged that I feel that there's now life being breathed back into the career and the recognition that we're getting to be compensated fairly for what we do, and so I'm very encouraged by that.
15:13 And I think that for a while there there was some people that were scared in the business that we didn't have the influx of newbies that we typically do for a few months because of it, and I think what's nice about it is that the cream rises to the top right, because it's so important now, more than ever that our product right is something viable and something amazing that people will pay us for, and so you must, for your business, make that investment.
15:40 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, you do. You know, one thing that comes to mind I had conversation with a couple of colleagues of mine recently kind of an argument, a friendly argument, about this and it kind of is all in this mix, annie, of what we're talking about, and that is because there is so much for free now. Everything is so much accessible on the internet for free right now. Sometimes talent can fall into the spiraling rabbit hole, slippery slope of I'm going to spend my whole day going to free webinars, free zooms, free this, free funnels, free that, free this, free that, and not get to my work, not get to actually my business.
16:17 And so I think that when it comes to how you're spending your money, how you're investing your money, again that goes directly with your time. Your time is valuable, time is money, time is money. So be very careful not to over satiate yourself with oh, I'll just sit and be a professional student and get knowledge all day long and do the, but not really get to the hard, dirty part of running the business. Right, I see that is a problem for a lot of people. They spend every day in accountability groups. They spend every day in webinars.
16:51 They spend every day because it's so easy, it's so accessible and it's kind of fun too. You know you're learning and it's fun, but then their day is blown. Their day is blown and they never really get to the actual and they don't get to that marketing.
17:05 - Anne (Host) I'm going to say that's the biggest thing. People like they don't get to the direct marketing.
17:09 They don't get to their marketing, and marketing encompasses so much. Marketing is so darn important. In law it's everything, and I wish that it really is everything. I wish that everybody could really just appreciate that from the get-go. I mean, I would say that probably the majority of people that come into this industry and study for a little bit, get their demo and then don't succeed are because they have not been effective marketers, and that is really Like nobody can hire you if they don't know about you.
17:40 And so that marketing part which nobody likes. It's always the classes that nobody will take at a conference. They're like the last ones that are filled, because they're just not fun, right? I'd much rather take an animation class or one of those classes rather than figure out how can I run my business better. And it really is so, so important that you understand the marketing of your business, because you've got to be able to sell, you do. In order to be able to recoup and get a return on investment right you need to sell.
18:16 - Lau (Co-host) And let's be honest, especially as we get older. I can only speak for myself, but I know my colleagues feel the same way. I love sitting in on classes.
18:25 When I go to a conference and I'm a speaker all that other time I'm not speaking. I'm sitting in on classes and workshops and meeting and learning and growing and da-da-da, but it becomes addictive. You have to be careful. We are not a professional student. We are a professional voiceover, talent or voice over business owner, producer what have you? We can be studious, we can be educated and we can be in professional development, but we're not a professional full-time student.
18:54 - Anne (Host) Exactly. But again, I also don't want you guys out there to think that it's not important to be a student either.
19:00 No, we're always a student or a continual, always learning student just not one that spends their entire day sitting in on free webinars or I would say, investment in your demos, investment in your coaching because, again, something that's going to enhance your product okay is something that is always worthwhile. It's just that when you kind of are like, oh no, I'll just sit in on this and you're not really you're doing it more for the social aspect rather than the enhancement of your product, I would say, be careful of that.
19:32 - Lau (Co-host) And that gossipy water cooler let me be in the in-clicky group is listen, you're too old for that. I don't care if you're 25 or 55, you got to get past that. You want to have friends and colleagues? Of course you do, but it's really got to be. You are a solopreneur. Until you build your team, you're a solopreneur. The buck stops there. You know what I'm saying. You said it earlier. You said about tracking have a tracking system where everything you do, every webinar you take, every group you join, every membership what is the return on that?
20:04 - Anne (Host) at the end of a month or six months, what is?
20:07 - Lau (Co-host) the return. Are you getting return? I don't necessarily just mean a financial return. Are you getting an actual return of relationships that have been built, of connections that have been built, of producers that now know you, or is it just for fun, is it just for social value? Is it for oh, I'm learning some new tips and tricks, which I love, but is it applicable to what I'm doing? Is the question that's.
20:32 - Anne (Host) The fine line again. You and I both run online groups and we know the value and the power of having a group. There's a power in socializing with people with like minds, because we are solopreneurs and we need that. But also it's kind of like if you were in an office and you were socializing in your office the whole day, your boss probably wouldn't be very happy with you.
20:52 - Lau (Co-host) That's a great analogy.
20:55 - Anne (Host) There's no productive work being done, so just keep that in mind. I mean, I think every group has value. Accountability has value, watercooler has value. My VOPEAPs, my VIPs in your group as well the Inner Circle they all have their value, but just not necessarily 24-7, where you're now neglecting the fact that you probably need to market your business and get some jobs that will help you to get a return on your investment.
21:21 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and understand your budget at the beginning of your quarter. Set up your budget, however, is comfortable for you, whether it's quarterly, annually, whatever it is. Set it up and have some advisory on that, based on what your fixed costs are, so that you don't feel like you're scrounging for under-the-seat cushions for the coins by the end of the month. You want to come from a place of abundance and wealth and fullness.
21:46 You don't want to come from a place of I'm scratching out of desperation and I'm on my last dollar. It's very hard to have a healthy, successful business coming from a mindset like that.
21:58 - Anne (Host) Oh gosh, yes, and I will say that my business didn't really fully take off I've said this before until I really started to feel comfortable having that little nest egg, that kind of savings account.
22:09 So when I was able to, I mean, I put away money every single month, right, and so it's just a consistent thing, so that I have a business savings account, and when that business savings account has a certain amount of money in it, I feel confident that I can take risks, that I can invest in coaching, I can spend money on things that will help me to get my business known better, and also I can take some chances and try new technologies.
22:33 I want to emphasize that it's important for bosses to evolve with the times and evolve with the technologies to help run their businesses faster and more efficient, because if you're just doing things still in an Excel spreadsheet or it really depends on what makes you the most efficient. But there's lots of wonderful technologies out there that can help you to run your business and market your business more effectively. And take some time, maybe learn those, maybe not. Let's not sit in the water cooler right now, but let's learn how to utilize new technologies that will help me automate my billing right, or how do I learn QuickBooks, or how do I learn a new CRM, that kind of a thing. So think of those things that will also help you to be more efficient in running your business as well as saving money, so that you're not having to spend maybe hiring somebody to do that. Maybe you can hire and, if you are hiring out, make those people more efficient.
23:28 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and don't be cheap. Be frugal and economical, but don't be cheap. You know, when you have your circle considering you and thinking about you, and thinking about you as a person and also you as a brand, you want them to feel this richness that there's a giving to what you do, there isn't a holding back or a holding on to or being a miser. You have to be very careful of that, because if we always say this, annie, you and I say this the more you give, the more potential you have of getting back in return. Yeah, absolutely. So just give wisely, give wisely, invest wisely. There you go.
24:03 - Anne (Host) Wow, love it. All right, guys. Well, bosses, money. Take a cold hard, look at it and don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of it. Don't be afraid to invest and strategize. I think the more that you can educate yourself, the easier it is to make those investments and the smarter and more efficient your business will be. So, love that, bosses. Take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate. Because we are passionate, right, empowered, diverse individuals giving collectively, as Law was just talking about, and intentionally to create the world that they want to see. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more. Big shout out to IPDTL, our sponsor. We love IPDTL. You can learn more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week. We love you. We'll see you next week. Bye, bye, have a good break.
24:58 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
25:26 - Lau (Co-host) How about this? You really, you really moved, that was interesting. I just need time to process that.
a
series. I'm here with my amazing boss co-host, Lau Laupides. Hey Lau, hey Annie, welcome back, I'm excited. Yay, oh Lau, let's talk this week about money, money, money, money, money money. How much does voiceover cost? Oh, you mean, I get that question. How much is it going to cost me? How much do I have to invest? How much does it cost? I think we should have a discussion on the financial side of things, because that's something that most people don't want to think about it. They don't want to talk about it A lot of times. They don't want to spend it or invest it. Yes, yes, yes.
01:09 - Lau (Co-host) I like to liken it to any other profession out there, and preferably the most expensive professions to get into. For instance, if I want to be a financial advisor and I'm going to go through college and then graduate school, and then I'm going to invest my money, my tuition, in my education, and then I'm going to invest my money to purchase my tools, then I'm going to invest money to get my either brick and mortar or online presence. Guess what? I've spent a lot of money for that type of profession, and not just a few hundred bucks.
01:44 - Anne (Host) No.
01:45 - Lau (Co-host) Not just a few thousand either.
01:47 - Intro (Announcement) Exactly, exactly.
01:49 - Lau (Co-host) I always set it up that way and just to give perspective to people that this is really a profession, it's a viable career. But also the truth is and I can say this because I live this myself it's a drop in the bucket compared to becoming a doctor or becoming a banker or becoming even SCPA a drop in the bucket.
02:12 So just to kind of keep that in mind up front. It's not an overnight success career. It's not a I don't have to spend any money but I can make a ton of money out of it. It's not that kind of career at all, and it's good we kind of put it out there, annie, and be honest about it, right?
02:30 - Anne (Host) Okay, so what are the popuLaur topics to talk about in voiceover? Well, how can I be a character actor? How can I get my demo and start making money? But, in reality, all the other aspects of being a voice actor and having a business are going to require financial investment one way or the other, and we really shouldn't expect that it's going to be cheap. I don't have a lot of money, but I want to be a voice actor, so can you help me? Well, I think that we really just need to sit back and have a dose of reality where, as you mentioned before, voice acting is a career, and for many other careers, we invest our money. We've invested our money in education, we invest our money in inventory, in storefronts, in product, whatever that is. We invest our money, and the same is true for voiceover. And so if you are coming into voiceover without any money to spend, I think you need to rethink that decision.
03:31 - Lau (Co-host) Yeah, I would say that money should go along, in your mind, with the other types of investment that you're going to be giving to this Family time. What is the time investment? What are the sacrifices that you will be making in order to Launch your career and keep it viable and keep it sustainable? I mean, what are you investing into this? How about just energy? How about talking about energy investment? It all goes along with your money. So don't think, oh, if I throw 50,000 at this, I'm going to be rich and famous. No, it's not just about money. It's about my level of commitment and what commitment actually means. Money symbolizes my commitment and it also is a monetary dispensation for someone to give me a service.
04:20 - Anne (Host) I love that you said, oh, if I throw $50,000 into this, because I'll tell you what not one person that has approached me in the Laust year or so, ever probably that it could cost up to that. But I'll tell you what, over the years, Lauw I mean in reality. I mean there are thousands of dolLaurs that are invested in my career, in my equipment, in my studio, in coaching, just in running the business. I mean absolutely, and I love that you just said that off the top because I think it will hit our bosses like a little bit of reality.
04:49 I mean, if any of you bosses that are out there have been listening to the VEOBOSS podcast, we've been going for seven years and so if you think about what have you really spent in seven years and you looked at your accounting, you looked at your books, I'd like to know what that number is, because 50,000 is actually small compared to what I've invested for equipment and websites and subscriptions and coaching and demos and conferences and all of these things that I have invested my money into.
05:17 That is really nothing. And so I really want you to kind of take a hard look at your numbers and I know a lot of people don't like to do that because it's scary. It brings, I think, a reality to people's lives. That voiceover isn't just this oh, I can do it from home and it's so simple and I don't have to invest anything. And I love how you also mentioned it really is a time commitment as well. It's a commitment to really make this a serious commitment and a serious career, because if you're not serious about it, well then I don't know how much money will you be making. You know?
05:55 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and I know for a fact you and I come from the same background, the same training methodology and work ethic and generation that you come into it. Not every happening or event is a monetary compensation, this idea that, oh, if I spend time doing this or that, I'm gonna get paid for it. It's just not always true. There is a building block time and even when you've built your studio or you've built your company over five years or seven years, you're still wanting to get to the next level. Well, how do you get to the next level? Well, you are doing sacrifice all the time. Look at you and I, like you're doing this incredible podcast for seven years. I've been in it with you for a year and a half. Right, and one could say, well, we're not sitting here having dolLaurs flying at our head on a Saturday afternoon for taking two, three hours of our time unpaid reLautively unpaid to do this.
06:52 - Anne (Host) then you have to pay an engineer and an editor, whatever, so what's?
06:57 - Lau (Co-host) the return then? Well, the return becomes the belief system that what we're offering is educational value to our people we love and adore and care about our client base, our audience, new people coming in and that of course, to some degree you're going to close a number of new clients that come in that hear your project, but guess what? You may not.
07:20 - Intro (Announcement) And if you may not, if you may not.
07:22 - Lau (Co-host) That's the risk reward that you take in saying I'm going to take every Saturday to record, I'm going to pay that editor, no matter what, I'm going to hire that engineer, no matter what. It's that sense of jumping off the cliff and saying my career is worth doing, that I may not always see a dolLaur per dolLaur of time spent and energy spent, so it's not a tit for tat that way. I think too many people are looking at it in that way, like, well, what am I going to get paid for? Every single moment I work and think about this, I said, well, nothing. You're going to get paid in education, in value, in reLautionship, whatever. You're not going to always get the dolLaur bills. Baby, right, just remember that payment is not always about Money. It's about different value of forces in your life that come together that sustain a whole career. We don't want jobs, we want a career. Yeah.
08:20 - Anne (Host) And I think a lot of assumptions come from the fact if this is the first time you are getting into voice, acting and creating a business, it is all about creating a business, which is different than working for people, where you do tasks and then you get paid for that. When you are setting up and creating a business, there are investments that you need to make, and this is a completely different mindset than oh, okay, I did work and I expect money for it. Now you're going to have to put work in. You're going to also invest money. You're going to have to invest money into it. So most people they have a job. They're not investing money in that job, they're just receiving money. But here you have to understand that this is now something that will require an investment of your money and of your time and of your commitment really to make it work, and it's not just a one-time thing. I don't want people to think that as well.
09:11 It's not like oh, I can sink in $10,000 and then I'll have my career. No, that is something that you need to maintain. You need to continually invest and reinvest in that business to have growth, to have any kind of growth, and I think if you sat there with your business and never invested another cent in it, you're probably not going to have a business for very long. Right? I like to think of it as gambling.
09:35 - Lau (Co-host) It is a gamble. It's a gamble we can do the research, we can do our homework, we can make ourselves knowledgeable and we can hone our skills and talent, but it's still a gamble because you're dealing with a lot of variables that are not in your control. So I like to say, all right, if you have a pocket and let's say you're going to stash in, you know you're going to Vegas or something you're going to stash in $1,000 in that pocket on the left-hand side, that $1,000, I'm willing to spend and lose, because I know I'm going to Vegas and I know I'm gambling it and I know that there's a good chance the house will win and I'll lose it. Then in my other pocket I've got like $5,000, I'm not spending that, I'm saving that. I have that as a safety net, I have that as my backup, okay, for my life.
10:22 Let's say that and I'm not going to spend it unless I absolutely am up against a wall and would have to. So, from a gambling perspective, your business is one big gamble. Sure is, you know, sure is, and I'm only using $1,000 as just a number. It could be $100,000, but I'm not using $1,000 as a number. I know I'm spending that, will I get it back into my right pocket? Sure, that's the question, right? That's the gamble, right.
10:49 - Anne (Host) That's the gamble. That's the gamble, that's the gamble.
10:52 And that's where I think the investment in commitment right, commitment to making that business a success right Really comes into pLauy as well, because it's not just a one-shot deal Let me just do this because I can do this from home. No, you're going to make an investment and, of course, we hope that, as bosses, you enjoy that investment or you're enjoying that creation of a business and also enjoying the performance aspect of your voice, acting career. So it's not just performance, it is business, probably more so almost, than performance. However, performance affects your product, right. So it then becomes a business because people are buying your product. Well then, you need to invest in your product. Your product would be your voice, that would be your coaching, that'll be your demos, that'll be your marketing, that'll be your website, anything that's going to get your product out in front of prospective clients. And again, that becomes investment and money that needs to be spent by you.
11:48 I'm not quite sure where it's coming from If it doesn't come. Oh, maybe it could come from other people. If you're lucky enough to have somebody invest in your business, that is wonderful, but it's still going to take some cold, hard cash and a lot of you that are just getting into this need to take a look at your investments and need to start tracking your finances. And again, I've always said that the best thing that I've always ever done for my business was to hire an accountant to help me do that on a day to day basis. So every bit of money that goes out is accounted for and all the money that comes in is accounted for, so I can do a P&L statement and then find out how is my business doing. Do I need to cut back spending on certain things? Do I need to? Maybe I don't need that new mic, even though I might want it.
12:34 You don't need that other color pair of headphones, although that's an investment.
12:38 - Lau (Co-host) I did you one better, annie, I actually married one.
12:44 - Anne (Host) There you go, but you got to have a great accountant.
12:46 - Lau (Co-host) An in-house accountant on your side. You have to have it, it's so important to say have a great attorney, have a great doctor have a great accountant.
12:55 It's really important, I would say. Wouldn't you say it's fair to to say that every year of your business, for however long you own your business, you are going to have fixed costs always and you are going to have variable costs always. And to just kind of understand the difference between the two, so that I hear a lot of talent get very upset about the fact that their fixed costs are not doable for them. And I said, well, I can't even talk about the variable cost to you yet, because you haven't understood and been honest about your mortgage or your rent or your food or your car, whatever that fixed every month cost is for you. That's unavoidable. You must deal with that.
13:40 Then you can deal with the microphones and the demos and all of that stuff and you're going to have a very peaceful state of mind to know the most important things are taken care of. Like you and I have a team, so we hire people all the time, so we have to be able to pay those people right, absolutely. So if we can't pay those people, then we can't talk about the upgrade of the microphone or taking a trip around the world or whatever, because we've got a certain fixed cost that we are responsible for and that's really the ownership of a business is really understanding what your financial, fiscal, health and responsibilities are of your business on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis really are?
14:24 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. It really comes down to knowing those numbers and then understanding are you able to handle those numbers? And if you cannot handle those numbers with the voice of a career, yet there's nothing wrong. We did a whole episode on side hustles. There is nothing wrong with a side hustle, or even a full-time job, until you can get yourself to the point where you are able to support those fixed costs on a voiceover income and that is getting increasingly difficult to do in these times, I'm going to say but not impossible, not impossible. Number one I'm encouraged by the strike being over and encouraged that I feel that there's now life being breathed back into the career and the recognition that we're getting to be compensated fairly for what we do, and so I'm very encouraged by that.
15:13 And I think that for a while there there was some people that were scared in the business that we didn't have the influx of newbies that we typically do for a few months because of it, and I think what's nice about it is that the cream rises to the top right, because it's so important now, more than ever that our product right is something viable and something amazing that people will pay us for, and so you must, for your business, make that investment.
15:40 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, you do. You know, one thing that comes to mind I had conversation with a couple of colleagues of mine recently kind of an argument, a friendly argument, about this and it kind of is all in this mix, annie, of what we're talking about, and that is because there is so much for free now. Everything is so much accessible on the internet for free right now. Sometimes talent can fall into the spiraling rabbit hole, slippery slope of I'm going to spend my whole day going to free webinars, free zooms, free this, free funnels, free that, free this, free that, and not get to my work, not get to actually my business.
16:17 And so I think that when it comes to how you're spending your money, how you're investing your money, again that goes directly with your time. Your time is valuable, time is money, time is money. So be very careful not to over satiate yourself with oh, I'll just sit and be a professional student and get knowledge all day long and do the, but not really get to the hard, dirty part of running the business. Right, I see that is a problem for a lot of people. They spend every day in accountability groups. They spend every day in webinars.
16:51 They spend every day because it's so easy, it's so accessible and it's kind of fun too. You know you're learning and it's fun, but then their day is blown. Their day is blown and they never really get to the actual and they don't get to that marketing.
17:05 - Anne (Host) I'm going to say that's the biggest thing. People like they don't get to the direct marketing.
17:09 They don't get to their marketing, and marketing encompasses so much. Marketing is so darn important. In Lauw it's everything, and I wish that it really is everything. I wish that everybody could really just appreciate that from the get-go. I mean, I would say that probably the majority of people that come into this industry and study for a little bit, get their demo and then don't succeed are because they have not been effective marketers, and that is really Like nobody can hire you if they don't know about you.
17:40 And so that marketing part which nobody likes. It's always the cLausses that nobody will take at a conference. They're like the Laust ones that are filled, because they're just not fun, right? I'd much rather take an animation cLauss or one of those cLausses rather than figure out how can I run my business better. And it really is so, so important that you understand the marketing of your business, because you've got to be able to sell, you do. In order to be able to recoup and get a return on investment right you need to sell.
18:16 - Lau (Co-host) And let's be honest, especially as we get older. I can only speak for myself, but I know my colleagues feel the same way. I love sitting in on cLausses.
18:25 When I go to a conference and I'm a speaker all that other time I'm not speaking. I'm sitting in on cLausses and workshops and meeting and learning and growing and da-da-da, but it becomes addictive. You have to be careful. We are not a professional student. We are a professional voiceover, talent or voice over business owner, producer what have you? We can be studious, we can be educated and we can be in professional development, but we're not a professional full-time student.
18:54 - Anne (Host) Exactly. But again, I also don't want you guys out there to think that it's not important to be a student either.
19:00 No, we're always a student or a continual, always learning student just not one that spends their entire day sitting in on free webinars or I would say, investment in your demos, investment in your coaching because, again, something that's going to enhance your product okay is something that is always worthwhile. It's just that when you kind of are like, oh no, I'll just sit in on this and you're not really you're doing it more for the social aspect rather than the enhancement of your product, I would say, be careful of that.
19:32 - Lau (Co-host) And that gossipy water cooler let me be in the in-clicky group is listen, you're too old for that. I don't care if you're 25 or 55, you got to get past that. You want to have friends and colleagues? Of course you do, but it's really got to be. You are a solopreneur. Until you build your team, you're a solopreneur. The buck stops there. You know what I'm saying. You said it earlier. You said about tracking have a tracking system where everything you do, every webinar you take, every group you join, every membership what is the return on that?
20:04 - Anne (Host) at the end of a month or six months, what is?
20:07 - Lau (Co-host) the return. Are you getting return? I don't necessarily just mean a financial return. Are you getting an actual return of reLautionships that have been built, of connections that have been built, of producers that now know you, or is it just for fun, is it just for social value? Is it for oh, I'm learning some new tips and tricks, which I love, but is it applicable to what I'm doing? Is the question that's.
20:32 - Anne (Host) The fine line again. You and I both run online groups and we know the value and the power of having a group. There's a power in socializing with people with like minds, because we are solopreneurs and we need that. But also it's kind of like if you were in an office and you were socializing in your office the whole day, your boss probably wouldn't be very happy with you.
20:52 - Lau (Co-host) That's a great analogy.
20:55 - Anne (Host) There's no productive work being done, so just keep that in mind. I mean, I think every group has value. Accountability has value, watercooler has value. My VOPEAPs, my VIPs in your group as well the Inner Circle they all have their value, but just not necessarily 24-7, where you're now neglecting the fact that you probably need to market your business and get some jobs that will help you to get a return on your investment.
21:21 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and understand your budget at the beginning of your quarter. Set up your budget, however, is comfortable for you, whether it's quarterly, annually, whatever it is. Set it up and have some advisory on that, based on what your fixed costs are, so that you don't feel like you're scrounging for under-the-seat cushions for the coins by the end of the month. You want to come from a pLauce of abundance and wealth and fullness.
21:46 You don't want to come from a pLauce of I'm scratching out of desperation and I'm on my Laust dolLaur. It's very hard to have a healthy, successful business coming from a mindset like that.
21:58 - Anne (Host) Oh gosh, yes, and I will say that my business didn't really fully take off I've said this before until I really started to feel comfortable having that little nest egg, that kind of savings account.
22:09 So when I was able to, I mean, I put away money every single month, right, and so it's just a consistent thing, so that I have a business savings account, and when that business savings account has a certain amount of money in it, I feel confident that I can take risks, that I can invest in coaching, I can spend money on things that will help me to get my business known better, and also I can take some chances and try new technologies.
22:33 I want to emphasize that it's important for bosses to evolve with the times and evolve with the technologies to help run their businesses faster and more efficient, because if you're just doing things still in an Excel spreadsheet or it really depends on what makes you the most efficient. But there's lots of wonderful technologies out there that can help you to run your business and market your business more effectively. And take some time, maybe learn those, maybe not. Let's not sit in the water cooler right now, but let's learn how to utilize new technologies that will help me automate my billing right, or how do I learn QuickBooks, or how do I learn a new CRM, that kind of a thing. So think of those things that will also help you to be more efficient in running your business as well as saving money, so that you're not having to spend maybe hiring somebody to do that. Maybe you can hire and, if you are hiring out, make those people more efficient.
23:28 - Lau (Co-host) Yes, and don't be cheap. Be frugal and economical, but don't be cheap. You know, when you have your circle considering you and thinking about you, and thinking about you as a person and also you as a brand, you want them to feel this richness that there's a giving to what you do, there isn't a holding back or a holding on to or being a miser. You have to be very careful of that, because if we always say this, annie, you and I say this the more you give, the more potential you have of getting back in return. Yeah, absolutely. So just give wisely, give wisely, invest wisely. There you go.
24:03 - Anne (Host) Wow, love it. All right, guys. Well, bosses, money. Take a cold hard, look at it and don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of it. Don't be afraid to invest and strategize. I think the more that you can educate yourself, the easier it is to make those investments and the smarter and more efficient your business will be. So, love that, bosses. Take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate. Because we are passionate, right, empowered, diverse individuals giving collectively, as Lauw was just talking about, and intentionally to create the world that they want to see. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more. Big shout out to IPDTL, our sponsor. We love IPDTL. You can learn more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week. We love you. We'll see you next week. Bye, bye, have a good break.
24:58 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
25:26 - Lau (Co-host) How about this? You really, you really moved, that was interesting. I just need time to process that.
Get set for an enlightening journey into the world of voice acting as we promise to help you crush confusion and self-doubt. Prepare to discover the significance of being in the present, letting your improvisation skills shine, and understanding how overthinking can interfere with your ability to take instructions and deliver exceptional performances for your clients. We also delve into the realm of imposter syndrome and how script comprehension can drastically boost your confidence. Listen closely as we walk you through techniques on warming up, shattering negative thought patterns, and building the courage to ask those essential questions that could transform your voice-acting career. 00:01 - Intro (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss Podcast and the business superpower series. I am here with my wonderful, awesome bossy co-host, law Lapidus. Hey Lau, how are you?
00:33 - Lau (Host) Hey Annie, how are you?
00:35 - Anne (Host) I'm great, it's so good to be back chatting with you. I mean, I feel like it's been forever. It's been forever.
00:41 - Lau (Host) I know, before we start, I have to give you just a quick direction. I hope you don't mind. We're on Riverside right now Okay. I just need you to hit button one so I can hear you a little clearly which button.
00:53 - Anne (Host) I'm sorry, which button?
00:54 - Lau (Host) There's a button there and it says one. Could you just hit it One?
00:58 - Anne (Host) But wait, there's multiple buttons, there's like three buttons.
01:03 - Lau (Host) Okay, your sound confused, I know, but I'm asking for one. Okay, but why not?
01:07 - Anne (Host) So if you could find the one and hit it, that would be great. Okay, but two, isn't two supposed to be the one that starts it, are you sure?
01:13 - Lau (Host) you don't want two. What If you do two? You're going to find that it's not the right button.
01:18 - Anne (Host) So if you could hit one, that would be great, okay, so should I press it now? Anne, you sound really confused, I am.
01:27 - Lau (Host) Law. I know it sounds like you need to be a member of our new Confucius Club.
01:33 - Anne (Host) The Confucius Club. I love it. Oh Law, you know, I'll tell you what we should talk about the Confucius Club. And when, let's say, your clients or students kind of challenge your direction and ask you and are very confused and are not necessarily listening, I would say to direction from.
01:56 - Lau (Host) It's frustrating. It is, I'll tell you, it's very frustrating for the onlooker, the listener, the audience, the director, whoever you're working with is very frustrating process and I want to talk to you today about maybe some of the reasons behind why that is happening and how to troubleshoot that, and why some people seem confused all the time about everything.
02:17 - Anne (Host) Yes, let's talk about that. Let's talk about that. First of all, I want to talk about the confusion, and I'll also talk. Part of the confusion is when you've got somebody that you're directing and they'll say but that's not the way I hear it in the commercials, or I don't hear it that way online, and so therefore it turns into almost like a challenge to the director. And I think number one we are artists, we are actors and we are paid to do a job that essentially is for our client right, and the client is giving us direction, so why would we not follow direction?
02:55 - Lau (Host) Well, it brings us back to the old skill that we talk about incessantly, and that is the skill of improv, which is really the skill of living life moment to moment and being able to accept suggestion of stimuli around you that we don't always understand. Like we go into the natural world, we go into the technical world, we go into the human world. Do we always know what's happening around us?
03:21 - Anne (Host) No, of course not.
03:22 - Lau (Host) Right, but there's that element of moment to moment problem solving it, figuring it out, trying things, taking risks. So I think one of these areas that we're really hitting head on is, if you find you're that person that is confused constantly and just doesn't get it, are you stuck in your head? Analysis is paralysis zone.
03:46 - Anne (Host) That's a great point. Are you stuck in your head? Are you stuck with the sound that you hear in your head that you think it should sound like really, and not able to get that out of your ears so that you can be in the story and immersed in the story? And I will say that for a director or for a coach it's almost like but why? It's like those questions, but why? But I don't hear it that way and I think there's a whole scientific reason as to why we hear things differently.
04:17 When we're voicing something, then, let's say, the person that's directing us. Right, because we have to develop an ear. And what does that mean? To develop an ear for knowing when you're sounding the same or sounding like, you know, a commercial, or sounding not when you're immersed in a story. I think if you have the time to evaluate whether you sound a particular way, then you've spent way too much time thinking about your sound and not enough time thinking about the story that you're in or the character you're playing, or how you're going to be immersed in that, to story, tell or educate the listener.
04:50 - Lau (Host) Right and just basic biz 101 that we've covered a million times is who is this all about? Anyway, it's about your client, it's about your audience, it's about your target demographic, it's about the person you're speaking to. Thank you, the scenario that you're in is really about helping solve a problem, fill a need from an actor's point of view, but also from a business owner's point of view. If I'm stuck in my head and I'm in that confusion state, I'm literally not problem-solving for that client because I'm not actively listening, I'm not picking up cues and I'm not asking really important questions that need to be asked in order to serve them. It's really about who am I serving. Am I serving me? Am I serving my intellect, my ego, so I can understand what's going on, or am I serving you by clarifying it and giving you exactly what you?
05:45 - Anne (Host) want. And I think there comes a time too, when actors are in the moment they're being directed, live directed where they become so in their head determined to give a sound right that they can't get out of their head. How is it? Because I know my students have been like well, how do you get out of your head? How do you step outside of your head and get into the story? And I'm going to say, I'm going to ask you that question, but I'm going to preempt it with saying, from my point of view, you've got to do your research before. If you can research that script, analyze that copy, figure out who you are, who you're talking to, I think that's a good start. What sort of tips do you have? Law, when you're in the middle of a live session, how do you get out of the way? How do you get out of your head?
06:28 - Lau (Host) Yeah, it's so funny. It's reminding me about actor technique and having either an inside, locked in, psychological approach to the work or having more externalized, outside, communicative and oftentimes physicalized approach to the work. I find that both can work hand in hand. I don't think one is right or wrong, but I do think American actors it is a North American thing that we have been trained in the methodology of method for generations now to lock inside from here up and so all the stress, all the tension, all the worry, all the Confucius concern is here and really just not trusting the rest of your sphere that your brain is in your whole body, your heart is in your whole body, everything is flowing and connected. So if I'm locked in here then I'm shutting you out, but I'm also shutting out the lower hemisphere of my being.
07:25 - Anne (Host) Oh, I love that Law. That's wonderful. Your being is all a part of telling that story and being the actor and immersing yourself in that character I love that.
07:35 You're right, getting locked in your head. So are there some techniques that you have to? When you're in the middle of a session and I think you're right you're locked in your head and you get frantic. You're like, okay, this is not working, I'm not able to provide what the director is asking for. And then I think what happens is it just escalates, right, and then it just becomes worse. Until you can get yourself out of that. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Okay, that didn't work. Okay, so now what do I do? And so tips, techniques.
08:03 - Lau (Host) Law. Yes, one tip I have is a very old and dear broadcasting friend of mine, who did very well in the broadcasting field, who's a major newscaster, actually suffered from anxiety and depression for many years, especially after she retired, before she started her company. And one of the tips she talked about that seems so simple and yet to do it is magic is, she would say, when I wake up in the morning and I get out of bed and I'm a busy person, I always have things cooking and lined up I get up and I move and I physically do tasks. I don't stay in my head, I don't think about things, I don't sit in a chair, I get up and, whether it's making my bed or making my breakfast or showering, whatever, I physically move, and then somewhere in there I reach out to someone else. When I reach out to someone else, it breaks the negative energy that I have already recorded in my head, patterned after years and years and years of getting locked in my head, my brain. It breaks that energy and it forces me to think about the other person.
09:10 So one of the tips I have is get up and do tasks and then go connect to another person. It could be your mom or your best friend or your child or whoever it is, or your cat, and find out if they have. Or your cat, your dog? I was going to say that Do they have what they need? Do they have what they want? Are they happy? Did they have a walk? Did they get their bone? Has their water changed? Right, because it breaks that negative cycle of being locked in and getting confused, because then, all of a sudden, a lot of people talk about imposter syndrome and feeling like I don't know if I should be doing this. I'm all confused because you're locked in the negative recording pattern in your brain that is tricking you into thinking this is wrong, this is incorrect, You're not doing it right, you're not doing it right.
09:56 - Anne (Host) You're not good enough and all of that. Yeah, I love that.
09:59 Those are two tips I love that because that gives me a good excuse. I mean, lately I've been really working on it, but I've been working on getting up and as soon as I get up and just have oh, I have to have a couple of sips of coffee, but I try to get out and exercise for just 30 minutes to kind of just blow off the steam and to just get everything going and warmed up. And I think not only does that help me warm up my voice, because I think it's not just about your vocal cords, it's warming up your entire body, I mean every your head, your neck, your body, as you said, your whole being to allow that to flow. And I think, if you are just getting up and running into your studio and locking yourself into your head and then trying to deliver what you think the director wants and this is not easy bosses I mean we understand this that it's not easy to get out of your head sometimes it really really isn't, and it's just something that I think takes practice.
10:52 And again, it's one of those things that I think that sometimes we are just so impatient with ourselves and we think that it should just be easy, and it should, we should just be able to do it, and then, if we can't, we get frustrated and then we just keep that vicious cycle in our head, and so I think you just have to give yourself some grace as well to know that you're not going to be able to accomplish this by tomorrow.
11:14 I mean, if you're just starting out today, it is one of those things that evolves.
11:18 I mean, as humans, we are constantly growing, evolving and being, and I think that this is again one of those things where we have to allow ourselves to evolve, allow ourselves to really become the character, understand the scene and really just try to. If you're in the middle of a session, let's say, after you've gone out and I love the tips that you gave law got your body moving and then connected with somebody else and then came into the studio, and I think almost always well, I shouldn't say that, but a lot of times we do have the script a little bit in advance I think there's a lot you can do in five minutes with a script to really familiarize yourself and try to create a scene. Or even if you're not creating a scene, you're there and you're being live directed. You can certainly ask about the scene right, and that can help you to be in the scene versus to be in the sound. Like be in the scene, don't be in the sound. I love that.
12:16 - Lau (Host) I also would say too, when you're in those moments, give yourself one necessary question to ask If there's one necessary question that you cannot answer on your own. Your coach, your husband, whatever, cannot answer it for you. Give yourself the necessary question and write down the answer. When you hear what that answer is, but don't allow it to go into a slippery slope of questions. Allow it to sink in and, just like you would try any risk taking, move, like you would step off a cliff to go hair-sailing right. Well, you jump off the cliff and you float and you fly. Just understand. There is going to be that nuanced period for you of literally not understanding fully what someone is saying to you, but trying hard to problem solve it on your own. Yeah, yeah, because they're hiring you. They're hiring you to figure it out. They're not hiring you to have them figure it out for you. Yeah, absolutely, they really are, and I also think to.
13:15 - Anne (Host) I've had a few students that have said this. Where I'll be directing them. I'll say but I don't hear it that way. On TV when I watch the commercial, it doesn't sound like that. A lot of times I'll give references to, let's say, youtube videos of like real world, let's say corporate narration or real world commercials. And my student will say to me but I don't hear it that way.
13:37 And I always say to them well, that doesn't necessarily mean that I think it's well done or I think it's telling a story, or it really is how the director at the time wanted the piece to sound or to come out. And so it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to compare sounds and then say, well, because my sound doesn't equal that. Therefore, I don't understand what you're asking me to do. Why do I have to be in a scene I don't understand? Why do I have to ask questions? Why do I have to react? Well, essentially, because that's what's going to be giving your unique point of view, is going to be your interpretation on behalf of the company or the product. And again, as you mentioned before a lot, it's not about you or your sound, it's about how you're serving the listener and the client that you're also performing for.
14:22 - Lau (Host) Right, you're not an automaton, you're not an inanimate object. People want to work with you because they like you or you, they like your voice or they like what you're delivering. So they are running on assumption, a professional assumption that you know what you're doing. So the more you give it away that you are absolutely clueless yes, you're in the Confucius Club, you have no idea what you're doing the more they doubt your product and your value. You have to be careful. There's like a fine line there between investigating really smart questions to get the answers and then applying them and then just asking questions for attention or because you feel insecure, because you're unsure. You have to be really careful of that. They're hiring you for an expertise, of knowledge that they themselves oftentimes don't have. They don't have that craft. They're not an actor, they're not a voice talent, they're not oftentimes right.
15:16 - Anne (Host) You have to know what you're doing, and you certainly don't want those questions to be challenges to them. I mean, you're there to make their lives easier and to hopefully give them the performance that they're looking for, and maybe something that they don't even know that they want, right, exactly.
15:33 I think, if we start to really think that we're not being hired because of our voice and our sound and I keep going back to that, I feel like I'm harping on it but in reality they didn't hire us necessarily for the fact that we can sound a particular way, but mostly interpret the script and bring it to life yes, and that is really what we're being hired to do. So don't go in a session thinking that I want to make it sound a particular way. They're looking for a particular sound. No, you need to be immersed in the acting, to deliver the performance that makes it believable, authentic, and that is what you're being paid to do.
16:11 - Lau (Host) You took the words Annie out of my mouth, because how many times throughout the years that we've been in a session and we heard someone say something like I want you to sound like a rhinoceros, okay. And the talent says or maybe we're the talent, you and I were talent for many years and I'm thinking I have no idea what a rhinoceros sounds like. But instead of saying what does a rhinoceros sound like, I rely on my expertise and my vocabulary to say I don't know what that sounds like, but I know what they look like. I get a sense of them. So I'm gonna go with a really big animal. I'm gonna do my best elephant. See how they feel about that and they go. That's awesome, I love that great rhinoceros.
16:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah right, but you didn't tell them it was an elephant.
16:53 - Lau (Host) No, because right because they don't care about your process. They're not asking you for that. They're asking you for what you're outputting to them and they're gonna decide on that. But if I brought them in to my confusion, process of problem solving the difference between an elephant and rhinoceros, they'd be very irked by that. They'd be very annoyed by that. To say we're hiring you, we're paying you 500 bucks or 1,000 bucks or 2,000 bucks. You can't make it up, you can't figure it out right. So I mean, I'm using a simple example. But that could be a medical textbook, that could be an educational portal question that I've never heard before. That could be any kind of esoteric language that is not in my sphere. That I now have to quickly do my research, of course, do my research. But I'm not gonna learn a whole industry. I'm just gonna get some cues and clues and then I'm gonna create it, because that's what we do we create.
17:50 - Anne (Host) That's what they call us creatives.
17:52 - Lau (Host) We have to be creative in nature, right, In order to make people feel like that's what we're doing. And then one more tip I wanna give, and this is a toughie because it's a very non-PC tip. Sometimes you have to give in the old razzle dazzle. And that is you're an actor Act Exactly, act like you know what you're doing.
18:11 - Anne (Host) You may not know at all, but just try, just try.
18:15 What's the worst? That happens Absolutely. Now we've just spoken about okay, this is during a live session, right? And you're feeling like challenged and maybe panicked and not being able to deliver what they're asking for, and so how are you getting out of your own way? Now let's talk about you're in your studio and you're by yourself and nobody's live directing you and you are self-directing.
18:36 How do you get out of your own way when you're self-directing? Right, I have a lot of experience with that. I do a lot of non-broadcast, I do a lot of stuff that isn't directed and it's self-directed, and a lot of times I'll give my students homework, right, that is not live directed. So how are you, in your studio, all by yourself, getting out of your own way? That, I think, can sometimes be tougher. You're not necessarily under the gun, so much to do it under a certain amount of time, but now you might have all the time in the world and then you'll second guess yourself to death, right? So tips for when you are self-directing how to get out of your head and allow yourself your being to be.
19:14 - Lau (Host) Well, I got two right off the top of my head. The first one is like you, annie, are to me. I have a professional network of very close people that I love, adore, trust and work with. I don't want to drive them crazy and I don't want to call them every day because they don't want to hear from me every day, but when I get in that mode I can pick up the phone or jump on Zoom. I will have one of those people there who go Law. What are you talking about?
19:40 Just get out of your head try this, do this and I'm like thank you, that's all I needed. Thank you, that's all I needed. I also will jump on Google or Bing or DuckDuckGo whatever you're using and have some visual and soundscape inspiration. I like that, again, to get me out of what I think it is. I'm going to go to the library, go to the museum, go to the reservoir so that I can start choosing images visual, vocal that I can pull from. That'll help me get out of the paralysis that I'm in.
20:12 - Anne (Host) Absolutely Visual and audio. I love that Law because visual and audio external references are going to get you out of your head, because you'll be focused on something else other than just sitting there looking at your microphone and your head going oh my god, okay, I got it. Oh, that didn't sound good. And the soundscape, too, is very interesting, because a lot of times people can play music softly in their headphones and really get a different read depending on the type of music that's being played underneath, and so that, I think, is some really good hints. Go to Google research, research, research that product, that company, and you can get a lot of hints and clues from understanding what their brand is like and getting a visual look at their brand, because that might evoke oh, I'm a busy mom, or it's bright and happy, or maybe it's more serious, or whatever that is. It can get you into a different mood and that mood can affect your performance.
21:05 Right, going to be channeling a different character. I'm going to say I don't want to say voice. You're going to be channeling a different character, and as long as that character makes sense, right for the product and for the company, I think that that will give you that rather than let's make it a different sounding take. Let's make it a different take where you're in a different scene, you're in a different emotion, you're not busy and harried and hectic. You are now thoughtful and reflective. That can give you a couple of really different reads.
21:33 And then, ultimately, when you can showcase that to any casting director or talent agent that understands oh, there's an actor, that's what's going to get you hired. And then law I say this all the time you don't need me to teach you how to read pretty or to sound a particular way, because we all have that in our head. It's funny because I always say let me read it to you the way that everybody pretty much hears it in their head. And whenever I do that, my student will be like oh yeah, that's exactly how I recorded it. And I'm like good, I want you to give me something different, right? So how?
22:01 - Intro (Announcement) are you going to give me something different, right? I don't want it to be predictable.
22:05 - Anne (Host) I want you to bring your eating spin on it. And how is that going to happen? Change your scene, channel a different character. I love the whole getting out of your head and that was such a visual thing, law, that you did getting out of your head and allowing the whole being, because that just brings into play your whole body, getting into the character right, and that will have so much to do with a good performance.
22:27 - Lau (Host) Yeah, and what you're doing should be in a three dimensional sphere in your world. Unfortunately, it's all one dimensional if you're in a box and you're on a piece of paper. Hopefully, gone are not the days but when you had like actors, like Johnny Depp, who is trained in method technique, would go into the culture, into the scenario, into the environment, to live in the environment for a little while in order to figure out who the character is. Well, you may or may not have time to do it, but if you do have time to do it, go to the store and look at Play-Doh again. Get Play-Doh.
23:00 Go to the movies and remember what AMC is. Go to the company and see what the company culture is Like. It could only take you 30 minutes or an hour to enrich your whole reservoir to pull from when you're doing this kind of work and say, oh, I know what that is, I know what their attitude is, I know how they dress, I know how they talk to each other. I'm going to start to feel that and embody that so I can connect with you in a slightly more authentic way. Versus how do I sound.
23:29 Do I sound good? Do I sound like? One more thing, annie, I wanted to point out. This drives me crazy. This is one of my pet peeves that I've heard several clients say over and over and over again over the course of a long period of time Say I don't know what you're saying to me. I don't understand your feedback law. I'm not an actor. You're treating me as if I know what you're talking about in regards to acting or being a voiceover talent. I'm not really that and I said well, why are you standing here with a credit card asking me or others to work with you and become that? So this comes from my dear friend, joanne Yarrow. One of the great tips that she gives and exercises she does which I love is, even if you're just starting out, like just starting out, you're listening to this and you're going I haven't done anything. Call yourself what you envision yourself to be yes amen.
24:22 Today, say I am a business owner. Today, I am a voice over talent.
24:25 - Anne (Host) today, I am an actor. I am an actor, I am an entrepreneur and I run a voice over business.
24:31 - Lau (Host) Right, because it's not about making money or how many jobs you've had or who you know, yet it's about embodying the psychology of belief systems and manifesting you have limiting belief values. Yeah, if you're not manifesting an abundant belief system in yourself, then you're not playing in the sandbox yet. You're just not in the sandbox. You've got to get in there and play with the dolls and the trucks and the sand and figure out what it all is. But if you say, oh, I don't get dirty, I don't play in sand, I don't like trucks, I don't know why you're asking me about dolls. And I'll say, well then, why do you want to be a talent? Because talent loves getting dirty. Talent loves playing.
25:14 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that and I'm not even interested in that. I want to bring up a point that, no matter what genre you're studying these days so, so important these days no matter what genre, you need to be a voice actor. I don't care if you're doing e-learning, if you're doing like everybody that thinks well for corporate narration, you don't need to be an actor. I mean, oh my gosh, yes, even more so I think.
25:34 Because, corporate narration. You've got to hold somebody's attention for longer than a minute and so, literally no matter what you're doing, you need to be the actor and you need to study how you can be an actor in all different scenarios, all different pieces of copy. How can you bring those words, whether it's an e-learning module, a corporate manifesto or a medical pharmaceutical? How can you make those words sound authentic and believable and be in a world that can engage your listener? You have to, no matter what. So when you're studying with any coach, that's what you should be focusing on on the acting part of it, not just okay, I just want to get my demo and I want it to sound great so I can get work and that's it. In reality, no matter what genre you're studying, you should be studying to be an actor, and then those acting skills will carry over into every genre. Then you just have to the differences between the genres, understand the market, understand the nuances between the genres, but the acting is still acting, no matter what genre you're in.
26:40 - Lau (Host) And understanding that nothing you do is real, nothing. It's like I remember years ago when I was in the theater and the director would say you guys realize that you're standing in a box and people are paying a ticket to see you on a lifted stage and there's nothing that's real here and just that acknowledgement that, oh yeah, nothing in media is real. Nothing is real. It's the facsimile of life, but it is not actual real life. So what I'm doing is the old truth under imaginary circumstances it really is. I have to bring the authentic reservoir from my heart, my head, my body, my soul, my spirit, my history to a very artificial place. I can't mistake this artificial place as saying oh well, this is real, it's a real thing, I'm, I'm being. No, it's not a real thing. Right, the audience thinks it's real because they're suspending their disbelief. You're setting a really profound convention for them where they can believe it. But you know, it's technical, it's all technical, right, If you don't do that groundwork and you're confused all the time about it.
27:51 Then how can you bring any kind of truth into a technical, artificial, imaginary circumstance? Well said.
27:58 - Anne (Host) Well said, woo Woo, my bossy co -host. I love it, I'll tell you Good stuff.
28:04 - Lau (Host) I think we said it all and after all that, I'm still confused. Are you confused? Which button did you want me? To push, I think, a one. Can you press one? Yeah, you know what Law.
28:14 - Anne (Host) I'm going to push one now. After that, all right, awesome, yeah, just push one. Oh goodness, bosses, as individuals it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group and together, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. Get 100 VoicesWhoCareorg to find out more. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. I love IPDTL and the fact that I get to connect up with bosses like my awesome, amazing friend, law Lapitas, and all my clients. You guys can find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys, bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. See you next week, enjoy, bye.
28:59 - Intro (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VoBoss with your host, ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Pre-distribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
29:48 - Lau (Host) That was interesting.
Anne and Lau share a valuable discussion about the pivotal role websites play in any business, and how they can be a driving force behind attracting potential clients. In this episode, The Bosses discuss how a well-presented, professional, and easy-to-navigate website has a crucial role in enhancing online shopping experiences, increasing sales, and building trust with potential customers. Learn how to ensure your website is professional, easy to navigate, and trustworthy to drive potential customers to your content. Transcript: Anne Ganguzza: Hey, hey, everyone. Welcome to the V.O. Boss podcast and the V.O. Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I have today with me the effervescent, lovely, amazing Lau Lapides.
Lau Lapides: Keep going Annie, keep going. You don't need to stop.
Anne Ganguzza: She
Lau Lapides: Ha ha
Anne Ganguzza: is everything. She is everything, bosses.
Lau Lapides: ha. Aw, thank you.
Anne Ganguzza: And we love her, and we
Lau Lapides: We
Anne Ganguzza: love her.
Lau Lapides: love you too. So awesome to be here, always.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, it's awesome to have you as usual. So
Lau Lapides: Thank you.
Anne Ganguzza: today, or I shouldn't say today, but this week, Law, I had a very exciting thing happen to me. I got an email from a potential client that said they had been researching quietly in the background, looking for a new voice for their brand. And they found me. And they listened to my d- demos. They found me like on a Google search and found my website and listened to my demos. And then apparently narrowed down that search to about, I don't know, a handful of people. And they said that they would like me to audition for this very cool possibility for a major brand. And I was so ecstatic because... I didn't do a thing. Like they found me. They found me on a Google search and they found my website and they were able to listen to my demos and they were able to assess, right, my voice, obviously, and decide yes, she's going on a short list. All because I had a really great website that had things laid out easily, easy to find my demos, easily played. and easy to contact me. And so I thought it was important. I thought it would be an important topic to discuss websites. And I know I talk about it incessantly, but I thought let's dedicate an entire episode to websites and how they are so important to your business bosses.
Lau Lapides: Oh, that's so fabulous. I'm so happy for you.
Anne Ganguzza: Thank
Lau Lapides: Congratulations.
Anne Ganguzza: you. Yay, thank you.
Lau Lapides: Big yay. I love that you got my jazz hands. Whoo.
Anne Ganguzza: Thank
Lau Lapides: It's really
Anne Ganguzza: you.
Lau Lapides: awesome. I do have to qualify one thing you said for
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: the listeners and that you said you did nothing.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, well.
Lau Lapides: You actually have 25 years behind you that
Anne Ganguzza: You're right.
Lau Lapides: led up to that moment that made that prospect. clients life really fast and easy
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: so that they didn't move on to the next person.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: So I just wanted to catch you on
Anne Ganguzza: Thank
Lau Lapides: that because
Anne Ganguzza: you, thank you
Lau Lapides: you're
Anne Ganguzza: for
Lau Lapides: so
Anne Ganguzza: that.
Lau Lapides: used to
Anne Ganguzza: Yes,
Lau Lapides: being fabulous
Anne Ganguzza: I know.
Lau Lapides: that you think you're doing nothing when really you've done all the work leading
Anne Ganguzza: Well,
Lau Lapides: up to that moment.
Anne Ganguzza: and I'll
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: tell you, and I did do the work on my website, my storefront that made that available, right? I'm always saying that you can have the best voice in the world, but it doesn't do you any good if people don't know about you. And one of the easiest
Lau Lapides: That's right.
Anne Ganguzza: and quickest ways that people can find out information about you and your product and contact you is that website. And so many people put that website on the back burner. Or they're like, I don't have the money to invest. Guys, I'm here to tell you, you have to do that. If you are a business in 2023 or for the past 10 years, if you've been a business, you really need to have that storefront. You need to have that website. It is critical. And I always tell people, don't skimp on it. We talk about investing in our business all the time. And it is one area I think you need to invest. And I've invested over the years, thousands of dollars. I don't want to say that it's super, super expensive. It can be. I'm a big believer in presentation. Really matters. Presentation matters. And so yes, can you do your own website? Sure. Are you a website designer by trade? Maybe not. So I tend to. try to make it as presentable and as professional as possible so that it really makes an impression.
Lau Lapides: Yeah, it pops. Yours always pops and it just comes right out at you. So I'm not surprised that you have this huge brand that's looking at you now because you look like a huge brand. You have to you have to
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: project exactly
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: the karma and the boomerang that you want to get back. You have to really be honest about that. And when someone says what you just said, Annie, like, oh, I don't have the money for that. Well, make the money. Go
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: go
Anne Ganguzza: Oh,
Lau Lapides: do
Anne Ganguzza: please.
Lau Lapides: whatever you need. Wash cars. take care of puppies and
Anne Ganguzza: Yes,
Lau Lapides: flip pancakes
Anne Ganguzza: yes,
Lau Lapides: to make the money
Anne Ganguzza: wash
Lau Lapides: so that you
Anne Ganguzza: cars,
Lau Lapides: look
Anne Ganguzza: clean
Lau Lapides: like
Anne Ganguzza: houses,
Lau Lapides: that.
Anne Ganguzza: do whatever you gotta
Lau Lapides: Whatever,
Anne Ganguzza: do, but get
Lau Lapides: we all
Anne Ganguzza: that
Lau Lapides: did
Anne Ganguzza: money,
Lau Lapides: it. Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: right? Yes, exactly, and I love that you said that because again, we all did that, right? I mean,
Lau Lapides: We all did that.
Anne Ganguzza: you'd be amazed at what I do for money, but that's another topic. But,
Lau Lapides: By
Anne Ganguzza: but.
Lau Lapides: the way, websites are cheaper and quicker and
Anne Ganguzza: Hmm
Lau Lapides: easier to create now than ever.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: I remember the days
Anne Ganguzza: and
Lau Lapides: where it would take $10,000,
Anne Ganguzza: yeah
Lau Lapides: $15,000
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: to make a website.
Anne Ganguzza: and well, and I'm gonna mention this I'm gonna qualify this because I have a website that's very functional Okay, I have multiple websites number one I don't think you need to be held to just one website. Although, you know for my voiceover, right? I've got one website, but remember I've got multiple multiple divisions of my business, right? I've got the VO Boss, that's a completely different brand. I've got the VO Peeps, that's a different brand. I've got Nganguza Coaching, that's a different brand. I've got my Studio Cats, that's a different brand. So literally, for each of my brands, I have a separate website. And I, for, depending on what you wanna do with that website, especially because I sell products, I sell physical products, I sell digital products, I sell memberships. And so because of the extensive selling that I do on my website, and I think, hey, every VO needs to be able to sell on their website. You have to make it easy for people to pay you, right? Who wants to step through hoops to make a payment? I mean,
Lau Lapides: No
Anne Ganguzza: just
Lau Lapides: friction.
Anne Ganguzza: click, click and pay. Yeah, and same thing with all aspects of your website, right? People should be able to find what they need and buy as quick as possible. Right?
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: So my websites, and you know you were talking about, they used to cost a whole lot more money. You're right. Any voice actor can get a one page website, and I'm gonna talk a little bit more about that
Lau Lapides: Hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: a little later, but for not a tremendous amount of money. And I think there are templates out there that can make it look very professional. Lots of great people out there as well. For my websites, because of the extensive functionality, I have memberships, I have multiple ways to pay me, I have calendar appointments, scheduling going on, then that's gonna cost you a little bit more on the back end, but again, it is an investment in your business.
Lau Lapides: Mm hmm. Yes. And I want to caution listeners, too, that as much as you want one and need one and eventually will have one, if not more than one, be careful of doing it prematurely. Because I know,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: Annie, you go through this. I go through this as on the coaching end. that will get a lot of newbie starters, like within the first month or
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: two, they're just literally investigating VO, they're just starting training, and already they're thinking about, oh, I need a website, I need
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: marketing, I need this. I'm like, wait a second, you don't even know if you like it.
Anne Ganguzza: Well,
Lau Lapides: You
Anne Ganguzza: wait,
Lau Lapides: don't even know if you wanna
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: do it yet.
Anne Ganguzza: And wait till you get the product to market first, right? Because the whole idea of a website is that you have, well, I should say the whole idea of a voiceover website is that you have a product that you can market. Well, you want to make sure that you have the product first. That means get your coaching. Get your demo, because the demo's going to showcase that product, right? Make sure that you've got those things in place. But I would say it's never too late to start thinking about your website. Start thinking about a brand. But again, that's something that you'll discover as you go. And so I think a lot of times, if you start too early with that website, your branding is not quite finalized. And then that could be costly for you later on, because you could be thinking, oh, I really like this way to brand me. I'm going to use this tagline, or I'm going to use these colors. And then as you evolve in developing your voiceover product, you might say, oh, well, maybe that doesn't fit me as well as this one does. And then you're going to have to rebrand, and that's going to probably cost you more money. So absolutely start planning for it. But there's lots of development work you can do on the back end before it is out there and present on the web, on the interwebs, where people go to your website and they say, but I don't have, there's no demos. How do I hear you? Right?
Lau Lapides: And be careful too, that once you do this, or at least the beginning stages of doing this, of saying, I see this all the time. Well, I have my website is up and out, I got my demos on there, I've got some training, I'm ready to go. I'm ready for the jobs, where's my work?
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: Be careful of that way of thinking, because on average, a business that's a startup business in any industry, takes a good three to five years to get
Anne Ganguzza: Oh
Lau Lapides: off
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: the ground, it just does.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah.
Lau Lapides: So be careful of this, I'm ready to go. Where's my work kind
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: of mentality? Like you have to work at getting work. You have to earn it. You have
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: to reach out. You have to do the hard work labor of directing traffic to the website.
Anne Ganguzza: Yes,
Lau Lapides: The
Anne Ganguzza: yes.
Lau Lapides: website doesn't necessarily do it for you. You
Anne Ganguzza: Exactly,
Lau Lapides: have to direct
Anne Ganguzza: exactly.
Lau Lapides: people to the website, right? And...
Anne Ganguzza: Exactly. Your content, right, that's out there is what helps to generate the SEO where people are searching for a specific, you know, product or a specific voice that hopefully, you know, it's getting increasingly. difficult that you show up on those pages, right? So if you're not getting good SEO with people finding you through the search engines, you can absolutely put content out there that is of interest to your potential clients. And that can mean social media. You can be entertaining on social media. You can put out blog articles on social media or on your website. You can then drive people to that website so that they can then have access to your demos, to a button where they can click and contact you and say, hey, I have this script, how much would it cost? And of course, I always like to make it easy
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: to pay as well. So absolutely driving.
Lau Lapides: I always love to, I'll tell you, speaking as an agent, one of the big things that I'm asked is, how do I deal with driving someone to see my website? I say, easy, give me one link. It should be one link
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: navigation and drive me exactly, point me in exactly what you want me to see.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: right away. So
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: let's say I'm an agent. I am an agent. I don't want to go through all your pages. I don't want to scroll way down. I don't want to find the
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: demos.
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: For me, it's the commercial demo. Send me exactly to where the commercial demo
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: is. And then
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: if I have time and I want to scroll down, and oftentimes I do, I'll scroll, I'll
Anne Ganguzza: Right.
Lau Lapides: see what it looks like. It's kind of cool. But I'm not frustrated trying to find that particular item that I'm looking for. So really point. the people that you're driving in exactly
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: where they need to go so they're not kind of looking around figuring
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: it out, having trouble with navigation.
Anne Ganguzza: yeah. Having trouble with navigation. Yeah, that's a big plus, is to be able to have concise information quickly available to the shopper. Now, I always make this comparison that when I shop online, and I love to shop online, I'm a shopper, okay?
Lau Lapides: You're a shopaholic.
Anne Ganguzza: So the free I kind of am so the first thing I do think about when you shop online, right? What is it that makes you click and buy right
Lau Lapides: Mmm,
Anne Ganguzza: number one?
Lau Lapides: I
Anne Ganguzza: It
Lau Lapides: like
Anne Ganguzza: has
Lau Lapides: that.
Anne Ganguzza: to be right for me. It has to be a professional looking website It has to really speak to me that this is what okay old Navy sells clothing and accessories And so therefore I was used old Navy, but it could be anything Nordstrom rag It could be all of my favorite places,
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: right? They have to absolutely when I get to that first page have to look professional. They can't be, you know, they have to be with the
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: current, they kind of have to be current trends, you know. It can't be like anything screaming, you know, blinking graphics like from the 90s or, you know, when websites were first made. It can't just be one big long, long page. It has to look professional. I have to be able to access the products that I want right away. I need to be able to find out information right away and I need to be able to maybe read, get more information, or look at pictures of it.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And so for a voiceover, I listen to demos, listen to samples, maybe watch videos. And then I need to be able to do, OK, if I have questions, how am I going to get those questions answered? Is there an FAQ? Is there somebody I can contact that I can talk to? Is there a phone number, believe it or not? There are people who still like to talk on the phone, just saying. You know, I like to talk on the phone. When I need to find out information, like I literally. I bought a pair of glasses, there's a big surprise, and I needed to return them so that I could get a new pair of lenses, and I went to the website, they're like, well, we're sorry, we don't make those anymore, right? So you're gonna have to pick out new lenses, or you're gonna have to pick out new glasses, and I'm like, wait a minute, okay, now this is getting complex. So I literally was like, where's the phone number, right? So I got the phone number, I called customer service. So. Things like that, right? So for me, when I buy, what's important for you when you buy, when you go to a website? It looks professional, it's trustworthy, I feel as though I could put my credit card information in there and it wouldn't be stolen or compromised. And so you have to work on creating a business storefront on that website that is trustworthy, professional. and just easy to access and navigate.
Lau Lapides: I love that word easy. Easy is the word we wanna keep in mind because as creatives, we wanna go into a lot of content, a lot of information, a lot of different directions because it's a nature of a lot of what we do, but yet the audience does not want that. The audience wants super quick, 10 second, find what I need, look it over fast,
Anne Ganguzza: Or
Lau Lapides: or,
Anne Ganguzza: after that, if they
Lau Lapides: or.
Anne Ganguzza: want to find out more information, like how experienced are they? How have they been doing this a long time? Now I'm gonna ask you a lot as an agent, and for me also for casting people, a lot of times I will go to their website because it tells me a bunch about their brand. Just like when I research companies, when I'm researching companies so that I can voice their brand more effectively, I look at what is their website saying to me? What is their brand? Who is their audience? Do you, when it comes time to deciding who you might want to put on your roster, let's say, okay, you hear the commercial demo, but don't you also, if you've got, maybe you've got a similar voice, or maybe you're trying to find out if they have versatility in maybe another area, do you not continue to go through their website and or even their social media, right? I think your social media links got to be on there as well to kind of find out more about the person because before I let you speak, we always buy from people we know, like and trust. And that website is going to be the storefront of that in providing that information.
Lau Lapides: Yes, I would say yes, and yes, and be
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: careful. Anything that's leading you to anything else, you've got the tentacles out there. So whatever you put on your website may lead you to other places,
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: whether they're socials or articles or stories, whatever. I would just be careful. Just go through all of that. So play the role of someone who is landing on you and maybe looking at you for a job. Just put yourself
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: in their shoes and say, okay. Joe Smith, great. Let me go and investigate Joe Smith because
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: maybe I want to represent them. What are all the places that I'm led to?
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: And are they good places? Are they
Anne Ganguzza: Sure,
Lau Lapides: not
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: good places? How do they represent you? Like, you have to be really careful about that. The panel that I was on at the conference that we just attended, one of the agents brought up, one of the casting brought up, you know, be careful of what's on your social media.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, gosh
Lau Lapides: Be very
Anne Ganguzza: yes.
Lau Lapides: careful,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: right? You may need a You may need, well, you can control that yourself, but you may need a reputation defender type
Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely,
Lau Lapides: of a service
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: to wipe out all your crap that you've done for 10 years, pay
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: him a thousand bucks or whatever it is, and clean your slate. Just like you and
Anne Ganguzza: Well...
Lau Lapides: I clean our closets and our, right? Clean your online
Anne Ganguzza: Wait,
Lau Lapides: slate, right?
Anne Ganguzza: we are, look, we are celebrities, okay? I'm just saying, right? First of all, I'm manifesting, I'm manifesting. We are celebrities, right? We are
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: celebrities. And how many celebrities do you know have tarnished their brand, right, by something they've said or something that's gotten out on social media, right, that wasn't appropriate, okay? And so when a brand is going to hire you, a company's going to hire you to represent them, That is of concern to them, right? They don't wanna
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: be hiring people that are talking, talking badly or poorly
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: on social media or representing themselves poorly because then it's gonna represent the brand poorly. So it starts with your website, because again, if people don't know how to hire you, if they can't find you
Lau Lapides: Yep.
Anne Ganguzza: and they don't know, it's never going to happen. So that website is... a very, very worthwhile investment. And I'm gonna say, I wouldn't go for the cheapest website developer out there. I just wouldn't. There are some reasonably priced websites that you can, and so I guess the question to me would be, okay, is it good enough?
Lau Lapides: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Anne Ganguzza: Well, okay, so for me, right, I don't know. Look at my websites. I spend the money. And I'm just saying, I'm not saying that my websites are the. well, I'm very proud of my websites. I made sure, it took me a long time to find my website designer, and I make sure that I'm refreshing, and I'm trying to update them, so that it is a professional-looking website, and I constantly get complimented on it. And I'm thinking to myself, well, I think that's wonderful, but you could have it too, right? It really comes down to
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: researching. you know, a good website designer, understanding who you are, what your brand is, what you want to put out there, right, in your storefront. And that requires a lot of work, guys. It's not a, oh, let's do this overnight. Let's get this, and let's just write a quick paragraph bio.
Lau Lapides: No.
Anne Ganguzza: No, this is something that really has to evolve. And like I said, if you can plan and you can start that planning sooner, I would recommend that, right? Because there's a lot of thought that goes into how you present yourself.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And again, I am that type, I will spend the money, I will make the investment to present myself in the very best light possible, right? I wanna be better than every other website out there because I want there to be that little something that people say, you know what, I just, I'm gonna go with her. And again, I cannot tell you how many people who have found me on my website and said, wow, you are so impressed, and they go on about, you are so impressed, and I'm thinking to myself, okay, I'm in. And you know, I've been doing this for a while, thank you. And but in my head, I'm going, okay, but they're going on about it because of the presence, right, that I project. And every one of you can project that presence and manifest that celebrity, right, on your website, because that is going to make such a statement about who you are and what kind of work you're going to be doing for that company. And of course, I am a celebrity, so I manifest it. I'm just saying,
Lau Lapides: I'm all
Anne Ganguzza: right?
Lau Lapides: over that.
Anne Ganguzza: Right,
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: I do think there is something to you get what you pay for.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: I think,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: you know, but be careful in
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: who you pay and who you entrust. Like you really have to look at their work, look at their portfolio, see
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: if they're someone that you want to trust with your brand and are they capable? Are they competent? Are they fast, the designer? Are they someone who's gonna stay with you? Or are they just wham bam, done, here, pay
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: me, I'm gone and you never
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: find them again? I would suggest you go with someone who, to some degree, can help you manage it, even though
Anne Ganguzza: Yes,
Lau Lapides: you're gonna manage
Anne Ganguzza: I
Lau Lapides: your
Anne Ganguzza: agree.
Lau Lapides: own site. You
Anne Ganguzza: I agree.
Lau Lapides: do need an assistant
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: manager, someone who you can connect with, who has that artist mentality and say,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: yeah, I'm gonna be available to you for help with plugins or help with the backend
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: or
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: help with stuff that you're just not. capable or competent to do. I also wanted to make mention to any that in regards to like your different websites Be
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: be aware that if you're doing more than one website or even on your one website Don't confuse us that you're in different careers
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: different vocations So what you're talking about is all under the umbrella of your company.
Anne Ganguzza: A voiceover.
Lau Lapides: It all
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: works hand-in-hand It all is services that make sense to being a voiceover coach and on
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: and on. But don't tell me you're a nurse, don't tell
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: me you're a
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: landscaper, and
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: be careful
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: of talking about your bartending site.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: Because that
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: side hustles that are quiet and
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: underground and for you to have. And I see that a lot with talent actually. Sometimes on the same website, they'll be telling me something that confuses me. Like, I'm like, hmm, are they career? Is this
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: something
Anne Ganguzza: Is this
Lau Lapides: that
Anne Ganguzza: their
Lau Lapides: they're
Anne Ganguzza: full
Lau Lapides: serious
Anne Ganguzza: time?
Lau Lapides: about?
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, exactly. That's
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: a really wonderful point. Yeah. So you want to make it, you want to make it, you know, that this is your... professional, this is your vocation, this is what you do. Even if you're doing it part time, right? You don't necessarily have to mention that you're doing it part time, but what you showcase to the world is that you are a professional and that you can turn things around within a certain amount of time and that there is no question about that, right? So
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: if you're going to put content on your website that makes us question that, then I might go to another talent. Now, if I had to choose, right? from one talent and I like their voices and I'm like, oh, I like, I love this voice and I love this voice. What's the next thing you're gonna do? Law, look at social media, look at websites, see what they've done before, right? Do they
Lau Lapides: Yep.
Anne Ganguzza: have other experience that might be, especially if you don't know, right? When I don't know a product and I've never purchased from a store before, I'm looking at testimonials. I am looking at reviews. And of course, that's something that I think is super helpful to have on your website, right? Testimonials, reviews, you know, of your work, because how do I trust, right? And not just reviews on the website. Oh, I think that's a great place to start, because I think a lot of people can actually, you know, put reviews and make them up. But I certainly don't. I don't, but I'm a testimonial. I don't even know what the word is for it, but I am constantly asking for testimonials. But not just putting it on my website, but putting them in blog articles, putting them out there on social media so that they kind of just become all over the place where it becomes a good word of mouth. And also I want to back that up, right, with performance so that people are actually talking about me. And talking about me, that's probably the best, I think one of the best things. that you can do for your career is get people talking about you in a good way, of course.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And talking about, God, she's so talented, or I love her voice, she just executed for me and I would hire her again and again and again. And that is people talking, right? In groups and forums, you know, good word of mouth, I'm going to say word of mouth. But to get to the word of mouth, people have to know you, right? And so you have to put yourself out there. first and foremost on a website, right? And then social media, and then back that up with good performance, with reliable, solid work. And then, then after a certain amount of time, hopefully people start talking about you, right? And then that becomes one of the best referrals and best ways of getting the gig ever.
Lau Lapides: I love that. I love that. I mean, as an agent, the first thing I'm going to go to
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: on your website are jobs.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: if I see visuals, I'll always go to the visuals first. Actually, before your
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: demo, sometimes I'm a very visual person. So if I see videos, I'm going to run on the assumption those are actual jobs of some kind. I'm going to poke on one or two videos and see if they look like they're professionally produced.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: If they do, then I'm like, oh, this guy, he's selling to you. OK, all right, perfect. Then I
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: kind of listen to the demo, but I already know. He's a top pro, he's already
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: in the
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: market, on the national market, and he's
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: doing stuff. I just think that's the nature of what we do, moving fast,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: working at a business level, and working with top notch
Anne Ganguzza: And visuals.
Lau Lapides: customers and clients, and visuals, yes,
Anne Ganguzza: I love that you said
Lau Lapides: visuals
Anne Ganguzza: visuals because,
Lau Lapides: are really important. Cleanliness,
Anne Ganguzza: yeah, yes.
Lau Lapides: space, structure. A lot of times I'll see the designer put the content in, but it looks messy. It looks...
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: it looks like it's not formatted well, it looks like it's hard to read,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: the font is too small or the colors are wrong. Things like that sort of get in the way of the messaging. So
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: I think one of the more important things is, yes, visuals, but keep it clean, keep it fresh, keep it streamlined, keep it open, keep it easy to read.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: Above the fold is good. It doesn't mean I won't scroll, I'll scroll, but keep the most important stuff. boom
Anne Ganguzza: above
Lau Lapides: when I
Anne Ganguzza: the
Lau Lapides: land
Anne Ganguzza: fold.
Lau Lapides: on it, it's right there. Your Toyota commercial is right there.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: I
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: don't have to look for it, you
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: know?
Anne Ganguzza: And again, I like the, like you said, visual. I think visual is so important these days, because again, most of
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: us have less than a seven second attention span, and that
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: includes people who are looking for people to hire. And so if you can put the most important stuff above the fold, make it visual. If you just have commercial demo and it's a one, gosh, I'm a big fan of breaking up your demos into each spot and then labeling those spots with, let's say, Ford F-150,
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: powerful, motivational, that kind of thing. Hogue Hospital, compassionate, warm. So putting those descriptors on the individual spots as well, because people don't click to listen. Sometimes we're not in a spot where we can listen, although you hope that people that are hiring you are going to be listening. But sometimes visually, right? Or they'll see a video of a Ford commercial that you did. And so that alone, and then they'll click and go to the YouTube of it, right? And then maybe on your YouTube channel, you'll have a playlist of all of the work that you've completed. So that kind of just helps and lends itself to your professional credibility. And visual, visual. And
Lau Lapides: Peace
Anne Ganguzza: again,
Lau Lapides: out.
Anne Ganguzza: visual, not just in visual videos, but also visual words saying, Ford F-150. They know, oh, she does automotive, right? Or a Hogue hospital, oh, she does health care. Or, you know, I don't know, Dominion Energy. You know, oh, there's an energy spot. I'm an energy company, so I'm gonna click and listen to that spot. Or
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: fast food, right? So people can just get to what they need to quicker, and visually it's there, boom, when it shows up. And then also, you've got the media behind it. And absolutely, I'd say, put everything above the fold that's important, and yeah, make it clean. And I'm gonna say that... Oh gosh, you can think that you can do it yourself. I don't know how many people are like, well, I'm just gonna do it myself because I don't have the money. I'm gonna
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: do it, I'm gonna make my own website. There's a template, I can, you know, Wix has got time. First of all, I'm just gonna say, like, okay, so if you are a website designer, then I would say yes, go ahead and do it yourself. However, you know, there are people trained, and this is what we talk about all the time, like I am
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: a trained voice actor, why would you hire someone? that, you know what I mean? I've got
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: the experience. I'm a
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: demo producer. It's what I do eight hours a day. So if you want something, you get what you pay for. If you want something awesome, pay somebody that does it. That's their job. So why do you have to do it yourself? Why?
Lau Lapides: Exactly,
Anne Ganguzza: I mean,
Lau Lapides: exactly.
Anne Ganguzza: yeah, OK, maybe you're proud. I mean, I tried to do mine myself, because I actually did websites a long time back in the day. But I know enough. to be dangerous. And I know that I may know the back end of things, but I am not a graphic designer.
Lau Lapides: Great.
Anne Ganguzza: So if you're not a graphic designer, please don't. Please
Lau Lapides: And I
Anne Ganguzza: don't.
Lau Lapides: would say,
Anne Ganguzza: Do
Lau Lapides: I
Anne Ganguzza: it.
Lau Lapides: know
Anne Ganguzza: I do
Lau Lapides: how to
Anne Ganguzza: it
Lau Lapides: clean my teeth every day. I do it
Anne Ganguzza: every
Lau Lapides: several times a day,
Anne Ganguzza: day.
Lau Lapides: but I'm not a dentist.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: Do
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: you know what I mean? I know how to figure out if my heartbeat and my respiratory system is moving fast, but I'm not a doctor.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: I think understanding
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: the difference between something that's a layman and a practical
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: matter and something that's a professional and a really learned trade are
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: two
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: very
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: different things. I wanted to say too, this is a creative choice. But I see this more and more and I get a lot of questions, should I show my photo? Because gone are the days where, no, you shouldn't show your photo, don't show your photo.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: Now, a lot of times, companies wanna see who you are. They
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: wanna see what you look
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: like. And
Anne Ganguzza: they
Lau Lapides: they might
Anne Ganguzza: do.
Lau Lapides: even want to reach
Anne Ganguzza: They
Lau Lapides: out to
Anne Ganguzza: do.
Lau Lapides: you for on-camera work as well.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: if you're
Anne Ganguzza: And.
Lau Lapides: a voiceover interested in on-camera work, or if you do on-camera work, you really have to have the photos of yourself on
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: that website. You really are the face of your voice.
Anne Ganguzza: Now, even if you're a character, that's my question. Even if you're a character, do you want to, should you show your face?
Lau Lapides: Again, I think it's a creative choice. I don't
Anne Ganguzza: I
Lau Lapides: think
Anne Ganguzza: think
Lau Lapides: it's
Anne Ganguzza: so
Lau Lapides: a
Anne Ganguzza: too.
Lau Lapides: yes or no, do or don't, but I'll tell you, and this is just me, I'm getting sick of avatars.
Anne Ganguzza: Me
Lau Lapides: I'm
Anne Ganguzza: too,
Lau Lapides: getting tired
Anne Ganguzza: me too.
Lau Lapides: of characters
Anne Ganguzza: I'm
Lau Lapides: and
Anne Ganguzza: getting tired of connecting
Lau Lapides: those little
Anne Ganguzza: with
Lau Lapides: animations.
Anne Ganguzza: microphones and
Lau Lapides: I'm tired
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: of
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: it. And it's not that you shouldn't do it. You
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: should do it, especially if you're an animation actor,
Anne Ganguzza: But
Lau Lapides: of course,
Anne Ganguzza: put a picture
Lau Lapides: but
Anne Ganguzza: of yourself with
Lau Lapides: it
Anne Ganguzza: all the
Lau Lapides: doesn't,
Anne Ganguzza: animated characters that you
Lau Lapides: yes.
Anne Ganguzza: do, right?
Lau Lapides: Think about all the top notch A-listers.
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: You see Rob Paulson, you see Debbie Derryberry,
Anne Ganguzza: Yep,
Lau Lapides: you see
Anne Ganguzza: yep,
Lau Lapides: them as
Anne Ganguzza: you see
Lau Lapides: a person
Anne Ganguzza: Christina Milizia,
Lau Lapides: smiling,
Anne Ganguzza: you see Bob Bergen, and you see
Lau Lapides: right?
Anne Ganguzza: them with all
Lau Lapides: Warm,
Anne Ganguzza: the characters they've done.
Lau Lapides: coming out to you, and then
Anne Ganguzza: Yep,
Lau Lapides: you see all the characters they've done.
Anne Ganguzza: yep, absolutely.
Lau Lapides: Because their
Anne Ganguzza: And they're
Lau Lapides: PR,
Anne Ganguzza: gonna do videos.
Lau Lapides: their manager says you need to be seen. This is your name and your
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: brand.
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: So that's all I'll say, it's up to you, but that's
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: all I'll say, you know?
Anne Ganguzza: I am a big believer in that, you know, that
Lau Lapides: Me
Anne Ganguzza: oh, I've
Lau Lapides: too.
Anne Ganguzza: got a face for radio kind of thing.
Lau Lapides: No.
Anne Ganguzza: Gone are those days. People
Lau Lapides: No.
Anne Ganguzza: want to connect with people, guys.
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: They just do.
Lau Lapides: And the more real you are, the better. I don't think
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: they're looking for a supermodel. They're
Anne Ganguzza: No,
Lau Lapides: not looking
Anne Ganguzza: no.
Lau Lapides: for an untouchable. They're looking for someone who looks like them that's doing incredible and miraculous things.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: That's what they're looking
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: at, you know. So I think that that's fantastic. And
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: so, you know, your website is you and it's changeable and it's manageable
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: and you can shift it. It's not written in stone. It's
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: a work.
Anne Ganguzza: as you
Lau Lapides: It's
Anne Ganguzza: evolve,
Lau Lapides: a work in progress.
Anne Ganguzza: as you evolve, your website evolves. So guys, bosses, get that website. And really, it is an important, really start thinking about it. It is an important part of your business, super important part of your business. So, Law, thank you again for an amazing discussion. I could
Lau Lapides: incredible.
Anne Ganguzza: go on and on and on about websites. But we do want to let you guys listen to our next episode. We're going to have you consume all of our episodes. And so I am going to ask you, bosses, if you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart, do you ever wish that you could do more to help them? Well, you certainly can. Visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn how. And big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. We love them, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTL.com. Law, I love you.
Lau Lapides: I love
Anne Ganguzza: That's
Lau Lapides: you
Anne Ganguzza: it.
Lau Lapides: too.
Anne Ganguzza: That's
Lau Lapides: I
Anne Ganguzza: all,
Lau Lapides: love
Anne Ganguzza: bosses.
Lau Lapides: everything about you.
Anne Ganguzza: And bosses, we love you too. So we hope you'll join us next week and you guys have an amazing week We'll talk to you soon.
Lau Lapides: Talk
Anne Ganguzza: Bye
Lau Lapides: to you soon.
How do you turn a lifelong passion for music, radio, and video games into a successful career in voice acting? Join me as I chat with Jim Fronk, a seasoned radio veteran who transitioned into voice acting, entertaining people with his dynamic performances and engaging characters. But that's not all, Jim’s talents extend beyond the microphone. He's also a whizz in website development, skills he's utilized to build successful websites for fellow voice actors. He delves deep into the magic of website creation, including the critical elements of a voiceover website and how you can create a one-page website in record time. Get ready to be inspired, entertained, and better yet, educated by Jim's wealth of knowledge and experience in the voice acting industry. Don't miss out! About Jim
Jim has always been creative and secretively a tech geek. While working at radio stations, he gravitated towards graphic arts and webmaster duties. Through the years he created websites, not only for some of his ventures but for other radio friends and their DJ/entertainment side hustles. When Jim entered the VO world, he was amazed at how much it cost to have a basic cookie-cutter website built for a voice actor. So Jim created his 3-Hour Learn-By-Doing Website Creation Class. For a fraction of the cost, he teaches you how to create, update, and expand your own VO website as your business expands. Check out www.WebsitesForVO.com for more details. 00:01 - Intro (Other) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am very excited to be here with a very special guest, our 20-plus year radio vet turned voice actor, Jim Fronk. Oh, thanks for having me. Oh, jim, jim, jim, let me just tell the listeners a little bit about you, oh by all means.
00:40 I'm glad that you were so excited. Thank you for being here, jim. Let me tell our listeners a little bit about you. You've been behind the microphone in your happy place since you were 10, the tender age of 10. And since then, jim has been acting and singing his way into our hearts, doing improv, stand-up comedy, live, announcing, djing on air, and now he's in his very own 5x8 padded closet capturing our hearts. So, jim, thank you, thank you, thank you for being here with us today.
01:10 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Well, thank you, I'm glad that I'm padded, because the funny thing is I got out of radio because it got so impersonal. I started voice tracking and I was on nine different stations, six different states, at the same time, and I was just in a 10x10 room recording and I'm sick of that, so I ended up in a 5x8 room.
01:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now a 5x8. Yeah, somehow that's smaller, so okay, but it's padded, so that's better.
01:33 - Jim Fronk (Guest) And this is my happy place. I love being here, I love playing behind the microphone. So I started at 10 years old singing. My dad always said that I would either be a politician or a radio disc jockey. Because of my gift of gab and the way that I like to spin the truth now and then, what would you sing?
01:50 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's my question. What genre would you sing? Jazz, you sing in classic rock.
01:54 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Classic rock for the most part.
01:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Classic rock yeah.
01:58 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Actually back in 2000,. I was Ed McMahon's nextbigstarcom winner of the rock category. What did you sing? I sang Better Roses by Bon Jovi.
02:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, my God. Of course, at least she sang Bon Jovi. I was just going to say I'm thinking, bob Seeger, I don't know why. I've done some Bob. Yeah, I've done some Bob Seeger, I like the doors, yeah.
02:16 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I like the doors, my go-to when the bands are playing and they're like hey, come on up and sing. My go-to is Roadhouse Blues.
02:22 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh God, if we are lucky bosses, we might get to hear, I don't know, a bar or two.
02:27 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Maybe if you go to Uncle Roy's this year or maybe actually if you went to Uncle. Roy's next year. I'll talk to them.
02:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Next year. Oh yeah, hey, I personally have never heard you sing and I would absolutely love to hear you sing.
02:39 - Jim Fronk (Guest) You might be able to YouTube something Just saying there might be some poison out there.
02:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Before we talk a little bit more about your journey into voiceover, because you've had such a long history behind the mic, I need to ask you about the 7.36 pounds of shelled blue peanut M&Ms that you requested from me in my little inquiry into hey, you want to be a podcast guest? What do you require? And so you asked me for shelled blue peanut M&Ms, and I could only find the brown ones.
03:08 - Jim Fronk (Guest) And yet they're still not here.
03:10 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Somehow, oh, but they're virtually here.
03:11 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Oh, virtually Okay, great, I don't know. I was just trying to think of something weird to put on there that I need, because I really don't need anything.
03:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I'm actually kind of hungry for some M&Ms. But, Jim, it's already been a wonderful five minutes chatting with you. I can't wait to dive deeper into your journey. So share with our listeners how your journey kind of got to be 20 plus years behind the mic doing radio. How did you get there? As a small child you were singing, right. Were you singing classic rock at the age of 10?
03:43 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Well, I was singing what was considered just normal pop music, I guess, yeah, and then classic rock was just music, but I did that. But when I got into school I really got into mixing things and I was making mixtapes before mixtapes were a thing.
03:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I made mixtapes. I remember them.
04:01 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I was scratching records so things would skip at a certain point and you put a quarter on top, make a knot skip. No-transcript, Mr Jaws, Dr Demento.
04:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh God, yes, I might be dating myself here, but I listen to Dr Demento every Sunday evening. Love Dr.
04:16 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Demento oh my God my favorite show. But they always had Mr Jaws. It was kind of like Mr Jaws, so why are you here? Right now, and then it'd be a song, so I used to try to do those myself.
04:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And Delilah. I listened to Delilah too. Delilah yes, yeah, delilah's on the air forever. But then I got into radio.
04:33 - Jim Fronk (Guest) When I was in high school, I was at a party.
04:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Okay.
04:36 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I was a senior, it was a junior's party. He was trying to be class president and I was just there being me. I mean, I am your extrovert, you know I talk to everybody, I say hi to everybody. It gets me in trouble sometimes, but whatever. But I was just being me and this guy walked up and said hey, listen, I'm the lawyer of this small little cable radio station downtown Woburn, which is my hometown. He goes do you want to try out? Okay, so I went home the next day. I got my Peter Brady tape recorder. We have to hold down the record and you know what I'm talking about.
05:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I know exactly. I used one of those in college when I was recording textbooks on tape. Oh, there you go. I know the realistic. Or it was a Panasonic, I can't remember.
05:13 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I think it was realistic because I did have a radio shack within walking distance and my transistor was in there. Everybody did.
05:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wait, I'm sorry, but we're just going all over the place. So my brothers are very much into Heath Kits, heath Kits, heath Kits. Yeah, building electronics Like we did that from Radio Show. Oh my God, they would just build their own little like transistor radios and stuff.
05:29 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I never got into that but I mean, as I got into radio I did get my engineering junior engineering badge from the engineering people, but whatever. So I went home the next day I had my Peter Brady tape recorder and I had my Precorp eight track player, my stereo system at home, and yes, I'm name dropping here. With Precorp I put in Led Zeppelin and you know I talked out of a Led Zeppelin song and I had to wait because you couldn't rewind eight tracks so you only had one take. Well, you had to wait for the next song. It took me all afternoon to get like three intros and three outros and I ended up getting the gig, which was kind of cool. They made me change my name. They didn't want anybody to know that a high school kid was working at school, but yet they gave me like one of those shiny, flashy 80s type of radio jackets with my name on it and the call letters and I did J at all the high school functions and things. So everybody knew.
06:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Can I ask what name they gave you? I was Jumping.
06:23 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Jim Jacobs.
06:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) All right, Jumping Jim. This just came to me. Jumping Jim.
06:27 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Jacobs, 935-3378, wlhg. Wow, larry Habar Enterprises. I love it. Larry lives two towns away from me right now. We had lunch about a month ago. The owner of the station.
06:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now explain to me. So you just were fascinated. Did you listen to the radio all the time? I loved radio. And then you were just mimicking all the DJs because the DJs got all the chicks. Apparently that's what it was back in the 80s anyways.
06:51 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, have you heard of Dale Dorman? He's a Boston guy from KISS, but Dale Dorman and one other guy I forget his name, but they invented top 40 radio. They were at a bar one night and they watched people put quarters in to hear the same 15, 20 songs all night long Sure.
07:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That makes sense, so they made that format.
07:07 - Jim Fronk (Guest) And Dale Dorman was also on the local TV station as hey, kiddies, that after school type of thing, and I just loved the guy and I just wanted to be him, I wanted to do what he did and I just set focus on it and I ended up doing it. I met Dale Dorman. The program director of the small station I worked for was the assistant PD of KISS 108 Boston and that's where Dale Dorman was, and she brought us in for a program meeting and God, my mind was just blown at that point and I said this is what I need to do. Got out of high school, I went to college for it, went to school for it, interned, did many, many years, and it was like here.
07:43 I am learning from these people that I think are phenomenal but, they're teaching because they can't make ends meet. So I got out of radio for about 10 years 15 years, and I did stand up comedy and I always talked about getting on the air again, because if I'm doing morning radio, I can't hear them not laughing when. I tell jokes, I just play a soundtrack. So I turned 35 and I said, you know, what Everybody laughs then yeah, exactly.
08:08 I turned 35 and said I have to do this, so I just put everything else aside and I did it.
08:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now let me ask you, because you said most of the people couldn't afford working in radio, so they were teachers. Is that always been the case in radio? Is it always been? Maybe not the best paying gig, but the people in radio love radio. I mean, it's just.
08:27 - Jim Fronk (Guest) It's like being in an abusive relationship. It really is.
08:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It slaps you around and I'll tell you. It's like podcasting I'm gonna say because for me, I'm gonna tell you that podcasting is my radio show. In a way it really is.
08:41 - Jim Fronk (Guest) The only difference is I was waking up at 2.30 quarter of 3 every morning to get my butt whipped every day.
08:46 - Intro (Other) But yeah, it's definitely a passion.
08:48 - Jim Fronk (Guest) You hear that word passion with VO. It's the same thing with radio. It was just something that I needed to do. I needed to have that live interaction and as far as the money goes, it's kind of like VO.
08:58 - Intro (Other) It depends what market that you're being planned in.
09:01 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I was doing mornings in Nashua, new Hampshire, which is about 30 miles away from Boston, as the crow flies, about a 40 minute trip. My salary compared to somebody doing the exact same thing on the exact same type of station, they probably were about five or six times more than I was making Just the average guy. Now if you became a star then you're up in the quarter of a million dollars in Boston market but not in Nashua. But I loved it and you got the perks I mean I'd go to concerts, I'd be backstage, at concerts.
09:30 My favorite thing was going on stage and throwing t-shirts out at people and saying, hey, I'm frog from Frank 106 or from 104.9 the Hawk, and people scream and they know me and I just love that. I really love that.
09:43 Just being a part of the community. I was very fortunate that the morning show I did for 106, 3 Frank FM I was part of the community. I would announce football games. My daughter did cheerleading but I would announce the popcorn of football games and I would go and people would know who I was. But I was very active in the community and I'd love that. I love being known.
10:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You were like a local celebrity.
10:03 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, but I was able to take that celebrityism and put it to good work as opposed to evil Like I did back in the 90s. Oh sorry.
10:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And that's another podcast.
10:14 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, I don't think the ever straining owners are up yet for that one, so we really can't talk about it.
10:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, now 20 years in radio, 20 years 20 plus, yeah Now did you say you were doing synonyms, that you were doing radio, and then you went into comedy, or how did that work?
10:28 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I was doing comedy. First I was a wedding DJ, function DJ, when karaoke was all the buzz. I got my own karaoke company. I had like 35 shows.
10:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Look at you being a boss entrepreneur at a young age. I mean bosses, and why you to listen to this? All of the people that come on the show, I mean they're entrepreneurs in so many ways, and that was so creative. I mean, jim, first of all, just being in high school right, and going after your dreams and having the bravery to go try out for the radio station and get the gig right At such a young age. And then you've got to be brave. Did you stand up comedy? That's for sure.
11:03 - Jim Fronk (Guest) You know stand up comedy. Five minutes can seem like 20 minutes. Yes, 20 minutes can seem like five minutes. It all depends on the energy of the crowd. But I tell you that first time I got up on stage, the very first time I was hosting a pretty big deal. It was at Berkeley, 5,000 seats. I was hosting it Not really hosting telling jokes, just kind of introducing people.
11:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But I had a couple of jokes. I'm seeing kind of, yeah, I had a couple of jokes.
11:26 - Jim Fronk (Guest) That first joke I told, and when they laughed, that wave that hit me, that became my drug.
11:33 - Intro (Other) That became what I craved.
11:35 - Jim Fronk (Guest) That became what I had to accomplish on a Monday night up in Vermont for a slice of pizza, or a Tuesday doing an open mic night at the KFC in Volrica Mass. I mean, it's just, you did what you had to do, but it was again a passion for it.
11:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now okay. So, passion aside, I'm sure there were some jokes that probably didn't make it, and so did you experience like imposter syndrome. I mean I can only imagine Like I think stand up comedy's got to be one of the hardest skills. I mean it's like improv too. I feel like we all need it and it just really builds our character, because there's just so many things we have to be quick on our feet about. I'm sure that all of this is leading up to a really fabulous career in voiceover, because all of those skills have led up to who you are as an actor today.
12:21 - Jim Fronk (Guest) And as far as jokes bombing, I'm looking for a reaction. You can oh or boo or yeah. Hey, I got a reaction, and if something just didn't work, I really didn't care you laughed at it.
12:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh well, that didn't work.
12:32 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Pretty much, yeah, I mean sometimes I'd make a joke about it and take a paper out of my pocket and say our fake paper and say okay, scratch that one off the list.
12:40 Yeah, that didn't work, whatever, yeah, okay, that doesn't work in Poughkeepsie, all right, fine. But yes, everything I've done coming up to this has helped me in VO. You know, the radio, yeah, has contributed the live stuff, the comedy, the improv and all that. I got out of radio back in 2018 because it was just impersonal to me. I wasn't doing mornings, I wasn't doing a talk show. I craved that interaction. I didn't like just talking up 15 seconds of a song coming out, absolutely. I mean, I'm great at trivia, music trivia. You know, you give me 10 seconds of any song from 1960 to 1992 and I can probably tell you what it is, but it just wasn't fulfilling. It wasn't satisfying. I did get into flying drones for a bit believe it or not, a friend of mine, that's random, it really is, but it was a passion, I flew a drone.
13:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Radio VO drones.
13:29 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, well, I flew the drones and I loved it. I got a passion for it. I was making some great money doing cell tower inspections and infrared. At one point I had more money invested in drones than I did in Harley-Davidson's.
13:42 Or in your microphone maybe, or in my microphones. I'm even close. I'm completely. You know how many U87s Like. I sold one of my drones in two cameras and I bought my daughter a brand new Jeep. They were up there but it just wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted to be behind the microphone. Okay, and a buddy of mine, AJ Duquette Actually I think you were on the show, a buddy of mine, aj Duquette, a radio guy. He's doing VO, and he told me about J Michael Collins and I was driving home year ago, april. I was driving home from New York City on Clubhouse and I think you were on it, j Michael, and I want to say Liz Atherton.
14:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, we've done yeah, we've done a bunch of yeah. And I asked the question.
14:21 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I just got my demos back and I was like, well, how do I know if I have a good demo? Yeah, and J Michael we talked afterwards and he went over it and gave me the good, the bad and the ugly and that just got me on the path of okay. So I'm going to talk to these people. I'm not going to be afraid to approach anybody. I'm very approachable and I'm going to approach as many people in this business that are where I want to be and it's been great. And that's my advice to everybody Don't be afraid to approach anybody, because if somebody's not approachable to you or if somebody doesn't want you to approach them, you don't want them in your circle. Why would you want them in your circle? You know, I like going to Dallas and seeing Ann Ganguza from down the hall and going Ann, and she's like jam. I mean, that's what it's all about Making connections, having some fun.
15:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's all about the relationships, really Absolutely about the relationships. So let's kind of continue on with the voice acting. So you got into voice acting around. You're saying around 2018?.
15:21 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Oh, no, no, no, I got into drones in 2018. Oh okay, excuse me, I actually celebrated two years in VO from when I started in September this past September. So it's been about two years, a month or two, but I got into it. I got some training. I did about five or six months with the training with a great coach, tim Powers, you've met.
15:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tim, actually I know Tim absolutely.
15:40 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Tim has become a great mentor and even a better friend. But from there I got my demos and, like I said, how do I know they're good? And I just started doing the marketing thing. I've since redone my demos. I'm a different animal now, different everything. I kind of went feet first and I thank my wife so much for that. We talk about not making money in radio.
16:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We all know the struggles that actors have, and we are actors Not making money in voiceover.
16:06 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, I mean just acting alone.
16:08 God bless my wife. She's very successful in the pharmaceutical business. So when the time came, we sat down and talked and she said, when we first met, I was making $5,000 a year less than you and you were in radio. And I'm like I know, but we have flipped the switch. She's gone so far. So she said do what you want to do. Invest what you need to invest. Get the right equipment. You know what you need. You've been in the business. You can build radio stations. Get what you need. So I did. And here I am two years later and I'm getting clients, I'm booking gigs, I'm doing animation, video games, e-learning. It's been great.
16:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What would you say your favorite genre to work in is Because I'm always a big proponent of people bring their experience to behind the mic and I feel like maybe your stand-up comedy, your DJing, your networking I feel like that all works for you in specific genres Well, animation, I love.
17:01 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I love playing in animation. Right now I've got the allergies going on so my voice is kind of right now, but I love being able to just pop into a character and be like my mind is now melted, I'm with 3.0 and I will reveal the world. I mean, just have some fun. Word, of course I will. I am the evil. I am Ludo the evil one. I just love having fun with that. Video games I love the acting.
17:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I love the cinematography and the acting.
17:26 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I trained with Dave.
17:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Fornoy yes he's amazing.
17:29 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yes, and once again people say how'd you train with Dave Fornoy? Yeah, I asked, I asked, I went to his website and I booked some sessions. And there we are. Dave's a great friend now, I mean he's become such a great mentor.
17:43 So I love video games. You know what I really love doing and I hate to say it because I have spent, I'm gonna say, $10,000 in training, maybe over the past couple of years, maybe even more. I hate to look at the numbers, but to beat the DJ out of me Every time that I step back into that DJ voice, my coach would say and now up here's the dealbies, just to snap me back. But I love doing tier three automotive.
18:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, yeah, tier three, automotive, yeah, and tier of DJ, it's radio DJ delivery.
18:07 - Jim Fronk (Guest) It's what I do in my sleep, so I'm really loving doing that. Absolutely. I've been training with Chris Zellman. He's been great.
18:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, tier three, automotive. I do a little bit of that myself, and it's not as easy as we want it to be, because they're really trying to cram a lot of words.
18:22 - Jim Fronk (Guest) But I was also production director of a six station cluster for many years. I was given the commercials away, so you know, so I know, and most of those were that type of delivery, yeah absolutely that sales delivery that hype. You know, no money down and you can. You know it's. Which is so 80s DJ. It's just ingrained in me so I do love that.
18:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And so now we all have to be authentic, and maybe not for tier three auto still. However, talk to me about authenticity and how. Maybe your background having a radio show I feel like having a radio show, you know, maybe not by just announcing commercials or announcing what the next song is, but I think if you're doing like talk radio and you're really getting down in personal with your listeners, I feel like that helps you to be authentic and you can kind of call upon that experience to really help you be authentic in your commercial delivery or even narration delivery or e-learning delivery.
19:16 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Before I was doing morning radio it was just that hype. Morning radio was kind of hype but it was a lot more comedy. We did bits. It was always like Frank's place with Jim and so-and-so or you know the Jim and so-and-so morning show. So it was always my animal to drive my vehicle and just to have that interaction was very conversational. And I did talk radio for the last three or four years of my career with radio and that became very conversational. That's just raw me. So when I was able to unlock that again, because we all know talking conversational and just talking like we're talking now is natural.
19:54 You should be able to do that. It's easy. Yeah, it's easy.
19:57 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But it's not easy when there's a piece of paper.
19:59 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, when it's a piece of paper in front of you and it's somebody else's words. You have to learn how to do that Absolutely. One of the things that helped and hindered me was my ability for live read. I love being the first guy in workshops. I love reading stuff cold. I can't tell you how many times I'd be on the air and somebody would give me a piece of paper and say, read this.
20:18 And I have the ability to read about five or six seconds ahead of what I'm saying, which was good for that, but I was disconnected from my words. I was on autopilot.
20:28 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Any cold read is you're executing from left to right and you don't know what the story is.
20:33 - Jim Fronk (Guest) But even after I read it once or twice, I would still be reading ahead which hindered me to get that connectivity with the listener, with the client, with the audience. So when I learned to put that behind me and I'm gonna say live in the moment but read in the moment, be in the moment, my conversational game went up considerably and I think that I have a very conversational read when it is asked for that.
20:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No sales, no announcers. That's right, no announcers. And that's getting the DJ and getting the radio beaten out of you.
21:05 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, but then I get to go back to tier three and have some fun with it. Yeah, and have your fun. Then, exactly, come on down. The price is really.
21:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And I have roles in telephony that I can be as. Thank you for calling your call's important to us. I can be that fun, smooth, promo-y sound.
21:22 - Jim Fronk (Guest) That's a lot of fun, sometimes absolutely.
21:24 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, for the most part, we're all about the authenticity. Speaking of authenticity, from a few of the things that you've already talked about, you were so into drones, you were into, like, video games I get this feeling, and from talking to you previously, that you are kind of a geek. You are a tech geek, and so that kind of leads you into yet another talent of yours, which is websites, and I wanna make sure that we have time to get into websites for voice actors and talk to us a little bit about your expertise number one and what got you into web development first of all. Then let's talk about what's important in a voice actor website.
22:02 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Well, for the most part with the radio stations. You wear many hats and I was brand manager and web guru and graphic artist. I know enough about Photoshop to get you and I in a lot of trouble, but not enough to really make any money at it. As far as-.
22:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Except nobody uses Photoshop anymore. It's all Canva, Both yes. But yeah, no, I get it Photoshop was definitely a skill, I mean for sure, and when I was deciding.
22:26 - Jim Fronk (Guest) When I was getting out of the drones, I was actually going back and forth between VO and maybe going to school for graphic arts.
22:33 I really enjoy that. But I was thinking to myself you know, it's a three-year program, $36,000. I'll be 58 when I graduate. Do I really want to enter that type of field where I'm so far behind technology wise than the kids are these days? I said, you know, my happy place is behind the microphone. So that's what I did. Gotcha, every business that I've had, I've designed my own websites. I've used Wix my whole life. So when I say I'm a website builder, I'm a Wix master, is what I go by. There's just so much that's come along with website development. It's actually very user-friendly, but people need to be taught how to use it.
23:10 - Intro (Other) So when you say I'm a website developer.
23:12 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I'm more of a website instructor.
23:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) What.
23:15 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I like to do is I have something. It's a three-hour website. Do it yourself, learn by doing creation class, where we'll sit down together, you'll watch me on the screen and you'll mimic what I'm doing. I'll show you where I'm getting things. I'll teach you how to do things. So by the end of the three hours you should have a one-page voiceover specific website ready to go, ready to be hosted, and I'll go in there afterwards, because I'm always like an admin and I'll go in and I'll tighten things up and I'll put a little couple extra spinny effects and different things to make them happy. But I found that so many people didn't have the crucial items for a website, for a VO website and other people are charging 15, 16, $1,700 to build a website.
24:01 We're in a business. We're not making any money, but you have to have your online you know.
24:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) so Sure, absolutely, that's who you're marketing to.
24:07 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Exactly so. I try to help people learn how to do that so that they don't come back to me and say, hey, can you upload my new demos? No, they're gonna know how to upload their own demos. If they have a problem, I'm always here. I will build a website for somebody. It's twice the money, and when I'm done, if you need help, there'll be an hourly stipend to be your web guy.
24:30 I'd rather give you something that's cheaper, that takes me more time, but to teach you something. So that's what I'm doing. You can find that at websitesforvocom. It's very easy. I've designed other sites and gotten really deep, like Dave Fanoy, for instance. Dave has become a great friend, but his website was terrible no downloadable demos granted, he's Dave Fanoy, but still links that went to things that were expired event page that the latest event was 2019, it just wasn't conducive for somebody that's in the business. So I kind of owed him a favor. Dave became a really good friend. He helped me out. We started off by coaching. He helped me out directing my demo. He's helped me out with a lot of coaching. That was unexpected. So instead of sending him a bottle, what's a friend of mine said? Just send him a bottle and say thank you. I decided to a deep dive into his website and I completely revamped it. On Wix all of his scheduling You're a Wix person, I am a Wix person.
25:26 - Intro (Other) I've seen your schedule.
25:28 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I see, don't you love how it's all in the back?
25:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) door there. I love my Wix website your scheduling your payments, your tickets your events everything.
25:35 - Jim Fronk (Guest) So, Dave being a techie guy, a web guy, when I went to book my first gig with Dave it took me about 20 minutes to figure out and it was like email me.
25:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There are some coaches out there that like well, email me for pricing or email me to get set up, and that to me is like why would you do that?
25:51 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Go to Venmo and do this here, and then I'll send you my Calendly link.
25:54 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, exactly.
25:56 - Jim Fronk (Guest) So I went in, I took care of Dave's and I taught him how to do it. He's now putting on his own events and he's doing all the ticketing and all the ticket sales and all the marketing, all the social marketing, all in the back door of Wix. So I taught him that. I try to teach everybody that, because there are things you need of your website.
26:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, what are those things? Let's talk about those critical things.
26:16 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Number one downloadable demos Above the fold. Everything I'm talking about right now is above the fold. I've talked to a lot of agents, casting directors. They don't want to click, they don't want to scroll.
26:29 They don't want to look so right there, front and center, downloadable demos, ready to go. Your name, obviously, something that shows your personality. It's a logo, a picture, something that shows who you are and if we have some fun with it, have some fun with it. Your contact info should always be in the header so when they scroll, if they scroll, your contact info is always there.
26:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It stays there it stays there.
26:54 - Jim Fronk (Guest) One of the main things that a lot of people don't have is a call to action button. Okay, I'm on your website, I'm the customer. Look at your website as a customer. I'm a customer, I found your website. I like your demos. What do I do? Now? There's a button there that says request a free audition. What's that all about? I mean, you and I, we all know auditions are free, of course. Well, all audition. You know we're not paying to audition. We're not getting paid to audition, but they don't know that.
27:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, sometimes we do, sometimes we do, but they don't know that.
27:23 - Jim Fronk (Guest) But they're getting a complimentary free audition. Send me a 30-second snippet of your script and I'll send you back an audio sample of what it will sound like, performed by me, and I can't tell you six. I've gotten six jobs off of that, so far.
27:39 Contact me is not a call to action. Maybe you offer some other service. I think it was Mark Scott said something about. These are six ways to book me. You know, give them something, something that has some information, whether it's directly related to booking you or VO related, but have that call to action button. Those are the basic things. Everything else after that is fluff. You go to my website. I probably have 15, 16 pages.
28:05 - Intro (Other) I have some people actually write the SEO for me.
28:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It's all fluff. It really is. There's nothing there. Let's talk about SEO.
28:12 - Jim Fronk (Guest) It's for SEO. What about SEO lately?
28:14 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Is SEO worth anything at this point? Still, because of, let's say, generative AI, which is generating content in seconds. Now, all of a sudden, it used to mean something with our websites. Right, that we had identifying words and words that could be found, but I feel like that whole SEO pony might be changing a little bit as things start to evolve.
28:35 - Jim Fronk (Guest) It is changing, it's getting simpler for people.
28:38 - Intro (Other) And with a program like Wix.
28:39 - Jim Fronk (Guest) They actually have an SEO and, by the way, I don't get paid by Wix. I'm not endorsed by Wix, it's just what I know. I've tried Squarespace play buttons, a play button, rewinds, rewind, pictures, picture, but I just didn't like how the whole system worked together. Wix was very user friendly. If you can do Canva, you can create a website.
29:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Canva changed the game.
29:01 - Jim Fronk (Guest) They really did. They made it.
29:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wix is changing the game and some people might say well, what in VO is changing the game? I mean, we could talk about that if we wanted to.
29:11 - Jim Fronk (Guest) How about that? So much in VO has changed the game.
29:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Tell me about a VO actor. How can they change the game to make it successfully in voiceover and what can they do to change their game to make it and not be so afraid of all this technology that people are just, oh my God, the robots are gonna take our jobs away. Let's talk about-.
29:30 - Jim Fronk (Guest) No, they're not. The robots can't act, the robots can't change. What can we do there?
29:34 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) you go. We need to act right. They can't improv, they can't crack a good joke. Well, sometimes they crack dad jokes.
29:40 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Yeah, well.
29:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But yeah.
29:43 - Jim Fronk (Guest) All right, so I got a lot of my dad jokes from chat. No, I'm just kidding.
29:46 What you can do is be authentic. Be human, show your range, show your emotion when you show up for a gig. Be the person that they wanna work with. Don't be the person that they're waiting on. Be fun, be happy. Don't be a nuisance to anybody that is hiring you or that you're working with, because you never know who's going to say, hey, Jim was here two months ago, He'd be great for this spot. You know, it could be the engineer you never know.
30:11 You have to have your online inline, which I try to help people do, because your website may not generate any business for you right off the bat, but you have to have that presence.
30:20 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, you absolutely have. It has to be something that's not wixitecom.
30:24 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Backslash, jimfrong55, it has to be Jimfrongcom. Jimfrongvocom, your name vocom. Sure and keep it simple. Keep those domain names simple so you're easily found Exactly.
30:36 I was gonna be Frank the voice. I had all these domain names that I was going to do. Jimfrong was available for the first time in a long time, cause I looked for it back when I was doing standup comedy. Jimfrong was available and I said you know what that's it? That's it. So I'm Jim and Jimfrong, so it's so easy to remember. You're double branding your name Absolutely. And as far as changing the game, talk to people, make friends, go to conferences. A lot of people in this business are introverts, but a lot are extroverts. You know, you get your naked gents, your Anganguza's, you get your Jim Fronks. We're out there saying hi to people. You know, kissing babies, shaking hands, whatever the case is. Get out there and say hi to people and if you're not that type of person, find someone that is, find me, make friends with me. I'm very approachable. You hate me or love me, but hopefully you love me and I'll introduce you to people, I don't care.
31:27 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go, it's absolutely fun. Words of wisdom. Jim, Thank you for that. And actually, Jim, you have offered the bosses a little deal for your website creation class that you have.
31:40 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Oh, I have.
31:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, you have. Remember you wrote it down.
31:43 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Well, I was kind of upset about the PNNM's not being made.
31:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But you're going to give our bosses 10% off the website creation class.
31:50 - Jim Fronk (Guest) I am absolutely without a doubt. What kind of coupon do you want to get?
31:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We've got that promo called, called VEOBOSS10 at Chicago VEOBOSS10,. Okay, and we'll be putting that on our show notes pages, guys, so when you look up this episode, we will have that code available. Jim, thank you so much. It's been so exciting talking to you. I mean, you have such an amazing history. Yeah, I mean we're actually kind of 10 minutes over. See how time flies when you just have so much fun.
32:15 - Intro (Other) We're going to have to have you come back.
32:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) We're going to have to have you come back, jim. It's really been amazing and thank you for sharing your wisdom, your wonderful personality, your fun, amazing, just the fun. Amazing who you are.
32:28 - Intro (Other) Jim Fong with us.
32:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes bosses, I want you to take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals that are giving collectively and intentionally to create the world that they want to see. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more. And a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and connect like bosses like Jim and myself, just like Jim has been talking about all episode. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Jim, thanks again. You've been amazing Bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
33:05 - Jim Fronk (Guest) Bye, guys, bye, thanks Ann.
33:07 - Intro (Other) Thank you so much Thank you Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via IPDTL.
Get ready to unravel the intricate world of awards in business! We promise, you'll walk away with a fresh perspective on the role and impact of awards in business - the good, the bad, and the downright stressful. We kick off our lively discussion by peeling back the glitzy curtain to expose the challenges and rewards of organizing an awards ceremony. From the high stakes of selecting winners to the joyous recognition of one's hard work, it's a rollercoaster journey. We open up about our own awards experiences and how it can often feel like a numbers game. Plus, we'll delve into the emotional side too, sharing some insights on how to handle not winning or being nominated, and why it's important to savor any recognition you do receive.
0:00:01 - Announcer It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VEO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Ann Ganguzza.
0:00:20 - Anne Hey everyone, welcome to the VEO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the lovely Lau Lapides. Hey everyone. Hey Lau.
0:00:31 - Lau Hey, beautiful, beautiful, right back at ya.
0:00:34 - Anne How are you today?
0:00:36 - Lau Oh, I'm fabulous. I feel like this is going to be a very rewarding show, or maybe a rewarding show oh oh hey. See what I did.
0:00:45 - Anne I see what you did there. It's funny Lau. We just attended an award ceremony and there's a lot of different opinions out there on do we like awards, do we not like awards? Maybe we should have a talk about that Lau. What do you think I?
0:00:58 - Lau love it. I haven't heard anyone really talk about discussing awards like the process, not just the winning of the award, but also like what goes into the entire process. It's really a huge thing. Sometimes takes six months or a year to prep that kind of thing. Yeah.
0:01:16 - Anne Well, I will tell you that. First of all, I guess bosses out there we want to hear how you feel about awards too. I mean, there's so much discussion happening out there, oh gosh, on the Facebook groups and in social media about awards, and are they worth it? Because some awards cost money to enter, some awards don't. In our industry right now, I know of two distinct award shows that go on. However, they are not the only awards that you can certainly enter if you feel the desire to do that.
Lau. I have been a supporter of award shows since the beginning. However, there are many pros and there are many cons to it. Pros is that if you win an award, it's validation. Sometimes it's so difficult to be validated while we sit here in our studios all by ourselves and we don't get a lot of feedback all the time. Gosh, I'm always telling my corporate students we just want to be loved. When you work for a company and you feel underappreciated, I mean, gosh, that's really all we long for is to be loved. I think awards can be a verification of that. But then again, sometimes they may not be, because maybe you didn't win, and then that enters in a whole new mental aspect of. Oh my gosh, I wasn't good enough to win this award. Why did I not win this award? Somebody else is better than me. What are your thoughts about that Lau?
0:02:42 - Lau I think that when you go into this kind of a process, if you're entering into it and really submitting yourself for it intentionally, you have to set your mindset and your psychology to the fact that it is competitive. It is a competition. You may or may not feel like it is, but it really is. It should be based on merit. It should be based on your progress, your process and your product. And sometimes we only have so much control over that right. We manage it. We only have so much control right, that's the big thing.
0:03:16 - Anne And I just said it should be based on merit, and, right there, we could probably spend an entire podcast talking about that. It should be based on merit. However, there is the other side of the coin where, yes, it should be based on merit, but then you have the people who judge the awards right, and we don't always know, first of all, who those people are. Sometimes we do. I'm not a big fan of knowing who judges are. I feel like maybe there's too much possibility for people to maybe try to talk to the judges and influence them, so I'd rather not have judges be known. And then you have to really think about what are the judges qualifications? Because within voice over, we have so many different categories right, and so many different categories of awards.
If you're going to, I would say, present these categories of awards, I think you want to have very vetted judges right Judging the entries. And I am not sure, since we don't know who the judges are all the time, or even if we do know who the judges are, what is the criteria for me, a demo award versus a performance award, and in all different genres, I think it's super important that the people judging those are very specialized in those genres or in that category. So if you're judging animation, I would hope that judges are all experienced either working in animation or doing animation day in, day out and they really know the industry, and so I really would hope that that's the case. I don't know Lau if that's the case with all the judges, because, again, we don't always know who the judges are and we don't know what their credentials are.
0:04:50 - Lau Right, and I can say just from my personal point of view that it's not always the case.
Because at times I've been asked to judge categories which I feel like I can judge them. I can judge them, but am I way off base? No, I don't think so. I think there's a general industry knowledge that you have for years in the industry, but is it my absolute forte? No, not always it's not my forte. We try to get that matching process, but sometimes it's a numbers game, just like the competitors. It's like do we have enough judges? Do we have enough judges in a particular category? Are we getting them in time? Can they get the work done?
0:05:24 - Anne That's right in time, and that's the other thing. I mean, my goodness, judging some of these awards, because I have been a judge myself. First of all, when there's a lot of categories and a lot of entries, who, it becomes like a casting process and right then, and there bosses. I want that to tell you one thing. That means that sometimes right and I'm not going to speak for myself, but sometimes if you've asked a busy person to be a judge and then they have to listen to a thousand entries, they're probably only going to get the first part of your entry listened to before they have to continue on.
So that is something to consider. I mean, if there's a nuance or an acting moment that is at the end of your performance, maybe you want to try to create that clip so that all that great stuff is right at the beginning, because it is a job. It can be a lengthy and timely job, and if judges are not given an appropriate amount of time to do that, or they don't have a lot of time to do that, and they think like, yeah, I can judge that, and then all of a sudden it becomes overwhelming, well, then you get, the judging process becomes a little skewed to be quite honest because either I don't have time or I've heard too many entries.
I'm now overwhelmed. But yeah, there's so many things that go into it, my goodness. And then are the entries anonymous. We hope they are right, because we don't want the judges to be influenced by names or celebrity or that type of thing. But our voice is our product, right? So sometimes I'll tell you what it's hard to hide, because I know a lot of voices out there and I can pick them out like this I would agree.
0:07:01 - Lau And you know this last time, one of the last ones, you and I judged we were under an NDA, which I actually really appreciated I did too Right. It took a lot of stress, because not that I would be necessarily blabbing about that, I wouldn't but it reminded my brain like, separate it, compartmentalize it, because you and I we were a lot of hats, you know casting an agent and coach, and this and that, and so there is sometimes that one or two talent that we know. We do know them, and then could we recuse ourselves?
Sometimes we can sometimes we can't, because they can't move us into another category. So it's great to have that compartmentalization and that relaxation to know, okay, if there is someone in front of me that I know that's a client or a client of a friend of mine, that I am separating that from this hat, that I'm wearing, and then I'm not going to talk about that. I'm not going to speak about that and I have.
I wonder what you think about this. And I had mixed feelings. I have mixed feelings about the awards being given and then the judge's names coming out. It sort of makes me feel like a jury that all of a sudden is being. You hear the names of the jury who's on a criminal case. It makes me feel uncomfortable. It's like why do I need to know that information? What do you think about that?
0:08:21 - Anne That's very interesting and I appreciate that you brought that up because, as I mentioned, I always have been a fan of keeping anonymous I mean for the longest time and this isn't anything that's being judged. For example, I have done the VO Peeps scholarships for gosh 12 years already and when we judge those entries I don't disclose the names of the judges and I don't even disclose the names of the judges after the fact. Because again, what if I want to use those judges, maybe again, and I don't want to have anybody influenced and I don't want the judges, I feel like I don't need credit If I'm a judge. I don't need credit in being a judge. I just want to be able to judge fairly. And I happen to agree with you.
I don't think that judges' names should ever be disclosed really, and I'm not quite sure why the reason is and it might just be that they want to be thanked properly, but it's like when I give a donation, I don't always have to put my name on that. You know it can be an anonymous donation because I did it out of the goodness of my heart. If I'm judging something, I want it to just be the most fair that it can possibly be.
0:09:24 - Lau I'm glad you brought that up, Because when I see that at a ceremony someone who's kind enough to give money towards a scholarship or towards an award. I kind of feel bad for them Because I'm like as much as you are. Oh aren't they wonderful. They don't always want that recognition. They don't always feel comfortable knowing that. It's well-known knowledge that anyone who wins a lottery like they have to be very careful about releasing their name, because then they become a target and people go after them.
So you have to wonder if you're in an award ceremony, could you then become some sort of target that people are either trying to embellish themselves?
0:10:01 - Anne to you or they're trying to knock you down, similar to being an agent Lau. I'm just saying I know nothing about that.
0:10:09 - Lau It's so true.
0:10:10 - Anne It's like they're prostrate themselves to you day and night right.
0:10:13 - Lau I'm not one to really appreciate that. Honestly, I'm very private in that way. Like, if I'm going to give a bunch of money, I'd rather it not have my name in there. But that's just me. Other people do want that recognition. That's fine. That's totally fine.
0:10:28 - Anne I'm going to say I'm not here to shame anybody saying if you put your name on a donation that it's shameful.
I just think there are times when I don't think it's necessary and sometimes, yeah, I mean I'll put my name on a donation if I can add a note to it, to the recipient in wishing them good will, that kind of a thing, and that will be a reason for that.
But I think La one thing I want to really make a point of about awards is when you enter awards. Having experienced both sides of it being a judge and then also entering into awards myself I think you just have to really be made of Teflon number one, because the process is very subjective, right, and we're starting to kind of address all the things that go into the awards submitting and then the judging process and if you know who the judges are, are they qualified and that process. But I think one thing I want to stress to the bosses out there is please do not ever belittle yourself If you do not win an award or if you don't get nominated for an award. I think that, especially in our business, because it's very much a personal part of us, it's our voice, right, it is so personal and if you ever don't feel as though we've succeeded, it can be really, really damaging to our psyche.
0:11:44 - Lau I would agree, I would agree. Do not give a ton of weight to that process. And it's very funny, it's almost like auditioning.
It's like don't give a ton of weight to anyone audition brush it off and leave and go on to the next thing. But yet, when you're actually auditioning, give it the 100% it deserves, completely, commit to it completely, invest in it, completely, appreciate it. So, if you're awarded something or nominated, completely be present, be appreciative, love the moments, enjoy your community, love the attention. But then when you walk away, I really do believe you have the award. You're not going to forget about the award, you're going to utilize it as well in your marketing.
0:12:23 - Anne Oh, absolutely, but don't hang your hat on it. That's another positive.
0:12:27 - Lau Absolutely, don't hang your hat on it Like I'm the best, I'm the expert, I'm finished. No, it's a recognition that your work is at an industry standard that people want to appreciate, but there's a lot more to go.
0:12:40 - Anne Absolutely, absolutely. And I think that it's wonderful to get an award and it's wonderful to get nominated. I mean, if I want to make a distinction between being nominated and winning an award, I feel that the nomination is an award in and of itself because, listen to this award nominated, award winning, I mean honestly, they still start with award and so if you're going to use that to market, I mean gosh, just to be like sometimes narrowed down and be put on the shortlist, you can be proud of that to be nominated, and I really, really do believe that that can be celebrated as a win. And again, even if you're not nominated, understand that your work has value, you have worth, you have value and just because you didn't get the nomination or get a win doesn't mean that you are any less of a professional or accomplished and successful individual. I agree totally agree.
0:13:30 - Lau I'd love to talk, too, about the length of awards ceremonies. I think that that is either thought about or it's not thought about, maybe it's thought about, maybe it's not thought about, but they could run three, four hours in length, sometimes Absolutely, and I wonder how the audience feels about going through that kind of process and sitting through that process. We did an awards not long ago, you and I, where we literally sat in a chair for three hours.
There was no break. There was no moment to take a breath, walk around, nothing, and I thought that that was a very strange choice on the part of the organizers to keep people in a seat for that length of time and expect that focus to really stay there and be there late at night. What do you think about that?
0:14:20 - Anne I'm just thinking about all the awards ceremonies that we've become accustomed to on television. If you watch the Emmys or the Golden Globes, and there's always either food or drink at the table. Number one that helps If you're going to have to be planted or seated in an audience. I think that that works. And what if you have to leave to use the restroom right?
And then they announce your award. Hopefully you want to have like a series of events and when are they going to announce this category? I happen to know a very good friend of mine who was caught in the bathroom when they won and, yeah, it was not able to come to the stage and give their acceptance speech. But I think that sometimes sitting through the awards ceremony can be laborious if there's not any kind of entertainment kind of interspersed in there and or some sort of a schedule of events. And I know that that's difficult and sometimes they want to keep it a surprise for the people, they want to keep people in their seats. But yeah, it can get tiring. I will say that my tushy got a little bit sore and I've been to longer ones Okay, I have been to longer ones than the one that you and I were at, which we're really excruciating just because of the length and not all categories were called up to the stage.
0:15:30 - Lau So no, no, they need to sell cushions like they do it at the stadiums.
0:15:34 - Lau Buy a cushion.
0:15:36 - Lau you have to sit on the cushion and that would make a lot of sense, though I did think of a shortcut because I'm an organizer myself events, and one of the shortcuts I don't think anyone would ever do, but I think makes total sense. There were a handful of people at a few of the ceremonies that you and I intended that one more than one award One in particular. I can remember he won three. Okay, lovely, good for him. Why did they spread that out and why did he need to come up three times, have three spills in which he ran out of things to say? He was telling jokes by the end of it. Why not house those categories One, two, three. They have a sense. Maybe he's gonna win, maybe.
0:16:16 - Lau I don't know I mean they're preparing?
0:16:18 - Anne No, I don't know who's preparing the envelopes, remember they?
0:16:20 - Lau well, yeah, they're preparing the envelopes.
0:16:22 - Anne It's under lock and key right. So nobody knows. So that's theoretically. Somebody knows.
0:16:27 - Lau That's theoretically. Somebody knows Theoretically?
0:16:28 - Anne somebody knows. But again, but then I don't think Lau you'd want the audience to expect right that the next category he would be the winner as well. So there'd be no right. No, but if you think about it that way, right, if they know he won in multiple categories and then they called the second category once they did a series of right, the audience would expect it so. I don't think you can do it that way, and I think he handled it well.
0:16:50 - Lau Personally, listen, I think theoretically, it's true, but you and I know most of the audience was dying to get out and get a hamburger. You know what I mean. Like if I could get some french fries and cut this a little bit shorter, I'm all over the nuggets. You know what I mean. Like I'm ready to go. I don't need it to be that extra hour.
0:17:07 - Anne Well, I think that it could be maybe addressed at the amount of categories, maybe. Maybe, but then they wanna make sure that they're covering everybody, so I can see where organizers have a big job here.
0:17:19 - Lau Yeah it's tough, you know, there's a lot.
0:17:20 - Anne You know everybody wants to be represented. As a matter of fact, I am like all for let's have the best medical narration demo. I want that because you know that's something that I do and that's something I would love to submit for, and there's no category anywhere for that, so I can see where they have to.
0:17:37 - Lau Of course it's entertainment as well, so they have to pad the whole evening with different kinds of entertainment and videos and jokes, and that pads it with another hour or another hour and a half. So I get that, but I totally get that.
0:17:52 - Anne I'm gonna say what do you say Lau about? Like cause, I'm okay with the words. I'm okay with the words because over the years I've learned a little bit more about how they work. And I've won, I've lost, I've not been nominated. I've been nominated. I've been through it all myself, the emotional swing that it can cause, right. And I'm still okay with the words because I can understand them for what they are.
And so, bosses, I hope that this helps you to just kind of get a better grip on what they are and not that it determine your value at all. If you choose not to enter or not support award service, that's entirely fine. You can still be a boss, absolutely. But I don't think that this kind of back and forth war that we have about awards, I think it gets a little bit divided and for not really a good reason. I don't think. If you want to enter, go ahead and enter and don't shame people who enter awards. I really am a big fan of that. I mean I don't love negative talk on social media for people who enter awards or get awards or that kind of a thing.
0:18:54 - Lau I am so with you on that. And that would extend too to people who do not come to the awards, who for many reasons, can't, won't or don't want to come to the awards. I think that's fine. I mean, if I'm being nominated, I'll go because I'm very honored and I'll buy the dress and I'll do the thing and I'll enjoy it. But there are others that say no, it's not my scene or I can't afford it.
0:19:18 - Anne Yeah, oh yeah, I don't want to because I'm in Florida. It can get expensive. I mean, you're talking about, typically, people like to dress for these things. So you're talking airfare, maybe, travel expenses, hotel expenses, dress expenses or suit? Yeah, absolutely, and for me, I had makeup and hair, but I always liked to have an excuse to have it make up and hair.
0:19:40 - Lau But You're so schmelzy that way. Well for me.
0:19:44 - Anne I'm telling you, for me it's a little spa day.
I mean, if somebody can just handle that for me I can think about like what I have to do I always talk about when I present. I like to have hair and makeup because then I don't have to worry about those things, that I can concentrate on my presentation. So while I'm somebody who's doing my hair, I am like doing notes for presentations. For me it's just an investment, but it can be very expensive. Awards can be very expensive and sometimes you have to buy the award after the fact and that is also expensive. So there's a lot of, I think, pros to it but yet a lot of cons, and I don't want you bosses out there to feel any less than worthy or valuable just because you do or don't enter an award show.
0:20:26 - Lau I'm with you on that Ann and. I would say no matter how you take part, I would urge people to take part in some way, whether you're a witness or you're submitting or you're just congratulating someone who won and just support the community in any way that's best and comfortable for you because it is ultimately, I would imagine, there for the people and for the community and for the recognition and we don't want to completely lose that. We want to preserve that, you know. However, you take part.
0:20:57 - Anne And also I wanna just say, unless you're organizing an award event, I think if you could maybe steer clear of criticism. I just I mean, I just I think that if people criticize people who hold events and they say, well, it's all about the money, or they try to figure out, oh, how many people times how much the cost of a ticket, wow, they're making a lot of money. And then they make assumptions on the fact that, oh, they're just doing that because they're greedy or whatever reason you have. I think, honestly, just having a husband who does events and myself I've done events live- YouTube events like.
I think, anybody that can sit back behind a keyboard and criticize about an event if they've not organized one themselves, especially one that's in a hotel, where you have to pay probably a big chunk of fees to a hotel for food, for the space. Just to do that is not a cheap thing at all. And so what event organizers charge for their event? I mean, I just steer clear of any kind of criticism because I know how expensive it can be very expensive, Very, especially in this day and age.
0:22:05 - Lau it's the most expensive it's ever been.
0:22:07 - Anne Oh yeah, absolutely so have a little mercy and understanding on event organizations.
0:22:11 - Lau And then the other thing too and I wanted to say not just about awards, but we're talking about awards right now is like don't look the gift horse in the mouth in regards to, like, the people who organize a range direct all of that deserve the profit they make oftentimes.
0:22:29 - Anne Oh, absolutely, because they are going through such stress.
0:22:33 - Lau It's beyond a full-time job. No one realizes that unless they're involved with that kind of work.
0:22:38 - Anne Well, my husband does it as a full-time job, I mean, and it's crazy because even people that he works with don't understand what it takes to prepare for an event.
0:22:46 - Lau It is crazy, but I love that you said please have compassion, I'm backing you up on that.
0:22:51 - Anne I'm backing you up on that, because it's not easy to do something like that.
But yet it seems so easy for us to sit behind our keyboards and just make assumptions. And I think yeah, and so don't make assumptions about, I think, awards, events, the event organizers or even the judges, or even if you agree or don't agree with awards. I really feel like just one of my favorite sayings is to mind your own business, and I don't mean that in a mom way, I mean that my VO business is my business. And if I feel that maybe entering an award competition will maybe help my marketing, I'm going to do it and I don't want to be criticized for that or looked upon badly for that. But again, and I will try not to cry if I don't win, because I think anybody that knows me knows how darn competitive I am- Ooh, I am competitive, you are, I've got a box of tissues for you.
Thank you, so you don't need to worry about that at all. See the Lau.
0:23:41 - Lau that's why I want you at my side at all at all times I'm ready with a tissue, a handkerchief whatever, a shoulder and a turkey sandwich and a turkey sandwich at all costs A turkey sandwich, and that's what support is like.
0:23:55 - Anne I love that, that kind of support. Right, we need to lift each other up, and so, if awards are your thing, support the people in the community, like Lau supports me with a turkey sandwich and a box of tissues. I love that right, it's so true, it's so true. And Lau. And if I can get you a turkey sandwich at any time, I will do so, and that's why I love you back because we're all about getting of the turkey sandwich.
0:24:23 - Lau It's not even Thanksgiving, that's the best part.
0:24:25 - Anne Bosses, you might be wondering what are they talking about? Well, at one of the last conferences, it happened to be late at night and I had been presenting and had gotten out of like multiple panels and X sessions or whatever it was, and by the time I got to the restaurant to eat they had closed. It was like after 10 o'clock and everything had shut down and I was starving. I literally was like I need something and there was no door dash that could be quick, and so Lau to the rescue. Who actually went and secured me a turkey sandwich that magically appeared from behind the desk Late at night.
0:25:05 - Lau Behind the front desk. Yes, I was like the Ooma Thurman in the Kill Bill series. I just jumped over the desk, I tackled the woman behind there and I said how could you not be?
0:25:17 - Anne open and it was fresh and I ravaged that turkey sandwich. I did, I literally did, and it was, the bread was flying, the turkey was in my mouth and I ate it like a caveman. I mean literally, it was beyond Quentin Tarantino stuff. I didn't even have utilities to eat it with. I ate it with my hands, I know I didn't even have a sword.
0:25:35 - Lau I just used the verbal sword play of my mouth and my words.
0:25:39 - Anne But that's the story of the turkey sandwich and Lau how she came to save me. Okay, so everybody needs a Lau, right, Everybody needs a Lau on their side.
0:25:47 - Lau So, Lau.
0:25:48 - Anne I mean, what a great conversation. I mean, I hope bosses, you guys always know your value, whether you are winning awards or not. Winning awards, you guys, you are gifts and awards in our hearts, and so make sure that you feel that way about yourself and, of course, others in the industry, and let's lift each other up. So I love it.
0:26:08 - Lau We love you if you win, and we love you even more if you don't win, because it's all about your process. There you go.
0:26:15 - Anne There you go, and, speaking of awards and making a difference, you guys can use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Just like Lau gives me turkey sandwiches, so you guys visit 100voiceswhocareorg to commit and big shout out to IPDTL, our favorite way to connect Bosses. You, too, can find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week, guys, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
0:26:47 - Lau Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host and Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.
0:27:17 - Anne This time a little more conversational. I'll give something I actually give something really, really conversational once and they're like oh yeah, give me a little more conversation and I'll give it completely conversational. They'll be like oh Hmm, how about a little more energy? And you know, when they ask for more energy, that usually means they're looking for a little more cell, yeah, if you're not anywhere near it, oh yeah maybe a little more smile, a little more smile, a little more smile, a little more energy that gives you the cell back.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
Gain a fresh perspective on the evolving casting landscape. Whether you're a newbie or an industry veteran, this episode will equip you with knowledge on how to market yourself to a specific niche. The Bosses cover the importance of understanding the language and mindset of your clients. Don't miss this enlightening chat where Anne and Lau share the emerging trends in casting, especially the push for diversity and authenticity. They emphasize the importance of staying true to your individuality, advising actors to embrace their unique accents and regional characteristics, as more companies are seeking authentic representations. Transcript:
Anne Ganguzza: Hey everyone, welcome to the VioBoss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with the lovely and most wonderful Lau Lapides. Hello, welcome to our Business Superpowers series.
Lau Lapides: Mmm, so excited
Anne Ganguzza: Woohoo.
Lau Lapides: to be here as always.
Anne Ganguzza: And you know, we always need to really up our business superpowers, don't we, Law?
Lau Lapides: We do,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: always, every day.
Anne Ganguzza: And I think probably one of the most common things, questions that I get asked as a coach, and also you must as well as an agent and casting directors, what are the current trends in casting? And so how can I better prepare myself to evolve my business to keep up with the trends in casting? So I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk, especially with you, who casts on a day-to-day basis. What are you seeing in terms of casting trends these days, Law?
Lau Lapides: Mm, trendy trendy, yes. Well, what's been going on for quite a while is diversity casting. Like
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: we're
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: always in need of more diversity, more representatives, both accent-wise, language-wise,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: delivery-wise, culturally. ethnically, I mean, this is all in the mix right now and kind of at the front of the line,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: which is exciting
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: to see such an international mix of Indigenous peoples that are really representing their country, their region, their, you know, their profile, so to speak. So we're always looking to certainly up our roster, up our game in our roster, finding authentic talent from all over the world, even just Spanish talent.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: I'm totally in need of authentic Spanish talent of many dialects. Accent-free is fantastic, but then if you're not accent-free, dialects are wonderful if we know specifically where you're placed, because we really have to go with the real deal.
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: It can't be an actor who's just really great at sound or accents. It really has to be the real person representing.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, I'll tell you what I love about it is... not just diversity, but authenticity. I think authenticity all the way around, which has been a trend just coming through the years, and especially now, people are just looking for other people to be authentic. And
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: so when it comes to my students who originally used to be there, they're like, can you please take away my accent? Or I wanna be good at narration, so should I have this neutral accent? And I'm like, look, as long as I can understand you, number one, important. I mean you don't want to have necessarily you know maybe a speech impediment that would inhibit me from understanding what you're saying. However when it comes to accents I don't think it's as critical as it used to be. It used to be that thing that you had to have absolutely neutral accent whatever that might be these days. But I'm having people in you know embrace their authenticity and if their authenticity is regional right and they have an that would really, you know, work with that. And, you know, I think we've always tried to do that, but even more so now, I feel encouraged to tell my students, don't worry about that. We really just want you to be, I want you to bring you to the party first. That is the most important objective that I have as an educator and as a coach to get you to be authentic. And that really is what I think casting trends today are all about.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. If you can be the best version of you and really
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: bring that to the table authentically, that's what we're looking for.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: If you can also neutralize it a bit, you know, round it out a bit,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: that's great too. It just gives
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: you more options. But
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: I fear for clients that come in, or I should say talent that comes in, especially at a certain stage, you know, once you hit Like even 30 or 35 or 40, it's very, very difficult to authentically change your
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: dialect or shift your accent. It just is. It's not impossible, but it would take a lot of work with a dialectician to do something
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: like that. And I don't think it's necessary. I don't
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: think it should
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: be an objective for you. It really
Anne Ganguzza: Oh,
Lau Lapides: should
Anne Ganguzza: gosh,
Lau Lapides: be
Anne Ganguzza: it,
Lau Lapides: like your vocabulary.
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: What is it,
Anne Ganguzza: I mean,
Lau Lapides: right?
Anne Ganguzza: work with a dialect coach if you want to
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: maybe consider other dialects for characters, maybe.
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: But I don't think it's to remove your dialect these days unless, of course, you have a very heavy regional accent, in which case, if you would like to maybe try to lessen that a little bit, I don't think it's necessary to remove it at all, actually. So many companies embracing that authenticity. And now, of course, in the casting specs, they're looking for talent who are authentically from particular areas and regions. And now, if you kind of had that fake accent or that generic accent, that I don't think is needed as much anymore. Is there such a thing? What was it the other day I was on a panel? What is it with the authentic, Midlantic accent, I think.
Lau Lapides: Oh, right,
Anne Ganguzza: Is that even
Lau Lapides: right.
Anne Ganguzza: a thing anymore?
Lau Lapides: I don't know,
Anne Ganguzza: I think
Lau Lapides: I
Anne Ganguzza: really
Lau Lapides: mean.
Anne Ganguzza: it's just, they want to have some sort of a, maybe of a dialect where you can't really tell where you're from. I'm not sure. So
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: guys, embrace your authenticity. I think that's so important. And first of all, that's a tall order law
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: to embrace your authenticity.
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: That I think as actors is really one of the hardest things that we have to do many times I encounter talent who want to sound a particular way or they
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: feel it should sound a particular way and again bringing their authentic selves to the copy is so very difficult. They're either able to you know do that if the copy is written maybe in a dialogue format but when it's not it's very difficult to do that and also I find that a lot of character actors law like
Lau Lapides: Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza: their characters seem authentic, but yet when you ask them to bring themselves to the table, that becomes an immense challenge.
Lau Lapides: Huge, huge challenge.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: I would say too, in regards to the Superpower show that we're
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: working on right now, like one of your superpowers is being a really great business person.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: So a trend I've seen over the last few years is, how qualified are you as a business partner? in terms of your correspondence, in terms of your timing? Are you timely about your responses? We're casting something really big right now with a client and one of our talent, not her fault at all. But our records were just, they either weren't updated or whatever
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: the case may be. The email never reached her in regards to availability. And so I called her on the phone, I reached her. She said, that's actually not even my email. That's person lets me know when they get my emails. There's something in the system
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: that defaults. So my point is, like, are you on top of your records, your
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: emails,
Anne Ganguzza: Oh.
Lau Lapides: your back? Are you flagging your people
Anne Ganguzza: I would be
Lau Lapides: that you're reaching out
Anne Ganguzza: kicking
Lau Lapides: to?
Anne Ganguzza: myself if that were the case. You know what I mean? If there's one thing that you can prevent, right? In terms of what can you do to help get yourself cast more.
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: It would be making sure your agents and all your, you know, rosters have the most current relevant information and demos as well.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, and demos as well.
Lau Lapides: And making sure it's easily accessible. You expedite really well and really quickly. And, like, being on top of those trends. Like, when we went to a recent conference, you and I, I found that less and less people were giving out actual physical business cards, even though I still
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: love them. I'm old school that way. I like to hold something in my hand. They were doing QR codes. They were
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: on their phone going, you know, take it right off my phone onto your phone, boom, it was fun, it was done, it was quick, I got it. My point is, do the physical business cards if that's what you love and do, but know what the trend is for the online business card
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: because that shows you've got your finger on the pulse of technology
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: and what's going on in our industry.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, and I think casting trends in terms of, yeah, making yourself available, understanding what your agent expects from you communication wise, I think, is very, very important. And also, I'm going to go back to the sound slash demographic. One thing that I want to make people aware of is a lot of times demographics and casting is based on, and trends in companies selling products to a specific demographic. So there are a lot of companies that may have an older audience, or there might be companies that cater to moms, or products that are catering towards young people. I think there's a lot, a lot of times we see the trend going back towards millennial young, because there's so many companies that are just trying to expand their market. So understand guys, I think sometimes we don't think about it. think about casting in terms of, oh, did I, was I making it sound correct, right? Was I the right sound for them? But sometimes you're not the right demographic, right, for the product. And so just remember that if, you know, the next time you get really disappointed that you didn't land that big gig and think that you didn't perform to your ability, a lot of times it's because it's a demographic, a sales demographic, right? It
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: wants to cater to a particular age group. And
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: that would be another thing, La I wanna talk to you about. In terms of casting age groups, I see a lot younger, but also middle-aged. What about older? What about the older demographic?
Lau Lapides: We're
Anne Ganguzza: That's
Lau Lapides: getting
Anne Ganguzza: always,
Lau Lapides: more. We're
Anne Ganguzza: okay,
Lau Lapides: getting more
Anne Ganguzza: okay.
Lau Lapides: and more of that. I mean, probably, Annie, now more than ever, we've had the more
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: mature demographics. So the senior in the industry is known as like 50 to like 65.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: 50 to 64 would be a young senior, and then a more mature senior would be the 65 and up.
Anne Ganguzza: Okay.
Lau Lapides: So we're seeing more of 50 and up for sure, whether
Anne Ganguzza: That's
Lau Lapides: it's
Anne Ganguzza: good. Do you
Lau Lapides: health
Anne Ganguzza: know what
Lau Lapides: or travel.
Anne Ganguzza: type, yeah, I was gonna say health,
Lau Lapides: Yeah, health,
Anne Ganguzza: travel.
Lau Lapides: travel,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: finance, you know, even software is seeing more and more of that coming through.
Anne Ganguzza: Okay.
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: That's actually
Lau Lapides: I think there's
Anne Ganguzza: really
Lau Lapides: a
Anne Ganguzza: good.
Lau Lapides: lot to look forward to.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, that's really good because I know for a while there, it's tough sometimes, you know, because what products do we have that cater towards, you know, that 55 and up age group? You really have to start thinking about it. And I would always encourage bosses, you know, I do a lot of work in corporate, I do a lot of coaching in corporate and just researching companies in general, researching what products are out there. for what
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: age groups and as a matter of fact, I'll always have my students, they fill out one of their very first forms and in the vocal branding form is, let's talk about brands you're familiar with for babies. What are brands you're familiar with for teenagers? What brands are you familiar with for middle aged, for seniors? And really try to come up with the brands that you hear being talked about today for these different groups. And understand, just understand that there is a sound in a demographic for each group, and it's all based on sales. So the next time you don't get that big gig, it could just be for the, and we discussed this during our audition demolition, multiple times, Law, that the person might've nailed the performance, but they just didn't have the right demographic.
Lau Lapides: Yes, yes,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: actually, that is so much of casting, whether
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: you're just, you know, you're a voiceover on camera or both. So much of it is based off of things that, you know, you just is out of your hands. It's out of
Anne Ganguzza: Mm hmm.
Lau Lapides: your hands. So
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: you
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: have to understand that the profile of who you are, your bio, your background, your is sometimes we can't do much about that. We are
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: who we are. And that's why accepting who you are. being the best version of that is
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: really, really important.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, yes.
Lau Lapides: You
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah
Lau Lapides: know, and finding
Anne Ganguzza: Amen.
Lau Lapides: what is your strongest
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: suit? Like, what
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah
Lau Lapides: is your strongest, most competitive value proposition? And really putting that at the forefront
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: so that
Anne Ganguzza: agreed.
Lau Lapides: you're spending a lot more of your energy in that direction than
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: in 10 different directions,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: right? Niche it. Niche it down.
Anne Ganguzza: it's wonderful to have versatility. I'm all for versatility. However, you need to be able to market yourself, right?
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: Niche it down, right? To specific niches.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And I found that myself as well, right, in terms of voiceover-wise, right? Where would my voice fit in? Where was I getting hired the most? And
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: I think that bosses out there, depending on how you're being cast, you're gonna be able to find that and also do work to develop that more and to really push that, go for auditions that speak to that strength.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: Now, I'm not saying that you should not audition for anything else. I truly believe that every once in a while you surprise yourself and you audition for something that maybe you don't feel is in your wheelhouse and all of a sudden you'll get cast because you never quite know where that company is headed, right? Maybe they want to switch directions and maybe their demographic is... maybe an older sound, and then maybe they've decided they wanna go more middle-aged, or maybe they wanna, I don't know, speak from a millennial point of view. And so you're never really gonna know. I mean, just like we try to cater to the people who will hire us the most, we can also, every once in a while, give ourselves that surprise. Audition for things that you feel maybe you're not. well suited for, but maybe the company will have a change of heart.
Lau Lapides: And also, too, Annie, to piggyback onto that point, is you can, when you're going after your own client base, your own prospects, right, outside of casting director, outside of an agency, outside of all of that, you can mold a little bit of what you do
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: and who you are in a couple different directions,
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: but it has to be based on the target demographic. So for instance, if you're going after... as a talent, I'm going after the medical field, I want to do some medical reads, I'm excellent at that, I'm wonderful at technical language. I want to put that out there in my cover letter or at or in my website so that they can point right to that and
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: see, oh, there's my there's my technical reads, I can do medical
Anne Ganguzza: Sure,
Lau Lapides: reads,
Anne Ganguzza: sure.
Lau Lapides: I'm understanding healthcare, I get that.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: So speaking the language and understanding the lingo of a prospect client is going to go a long way. versus them sitting and listening to four
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: demos.
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely,
Lau Lapides: Oftentimes
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: they won't do it. They wanna
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: see where are you coming from? Where's your mindset
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: and where's your language actually coming from? Does it match
Anne Ganguzza: Sure,
Lau Lapides: the
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: type of work that we do? So I would say go on the website, go on the YouTube channel, look at who they are and what they do before you approach them.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, absolutely. And then have a portion of your demo or have your demo catered to that. You know, I'm a big believer in, let's say, in a lot of corporate demos that I do or long format narration demos. I'm always looking at the different industries that hire voiceover and making a spot for each one of them. So therefore, if you want to cater to an automotive company and you're going to be maybe a narrator on a walkabout or a new sales video, can cater a spot on that demo that speaks the language of the people that you are going, you know, you are selling to.
Lau Lapides: That's
Anne Ganguzza: And just
Lau Lapides: right.
Anne Ganguzza: like they want to, you know, a company wants to sell to their demographic, you want to sell your voice that is specifically suited to a particular genre or a particular industry. Make sure that you have samples and you have demo. material that can be sent to these people so that they can hear it right away. And it doesn't, they don't have to listen to like, oh, I listened to your entire commercial demo or your entire corporate narration demo and it was the sixth spot. And I didn't know, you know, from the get go, if it was even in your demo. So
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: you have to really start catering. And I talk about target marketing a lot in my business. And I like to create target marketed demos because I think that helps you to get cash. easier. And now, Law, I'm going to talk to you specifically on the commercial aspect of things because you cast a lot of commercial work. How important is the demo in the commercial work or is it the audition that's most important?
Lau Lapides: It's
Anne Ganguzza: What
Lau Lapides: both.
Anne Ganguzza: do you think? Okay.
Lau Lapides: It's both. Of course, first it's going to be the demo because I may not have met you or
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: may not have heard you yet. Until you're in our roster, you
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: know, we don't know what you do. We don't know what you're capable
Anne Ganguzza: Right.
Lau Lapides: of doing. So the first thing that we're going to look at is the demo because chances are great we're not going to do a live audition. Like we never
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: do a live audition when we're listening to people to bring them in as talent to the
Anne Ganguzza: Right.
Lau Lapides: roster. It's always from a demo. It just
Anne Ganguzza: But your
Lau Lapides: is.
Anne Ganguzza: clients, however, are they going to want to hear a demo or an audition?
Lau Lapides: You know, it's a good question and there's some guesswork in that. It's
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: shifting. The trends are really shifting. I think less and less clients are listening to demos and
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: more and more just for time's sake. They want an audition
Anne Ganguzza: the audition.
Lau Lapides: with a copy from their specific job. Now, that's not to say that if they're considering five people, that they're
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: not going to quickly go and listen to the demos. And here, have you done that kind of work before? I'm sure that they
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: do. But I think upfront, time seems to be always of the issue and they just want to get people in. They want to get them reading and they want to get, so they're relying on us to
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: have listened to the demo. We have the demo. We've vetted the demo. They're relying
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: on us that we don't need they, that we don't need to listen to the demo.
Anne Ganguzza: because
Lau Lapides: The
Anne Ganguzza: you've
Lau Lapides: agency
Anne Ganguzza: already
Lau Lapides: already
Anne Ganguzza: done it.
Lau Lapides: listened
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: to it. Yes,
Anne Ganguzza: right.
Lau Lapides: yes.
Anne Ganguzza: Now, I asked you that question specifically because we were talking about commercial or things that typically
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: are broadcast, right? Now, let's talk about non-broadcast, which I like to think is one of my specialties, right?
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: Non-broadcast, yeah, your demo's gonna be an important part of it, as well as your audition, okay? So you may get those auditions from an agent, right? I get a certain percentage of corporate work from my agent, and I know that you cast as well. But probably the majority of what you do is commercial work. But for me, corporate work, I get cast either on my audition, but I also get cast quite a bit from my demo. And so it is very important that demo is strategically target marketed towards the market you want to sell to. And so it's good
Lau Lapides: always.
Anne Ganguzza: to have that demo, because I've been hired off my demo multiple times
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: in a non-broadcast.
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: market multiple times and my spots on my demo have been able to be split up if I needed to send an independent spot to You know to a particular client to showcase a particular talent They're also on my website kind of they are they are always split apart so that people can see the industry and they can also Listen to the spot and they can say oh, that's automotive and it is You know informational and Inspiring believe it or not. It could be inspiring to be automotive.
Lau Lapides: Absolutely, absolutely.
Anne Ganguzza: And so both are very, very important. So for me, I'm always a big proponent and a big fan. And I know I, yes, I'm a coach and I do produce demos, but I really believe because I have had personal experience and I know a lot of people in non-broadcast get hired off their demos quite a bit.
Lau Lapides: Mm hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: So
Lau Lapides: Yes. And
Anne Ganguzza: it's important.
Lau Lapides: I just want to impress upon your bosses, your listeners, that you could get hired in all different realms and for all different reasons.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: I've gotten hired so many times just during lunch, like
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: just having a lunch meeting with someone just talking to them as I talk to them. And and just recently, I don't know if you even know this, but we're where producers in an audio drama that we're recording in the fall with some big partners out
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: in New York and some amazing names coming into that. And I was producing a preliminary rehearsal table read before it was even cast.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: And I was reading one of the roles because we needed another voice for one of the roles. And the producers came to me and they said, Yala, we kind of want you to play the role. And I said, oh
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: wow, really?
Anne Ganguzza: Well, that's
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: that
Lau Lapides: they said,
Anne Ganguzza: personal.
Lau Lapides: yeah, we do. And that's
Anne Ganguzza: That's
Lau Lapides: the
Anne Ganguzza: that
Lau Lapides: personal
Anne Ganguzza: personal,
Lau Lapides: relationship.
Anne Ganguzza: the personal relationship, personal network, which
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: is really important, guys.
Lau Lapides: Really.
Anne Ganguzza: And casting trends, I think this has always been a trend in casting, is that relationship.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And gosh, when I went to Amsterdam, you know, to teach at one of the retreats there for J. Michael, I met up with a studio in Amsterdam, who just because they saw me on my website, listened to my demos, and then I met them in person, a working relationship with them. And is it because, am I the absolute best female voice they've ever heard in their life? Of course so, but no. But really, do you know what I mean? Like,
Lau Lapides: It's... it's...
Anne Ganguzza: it's all about that relationship, right? That relationship. And I,
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: look, I am not proud, guys. I, my ego does not get in the way. If I get the job, I get the job. You know what I mean? And I'm like, look, this is a business to me. For me, my ego doesn't need to be the best, be labeled as the best and touted as the best female voiceover ever legend. Because gosh, it's all subjective. We know this over and over again. But because I worked on that relationship, I had things in place. And I was ready, willing, and eager to help. and lend my thoughts when they asked, hey, what's it like in the States in hiring for this type of work? And because I developed that relationship and I did that work, bam, I got the job.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And that is absolutely a valid, successful way to get cast.
Lau Lapides: And sometimes it's not, it's very pure. Sometimes your
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: intention is literally not to get cast or get the
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah?
Lau Lapides: job.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: It's really to get the relationship. I always
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: like to say, I would rather get the relationship than the job because I'm building a career. I'm not working jobs, I'm building a career. And there are two different things. So if I'm gonna sort of lose the battle, but I'm gonna win the war, so to speak, I'd rather do that. In other words, I wanna make myself invaluable. So if I'm not the voice, as a voice talent, I'm going to find you great
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: people that are the voice. I'm going to recommend friends of mine.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, absolutely.
Lau Lapides: I'm going to recommend
Anne Ganguzza: Now,
Lau Lapides: other agencies.
Anne Ganguzza: law. way
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: back in the beginning, it's one of the reasons why I wanted to start the VO Peeps networking group. Because I started the VO Peeps because I wanted to have a collection of like-minded people, but then I said, what am I going to do for them? I want to provide an educational resource. So I started interviewing, right? I started interviewing all of my idols because I
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: wanted to develop that relationship.
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: Okay? And it wasn't coming at them in a hire
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: you know, a very different format where I just wanted to, I was interested in them and I wanted to share their resources with my community. And because of that, I became known. And once you become known, right, over the years, then you become top of mind for referrals.
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: And that absolutely is where that relationship work comes into play.
Lau Lapides: And there's no, or at least there shouldn't be any desperation surrounding that. I don't know if you'd call that a trend.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: I think that
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: was always the case.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, I like
Lau Lapides: But
Anne Ganguzza: to
Lau Lapides: now
Anne Ganguzza: say
Lau Lapides: so
Anne Ganguzza: casting
Lau Lapides: more than
Anne Ganguzza: trends,
Lau Lapides: ever
Anne Ganguzza: this
Lau Lapides: is
Anne Ganguzza: is just
Lau Lapides: like,
Anne Ganguzza: a casting like known,
Lau Lapides: yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: it's a
Lau Lapides: if
Anne Ganguzza: known
Lau Lapides: we're talking,
Anne Ganguzza: fact.
Lau Lapides: right, it's a fact.
Anne Ganguzza: Why
Lau Lapides: If
Anne Ganguzza: do
Lau Lapides: we're
Anne Ganguzza: you get
Lau Lapides: talking
Anne Ganguzza: cast?
Lau Lapides: to people like, like quiz yourself, if
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: I'm in an event or if I'm talking to someone on Zoom, am I thinking the whole time, oh, I want them to hire me. Oh, I want that
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: job. Or am I? really actively listening to what they're
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: saying to me and offering value to them in points that make the conversation invigorated and alive and then following up after that and doing
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: the due diligence to follow up after that. Am I doing all of that or am I just
Anne Ganguzza: Right.
Lau Lapides: thinking oh I want I would love them to get that get me that job and I really want
Anne Ganguzza: And
Lau Lapides: to
Anne Ganguzza: yeah, and a lot of times, you know what? You'll get the job because you have proven yourself to be reliable, to be focused and intent on serving that client's needs and or agents needs. I can't tell you how many agents I interviewed first and then they got to know me and guess who got put on the roster? Just saying, right? As long as everything is in place. Right, we have that. And again, I know we're talking casting trends, but I think we would be remiss if we did not mention the importance of, maybe it's not a trend, but the fact that the relationships account. And that's relationships between you and your agents, and relationships between you and your direct clients.
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: And of course, agents are all dependent on relationships with their clients to get you work, right?
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: It all just kind of feeds into the system.
Lau Lapides: Yeah, and I think the trend part comes in, Annie, where we say, okay, we all know this, we want real voices, casual, relatable voices, we want that. Well, how does that transcribe to the real world? Well, as I'm making the relationships, building the relationships, really talking, really conversing, really paying attention, I'm showcasing and demoing what I do for my real
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Lau Lapides: in like now the last couple years are gonna say, ooh, I'm listening to them. I like the way they sound. Ooh,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: they sound really cool. And they're going to assume, they're gonna run on the assumption
Anne Ganguzza: that
Lau Lapides: that
Anne Ganguzza: you
Lau Lapides: you
Anne Ganguzza: can
Lau Lapides: can
Anne Ganguzza: do
Lau Lapides: then
Anne Ganguzza: that.
Lau Lapides: bring that into the booth.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: Yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: so that's
Anne Ganguzza: That's
Lau Lapides: where
Anne Ganguzza: a
Lau Lapides: I think
Anne Ganguzza: huge,
Lau Lapides: the trend is.
Anne Ganguzza: that's a huge assumption guys. So bosses, I want you to be prepared for that. That means, right? The fact that you're gonna bring that authenticity, that connection to you in the booth. What does that mean? That means you need to be the actor. You need to be an actor. You can no longer, no longer is it. And maybe back, I don't know, in the 60s, it was okay to have that announcer-y voice and make it sound a particular way, but it is no longer the case where you can just go in and make it sound pretty. You just can't. You just can't. You've got to be able to bring that connection, and that requires acting. And if you do not have the acting chops, then you need to get the acting chops. And I'm a big believer that you can train. You can train to get this. You can train to... have that connection and that authenticity to the story. Because again, how important, how many times do we hear, we are storytellers. And you, you know, I don't know if I've heard that phrase over and over and over again, but sometimes it's like, yeah, okay, I know I'm a storyteller. But really, am I a storyteller when I'm doing an e-learning module? Yeah, you absolutely are. You've got to know how to
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: take those words and make them sound meaningful and make them come alive. And so that is being able to tell a story, being the actor. So casting
Lau Lapides: Yeah, and
Anne Ganguzza: trends,
Lau Lapides: it's-
Anne Ganguzza: be the actor and showcase that to whoever will listen. And that's what's going to get you cast.
Lau Lapides: And we
Anne Ganguzza: Right?
Lau Lapides: don't equate story with fiction. Story
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: is connection. It's really
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, yeah,
Lau Lapides: sharing,
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: sharing an experience, sharing a happening, sharing an event
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: with another or with a group for information, for persuasion, for entertainment, for whatever purposes. It doesn't necessarily mean it's false or fiction or fake. It
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: means it's very well could be real and fact-based. but it's in a story form, it's in a narrative
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: form. And understanding how to handle that in very real and authentic ways, exactly the trend of the industry today.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Wow. I know we just kind of, I feel like we went off, but I mean, honestly, the whole,
Lau Lapides: Ha ha!
Anne Ganguzza: what's important? Diversity,
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: authenticity. It's not so much about having that perfect sound. It's about the connection you have, and the connection you have not just to your material and the fact that you can actually vocalize that, but the connection you have with your agents, with your. your potential clients, because that is what's going to get you cast.
Lau Lapides: Absolutely.
Anne Ganguzza: And knowing yourself and knowing where you fit in this, knowing yourself enough to go for those areas that you excel in.
Lau Lapides: and staying bright and hopeful and positive and humorous.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm,
Lau Lapides: That
Anne Ganguzza: yes,
Lau Lapides: is a
Anne Ganguzza: yes.
Lau Lapides: trend of like, whether it's
Anne Ganguzza: Cause
Lau Lapides: we're
Anne Ganguzza: I
Lau Lapides: looking
Anne Ganguzza: wanna work
Lau Lapides: for,
Anne Ganguzza: with somebody like that,
Lau Lapides: yeah, whether
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: we're looking for a standup comedian or we're looking for a mom
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: sitcom type, or we're looking for, we want pops of humor and pops of humility in your work.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, love
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: that.
Lau Lapides: that's real for us, that's
Anne Ganguzza: Puffs
Lau Lapides: real,
Anne Ganguzza: of humor and humility,
Lau Lapides: you know.
Anne Ganguzza: I love that. Yeah. What a wonderful topic, wonderful topic. And Law, thank you for lending your ultimate wisdom in
Lau Lapides: Mmm
Anne Ganguzza: what you do and what you love every day. And again, we appreciate you so much, Law.
Lau Lapides: I appreciate you tremendously.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, you guys, I want to ask you, you know, as individuals, right, it's difficult sometimes to feel like we're making a huge impact, but as a group, we can absolutely contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. Visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to find out more and to learn how. Big shout out to IPDTL. I love connecting with law and all of you bosses. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Mwah!
Lau Lapides: See you next
Anne Ganguzza: Bye!
Lau Lapides: week. Mwah!
The stage is set, the mic is on, and the cue is yours. In this episode, stand-up comic and voice actor Tom Sawyer shares his golden nuggets for aspiring voice talents hoping to benefit from the power of comedy. From the importance of having fun in the booth to taking a well-deserved break, and the power of belief in oneself, Tom is a reservoir of invaluable insights. We talk about standing out in a sea of talents, catching the ears of the right casting person, and the art of continuous learning. But remember, feedback is the breakfast of champions, and as Tom says, it's all about enhancing your performance. Get ready, it's showtime!
In a world dominated by templates and a constant push for efficiency, Anne and Lau are serving up a fresh perspective on using creativity for business success. In this episode, The Bosses dissect the art of brainstorming, the power of accountability groups, and the role of improvisation in expanding your horizon of creative thinking. Hear about our unique take on how a business coach can help you conceive novel ways to stimulate business growth. Anne and Lau also break down the process of taking a raw idea and creating a tangible vision for it through research and education.
0:00:01 - Intro It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
0:00:20 - Anne Hey, hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here today with the lovely and most talented Law Lapides. Hey everyone, ah, law, it's a wonderful day today. A wonderful day today. It is. Yeah, I am feeling a creative spark in the air Law.
0:00:43 - Lau I felt that too. I wonder if it's change of season or with the new fall rush coming on, I don't know. There's a little mixed with vacation-ish August. We've got that spark going on. I feel it too, Anne.
0:00:56 - Anne And you know what? I just got together. As you know, we just got together with a bunch of creatives and there's nothing to help spur your creativity rather than being with more creatives. Right, I think we should talk about ways to expand your creativity, because expanding your creativity is going to help you in the booth, it's going to help you create your characters, bring something new to the table and just, I think, get a lot of fulfillment and joy out of what you do, as long as you can find the creative angle. And I'll tell you what I get so many people that want to come into the voiceover industry because they say I'm creative and I don't feel like I'm able to express that creativity. And I'm always of the belief that, no matter where you are, you can find your creativity. You just have to sometimes be a little more, maybe, resourceful than at other times, but I always feel as though you can express creativity or expand your creativity by just digging in a little deeper and thinking a little bit outside the box.
0:01:57 - Lau Absolutely. And why do they call us creatives? We're creatives because we create. We love creating. We should be creative at all times, even if we're resting or on vacation. There's all different ways we can be creative, whether you're trying a new food or a new restaurant, or you're going down a new street to look at architecture. How are we expressing our creativity in our worlds that then we take into the booth and in the studio and in the office. That directly informs the kind of business and the kind of process that we create. And you know what's funny? One of my pet peeves was you know, when you get asked on a forum what are your hobbies? What do you like to do? I don't know. I don't know how to answer that. I don't consider myself having hobbies and yet I'm a very creative force and love doing a lot of things. I just never categorize it as a hobby. I always feel like it's integrated with my identity and who I am.
0:02:55 - Anne Yeah, and it's integrated on what you do on a daily basis. And I'll tell you one area where I think that expanding your creativity or knowing how to delve deep into that part of you will help is that I have many students where you know I'm teaching acting for long form narration and a lot of times, long form narration doesn't have an obvious story to it. So I will oftentimes and I know you'll do this as well for your actors You'll tell them to create that scene, and we are constantly needing to create a scene, and I can't tell you the amount of times that I've had students say, well, that doesn't make any sense, I don't, I can't know. And I'll say give me the scene, what are you doing? What's the conversation? And they'll just be like well, this is hard.
Well, your creative brain is a muscle, guys, and so I truly believe that you can exercise that muscle on a day to day basis and you can come up with scenes.
You can come up with things that will allow your voiceovers to be believable and authentic and really relate to your audience that you're talking to. So one of the things that I like to do to delve deep into my creativity is I used to have this little jar where I had all these little creative ideas and it didn't have to be creative ideas for voiceover, although I think I could tailor it to that right and you would pick one idea out of the jar and it'll say create a character that is based on your favorite aunt or uncle and record a five minute monologue. Okay and so right there, it really requires you to delve deep in and focus and focus. I think focus is one of the most important things to really start to dig deep and find where your creativity is and to think about all the possible ways. Law what are some tips you have for delving deep into that creativity?
0:04:43 - Lau Ooh, what a good question. And it's like if we can make it a real thing, a technique, a process, then we could be more mindful, potentially, of doing it every day to help balance our health and our mind and our body and everything. I think that's fantastic. I would give one tip and I would say that mindfulness is something that you have to structure. So I think people think, oh, it's an aesthetic and it's sort of impulse or knee-jerk reaction.
When I think of it, I do it, but really I feel like the strategy and the structure comes, the habit that you do over time and then goes from creative technique into a business strategy. So, even if it's a small thing, like every day, I wake up and I mindfully do a brain dump and I do it on paper, I speak it out loud to empty my brain. To me that's a very creative thing to do, because I could not only feel better and feel more neutralized, but I also may make discoveries about what's in my head that I didn't actually realize was there. It's subconscious stuff that's kind of rolling out and I find that very useful. Especially you and I are idea people. We're like advertising agency people, like we have to come up with ideas just like that, whether it's for a script or a delivery that helps come up with ideas.
0:06:04 - Anne I love that you segwayed so lovely into that, because I was gonna say you have to have an end goal in mind, right? I also used to scrapbook and that was one of my passions. And I say I used to, I feel bad because I really want to scrapbook. Still.
Other things started taking up my time, but it used to be that I would see a picture of a scrapbook page that I thought was gorgeous and it was just a layout and I said, oh, and it was a layout of, let's say, the first date with my husband or the wedding, or it could be my hobby, where I used to ride horses, and so it would be maybe a page or a layout that I saw about that, and it would be a creative spark and that would allow me to go and delve deep into like, okay, let me go find my pictures, let me go write something about that, because in scrapbooking it's very much about journaling and one thing that I love the most about scrapbooking and I know things have gone digital, but I'll tell you what there's nothing like looking at a paper scrapbook and just thumbing through those pages of memories, looking at pictures and reading, and I absolutely it was going to capture those memories and I love just looking back on that. And so I still believe that there's something to the writing it down on a piece of paper and having something tactile that you can touch and feel, and I think the end goal can be something to start with and then kind of work backwards to think about how are you going to reach that end goal? So, perhaps in voiceover, maybe you want to create a new character, right, and your new character would be maybe some like give it a characteristic, right, you want to have that funny, dorky character? Well, okay, work backwards from that, okay. And so who is it in your life that's funny and dorky? What do they say all the time? Write that down. Those could be funny lines that you could then practice and just really shape your character to that. I think that's one good way to do that, and I love your brain dump in the beginning in the early morning, because that's great, just getting all that stuff out and then maybe setting a long-term goal for your creative Like creativity can also be. It doesn't just have to be let me create a character voice.
Creative is let me get better at telling stories. So how am I going to develop my creative style to be able to tell stories better? And I want to be able to tell stories better on, let's say, really dry material. Well, I got lots of that for you because I do tons of long format narration. I can help you with that. Just go find some really dry material out there and let's figure out what's the storyline, figure out how to break it down. And again, I think number one is have that end goal. Number two is educate. Gosh, I'm such an educator, right, I mean I love education. I think along the way, if you can educate yourself. You can certainly Google storytelling, key steps for storytelling, and you can also work with someone as well to help you develop key steps for storytelling. But educating yourself like that, I think there's just nothing that can beat that.
0:08:53 - Lau You know. It's so true. When you get it down on paper, there's something that becomes real about it. To get it out of your head and do, the process of writing it down or typing it out becomes real, and then even speaking it to someone becomes even more real. Before you manifest these ideas as actual events, I'm gonna give a tip too, and I'm gonna call it alchemy.
So I always feel like what we do in our craft and in our art and in our businesses as bosses is create alchemy and meaning taking nothing and creating something out of it. Unlike a magician, which I always think of magic as something where we're making something disappear or removing something or we have an illusion going on. This is a little bit different. I think of this almost more scientifically, like nothing is there and then all of a sudden, something is there and it's very real and you did it and you manifested it so creatively. Do anything you can do where nothing is there and then you create something.
So, for instance, take a blank canvas, create a visual, take clay and then create something out of the clay. Or take a seed and plant it and then there's a flower, so that you can manifest the idea that my ideas may not all come true, they may not all manifest, but because they're there and they're present and I'm allowing them to come out into the world that there is a chance that alchemy can happen from that process. And that's that risk that we talk about, that's that falling off the cliff and saying, oh, sometimes things actually happen and are created out of process. So, creatively speaking, I think that's a tremendous hobby, if you will, to just practice that, practice creating something out of absolutely nothing. And now where?
0:10:40 - Anne do you go for ideas? That's a good question, right, gosh. I just say the internet is at your disposal, right? And also other creatives, right? Other creatives doing brainstorm sessions, you know those accountability groups. I mean I say take five, 10 minutes and talk about, hey, what can we do to expand creatively? And there's lots of things that can help you to expand creatively too. That's within the realm of voiceover. One of the biggest I can think of right now is improv. Right, improv is creative. Take a conversation and go with it and run with it.
0:11:10 - Lau That's the best of Alchemy, actually. Yes.
0:11:12 - Anne Exactly and just create that, but I think also getting together in brainstorming. I do have a business coach that I have had for the past gosh 12 years and I absolutely love my business coach and we brainstorm, we brainstorm. Once a month we have a session where we brainstorm and we say where is it that Anne wants her business to go? But that is a creative brainstorm and what can we do? And I'm constantly evolving. I think we had an episode on either parallel streams of income or what is your plan B, right? You should always have that backup plan. And so what else will you do to grow your business right? And that's a very creative endeavor. And for me, I'm going to tell you that the VO Peeps and the VO Boss podcast the very podcast that you're listening to, bosses was a creative endeavor because one of the things I saw was an end goal of like, oh, a podcast that sounds really cool, I wanna do that.
And then I took that one idea. That was really nothing and I had said, okay, now what do I have to do? What are the steps that I have to take in order to create that right? And the first step was what's the vision for it? What is it that I wanna do, or what is it that I want to conceive and will other people and it doesn't always have to benefit other people, but for me, I wanted it to be a resource. So that was within the realm of my project scoped. Okay, I want this to be an educational resource. Now, how am I gonna get there? Right, what am I gonna do?
Well, first step started brainstorming it with somebody and then educating myself on the process, and I did that a lot. When, as a scrapbooker as well, right, I saw a scrapbook page with paper flowers and I'm like I should be able to make paper flowers, like there are some really beautiful paper flowers out there. Right, there's techniques, there's things that you can do, there's all different patterns and kinds of paper and techniques, and you can crumple the paper first and then you can put layers of that with a different pattern paper. It's amazing, and I think, even if you're doing creative things that don't have to do with voiceover or don't have to do with your business, they will absolutely, number one, bring you joy if creativity is what you are seemingly lacking in your life, but it can also open your mind to doing things to propel yourself forward personally and professionally.
0:13:26 - Lau Ooh, I love that. So you're really looking the fine details, the really small little minutiae in what you're doing, rather than just the big task of it. But look at the little moments that happen, that really are like sliding doors. They really change the trajectory of where your piece or art or business is going to go based on those little tiny details. I think that that is phenomenal. I would even motivate people to be very visceral and very kinesthetic about it every day, meaning don't stay online, go outside, do something outside, like I love to go into a little bookstore and see what's in there that inspires me, that makes me excited or happy, or go get a massage or go to a movie or go I've been bike riding lately and outside Go shop yeah.
I don't know. Do something that's physical and visceral bike riding, walking, whatever you're doing. Go to a restaurant, go to a diner, go sit and have french fries so that you can really observe people, look at human behavior, watch the servers smell the cooking, feel the table, and it sounds insane. But it's like we forget how to do that when we're inside too long and we're locked in too long. And that is my hobby. That is like my hobby.
0:14:45 - Anne I love that. People, people, people. Can I just reiterate people. And again, because Law-U and I just came back from a conference gosh, being around other creative people, just soaking up the energy. Not even you don't even have to be discussing things that are creative, you just have to be around other people that have that creative energy and observe them and see what they're doing and then be inspired by them and be motivated. So be open to that instead of let's say maybe I don't know, being at a conference and being I don't know like sad or feeling bad about yourself or not feeling like you're enough. I went and saw the Barbie movie, that kind of a thing.
I actually always thought that for me, creatively watching wonderful media, great movies, listening to great music was always such a wonderful experience to bring out the creativity in me and to relax me, to get me thinking, to get me outside of myself, because sometimes we're so stuck inside ourselves that we cannot get out of it. And I'm gonna say this for those people who say I am so miserable in my job Okay, I get it. If you're maybe miserable in a situation where maybe you've got people around you, that it can become toxic. You're not happy, you're bored, whatever that is, I think that there's always a way in your mind creatively to get out of it, okay. So here I'm gonna get a little bit philosophical. Maybe I was the youngest child and I had three brothers and one of the things was because obviously I couldn't share a room, right, I was on my own quite a bit and my brothers would do off doing their things, having fun and doing their brother things, and I would very much, a lot of the time, be alone playing by myself. And that play time right, playtime guys, we should have playtime even as adults right, that playtime allowed me to be creative. And of course now I'm thinking of the Barbie, that I would play with my Barbies and I would play with lots of toys. I did all sorts of things with my imagination to create scenes. So it's absolutely in every one of us. I think we just have to revisit and give ourselves some time so that we can have that time for ourselves. And if you're miserable in your job, I think there's always a way to find a part of your job that you can become creative in. I say that I mean I worked gosh, I was in a couple of different industries, right, I was an educator.
I loved being an educator number one because I loved learning. Learning meant that nothing was ever the same and I was able to educate. But also, in that way, I was creative. Right, I was creating classes. If I thought this was a really cool technique, I would create a class and I would teach someone. When I worked in the medical industry, you know, I was an engineer, I was trying to solve problems, and when I worked in technology and networking, I was trying to solve problems that people had, or create something so that people wouldn't experience the problems that I did. I mean, one of the reasons I created the VO Boss Blast was because I didn't have time to do a ton of auditions and I wanted to be able to direct market, and so I said I need something where I can just put my name out there to the people who might be able to hire me. And so I created the Boss Blast for myself initially, and then I said, oh my gosh, wouldn't it be great to be able to share this Boom yes, there you go.
0:18:08 - Lau In essence, you're satisfying your needs as a business owner while satisfying others' needs. Is that not perfect? I think that's a perfect alchemy right there, and a whole bunch of stuff came to my head, like go bowling, play games, collect shells on the beach, like, do stuff, do stuff, do stuff. Not only will you find what feels good and meditative and right for you, but you're really gonna make these discoveries that you can't necessarily make sitting in your room or sitting in your booth. It really is about your environment. How are you reacting to your environment and how are you informed by your environment? I know I love to dance, like I was at this conference with you, annie, and I was up half the night dancing and I couldn't move the next day because you know like my hip and my this.
0:18:57 - Anne I was insane.
0:18:58 - Lau I was a crazy person.
0:18:59 - Anne I saw you and I thought oh my God, look at her go. I loved it. I know People are like do ages dance. It made me so happy, Lau. I meant to tell you that and I was like look at her, go. She's having such a good time, and I think everyone on the dance floor that night right, it was just expressing themselves, having a good time letting go, and, again, that's something that can really help spark your creativity.
0:19:22 - Lau Yes, and there's an honesty about it, there's a purity about it. There isn't a motivation in it that we all have to do this or think this or say this, or there isn't like that we have in business, because ultimately we're trying to please the client and give them what they need. This is really not only for yourself internally, but it is for your community as well, so it satisfies both needs. And sometimes you know who your community is and sometimes it's just the world and you don't know who the community is. And it's important, I think, to relate easily and fluidly with all of that to then bring that realness to the script and bring that familiarity and authenticity to your scripts, because you've had a lot of these sensory experiences, sure you know just for yourself.
0:20:09 - Anne I think a lot of it is the creative in your brain, but it's the creative outlet as well, right, and I say outlet because that means you've got to let it out. Right, it's in your head, it's floating around. You're either gonna let it out by writing it down, by talking to someone about it, by creating something like a piece of music or a beautiful piece of art, and that is the outlet, that is the expression of creativity and that, I think, is the step that's going to come back and really give you that sense of satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, and just make sure that it gets out. I have all sorts of ideas floating around in my head. I love that. I like to think, well, okay, I've got these great ideas, now how am I going to execute that idea? Right, and again, that comes to writing it down, maybe setting a goal, working backwards from that, creating that list of things that you wanna do, talking about it to people, letting yourself go and allow yourself to be free from other garbage that's in and out of your brain. That can be bitterness, tiredness, anger, anything that's not bringing you joy. However, you release that.
Again I go on a bike ride. It's really done wonders for me and I remember it was silly because for many years during the pandemic I did not do that and I just was work, work, work, work, work. And it became stressful. And I remember for 18 years this is my husband and I. I met my husband. He was my spin instructor, so I would go spinning with him three to four times a week and that was after a day's worth of work and it was such a wonderful release for me to get rid of the tension, the stress, the annoyances of the day if I had any and then it allowed to free me up to just feel joy and start to grow and be creative again.
0:21:58 - Lau I love it, and you took the words right out of my mouth I was just about to say. The ultimatum of the day is that if we don't do this for ourselves, we really run the risk that we may have self-destructive or self-sabotage tendencies, as a lot of creatives we kind of have at building.
A lot yes so much the smoke coming out of the ears, the brain that hurts, the part that's pulsating. So being able to not only release that, but give yourself permission that it's really okay to take time for you and your world, and it's going to inspire you and make you healthier. It's really necessary to do otherwise. It can all be internalized and then start working against your process.
0:22:38 - Anne And you mentioned something so important self-sabotage, gosh. That just happens so much to us, doesn't it in this world?
Yes, because I think we're constantly trying to judge ourselves by our perceived success and success is defined in so many different ways and I think that we have to fall down and brush ourselves off and get back up and really consider that a success and not just, oh, I've booked the gig or I got that national spot or whatever that is because that self-sabotage is destructive and we had a whole episode on that but it is so self-destructive. Am I enough? Do I belong in this industry? I felt them all, by the way, at one point or another and I think, as a human being, I think we can all say that we've probably had self-sabotage creep in to our lives at one point or another, and how you get yourself out of that can be a great testament to becoming successful understanding how to release the negative and bring in the positive and bring that creativeness back to you, your product because you are your product right and your performance.
0:23:47 - Lau I love that. This is so inspiring to me. So fuel yourself with feel-good stuff that really invites invigoration and them invigor. And if you really feel that you're being drained by it you're not your best self, it's destroying you then look elsewhere, because you're going to know the difference between something that inspires your work and fuels it and something that drains you and steals your focus. Love it.
0:24:15 - Anne Well, that's another podcast, right? How do we remove ourselves from a situation that is not bringing us joy and is not bringing our ability to create, right? So what a great conversation, law. Thank you so much. I love talking to you, law. My pleasure, I think, between the two of us. Brainstorming, I mean, we do that all the time right? We are helping one another to become more creative, and bosses, you can do that as well. So I want you to now imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals that are giving collectively and intentionally to create the world they want. It's exactly what we've been talking about, and you can find out more at 100voiceswhocareorg. All right, big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses and bring that creativity out in all of us. Have a wonderful week, guys, and we'll see you next week. See you then, bye.
0:25:13 - Outro Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL yeah.
0:25:46 - Lau Yeah, yeah, you know, okay, just why don't you try something else? No, I don't know, just take a chance, I don't know, surprise me, surprise me.
0:26:02 - Anne Surprise me with something different, and at that point it's always like walk out of the room.
0:26:07 - Lau Okay, I don't walk out of the room.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
So you're thinking about hiring a virtual assistant... Ever wondered how to hire the right person for the job? The Bosses have got you covered. In this episode, Anne and Lau lay out the importance of understanding the job scope and setting realistic expectations. From sifting through rates and fees to seeking referrals and testimonials, we discuss it all. We share insights on how to prioritize, make substitutions, and be resourceful to afford the luxury of investing in your business. Remember, when hiring, the focus should be on what's best for your business, not just personal preference. So tune in, and let's build a successful business together, with a commitment second to none. Transcript Intro
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne Ganguzza: Hey everyone, welcome to the VioBoss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Ngan Gusa, and I am here with my amazing, wonderful Boss co-host, Lau Lapides.
Lau Lapides: Oh, and I'm so thrilled to be back as always in the booth.
Anne Ganguzza: In the booth with the bosses.
Lau Lapides: What happens in our booth stays in our booths. Well, not
Anne Ganguzza: Well,
Lau Lapides: really, but I
Anne Ganguzza: but
Lau Lapides: don't
Anne Ganguzza: wait, wait. So wait, we also
Lau Lapides: know about
Anne Ganguzza: project
Lau Lapides: that.
Anne Ganguzza: that, we also project that out into the global universe there. Ha
Lau Lapides: We'll have to change that tagline, I think.
Anne Ganguzza: ha ha. Oh man, I'll tell you what, look, I have been so busy this week and I cannot split my time up anymore. I am one person and I'm telling you, I literally have no more hours in the day. So everybody knows that has heard me go on and on and out about. the fact that I outsource and I do have a team, I think maybe we should really talk about that because I might need to increase my team because right now I'm feeling like I don't have any more time and so how am I going to do the things that I wanna do and grow my business if I don't have the time to execute the daily tasks or whatever tasks are needed to do that law.
Lau Lapides: That sounds like what my dad would always say a really good problem to have. We
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: all want to have that problem where we're growing a company, we're outgrowing what we're doing and how we're doing it, and we're
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: not spending our time wisely. We're not working smarter, we're just working harder. And really, how do we do both? Right?
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: How do we get to that next level? We call it leveling up in the biz. How do we actually do that, Ann? What
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: do we need to do? Let's talk about that.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, first of all, I think it's important to note that there's a lot of people that are just getting into voiceover. And they may think to themselves, oh, my gosh, I can barely afford to be in voiceover, right? I just got in. I'm not booking gigs yet. Or maybe the gigs that I'm booking are few and far between. And so how can I even begin to think about hiring somebody or getting help? Because I can't even get a job. first. And
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: so guys, I want you to really this is where I think it takes courage, it takes boldness, and it takes some, I think some street smarts and savvy to really strategize how you might be able to make this work for you. Because, well, you know, while somebody might be doing some of the more maybe mundane tasks that take up a lot of your day when trying to acquire work, I mean, half of the time it's we're trying to acquire work, right, Law?
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And it's the acquiring, that getting out there, that marketing, how do I acquire, you're either auditioning or you're marketing, right? And you are the expert at auditioning, right? Maybe you're not the expert at marketing. And so therefore, if you could have someone help you with the marketing, right, it would give you more time to be the expert in auditioning and perfecting your craft or honing your performance.
Lau Lapides: Right, and the truth is, whether you're a solopreneur and you're working alone, just starting out the first couple of years of your biz, or whether you're growing and starting to think about adding team members, we're all at that level. All of us are at that level of thinking about, we're marketing, we're constantly reaching out and going out and figuring out how we're gonna get our next prospect. So you never grow out of that, no matter what
Anne Ganguzza: Oh,
Lau Lapides: is happening, you never grow out.
Anne Ganguzza: amen,
Lau Lapides: But
Anne Ganguzza: amen.
Lau Lapides: you do have to time it well. everyone and
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: at the beginning stages I wouldn't do anything prematurely to make you know
Anne Ganguzza: Agreed,
Lau Lapides: go broke I
Anne Ganguzza: agreed.
Lau Lapides: really want to make sure you
Anne Ganguzza: But
Lau Lapides: have
Anne Ganguzza: I
Lau Lapides: a
Anne Ganguzza: would
Lau Lapides: little
Anne Ganguzza: start
Lau Lapides: bit
Anne Ganguzza: strategizing.
Lau Lapides: of capital
Anne Ganguzza: I would
Lau Lapides: start
Anne Ganguzza: start
Lau Lapides: strategize
Anne Ganguzza: strategizing
Lau Lapides: yeah
Anne Ganguzza: because I think just having the thought of, or the thought that, yes, I'm going to need help at some point, you're manifesting the fact that you're going to be getting the work. I'm a big believer in the manifestation of getting work. And also, I think you're never too early to kind of plan or strategize what type of help you might need. And just, you know, it takes time to find help. It's not something typically you can get in a moment's instant. And it is something that you will have to kind of, I would say, educate yourself on in terms of, well, you know, is there a service out here that can help me to do this? Is there someone who can help me to, I don't know, write emails to prospects or maybe generate leads? What type of work could you use? I think if you start by really assessing your business. Breaking down on a piece of paper, how much time do you spend on each thing per day? How much time do you spend auditioning? How much time do you spend researching? How much time do you spend practicing? How much time do you spend on social media? I think that's a good place to start. And then find out if there is. And of course, I totally agree with you a lot with the make sure that you've got a little bit of a nest egg that you can invest. When you need somebody to help you because again, I think we've said this so many times if you want to make money You know you need to spend some money
Lau Lapides: Mmm. Absolutely
Anne Ganguzza: Hmm
Lau Lapides: no doubt about that one. Second that notion. And I would say take a step back and look at your psychology
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: and really keep it real, really keep it real. Despite the name of our wonderful series here, you do have to realize that no one is a true superhero in doing everything yourself. And we like
Anne Ganguzza: Oh
Lau Lapides: to
Anne Ganguzza: god,
Lau Lapides: think we
Anne Ganguzza: yes.
Lau Lapides: are, especially us ladies like to think we are.
Anne Ganguzza: Outlaw
Lau Lapides: We can do everything and we're a failure if we don't.
Anne Ganguzza: Can I, oh my God, can I just like say yes
Lau Lapides: Amen,
Anne Ganguzza: to that?
Lau Lapides: amen,
Anne Ganguzza: Amen
Lau Lapides: say yes.
Anne Ganguzza: to that. I am the biggest control freak that there is.
Lau Lapides: Me too!
Anne Ganguzza: And no, if you wanna get it done right, I'll just have to do it myself. But I'll tell you what, that gets old pretty soon. Once you really wanna grow, I mean, I found that I couldn't move if I didn't outsource and I didn't hire. And I kept thinking, oh God, but maybe I won't have the money. Maybe I won't have that steady stream of income that I can pay them. And I'm here to tell you that it can work if you strategize and you're smart about it. And you really take a look at the money that you have coming in and the money that you have going out. I think that really, Law, is another sit down and really look at the numbers. Number one, how much are you spending on, you know, your marketing. How much are you spending on? And when I talk about spending on marketing, if you're not hiring anybody to do your marketing, you're spending your time. And your time should be worth X amount of dollars per hour. I like to say that I am worth so much per hour. Now, if I want to break down what I do in a day and then say how much it costs me, if I'm spending an hour doing marketing, that's, you know, it's my hourly rate. And so really taking a good look at how much is coming in. how much you're putting out. And sometimes in the beginning, that's gonna be a little unequal. I'm gonna say that I had to invest a little bit more in the beginning than was coming in. And I just needed to make sure that I had a good handle on how much I could put out to be safe and still be able to pay the mortgage.
Lau Lapides: And you don't want to go in and with a blind faith, you want to have
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: some real strategy behind how you're going in, especially if you're at a place typically within the first three to five years of growing a new business where you really are not making an actual salary just yet.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: You're really
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: not making the return on anything just
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: yet. And that's expected. And I think in our culture, North American business culture, I think we're sort of trained in a way that is more mythical than realistic and that is we should be making profit as quickly as possible in the
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: first five years. That's a real myth that just,
Anne Ganguzza: Oh gosh,
Lau Lapides: it very rarely
Anne Ganguzza: it
Lau Lapides: exists
Anne Ganguzza: so is.
Lau Lapides: that you find someone who's starting any business that in the first five years, sometimes longer,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: is making any kind of a
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: profit, right?
Anne Ganguzza: Please. Let's
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: say
Lau Lapides: going
Anne Ganguzza: that
Lau Lapides: in
Anne Ganguzza: again.
Lau Lapides: realistically,
Anne Ganguzza: Let's say that again. How
Lau Lapides: yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: long, Law?
Lau Lapides: going in.
Anne Ganguzza: Five years, if not longer.
Lau Lapides: If not longer.
Anne Ganguzza: If not longer. And I will tell you, for me, it was longer. You know, it was longer than the first five years. I mean, I came from a job where I was making a particular salary, and I was like, oh, I want to be able to make this salary. You know, and I always ask my students to put their goals on a piece of paper of what they want to do in the first year. after they get their demo from me and that sort of thing. And I have a lot of people, they have very high goals of basically making that six figure salary in the first year. And I'm here to say, not to crush your dreams, but I'm here to say that it may take you a little bit longer to get to that point, but that's okay, I mean, that's very normal. And as long as you are okay and you have that little kind of nest egg there that you are strategically pulling money out of investing wisely, you're going to be okay. I mean, but it's very, very normal to not make any kind of money back in the first, you know, years of your voice over business. And especially now, it's kind of a little bit crazy these days. It just
Lau Lapides: Mm.
Anne Ganguzza: keeps getting more and more. more and more people in the industry. And then there's a lot of hype around, you know, advancing technologies and, you know, I do believe there is, you know, are we going to have jobs in 10 years? That kind of a thing. But again, I'm very much of the mindset that we create our work, we create our businesses, and we evolve. And
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: I believe we will always have a need for our human voices in
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: any aspect in the creative entertainment educational spectrum.
Lau Lapides: Yeah. And I would second that. And I think that creative energy coupled with the entrepreneurial resilience
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: is really the thing, capital T-H-E, the thing that's going to help make you successful in our businesses, being able to pivot, being able to be
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: resilient. And I did want to qualify one area you brought up that I absolutely totally agree with and adore is that it's not that you're not making money
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: in your first five years. investing and reinvesting
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, absolutely.
Lau Lapides: in what you need to have for your studio or have for your marketing or have for yourself. And you need to do that and in order to make money back, you need to invest money in order to make money. It isn't it's not just let me do things for free or get things
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: as cheaply as possible
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: and make as much money. Business just doesn't work that way.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: And I think you made mention of get things as cheaply as possible. You know, we all want I think we all we all shop for a bargain. Right.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: I know I do. And so you have to understand the market as well when people are shopping for a bargain that may include your voice. Right. So I think, you know, the fact that you mentioned even that law is something that we have to take into consideration. The investment that you make into your business, sometimes making it all about the amount of money you're investing isn't necessarily the object or even necessarily a wise strategy. Because I would say if you're trying to maybe skimp on demo creation or coaching or workshops, that kind of thing, I truly believe that they are worth their weight in gold for you, because that is developing your product.
Lau Lapides: Yes,
Anne Ganguzza: Right?
Lau Lapides: yes.
Anne Ganguzza: Your product is, I mean, if you don't have a product, you don't have a business. Your product is your voice. Your voice is, you know, physically, you can't, well, can you buy a new voice? Well, maybe. I mean, I don't know, but not really. I can't buy, like, I can't buy your voice law. I wish, you know, I mean, your physical voice for me. So all I can do is develop my own and
Lau Lapides: Yep.
Anne Ganguzza: learn how to use it. more effectively and perform my job to my client's specifications. And that investment, I think, is a wise investment. And I don't think that there isn't a cheap, good way of going about that, really.
Lau Lapides: No,
Anne Ganguzza: There's
Lau Lapides: I had...
Anne Ganguzza: less expensive, but I don't think if you go cheap, you get what you pay for.
Lau Lapides: Yes, it's bringing up one of those little signs, those funny, cute characters, aluminum signs that one of my friends and former engineers bought for me on a birthday. And it was like a mechanic, you know, in front of a car.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: And it said, good work ain't cheap and cheap work ain't good.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: And I never forgot that. I was like, it's so
Anne Ganguzza: Yep.
Lau Lapides: cute and kitschy and silly, but yet it really bottom lines it. It's like you do get what you pay for. So pay wisely, invest
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: wisely,
Anne Ganguzza: yeah, absolutely.
Lau Lapides: and just know that you want to spend money in the most researched and educated and referred areas that you can, because you know it's gonna grow you. So getting back to that growing your team.
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: It's like, woo, all right, let's say we're ready to grow the team and take
Anne Ganguzza: Right.
Lau Lapides: on a VA, a virtual assistant,
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: or take on an accountant or taking on a marketing specialist. What are the steps that we need to be thinking about strategically so that we're staying conservative, we're staying frugal, but we're unafraid, we're coming from abundance, not fear to grow the business
Anne Ganguzza: Sure,
Lau Lapides: knowing that
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: I'm going to look for a return.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, I'm gonna say number one, I think, you know, I think number one of everything is education, right? Educate yourself on the things that you are going to want to have outsourced or want to maybe hand off to someone else to do. If you've done them yourself, you know how much time it takes, right? If you know how much effort it goes into the creation of content, you know what can be done and what... maybe can't be done by a virtual assistant. And so I feel as though you've got to really research. I think in a lot of cases, you have to find someone who really understands you and understands your business and understands your voice. If you're going to have them help you, let's say, craft emails or generate leads or do social media, they still have to kind of understand who you are and what your brand is about because they're going to be representing you. If they're gonna be just doing something like, you know, the monthly numbers, you know, like my accountant, that's not as necessary, but still she has to be educated about, what are my expenses? Who am I paying? Who's a vendor? Who's, you know, what, you know, what is this expense for? So there will be some time, I think, that you'll spend, first of all, in educating yourself about what it is that needs to be done and the scope of that job, because that's the scope of the job that you will be having to provide anyone that you hire. And then that is going to then either there'll be a price for that and you'll decide if that price is worth paying for their services and what can they do that's realistic and what can they do, what can't they do. There can be a lot of people out there that will promise you the world, I'll do all of your social media. Well, okay, that's a pretty blanket statement. Does that mean you're going to actually... content for me on TikTok? Are you going to create videos? Or if you're going to do that I'm gonna have to provide you with videos that you can then edit and so that's another step that you're gonna have to keep in mind in the process. What's
Lau Lapides: Absolutely.
Anne Ganguzza: your part? What's their part?
Lau Lapides: Yes, yes, and I mean, when I think of some of the mistakes that I made when I was hiring the first year or so, I won't I don't want people to make those mistakes. So think like a chess player. Think
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: like a strategy game player where you're thinking three or four steps ahead. So just because you're hiring someone in a particular area that either you are not qualified to do yourself
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: or not mean that you don't have to know what needs to be done.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh god yes.
Lau Lapides: So it's a very fine line of knowing as much as you can without actually becoming that
Anne Ganguzza: Yes,
Lau Lapides: expert
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: and not micromanaging that expert, but also being three steps ahead of that expert. So the expert... never is bored, they never are left with nothing
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: to do, and they know exactly where they're going for the next month or the quarter or even the week. Sometimes, like for instance, I'll have what I call stand up Zoom meetings at the beginning of the week, and sometimes those will continue all week
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: where we'll
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: jump on Zoom and we'll have coffee and we'll talk about our goals and we'll have a laugh and then we'll get right to it. And it has a very, it has a team cohesion to it.
Anne Ganguzza: Sure, absolutely.
Lau Lapides: that I find a lot of people really love and crave
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: that connection,
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, absolutely.
Lau Lapides: but
Anne Ganguzza: I have
Lau Lapides: it
Anne Ganguzza: a team
Lau Lapides: also keeps on top of people,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: right?
Anne Ganguzza: I have a team
Lau Lapides: That...
Anne Ganguzza: meeting as well I have a team meeting as well once a week with you know Not everybody but once a week and then you know if I have like my accountant of course we meet you know At a particular time she doesn't have to be with the team of social media But I do have a general team that handles social media and all communications by behalf or some communications on my behalf. And so we meet once a week. And usually it's a two or three hour meeting. So it's not a short meeting. And of course I pay them for their time at that point as well. I think it's important to note that, oh gosh, finding the cheapest, you know what I mean? Assistant is not always the best solution. I really believe, again, you've got to research, look for testimonials, look for referrals. Because, you know, There's a lot of people can promise things. And I'm always very wary of people that I don't know, that are maybe outside of the industry. And so, I know Law, you and I have spoken about it. You interview, you interview people. And I do the same to make sure that I get a good feel for who they are. And if they are from the same industry, you also have to kind of keep in mind, well, is there a conflict of interest? Or is there, you do have to kind of think about that. I mean, I hate to say that, but you do. You've
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: got to think, is there a conflict of interest, or is there something that you're doing that they may be also kind of taking what you're doing and then utilizing it for themselves, which is absolutely fine in certain cases, but in other cases, it may not be fine. So,
Lau Lapides: so important
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: and so you have to think about this stuff.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: Also, not to downgrade in any way services that do provide voiceover talent that become VA's. That's really great
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah, no, yeah,
Lau Lapides: for
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: the talent themselves. That's a great side hustle for them. But my strategy is a little bit different. I actually do not want that. That would not
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: be something I would be looking for. for reasons that you're saying, but also, I actually find that people who are in the non-creative space, if there is such a thing, I
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: don't know, I think everyone's creative, but consider themselves a non-creative. They're more business-oriented, administrative,
Anne Ganguzza: Yep, they have a different
Lau Lapides: more
Anne Ganguzza: perspective.
Lau Lapides: numbers,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: they have no emotional
Anne Ganguzza: Attachment.
Lau Lapides: investment or attachment to what we are doing, and I actually
Anne Ganguzza: Agreed.
Lau Lapides: like that better.
Anne Ganguzza: Yes,
Lau Lapides: because we
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: are the emotional ones. We are the hypathos. We're what I call the crazy
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, law,
Lau Lapides: creatives.
Anne Ganguzza: really? Are we really that? I'm
Lau Lapides: We
Anne Ganguzza: not a,
Lau Lapides: are,
Anne Ganguzza: I'm
Lau Lapides: and
Anne Ganguzza: not
Lau Lapides: I'm
Anne Ganguzza: a,
Lau Lapides: one of them.
Anne Ganguzza: I'm not dramatic or emotional at all. I'm just
Lau Lapides: I
Anne Ganguzza: saying.
Lau Lapides: fully admit it. So I actually don't mind and really enjoy the other side
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: of
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: that coin. People who can come
Anne Ganguzza: Well,
Lau Lapides: in
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: and they're very consistent. Their personalities are not up and down. They have
Anne Ganguzza: And they,
Lau Lapides: nothing in it for them personally.
Anne Ganguzza: well, that's it. And they bring a very different perspective. And they also can reach possibly people that you don't have access to, right? Or have, you know, in terms of, you know, it could be reach people for marketing or even reaching people for helping and doing other things. right, and you would never have been able to find them. So I actually, law, I am like, I'm between, I actually utilize both. I utilize some people in the industry, and then I utilize people outside of the industry because for that reason, exactly for that reason, law, the one thing that I run into when I look for people outside of the industry, because, and I'm just gonna say this because I've been doing this for so long, selling into this industry. When you sell into a creative industry, right, we're all starving artists. So it always seems like, okay, I don't have a lot of money to invest. I don't have a lot of money. I'm sorry, I don't have the money. I don't have the... And so what happens is when, you know, if you are that starving artist and you're trying to outsource to somebody else who's a starving artist, right, there's gonna be that, well, I don't have a ton of money. And then again, remember, you get what you pay for. I'm a big believer in paying people what they're worth because that's what I speak about and I think we should all walk the walk, right? And talk the talk, walk the walk. You should pay people for what they're worth and they will want to do a better job for you. You have to make them excited to work for you and excited to wanna be at work. And so if you're always trying to get the cheap, right? Or you can't pay a lot of money, then you may not get the performance that you're expecting out of people. as well.
Lau Lapides: Yeah, I agree, and I'm gonna take issue with this. rhetoric that floats out there in the artist's crowd, that I don't have the money. I'm gonna challenge
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, yeah,
Lau Lapides: that because
Anne Ganguzza: please.
Lau Lapides: I would sit you down and believe me, I'm not a financial advisor. I do not give financial advice. But I know from living the life that I've lived, that if I sat you down even over seven days and really documented everything you're doing, everything you're spending money on,
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, yup.
Lau Lapides: what's your fixed costs, what's your variable costs, it would kind of blow you out of the water to see
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: how much money you're spending in directions that are luxury, you don't need,
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah,
Lau Lapides: they're not necessities,
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: or that you're just throwing away and unaware of that could be invested. right into
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: your business.
Anne Ganguzza: totally
Lau Lapides: That would
Anne Ganguzza: agreed.
Lau Lapides: be what I call
Anne Ganguzza: Totally
Lau Lapides: found
Anne Ganguzza: agreed.
Lau Lapides: money. That's like that's like coins under the couch, right?
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: totally
Lau Lapides: as you're finding
Anne Ganguzza: agreed.
Lau Lapides: the coins under the couch,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: say, Wow, well, before I claim poverty, and before I identify with not having money, let me take accountability 100% with the money that I earn or that I'm saving
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: and how I am spending it.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, that's why I say over and over again, you're right, you're so right on that. You've got to sit down and look at the numbers. It is, take a hard look at your numbers and don't just do it once, right? Revisit it, like revisit it monthly, revisit it weekly. I mean, really revisit it. I have, you know, I installed the, oh my gosh, I forget the name of it, the app on my phone, the financial app on my phone that tells me what I'm spending money monthly on. And you will, oh, Rocket, I think it's Rocket Money. So
Lau Lapides: Yes,
Anne Ganguzza: I invested
Lau Lapides: great.
Anne Ganguzza: in that, because now that's something I spend monthly on, but Rocket Money tells me what I'm spending every month. And so there could be those unknown subscriptions that I'm paying for. And I totally agree with you, Law, that there is that constant, I don't have the money, I don't have the money, I hear it all the time, trust me, I do. Because I sell services to the voiceover, I sell events, I sell coaching services, I sell demo production, I constantly hear the I don't have money. And it's... It's really a thing you have to understand that if you are going to hire outside of this industry people will be charging accordingly. Meaning, it's not like you may be surprised at the hourly rate that these other services, marketing services in particular, social media services will get for these things. And So, you know, that might be a nice eye-opener or maybe not a nice eye-opener. It is something, though, to be aware of, though, that in our industry, I think we're so used to hearing each other going, well, I just don't have the money, and, you know, we're trying to, like, skimp and say. But yet we speak about charging what you're worth all the time. And so consider that from all... all areas, right? Don't just consider like, well, you know, I'm charging what I'm worth, but you know what, when it comes to hiring a virtual assistant, well, you know, I can only pay you like $5 an hour. No, that's just not going to cut it.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: Just, you know.
Lau Lapides: Yes, totally. And really, okay, I'm about to say the C word. I think this audience can handle it. Commitment.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh!
Lau Lapides: Are you willing to make
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: a 100% deep dive commitment, which means you do have to sacrifice.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: Sacrifice
Anne Ganguzza: Mm,
Lau Lapides: goes hand in
Anne Ganguzza: yep.
Lau Lapides: hand with commitment. So I may want to go to the movies all weekend. I may want to go to the amusement park. I may want to take long drives to New Hampshire. But guess what? I may not be in a financial position right now to do that while I'm building my business
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: or
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: while I'm leveling up my business because now I need a CRM tool. I need a
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: marketing VA I need it. Okay, so maybe I don't want to take that vacation next month.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: Maybe it isn't absolutely necessary to eat out all weekend and get Grubhub.
Anne Ganguzza: There's a big
Lau Lapides: Maybe
Anne Ganguzza: one.
Lau Lapides: I can pick
Anne Ganguzza: Yep.
Lau Lapides: up my food or cook my food or there's so many ways to cut
Anne Ganguzza: I can
Lau Lapides: your
Anne Ganguzza: give up the Starbucks.
Lau Lapides: cost.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, I just said
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: that. Oh my
Lau Lapides: Hello.
Anne Ganguzza: God. I know,
Lau Lapides: And what about
Anne Ganguzza: even my virtual assistant, she's a Starbucks
Lau Lapides: I know
Anne Ganguzza: lover.
Lau Lapides: I was like,
Anne Ganguzza: She's gonna be like, what? Don't
Lau Lapides: what?
Anne Ganguzza: you say that. You know,
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: hey,
Lau Lapides: And what?
Anne Ganguzza: look, it's all in where your priorities are. And that's fine.
Lau Lapides: Totally
Anne Ganguzza: I'm not saying
Lau Lapides: totally
Anne Ganguzza: you can't go to Starbucks. I mean, that
Lau Lapides: no
Anne Ganguzza: can be, that's like me. I have my priorities. I will
Lau Lapides: right
Anne Ganguzza: always pay for. this, and this, but I make substitutions, right? So that I can pay for this, I will also do this, or I will work an extra hour, or I will try to market myself in this way,
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: so that I can afford that luxury.
Lau Lapides: Yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: But,
Lau Lapides: you have to
Anne Ganguzza: you
Lau Lapides: be
Anne Ganguzza: know,
Lau Lapides: resourceful. You have
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: to be resilient
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: and you have to be creative and you have to make a commitment and be willing to sacrifice. You know, some people are doing a four, five, $600 gym membership every month. Well, could I replace that possibly with a bike or with walking or with anything at home just for the time when I'm building my business? There's so many ways. And again, we're not financial advisors here, but we could sit you down and spin your head around
Anne Ganguzza: Sure,
Lau Lapides: ways to be
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: creative about saving money, not spending money, and then reinvesting that right into the business.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah, yeah.
Lau Lapides: And then all of a sudden you can get that great microphone
Anne Ganguzza: I schedule.
Lau Lapides: or that great coaching.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. I schedule that review, actually. I schedule that review. It's on my calendar, you know, monthly. Because especially, you know, lately, it's been a little tough, the economy out there these days. And, you know, I don't know if, you know, I don't know where it's necessarily going, right? So I want to make sure that I'm spending my money as wisely as I can. And that includes, you know, my team and, you know, making, you know, necessary do, which is not something I love to do. But it's something that, again, I have to make sure that I've got the strategy there
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: to make sure that I'm investing my money wisely in what services I am paying for and what I'm doing to grow my business.
Lau Lapides: And I would say too, as you grow your business, to document
Anne Ganguzza: sure I understand.
Lau Lapides: what you're doing.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, Siri doesn't understand.
Lau Lapides: I would say to grow your business, I would document what you're doing, whether you're writing down or video,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: what you do during a day, like record it on Zoom, record it on
Anne Ganguzza: Yep.
Lau Lapides: Loom, record it so that the new people coming in can either train each other or they can be watching the videos of what you've been doing because you'll forget, you'll forget half the things you're doing because you're doing so much. Everyone's multitasking. So you really have to be documenting everything you're doing as your business builds. That way the learning curve for the people coming into your business is very quick. You don't want
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: someone on a month's learning curve. You want them on like a three
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah,
Lau Lapides: day learning
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: curve so they can get to business,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: right?
Anne Ganguzza: and you will have to train them. That is absolutely, you do have to understand and be prepared for that. You will have to train them. They are not gonna know your brand immediately. But you can make it easier for them to learn your brand as Lov was just mentioning. What a great conversation, Lov.
Lau Lapides: Great stuff. We could
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: go
Anne Ganguzza: good stuff,
Lau Lapides: on and
Anne Ganguzza: we could.
Lau Lapides: on with this. I mean, I got one more tip. Don't hire people that you necessarily like only. Hire people
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah.
Lau Lapides: that are good for you
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: and good for your business. Not everyone is a growth person. Some people are great people. They're great to have around,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Don't
Lau Lapides: but they
Anne Ganguzza: hire
Lau Lapides: may
Anne Ganguzza: your
Lau Lapides: not
Anne Ganguzza: friends
Lau Lapides: grow you.
Anne Ganguzza: necessarily.
Lau Lapides: They may not grow your business.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, exactly,
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: exactly.
Lau Lapides: Know the difference between your friends
Anne Ganguzza: But
Lau Lapides: and your business partners.
Anne Ganguzza: I think you do have to be in a good relationship with the person that you are working with. That is
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: for sure. Yeah. But yeah, they don't have to be your best friend. So yeah, and that could be a whole other discussion for another day. But.
Lau Lapides: Yes, for
Anne Ganguzza: I'm
Lau Lapides: sure.
Anne Ganguzza: gonna give I'm gonna give a great big shout out to our sponsor IPD TL you two can connect a network like a boss find out more at IP D TL comm and Also, I want to ask you guys a question. Do you have a local nonprofit? That's close to your heart. I know that I do You can make a huge impact as a group and contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. If you wanna find out more, visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn how. All right, bosses, you have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
Lau Lapides: See
Anne Ganguzza: Bye.
Lau Lapides: you next time, bye.
This week, Anne and Lau discuss the importance of side hustles to your VO career. A side hustle can be anything from pet sitting to retail work, or offering computer consulting services. Side hustles provide more than just an extra income - they teach you to set priorities and work towards your goals. They can also provide transferable skills, and that is why the Bosses believe in the transformative power of side hustles in career development. Side hustles equip you with the skills to be trusted leaders and provide the practical knowledge to run your own business. More importantly, they offer the chance to pursue your passions and reach your goals. So, are you ready to embrace side hustles and level up your life and career? Transcript Intro
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne Ganguzza: Hey everyone, welcome to the V.O. Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Gangusa, and I'm here with my lovely boss co-host, Lau Lapides, hey, Lau.
Lau Lapides: Hey, Anne, you look super disco sexy. 70s, maybe 80s.
Anne Ganguzza: Why, thank you.
Lau Lapides: You want to do the hustle?
Anne Ganguzza: Do the hustle. Do, do, do.
Lau Lapides: I just turned into John Travolta for
Anne Ganguzza: Hey,
Lau Lapides: a second.
Anne Ganguzza: who said we don't have fun here in Boss Land, in
Lau Lapides: We
Anne Ganguzza: Boss
Lau Lapides: do
Anne Ganguzza: Land?
Lau Lapides: we do.
Anne Ganguzza: You know, hustle, hustle. I think that's the, that is like the word for my business, is hustle, hustle.
Lau Lapides: Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza: And you know, I think I've been kind of a hustler all my life.
Lau Lapides: Me too, in a good way,
Anne Ganguzza: In
Lau Lapides: not
Anne Ganguzza: a good
Lau Lapides: a
Anne Ganguzza: way,
Lau Lapides: negative way, in a
Anne Ganguzza: in
Lau Lapides: good
Anne Ganguzza: a good
Lau Lapides: way.
Anne Ganguzza: way. And I think it probably helped me to get where I am today, really, all those little side hustles. I think we should take a, let's take a journey. Let's take a journey back in time and talk about our side hustles. And I'll tell you what, bosses, there's no shame in a good side hustle, that's for sure. Because
Lau Lapides: Mm-mm.
Anne Ganguzza: I think it helps build your character and get you to where you are today to become a resourceful and entrepreneurial boss.
Lau Lapides: Yeah, there's no shame in that game. Let's go down memory road and
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: I'm willing to share. I'm actually proud of working really hard to get to the day where I was able to open a studio.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: I think that there's a whole long path leading up to that the public doesn't see and doesn't know about that really is the building block to getting to your business end. So
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: take me way back, take me back to like even
Anne Ganguzza: Way
Lau Lapides: your teen
Anne Ganguzza: back,
Lau Lapides: years
Anne Ganguzza: okay, my
Lau Lapides: of your
Anne Ganguzza: teen
Lau Lapides: first
Anne Ganguzza: years.
Lau Lapides: jobs.
Anne Ganguzza: Okay,
Lau Lapides: That
Anne Ganguzza: okay,
Lau Lapides: counts. What
Anne Ganguzza: so
Lau Lapides: were your first
Anne Ganguzza: all
Lau Lapides: jobs?
Anne Ganguzza: right, I, all right, so I am trying to remember, I grew up in New York State, upstate New York. And so, you know, there was a legal, you know, working age.
Lau Lapides: Okay.
Anne Ganguzza: But I started
Lau Lapides: Which you
Anne Ganguzza: very
Lau Lapides: ignored.
Anne Ganguzza: early. I started very early. I started at the very young age of 12. And, but I wasn't working for cash, I was working for writing lessons. So, Some of
Lau Lapides: Oh.
Anne Ganguzza: you may, that follow me on Facebook, may have noticed that I've been spending an awful lot of time on the weekends going to horse shows. Well, that is just a blast from my past. And it just, I'll tell you what, when I was young, horses were my passion. I mean, I wanted to grow up and become a professional horse rider. And I, you know, had a couple of horses growing up, and I showed growing up. And I'll tell you what, that is not a cheap hobby. And so I used to work at the barn from the young age of 12, shoveling lots of manure and taking care of the horses, grooming the horses. Oh my goodness, I spent
Lau Lapides: Bye.
Anne Ganguzza: probably seven days a week at the barn. And I would do that in trade for my riding lessons. And yeah, it was really, and riding of course is a whole, like I can have a 30 minute podcast on what riding taught me. I think that the lessons that I learned from my horses were just invaluable in helping me to shape who I am today and to be fearless, because I had a lot of fear. I was afraid. I mean, I was thrown off my horse multiple times, you know, and I just. was taught to get back up on that horse and face those fears. And oh, it was a wonderful, wonderful time in my life. And my mother loved it because she knew where I was. You know, I wasn't hanging out. I wasn't hanging out in the bank parking lot, you know, drinking
Lau Lapides: Yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: beer.
Lau Lapides: right,
Anne Ganguzza: So
Lau Lapides: right.
Anne Ganguzza: that was
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: my
Lau Lapides: the horses
Anne Ganguzza: very, yeah. How
Lau Lapides: know you. They
Anne Ganguzza: old were
Lau Lapides: love
Anne Ganguzza: you when you got
Lau Lapides: you.
Anne Ganguzza: sick?
Lau Lapides: They
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: know your voice. They're so emotional and creative.
Anne Ganguzza: Well, that's it. It was such
Lau Lapides: Right?
Anne Ganguzza: an emotional connection. I mean, outside of like,
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: it's not just a physical ride. It's very much a mental ride because animals sense every, you know, every essence of your being. They can sense when you're nervous. They can sense when you're afraid or fearful. And really just becoming one. And you know, it amazes me, and I'll just, I'll shut up after this, but it amazes me because I used to jump, that was, I wrote English and I used to jump, that you take a beast. that is, you know, 2,000 pounds, and you point it towards a fence, and he willingly goes over it. Sometimes they don't willingly go over it, but usually that's, I say, operator error. You haven't brought them
Lau Lapides: Hahaha!
Anne Ganguzza: into the fence properly, so they can safely jump the fence. But I'm telling you, just, the animals, they're just amazing, beautiful, kind, wonderful beings that here, I'm gonna point you at this fence, and I want you to jump over it, and
Lau Lapides: Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza: I'm gonna be on your back while you do that. And you know, I'm going to continually ride around these different fences and courses And you're gonna just willingly do this for me and it just it amazes me the kindness and the and the Connection you have to have with that horse to really have that be a thing
Lau Lapides: So it sounds like a very profound way of teaching a moral lesson to our listeners that you learn a lot of hardcore skills when you side hustle,
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm,
Lau Lapides: right? How to
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely,
Lau Lapides: build trust, right?
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: How to go on the ride and
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides: trust,
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: how to get up into fearful heights and fall and get back
Anne Ganguzza: And you make,
Lau Lapides: up again,
Anne Ganguzza: yeah, when you make a mistake,
Lau Lapides: right?
Anne Ganguzza: you know, get right back
Lau Lapides: Love
Anne Ganguzza: up again.
Lau Lapides: that.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: Love that.
Anne Ganguzza: So
Lau Lapides: Love
Anne Ganguzza: much. And
Lau Lapides: that.
Anne Ganguzza: that was not necessarily for money, although I used to groom. I mean, that was a side hustle after I would work at the stable. I would also groom as a side hustle. Then I would make cash
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: for the horses that I braided and groomed. I would do that. I would go to horse shows and groom for people. And
Lau Lapides: You
Anne Ganguzza: oh
Lau Lapides: braided.
Anne Ganguzza: gosh, it paid for a lot of my... my professional riding gear, my
Lau Lapides: Ah,
Anne Ganguzza: show
Lau Lapides: so
Anne Ganguzza: entry
Lau Lapides: good.
Anne Ganguzza: fees, my jackets, my boots, horse tack and equipment. Ugh. Such a good time of my
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: life. So
Lau Lapides: good.
Anne Ganguzza: that was my very first. What about you, Law?
Lau Lapides: Well, you know, besides the typical before 12, which I did like babysitting and I did mowing lawns and all of that
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: delivery
Anne Ganguzza: I mode lawns
Lau Lapides: of
Anne Ganguzza: too,
Lau Lapides: stuff,
Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: those were not prolific to me, even though I was doing skills. The first one was when I was 15, 15 years old. Think about that, 15 years old. I think I was a freshman in high school. I had a shoe store across the street from my high school, a family owned shoe store, and they trusted me to be a manager. gave me
Anne Ganguzza: Wow.
Lau Lapides: keys to the shoe store and that changed my entire life because I suddenly realized that I had the ability I didn't think in this way but I had the abilities and skill sets to be trusted and to be a leader and so I would literally open up the store close the store man it was a shoe store
Anne Ganguzza: Wow.
Lau Lapides: managed the store at 15 and I and I think back on that you know 40 years ago and how those little bits and pieces really built my life built my
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: whole mindset over a lifetime. So that was the first, I think, prolific side hustle
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: for me. What's your next one?
Anne Ganguzza: Well, let's see. So I was constantly, I probably did that all through high school. And then in addition to that, I was like, well, I gotta make some cash, some cold hard cash cause I like to buy clothes and or other things, just back then it was like, or records or CDs. Actually it was records, CDs weren't in college. So now I'm really dating myself. But
Lau Lapides: Ha ha!
Anne Ganguzza: yeah, so then it became, I worked at a department store in retail. So I worked at Sibley's.
Lau Lapides: You learned
Anne Ganguzza: And I
Lau Lapides: so
Anne Ganguzza: also,
Lau Lapides: much doing that, right
Anne Ganguzza: oh yeah,
Lau Lapides: Anne?
Anne Ganguzza: I worked
Lau Lapides: So
Anne Ganguzza: in retail
Lau Lapides: many.
Anne Ganguzza: in the kids department and I also worked for a gas station kind of mini-mart, which there I had the keys and I had to like lock up at night, I was working that nights. And yeah, I mean, those were like, you make the minimum wage and I worked, God, however many hours I could. And believe it or not, I'm gonna go one step further and I'm going to say that, In high school, they had a work study program, so I had enough credits by the time I was literally at the beginning of junior year to graduate. So I elected for my senior year to do a work study program, where I came to school for, I think, just the morning hours, and then in the afternoon, I worked.
Lau Lapides: Mm,
Anne Ganguzza: So
Lau Lapides: great.
Anne Ganguzza: I had to just put in a certain amount of hours per week, which I'm quite sure I did 15 to 20. But most of that was encompassed just me going to the stable. and working. And so that was really kind of great. I mean, the work study and I just I absolutely loved all my little side jobs that I did and you know, waitressing, you know, which was again, you know such a such a learn those life lessons that really help you to you know When you are running a business and owning a business that can really help you in a multitude of ways I mean that was the customer service aspect, you know Which really helped me in my job today What about your next one?
Lau Lapides: I tell you, it's so subliminal. You
Anne Ganguzza: Right?
Lau Lapides: don't even realize for many years how it gets ingrained in your core and then it comes out in really important ways as a business person and as a business owner. I too was a server,
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: I too worked in retail,
Anne Ganguzza: I was a bus
Lau Lapides: but
Anne Ganguzza: girl.
Lau Lapides: you're a bus girl, I was a
Anne Ganguzza: And
Lau Lapides: waitress,
Anne Ganguzza: a waitress. Yep.
Lau Lapides: right? But the next prolific job for me was at 19. I was in college. and one of my professors who was actually teaching me singing said, you know what, we're going away on vacation. Can you stay at my home and take care of all of my animals? And I was
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: always a huge animal lover like you, like my
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: fur children. I said, okay, I'm happy to. And she said, how much do you want me to pay you? I said, you're gonna pay me
Anne Ganguzza: Ha
Lau Lapides: to do
Anne Ganguzza: ha
Lau Lapides: that?
Anne Ganguzza: ha!
Lau Lapides: What do you mean? I said, I don't know, pay me. And she paid me, so I was, changed my world. I launched a pet sitting business at 19,
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, nice.
Lau Lapides: and I did it for 10 years, and it brought me through
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: all of my professional performing through my 20s and through my college
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: years and bought me a new car. and savings for what would soon be later or later in my 20s, my graduate school career. So
Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah.
Lau Lapides: that side hustle was major and it set me up for the next whole piece of my life and I loved it. It was like
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: if I didn't do what I did, I could have easily gone in another direction of creating like a multi-million dollar animal business or
Anne Ganguzza: Sure,
Lau Lapides: something like that,
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: which turned into that. And the skill sets were amazing because I already knew like you knew how to have keys in my pocket and be totally trusted
Anne Ganguzza: Yep,
Lau Lapides: with someone's
Anne Ganguzza: yep.
Lau Lapides: property. So I was like a janitor. I had huge
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: sets of keys of houses all over my area that I'd be going into and taking care of. I loved it because I'm a very pragmatic person. I love taking care of things. I like things that are purposeful and I love my animals. It was like check, check.
Anne Ganguzza: Nice.
Lau Lapides: And the money was terrific even at that time, which was a good you know 30 years ago now. time I was a young kid pulling in 25 or 30 dollars per animal and could take up to 10 a day. Do the
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: math! It's
Anne Ganguzza: Yep.
Lau Lapides: like oh my goodness I can do my theater, I can finish my bachelor's degree, I can love on my baby pets all over the place because I'm trusted and where's that gonna lead you see?
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: And that was
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: started out of a accident side hustle.
Anne Ganguzza: Wow, I'm gonna
Lau Lapides: Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza: say, okay, college
Lau Lapides: Witchers.
Anne Ganguzza: then next for me
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: was, okay, so I started off doing, and this is my preliminary voiceover. So I started reading textbooks onto tape for disabled students
Lau Lapides: That's
Anne Ganguzza: at the college.
Lau Lapides: nice.
Anne Ganguzza: And okay, so I'm gonna set the scene for you. I was reading physics and calculus books onto like, tape recorders, like with the cassette tapes.
Lau Lapides: I remember
Anne Ganguzza: So when
Lau Lapides: those!
Anne Ganguzza: I had to record, I pressed play record at the same time and I would be reading the actual questions in the back of calculus problems. So I had to understand what all the symbols meant. And so if I made a mistake, I had to stop, rewind, and then record the whole thing all over again. And that paid for my single room. I had a single room in a suite, which was great. And I was also an RA, I was a dorm guard. So that also paid for my room at the college because I basically kind of paid my way through college by doing things like that. And also that was when I continued, I was a singer in high school in musical theater and choir and then continued that in college. and met up with a person where we started singing at weddings at venues. So we were like a little bit of a singing team. We would do duets at weddings. And so I made money
Lau Lapides: Oh.
Anne Ganguzza: that way.
Lau Lapides: Why did I not know you were a real singer? How come I didn't know
Anne Ganguzza: Uh,
Lau Lapides: that?
Anne Ganguzza: you know, it's, I'm not, I mean, I,
Lau Lapides: What was your favorite song? What was one of your favorite
Anne Ganguzza: oh my
Lau Lapides: wedding
Anne Ganguzza: gosh,
Lau Lapides: songs?
Anne Ganguzza: we're talking
Lau Lapides: Ah!
Anne Ganguzza: about the wedding songs that were back in the day. We used to sing like theme from Ice Castles, you know, we
Lau Lapides: Oh!
Anne Ganguzza: used to have like those kinds of things.
Lau Lapides: Oh my god,
Anne Ganguzza: Um,
Lau Lapides: the Carpenters!
Anne Ganguzza: Ave Maria, oh yeah, but all those, you know, all of those things. Um, so, but it was cool because she had a 12 string guitar and we would sing harmony.
Lau Lapides: Oh my
Anne Ganguzza: And
Lau Lapides: gosh,
Anne Ganguzza: so yeah, it was
Lau Lapides: so
Anne Ganguzza: one of my favorite
Lau Lapides: good.
Anne Ganguzza: things to do. Although I can't say that I'm a singer today, but I can carry a tune, that's for sure.
Lau Lapides: That's amazing.
Anne Ganguzza: So, and that's a lot of my musicality comes from my singing as well as, you know, I played piano for, you know, eight years, I took piano lessons. So again, that's another core, I think, a core skill that I think is so important that contributes to my business today and what I do today in voiceover. It's very musical for me. So,
Lau Lapides: Totally.
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: And I'll share my last, I think my last side hustle in my life, which actually became part of my career. And that was when I was 28 years old. I was still pet sitting, because I was a huge multitasker, but I fell
Anne Ganguzza: That doesn't
Lau Lapides: into
Anne Ganguzza: surprise
Lau Lapides: teaching.
Anne Ganguzza: me.
Lau Lapides: I fell into teaching and I started teaching in a modeling agency.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm.
Lau Lapides: And I
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: absolutely fell head over heels for teaching while I was trying to get into grad school. And it took me about four years to get into grad school. And I was doing my pets my teaching and doing my performing.
Anne Ganguzza: Yep,
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: yep.
Lau Lapides: then I got into grad school. All of that stopped. I moved to California and started a whole new life. But the teaching became
Anne Ganguzza: Mmm.
Lau Lapides: an integral part of my whole career and my whole program. So I don't know if it's a side hustle or not, but at the time it was. And it just seemed fun. It seemed like something cool to do and something to... challenge me and my knowledge
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: base. Like, you don't really know what you know until you have to teach it to someone
Anne Ganguzza: Isn't that true?
Lau Lapides: else.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: You know what
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: I mean?
Anne Ganguzza: because you have to learn it like 20 times more. I'll tell you what,
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: my after college, my teacher kind of came out of me because I went to work in the corporate world. As people know, I was a design engineer for an orthopedic company and I was designing hip and knee prosthetics. However, I used to go for training. I used to go up to Massachusetts, used to go up to Boston. And I used to go for computer training because I did a lot of my design work on a CAD system. And I'd go for training frequently up to the Boston area because that's where the company was. And I met my 2B boss there at a computer class. And he said, hey, I need somebody to teach this, you know, CAD at my school. Would you be willing to do that at night? And that became a side hustle for me. at night and I said sure I'd love to and I started teaching at night and boy I'll tell you what I fell in love with that and I should have known because back in the day when I was a tiny girl before I was 12 and you know working in the stalls and shoveling my manure every day I was teaching my dolls you know flashcards so I feel like I always had teaching in my blood I started teaching at night and then I ultimately you know went to work full time for the school did that for 20 some odd years. And then ultimately that was my last career before I decided to, well, I went into voiceover part-time while still working in that career and then decided to go full-time into voiceover. And I just loved the teaching. I continued the teaching, started coaching in voiceover. And
Lau Lapides: Me
Anne Ganguzza: while
Lau Lapides: too.
Anne Ganguzza: I was working my way through the corporate world, I also consulted on the computer end of things so I would work for companies. setting up their computer systems or you know doing you know whatever system admin type of deals so I Constantly, I think I worked like oh my god 60 to 80 hours a week since I was you know 21 since I got out into the working world I mean the real working world after college and interestingly enough I remember setting my priorities. I was like, you know what? I hate cleaning houses. I mean, I'm a clean person, but I hate having to clean my house on the weekends because that was the time that I had to do it since I was working full-time. And I said, you know what? I'm just gonna work overtime so that I can pay someone to come and
Lau Lapides: Hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: clean my house. And I said that at age 21 and I've had that happen ever since. I mean, there's
Lau Lapides: You've
Anne Ganguzza: maybe
Lau Lapides: delegated.
Anne Ganguzza: a time when I stop it, but I was like, I will always make sure I make enough money. That's how, when we were talking about priority setting, right?
Lau Lapides: Yes.
Anne Ganguzza: I will always have someone to clean my house because I'd rather work the overtime than clean my house. I mean, not that
Lau Lapides: Yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: I'm not a clean person, because I
Lau Lapides: yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: really am.
Lau Lapides: no, that's
Anne Ganguzza: I do
Lau Lapides: delegating.
Anne Ganguzza: all the clutter and yeah,
Lau Lapides: No.
Anne Ganguzza: that exactly is what
Lau Lapides: Listen,
Anne Ganguzza: it is.
Lau Lapides: listen, just because you're capable and really good at doing something doesn't mean you should be doing it.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: Right.
Anne Ganguzza: it's really so
Lau Lapides: Sometimes
Anne Ganguzza: true.
Lau Lapides: you have to take that time. That's what we were talking in our in our last podcast about building the team. It's like, well, You have to be the head of the ship, the captain
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: of the ship, which means
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: you have to steer the ship. You can't be doing all the jobs on the ship, even though you may know how to do
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: them, you shouldn't be doing them because you need to steer the ship. So it's the same in this case. It's
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: like you are already smart enough and mature enough to understand that, oh, I can do a great job cleaning my own house and I don't mind doing it, but I wanna spend that time really building my career and
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: really
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: putting that into more
Anne Ganguzza: And
Lau Lapides: important things.
Anne Ganguzza: that's so you're so right, because that's actually what I was doing. I was building my career and
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: moving up in every aspect of my career. Whatever I was doing, I made it a point to grow and to move up, to get promoted and, you know, and do what I needed to do. And a lot of that included, you know, spending time educating myself. And Once I got into my last job, which was at the school teaching, but actually I was on staff as a tech person, but I also taught all the IT electives, I taught at night and ultimately did phone installs, which is where I ended up being the voice of the phone system. And that got me into voiceover. Then I did that part-time, right, while I was working full-time at the job. And then ultimately when I decided to go full-time into VoiceOver, I then had another side hustle because then I wasn't, you know, full-time, I didn't have the clients built up yet. So I was like, whoa, gosh, there's no money coming in. So I need a side hustle. And so again, the side hustle for me for that was I literally worked. for a chiropractor. I went to a chiropractor and he needed help and I was like, you know what, I need to bring in some cash to help pay the bills. And he needed an office manager and so I became an office manager for just about, gosh, I'm gonna say it was a while, maybe it was the first five years of my business. I worked 20 hours a week. I got free adjustments, which was great. And that's what I did. And I just remember my mother. God bless her. She was always like, so Anne, when are you going? Because I'd had all these career jobs and promotions and titles. And she's like, so Anne, when are you going to get a real job?
Lau Lapides: Nyeh
Anne Ganguzza: And
Lau Lapides: ha
Anne Ganguzza: I'm like,
Lau Lapides: ha!
Anne Ganguzza: mom, I am building a business. I'm an entrepreneur. And
Lau Lapides: Good.
Anne Ganguzza: so yeah, but I had side hustles. And I always encourage students that are just coming into the industry to do the side hustle. Take the experience from life, from your work. and utilize that to continue the revenue stream while you build your business. So
Lau Lapides: Yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: important.
Lau Lapides: and make sure it's flexible. It has
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: to be flexible in nature so that you're not putting your career and your education on hold.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: You don't ever want to side hustle to take up so much time and energy
Anne Ganguzza: Exactly.
Lau Lapides: that you're not building the more important building blocks you want it to support, but not to take up all of your. your time and your energy
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: and focus
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: and make sure it's something you kind of like. You don't have
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: to be in
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely,
Lau Lapides: love with it, but
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: make sure it's not something that's causing anger, disdain, grief, because then you're gonna bring that into your career and
Anne Ganguzza: Sure.
Lau Lapides: into your education and you're not gonna be successful there and sabotage the thing that you wanna build. So you have
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: to kind of think the
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: whole thing through and don't be afraid to switch it out. If
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: it doesn't work, switch it out, you
Anne Ganguzza: Well,
Lau Lapides: know?
Anne Ganguzza: that's the cool thing when you're in business for yourself, right? You can, you
Lau Lapides: Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza: know, it's like, well, try it. If it doesn't work, you can try something else. And I can't tell you how much my own experience has helped me to become, you know, I'm also a business, I have business mentorship programs that I work with my students that has helped me to help my students. I mean, and the fact that I'm like, hey, I was an office assistant, you know, and my mother's like, Ann, you know.
Lau Lapides: Hahaha
Anne Ganguzza: I'm like, there's nothing wrong with being an office assistant, right, or an office manager. In reality, it's, you know, again, it's people serving, and I, you know, had developed a lot of skills doing that, and I was very organized and wonderful. And at the time, it was just enough hours so I could bring in money to contribute to the household expenses, and yet gave me time to be able to audition, you know, and it was close to where I live, so I could run home and audition during the day if I needed to during a break. It was wonderful. I mean, I cannot, I cannot talk enough about the benefits of the side hustle.
Lau Lapides: and there's
Anne Ganguzza: And,
Lau Lapides: probably hundreds of them.
Anne Ganguzza: yeah.
Lau Lapides: that you could really get your hands on and learn from and enjoy,
Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely.
Lau Lapides: make money at, learn skills. And don't look at it as you're wasting your time or you don't want to do it
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah!
Lau Lapides: or you resent doing it. Look at it as, no, this is part of my education. This is
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: part of my investment into
Anne Ganguzza: Yes.
Lau Lapides: my education and career. I have to do this so that not only I build money and capital, but I learn things. I learn how to take care of someone else, something
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: else, build trust. you know, learn skills, selling skills, dealing with money, all of that.
Anne Ganguzza: It's so funny, I think education has always been in my blood. I mean, again, I say it how many times a day, La when people say, what is your purpose in life? It's to educate. I truly, truly believe that from being a small girl teaching flashcards to my stuffed animals, to the V.O. Boss podcast was a whole resource for education. The V.O. Peeps was, when I got out of teaching full time, I was like, oh God, I miss teaching. So let me have a group. you know, that I can provide educational resources to. So I say follow that passion in all aspects of your hustle and side hustle, really. And you can't go wrong. And I think education is such an important part of just continual growth and building and growing your business
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza: as a boss.
Lau Lapides: And be proud of it.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: If you're not willing to share it or talk about it, if you're hiding it, if
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: you're embarrassed by it, it's probably something you shouldn't be doing. So find things that you can add to your resume, that you can chat about at an interview,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: or that you can be proud of and make some good connections through.
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, absolutely. And that's like the biggest thing that I'm always promoting too, when people are just getting into the industry. What are your skills? What is your life skills? What are your job skills? What have you done? The more things you have done, the more you can bring to this side of the business.
Lau Lapides: That's
Anne Ganguzza: I mean,
Lau Lapides: right.
Anne Ganguzza: it is, I mean, think about it. What we do is we have a product, we sell it, right? We sell it to companies. It's not just, I mean, it's creative. Yes, it's creative, right? And it's artistic, of course. But think about what you really, you have a product, your voice, that you are selling to companies. So all of your life, you've probably worked in some form for a company or for a business that you've gotten paid for. So you can bring that experience to the table to enhance your business, to either side hustle it, have what I call the divisions of your business or the tendrils of your business. And it's funny because even now that I'm in full-time VO, for many, many years now, I now still have many divisions of my business, which I consider to be my side hustles. And you yourself, Law, have multiple divisions of your business as well.
Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. And they're growing. It's not
Anne Ganguzza: Yep.
Lau Lapides: static. Like, you're never done. You're never saying, okay, this is my business, and that's where I cap it. Like, you should always be saying, what's my projection for the next year
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: or five years? Where
Anne Ganguzza: yeah,
Lau Lapides: do I want to go with this? What
Anne Ganguzza: absolutely.
Lau Lapides: do I have to do in order to figure out how to do it? And maybe that's a professional side hustle,
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: you know, that you have to do or you have to hire someone to do in order to figure out how to grow.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh, I'm constantly thinking of I love that I'm constantly thinking about that again, as we move through, you know, changing and evolving markets right in voiceover. Is there an opportunity for you to continue to take these skills into even something else. Let's say if you wanted to do something else in addition or parallel with voiceover. What skills do you have now that you can evolve into what's going to happen in the future. for this industry. It's always good to try to look and really predict what's happening in the future. And that might be another podcast episode for us, Law. What's
Lau Lapides: of
Anne Ganguzza: going
Lau Lapides: it.
Anne Ganguzza: to happen to voiceover in 10 years? There's a lot of people asking that question. And there's a lot of people that have ideas and theories. And I've got my own theories. But it doesn't stop me from thinking about, if this were to happen, what's your plan B? What's your side hustle? How are you going to evolve or maybe shift into something else? Or? maybe not something else, maybe something in addition to. And I think it's always something that it's wise and strategic for you bosses to be thinking about. I mean, if you are not thinking about it, then you might wanna rethink being in business for yourself,
Lau Lapides: Yeah, always
Anne Ganguzza: right?
Lau Lapides: have your backups ready to go.
Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides: Have the safety nets there for you.
Anne Ganguzza: Yep,
Lau Lapides: Just
Anne Ganguzza: yep.
Lau Lapides: know your plan A, B, and C is always gonna work for you. I think we are gonna go back to that hustle, right?
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah.
Lau Lapides: We're gonna go back and do the
Anne Ganguzza: Yeah,
Lau Lapides: hustle.
Anne Ganguzza: we're all so well. Now I have to go see if we can lease the music. Right.
Lau Lapides: Ha ha ha!
Anne Ganguzza: Anyways, so yeah, bosses do that hustle. It has been a wonderful conversation. Boss, I love love, love talking to you. Law, I called you boss law. Yeah, I love I love our conversations
Lau Lapides: And
Anne Ganguzza: and
Lau Lapides: I love you right back
Anne Ganguzza: yes.
Lau Lapides: to pieces.
Anne Ganguzza: And and it just thank you so much for continuing to be by my side here.
Lau Lapides: It's just
Anne Ganguzza: Uh, yeah, for-
Lau Lapides: a joy and we're coming up on our year's anniversary.
Anne Ganguzza: Oh my God, oh my God, we're gonna have to celebrate with a big party.
Lau Lapides: Yeah, yeah,
Anne Ganguzza: Big party, big party guys.
Lau Lapides: party!
Anne Ganguzza: So, bosses out there, simple mission, big impact. 100 voices, one hour, $10,000. Four times a year. Gosh, do you even know what I'm talking about? Well, if you wanna find out more, visit 100voiceswhocare.org to join us and join in on the giving. Big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
Lau Lapides: next
Anne Ganguzza: Bye.
Lau Lapides: week. Bye!
What would it look like if you could harness the energy of a conference and convert it into effectiveness? What would it feel like to be your own boss in the voiceover industry? Our esteemed guest, Tom Dheere, joins us as we unravel the answers to these thought-provoking questions. We share valuable insights on setting the right objectives, maximizing conference experiences, and the commitment required to become a full-time voice actor. Plus, we examine the liberating perspective of entrepreneurial freedom offered by the voiceover industry. 0:00:01 - Anne
Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the real boss series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza and I am so happy to bring to this series Mr Tom Dheere. Thank you so much, tom, for joining me on this.
0:00:15 - Tom
Yay, thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited about this. This is going to be great.
0:00:19 - Anne
Oh, tom, first of all, it was so awesome to see you at the One Voice conference.
0:00:25 - Tom
Yes, likewise.
0:00:27 - Anne
I know we just had. You were just a guest on my podcast and, lo and behold, like two times I see you within the span of a month or two, which is really incredible, right?
Sometimes we have to go to conferences to just meet in person so whew, I was exhausting that conference, but super motivating, and I know a lot of people who went to that conference are all revved up and ready to go, motivated, inspired. We took amazing classes and so I think it's a good time to talk about. You know, what do we do with all that amazing energy that we just absorbed in that conference? Because I'm revved up, I'm motivated, ready to go. What can we do to, I guess, keep ourselves or keep the momentum going, tom?
0:01:16 - Tom
That is a fantastic question and I know you've been presented at dozens and dozens of conferences over the past 10 years, and so have I, and we go and we meet wonderful people and we present and we also attend workshops and panels and we learn a lot and we get to commiserate with our peers, voice actors and coaches and other producers and stuff like that. And then there's this glow.
0:01:42 - Anne
There is a glow. It's wonderful glow. There is a glow.
0:01:46 - Tom
And then you go home and then for the vast majority of people that go to these conferences, it's like whew.
0:01:53 - Anne
And then life sets in right. I have laundry to do. Yeah, family, yeah, right Bills and auditions and stuff like that.
0:02:02 - Tom
So it's great. Conferences are great for, obviously for education. They're great for networking, they're great for renewal of purpose, refocus, re-energizing. The trick is how to take all that positive energy and inspiration and revved up-ed-ness and coming, taking it home with you and turning it into effectiveness. Because the positive attitude, while great it can only get you so far, it's not going to get you home. You're going to run out of that momentum and now there's work to be done.
0:02:37 - Anne
Interesting, tom. Before we went to the conference, I think somebody had actually created a note sheet of like here are the I guess the talks that I want to go to, here are my goals, or here's what I got out of it, and I thought it was a really great way for people who like that type of thing and they take a lot of notes to write down your objectives. What are you hoping to get from that? And then what do you hope to do once you get, maybe once you get home, to put those lessons learned in place? And so I think that maybe everything should start even before we go to the conference in terms of writing things down and what is it that you hope to get out of this conference. And I'm a big planner, so I am a big proponent of yeah, you guys should plan out what sessions you want to go to, look at the schedule multiple times and just see how you can get the most out of the money that you've spent on that ticket of yours.
0:03:33 - Tom
Yeah, absolutely, and different people at different points in their voiceover journey go to different conferences for different reasons, if it's. I've never been one to been one to one before, and I just want to. I haven't even produced a demo yet. I just want to see what this universe is like.
0:03:47 - Anne
Great.
0:03:48 - Tom
If it's, this is my 15th conference. I've had all these demos done, I've gotten all this work. What am I going to get out of it this time? Or some people go because they specifically want to meet you, or they want to meet another coach or demo producer to see, I want to get in the same room with this person and see if we click because I may want to work with you as a coach or a demo producer. Um, you know, and some go purely as presenters and you know, and then they, you know, do their stuff and then they get out of there and yeah, which is which is which is cool too.
0:04:19 - Anne
I think there's such a, there's such a momentum to be gained by just joining forces with like-minded people and, just you know, renewing um relationships, and that just keeps you going, because it's so isolating sometimes just what we do and yeah and I will tell you, though, that the other day I was I don't even know what it was that made me think of it, but I I think I was getting ready to, you know, start.
I had a full day of students, and I said, I don't know what made me think about, oh god, what if I had to go to work for somebody?
um, you know, back in my days of corporate and I'm like I I could never do that again. So boss is out there. This is just a little segue. If you, if, if you know that this is what you want to do and you end up pursuing it full time, I don't say rush into it with your, you know, with your eyes closed. But, um and Tom, we can talk lots of strategies about that, but once you make that decision to go full time, I don't do you know anybody who's actually gone back because they've been unhappy being their own boss um, I know lots of people who have gone back to a regular job because they just couldn't book enough right they needed the money.
0:05:24 - Tom
Yeah, exactly, it was purely financially, like I've been trying this and I just, I just can't get enough work to sustain myself and they've come gone back. Um, I can't think of anyone specifically, but I'm sure there are people out there, because there are people who just like to be told what to do, because then they don't have to think about it and there's a level of security in that and I totally that's sympathize with that.
0:05:45 - Anne
I'm not one of those people, I can't. I don't, I don't think I could, I could not go back to taking now, I think, now I can take. I can take instructions from my client. Sure, I can be directed um, and then I want to get paid and be done with it. I think that's really it's. It's an interesting. It's an interesting, it's a different dynamic, because that's a, that's a, that's a business to business thing where you and the clients are on equal footing there's no high. There's no hierarchy.
0:06:10 - Tom
It's it's you and the client trying to make this finished, great finished product, which is, you know, the audio files that you're gonna send to them or their, their source connecting you through. But with what? When it's a, I am in charge of you and. I'm telling you what to do, and this is when you can go to the bathroom and stuff like that it's like ah, I don't know if I could.
0:06:29 - Anne
I don't know, I don't think I could go back to that it makes me think of okay, it's similar to I know I just went off on that on that weird tangent, but that happens sometime, bosses, sorry, um, but it was just a weird like. It just came to me. I was like I could not work for somebody now, so I will do everything in my power to make my business so that I do not have to do that. I think that also was leading into that.
But I think isn't that similar to, let's say, I, I pay my money, I get my ticket, I go to a conference, I take these classes, I'm inspired for a new genre, I'm inspired to work with a new coach, and then we come back and, oops, we're by ourselves, right. So now, yeah, it's very similar to what now, you know, we're gonna be talking about is we've got to take the reins and we've got to do the work and it's, it's now up to us, and we're not necessarily having that coach or that director saying, okay, do this, do this, do this. Now we've got all of this energy and this motivation. How do we cement that and you know, and and start to just really move forward on that?
0:07:27 - Tom
right. The trick is if you want to be the vo boss you need to learn how to be your own boss. Yeah, yeah, you know it's empowering to like be the boss. Yeah, I'm a tough boss. I'll tell you that my boss is a jerk my boss, I would say my boss is a bastard oh, I just said that oh. I had another word in mind, but I didn't use it.
0:07:49 - Anne
I'm not sure if we'll bleep that out, but yeah woo, I'll tell you what. I've never worked for a harder boss, but isn't that true?
0:07:57 - Tom
yeah, yeah, I'm hard on ourselves. I'm pretty real, I'm I'm often pretty relentless and I have to be because I have this bad habit.
0:08:05 - Anne
It's called eating and and having a roof over my head, yes, and not living in a cardboard box, yes, yeah, you know.
0:08:14 - Tom
So yeah, the motivation is like there's no net yeah, you know what I mean. If I don't audition for this, there's a 100 chance that I'm not gonna book it well, yeah, and I think that's what propels me for sure you know what I mean to get work done, I mean right the fact that I need right.
0:08:30 - Anne
I need to be able to pay the mortgage right, and that's the, and that's a.
0:08:33 - Tom
That's a great point, anne, is that different people need to find different motivations. To stay motivated when you are alone in your booth talking to yourself? You know, so that's a big part of you know I talk about effectiveness. There's a difference between talent and effectiveness. There's a lot of talented aspiring voice actors out there with interesting voices but like I have an interesting pen, it doesn't make me an author, you know.
0:09:02 - Anne
I own a wrench. It doesn't make me a plumber, so having talent, voice doesn't make me effective. Yeah absolutely.
0:09:11 - Tom
You know, because no one's going to get discovered, you're not going to get your big break. It doesn't really work that way.
0:09:16 - Anne
It's what you do with that pen that matters. It's what you do with that voice that matters.
0:09:20 - Tom
Exactly and consistently. Yes, absolutely so when you get home from that conference and you've got all that positive attitude. That's great If you can bottle it and put it on a shelf for later.
0:09:30 - Anne
That's great.
0:09:31 - Tom
But when you get home, it's about what can I do to be effective today, tomorrow, next week, month, quarter year, two years, five years? And I'm not necessarily talking about writing a business plan, which is something I do do as the, as the video strategist, but it's about how do I think about myself to stay motivated. How do I think about and understand the voiceover industry? So there's a reality, because that's the other thing and, as you know, people coming into the industry have no idea what the industry is. They just have this odd preconceived notion of what it is. Oh yeah, I talk interesting. I got to just get an agent and then they'll just throw Saxa cash at me.
0:10:10 - Anne
Exactly and I think, yeah, you don't know what you don't know right.
0:10:13 - Tom
You don't know what you don't know.
0:10:15 - Anne
And especially not only that is it a new industry for a lot of people, but it's also the fact that there's a lot of people who are very unhappy in their current job situation and get out of that work for somebody else, but then working for yourself is a whole different animal and that really is, I think, where the double it's.
The double whammy comes in for those people new to the industry, because not only are they trying to acquire the skills to be a good talent, but now they also have to have good business skills as well, and they're not used to working for themselves or having to go out and market themselves and get work and all those hats that they've got to put on.
0:10:58 - Tom
Yeah, I had a maybe 15 years ago here in New York City. I had a 10 minute meet up with an agent I don't remember which one but he said tell me about yourself. And I talked about all the things I do. He's like, wow, you got a lot of hats.
And I'm like, yeah he's like but you only have one head and I'm like, yeah, so you kind of to be an effective voice actor, you need to kind of be the Dr Seuss Bartholomew in 1001 hats and have all those hats stacked up on. Some of them, some of them, you can take on and put on and take off, but a bunch of them you have to have stacked on your head at the same time, because there is no job description for being a voice actor.
I mean, there is, but nobody knows what it is, until you get here and it's like unlocking these doors and you know, moving these hedges aside and going oh, I need to do, I have to do that. You know it's like. It's almost like a maze, which is the logo of the VO strategist. Now that I think about it helping you navigate the voice over the industry, absolutely. So, navigating the maze of what it means to be an effective voice actor, and staying motivated at the same time. Because, yes, invoicing.
0:12:08 - Anne
Staying, staying motivated when you're doing something like accounting.
0:12:12 - Tom
Like for me.
0:12:12 - Anne
I mean, well, I'm not. I mean, there are some people who love accounting, right, so there's accounting for me. How do there you go See for me? I'm like, oh God, actually I will tell you, tom. So for me, staying motivated while I have an S corp, right, and an S corp is creating all of this paperwork for me and for me, I can't, god it's, and it's just like I need to, either just, you know, be educated about, you know, the entire S corp thing, or I outsource, right. So I think if I had to do all that paperwork and try to understand it all and to stay motivated, it would be very, very difficult for that to happen, and it may discourage me from wanting to have a voiceover business because of this paperwork that I continually have to supply to the government, to you know, support this business, but I, you know, for me one of my solutions is to outsource that right.
And make sure that I have somebody that I trust and can go to if I have any questions, that can handle that aspect for me. So if I'll, I know, constantly get mail, mail, snail mail saying you need to provide this information, or you owe us this amount of money, or you need to prepay this or you know whatever that is, and so I literally will just be like, oh my gosh, this is a lot of paperwork. So I will literally scan that in and send that to my accountant, which, by the way, I will say to the to to my dying day, I will say my accountant was my very best investment for this business. I just I can't. I can't do the numbers.
0:13:45 - Tom
Right, well, and that's that's a very important point, and is that if you're getting into the voiceover industry, obviously you need to understand what does that entail on you know soft skills, hard skills, hardware, software, marketing, money and all that stuff, and you need to know, you need to have an understanding of what your S corp is, or what this is, where that is, and then you can decide okay, this is a skill I need to just understand, but I'll outsource it and this is a skill like, for example, using your DAW.
0:14:14 - Anne
You have to know how to use your DAW.
0:14:17 - Tom
You need to know how to audition and you need to know how to record and clean up and save and, you know, deliver audio file. Some stuff is non-negotiable. You know what I mean.
0:14:27 - Anne
But managing your S corp, you know right, that's another thing.
0:14:31 - Tom
Or if you're an audio book narrator or a long form e-learning narrator, do you want to hire an audio, an audio engineer, to clean up your clean up your audio or do you want to do that, Do it yourself? Or do you say do it yourself first to understand how it works and why it works and then outsource it? And I'm sure some of your bosses are thinking I don't have that money. To outsource yes, I don't have the money to outsource.
0:14:54 - Anne
You need to invest your money to make the money. That's what I always start by saying invest the money to make the money, but and maybe not try to put yourself wholeheartedly into the business until you do have money that you can invest, because that would be, from any perspective, any business. You have to have some investment money.
0:15:15 - Tom
I mean it's not just voiceover, just some.
0:15:17 - Anne
for some reason it became this like oh, we just talking to a microphone, how easy is that. I don't need to have any money or be prepared, or maybe I just got to buy a mic.
And that, I think, is where, where in the problem lies, where then you start to have, you know, predators in the industry that will sell that dream and people who will get taken for that dream and without the realization that, yeah, they have to put things in place and make investments to do that. So let's, let's kind of go back to we've gone to a conference and we've gotten motivated, and even it doesn't have to be a physical conference, it could be a virtual, online, you know, workshop or whatnot. I just went to a workshop called Unstoppable you. It was a Tony Robbins thing, which was all about the motivation, all about the motivation.
But yeah, now that you've, now that you're motivated, you've got to do the work and you've got to maybe take a look at the hard like really take a look at the the hard questions and and then make concrete steps to move forward. So it's like I can ask the hard questions. I can maybe, I can maybe get through the answers and they might make me cry, some of them Right, they right and so I can do that, but now I have to actually do the hard part, which is moving forward. So what, what would be the first thing you would recommend? Let's say, somebody that comes back from a conference or, you know, a workshop or whatever, and maybe a meeting with a coach and they're they're inspired, they're motivated. What's the first thing that you would have them do?
0:16:46 - Tom
The first thing that I would have them do is write down in severe detail what they're perfect.
0:16:51 - Anne
Severe detail, not just detail. Severe detail, severe detail.
0:16:55 - Tom
What their perfect voiceover day looks like.
0:16:58 - Anne
Oh, okay, okay. Follow me with just work with me for a second.
0:17:02 - Tom
What time of day are you waking up? What time zone are you in when you wake up? Are you waking up in a house, a cabin, a condo, a space station?
a bunker, a submarine Like? Where are you waking up when it's time to start doing voiceover? Does the limo pick you up? Are you walking downstairs into the basement? Are you getting on a bicycle to go downtown? Are you going into your backyard to your custom built booth? Are you going into the attic? Are you taking a bus or a train? And then, when you get there, what are? What kind of? What kind of bookings are you doing? What genres or subgenres of voiceover? One or more? How much are you getting paid? Obviously, we all want to get paid as much as possible, but what is that actual number that you need to cover all of your voiceover expenses, all of your personal expenses? Manage your debt, save for retirement, save for that college education for your kids, save for that car and have enough to have a little fun.
0:18:01 - Anne
And this is before. You're a working talent, right, this is still a, really, if you're just new to the industry and you want to get into it and you're let's say, you're in the process with a coach and you're making demos.
You want to project what genres? First of all, if you're working with a coach, you should probably have a genre in mind already yes, right, and with a genre specific coach. So you kind of know where you want to go. But putting that down, right, even if you're not actually doing the work as you were mentioning okay, this is the work, I'm going to be doing these auditions, even if you don't have audition opportunities yet and you're still just working. Put down that on the list because you want to make sure that you have the space for it and the time for it. Right, right, right. And then the goal, steps, the steps.
0:18:42 - Tom
Right, exactly. And once you have that perfect day realized, written down in severe detail, you walk that backwards to the day to the moment that you're writing that list. What are you missing between right now and that perfect voiceover day? What money, how much money do you need? What training do you need? What tools do you need? What marketing acumen do you need? All of the things big and small, knowledge, hardware, software, tangible, intangible mindset to get you where you are and figure out what are you missing and what you need to do to fill those gaps. So when you come home from a conference, all motivated, try to figure out what the practical application of all the wonderful information that you just collected is. We go to all these workshops and listen to all these panels and take all these notes and some of the knowledge is immediately actionable and others are, for you know, I took this genre workshop. I'm gonna keep these notes and maybe I'll be ready for it in a year or two.
And so on and so forth. Organize, organize everything, because you need to figure out how actionable and practical everything that you need is to do to get you to that perfect voiceover day and use the glow and energy and momentum of the conference that you just got home from to kind of build that foundation, build that scaffolding, create that structure. So, when you get back into the day to day grind of trying to build or develop or nurture your voiceover business, you have effective systems of thought and effective systems of execution.
0:20:23 - Anne
And let me interject also what I think is important is, of course, yes, you took that workshop on animation or whatever promo, imaging, whatever it is, you know, medical narration, I say because I just did that, love it or corporate.
I think that you always have to keep your eye on the market. I gosh, I feel like sometimes we become so blinded by our own like performance because we're like, oh, I want to get really good at animation or I want to get really good at, you know, whatever commercial or corporate. But I think we always have to keep our eye on the marketplace because if there's not a demand or if the demand is not as big and I'm always telling this to my students about corporate, it's a huge market, is a huge opportunity there Versus animation. Not that there isn't a huge opportunity there, but there's less of an opportunity there than there is in corporate. There's more of an opportunity in e-learning than there is in even I would say, promo, promo, of course. Right, documentary. Everybody that comes to me for narration says I want to do documentaries and I'm like well, how many documentaries do you think there are at any given time? Do you know?
0:21:32 - Tom
what I mean yeah.
0:21:33 - Anne
Compared to the 30.4 million registered companies that have a product or service to sell that need a corporate narrator.
0:21:40 - Tom
And need human resources videos and need orientation videos and need compliance videos Right.
0:21:45 - Anne
And I think that that is something that we really need to take into consideration at all points in our business, because that will affect right when you're talking about here's where I am. Here are the here's my perfect day, here's where I want to be, I want to be animating, I want to be doing animations on television or whatever that is, or I want to have a national commercial spot. That's all well and good. However, I think that you also have to take in account what is the market for that? Is there okay? Are you going to be able? And I used to think erroneously back in the beginning, before I realized what the market was oh, I just need a commercial a day, right? Or you know, oh, wouldn't that be nice.
Oh yeah, tom, we're talking about real talk, right? Real bosses. Well, okay, I don't know anybody that gets a commercial a day, except for people who are maybe on rosters for serious exam or they're doing, and that's usually for lower pay. But if you're thinking like, oh, if I got a national spot, even one a week, right, I mean, unless you're in it, voice for a campaign. I mean, I love how you laugh, that's the perfect way.
0:22:46 - Tom
Well, I laugh because I thought I had to sound like James Earl Jones.
0:22:47 - Anne
Right, I mean yeah, and so like that is. You know you have to understand what's realistic for the, for the industry too, when you're jotting these down. So any education that you can get on that right. Listen to podcasts like Vio Boss. I mean, we've been doing this for six years, right, talking about markets and business. And, tom, you've been doing gosh. How many years have you been doing business consulting?
0:23:10 - Tom
and strategizing Over 10 years.
0:23:12 - Anne
Yeah, over 10 years and specifically in our industry, and so, like guys, I mean, look, I'm not saying of course you should come to us, but I mean we've been doing this for a long time, we've watched the market evolve and so that's why I want to point it out and say that this is so important for us to have in consideration in our, in our step by step process of here's where we are, here's where we want to be. Now, if I want to be, you know, a commercial, you know Vio artist, well, maybe I want to think about another genre as well, to add in, to supplement those days when I don't get the national campaign every day. And I'm not trying to crush your dreams, guys, that's just not, that's just not it. But you know we're. This is a dose of reality, right, tom?
This is our whole series is based on let's talk real yeah.
0:23:57 - Tom
The reality is is that you may be. You may be good at something you don't like, and you may not be good at something you do like.
A lot of people are drawn to the industry because they love cartoons and video games, and a lot of them may not be good at it, but they may find out that they are good at corporate or e-learning, which is a far more to your point, stable form of voiceover income, because, when it comes to effectiveness, the bottom line of effectiveness as a voice actor is you're able to make money. You're able to develop a revenue stream.
0:24:28 - Anne
Develop any revenue stream that you need to make. Yeah, develop any revenue stream.
0:24:32 - Tom
you can in any genre, whether you like it or not, and I always say all genres of voiceover is storytelling. I get my storytelling jollies out of any voiceover genre.
0:24:44 - Anne
I don't care Teaching statistics right or you're narrating corporate responsibility or HR policies. You are absolutely a character and you are acting, and so that is a requirement, that is, I mean, baseline requirement, especially now when we talked about this in our last podcast. It is such a requirement for us to be the actors that we are called to be, I mean, and that includes all genres. So, yes, and that's the reality, that's the real talk.
0:25:14 - Tom
Yes.
0:25:15 - Anne
The real talk is you've got to invest in yourself, in developing those skills and getting good coaching, and not just taking acting classes. I know everybody would say take an acting class, and I think that's wonderful too, but you've also got to take acting classes as they pertain to voiceover as well.
0:25:32 - Tom
Yes, there's a crossover. I mean, I always say improv classes are extremely important because it gives you the ability to make strong decisions quickly while you're narrating your copy. But to an end, compliment stuff like that, and there's like there are people who do improv for voiceover and acting specifically for voiceover. It's a very specific skill.
0:25:54 - Anne
There's very specific muscles that you need to flex, Absolutely, absolutely To be to do voiceover as opposed to on camera or as opposed to theater. I'm all about teaching the acting for narration and, by the way, tom, I miss you. I don't see you. Did you turn your camera off by any chance?
0:26:09 - Tom
No, I'm still here.
0:26:11 - Anne
Oh, I don't see you how interesting. That's that's. Do you see yourself?
0:26:16 - Tom
I do.
0:26:17 - Anne
Oh, okay. Well, I'm just going to assume.
0:26:19 - Tom
Okay.
0:26:20 - Anne
I'm going to assume that it just kind of blipped off. But you know, hey guys, technology Riverside, hopefully we'll have your, we'll have your video anyways.
0:26:30 - Tom
Okay.
0:26:30 - Anne
Absolutely, so, okay, so, so what a great conversation. So now you're back. Okay, so that's interesting. So now we've taken our, we've come back from the conference, we're motivated, we're, we've written down our, our perfect voiceover day, right and so, and then we've worked backwards to the steps. And so what would be next after that, tom, how do do we need to? We probably need to take time to evaluate whether we've accomplished those steps right, absolutely.
Once we've written them down and we've and we've developed our to-do list. Now we've got to go back, maybe in a week or so or in a you know at the end of the day and say did I accomplish my tasks?
0:27:07 - Tom
Yes, self-evaluation and self-reflection is one of the most important skill sets to be an effective voice actor. Because you don't have. Unless you're part of my mentorship program or you're mentoring with Ann, you are working in a vacuum. You need to develop the ability to metacognate, which is the ability to stand outside of thank you, the ability to stand outside of yourself. Look at yourself objectively and say did I do what I assigned to my assigned for myself? Did I do it? Well, if I didn't do it, why didn't I do it? Was there a logistical problem? Was a financial problem? Was there a motivational problem? You know and find out why, why you do what you do, how you tick, and there's a time to be kind to yourself and there's a kind, there's a time to be tough on yourself. You know.
0:27:56 - Anne
And so taking I think I've always tough on myself, but you're right, yeah.
0:27:59 - Tom
You have to be able to. You have to be able to do both, because we're all human. We all have different energy levels and emotional states that fluctuate constantly throughout the day, week, month, year, decade, and we need to be accommodating for that. Oh, mercury's in retrograde today, so I'm not going to get my invoicing done, or what were you?
0:28:18 - Anne
know oh, technology sucks, technology sucks. You know what I mean?
0:28:21 - Tom
Oh, great retrograde, yeah, you know but if you find yourself making excuses for yourself about why you're not doing things, then you are not being effective.
0:28:28 - Anne
Because I have an, I have an action for it. That's a whole another podcast right there.
0:28:32 - Tom
Yeah, I have my action plan right here and I don't check off every single box. I get about 80% of my action plan stuff done every month, dating back to 2006. And sometimes it's-.
0:28:42 - Anne
Do you have records from back then? Do you do you have a-.
0:28:45 - Tom
I have a binder right here with every single one of these. So January 2006-. I love it Was my first printed one and I've done 12 a year since 2006 and it's in this binder right over here.
0:28:54 - Anne
It does not surprise me that you love numbers too. I love numbers, right, yeah, see, and so that I feel goes along with.
Now I'm not so much, although I will. I will share my book is out there, but I have my to-do list that I love to cross things off on and I have my planner where I like to write my goals down. I'm not always as good as I propose to be, but, yeah, I think that's super important. But, wow, what a great conversation. I want to talk to you more, in more detail, about a lot of these steps because I think they're super important in our series. So, tom, thank you so so much for joining me for our first, our first in a series of real bosses.
0:29:35 - Tom
Yeah.
0:29:36 - Anne
So, guys, if you, I have a simple mission for you, but one that has big impact 100 voices, one hour, $10,000. Four times a year. Do you want to know what I'm talking about? Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to find out more and to join us. And big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. We love IPDTL. We love connecting with bosses like Tom and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and be real bosses. We'll see you next week. Bye, bye.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
Anne and Lau recently held an Audition Demolition workshop which included a live callback and casting process. In this episode, the Bosses discuss the audition demolition and how it mirrors the casting process. They explain the importance of taking direction well, researching scripts, and approaching every piece of copy as an actor. During a live callback, don't forget to have fun and enjoy being in a room with other people. Anne and Lau also discuss the importance of feedback and how it can help aspiring voice actors hone their craft Finally, we examine some of the memorable people and performances that stood out. The Bosses finish by reminding listeners that our next Audition Demolition is coming up soon!
Transcript
0:00:01 - Intro
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a V-O boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
0:00:19 - Anne
Hey everyone, welcome to the V-O Boss podcast and the Boss Business Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my bossy co-host, Lau Lapides. Hey Anne, how are you? I'm awesome, Lau. How are you Good? Fantastic, Lau. We had the most amazing audition demolition this past weekend.
0:00:45 - Lau
Woohoo, it was super, super power.
0:00:49 - Anne
Yeah, I think we should chat about it. Oh, let's go, I'm ready. Yeah, well, for those bosses who are unaware, we created a audition demolition workshop, which is very similar. We did it once before a Lau, but we added a couple of new twists to it and essentially it was to mimic the casting process, the audition process, and so people could enter and they could choose to get feedback or not. They could audition and get feedback, or audition and not get feedback through our Dropbox new application called Replay. Lau and I were selecting a short list after that and ultimately did not announce the short list until the live show, which was this past weekend. I think it was so exciting, Lau.
0:01:42 - Lau
It was so fun, it was great. It took a while right. It took us time to get through it. It wasn't a quick deal. It took us. How long was the show, how long did it run?
0:01:52 - Anne
A couple hours, it was a couple hours and we had 10 people that we called back, just like in a real audition I was talking Lau about. When I used to drive into LA I would get notice from my agent that said you've been called back and they want to hear you. I would drive oh God, I would drive into LA and go to the studio and I'd see a lot of times I'd see my voiceover friends there. It was kind of nice. It was like a big party. But yeah, we were still auditioning and so I was a little nervous. I think all of us had a little bit of nervous.
But we would be called in one by one to read a script and Lau, and I tried to mimic that as much as possible during our weekend, and so people were not aware if they were on the shortlist until they got to the live show and then we announced the shortlist one by one. It wasn't, we announced everybody on the shortlist at once. It basically like as if you were waiting in the studio lobby to be called into the studio to read, and so that's what we did. Everybody was surprised and we had 10 people that we shortlisted and we had them come in and guess what? The client changed the script. Now, we did that before, but that's typically what happens, right, you read an audition and then when you go in person to audition, they have a different script. That's almost always the case, I think, and so we changed the script on them, and I don't know Lau. What were your thoughts?
0:03:15 - Lau
I thought it went really well. I mean surprising that I kind of thought to some degree many would fall apart with that and not know what was going on and there would be mass confusion and there would be fire and tornadoes and earthquakes. And Charlton Heston would come out of the booth and then we would be eating alive, right, and then the sea would part.
I was like, oh, what are we doing inviting this? But no, seriously. We had some faith in these wonderful talent, and rightly so. They all came through. Everyone came through, I think, with flying colors, and we did. We're good actors, ann. I mean, we made them sufficiently sweat a little bit as if you would in a real live audition. There was a little stress, little tension in the air. I know people were nervous because I saw conversations beforehand flying around on email and in the chat and I love that.
I think that that gave it that flavor of a real. You know it was a mock audition but it was a real audition feel, which is something we wanted to mirror for the professional development and education of it. Absolutely, that worked well. I thought that really worked well.
0:04:20 - Anne
And I think that it's really good to get yourself practiced in a live situation where you're definitely feeling adrenaline, whether you're nervous in a good way or even a bad way, right, it really helps you to get seasoned and to figure out what you have to do to work out those nerves to really perform well, and I think that that was a good experience for everybody that participated.
And I feel that, by the way, and so what? We waited until the very beginning and we said guess what? The client changed the script and then we gave them the new script. So talent did not have a lot of time to prepare. As a matter of fact, I would say the first talent that we called up usually is the one at the disadvantage for this particular show, because typically we're not listening to each other audition. We're going in one by one and it's a private thing and we get private feedback. But this because we wanted this to be an educational experience. We had an entire Zoom room full of people who didn't know if they made the audition and were listening to the feedback live, real time from both Lau and myself, and so that will happen a lot of times.
Lau, right in a real situation, you'll have more than one person giving you feedback. You'll have an engineer in there, you'll have a director, you might have a client. You might have more than one person that's offering you direction at the time, and they could have different ideas about the direction. Now, I think Lau, you and I, we think fairly similarly, but there were some auditions where I wanted to hear something different than you did or feedback that we gave was absolutely, I think, different in different spots, but I think overall, we were sticking to the casting specs that were laid out there and that was very similar to a lot of casting specs. That is, make it authentic, make it real, make it, make it conversational. So that's always a task, I think, for talent, and when they're just seeing the script for the first time and even if we've been directing other people, they might be oh my God, they might be preparing. They might not have listened to our feedback, right?
0:06:24 - Lau
Yes, yes, and that was the great part of having everyone in the room. That would not happen in an audition most of the time most anywhere but we wanted that educational experience. We wanted people to observe each other's work and get the benefit of everyone's feedback so that even if they were nervous in preparing, they could absorb some of what they were hearing before they went on. And I think that it was a blessing for people to kind of go later and it was also a blessing for people to go first.
0:06:55 - Anne
Sure, oh, I agree.
0:06:55 - Lau
Because it's a very different experience. I also wanted to bring up, too, our experience, ann, of when we were commenting in the Dropbox and doing all of our feedback, that I heard in the session from a number of people and post via email thanking us that they felt that the feedback was so wonderful, so detailed, so necessary and it was like a drink of nectar for a lot of people that said I'd like to think what you said was authentic and real and that it gave me time, it made me feel special, it made me feel like someone was paying attention to me, that status casting agency status, coaching status and that I could walk away with some real tools, practice tools to work on.
Absolutely. It wasn't just about am I good, am I bad?
0:07:46 - Anne
am I right am?
0:07:46 - Lau
I wrong. It was much more about reminding me that I have a full process here and I can go in many different directions, and I'd like to think that you and I gave as much authentic feedback as we could, rather than artificial feedback just for the sake of entertainment value.
0:08:03 - Anne
Oh yeah, no, absolutely, and I'm going to say that I think that what I loved about it is that the educational component that came into it with the feedback and this is the feedback not just during the live show, this is the feedback via Dropbox. The really cool thing about Dropbox Replay and offering feedback there's a lot of times you'll notice that you submit your auditions via Dropbox and you always have to be careful how you name them and there's lots of criteria when you upload an audition. The cool thing about being able to offer feedback for all the people that requested it is that we were able to give feedback along a timeline, and so if there was a particular passage that they did well or a particular passage where they maybe lost their authenticity or we had a critique, we could specify it at the specific time that it happened, and that's something that you don't always get in a real audition. As a matter of fact, usually in an audition you'll go in and read, and it's very rare that they'll offer feedback. They might give you a set of directions to do it again and may not offer as much verbose feedback as we did during the session, and you're kind of left with.
Okay, I hope I did good. And so you know, I'm always walking out of the room going well, I think they liked me. I hope they liked me, I hope I nailed it. And a lot of times they will give some generic thank you so much. Sometimes they won't say a word, they'll just say okay, thank you, and you'll walk out that door going gosh, I hope I nailed it. Which is what I love about the audition demolition is that we were able to really go beyond that and really act as like okay, here's what we would offer you feedback for the educational component. And then, when we made our decision Lau this is what I loved we muted ourselves, because a lot of times we're there, live in the studio or we're in a Zoom session and we are being directed and then all of a sudden they're gonna mute and they're gonna talk and we can see them talking behind the glass and you're like okay, did they like that?
What are they talking about? And you know, maybe they're talking about lunch, we don't know. Maybe they're talking about my performance. Was it good, was it bad? Oh, my God, what are they gonna tell me next? And then they'll say okay, thank you, we're done. But I liked our mimicking of that.
0:10:14 - Lau
And there was a funny moment, though you can't forget to share, that hilarious moment, where we had talked about giving each other a call, a cell phone call, so that we could have this sort of intercom system between the two of us in case we wanna bring up some details to each other or just remind each other about certain cues. I totally forgot, and it was about a quarter of the way through and I said oh wow, I get a call. And I called Ann and I said Ann, listen, because one person didn't show up. I said do you want to have another call back, since we have an open slot? And she's like Lau, everyone can hear you. Right now Can everyone hear Lau? And they're like, and I'm like, that's okay, they'll learn from it, it's great for them.
0:10:59 - Anne
There you go, there you go, and here's the deal In a real situation, right? If you don't show up to that casting call, that's it. You snooze, you lose, you're out, and they may make a decision at the last minute to call more people, or they need to hear more people, or maybe they didn't get what they needed from the first audition. Gosh, that goes on all the time.
Right, Lau, they recast it because they didn't really get what they wanted. So we did that too which I love it through a wrench in it, because everybody that was shortlisted thought that was it. And then all of a sudden we had a discussion. We said we'd like to call back Actually, we were gonna call back two people, but we ended up calling back one other person, which again added that element of surprise which again hypes up the adrenaline and the nerves. And so I think again, this audition demolition Lau we can do this like regularly, because I think it's a skill that every voice artist should have in their toolbox to be able to be prepared on the fly, work through those nerves and just perform and get that gig and be able to take direction well, right, and no matter how we slice it, of course we're always about process or process oriented people.
0:12:14 - Lau
But there is a product, there is a gig at stake and in this contest we had prizes, we had some cash.
0:12:22 - Anne
We had cash.
0:12:22 - Lau
We had cash we had cash, we had a going on. People were really fighting and cLauing for the real deal. It wasn't just oh, you won, congratulations. It was, let's actually reward you. Who is something real world that you can enjoy, right and people love that.
0:12:38 - Anne
I think people love that. I mean, who doesn't love cash? Who doesn't love cash? I mean, that's just as you know, that's an investment in your business, right? So invest in the audition demolition and you can win cash and or swag, and so I'm extremely excited to have offered that.
0:12:54 - Lau
I wanna ask what were some auditions that really stuck out for you and why did they stick out for you? I mean, even in the larger pool, not just the short list, but even in the larger pool there were so many unique people. Oh yeah, they were diverse talent very across the board. No two people were the same. What were some of the more memorable people and performances that your audience can learn from today?
0:13:18 - Anne
Well, first and foremost, understanding that I'm going to be casting for a particular job and a particular company, which this happened to be University of Phoenix, I had a demographic in mind that I wanna advertise to and I had a sound in my head that I thought would be a good representative of this particular company or university that would be able to sell effectively.
And I think that every casting director has an idea in their head as to what kind of a voice they're looking for, which usually ends up in the specs. But sometimes they change their mind when somebody gets creative or maybe interprets the script in a little bit of a different way. And it was always those auditions that stood out to me, the ones that it wasn't like the song that I heard in my head. Right, we were asking for authentic, we were asking for conversational, and those people that could really come into the first few words, that sounded like they had a story, they had a person they were talking to, those were the ones that perked up my ears. And, of course, those that had a very different, a very different sound as well. I mean, I will say I mean I can't say that your sound doesn't come into play here, because, again, we're hiring people based upon how we think they're going to effectively sell our product. Right, what?
0:14:40 - Lau
about you Lau? I would agree, and I made a concerted effort to come in with a very open mind and play the producer, who has not as much idea of what I'm actually looking for. I just know, I know the product, I know the school, I know the program, I've seen their advertising campaigns. I get that, yeah, but I want to keep an open mind because I'm not exactly sure which direction I want to go in. Yeah, age wise, diversity factor, accent wise and I'm glad I did that, because everyone was so different and so unique. I would have been let down only in the sense that I would have been looking for that needle in a haystack.
Oh, I was looking at the whole haystack and because we did that, our shortlist was so diverse.
0:15:27 - Anne
Oh, it was no two people who are alike, right.
0:15:30 - Lau
You'd say, was there even a breakdown involved with this, because they were so large?
0:15:33 - Anne
and that's what's so cool. What I love about what you just said was I said okay, I had an idea in mind, right, I know the demographic, I know the product and I know the type of sound that I'm looking for and that's what I'm gonna put in the casting specs. However, you're absolutely right. By being open-minded and hearing a bunch of different voices, then I started to think, well, okay, for this campaign, I like this voice because of this factor. I like this voice because that's the one I originally thought would be a really great choice for selling. But now I can see that this other voice, which may not have been anywhere, like I thought right, would really be effective in helping to sell my product as a casting director.
So, yes, keeping it open-minded, understanding, guys, that even though the casting specs may call for something, right, if you bring something unique to the read, you bring yourself, you bring that personality, you bring something that just makes us go oh, okay, I didn't think about that.
It really is a wonderful testament to, literally, your voice. It could be any voice, right, it doesn't have to be a particular sound, doesn't have to be a particular style, it can be you, it can be what you bring to the read and that can sway a casting director's choice, which is amazing, right, it's wonderful, it's hopeful and it makes you feel like, alright, well then, I still am gonna give my best, right? Well, if you're looking at the casting spectrum, I don't know, I'm probably not gonna get it. I mean, no, don't feel that way at all, because we were surprised very, and actually even in our decisions, right, in terms of who were we going to cast when it came down to it. Right, we were going back and forth between a couple of different voices and I think that, well, let's keep these guys on hold or on call back, or who else would be great for this campaign. There were multiple choices.
0:17:19 - Lau
Yeah, and I was playing tricks in my head saying, oh, I can't wait to see who's gonna win this thing, because I have no idea right now. Literally throughout the whole thing, I literally Could not figure out who is going to win and who is going to book the gate, and I think that's very true and very accurate to the casting process. Many times it comes right down to the wire when everyone is disagreeing on a talent or maybe they need to bring in another talent, and you and I did that.
0:17:46 - Anne
We weren't necessarily it didn't bring but, we were going back and forth about.
0:17:50 - Anne
We wanted to narrow it down, and it was tough for us to narrow down those choices because we each had our own Independent, we had our favorites and we had people that we thought were best suited for the campaign. I'm glad that we were able to. Obviously, we awarded the gig to one person and that's a congratulations to Joshua Goodman and then we awarded to runners up, because that was something that we thought you know we're gonna keep you on our shortlist for perhaps the next campaign and that was Pat Kennedy, was one of our alternates and gender Macintosh. So congratulations to everybody and really congratulations to everyone who auditioned. I mean, I was so impressed with the professionalism and the talent that we heard and I'm excited to do this again, and I'm excited about changing up the scripts, the genre right and changing up the scripts and having even more people audition for this. So I think it was a real success. I don't know what are you excited about for what's up next?
0:18:51 - Lau
Well, I'll tell you one piece of excitement, and I don't like to say this at the top. It's what we call metatheatrical. It's a reality within a reality, within a reality, but the truth is, this was not a mock audition when I looked at this, and I'm sure you were thinking this too, in regards to recommending clients for projects that you're a part of. I am always looking for new talent. So there will be people that I'm going to reach out to for MCVO contracts.
0:19:20 - Anne
We don't say that and I'll be referring people because it becomes a top of mind. I know who my talent are Top of mind, yeah, and I'll be casting for projects as well. While I'm not a talent agent like yourself, I do have a number of clients that I help cast for and I actually have a couple of rosters that I place people that I recommend I place them for jobs and so the truth is is like it's a mock audition for educational purposes.
0:19:47 - Lau
but there's a subtext of reality that whenever you're in front of working people in the industry, they're always going to be thinking about you for potential work. How do you put someone like us in front of some of these people and say don't look at them for work, just look at them as a student? It's not possible, because they're working people, they're working professionals. So we want to give educational value, lots of educational value and development, but we also want to potentially find new people.
0:20:19 - Anne
we could be working with Awesome talent. No question, let's there to lose for auditioning, right? So our next audition demolition and again. By the time this airs, it may have passed already, but I really think, talking about our experiences with the first one, I think it ran gosh. It ran smoother than I even thought, and so I'm really excited to continue this on a regular basis because I think it's just so educational and, as bosses, we're all about the education. I'm all about providing a great resource. That's what we do here at the VioBoss podcast, and we're here to help. We're here to hopefully give you some advice and tips along your journey in this crazy voiceover industry that we all love so much. And hey, what can I?
0:21:03 - Lau
say I think it's fantastic and I want to be clear to those who have no idea what we're talking about and want to get involved with it that you're getting literally hours worth of feedback. Oh yeah, not just a quick. That was great and you're done. You're getting all the written feedback first Plus and our Dropbox Plus.
You're going to show up on the contest day in real time live and you're going to get all sorts of feedback. You're going to hear everyone else's feedback. You're going to get to observe and steal and absorb everyone else's. Then you'll get your own. So it's like double feedback, Endless feedback.
0:21:38 - Anne
It's like double feedback. It's more than if you just go to one session, because you're getting much more written feedback from both Lau and myself, whether you make the shortlist or not, and during the class you're going to have the exposure to finding out. If you're on the shortlist and even if you don't make the shortlist, you get to watch the others perform and be redirected and get that education as well. So I mean, gosh, the value I'm just saying the value is incredible, guys.
0:22:08 - Lau
It's massive, it's huge. I mean, I don't know any other circumstance that offers that kind of thing.
0:22:14 - Anne
And who offers cash? Who offers? Cash as a prize and the amount of time that we're dealing with a compressed amount of time, right, right, you can win back your money plus some, win back your investment and some, and have fun doing it and be top of mind for those people that may be able to help cast you in further roles.
0:22:34 - Lau
So and do you have a couple of quick tips? I love tips, couple of quick tips for the next round of talent. Who are like I have to do this, I got to get in on this or the round that just came through. I know a lot of them are already talking about coming back. They want to have another go of it, they want to be challenged again. Let's talk about quickly a couple of tips that we can offer them when they come back. Good idea, when they're coming in for the first time.
0:22:58 - Anne
Well, I'm going to say, first and foremost, do your research on the script, do some analysis before you run into your studio and just read it as if you this is the way you think it should sound.
I really think you've got to spend a few moments and, if you can, google the product, google the company, find out like who their demographic is, find out if they've had other campaigns. Take a look at those campaigns. See what their style is, what their brand is, what their mission statement is, and I think all of that information can help you to voice for that company better. And also make sure that you are, after the analysis, that you really look at it as an actor and I know you're gonna probably expound on this one, but I want you to really look on that script as an actor. You're not gonna probably get a storyboard with it, and so you have to try to imagine what's happening in the scene, always know who you are and who you're talking to, and really put yourself in a scene so that you are authentically in it, telling a story where all storytellers right. We have to tell the story. We have to engage the listener into a believable, authentic performance and Lau. I'm sure you're gonna go off on that one, oh my gosh.
0:24:11 - Lau
I second that. I third that I also don't want you to lose that fun factor, because there is a tremendous fun factor to not just voicing the copy but also being with people in a room. When you're with people in a room, I know it's scary, it's nerve-wracking, you don't know who everyone is, but I want you to enjoy, like, really relish the moment and have a little bit of personalization as you. So some of the time when you were giving a direction in, or we gave an adjustment or we were just greeting people, there were some people that stuck out in my mind as being very memorable because they had that mix of business acumen with warmth and fun, and they smiled a lot. There was one talent His teeth were so white I couldn't stop looking at them. He just smiled the whole time because we were visually in a room seeing each other.
We weren't just hearing each other audio wise, but all of that counts for something it does. Yeah, so that I know, okay, this talent knows how to smile on a lot of commercial reads. This person knows how to be a warm, engaging person. So if they're dealing with our clients, they're gonna be that way, like there's a lot of reasons.
0:25:20 - Anne
Good points, excellent Right.
0:25:22 - Lau
We have to enjoy. Let go be social a little bit, be personable. We're not gonna waste time, we're not getting into huge conversations. It's not a party, but it is a real time engagement of real people, and those people stick in my mind and relationships do matter.
0:25:39 - Anne
I mean, it's one of those things that, like you said, it's not a party that you're gonna be talking the director's ear off, but you certainly have to have a little bit of a personality and have a little bit of joy and a little bit of definitely a lot of professionalism, but also let us see a little bit about who you are and that will help us to understand what you can bring to the table Absolutely, and that's within your interactions. When we're giving you direction and feedback, all of that comes out. So, yeah, good advice.
0:26:06 - Lau
I'm gonna throw in another one and say it's really important to warm up. We wouldn't know for sure because we weren't asking this question, but I would suspect there were a few people who are not quite as warmed up as they could have been, mainly because they were stumbling a lot, they were going back on lines, they weren't breathing well, they were holding the breath, and I do think a lot of that is just nerves.
0:26:29 - Anne
It could be nerves.
0:26:30 - Lau
Yeah, real time, but take the time, even if it's an hour. Sit in your booth or take the time to stretch, drink water, breathe the air, go over your lines, feel them through, personalize them, so that it isn't just about getting the script right or I gotta get through this and sound good. It's about how do I feel you and I talked a lot about like the person that you're being and talking to is this real person? Even though it had a little bit of a corporate, boxy language to it, it's real. They're real people. So you gotta do that in your warmup. You have to incorporate that all in your warmup. You can't warm up or come in and you're colder and then you're warming up as you audition. I never recommend that. I think you should come in fully engaged full throttle, full throttle and get ready to go.
I think that that was the difference. That was one of the big differences between the people who are a little bit on a higher level and people who are coming into it, kind of feeling it out.
0:27:29 - Anne
Yeah, yeah, and absolutely, when you're hearing direction and feedback as well, if you've got that pencil and you've got the script or your pad, your iPad, whatever it is to make some notes, cause I know, in the heat of the moment, sometimes, when you're getting direction and feedback and they ask for another read, sometimes they give a lot of things, okay, and then over here, I'd like you to lighten up here and who are you talking to and I feel like, if you needed to make some quick notes, make sure that you have the ability to do that. I love that, yeah.
0:27:59 - Lau
I even say you know, with a prop. If you're dealing with a prop and you like a prop and a prop works for you, make it a prop that counts. Make it something that is meaningful to you. The first thing that came to my mind was if I'm dealing with the University of Phoenix read, and if you watch the advertising campaigns, traditionally they're pretty heartful. There's a warmth and a thoughtfulness to it. It would be great to have what the diploma looks like in front of you, or what a graduate looks like in front of you or what personally, so that you can see how meaningful that is to someone. That is going to change their whole life. That piece of paper is going to change their whole life potentially, and just bringing that in with you can change your whole delivery versus. Let me just get the first line right. Yeah, Absolutely.
0:28:43 - Anne
You know what I mean Absolutely and, like I said, I think that research and maybe looking at other commercials that they've done or other work that they've put out there to their potential clients, yeah, absolutely, that can really make a difference.
0:28:55 - Speaker 1
So wow Good, I'm excited. I can't wait for the next one. I can't wait, bosses stay tuned.
0:29:02 - Anne
We will have the next dates on the VO Boss website, vobosscom. The events should be right there on the front page, and so we are looking forward to having all of you come and audition for us and take advantage of the audition. Demolition and Loth. Thank you so much, as usual, for another amazing discussion. Bosses, here's a chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceshoocareorg to commit. And a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and connect like a boss. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week and we will see you at the next VO Boss audition demolition.
0:29:46 - Lau
Yeah, see you then, woohoo, bye.
0:29:50 - Speaker 1
Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL yeah.
0:30:23 - Lau
You really know your stuff.
0:30:28 - Anne
I'd like somebody to say that to me you really know your stuff. I want every session to be like wow, that was amazing.
0:30:36 - Speaker 1
Oh my gosh, I know a man.
0:30:38 - Anne
Bob, it's been. It's been years since we've had a talent.
0:30:41 - Speaker 1
It's somebody this talented. It's been years.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
Anne is joined by special guest Gillian Pelkonen to pull back the curtain on what it's like to be women in male-dominated industries. They candidly share their experiences, from the challenges and microaggressions they faced, to the emotional weight of feeling valued for their gender over their skills. But it's not all about the struggle. They also highlight the power of a strong support network and share inspiring stories of women who have stood tall in the face of adversity. Drawing from Gillian’s unique insights in the music industry and Anne’s working in tech, this episode is a deep dive into resilience, recognition, and the pursuit of equality. Tune in and join the conversation.
Transcript Anne Ganguzza: Hey everyone, welcome to the V.O. Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Genguza, and today I am excited to bring back special guest, audio engineer, musician, and all around tech guru, Gillian Pelkonen to the podcast. Yay, Gillian: Hello, Anne Ganguzza: Gillian! Gillian: Hi. Like so excited to talk and I feel like it's been forever since we got on and got to chat. Anne Ganguzza: I know, I know. And I am so glad to have you here today. And you know, after introducing you as, because every time I talk with you, I experience something new that you know. Gillian: I'm sorry. Anne Ganguzza: And just, it's just, you're just, you're amazing, Gillian, if I'm just gonna say Gillian: Oh, Anne Ganguzza: that, you're amazing. Gillian: thank you. Anne Ganguzza: And I was thinking about this today. I was thinking about this today. I want to talk to you because I feel like you and I are, females in male-dominated fields. Because before I got into voiceover and demo production, I worked as a design engineer. And Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: then after that, I was in technology. And so I've always been working in male-dominated fields. And you, of course, being in the music industry and audio engineer, I think we've probably got a few similar experiences. And I think I'd love to talk to you about that. Gillian: Yeah, I would love to talk to you as well because I mean, I've only been working for a couple years. I know that you're probably been working for a while and so obviously I'd love to talk to you because Thankfully, I think we have similar but different experiences because all of the work that you've done throughout your life has made my life easier and the trickle down and I just love talking to women mostly because I never see women every time I see a woman I'm like, oh my gosh could I hunkie you? Like Anne Ganguzza: Ha Gillian: I Anne Ganguzza: ha Gillian: never Anne Ganguzza: ha! Gillian: just men all the time or like a woman Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: non-binary person whatever because it's really is true. Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: There's um some statistics I was reading There's a really good article and research that was done I don't remember who but maybe I I'll put it in the show notes, that between producers and audio engineers, women make up 3% and they group producers and audio engineers Anne Ganguzza: Wow. Gillian: together within the music industry. Anne Ganguzza: Wow, Gillian: Is that crazy? Anne Ganguzza: that's so small. Gillian: I Anne Ganguzza: That Gillian: know. Anne Ganguzza: is crazy. Gillian: I know. Anne Ganguzza: And I know so many talented females. And Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I just know, I mean, look, I'm going to be honest with you. When people ask me about my career trajectory, I talk about when I went to college. And I've always been interested in technical and geeky things. I did pretty well in school and so I was encouraged to go into engineering. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I went to college and studied mechanical engineering and actually was like one of three females in the entire class that was studying engineering. I Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: grew up in a very small town and so I thought I would always talk about my geeky interests and the fact that I was the only girl that was in wood shop or those things. I always thought, well, it's because I come from a small town. But then when I went to college, and I was in a bigger population, I thought to myself, wow, I really kind of am in a smaller minority Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: in my engineering class because again, there's like three of us. And as a matter of fact, only one ended up graduating the program. I actually transferred into another engineering program and Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: graduated with a degree in computer graphics engineering. So when I got out of school, got a job as a design engineer for an orthopedic company. And thus began my corporate experience of being a female in probably a predominantly male-oriented field. And it was tough. It was really tough because there's, first of all, you don't have a lot of other females to, I guess, bond with about your job. And so. The few that are there, it seemed were, how do I put it, we're all very protective and all very, I think because people who have already been in that situation, I think protective of, protective of your job, protective of maybe your skill set in a way Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: because it was either being, I don't know. challenged Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: or being, yeah, I'm going to say challenged for lack Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: of a better word, but being challenged. And so it was really hard for me to find my footing. And, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: you know, after that, you know, again, without going through my entire history, I worked in technology. I got out of engineering. Being an engineer in the late 80s was tough. And Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I'm not, you know, I constantly say that I'm not bitter. And I really Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: wasn't because I was young and I was excited and I loved what I did. And I felt like the fact that I was kind of a smaller minority in the engineering group made me better at what I Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: did because I think I had to work harder and we can talk about that with you. I think working hard is kind of like, I've always been used to working hard anyways, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: but sometimes I feel like I might have to work. triple hard to get Gillian: And you Anne Ganguzza: maybe Gillian: definitely Anne Ganguzza: the same recognition. Gillian: did. It's like totally Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: not unreasonable to say that you would have had to, just to be taken as seriously as everybody Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: else. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Gillian: It's Anne Ganguzza: yeah. Gillian: such a Anne Ganguzza: You know, Gillian: crazy Anne Ganguzza: and after that, Gillian: story, yeah. Anne Ganguzza: yeah, and then after that, I spent 20 years in technology, which again was another male-dominated field. And so I was constantly being passed by to my male peers because they thought that they were in charge. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And so, again, you know, it was just one of those things where I literally... worked my tushy off. And I feel not quite as much, but I also feel like in the voiceover industry, to be a demo producer, a female demo producer, is there's not a lot of them out there. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And again, I feel like it's something that I feel like I work very hard at and very proud at it. And I'm very proud of being a demo producer. I love what I do. But let's talk about you. I mean, my goodness. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I mean, first of all, being as young as you are and as successful as you are, but I know that you must have gone through a lot of the same experiences as I did in the music industry and Gillian: I have Anne Ganguzza: in engineering. Gillian: to say, I'm still going through it, and unfortunately, I hope not, but I assume I'll be going through it for the rest of my life, and really from talking with other women of various ages. And I really do look up to a lot of other older women because Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: they've gone through it and they can really mentor me. And I feel like between... the no matter what age you are, I just find so much camaraderie and people who really want to mentor me and help me. But the one thing I can say about my experience is that I never feel physically unsafe, which I know was not the case Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: for many people, which is a really scary thing to think about. And I always try to acknowledge that like I have these struggles and I want to talk about my experiences, but the fact that like I go into work and I don't feel physically unsafe is really cool. And it's an insane sentence to have to say, but I know from other people's experiences. things used to be a lot more outright and a lot more pointed and really Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Gillian: mean and the whole point was to be like this is our space and we don't want you here and so we're gonna try to make it difficult for you to stay here. I don't know if that was your experience Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: but I've heard that that's kind of like Anne Ganguzza: You Gillian: what Anne Ganguzza: know, Gillian: happened. Anne Ganguzza: very interesting. Very interesting. I never had anybody, like, I never, nobody said that directly. However, Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: I mean, now we're talking another area where there were other ways to try to intimidate Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: me as a female, which lean, you know, toward a me too kind of a thing, Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: where, you know, people are trying to show their power. in Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: multiple ways. And I think as a female in a male-dominated field, if you have those types of issues that happen, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: they're tough to navigate. Because again, if a woman is seen complaining, or, you know, and that's the thing. I think we were taught for so long to just maybe not say anything because Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: we would be judged. Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: as bitter as, you know, it just, it's, that's, you know, we could, God, we could have a hundred podcast episodes on that. And, and Gillian: I know Anne Ganguzza: I think that Gillian: there's so Anne Ganguzza: over Gillian: many Anne Ganguzza: the Gillian: things. Anne Ganguzza: years, right? I mean, over the years, there's really just so many different intimidation tactics Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: that are different in, from male to female. Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: or Gillian: And Anne Ganguzza: really Gillian: I... Anne Ganguzza: just anybody that's trying to get, and I don't even wanna say male, female, but because it could be non-binary, it could be Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: transgender, it could be a lot of different genders Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: that experience the same thing in a lot of Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: ways. Gillian: Yeah, and I Anne Ganguzza: And Gillian: heard Anne Ganguzza: I Gillian: this Anne Ganguzza: just... Gillian: uh... The tricky guy. Anne Ganguzza: Oh no, that's fine, Gillian: Okay. Anne Ganguzza: please. Gillian: Yeah, I Anne Ganguzza: Continue. Gillian: heard this amazing thing on a podcast that I listened to because just for concision, to be concise. I'm gonna just say, you know, man, woman, but I did hear this amazing thing where Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: someone who was having a similar conversation was like, when I say woman, I mean someone who is not male, who is like within the minority. So women, when Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: I'm saying it, I'm sure Anne Ganguzza: Okay. Gillian: when we're talking about it, encompasses like transgender people, non-binary, and I know that that's not Anne Ganguzza: Yes, Gillian: their proper Anne Ganguzza: yes. Gillian: gender identity, but like in the discussion of like male, which is the default of women which is like basically could be used to talk about all those other people so I mean that's Anne Ganguzza: Yes, Gillian: I thought Anne Ganguzza: yes, Gillian: that Anne Ganguzza: no, Gillian: was cool Anne Ganguzza: thank Gillian: that Anne Ganguzza: you Gillian: someone Anne Ganguzza: for clarifying Gillian: said that Anne Ganguzza: that. I Gillian: yeah Anne Ganguzza: thought that Gillian: but Anne Ganguzza: was the one. Yeah, Gillian: I'm Anne Ganguzza: yeah, Gillian: just Anne Ganguzza: no, Gillian: my Anne Ganguzza: absolutely, Gillian: experience Anne Ganguzza: and I'm glad that... Gillian: as a woman that that's how I'm gonna talk about it because that's how I feel Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: about myself but there's also whether or not like you're Non-binary, if you are in a female presenting body, you do carry the weight of Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: being treated like a woman, which I know is another thing that Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Gillian: people who don't have that gender identity but get grouped in with women and have that female experience. Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Gillian: It's such a complicated issue because really we're talking about how other people perceive us, not really how we perceive ourselves in any which way. Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely. Gillian: Or that's what I found. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: no, I love that. You're right. It is about how people perceive us Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: as opposed to how we perceive ourselves. And wow, that was just, all right, we can go home now because that was Gillian: Ha Anne Ganguzza: just Gillian: ha Anne Ganguzza: really Gillian: ha! Anne Ganguzza: an amazing perceptive. That was so amazing Gillian: Hehehe Anne Ganguzza: and perceptive. I love that. And so, I guess, talk to me Gillian: I Anne Ganguzza: a Gillian: kind Anne Ganguzza: little Gillian: of, Anne Ganguzza: bit Gillian: yeah, Anne Ganguzza: about Gillian: I never talked about Anne Ganguzza: maybe... Gillian: what Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, I gotta Gillian: I, Anne Ganguzza: talk Gillian: I just keep Anne Ganguzza: to Gillian: making Anne Ganguzza: them. Gillian: all Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: these like blanket statements, but I should, I'll talk about my specific experience. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: briefly, Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: the whole reason that I got into doing what I do now, which is for the most part audio engineering, assistant engineering, freelancing, which I do as a pretty solitary activity, so it's not like there's anything going on there. Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: But I was working in studios as an artist. I was recording. And I was being paired with a lot of male engineers. And I actually had, in all of college, all the engineers Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: I worked with, I had very positive experiences. one engineer who was a woman and I was I just connected with her so well it was such a great working relationship and Realistically, I just wanted more control and knowledge about what I was doing because I love to learn about what I'm interested in. But it was in the front of my mind that there's now a lot of women. I've been doing this for four years and I've been paired with all these men and only one woman and it was my best experience. Like what if I could do that? I feel like I can communicate with people well. All of these things that I think sometimes is lacking in men, which is a complete generalization when I say it and what I was thinking because I was 20 years old. at the time and I also thought well there's not that many women so it'll be a great thing for me to try because there's not many people like me. Sorry Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: my cat's acting up. Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely. Gillian: And so Anne Ganguzza: Oh, Gillian: I thought about that not... Anne Ganguzza: I understand that. Gillian: right? Not taking into account Anne Ganguzza: Yes, Gillian: that Anne Ganguzza: I do. Gillian: when I got into this male dominated field I would actually have to do it and be surrounded by men all day and I didn't think about all of the things Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: that would come into play like not being taken as seriously because of my gender or... you know, all of the like microaggressions Anne Ganguzza: Mmm Gillian: that people say. I just, and also like a weird thing that I still encounter and I'm still dealing with is what I've experienced is by being a woman in a male-dominated field, it's really easy to get your foot in the door, but once you're in the door, that's where like all the complication starts happening, Anne Ganguzza: Ugh. Mm-hmm. Gillian: which is crazy. And then there's this whole personal thing that I am still dealing with, which is when I'm working with other women, or if they're, I mean I love when there's another woman in the studio. It is so great, but I do have this weird feeling of, well, I'm only here because I'm a woman. And if there's another woman, then my special thing is no longer special. And the way I'm treated is it makes me think of myself as only my gender, and sometimes I have to step back and be like, you have to be... confident that you're more than just that, even though all day I'm treated like that's all I am. Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: So, I don't know, that's my experience. Those are some things on my mind when I talk about it and how I got here and I guess some of the things that I'm dealing with at the moment within myself. Anne Ganguzza: Well, I'll tell you what you said about, you know, maybe it made getting in the door a little bit easier. I actually had that perception myself, you know, to Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: get in the door because, you know, employers want to feel like they're, you know, they're treating people fairly and so they need representation. But then you have Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: perception once you're there, right? I always feel like, okay, I got myself here in this position. Now I have to prove that I'm worthy. Right? And I feel like, okay, that's something that maybe, I mean, other people, do they feel the same? Do they have to prove that they're worthy of the position? Because there is perception that, you know what, oh, she's here because she's a, you know, she's a female. You know, I had that at my other job where people were like, well, they want a female in tech as a good role model. right, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: for, you know, when I worked in the school, right? They want a female because she's a good role model for the kids now, and that's why she got the job. I'm like, but no, really, once I open my mouth, you'll probably hear why I got the job, because I can back it up, right, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: with intelligence, and I can back it up with knowledge of the job, of which I do. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And, you know, it did get to be tiring. you know, to constantly, constantly have to prove myself. Now, I'm gonna tell you that in the majority of situations, at least in my experience, I had a boss who never, I would say, discriminated. As a matter of fact, he was very encouraging. And, but it was so many other people that I came into contact with. And we worked with different vendors. from all across the world, really, who I was a manager. And constantly I would be meeting these people in person that would come into the facility and just pass me by or ask me, like literally ask me if I could get them a coffee. And that was just, I mean, that was just one of those things. And I've got, yeah, no. Gillian: I get this like Anne Ganguzza: Or Gillian: anger inside Anne Ganguzza: ask me Gillian: me Anne Ganguzza: to be Gillian: hearing Anne Ganguzza: a secretary. Gillian: this. Anne Ganguzza: Well, see what that, I would always be asked, by the way, to volunteer on boards, you know, and of course, there's a thing, like in the corporate world, it was, and I don't know if it's still a thing, but it used to be a thing where if you were on the board, you know, it was a nice asset on your resume. And so people would always ask me to be, well, the president, the vice president, no, they'd say, will you be the secretary? And I'm like, No, I don't take notes. I don't, I don't, you know what I mean? It was just, it came back to that whole like, well, she's female and she's blonde, so she must be the secretary and she must, she'll take the good notes. And I'm like, no, I'm actually really bad at that. Ha ha Gillian: It's... Anne Ganguzza: ha. Gillian: yeah, it's insane. The assumptions that we make about people and like, oh, you're not being good at taking notes. You're like a bad woman. Because if you're Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: a woman, you know how Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: to make the coffee and take the notes. I get, it's so funny, because nobody will ask you to be a secretary anymore, but they'll like... ask me to do stuff and when I break down what it is it's like secretary oh you should just email the people you're really good at that Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: you should just talk to people on the phone you're really good at Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: that and i'm like how would you know i'm good at that i've never done it i mean i would be Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Gillian: because i'm good at a lot Anne Ganguzza: exactly. Gillian: of things but it's so crazy and honestly i know you were saying earlier about being bitter and it's like i'm not bitter i'm angry. Like I get so angry, the stuff that people say, and especially I get mad about myself, but I get mad about other people too, because it's the fact that we have to go through this. And sometimes I think to myself, like, how good could I be at my job if I didn't have to worry about my gender all day or be fighting these comments all day? Like Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: it's, it's so crazy the things that people have, I mean I could, I could say like the ridiculous things people have said to me. I get really frustrated. when people treat treat it like it's cute that I'm working, like it's an option, like, oh, it's Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: so cute that you're doing this or doing that. I'm learning some more technical stuff. I'm training to be a tech assistant in a studio, which would basically mean that if gear broke, I would know how to fix it. I'm helping him in the sense that if he has a piece of gear, it'll be like, oh, you do this part. Like today we built some XLR cables and Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: then we built some instrument cables and he was working on the inside of a piece of gear. So he was that when I need to put them back in like they're ready, stuff like that. And some guy came, some guy I'd never met before came in and saw that I was I was soldering and I was building this cable and he was like, oh do you have a license to do that? And the tech Anne Ganguzza: My God! Gillian: technician was like, I don't have a license to do this, like what are you talking about? Like it was just... I'm like, just because I'm doing something you perceive I shouldn't be doing, you're gonna like, make a comment about Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: it? So Anne Ganguzza: Now, Gillian: weird. Anne Ganguzza: let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. Do you think age has anything to do with it? I mean, was it an older person, or was it a younger Gillian: Yes. Anne Ganguzza: person? Do you find that you Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: get flack from both younger Gillian: I do think...yeah, Anne Ganguzza: and maybe all ages? Gillian: I find that older people have older views, like, or more... archaic is such a bad word, but like, archaic views of like, Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: this is what a woman should do. I mean, I've had... Yeah, especially I think yes. The answer is yes. When I work with people who are who are older I do find That they're less open-minded to anybody of any Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: gender Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: identity doing things Which I do understand to some extent because their world Was that way and it's just not that way anymore so I sometimes with I don't know I try to have more patience Anne Ganguzza: Well Gillian: with Anne Ganguzza: then, Gillian: people like Anne Ganguzza: then Gillian: that, Anne Ganguzza: you might Gillian: but Anne Ganguzza: have, yeah, I was gonna say then it might be a combination of, is it because you're female or is it because you're young? Gillian: Oh yeah, Anne Ganguzza: There's Gillian: for Anne Ganguzza: that Gillian: me. Anne Ganguzza: as well, you know? Mm-hmm, Gillian: I Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm. Gillian: find it's like a double whammy of terrible. It's like, well, you're young and experienced. But I do, whenever Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: I'm doubting myself, and if there's anyone out there who's listening to this and is doubting themselves, I always ask, would the same question be asked or be appropriate to be asked to a male coworker? Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: And that always answers my question. Anne Ganguzza: Now, I think, mm-hmm. Now, you know, it's so interesting because here we are doing a podcast and we're talking about our experiences about being in a male-dominated field and what has happened to us. And yet, I feel like I have to explain to the audience right now that, you know, I'm not bitter. Uh... I really don't feel better. I mean, there's, so there are things that I feel are maybe not just, and I've, you know, I feel like I've lived my life long enough to understand that, okay, there are things that are not just in this world Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: and, you know, I have to kind of suck it up, buttercup, and, you know, and deal with it. I will say. And I don't want to apologize or say to the bosses out there that I'm sorry for this conversation or feel like Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I need to tread lightly. But I will say that some of the positives that have come out of, I guess, maybe not being treated as fair as we would like is that I worked harder, and because I worked harder, I got better. And Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I'm proud of that. I don't feel like maybe I shouldn't have had to work so hard, but I do feel proud of the fact that I am capable and very competent Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: at what I do. And I think that that's been a positive that's happened. And I do believe that over the years, I feel that women have been speaking up more. And I feel like that's a good thing because it needs to be something, it needs to be talked about. It just needs to be talked about. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And I think the more we talk about things, and this is in any situation, right? I mean, I just feel that if the conversations are open and they've begun, then we can start to heal and move forward and have progress. Gillian: Yeah, and I think I agree that there have been a lot of things in my life that I've had to work harder than I should have or something happened and I had to do something at someone else who with a different experience may not have that has made me the person I am, but I do wish that things were different because I'm sure even without having to work harder Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: you were very good at your job. And I feel like I'm... Anne Ganguzza: Mm-mm. Yeah. Gillian: I'm doing what I'm doing Anne Ganguzza: You Gillian: and Anne Ganguzza: were Gillian: you Anne Ganguzza: too. Gillian: did Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: what you're doing and hopefully throughout your lifetime and my lifetime we just keep pushing the needle. I do really like talking about it because I like listening to people talk about it. It's so cathartic to not be Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Gillian: gaslit into thinking that, oh maybe it Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Gillian: really is just because I'm not good at my job. I'm not capable. I deserve to be, you know, passed over for promotions or not being taken seriously or not being asked Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: to be the VP on the committee or whatever Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Gillian: it was. Like maybe I am only the secretary and I just don't think that that's true. Anne Ganguzza: Well, yeah, and I think it's such a valid point that you bring up that we question ourselves. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And as long as I've been in industries, and as long as I've been alive and working hard and feeling like I got great at what I did or am becoming a better person and being better at it, I also still question myself. And I still self-sabotage myself once in a while, and I know better. And Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I think it's something that's very real for Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I think a lot of women. Gillian: Mm. Anne Ganguzza: Gosh, you know, I totally get that. I mean, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I get it, I understand it. And so what do you do, you know, what do you do, Gillian, to, I don't know, bring yourself out of that? Because it's so easy to talk yourself into, you know, that kind of a funk where you're like, oh, you know, maybe I don't deserve this job, or maybe, you know, these people are better than me. Gillian: I honestly, I don't know what I mean. What do I do? I mean, I haven't stopped doing what I'm doing yet, which is just continuing Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Gillian: to show Anne Ganguzza: yeah, Gillian: up. Anne Ganguzza: yeah. Gillian: I think because I love what I do. For me, feeling like I'm not good enough, that makes me want to show up more, which is kind of like what you said, you've worked harder. Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Mm-hmm. Gillian: And really the reason that I don't give up first, I mean... I really think it's because I do love what I do and because of the people that I've spoken to and knowing that as hard as I perceive that I have it, it has been harder. And hopefully, I just keep working to hope that 10 years from now I'll meet someone who's telling me about their problems and I'll be relieved that they're not the problems that I had. And knowing that by sh- Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: basically, I kinda said this earlier, but whether it's intentional or subconscious or unintentional, for minority groups in a work setting is to push them out. And I'm kind of determined not to be pushed out. And so I guess that's really like Anne Ganguzza: Mm, mm-hmm. Gillian: the motivating factor is to just be Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Gillian: like, you can bully me, but like you can't bully me out of my job because I wanna be one day someone who is higher up who can have a diverse group of people and a diverse group of voices in the room, whether or not the people who are currently in the room Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Gillian: want to see that day. So I don't know, Anne Ganguzza: And Gillian: what is it for you? Anne Ganguzza: I'll tell you, you know, it's, well, I think talking to people helped me, you know, other people. that are in similar kind of situations. Like talking to you actually is helpful. And just knowing that you're not fighting it alone, I think that's number one. And I look to people that I see as examples. I mean, I had a wonderful representative that I worked with a long time ago who was in the middle of transitioning to a woman. And... And she held a very high ranking position in the company that Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I was dealing with. And she was just the bravest soul, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: because it was about 20 years ago, if not longer. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And she refused to quit Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: her job. And I know that it could not have been easy for her. And Gillian: I don't Anne Ganguzza: so Gillian: think it's easy Anne Ganguzza: I constantly Gillian: now. Anne Ganguzza: thought that Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: she Yeah, and I don't think it's easy, but I constantly think about that. And I just say, you know what, I think if she could do it, if she could have the courage to kind of stick it out and Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: just stand up for what is right and what is just, because she was excellent at her job, Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: and did not be pushed out by the... And it was a very large company that was kind of... That could have had that mentality that Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: a little bit more old school. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I'm quite sure 20 years ago, it was not something that people did every day. Gillian: No, Anne Ganguzza: It just wasn't. Gillian: yeah. Anne Ganguzza: It was a different time then. And I'm thankful that we have people out there today that are defiant and Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: willing to stand up for who they are and willing to, I guess, fight or defend what they do. Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: in the environment that they do because they're good at it and for no other reason right that they are doing what they do And they don't have to necessarily prove to anyone That they you know can do the job Gillian: Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's a big burden that gets put on us for to just, Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: you know, be doing that. But yeah, oh, I had a train of thought and then I lost it because I was into what you were saying. But even like the VioBoss podcast, so many women on this podcast and so many voices that get to be heard, which Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Gillian: is like so amazing. I mean, you're still doing the work and all of the stuff. And like, I always Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Gillian: like when I see women who did it, like my mom did it. She worked on Wall Street in a time that like... when Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Gillian: there weren't many women doing it. And I always want to be like, thank you for your service, because it literally is because it's so difficult to like endure it. And everyone has their different coping Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Gillian: mechanisms and everyone does it in a different way. And we were talking about this before we went on air, but like everybody. hates women, like men hate women and women are taught to hate each other and I feel like there's a lot of stuff Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Gillian: of like, you're not doing it right or like you're acting a certain way and it's like we're all just trying to get through it and the more that we can realize that like we Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: do have each other, we don't need to fight each other, we can actually like be stronger as a group, then that'd be great if we did that more often. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. I mean, I love that sentiment. But you're right. I mean, you know, I feel like sometimes even from women, it's hard, you know, because there's so many different preconceived notions about what women, you know, what they should be doing, if they're Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: capable of, you know, what, you know, should. I mean, gosh, I feel like we're going backwards in time. I mean, well, that's a whole nother podcast, but Gillian: Hahaha! Anne Ganguzza: politically, I mean, we're talking about, you know, you know, just rights, human rights, basic human Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: rights. And, you know, I think, again, I love the fact that we are opening a dialogue here. And Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I'll tell you what, I mean, we could probably do five or six more podcasts, if not 105. But Gillian: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: I do want to say I really appreciate, really appreciate your input. And I'm glad that you were open to discussing this with me, because I think it took courage. It took courage to do that. And so, yes, I love that. And bosses out there, we'd love to hear from you, love to hear Gillian: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: what your thoughts are. And just I think if we can all just... Do what we do best and be confident in that and not have to worry about gender playing any type of a role in it. I think it would just be a better world. Gillian: Yeah. And thank you for using this podcast and this platform to talk about this because clearly without talking about it in the choices, you are talking about it, but it is really good to talk about it. And I'd love to Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Gillian: continue the conversation, involve more people, more bosses, more hosts just to talk about our experience because Anne Ganguzza: Yes. Gillian: it makes us feel less alone. And bosses, when you're out Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely. Gillian: there working your little butts off, we see you. And if it's Anne Ganguzza: Hehehehehehe Gillian: hard, you have two friends who are- cheering for you. Anne Ganguzza: Yes. Oh my God, what a wonderful, beautiful way to end that. Thank you, Gillian, so much. Bosses, I am going to ask you if you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart, if you're wishing that you can do more to help them, you certainly can. Visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn how. And a big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can connect and network like bosses and find out more at IPDTL.com. Guys, have an amazing week. and we'll see you next week. Thanks so much. Bye.
What fuels your entrepreneurial spirit? The key lies in having a robust support system. This week, Anne & Lau talk about the indispensable role of support in the journey of entrepreneurship. They explore how the encouragement from our loved ones serves as a pillar of strength during challenging times, and discuss ways to navigate situations where support is shaky or absent. They also dive into the essence of financial independence and the peace it can infuse into relationships. Unraveling the secret to keeping your business finances organized and the wonders of a dedicated workspace, they guide you on a path of entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneurship can often feel like a lonely journey, but remember Bosses, you're not alone! Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne Ganguzza: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Gangusa, and I am here with the one and only, most beautiful, Lau Lapides. Lau Lapides: Oh, thank you Anne. Hey Anne Ganguzza: Hey, Lau. Lau Lapides: everyone. Wonderful to see ya. Anne Ganguzza: Law, I've been very reflective this week. Lau Lapides: Oh, Anne Ganguzza: Yes. Lau Lapides: I love that chair. Anne Ganguzza: Very reflective because I was thinking about, oh gosh, I've just been reading. There's so much chaos out there in social media and stuff, and I was thinking to myself, I feel so lucky to have my supportive group that supports me in my business. I know that not everybody has that. Lau Lapides: Mmm. Anne Ganguzza: And I thought we should talk about your VO support group, people that support you, and especially people close to you and your family. I don't know where I would be if my husband did not support this endeavor of mine, because it really does, it really takes, I think it takes courage because... Being an entrepreneur, running your own business, it's so much different than the corporate life that I used to lead where Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: I just got paid every other week and I could depend on that paycheck. And I know that the way that this industry just kind of is up and down and crazy, it takes a lot for Lau Lapides: Yeah, yeah. Anne Ganguzza: someone to support that. Lau Lapides: And gratitude is great. And Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Lau Lapides: we really have to have, honestly, we have to have gratitude. It's so important to just celebrate the moments that we do share with our loved ones, our family, our friends, our colleagues, our really our circle, you know, our inner circle, our Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Lau Lapides: outer circle that really helps support us. And like reflect as you said, where would we be? without these people would we be where we are? And I'm going to be even non-PC for a moment and say, where would we be without these people simply tolerating us? Like think about that. Like what person slash woman you know would even say such a thing. But the truth is it's hard. It's a hard life in a lot of ways. Anne Ganguzza: Mmm, so Lau Lapides: And Anne Ganguzza: many Lau Lapides: it's Anne Ganguzza: ways. Lau Lapides: difficult. And we show the stress of it at times. Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Lau Lapides: We show the impatience, we show the fast moving, we show the exhaustion. And to have that group, that circle, not only support it, but tolerate it, Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: when they may not be experiencing that, they may not live that kind of lifestyle, they may not even understand it, but yet they're tolerating it, they're welcoming it, and then they're building you up. That is unbelievable when you have that on your Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Lau Lapides: side. Anne Ganguzza: yeah. And I think there's so much that as bosses, right, that we don't anticipate having to experience or know or, I guess, go through when you own your own company. There's just so many things that I think, I don't know if you can prepare yourself. Do you know what I mean? You can prepare yourself for, you know, I guess technically, right? You Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: know, oh, it takes, these are the steps that you need to, you know, create a business entity. These are the steps you need to market your business. These are the steps. So there's these technical steps that we follow, but then if things don't go the way that we hope them to go, right, Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: that can just throw a whole wrench into... the business and in your mental outlook. And that is something that I think I was unprepared for, the uncertainties of it and handling the uncertainties of that. And then of course, anybody that supports me Lau Lapides: Mmm. Anne Ganguzza: has to go through all these emotions with me. And that is asking a lot. So again, I'm very, very grateful that I do have that support. And bosses, I mean, I know this is difficult, and you may not even know, right? Down the road, what sort of things could happen that might, I don't know, change the way that your support system feels about voiceover or being a voiceover entrepreneur, and especially these days with the disruptive technologies that are out there. I can't imagine, I do know that there's a lot of people that are... uncertain about what's happening in the future. And so I think their support system is also like seeing that, reading that. How do you, what would you say for people that aren't experiencing support from their family? What can they do? Lau Lapides: Gosh, I was just about to ask you, this is the rhetorical question of the day is like, what do we do when we don't have the support or when we feel completely alone or when we have a partner or a spouse Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: or even a child or even a best friend that is sabotaging your dreams Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Lau Lapides: or Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: getting in the way, maybe they're sucking all the time. the energy from you. Maybe they're dragging you down in the Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Lau Lapides: mud with their own problems, maybe, right? And you think, Anne Ganguzza: Yeah? Lau Lapides: wow, who is there with me to go on this journey and really help me through, support me through this? I don't really have that many Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: people to do that. And I think there are a couple things that we can do to sort of band-aid that situation. I'm not Anne Ganguzza: Mm-mm. Lau Lapides: so sure you can ever totally fix it, but the one thing I would like to suggest, and I have a few clients like this too, sneaking around the bushes so that their husband doesn't find out Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Lau Lapides: that they're spending the little bit of tertiary income on Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Lau Lapides: on lessons. Anne Ganguzza: coaching or yeah. Lau Lapides: I say listen you know um it's easy for me to say listen just be brave and just tell them and just Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: you know stand up to it but I'm not in that relationship and Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Lau Lapides: I don't know the the dynamics of what's going on so in essence I don't really have the right to say that one thing I can say that has worked for me in many times of my life is If there is someone that is not working out, they're not positive minded, they don't have the forward thinking, upward mobility energy Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: that Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: I crave and that I want in my connections, I simply cut them loose. Not in a bad way, Anne Ganguzza: way, Lau Lapides: not Anne Ganguzza: not Lau Lapides: in a Anne Ganguzza: in Lau Lapides: toxic Anne Ganguzza: a toxic Lau Lapides: way, Anne Ganguzza: way, Lau Lapides: not in Anne Ganguzza: not in Lau Lapides: an Anne Ganguzza: an Lau Lapides: angry Anne Ganguzza: angry Lau Lapides: way, Anne Ganguzza: way, Lau Lapides: but in Anne Ganguzza: but Lau Lapides: a Anne Ganguzza: in Lau Lapides: way Anne Ganguzza: a way Lau Lapides: where Anne Ganguzza: where Lau Lapides: I sort Anne Ganguzza: I sort Lau Lapides: of prioritize Anne Ganguzza: of prioritize that Lau Lapides: that Anne Ganguzza: they're Lau Lapides: they're not Anne Ganguzza: not Lau Lapides: going Anne Ganguzza: going Lau Lapides: to Anne Ganguzza: to Lau Lapides: be Anne Ganguzza: be Lau Lapides: taking Anne Ganguzza: taking Lau Lapides: a lot Anne Ganguzza: a lot Lau Lapides: of my Anne Ganguzza: of my Lau Lapides: time. Anne Ganguzza: time. Lau Lapides: They're not going to be. forefront in my life because I have to keep my goals alive. And finding those, we talked about this once before, those growth people. Where are Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: those growth people Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: that can help me through that I can soundboard to, that I can vent to, that I can learn from, that can help me grow and also validate me? Like Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Lau Lapides: really validate the choices. So finding whether it's an accountability group or self-help group Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: or just a friend that is also working on a career where they're Anne Ganguzza: where they're Lau Lapides: moving Anne Ganguzza: moving Lau Lapides: up, Anne Ganguzza: up Lau Lapides: but Anne Ganguzza: but Lau Lapides: others Anne Ganguzza: others Lau Lapides: are Anne Ganguzza: are. Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: holding them down, is to help each other grow and get to the next step. Anne Ganguzza: Right, right. Lau Lapides: Get a buddy. Anne Ganguzza: And I, well, I'll tell you what, and I think that that's absolutely something that if you are not getting support, let's say from your spouse or significant other, that I think is almost critical for you to, you know, to survive in the industry. Because I know I've had a few people that I know where their spouses were not in support and consistently Lau Lapides: Yeah, Anne Ganguzza: were dragging them down. Lau Lapides: I have two. Anne Ganguzza: consistently demanding, you know, where's the money going? Why are you not making any money? You know, you need to help support the family, get a real income, or whatever it is, right? It's hard enough to run your own business and to deal with the uncertainties that you face with your own, maybe, insecurities, in maybe, I'm not familiar with this territory, and I need to learn more, and I need to, you know, what do I need to do to make it? to make it successful, let alone having the people around you, right, trying to bring you down or sabotage you, as you mentioned. So Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: that's Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: very difficult. So it's super important to have that support somewhere to keep you lifted up and to keep your momentum going forward Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: in that situation. Lau Lapides: And you know what I've seen too, more often than not, that the family or the close people to this Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: person, it's not that they're unsupportive or they're against them. It's just they're not actively or proactively doing things to make their path easier. So Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Lau Lapides: I'll give you an example. A mom who's got children, whether they're young children or whether they're teenage children, whatever. I've heard this from several of my clients, like it took forever. And like, don't you have a setup? Where's your studio? Where's your Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: desk? Are you setting up a mic? Months and months and months and months would go by. I'd say, what's going on? It's not a money issue. No, it's just, you know, I can't find space in my house. You know, my Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Lau Lapides: kid needs the space for football and my other kid needs the space for this. Then my husband wants the space for his disc. And then Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: and I said, well, wait a second. Where's your space? Where's your studio? Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: Where's Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: your identity? So it's that idea of that liberation and that freedom and that courage to say, I count too, I matter too. This is not the only role I play Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, Lau Lapides: as mom Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: or dad, Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Mom or, Lau Lapides: since Anne Ganguzza: do Lau Lapides: we have Anne Ganguzza: you have Lau Lapides: a lot Anne Ganguzza: a spouse? Lau Lapides: of dads Anne Ganguzza: Yep, Lau Lapides: at Anne Ganguzza: mm-hmm, Lau Lapides: home too. Anne Ganguzza: yep. Lau Lapides: Dad, I'm not only dad, I'm not only a breadwinner. I'm someone who's a creative, I'm an Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: artist, and I wanna be a talent, and I'm moving towards this. So I have to have the respect zone Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: of Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: my Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: space and really claim that. That's actually, I've seen that a lot, Ann. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Lau Lapides: I've seen Anne Ganguzza: yeah. Lau Lapides: that more often than not. Anne Ganguzza: Oh, absolutely. And it makes it doubly hard or triple difficult for, I think, these people to gain traction in the industry because it's almost like they have to prove themselves before they'll get any support. Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: You know, well, when are you going to get a voice-over job? I mean, when are you going to book something? That kind of a thing. And so it's always an uphill climb to get that space, that recording space, to get that that, you know, they have to either go out and get a part-time job so they can make money so they can pay for coaching, so they can get a demo. But I'll tell you what, I would say that the majority of my clients who I have found that have done that and have persevered. through that have been some of the most successful Lau Lapides: Yes. Anne Ganguzza: voiceover businesses that I know now because they have the resilience Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: and they had the commitment and through it all they persevered. and were Lau Lapides: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: able to finally, you know, and not only prove to themselves, but end up proving to any of the members of the family that we're not necessarily as supportive as they could have been, that this is a viable career. It is a viable, you know, it is a viable thing for me to do and to make money at it. Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. And you just said it earlier, you know, don't just ask, ask. You got to give too. So don't just ask for space and what you need. Be willing to work a little harder. Be willing to work Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Lau Lapides: extra. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: One suggestion I'd like to make too that seems kind of like, oh, but isn't that like a 1952 thing? No, it's not. I'm not suggesting to separate all of your finances in your life. That's how Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Lau Lapides: whatever you're gonna do with your spouse, with your partner is what you're gonna do. But I'm just talking about our career, your career, your space as a talent, have separate finances. And that way, not only can Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: you track for your tax purposes and your studio expenses, and it keeps it really clean for your bookkeeper and your accountants at the Anne Ganguzza: Yep, Lau Lapides: end of Anne Ganguzza: absolutely. Lau Lapides: the year, but it also keeps this anonymity or privacy about not having to ask permission of the other all the time Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: to get what you need or what you want for your career. Like Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: that should be your choice and your independent choice and if it comes down to money, well maybe you do need to get another Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Lau Lapides: side job or another Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: hustle or Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: another whatever so that you can have that privacy ready to go when you need it rather than depending on allowances Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: from others. Anne Ganguzza: And I love that you said that. And I think honestly, if you want to talk about the single biggest thing that I think that is lacking from the clients who don't get the support from their significant other spouse, it is the financial aspect of it. And so yeah, and I always look before there was even voiceover. Lau Lapides: Hmm? Anne Ganguzza: I don't know what it was, but personally when I got married, I always had my own account. I had my account, you know, I was on my own before I met my husband. We met each other late in life. And so I, you know, I had my own account. I owned a house and that kind of thing. And what I love about that is it made me financially independent. Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: And I was able to, when my husband and I got married, I just said, well, I'm keeping my account and you keep your account and we'll just have a joint account that we both will Lau Lapides: Yeah, Anne Ganguzza: put Lau Lapides: yeah, Anne Ganguzza: in. Lau Lapides: yeah. Anne Ganguzza: But nothing has to go into the main account unless we decide to put it in. We both kept separate accounts. And I was able to keep track. And first of all, it makes it super easy when you are creating a business, right, to keep your Lau Lapides: Yes. Anne Ganguzza: business finances separate. Lau Lapides: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: And that's kind of cool because any of you that might have trouble explaining, Why do you need a separate account? Well, it's a business, right? So therefore Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: you have a separate account. You can do whatever you need to do to put money in that account so that you can make investments, take the money out of that account for coaching, demos, studio space, whatever it is that you need to grow your business. And I think that that has really been something that for me, I mean... They say that a lot of couples argue, and money is the number one thing that they might argue about. I can't say that I've ever argued about money Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: since having an independent account. And Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: having the respect that I have one, my spouse has one, and we also have a joint account that we throw money in, if we want to take a vacation, or we want to landscape the backyard, or whatever it might be, Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: we... put into that account, but there's Lau Lapides: That's Anne Ganguzza: no expectations. Lau Lapides: right. Anne Ganguzza: And I think Lau Lapides: That's Anne Ganguzza: that's Lau Lapides: right. Anne Ganguzza: such a great suggestion law for anybody that might be experiencing difficulties or lack of support from a significant other, is just go and open that business account, right? Because you need one anyways, in order to incorporate or run that business efficiently and effectively. Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. And then this was a running joke between one of my colleagues and myself at my studio. It was like, well, I literally, law, literally could not find any space in my house for my studio. I Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: couldn't, it either had a technical issue or my kids were there or the Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: TV was on or the dogs were there. I said, great. Now you need to get a she shed. Anne Ganguzza: Yes, absolutely, as Lau Lapides: Or Anne Ganguzza: she Lau Lapides: a Anne Ganguzza: said. Lau Lapides: he shed Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: or a they Anne Ganguzza: Uh, Lau Lapides: shed. I Anne Ganguzza: yep. Lau Lapides: don't care what pronoun Anne Ganguzza: Yep. Lau Lapides: you use, but you need Anne Ganguzza: Yep. Lau Lapides: a shed. Anne Ganguzza: You need a pronoun shed. Lau Lapides: Yes, you need a pronoun shed that is an independent structure that stands on its own separate from your dwelling Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: Because I am a person of no excuses. I just don't think there's an excuse for not being able to work I think Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Lau Lapides: like if you Anne Ganguzza: yeah. Lau Lapides: have a problem fix it like Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: make it into this well, but it's expensive Well, it's an investment. It's Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Lau Lapides: a write-off. Anne Ganguzza: right. Lau Lapides: It's not a cost, it's a write-off. And it's your private space. Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm, Lau Lapides: You can decorate Anne Ganguzza: absolutely. Lau Lapides: it. You can put up whatever you need to put up. You can scream. You can do Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: yourself tapes. You can do your MP3s. And it's freedom for you. And I think that if you can't find anything in your apartment or anything anywhere, they say, wait a second, I don't own the land law. I'm in an apartment. What do I do there? Well, Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: think about that. Where can you go? that you can either build something Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: or you can rent something by the hour. Now Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: people are dying to get you into their podcast spaces and their audio spaces to rent by the hour because so many people are at home that Anne Ganguzza: that Lau Lapides: they Anne Ganguzza: they Lau Lapides: can't even Anne Ganguzza: can't Lau Lapides: rent. Anne Ganguzza: even rent. Lau Lapides: You can Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: go to places like workspaces and staples Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: and Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: all sorts of places really cheaply. and rent by the hour. I mean, is Anne Ganguzza: Is Lau Lapides: it a fix forever? No, but Anne Ganguzza: it a fix forever? Lau Lapides: it's Anne Ganguzza: No. Yeah. Lau Lapides: in the interim, Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: it's good Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: now until you figure out your next move. Like Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely. Lau Lapides: there's always an answer to Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: that. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, there's always a solution. I truly believe there is always a solution, if you want it bad enough, right? I mean, Lau Lapides: Hehe, Anne Ganguzza: gosh, Lau Lapides: yeah. Anne Ganguzza: we travel and we record in hotels. So Lau Lapides: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: pillow forts. I mean, there is a solution, pillow forts. Uh. and the right mic and the right interface will get you, you know, a place, your car. Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: If you can go to the car, that can be a studio. So I think where there's a will, there's a way. And I will say that, you know, having that, definitely having that independent financial account that allows you to, you know. draw upon that for investment into your she shed, into your renting of a studio, or your rig that allows you to go to the car to record and do your auditions. Whatever that might be, I think that there is a solution for it. And in the interim, I think it just, the tenacity and just keeping through it, making sure that you have support somewhere. that can keep you lifted up, going towards, heading towards your goal. I think that's just very, very important. There's a lot of wonderful supportive communities here. At VOBoss here, we're here to support you. Accountability groups are amazing. Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: Community groups are amazing. Lots of great Facebook groups out there. I've got my VOP's group and Law, you've got your group Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: as well. And, you know... And Bev Stani has the water cooler group, which is just kind of fun if you want to get together with other voice of artists. I know there's so many wonderful accountability groups that can really help in that situation. And yeah, I mean, I Lau Lapides: I Anne Ganguzza: think Lau Lapides: think Anne Ganguzza: there's... Lau Lapides: too, Ann, along with that, like hand in hand, depending on what your belief system is, sometimes you need spiritual groups as well. Anne Ganguzza: Mmm, mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: Sometimes you need people that are going to lift your spirit, whether you're religious or not Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: religious, whether you wanna talk mystical or not, but you find the right match for yourself that helps you build the courage up, that if you are Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: alone and on your own and you're Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Lau Lapides: isolated and you're not accepted in the family, your friends circle, that there are groups out there that are going to help lift you up as a person, not Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: just as a talent, but as a human being in the world to give you courage. And one more tip I got for you too is, and we will all want to do this, we have to be really guarded about it, like don't overshare. Be careful. Anne Ganguzza: Mmm. Lau Lapides: Don't overshare with people Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: that you know are going to tear you down. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: They're going to put up the walls as to why you can't, shouldn't. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: not supposed to do things, Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: don't share too much with those people. Let the sharing go to the people who are like-minded, people who are going Anne Ganguzza: Sure. Lau Lapides: to raise your spirit, Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely. Lau Lapides: raise your vibration, and get you excited about it versus Anne Ganguzza: Mm. Lau Lapides: the people who are going to give you every reason in the book why not to do it. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, yeah, exactly, and why you can't and why you won't succeed. Absolutely. Lau Lapides: Yeah. Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: So, yeah, absolutely. What's the wonderful advice law? Lau Lapides: So exciting, right? Like where there's a will, there's a way, but it's really true, there Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: is. There's Anne Ganguzza: Yeah. Lau Lapides: always a way to do things that you love to and want to and deserve to do. And just having the knowledge of like, write down your mantras, write down Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: your affirmations every morning, stick them on your fridge or wherever you stick them and say, I deserve this. I need this. I want this. I matter. And just believe it. Anne Ganguzza: Absolutely. Lau Lapides: And then you'll get it if you believe it. Anne Ganguzza: And guys, I'm going to say, like, this just transcends even just voiceover industry. This is for anything that you want to do, Lau Lapides: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: right? As entrepreneurs, as bosses, I mean, whether it's voiceover or something else that is aligned with voiceover or acting or whatever it may be, I truly believe that you can... you can get the support where there's a will, there's a way. And I love that you brought up the spiritual aspect of it too, because it is so personal, right? It does affect us being an entrepreneur, and not just a voiceover actor, not just an actor, but being an entrepreneur and running your own business and having a dream and pursuing that dream. It is something so personal to us that, you know, it- It transcends just voiceover groups or voiceover, you know, accountability groups or Facebook groups. It really, you just need to have the people that can help lift you up no matter where. Lau Lapides: Yeah. Anne Ganguzza: No matter where you get that. And, you know, spiritually is amazing, is an amazing source Lau Lapides: Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza: of being able to have a group of people that can lift you up and support you when you need. Lau Lapides: Yeah, and give yourself that little bit of extra self-care Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: that you may need, that you may Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: be missing in your life, whether it's a massage treatment or Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: an extra whatever, so that you've got that extra bit of health, of mindset, of balance that you need to get stronger and find the right people to get on your side. And you'll absolutely do it. People have come from really, really challenging backgrounds Anne Ganguzza: Oh yeah. Lau Lapides: with nothing and have become everything. Anne Ganguzza: Mm-hmm. Lau Lapides: So it really is mind over matter for sure. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, yeah. What a great discussion, Law. Lau Lapides: Beautiful. Anne Ganguzza: Yeah, Lau Lapides: I loved Anne Ganguzza: we have Lau Lapides: it. Anne Ganguzza: the faith in you, bosses. We definitely, Lau Lapides: We do. Anne Ganguzza: we have faith in you. And again, VOBoss, we're here for you guys. And, you know, go out there and believe in yourself. Find people that will help support and lift you up. And yeah, I love it. I love it. And Lau Lapides: You can do it. Anne Ganguzza: guys, as individuals, it may seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, We can certainly contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. Visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn how. Also a big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can network and connect like bosses using amazing technology. Find out more at IPDTL.com. You guys have a great week and we'll see you next week. Bye. Lau Lapides: See you next week.
Being a boss isn't just about calling the shots, it's a delicate balancing act that requires continuous learning, effective people management, and navigating the complexities of business growth. Anne & Lau unpack the multifaceted nature of being a BOSS - the responsibilities, the challenges, the triumphs, and everything in between. Listen in as they share their personal experiences and insights on managing people, mastering outsourcing, and balancing the dynamics of a growing business. You'll learn the significance of industry education, the art of hiring the right people, and the need for continuous learning and adaptability. Plus, they delve into the essential elements of establishing strong relationships with clients and colleagues. This is a conversation you won't want to miss, so tune in and let's learn how to truly embrace being a BOSS… Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with the one and only, most beautiful, lovely Lau Lapides. Lau: Oh, thank you. Miss Anne. Love you right back. Yay. Anne: Ohh. You know, Lau. I had such a week. Oh my gosh. It is so tough to be a BOSS. I'm just saying. Lau: Ugh. It is. It is. You have to give that a little accent, because that was such a week. Was it a week? It was a week. It was a week. It was a week, a week from Weekland. Anne: I Had such a week. Lau: Such a week. Anne: Trying to, being a BOSS. Lau: Oy, tell me about your week. Tell me about it. Anne: The VO BOSS. Okay, so that was my poor rendition of (laughs) VO BOSS. So being a VO BOSS, you know what? There's so many different types of BOSSes. So I thought it would be a good thing to talk about today, all the different hats that we wear being BOSSes and all the, as you mentioned before, the plates that need to be kept spinning in the air. And those of you who are maybe just getting into this, or if you're into this, realize that you're not alone. We're all spinning plates, and it's one big, crazy, wonderful world of being a BOSS. All these things that I never anticipated having to do when I initially thought, oh, I'm gonna go into voiceover. Lau: Oh, totally. You know? Oh, you don't know anything. I mean, that's the beauty of it, is like if you knew everything, you wouldn't go into it. So it's better. Anne: Probably. Lau: Ignorance is bliss, right? In a way. Anne: Probably. Lau: But do you ever literally have vertigo? Like sometimes I literally, at night, I'll sit down, and the room is spinning, and I'm like, why is the room spinning? It's like so many things are entering -- Anne: Could’ve been those drinks you had, Lau. I'm just kidding. (laughs). Lau: It could be like, listen, I should drink -- Anne: Vodka, you. No (laughs). Lau: I should drink. I would be able to see straight. But it's just like so many layers of stuff happening in your mind that literally you get dizzy from it. I get dizzy from it. Anne: It's funny because I said to -- as I was having a meeting with my assistants the other day -- I said, God, it's hard to be a BOSS. Like, I thought, oh, it's gonna be wonderful going into business for myself, and, and it is. Trust me, I would have it no other way. I've decided that I could never, ever work for someone again outside of an a guest position, like a guest director, that kind of thing. But I just can't work for someone again. But being a BOSS, there's so many responsibilities that you have to take on that you may have never even thought of. And they're scary. Right? Because did I have any experience setting up an S-corp? Did I have any experience hiring employees or firing employees? Things that you just didn't -- in the beginning, did I have any experience negotiating outside of being in the store with my — by the way, my father, my father, every place he went, he tried to bargain. He tried to bargain the deal. He would go into Sears. Okay, Sears is not around much anymore, but I think Sears is online. Lau: (laughs). I love Sears. Anne: But he would go into Sears, like just the retail store, and he'd just, anything he bought, he'd try to, he tried to bargain them down. I mean, it was hysterical. It used to drive my mother crazy, but all the negotiation, I had no idea. Right? No idea how to negotiate, no idea how to set up accounting for my business. Lau: Yeah. They're hardcore skill sets that we're not, I mean, to be perfectly honest with you, if you're in undergrad, if you're in graduate school, if you go to a conservatory, if you're going to a training studio, they all kind of fall under a similar umbrella in that they're not offering a lot of business training. And so you're really kind of thrown out as a actor in the world thrown out to figure out, how do I do this? Whether I'm a working talent or whether I own a company, how do I figure out all the components that have to make that company really successful? And the truth is, a lot of us end up taking years and years piecing it together, like our own apprentice, and getting people to train with and train under, to figure out what I need to not just survive, but also thrive in the business and get to the level at which we're getting to. Anne: Absolutely. And even if you outsource, right? Let's just say you're a creative. I know a lot of creatives that come into it. They're like, okay, so this is great, I got my demo, (laughs). Then they're like, why am I not getting any work? Well, because you need to proceed on with the business, right? We need to do marketing, we need to do outreach. We need to reach out to potential clients and get the work. And then once we get the work, we have to figure out how to negotiate a fair price. Or if we're working with an agent, we have to get that agent. How are we going to bill them? And then once we bill them, how are we gonna make sure that they pay us? And then when they pay us, we gonna make sure we're taking out enough taxes for the end of the year, right, so that we can pay our taxes at the end of the year? So, so many different pieces and components. And I think for me, as a voice talent first starting out, before I really branched off and started coaching and started VO Peeps and VO bus, I had to survive and get through all of that, which I believe most everybody has to kind of experience on their own. Even if you outsource for things, right, for editing, for accounting, you have to understand the business in order to know how to manage the people that you are hiring to help you with the business. Right? Because otherwise, you're kind of just sitting there in the dark and people could take advantage of you, or you're just not gonna understand how your business works or the things that need to get done. So I think first and foremost, being a BOSS requires education, education, education. Oh my gosh, from the start. Lau: Yes. You have said the magic words, and you have to give yourself enough expertise to understand how to find experts, if that makes any sense. And I, I oftentimes would get frustrated saying, but wait, do I have to be a graphic designer in order to design for a designer for my website? And to some degree, yes, you do. To some degree, yes, you do. You can't run on an assumption that if I have enough money to invest, and I hire this person or this team, that they actually know what they're doing. You cannot assume that, do not assume it. And I will say, not to be a negative Nelly, but just to be a realist in the moment, most of the time they don't. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And so it doesn't mean to be overly critical, it just means to have the education behind you to say, well, I sat in on some courses, I took some seminars. Anne: Yeah. Lau: I did some homework in the industry, and I have a sense of what a marketing person does. I have an idea of what a designer would do for a website. I have these ideas that I can be a partner, not a subordinate in my own business, but a partner in crime to really make that vision happen. Don't sit back and be passive and say, well, I'm hiring an accountant, and they should know you'll do it. Anne: Exactly. Lau: You have to know what an expense is. You have to know what a write-off is. You have to know, as you said, how to save for your quarterly taxes. Otherwise, you're gonna get stuck at the end saying, wow, I'm the loser in this because I didn't do the homework in understanding what my due diligence is in this process, I just completely put it in the whole basket of that professional who, sometimes they're great, but they still are not gonna know everything and about our industry. Anne: Oh my gosh, yes. And honestly, I will say that for myself, being the tech girl that I am, being, the fact that years ago I taught, let's just, here's an example, marketing, ads, Google Ads, Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, they've changed. Right? And so when I recently -- well, not recently, it was about a year ago or two years ago, I went to go hire someone to do Google Ads for me. Oh my goodness. So I didn't have a concept of what Google Ads needed at the time. Right? So how was I able to hire a qualified person to create ads for me, manage ads for me, and run them for me, and then charge me. Right? And I will say, I am the first person to say that I did not educate myself enough. I found someone who, sworn up and down, good references, good resource, that was supposed to be a wonderful person that could handle my Google Ads for me. And they did not work out at all for me. I got no return on my investment, and I lost money. And so that alone, right, that risk that you're taking when you're hiring somebody or outsourcing somebody to help you run your business, that first of all takes courage. And that's a scary thing. And so educating yourself about what you need and the general outline -- like, if I need an accountant, what is that accountant gonna have to do for me? They're gonna have to balance my monthly checkbook. They're gonna have to import data from my banking accounts. We're gonna have to categorize that. So understand that you need to do these things, and then you're gonna have to manage the person that's working for you. And remember, and this is probably one of the toughest things I have, multiple assistants. Assistants are human, right? Human people have bad days. Right? And if there's a bad day, or more than a bad day, or it turns out to be something where it's not helping you in your business, you're going to have to address that. And that's not necessarily a technical thing that you have to know or learn about, but that is people management. And oh my goodness, Lau. I don't know. Can you take a class on people management (laughs)? Lau: Well, you know, they have whole degrees on management. They certainly have whole graduate degrees. But I'm here to tell you, and not to say that those are not worth taking part in, they could be. Anne: Yeah. Lau: But I'm here to tell you, I am from the school of Old Knocks, and the School of Living Life from -- Anne: Hard knocks. Lau: Hard knocks. And nothing you learn in school, number one, in a year or two will be obsolete, a lot of it. But number two can match what happens, the class, versus the real life. Nothing can match the nuances and complexities and sophistication and complication of dealing with people every day. And anyone who's in any kind of business will agree with that one. It is amazing, the skillsets that you need to accrue. Anne: Oh goodness, yes. Lau: The more diversity, the more skillsets, (laughs). Anne: And you know, we always encourage outsourcing, right? To be a BOSS, go ahead. Outsource those things that don't bring you joy. Outsource those things that allow you to market yourself more. If you love being in the booth and you want more jobs in the booth, hire someone to help you market. But make sure that you know enough about that marketing and enough about managing that person so that they can truly help you grow. And so that when you do get more work, right, you're gonna be able to complete that as intended. And if it doesn't work out, I think one of the hardest things for me has been firing somebody. That's a tough thing. That might be the toughest thing I've had to do, is fire people. And that is, whew. I'll tell you, that mentally is draining.(laughs). You know, not so much like if somebody's not performing as you feel, I think letting them go. And then I think the decent thing to do is to connect up with them and talk to them as you're letting them go. I don't wanna just ghost people or do it via a text or an email. Dealing with that is very, very tough. So BOSSes, if you are outsourcing, make sure you know enough about the topic or whatever it is that you're outsourcing so that you can manage the person. And if that person doesn't work out, make sure that you have the courage and you will develop people skills probably. It doesn't make it easier, I don't think. I always hate letting somebody go. It's not a pleasant thing to do. Lau: No, it's a hard one. It's a really hard one, especially if you're a people pleaser and you love to get along with people. It's a very difficult one. And another one is, and this is old school management versus a lot of new school theory, in that management does not mean everything is hands off and laissez-faire where you can walk away and take lunch all day and everyone will do everything for you. It is always, in my mind, a hands on skillset and craft that you need to be unafraid and assertive about your team being on top of what's going on, having them know that you know what's going on, the psychology that is important. But walking a fine line between over controlling and being -- Anne: Yeah. Micromanaging. Lau: — called founder syndrome, that's the founder of the company not willing to budge and let go of old ways and old philosophies. How we balance that as managers of saying, well, yes, I started, I've grown. I have a philosophy and a model in this direction, but I wanna learn, I wanna pivot, I wanna grow. And knowing the difference -- here's one of the best ones I can give to your, to the audience. One of the best ones is know the difference between the people that are static — in other words, they were great at a certain timeframe — and others that are your growth people. They're the people that are gonna help you grow to the next place. Not everyone is that. And when we have an unrealistic expectation and get upset that this person is not moving with us, they're not shaping us, they're not shape shifting, they're not leading us, well, they're not meant to. They're not great at that. That's not why they're there. This other person you're bringing in, because they're great at that. That's what they do. They're there to take you to the next level. And know the difference between the two. Anne: Absolutely. Yeah. There's a give and a take. Right? I mean, just because you are the boss doesn't mean that you are the be all, all knowing. And so I, I really find that there's such a delicate balance between happy people, happy employees, business grows. I really believe in keeping employees happy. And to do that, you have to pay them fairly. That's number one. And again, that's another mind twist for BOSSes who are starting out thinking, well, gosh, I don't have the money. A lot of what I hear on a daily basis is, I don't have the finances. I don't have the finances to invest. But yet still, if you don't have the finances to invest, I don't believe in your growth, in your company's growth, you're not gonna grow. And what are we here for? I mean, (laughs). I just feel like there's got to be a reason that you want to grow in your career and grow your business. And so there has to be that mental education that you have for yourself that allows you to make that investment, but also trust in the people. Like hire people that can help you grow. I love the static and the growth people, and also, a back and forth listening to those people, because I don't know everything. Right? I hire people that make me look better. Right? Hire people that make you look good, and you can help them look good as well. I think it's a give and a take. And I think it's always like, if you hire people who are even better than you, I think that's really something to aspire to. I wanna hire somebody, obviously I wanna hire somebody that's better at me in accounting, because that's why I need accounting help. Right? I want somebody who's the expert, who's the best in that. And I wanna encourage them to want to work for me or work with me to help grow my company. So how am I incentivizing? Lau: And you know, just realize that as you manage people, people, whether they're a contractor and they're coming and going, doing a one-off job for you, or if they're an employee and they're there on a consistent basis, I always run by the philosophy of, I wanna build them up. I wanna grow them and spring them up. Versus rip them down and tear them down. And I'll tell you, I oftentimes say this from some folks that I have worked with in the past, and I think to myself, quietly I think, if they had money and they had power, they would be super dangerous. Because they don't know how to manage people, and they would become tyrannical. And it's very easy to slide into a zone where I'm powerful, I'm omnipotent, I have money, I'm successful, I'm this, I'm that. Now the ego can't get through the door. The ego is larger than life. No one can tell me I'm wrong. No one can show me anything else. Anne: Right. Lau: A lot of dictators, we see this in the acting world, especially in academia, a lot of theater professors and people who are tenured, who can't be touched over years and years and years can become very, very tyrannical in nature and just rip to shreds those actors. And so I always had a concerted effort in the front of my mind, not that I have a nature for that, but don't ever go down that path. Always stay humble, stay kind, stay open to education, and just know that I don't know everything. There's so much you don't know. You're always learning -- Anne: Absolutely. Lau: — learning and learning. But keep your awareness up. If someone is trying to take advantage of you or someone is treating you a certain way that's uncomfortable or inappropriate, put your foot down. Be articulate. Let them know that. Like, don't let them walk all over you. And so it's a very fine line to stay right in the middle, right in that diplomatic middle place. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Where you're strong and you have an anchor and you have a state of mind, but you are open, you're kind, you're pivoting and you're learning and just sort of moving back and forth. Anne: I think some of the most powerful people in business, and of course I've had, outside of the VO industry, I've had experiences obviously before I came into the voiceover industry. But I also try to make a point to really get outside my bubble and experience -- especially with my clients, right? I want to go into their world. I think some of the smartest and most powerful people that I have met have been ones who don't act like they know it all and actively say, I don't know it all. Or I wish I could answer that right now. What I think is this. And I truly believe those are the people that I'm like, wow. Like, wow. You just don't see that. I have such respect. He's a BOSS. Or she's a BOSS. And really, I feel that that has to be part of the mindset that, BOSSes out there, we need to stay humble, stay open to education, and educating yourself at all times. Like we are lifelong learners. It's not easy. Right? I mean, I, gosh, I wish a lot of times you might look into the industry and people just make it look so easy. They're just getting all the jobs. They're just powerhouses in the industry. But I guarantee if you sit down with every one of them, they can tell you their story. And their story has not been all roses. I mean, it's not easy being a good BOSS. It, it just isn't. There's a lot of trials, tribulations, failures, missteps. I think if you really look at it in a positive light, you always learn from your mistakes. I mean, I don't mind making mistakes. I mean, I don't wanna make big costly mistakes. I try to avoid those. But it happens. I mean, like I said, I made a bad investment in trying to hire someone that was gonna do some ads for me. And it wasn't just that, I mean, it's been multiple, multiple things that have happened that I'm like, well, okay, I've learned now. Now I know. I don't want that. Or now I learned and I know better. Lau: That's what I call learning money. (laughs). Anne: Yeah. Learning money. Lau: Learning money. But you don't wanna keep learning that lesson over and over and over again. Anne: Exactly. Lau: Just learn it and then move on and say, hey, I learned that. And I'll never forget that. Yeah. Because that was not the right move for us, but that's okay. That's all right. It happens. Anne: I try telling people all the time, it's such a thing on the forums in, you know, Facebook groups, oh, I got a demo, and oh, I shouldn't have gotten that demo. And then people come, they'll come to me and they'll say, can you listen to my demo? And I shouldn't have gotten it. And oh God, it was a mistake and it was bad. But honestly, I just tell people like, you cannot beat yourself up over something. It's a learning mistake. Right? I mean, everybody starts somewhere. Right? Lau: Yeah, I was just thinking of that. Anne: And so, if you beat yourself up about, yes, it could have been a costly investment, but think of it as a learning investment. And now you know exactly what not to do. And so I always try to make people not feel bad about what they consider to be mistakes. because it, they bring with them all sorts of luggage, which it doesn't always serve them well in trying to build their businesses. Right? When you've got that luggage and that baggage and that bitterness. I mean, just move on, learn, move on. And yeah, it was a costly mistake. And it happens. It just does. And it happens to the best of us, guys. It does. It happens to BOSSes that have been doing this for years, like myself and Lau, I'm sure. Lau: Oh my goodness. Every year, every year you're learning and you're growing, and you're doing things that are amazing and you're doing other things that you look back and you say, why did I do that? Or I don't think I'm gonna do that again. Anne: Well, that didn't work, (laughs). Lau: What was I thinking? You know? Wasn't time well spent. But you know what? I think the older and wiser you get, the more you realize I need to be able to take something away from every single experience that I'm doing. Because that's really the learning curve. Sometimes your biggest mistakes are your biggest learning curves. And sometimes you meet people within that mistake that become immense, immense partners in action for you and your lifetime. So always look for the silver lining of that cloud. Don't walk away and beat yourself up and waste energy and waste time and whatever. Say, listen, I got opportunity costs, I got learning money, (laughs) that I'm spending. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: But you know, I had a thought in my head, and this was like from 20 minutes ago, but I just wanted to say that some of the simplest things that can be blown out of proportion, if not done well, and doing the due diligence to do them well is so important. Like even budgeting, like even budgeting, understanding the difference between like what a fixed cost is versus what your variable costs are. if you don't know that from the beginning and you don't work on that, my goodness, the money is gonna go right through your hands like water. You won't even know what happened to it. You won't know how you spent it. You won't know how you got it. You won't know what to do with it. So your relationship to money is a very powerful and intimate and trusting relationship that you have to really respect and pay attention to, because it symbolizes so many important things for you in your life and in your business. So you have to really do that and not put it off for some day, someday. Do it early. Get yourself in really important patterns. Anne: I think ultimately we create businesses to have a business and create a profit. Right? We wanna be able to create a profit so that we can I mean, ultimately, if this is your full-time gig, right? I wanna be able to pay the mortgage, and so with my business, I need to make a profit. And so, yes, relationship with money is huge. And I think we had a podcast episode on it not so long ago, or we've spoken about it before. Your relationship with money is critical. It's imperative that you address it and that you face it. Because you have to know at what point, are you making a profit? Are you not making a profit? What are you putting your money into? And that's not to say that you shouldn't put your money into things, right? And that you should be clenching your fists and not wanting to invest in yourself or in your business, but knowing where that money is going. And then are you making a profit? Or at what point are you making a profit? Now, profit can mean something other than monetary profit, especially when we're talking about just getting into the business. The first couple of years I was in the business, I expected to take a loss. And of course I reported a loss on my taxes, right? Because you're investing money, or investing money in your training and your equipment, in your demos, you're spending money on, at least I was spending money on pay-to-plays and auditioning and trying to build up that business, build up that clientele. And so as a business entity, I lost money the first couple of years. And of course, ultimately that shouldn't be your goal forever. But I mean, that's very typical I think for any small business just starting out, you're gonna invest more than you're gonna get back. And so for those people, I love it, I always ask my new students to set goals. Some of the goals are like, I want a national spot in six months, or I wanna be able to make, you know, $100,000 this year, or whatever that is. And I like the fact that there's goals, but I want, I want your goals as BOSSes to also, if you educate yourself enough to figure out what are realistic goals for you in your business, and how much are you going to have to invest, and how much could you realistically get? I mean, of course there's always monetary goals, that I'd like to hit that six figure number this year. I think those are great. But I also think that you have to have the relationship with your money, first and foremost, to know where that money is going, in and out in profit and not profit, to really help you get an idea as to how to continue or to move forward and progress. Lau: Have a real action plan in place, right, Anne? I mean, don't just fly by the city of your pants. It's okay to have those impulsive moves at times and have the improv spirit, but you have to have a plan of action in place. I would like to see you have it in place every quarter and readjust it, readjust it, readjust it, reinvent it, reenvision it. It should not stay the same year after year, quarter after quarter. You should have new ideas, new ideas. And it's okay if your business is capped. You don't have to go through the ceiling. Not everyone has to go through the ceiling. Some people say, I wanna grow to this level. I'm happy with this level. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: I know if I get above it, it's gonna be too stressful for me. Or I don't have enough of -- Anne: There's gonna be more work involved. Exactly. Lau: — to help with that. And just know that, like go after your big dream, but be realistic about that big dream. I also wanted to say too, be careful of scams. It is a massive scam market now out there, just in the larger world, in the larger sphere. So as you're spending your money and investing in services and delegating and hiring people and growing your team, do your reference checks, do your research. Ask folks in the industry, do you know this one? Do you know this one? Do you know this one? Because you don't wanna make a mistake where you give a bunch of money to a scam outfit. That happens all the time. Every moment of the day, that's happening. And they're getting very crafty about looking like a real company. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: So just buyer, beware, consumer, beware. Do the due diligence. And I guarantee you two or three people in the industry that you work with and trust are gonna know whether they are legitimate and real or not. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. BOSSes, educate. I think it all starts with education, all starts with education. And I mean, hopefully our discussion on being a BOSS and things that we've had to encounter ourselves has helped you to know that you're not alone if you're experiencing difficulty or you have questions or you don't know the answers, because a lot of times we don't either. And so that's why we have support groups out there. We have mentors, we have coaches that we trust and believe in. And the BOSSes, we're always here for you if you need us. And so always great conversation, Lau. Lau: Great conversation. You know what I love the most about being a BOSS? I love developing relationships. Relationships that sometimes can last a whole lifetime. And that to me is one of the biggest payoffs of running a business, is getting to have amazing clients, amazing talent, and amazing colleagues and friends like you, Anne that just make my life happy. Anne: And cohosts like you, Lau. Lau: Yay! Anne: There you go. Lau: Yay. Anne: I love it. Love you, guys. Lau: Love that. Love it. Anne: Fantastic. Okay guys. So as individuals, I want to let you know that it can seem difficult not only to be a BOSS, but to make a huge impact. But as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought before possible. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. And big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like BOSSes like Lau and myself. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye! Lau: Next time! Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In this episode, Anne & Lau delve into the energizing power of generosity + how integrating it into your personal and professional life can be incredibly rewarding. They explore various ways to incorporate acts of kindness into your daily routine, emphasizing that giving doesn't always have to be monetary – it could be a service, a skill, or even just a few minutes of your time each day. They also discuss the importance of giving without seeking recognition, and how simple gestures can strengthen connections and relationships. Listen in as they share their own experiences, provide insights on how businesses can contribute to organizations like 100 Voices Who Care, and inspire you to unleash the transformative impact of giving in your life and the lives of those around you.
Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Super Power series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with ah, the one and only Lau Lapides.
Lau: Hey, Anne. Happy Saturday.
Anne: Happy Saturday, Lau. How you feeling this Saturday?
Lau: Awesome. As always. Excited to be here with you.
Anne: Me too. Me too. And you know why? I was gonna tell you before I asked you --
Lau: I have a feeling.
Anne: -- do you know why?
Lau: I know what's coming up. I think you're gonna talk about giving today, giving, giving.
Anne: I am. I wanna talk about giving. Yes. And I've mentioned this before, purpose beyond profit for your businesses. So, I mean, it's awesome to be BOSSes, right? It's awesome to be a business superpower and to be a BOSS. And I think a big part of being a BOSS is also understanding the power and the power and the grace of giving back. And I think that there are a lot of people who, if they had the opportunity, would really get a lot out of giving back.
I mean, anybody who's given to a charitable organization knows how good that can feel. And I truly believe that today people want to align themselves with businesses who are about more than just profit. You know? That they stand for something, they believe in something, they do good, they give back. I just think it's a good thing to do in your business. And I know it's hard if we're just starting out, trying to get our careers going. And I know there's a lot of people who are like, well, I don't know if I have the money to be able to donate at this time, but I'm going to ask you guys to think about your purpose. Think about the positive outcomes that can come from giving back. Lau, what are your thoughts about?
Lau: I am so into that, and I have to say, this isn't an elitist sort of thought process of, oh, I've made it to this amount of money. I'm grossing in my business, then I can give, or this or that. It really is not contingent upon how much you're taking in or how much you're making. Really, I think the truth is, as a business owner and as a human being, a citizen of the earth, I like to say, you should always take a very small percentage of anything that you're bringing in and give it away to the charity of your choice. And I always say to people who haven't done it yet, who don't know what it is, and it's a little scary to do that, just start really small.
Like if you're going through a coffee line, like let's say you're going through the drive-through, pay it forward once a month and just pay for the car behind you, and see what that feels like. What does that do for you for that day? For me, it's very energizing, very inspiring, and very anonymous, which I also like too. It's really coming from the heart, not for recognition.
Anne: I actually love that you said that. And there's a couple of different ways when you're giving, and I love the anonymous because I feel like when you're anonymously donating, you're really giving for the reasons coming from your heart. Now, of course, there are a lot of businesses who support different charities or support different organizations, and it becomes a public part of who they are as a business. And I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that, especially if it's to the point of they're able to contribute, and it's not a thing where it's front and center, where it becomes like, this is who we are and this is what we're doing for so and so. But it becomes just a side part of what they do on a daily basis.
And I love that you said start small because it doesn't have to be big. As a matter of fact, Lau, our sponsor 100 Voices Who Care has a really cool idea on how you can give and really make an impact. And basically it's a community effort where you can donate $100 a quarter. So that means $100 a quarter, four times a year, $400 total for the year. And essentially, if you can get 100 people together in that organization, they'll be 100 people, that can be a total of $10,000 a year --
Lau: Ooh, that's a lot
Anne: — that can be given away. And so actually that's a large amount. So for you, making your $100 contribution four times a year, and then doing that just minimally, together with however many members that are contributing, can actually make a real difference. And then essentially these members get together, and they do their pitch for their favorite charity, and they say, well, I really like to give to this charity because I feel strongly about how they're helping animals, or they're helping needy people in other countries, or they're -- whatever they might be doing. And you'll be within this group making your pitch. And at the end, everybody votes on what charity that will ultimately win that money. And then what's so great about it is that, even if it doesn't go to the charity of your choice, it's going to a charity.
Lau: Exactly. It's giving back to the world, to the people, the animals, the children, the environment, whatever your causes are, it's going in all of those directions. So in essence, you are personally involved with the giving to all of those different worlds. And to me, I'm about to actually join that organization, 100 Voices Who Care, and I'm very excited about that. Because I'll tell you, I'll be perfectly honest, I've been trying to find organizations to work with, and it's so hard to give money. It sounds ridiculous. But it's hard to get people to call you back. It's hard to find point people. It's hard to find anyone who has information about the organization. And I was very relieved to see this particular outfit at our conference recently that we attended. And I was like, wow, this answered all of my prayers as a business and also as a human being. Like, you're gonna take care of a lot of this for me, but I also have a voice and I can pitch an organization that I'm interested in giving a voice to.
Anne: It's wonderful.
Lau: That's exciting.
Anne: And who's leading the organization, who was there at the conference, if you guys were there and didn't get a chance to stop by and see her, is Claire Dinsdale, who is a voice actor herself, and who is fronting that organization to help be able to give to charities. And it's just wonderful because it's something where I wanna feel like I can make a big impact, but I don't necessarily have a lot of money to give. But together we can really make a huge impact. And I think one of the things I thought long ago was the fact that if I was able to have an organization, let's say like my VO Peeps and my VO BOSSes, that now that I've formed this organization, there is this segment of it that I do want to be able to give back if I'm able to give back.
And so it's one of the reasons I formed the VO Peeps Scholarship Fund and have been giving scholarships away for, gosh, close to 11 years. And again, it really is a matter of the community because I accept donations from the community as well as in-kind gifts. So it doesn't always have to be money either. It can be your time, it can be coaching time, it can be equipment, it can be all sorts of different things that you can donate that can really mean something to a person's career. And so that became a very integral part of the VO Peeps business model. And so I really encourage all of you BOSSes out there that if it is possible to either join an organization and get that feeling of being able to contribute to that organization, to give back, I truly believe it makes the world go round. Right? I mean… Lau: It's huge.
Anne: Even if you're giving anonymously, I think it's just, everything comes back. I believe in good karma. I truly believe that it helps in the growth and positive reinforcement of the world and our humanness to each other.
Lau: Hmm. So true. I mean, the karma of that, if you believe in karma, if you believe in that boomerang energy that what you put out into the world will come back to you — I mean, we wouldn't do it for that reason. But I do deeply believe in that. I absolutely believe in that. And I did wanna just give a super quicky anecdote, Anne, about a moment in time that's running through my head right now, where my daughter — and I hope she's not listening because she likes to be anonymous in everything she does — my daughter, about a year ago or two years ago, young kid, she was a young kid, teenager, she saw that one of the customers that came into a store she was working at desperately needed a walker and did not have the funds to get a walker, and was really, really struggling. And on her birthday, I -- this kind of blew me away — on her birthday, on my daughter's birthday, she decided to take the money that we gave her on her birthday and buy her a walker, which was a very expensive walker in the store.
Anne: Yeah. Wow.
Lau: And give it to her. And her and my son delivered it to their door. And I said, that's amazing. Are you sure you wanna do that? They didn't have any money saved, and that was good money for her to do something with. She said, yeah, I can't think of anything I really want or need, but this woman Sarah, needs to walk. And I would feel better giving it to her. Anne, she did that. Long story short, I was amazed. I'm trying not, not to get verklempt about it. Anne: What a wonderful story.
Lau: I drive up the street now, Anne, and I see this woman, she lives in the area, crossing the street with the walker. And every time I see her, I just quietly, she doesn't know me, she doesn't know I'm the the mother.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: I think my daughter gave her that. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: And it's not about the walker, it's about freedom. And so I always think it's not about the money. If you give a dollar, if you give a million dollars, it's kind of the same, because symbolically what it's really giving to a person, confidence -- Anne: Sure. Lau: — energy, freedom, all sorts of things that you have to think of it in that way. Don't whittle it down to just monetary. It could be service you do, right? Anne: Absolutely. Lau: It could be absolutely something you own that's precious to you that you give to someone else. It could be anything. Right? Anne: Yeah. I love that story. That's such a beautiful story. Lau: Amazing story, right? Anne: Yeah. Lau: It's amazing. And that taught me a lesson. Anne: Yeah. And there's so much to be said for when you see someone in need, just being able to help them out, what it can do for you internally, mentally. And I think that of course, as we, again, we say over and over and over again, as we run our businesses, I mean, we are all human, and our businesses are very personal. It's a very personal and proud of our brand. So whatever we do outside of our job, right, outside of our business, affects our business in a lot of ways indirectly. And so I think being able to feel good about what you're doing and feeling good — and again, we're always talking about in our business, let's charge what we're worth. And I still believe in that. But I also believe that if you can help another talent out, or if you can help someone else out around you, then that is just going to contribute to the overall good of your business and of you personally. Lau: And I do think some of the best times to give, Anne, are not in dire times. I think we always connote that, oh, if someone's starving or they're in war, whatever, of course they need help in assistance. And of course we should assist them. But it's not the only time. Maybe there's a zoo or an animal farm that needs maintenance, constant daily maintenance to feed the animals, clean the animals, keep them, whatever. Or maybe there's the trees in the forest that need-- you know, we are big in terms of Israeli trees being planted every year. Anne: Sure. Lau: And we give money to plant new trees every year. so that we can grow that new forest. So thinking about what am I doing to maintain, what am I doing to provide a future for populations or for the environment? It's not absolutely only in dire, dire circumstances. Sometimes it's in good circumstances in order to keep it maintained and keep it healthy. Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that really it is, it's something that I would say, if you haven't already put it into your business plan or into your daily life, really take some time to consider what can I do? What can I do to help give back? And again, as Lau mentions, it doesn't have to be monetary. I mean, it could be your time, it could be some other service that you can provide. If you don't have the money to donate, it could be your service. And that could mean just as much, if not even more. I mean, be a tutor for a child that might need help reading or there's just so many, so many things that we can do. I have to say, take a part of your workday. I wouldn't feel bad. You know what I mean? If we're busy and we're like, okay, we're focused on our work -- I think you should set aside a part of your workday to consider what am I gonna do to help give back? Maybe even it's something as simple as contributing to, I'm gonna say a Facebook forum in a positive way where you might be helping other talent. Gosh, I know, Lau, this has been going back and forth about people who ask questions in the forums. And some people get really angry about having to answer the same question multiple times. They're trying to pick my brain. And yes, I get that whole thing. But I do believe that as a good service towards people coming into the industry, you can give a little bit and give some helpful advice without sacrificing, giving away the farm. I mean, gosh, the VO BOSS podcast over and over I've said, it was something that I wanted to do to give back to the community, to just have a resource that people could go to. Lau: Exactly. Right. Anne: And so, a lot of my stuff that I do, I have that whole series on teachable moments that I put on YouTube. 'cause I love teaching, I love sharing. And yes, I will be the first person to say that. Yes. Some people, when they come to me for coaching, they say, well, I saw you on your videos, or I listened to your VO BOSS podcast. Gosh, Lau. I'm sure people talk to you about that too. I am so grateful for the people that come to me that say, I listen to your podcast religiously, or thank you for what you're doing. And yes, I wanna work together. So that's the bonus. Lau: I'm blown away. Bonus, bonus, bonus. Anne: That's just a bonus. Yeah. It wasn't the original intent. And I think that that is obvious too. Right? Lau: I'm blown away by that. Yeah. We get comments all the time about this wonderful podcast and it's like, woo! I feel like superheroes, we're spending our time together on a Saturday and doing our thing. But then when you hear and you see how it lands, how it affects people, how it has the potential to change someone's life — well, in essence, I mean, that's giving too. You're not giving physical money, but you're giving time. Time is energy. Time is value. Time is money. Right? And I do wanna mention too, another thing I tend to do, which is hard, I'm not gonna say it's easy. I take as many surveys as I can. And that's the thing that everyone hates and doesn't wanna do. And they get the survey from every hotel and every whatever. And I literally sit there and I think, okay, I have to do this for them. I have to do this. And then if it goes too many windows, too many pages, I can lose my patience. But if it can be done in five minutes, I will do it for them. Because I say, I know they need that feedback, and I'm the person to give it to them in a really constructive way. And that's giving of yourself too. Anne: And you know what? That's so funny cause you just reminded me because of VO Atlanta -- I'm just gonna say VO Atlanta is one example where the staff, I'm going to say the staff just ran their tushes off and bent over backwards trying to help me. And Lau, if you remember, you were a part of that one night when I was starving to death. And so the staff really went above and beyond. And I said to them, give me the email address of your manager. I will write an email saying how wonderful you were for me tonight. Please, I want to do that for you. And I'm -- Lau: I love that. I love that. Anne: — very much willing to do that because it helps. It does. Lau: It totally helps. You don't see it. You don't hear it, but you have to believe it's there. It's like if the tree's falling, do you hear it? Is it happening? Yes, it's happening. Yes, it makes impact. And yes, you don't always need the accolades, you just need the knowledge of knowing it's happening. And I noticed you neglected to mention that I had to threaten the whole staff at that Marriott to get you like some turkey sticks or whatever we got you. And that was my charity for that night. Anne: Yeah, you had to threaten everybody. But the person that came through, the person that came through for me, they bent over backwards. Lau: They did. They sure did. Anne: To help me. Yeah. They really did. Lau: They did. Anne: To get me that turkey sandwich. Lau: They went beyond, they went beyond customer service, beyond hotel service. That happened to me one time up in the Berkshires and it was a hotel, I think it was a Marriott. It was great. It was super great. And I needed baby powder one night. You know, maybe they thought I had a baby, which I didn't, but I needed baby powder. And my husband goes to the front desk and it's like 11 at night. Do you happen to have any baby powder? And the woman who has babies, young children who works at the desks said, we don't sell it here, but hold on, let me run to my car. She runs to her car and gets it from her baby in the car. This is a hotel rep. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And gives it to my husband and said, here, give it to your wife. I know sometimes when you need certain things, it's just good to have them. And I never forgot that. Anne: Yeah. Lau: I never forgot. That was so above and beyond to me. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Was so personal, so personalized -- Anne: Right. Lau: — to do something like that, you know, whether it's shoe polish or a toothbrush, or baby powder, whatever it is, it's the humanness of the connection and relationships we have together. Was that an extreme need for me? No, I could've lived without it. But the humanity of the honest connection between people is what builds the good juju in the world. Not always, here, let me give you physical cash. Let me help you and do something to make your life easier and it'll connect us for a moment. To me, that's worth everything. I love that. I love those moments. Anne: And it makes me think of our clients, right? Lau: Yeah. Anne: Sometimes can we extend a little bit to our clients once in a while? Do you know what I mean? Like if they need a favor or you know, gosh, they need a pickup like yesterday and is it three words, and they're ready and willing and able to pay, and you're like, you know what? No, it's okay. Like you're just building that good relationship. As a matter of fact, I'm the type of person, oh gosh, I don't even charge. I mean, unless they have completely new scripts, I don't charge. I embed in my price, I embed a certain amount of pickups to it. And if it's a company that I've worked with for a while and I've got a good relationship with them, I'm happy to extend a freebie here and there in a pinch for them, absolutely. Because honestly, the time it would take me to draw up the invoice and charge them and worry about all that, just, it wasn't even worth the time. So I do think that also in your businesses, you can extend goodwill towards your clients as well and not be threatened that you're not charging what you're worth. Lau: We used to call that in the olden days, don't nickel and dime people. Anne: Yes. Lau: And that means not just getting the pennies from someone, but also the bother, the energy, the exhaustion, the stress. Anne: Yes. That's what it is. Lau: Everything that surrounds that transaction. And you have to know intuitively, is it worth it quickly to do that or not? Is it better to just say, hey, let's not worry about that right now. Let's worry about the bigger picture right now of things, versus -- Anne: Let me get you your job on time. Yeah. Lau: That’s a huge gift. Anne: Let me give this job to you on time. And I think -- yeah, absolutely. And I think that it's something that you can consider every once in a while. Especially if you've developed a great relationship with a client. Now, clients that nickel and dime you, well that's a different story. Lau: That's a different story. Anne: Yeah. That's a different story. So I think we have to make wise decisions, but I think for the most part, if you know your client, you're gonna know what the right decision is. You're gonna know if they're nickel and diming you, but I truly believe that a little goodwill can really, really go a long way. And that's personally in your business all the way around. And so, yeah. I like how you associate it with the stress that's wrapped around the request or the stress that's wrapped around the transaction. And I think alleviating as much stress as possible, I'll tell you that's my goal lately, Lau (laughs). Lau: And that's a great goal to have. Anne: I don't want stress. I don’t want stress in my business. Lau: No, no one does. Anne: And I think stress or pain or -- I don't want any of that. I just want joy. I want joy surrounding my job. And sometimes that's tough to do, but I'll tell you what, it's so much easier when you are a BOSS yourself and you're in control of it, because you realize that you have control of those things. You have control over your goodwill towards your clients, your goodwill towards humankind, how you feel on a daily basis and how that translates into your performance, and how it translates into your business. It is absolutely up to you. And it's one of the things that I'm so grateful. I just love the fact that I'm working for myself. And I mentioned this to you just recently, Lau, that I don't wanna go through the stress of if I'm working for someone, why did I work so hard to build my own business? If I wanna experience stress like that? I don't. So anything that causes stress like that, basically I've gotta figure out what I can do to wipe that stress away. Lau: That's right. And to circle that back with that idea of giving -- and by the way, we have a great term. Most people know that I'm Jewish. We have a great Yiddish term called mitzvah. When you do a mitzvah, when a boy or girl turns 13, we have a bar or bat mitzvah. it means they are now an adult, and they really need to start thinking about giving, give, give, give, give back. Don't take, take, take, take, give, give, give, give. And that's the whole purpose of a bar or bat mitzvah. So the mitzvah of the giving is to de-stress, to relax, rejuvenate. Give someone the joy, the pleasure, the peace of mind that what they're doing is a life worth living, is goals worth having, and that you're there in their community to support them. I mean, I'd love to see that in the world at large. We'd have a better world if everyone could think in the way in which you are thinking. And as like, to de-stress someone is to give them a huge gift, whether it's a smile. It could be an emoji. It could even be like -- Anne: A compliment. Lau: A compliment. Like pay attention to someone else for a moment and call attention to something that they're doing really well or something that impresses you or something that delights you. 'Cause a lot of times someone might be thinking it and not articulate it. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Lau: So kind of motivate yourself to articulate those positives. And when you feel the negatives coming on, and you wanna criticize, and you wanna judge, just stop for a second. Like stop and think and say, do I really need to give that out to this person? Is it really necessary? Yep. Or would it be better to build them up? That's a mitzvah. Anne: Do I need to put that out? Do I need to put that? I love that. Do I need to put that out into the world? Lau: That's better than money. Honestly. Sometimes that's better than money to say, I recognize you, you matter. You're someone and you're doing something really awesome today. Thanks for doing that. Ooh. Oh my gosh. No one ever, no one tells me that. You need to tell people that. Anne: And I say, bring that into the booth. We'll just keep going. Lau, every time you mention something that's great. Now I'm like, (laughs). Okay, so, so can we bring that feeling into the booth? And I'm always talking to my students and I've found, I say it more and more is that copy, you need to serve the copy. You need to serve the person you're speaking to. Your delivery needs to come from the heart. It needs to come from a place of service. It's not about how good you sound doing it. It's a place of service. You're helping someone. And I think if you can take any script that you're doing, commercial, corporate, medical, whatever that is, and you have that place of service, that place of heart where what you are saying is going to benefit and help someone in the end, I really believe that that can be a major impact on your performance. And a good one, a good one at that. Because I believe that the connection that is formed when it comes from that place, right, that place in you really makes a difference in the read. It makes difference on the people listening to it as well. Lau: I just know personally for myself, when I'm able to give something whatever form it's in, I feel so good. Like right now, I just got a little hot in my like skin and I thought, ooh, am I having a hot flash? No, it's, I'm thinking with about all the ways in which we give, and I'm literally sweating right now because it's so fun to me, it's so exciting because it's not just about giving, it's about seeing how it ripples into the world and into their universe and ultimately your universe too is like seeing the water. Like when you throw the stone, it's the ripple effect of giving. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: I love that. That's so cool. To me, it's like a little artistic venture. You don't know where it's gonna go and how it's gonna land, but you just know you threw the rock out there, and you got the ripples going. And so it kind of got me all hot and bothered. (laughs) Fun stuff. Anne: What a great conversation. What a wonderful — so yeah. BOSSes, one more time, we're gonna talk about the 100voiceswhocare.org. Big impact. Simple mission, big impact, 100 Voices, one hour, $10,000 four times a year. So if you wanna find out more about how this all works, make sure you visit 100voiceswhocare.org and find out more. And tell Claire we said hello and we love her, and we love her as a sponsor of this show. So make sure you check out 100voiceswhocare.org. And of course, as always our sponsor ipDTL, we love them. Find out more at ipdtl.com. So everybody, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week, mwah. Love you, BOSSes. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Join Anne & Lau as they embark on a fascinating exploration of the online casting world and analyze the controversial role of Fiverr in the voiceover industry. They shed light on the complex ethical issues prevalent in the freelance industry, emphasizing the significance of transparency, fair compensation, and adherence to industry standards. Listen in as The Bosses discuss online casting’s ability to provide global exposure, momentum, and representation for emerging voice talents. Learn valuable insights into navigating the evolving world of online casting while maintaining ethical practices and fostering a thriving voiceover community.
Transcript Anne: Hey, hey, everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I have my amazing, lovely, lovely boss co-host Lau Lapides with me. Yay! Lau: Hey everyone! Hi Anne! Back, back, back. We're back. Anne: Lau, I've got a dirty word that I heard. Lau: And I've got a jar that you're going to put a quarter into. Anne: Every time you say that word, that F-word, I mean, and I'm not -- Lau: No… Anne: — talking the F-word that most people think. Or maybe if you're in the voiceover industry, you know what that F-word is? Lau: What? Anne: It's not failure either, because that's also another F-word. But the word Fiverr. Lau: Oh! Quarter in the jar. Anne: Quarter in the jar every time you say the word Fiverr. So I think we're going to be rich, maybe, Lau Lau: Quarter in the jar. Anne: After this podcast. So yeah, it's a hot topic. It's always been a hot topic. And I think that it's a considerably bigger topic because I've been in the industry forever. So before there was Fiverr, there was other places that -- Lau: Always. Anne: — always places that like Fiverr. And I think now we just really hear so much more about it because we're all online and everybody can talk about it in groups easily. And so we should talk. Lau, what are your thoughts about -- and before you just come right out and say what your thoughts are about Fiverr, I mean let's talk about business. I think that when you talk about businesses, you're always going to have businesses that are luxury brands, right? Lau: Hmm, yes. Anne: You know, that sell luxury brands or luxury, you know, the idea of luxury. And then you have the other that are economical. Lau: Yes. Anne: And yeah, cost savings and efficient. And so I'm going to start by saying I think that that Fiverr fits in that model that probably isn't elegant brands, but it is the more cost efficient. And here's where you can get something quick, easy, cheap, and fast. Lau: Yes. Yeah, I'm going to second that and agree with that. But it's interesting because the way I frame Fiverr and sites that are similar to that, the way I frame that in my business brain is under the umbrella or framing in a context of how do I start my business or how do I gain more momentum in my business and how do I get known in my business? This is one way that is a way that you can build your client list. And the interesting part about a Fiverr is if you choose to go that direction, you have to know that people are going offline and it’s wild west. So they're building their client list, they’re charging all their rates that they’re deciding on, they’re communicating directly with their clients after awhile. So they’re utilizing it as sort of a jumping platform to get out there, get known, and have Fiverr do a lot of the marketing for them so they can get found, and once they’re found, then they start to make the rules themselves. They start to build their own clients themselves. So there's something to be said for having a platform. And now this is very common. Marketplaces all over the place are housing voice-over talent and voice-over services so that they are in essence marketing you. You're not doing the marketing, so that potential clients and prospects can find you. Anne: So, we should clarify. I mean, there are some platforms -- I'm not going to talk too much about the other ones, but there are some online casting platforms that you cannot take the client off of. I love what you said about how it's a jumping point. I mean, look, online casting sites, you know, SEO works on frequency of words, right? And so search engines are built to be good search engines. And so if you're looking for a voice talent or a voice actor, and you do a search at the Google prompt, then essentially they want to be a good search engine and serve back the right material. So when you've got online casting sites and you've got people that have thousands on thousands of profiles that say, I'm a voice actor — guess who has the best SEO, right? Those online casting sites. And honestly, it's almost impossible for you as a single individual business to go up against that SEO because you've got so many matches, right? And so the search engine says, well, the first, if you're searching for voice artists, well, the first place that comes up that term or that word, that search term, would be a casting site that has thousands upon thousands of profiles that say, I'm a voice artist. Lau: Yeah. Anne: And so I love the fact that you use it to get your jumping off point, your marketing, use it for its SEO. And it's well known that Fiverr has great SEO, and as well as the other online casting sites, Voice123, Voices.com, they all have great SEO. And so to get yourself found of hundreds of thousands of people, that is absolutely an approach to doing that. And I'll tell you what, starting off understanding the type of business that Fiverr is, or some of these online casting sites, they're in business to make money. And also the people that are on these platforms are making money. Now, are they making great money? Are they making, you know, is it, You know what I mean? Like, if you're on Fiverr and you're making money for your family, I'm not even talking voiceover, but you're doing something — and again, this is a global site where there's lots of representation. And we live in the United States, which is very privileged, I'm just going to say, right? There might be people on there that are from other countries where $5 to them is a lot of money, right? And it’s a way that they can feed their families. And so I can't, I can't, I can never shun the business. I mean, I can, I can say to them, well, I don't like their advertising. I don't like their ethics. I don't like their lack of transparency for any business, right? And I can choose whether or not I want to associate myself with that business. And I do that every single day. Right? Lau: Right. Anne: We do that every single day. So as a voice talent, is it horrible for you to be on Fiverr? And again, there's such. back and forth. And for me, Lau, I've always maintained that, mind your own business. Everybody starts in a different place. Gosh, when I started before there was Fiverr, there was Freelancer. And I'm going to say that -- Lau: I remember that. Anne: And on Freelancer, it was honestly everybody was underbidding. Everybody was underbidding each other to get the job. What's the difference? Whether they call it Fiverr or Freelancer, start with an F. F word. That's what happened but yet when I was beginning, there wasn't a lot of places there wasn't a lot of opportunities. Look if we're gonna be viable businesses we need to have opportunities right for work and we need to know where those opportunities are and so if they show up in a place like Fiverr, that's an opportunity. Now you make the choice whether or not you go and and and act upon that opportunity. Lau: And the coach in me says, listen, you know, as a business person, we're in business. We always talk about this like, mind your own business is right. Anne: Yes, mind your own business. Lau: Like, you want to set industry standards. Yes, you want to have fair working conditions and and good scale pay. That being said, we're still entrepreneurs slash solopreneurs. And we do have to make decisions, sometimes tough decisions, sometimes controversial decisions about how we put plates on the table, how we take care of our families or our rent, how we deal with everyday waking up and going after our business practices. Like we have to make individual decisions, so as you listen to the cacophony of voices that are out there that are making strong suggestions or they’re giving their subjective advice, we have to do that. But we also have to come home and say, let me sift through all of that and let me make my own decisions about what works for my own career. I think that’s important. And I do want to say, one of the perceived negative sides of a Fiverr is the fact that you’re not leading people in. They’re coming in through their marketing and they’re finding you. But they’re also finding a lot of competitors to you on the same site. Anne: Sure. Lau: So you’re in a pool on the same site with direct competitors. So you just have to know, what’s my A-game? What makes me unique and artful? What separates my branding from their branding? What makes me get found? Because they’re not coming in just finding you. They’re finding potentially hundreds of others that are in your category or in your compartment. And you have to work a little harder to separate yourself from the in-house competition that they’re finding. Anne: And you know what's so interesting, too, is, I'm not the person to judge if you're on Fiverr or not. I always say, I'm not here to judge you if you're on Fiverr or you're not on Fiverr. What I am concerned about is that you price yourself what you know your worth and that you price yourself knowing your worth. And understanding that just because you're new or you're less experienced does not mean that you have to price yourself less. Lau: Mm. Anne: And so I always try to instill that you need to price yourself what you're worth. Lau: Well, It's an interesting topic -- Anne: It is, it is. Lau: — because it's like any other, I call it a marketplace because -- Anne: Yeah, it is. Lau: — you may not find other competing businesses to Fiverr itself, but the businesses under the umbrella of Fiverr, many of them are competitive. So it's like you're on a marketplace, you're in a marketplace. It's like you're in a supermarket, right? Who else is on the shelf right next to you? Anne: And you can price yourself low, whether you're on Fiverr or not. That's the thing. And I think that if you do that, then you are undervaluing yourself. And it can be, if you become good at it and you do a ton of volume work at a low price, then it will start to probably impact the industry. If you become known enough, where you do enough jobs, then it can start to impact the industry. If you are not doing it, somebody will. It always happens. And again, it's not under our control necessarily. I think there will always be bottom feeders, and always in any, any industry. And so I think for you, you have to worry again, mind your own business, and worry about what you're charging and making sure that you're charging enough so that you are getting paid fairly. And it's not like, this is an online business, right, like it's a brick and mortar where we're doing unethical things, hiring labor that's not minimum. Now there is the argument that people get paid less than minimum wage. But minimum wage where? Lau: Yeah. Anne: Minimum wage in what country? Minimum wage. And I get that. I mean if you want to make a blanket statement in saying people get paid less than minimum wage. Well, first of all I've been offered less than minimum wage to do voiceover and I always choose to say no to that. Because for all the times that I’ve, and back in the day when I might have said, oh, I'll think about it. I mean, it's always better for me, and I think for most people, to just say no for less than minimum wage, because look, I didn't give up my job, you know, and to go into business for myself to get less than minimum wage. Lau: Right. Anne: And that time is better spent finding somebody who understands my value and values me at my fair rate. Lau: You brought up a really, really important point, though. It's like we're always thinking of Fiverr from our point of view, which -- Anne: Mm-hmm. Lau: — many of us are in the US or in North -- Anne: Yeah. Lau: — America or UK, but people are on there from all over the world. And I know when I've hired a service off of Fiverr, you know, I've met amazing people from Sri Lanka and Philippines and on and on it goes, from Russia, I mean, there are artists from everywhere, creators from everywhere. So in one sense, if you come out of your perspective into a more global perspective, you're giving a lot of artists potential work, where they live and what their experiences are, they would never be able to get on their own. They would never have the money to market their business. They would never physically be able to go to a brick and mortar where they live. So it’s a marketplace that is very important to a lot of people globally speaking that just would not have the placement opportunities that we have here in the states. It’s an interesting way of looking at it. And then of course, when I’ve hired someone, we may go offline, and then their rates completely change. Then we're in a total other stratosphere. We're no longer in the Fiverr territory. We're in this person's business territory. And then I will pay them what they think they’re worth, and that changes, completely changes, and sometimes it actually gets very pricey. It gets very expensive and rightly so, because their services are worth a lot, oftentimes. Anne: Yeah. Lau: So thinking of it as, I don’t know how you would say it, but sort of a layered approach. It’s not just, oh, they don't charge a lot of money, you're not paying people what they're worth. That's the meeting time, that's the launching place. And then where it goes from there is into a very different kind of bargaining and negotiation. You have to expect that too. No one I have met and worked with on Fiverr stays at that beginning rate. No one. Anne: And again, I think that I think that you can off the bat — and I don't know I am not I'm not on Fiverr, and I have I've spent very little time on Fiverr. So it's interesting that we've chosen this. This is our topic today because -- Lau: Yeah. Anne: — I don't have a lot of experience in fiber and I try not to to make statements, you know what I mean, about Fiverr not understanding the impact or having direct experience. I signed up so that I could look for, you know, different types of employees. I've never hired anybody off of Fiverr. However, I've had enough experiences. I understand the concept of Fiverr. I understand, you know, I talked to enough people that are on it, getting their experiences on it. And again I feel it really is one of those things where it is up to to the individual, whether they choose to be on Fiverr, to associate with that. For me, it was just one of those things where I didn't yet need another platform. I just didn't have time to really take part in it or -- Lau: Yeah. Anne: — do what I needed to do. I don't know, honestly, Lau, if I have to start with a certain amount of money or if I have to work up to it and I didn't have time for that because thankfully my business is doing well. And so I don’t have to rely on a platform like Fiverr, but boy, in the beginning, I did. I relied on those platforms, online casting platforms, not Fiverr, but to pick up clients and to get my name out there and to get experience so that I could ultimately be in a successful business where ultimately I didn't need it. Lau: Right. And you're also having, well, you're having tremendous diversity on a platform like that, which I love because I have a vested interest in working with as much diversity as possible -- Anne: Mmm. Lau: — giving people opportunities that they may not have. Anne: Sure. Lau: And also young people, like anyone under the age of 30, I consider young. Anyone under the age of 30, they don’t oftentimes know where to go. They don’t have the business practices. They don’t have advisors, even if they are lucky enough to go to college and get an education. Even in university environments oftentimes, you’re not getting business practices or where to go or any real placement. So you have to think back, for those of you listening in, that if you are 40 and up, where were you at 18? Where were you at 22? What were you thinking at 28? And I know a lot of us were thinking, help, I don't know even what questions to ask. Like, I do a graphic design business, I do a PR business, I create, you know, music for people. I don't know how to get clients. I’m a creative. I don’t have that brain. Anne: Sure. Lau: So a marketplace like Fiverr was also filling a need of so many people that literally had no idea how to build a business. No idea at all in saying, hey, come in, we’ll give you your start. Hopefully you’ll stay with us, but if you don’t, we’ll give you your start, and you’ll be able to make those connections all over the world that you want to make. And now that we’re all online, you don’t even need a brick and mortar in a lot of these professions. So you're all online. So you need the marketplace in order to do that. Anne: Well, and of course, there was a hole in the marketplace. And honestly, it kind of makes me think about, well, what's going on with AI in the creative world? Not just synthetic voices, but we're talking art and writing and copywriting and the creative where AI tools have come out that can write things for you, that can generate art for you. I do believe that ultimately if you can use these as tools, and that includes online platforms, use them as tools to help grow your business, to grow -- Lau: That's right. Anne: — what it is. And of course, now I'm not saying that people that steal art or AI that is stealing art is right. I believe this is evolving to a point where we will ultimately come up with standards, guidelines, and laws that will protect our rights -- Lau: Yes. Anne: — protect our art, protect our writing. And it needs to happen. There needs to be this sense of injustice about it all, or this anger, or this stand up and kind of fight for what you believe in. And I believe in the end it will work out. I'm not going to stand here and stomp my feet if you're on Fiverr and say, you're ruining the industry for me. Because, honestly, I found my own industry. I’ve found my own clients and that's okay, that it works for my business. And again I like to always look at the positive thing ,the positive spin of everything. I think that Fiverr filled the need. If Fiverr didn't do it, it would be some other company that would have filled the need -- Lau: No question. Anne: — for that. Lau: Yeah, no question. Anne: It's just the way business works here. And there needed to be an option for people that were looking for an effective voice. And I'm just going to say, those people, if they didn't go to Fiverr, they were probably going to one of the other platforms, like Upwork or whatever the other ones would be, so that they could get reasonably priced voiceover. Now, a lot of times, yes, do they value voiceover? It's a perception, right? People value things in different ways. I think it's just a fact of life, right? They think, yes, this voice contributes to our brand. And as artists, we want to say, yes, our voice has an impact on your brand, and it can help sell for your brand, and it can help elevate your brand. But there are some people who don't see that value, right? And I'm not going to bother fighting those people, nor am I going to bother trying to get work from those people. Because they'll be the first ones to turn around and complain that they paid too much, and then give me tons of revision. And I've done that enough times in my business to know, right? I've accepted a low-ball offer, not too many times, but enough to know that they're usually the most trouble. So the people that are coming to Fiverr, right? Their expectations, right? And their appreciation of the value may not be where we want it to be. And that’s just something to understand, right? I mean, if we are businesses and we can educate our clients, our potential clients on our value and what we can do for them, then I don’t think we have problems. Lau: I agree, Anne, totally wholeheartedly. And I think that we as individuals and as business owners and as citizens of the world create our own morality. We really do. Like we create our own sphere of morality. Anne: Oh, I like that. Lau: And you really have to go with what your heart and soul is telling you. And you really have to do it with with an honest heart and a full heart. You're not going with mal-intention. You're not going to hurt someone. You're not going to slight anyone. Like you have to believe that in our industry the space is big enough that you're gaining clients. A lot of them have no level of knowledge of what a rate sheet is or what should be charged or what could be charged. So you're in essence, every time you meet a potential client, you're schooling them, you're teaching them, you're building your own morality base to say, okay, we're meeting at this level. Listen, what's the difference between that and giving away a free hour of coaching? Or giving away, I'm gonna do like 50% off of class. I want to introduce my value to you. I want to build trust with you. I want you to have a little taste test of what we do. And if you love it and if you want to buy into that and invest into that, then the investment is going to change. We all know that. It's the same with Fiverr. I want to give you a little taste test. Let me just give it to you for a very low rate. But if you really want to invest in this, then we're going to go to the rates that are established by my business, by me. Because you're already buying into the trust factor of working with me and what I'm offering you is filling the need. So it’s very similar to that if you look at it in that way. There's tons and tons of free offers out there, tons and tons of discounts out there. It's ultimately to get buy-in to invest in what the full rate would be for that product or service. Anne: That's an interesting way of looking at it. Yeah, you're going to buy in or you're going to get a sample. And you know, it's interesting because for me, I want to project my business as not being cheap, because there's a lot to be said, when we've talked about this before, with branding. I mean, there are certain things when I pay a low amount of money, I think, oh, I wonder what's wrong with that? Or I don’t now, is that — and so for me, I've always elevated my business and my voice to be, you know, here's my rate and it's okay if you can't meet that. Thank you. That's okay. You know, I hope to work with you in the future, but that's okay. I will spend time with people who will value my rate. I have no bitterness. I have no, there's no malice. There's, you know, nothing like that. I don't know exactly the rules of Fiverr right now, forgive me for that. But I don’t know if you have to start at a very low rate or if you have to like work your way up to a certain rate. I'm not sure what it is. Lau: I don’t think so, Anne. Anne: Yeah, I think you can start at a reasonable rate. Lau: When you go on the platform, you're going to see, like, let's say you're looking up a service of an attorney, or let's say you're looking up someone, a musician, you want them to create music for you. You may see a layered approach of, I provide this for this amount. But then if you want this, we're going to layer that on at this amount. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: Then we're going to provide it at this amount. So it isn't this flat, like, $5 or $10 thing. Anne: Yeah, it's not $5. Lau: It's very much a layered approach to what they do, and some of them start very high. They'll say this is what I'm worth, this is what it is. I'm on the platform that's known as a discount platform, but I'm not offering your discount. And that's what it is. So it's all over the place, it's all over the place. Anne: And again, it's all about your business. And it's all about how you run your business. Lau: It is. Anne: And I truly believe, and I want this for every BOSS out there. I really, really do. I mean, gosh, guys, I've learned so much in my many years. And Lau, you too, I'm quite positive. I've learned so much about valuing my worth and understanding good clients to work with and knowing where to place myself. And if I need to negotiate a specific rate or a custom rate, which is what we do all the time, pretty much, for every single client, and it needs to be a little bit lower to fit a budget, and it's okay with me, and I know I'm going to get more work, or it'll be worth it in some other way outside of monetary value, that is up to me. That is my judgment. That is my business decision, and it is how I run my business. And I will tell you that being able to walk away and saying no, and I've said this multiple times, has given me the confidence to be able to understand my worth and be able to be successful in my business. And I think however you do that, whether you're on Fiverr, whether you're on another casting website, whether it gives you the confidence at some point that you're like, I don't need this anymore, or I can get my own clients -- I think it's all a stepping stone. And I think it truly is what I want for all the BOSSes is that confidence. You're worthy of a fair price, whether, no matter what platform you're on. You're worthy of a fair price. And once you have that confidence and the confidence to walk away from a low ball price, right, or something that deems you as cheap, right, then your business will grow. And once your business grows, it's kind of like, it's just like a wonderful little snowball that just gathers the confidence and it gathers, you know, oh, this is great. Now I know what I'm worth, and my business can grow and I can be successful and I can put some money in the bank, right? And then if that if that next client says no or offers me something too low it's okay I can walk away. I've got the money in the bank. I'm able to pay the bills and boom. Lau: That's right. Anne: And that's what I want for all of you BOSSes out there, however you get there. Know, know, know your worth. Lau: Mm-hmm, and it goes right into your submissions if you were with an agency. I'm an agent, and I can tell you, there are times we're working with a budget that is minuscule. It's like, oh my gosh, who could even work for this? And yet we have a lot of folks that want to book that job for many, many reasons. And then the next one that comes in is overpriced. They're giving us too much budget for it, and they don’t realize it. Anne: But Lau, is there ever really too much? Lau: No, no, but like, if you see it in the same category, right next to each other, and you're like, Oh, my goodness, this one's offering $400 with no usage. And then this one's offering, you know, $2000 with three years’ usage. You're like, oh my goodness, there isn't much difference between these two. And I know for a fact, I can tell everyone hands down, that I have many people who want to audition and want to submit for both. And I respect that. Anne: Now as an agent, will you fight for higher rates? Lau: Oh, always. I mean, that to us is a truism. We're always going to go back and forth on every single thing that comes in and goes, come on, we need another thousand on this. You can do, right? So we're always quoting high. Anne: You're always fighting for the talent, yes. Lau: That's not even to be discussed because that's our job. That's what we do. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And that's what we want to do. But we know, like as negotiators and anyone who's on that business, and we know where it stops. Like if you push just hard enough, you’re going to lose that client. It’s okay, sometimes we’ll lose the battle, but we always want to win the war, so to speak. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: Is that we don't want to lose the client unless it's like completely insane. Anne: Yeah. Lau: We want to keep the clients because we know we have a whole lot of people who still want to submit and work. Anne: Yeah. Lau: They just want to work. Anne: And I love that. I love that you said that, your experience as an agent, because, guys, agents go through it as well. I mean, you're fighting for fair compensation, for good rates. God, it always used to make me wonder, because people would be like, well, my agent shouldn't accept that rate. And I'm like, sometimes the agent has nothing to do with that rate, right? And like you just mentioned, there's a fine line between losing the client forever, right, because you can't push. Lau: Yeah. Anne: And understanding that. I mean, voice talent, sometimes I wonder where they get their assumptions from, right? You know what, you've got to understand this is a business, it's negotiation, and that, it happens. It does. Sometimes there is no budget. Lau: I also don't want to play the omnipotent authority of what everyone could or should be doing. I want to be a conduit to getting people work, and that means at all different rates, at all different levels, at all different -- and those people need to take agency and to self-screen and say, I don't want to do that. Anne: Exactly. Lau: I say, great, you don't even have to let me know, just pass on it. That's okay. I don't make any judgment as to why you're doing it or why you're not doing it. I'm just running on an assumption, you're a professional talent, you want to be in the roster, and you want to be privy to what is coming through. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And that's all I feel. And to me, Fiverr is the same thing. If you want to be on the platform, you want to be privy to what's coming through, and then you make your own decisions and self-screen. To me, it's very, very much the same. Anne: Excellent topic. The F word, guys. Remember, mind your own business and know your worth. And thank you, Lau, for an amazing discussion yet once again. Lau: Awesome. Anne: Ah, good stuff. Lau: I loved it. Anne: BOSSes, I want to take a moment and have you imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals, giving collectively and intentionally to create a world that they want to see. You can make a difference. 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn more. Also, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS. Find out more at IPDTL.com. Thank you so much, everyone. We love you. We'll see you next week. Lau: See you next week! Anne: Bye. Lau: Bye!
In this episode, Anne is joined by special guest Tom Dheere, the Vo Strategist. With over 25 years of experience, Tom knows how to ride the waves of ever-changing technology and market shifts. Discover the secrets to driving traffic to your website through social media, blogging, and top-notch content to keep you ahead of the pack. They share how old-school tactics like cold calling and email marketing might not be cutting it anymore. Boost your confidence with Tom's killer advice on negotiating rates like a BOSS and flipping your approach to snag the rates you truly deserve. Plus, we unveil the controversial truth about Fiverr and how this billion-dollar beast can actually help you charge industry-standard rates…
Transcript
0:00:01 - Anne Hey, hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to welcome voiceover business and marketing consultant and VO strategist, Tom Dheere, to the show. As a voice actor with over 25 years of experience, Tom brings a wealth of voiceover knowledge to the table In his one-on-one strategy sessions, diagnostic sessions those sound interesting and his mentorship program, As well as speaker appearances at industry conferences. Tom, I am so excited to have you here today. Thanks for joining me. 0:00:34 - Tom Thanks for having me. It's always a pleasure to chat with you, Anne. 0:00:37 - Anne Tom, you know it's chaotic out there. I'll tell you what there's disruption, There's, I say, mass panic, and I think that today more than ever, as entrepreneurs and business owners, we need a strategy more than ever. So I am super duper glad that we are here talking to you about that. So let's get a feel for your take on the industry, because you've been in the industry for gosh over 25 years and I'm sure you've seen it evolve, kind of like myself. Talk a little bit about your experience in this industry and how it's evolved over the years. 0:01:20 - Tom Okay, well, i decided I wanted to be a voice actor in 1994, so I was a graduate school dropout, so I got my. I decided in late 94, got most of my. I got my training in my voiceover demo in 95, which is a cassette tape. I still have it here in the drawer. And then when I got that demo, my coach gave me a little certificate and gave me a stack of Xerox copies of production company listings and said you know, start your good, your cold calling good luck. Because in 1995, there was I mean there was an internet and some websites, but there was no. 0:01:57 - Anne Yeah, there was no social media. 0:01:59 - Tom There was no online casting sites, there was no home recording, there was no digital delivery of audio files, there was no phone patch, there was ISDN. But like, who had that besides? like the, the, the rate, you know the major TV networks, you know. So you had to buy cold called and I called, called for a year until I got my first gig, so until I joined voice 123 in 2006,. That was pretty much, that was pretty much the only way to do it, and also I was going into New York city once a week. Voiceover is unlimited and you'd pay whatever was $35 for a 10 minute meet. Meet up with a casting director or an agent or a manager which is how I got my, my first manager, who I still have to this day, 17, 18 years later. So my cassette turned into a CD which I was duplicating, burning you know. Oh God, the my post office hated my guts. 0:03:04 - Anne Now mail. Yes, cause. 0:03:06 - Tom I had a long a lawn bag of padded mailers and they'd be like, oh geez, here comes Tom again and like, all right, everybody just gets to the side and just tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick you know cause? 0:03:15 - Anne I was just constantly sending it out, yeah, and then that evolved into MP threes. So let's, let's, let's start. I think that there's, there's something, there's a parallel here, a disruption right. Some disruption in the industry right. So it evolved from a tape into a CD, into today, which is all digital right. 0:03:36 - Tom Right And then and then pay a voice bank and voicescom and voice 123 disrupted the voiceover again, again and you know, and now AI is disrupting the voiceover industry. But this is what I say and all my students. 0:03:52 - Anne A pattern Tom. A pattern Tom. Yes, there is a pattern throughout the years, so I don't think that disruption is going to stop anytime soon. 0:04:00 - Tom No, it's going to keep going, and what I like to say is that when the light bulb was invented, it disrupted the candle making industry and nobody cared about the candle makers, except for the candle makers. 0:04:13 - Anne People were saying Oh good I can. 0:04:15 - Tom I can read a book at night without my house burning down. Like that's where everybody was coming from. It's like okay. So the candle makers had a choice They could go to Congress to try to get light bulbs outlawed, they could go la, la, la, la la which a lot of voice actors have been doing especially literally today, this week, on the voiceover groups. Or they could adjust to their candle making industry to accommodate certain parts of the light bulb industry, or they could convert their candle making factory into a light bulb making factory. So, you can either fight it, ignore it, adapt to it or embrace it. And the voice actors that are going to still be standing for lack of a better term on the other side of AI and whatever the next disruption is, the ones that are adapting, evolving learning, growing, operating from a position of abundance as opposed to a position of scarcity, and not shouting at the rain. They're the ones that are still going to have a viable voiceover career. Yeah. 0:05:08 - Anne Yeah, i'll tell you, it has really it has really wreaked havoc, and I think that you know, gosh, you know, and I've been following it and following it And you know, two years ago on the VO Bus podcast, i mean, i think that you and I can both agree to do due diligence and educate yourself on, you know, evolving technologies or disruptive technologies that can affect your business, and that is so very important that we, you know, truly educate ourselves. And I had done a series of interviews, of which I'm still doing periodically, with you know, large companies, people that are working in synthetic voices, ai companies to kind of get to ask those tough questions like Hey, what's happening here? And are you, you know, is there transparency? You know, what are your ethics? You know, do you have, you know, objectives in terms of protecting? you know, voices as you go, and I think it's been an educational journey for not just me as a business owner and a voice artist, but for the AI companies as well. I think we are all learning and evolving with technology as we go, and I've had experience doing that myself, you know, working in technology for over 20 years, and I still consider myself working in technology. So, in terms of you know your, your students and and your clients. What is your? what is your biggest tip now for, let's say, people coming into the industry, how to get a handle on this industry and be successful. 0:06:43 - Tom Do as much research as you possibly can. Work with professional coaches who are boots on the ground blue collar voice actors as well like who are actively engaged in the voiceover industry. That's not to say that there's not genre coaches out there, like Mary Lynn Wissner, for example, who is not a voice actor but is an amazing coach. There are only a handful of people like that, as you know and but people who are actively, who have to continue to grow and evolve with the industry to maintain relevance in the industry And be better than the AIs on a storytelling level as quickly as you possibly can. 0:07:23 - Anne Yeah. 0:07:24 - Tom Because they are getting better and better almost daily. Are they going to completely take over the entire voiceover industry? No, Are they going to. you know, take away a percentage of certain jobs of certain genres, mostly for entry level voice actors Yes, yeah. The trick is how do you get good enough that, when you're starting your voiceover journey, that you're already better than the AIs, so you can kind of leap over? that hurdle and be a human narrator as quickly as possible. That's going to be the challenge. What I think that means is the people that are more naturally talented, the people who have theater training, the people who have on-camera film and TV training, improv training, those people coming into the industry which are all parts of what defines a better actor are going to have a better chance than people just coming at it from other sectors. Frankly, i mean, a registered nurse has every right to stop being a nurse and try to do medical narration for a living, and I encourage that. I've trained people like that, you've trained people like that over the years, but it's going to get harder and harder if they don't have natural storytelling billing, natural storytelling ability, or they haven't been trained in non-voiceover storytelling. So get as many acting classes as you can under your belt. Get as many improv classes under your belt so you can learn how to make strong choices quickly, which is a key to being a good narrator. Understand the technology and maybe get your voice cloned as quickly as possible. 0:09:05 - Anne That's very interesting. I'm finding that I do have some people, because I did the series and I've been investigating and educating myself with AI companies for the past few years, i've had people ask me, and not all of them want to shout the rafters saying, oh, i'm out there trying to figure out how to get my voice cloned or how to get a synthetic voice. But what's interesting is that synthetic voice, the companies that are creating synthetic voices. They're also evolving and changing on a daily basis, and so it's really important that, as voice actors, you keep up with that, and I'm always a big proponent of if you have a business, you want to understand the market in which you're selling And so part of that market. If the market is changing. And, tom, as a business person, you're all about researching and looking at the market as it evolves over the years. And where do you see the market heading in terms of voiceover casting? Where are we going to be able to get these jobs, or where can voiceover talent find work? And I know that's the golden question, right. People like they expect a five-minute answer from me. Where can I get voiceover work? But where do you see that evolving and heading as we move on in the future? 0:10:27 - Tom That's a great question, Anne. There will still always be a place for needing agents, managers and casting directors for high end work, class A national commercials, high end video games and cartoons, high end promo, high end in show narration. I don't think that's ever. I don't think that's ever going to change. Casting sites are going to continue to be as relevant as ever and is still the the most effective way for new voice actors to onboard into the industry. Because you can. All you need is a credit card and you could just join the casting site and start auditioning immediately. The interesting part is going to be the direct marketing part which. I learned the hard way when all of my direct marketing strategies, which worked like gangbusters in 2013, 14, 15, 16, all of a sudden stopped working because, so many of those production companies recording studios that I had worked with through direct marketing strategies have moved to online casting sites just because it's easier for them to curate a roster, manage talent, manage projects. So, um, ai is going to take a chunk out of online casting sites. It's going to take a chunk out of direct marketing clients the low end stuff and stuff that would never normally get like there's audio books out there that will never get produced unless it's an AI voice. 0:11:51 - Anne It's going to do it out of interest or ergonomics or just sure, whatever that sure whatever the rights holder can, um, can afford. 0:11:57 - Tom So you also new students, when it comes to this kind of strategies, need to figure out what. How does what a success look like for them, Which genres do they want to be successful in And which portals do they need to access to become successful in said genres? So if you want to be on the next Pixar film or be in the next fallout video game, you need to get a lot of training, you need to get a top notch demo, you need to get high end agents and you're going to eventually need to join SAG-AFTRA. That's not. That's not changing for everybody else. You know the pendulum is going to swing, stuff's going to move or stuff's going to move around, but you're still going to need you're still going to need the aforementioned good training, good demo good website, good home recording. Um, and the ability to keep up with industry's trends by reading blogs, watching podcasts like this um, working with coaches like, like you and me. Um, it's going to what, what percentage of what genre is going to get lost and where you're going to need to go for each of it. I mean, who can? who can say, but if you have, if, if online casting sites stigmatize you, get over it get in there develop your skills develop your auditioning skills. 0:13:10 - Anne That was it. That was the nugget of the day. That was awesome Sound right of the day. Yeah. 0:13:14 - Tom Because online casting sites like I'm. I know because I'm on voice 123. I audition every day and I regularly see clients that are posting casting notices that I used to work with five, six, seven, eight, 10 years ago, who won't take my phone calls anymore because they're on casting sites. That's the only way they'll talk to me And I'm totally fine with that, because you said you got to go where the buyers are. you got to go where the market is going. That's where they are. That's where you need to be. 0:13:41 - Anne I think there's something to say If we just tell every boss out there, you know, first of all, um, be a boss, right And understand that you really have to stop. And I think, take a uh, uh, take a look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture is we're providing a product, uh, to a market, the market. You have to evolve with the market. It's not about you know, uh, oh, my gosh, it's, it's, it's you know your voice over business and your craft and your and your art, which I completely, yes, it is. But honestly, you know, at the end of the day, right, i want to pay my mortgage, right, and if I want to have a business, it always amazes me, tom, how you know you go to conferences and I know you know when, when, cause I used to, i used to teach business classes as well. Whenever you go to see which classes fill up first, it's always the performance classes, it's always the cartoon and video game. Always those because, well, okay, so they're fine, they they allow the creativity. But, honestly, you know, beyond the fun and the creativity in the booth, you've got to be able to run a business that will make a profit. If you want to write, if you want to do this as a business and you want and you're serious about it I mean, if it's you know, if it's a hobby, that's a difference, that's a different podcast. Sure, you know, and I think that you know what you offer, you know, to people as a, a VO strategist or even just a business strategist, is invaluable. And I truly think, bosses out there, you've got to step back. Um, and yes, of course you know, create the product that the market is demanding Right, and and also know how to run your business right. And so I love your story that you know the people that used to take your calls no longer will take your calls. You know your calls and now you have to work with them on the platform, and mostly because it's easy and more convenient And I will be the first person to ask any of you bosses out there if you're using any form of AI to do anything. Let's say, create a blog post or, you know, maybe play around and change your headshot And you're using the technology to make your jobs better, more efficient, then you cannot be the person that gets upset if you're not, let's say, evolving along with the synthetic voice aspect of it. 0:16:06 - Tom You know, absolutely. 0:16:08 - Anne I mean. So, as we talk to peer to peer, i think, or pay to play platforms, i think online casting is absolutely. What about Tom? let's talk about what about your website, your online platform, your online storefront? What do you think about that in terms of being able to market your business? 0:16:29 - Tom Okay, it's funny because people coming into the industry, you know most of them realize they need some kind of training and then they realize, oh, i need to record from home. You know I need a demo. And then almost all of them think, well, i need some kind of website. But they don't know why they need a website. They don't know how to build a website and they don't know what is necessary to create an effective website. What I tell my students is that no one is gonna find your website nobody. There are literally tens of thousands of voice actor websites out there. The odds of them typing in some stuff on Google, bing, yahoo and finding you is virtually impossible. I mean, tomdeercom is over 20 years old and I've been blogging for 14 years, so I've got really good SEO and I rarely get found on it. Anyway, the point is, your job as a voice actor is to drive traffic to your website, and you do that by being on social media, blogging, creating a presence, creating conversations, creating quality content to get them to notice you. And then there's email marketing and cold calling, which I'm sure you realize that they don't work a fraction as well as they used to, because why should they answer the phone of some voice actor trying to talk about themselves, when they're just gonna go to an online casting site to cast their next project. They're already more than halfway down the sales funnel anyway on an online casting site, as opposed to trying to get them into the sales funnel through cold calling and all that. So driving traffic to your website is extremely important, and then get them to do the most important thing, which is download your demos. 0:18:12 - Anne Everything else, is irrelevant Or click it back. I mean, everything else is secondary to downloading the demo. Right, yeah, but now downloading the demo? now we've got there's the fear. There's now there's some fear that if we allow our audio, you know, freely out there and I, you know I have podcast, you have podcast. Anybody can download this podcast I've been doing it for six years and potentially turn it into a voice. 0:18:40 - Tom Okay, Look everybody. I've been doing this for 25 years. I have done thousands and thousands of voiceover projects. I've probably done tens of thousands of auditions over the years, I guarantee my voice has been cloned without my knowledge many times over. I guarantee that auditions that I have you, that I have done, has been used for broadcast without my consent or without compensation. Every website that exists is going to get hacked at some point. None of our data is safe, it's just not. All you can do is do the best you can to mitigate your risk. try to be secure. I can't worry about submitting my demo and worrying about it getting cloned. I mean if I, if I was worried about that, i wouldn't have a career. I would. I'd be quadruple bolting the door and hiding in the bathtub. There's just nothing you can do about it. So don't worry about don't worry about that. Put the demo out there. I mean because the the the odds of it happening are extremely slim, but the longer you're here, the more likely it's going to happen. It's just you know well. 0:19:45 - Anne Tom, i mean, i think I think really again, we we talk about that bad actors, um, which is so interesting in our industry. Now, the term bad actor, right. Had I not really delved in deep to talking to people outside of my own industry, i would not have known what the bad actor meant. Um, outside of, like the literal meaning of it, right, but the bad actors meaning those companies, right, or those people that may take advantage, unfair advantage, um, with the in in clone voices, without permission, create deep fakes, all of those things. There's always that possibility And I had such an interesting conversation the other day with Shyamala Praga, who is very well known in the AI industry. Um, regarding, you know, laws and regulations and and instead of being reactive which is what we typically are right, reactive, something bad happens and then a law or you know some sort of policy is is established that then, you know, takes care of it. Um, really trying to again educate all of us, not just in our industry but everywhere, that, um, these things could potentially happen and we need to protect ourselves from bad things. Um, you know, what are your thoughts about? I mean, i, like, i really love your, your, your perspective on you can't be worrying about that all the time, but are there any steps that you would recommend to to, let's say, to protect um or to be cautious about that? I mean, i certainly am not going to make my demo not downloadable because I want it to be convenient for people to listen and buy. 0:21:20 - Tom You have to have it. It has to be downloadable because, when it comes to your direct marketing strategies and driving traffic to your website, the odds of them having a voiceover project for you right now, at the time that you have marketed to them successfully and they've actually gone to your website to review your demos, the odds of them actually having a gig for you is infinitesimally small. I can count, i think, on two fingers in 25 years that that's actually happened. Representation and online casting insights are for opportunities now. Direct marketing, driving traffic to your website is for opportunities. later They're not going to remember you once they leave that website of yours You need to have. They need to walk away with the demo, so they stick it in a folder somewhere in their cloud or on their desktop, so when an opportunity comes along that you may be right, for your demo was right there for them to review, or if again another thing that I always like- to say is that, no matter what in a marketplace and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, there are I will pay for things that make my life easier and make my life more convenient. 0:22:25 - Anne So, for example, i hate, i always use this my lipstick. So my lipstick is reliable, dependable, stays on all day, i don't have to put it on again And I you know I use that as an example product. I pay a lot of money for this lipstick. Now I certainly feel that no matter. Look AI, you know pay to play sites, you know driving down, you know rates. I no matter what. If somebody likes and gangooza right and likes her product, they're going to pay the money and they're going to remember me and they're going to buy it again and again. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 0:22:58 - Tom You go to a department store and there's five pairs of shoes on on the shelf and four of them cost, you know, $75 and one of them cost $800. Everybody immediately goes and looks at oh, what's this? What's the value of this? Why is it worth $800? Well, if they says it's worth $800, then clearly it must be worth $800. So I will happily spend $800 on this pair of shoes. So most people coming into the voiceover industry are broke and perceive themselves as an employee or a starving artist. They are already immediately devaluing themselves and training voice seekers to devalue them. So it's a systems of, it's a systems of thought problem. And I'm not going to sit here and blow sunshine up everybody's butt and say you're special, you're wonderful, you're, you're going to. All your dreams are going to come true, because that's not what the VOStratigist does. This VOStratigist does not sell dreams. The VOStratigist sells reality. My job is to give you objective data so you can set, you can make informed decisions about your voiceover career. But you want to do everything you can to set yourself up for success And the first step one is mindset. Know your worth. Know your worth based on your pure talent, know your worth based on your training, know your worth based on your experience. And know your worth based on what the industry standards are. Sag After over here GVAA over there, Know what your worth is and comport yourself And it's maybe it's a little fake it till you make it. I don't. I'm not sure you can do that. Having confidence and being confident in your training and your talent and your understanding of the rates, That should empower you to make sure that people aren't buying stuff from you that are shopping in the wrong aisle. 0:24:56 - Anne And also, i would say, as a as a talent just coming in, i don't think you can expect to get into or to become a top tier you know, professional without making an investment. I mean, that's the other thing too. I cannot tell you how many people they'll be like. You know, i really need coaching, but I just I don't have any. You know, they don't have the budget they don't have And, and so in reality, there has to be those things in place. You can't expect to go in and make a ton of money without investing in yourself and investing in that, in that coaching that's going to help you to be the most human voice actor that you can be. 0:25:37 - Tom Patience is one of the most important skills that you need to have as a new voice actor. Everyone wants to start talking for money as quickly as possible and using their funny cartoon voices that their dentist told them is hilarious And that's all. That's all great, but if you can't afford the training yet, build a budget create a savings plan. be patient, find community theaters or summer theater programs that have free acting and improv training, and develop your foundation of storytelling skills while you're saving money to work with a professional coach like Anne, or work with a VO strategist you know a business marketing consultant like me. There's a ton of things that you can do. But if you dive in when you're not ready or you go with the first demo coach that you can afford and submit to that demo to those agents for the first time, it's not gonna go well. It's not gonna go well. So I'll never tell anybody not to pursue their dreams, but I will tell everybody to be smart about pursuing their dreams by having. This is what I like to say no matter what you're doing in life, do it with both hands and on a flat surface. Be smart about it, i learned that when I tried to open an Amazon box with a pair of open scissors like this, which we've all done, Oh, yeah, yeah, not yeah. Both hands flat surface. 0:26:58 - Anne Very guilty of that. So then, let me talk a little. let's talk a little bit about rates, because what is your best advice for those actors who might be struggling to find work at their desired rates when you know there is this perceived? you know, race to the bottom, with technology disrupting What, how can they pivot their approach to succeed and get rates that they deserved? 0:27:21 - Tom Learn how to negotiate. And it's not like a Middle East Bazaar where you're haggling over the price of, you know, a goat or something. It's just the better that you can understand the rate structure of voiceover on a session level and on a usage level, the better, the more empowered you are to educate your clients or potential clients, because for so many casting notices that I see, or so many emails hey, i found you on Google, whatever they've never cast a voiceover in their life. They haven't the faintest idea what the ergonomics are, what project management is involved or what the rate structure is. Being experienced it's not necessarily a correlation between being professional and experienced. You don't have to be experienced to be professional To understand there is a rate structure. I understand what the rate structure is and I'm able to articulate it to somebody who has no idea how the voiceover industry works. The more that you can do that, the more empowered you are to get industry standard rates and the more empowered you are to educate voice seekers to value you and not let them use cheap rates. Well, i paid this guy five bucks. I'm gonna leverage it to get you to pay you five bucks where you say no, you don't do that You gotta think long term. You have to value yourself and your fellow voice actors, because every time you accept a ratty rate, you're making it harder for everybody else. Every time you accept an industry standard rate, you're making it easier for everybody else. 0:28:51 - Anne Now, but okay. So then here's the question. Yes, i agree that there should be the thought process about the industry as a whole. However, you will always have those voice actors that it is their business, right? I'm a big proponent of saying mind your own business. That means, don't worry about how other people get their business. In that respect, though, do you know what I'm saying? I truly believe I want people to understand their worth in order to make a bold and take the challenge to actually negotiate that worth with a potential client. So, speaking of five bucks, i know that you had talked to me a little bit about an experiment that you had conducted using the online pay to play the F word, fiverr. And I personally, i'm one of those people that thinks we need to talk about this because it is a viable marketplace in the well viable it exists in our industry. Let's put it that way you may not agree with it and you may not feel that it values your worth, but what were your findings? What do you think about Fiverr? 0:29:58 - Tom Okay, it had been coming up so much in conversations with my students, with my fellow voice actors, fellow coaches, producers, panelists at conferences And, like I said, my job as a video strategist is to collect objective data so I can help my students make thoughtful, informed decisions about how to move their voiceover business forward. Fiverr is real, it is here. It's a billion dollar company. There are thousands and thousands of voice actors on it. So I needed to understand what exactly it is, why it is and how it works. So I created an account, I followed the tutorials, i looked at YouTube videos, i built a profile and then you build what are called gigs And a gig is basically broken down by genre. I will narrate I'm an American voice actor who will narrate your explainer video or e-learning module or whatever And then what you do is you build the rate, but you're breaking it down bit by bit. So This is what really fascinated me about it is if someone said to you and I've got an explainer video, how much do you charge? and you probably charge what? 400, 500, whatever sometime around there But if you actually broke down by dollar, how much it costs for you to record the video, how much it costs to edit the video, to clean up, process, format, save, deliver. Do retakes give you permission to use the video in a certain way on a certain platform? if you chop up that $400 into all those little individual things, that's basically what you're doing on Fiverr. So it could say base price $5, but then if you add deliver as a wave file, deliver it within 24 hours you know, we'll only get two retakes. Mvp, I'll move you up to the front of the line, If you, then if you go da-da-da-da, then the total can be $400. It can be an industry standard rate. Fiverr saying oh, we get everything's for five bucks. 0:32:05 - Anne It's more of a marketing position than anything else. And if you think about that in reality, right, if they're going for that market for the people who don't right, who don't have a lot of money to spend and they want to go for lower priced, saying Fiverr and marketing themselves as Fiverr, get affordable, then absolutely I mean as a business they built for a market where there was a hole And yeah, and now of course, because they have so many voice artists on it right. that increases their SEO value, which increases, you know, ease, convenience, of use, and so that's what makes them you know the force that they are in the industry. 0:32:49 - Tom Right. So there's three levels on Fiverr And if you earn a certain amount of money and a certain amount of timing, get a certain amount of ratings in a certain amount of time, then you go to the next level and then the top level and the people at the top level charge industry standard rates and they do fine. The trick is kind of punching through that membrane from the first level to the second, in the second to the third. I feel like that's where it can be challenging. 0:33:12 - Anne Yeah, and I feel like you'd have to work that, because I think you have to earn that right, you have to get so many ratings, and I feel like you'd have to actually work the platform for a bit so that you could get up the ratings, so that you could climb up the ladder, so that you could charge industry rates. But, although not impossible, it's a very interesting concept. And because we are talking about it, bosses, doesn't necessarily mean we are condoning that platform, i mean. But if you look at it from a business standpoint, it absolutely, you know it covered a hole in the market and logically I can see how that works. I absolutely can see how that works Now, do I love that? it makes voiceover seem cheap? No, not at all. And I think to each and everyone out there, it is up to you to make that decision whether you want your brand associated with that brand, because that's a whole other way of doing business, right? So, again, you're almost working for the platform And then that platform represents your brand versus, let's say, for me, i've always been let's do it myself, and you know, seo for me. I've been online for years and it's worked in my favor And I've built up a great clientele list And I'm very fortunate that I'm able to continue on that. And while I am a member of a lot of pay to place, i don't have time to actually audition. And you know, for me, email marketing well, it's probably not quite as effective. Well, it's hard to say. I still believe that there's effectiveness in email marketing if you've got the right message and you have the right subject line, because people have less and less of an attention span. But it's one of the reasons why I built the VO Boss Blast. It was a way to help direct market talent, so that they didn't, you know, and I basically started it for myself. Isn't that like every company. 0:35:05 - Tom Right, if you create a product you want, help You do it to serve your needs. 0:35:09 - Anne I did it because I was like I don't have time. I want to do the podcast, i want to do VOPs, i want to be you know, i'm coaching, so I don't have a ton of time, so let me just create a direct marketing product that I can use. And then, of course, i shared that. 0:35:24 - Tom I do want to say for the record I have not booked anything on Fiverr. I set up my gig, i made adjustments to my rates because you're supposed to refresh it and try to feed the algorithm. I couldn't. I also did the same exercise on Upwork and it worked similarly and I got the same results. I could not. I could not book anything. I guess that just means I'm not a particularly good voice actor. 0:35:47 - Anne No, I think it's because you didn't have 100% of your right time to really devote to it. I mean, that's what. I think That's a part of it. 0:35:55 - Tom And the other thing is understanding the economies of the voice seekers, absolutely. 0:35:59 - Anne Diversify the economies and understanding of you know, money and how it works, of the country of origin of the voice actor too, absolutely, and Tom, i'll be the first one to say I mean, we've been in this business a long time. If you were on Voice 123 in 2006, right, you remember? Freelancer. 0:36:17 - Tom Oh, i was on Freelancer. Oh good, so was I. And Elanzen and Guru, yeah, i was on all of them. 0:36:22 - Anne So all of those evolved into Fiverr. Really, that's really it was that it was like who could bid the lowest right? And I will tell you that, as a you know, entering into the online space, i mean that's where I did get some jobs. Now, did I take jobs that were probably not what I was worth? Yeah, I did, i did, but I learned quickly, you know, and it was a tough, it was a tight, it was frustrating because it was always people under bidding And so you get that type of client, but what you do is you learn about where those clients right, those are the clients that don't value your product Not necessarily you but they don't value the product enough to pay the price right. 0:37:01 - Tom They want to pay the cheapest, the biggest of the pain they are. 0:37:04 - Anne Exactly, exactly So. Wow, what a great conversation, tom. This has been so wonderful and enlightening for the bosses out there. I'm quite sure, tom, how can people get in touch with you and work with you? 0:37:17 - Tom Oh, go to vostrategistcom. I encourage you to book a free 15 minute consult. We can talk about any part of the voiceover industry that you want. I also have a video shop where I've got closing in on 30 different videos covering everything in the voiceover industry, from time management to workflow to genre exploration to managing your finances. I also have a great mentorship program where you can do 30 minute check-ins with me once a week, once a month or twice a month. It also gives you access to some of those videos for free. But, yeah, book a session with me, free session with me at vostrategistcom, and I'd love to chat with you. 0:37:50 - Anne Good stuff, tom. Yeah, bosses, today more than ever we need a strategy for moving forward in our business. So go to it, tom. Thank you again. I would like to talk to you bosses about. As individuals, you know, it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn how And a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl You too can connect in network like bosses like Tom and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye-bye. Transcribed by https://podium.page
Embark on a sonic journey with Anne and audio expert, Gillian Pelkonen, as they explore the world of microphones. From understanding the difference between dynamic, condenser, and ribbon mics, to unraveling the pricing mystery and debunking the 'quality equals cost' myth, your hosts cover it all. Learn what makes a great microphone, how to choose the best one for your unique voice, and how to navigate the complex pricing landscape. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, this episode is your ticket to achieving your dream sound without breaking the bank. Transcript Anne Ganguzza (00:01.171) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited to bring back once again, very special guest, audio engineer, musician, and all around amazing tech person, Gillian Pelkonen. Hey, Gillian. Gillian (00:18.462) Hi, so good to be back talking to you and the bosses. Anne Ganguzza (00:24.311) Yes, I love talking to you because, wait, hang on a second here. I know it's corny, but here. Is this thing on? Gillian (00:33.543) Oh, it's on. Let me tell you, it is on. Anne Ganguzza (00:39.433) How do I sound? Gillian (00:41.738) Honestly, I'm not even saying this because we're on. I think that you sound great and this podcast sounds so great and your audio editor who is listening to this now, you don't need me to tell you, but you're doing a good job. I really like how it sounds because I listen to a lot of stuff and I'm very critical. I'm always like, oh, I don't really like that. But I really like the way VioBoss sounds. Anne Ganguzza (00:45.727) Ha ha ha! Anne Ganguzza (00:54.953) Aww. Anne Ganguzza (01:01.676) Well, I would imagine an audio engineer listening to a podcast. I mean, that's what you do. So I think there's so many contributing factors to what really produces great sound. And I know that we've talked about studios in the past and things that we can do to create great sound. But we haven't really concentrated on Gillian (01:09.523) Mm-hmm. Gillian (01:20.43) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (01:25.707) this guy right here because first of all we were always maintaining that you didn't have to have a great mic to sound great. However, I think that it would be really a good topic. Yes, there you go. I think it would be a good time to talk about microphones. Gillian (01:27.17) Mm-hmm. Gillian (01:33.697) Mm-hmm. Expensive. Expensive is... Gillian (01:41.694) It's not really, there's, yeah. Yeah, no, I totally agree. And I always say that great mics come at many different price points and people think, oh, a great mic is the $1,000 mic, is the $1,500 mic, even like the $800 mic. And that's not. always, you know, it's not always true and there is a lot that goes into microphones and I am learning more and more all the time. Realistically, the price point has a lot to do with like how it's made, where it's made, but if you break down what's inside the mic, which I don't know if any like, I don't even know if audio engineers care about this, but like there's the capsules and the transformers and all of those things that are in the mic that are what produce the sound quality that either makes it more expensive or less expensive or sometimes Anne Ganguzza (02:03.241) Mm. Gillian (02:29.928) expensive mic has the same inside design as a more expensive one, but it's just like a brand thing or that might not be 100% correct, but it is true that people will take the shell of one type of mic and they can make the insides and kind of scope it out to be similar electronics to a more expensive mic. So I don't know, it's not all about the price point, it's all about what you what you think. Anne Ganguzza (02:35.079) Mmm. Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (02:54.087) So do I dare ask, have you gone inside the capsule? I mean, have you taken, I mean, is that what you do? Do you go into microphones sometimes to check them out, repair them, just be geekily interested? Gillian (03:08.154) Sometimes you have to fix... I haven't opened up microphones. I mean a lot of the times like if you're looking at... well you have a you have like a pop filter windscreen on yours because I know you use a 416 and I use a KMS 105 Anne Ganguzza (03:22.022) Mm-mm. I do. Gillian (03:28.83) which is just my talking mic. I like to use it for vocals. It's one of the only mics I own because I work at so many studios. I can just basically use whatever mics are there. But this one I love for singing, for talking. It's a really good live mic. But it has like an... I wish I could like take it off without disrupting the audio, but I can't. It has like an outer windscreen, like a metal windscreen that a lot of mics have. And if you look, you can actually see the capsule in there. Gillian (03:58.784) looking at capsules is if you shine a flashlight in you can like really see it. But no, to answer your question in a long-winded way, I haven't taken apart a mic yet. I have been doing a lot of looking at the inside of like outboard gear, like pre-amplifiers and stuff like that, but microphones are on the list for me to look at. Anne Ganguzza (04:18.235) Well, so because you use so many different types of microphones, I think, in your everyday job being an audio engineer, you're not just working with voiceover artists. You're working with musicians. I'd love to like, can you break it down for the bosses? Like, let's make it easy. Like, what are the different types of microphones? Like, would... Gillian (04:26.274) Mm-hmm. Gillian (04:32.718) Mm-hmm. Gillian (04:40.398) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (04:43.908) a voiceover artist from what I understand that we're not gonna be using the same mics as a musician necessarily. So let's talk about those types of mics, differences in microphones, like from a very bass level. Gillian (04:48.407) Mm-hmm. Gillian (04:57.09) Yes, there are basically three different types of microphones and the types are determined a lot by how they work but a lot of what is going on inside of them. So there's dynamic microphones which are never really used for voice, they're used for other things. And then there's condenser mics which are used by voice actors and used a lot for voice and for detailed things. And then there are ribbon mics which are not usually used for speaking voice. So basically as a voice actor all you need to worry about are condenser mics. microphones, but there are other types of microphones that work for other things that you want to be recording. I could go into more detail about them, but I don't know how necessary it is for voice actors. They always say dynamic mics are durable. That's like, I mean, you use certain ones for voice, like a SM57 or SM58, which is like a Anne Ganguzza (05:43.945) Mm-hmm. Gillian (05:50.046) you go to a house party or you go to like a live event, someone's going to be using one of those microphones, the joke is like they're $99 and you can throw them off a building and they'll still work. Like they are so durable. They're, they're so, I don't know. It's Anne Ganguzza (05:50.047) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (05:56.952) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (06:01.801) Ha ha! Gillian (06:05.786) I think I don't know how to break one without like submerging it in water. And condenser mics are known for being sensitive, which is why we want to use them with our voice because there's so many intricacies in your voice and in your performance that need to be picked up. And ribbon mics, they're ribbons because they have a little metal ribbon on the inside and it's part of how it works. And those are more sensitive mics and use those a lot either on like, I mean, I know we use them a lot for like guitar amps or like horn instruments because you can be really Anne Ganguzza (06:15.071) Mm-hmm. Gillian (06:35.76) loud and it like smooths out the signal from my understanding of how I use them and what I know about them. Anne Ganguzza (06:41.199) Ah, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so a voice artist wants to use the condenser mic. And so for our podcast, OK, so I will say in my studio here, I've got a couple of different mics. Now before I purchased my 416, I had a TLM 103, which I also have here in the studio, which I like. Gillian (06:48.706) condenser microphone. Yeah, TLDR, condenser mic. Gillian (07:03.83) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (07:08.579) But even before that, I had a Rode NT1 mic. And of course, I went through, I think, the gamut of price ranges. And I think when I started, I mean, goodness, I just admitted the other day on a podcast that when I was streaming live from my living room, my first VO peeps meetups, I used a USB mic that was the Blue Snowball. And from there, I went to a Rode NT. And then I went to an AT2020 too, which I think was... Gillian (07:16.834) Mm-hmm. Gillian (07:27.618) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (07:37.127) you know, in terms of expensiveness was not that expensive, but I thought it was a decent mic. And I think at that point, you know, what would you say in terms of the different types of mics? Cause like my TLM 103 was over a thousand dollars, you know, compared to my AT2020, which is like right now, I think you can buy one for $99. What would you say is the biggest difference between those two mics? Gillian (07:40.61) Mm-hmm. Gillian (07:51.255) Mm-hmm. Gillian (07:57.659) Mm-hmm. Gillian (08:06.047) I mean, without knowing a ton about what goes into either of them, I do kind of, like I said before, I think the price difference does come from parts. And so... Anne Ganguzza (08:10.419) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (08:17.503) Mm-hmm. Gillian (08:18.162) I would assume the capsule inside of a Tlm 103 is more expensive than the other one, the electronics. Really upgrading, when we talk about upgrading mics, it does come with a price, but if you think about what the mic is, it's the capsule, everything inside, the electronics working together, higher quality materials will produce a higher quality signal that's recorded into your computer. So, can you get a lower priced mic that sounds good? Yes. Anne Ganguzza (08:32.838) Mm-hmm Gillian (08:47.956) of we're degrading the audio quality and listening to it through a phone speaker or out of computer speakers. So having really a really good signal to start with is great but sometimes it's not, basically you can get a signal that sounds good enough to sound professional at those lower price points but I do think it all comes down to. Anne Ganguzza (08:53.927) Mm. Anne Ganguzza (09:04.255) Basically you can get a signal that sounds good enough to sound rational. Gillian (09:10.786) price of materials and sometimes like prestige of brand, at least a little bit, because there are a lot of brands that I know like Warm Audio, Flea Audio, they make remakes of vintage mics, but also they make like remakes of like a U87, which U87s are still sold, which basically all of the remakes is kind of what I was talking about earlier, similar parts to get a similar sound without the brand price point. Anne Ganguzza (09:14.343) like the Steve Huff brand. Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (09:26.727) Remakes of like a U87, which is still sold. Which basically all of the remakes is kind of what I was talking about earlier. Anne Ganguzza (09:40.211) So it's not necessarily, and I know we've talked about this before, so it's not necessary for a voice artist to get good sound by paying more for a microphone. Gillian (09:50.478) Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's like anything when you're starting out in a business. Like I keep talking about my tech work because it's on my mind. I've been doing it all week. I just bought a soldering iron and I bought a $40 soldering iron and the guy I'm working with has a $200 one, but I don't know how much I'm going to be doing it. I'm just dipping my toes in. I don't have a big budget for something that's not paying me back yet. And so it's kind of like this is my intro thing and it works. We're doing the same work. It works. One day would I want the more expensive one? Maybe. Just to have a higher quality. Anne Ganguzza (10:10.459) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (10:21.807) Yeah. Gillian (10:23.013) But you know when you're especially for people who are starting you got to have something to work up to and something to you know get started with because who is starting a voiceover and has a couple thousand dollars to drop on microphones I don't know anybody Anne Ganguzza (10:30.843) Sure. Anne Ganguzza (10:38.735) Yeah, that's rare. That's rare. And I do know that it took me, oh gosh, at least 10 years to get my TLM 103, because my Rode NT1, which was a few hundred dollars, did a great job for me for many years, at least six years, in the voiceover industry. And I finally decided, well, you know what? I mean, people talk about the TLM 103, and I Gillian (10:47.464) Mm-hmm. Gillian (10:57.774) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (11:05.763) I actually went for that one before I bought my 416, and then I decided that after I got my TLM 103 and I moved to a new studio, I would entertain the 416 because I was also thinking about my 416 for a travel mic. And so I think in terms of microphones, and you were talking about sensitivity before, I know that, you know, Gillian (11:09.806) Mm-hmm. Gillian (11:23.445) Mm-hmm. Gillian (11:29.367) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (11:31.803) I have, you know, sitting outside of the studio, I have a Shure SM7B, which I use because I'm not in my studio, but it's a lot of podcasts, you know, use that mic, podcast hosts use that mic, because it doesn't pick up a lot of external noise and it sounds good kind of no matter what environment you're in. However, the higher the mic price, the higher the sensitivity, it seems. My TLM 103 picks up like, you know, a fly. Gillian (11:36.526) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Gillian (11:56.162) Mmm. Anne Ganguzza (12:00.463) you know, or a breath, like super easily. And my 416 does as well, but I have to be in a particular location, right? It picks up more in the front of the mic versus the TLM 103, which picks up all the way around. So I guess maybe it has to do with, you know, it's something, it's called the cardioid pattern, is that correct? Gillian (12:01.098) Yeah. Gillian (12:11.104) Yeah. Gillian (12:22.522) I know, yeah, yes, we're talking about polar patterns. It's so interesting, I hear you talking and I'm like, I know exactly why you think these things. Because it is interesting, the SM7B is a dynamic microphone actually, but it has a cardioid polar pattern and we use those all the time. I personally don't like the way my voice sounds on it for singing purposes, but a ton of people love it. It's a great studio microphone just in the music recording environment. If you wanna be in the control room, Anne Ganguzza (12:24.819) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Anne Ganguzza (12:36.638) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (12:50.291) Mm-hmm. Gillian (12:52.336) singing with stuff playing back on the speakers. It's a great mic because it's dynamic and because of the pickup pattern, because it doesn't feedback the way if you use the TLM 103 with speakers, just the pickup pattern, it would feedback. Anyway, am I losing everybody? I'm sorry. I'm just nerding out. Basically, what we're talking about is TLM 103. It's actually a large... Anne Ganguzza (12:54.778) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (13:02.419) Right. Gillian (13:17.154) I'm pretty sure it's a medium or large diaphragm condenser mic. And so the polar pattern is more wide and the capsule is bigger, so it's more precise and it picks up more sound. The issue that I personally have with the 416 that we can talk about is not everyone has good mic technique with it. And because the pickup pattern of that mic is so precise, I don't know... Anne Ganguzza (13:21.138) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (13:40.999) Mmm. Gillian (13:46.262) I don't know exactly what the pickup pattern is of it, but it's definitely cardioid if not like super cardioid, which means the pickup pattern area is even smaller. I find people love that mic because they say, oh, I hear a lot of things that like, once I have this mic, then I'll sound great. And people get a 416, they spend a lot of money on it, and then they're outside the range of where the mic picks up. And then it's like, I can't... Anne Ganguzza (13:52.703) Mm-hmm. It's smaller. Mm-hmm. Gillian (14:11.282) hear you, you know? So I don't know, technique is a big part of sounding good on a mic too. It's not just about the gear, it's knowing where the mic's picking up and just positioning yourself in that area so that it gets you the best sound. Anne Ganguzza (14:13.444) Yeah, yeah. Anne Ganguzza (14:26.803) That makes so much sense. And I know that one of the reasons why I love the 416 for travel is because you end up in environments where it's less than ideal. And so, I mean, you're not like in my studio here, I've got all my acoustic panels, it's built, it's double walled. And so I have a really good environment in which I'm recording. But when I go travel and I'm in a hotel, I don't have this studio. And so... Gillian (14:28.834) Mm-hmm. Gillian (14:39.587) Mm-hmm. Gillian (14:49.846) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (14:56.075) I need something that is not gonna pick up the hum of the air conditioner or the fan that's in the room. And the 416 I found to make a huge difference. And yeah, you're so right about understanding like your mic and how to use it and mic technique because I have to be in a particular place in order to make my voice sound good with the 416, close to the proximity. Gillian (15:02.058) Mm-hmm. Gillian (15:23.379) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (15:25.347) versus my TLM 103 where it's not as critical because, but yeah, I couldn't take my TLM 103 to a hotel easily and make it sound as good as I do here in this studio. Gillian (15:30.725) Mm-hmm. Gillian (15:35.038) It picks up everything. Gillian (15:39.614) Yeah, and something interesting about polar patterns when I first learned about them, and you can look it up. There's diagrams that show you basically the shape. of what they look like. I was always thinking, oh, like the pickup pattern, I need to be thinking about what it's picking up. But another big thing about it is thinking about the rejection. Like if it's picking up in a certain way, it's actually rejecting audio from other spaces, which makes everything you're talking about completely true. It's going to reject a lot of the stuff that you don't want in your recordings, which could be a really helpful choice when picking a mic. Like what's your environment like? If you have a noisy studio or if you have a less than ideal situation, then maybe a Anne Ganguzza (15:57.927) Mmm. Anne Ganguzza (16:11.743) Sure. Gillian (16:16.88) condenser TLM 103 is going to pick up too much unwanted noise. So there's a lot of things that go into making the decision and just things to think about to help you find the best mic for your voice and your situation, I think. Anne Ganguzza (16:21.467) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (16:31.935) What would be your recommendations for people starting out? I mean, is there a particular mic that you think would be great, or is there a particular, I guess, methodology in terms of picking out a good mic for your voice? Like, what would you recommend? I mean, there's so many people that post on the forums, and they're like, what should I buy? Like, how do you attack that in terms of selecting a mic for your voice? Gillian (16:51.63) Mm-hmm. Gillian (16:57.326) Um, well, I think my situation is different than most because I work at a bunch of recording studios so I, um... When I was picking my favorite mics for my voice, I did what is called a shootout, where you just line up a whole bunch of mics and you record yourself on all of them and then you see which one sounds the best to you. I know you have a bunch of recommendations on your site and on my site I do as well, but I guess without getting into specific, like you should get this mic, you should get that mic. There are a few places I actually, this past weekend I went into New York City, if anyone Anne Ganguzza (17:12.295) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (17:22.975) Mm-hmm. I do. Gillian (17:36.016) area, B&H, photo, video, whatever, that technology store has a room and you can go in and there's a technician that sits with you and you can try out all of the microphones. So really like my advice would be to have a chance. I know at music stores too you also have that. If you go to like Sam Ash or Guitar Center, you can totally go and try a few microphones before you buy them and all the ones that we're talking about, the 416, the TLM 103, Anne Ganguzza (17:39.076) Oh yeah. Anne Ganguzza (17:47.843) Oh, that's wonderful. Anne Ganguzza (17:53.986) Mm-hmm. Gillian (18:03.414) the SM7B, those are all there, because those are very popular microphones. So if you have a chance to try them, great. If you have a friend that has one that you could try it. But also, if you can't do a shootout in person, there's a lot of resources on YouTube of people. Anne Ganguzza (18:05.907) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (18:12.616) Mm-hmm. Gillian (18:18.626) testing out different microphones. Sweetwater is one of my favorite resources. They give you so much information and they do recorded mic shootouts so you can hear what they sound like on a voice or on the same voice and maybe just determine what you think sounds good for yourself. And then also be aware of your price range. Sorry, I'm just giving like a bullet point list of advice and maybe look into a company like Warm Audio that has a remake of the U87 Anne Ganguzza (18:22.431) Mm-hmm. Water is one of my favorite resources. Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (18:42.64) Mm-hmm. Gillian (18:48.64) for most people's voices but is cheaper than a real U87 to get a similar sound without paying the full price. That'd be my advice to do a combo of all those things. Anne Ganguzza (18:53.053) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (18:59.116) And also I know that certain companies like Sweetwater, you can buy and they have a great return policy. So it's kind of like try before you buy or, you know, and I think it's just wise for anyone who's trying out a mic. I mean, don't, I wouldn't go on blanket advice from anyone really. I think you still have to, you have to get that mic and it has to be in your environment. I remember Gillian (19:04.246) Mm-hmm. Gillian (19:15.92) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (19:23.847) Gosh, a long time ago I went into a studio and I loved the way I sounded on this particular mic and I went and I bought it immediately. And when I put it in my studio, it did not sound the same. And of course that makes a lot of sense because the studio I was in versus the studio that I had at home were completely different. I mean, number one, the studio I was in was a huge studio, had different acoustics than what I had in my room and I just didn't like it as much and I ended up returning it. Gillian (19:47.182) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (19:52.871) And so I feel like, yes, I have lots of recommendations of like, here, I think this would sound good. But I think you should always try first and put it in your environment and see if you like it. And then always have that option to return it. Gillian (19:59.426) Mm-hmm. Gillian (20:09.842) Yeah, I think that's a great point. And Sweetwater too, they have representatives that you can talk to and get on with them and be like, this is my situation. This is my pre-empt that I have. This is what I'm using my mic for. This is what my... and they can give you recommendations as well. And I don't... I've never returned with them, but I do know they have a good return policy. And also, I mean, we've said this in previous episodes, like people... Anne Ganguzza (20:19.827) Mm-hmm. Gillian (20:32.066) glamorize the microphone, but really, first off, no one ever asks you what microphone you're using. And as an audio engineer, I don't care what microphone you're using, as long as you sound good. If you sound good, I don't care, I'm happy. And there's so many other things within the chain that we've talked about, the computer, the preamp, all of those things that contribute to how high or low quality your final sound is. Anne Ganguzza (20:34.879) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (20:39.647) Hmm. Anne Ganguzza (20:55.139) Mm-hmm. I do know that there are some studios or some clients that do request a particular mic, but I have a feeling it's if you're trying. Yeah. Gillian (21:04.215) Really? Anne Ganguzza (21:08.687) I think what they're trying to do is they're either matching or trying to match like a sound from the mic from before, but it's very rare. It's not, I don't think it's typical. As a matter of fact, in most of the work that I do, nobody ever said to me, you need to have this type of microphone. It's in very rare instances where they say, and maybe in promo or something like that, you need to have a 416 or... But I also feel like... Gillian (21:13.029) Mm-hmm. Gillian (21:18.143) Mm-hmm. Gillian (21:26.743) Mm-hmm. Gillian (21:34.239) Yeah. Anne Ganguzza (21:37.743) I could be just saying that. I know I've read that, that it's very infrequent, but it does happen. But for the most part, I've never been requested to have a particular type of mic. As a matter of fact, nobody's ever asked. And so I've just only heard if my mic, or if I didn't sound good, and that had a lot of different factors to it. Wasn't just the microphone that was at play there. Gillian (21:51.212) Mm-hmm. Gillian (22:00.366) Mm-hmm. Yeah. I agree. Facts. Anne Ganguzza (22:06.455) So any other good tips that you have in terms of, I guess, purchasing a mic or for a person just starting out? I mean, in terms of price point, do you think, like, I mean, if a microphone costs $79, do you, you know, is that something that you think is a good price point to start with or is it, you know, what are your thoughts? Gillian (22:30.618) Yeah, I guess that's a good question. I never think about it like that, but I think um Obviously if you can avoid a USB microphone, I would just because I think we might have talked about this previously or I just talk about All the time basically with a USB microphone. You're paying the price which is usually lower than most for all of the you know a to D conversion Your microphone your preamp all of that in one and then the power source is Coming fully just from like that USB a so everything within that mic is usually lower quality Anne Ganguzza (22:43.067) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (23:04.275) Mm-hmm. Gillian (23:07.888) afford to have a preamp and mic even if they're not very expensive. And in my head, not very expensive is like $200. I would say like $200 microphone, $150 microphone, even some that are like $100 and then preamps same sit at like $100, $115, $200. Then that's what I consider inexpensive. And then anything in like the $250 range is like mid. Anne Ganguzza (23:17.467) Yeah. Anne Ganguzza (23:22.925) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (23:28.818) Yeah. Gillian (23:37.948) like 300, 400, 500, I would say that's like higher than all of the like super pro super expensive stuff is usually closer to a thousand dollars. So that's what in my brain what the range is. Anne Ganguzza (23:40.871) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (23:45.81) Yeah. Anne Ganguzza (23:50.791) Well, I know that when I'm recommending to a student, and I have a studio gear page, and I know you do too, and it really depends on their budget, number one. I think if they aren't sure that this is a career for them or Gillian (23:59.81) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (24:08.499) They may not get into it more than a few hours a week, or they're just not sure about it. I say don't invest a ton of money right away. I mean, you can get some really reasonable equipment. And I'm not talking USB. I would never recommend a USB as a mic for you to use for creating audio for your client. It's good for webinars. It's good for maybe some quick. Gillian (24:17.966) Mm-hmm. Gillian (24:24.366) Mm-hmm. Gillian (24:31.979) Mm-hmm. Gillian (24:36.174) here. Anne Ganguzza (24:37.603) Auditions, even then I say, oh, try not to because you want to put your best foot forward. So, I mean, but there's some really inexpensive mics that I think sound great as long as you've got a good environment. And audio interfaces, like I would recommend, the AT2020 mic I think is a great mic. The Rode NT1 mic is great. It's not more than a few hundred dollars. And audio interface, we've talked about this before. I love the Steinberg. Gillian (24:44.93) Mm-hmm. Gillian (24:56.412) Mm-hmm. Gillian (25:04.392) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (25:05.351) and I think the Steinberg is a great interface and it's $169. So you're not talking about a large investment and it's something that you can probably resell easily if you decide you don't wanna get into the voiceover. Yeah, absolutely. Gillian (25:09.667) Mm-hmm. Gillian (25:15.718) And reuse. I mean, everybody is online now. Zoom meetings, it's just. so much better to have some sort of microphone. And I have, there's one USB mic that I've heard that is actually like, I've been like, oh, what mic is that? Thinking it was, you know, an interface and it was just like a gaming mic, but that was like a $200 USB microphone. So even like, when I was talking about USB microphones, I'm talking about like the $50 ones, the $20 ones that you see on Amazon that it's like, oh, just get this and you'll have a microphone. That's not Anne Ganguzza (25:23.321) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (25:33.299) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (25:36.883) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Anne Ganguzza (25:45.631) Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (25:49.905) Yeah. Gillian (25:51.724) enough quality for professional voiceover, I don't think. Anne Ganguzza (25:56.111) Agreed, agreed. And I think, you know, going along with, if somebody doesn't have a huge budget and they're just getting into the voiceover industry, I think you have to pay equal attention to your microphone as well as the space that you are recording in because you want that sound, right, that potential audition or that sound to be decent. Gillian (26:13.486) Mm-hmm. Gillian (26:21.291) Mm-hmm. Anne Ganguzza (26:21.979) You know, and to really, again, first impressions are everything. And so I think it's a combination of, you know, a decent mic with a place that's not gonna be, you know, having a ton of echo or, you know, I mean, that's probably the first thing that we do as casting directors is when we get an audition is throw away somebody that has poor quality audio. And the mic is a part of it, you know, the mic is a part of it, so. Gillian (26:27.722) Mm-hmm. Gillian (26:45.571) I agree, 100%. Anne Ganguzza (26:51.131) Absolutely. Well, we could probably talk all day about microphones, but I think this is a great primer on microphones for those bosses that are just starting out. I mean, absolutely. I think, you know, Gillian, I'm sure if you had any other recommendations, can people go to your Studio Gear page? I know VIA Boss has Studio Gear as well. Mm hmm. For for recommendations. Gillian (26:58.315) Yeah. Gillian (27:14.558) Yeah, yeah, it's gear recommendations. So you can check it out. And I will say outside of. gear issues and mic issues. My next biggest gripe, which we can do an episode on with voiceover audio that I am like, I wish this was different, is over or incorrect processing. So that's really that starts to be almost worse. So we will leave it there. But just so you know what's in the near future for you guys, I know we're going to have much, much more to talk about. Anne Ganguzza (27:36.424) Ah yes, agreed. Anne Ganguzza (27:47.145) Well, thank you so much. Yes. Thank you so much, Gillian, for those words of wisdom. Absolutely. Bosses, take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals giving collectively and intentionally to create the world they want to see. You can make a difference. Visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn more. Gillian (27:49.467) Oh, thank you for having me. Anne Ganguzza (28:10.111) And I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too can network and connect like bosses. Find out more at IPDTL.com. You guys have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Thank you. Bye.
In this episode, Anne & Lau share their experiences from a recent conference + discuss how to harness the momentum that comes from events, classes, and workshops. As voiceover artists working in home studios, staying connected and motivated is crucial. Discover how meaningful conversations and collaborations can propel your business forward. But it's not just about business…delve into building relationships beyond work and find support through mentors, coaches, and networks. Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to voiceover, tune in to ride the wave of momentum and elevate your success. Transcript Anne: All right. Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm feeling super powerful today, by the way. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my VO BOSS co-host, Lau Lapides! Lau: Hey everyone, good morning or good afternoon, wherever you are. (laughs) Anne: Lau, I'm feeling powerful. Definitely business superpowers. And you know why? Lau: So many reasons, but tell me. Anne: Well, I am still riding the high of the last conference that we were both at, where I'm so excited that we met each other for the very first time in person, which was so, so wonderful. And I'll tell you, people ask me, so how was the conference? What was your biggest takeaway? Was it great? And I'm like, you know, I think the very best thing about this conference was the energy. The energy that I have received and gotten and been motivated by and inspired by. And I feel like it's time to take action, to move forward and grow, and really just run full speed ahead with my business. And I think we should talk about taking action. Lau: Oh, I love that. I'm going to second that. I felt like I got out of there and I was like Rosie the Riveter. You know, I just felt like I wanted to jump on things. I wanted to follow up. I wanted to stay in touch, keep the momentum going. There was an energy and momentum in an event like this that's hard to craft and create completely on your own. Just that group synergy, that team love, that family feel, right? And you and I meeting, oh my! Anne: I know! Lau: Wonder Twin powers activate. Anne: I know. I feel like we've known each other forever though. It was like, oh, there's Lau, but it was like, oh my God, it was in person. It was so, so wonderful. And I think there's that extra special juice that you get when you are in person with people that can really help to motivate you. And I know it is so hard for voice talent, as we are so isolated in our booths and working from home a lot of the time by ourselves. And now that we're just starting to get back out into the world, I feel, a little more carefully, but we're getting out there, which is just wonderful. I think even I didn't realize how much I missed, you know, that energy. And I, you know, gosh, I used to have events all the time at my home and people are like, are you going to bring them back? Are you going to bring them back? And I'm like, oh gosh, you know, thinking about putting on events, it's a lot of work. But I'll tell you what, you get so much out of it. Lau: Oh, the energy is infectious too. It's like you can't be sad. Even if you're shy or introverted — I had a few clients say, oh, I didn't make it, I'd like to go next year, but I'm a little, I'm not great with crowds, I'm not a very social person. I said, that's okay, because guess what? There was a room for everyone. There was a space for everyone. And you could be in an X session with 12 people. You could be in a speaking room with 40 people. You could be in a private meeting with someone in the lounge. So in my mind, whether you're an extroverted introvert or an introverted extrovert, you could come and enjoy and maybe not sit in a ballroom of 700 if that makes you feel uncomfortable, right? Anne: Absolutely. And then just the people that you've always wanted to meet, that you've been working with them online, maybe they're in your accountability group, maybe you've been posting and exchanging messages back and forth. And when you finally meet, you can just go to a private area and just motivate, inspire, and all the good stuff. And I really came away thinking, wow, that was, even more than Anne Ganguzza — who I've been to conferences over and over and over again, and it just has been so long. It was just so refreshing. And so I think it would be good to talk about, what do we do now? What do we do now with all of that good energy? And how do we take action to really move ahead and move forward? Because I think this is the time to do it. Lau: Right? And there's a, to me, it's like surfing a wave. I'm not a surfer, but I can visualize what a surfer is doing. And there's a wave coming. As it's coming, you're preparing for it. And then you start riding it, which is our conference event. We're riding that wave. But then it starts to come in and starts to crash, right? And then it kind of turns into a minimal, almost nothing anymore wave. So you have to ride the wave as long as you can while people's energy is up and excited. I actually had people, I'm sure you did too, Anne, that said to me, Lau, I want to reconnect before my momentum goes or before my energy leaves me. So there is that magical moment that you want to capture your clients and your colleagues in. You don't want to miss that window of time. Anne: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I think, and this, I want to just not make it so much, well, of course, we just came back from an in-person event, but also I want to talk about when you have even an online class or an online workshop or an online meeting, something that inspires and motivates you. I mean, we've been getting together week after week after week recording this podcast, and you inspire me, you motivate me. And I think the energy of each other, right? We really pump each other up. And I think that's the time when we're taking notes, we're brainstorming ideas. That's when we can really help each other to grow in our businesses and really feel fulfilled. It is such a tough thing to work on your own and not have that energy. So I would say that even if you have a really great workout class -- you know, I do the VO Peeps online, because it's hard for me to do them now, of course, in person. And it allows people from all around the world to join. And I'll tell you what, there's energy that can be received from those sessions as well. And so I think that if you are taking notes and you're jotting things down and you have goals, I think this is now the time to make sure that you've written them down and read them again and then start a plan for achieving those goals, right? Lau: Absolutely. And no way am I saying you have to be in person in order to get that kind of energy and juice from your people. You can be online, you could be at your accountability group, you could be in a coaching session, you could be in a rehearsal session with a buddy. But the point is as creatives, we are oftentimes better at creating and motivating and keeping our momentum alive when we are with others that are like-minded. Anne: Yes. Lau: And I always say, you know what my precious dad taught me in business, one of his business principles was, surround yourself in the room with people who are so much better than you. You should not be the smartest person in the room. Be the dullest person in the room. That way, you can challenge yourself, you can learn things, you can share growth, and you don't have to feel like you're spinning your wheels. None of us want to feel like we're getting lazy or we're not engaged or we're spinning our wheels. That's why I love these conferences, because I feel like it's for every level. Someone coming in early entry, someone who's super advanced, who's been doing it for 15 years, they all belong. They all can find their peeps in there and they can learn and grow from them. Anne: One other thing that I got from this too is that in-person energy. And of course, if you can, I always say, if you can have in-person meetups, I think they're absolutely worthwhile. There's something to be said about -- there's people that I hadn't seen in so long, and the past few years has been tough on social media. And I am the first to say it has been tough. I am all over social media because I’m selling events to people on social media and organizing audition demolitions and things like that. And so I am a lot, I am very much into social media. I have been, in terms of engaging in social media, I've stepped back just a little bit outside of here's my event and I hope you guys can come and posting what I hope to be inspiring and motivational messages. But I have noticed that if I'm reading social media a lot, there's certain times that it becomes not inspirational or motivational and a little bit toxic, or what I perceive to be a little bit self-serving. Okay? But yet when I was in the room with maybe the same person or people that I have thought, well, maybe they're self-serving or what is that post all about? You really get to feel like, you know what? I get it now, I see. What might've seemed self-serving to me then became, oh, well, they're really feeling good about themselves. And it really just softened and gentler and more, I'm going to say, emotional, heart to heart. I had many, many times during this conference when I was like close to tears, just by being motivated and inspired by people. Lau: Yeah, and I think we've got those cues that we don't often get, sometimes we even miss on Zoom, like the nonverbals, the energy, even just like the scent of someone. It sounds weird, but you've got the scent, the pheromones, the olfactory, which gives you memories. When you've got someone's energy right next to you, and they're looking into your eyes, and they're shaking their head and they're drinking coffee with you, there's a sensibility about that, that just as human beings, we need to have in our life to support all of our online work. It can't just be online. We have to also have that real intimate time with a real social distance, you know, so that we get that sense that -- I don't know if it's a group, a team, a village. I don't know what to call it, but it's, I'm in humanity. I'm part of humanity and I’m part of my industry’s humanity. I’m part of something that’s larger than myself. It's almost like it's almost like the military. My son's in the military, and it's like, why do you want to do that? Oh, because you're a part of something that is much larger than you are, that has a common goal in mind. And that's what our industry is, where all of a sudden we remember we're part of a much larger mosaic of people and creatives that that give us more meaning as to why every day we do what we do. Anne: Yeah. And I don't know if you were there and you heard the Team Challenge project at the very end. It was people coming together to create a commercial for, I think it was the local ASPCA or a local animal shelter. Yeah. And just people coming together and doing amazing things. And I think that when we come together, we can do amazing things. So when we are talking about taking action, BOSSes, I would say, you know, do what you can to get yourselves an accountability group or a group of peers that you are meeting with, and make it a point to meet with them, you know, once a week, once a month, whatever that is, just to maybe go over what are some goals, what are some issues you're trying to work out. And as I've always said, I like to write things down because when I write them down, it then cements it in my memory. It gives me something that I can go back and look at and something that I can say, all right, keep on top of so that I can do what I need to do to achieve that goal. So for me, it would be get yourself a group of peers that can be accountability buddies, or even just having coffee once a week and just discussing the industry. Having a podcast together. I feel like, right? Lau: Who knows? Who knows? Anne: You know, really anything like that and write it down, write down actions that you want to take and goals that you have. Lau, you've got any other tips that can help you to really take action on this energy that we're getting? Lau: Absolutely, don't limit yourself when you do find your people or your different groups of people that you're going to frequent and be a part of. Don't limit yourself to only professional talk and only business talk. I tend to fall into this problem myself, just because I love my business, I'm really passionate, I always want to talk about it. But when you're together, make sure you, you know, observe moments of each other's lives. What is the family doing? Or, wow, that outfit. Anne and I, before we get on air, we’re talking about our makeup and our outfits and our jewelry and our hair and our because that's part of who we are as people. You know it's part of our fun. It's part of our fun time. So don't forget the fun, and part of the fun is talking about something or doing about something that's not business related. It may be, you know, maybe you guys go out bowling together or maybe you guys talk about animals together or whatever because that really helps bond and cement your relationships through things that matter to you alongside your business, but not only your business, right? Anne: Yeah. And a lot of times, you know, when it comes to networking with people, that's really where the hook is. You know, not so much the business part of it, but when you are connecting with other people, are those personal things, those things that you have in common. I had a student who, you know, who brought me a gift of a stuffed kitty. Oh, my God, the cutest thing, because who doesn't know that I love cats? And some other wonderful person that brought me an amazing pair of red boots and a wonderful piece of jewelry that says VO BOSS in case you guys haven't noticed, with my birthstone. My very favorite, Lau, thank you so much for that. But knowing that, right? And so now I've got something here that I can wear that can inspire me. And I'm not saying you have to get everybody something to wear, but that personal touch, you can carry it with you. And also, I'm gonna say, because, again, our businesses are so personal, it's our voice, it's our personality that we're bringing to a read that story-tells, brings things to life, that the better you know a person, even outside of their technical prowess of being able to voice something effectively -- I know for me, when I help brand people, or I help select, what would be a great piece of copy for this person? And I know what they're passionate about. I know what their likes and their dislikes are. But I will tell you, it's always a great way to meet someone, right, when you're not initially attacking them with, you know, oh, I'm a voice artist. Can you hire me? In reality, what can I do for you rather than, you know, hire me, hire me, hire me? So I think, you know, always meeting people and approaching these groups with, what can I do to help you, is, I think, a wonderful way to approach that. And I think that's going to help you be more motivated and more inspired. I know for me, helping others inspires and motivates me. Just to want to do better and do more. Lau: I would even add in, come up with an idea every now and then. It doesn't have to be a major breakthrough that you're sharing with everyone. It's just like a little mini idea. Like, for instance, you're a branding goddess, so you might have a quick little tip on branding that you're going to bring to your group, you're going to bring to your team, you're going to even bring to a conference where you're speaking on and say, let me lay this one on you, you guys. No one would think about this as a branding tool that also develops your rapport and deepens your relationship. That’s part of your expertise that you can give to people. That may be non-tangible, you're not spending money on it, it's just coming from your creative mind, that it's a gift that keeps on giving, literally, because someone could run with that ball and say, wow, Anne taught me this, Lau taught me this, now I'm using it in my business, now I'm doing whatever. That's where we want to go. We want to give value, give education, and give ideas at times too. Not your most precious ideas of your business. I'm not inferring you should give all that away. I’m just saying there’s always these tips of value that we’re looking to do, whether we're doing a podcast or we're doing a blog or we're doing whatever, right? That's what we're looking to do. And that in itself helps people bond to you because they see it's coming from an honest place. Anne: Yeah, yeah, I think really that's key, is honesty and authenticity. And also it doesn't always have to be about voiceover, guys. Your support and motivation and inspiration can work into every aspect of your group's lives or the person that you're trying to help and move forward. You know, this is such a crazy industry and it's so volatile sometimes, and when you’re first starting out, and it's hard to get your wheels spinning and see success. I think that's where a lot of times motivation and inspiration is very helpful. I know I've got some students that I mentor that sometimes it doesn't, it's not about voiceover. It's about how am I going to be able to continue to pursue what I love and start to see success while being able to pay the bills, right? So there has to be something practical there. And so a lot of times, you know, my advice may or may not be like, okay, pursue voiceover, pursue voiceover. Be like, look, we need a parallel path. And so you can do this because you've got these skills. And so why not think about a side hustle in this or think about this, or I know it's hard, don't worry — you know, that kind of thing. A lot of times when talent will get frustrated and say, I'm just not seeing any success, you know, I don't know what else to do, and they're at their lowest point. I mean, here's where an accountability group, you know, can really help to inspire and motivate or a good coach. Lau: And maybe you even need to dig deeper and have a support group. Accountability groups do offer support by nature, but maybe you need something even deeper and more emotionally or psychologically driven. Like you gotta find out what you need to be happy, balanced, and successful. And that has been a theme that's been running throughout our week post this event, Anne, is like, I loved this particular event because it validated my thoughts that I don't have to listen to everyone or listen to noise to be successful. I can also listen to myself and my own voice. And so get that coach, get that support group, get that friend in place that reminds you — we always need those reminders — you're good enough. You're working hard on what you do. You're doing the due diligence. And you're on a track that suits you, like just keeping you on track, right? Anne: Absolutely, absolutely. And I think, I mean, we're our own worst enemies, aren't we? I mean, and even people such as myself, and Lau, I'm sure you would agree that even though we've been in the business, sometimes we even have our, we need our people too. We have our questions about, you know, and we need that guide. I need guidance every once in a while saying, Anne, so you're on the right path, it's okay. It’s going to be fine, don't worry about it, and that will help to reel me in. But I think the whole writing the energy, taking action, writing notes, right, setting goals, and continually revisiting that and revisiting your people, whether it be online, whether it be in person, or a combination of both. I mean, I think both is amazing. And, you know, it's always like, people talk about that discussion about, online learning, do you like online learning or in person, which is more effective, right? And I think honestly, if you can have a combination of both, right? Because obviously I voice a lot for some online learning places. And so, but I've always been a fan of in person communication and in person growth and working and classes and sessions that are in person because you get a whole lot out of that. Yeah. Lau: I got one more for the road. Here's my last goody for the road. My last goody is -- and this is my specialty, I always think of myself as an idea person. I always say I missed my calling, Anne. I should have worked for some advertising agency -- before you step in with your group, whether it's a conference or an accountability group, before you step in, have two or three ideas ready to go of how you can work with people. I naturally do that because that’s what energizes me. So before, for instance, before I podcast with Anne in the morning, I sit with my coffee and my smooth bossa nova jazz music. And I come up with not just helpful themes for the podcast itself, but how can Anne and I work together? How can we better each other's and grow each other's businesses? How can we energize and stir the pot of what we're doing? So I can come in and say, I’m excited. I have an idea. I have an idea. People love that, Anne. And I don’t see that as much. I don't know if you do, but when I get together with people, they're working on their stuff, which is great. But very rarely do I say, I have an idea. Let's do this together. Let's make this happen. Let's form a group. Only a very small minority of people think in that way. You think in that way. I think in that way. I want the listeners to start thinking in that way. Create. Anne: Yes. I love that you brought that up because I cannot tell you the amount of, the benefits that I have derived from working with other people and teaming up, teaming together with people on multiple things. Lau: Invaluable. Anne: Invaluable, teaming up. Lau: Invaluable, and it spirals too. Anne: Yeah, it does. Lau: It's like my hair in the heat. It just keeps going up and up and up. It just spirals out of control. Anne: Yeah, partnering. Lau: It's like, it's that rabbit hole where you just go down and down and down and down, and you just keep coming up with more thoughts, more ideas. And that doesn't mean that they're all gonna pan out or they're all gonna be successful. It means you keep the cobwebs out of your brain and you keep your motors going so that as a business owner, someone could come to you and say, hey, I need ideas for this. You say, I don't know, and I'm not sure. Let me think about it. And they're like, no, I got ideas for you. Here we go, here's the first one. Here's the second one, here's the third one. Anne: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Think of how you can team up with someone to do something amazing. I really think that that can help to also, as you go along with your own independent business of voiceover, you can be contributing greatly to, let's say, becoming a resource for the community or a community. It doesn't have to be the voiceover community, But gosh, there's so much talent out there in our industry. I mean, we could do just about anything. You know, it doesn't have to be contained for voiceover. Think of people that you know and have gotten to know and that would be great at doing a lot of different things. I mean, probably every one of the people that I work with that's on my team, I have come to them because they've had a special skill that I don't have that I need and that I want and that I'm happy to pay them for because they help me to grow my business. And, you know, it could be a skill that isn't voiceover, right, but skill that could be video editing, audio, whatever it is, it doesn't have to be voiceover specific. Even team leading or groups that they're a part of that we can be like a referral network for each other. So it's really incredible the things that you can do when you team up and you ride on that energy and they can help you take action in your business. So I ask all of you BOSSes to really just consider, consider partnering up with someone, getting your peeps together in a motivational, you know, accountability group and working together and writing things down and really taking action, taking action on the high and the motivation that you've gotten from in-person networking or online networking, whatever that is. Lau: Yes, and finally, know the difference between the people that you can grow with, that are growth people and people that are not in that sphere. It doesn't mean they're not creative or they're not energized. It means they're in their own little private Idaho. They're good with what they're doing. They're not as interested in helping you or them grow specifically. They're happy with where they're at. Just kind of know the difference. Don't have the same expectations of every person. That was something a financial adviser I heard say and that kind of rocked my world. They said know who your growth people are, and she was specifically talking to the team that you're growing. Like some people are great for now but they're not going to help you grow. Other people are going to come in and they're growth people know the difference. Anne: Growth people, if they're part of your team, by the way, you have to, you have to, you have to motivate your growth people appropriately, okay? As Gary Vaynerchuk says, you know, no one's gonna be as excited about your business as you. However, when there is motivation and there's inspiration and there's -- like I say, you always have to be like, what can I do to help you, right? When there's something in it for them as well, right? And it's obvious that you're not just about, oh, you're my employee, let me pay you. ‘Cause I don't have a lot of money, let me not, let me pay you the cheapest amount that I possibly can. My, you know, my team members, I mean, I pay them. Because I think of myself, like, how is it that they're gonna promote me, right, in my business, when I'm not paying them what they're worth, or if I don't think they're worthy enough to pay a decent salary? And that's part of the motivation, that as well as, you know, constantly encouraging, referring, doing what I can to help them move their own careers forward. And sometimes that means letting them go too. Do you know what I mean? Because they've outgrown me. And that's okay. I mean, I love that actually. Lau: Yeah, and you need to be their cheerleader, but they also need to be your cheerleader. So you want to train cheerleaders, in essence, to be growing one another. And if the growth is stopping and everything's dying or stagnant or going the wrong way, then you may not need to be together anymore. You still stay connected and be a great associate and always leave things on a really great note. So you could come to back together if you want to come back together. But know who your growth people are. Anne: I love that. Know, if you take away anything guys, know who your growth people are and really take action on that inspiration, motivation that you get from your growth people, absolutely. Lau, thank you so much. Lau: My pleasure, as always. Anne: Yeah, so wonderful as always to chat with you about all these wonderful topics for BOSSes. And BOSSes, I am going to say that as individuals, as we were just talking about, it can seem difficult to make a big impact. But I tell you what, as a group, as we just saw, as we've been talking about all podcast, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never even thought possible. Visit 100VoicesWhoCare.org to learn how and learn more. So big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. I love ipDTL. You guys can also love ipDTL and be BOSSes. Find out more at ipDTL.com. All right, guys. Have a great week. We'll see you next week. Bye. Lau: Bye!
Are you ready to revolutionize your business policies and guidelines? In this episode, Anne and Lau dive deep into the importance of setting firm and consistent terms of service. They explore the world of contracts and documentation, discussing the significance of having clear terms and conditions, backing up legal documents both online and offline, and the role of cultural differences in client interactions. Anne & Lau are here to help you navigate the murky waters of friendships and business, emphasizing the importance of professionalism and drawing clear boundaries between work and pleasure. They discuss setting expectations with employees and clients, and how to balance paid work with volunteering or pro bono projects. Don't miss out on these crucial insights that will set your business on a path to success! Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS superpower series with my wonderful, lovely host Lau Lapides. Lau: Hey everyone. Woo! Anne: Happy weekend, Lau. Lau: Happy Saturday. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Love that. Anne: So, oh, BOSSes, our secret is out. Now, they know that we record on Saturdays because honestly, it's about the only time I have. to really record. But yeah, it's always wonderful to see you on a Saturday morning, Lau. Lau: And now they know for sure we're absolute workaholics. Anne: (laughs) For sure. That's a six day a week, almost seven. Lau: Can't deny it. Anne: Almost seven days a week. BOSS work. Anyways. Oh my goodness. Speaking of having to be a BOSS, Lau, this week was trying for me. As you know, I have multiple, and I always like to call them tendrils -- I don't know why I call them tendrils of my business. I'm sure there's a much more professional name for them. But the components, the other divisions, the other brands in my business, my VO Peeps, this VO BOSS podcast, my Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions. Well, I constantly have clients who try to, how shall I say, not adhere to the terms of service or the guidelines or policies that I have in place. And I will tell you that even though I've been doing this for so long, and I've created the policies much because I've been doing this for so long, and I've run into every single -- I'm so sorry, I couldn't make it to my session today because… or I'm sorry, can I get that discount? I forgot to sign up under my membership ID. I'm sorry, can I just get a refund? No guys.(laughs), I'm gonna say, I have terms of service built into everything and guidelines or policies for a reason. And I think it would be a great time to talk about that, Lau, because as business owners, we need to really set forth policies so that we can run a business. I mean, it is expected that you run businesses so that you can make a profit, not lose your money.(laughs). Lau: And I really do think that ignorance is bliss sometimes. Meaning we can all live in a blissful place. I forget what they call it. There's a legal term for that. But because I don't have the knowledge and I don't know what it is, I can't be held to that. I don't know if plausible deniability is that, but anyway, we'll have to look that one up. We'll have to ask our attorney friends on that. Plausible deniability. Anne: Thank you for that big word of the day. Plausible deniability. Lau: But that's a biggie. Anne: Yeah. Lau: That's a biggie. Like, please excuse me, I didn't know. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Or please excuse me. I didn't see it. I didn't read it, I didn't catch it. And I think there's that huge gray zone in there that business owners have to really take a step back and say, okay, now we don't know if it's true or not. Literally we don't know if they know it or they don't know it. We only know what they're communicating to us. Anne: Right, right. Lau: That we have to make these judgment calls all the time. based on the knowledge of that client. Is this someone I know? Is this someone I don't know? You know, we kind of have to be judges in a courtroom. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Now that I think about it. Anne: We do. Lau: Right? Anne: And I need to stop beating myself up trying to figure out a polite way. Well, how should I put it? Because whenever I get that request, and I'm like, I could not have listed it in more places in my website. I could not have spelled it out or sent you email reminders enough. And I think what it is, I feel assaulted, or I feel hurt that maybe they're not paying attention, or they're not listening, or they're trying to take advantage. And I'm going to say, in terms of policies and guidelines, every time you sign up for a mailing list, or every time you have a client that you sign a contract with, do you not read that contract? I mean, if all of a sudden your voice is being used in perpetuity, and you didn't know it because you didn't read the contract well, I don't think that the company's gonna come back and say, well, I'm sorry. Oh, let me take that off. No, I think that we have to be BOSSes and be able to really set those guidelines. So for every client that you create that's a new client, or even old clients, make sure there are contracts and guidelines in place. Lau: I agree. Anne: So that you can get paid fairly and compensated for your time. Lau: Yeah, I agree. And I think that your clients that are running clients that are really credible, because you know them, you have some history with them, you have time, that's a discussion that you can have if you see fit that there is a real excuse, there's a real reason why something is going awry. If it's someone brand new, someone that you're really not familiar with, right, we always, I always jump to the assumption that they either know and they don't care, they didn't take the time to look at the material, or they may intentionally be pulling something. And so I just kind of go through those scenarios super quick in my mind, and then I just land on something, and I go with it. Because I do think the bigger your business gets, and the more complex your business gets, the more problem solving and decision making that you have to make. And sometimes yes or no answers don't always work based on the relationship you have with the client. So I'm with you all the way. I think that establishing early that you have policies that are there for a reason — I would also give people the reasoning behind the policy as well. So whether you do it in writing, whether you have a disclaimer, whether you have them opt in or sign something, I think it's so important, because you can always rely on that. One thing my dad always taught me is, think of your work as a legal document at all times. Anne: Yes. Lau: So if this were in a court of law, how would it be viewed? Do you have something physical in writing? Is it there? And does it say what it needs to say? And so oftentimes that's gonna stand on its own versus a verbal agreement or what you're just saying to someone. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. And it can hold up in court if it needs to, right? So BOSSes out there, what is it that they need to establish in terms of, what are we going to be sending to our clients or our new clients? I think that some form of written communication, documented is absolutely necessary. An email can serve as a contract, an actual contract can serve as a contract. And very clearly within that document should be the terms of service. What can that client expect from you in return for this deal that you've negotiated or this job that you've negotiated? You can expect to receive audio files in MP3 format within 24 hours or 48 hours or for this attached script. And I think it needs to be spelled out specifically for first-time clients, even more so. And it's easy to do that, I think, for first time clients to just have everything already in -- I have an email kind of attachment that I send Jodi Krangle, I know she, God, for the longest time, she attaches the terms of service or she's got a terms of service right on her website. And I also have terms of services on my independent websites as well. But she's had hers forever, and it's great. And it's what the client can expect when they hire her for a job. “You can expect my very best work. You can expect that I will be delivering files to you in wav format, blah, blah, blah.” And it just steps it through. And it's a really wonderful way, I think, to cover yourself and your business in case things go awry. And I always say this, like, I probably said this multiple times, but I am so proud in the 16-plus years that I've been working that I have always gotten paid. I'm gonna knock here on -- Lau: See, that's amazing. Anne: — wood. Lau: That is amazing. I'm amazed by that. To not get burned once or twice is really a feat. Anne: Yeah. Lau: You're doing something right. That's great. I'm glad too you talked about emails, because there was a day when email was too new, it wasn't a valid form yet of a legal document. Now it's absolutely legal documents. So you really gotta keep your folders and make sure you don't delete them by accident. Because like if you're in Gmail and you're doing a string and you delete the string, it deletes the messages in the folder. and then all of a sudden your legal documentation is gone. So I always say keep paperwork. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Do both hard copy online, back it up. have it, have it, have it. What we do is a letter of understanding or a letter of agreement. So they sign that. Anne: Statement of work. Lau: It acts like a contract. It just says, hey, give us these amount of business days to turn this around. Here's the format is gonna -- just like what you're saying, all of that is in front of people so that they don't have the guesswork of that. Anne: Yeah, right. Lau: And then once in a while, there's a question or two, and sometimes I run and I add it right into the letter of agreement. Because I didn't think of it and it's important. Or it's an update and it's very, very important to have it in there. So it's also important that you are updating your legal documents. And I would look at those every three to six months. Like I would not let that go a year, because in a year, so much happens in our industry that you just have to put in there -- Anne: And follow up on them. I mean, you've signed a contract. Don't let it be the be all, end all. Even if you've worked with your agent and you expect your agent to take care of that. No; follow up on every contract that you signed in. And you know what? People may make fun of me that I never delete an email. But that is one of the reasons, Lau, that I don't delete emails. So I always have a trail of my client relations. And so if I did a job 10 years ago, I can do a search in my Gmail for that client, and I will have that job. I'll have all of the documentation. I'll have everything in a folder, the contract signed, and like you said, I back up my backups. And that allows me to always have recourse, including audio files as well in case a client comes back to me years later and says, hey, can you update this? Or we need a new something and you've gotta try to match your files from what you've done before. So I definitely feel that if you're upfront and you are present and you're really with new clients, enforcing that right away, it's not gonna be such an issue as if you've had, let's say, clients who like all of a sudden are kind of maybe slipping a little bit or trying to maybe take advantage. And then it gets to the point where I sit there and I go, oh my gosh, how am I gonna say to them, no, you need to pay me. Why do I always feel so stressed about that? And even after all these years, I mean, I still feel stressed. I'm sorry. No, I cannot give you a refund. You are going to have to pay for that. Yeah. Lau: Well we talk about this all the time. I mean it's a combination of being women. It's a combination of our generation. It's also a cultural thing. You know? You and I are part of certain ethnic minorities that are very much about caring and giving and pleasing and cooking and doing and providing, which is not a bad thing. It's a wonderful quality to have as a coach and as a business owner. But you can get a little carried away. You have to have a very fine line that be careful, if you go into the friendship zone with clients and there's always that fine line, ‘cause iIf you do that and it feels good to do that. At least to me it does. The paperwork can get a little muddy. The services can get a little muddy for us, the water. Anne: Excellent advice. Excellent advice. Lau: You have to be very careful of that, like just keep it straight in your mind. that you've got a structure, you've got a service, you have to be paid for that. And if you're gonna be friendly outside of that, okay, but that doesn't dismiss this. Now you're feeling bad, is that guilt that many of us have for not providing or making someone uneasy or whatever, not coming through in the way we thought they wanted us to? We have to separate that. Like we have to objectify It just -- Anne: I have stop. I have to stop. I don't know why I go through it all the time. Lau: You have to not do that. We have to not do, we can't emotionalize transactions because when we emotionalize transactions, we give it more worth than it's worth. It's a monetary transaction for a service. It shouldn't be an emotional heart wrenching thing. Anne: This is not personal, it's business. And I like that you said watch out when it becomes friendship, 'cause a lot of times if you have a relationship with a client, especially for a long period of time — and I've had clients for years. And I've had students for years too. And sometimes when that gets closer to more of a friend level, then it's kinda like, oh, come on. Can you let that slide? And my recourse is, and I think any BOSS can say this, my recourse is, hey, it's nothing personal. It's a business. I need to run my business. And if there are feelings that get hurt, I mean honestly, so be it. Because right now I have to look out for my business. It's just the way that it is. Lau: I also think too, the timing of that is really important. So I was notorious for the first half of my business — because I was an actor for many years turned into everything, director, producer, coach. When you're an actor, you're never trained in the protocol of the difference between your creative life, your business life, and your personal life. Everything is just -- Anne: Jumbled together. Lau: — in there together, in there. Jumble, jumbled. So a lot of our relationships, a lot of my closest friends are my people. They're my coaches, they're people I work with, which I love. I love it. But it causes a problem in that the clear lines of delineation of like, you are offering a service, I'm paying you for service, then it's done. And then we can still be friends, has to be done upfront. Like you have to set the stage and set the standards upfront and make sure it's okay. Especially if you have a more personalized relationship with that person. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: Right? Just say, hey, I'm paying you for this hour where you're a guest, whatever. Okay. Is this amount of money good for you? Is it right for you? Yes. It's great. Good. Put it in writing. Done. Done. Anne: Exactly. Lau: Let's go back and have our friendship. I think that's the respect that we wanna have. And it's also very difficult tightrope for a lot of people to walk. So when you're in doubt, I would say keep business and pleasure separate, if you can. And with the few people that you're very, very close with and work very closely — like you and I are friends, right? Anne: Yeah. Lau: But I mean, if you ask me to do a service, if I ask you to do a service, I wanna be able to pay you for that. Anne: Yes. Absolutely. Lau: I wanna be able to respect your time and your knowledge. Anne: And absolutely. And we've discussed doing projects together, and both of of us respect each other's business enough to say, okay, let's see how we can make this work in a business sense. And then once we're done with that, that's it. We're done. So we respect each other enough to know to come at it as a business. And we both are business owners long enough to know that. Lau: And that's kind of a gift, isn't it, Anne? Anne: Yeah, it really is. Lau: Not a lot of people can do that. Anne: I'm very appreciative and grateful. Lau: We're very nuanced in that way to be able to have close friends. Some of my coaches now that work at my studio are 30-year friends. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Like friends and like family. And I'm very careful. I wanna make sure I do the right thing. I wouldn't pay them for their time. I want it to be going great. I don't wanna say, oh, they're friend, they'll take it for nothing. They'll take it for less. They'll -- be careful of that because then you run the risk of corroding the business relationship and the friendship. Anne: Sure. Yeah. And I was just gonna say, employees, like your coaches and my employees, it's one of those things where, yeah, I mean I've had, gosh, I've had employees for I believe over 10 years now. And so that's a long time to have employees. And so you do get close. And I always have to approach it -- I think Gary Vaynerchuk said it, but it's something that I always kind of figured out. Like no one will ever be more excited about your business than you. Right? And so when you have employees, like your employees are not gonna be more excited about your business than you. And so therefore, if you have problems with employees, right? Let's say you need to maybe fire an employee or you need to talk to them to say that your work is not up to the standards or the way it used to be — that is always a tough thing to do. But I think you have to do it because again, it is a business. You're paying for a service. And if that service is not being fulfilled, then you have to be able to be BOSS enough to talk about that and not feel like you're jeopardizing a friendship. Lau: That's right. And you have to delineate very fast the difference between pro bono expected volunteer work, which is set up that way and work, which has monetary compensation. I mean, that's where my husband came in handy years ago because I was an artist who -- I was a director and I was directing for years, like directing for free while I was doing every-- teaching, and at a certain point he said, and luckily he's, he's a CFO, he's an accountant. He said, what are you doing? Don't you see you're giving away value and you're not getting it in return? And I said, I'm getting a lot of return. I love what I do. People appreciate me. I'm getting a lot of accolades. He said, no, no, no, no, no, no. I mean true value, like get paid. You see? Now I can't say that it's the difference between men and women, 'cause I think, you know, a lot of women are great and smart and think that way too. But it just reminded me that, oh, I made it very fluffy. I made it very gray. I made it very nuanced when it wasn't. It was like, I'm doing a job. Anne: Right. Lau: There should be an understanding and then you should get paid. Unless it's volunteer. If it's volunteer, then you walk in knowing it's volunteer, you accept it and it's okay. That's fine. Right? But we're building businesses. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: How many times have you thought or said, I don't run a charity? Anne: Oh, in my head all the time. Lau: We give to charity a lot. But this isn't a charity. Anne: Yeah. I'm like, I don't understand people. I just don't understand people. Like what do they expect? Do they not read things that I — do they not read policies on websites? Do they not read emails? Do those clients not understand? Lau: Yes, yes, and yes. (laughs) Anne: And I'll just shake my head and just, yeah. Lau: Oh wait, can I add one more thing to that thought? Anne: Yes, yes please. Lau: And this is all the psychological stuff that we talk about. Okay. So whatever happens, happens; you either agree to something you shouldn't have. Someone burned you, didn't pay you, something happened that shouldn't have happened. I say, forgive yourself. Forgive that person and walk away a whole lot smarter. Not to say you shouldn't fight back or if you need to take them to court and it's fine, whatever. I'm saying psychologically, don't do the damage to yourself and rip yourself down and blame yourself and do all -- don't do that because we need to make those mistakes. We need to make those errors so that we can fix it. And we know how to run better and smoother and cleaner. If we didn't do that, we wouldn't really know. We would never really — there's no checks and balances, in other words. Right? So that's a moment of checks and balance. And don't get bitter. Get better. Anne: Ooh, I love that. Don't get bitter. Get better. I love that. Yes, I do. Lau: It's easy to get really like cringey and toxic. It feels so good to get like -- don't do it because your whole spirit of your business will go downhill if you start to do that. Anne: Yeah. I don't know. For me it's just like, don't be putting that toxicity out on the internet. Try not to spread that around. I mean, unless of course you're trying to get action from some company that's clearly done undone you some injustice. But I still say be careful. Lau: Anne, it reminds me (laughs) — you remember way back when in the dating scene when you'd meet someone and they would just unload everything on you about their last relationship. Anne: And then I'd be like, okay. Lau: And be like -- Anne: Bye! Lau: And be like, I got, I gotta work a little bit. You start to hold it. You carry it, it gets in the molecules of your muscles. And then it starts to show in your business. So we have to be super aware of that. Anne: So BOSSes, emails, terms of service, make yourself a terms of service. There's lots of examples out there. You can just search for voiceover terms of service or voiceover statement of work or what else too is a great book, and I'm just gonna promote this guy 'cause I love Rob Sciglimpaglia, (Lau laughs) VO Legal. I love him. He's got templates that you can use. He's my lawyer and I'm proud to say that. He has literally been by my side through every contract that I've ever had a question with. So highly, highly recommend him. So make sure when you're working with a new client, you have those terms of service. On your website, it's a great idea to put a terms of service on your website. You'll notice that most companies do these days, right. And so if you wanna be seen as a professional service or professional business, then get yourself a page that has terms of service. Those are templates that you can get online, and you can have your web person throw one up on there. It's like it can be on the footer of your webpage, terms of service. And it's really simple and you cover yourself in that way. And if you happen to be selling online, if you have, like I have multiple places where I sell online, make sure that those terms of services are there as well. Lau: You took the words right outta my mouth 'cause I was just about to say, get a really great attorney. Like if you can get an entertainment attorney, even better. But have an attorney on your side, because you can take boiler plates off online, which is fine, but you wanna, you wanna know -- Anne: Sometimes you just don’t know. Lau: -- melt it. And you wanna make sure the language is accurate to what you do, you know, and not generic. It's gotta really cover exactly what you do. So it's worth an hour or two of sitting with a pro, a couple hundred bucks to say, yeah, you can say this. Yeah, you can't say this. Yeah. This is what this means. I think it's really worth doing that. Anne: And by the way, VO BOSS has interviewed Rob Sciglimpaglia more than once. Make sure you check out the episodes. I've got links to his book. I've got links to templates. And also with the new up and coming synthetic voice, I'm gonna say that there are companies, I work from the organization called the Open Voice Network. I'm on the synthetic voice study group. The whole focus of this group is to come up with policies and guidelines and standards for the AI community in working with synthetic voices. And so Rob has also been on a committee to help with that. And also I will give a shout-out to NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors. They've got lots of templates and great stuff on their website. I've also worked with them as well with synthetic voices. And so there's lots of places out there that you can go for help. But I always say, yes, you cannot beat a lawyer because yeah, if you go get the template and you put it up on your webpage, sometimes that might be something that doesn't apply to your business there. So,it's so worth your investment to have somebody. And I think Rob, he also has his service where he's on monthly retainer, which is a new service that he just, yeah, put out. Lau: That's awesome. Anne: BOSSes, there's no reason why you shouldn't be prepared for when things don't go the right way, that you can be fairly compensated for your time and your efforts in your business. Lau: Yeah. I wanna throw in one more thought, Anne. If it's appropriate, make sure you're disclaimers are there and make sure they're accurate. So when you're qualifying your language, you're qualifying your business, make sure the disclaimers say exactly what they need to say because — and I know Rob would talk about this a lot — specific words like will and may are totally different things. I am going to do this with you and for you. I may do this with you for you. So there's a lot of open door words, there's a lot of closed door words that you always wanna have — I hate to say an out, it sounds negative. I don't mean it that way. Anne: No, I, I got that. Yeah. Lau: You wanna have flexibility and leeway in the language so when someone comes back to you and says, well, you promised me this, you guaranteed me this, you can say, I didn't promise this, and I didn't guarantee this. I said… Anne: As you can see, and I'm constantly quoting my terms of taking screenshots of it. Lau: And you rely on it, don't you, Anne? Like a little -- Anne: As you can see — yes. Like put a link. As you can see my terms of service on my webpage, or as per our previous email, you can see quote, here's where we specified the terms of the job. Lau: Yes. I got three words for you. And I'm not a lawyer and I don't give legal advice, but three words I love that come from my lawyers, my business, and I know you know this so much, look how excited I get — ready, ready? Anne: Yes. Lau: Ready? Subject to change. Anne: Ah, yes. Always. Lau: I just turned into Marilyn Monroe for a moment there. Anne: That's a lovely -- Lau: Because it's true. Anne: — lovely set of words there. Lau: It's life. It's called life. And you wanna be able to legally, do the best you can 100%. But just in case something happens, you don't wanna be on the hook. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Great, great conversation, Lau. I love it. Lau: Love it. So necessary. Anne: BOSSes. Get out there, get out there and research and educate yourself on terms of service and go set up some terms of service. Get yourself a template that you can use in your email and something you can post on your website and yeah. Good stuff. All right. I am going to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more with ipdtl.com. And also if you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart, and if you've ever wished that you could do more to help them, you certainly can. I want you to visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Lau: Bye! Anne: Bye! Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In this episode, Anne is joined by vocal health expert Nic Redman to unlock the key to vocal mastery. Together, they delve into the significance of warm-ups, breath control, and overcoming imposter syndrome. Discover the holistic approach to warming up that saves time, enhances performance, and ensures the longevity of your voice. Explore the vital role breath plays in voiceover and gain techniques to master longer phrases while maintaining the sentence and breath system. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your voice and take your skills to the next level.
0:00:01 - Anne Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm excited to welcome podcaster, voiceover actor, speaking and recording coach, Nic Redman, to the podcast. Hey, Nic, how are you? I'm so delighted to be back. Yes, i love gosh. I've had you and also Leah from the VO Social podcast voiceover social podcast a couple of times already and now I get to have you all to myself. 0:00:31 - Nic Yeah, we don't need Leah to have a good time. We can do this on our own. 0:00:35 - Anne There we go, and absolutely So. I've been dying to talk to you about your, what I, what I feel is your specialty. You are like the guru of vocal health and I have been wanting to talk to you about that for quite some time, and I know that our boss listeners will have such value out of the wisdom that you have to share about vocal health. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. So let's start, and actually I will say that you know, i rushed into my booth this morning and I did not warm up. And I am speaking and I want my voice to be in tip top shape and I know that everybody always says well, what you know, what vocal warm up should I do and are they, are they important and what can they do to help me get into tip top performance shape? 0:01:26 - Nic Right. So first thing in the morning there's a couple of things I think are really important and also just a dispel if you miss that kind of put people off, warm ups, i think as well. Sometimes, you know, because people are like oh, i don't have time to warm up. I don't know what to do. Like my voice is fine, I don't need to warm up Like there's. You know, I hear all of the excuses on all of the excuses. 0:01:47 - Anne I'm sure you do. It's like. It's like getting on the exercise bike. Right, i'm going to do what I'm going to do and I know it's good for me, but I don't do it. So let's talk about why we should. 0:01:57 - Nic So the thing about a warm up is it's about preparing you to be like the best you can be as a speaker. That's basically it You might be able to get. I mean, we all speak without warming up every day, like that's just life I can communicate with my husband, i can talk to my child and whatever emotion that requires at the time. 0:02:14 - Anne I can order coffee, You know I can. 0:02:16 - Nic I can do what I need to do And I could. But the thing about a warm up is when you're let's call it an elite vocal performer like all your listeners is that it's good, isn't? 0:02:25 - Anne it, i'm an elite vocal performer. Elite vocal performer? Yes, you are. 0:02:30 - Nic It's that. It's that you kind of find something extra right, and also you've sometimes got to speak in a way that is maybe slightly outside of your habitual place, like if you're in a really excited read or a really kind of sensual read or a video game or a character or something that even requires you, for example, audio book narrators. They have all of my respect. They have to record for like thousands of hours for like days and then read another book in the evening and then do another book. I mean, like it's insane. So elite vocal performers have to find something else, and I think that something else can just be longevity and consistency, you know, and a healthy voice that will be there for you and sound the same in the morning as it does in the afternoon or the evening, or that something else could be going outside your comfort range to play a really big character, or do loads of grunts or something that's just different. The thing about what a warm up does is helps you prepare for that. So the main things to focus on for a warm up are the fact that it's like for me, more than about just tongue twisters, and clarity, because that seems to be where a lot of people start like I need to warm up, peter Piper, peter Piper, peter Piper, peter Piper, and like sure, that's that's the first place they go. So what I advocate for because that's what I was trained as as a voice practitioner and as a performer is like a full body, holistic body, mind, breath approach. That being said, still doesn't have to take very long, and so it's all about remembering that you do have a body underneath your larynx, so that needs a little bit of like yes, yeah, i'm well done. Can you imagine if we were all floating larynxes Like I feel like that would actually be quite nice for me because I love larynx, but I like the visual, I think yeah just a little larynx on feet floating around, just floating. So it's about getting the body, the breath, even your head, in the game a wee bit. And that's what I love about warm ups is that you can use them. And this is my sort of, this is my current soapbox is that you know when people say, well, I don't have time to warm up, It's for it doesn't have to take a long time. So five to 10 minutes of the right exercises, because often people are doing things that aren't the most efficient for their voice. And secondly, your warm up can actually save you time. And it does save you time Because if you take five to 10 minutes to warm up before you start, you will trip up over less words. 0:04:51 - Anne So you will have less editing or let's pick up. That's important, so important. Would you see editing, yes, please. Oh my God, i mean really, i think that's all there. I remember when I had my first you know stack, that someone prepared for me that I could apply to my audio file And I was like, oh my God, i just saved so much time. If I can save even more time on me at my editing, oh my gosh, i can do more jobs and be happier, that's for sure. 0:05:15 - Nic So it saves you time because you don't have to do like pickups because you trip over your tongue. She says tripping up over her tongue. 0:05:20 - Anne That always happens. 0:05:22 - Nic I mean the irony of all that, that's my that's me taking the Mickey out of myself. Like you know what I mean posture syndrome. Like you think you're so good at this, i'm going to show you. 0:05:33 - Anne No, you have to give a viable example. 0:05:35 - Nic So I probably the problem. 0:05:37 - Anne And that's interesting because I will say that I know that when okay, before I was a voice actor, I I taught and so I worked at a school and I would do these day long seminars or day long workshops where I would have to use my voice and I would absolutely be feeling it by the end of the day, And I'm quite sure that it is a muscle and that it needs to be worked. And especially because I do a lot of narration I don't do audio books, but I do a lot of e learning, I do a lot of corporate narration And I'm always talking to my students that it is a muscle that needs to be worked And it gosh. It would really help to not trip up so much. Right, I'm always say be more efficient in the booth, So you have to spend the less time editing. Yeah, that way, get it right in the booth, and so I can totally see that. And I will say that sometimes I'm doing other things like marketing, or I'm coaching or doing other things, and by the time I get to those auditions late at night because I think my, i think all of my agents are in cahoots with one another because they send me these auditions late at night at the end of the day And I am so tired And I will notice sometimes my jaw gets a little bit sore And I'm like there's got to be something here that I'm doing that is not right. That's making my jaw sore, like I'm holding tension somehow somewhere in my jaw. 0:06:56 - Nic Yeah, there's loads of different things that we can play around with to sort of minimize those little niggles that creep up, because sometimes those niggles, over a period of time, become something that's much more sort of Much more of an issue, you know. So, yeah, we can talk to you about John, we can have a little release, but just before we do it, in terms of the warm-up and the why, yeah, save your time, because the tongue trip ups also. Save your time because and, if you like, do some exercises to release tension. Like you said, the jaw, the tongue, the lips, the Throat, the body get the breath moving. Play with your range as well, so you get lots of vocal color and expression in there. Then, when you get to your script and you are thinking about What you've got to say and the lines are there and who you've got to communicate with and all that kind of stuff, all you have to worry about is the words and the person that you're talking to. You don't have to think about your voice, right you don't have to think about being interesting and changing color and doing weird things with pitch and weird, strange things with the prosody To make it sound interesting. Because that's one of my bug bears sometimes with voiceovers is I feel like they're trying too hard to make Their voices sound interesting, yes, instead of focusing on the listener. So like what? I love about a warm-up is that when you give someone really a really simple warm-up, it prepares them and frees everything up so that their voice goes wherever their intention needs it to in order to communicate the message. 0:08:14 - Anne So I don't see your time. I love that and I and I love the fact that that you mentioned that People they tend to to try to sound like you know, or predict what people want them to sound like. So they're trying to do all these Like vocal acrobatics when in reality, we just need to be, we have to have intention and we and we need that intention to be able to Not betray us when we want to express an emotion. In that, and I feel that, yes, having not to have to listen or worry about your voice, you know, not necessarily being there for you, i think is is amazing. So I love how you've turned it into not like something that's like, oh god, i have to do a vocal warm-up into how it really truly helps your performance and I think, really to be a better actor, right Yeah 100%. 0:09:03 - Nic It's just prepping all the bit so that they're go where you need them to go without you thinking about them. That's what you know the right kind of muscle memory and prepping everything and also, like my approach is about making it like fun and interesting and nice. So I'm making it quick and easy and something that sort of slots into your routine and can become a habit. And the other thing I said it came across recently as a bit of a warm-up is useful because theory is that, because it works on the body And the breath, and I always advocate a wee mindful minute before you start, just to focus on what your body needs and what your breath feels like it needs And how your voice is feeling is. It is actually almost like a wee bit of a mindfulness practice or a mental health practice as well. So if you're someone who likes a bit of meditation or body work or breath work in the morning, You can incorporate all that into your warm-up and then you're getting like two or three birds with one stone. 0:09:52 - Anne Yeah yeah, and I think, in addition to the vocal work, the breath work too is so important And that is part of a good vocal warm-up, i assume in your, in your, in your recommendations, because I feel like for me, i, you know, a while ago I had a health issue and had surgery and I wasn't able to breathe as well because it's surgery in my chest area And I noticed that I had to start learning how to really breathe and take Diaphragmatic breaths, like big, deep breaths, and the really cool thing about that is that, yes, i healed, but also it allowed me to really understand how powerful breathing is to my performance and how power especially when you're doing long Format and when the copy isn't necessarily written pretty or written well, yeah, when the copies all over the place and you need to be able to execute that effortlessly That is where a good, strong breath is so empowering, really truly empowering, more so than I ever imagined. So in a way, it was good that I kind of learned that I needed to breathe and how much power it could really give me for my performance. 0:11:03 - Nic Yeah, I think one of the things that excites me about breath is Sorry. 0:11:12 - Anne I thought maybe yeah, yeah, well, you know, that's what happened, he's fine Breath yes, yes I love working on breath. 0:11:23 - Nic It's one of my favorite things, particularly with voiceovers, because there are some like interesting misconceptions and hangovers from like earlier breath Dementorologies in voice world that that make breathing for that make people who are doing voiceover sort of have to seem like they have to work A bit harder because they don't quite understand what's going on with the breath. Sure, so what? so what I work with in terms of breath is I I don't I kind of get people to forget about the diaphragm completely. Okay because every breath is diaphragmatic, right, it's the primary muscle of breathing. So you can't, you can't not breathe with your diaphragm. So it's kind of a semantics with the language in one thing. 0:12:02 - Anne But well, maybe I was, maybe I was meaning deep breath. Yeah, exactly, okay, Okay. 0:12:07 - Nic Yeah, so like got it. So what I might? when, when people come to me and they say I need to breathe from or with they're using my diaphragm, what I find they're trying they're trying to, they're trying to do it rather than letting it happen, and what that leads to is people trying to breathe through their belly or Deep and all that kind of stuff, and that leads to engagement of muscles that don't need to be used. Ah, so so what I advocate for and tend to explore is Just is release and flow and movement, because Big breaths are great for, you know, long phrases sometimes and For, sometimes for powerful stuff, if that's what you need. But also, similarly, breath is as much about knowing that sometimes you only need a little breath or you only need a medium-sized breath, because actually what we need is the right amount of breath for the sentence We've got to say no more, no less, and that in itself is sort of an interesting skill to play with in a choir. So all the work I do around breath is like Diver from be gone Okay, and just work on release of the belly, a little bit of gentle engagement on the out breath and on the voice And just understanding what you're capable of. Really breath like my big love, love, love breath. 0:13:19 - Anne I. So that just that intrigues me, because I I'm always talking about when, when you have that long run-on sentence right, and a Voice talent doesn't necessarily anticipate it, and they run out of breath at the weird part, right at the part where it doesn't sound natural. I'm always trying to get them to kind of you know, read ahead, understand where you might need to breathe in order to make that sound natural. How does that come into play with your breathing? 0:13:48 - Nic Yeah, so. So my thing is making sure that the breath system is responsive enough and free enough to breathe quickly when those little top ups are needed quickly and easily and silently, and silently When those little top ups are needed, because I know that often in voiceover there are various things that get in the way of feeling like you know how much type of breath you even need Right. Or you know you're halfway through ascending and you realize it's four times longer than you thought it was going to be Right, absolutely Right absolutely So. there's a really interesting thing about breath whereby, when we're talking in conversation to our mates, right, we don't run out of breath. Our body knows how much breath we need for the thought, but when you're working with other people's thoughts, in voiceover you don't know where they fucking end Like in. Some of them are, like you say, not written very well, so you could be halfway through and you suddenly realize it's like loads longer than it needs to be. But ultimately, as long as we're like engaged and connected to the words and what we have to say, that ascending is going to sort of be as long as it wants. As long as our breath is free and we know which bits to release when we need the breath to come in to top up for us, and you keep that intention of that thought in the background until the end, you can sort of breathe as much as you want. The reason I think this is important and crucial is because sometimes voiceovers push, push, push, push right to the end of a thought, and then everything gets a little bit kind of like tense. 0:15:10 - Anne Yeah, and it's not good for your breath and it feels horrible And it doesn't sound connected. It sounds like, oh my God, I'm going to run out of breath. Yeah, And the list? it doesn't jar. 0:15:19 - Nic It's not nice for the listener. anyway, sure. But, us as, as social listeners, we are used to hearing really long meandering thoughts with our friends and our on our family. Like we're used to people starting a thought and not really knowing where it's going, and then they breathe a bit to top up and then they go off in another direction And we stay with them because we're interested and because their intention is true, like they want to tell us the thing right. So the theory is sort of the same, with voiceover for me, that the sentence can be as long as a sentence in fact needs to be As long as you are, like, committed to communicating that sentence and the breath system behind it is free to respond and be flexible and and fill it when you need to, then that's okay, so, yeah, so I work a lot with helping people understand how to get the breath in nice and, quickly and silently, how to support the breath when they need to. Also how to know where the point is Sure That they need to top up. 0:16:11 - Anne That makes sense, like the organization of the thoughts. 0:16:14 - Nic Yeah, like we speak. 0:16:15 - Anne I always when I'm, when I'm talking to my students, i'm like look, we don't. You don't hear us breathe when we're talking to to one another. We're basically breathing before we start talking, maybe after we finish talking, and then where there's commas or intended commas, and so that's typically where I say you've got to figure out where that breath goes. If it's super long, just kind of organize the thought and then speak that thought. I mean, that's, if you're in that scene, you'll speak the thought without necessarily, you know, running out of breath in the middle of it. Now I'm so conscious of my breathing right now I'm like it's beautiful And you're doing great because, look, you're alive. 0:16:51 - Nic Yeah, right, that's why you're alive and you're making voices perfect. Yeah, i interviewed Barbara Housman for my for the voice quits podcast one of my podcasts And she's this remarkable voice practitioner I have a massive. I've worked with her on and off for years and I train with her at drama school and stuff And she's amazing And she always says well, this is what she said to me was because there used to be a thought in kind of drama training that was like one breath, one thought, one breath one thought. And then you look at Shakespeare and the thoughts are like 19 sentences long. 0:17:20 - Anne This is never going to work. 0:17:22 - Nic So she reframed it for me and she said it's not about it being one breath, It's about it being one thought. So like I can keep that thought going and breathe wherever I need to, because breath is part of the communication as well. Now, i know for some types of voiceover you have to take the breath out and it's like fine, although I feel like with the event, like this AI nod. So this is going on. We need the breath because it's real and human. But that's just, that's just me. But, like you can, as long as you, as long as you really know that you need to say the words, you need to communicate the thing and you need to affect the person listening, you can let the breath come in whenever you want to, as long as it's very easy. So so that's what I work on. I work a lot on making the breath easy, responsive, habitual and kind of instinctive. I try and take people back a lot to noticing breath completely at rest, and then we build up from there and then we build on sound and then we build on thought lengths and things like that. 0:18:16 - Anne So, yeah, love it, wow, breath by breath. So so, in addition to breath being incredibly important when we're talking about performance in an extreme emotion or extreme, let's say, in video games, or we're having something that's highly emotional, where we have to probably utilize our voice more than a normal conversation level, what are your tips for helping? like you know, i don't want to scream the night before I have to record, maybe because I don't want to hurt my voice, or, you know, a lot of times people are like well, don't, you know, don't cough, like try to like clear your breath, or like gently, and there's so many different things that people tell you to do to kind of preserve your voice What sort, what tips do you have for? 0:19:04 - Nic that. So for extreme sessions, definitely a full body warm up And I would also put in place some sort of mid session resets. So two or three minutes of release exercises for the body and the vocal tract, so the throat, the tongue, the lips and the jaw and things every every, you know, half an hour or so. Just ask for a couple of minutes just to reset things so that if any strain has taken place or if any tension is creeping in, you can reset things and release things a little bit. So that's really useful. Always hydrate, of course, at least the day before, if not, like the week before. Can you hydrate too much? Oh, my god, yeah, you can have. Okay, too much of a good thing. People get a bit obsessed with, like the fact that it needs to be water And they carry these water things around that like petrol cans. Like I got eight litres of water, yeah, yeah, that's like my arm would fall off a and be I'd be, i'm waiting all the time anyway, like the last thing. It is eight litres of water. So the the the general guideline at the moment is Is one mil per calorie burned right per day. 0:20:12 - Anne Is sufficient to keep you hydrated. 0:20:14 - Nic So for for a female that's like 1500, for a male That's about 2000, depending on your exercise. So if you exercise more you might need a little bit less. Right you're lazy, alfakar, and you're on the sofa all the time, then you'd probably be fine, but it's also about your diet as well. So if again, if you are a Raw food vegan living in a rain forest, you're probably gonna need you're probably getting more water from your food and hydration from your food than someone who, like, lives in the city and eats frozen pizza all day. But right so it's a whole list, completely holistic thing, like its environment, it's food, it's the fluids you take in. all fluids count towards systemic hydration, so that's hydration of the whole body. So anything you drink that's wet will help you hydrate and counts that even coffee I was gonna. 0:21:07 - Anne I was just gonna say so. I have to have my cup of coffee every morning. You know I have about one, one cup, and people are always like don't drink coffee, it will hot D You know it will, you know it'll dry you out. And I'm like, well, i always chase it with a lot of water. So I mean that's oh good, that for me it worked. So I really do. I mean, i try not to drink a ton of coffee before a session in the morning. But here's a question Sometimes these days, these days, i utilize the morning hours because my voice just tends to be a little bit lower Before it's warmed up to actually do some voiceover work. Is there a way that you can warm up so that you can maintain that kind of a? and what is that phenomenon? What is that phenomenon where your voice is lower in the morning typically? 0:21:55 - Nic so my hypothesis for this is that you're more released, so the vocal folds to. To change pitch, i e go higher and lower the vocal folds Get longer and thinner to go high Okay and shorter and fatter to go low, and it's also about and then they vibrate. Have different number of oscillations per second right because of the size. The. The higher and lower you, the higher you go. This slightly more stretched, intense the vocal folds get. Mm-hmm the lower they are, the more slack they are. Okay, yep, been asleep on lion flap with your lovely natural breath, you know, not worrying about anything. All your muscles are released, your throat's released and rested, and lovely, i would imagine in the morning your vocal folds are just a little bit fatter and more released. Ah, no offense, look at those fat folds. 0:22:50 - Anne Vocal foes. Hey, I don't mind having fat vocal folds and I sometimes people pay me for those. For those fat vocal folds, show me a fire in the morning, yeah great, it's great, so I think that's what it is. And then the more you talk during the day, mm-hmm the more your body ticks on. 0:23:04 - Nic A wee bit of tension, the more your larynx takes on a wee bit of the tongue, everything takes on a bit more tension, so it's slightly harder to get those folds to that more relaxed. 0:23:13 - Anne God, the fat place and is there a way to get them back to the fat place outside of? I'm gonna say vocal placement Right, right to do that, or tension release, really Yeah. 0:23:24 - Nic So I'm interesting gentle exercises That encourage a bit releasing the muscles around the larynx and in the vocal tract So you can do tongue release, jaw release, yawns to open and release the the back of the throat a little bit. Okay, Yeah gentle kind of rehab style, glides up and down your pitch on Whatever. A particular semi-occluded vocal tract exercise works best for you. So semi-occluded exercises are exercises that utilize a sound that sort of partially closes the mouth, so a classic one that everyone knows is a little For some people a little is quite a lot of effort and not the right one for them other versions might be a gentle, puffy kind of Signed and or another one might be just a puffy th, so So, hmm, kind of sounds create a particular acoustic environment in a throat that allows vocal full vibration with minimal input. 0:24:22 - Anne Mmm, and that's a way to release tension. Yes, oh, okay, so do you win? Okay, so You, you work with students independently on vocal exercises, health preparation for. so take me through like what's a what's a typical with you, like, how do you assess my vocal health and my vocal performance? Okay, or just tell me what. you don't have to take me through it. I'm just don't describe what. what's the process of that? 0:24:57 - Nic I I do a lot of ninja listening, so, uh, if the first time you have with me, you're probably like why are we chatting so much and not like just getting started And then I'm like I've been listening to you. 0:25:07 - Anne Uh, but I talk to people. Have you been listening to me so far? 0:25:15 - Nic Like now. 0:25:15 - Anne I'm really piqued my interest. 0:25:18 - Nic So yeah, i do a little. Uh, i don't know if you have Sherlock Holmes, the uh program, like the British program with Benedict Cumberbatch over in America, but he does these like really amazing scans where he looks at somebody and does nose. Everything about him is like so do a cheeky weekend of Sherlock Holmes scan Like voice assessment with that's what part of my training is is being able to listen and go. Oh, i hear this, i hear that, i hear the other. Um, so I do that while we're having to be, chat and make a few notes. I also collaborate that with why you've come. So you know, someone may have come going. I'm losing my voice and I don't know why. Sure, And I will listen and go. Well, that's this, or someone will go. I'm losing my voice And it's because X, y, z And I will go. I don't think it is actually. I think it's this, or or I'll go. Yes, you're right but, let's all try this. So so it's a bit of a collaborative process And I I talk a lot about you know what the needs are, uh, what they expect from it, you know how long we've got together that kind of thing, and we just sort of piece together a bit of a strategy. It's very explorative and it's very bespoke and back and forth And I describe it like kind of sadly as a journey. It's like a journey you know, like. so we like I don't do one to one's really anymore, i do two session, quick top ups or six session kind of packages, because we start together in one place And sometimes by session three we've actually realized it's something completely different and that's often can be a bit disarming or exciting or interesting and you just have to, as a voice, as a voice technique coach, you just have to respond to that. You know I have to teach what's in the room or the zoom. 0:26:49 - Anne Sure That makes sense In front of me Same with any coaching really. 0:26:53 - Nic Um. So you know there's no one size fits all. Right, it's a very back and forwards process. Sometimes I give you stuff I said go away working that for a couple of weeks, give me a shout, how's it going, and we go. Well, this is working. That's not working. And you know, we, we assess it really as we go along. Um, so it's a. It's a really lovely, lovely process. I love one to ones because it's so bespoke. And at the moment I tend to get a lot of people who are like I've tried this, i've tried this coach or that coach or the other coach, and we still can't work out what this is. So, um, and sometimes that's nothing to do with the coach, it's just the learning place the person is in, or you know what's going on in their life. Maybe they weren't open to receiving certain information you know, but you know some. Often it takes a wee while to find the right coach for you and stuff, and you know people come to me and maybe go someone else, like like that's just what happens, um, but yeah. I do get a lot of. what's this weird noise My nose makes, or I can't work out what's happening on this cluster of signs, All that kind of or why am I? you know? quite specific stuff. I'm not the moment, uh, Mike, specific stuff, which is what my book's about. It's like, it's it's voice for Mike users. 0:27:59 - Anne Oh, so let's talk about that, because you do, you have a, you have a new book out, i do. And let's talk about that, because I was just going to ask you about um for being on the mic. What are your tips for being on the mic? So this is phenomenal that you've got a new book out. I do. 0:28:15 - Nic It's called on the mic. Okay, straight forward. 0:28:19 - Anne There you go. 0:28:20 - Nic It's called on the mic and it's voice training for voiceover artists, podcasters, speakers and presenters, so basically anybody who uses a microphone, because that seems to be the people that come to me Sure. Sure, absolutely. And yeah it's been really it's been a really interesting and exciting journey, kind of consolidating all my knowledge into what I'm doing, Into that sort of a place, Um, I think, for there are a couple of things with Mike. Speaking is number one. Um, there's a different type of energy that's needed. So and this again, this can differ from me sat here in Mabouth with this mic to somebody stood on a stage doing an expert speaking gig, Um, so it's about understanding the energy that you need for the space that you're in and the breath that you might need for the space that you're in and I think also as well the style of the delivery is really interesting and how you can use the right kind of voice warm up exercises to get you to a particular space. So if you have to sound conversational for your podcast, there are certain things you can do that are good for that. If you need to get ramped up and deal with your adrenaline to host a conference, then there are certain things you can do for that. So the whole point of the book is to like go through a lot of scenarios, go through the voice training process that I advocate, which is body, breath, sound speech, and just end up with a big fat, a toolkit of things that you can piece together in a way that works for whatever mic context you need. 0:29:44 - Anne I love it. I love it Now. Is this your first book? 0:29:48 - Nic Yes, I mean, I think I'd written Instagram Instagram captions. I was about it Right. 0:29:53 - Anne Right, well, i know I feel like I've written a ton of blogs and I know you've got a great blog out there too. Um, and I'm part of your newsletter, so, um, yeah, so that's so. It's very exciting. So, your first book, and what was that process like? Did it take? like I I'm, because I, of course, you know I'm, i'm thinking about it, and of course everybody says, and you need a book. So, um, writing a book to me, i'm just, i have so much respect because I know how much time well, i know how much time it must take, so what was the process like for you? 0:30:26 - Nic Um, I really enjoyed it, actually really enjoyed it. The hardest bit was starting like with everything, Right, i did a lot of procrastinating. I did a lot of having my whether you believe in it as not imposter syndrome on my shoulder going what are you doing? Who do you think you are? Um, so I did a lot of inviting my imposter syndrome to sit with me while I while I explored what was happening, i was like come on then. 0:30:48 - Anne We'll do it together. 0:30:50 - Nic Um, as soon as I started each little writing session, I I was great, I loved it, I mean you get to the end of the first draft and then you're like what the hell is this? So, actually, what was more exciting and interesting and fulfilling was the editing process and playing around with it. So my advice is set we, set we taught. Set we targets, we regular targets that are achievable for you. Don't edit as you go, cause I got caught up in that and it took me longer, longer than I wanted to to get to the end of the first draft, but just get a first draft done And you could let you. and, interestingly, what happened for me was it started as one book and by the time I'd finished the draft it was another book. So you know it sort of had to go back and and, um, change things up a wee bit. But I actually really enjoyed it. I feel, very proud, but also, you know it's scary, it is a scary thing putting it out there, but you just have to remember who you're writing it for. You know I spent a lot of time as well, you know, basking in the shadows of the greats who've come before me And like there are so many incredible practitioners out there who I still learn from daily and whose books I read and who I just think are remarkable. And I did do a lot of. what if they think my book's terrible? and my business coach was like, who are you writing the book for? And I was like well, my clients. and they're like so does it? like I know what matters to you. 0:32:13 - Anne Do they think you're terrible? Probably not. No, do they care? 0:32:17 - Nic No, they have been asking you for a book, So they're going to be really excited. And do you think those people who you think are amazing are going to look at you and go, ugh, gross, you wrote a book. Or are they going to go? 0:32:29 - Anne that's well done, we've been there actually About time, right About time, there we go, fantastic. 0:32:34 - Nic Yeah, i've had some lovely. I reached out to a few mentors to help me, like, edit a little bit and they were really complimentary, so I'm really pleased with it. I feel it is the first one. 0:32:47 - Anne Well, I am so excited I'm going to rush out and get it. So how can bosses get this book? 0:32:54 - Nic Yeah, so it is on my website. If you go to onthemikbookcom Okay, Onthemikbookcom it should take you to the page we can buy. Perfect, Actually, it'll be. It's on Amazon. 0:33:09 - Anne And it'll be on Amazon as well, yeah, just do that Fantastic. And how can people get in touch with you in addition to buying your book? How can they get in touch with you if they want to work with you? 0:33:21 - Nic Oh well, probably my website, Nicrebinvoicecom. That's probably the best thing I'm also on the island, stern tic-toc and all that kind of nonsense too. So you can probably find me anyway by putting Nic Redman in Perfect perfect. 0:33:35 - Anne Well, Nic, it has been a pleasure. Congratulations. I'm very excited I'm going out there and getting a book now because I and I actually I want to be contacting you because I do have some questions about how maybe you can custom work with me with some of my voice questions that I have. So thank, you so? much again. Yes, absolutely, bosses. Do you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart? Well, if you ever wish that you could do more to help them, you certainly can Find out more at 100voiceswhocareorg to learn how. And a big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like Bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week, Nic. Thanks so much. We'll see you next week. Bye, all right. Transcribed by https://podium.page
Anne & Gillian continue their discussion on Boss Equipment Necessities, providing even more valuable insights on what essential audio equipment you need in your booth. They discuss the importance of selecting studio headphones that offer both comfort and accuracy. They also delve into the convenience and limitations of USB microphones, as well as providing a comparison of costs and quality of audio interfaces. Additionally, they share tips on where to get tech support and test gear in person. You definitely don't want to miss this conversation... It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to bring back to the show today creative freelancer, audio engineer, musician Gillian Pelkonen for another episode in our BOSS audio series. Gillian: Hello (laughs). Anne: Hey, Gillian. Gillian: How's it going? Anne: It's going great. So we've had some really intense conversations about our home studios. First of all, talking about where to locate your home studio in your home, where good place is, a little bit about sound absorption. Then we had a really cool, interesting episode, I think, on all the equipment that people don't think about that's required to run our voiceover business. Now we're gonna talk about all the obvious ones that I think people always, they love to talk about these, and -- Gillian: This is the exciting stuff. Anne: I think the other stuff is exciting. I think actually people don't get excited enough about the other kind of technologies. So -- Gillian: I mean, (laughs), we know you're gonna marry the internet. Anne: Yes. Gillian: I have a spiritual connection to unboxing Apple products. Anne: Yes, there you go. Gillian: But the air quotes exciting stuff that everyone loves to harp on. Yes. Anne: I dare say that I have a spiritual connection to my headphones, (laughs) to my headphones, and, and I know that people are always asking me, what are your headphones that you wear? Because I love wearing colorful headphones because it's part of my brand. And I actually have like all different colors of headphones right here with me. Gillian: Wow. Anne: I've got a lovely deeper blue here. Gillian: You guys, if you're not watching, go to YouTube right now and you gotta see this. Anne: Then we've got the royal blue here, which I love, and then of course I've got black. I actually have an alternate pair of the red ones and okay. So I think, can we talk about headphones (laughs)? Gilliann: Yeah. I mean, let's start. Anne: I've already started. Gillian: So we talked computer, you have your computer, you have your internet connection, you have your isolated space, and it's soundproofed to whatever fits your budget and what you need right now to be isolated. Anne: And your internet connection and website. Gillian: Oh yes. Anne: Right? Gillian: Yes. Oh, and website. Yes. Anne: And website. Gillian: That is definitely important. Headphones. So important because you can't, you can't be playing out loud while you're recording (laughs). Anne: Now here's the thing, there's reasons why we wear headphones. Okay? So what are the primary reasons you wear headphones, Gillian? Gillian: Well, just in my everyday life, there's the convenience of being able to listen to whatever I want and to be able to hear that. But for recording, when you're recording voice, if you are playing out loud what you are recording, you will get feedback. And I don't think you will on the scale of a small computer, but there are a few studios that I've worked in, and when I was very new and prone to making mistakes -- obviously continue to make mistakes and learn from them — but when we had big speakers and we were recording in the same room, you definitely get a nice ear cleaning with that high pitch feedback. Because having an open source, you're DAW, armed and ready to record, and that -- it just creates a loop of sound, if you think about it, what's going into the mic, coming outta the speaker, into the mic, outta the speaker, and that just ruins it. Anne: So well, okay. So there's a big debate in the voiceover world about, do you need headphones while recording? Because there's a lot of people that say you do not. It helps you to sound more natural. Okay? And of course you don't wanna have your speakers on either or your monitors. Gillian: Oh yeah. That's what I'm thinking of. But this is interesting. Anne: Yeah. So do you have your headphones on while you're recording? Because a lot of times, it's distracting listening to yourself, what you sound like in your headphones. So for me, okay — some people adopt the whole, I'm not gonna wear my headphones at all because it makes me sound more natural. I'm not listening to what I sound like in my ears. Some people do one ear on, one ear off to help that as well while they're recording. And some people wear them. Now I, years ago, started wearing them because I had a lot of sound outside of my studio. And I needed to be able to put my headphones on to hear if it was going to come through in the recording. And some things like my naked ears couldn't hear like the vibration of the truck that was a mile away coming down the road, and somehow vibrationally it came up through my studio. And the jackhammer that was maybe not right outside my door, but down the road because they were constructing new homes. So for a long time I got used to wearing my headphones just to make sure I could step in the studio to make sure that I couldn't hear those sounds coming through my microphone. And then I just continued to wear them. Now I've done both, take them off when I'm recording or keep them on. A lot of times, if you think of it this way, (laughs), and this is not a popular opinion, I will have my headphones on while I'm recording because I feel that whatever you hear in your headphones is just you amplified. And if you are an accomplished actor that can act like you, without paying attention to what you sound like in your headphones, you can wear headphones. And for me it's something that, it's kind of on a day-to-day basis. I'll probably wear my headphones more often than not, just because I've been doing this for a very long time, and all I do every day when I coach is tell people not to listen to what they sound like and to just be themselves. And so I wear my headphones. Plus I do a ton of editing, I do a ton of coaching, and so I need to, and I don't have monitors, number one for the very technical reason is honestly I just don't have space. I don't have space to put a nice pair of monitors on my desk. So I wear my headphones when I edit. And so headphones to me have to be comfortable. And they have to be studio headphones of course. And that should be a given. Anybody, any BOSSes out there that are just starting in the industry, make sure they're studio headphones, and they're not any other type of headphones that's gonna add more base or more treble or that adds prettiness to it. You just need studio headphones so you can hear the raw output. Gillian: Yeah, it's definitely an interesting conversation. I think my advice is gonna be the same as always. My advice is just try 'em all and see what works. I personally, when I am singing, I do one ear on, one ear off, mostly for pitch, because how you sound in your head, it's all relative and different. I think that there are some things to be concerned about. Obviously if there is extraneous noise coming on your recording, you wanna be aware of that. But if you're connecting to a client, really if there's an engineer on the session, they should catch that. Like, that's my job when I'm working with talent. Another issue, sometimes I hear the movement of headphones, but I've never really asked talents what they're doing. And maybe it's putting them on and off, but there are a lot of moments functionally during a session when a director is gonna wanna get your attention. And so if you're just rocking without headphones, that's something to just consider. Anne: Yeah. You'll have to hear them. And you just said something, I don't mean to interrupt, but you just said something that made me think the physical sound of your headphones. Believe it or not, if like -- these headphones, the exterior is, there's some plastic components here. As they get older, believe it or not, if I move my head, because we're very physical as voice actors behind on the mic, as I move my head, they make noise. And that noise comes in through my recording. And I, I remember for the longest time there was this tiny little click, and I was like, I don't have a mouth click. Where's that coming from? It was coming from my headphones. And so for me, I found a way to, I actually had bought a new pair of headphones so that they didn't -- they weren't really squeaking, but they were making plasticy noises. And I know that's not a technical term, but it's a noise where like if I do this (clacking nails on headphones) -- Gillian: Yeah. Anne: — you can hear that. It wouldn't be that loud, but it would be something similar to that. And so -- Gillian: Interesting. Anne: Yeah. For those of you guys listening to that, I was simply just squeezing the headphone earpiece with the headpiece together -- Gillian: To get that plasticy -- Anne: To get that plasticy sound. Gillian: — noise sound. Well, there's another thing that I've noticed with headphones that's important to note -- just this is more function than which headphones to get. But, and it could be 'cause people are taking them off. But a lot of times I'll be working with the talent’s audio from a session we just did, and through their recording I can hear everyone else talking. And this doesn't really happen during the recording, but I can hear myself slating things not recorded. So I don't know, if you're taking your headphones off and you're putting them down, you gotta think about, okay, if someone starts talking or if there's other noises, those are gonna get directly into the mic. Or if your headphones are too loud, there's gonna be too much bleed. So just things to think about when we're talking about headphones. Anne: Two good points. I wanna actually go back on that, right? If you put your headphones down and obviously you're not hearing (laughs) other things, right, other noises can come through them. And also you mentioned bleed. Bleed is important because right now I'm really, really close to my microphone. And depending on the volume that you have your headphones turned up to, and I'm a little older so I might need a little higher volume. And so sometimes you have to be careful that the sound coming through your headphones doesn't bleed back through your mic. And for that reason I have closed headphones. And that's why I recommend closed headphones for most voice actors, if that's the case. If you're gonna be sitting out just doing editing all the time, I don't think they need to be closed backed. If you're just gonna use 'emfor editing. Gillian: If you're watching us, I have open back headphones. But I just got these recently, these are like the Sennheisers, I think the HD 600s. That's what I thought. And I have these mostly for mixing and I I listen through them 'cause they're really comfortable. But my closed headphones, I also have AudioTechnicas. They were my first headphones, like pro headphones; they're amazing. The pair that I had was under a $100. I've had 'em for years. They're amazing. So whoever is saying that you need really expensive headphones for amazing sound, you don't. There's lower models that are great and then you can upgrade. There's a whole range of AudioTechnicas that get more precise or, or just have different features that you can invest in if you wanna spend more. But there should be no barrier to getting, I think they’re $70 or something like that, which -- Anne: Well, I'll have to tell you about mine that have the color. because people are always asking me. And I do have, I do have a studio gear page off of AnneGanguzza.com and as well as the VO BOSS page studio gear that I recommend. And by the way, I don't put anything on this page that I don't use or have not owned. And I will say that I love AudioTechnica headphones as well. And of course before this turns into an AudioTechnica podcast -- which it's amazing, there's lots of great headphones out there. The one thing that I love about AudioTechnicas is for me they're super comfortable. I literally wear my headphones when I'm on coaching days and I'm coaching eight hours at a shot. I have them on my head eight hours. Because again, like I said, I don't have monitors in my room and plus my husband works upstairs, and so I wanna be able to keep things at a minimum. And so they have to be super comfortable. I have to be able to hear the talent, right, to be able to direct them. So for me, they are amazing. They're a little more than $100 because of the color, the special additions they are the MX 50s and in whatever color -- I don't believe they make the red anymore, but if you're lucky you can find them somewhere, somewhere out there. There'll be an extra pair that somebody has that's still new in the package. I've bought three pairs of red 'cause red is discontinued. My royal blue has been discontinued. Every year they come out with a new color. And so every year I find it necessary to buy another color just because I'm on the camera a lot and I love -- and they make me happy. Right? If you're gonna have on your head for a long time, they should make you happy. Gillian: And comfortable, most important. Anne: Yeah, and they should be comfortable. Gillian: -- don't need a headache. Anne: — be accurate as well. Right? So for that reason, the AudioTechnics are my faves, and I do own a pair of Paradynamics. I've owned the Sony, oh gosh, I think it was the 7507s, I believe. And the one thing that I didn't love about the Sonys, although I love the sound, was the actual cable that connects was a twisted cable. And what happened is they never traveled well. They became entangled within themselves. And if you've ever had a coiled wire get tangled in itself, and you try to pull it apart, it's horrible. It just gets twisted onto itself. And so I love the AudioTechnicas 'cause they always have the straight cable that you can use and it doesn't get twisty. And that may seem like a very silly reason to love the AudioTechnicas, but that's one of many reasons why I love that. But it's a viable reason because the twisty turn coiled cables, they're not fun to get them untangled when they get tangled, especially when you travel with them and you're trying to wrap them around -- Gillian: No. Anne: — the headphones. Gillian: Definitely not. And something to think about when we're talking, all of these things are essentials. And I'll just tell a brief, brief story, but the other day I was doing a session with a voice talent, and we were having all of these issues. I still don't know -- I was on the session, but I wasn't the head engineer of it. So I don't know exactly what happened. But we think that between when we were testing with the talent to when we pulled the client in, their headphones broke because they magically could not hear us. Anne: Oh wow. Gillian: And you need to have an extra pair because you can't be on a session without having an extra pair of headphones. It's super — and I'm sure we'll say, and I know, Anne, you've said before in the past, you need backups of your backups. But definitely even if you have your splurge pair and you have a less expensive pair just to use in case of an emergency, there could be a chance that you're on a session, and in the middle it breaks, and you can't continue the session without the pair of headphones. So just don't forget about having some, a little insurance on your sound. Anne: Yeah. And you know that, it's interesting that you mentioned that, and I talk about headphones so much because when I'm connecting with students through ipDTL -- and this would be just like me, I would be the studio and they would be connecting through Source Connect or ipDTL — you have to have headphones to avoid that feedback. when you're connecting via those methods. And simply earbuds are not the best because sometimes they don't fit your ear properly. There's bleedthrough and honestly closed back headphones are probably the best for any kind of studio session you're going to have. And I just say yes, I totally agree with you, Gillian, about the backup. Because I have had people who like all of a sudden they're like, oh, I can't hear you. And I'll be like, do you have another pair of headphones? And at that point if you even have a backup like set of EarPods works but in a pinch. But really have an extra set of headphones in case that happens. Because the last thing you want is for you to lose connectivity with your client to be able to hear what they're saying and to do your job. I mean it is part of your job. So have a backup, and honestly most headphones are not expensive. I, I'm going to tell you the AudioTechnicnas, even these, the new versions that they come out with are about 160 some-odd-dollars. The navy blue ones I just bought were like $169. So they're not tremendously expensive at all. And I know you can get some fabulous head phones for less than $100 for $99. I think that's what my Sonys were that I bought. So well worth the investment. So in terms of headphones, make sure that they're studio headphones. Make sure -- I like to say close back if you're gonna be using them for any kind of recording at all 'cause you don't want the bleedthrough. If you're gonna sit there and edit all day, yeah, maybe open back or others will work fine for you. Make sure they're comfortable for your head. And especially if you wear glasses 'cause you don't want them to push in on the glasses and then have the glasses give you a headache. That's the last thing. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: All right. Gillian: Okay. Should we lightning round a little bit the rest of some of the other things that we might need? Anne: Yes. Gillian: Because I know, I know what I'm thinking. Anne: Microphone. Gillian: Microphone. Yes. And we'll do a whole episode on microphones about the different types and and what kind you might need. I personally always say large diaphragm condensers for voice actors. There are amazing -- you know, everyone knows the TLM 103 that's upwards of $1000. There's also amazing mics that if you're a beginner, and you're not ready to invest that much money, that will not sound exactly the same but will be a large diaphragm condenser mic and will do the job, will make you sound great. Anne: Absolutely. I used an NT1, a Rode NT1 for at least six years of my career full-time before I bought a 416. Actually I bought the TLM 103 and then I bought a 416 as well. So now I have both of those in my studio. But guess what? Also sitting on my desk here, I have a USB AudioTechnica AT 2020, and that works for some of my other connections. Believe it or not, that works for my Clubhouse connections because my Club Deck software doesn't like my audio interface so I have to use a USB mic and it makes me sound a whole lot better. And so those USB mics, they come in handy for lots of applications. Maybe not for your professional recording but for other applications that help enhance the sound of your voice. Gillian: Yeah. And here's the -- I'm not going to say that people shouldn't use USB mics. I mean the audio engineer and me, always, I love an interface and a mic just because. It's so funny, I wrote a whole blog post on this so if you're interested you can go read my blog about the core differences between like the functionality of what a USB mic or like a USB and interface does, and the pros and cons of both, 'cause there's pros and cons of both. When you have the interface, there's more things to know, there's more things that can go wrong. There's just — Anne: One more thing in the chain Gillian: — sensitivity. Yeah, exactly. But if you are interested and you want a USB mic, there's definitely options that will make you sound as good as you need to sound to start out. And I don't wanna get on here and say that you can't book a job or get started in voiceover using a USB mic, because there's so many uses for it. And once you upgrade, if you choose to upgrade to an interfacing mic, then you have that other option to use for things like, like -- Anne: Any mic. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: That's what I love about. I think really if you've got, I say for any voice talent in a pinch if you have to, you can use a USB, if you've got a good recording environment, in a pinch, but it's not recommended. I would say even if you're traveling, I've tried it all. I do have, I've got a great Tula mic, which is a USB mic and it's amazing. So if I have a good space, you know, my little Tula can hook up USB, and I can get a decent audition. I wouldn't necessarily use it for any type of work that you wanna send to your client, broadcast type work, but in a pinch, like absolutely. But for every day kind of voiceover I recommend condenser with an audio interface. And again, you don't have to have the $1000 mic. There's lots of great mics and there's so many discussion rooms and forums on what mic should I get? But I also have recommendations that I think work. It really depends on your voice and your comfort level, and work with a vendor that you can send it back if you don't love it. Gillian: So important that you can either -- I mean I know in big cities -- I'm not entirely sure ‘cause I haven't done this in a while, but I know I'm in Guitar Center, I went there all the time growing up to play the instruments, and I know that they have a mic room where you can try stuff. I know that -- I'm pretty sure it'd B and H in New York City, you can try mics there, but I love Sweetwater. You can chat with agents there, you can talk to them. I'm pretty sure they have a great return policy because if you get the mic and you're investing all this money and you don't love it for your voice, even though everyone on the forums is saying it's top VO mic, don't keep it. Find something that makes you sound great because no one in the end is gonna know what mic you're using. They're just gonna know how you sound. Anne: Well, exactly. And I also think though it's worth mentioning that if you get a mic and you want an assessment of what you sound like, Gillian, my goodness, like what you do all the time, the sound assessments, right? Gillian: Yes. Anne: Gillian can absolutely give you an assessment of how your voice sounds with that particular mic in your environment. I think there's a lot of things at play here. It's your environment and also the mic, and there will be a difference. So for me, I can say, you know what, I like the way this mic makes me sound, but I haven't recorded a file with it and sent it to somebody. Because again, sometimes if you're just starting, it's very difficult. You don't necessarily have an ear yet. Sending it to someone like Gillian is very important, who is, you know, this is what Gillian does; she's an audio engineer. She listens to sounds all the time and every day so she can make an accurate assessment and also tell you if this suits your voice or this doesn't suit your voice. And I really believe that you also have to be happy with it. And don't forget, there's some people who mistakenly think that, well, I can use this mic and then I can process my voice to make it sound even better. And in reality as a voice actor, that's not what we wanna do. I mean, we simply wanna be able to give the cleanest recording that we can, and maybe our mic should, like what sorts of things should mics do for our voice? You know what I mean? They shouldn't change our voice, but they should enhance our voice. Gillian: Yeah, they should -- I think I said this in the first episode we did together, but microphones are microscopes picking up your voice. And so every mic has a different capsule in it. It has a different way of processing, whether you're using dynamic mic or ribbon mic, all the different types of mics, they all react differently to sound. And so some people love singing on ribbon mics because it's quieter, it's more sensitive. I have a super cardioid condenser microphone that I, I love using on my voice and I tried the U87, all these other things. So it's really about, and this is a difficult answer because it's like you need to find what works for you because the mic that makes Anne sound great might not make me sound great. And all the processing in the world — obviously you can EQ it and change it a little bit, but really it's like finding a pair of jeans. Like you gotta find one that fits you and makes you look and feel your best. Maybe not look but jean analogy sound like you. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: You know? Anne: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I don't think that there's any mic that will make you sound better than you. I mean your whole goal is really to make you sound the best that you can sound. And there's lots of mics -- and again, you could have a really like inexpensive mic in a great environment and sound amazing. You can also have a very expensive mic in a poor environment and sound horrible. I remember back in the day before I really had secured my environment sounding as best as it could, I purchased a shotgun mic, and it wasn't a 416, but I purchased one of the knockoffs and I actually hated it. I hated the way it made my voice sound. But I found that once I got the 416 and I had my environment, I love the way it sounds now. And it's really interesting because before I was like, well I held off getting a -- it's why I got the TLM 103. And for me now I realize for my voice, the TLM 103 is a little bit of a brighter sound. And the 416 will pick up a little more of the bass sound, and that's typically true for most voices. But again, until you try it, you're not gonna really know, and it really has to be up to you. And again I think sending sound audio files to engineers who have the ear, who this is what they do, like Gillian, is really worth an investment to get the overall assessment on yes, this mic is good for you. Or also it will help you to determine if maybe (laughs) like how many times, I think we talked about this, Gillian, somebody might have had the installation of their mic backwards, and they were speaking into the back of the mic versus the front of the mic. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: A lot of times people don't sidedress their mic, right? They're speaking right into it. So there's a lot of plosive. So there's a lot of things that, Gillian, you can help talent to assess with their sound. And most people think it might be a mic problem, it may not be a mic problem. Gillian: Yeah. Sometimes it's really simple stuff. Your room sounds really loud because your gain is up too high and you're not close enough to the mic. So it's picking up everything. Or it's on omni when it should be on cardioid, or you're facing the wrong way. There's so many things that someone listening could hear if you have a trained ear. Before we go, I know we have to go very soon, but don't forget your pop filter for your plosives. Anne: Ah yes. Gillian: So important. Anne: Oh my gosh. Gillian: I know you have like the pop filter shield sort of thing. That's what it looks like. Looks like you have, if you're using an interfacing mic, you need an XLR cable to connect the two. So important 'cause how are you gonna get from mic to interface from point to the other? So you get your mic, you get your interface, you don't have an XLR cable, you can't work. A mic stand. So important. What are you gonna do do without a mic stand? (laughs) You can't hold it. Anne: Well, exactly. You really can't. And I think that again, more equipment besides your mic stand, I actually prefer --and this is just me, I always tell my students for me and my studio, I like the boom arms that can be mounted on the wall. Because a mic stand to me, I can't tell you how many times I've heard talent like trip over the tripod-like feet. Gillian: Oh my gosh. Lemme show you my cute little stand. Anne: With their mic. Yeah. Gillian: I have this like, everyone watching, this like cute little baby stand that I just put on my desk. I think that those are really smart, the ones that clip right on. This little guy just sits on my desk and I can take 'em wherever. Anne: Okay. Well, that's if you're sitting at a desk. But if you're standing and you have one of those tripod-like standing mic stands… Gillian: They're hard to maneuver. Yeah. Anne: They're hard. They're hard to fit in a lot of studios. I used to trip over mine all the time, so I basically have boom arms that I mount on the wall in my studio. They save a lot of space at my feet when you don't have a ton of space. And also, like you said, you can't hold it. And then we do need to mention the most important thing from the mic, right, that goes into your audio interface, your audio interfaces, and then everybody has questions. What's the best audio interface? Now I have been through the gamut of audio interfaces, but the main job of your audio interface is to translate the analog signal that comes from your microphone into a digital signal before it goes into the computer. Correct, Gillian? Gillian: That's what it does. And typically it does both. It does the analog to digital conversion and then most audio interfaces have a headphone jack. So really we monitor off our computers, but you can monitor off of there where it goes digital right back to analog for you to listen to. Anne: Oh right. Absolutely. I wasn't even thinking of that. You're right, because that's where my headphones are plugged in all the time. I started, gosh, I started with the Personas. And I'm trying to remember, I think I probably at one time had a Scarlet Focusrite, which I don't love those interfaces -- and I know we had a conversation in one of our podcasts about interfaces. I then, when I bought my studio here, I have a Mackey because I was intending to be able to do talk back to people in this booth to rent this booth. And ended up having a technical issue with that, which I sent it, it got fixed, it was under warranty that is now my backup interface. And then I purchased an Apollo. And my Apollo, I have a mostly love relationship with my Apollo because of the plug-ins that work with it, which I absolutely love. But however, when we talked in our last episode about computer and keeping your computer up to date, well the (laughs) latest version of Mac OS is not up to date with the latest version of the Apollo. So you just have to make sure that you are aware of what's happening. The one that I recommend in terms of like a really great price, and I think works for the majority of people is the Steinberg UR22. And that is like about a hundred and — I wanna say $170. And I had one that I used for years, and it was just a workhorse and I love it. And that does all of the conversion, versus Gillian, if I'm correct, in saying with a USB mic, the conversion happens at the base of the microphone, right? So converting analog to digital. So there's a chip there that's doing that conversion. Gillian: The biggest difference between the two is that when you use an interface, the mic just gets to be a mic, but within the USB mic it's all happening. And usually you'll see a little headphone jack too. It does A to D and then D back to A conversion. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: You pay less and you get everything is gonna be slightly lower quality because you're paying for -- Anne: You gotta fit into a tiny, little -- Gillian: — a microphone — all of the conversion, all of those things in one small device versus, you know, separating them out. So that's kind of where don't use USB mic comes from just because you can get higher quality with the separate. Anne: You have so many more choices. Right? Because you can have a Focusrite or a Steinberg or an Apollo. Gillian: You get to mix and match. Anne: And you can have whatever microphone you want (laughs) connecting up to it. Gillian: The other thing that I love about that is that there's room to upgrade. So let's say you wanna splurge on a really expensive mic and you're, just, you know, oh, I wanna start with this interface. Or vice versa. You wanna splurge on an Apollo for $1000, but you wanna use a $200 microphone and then say I'm gonna wait a couple years and then upgrade. Personally I've used Apollos, I've used UAD. I kind of struggle with the software issue even though I've used the plugins. They're awesome. I like Focusrite stuff. I like the Scarlets. I think it's great. I think voice actors really only need one input, possibly two. If you wanna have two mics set up just to switch between, you know, a shotgun and a large diaphragm condenser, if you want 'em at the same time. I like Apogee as well. The Apogee Solo and the Duet, those are great too. Those work really well. So those are my faves. Anne: I'll just disagree with you on the Scarlet only because I've just had a lot of voice talent that have had bad luck, and I think mostly it's -- and I myself have thrown away two of them. And I think mostly a few years back, I think they used a bad chip set. I'm not sure what it was. Or they created these bundles where you got headphones, microphone, and interface all in the same package. And I think they used lower quality parts. And what would happen is voice actors would find, all of a sudden they'd get some sort of a noise or hissing, and nobody knew what it was, and it ended up being the interface. So for me that just kind of, I tossed that one to the side and said, I'm not gonna recommend that one anymore. But Scarlet, typically Focusrite had an impeccable reputation there for a while until I ran into bad luck with it past few years. I think if you buy a bundled package, (laughs) meaning from a manufacturer or something, especially at Costco, as much as I love Costco, right, there are packages made, packages that are made for Costco. Sometimes they use cheaper parts in those, and sometimes you'll find that the quality won't last as long. Sometimes though you'll buy stuff at Costco, not necessary technical equipment, but you'll find things at Costco that's better (laughs) than you would find at other stores. But that's just my personal experience. Gillian: I see. I've never had any bad experiences with Focusrite. I've used the larger hardware as well, the professional studio models of stuff. And those sound amazing. I think I've had a lot of friends and myself who've used the Scarlet interfaces and haven't had issues. So, that's my experience. And it's so funny, I've been wondering why people don't recommend bundles because I wouldn't buy audio gear from Costco (laughs). But there's a few places, like Sweetwater is my favorite place to buy gear. Anne: Yeah, but they’ll bundle individual pieces together. Now, I'm talking about manufacturers that create whole bundled sets of things together. Gillian: Well, Sweetwater is awesome. And B and H, they also have some great bundles. And with Sweetwater specifically, if there's a bundle you like, but there's a piece of gear you don't like, you can reach out to them personally and swap it around and get a discount from sort of buying in bulk. And they have some pre-made stuff so that if someone was trying to set up their home studio, didn't know where to start, it gives you a little place to get started. Anne: And one thing I will say before we go, one thing that I love about Sweetwater is you get tech support. Oh my God, that is like unheard of these days. Like if you don't know, if you're having a problem installing the interface, you can call them up and get help. And that to me is invaluable. Gillian: They're amazing, Anne: They're wonderful to work with. So. Gillian: Yeah. Very knowledgeable. I love Sweetwater. It's my favorite place to put my money. I have a few friends that work there as well, and all of their employees are highly trained and they know -- Anne: Very educated -- Gillian: — about the gear. It's like a prerequisite to work there. Anne: Wow. We could go on forever, but, uh… Gillian: We could. Anne: Good stuff, Gillian, thank you so much. Gillian: Thank you. And for anybody who is interested to get your audio assessed by me, I know we did a few episodes about it, but if you missed them, you can just head to my website, GillwiththeG.com. It'll, I'll be linked down here and I have some audio assessments. I have a little free course on, on setting up your home studio and a few blog posts or a bunch of blog posts just talking about different audio things if you're interested in learning more. Anne: Awesome guys. Gillian: So hungry for knowledge, (laughs). Anne: And Gillian is a BOSS. Otherwise, she wouldn't be on the BOSS — she wouldn't be, she wouldn't be on the BOSS podcast. Anyways guys, here's a chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100Voiceswhocare.org to commit. You guys -- oh, and a big shout-out, before I forget, to ipDTL, who is our sponsor. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Join Anne & Lau as they provide expert insights on overcoming self-sabotage and building powerful connections in the voice over industry. Learn to bring your authentic self to every performance, acknowledge negative self-talk, and rise above self-doubt. Discover strategies to take control of your negative self-talk and move past excuses to help you excel in your voice over career. Anne & Lau will also guide you on how trying new things and getting used to small failures can help you break out of a perfectionist rut and take your voice over business to the next level. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hello, BOSSes. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS superpower series with my ever so special guest,(laughs), Lau Lapides. Lau: Thank you, Anne. Hello. How are you? Anne: How are you? Oh, awesome. Look at us. How are you? Lau: Jinx. Anne: What is that punch? What is that? Punch Bug. Punch Bug? Lau: (laughs). Wait, what is that show? Uh, Wonder Twin powers, activate. Anne: Activate. Lau: Form of -- Anne: Right? Business superpowers. Activate. Lau: Activate. Anne: Activate. Lau: (laughs) Ooh, I love that. (laughs) Anne: Speaking of superpowers, activating, sometimes I find that my students have a hard time activating their superpowers, and I'm a firm believer that everybody has superpowers in the booth. However, it takes a lot to get past things so that they can activate those superpowers. It's like they get in their own way. Right? Get out of your own way. Lau: Yes. Get out of your -- if there were a place, if there were a waiting room that we could leave ourselves in when we go into the booth, or a camera, or an interview, or wherever you're going to do your work, we could leave ourselves there and not worry about it until we come out and get ourselves again — that would be a good thing to do. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's so tough. I think I always go back to what we do is so personal, right? Our voice is such a personal extension of ourselves, and we're being asked to bring ourselves to a performance constantly. But yet, there are times when we cannot do that, right? In reality, we think we're trying to bring the performer, right, to the performance, but in reality, we want you to bring yourself to the performance. And I think that is what most people have the hardest time doing, getting out of their own way so that they can bring themselves to that audition, to the booth, to the read, whatever that is. And so how do we get out of our own way, Lau? I mean, I think it's a struggle that everyone that gets into voiceover encounters at one point or another. Lau: I mean, I think that this is a struggle that we encounter throughout our lifetime, whether we're a voiceover talent or not, but certainly actors of all kinds are always going through identity crisis, always going through, who am I now, and am I good enough? That old imposter syndrome? Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: And one thing that I always do, and I do this for myself, and I recommend this as a coach as well, is self-talk scripting. I think self-talk scripting is really important to do. And you guys, you can do this, and you can do this all day long, and you can even do it in your head. But I recommend you start out by doing it on paper and write down your negative script. That is the thing that you are saying to yourself in the moment that is really negative. And then I want you to convert that into something that's positive and probably closer to the truth. Anne: I like that. Lau: Yeah. It just gives you a step. Anne: And hang that in your studio. Hang it in your studio. Lau: Yes. Anne: So you see it. Yes. Absolutely. Lau: Yes. And so it can be revolutionary in the sense of saying, wow, if I'm moving towards some sort of enlightenment in my personhood and in my career, I have to be authentically who I am, which means I'm flawed. I'm not perfect by any means, and I'm not even close to it. I'm a real person who's interesting and diverse and complex and sophisticated. So when I have something that comes in my way to self-sabotage my success, I have to stop and recognize it. I have to take accountability for it, and then I have to change it. Anne: And I think number one, for people really just starting off -- I think people that have been doing this for a while, they understand the process. But the first thing that people will do is judge how they sound. And we've talked about this so many times, right? They're like, oh, I don't like the way that audition sounds. And I don't think it sounds like what they want it to sound like. And that right there is your self-sabotage. The fact that you're saying, okay, it needs to sound a certain way, and you're not in any way thinking, how can I bring myself to this read? Or how can I bring my person to this read to make it unique, to make it something that will really perk up the ears of the casting director and really tell the story. That's what gets in the way, I think, a lot of times. Lau: And even as part of that, like if you're having a piece of copy in front of you, a script in front of you, anything written in front of you, that gymnastics that a lot of times you may go through in saying, I don't know if I wanna do this. I'm not ready for this. I don't really know what this means. And I've never seen — all the stuff, all the excuses we start to come up with -- Anne: Oh, so many excuses. Lau: -- to procrastinate from getting to the job. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Right? I'd love to come up with that first before we even open our mouth. (laughs). Like, what do we say to stop us from getting to the point of doing the job? Anne: Well, I'm gonna say, stop like talking to yourself and beating yourself up about how you sound and spend that time instead getting out of your way. How can you get out of your way constructively? Well, there's a little thing called Google(laughs). Anne GanGoogle says, Google. Right? Especially if you've got a script and you've got some clues in that script that can help you find out more about what that script, that content is about. Because to bring yourself to that party, you've gotta involve yourself in the story of the script. And the more you know about the story of the script, the more you know about the brand that's involved in that script, the more you know about these little clues that are in the script, these little sayings or nuances, the more you can educate yourself on that, the easier it's gonna be for you to bring your point of view to it. Lau: Hmm. I love that. And add on to that, have your circle ready to go. Who's your circle? Your coaches, your family, your friends, whatever. Just have people there that you can call upon to remind you about your greatness and your fabulosity. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Now, make sure they're not gonna rip you down. Make sure they're not gonna rip you apart and make you self-doubt. Because if they do that, then it's counterproductive. You want people who are going to keep building you up, building you up, building you up, so that you have the confidence to face what you need to face. It doesn't mean they're lying to you. They may not even be in the industry. They may not even have the industry knowledge, but you wanna have that circle of people there for you to call upon to say, you know what? I don't feel great today, or I don't think I sound great. What do you think? And they say, I don't hear anything wrong with your voice. Your voice sounds great. So what's your deal? And it makes you just stop and get out of your head. I would say get out of your head and get into the world. Anne: Yeah. I love that. I love that. Definitely you need your network, your VO family. And honestly, as we were discussing before, in a weird sense, I'm gonna say you are more than VO. If you just take a look at the words voiceover, right, there's really not much substance to voiceover in words. It's like a voice, but in reality, you are so much more than just that voice. I mean, you really have to start establishing yourself or thinking of yourself as much more than just the voice. You are the actor, you are the entrepreneur, you are the business person. And with that, I think, comes a sense of something that you can bring to that read or that script that is more than just thinking, oh, it's just about the voice and then stressing yourself out over and over and over again and beating yourself up about how it's not -- what am I doing wrong? Or why is nobody listening to it? What is the feedback? And absolutely reach out to that network, network of coaches, network of accountability buddies that you have to get you out of that funk. Because sometimes it is a funk. Lau: It is. And much of the time, that's all it is. I would even say, do something. Okay? And what I mean by that is, be active and be in action. The moment you're inside your head oftentimes will be inactive, right? Now if you're thinking you're active, but I want you to be interactive. So meaning the moment you have that thought, you need to cut it off by physically doing something. Whether you move to another room, whether you call someone up, whether you go out and take a walk, whether -- whatever you do, you need to break that also with physical energy. It's really important. Because that heady stuff weighs us down and we actually get cut off from the rest of our body. Anne: Yeah. What a great piece of -- we can go home now, Lau. That was a wonderful piece of advice. (Lau laughs) Absolutely. Sometimes just getting up, taking a breath and deep breathing, getting out of the studio. I always like to pet my fur babies. Go see my hubby. Or just do something that gets you out of that, out of that funk, out of that mental -- and you're right, physical can really be a wonderful way to get yourself out of that funk. And when you get out of that funk, and you can actually start to get into the story, get into whatever it is, the dialogue, whatever it is that you are working on in your booth, magic will happen. Lau: I love it. Anne: I always say to people, when it's right, you feel it. You don't hear it, but you feel it. And that's where I think, every once in a while, when you get that script and you just feel it. And it's like, oh, damn. You don't know quite how it happened, but you felt that it was right. And I wanna say that's what we should always strive for, right? Just that feeling that, yeah, I hit that, that worked. And then even if you, let's say, don't get that audition or don't get that gig, be proud of the fact that you have evolved. That's such a beautiful, wonderful feeling, when you're like, oh yeah, that was good. That was really good. And you can feel proud of yourself for that. Lau: Yes. And do a little VO feng shui, meaning do two things. I want you to think up a new idea and learn a new technique that is the implementation of the idea. So it could be something very simple like, oh, today I'm going to, oh, I wanna reach out to this company or these people. I'm gonna reach out to these people in this way. And then I have a new technique for doing that, because I'm gonna do a drip campaign. So that to me is a little feng shui of the spirit of you and your business. You don't have to do exactly the same way every day and get into a rut. You can really say, this week I wanna try something new. And I sat with Anne, I sat with another coach or whatever, and I learned a new idea, a new technique, and now I'm gonna try it. Anne: Well, I love that you just brought it out of the booth and into your business, which is great. So getting out of your own way doesn't just mean performance-wise in your booth and acting wise; it also means in your business. So getting out of your own way in your business. And I cannot tell you, there's so many things, Lau, that a lot of people in their business don't like to do because, number one, maybe they're not familiar or they're not educated, they don't know how to do it, and so therefore they don't do anything. Or they will simply just say, oh, I can't, I just can't possibly do that. I don't either have the money or I don't have whatever the excuses are. And I've heard them all, right? And money is a big one, and I get it right, as BOSSes running a business. Lau: Yeah. Anne: I totally get the money thing. And we've had multiple episodes about money. But I will say is that you have to open your mind for abundance and open your mind for the fact that you need to invest that money and also save that money so you have money to reinvest in your business. And that can help you. Just that alone, money, get out of your own way. Right? Get out of your own way with money. Get out of your own way with marketing. Get out of your own way with all the things, maybe cold calling or whatever it is that can help to grow your business. Lau: I'm feeling an Eleanor Roosevelt quote coming on (Anne laughs), and I have to release it -- Anne: I love it. Lau: — so I don't explode. Anne: Release it, please. Lau: Here it is. Here it is. I just have to do it. Okay? It's like, do one thing every day that scares you. Anne: Oh God, yes. Oh, I love that quote. Lau: Okay. And I'm not saying, God forbid, don't jump off a building. I'm not saying that. I'm saying within the framework of who we are as talent and as business, do one thing that kicks you a little bit, to do something that's a little uncomfortable that may even really scare you and see what happens on the other end of it. Anne: I'll tell you, that's hard. That's not an easy thing to do. And especially if you've been doing this for a long time. And there's so many, and I'm sure, Lau, you get this a lot too. I hear from a lot of students how they're, they're stuck in a rut. Or I'll do consult calls. So people will say, I, gosh, I've been in voiceover for years and I'm in this rut. I need help. And this is great because you're reaching out. Right? But when you reach out for that help, you then cannot say to me, okay, I can't do this because of this, or I can't do this because of that. Or can you give me the quick 15-minute answer? No, that's the other thing. In a 15-minute, 20-minute consult call, I can't give you the answer to all of life's issues. Or how to run your VO business. However, I can say, here's what I suggest to help you to get out of your own way. Lau: And if anything, grab a buddy. Grab accountability buddy. Preferably someone in your business because they get what's going on. They feel it too. They're living it too. Anne: Oh yeah. Lau: And move through the tougher experiences together. Anne: So powerful. Lau: Like hold each other accountable. Anne: Yeah. Lau: You know, have that coffee together weekly or biweekly. and say, you are gonna do this and it's a lot of money. And it's kind of scary. Well, did you do it? So let's do it together. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Sometimes we need that collab. We need that ensemble thing to get us going. I know I'm a creative, I love ensemble. I need that team oftentimes. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: I don't think you have to apologize for that. We're not an isolated being; we don't have to just work alone. We have wonderful people. Like you're on another whole coast, 3000 miles away, and we hold each other accountable to showing up, to giving our all, to caring about our audience, to being awake, to throwing on our lipstick. I mean, that's all hard work. It doesn't look like it is, but it is, because so many would rather lay in bed. They'd rather watch TV. They'd rather go the easy route. Go the difficult route. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: You know, challenge yourself; there's a lot better stuff waiting on the other side of that. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. And I wanna come back to, again, what you said about writing things down. I'm a big believer -- I love that you said to write down the negative thoughts and then cross it out and write, like write the absolute opposite of that. Lau: Yes. Anne: Turn that around. And I love that because I'm the person that likes to write and cross things out as I accomplish them and get them done. So if you have those negative thoughts, write them down, cross it out, and turn that thought around. And also with anything that you've done in terms of not just negative thoughts, but in terms of accomplishments, I think writing down your accomplishments can really work wonders for helping you to gain confidence and to get out of your own way. 'Cause I think a lot of times when you get in your way, it stems from fear and it stems from a lack of confidence. And reading something that is solidly written down, an affirmation, or even like meditation every day, right, can really help to beat that negativity out of your brain. Lau: Hmm. Oh, these are great. And I do, one thing I love that I learned from a wonderful coach that I worked with, do a brain dump. Try to do it every day if you can. It's just a five-minute sitting at your table, your desk, in your car, and I want you to write, write, write, write for five minutes, time yourself, five minutes. Don't pick the pen off the paper. Write, write, write, don't edit, don't critique. Get everything in your head out on paper. And that's gonna feng shui your head, that's gonna empty your head and leave room for focus. Anne: I love that. Feng shui your head. Lau: Feng shui your head. Anne: That's a quote, Lau. Feng shui your head. Lau: Feng shui your head. Anne: And get out of your own way. (laughs). Lau: Because you don't ,believe it or not, you don't have to believe everything that comes into your head. You know? We get backed up. (laughs) Anne: And the biggest -- ‘cause I took a feng shui course, by the way, back in the day and it was one of the best things I'd ever done, is that clutter? Right? If you have clutter in your house, you have clutter in your brain. And if you have clutter in your brain, I love that. Do a brain dump so that you can then start to think clearly. Lau: That's right. Anne: And then start to really focus on what you need to do to get out of your own way, to make that marketing effort, to create that website, to go ahead and get that additional coaching, to audition for that job that you're scared about and out of your comfort zone. Wow. All that good stuff. Lau: Yeah, 'cause we don't wanna hold so much in our head and be balancing all of that and then try to give output that is like high productivity. It's very hard for us to do that. We have to release certain things and get them out there that are not priority for us or that are sabotaging us. We gotta get it out. Sometimes you even just like clean your desk or rearrange something. You know? Anne: Absolutely. Or when you come into your studio, clean your studio, or do the brain dump before you do your auditions for the day. I love that. Lau: It’s awesome, it's awesome. Anne: A lot of times when we're in the middle of an audition, if we're stressed out about other things that are happening, that's coming out in our voice, right? And so we really just need to (breathes), you know, do a brain dump, do a few breathing exercises to relax, and really focus on the story at hand, which is not gonna be like, I don't know, what you need to finish up or when you have to start dinner or what you have to do at home, or what's stressing you out. Lau: Yeah. And how the things in front of you, whether they're affirmations or mantras, or you just write a little sticky note to yourself to remind yourself -- like one of my famous sticky notes that I love is that I'll just look just for a second and it'll say, you're enough. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Stop trying to be perfect. Stop trying to be too much. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. You're enough, you're enough. And it's just a quick reminder. Like we need those quick reminders when we're busy and all of that, to not overload ourselves with stressors that are not necessary. They're really concocted stressors that ultimately tear us down and get in the way of our productivity. It stops us. Anne: And I think also when we meet people, new people, right, I feel as though, I mean, hopefully anyways, I'm a fairly good judge of people, I think. I use a lot of gut instinct and intuition, and I feel as though that personality that I meet when we meet for the first time, if I initially connect to that, that is what I think you need to get to that level in your booth or in your business. Right? That this is who you are, this is your personality. This is, and I always like to say that if your personality comes from a place of service from the heart, I really feel as though that can benefit your performance, that can benefit your business. If you are coming from a place that doesn't have a bunch of stressors from here and there. And it's really just coming from a place of, let me service this copy. Let me be the best business, let me be the best voice that I can be, and let me network with my client to see how can I help? Instead of coming from a place of what is my talent? I'm not talented enough, or my voice isn't good enough, it needs to come, like, how can I best service my client? How can I best serve my business by bringing myself and my heart of service to it? Lau: Hmm. Oh gosh. I just love that. That gave me tingles. I love that. That's great. I would even push that even farther. And I would say, find a moment that you can sacrifice or give of yourself in a selfless way, because we wanna be selfish. We wanna be self-centered. We wanna get, get, get. Find a moment where you can authentically give. And that is a moment that when you start doing that, it's kind of painful. But then you get used to it and you say, wow, I got so much in return. So like for instance, when I was a working talent all the time, before I became an agent and a coach, I was working talent, I would talk to people and create all sorts of relationships with casting, and they'd say, you're just not right for this, Lau. I mean, you're just… I'd say, well, right, okay. Anne: Yeah. And then worry about it ever again. Lau: Guess what I'd come back with? I had so much chutzpah now that I think about it. (Anne laughs) I'd come back and I'd say, you know what? That's okay. I'm gonna get you the right person. Who do you need? And they couldn't believe I said that to them. They'd be like, well we're, we're looking for this. We'll send you the breakdowns, and maybe you can find some -- I, I always, always would put in referrals. Anne: And then when they need you, you're the first person at the top of their mind. Lau: And the funniest part about for me was it became much more satisfaction than getting it for myself. So (laughs) Anne: Isn't that so telling now that you're an agent? Lau: It's telling. Anne: And that's what you do. Right? Lau: Yeah. It literally built a whole career for me because I started that habit. Anne: That is so interesting because before my career in voiceover, I used to place students in internships and teach, of course. So everything for me is very telling. I coach now. And I also, I love to place my students on rosters. I love to recommend jobs to them. I love to do referrals, I love to cast. And so I feel like there's that match, right? Lau: Yes. Anne: When we know our students or we know our clients and we can put those two together. Lau: That's right. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And sometimes, and this is where you and I have spoken about, be interactive, don't be passive about it. Sometimes they're not coming to you. Like sometimes you're just observing that there are people around you that they need to know they need to meet. You know, something about your friends or your talent. Because remember in business, anytime you make a referral or recommendation, and it works out, it makes you look great. Anne: Oh, absolutely. Lau: Like you become -- Anne: Oh my gosh, yes. Lau: — someone that they can't live without. Right? Anne: Absolutely. So they trust you. Lau: They trust you. Anne: People buy from people they know, like, and trust. Lau: Yes. So don't be afraid and think, oh, but I'm -- Anne: I’m giving a job away. Lau: — myself. Anne: I'm giving a job away. Lau: No, no, no. Because you know what? If they really wanna work with you, they'll work with you. Anne: Yeah. Lau: If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. But that doesn't mean you're out of the picture. There are many times, especially in live circumstances, where you can do introductions, you can do referrals. Anne: Sure. Lau: You can do this and that and just plant the seed. And they may not go for it, but a lot of times they do. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And they go, oh my gosh, Lau, you introduced me to this person. This person's amazing. We signed a contract the other day. Do you take a percentage of that? I don't. Anne: But Lau, you don't. But then sometimes you can. Lau: So that's a whole job unto itself. (laughs) Anne: Well, there you go. So look, I'm not gonna say I try to get a dollar for everything, but honestly like that when, when we're talking about the referral and the agenting and then getting other people work, when it turns out to be something profitable, it can also mean profit for you and your business. Now, I'm not saying everything should turn into that, but I mean I've had instances where I've referred clients or I've referred — and I've been offered and I'm like, no, no, no. But it has been insisted by the client that I get some sort of a fee for that. And so, and I think I am worthy. Right? That was a good referral. And both client and talent are now making money off of that or they're being fairly compensated. So I don't entirely dismiss the idea saying, oh no, no, no, no. If somebody's gonna say here, no, I am going to pay, I'm a business short. That's awesome. Lau: Absolutely. Anne: And how else can I help you (laughs)? Lau: Well listen, if you get really good at that and you start doing that a lot, there's all different ways to frame that, whether you do management, whether you do fee for service, whether you do — there's all sorts a way to frame that matchmaking thing that some of us are really good at.,my point is, is like, like just give, just give. Don't worry about giving. You'll get enough back in return. Anne: Well Karma. Lau: Karma. Anne: It's karma. I mean, VO BOSS was started from giving. Literally, if you remember, I tell my story over and over again. I was trying to give up my VO Peeps brand and I was gonna roll it into VO BOSS, 'cause I wanted to continue educating. I wanted this to be a resource, an educational resource for the community. And it turned out to be so much in addition to that, really. Lau: Yeah. Anne: Look, I got to meet you. And I mean there's just so many wonderful things that have come from the place of giving, and I really feel that every business needs to have that aspect to — which is a very popular trend these days with businesses too. Lau: You just brought up a mouthful. The BOSSes would love to know about, without naming any names or titles of anything, you and I met doing an online panel together. Anne: Oh, yes, we did. Lau: But here's the thing I want the BOSSes to know. I can't speak for you, Anne, but I didn't make a penny on that. Anne: No, I didn't. Yeah. Lau: And that was A-Okay by me because that was education to that company and that community. And I love that. I love that. But look what came out of this. Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely. Lau: Look at this relationship that was built out of that. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: And this is the example of what we're saying, like karma. Anne: A place of service, a place from heart. Lau: Look at this. If we hadn't done that, if we said, look, I'm at a place in our careers, we do make money for everything we do, whatever, we wouldn't have met, we may not met. Anne: That's true. Very true. Lau: Isn't that amazing when you think about that. Anne: There you go. And what a great story. What a great story to end on. Lau: Very heartwarming. Anne: Good stuff. BOSSes, get outta your own way. You can do it. Get rid of the clutter that stops you from being the very best you that we know you are. And we know you are the BOSSes. So, all right. Lau, thank you. It's been great. Lau: Do your thing, thing. Anne: Yes. It's been great. And so speaking of giving back, right? As individuals, it can be difficult to make a huge impact. But as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities and give back in ways that we never thought before possible. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. And a big shout-out to my favorite sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like Lau and myself like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Guys, have a great week. We'll see you next week. Bye! Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Are past mistakes holding you back from achieving voice over success? Join Anne & Lau on this episode of VO BOSS, where they discuss how to turn missteps into valuable learning experiences. From investing in a voiceover demo to navigating social media mishaps, discover the importance of apologies, accountability, and self-compassion in personal and professional relationships. Learn how admitting to our mistakes can elevate connections with others and avoid the pitfalls of impulsive responses on social media. Tune in to embrace growth, mindfulness, and self-compassion on the journey towards success. Bosses, don't let past mistakes hold you back. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey, hey everyone. (audio blip) VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my BOSS co-host, Lau Lapiedes. Hey, Lau. Lau: Hey everyone. Anne: Yay! Lau: So good to see you, An Happy Saturday. Anne: Yes, Lau, happy S-- (audio blip) Lau, guess what happened to me this week? Lau: What happened, Anne? Anne: Lau, I made a mistake. Lau: Oh no. You never make mistakes. Anne: Well, no Lau, actually, I make mistakes all the time. (laughs) Lau: Don't believe her -- Anne: (audio blip) Do. And you know what? Of course, nobody wants to make mistakes, but I'm glad I made this mistake because I learned a whole lot, Lau about how I can maybe not make that mistake again, or take (audio blip) when I was making the mistake and make it better and improve it. And I get students that come to me, new students that come to me quite a bit, that say, gosh, I wish I knew then what I know now. And I would never have done that. I'd like to address that because let's take one example. One example is students that come to me and say, I never should have made that demo. And I had somebody listen to it and they said, no, no, you were not ready to make that demo. And they just come to me with all (audio blip) shame and remorse, and I get that, but I don't think it's worth anyone beating themselves up over, because honestly, we learn, you know, if we always take a look at what we do in life, and we learn and we made a mistake, (audio blip) so you know, so much better (laughs). And you can then progress and move forward. And so I want all of those students who ever, ever came to me or ever came to Lau and said, oh God, I wish I hadn't have done that. I spent all this money and it was just a waste of my time. And (audio blip) don't beat yourself up over it. Because honestly, I think that there is such a value of information, just such a value in it. And consider it, like we were talking before, Lau, consider it an investment in the real grand scheme of things. (audio blip) been a few thousand dollars. But if I were to sit back and look at where have I spent a few thousand dollars in my lifetime, house, car, those kinds of things, I mean, honestly, consider an investment. Lau, what are your thoughts? Lau: I couldn't agree (audio blip). I would even argue is there such a thing as a mistake? Because when you really think about that, we give a name and label to something that happens from us, to us, with us that is superbly uncomfortable and then (audio blip) toward us in our perception, it punishes us. But was that thing an actual mistake? Anne: Sure. Lau: I don't know how to answer that because I do feel there's lessons to be learned in the process of the, I'll give it air quotes, the mistake (audio blip) more painful than others, but really, really necessary as we journey through life. Like if we didn't do that, we wouldn't know what rewards really are. Anne: Right. Lau: We wouldn't know how to really build our business. We wouldn't really know that. Right? So comparatively speaking, (audio blip) and oftentimes as you know, when you make those mistakes, they're fantastic. Like you're hired for them, you're celebrated for them. It's like, whoops, I did that in my business. How could I have thought that? Oh my, wow. People love that. They want that. Right? (audio blip) I would venture to say, take a step back and really say what is a mistake and what are the mistakes in the mistake that make it a mistake? That's really important. But getting back to your investment on demo, I'm with you all the way. I do not (audio blip) corner and cry over a demo. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Process, process, process. Your first demo, your first demos -- Anne: Yes. We all started somewhere. Lau: They're never gonna be super, super high level pro because guess what? You don't have the experience yet. You're moving towards getting that experience. (audio blip) Like if you went to college or grad school or trade school or you were an apprentice, you are working on working. So the working to get the working is never a waste of time. It's always, what are you putting into it? What are you getting out of it? How has that (audio blip) work for you? Rather than saying, oh, everything's got to be about that one demo. It just isn't. It's like a work in progress. Your whole life, your whole business is a work in progress. Anne: Right? And it's very much like you don't know what you don't know. And so you cannot (audio blip) blame yourself for something that you didn't know. Now, maybe if you're just starting out and you're lucky and you're listening to our podcast, the BOSS podcast, you'll hear this discussion and you'll say, oh, okay, so maybe I'll wait a little bit before I make that demo. (audio blip) truly believe that sometimes when you make an expensive mistake, it's a mistake that you are not apt to repeat ever again or quickly. That is for sure. I know sometimes, like I used to pay money to a personal trainer, right? Because it was the only way I knew (audio blip) go and work out right and do the things that I really needed to do to move forward and to progress forward and to really improve myself. So in a way I was like, yes, I'm gonna pay to kind of get a little beaten up. So, it's okay. It's okay. And I just don't (audio blip) into this to, to ever feel regret about anything because there's always those lessons as you mentioned that you learned. Maybe you learned about a process that did not work for you. Right? And so now you'll move forward and you will (audio blip) to work with longer so that you can improve upon your performance before you go ahead and record another demo. And again, like I said, when it comes to demos on our performances, we're always improving. We're like those continuous students, like the never-ending student (audio blip) learning our craft and enhancing and improving it. And so at any point, you're never quite as good as you'll be today. So unless you're gonna make a demo every single day to keep yourself refreshed on that, I would say take it with a grain of salt. Take it as a lesson. And (audio blip) also maybe it was a demo that did not represent the genre very well, or it was maybe a, a demo that didn't have today's standards or current relevant scripts. Or it just might have been something (audioblip) done it and had somebody listen to it and they commented on it. Guess what? That's another learning experience. So. Lau: And guess what? Doing a demo as one example is like a little work of art. It's a vocal portfolio. Anne: Yeah. Lau: So there is artistic vision. There's (audio blip) no matter who you're working with, whoever your team is of engineers and coaches, some care, some don't care. Some are experts, some are not experts, and there's everything in between. It's like working with an expert painter or working with an expert dancer. There's all (audio blip) that go into unlocking your potential, unlocking your talent. Maybe they're great at that, maybe they're not great at it. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Maybe they're mediocre. Whatever the case may be, it really is on us you meaning you to put (audio blip) to your process. Because when you walk away, it's your process. It's not really theirs. Anne: Right. Lau: They're not gonna claim it anymore. It's your process to say, what did I do? Did I put it in time? Anne: Sure. Lau: Did I rehearse? Did I practice? Did I take it serious (audio blip)? Did I do all the due diligence boxes and check that off to bring out the best outcome? Or was I learning how to do that? I wasn't quite there yet. As a lot of people in school, in college, in grad school; sometimes they don't show up. Sometimes they fail tests. Some (audio blip) and they're learning how to discipline themselves, how to commit to a process and who they're identifying as a talent. What is a talent, what is a business person, what is a VO? I mean, they're learning all of that. So you gotta give your (audio blip) to learn. Anne: Yeah. Lau: You can't be perfect. You can't know everything. There's gotta be space. And as you said, we're students over a lifetime. Anne: Yeah. Lau: We're not just students for a first demo. We're students. And if those of us who own a business, and I know many listeners own a business, you are always learn (audio blip) that one. Just when you think you know as much as you need to know, then the whole script flips on you. Anne: Yeah. And you know, I don't mean to make light of people's investments, so I don't want any of the BOSSes out there to think that I'm making light of a few (audio blip). But I will say that when you compare that to, you've beaten yourself up over and over and over again. And maybe it even deters you from getting into what it is that you've always wanted to do in your lifetime (audio blip) that's a higher price in a lot of ways. And I think that of course, before you make any investment in anything, not just voiceover, I think that you have to come at it with an educated point of view. You have to educate yourself as much as possible before you make that inve- (audio blip). Just, I think if we all kind of take that lesson, right, with anything, I think it at least helps us, so that we know that we've investigated what other common mistakes in voiceover. Maybe people buy the wrong equipment, right? Or they (audio blip) doesn't suit their voice. Well, this is why you can return a lot of things. So if you made the smart investment, if you've educated yourself and purchased with a vendor that allows you to return within a certain amount of time, then you have that option. If it does not work (audio blip) that you can then return it to get your money back. And there's always selling. I mean, I made many mistakes with my equipment, especially my travel equipment. I tell this story over and over again. I bought every new gadget that there was that was tiny and small so that (audio blip) I could have a convenient, tiny little mic. And whenever I would go, I could never get it to sound worth anything. I could not do that. And I spent so much money. But here's the deal. I spent the money, but then I was able to sell the equipment that if you (audio blip) I was then able to sell it or donate it. And so lesson learned. Lau: Lesson learned. And there are even much more sophisticated mistakes that we think we're making. And that is in human communication. Now, I won't even say the business of it. I'll say the com- (audio blip), that's in the emails you're sending and receiving. Anne: Oh yes. Lau: That's in your invoicing, that's in your sales, you're building of rapport when you're live at a conference. All of that stuff has layers of nuance and layers of sophistication to it. (audio blip) if you are present and focused, when you've said something that just doesn't land right on someone. Doesn't mean you're offending them. It doesn't mean it's inappropriate. It just means you're not tracking, you're not on the same track. And how do I fix that? How do I -- Anne: Yeah. Lau: — turn around and pivot from that. I don't believe it's a mistake, but in your perception, it feels uncomfortable. Like, why did I say that? Or why did I respond in that way? Or how come I didn't get back to them in seven days when they wanted me to get back to them in a day? Anne: Right. Lau: You know what I like to do, Anne? Very uncomfortable. And then I learned how to do it. Just fix it right away. Anne: Yes. Lau: Just like you're gonna gimme a shot at the doctor’s, you're gonna do whatever that's uncom- — just do it. Just do it. Don't hold off and think about it. Right? Anne: And when you do it, be human about it. Something you said didn't land right. Say, for me, I'm always like, you're human. Right? I'm sorry. Lau: Yeah. Anne: Maybe I should have said it this way. Lau: Yeah. And you know what? When I apologize like that, which I do a lot because I perceive that I did something wrong -- Anne: Yeah. Lau: Oftentimes the response is, please (audio blip) sorry, Lau. You were busy and rightly so, and I'm not first on the list. And sometimes it brings out the humanity in other people, when you're, you're not lowering yourself. You're actually hiring your vibration by saying, I am a (audio blip) I'm a person that is far from perfect. Anne: Yes. Lau: But I'm a person that wants to connect with you authentically. So if you can understand and forgive that perception of something that wasn't done that was comfortable for you, then we can continue on. And nine times outta 10, they're not(audio blip) of it. They love you for it because if you're being real with them. You're not saying, well, I didn't know, I didn't do anything wrong. I'm taking accountability. I'm not a -- no. I want them to feel like I'm like you. I'm not better than you. I'm like you in a lot of ways. And that means (audio blip) oh. Anne: Right. Lau: Like what the right thing is right now. Could that be a mistake? I don't know. That's all in the perception, I think, is that a mistake or am I learning from that? Are they learning from that? Anne Right, right. Lau: Are we deepening the relationship and communication? I'd like to think we (audio blip) really a mistake. It's more of a mishap. Anne: Yeah. And if there is a mistake that has been made like that, and you have offered an apology or an explanation, or your attempts to fix it did not fix it, then I think sitting back and then just trying to take a deep breath, and (audio blip) maybe that wasn't meant to be in this particular timeframe, or maybe it just wasn't meant to be. I mean, I've had relationships where I don't know what happened. I've tried to go and be human and apologize and just work (audio blip) just didn't work out. Lau: And that's okay. Anne: And that's okay. I mean, that's going to happen. And I think what we need to really focus on is not necessarily the fact that it happened, but how can we move forward? How can we grow? How can we feel okay? I think (audio blip) oh, I either feel bad or I feel ashamed, or I feel stupid for a lot of that type of emotional baggage and beating up, that's where I want to feel better about myself. What do we do then? Lau: Well, I'm a big fan of express. I think expression is so, so important. It sounds a little silly to say that because our whole field is about expression, but so much of the time, especially as performers, will mask up who we really (audioblip) official thing versus say, let me quickly get in touch with how I'm really feeling, and maybe have a sounding board. So if I have a few safe people that I can talk to about it, that can sound me out quickly. Like, get me in my right mind again, so to speak. (audio blip) move on from it quickly rather than holding onto it and letting it fester. And I find solving it relieves the stress. It relieves the heaviness. Like, why did that go wrong? I was terrible. It was a -- no, let's just fix it and let me talk about it and express it to the right (audio blip) who can offer me sound advice, no pun intended. Sound advice. Anne: Yeah, yeah. And I think also, when we're talking about perceived mistakes in either face-to-face networking or relationships, but also on social media, did I post something? Oh my gosh, that was (audio blip). I can't erase it. I can't take it back. I, I can't delete it. Lau: Yep. Anne: How do I backpedal, or how do I recover from that? I think that the written word, we've all been using it long enough that we have to approach that type of communication with a little bit (audio blip) forethought. Right? Lau: Yeah. Anne: A little more thoughtfulness before we type, before we press that enter key, just stop, take a breath. I've had to really learn to do that in the last 10 years, I would say. Because there have been times on social media where I've been triggered (audio blip) to like type something is a fast response and, and I literally have to just get up and walk away. And I find that that is the best cure for me is to get up and walk away. Take a big deep breath. And a lot of people, as you know, have chosen, they, they get off the platform for (audio blip), and I think sometimes that's a very smart thing to do in terms of before you type something that you might not feel good about later on. Lau: Agreed. Anne: And there are ways though too, if you have to try to type your way back into good graces, I (audio blip) ways that you can do that. But you have to be careful. And sometimes it's best to just get up and walk away. And then give it a few hours, a few days, whatever, take a breath and then go from there. Really. Lau: I agree. I think the time that we spend beating ourselves up (audio blip) mistakes is time not well spent. It's really, if you wanna reflect, if you wanna say, I'm gonna journal about this, I'm gonna express this, and work it through, and come to something that's meaningful, something that's useful, and something that is potentially fixable, that's (audio blip) versus sitting there and stewing in, oh, I'm upset, I'm uncomfortable. It was awful. And they don't feel -- and oftentimes, here's the funny thing, you and I spoke about this recently. Oftentimes that thing, that circumstance is turned around quicker than you think (audio blip) together again. All of a sudden they're asking you about whatever is, if it never happened, and you think, wow, did we have that conflict? Wow. Were they upset about this? Because all of a sudden they're coming to me for something else. So sometimes our perception as creatives is (audio blip) proportion. It's very histrionic, it's dramatic. It's larger than life. And someone on the other end does not perceive it that way oftentimes. Anne: Sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. Lau: It's much lighter and less to them. Now if they go over the top, and they're crazy in histri- (audio blip), you're noticing that you're saying, okay, there's a lesson in that this may not be the right client relationship, colleague or friend. Anne: Sure. Lau: Because this circumstance does not warrant that response. Anne: And I think you bring up such a good point, especially when we are dealing with (audio blip) to us in our voiceover bubble, right? Lau: Yes. Anne: We have certain things that are very important to us, right? Things that like I need to hear back. When will I get paid? All of those. There's lots of those things. When in fact, a lot of times your client (audio blip) things on their plate. And so if you're not hearing back any feedback, if you're not getting paid within a certain amount of time, there are usually things that are going on that we are very unaware of. And I know that a lot of times, I'll have to even sit back and just (audio blip) -- there are some clients, believe it or not, that you think you didn't get paid and that was a mistake, and you wanna make sure that that is made right. But in reality, they have a 90-day net terms. And so really I think that it's one of those things that if you can (audio blip) and communicative, that will absolutely help anything that might lead to a mistake, or you just saying something that, or accusing that they haven't paid you and it's unjust. I think that that is something that we all need to just sit back, take a break (audio blip) and communicate. Lau: Thank you for saying that one, Anne. That's brilliant. Don't assume the worst in people. Anne: Yes. Lau: Assume the best in people. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And even if it is the worst, live in that great river that in Egypt we all love. And that's “de Nile,” a little bit in denial. Willie Wonka land and Wizard of Oz teaches us something. It's like, assume people are good. They're not evil, they're not out to get you. They're busy, they're crazy, they're forgetting, they're this or that. Now what if they are pulling something into (audio blip) what? It's okay. Forgive them, move on. It taught you something. It taught you don't work with them. That's what it taught you. It taught you to look for signs in others that they taught you what those signs are of danger, of unsafety (audio blip) ever. God forbid, nothing serious happens to your person, if they're cheating you outta money or whatever. It's a bad thing. It's not to lessen or lighten that. And it's a terrible feeling to feel victimized in that way. But move ahead of it and say, okay, that made me feel bad (audio blip) and unethical, but what did I learn in that, that I can then install in my business, in my tactics, in my profession, and teach others so that that doesn't happen as much as possible? It happens once in a while, but we can alleviate it (audio blip) in the signs of it. Anne: And you know what, Lau, in my over 15 years of working in voiceover, I have never not gotten paid. And so always trusting the good in people. And also, when I vet my clients, I do have a, a certain set of standards that I (audioblip) make sure that there is somebody at the other end that I'm communicating with. And it's not just a person through email that is inquired, how much will this job cost? Or can you do this job by tomorrow? Here it is. I have policies that I have in place where I demand payment upfront (audio blip) clients that are new. And what's so interesting is when I have that in my terms of services, that I demand full payment upfront, I get it. (laughs)I've gotten paid within the first five minutes of securing a job before I've even recorded it. (audio blip) I've been very fortunate, I would say, but I also have been what I consider to be, well, I've taught myself to be savvy in terms of who my clients are, in making sure that I'm gonna be working with someone that is going to reciprocate. If I provide (audio blip) they will reciprocate and give me payment. And so thankfully and gratefully, I can say that I've not encountered any mistakes because I think I've always been open with my communication, and I think that's an important thing. And had I not been open (audio blip) communication, I would've found out right away things might be different. Lau: And that's experience. That's time. It's being seasoned, it's experience. And it takes most people, including myself, time to work through that, learn that, (audio blip), see what the best practices are for you. See if you can be a psychologist and really listen to people, watch people, watch for cues. Focus in on it. Don't just get lost in your own head or your own services, your (audio blip). Listen, because oftentimes you can pick up these cues before something bad actually happens. Anne: Yes. Lau: And oftentimes the mistake is simply like, I'm just not paying attention. Anne: Paying attention. Lau: Yeah. Let me be honest. I could have caught that if I was really in (audio blip) with what they were saying and doing. But what I was doing was, and women are notorious for this, I was lying to myself. I was saying, oh, it'll be okay. Oh, that didn't happen. Oh, they mean this. Oh -- I was interpreting it in a whole way that it (audio blip) way, and then when the boom hit, and I said, wow, that really happened, I look back and I say, well, could I have caught that earlier? Most of the time it's yes. Most of the time it's me sugarcoating the situation. So there's that. There's that in that mis- (audioblip) to happen because I need to learn that lesson. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Be good to them, but also don't sugarcoat things too much and see them for what they are when they reveal themselves to you. Anne: Exactly. Exactly. Lau: Right? Oh, fantastic. We're turning into psychologists. (laughs) Anne: Mistakes are good. Mistakes can be very good. Mistakes are learning experiences. And I think really, BOSSes out there, I think to become even better BOSSes, right, we need to make mistakes. We need to learn and we need to grow and move forward. (audio blip) else do we want for our businesses? Right? Lau: There it is. Anne: There it is. Lau: You wanna learn and grow and thrive. And we have to go through that process in order to do it. Anne: Good talk, Lau. Lau: The best, as always. Anne: Ah, you know, BOSS (audio blip) mission, big impact. 100 voices, one hour, $10,000. What is Anne even talking about? Oh, four times a year. By the way. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. All right. Big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You (audio blip) can connect like BOSSes, like Lau and myself. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and go ahead and make those mistakes, and we'll see you next week. Bye. Lau: See you next week. Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Anne is joined by special guest, Ian Russell, a multi-award-winning voice actor. They discuss his career in the voice over industry, including his journey to success. They talk about the importance of social media and authenticity in character creation. He advises aspiring voiceover actors to be careful not to violate non-disclosure agreements and to use social media to support their profiles. Anne and Ian also discuss the importance of respecting specified ethnicities and the limitations of casting notices. They highlight that authenticity and believability are essential in video game casting, and that having an acting background is a serious advantage. Tune in to hear the full conversation. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: All right. Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited to bring very special guest Ian Russell to the podcast. Hey Ian. Yay. Ian: Hey, Anne. Anne: welcome. For those of you BOSSes out there, we'll tell you a little bit about Ian, and then he's gonna continue on telling us about his journey, he is a, a multi-award winning, seasoned voice actor working in commercial, corporate, video games, audiobooks. His voice can be heard for companies including Coca-Cola, MasterCard, Nestle, Heineken, Club Med, Phillips, and a bunch more. He was the recipient of the One Voice Male Voice of the Year 2020 award. And also in that year, he was also best character performance. Is that correct? Ian: Animation, yeah. Anne: And then continuing in 2021, he won Gaming Best Performance for One Voice Awards. And in 2022, the SOVAS Outstanding International Audio Description, Museums and Cultural Sites. Wow. That is fantastic. Ian, so honored to have you here on the show to talk about your journey and your wisdom. So , let's start. Ian: Well, good luck with that. Anne: Well, let's start telling people about your journey. How did you get into voiceover, a little bit about yourself and how you got into voiceover. Ian: It's a long and winding road, which is a Beatles reference, but the first ever voiceover I ever, ever did was for a radio station in Liverpool. And it was a friend of mine worked at the radio station, and they had a pre-recorded interview for Paul McCartney when he bought and set up the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in Liverpool. It was his old school. And rather than having a boring interview where it was just Paul McCartney and some radio guy , he asked me. I was, we were in a local acting thing together, and he asked me to be the voice of Paul McCartney's teacher. Anne: Wow. Ian: When Paul McCartney was a kid. So we linked the questions, you know, and it was like, oh yes, that McCartney he was always playing around with a guitar. He'll never amount anything. So it was that kind of -- we made it funny. I didn't even know what voiceover was, but I did it anyway. And it was fun. I didn't get paid or anything. I was doing it for a mate, but I still have the magnetic cassette tape, shows how long ago it was. Anne: Yep. There you go. . Ian: And then 30 years go by, and I get married, and my wife's stumbling around for what she can buy me. And we, because you know -- Anne: What happened 30 years though? That was a long time. Ian: Oh, sorry. I, I went off and got a real job. I was, I was working in sales and sales management in the northwest of England and in Belgium and Holland and in and around Oxford. Anne: So International for sure. Yeah. Ian: Yeah. That's a whole other story, which we could get into another time. But that would use up our 30 minutes, would be nothing left . So anyway, so my wife's like, oh, well what do I buy him for Christmas this year? And I had done a bit of sort of community theater stuff as a young man, just explained with the Paul McCartney thing. And so she found a one day introduction to voiceover. Anne: Uh-huh. Ian: In London. It's a place called the Show Reel. And she bought me that for Christmas 2012. It's 10 years almost to the day. Anne: Wow. Yeah. Ian: And then two years later, we've had the credit crunch and the bank -- I was working for a bank at the time and they were trying to offload people, and I had to reapply for my own job multiple times. And in the end I'm like, I volunteer as tribute . Let me go, you know, I'm done here. I'm older than all these young guys. I don't want to be rushing around half of the UK seeing multimillionaires coming home at night, barely seeing my kids, writing reports 'til midnight, and then doing the same rinse and repeat tomorrow. I'll have a heart attack and die. Let me go. And two years later, they eventually let me go. And so my wife's American and we said, well, what are we gonna do now? ? Well, let's sell everything and move to America. Be near my dad, says my wife. So that's what we did. Anne: I love that. Let's do it. Ian: And I said, well, what am I, what am I gonna do? Anne: Let's sell everything and move. Ian: I'll give that voiceover thing a go. And I went to the guy in London and I said, does anybody get hired for this? And he went, yeah. And I said, would anybody hire me? And he went, I don't see why not. And that was the ringing endorsement that I had to come off and start. So 2014 I started properly, I would say. Anne: Wow. Wow. And so when you started, what was it that -- I assume you, you got coaching, you got a demo, and then you started working, and so you started working and were successful in which genres? Ian: I think I'm a product of the internet age. You know, I live in the metaphorical middle of nowhere. And everything I do is via the internet, pretty much. So I started probably the way a lot of people start. I didn't know anybody and I didn't know anything. I had some experience, life experience that helps for sure, the sales and having done a bit of community theater and all that. But I knew no one and I knew nothing. So I started searching on the internet, and I paid money down to online casting and, and started throwing mud at the wall. And I think in that market you do a lot of explainers. You do a lot of corporate. You do a lot of e-learning, e-sort of things that, that sort of thing. Anne: And of course in the States now, you know, that accent of yours doesn't hurt you. I had a very good friend when I started and she was hired all the time for e-learning. Because I think for us listening, and you gotta have some sort of interesting -- like an American accent is, we hear it all the time. But a British accent might be something that, oh, that makes it more interesting. And so she was high in demand for e-learning and, and those explainers and corporate things. And she was always so wonderfully like natural and conversational about it. And it was just a pleasure to listen to her all the time. And I remember thinking, gosh, I wanna aspire to be that relaxed and that friendly in my voiceovers. And so I can totally see where that just, it lends it. It's also a very large market. And so everybody kind of gets there, and it's a good, good place to start off. And I know a lot of students that I work with, they start off in corporate or e-learning. Ian: Yeah. There's masses of it. And it's relatively easy to find. Anne: Exactly. Ian: You might not get the best rate, but it's relatively easy to find. Anne: Now, you won these awards, but these awards were not for corporate or e-learning. It was for gaming and character performance. And so let's talk about, 'cause I know when people start out, they're very concerned about you know, what's my niche? Like, where do I start and how do I know what I'm good at? You evolved into becoming an award-winning voice talent in gaming and characters. Ian: Yeah, I know. Anne: So let's talk about that. Ian: How does that happen? Anne: Yeah. How does that happen? Ian: I'm gonna say I got lucky, but we all know that that's hard work meets preparation and all of that. But in 2015, so a year after I'd started, I booked a role in a significant video game called Payday 2. And the role is utterly -- it's this South African mercenary. He speaks like that, he's Locke, his name is Locke. And I have been performing Locke for Starbury Studios for seven years now. Anne: Oh wow. Ian: And it was the performance of Locke that won me the video game award last year. And we're still making content. And at the end of this year, we have Payday 3 coming up. Anne: Ooh. Get ready, BOSSes. Ian: And so there's a lot of chatter around who's gonna be in Payday 3. You know what it's like with a lot of -- Anne: NDAs. Ian: -- casting for voiceover. It's -- Anne: You can't tell -- Ian: -- NDAs -- Well, well, if I knew something, I'd be able to tell you, but voice over casting often happens right at the end. So nothing, I can't say anything. I don't know anything. So. Anne: So seven years. Ian: I'm like a mushroom. Anne: Wow. Ian: Yeah. So, so that was my first video game thing. And I think a lot of younger folk, they're growing up now with video games and animation and it's a very aspirational genre for people to get into. And I think I got one, and I'll keep the story very short, but Locke, the character, has his own Twitter account, which now has almost 12,000 followers. Anne: Do you have input into that account? Ian: It's mine. Anne: Okay. Okay. Ian: It's all mine. Anne: Now, was that something that maybe was requested of you through an agent or the company or -- Ian: No. Anne: -- you just created it? That's a very interesting marketing um Ian: Well, it was suggested to me because I went on a charity stream as Locke for Payday, and the guys that were running it said, you might want to set up a separate account because you don't want your personal account flooded with teenage boys -- Anne: Yeah, that makes sense. Ian: -- swearing at you. Frankly. Anne: Yeah, yeah. Ian: Asking you about Locke, you know, what's your favorite color, that kind of thing. So I set up a separate Twitter account for him then; that was 2017-ish. And that, that's kind of just grown from there. And I don't just use it for Locke. I use it for Locke. But I, all my video game stuff I promote on there because they're all video game players. So they're interested. Anne: I love that I'm talking to you about this right now because I wanna know, is the content monitored at all by the game company or the people that hire you at all? Or if you were to say something that maybe wouldn't be appropriate for your character, I would imagine that that's kind of a line that you walk. Ian: For sure, it is. I'm pretty sure there have been several occasions where I've written something, and I've had the wherewithal to go, no, don't do that. Don't say that. That would be silly . The only thing that Starbury said is, because they own the character, they own the IP of the character, that I can't monetize it for myself. I have run charity fundraisers and things like that, but if I'm gonna do anything out of the ordinary, I go through them and say, hey, I'm thinking about about this; what do you think? I don't think they've ever said, no. Anne: That's something that's so interesting for those BOSSes out there that are thinking about getting into video games or character animation. I mean, there really becomes -- it can have a celebrity attached to it, and that becomes more than just voicing. Right? That is voicing. And then also it becomes a marketing effort. It becomes something that is outside of your voiceover persona that is of concern, I would think, for you to make sure that you're not gonna say the wrong thing or make sure you're not gonna do something that spoils any new things coming out or disturbs any NDAs. Ian: Yeah. I just basically assume that everything I've ever done is under NDA until it's public. Anne: That's very wise, very wise. Ian: I really don't, you know. It's just, it's easier to do that than to go, oh, I've been cast, I can't... Anne: I think no matter what we do, we should consider that, even doing a lot of corporate work and e-learning, it really all should be considered. Ian: It is one of the challenges with video games, because whilst we get cast often towards the end of the process, it can be months before the game is actually shipped. And I have got the list, but I've got games coming out this year with my voice in them, and I am burning, burning up with desire to tell people because I am so excited about it. And I just can't. And it's just really, really one of the hard things, you know, that you have to bury that. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. So you got hired for this one game, it became something -- Ian: Yes. So the thing about the Twitter was, so a little while after that I had auditioned for a role in a Warhammer game called Inquisitor Martyr for one of the -- there were only gonna be three player characters. It was one of the player characters. And I got shortlisted, and they asked me for a second audition and I did that. And then they came back and they said, okay, it's down to two people, so can you do a third audition? I'm like, I almost didn't want to know. You know, me or the other guy. And if I don't get it, I know the other guy got it. And I'm like, I was so close. But , what I did say was, look, you must make the right casting choice for your game. But please know that I have a Twitter account with 10,000 followers who are all game players. And I promote any game I'm in on that Twitter account. So I just want you to know that. Anne: I like that. Ian: Don't let that influence your casting decision in any way at all, but know that I've got it. Anne: Hey, that 27 years in sales, I think it served you well. I think it served you well. That's fantastic. I love that. Ian: So I booked that. I don't know that, that's why I would like to think it was just because of my awesome acting talent. But it taught me a lesson that you can use these things to help support your profile, particularly in a high profile thing like animation or like games. You see like the anime guys that are doing that; they're always at cons promoting themselves. And you know that the anime companies are loving that. Because that sells more anime. And the video games is the same. So. Anne: Now would you say that your award also was something you were able to use as a marketing for more characters and more work? Ian: I'm gonna put it the other way around. I can't draw a direct line to -- I won this award in August last year in video games, and then suddenly I get cast in a lot of games. What I think happens, this is what I think happens, a lot of casters in video games are younger people. I mean, there are older ones as well, but they're very tech savvy. And I think that you --they get their auditions in, and if you get shortlisted, and you may not know you've been shortlisted, but they're gonna create a shortlist, and I think they pop over onto Instagram or onto Twitter -- Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely. Ian: Right? Anne: And look at your profiles and -- Ian: They wanna, who's, who is this guy? Is he an umpti or whatever. And they see the awards and they see the interaction with a game community from my case. And they go, oh, he knows what he's doing. He's obviously done it before. You know, and you can say that til you're blue in the face in a pitch proposal, but nobody reads them, I don't think. But when they see it on Instagram or they see it on Twitter, it makes a difference. Anne: Yeah. It's validation for them. Ian: Yeah. It's that whole trust. Anne: Right? That maybe they're picking somebody that has that little bit of trust. Yep. That you've got these experience. Ian: Well, and you think how many -- as, as the game studios get bigger, how many multimillions of pounds they've got invested in a game. And it has to ship successfully, otherwise the company goes pop. Anne: Absolutely. Ian: That narrative story to a two or three talent generally telling the story is a big decision for them. So I do think they check. I have no evidence directly for it, but I absolutely think they check. Anne: Especially I think as a lead character. Right? I mean, there's more responsibility than just the voicing of it, because like I said, there's a persona attached to it, that can be attached to it, and the potential for that character to be able to sell more game, new releases of games. Ian: I kind of figure if I can help sell 10 or 20 or 30 copies of the game, I'm getting out someway towards paying my own fee. Anne: Now -- right? Now, lemme ask you though, in terms of, let's say compensation for games, right? What are your thoughts about that? I mean, do voices for big games get paid better? There's really no royalties, residuals, like that kinda sucks. Ian: No. It does. Yeah. If I was being paid union royalties for Payday 2, I'd be a wealthier man. Anne: Yeah. Ian: It's just the, that's the way it is, Anne. I don't have any control over it. So all I can do is negotiate the best fee I think I can for each individual one. But that's the other thing you've got, if you like AAA games at the top of the feeding frenzy, and they can afford to pay a great deal more. And at the bottom, you've got one guy with a 40-watt light bulb who's making a game, and he wants to get a voice in it, and he just doesn't have the budget. So you have to ask yourself then, is this a game that will further my profile? Do I want my -- you almost, you talk about the celebrity element of it. Do I want my name attached to this game? Anne: Absolutely. Yeah. Ian: And there are games I want attached. There are a lot of games out there that the content is marginal, should we say? Not safe for work is the phrase. . And there is no value to me as a talent in attaching my name to a game like that, because it would impact -- if I wanna be in a big AAA adventure game, I think it taints a little bit, my profile. So I, there are games that I will avoid and I will ask. There's one game I'm in and they have a safe for work version and they have a non-safe work version. And I said, uh, nothing to -- if you want this character in both versions, count me out. But they said, no, we can just write you into this one. So, they did that. Anne: That's great. Look at that. That, you know, and that's interesting that you bring up these things that I never would've thought of, because obviously I'm not doing video games, but I love that you brought that up. Ian: But you could, Anne. Anne: Well, I could if I wanted to. I mean, you did it. So what made you, I'm gonna say, what made you audition for that first game? Did somebody suggest it to you? Did they say, oh, we're looking -- Ian: The Payday one? No, it was an open audition. It said South African mercenary. Anne: And you said, oh, I can do that. Right? Ian: Yeah, absolutely. I was so naive that I thought I could do everything. Anne: So you said, I could do that. Ian: Yeah, I can do that. Anne: Okay. So I have to tell you my little story. Ian: They cast me so great. Anne: That's fantastic. I have to tell you my story. My story was a long time ago, like when I first started, I was on one of the pay-to-plays and they had a audition out, and they said it was for a phone system and it was for a British accent. And I thought, well, I can do that. I was naive , and I got it. And literally I worked for that company for 10 years. And it wasn't until like I actually spoke to somebody on the phone, because we had communicated, got jobs from them all the time onto this. And then it became not a cool thing to do because what accent am I doing? And it started to become that sort of a thing. Well, you're not a native. They didn't know. They said, oh my God, we thought you were native -- Ian: Oh, really? Anne: -- British. And, and it was because I just, I didn't know any better, and I made the mistake. I didn't read that where it said they wanted native. And I said, oh, I can do that. I'll give it a shot. I'll throw my audition in. And I got it. And they employed me for a good 10 years before it was like, oh, now Anne, we just need your English. You know? Not, not your British. So, but it's so interesting that you kind of on a whim just did it. And I think that really speaks to having the confidence to kind of just put yourself out there, and even for things that you don't think you're good at, because they think when people get into this industry in the beginning, they're so concerned about, oh my God, I think I should do this, and I'm no good at character, or I'm no good at -- and I think that really, you don't really know until you try. Ian: Well, let me share another quick story for you. Anne: Sure. Ian: So I auditioned for another game called Road Redemption, which is a motorcycle game. And you drive along the road and you have an iron stick and you're trying to hit other people off their motorbikes. And I auditioned with a sort of a Ray Wins, yeah. Come over, we all gonna hit you with a steel bat, you know, that sort of thing. And I thought, yeah, that'll work. And they decided that they liked my take on the character. So we got together on Skype . Who remembers Skype? And we are chatting, there's three of them, and there's me here. And they're like, what's your Australian accent like? Alright, where's that, right out of left field. Anne: Where'd that come from? Ian: Where'd that come from? And he said, because it's this sort of Mad Max kind of feel to the game. And they said, you know, what's your, and I said, very bad. I said, any Australian will immediately notice. You know, I can put another prawn on a barbie kind of thing. But everybody will, they will know, he's not from Australia anyway. So then we're on Skype and you hear tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. And they've sent me a line on the, in the chat. Read that in your Australian accent, whatever it was. Hey, I'm gonna hit you in me iron bar, mate, you know, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Read that one in your Australian -- yeah, this shrimp's gonna really get you, you know, anyway. And at the end of it, they said, yeah, okay, we're gonna use you for the game. And I said, okay, do you want the Ray Winston thing or do you want this? Oh, we want the Australian thing. Okay. Well, I, like I said, they went, yeah, but Australia's such a small market for us. We're not worried about that. Anne: We're not worried that people in Australia are gonna complain . Well, it's true. Ian: Right. And Locke's the same thing with his South African. And where it led me to in my head was video games, even if they're sort of set in an earth-like environment, are fiction. And I think a lot of game makers now particularly, but certainly back then as well, the acting performance of the character outweighs -- Anne: Is more important. Ian: -- the absolute accuracy of a given accent. Anne: Very interesting. Especially now because now it's a casting thing. Are they casting a native UK or a native Australian? And I think that we are all in a spot, like are we going to audition for that? Ian: Well, with that rider of there are accent issues and there are ethnicity issues. Anne: Yes. Absolutely. Ian: You know, I absolutely would not put myself forward for a British SWANA or MENA or -- I can't say African American because that's American. Anne: Yeah, no, I get, I get that. Ian: British Black, I think. Anne: I think if they're, if they're specifying -- yes. If they're specifying ethnicity, then I think, yeah, absolutely. It's something that we respect. Ian: PGM, person of global majority. Anne: Yep. Absolutely. Ian: That's, that, that works well for me. So there are things that I just will walk past now that maybe 10 years ago would've been acceptable. Anne: Sure. Yeah. Things have definitely changed over the past just a few years. Ian: This could be quite controversial, but I've seen casters ask for a minority ethnicity, and then in the sides it makes reference to, I don't know, America or Great Britain or whatever. And you're like, the ethnicity of of this character does not match the character in the script that you are portraying. And I fear a little bit, what's been the motivation for that? Anne: You know what, interestingly enough, I know that you say that that's a very inter -- I had that with an e-learning, believe it or not, they had the characters, it was a character based e-learning, and they were all different ethnicities. And mine was a mixed ethnicity, but then they said, don't perform it in any kind of accent. And so I thought, well what is that there for then? You know what I mean? And that was a few years back now. I would kind of hope that if they're specifying ethnicity, that they try really hard to get that so that there can be authentic and genuine. Yeah. Ian: Yeah. And at the top end, some casting directors at the top of the market will challenge that sort of thing. They'll go back to the studio, they're in a strong enough position to go back to the studio and go, really? Does that work? Are you sure? And they will challenge that if you like the mass market, often the person hiring the voice and directing the voice is a part of the studio itself. So. Johnny at the back, go and get a voice actor, will you, for this character. I think a lot of that is kind of left to the voice actor to work out for themselves. If you have an any kind of an acting background, and you are auditioning for particularly indie video games, you are already streets ahead because the guys in the studios have never hired anyone before. They don't know who to hire really. It's kind of like, we'll know it when we hear it kind of thing. So if you can make a performance, if you can create a character that's believable within the universe of the game, you are already streets ahead. Anne: It's very interesting that you bring up the casting directors for video games. And you know, it's not necessarily, I think, the talent agents of today that you think of for commercial and broadcast. For video games, you do have to make it authentic and believable. And these people may only be casting for their game, and maybe they've never cast for another game, or they don't have a lot of experience . But that's a great point. And so I think that even more so now, the marketing that you employed, having followers on Twitter, maybe putting your awards on your website so that it's out there and it's known, that definitely has an impact. Because your casting directors may or may not be as experienced as somebody who's casting like 10 commercials a day. Right? That's all they do. That they listen for voices and they cast, whereas games, they're so into their game that they know their characters, and they're listening for just that character to come alive, what they believe the character is like. Ian: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. I had a beautiful testimonial from an indie guy, he put on Twitter, it was on Twitter, his casting notice. And he said, the character is 60 and British from the southwest of England, and he's got early signs of dementia. And he said, but there aren't many older British actors. You know, I've always found it a struggle to cast older actors. So when I wrote to him, I said, , I am 60. Anne: I'm old. . Ian: So anyway, so I got cast of that surprising, surprise me though. He actually cast me as a second character that he was struggling. I said to him, you said you were struggling to cast this. Have you've got anything else that you're struggling to cast? So he sent me, said, yes, I'm struggling to cast this. And he sent it to me, and I thought, I can have a go at that. So I sent it back and I said, do you mean something like this? So I didn't put it as though I was auditioning. I just said, do you mean something like this? And he went, oh great. Was that you? And I went, yes. He went, okay, yeah, you are hired. Anne: I love it. I love it. Ian: I booked two characters. But he said, you might just, it's a real kind of bigging myself up, but you might be, he said, the best actor I've ever auditioned. Anne: Awesome. Ian: And I'm like, aww. Anne: What a wonderful, what a wonderful compliment. Ian: Oh. That is on my Instagram. If you check -- care to go. Anne: Yeah. There you go. . So I love that. Ian: Oh, and I know, what did I wanted to say about, you talked about casting directors. So Bianca Shuttling, who's one of the big casting directors in LA, she goes looking on Instagram. She's very open about that. If she's not got someone in her little pool of people where she goes, she gets -- she doesn't go to agents, she goes to Instagram. Anne: Wow, there you go. Ian: That's where she goes. Anne: There you go. I love that. Ian: There, you learnt it -- you heard it third or fourth here. . Anne: So let me say, because I really think that there's that business savvy that you have, which, BOSSes out there, do not discount the value of being business savvy and marketing savvy. Because I think that that's gonna get you opportunities that otherwise you would not already have. But I do wanna address the acting part of it because you don't just get these roles over and over again if you're not a great actor. So what do you attribute your acting prowess? Have you, just because you've been doing it for years, have you been working with coaches or what do you attribute it to? Ian: I owe it all to my mum. Anne: Ah, okay. Well, there you go. , I'd like to thank my mom and my . Ian: Well, yeah. But in this case, my mom was a very prolific community actress herself. Anne: Got it. Ian: So my first living memory is a smell, and it's not the smell of the grease pain. It's that kind of musty damp wood smell that you get backstage in an old theater. And I have the image that follows it, but -- and I must have been maybe around two or three years old. There's no words involved in this memory. So I basically grew up -- Anne: In the theater. Ian: -- in the backstage. Yeah. One of those things. So it was happening all around me all the time. And I did try and become a proper professional actor as a young man, but I couldn't figure out how to earn money doing it . So. Anne: Same thing when you start off doing voice acting, right? It's kind of hard sometimes. How do I even get money? How do I even get started? Yeah. Ian: Yeah, yeah. It took me another 27 years of sales and management -- Anne: Well, there's your overnight success. Right? And I love telling that to people. They're like, you're so successful. Like, how did you do it? And people think it's overnight, but I think obviously you've evolved so nicely into your success, and it well, well deserved. Ian: And now it pays two -- pays me and I hired -- my wife works for me now. Anne: There you go. Ian: So that Christmas present 10 years ago has employed both of us now. Anne: Yeah. So that 10 year overnight success in voiceover, I mean actually, actually it was a little less than that. Ian: Yeah, that's interesting. Because I got my first nomination, and I was -- Anne: In 2020, right? Ian: -- 2019, I got nominated. I didn't win anything that year, but I thought I was ahead of the curve at that point. You know, and then it all went a bit quieter after that. But the last two years, so years nine and ten, or if you count it from 2014, years seven and eight, really have my career, iIt just looks entirely different now. And it is for the people out there, the BOSSes out there, you know, if you are three, four, and five years in and you're making your way, keep going. Because it is my view that in another two or three years, if you are booking regularly, suddenly something will click, something will change, and bam, away you go. Anne: I was just gonna ask you what's your best advice? But I'll tell you what, that was a golden nugget of wisdom right there . I think so many people, they give up so quickly, and they get their demos, and they're like, well, why am I not working? And they get so frustrated and down and yeah. Ian: Took me three months to get my first booking. I worked for three months for nothing. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Ian, it has been such a wonderful pleasure having you in here. Ian: Are we done? Anne: Yeah. Ian: Already? Anne: Well, I, I can probably talk to you for another three hours, for sure. But I appreciate you coming and sharing your journey. I think ,BOSSes out there, you can learn a lot from this wonderful gentleman. And thank you so much for being here with us today. Ian: You're very welcome, Anne. Anytime. Anne: I'm gonna give a great big shout out to my sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and work like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And then also I'd like to talk to you about 100 Voices Who Care. It's your chance to make a difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org to commit. All right, you guys, have an amazing week. Ian, thanks again, and we'll see you next week. Bye-bye. Ian: Bye-Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Anne and Gillian discuss setting up a home studio space and the necessary equipment for it. A home studio space should have proper sound absorption, emphasizing the need for high-quality audio recording equipment and internet connections for efficiency & consistency in their work. They mention the importance of finding a quiet area with proper sound absorption to minimize noises from in & outside of your home. Anne & Gillian also discuss the importance investing in a good computer, as it is a foundational technology that helps run your voice over business. For more insight and recommendations, tune in! Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey guys, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to welcome back once again to the show audio engineer, musician, creative freelancer Gillian Pelkonen for another episode for our BOSS Audio series. Hey Gillian, how are ya? Gillian: I am good. How are you, Anne? Anne: I'm excellent. So I thought we had a great conversation about picking your home studio space. And I think we should expand upon that a little bit in this episode and maybe get into a little bit about the equipment that we have into the space for our home studios. Gillian: Yeah, I think totally a necessary point at the conversation because if you didn't listen to last week's episode or whenever it was, the last BOSS audio episode, you gotta go back and catch up because we talked about finding a space in your home for your voice setup. We talked about a little bit about treatment and how to get your space sounding a little bit better, whether you're at the pro level or if you're a beginner. And then we also had the conversation of what's it like to work in a professional studio versus home studio. And now we're gonna dive into getting that home studio, what you need for it and perfecting the sound a little bit. Anne: What you need and what you don't need necessarily, right? Gillian: Yeah, definitely. Anne: Especially because of your experience working in professional studios where I get overwhelmed looking at the equipment there because I'm like, ah, I'm just a voice actor and (laughs). Gillian: I'm just a voice actor. Anne: I'm just a voice actor. I'm not an audio engineer, but I do audio engineering. I know what I know, and I know just what I need to know for that. And I'm very happy, Gillian, to give people like you my business when I need something more from my engineering. So just a little bit backtracking on the absorption factor or the sound factor of your studios. We had talked about finding a quiet area in your home, in an area that maybe isn't near a window or open doorways or places that you can't close off from external noises. So there's external noises coming into your booth, and then we've got the noises within your booth possibly, right, that get reflected back into your microphone. So there's external and then there's internal noises that we want to protect against and have some sort of absorption. And one thing I did wanna mention, and this was a misconception that I had, is that, is there a way to 100% soundproof anything (laughs)? Gillian: Yes. You know, it's so crazy. This is a slight tangent, and I don't know the details so it's gonna be a half story, but there is a room -- Anne: I know where you're going with this. Gillian: There's this room where they've completely soundproofed it. And supposedly, I mean, I, I just got out -- Anne: You could go crazy in five minutes. Gillian: You could go crazy in it. And I feel like I'm in a quiet space right now, and my Apple Watch is telling me that there's 73 decibels of sound going on. Anne: Oh my God. You have that on your -- see, you are absolutely an audio engineer. Gillian: I love to know. Anne: I cannot tell you how many decibels right now on my watch, no. Gillian: I can tell you from my watch because it's important to -- oh my gosh. We could do a whole episode on ear health and keeping your ears because that's very important. Anne: I agree. Gillian: Which is why I have it on there 'cause -- I wish Apple would sponsor us, 'cause I just talk about them all day. But there's a ton of ways to check and make sure that your hearing's not being damaged both by -- Anne: Oh, fantastic. Gillian: — what you're listening to and the environment you're in. That's super interesting and really important to me, near and dear to my heart, because this is my livelihood, like your voice. Anne: Absolutely. Gillian: The way you care for your voice, I care for my ears. But there is a place where they completely soundproofed it and supposedly people can't stay in there for more than five minutes. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: It's so uncomfortable. It's so quiet -- Anne: Yeah. Gillian: — you can like hear your blood moving in your body. Anne: So I'm sorry I have to tell you about this. So a while back, my ear got perforated. I had a head cold, and I went to a doctor who wasn't the best doctor, and they said, well, we can't see in your ear because you have a buildup of wax, so we need to take care of that. And they took a syringe to clear out my ear and I said, well, that typically doesn't work for me because I've really tiny eardrums. And they're like, no, no, no, no. And so they flushed my ear out and proceeded to poke a hole in my eardrum when that happened. And it was really scary, number one, because my equilibrium just got completely thrown. I had to sit down for like 45 minutes, and I should have, this could be a whole ‘nother episode, I should have probably sued them (laughs) because I told them not to do it. And so, they punctured my eardrum and I know because I could taste the fluid going down my throat once the syringe went. I know it's gross. Sorry. But anyways, I will tell you about the recovery period. So when you have a hole in your eardrum, your eardrum performs many, many important functions, right? Keeping sound out and also sound in. And so when you have a hole in that (laughs), the sounds that you hear are incredibly different. So for a good year after that happened, if not longer, I would hear wooshing sounds in my ear because it was literally fluids in my body that I could now hear. And it was like I could hear when I had sinus issues. I could hear when it was an allergy day, and it would get very loud. And this white noise I call — like it wasn't a white noise 'cause I couldn't stand it. It was like whooshing, whooshing in sounds that were constantly, I couldn't go into a room full of a lot of people talking because my brain couldn't process all of the sounds. And it made me very confused and very foggy. It was very upsetting. So for a long time, while my ear was healing, and it still hasn't completely healed, my brain had to get used to the fact that I could hear noises both from inside my body and outside my body. So it does not surprise me that if you had 100% pure quiet in a room — and by the way I think that's like miles like below the earth, that room that you go down into, and they've soundproofed it -- it makes a whole lot of sense that you would go crazy, because I was able to hear all sorts of noises, my heart beating. It was incredible. Gillian: Uncomfortable. Anne: It's very uncomfortable. Very unsettling. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: So (laughs) in terms of -- Gillian: No, you should not want to get a completely soundproofed room. Anne: Yes. But, and that's why also they have signs in studios, shh, recording. Because you cannot possibly really 100% soundproof. Like if you're gonna run screaming down the hallway in a studio, I think still you'll be able to hear some of that sound coming through a door. Maybe not, depends on how loud, you know, you still don't wanna make any extraneous noises that you don't have to. Gillian: Well, it is interesting because a lot of the studios that I work in, there are certain things that will really help. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: And I learned in school about the things that you do. You do floating floors, which is like the regular floor and then another one. So that -- Anne: On top of it. Gillian: And then just basically rooms within rooms, which is what -- Anne: Oh, I was gonna say -- Gillian: — a booth is. Same thing. Anne: A room in a room. And that's the protective like walls on the outside that protect the sounds from coming in. Gillian: Well, they also, when they build them, it's like double paned everything. And the doors are really heavy. I mean on important rooms that need like the control room where we blast music doors are, they've gotta be like a hundred pounds of those doors just to, and solid wood to keep everything out. Even the glass, there's like double paned glass and it's slanted, like kind of like we talked, you don't want complete parallel surfaces anywhere, 'cause that just creates for reflections everywhere. Anne: And what's interesting is that I've not had a window on any of my booths. Now I know a lot of the booths that are pre-fabricated, you can buy with a window, and it and it's cool looking and it's pretty. But when it came time to designing this particular booth, I said, oh I want a window. ‘Cause I never had a window. And Tim Tippetts said to me, do you really want a window (laughs)? He said, did you have a window in your last booth? I'm like, no. And he goes, so the window kind of brings up a whole ‘nother set of things that you have to protect against because it's a different surface. Right? It's not the same as a wall. And so it's a pane of glass so you also have to protect that. So when I was recording he said, really you need a sound panel to put over it when you record to keep all of the noise out. So I just said, you know what, I don't need a window. I really don't. And my door, by the way, which has always been a really heavy part of my booth -- I have double doors here. So not only do I have double walls, but I have double doors, and that's to help keep noises from the outside from coming in. And now in terms of inside, I also have sound that's traveling inside this booth. My booth is probably built at a very tiny angle. It's not like a huge angle, it's not visible at all. But the walls are not completely perpendicular to one another. And also I have these panels that are the acoustic panels that are on the walls. Again, any of the sound that right now is in my booth will bounce around and get absorbed by these panels. And I mentioned before that they're slightly offset from the wall. So like by a quarter inch maybe? I'm looking right now. They sit off the wall a quarter inch so that if it hits that wall, it has space to travel back through the back of the panel and then get stopped again before it could travel back into this microphone. And that's typically what you're trying to do is to stop the sound from reflecting and reverberating off the walls and coming back into the microphone as feedback or some sort of echo. So that's a little bit more on the absorption part. But now once we're in the studio, (laughs) and we're recording -- Gillian: Once we’re in the studio that you've built and whatever says… Anne: — there's equipment. And of course we could probably talk about microphones all day. But I, I really think that there's other pieces of equipment that I wanna focus on today, and maybe this will even go into another episode, in regards to what's important for voice actors. I'm gonna start the conversation with your internet connection. Gillian: Yeah. And we kind of talked about this a little bit last time. Like internet computer, without those two things, you don't have a job. You can't connect with anybody. Anne: So true. Gillian: I mean it's different when you're in a recording studio 'cause that's all there for you and you don't think about the fact that they have the computer, they have the recording equipment, especially since as a voice actor just standing in front of the mic, putting on the headphones. Like those are things that you think about. But we worry about that all the time, and less the internet connection, which we've had to do that and configure things to be on Zoom with people to send audio that way. But it's definitely very important. And my computer is my, I don't wanna say baby, but kind of (laughs); more important than my phone, it is the most important thing in my professional life, and I spent a ton of money on it to get the most updated one and it, it hurt. Anne: It's an investment. Gillian: It hurt a little bit. Anne: (laughs) There was some physical pain when you invested -- Gillian: Emotional pain. Anne: — but it's an investment. Gillian: I have someone that I work with that we talk about this all the time 'cause we both have, you know, brand new Macs, iPhone. What -- I don't have the newest one, but when I upgraded I got pro Macs, the best phone. Because why would you not invest in something that you use every single day and that you use every single day for work? Anne: Yeah. Gillian: Like you're paying to have less trouble issues, be faster. I think that’s a worthy investment. Anne: Well, I'm gonna go back, I'm gonna backtrack a little bit because I'm adamant about the internet. I love the internet and it's always been said that I would marry the internet if I could (laughs). Like, like Vince Surf is like one of my heroes, okay, the inventor of the internet. And so I guess my point is I have some people that say when I'm connecting to them for their sessions and I use ipDTL to connect exclusively with my students for their sessions because of the fact that it's a high quality audio connection. It allows me to hear them better so that I can direct them better. We can record our sessions. There's lots of wonderful advantages to using ipDTL. Also source connect, all the other methodologies that people use to connect to each other, to their clients and to studios, you need to have a quality internet connection. And sometimes when I have students say, well, my connection -- yeah, well, I think we have like a 300 connection, 300 speed. Most people don't necessarily know what speed connection they are connecting to the internet. And I think that it's important for you to know as BOSSes, first of all, what speed is your internet connection? And if you have the capability of getting a gig or a faster speed, why not choose the top of the line speed for that internet connection? Because your business, not just your audio and connecting with clients, but your entire business runs on the internet and the communication. Because we are pretty much an online business. Right? And we're connecting globally to people. So why on a daily basis -- I probably am on the internet, oh goodness, 8 to 10 hours a day, possibly more. Gillian: An embarrassing number of hours a day. (laughs) Anne: Well, yeah, because we watch our televisions now, which are, you know, everything is fed through the internet. And so if you can get the fastest speed, absolutely, it's an investment in your company. I just say that over and over again. And as a matter of fact, when I said this before on an episode, when I moved here to my new house, I actually checked and said, what speeds are available in my area? If I cannot get fiber to my house, I will not move here. I will not move here. You know, it's one of those things they say, oh, fiber's coming, fiber's coming. But you know, if it's years until fiber's coming, and I know how important that connection is to my business, the livelihood of my business, I actually chose where I was going to live based upon my internet speed. Because again, until I retire, guys, this is it. This is where I make my money, and I know how important it is. So, alright, I've stepped down off my soapbox for the internet, but get the fastest speed, guys. It's an investment in your business and write it off. Right? It's your business. Okay. Now Gillian onto the computer thing. So. Gillian: Well no, no. I feel like this doesn't get, and maybe it does get talked about. I'm not hearing it, so we're talking about it (laughs), but like -- Anne: I'm rambling on and on about it. (laughs) Gillian: Computers, XLR cables, like these are not exciting purchases. A microphone is an exciting purchase to some degree. Anne: Well, I think they're exciting. Gillian. I'm sorry. I was gonna marry the internet, remember? Gillian: That's true, that's true. That's true, in love with the internet. But I think that there's a ton of things that make your space great that are not flashy -- Anne: A microphone. Gillian: Or exciting. I mean, unboxing my computer was like a spiritual experience. I loved it. It was like so awesome. I just, when I got my Apple Watch last week, I took a video of the unboxing because I was like, oh my gosh, it's so aesthetically pleasing. (laughs). I mean -- Anne: Wait, did you say that to yourself? This is so aesthetically pleasing. I love that. Gillian: I said it in my head. Yeah, of course. Anne: I love it. I love it. Gillian: Everything with Apple. I made my boyfriend hover above and take the video while I unbox it and I was like, don't move. Anne: Wait, wait. Get the lighting. Get the lighting perfect. I would do that too though. I'm such a geek about things like that. I really am. Gillian: You only open an Apple box once. Once it's opened, it's not the same. Anyway sorry, little BOSSes; you're listening to us ramble about Apple. All of you PC lovers, I'm sorry. Anne: Yes. Gillian: You just will never, never understand (laughs). Or maybe you will. Anne: Well, they have their own unboxing, so that's absolutely fine. You can get excited about -- but I know a lot of people that build their own computers, and that's exciting. Gillian: Oh yeah. That's an activity. That's fun. Anne: That's definitely a very cool thing to do. So your computer, again, it's part of your livelihood. Now there are people out there that say for voice acting, you don't need to have a very powerful computer, and no, you don't necessarily for the actual physical audio recording of one track perhaps. I'm gonna say that, yeah, you don't have to have a billion megabytes of RAM or, or a ton of space. But honestly, everything we do combined together along with the audio recording -- I am connecting with clients. I am looking things up on the internet, I'm researching, I am doing so many activities on that computer for my business, marketing, connecting with clients, audio recording, audio editing — why wouldn't I want it to be as optimal as it could be? And so there might be people that are using multiple computers. Like one is just for recording my audio. That's fine. Whatever works works there for you. However, there's still -- I think Gillian and I were discussing this a little bit earlier, and we can continue this discussion about the speed of your computer, when you're recording, your audio does play a factor in the quality of what you're getting out. And you certainly don't want your computer to be an ancient piece of equipment that can't handle your interface or it keeps crashing. Like I know for a fact -- Gillian, you use Adobe products? Gillian: I do. Yeah. Anne: Right? I mean, just any Adobe product for me has always been a little bit of a memory hog. And so if you've got Adobe Audition running in the background and you're recording and you've got it on a kind of an older computer and you don't have a lot of RAM or you're running out of space, whatever it is, it can cause that to crash and cause many, many frustrating problems. So as good as your performance is, right, if your DAW's gonna crash time and time again… Gillian: And there's nothing worse than being in the middle of an edit, and it crashes and you lose all of your hard work on an edit. That's happened -- I mean, not as much with ProTools. There's always like automatic save. So I'll just go back to previous version, but it's happened enough -- Anne: Or a good take. Right? You could be actually recording like, and you've got the best take of your life, and then something, you know, happens. I mean, that would suck. Gillian: Yeah. So it's interesting because computers become important when you're doing everything off of it. Kind of like we're saying, you're sending emails, you're uploading auditions places, you are, I don't know, creating your post for social media in Premiere, you're recording, you're editing, you're -- all of these things, they take up space and why would you not — obviously don't go into debt for a computer. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: I mean, do what you want, but -- Anne: But it's an investment. Gillian: Again, it's a worthy investment, and I think people always -- from my experience of talking with voice actors, people would be much more willing to jump to buy another microphone or another, something that's, in air quotes, fun versus, you know, really splurging on the super important things. Anne: So true. Like a foundational technology that helps you run your business. You're absolutely right. And not to say that microphones aren't important, but again, no, you don't need like the U87 (laughs). Well, I kind of want one, but(laughs), I still am holding off on that one. But microphones like, I feel like the microphone technologies, they last a little bit longer than — you don't have to worry about updating them. It's not like you're upgrading the OS on your microphone, right? Gillian: No. Anne: Or upgrading the RAM, uh, microphones, they work and they just work unless you're gonna beat it up. Gillian: They're completely different. Anne: And pour water into it. Yeah. It's a completely different, it's a piece of hardware that… Gillian: It's a piece of hardware. I mean five years and who knows, but five years down the line, at least for me, I'll trade in my, yeah. Mac for another Mac through Apple. That'll be great. But if you have a microphone, you can sell that at any point. If anything, it's probably gonna go up in value the longer you keep it and take care of it. And yeah, I mean, I'm kind of a U87 hater. I don't like them. I don't like them at all. Anne: That could be another episode. I'm not sure how many people would disagree with you there. Jilian: I think, I don't know. I don't know how much of it is just, it's a -- I mean I've used it, I've done shootouts with mics for myself for other things where you just line them all up and you sing into them. And the one that I'm using now is my favorite from a lot of mics that I've tried within my budget. My favorite mics are like $20,000 ones that I can't afford and don't need to afford, because why would I? But producers, clients, nobody's gonna know what your gear is. They just care about how you sound. And so I don't personally think that everyone needs to spend upwards of thousands of dollars on gear. I think there's really smart ways to make less expensive gear sound great when you're starting out. But then the expensive gear is room to grow within your business, within your voiceover experience. And isn't that like something to look forward to or know that, you can resell your gear to someone who's starting off and then upgrade to something bigger, and just all of these big purchases are investments. And they are important. Anne: And another thing that, I'm just gonna say that like equipment that you don't think about for your voiceover business, your online storefront, hello, your website. Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how many people want to -- and I'm not saying you can't do it on your own. However, look, I worked in technology for 20 years. I did websites back when they were easy. Okay? They're not -- when you could write HDMI Notepad and it was simple. And then all of a sudden like CSS came out and I was like, I was overwhelmed. I was like, okay, no, I just know what functionality I want in the backend of my website. I'm not a graphic designer. I'm a functional person, so I know what I want, and I know what functionality I want. And so at some point I said, okay, I am not making my own websites anymore because it is a face of my business. And so I wanna pay someone who actually does this eight hours a day, if not longer. And that's what they were trained to do. And a lot of people try to skimp on that. And I hear that constantly from voice actors. And I guess my question is, back in the day when there was more brick and mortar things, like actual studios, Gillian, you know, you go to them all the time — you used to have to front the bill for leasing once a month. If you had a store, you had to stock it with inventory so there were all these like monetary investments you would make. And then all of a sudden when things became easy from technology and easier from technology and online, all of a sudden people think that, well, it's so easy, I can just do it and cheap out on it. It frustrates me. Like that mentality -- I understand that yes, doing anything online at home is a great business to start, but you have to still invest in it. And there's so many worthy things to invest in, and your storefront, if it's not brick and mortar, it's online. The impression you make is so, so important in order to be successful in this industry. Gillian: And there are just ways to -- I love my website. It's very important to me. I've gotten like compliments on it that it looks really professional, and I didn't make it. I hired someone to make it for me. Obviously the content that I fill it with is mine. I do that. But I would've never been able to make the website that I have now. Both from how it looks and a functionality standpoint, I feel like people are not really using their websites in a functional way where you could, you know, manage contacts and, and communicate with people that way. But for me, I mean, I work with voice actors, I do sessions with them. Every once in a while I will have to look someone up and the first thing I look for is a website. And if I can't find a website for someone, I kind of don't know what to do. I'm like, if I can't find you and listen to your demo right away — and if it's not easy for me, and especially like if you could get your demos online, easily downloadable for anybody in casting, anybody working at a studio that kind of gives you a leg up. It really like, it just does because you're easier to work with, you're easier to find. And I kind of know who you are. I'm like, okay, this person is a legit voice actor. Which might not be the right answer, but it's what I do. Anne: Well, and a professional voice actor. Right? So, again, there are people who, well, you know, do I need to buy a domain? Do I need to, you know, I can do my own website right now, and I can upload my files to a pay-to-play. But honestly, when I shop and I shop a lot online, hello? Gosh, I can't remember the last time I was at a mall. Although I do love getting out and seeing people. But honestly I do a ton of online shopping. And so for me, the trust factor and the value factor has everything to do with the website. And when I first get an impression of somebody, when I go to the website, right, I can tell, oh, are they trustworthy? Are they professional? And if you've got a website that you made and you don't do that for a living, right, it's gonna look homemade. Here's an old school thing. I always talk about business cards, right? If you walk up to somebody and they hand you a business card, which still happens these days, not as much as it used to, but then that business card was printed on a printer in your home versus something that was professionally made, you can absolutely tell the difference. Same thing with a website, right? You can absolutely tell the difference, but there's just a level. It's like a movie and a B movie, (laughs). It's like, it's absolutely a level of professionalism that comes with something that's been professionally designed. Gillian: And unfortunately it's kind of all the aesthetic versus, and that analogy is incredible. I mean, I've never really lived in a business card world. I know (laughs), but when I was like 10, I had professionally made business cards for my babysitting business. Anne: There you go. Gillian: So I kind of did. And those were -- Anne: It made a difference, right? Gillian: I, I don't know, I still have them, but I got work probably 'cause people were impressed that a 10-year-old had business cards. Anne: Right? Gillian: But for me, I mean I'm in my 20s, I first look at people's website, and off the bat there's just a different pro versus not pro vibe that I immediately, it just goes off in my brain. And same thing. And then if I can't find them immediately, the next thing I look for is Instagram. And if I can't find you and see that you're doing any sort of voiceover work, then I'm kind of confused. You know, if you have a great voice, I'll email you, but it's a different world. Anne: So that's interesting. So you go Instagram, what about TikTok? At what level is TikTok or other social media channels for you? Gillian: Um, it really is for me. I use my Instagram, it's like professional now. Everyone that I meet on a session, artists that I work with, I connect with everybody on Instagram. And that's like the way that I keep up with what people are doing and what people are up to. I personally don't really use LinkedIn. I did when I was in less creative field, but nobody that I work with uses it. Anne: Right. But our potential clients do. That's why I'm just gonna say that for us. Gillian: Well, yeah. I think it's different for what I do versus what you guys do. But I, I think I'll go to LinkedIn as a last resort if I can't find somebody. But for the most part, like Instagram and websites. TikTok, I don't really use for work. That's like fun for me. I would never like look for someone on TikTok or like look for voice actors on TikTok. But I do know that there's definitely -- Anne: But if there were creative voice actors, I was gonna say if there's creative voice actors that are doing something entertaining on TikTok, you'll take notes. Gillian: Yeah. I'm also not a client. I'm coming at this from a strictly studio perspective. I do, every once in a while some voice actors will come up on my feed, or I know there's some people that I know that are like voice actors and musicians and they talk about stuff like that. Um, so I can't say that I know too much about it, but yeah, Instagram is like the thing for me that I can check if someone's legit or not. Anne: I think the last little, I'm gonna call these the soft equipment requirements. I'm gonna talk about how before it was a voice actor, always, well I've got a face for radio, that kind of thing. I loved voice acting initially because there weren't the requirements of being on camera. I thought, well, I can act and I can be behind that microphone. However, it has evolved and times have changed. And I do believe that there's a video element and there's a face element because people wanna connect with humans. And so for us as voice actors, there are the times when we need to connect with others as humans. And a lot of times I'll have live sessions where they'll wanna connect and watch me via Zoom. I don't always have the camera on. Sometimes I will always to say hello. For obviously my podcast, yes. I do this and I do some, if you were going to do some social media posts, I have a YouTube channel called my Teachable Moments. So the other equipment purchase that people don't necessarily think about is a good camera and good lighting. And then also I hire a video person to help me to actually create videos and edit videos. So again, it can present to my online clients. My online presence can be of a more professional nature. Again, I don't do video production, but I do know lots of people that do. So I think camera and lighting so that you can look professional. And then if you have videos that you upload, make them look professional and have people who do video editing. And so what a good conversation. And we didn't even get to the hardware yet, really. Gillian; I know, I'm sorry, guys. There's one more -- Anne: Or the microphone or the headphones and, and all that. So that's for our next -- Gillian: Sorry, guys. Anne: That's for our next episode. Gillian: But I got, one more thing I got for you. It's so interesting because obviously I'm learning about the voiceover industry. I know about audio; I record it, but learning the ins and outs of the industry or what people are doing, sometimes it's confusing to me because sometimes stuff goes like against what I would think or things that I think are obvious, people aren't doing. But for voice actors, I feel like, and this is my take, you can tell me if I'm wrong, I feel like it'd be easy to be yourself on social media because anything that you do with you talking, just being yourself. It's your voice. And that's -- Anne: Uh, yes, it's true. It's so true. Gillian: Wouldn't that make so much sense? I'm on social media a decent bit. I'm on TikTok. People are always like, this is my morning routine, this and that. All these videos with voiceover. And when I make my tos, I do voiceovers. I don't do voiceover, but you know, I'll talk in them, but really, I hear a lot of people getting hung up on like, I have to be talking about my booth or voiceover. But really anything that you're doing -- Anne: Anything you're doing. Gillian: — using your voice is showing off your voice -- Anne: Who you are and your brand. Gillian: Yeah. But then if, if you're being yourself, then it's kind of like sneaky, you know, it's like I'm just being myself. People are getting to know me, and they're realizing that I have a great voice and a great sound. So that's what I always think about and I don't see a lot of. Anne: Yeah. And people buy from people they know, like, and trust. And I've always said this podcast, I have gotten so much work from this podcast. There's so many people that come up to me and say, oh my gosh, I feel like I've known you for years because I've been doing this podcast for years and, and I'm pretty much myself on this podcast. And ultimately that is a really wonderful way to get your brand out there and to have people know, like, and trust you. And then, when they do come to you, they're ready to purchase. And that just becomes a really cool thing. So yeah, guys, so this has been a great talk about the soft technologies. I don't even know what to call them. The soft technologies or the technologies that most people don't think about, right? The hardware people don't think about. Gillian: Or just things that people don't think about that are not the -- Anne: It's not the microphone -- Gillian: — exact gear. I'm sorry, guys. We're just leading you on. I'm so sorry (laughs). But there's just not so much to say. Anne: Next episode. All right, well, thank you, Gillian. It's been fun. We're gonna talk next time about maybe some equipment that people have been thinking about. Well, what about my headphones? Gillian: I know. Anne: So good stuff. So BOSSes, as individuals, it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. Visit 100Voiceswhocare.org to learn how. All right. And a big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Gillian: Bye. Anne: Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Anne & Lau answer a question many have about the voice over industry: "how long will it take?" The truth is, becoming a successful voiceover artist takes time, discipline, and dedication. There is no set timeline for success, and it is important to have realistic expectations. Investing in coaching and training is essential, but it is equally important to be selective about where and how to invest. Building a recognizable brand identity and having a viable business is important. Respecting the voiceover industry as a business is crucial. Hard work, commitment, and effort increase the chances of success, but there are no shortcuts. Success is not only measured financially but also in time and commitment to your voice over business. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here today with the lovely and most wonderful BOSS, co-host, Lau Lapides. Hey BOSS. Lau: Hey BOSS. How are you? Anne: I'm doing great. How about yourself? Lau: I'm doing good. Feeling BOSSy today. Anne: Today I think we should answer a very common question that is asked, I think, both of myself and you, I can imagine. And that is for people just starting out in this industry, how long will it take for me to become a voiceover artist? Or how long will I have to spend coaching or training so that I can do voiceover? Lau: Hmm. Gotta get my calculator out for that one. So I can just do different variables, different scenarios, right? Anne: Yeah. Lau: Variations on the theme. That's a biggie. Anne: Is it gonna take me, okay, in three months I wanna be able to make $10,000 a month, and I want to be able to secure 20 new clients, right? So it's very hard for people when they're first starting out. Again, we had another podcast all about this, like, you don't know what you don't know yet. So how long will it take? Well, let's see. Where's my crystal ball? Lau: (laughs) Where do you start? Where do you start? Anne: Where’s my crystal ball? How do even I start? Lau: Where do you start? Anne: Boy, it depends on so many things, Lau. Lau: Mm. There's tons of variables involved with that. That's not even possible to answer that question. One could Google and look up, okay, voiceover talent, 2023, North America, what's the average? But it's really not going to tell you what is going on in individual scenarios and situations that can cause a tremendous amount of loss and a tremendous amount of gain. Anne: Yeah. Well, maybe let's start with how long will it take if somebody's just starting out in the industry, right? Lau: Wait, can I do my theater moment? Can I do my like, wait, give me six months. I gotta do jazz hands. I will give you a VO career. Anne: Woohoo! Lau: Did you like that? Did that sound credible to anyone? Anne: Wait, I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you. I was running fast and far away from that. Lau: (laughs) Anne: From that claim. Lau: You know, I had a colleague one time, he told the greatest stories, and he said, listen, would you go to a dentist who did a weekend workshop? Or who even did a one-year certificate program to become a dentist? Would you do that? And everyone laughs at that. Anne: Would you get your tooth drilled from that dentist? Mm. Lau: Probably not. Probably not. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Because not just about the physical pain of it, but the idea that, how could they become a dentist in six months or one year? There's a lot to learn. There's a lot to delve into, right? Anne: Oh my gosh, yes. Absolutely. Such a great point. And I think that's like one of the first things that I'm always saying. My gosh, we go to school for years to learn a craft. Like doctors go for eight years minimum, I think, right? Dentists as well. And maybe not even doctors and dentists. I mean, just back in the day, okay, now I'm starting to sound my age, but I had a four-year program in college that I went to for a bachelor's or a two-year program for an associate, whatever it is, right? We go to elementary school for so many years to learn all of these things. So why is voiceover any different? Like, I'm not saying we need to spend 12 years, but in reality, we probably are continually honing our craft and spending our entire lives being a student. But why would you think it would only take two months or three months even, or even a couple of sessions before you're ready to make that demo? You have to just sit back and does that make logical sense? Lau: I think it could only make logical sense if I am really invested in the media blitz of our society and having very quick images and sounds about being in entertainment, being in the entertainment industry, which looks to us on the outside as very fast and very polished and very rich and very quick. When we know on the inside, on the other side of it, it takes years and years oftentimes to get to that place of what you're seeing in that media image. Anne: Sure. Lau: So I mean, that's kind of like the collateral damage of being in this whole entertainment industry under that umbrella is that you have whole generations now that think and feel like, if I jump on TikTok or if I jump on this social media channel, I'm instantly this, I'm instantly that. It's like stir and mix, you know? Pull it off the shelf, stir and mix, and you're instantly a star. Anne: Yeah, yeah. Lau: We have to combat that because we know for longevity in careers, it's just never that. It's always a, an investment, a creating, a recreating, a re-envisioning throughout your life. This is a craft. Anne: Yeah. And it doesn't happen overnight, for sure. Does not happen. If it looks easy, well, yeah, it probably took us, what if that overnight success was 40 years in the making? Lau: Yes. We were a 40-year overnight success. You like it? (laughs) Anne: And everybody is different. Now, of course, you might have a different story. Maybe you've been an actor all your life, and you've turned to voiceover, and you got hired because maybe you're a little bit of a celebrity, right? And people know you and they know your brand, and so you were able to lock in a big video game right away, or a national campaign. And so that is where I think people, they look at it and go, oh my gosh, I should be be able to do this. You know, if I set my goals, I should be able to do this in three months or six months. But honestly, BOSSes out there, I mean, to really be a BOSS, I think that there has to be some longevity. There has to be some due diligence. There has to be some hard work, some sweat, blood, tears, mistakes. We just had a whole podcast on mistakes -- that really make that career a possibility. And it does not typically happen in two to three months. So with that being said, the other question is, how much is this going to cost? Well, it's going to cost, right, whatever you're going to invest in your coaching and training. And I don't mean to be impatient, but it's so many times I get people who come to me thinking that it'll cost them much less to get that demo so that they can get working and be successful as a voiceover actor. And somehow they're thinking, well, just a few hundred dollars, maybe a thousand, and I'll be good to go, and I'll be able to make some money. Lau? Lau: I almost don't know what to say to that though. We always have to have something to say to that. Anne: Right? We do. We do. Lau: One of the first things I always say is, what you put into it, what you invest is exactly what you're going to get out of it. So be careful how you invest. And how much you invest and what you invest. You have to really sit down with a master plan and think, okay, maybe I don't know much. I'm in my first year. Now I'm in my third year. I know a lot more. And you have to invest and reinvest in, what are my goals per quarter? What do I want to achieve? What is achievable? What is realistic? I always joke with my clients and say, I may want to be a 22-year-old Scandinavian supermodel, but that ain't happening. Anne: (laughs) Lau: Can I just say? And I'm glad it's not happening, ‘cause that leaves me room to be what I can be, what I want to be, and what is possible for me. Anne: Love it. Sure. Lau: So I don't look at that as a limitation. I look at that as opening the door to spending the energy and time and everything that I should be investing in. Anne: Yes. Lau: Just because I have money and I can invest doesn't mean I should invest in that. I have to be very specific. I have to be very goal-oriented, and I have to be reasonable. I have to be realistic and pragmatic in my goal. There's a difference between a dream and a goal, right? Who is the famous person who said this? I have to look this up. A goal is just a dream with a deadline. But it's more than that. It's something that is realistic for my talent, for my skillset, for my time, for my money. It's like a whole portfolio. You sat down with a financial advisor, they're not just gonna say, hey, how much money do you have? No. They're gonna look at you and build a portfolio on who you are, what your background is, what you're capable of, what you want, and really come up with scenarios and variables that are reasonable in terms of it not being a gamble, but being an investment, a calculated risk. Anne: Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. I feel like we say this so much, but I feel like we, we need to say it. There is an investment here. There is an investment here. It's not going to come — can you learn voiceover on YouTube? Can you learn voiceover from reading books? Can you learn voiceover from Googling? There's a lot that you can take from that. But then there's also so much more that you can garner by investing some money into a good coach. This is all about you and your voice and your acting. And so it really helps to work with someone who specializes in taking your voice and teaching you techniques and principles of acting so that you can showcase the very best for your potential clients. And so that's going to cost money. And I always think, if you are invested enough to want to create a business selling your voice, well, you have to also understand that as a business, you respect other businesses, right? Other businesses, coaches are out there. They have to charge for their services. It's not like I can exist just on my good heart, which I do have a wonderful heart, and Lau, you too. Lau: You do. You do. Anne: I can't just spend my hours every day giving away voice lessons. And so there has to be some semblance of a business there. And I always have to say to myself that I need to present a good example of a voiceover business. I've got policies. If they can't make their lesson, if they don't notify me in a certain amount of time, I can't fill that spot again. So that costs me money. So there are things that need to be enforced in business, which I think as a student, right, or as somebody entering into this industry, wanting to be a business, that you also have to learn about and also respect and understand. Lau: You said a total mouthful too, when you said, you know, respecting the businesses that are in your business. I mean, we wanna respect everyone in the world, but when we're talking about our industry, like be respectful of others’ businesses that are working alongside you, with you, and for you to help you create and grow a business. Their time is valuable. Their time is money, in essence, right? We don't like to think of it that way, but we never wanna apologize for having value monetarily. You have to have value. Sure, you can do pro bono work. Sure, you can do projects without getting paid. Sure, you can do all of that. But it has to live alongside a paradigm of career and really building something that is viable, meaning I'm getting my return, and I'm also investing, and I'm also having some luxury of profit. And that is called building a business. And so when we come out to people, we say, oh, well, how much is this gonna be? Well, that's expensive. Well, I can't afford that. You're automatically unintentionally disrespecting that person's not just time and effort, but their education. You're paying for their history, their value -- Anne: Their experience. Lau: -- their schooling, all the connections they have and know, their studio. I mean, on and on it goes. You are paying for that. It's not just about a product; it's about a a process. And so really just making sure people understand that. If you feel like someone is charging you too much money, that's fine. Then walk away from it and don't spend it. But just know they're basing their value off what they think their value is based in all those areas. It isn't just, oh, I'm slapping on a price tag of this. It's like I'm bringing this to the table and guess what? I'm not 20 or 30, I'm 50, I'm 60. So I'm bringing you all those years of knowledge and wisdom. Anne: Experience. Absolutely. Absolutely. And yeah, respect the business. Respect the people that are in the business that are helping you get into the business. And also expecting things to be easy or cheap, I would say educate yourself enough about the industry to know that with anything, right, you're going to have to make an investment. I wish that there weren't people out there selling the dream, but I think you're gonna have that for just about anything, not just voiceover, right? There's gonna be, I'm gonna sell you the dream. Gosh, there were so many and there probably still are infomercials on, come to my seminar. You too can flip a house and make thousands of dollars, and you can make thousands of dollars in, in a short amount of time. So that whole selling the dream, if it seems too good to be true, typically it is. Lau: (laughs) Anne: And so that's something to be aware of. So how long will it take me? This is the other question, how long will it take me to get a return on my investment? Lau: That's a really tough question to answer. It really is. And I, I just have to say to your point for people to remember --I had a colleague that gave me this really adorable sign one time from my birthday. It was like a mechanic with this old fashioned truck, and he was fixing the truck, and it said on it, good work ain't cheap and cheap work ain't good. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And I never forgot. Anne: Yep. I love that love. Lau: I don't know if I have the signs still, but I never forgot that. I thought it was funny and kitchy, but it's so true. Like you get what you pay for oftentimes. You really, really do. Not always, but much of the time, that principle is really true. And to be perfectly honest with everyone and all your peeps, I'm gonna be honest with, I don't feel I can give you an answer to that question of what am I gonna make and how much time I'm gonna make it in, and when am I gonna be successful? That really is an individual's journey and choice as to how much time, effort, investment, heart, soul, blood, tears, whatever you're gonna put into this. The harder you run at it, the more you put into it, the more you focus and intensify, the more opportunities tend to come because there's that work breeds work kind of energy that you're putting into the world. Like, I'm working, I know you're this way, Anne. If someone says, are you busy? Are you bored? Say there's no such thing. Bored is not in your vocabulary. Anne: Never, never. Lau: Because you're always working, you're working. Whether you're being paid or not, you're always working. And that energy, that mystical energy goes into the world, and people are attracted to that. There's an attraction to that. It's not just being busy, it's being engaged, it's being excited. It's being enthralled by things. People want to magnetically latch onto that. So I would say in order to get that success, whatever that is that you're looking for, get busy. Get busy on being busy and get engaged. And the more you're engaged, the more potential outcomes that are pleasing you are gonna happen. Anne: Well, I think return on your investment, okay. So investment, usually when people say that to you, or they're asking you that question, when will I get a return on my investment? They're talking about their money. And in reality, what you've just wrapped all into, besides the money, is your effort. Right? And your time and what you put into it. So in reality, when you're asking me, when will I get a return on my investment? Well, I will come right back to you and say, well, how committed are you to investing your time, your energy into making this a success? And a lot of it does depend on you. Now, if you're gonna sink a few thousand dollars into some coaching and a demo, then you expect to get a job how long after? A lot of times two people will say, all right, now that I got my demo, how long will it take for me to get my first voiceover job? And again, that really shows up into your effort in terms of how are you going to go out and get that job? Because you can have the best voice in the world, you have the best demo in the world, but if nobody knows about it, they can't hire you, and they can't pay you for it. Lau: And aren't you and I constantly breaking down the map biology of, okay, I will answer that question with a question, which no one likes, but okay, let's break down your day. Can we break down your week? Can we look at actually what you're investing day to day and week to week? And then all of a sudden, the door opens of knowledge, and sometimes it's like what you don't wanna see of Pandora's box coming out. Like, oh, I'm only doing this. I don't have time to do this. Or this is harder for me. Anne: Or I don't have time to do the homework. I give my students homework. And I'll be like, okay, so I saw that you were able to record a couple of pieces of copy , and I'll just say it like that. Okay. So they'll be like, well, okay, so am I ready for my demo? And I'll say, well, I noticed that you only recorded two out of your 20 pieces of copy. And so if I'm giving you too much homework, you just let me know. But I will say that you need to invest the time in doing this, and I give you homework not to make you cry or not to overwhelm you. It's to kind of get you in a discipline where you can be working. This is what it's going to be like to be working every day. This is what it's going to take for you to record this, edit it, prep it as if you were doing an audition, and just store it in that Dropbox and name it appropriately. Right? So all of these things that I'm giving for homework are really lessons in, here's what a voiceover artist does in their day. I'm submitting an audition, I'm naming it correctly, I'm uploading it on time. And so, most of the time I'll come back and say, I really need you to put in this time. Or they'll reschedule lesson after lesson after lesson, and then it will be like six months before I see them again. And I'm like, we've lost the momentum. Lau: That's right. And it's like, can you see the forest through the trees? Anne: Yeah. Lau: Like is there logic to your line of, is there reasoning even to your line of thinking? Anne: Yeah. Lau: Like one of my coaches recently, an anecdote, one of my coaches said to me, I'm frustrated because this person wants to get on the demo track and wants to do the demo and is quickly, doesn't have money, da, da, da, but is not doing the homework and is coming to the table and just using a lot of excuses as to why they could not prepare for the session. Anne: Yeah, exactly. Lau: And he said, said simply, he was frustrated, but he said, do they realize they're going into voiceover? Do they even know what that profession is? And I said, no, they haven't made that connection yet. It's for us to do the teaching moments and making the connection that what you're going into is extremely demanding, and very fast, and crazy hours and blah, blah, blah, all this stuff. But a lot of our clients, Anne, I think you could say the same thing, right? They're not seeing the forest through the trees where they're seeing this overview of what they think the industry is, but the weeds, getting really into the weeds of what it is the coaching is simulating, trying to simulate what a work experience might be like. So if it's hard for you to do your homework, then it'll be near impossible for you to do the auditions and jobs. Anne: Yeah. Oh, I teach a lot of long format narration, right? So when I give homework, they are the full spots. They'll be two to four minutes, sometimes even longer if it's e-learning. And they'll say, okay, but that was a really long spot. And I'm like, well, that's the reality of it, right? And so I need to make sure that you as an actor are completely committed to that script three quarters of the way through. Three minutes in, are you still as committed as you were in the beginning? And I want you to edit that entire thing as if it were an audition. So they're like, well, do I have to edit? And I'm like, I'm kind of giving it to you all at once so that you can understand what it takes, right, to put out a job that is a four-minute job. How long will it take you to edit that? And I want you to get better at it. I want you to get faster at it. Lau: It's a simulated journey of -- Anne: Exactly. Lau: It's a journey that you pay for to invest so that you can go with very little to no stakes. Right? To go into a high stake situation. Anne: Yeah. And if you're working with me, right? And you wanna know how long it will take before you can do voiceover -- I mean, if you're just gonna meet with me once a week, then that's an hour out of your week that you've spent doing voiceover. You're gonna progress an hour at a time. And if you're gonna ask me 10 weeks later, I'm like, well, you've spent exactly 10 hours with me. And in a given workday, we might work eight hours a day or 10 hours a day, or we work a 40-hour work week. You've only worked with me for 10 hours total of your lifetime, and you wanna know if you're ready for a demo. Now, does that make sense? Does that make sense? Lau: There's no sense to it. But then again, there's no understanding of the logic of what actually goes into it. Right? Like they literally may not get just yet what goes into building a career and building voiceover. And if someone is coming to me, which I get a lot; a client saying, I'm frustrated Lau because I'm already doing an hour or two a week of this. I can't put any more time into it, this is where I have to be kind and say, um, I get that. And you're busy and you work full-time, you have — I get that. But just continually regroup. And is your vision clear, understandable, and realistic about what you're going into? Anne: Sure. Absolutely. Lau: Because what you're going into is going to demand that you give as much as you can to it. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. It is the hardest thing. And I will be the first to admit, because when I worked part-time and voiceover when I was working a full-time job, a family, a full-time job, and voiceover is tough. There's so much focus that has to go into voiceover. Because remember, people, this is our business. It is. We are entrepreneurs. And unless your full-time job is your other full-time business, and it's yours, you are typically also navigating an unfamiliar world of, oh, I have my own business. I have to generate my own business. I have to market myself. I have to put on a trillion different hats. And so there's more than just getting in the studio and recording and editing. Now there is all the marketing, there's all the --I've gotta have a website. I've gotta be able to do auditions so that I can present myself with opportunities so that I can get work. So there's a lot, in addition to just doing voiceover in your booth. Lau: We're like one man bands. One woman bands. We really are. It's like putting on hats, hats, hats, hats. You have to own a lot of hats to be in this profession, because you're always gonna be shifting your hat. Any kind of business owner, if you're a solopreneur and you work alone, you're always shifting the hats. I think also too, Anne, we're fighting against the new mantra of teaching business leaders or teaching people who wanna be BOSSes that you can work for two or three hours a week and then sit on a beach for the rest of that time. That's like this new mantra that's out there in marketing. Like make six figures, make even seven figures. Lay on that beach with your children and just work a couple hours a week. Anne: Couple hours a day. Yeah. If that, yeah. Lau: I'm not gonna say it's a lie. I'm not gonna say that, but I am going to say there's a slight fabrication, maybe even an embellishment in that, because I know for a fact that even the tech billionaires are working all the time. And why are they working all the time? Because people who own stuff, run stuff, and lead stuff are innovators. They're inquisitive, they're interested. Whether you like what they do or agree with it is another thing. I'm just saying, they're invested in it. Their whole life is that. Even after they sell it sometimes. Anne: Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs, that is the definition. Lau: Entrepreneurs. Anne: Of an entrepreneur, Lau. Lau: Yeah. We have a very, very well-known furniture company in New England that has been around for ages like 40 years. And they were run by two brothers, and they were constantly on TV together, constantly. The face -- Anne: Oh, who? Do I remember them? Lau: Jordan's Furniture. Anne: Oh yeah. Okay. Lau: One of the brothers sold his piece years ago. Well, guess what? We never see the brother that owns it. We only see that brother on tv. And he's constantly there. And I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, I believe he's the one who still has the shares. I mean, they sold the whole company now. They've been in business for a long time. But the point is, I still see him. He's on all the time because he's the face of the company. He's the feel of the company. He's much older now. He still does all the commercial campaigns. He could say, hey, I'll be on the beach. Good luck. Good luck. He made his money, he made millions. Anne: That's true. Lau: Doesn't matter. His heart and his feel as a human being is to wanna stay connected to the company, to wanna stay connected to where it's going. So my point is, is like, are we ever laying back doing nothing to build a company? No. That's false. Anne: Yes. Yeah. My return on investment, I mean, honestly, right? Investment is so much more than money. So I want you guys to really think in terms outside of money -- blood, sweat, tears, effort, practice, and of course money when you're investing money too. But that investment falls not just in your wallet, but in your time and in your commitment. And how long will it take? I think that that really is entirely up to you, (laughs). How long will it take to get a return on investment? And will you get a return on your investment? I wish I could guarantee people things. And I always say, honestly, if you put the work in and you're committed, and as long as I can understand what you're saying, right? There's so much out there. Do I have the voice for voiceover? We all do. We all have our own unique voice, and it's beautiful, and it's beautiful to people in different ways. And so yeah, sure. It's not about the voice, to be honest with you. It's not really about the voice. Lau: And sometimes there's just no real rhyme or reason. You could call it fate, you could call it mystical, you could call it whatever you want, as to what jobs are coming to you. In the same day, I mean, when I do my agent work, I'll get a $400 job in perpetuity with nothing residual or whatever, and okay. And then in the same day, I'll get a $15,000 job, which doesn't take a whole lot more time to record or a whole lot more effort. It's just the nature of it is very, very different. And the usage is very different, and the client is very different. And how they came to me and us, sometimes it's just fate. And other times it's the hard work of your branding, your marketing, your staying with it year after year that your name just floats into the universe and they get it. Anne: Sure. And it just becomes a known brand. Yeah. So how much will I make (laughs)? Will I get a return on my investment and how long? BOSSes, it's up to you. It's up to you. So, and we have all the faith that you can absolutely do it. So, ah, good conversation. Good conversation. Lau: I love that. I love that. So empowering. Anne: So BOSSes, here's a chance, not only to be a BOSS at your own business, but here's a chance for you to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to commit. And a big shout-out to our favorite ipDTL sponsor. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Lau: See you next week, bye. Anne: Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
To create a successful voiceover performance, authenticity is key. This can involve using props, physicalizing the script, and infusing in personal experiences to deliver a realistic & engaging read. Anne & Lau emphasize the importance of intention, nuance, and understanding the corporate story & mission. Just as a chef must gather and prepare ingredients before cooking a delicious meal, hard work and effort are necessary before reaping the rewards.Want to improve your performance? Try taking notes, emphasizing key words, and using aids like pictures & videos, and of course, tune into VO Boss! We'll guide you through it. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with my amazing special guest co-host, BOSS lady Lau Lapides. Lau: Hey, hey. Hey, Anne. Anne: So Lau, I am very excited that it's early morning, and I have my coffee. Lau: Me too. What would we do without it? Anne: I know. So many people have contacted me and said, it sounds like you and I in the booth in our podcast are just sharing a cup of coffee and shooting, shooting the breeze, having a conversation, Lau: High balling the water, which you gotta do in between the coffee. Anne: That's right. That's right. Lau: Just to wash the vocal folds out. Anne: Let me share — there's my big old water bottle with the coffee. Lau: And then I'm gonna show everyone, I think everyone already knows this about us. Watch this. We're gonna do this as well. Anne: (laughs). I love your lipstick. Oh, so here's mine. Lau: Wonder Twin powers activate! Anne: Right? Wonder powers activate. So, yeah, my red. But you know what, guys? Maybe one of these days I'm gonna switch it up. Lau: Hmm. Ooh, you should. You should. Anne: Oh gosh. Lau: Naked lips. Let's see what naked lips look like without the red. That would be fun. Anne: I feel like I'm so pale. (laughs), but I feel like I'm so pale. Lau: You are pale. But that's your beauty. Anne: Pale without my lips. Well. Lau: But you know what I just noticed, Anne? You know what I just noticed? Literally, I just observed this, that we just used like three props. Three props. Anne: Oh my God. Lau: In our world. Anne: We totally did. Lau: And we were talking all the way through that, as we always do. And we had no problem using the props, talking and connecting, getting our points across. And that suddenly just dawned on me, like, that's a part of our world in finding connection -- Anne: That's what we do. Lau: — and authenticity with each other. Anne: That's what we do in the booth. Interesting. So let's chat about this. Let's take this apart, because you know, I do this a lot when I'm trying to talk to students about being authentic and believable with the script. And I think what just throws the whole wrench into it is that we've got these words in front of us, and all of a sudden we don't know how to make them a part of us. And interestingly enough, like we just demonstrated, and BOSSes out there, you just heard it, even if you're not looking at us on YouTube, we were able to pick up objects and share ideas, and have a conversation, engage with one another, and not miss a beat. And we weren't even thinking about it. But what I want you guys to do is let's take a look at, a more in-depth look at this to kind of figure out how we can take what we do in real life and translate it into the booth to be believable and authentic. Right? Bring that real life into the booth. Now, one thing, I think that was first and foremost, we talked about props, right? Ah, I always have my trusty lipstick or my cup of coffee, or probably most of you have one of these, a phone or even just a mouse (laughs). Like you must have something in your booth. Lau: I mean, it's endless what we have really with us. And doesn't that make us feel comforted and taken care of? And we identify with that brush in a lot of ways. It's part of our life. Anne: I'm bringing all my makeup out. I've even got jewelry in here, but (Lau laughs), in case I -- Lau: I think a man's gonna pop up all of a sudden. (laughs), Anne: Gosh only knows I have tons of these, the headphones in there. So now, if you're trying to sound authentic and believable, one thing that we've covered multiple times in our podcast is there's not a perfect voice. Right? There's all sorts of imperfection in our voices, and a lot of that can translate -- I mean, not that — everybody has a beautiful, wonderful voice all on their own. You don't have to perform behind the mic, right? It just is beautiful when we're engaging. And so props can help us to bring that scene to life, right? I know I just had a really wonderful workshop with the amazing Ellen Dubin, and she was talking about video game acting, and all of it was about blocking, get up, move around, change your position. Do that, because that's gonna add that reality. And I'm always telling people physicate behind the mic, because that's gonna make our vocals not perfect for some reason. If we sit silent and straight behind the booth, and we just read these words, hello everyone, and welcome to the VO BOSS podcast, and the BOSS Superpower series, right? So I'm just reading, but I'm not moving, that physical part of having a prop, having somebody to talk to 00 expressing, expressing with our bodies. Lau: I love this. You know, you had me physicate. Like I have never heard anyone use that word. So I'm stuck on physicate. But yeah, I would love voice actors to take it a step farther and just Johnny Depp it out. Like take their script and go somewhere. Go to a store, go to a Starbucks, go to a library, go be in your car, and I want you to deliver that. Deliver the line as part of your universe. Anne: What a great idea. Lau: Yeah! Anne: Yeah. Lau: Right? Doesn't the booth at times sort of pen us and it becomes boxy to us in our minds where we can literally move it outside, move it, and see how it flows and works, and physicate in that environment. Like, if I'm ordering a drink or I'm getting food, or I'm sitting at a table, or I'm da da -- how would that line live within that universe versus only within the universe of the booth? I mean, ultimately, we can't do that on every script, but as part of your actor's work, it's well worth the time to do that so that you can bring that imagination back into the reality of your beliefs. Anne: Sure. Lau: And relive that, you know, relive those moments. Anne: What I like is, even if, alright, let's say you've got a very dry corporate narration script, right? Maybe a company talking about their corporate responsibility, which may not be the most exciting stuff that you'll ever hear in the world. So for me, I'm always telling people, in order to kind of make it sound conversational, and it may not be written conversational at all, or authentically, or it's basically like here, this is stuff that you would typically read. You wouldn't necessarily say it out loud. You would typically just read it and then understand it as information that the company has provided to you. Take that script and put it into your own words. So you might have this long run-on line that's talking about corporate responsibility and all of these things about what we are doing to promote corporate responsibility in the workplace. And so take that, those words, and just put it into your own words. And when you can take that sentence, which sometimes most of the time is a run-on sentence and formulate your own speech about it, or your own personal conversation about it to someone else, explain it to someone else, that's gonna give you the idea behind the melody and the point of view that you wanna take. And then all you do is, when you get in the booth, replace it with the words. But you have the intent, you have the point of view, you have the thought of, here, it's this idea, and then this idea, and then I'm gonna combine it with this idea. And then that's the finished sentence. So it's kind of allowing you to regroup the information that's presented in the sentence in a very structured way and creating it in your own authentic way. Lau: That's right. And you have to think of your work like you're layering a cake. You have the cake; to some degree, you have the cake. Even if you're at the beginning of your career, you still have some sort of cake. It might be a demo, it might be a beginner level studio, whatever it is. But I have to layer that over time and make it more interesting. So for instance, if I were to take my pen, my trusty prop, and talk about my corporate responsibility script, I might take a note on that. Because if I'm working in corporate, I'd be writing down minutes, I'd be taking notes as I went. And that puts me in a mindset, a frame. It gives me a framework to work by that when I'm corporate -- and this is just my choice, it's not the right choice, it's just my choice — when I'm corporate, I always tend to write a few notes. I tend to take a moment to write things down. That changes my sound, it changes my pace, it changes everything. Anne: So that physical action of writing something down — also, the fact is, is what would you write down? Right? If you had that big, long run on sentence, right? What are the notes that you would take? Right? Typically, those notes are the most important parts of the sentence, right? Those are the notes that you as an actor want to probably linger on a little longer. So when we talk about being authentic, and Lau, and I, when we're speaking, our pacing isn't the same. Sometimes I, I pause, like I just did, and sometimes my words are longer. And usually the ones that are are longer the ones I want her to hear more. And so when you're creating those notes, right, you're creating, this is an important point that I wanna express to someone. So that word can be a little bit longer than maybe the word the (laughs) or the word at the beginning. At the, at the, or just tiny little words that connect. Beginning is an important word. So at the beginning, notice how at the becomes almost like a, I don't know, a 16th note in melody if I was speaking vocally, but in the beginning, beginning is an important word, so I'm gonna linger on that. Lau: We can emphasize, you need to linger on that, right? If every word is the same, and every word is important, nothing's important. (laughs). Anne: Right? It sounds monotonous and robotic. Lau: Like what's important if every word is important, right? Anne: Right. Lau: But if I take that pen -- and to me this is a corporate moment or a business moment, or whatever you wanna call it-- I think maybe I'm gonna do bullets, how I would do in my life. I’d take a sentence, I'd take a thought, and I'd pull a word or two out of it that are my emphasis words, my bullets, and do like little bullets. and say, wow, out of that sentence, I got coffee. That was the word of the day for me, coffee as a bullet. So that when I go back and I review that for my speaking, I can remember, I can mark that coffee, that the word coffee or the name of the coffee is really an emphasis for me. Anne: Sure. Absolutely. Lau: This helps me with that. Like, because then I'm gonna say coffee, like Starbucks coffee. Anne: Right. Lau: And I'm gonna use this. Anne: And the other thing too that I think is super important to remember is that we talked about you taking the script and going out into the real world with it, right, and start practicing with it and playing off of maybe someone else. Notice how you said, well, let's play off of someone else. I mean, when we started this podcast, you and I were talking to one another. We were engaging with one another. Lau: Yep. Anne: Well, when we're sitting here in our studios behind the mic with a script, you cannot be alone (laughs) just saying. In your head, you must be the person that is speaking. And you must also have your imaginary friend that you are speaking to. And so you want to make sure that you are engaging with that audience member or that listener. And so you must talk to them, and they will have reactions for you or questions or comments. Right? And you cannot just start talking to them like, oh gosh, have you ever had a friend, Lau, that you can't get a word on edgewise? Like, and it's basically all about yada, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada, ya. It's all about them. Right? All about their monologue. And so when you're behind the mic, don't let it be all about your monologue. Let it be about you engaging with your listener and allowing that listener a beat to acknowledge, to respond, to have a question, whatever that is. And I'm not talking about you have to time things, but that's an imaginary beat where I've said something, and now Lau, I'm looking for you to respond, right? You just shook your head, right? You just went, mm-hmm. So that's where I think we need to also invite that into our script, right? And invite that real life into our script. Lau: You have to do it. It's so important. And have cheaters if you have trouble reaching that at times. Like in our daily life, we're not always great conversationalists, or we're not always in the mood for a talk or whatever. So you have to have those cheaters, whether you're talking to your kid or your dog, or a photo or a video or something that stimulates you into thinking, this is part of my daily experience. This is part of a reality of my life that I can connect to right now, that I can make real. Because I may not be in the mood or in the mindset every single day to connect to that particular audition or to connect to that particular product. Anne: What I love is like literally like now that I've sat here, and I'm taking notice and, and BOSSes out there, really, let's watch the YouTube video on this, because I was just watching you, Lau, and everything you said, you had your hands, everything you said, and I was responding. I was shaking my head, I was going, mm-hmm. So that's the parts that you have to play in your script. And believe it or not, even in a mundane medical narration script or in a telephone prompt, believe it or not -- I'm always imagining, here I am and I'm talking to the listener and they've got their thoughts about me (laughs). Because maybe they don't wanna listen to an automated attendant. Maybe they're angry, maybe they're frustrated. But yet I will still talk to them with a tone where I'm like, I know you're frustrated. I know that you don't wanna listen to my voice, but let me help you. Okay? And so that point of view, that intention — all of a sudden, I'm speaking about intentions so much lately -- I think that intention, before you even approach voicing or opening your mouth, I think your intention is so very important. Lau: So very important. And you know, in the script, in this context, it would be an actor's intention because you're in a false reality. You're not in your real reality; you're in this technical reality. Anne: Sure. Lau: But then you have intentions or purpose, or whatever you call it in your daily life and thinking about, wow, how much do I care about things? How much do I connect? How much do I try to make action happen and go well? Well, I have to bring that intention into the booth. I have to bring that into the booth. And I think if we were honest, we would say, in our daily life, half the stuff we do is crap. It's like chores. It's like, I have to go to the dump because I have -- Anne: I don't want to go to the dump. Lau: -- bring my trash. Right? (Anne laughs). But how do I have a joyous life still being able to go to the dump? Well, I keep the intention alive that it's not about me hating to go to the dump. It's about me wanting to have a clean and wonderful household. Anne: Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Lau: That's really what it is. So it's the same with the script. if I have a disdain or I have a dislike for the delivery or for the language, or for the content -- Anne: Or the message, maybe. Right? Yeah. Lau: — then I'm skirting the intent. What's the intent? Oh, the intent is to get you to understand how this new product worked, or, or how the new program is gonna help your lifestyle. That's really what it is. It's like a, in acting, we call this the super intention, the super objective. Anne: Maybe this is the wrong way to phrase it, but I think intention can change throughout the script. So you don't come at the script in the first couple of sentences with a particular intention and it stays that same intention. Because a lot of times, right, we're there to tell a story. And so intention point of view changes along with the storyline. And if you're not necessarily reading that, right, or understanding that, then you're not doing a good job at telling the story. Lau, at the beginning when we were talking about coffee, I was like, oh, thank God, coffee. I was, was that sense of relief. And then we started talking about, well, my lipstick, I get excited, right? Lau: Yeah. Anne: So I have a different, and it may not be an extreme change in my emotion, but I talked about my lipstick. I'm like, it made me smile. Right? And so that was a different intention. And as we flowed with the conversation, our point of view changed. Our intention changed to help us to go along and flow with the storyline. Lau: Yeah, exactly. And I think that if you BOSSes listening in can have fun, you know, treat it like a board game, have fun with your actor friend, or your accountability buddy, or even with your husband — have fun and take a few minutes and say, okay, what are all the things I'm using in my world here that can be helpful to the delivery of the read? But, oh, wait a second. What's the intention? What's the intention of this? Why do I take a moment and put this on? There's a reason for it, there's a purpose for it, whatever that is. Why do I pick up my water bottle and drink it? Sure, it makes me feel good and it's delicious. But the intention is what, to hydrate. Anne: To be healthy. Lau: To to be healthy, right? Why do I drink my coffee cup if I'm delivering a script, right? It's not just for Anne to see that I'm drinking coffee. It's for me to feel energized, to feel warm, to feel connected. Coffee's a big psychological connector for a lot of people. Right? Anne: And notice all of the emotions that go along with that. I mean, that is something to really think about. I think that, you know, I'm always telling my students that there's a purpose for every word. Even if you don't agree with all of the words that are there, there's a purpose for them being on the paper. Somebody somewhere at some point thought about what they wanted to communicate, and all of those words have meaning. So to just read through them as if they didn't have meaning or any point of view, I think is a disservice. It's a disservice to the copy. It's a disservice to the story that you're telling. And so, no matter how nuanced it is, right? You don't have to be like, oh my God, I'm so happy! And then, oh, I'm very, very -- you know, it doesn't have to be that to be dramatic. Nothing has to be dramatic. As a matter of fact, the more nuanced you are, I think, the more you, you can really connect. And the people that are listening, they'll get that. And sometimes I feel like nuances mean more. I really believe that. Lau: Nuances are life. Anne: Yeah, exactly. Lau: Right? Anne: And it can really, really have meaning. And so I say look for the meaning in the point of view. And the point of view to me is synonymous with bringing yourself to the copy. Bringing an emotion to the copy that is reflective of how you feel the company would like to bring that emotion out to the potential client. Lau: Anne, hold on one second. Hold on. I'm coughing. (laughs). Anne: All right, no problem. Lau: I love nuances though. I wanna say something about that. My intention (laughs). Anne: Now see, there's a real world moment there where Lau is actually having a little bit of a coughing spell and(laughs), see, and I've reacted to it. Show a little bit of concern. Lau: I don’t mind if you show that too, Anne; I don't mind if you keep that in, because the intention sometimes changes with the same item. So we don't have to stay static on our intentions, is exactly what you saying. The nuance of being hydrated is important. We do it and we know it's important. But see how my intention changed? I had to get myself out of the coughing fit by dealing with the vocal folds quickly so that I could continue the conversation. So it deepened, the stakes got higher. It became much more important that I drank the water. Anne: Oh yeah. Absolutely. Lau: So the prop in itself changes. It changes, the intention gets deeper. You change it. You have the power, you have the superpower to take your environment and have it utilize it in your favor to solve your problem or to fill your need. Anne: And I think also -- so it goes beyond just like a surface — here are some words on a piece of paper. Let me read them and let me try to figure out what this company is saying. Like what we've done is we've actually brought in so many components of our real world experiences to help us to tell this story better. And I think it warrants, BOSSes, it warrants a little bit of time from you before you run in your studio and do your audition. I say this all the time, I feel like there's this, I don't know, a long time ago, there was like, somebody said, you must do this many auditions in a day. And all of a sudden we become like, I must get 60 auditions out a day in order to be successful in voiceover. And in reality, like getting 60 auditions out a day probably does nothing for your performance in terms of, if you're just so intent on rushing through them, and you're not thinking about what's the story? How am I going to bring this to life? And I believe it takes a few minutes of your time -- not a ton. You don't have to spend hours breaking apart a script. But you do need to spend a few minutes really kind of reading, rereading, trying to find out what is the true message. And again, I'm always saying, sometimes we will get auditions, and I'll be like, I have no idea what this is even talking about. Now when that happens, that means that Anne has to look at the script again and again, and really try to read those words. Do my Google, Anne GanGoogle, do my Google to find out what I can, if the product is listed or the company is listed, or even any phrase that seems like it might be a tagline, Google it. God, we are so lucky, right, to have that? Lau: So lucky. Anne: And to just try to understand what is the story? Because again, somebody was paid probably a good deal of money to sit down and write that story. And you just may not be privy to what product it is or what company it is. But you have to understand what that story is. And I think a lot of times, it's probably purposely vague because they wanna see who the actors are. (laughs). They wanna see who can bring those words alive and tell the story. And that requires our imagination. And every time I ask somebody to think about corporate and what's your moment before when you're gonna do this corporate responsibility -- everybody's like, what? Like, what do you mean? What's my moment before? Why would I ever say this? And you really must, because to somebody at that company, it's their heart. Like they're responsible, like their corporate responsibility is, this is their purpose. This is something probably that came very deep within, or I wanna say this, I mean, unless you're an evil company, right? I mean, but (laughs) for most companies, like my company mission, my company purpose, come from a very deep, deep within my soul because I formed that company because I believe that I had a product that would help someone. And that's what I like to believe about all corporate scripts. And that helps me, by the way, to get into a purposeful and positive mind frame, to be able to voice just about any corporate script. Because that's how I, I assume every founder or owner of a company must feel at some point like, I'm gonna form this company 'cause I have this great idea. This is gonna help people. And yeah, of course, maybe I can make some money too off of it. But I like to always consider the heart mission of a company or a product that. Lau: Love that. Because it's so easy to flatten out and just perfunctory-ize -- I think I just made up a new word. Perfunctory-ize, meaning just not come with any sense of joy, energy or imagination to something that you don't care about or you don't know about. But to understand, and this is to me the true empathy factor of nuance. Like to me, the more nuanced person -- like you're a tremendously nuanced person because you have a depth of understanding and knowledge and empathy -- Anne: Empathy is huge. Lau: — and what someone else is going through and living through. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And you don't have to necessarily know or have experienced it yourself. You just have the knowledge and the history behind you to know it is a truth. It is their truth. And so I have to take a little bit of time to find intention to represent their truth. And that's nuance right there. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I feel that. If somebody asked me what's the most important component as a voice actor that you can have? Or what's the most important thing to think about as a voice actor to be authentic and believable and real when you're voicing a script? I would say empathy. And empathy toward your listener. Who is your listener? What are their joys? What are their pains? How can you help them? And how can what you're saying make them feel better, look better, I don't know, make more money, make them healthier — whatever it is, come from a place of service?I just really believe that empathy is the one word that everybody should just have in their back pocket for a great read. Lau: Well, the more you give the more you do get. And sometimes the get is really like this inner true feeling, whatever that feeling is, that you then connect to the experience. And so you can bring that back to the experience. And so that's why I believe, you know, as actors and as vocal actors, we get addicted to the work, because we get addicted to the feeling of that authentic getting back. So the more we give, the more we potentially can get back. But we have to give true and authentic intention. And if we don't, then it's flat and it's kind of boring, and we fizzle out quickly; we get exhausted. Anne: Sure, sure. Lau: It's actually depleting. Anne: And I think, you know how I can always tell I have, I have a really great read is when I feel it. When I feel it. Lau: When you feel it. Right. Anne: But I feel it. Lau: Right. Anne: Because sometimes things just happen and it's just like, I don't know how that happened, but it just did. Lau: It just did. Anne: It was amazing. Right? Lau: That's the magic. Anne: That's the magic. And I wish that I had that for every single read that I do. And I think that as an actor is what I try to achieve, right -- Lau: Yeah. Anne: — is the feel it felt right. It felt good, it felt authentic and it felt believable. So I always try to tell people to just feel and not listen. And it's so hard to not listen because I think from a very young age, when I got behind the mic and all of a sudden my voice was amplified from that mic, right? Then I felt like, ooh, now I have to sound even better. And interestingly enough, that's not what we're looking for. We're looking for just the you that is amplified louder by a device that sits in front of you on a day-to-day basis. We're really just looking to connect with you. Lau: That's right. And I, I would say be careful of chasing the high. 'Cause a lot of people come in and whether it's the money or the feeling of excitement or whatever — don't get addicted to chasing the high or the dopamine kick. Just know it will be there at times for you. But you gotta like -- think of my analogy of like, you gotta take the trash to the dump. There's a lot of work, there's a lot of groundwork that happens in order for you to come back to the clean home and go, ooh, smells fresh. And I'm feeling good. So you can't get one without the other. You can't get the reward without the real work put in. Anne: Absolutely. What a great analogy, Lau. Like honestly, like we could just, just all go home now. Like take it to the dump (Lau laughs). BOSSes, take it to the dump, then come back. Lau: Take it to the dump. Anne: Take it to the dump and come back refreshed. I love it. Lau, what a really cool discussion. Thank you so much. Lau: My pleasure. Anne: BOSSes as individuals, you know, sometimes it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but of course we've been talking with Lau today and how we can make an impact. Well, if you ever wished that you could make more of an impact with your communities in ways that you never before thought possible, find out at 100voiceswhocare.org. And thank you so much to ipDTL that allows Lau and I to connect and have these amazing conversations. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
If you're new to the voice over industry, there's a lot to learn. Luckily there are plenty of resources out there that can help you get your bearings and start building your career. Anne is joined by special guest Tracy Lindley, a voice actor & expert on utilizing LinkedIn as a marketing tool for voice actors. On LinkedIn, it's all about relationships—and not just with other actors. Remember to focus on fostering genuine connections and optimizing your online presence to attract potential clients. With persistence and the right strategies, you'll be well on your way to establishing a thriving career in voice acting. Stay engaged, keep learning, and watch your network—and opportunities—grow. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm excited to bring very special guest, Tracy Lindley to the podcast. Hey Tracy. Tracy: Hey Ann. How's it going? Anne: It's going great. So a little bit about Tracy. Tracy's been a full-time voice actor since 2014 -- we are kind of twinsies on that one -- and regularly voices projects for clients like Hewitt Packard, Realtor.com, iHeartRadio, Health.com, and many others. She is a well known expert in the field of LinkedIn and finding clients and is also a mom to four kids, ages 7 to 13, who also do voiceover. And she lives in the Midwest area where it's very cold right now. Tracy: Yes, I'm bundled up in a sweater. Anne: Well, Tracy, I am so excited to finally have you here on the show. I feel like we're like ships that pass in the night because I've been following you for such a long time, and I've seen you at conferences, but we've just kind of like passed each other by. Tracy: I bet I've been following you for longer because I remember when I was first starting out, you had a great interview on VO Buzz Weekly that I watched. Anne: Oh, I remember that. Yeah. Tracy: Yes. It was a wonderful two-part interview and I learned so much, and I was like, man, she is just dropping truth bombs on here. Anne: Well, thank you that I'm very honored about that. My goodness. But you, I mean, my gosh, you are just blazing this path to the stars with your career, and really in the last couple of years, you are absolutely the known person outside of being great in voiceover and talented, but also all about marketing and LinkedIn. And so I'm excited to talk to you about that today, because I was much more involved in LinkedIn a few years back. And then my business kind of, I have separate paths. Now, I'm not as able to keep up as much as I'd like on LinkedIn, so I'm getting ready to learn a whole lot, and BOSSes, I think you're gonna learn a whole lot from this wonderful, wonderful talent here. So let's get going. Before we talk about LinkedIn, tell us a little bit about your journey into voiceover. Tracy: Well, it started out with me just hanging out, washing dishes in my kitchen, listening to VO Buzz Weekly and other great podcasts like VO BOSS, which is on the resource page that I have on my website to recommend to other talent that are learning. Anne: Thank you. Tracy: Because you are always giving us value and you have since the very beginning, and I've learned so much from you. You are a wiz at marketing yourself and a great person just relationally. You know how to connect the dots and how to communicate very well. Anne: Well, thank you for that. Tracy: Oh, well you're welcome. I mean, part of the fun of being on podcasts is getting to tell people how much I enjoy them personally because I'm very relational myself, and I think think that if someone was just starting out in the industry, I feel like the best way to get started is to research. And that's what I tell everybody. Research, research, research. Read the articles, listen to the podcasts, watch the vlogs. Do all of those things. And there are some great paid courses too. I recommend all of that stuff because you can't just learn in bits and pieces so much. Sometimes you need to kind of put it all together, and we all connect those dots as we're going along in our journey. But I can't remember now what your original question is. Oh my. My journey. Anne: Your journey. Yes. Your journey. Because you've been doing this a long time. I think we started around the same time actually, and I was working part-time for a little bit before I went into it full-time. Were you always in it full-time or did you? Tracy: No. Anne: Okay. So you started part-time. Tracy: I was a claims adjuster for an auto insurance company. And I know you were, from your story, you were working on installing telephone systems, right? Anne: Yep, absolutely. Tracy: And that's how you got your start was hey, they needed a voice to be on the systems. And for me, I have a communication degree, and when I was in college, I had an internship at a cable company and one day the producer just handed me a piece of paper and was like, hey, you have a nice voice. Will you read this? I'm like, okay, sure. . So I read it, I get in there, it's no more than a small closet with foam in it in a microphone, right? So it's nothing fancy. So I go in there and I read it, and I just found that I have this natural sense of timing. I knew what 30 seconds should be. And that goes back even further to me just reading out loud to kids at the library when I was like 12, 13, 14. I just volunteered my time, and I was always like the babysitter that everybody wanted to come and hang out with their kids. So I have read to kids out loud several years of my life and still love reading out loud to my own kids. Reading out loud is such a skill that we don't realize we need to develop. Because when we're reading a book, you know, we're not gonna typically read out loud to ourselves. So sometimes it feels weird and it feels strange, but that's one of the best skills that we can learn when we're getting into into the industry. Anne: Oh yeah. That's like cold reading skills right there. And I remember myself as a youngster, I would always be that person that would raise the hand -- who wants to read out loud for the class? Tracy: Yes. Anne: Me. And I wrote books too when I was really young. When I was in kindergarten, I learned to write, and I started to write books and I read them to the first graders, and it was all about Nibbles the Bunny. But I think that maybe that was so long ago though. Tracy: Okay. I feel like -- Anne: That was like my start . Tracy: -- we have got to publish these books. The world needs to see Nibbles the Bunny. Anne: I'm telling you -- Tracy: Have you considered that? Anne: ? I wish. I wish that I had a picture of it or a record of what it was that I wrote, but I vividly remember drawing the bunny. I illustrated too. And then I wrote the books, and I was so proud to read them, and all of my career, and I know yours too, I think a lot of voice actors when they get into it, they're good cold readers, or they've always been like excited to read or perform in front of an audience. And it's wonderful for your cold reading skills. And then I think what happens is, as we really get into the acting of voiceover, then it becomes something where you don't wanna use that as a crutch. You wanna use it to get yourself to quickly get into the story, but then you need to act. And then if you're reading too much and then it's gonna sound like you're reading too much, but I digress. But I think it's a wonderful skill that everybody needs in order to just, you know, be quick on their feet. Once you get those script changes that come in like at the last minute, you've gotta be able to do a quick cold read and understand and comprehend that story so that you can then tell it back while you're voicing it. Tracy: Yeah. Yeah. And it's really important to have that -- that child doesn't have those inhibitions that we do as adults. So I feel like if we could just tap into our inner child, we wouldn't be scared of it, you know, because we can all get performance anxiety, especially the more and more and more people come into the room to listen to us perform, it just becomes so scary. So it really all comes down to just reading out loud, having fun with it, telling a story. That's what we're here for. Anne: Absolutely. Now this is a little earlier than I was gonna get into it, but you're a mom of four kids, so big family. I'm also one of four in the family. Actually through the pandemic I became one of six and that's just a whole 'notherpodcast where I found out I had a brother and a sister, which is a wonderful thing. But I loved being a family where we're close in age. Tell me about your family, 'cause they're also doing voiceover, and I love how you just talked about how we need to be kids, we need to feel uninhibited. And so do you work with your kids and then also learn from them as well or be reminded of that as well? Tracy: Oh gosh, I'm always learning lessons from them. And a lot of those lessons involve being patient and being a good communicator, breaking down what I need from you and saying it nicely. . Anne: Oh yeah. And hey, that works in marketing too, right? . Tracy: Yeah, that's true. I mean direct communication, but doing it kindly is I think a big key to marketing effectively. Anne: Yeah. Tracy: But my kids are always teaching me stuff. Like last night, my daughter, she's nine, she's the middle daughter'cause I have a son and then three girls. Anne: Okay. Tracy: So the middle daughter is right in that sweet spot. You see a lot of auditions that come through 8 to 10, 8 to 10. So she's right there. She's also recently started taking vocal lessons. They do coach as well. Martha Khan is an excellent teacher for kids. Love her, my kids love her. But my daughters, all four of the kids actually take piano lessons, so -- Anne: I did too. Tracy: Oh yes. It's great. We need that musicality. Anne: It's so wonderful. Yes, absolutely. And I use that musicality when I coach as well because there's a melody to conversation. There's a melody in which most people are trying to achieve that natural, conversational, authentic, and there's a melody to it, believe it or not, if you break it down, so. Tracy: Were you a vocalist as well? Or are you still? Anne: Yeah, I mean I don't sing professionally, but you know, I sing in the shower, but for the longest time I was in choir for all four years of high school and went to the all-states and the all-counties and absolutely. I still love, love to sing. And it is something that, and playing piano, understanding where your notes are and being able to read music, it greatly helped breaking down the performance of a conversation. And so yeah. It's the basis of how I teach a lot actually. 'cause there's a lot of people who are musical that come into this industry. So piano's wonderful. Tracy: Yeah, they really have an advantage. I took lessons, uh, piano lessons for seven years as well. And I definitely see a lot of legato, staccato. Anne: Yes. Tracy: Those are pretty big themes in what we do. Anne: Yeah. Tracy: And also understanding how to translate what the client is saying. I actually see sort of musically in my head. Anne: Oh yeah, there's a rhythm. There's definitely a rhythm to it and a beat. And also the emotional part of it too, right, the emotion that gets put into it and the passion that gets put into it. Words are notes and really it's phrasing is very similar, right? We don't breathe in the middle of our phrases when we talk. It's not like I'm going to talk to you like this. You know, , it's, yeah. There's just a whole composition to it and, and I believe in my demo production too, it's a storyline from beginning to end. So it's amazing how much music plays into, at least how I identify and can work within voiceover and also coach it. Tracy: Yes. Imagination too. We've got to again tap into that inner child where we're able to let ourselves go into the story and become the character. Anne: Oh yes. Tracy: My daughter and I both have -- my older daughter, my 11-year-old, she loves like fairy tales, princess stories, anything that involves, you know, that kind of fantasy world. And right now I cannot get her nose out of this book that she's reading. It's the Ella Enchanted author. I can't remember -- her last name is Levine. Anyway, caught her reading by the light of the nightlight last night when she's supposed to be sleeping. But that kind of joy for the story Yeah. Is what we need as adults. And that's another thing that I was talking to my daughter last night with the auditions is that --'cause they needed her to do some giggles. And sometimes it's hard to get kids to laugh on command, and I'll tickle 'emand I'll do whatever I need to, but I'm just like, pretend you're having fun with your friends. I want you to think about the best day. I want you to think about when you do your gymnastics and you just, you love life and let it bubble up and come out of you. So she's still working on that. She's a little nervous in front of the mic still. But it's all part of the journey. So I do learn a ton from my kids. That's a great question that I don't think everyone's ever really asked me before. Anne: Oh, and you know what's so funny is that when I was teaching, of course I worked in high school, I learned so much, probably more from the kids than they might've learned from me. I mean, my hope was to inspire and motivate them, but boy did I learn a whole lot from them. It's why I coach today because I really feel that give and take, and I can completely understand when you're working with your children. Like it's such a wonderful give and take when you're experiencing that together, and you're learning together and you're guiding her and hopefully getting her super excited to just excel at voiceover, and so great for you. Now how do you find the time? There's the, the question probably everybody asks you, because I was part of a four child family and I know how busy my mom was. She was constantly carting me everywhere to my piano lessons or whatever that was. I also rode horses, but it was a crazy busy time for my mom. So how do you do it all? Tracy: I just really think time management's important, but also just understanding boundaries. I have worked for many years without my kids being away and with having really limited childcare hours. Because I love my kids and I want to spend time with them. So everything I teach, I say do it in the cracks of life. There's always little windows and bits, and if you can take that, you can actually concentrate it and do more in that time. I've found that since my kids, all four of them, are in school full-time, I have to really reign myself in and plan my day more consecutively to where I'm using it more effectively. Because when I just had two hours and a day to work during nap time, boy, I really hustled. And I really focused on marketing on LinkedIn. That was the thing that I needed to do. I have not enjoyed endless auditioning. That's not something that really floats my boat. I don't love it. Anne: I don't either. Tracy: I do auditions. Yeah. And actually, actually I joined Bodalgo. Anne: Did I say that? Yeah. Don't either. Tracy: We have to do what we have to do. Anne: I know. Tracy: But I don't hardly audition on Voice123 because there's just so many and there's so many people. But I do love of course agents, I will audition everything that I feel is appropriate -- Anne: Yes. Absolutely. Tracy: -- for my -- absolutely. So agents, current clients that maybe they need three choices to send to their end person. Yeah. Or some of the different production houses that I'm part of, they'll need auditions and Bodalgo. But really that's it. Most of the time it's directly communicating with the client 'cause that is where I really enjoy. Anne: Yeah, I love that. And you know, that's so interesting 'cause I feel that we're kind of like soul sisters in that area because right now, the way that I have -- I'm doing a lot of things. I mean, I'm doing this podcast, I'm doing a VO Peeps group and I also coach and I do voiceover, so I don't have a ton of time to devote to auditioning. And so for me it was more about the direct marketing. One of the things that I developed because I didn't have a ton of time, was the BOSS Blast, which was a direct marketing to a list. And that makes total sense that for you, you would go and use LinkedIn or use whatever social platform that worked for you to get those jobs directly because that kind of bypasses a lot of times the need for an audition. And also I, I would imagine, I'm gonna talk to you about that, like what search engine optimization has to do in LinkedIn that helps you get found, and people maybe reach out to you, and then if they hear your demo or you've got samples up there, I would imagine that then they just say, have an inquiry and say how much would it cost to do this? And for me that's the time saver where I don't have to audition. And it's not that I won't audition, but it's just that I don't have a ton of time. So I had to get more efficient at my marketing. So then let's talk about LinkedIn. Now, why LinkedIn, first of all for you and not some other social platform? Tracy: Well, I mean the other ones are fun, but when people think about business, they think about LinkedIn. It is the number one most widely used business social media platform. So naturally that's where I was gonna go because I'm not interested in getting followers and being popular online. I'm just here to build those business relationships and grow my business. And I did it. I mean, I would market to as many people as I could. My goal was 20 people per day, new people that I would reach out to. As a young person in my career as a young mom of little kids, I knew my time was limited, so that's where I focused. I said I'm gonna market to 20 people per day. And I kept like a little, just a paper, like a written, handwritten notebook where I would write down names and dates, and then I would, you know, make a note back if someone contacted me back. But it was just a visual tool to show me that I had actually accomplished something that day. And now I have a resource in my LinkedIn marketing course, the VO Edge, that's called Five Daily Reach Outs. Because 20 is a lot, and I realize that's a lot. So, but five, anybody can do five. And that's why over the years I've learned from people like you, people like Natasha Marcheska, people that know how to break a big task into little tasks. If you do that, you can accomplish so much more because you're not gonna get discouraged. And to have a plan. I guarantee that you don't wake up wondering, I wonder what I'm gonna do today. You know what you're doing because you are super organized. Anne: Well, I think you have to be, right? And especially for us to be successful and to continue to grow in our businesses. I mean we have to be, because we've got a lot of things that we're doing. I mean, you're a mom of four, you're a voice talent, you're running a online -- is it an online course and is it live as well? Tracy: No, it's just online. Anne: That's a lot -- okay. Tracy: It's online only. And I did that to save myself time. I really put a lot of thought into planning out the different modules and lessons and I tightly edited them so there's no wasted time because I don't like my time to be wasted. And I didn't wanna do that to anybody else. So it's about two hours of content overall. And I also do like a little introductory pump up video to kind of get people excited and motivated to do that module and that lesson. But yeah, it's totally, anybody can do it in their own time. It's on demand, and you can go revisit it anytime. It's all videos and there's some downloads too. Anne: And I imagine 'cause creating curriculum, of course being an educator, right, for the longest time, I mean, it takes time to create good content. So for you to keep that up to date and keep that as a successful online course, congratulations. First of all, I know how much time that takes and how much effort it takes to get really good content and a really good course online that people can really get value out of. Now do you do any special coaching? I'm sure people are coming up to you and go, please, can you just help me with my profile, or do you do any type of individual coaching as well? Tracy: Yeah. I'll do one-on-one and so I'll do like a private consulting session for an hour, and we'll go over, typically we'll start with the profile. And I always ask, Hey, please send me any questions in advance, the things you really wanna know because I'm not gonna waste your time and we're gonna go quickly during this hour. Anne: Good. Tracy: But I don't do a ton of that because the course is so comprehensive that most people get their questions answered through that. Anne: Awesome. Tracy: And I really do direct them towards the course because then it doesn't take up my time. Anne: Right. Tracy: But I love working with people as you know, it's so much more fun to get to know people individually during that hour. So I mean, I made a friend by the end of the hour and I love that. Anne: Yeah. It is. The only thing is, is that as you keep trying to -- and for me, I'm, I'm very business minded, right? And for me, if I'm not growing then I'm stagnating and that's not necessarily where I wanna be. And so personally in my business, I'm always looking to grow in one way or another. And so every week, every month, every year, I'm looking at how can I grow my business? And so your personal time is probably the most precious time that you have. And so for example, I can't coach any more people. I cannot do any more one-on-ones because I'm one person, and I simply don't have the hours in the day to do everything that I wanna do. So it is important to be efficient. So let's talk a little bit more about the LinkedIn. You're using the free version of LinkedIn, right? Tracy: Right. I've never done the premium. Anne: Okay. You've never even tried it? Tracy: No. Anne: Okay. Tracy: It's just so robust, I don't need it. Anne: Okay. Tracy: You do get limited on the number of connections, but what I've taught people is that you can put your searches in and then bookmark it. And that way you can just keep going back to that page, and it doesn't keep ding you for additional searches. Anne: Oh, got it. Tracy: So that's a big secret that a lot of people. Anne: We can go home now. That's it. That's a . That's it. That's the nugget. Tracy: But I mean, what you mentioned earlier about optimizing the SEO, so let's talk about that. Anne: Yes. Tracy: That is one of the key things. And you're great at that on your website. I know that. Anne: Oh, thank you. Tracy: Well, you come from a tech -- Anne: It's lot of work. Yeah. Tracy: -- background. Yes. Yes. And it's additional content. Anne: But it's worthy. Tracy: Yes. Anne: It's definitely worth it to spend the time on the content because it brings people to your site. And I imagine people on LinkedIn searching for voiceover talent, like you want them to reach your profile. Tracy: Right. Anne: So yeah, let's talk about what do you do to enhance your SEO for that? Tracy: Well, so there are three steps in what I teach with LinkedIn. And the first step is optimizing your profile. So that's where you must start. Do not start reaching out to people if you haven't completely shined up your profile and made it the best it can be. So obviously that would be the base step in step one. So step one involves just putting yourself forward authentically. One of the things that I really harp on is how there's so much inauthentic, spammy marketing, and you can stand out by being authentic. I consider my life messy. People know that I have four kids and I don't hide it. I put all over my Instagram, I just posted one recently about going Christmas shopping with the kids, and it was just, I did not wanna go. It starts off with me making a face, you know, like I don't wanna do this. And I used like the circus theme because sometimes that's how I feel like I live in a circus. So I allow people to get a glimpse into my messiness. And I feel like that's actually been a boost to my brand, because I'm relatable and we all have messes. So why pretend to be perfect? So when you create your profile, though, you are your most businessy self on LinkedIn. So I'm not nearly as messy there. I will be all kinds of messy on Instagram and Facebook. But here on LinkedIn we're a little bit more put together. We wanna make sure that people know we can handle the work. We're not gonna flake, we're dependable. So key words that emphasize those kinds of business ethics are key. And also speaking from a one-on-one perspective, don't make it sound like, Tracy Lindley is a full-time voice actor, that kind of thing. You wanna say I am. So you're speaking to the first person. I tell people to look at it as if you were at a networking event and you're meeting someone for the first time and they say, what do you do? So you've got a big picture back here where you're giving an overall view of who you are, 'cause they asked, and if they're visiting your profile, that's kind of like asking what do you do? Let me get to know you a bit. And then when you get down to the experience section about being a voice talent, then that's when you get into more of the nitty gritty like clients, agents, those kinds of things. Anne: Do you put examples and demos on there as well in your profile? Tracy: Oh yeah. That's key. Anne: Media? Tracy: I mean, why would you wanna hire somebody that doesn't have any examples at all of their work? Anne: Right. Tracy: And don't make 'em go looking on your website. That wastes their time. Everything that we do needs to be client-centered, and it wastes the client's time to take them to your website or some other source. You should put it right there on LinkedIn. Put all your best examples. And a lot of times people are starting out brand new. Like if you've coached someone and they've just created a demo, and they have no body of work, they can take that demo that you've created with them and turn it into a video and display that on LinkedIn. Anne: Videos are effective. Tracy: Yes. And you can't really do an MP3 on LinkedIn. You have to do some sort of video. So sometimes people do SoundCloud, but I don't find that very effective 'cause it's just a static picture. And I think even a very simple video is fine. Some people do make it look like all these clips of commercials, which is really cool, but it's also costly. And if people are bootstrapping their business at the beginning, it's really easy to create a very simple video with your picture and just a few things, contact information on the back. Contact information is huge because that's our call to action is contact me. Anne: What about your feed on LinkedIn? Are you posting to the feed on LinkedIn? Are you creating content? Because I know a big thing, gosh, a couple years ago when I was looking back into it was creating content and posts like short blog posts in LinkedIn. Is that still, is that effective? Is that, what are your thoughts on that? Tracy: You know, video's really taken over. Blogs are still fantastic and also they can link back to your website, which boosts your SEO, but really video is king right now, and those are the things that are gonna get the most engagement. But you can't just get on camera and talk about nothing. You have to give people something of value. And you have to to keep it short. So when I post videos, I try to keep 'em less than two minutes, 90 seconds if I can. You know, it just depends. I'll do it in one, two, no more than three takes. And if I can't get it in three takes, just forget it. I'll come back later. Because mm-hmm. I want it fresh, I want it off the cuff. Anne: Yeah. I agree. Tracy: I want it to be as authentic as possible. Anne: Yeah, I agree. And so the big question is, and I know most of, a lot of students will, well what do I post? Or what do I talk about? Like what do you talk about? Do you talk about voiceover? I don't think the intent is to do a hard sell on hire me, I do voiceover. What are your thoughts on creative videos that would bring value? Tracy: Well, I'd say touch on things that make us human, touch on things that make us a business person. So one of the best videos I ever did was talking about how I am extra, and at my kids's school I was doing the announcing for the volleyball game, and I was told after that, hey, you know, you don't need to commentate so much about the volleyball game, you know, just do the sponsors and say something at the end of the match. Okay. But I didn't, I just would say something after like every point. I think it did get a little annoying. I did learn from that, but my point was I just couldn't sit there with this microphone and not say things. So I just realized I am extra and I made a little video out of that and about rejoicing in being extra. And so -- Anne: I love that. Tracy: Yes. So many people relate to that. And that kind of thing that brings us together as humans. it makes us who we are. And I was the kind of girl that went door to door selling cookies in the neighborhood and asking if I could rake your leaves and things. I've always been a go-getter and I know you are too, Anne. And when you're a go-getter in this industry, you can't just sit back and do the minimum. Anne: Yeah. Agreed. Tracy: That was my video. Anne: Agreed. Well, I love that. So now outside of LinkedIn, right, and of course BOSSes out there, I totally encourage all of you just go take the course, just do it. LinkedIn is just one of the best resources for getting work that I can think of. I guess my last question before I ask you, the big question, which is I will get to that, is let's talk about templates or how do you reach out to somebody in a cold contact? I feel like cold contacting people is difficult. That I know. And so how do you wrangle that in reaching out and not being considered spammy? Is there a tip or two or three that you have in reaching out to people? Tracy: Sure. My biggest tip is to look for anything that you can use to find common ground. So when people are just starting out using LinkedIn, one of the best ways to reach out is by geographic area. So you could reach out to folks in LA, I can reach out to folks in Kansas City, and that way we have that in common already and we know that. And that's an easy thing to put into the search terms when we're using the search features of LinkedIn is geographical area. So that's one thing. But another thing, I encourage people to look through their profile and find something that they can relate to. Maybe they mention a cat or a dog or kids, or I like to watch the Chiefs, whatever. Find something. If they've written any kind of personal about section, usually you can find something interesting there to comment about. But as far as templates, I am pro templates within reason, I do think that it's good -- if you're gonna kind of write similar things each time, I don't think we need to reinvent the wheel. So I do encourage people to write templates, but personalize like the first sentence and always say that person's correctly spelled name. Anne: Oh yeah. . Absolutely. Tracy: Like I bet people spell your name A-N-N. And you're like, uh... Anne: Yes. All the time. All the time. They do. Tracy: And I always get, yes, T-R-A-C-E-Y is how people end up spelling my name. I'm like, there's no E. . We don't like that. Anne: There's no E. Absolutely. Well, what wonderful advice. Now in addition to LinkedIn, what would be your best business tip for people just getting into the industry on how to establish their business or get work and be successful? Tracy: I would say the best thing is to start local. Start with who you know. I think I'm hearing from your story that people who were your first clients were people you actually knew in your life, and they were in mind too. So when you are truly ready to hang out your open for business sign, which means you've got a great website, you've got a great professionally produced demo, you have enough training to where if someone says, I need this, you can give it to them-- your sound quality has to be top notch, you have to have a low sound floor, no buzzing, no echo, all that stuff, and you know how to use your equipment, including source connect. If you say that you have source connect -- okay. If you have all that stuff, then you are ready to start hanging out your sign and telling people on Facebook and Instagram and whatever that you're doing voiceover. And chances are there's someone in your life who needs voiceover, especially if you have a decent personal social network. And that's kind of how it happened for me was I was personally connected to someone that owned a marketing firm, and he was one of my first clients. My alma mater hired me to do a short documentary. There were some little IVR things that I did, and it just kind of snowballs. Anne: Absolutely. Tracy: Yeah. And then I felt confident. I'm like, okay, I have a little bit of work here that I can showcase. It may not be any brand names that are super sexy, but it's work, and it sounds good and it looks good, so let's put it out there. So that's what I started doing. It builds on each other. Anne: It's amazing how important local can be in establishing relationships. Also, relationships that keep coming back as you nurture it. I have so many repeat clients that I've had for years because like you say, communication is key, and nurturing those relationships are key. And a lot of them started off locally. And I think that that is something people don't think of. And that also locally helps when you're advertising like where you are voicing from, like voicing from Southern California or Orange County, California or Los Angeles area. Even just putting those words on your website help for people to find you because most of the times when people are searching using Google, it's automatically got localization turned on. And so if they're searching for voice talent, it's gonna search locally first. And so you wanna be up at the top of that search. So, great advice, Tracy. I wanna thank you so very much for joining me today. Yay. My bucket list checked off. Tracy: Oh, me too. This is so fun. And I'll see you at VO Atlanta in March. Anne: I know, I'm very excited. How can people get in touch with you and where can they go to get that course again? Tracy: Okay, so my website, if people wanna check out me or my work or whatever, that's tracylindley.com. And the course is @thelinkedinedge.com. Or if you wanna just look at the one for voice actors, it's thevoedge.com and it'll take you right there. Anne: Perfect. Tracy: And I'm happy to answer questions. Contact me on Instagram. My handle is @TracyLindleyVO, pretty much everywhere. Anne: Awesome. Tracy, thank you so much again for joining me. I'm gonna give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also, I want you to understand about your chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to commit and find out more. You guys, have an amazing week. Tracy, thank you again, and we'll see you next week. Bye. Tracy: Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In this episode, Anne and Gillian stress the importance of having a high-quality home studio for voice actors. The hosts discuss the technical aspects of setting up a studio, such as having a good computer, fast internet, and a reliable microphone. They also emphasize the need for soundproofing, with Anne sharing her DIY approach to creating acoustic panels for her studio. Additionally, the hosts talk about the importance of isolation and how it can be achieved through building panels or using reflection filters. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights for anyone looking to set up a professional-grade voiceover studio.
Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show audio engineer, musician and creative freelancer Gillian Pelkonen for another episode in our BOSS audio series. Hey Gillian. Gillian: Hello Anne. How's it going today? Anne: I'm doing good. Gillian, I love talking all things audio with you, especially because for a voice actor, our home studios are so very important. And I work mostly out of my home studio, and I know that you kind of do both. You work out of professional studios and your home studio. So I thought we should discuss the important aspects of what voice actors really need and how they can fine-tune their home studio to sound their best, 'cause that's an important component of today's voice actor. We need to have great sound. Gillian: Yeah, I definitely agree. And I'm home. This is like my working station, but when I'm really working I'm always just bopping around to different studios. So I understand why your booth is so important. It's like your second home or -- Anne: Yeah. (laughs). Gillian: You know, you spend all your time in there. Anne: We spend — oh yeah, we spend a lot of time in our booth. So first of all we have to be confident that it sounds amazing, that we can deliver amazing sound to our clients. And then also it's gotta be someplace where it's comforting for us because we do spend an awful lot of time in here. Gillian: I definitely agree with my personal setup that I have here. I have like all my little mementos that I wanna see, and I have my mic of course for just meetings and talking. But really professional studios are so different than a home studio, because for me I'm always going different places. There's a ton of different gear, a ton of different stuff that we swap in and out for different uses, different clients, but really you guys are just focusing on your voice. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: A lot of the work that I do is just to get creative sounds, different sounds, but with voice acting you want it to be consistent and you wanna show up in the booth to do, I guess, revisions for something that you did six months ago and you need to be the same Anne that you were, which is so crazy to me. Anne: Yeah. And even longer than that, actually I had a client just the other day that I had to provide pickups on something that I had done close to five years ago. And interestingly enough, I've actually transitioned from one studio to the next. So having I think the good bass sound, right, that you can get out of your studio area and also your mics make a big difference too in terms of the sound. And so I had to make sure that I could match it because I literally moved from my studio in Irvine, which was a different setup, a studio that my father built, to a custom studio that Tim Tippetts built here right before the pandemic. Oh, and in between I had a temporary studio, I forgot to mention that set up at an apartment that we were staying at until our new house was built and ready. So that was a different studio. So all through those three different studios, thankfully I had the same mic, so I at least knew that I could get the same sound as long as I had a decent environment to record that in. And then also I will give props to myself because I had the audio files from five years ago. So I'm a big proponent of backing up your stuff and keeping an archive of it so you can listen and see what your performance was like, see what you sounded like and then be able to match it. Gillian: Yeah, that's crazy. And so incredible that you have those files and I think that's one of the most important things for me personally too, just to keep everything backed up and know what's going on. But enlighten me, because I really don't know, like did you spend a lot of time working in studios before the pandemic? Like what was your experience like? Anne: Oh, good question. So I started, gosh, I started back in the early 2000s doing voiceover, and that was when a home studio was like just a thought. It was not a requirement, it was just a thought. And you used to go to local studios to record things, and you would get your jobs based upon auditioning with either studios, or you could audition and then you would select a studio and you would rent space there, or you might be on a roster for a studio. So it's very interesting because as technology evolved and online became a thing and online casting became a thing, then all of a sudden home studios became a thing. Actually back in the day with Don LaFontaine, right, having to travel LA traffic all the time, he became, I think one of the first proponents of doing things remotely in a studio using ISDN technology. So that I think really spurred everybody else on to start to get home studios because there's so many variables when you record in a studio. But the good thing about recording in a studio is that you go there and everything is beautiful, everything is sound -- everything is, well maybe not sound proof, but everything is optimized for recording so you didn't have to worry about it. And so for me, all of a sudden having to create a home studio or a space for me to record and sound good -- I'm not an audio engineer by trade, I didn't really study it in school. So for me that was a big hurdle in the beginning of my voiceover career. And I know it still is for voice talent that are coming up through the ranks, because that's not necessarily what we studied. We didn't study audio engineering. And of course it's a whole field. So (laughs), it's not an easy field. And to set up a space in your home so that it can sound as good as a professional studio is really tough. So in the beginning when I went to studios to record and do my jobs, it was great, except for there was always the stress. Can I book the time in the studio? And if I had the time booked for me in the studio, that was great. All I had to do was make sure I got there on time. And then that became a stressful thing for me because of possible traffic. And back in the day, I didn't live in the LA area, but I did live in the New York area. And so traffic anywhere, just the stress of getting to the studio on time, 'cause that's the last thing. You know, that was the one piece of advice that everybody gave to starting voice talent was that don't be late, don't be late to your studio time. You wanna make sure that you show up and you're professional. But you certainly didn't have to stress about anything other than just performing in front of the mic. And I think that was a big plus for going into studios. And people still go into studios today. And I know I love it when, even if I'm remotely connecting to a studio, I have the engineer taking care of all the sounds and levels and the files, and there's just so much to think about when you are at your home studio. And I'm rambling on here, but it's also a thing that when we are in our home studios, we have to think about things like, okay, well, it's our time to open those files, save the files, upload the files, send the files to our client, edit those files. And so that's something that when you don't go to a studio is now the responsibility of the voice actor. Gillian: Well, that's crazy (laughs). I mean obviously a lot of these things I know to some extent and it seems like there's so many pros and cons for both. I mean, just hearing you talk about it, obviously we know showing up to record and not having to record yourself, it takes a burden off of it. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: Because I record myself. I mean, I'm not a voice actor by any means, not at all. But I've been working on my music for my whole life, and I think when I was like 12 or 13 I got a little ProTools CD and like a tiny interface and that was what started it and the convenience of being at home. But really it is such a treat to go into a studio. Anne: It's a luxury. I think I consider it a luxury. Gillian: But also hearing you talk about it, I feel performance-wise, it's gotta be easier to deliver when you're not stressed about getting there on time, you're not stressed about, you know, needing to be in front of other people. I know for myself, I love recording myself, especially when I'm doing singing or vocals because it's super vulnerable and sometimes I don't wanna have to do that in front of somebody else, especially someone I don't know, a stranger. Like, it's a little bit more difficult. But it is interesting because I work at a lot of music studios, so we don't do a ton of voiceover, but whenever we do, we always apologize to the voice talent, 'cause we have this entire gigantic beautiful studio, and we're like, okay, we're gonna give you one mic, we're gonna stick you in the corner 'cause it has the best isolation and close the door, and that's where you're gonna get to go. 'Cause it really is true. You need a good mic, you need a good setup. But voice actors don't need that whole setup. And so I guess the question or conversation is gonna be about how do you take the pros of a pro studio and incorporate them into your home studio setup and make it so that you don't wish you were at the studio. You have everything you need right there. Anne: Yeah, yeah. It's a journey, for sure, for a voice actor, because again, I don't have the audio engineering education that you do. I know how to perform behind the mic. And so I just remember for me setting up my initial home studios --and I didn't have an ear either for it. I think when you first begin, you just don't have an ear for what good sound sounds like, and I would record and I didn't think anything of it and sent my file off to someone and they're like, mm, yeah, no Anne, that's not gonna do, that's not acceptable. And I was mortified and then it was like, wow. So what do I have to do to make my studio produce sound that is viable for my client? Gillian: Yes, definitely an interesting conversation and thought just because it's true, like voice actors, they do have to fill the role of the audio engineer. I do believe that. But I also don't think that all voice actors need to be audio engineers. Anne: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Gillian: You need to know how to record yourself. You need to know how to see if you're clipping, if you're too quiet to hear, a little bit of distortion or hear if your voice just isn't sounding right. And obviously, you know, with auditions you have to edit, you have to make it sound comparable to the other auditions and maybe a final product. But really I feel like if you tell someone who's not an audio engineer, or if you told me five years ago before I was really an audio engineer, you have to do this, it's so overwhelming. So I feel like talking about what people actually need to know, versus what you hire a professional for, or what you just kind of say, okay, this is a setting within my DAW that does not pertain to me. I don't need to be using this to get proper file delivery -- I feel like that's really important for people to just, I think make peace with. Because if you spent all your time trying to learn how to be an audio engineer, you would have no time to be a voice talent or to be doing what you actually wanna be doing. Anne: So true, so true. So then I think maybe starting from square one, if BOSSes out there are just getting started, and I know I work with people who are just getting started in the industry, and they'll connect to me for their sessions in an office with a headset, and there will be no studio whatsoever, and they will be okay, I'm building my studio. So for me, I will always say to them, well, I certainly have a ton of people that I can recommend to you that can help you build that studio. But there are certain principles that I know, like I can now hear if they have good sound or not. And I think the first thing to consider is, in your home, like where is a quiet area? And I know that's such a lofty question to ask, but in reality what I've learned is that if you can go somewhere inside your home that's maybe on an inside wall, maybe something that's not necessarily externally connected or near windows or near doorways or near sounds that can turn on — I mean I thought I was really great in the beginning going into my office closet, but unfortunately I found that it was very close to where I would hear water when the toilet flushed upstairs. So it was like one of those things I kept hearing noises. And so I think the first thing is to find that spot in your home that is quiet and also yet convenient to a place where you can put a microphone and also your computer, 'cause you do need your interface, your computer and your microphone. So where can you put that and set that down so that you can record in a space and also have the functionality of being able to record into your computer, and then obviously hit the start record, stop, record, and all that stuff. And also wear a pair of headphones in the beginning so that you can kind of find out what your sound is like. All those things that people don't think about, they're like, well, I'm gonna put my studio here in my closet, but then all of a sudden their desk is like at the other side of the room, and they don't have a long enough cable. It could be that simple, right? (laughs) They don't have a long enough cable for their headphones, and then they're like, well what do I do? Or they don't have a long enough cable for their interface is sitting on desk completely across the room, and then well do they bring the interface into the room? So it becomes all these different questions. But I think understanding that your spot in your home I think needs to be in a quiet area first. Maybe not near a window or not near anything that's within a wall that could be making noise like a heater or air conditioning or a generator, that kind of thing. What are your thoughts on that, Gillian? Gillian: It's so funny 'cause the like doing vocals in a closet or whatever, it's a cliche because it works. Having the padding of the clothing and typically that ends up being a quiet spot in your house, but it's not sustainable to work in your closet forever. And all those things that you mentioned are totally important. You have to have a computer, all of those things. And don't take me for an example if anyone's watching the video; I'm in my office. I don't do recording in here, but I'm like by a window by a ton of noise. It's terrible. But I think finding the right spot to get set up in is totally important. But the most important thing I think, and you can let me know what you think, but for the most part for doing voiceover work, obviously you need a microphone, but your computer, your internet connection, those are like hugely important things because how fast your computer is, how good it is at processing audio speeds, how well it connects to your interface — like all of those super technical things within — I know I have like a brand new MacBook — those are gonna really matter for how your audio sounds when you deliver it to clients. And you can have the nicest setup in the world, but if you don't have internet, or I know a lot of people also do like ethernet connections, you're not gonna make it to the job. Obviously if you're just auditioning and sending it later, that's a different scenario. But I mean, how important is it to you to obviously be able to connect to clients? That's like the number one. Anne: Well, I think that's probably one of the most overlooked aspects of being a successful voice actor is your internet. And especially now with needing to have high capacity audio recording features like Source Connect or ipDTL or whatever connection you might be using to get to a studio — that's if you're connecting to a studio -- you need to have a reliable internet connection. And I remember I very much was adamant when I came to my new place here, because it was being built, I specified that there were three specific ethernet jacks placed on the wall, on each wall. So literally I made sure that I had ethernet hardwired, connected before I moved in because I knew it was gonna be easiest to do it then. Because the people who move into homes, and they don't have ethernet connections, then they usually have to hire an electrician or somebody that can find out that they can run the wire through the wall to get to their modem or their router, or they have to move the router into their office and then other things become a problem. So ethernet and your hardwire connections are so important. And I don't see the technologies advancing anytime soon. Like wireless technology is great and convenient, but it's still not as great as a straight wired connection. I mean you cannot beat an ethernet connection or a fiber connection to your router that gets your data there fast. Gillian: I think it's just sturdiness. It's true, wifi goes out or it's finicky sometimes. So those are are really important things. And obviously having the foresight to know that you need to have ethernet and all those things installed is really important. But for the people that didn't think about this, are already living somewhere, don't know what to do, find a spot where you feel comfortable, find a spot that's kind of away from extraneous noise. And I personally don't think, if you're just starting out in voiceover, you need to splurge on a booth or anything right away. I think there's a ton of DIY options that we can talk about, but I think that's also a lot of pressure, or at least from what I'm hearing. I'm also like half in the voiceover world, half out of it. So there's a lot of questions that I'm probably gonna have for you about like why people say certain things. And I know kind of random but kind of on the conversation is a lot of audio people that I know are very adamant about not updating your computer or having really, really old hardware. I understand the processes -- Anne: To support the equipment, right? Gillian: -- behind it. Yeah. But I personally don't live that way. I update my computer. I have new stuff and there are times, like when I, I updated to a newer version of ProTools or a new version of Mac, like the Mac OS that was not supportive of ProTools, and I had a couple weeks where it was having a little bit of bugs, which is frustrating. But definitely for security of myself and all of the other things going on in my life, I don't think that you need to be using a 2010 computer. Anne: Well, I agree. Normally I would agree with you 'cause I worked in technology for like 20 years. I would always say -- Gillian: No, no, tell me. Anne: Update. Update. Gillian: I'm not saying that right. This is just the way that I work. (laughs) Anne: Update, and I love being updated to the latest and the greatest 'cause I figure it's getting rid of a lot of bugs. However, sometimes when Apple doesn't update, because I work with Apples, it's not conducive to working with my hardware for my studio. So my Apollo, which is my interface, and I have backup interfaces, but right now the latest release of Mac OS is not compatible with it. And I can't afford to struggle for two weeks. I need to have something that allows me to connect and record. And so I will wait on the update until I find out -- I usually check all the -- there's a lot of great groups out there on the internet that talk about should you update your hardware for this new release? Is it compatible with the latest release for the Apollo? And I think it's wise to keep your eyes on that. I don't think you should be 10 releases behind for sure. But (laughs), I do think that before you upgrade, to just take a look and ask around to see if things are compatible. That's important, especially if you're required to record every day in your studio, and you don't wanna have to go to your backup recording. And that's the other thing too is that I'm very much into having a backup recording setup, because I've had things happen to me enough times. But people just starting off getting into voice acting, they probably don't even have their first setup (laughs) set up, let alone a backup set of equipment. Gillian: So let me just talk to you on that for a second. I personally don't have any Apollo, Apollo or UAD stuff for that reason because I'm so nervous to be stuck without it. And I totally agree with you, because when I updated my computer without realizing that ProTools -- I mean I'm fortunate enough that I have five or six other places that I can go use ProTools. It wasn't like -- and it was working. It just, there were certain plug-ins that weren't working. But that's not the end of the world. Anne: Right. Gillian: But the lesson that I learned from that was, oh my gosh, never update without checking because it's true all the programs that you're using -- and I think within Apple they will say what is compatible and what's not compatible with these new releases, and that is totally smart person way to do it. And you get burned to realize that you can't do it, which is what happened to me and I'm sure has happened to you. Anne: You only have to get burned once. Right? Gillian: You get burned once and then you're like, this sucks. I'm so dumb, I have my features and now I can't do my job. Anne: Yeah. Gillian: Which is sucky. Anne: Exactly. Gillian: So learn from our mistakes, don't make your own. But there are some people, and I've met them, people that I work with too -- I mean one of these studios, we had a 10 years old ProTools rig, and when you get into the large professional studios, they are upwards of like $10-, $20-, $30,000 for new ProTools rig like expensive. Anne: Oh yeah. And I'm sure that's why they don't upgrade to the latest and greatest all the time. Gillian: Well, the old system was super sturdy, was working really well. And then we upgraded and there were some glitches and bugs and things that come with updating. I don't know why. I just heard people that I work with grumbling like, ah, you know, the old system was so great, now we have the new system and it keeps crashing. And so the, there is this conversation about not upgrading for like 10 years. I don't know if you've heard that within audio engineers. Anne: That's a long time. Yeah. Gillian: So if anyone is giving you that advice, I'm just gonna give you the counter-advice so that you can take both of them and make an educated choice about what you wanna be doing. You don't need to be doing what I'm doing and have the newest stuff. If you have an Apollo, you definitely can't always have the most updated, because it's a little bit behind and everything that's not within Apple will always be a little bit behind. But just make your own choices, people. (laughs) Listen to us, gather the info and make a good choice. Anne: Yeah. Make an educated choice. And I, and I agree like there's always that fine line of when do you update your technology, like when does that happen? And I'm very used to just from my previous jobs -- I mean I was always living on the edge. I was always trying the new stuff. And so I'm very bold when it comes to trying new stuff. But I'm also smart enough, I've been burned enough times to know that I need backups of everything and then backups of the backups. And so I'm actually really thankful for that experience. And BOSSes out there, I say backups of backups, backups of your files, backups of your equipment, backups of your internet connection, because the one time will come when you really need it, and you won't have that backup. And that only has to happen once. I'm so old, it's happened to me multiple times. So I feel good that I've learned from it. And so while I feel as though I'm really close to the edge on everything I possibly can be, I'm also smart about when to get on that edge with equipment and stuff that I need on a day-to-day basis. So yeah, absolutely. So when you're looking for that space in your home, that quiet space, that space that's comfortable for you and also hopefully quiet for you, right, for that home studio, then you start preparing it, right, acoustically. So Gillian, what can people do to prepare their home studios acoustically? What sorts of things can they do to have sound absorption? Like if they're in a closet, obviously they can have their clothing which is a great absorber of sound. What other things can they use? Gillian: There are a ton of things that you can use. I know there's a few DIY boots in the sense that they're not thousands and thousands of dollars. They're like some PVC pipe and some packing blankets that will kind of isolate you, which is great. Anne: Sure. Gillian: I think the issue with the way that homes are built versus how sound works is you get the windows, you get all the boxy walls, and you have all these parallel surfaces, and you talk, and all the sound just bounces from side to side to side. So the whole point of having treatment on the walls and treatment around you is to stop all of that reverberation -- Anne: Reflection. Gillian: Yeah. And the reflections. And just capture it. And really a lot of studios will be built with like diagonal walls and all of these things to just go against it. I have never built a studio, so I can't say that I've done it, but I've been in a lot of places where I'm like, that wall's really weird. Why is it like that? Anne: Yeah. Gillian: And of course it's not for aesthetic, it's for sound. So just making, making sure that you are blocking yourself from any windows are really reflective, just any sort of padding on the walls would be really -- I mean I see yours, all of your stuff in the background. For anyone who's watching, Anne has all those nice little -- Anne: Panels. Gillian: Yeah. The sound panels that just absorb everything. And there's also these things that we use in studios that I haven't seen any voice actors use, so I'm gonna have to ask you about it. They're like reflection filters. Have you ever heard of them? Anne: Does that go on a mic? Gillian: It goes on a mic stand. Anne: Yes, I have. I have. Gillian: Have you seen I them? Anne: Yeah, I have seen them and I have not had good success with them, and I actually hate them. I hate them with a passion. Gillian: Okay, tell me about it because I'm just curious. Anne: I think that they can work nicely in a studio that already has some acoustic absorption built into it. And then if it's in a large area, if it's in a large space and you need a little bit more, I think that they can work nicely. However, what most voice actors try to do is use it for their studio and then it just becomes the only thing that is used, and it becomes very close to the mic. And first of all, they're really bulky on the stands. I had something called a reflection filter and I paid a good amount of money for it. And like 300 some odd dollars and that was 10 years ago. Gillian: Wow. Anne: And it was very bulky. It weighted my microphone stand in a way that kept falling over. And then also it did not create the kind of sound absorption that I liked because it wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough. And then it became inhibitive in a way because I felt like I had something like right here in front of my face. It was very close, and I feel like it just didn't do a good enough job 'cause I think your absorption material needs to be thick. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: And so when they make the reflection filters, it's either thick or even if it's not thick, then it's not enough absorption, I don't believe. One thing that I learned through the years of going through, I'm gonna say, three or four different versions of a home studio is -- and by the way, the window, believe it or not, my studio right now is built in an office. It's a room within a room and right in in front of me. Gillian: Great. Anne: A room in a room is great. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: Right in front of me is a wall that had a side window on it. And we actually, before we built the studio, we frosted the window so it wouldn't look silly because we had a studio in front of it, and people would just look at a piece of plywood or (laughs), you know, so it wasn't attractive. So we frosted the window and then we actually put Rockwool insulation and then a drywall on the out. So we created a whole encasement for the window. Gillian: Wow. Anne: So that that blocked any potential sound that could potentially get in. And then we put the studio right up against it. And so that's how we blocked our window. So we made sure there was absolutely no way that sound could get in from the outside on these walls. So it's a room within a room. And so my acoustic panels are four inches thick. And they have Rockwool insulation and that's something you can get at Home Depot. It's awesome. It's really cost effective. It's not expensive. And these were all DIY panels that were made. And I'm gonna give a big shout out to Tim Tippetts. He's got a great YouTube video on how to make them. They're all four inches thick and they sit just slightly off the wall. Gillian: Yeah. Anne: So that way you have a little bit of spacing in between the panels and the wall for the sound to kind of just -- if it bounces on that wall, it'll come back in through the panel, which is four inches thick. So that you get I think the highest amount of sound absorption that you can using the panels. And if they aren't using the panels and they're using blankets, again, those blankets are giving you a certain level of absorption. Not quite as much I think as the four inch thick panels with Rockwool in there, but again, it's your choice. And I hang them everywhere. I have a ton of them in here. I also have clouds that are up above me with the same kind of thing. And then outside of my studio, because I want the outside of my studio to be quiet as well, I also have panels hung out there as well. Gillian: See, that is just like an impressive setup, and thank you, Tim Tippetts. I know he was the previous BOSS audio guest, and that's awesome that he did all of those things for your studio. And that's just what I would say the difference between a Pro VO setup and a beginner VO setup. You gotta start somewhere, and I think that isolation is really important. And obviously, any advice we give, and this will be what I keep saying on the series, is just take what we say and apply it to your situation. Because unless we're working one-on-one, like either Anne or I working with you, there's no way to know exactly what your situation is. But when you're starting out, I think that — I mean even if a few people built those things that Tim has a video on it and built those panels and just had them in your home office, behind you, around you, it'll help. You don't need to start with a room within a room, even though that's an amazing setup and it sounds great. And all studios are built with rooms within rooms and floating floors so that there's no sound coming from the outside world. But yeah, I think we got a really good foundation of home studio verse pro studio, how to get your space set up. And I think on the next episode, we should really dive in for the BOSSes on like what you need for a beginner home studio setup. What do you think? Anne: Absolutely. So guys, when you are thinking about getting into voice acting, you must also think about where in your home is a good place for that studio, because you can have an amazing voice, but if you can't deliver the audio, a good quality audio to your client, you're not gonna be a very successful voice actor. So absolutely very important. But one thing I will say to give you all hope, in case you're overwhelmed at this point, is that once you get a home studio setup, like I have a home studio setup, you're pretty much good to go. I mean, your stress is over. You don't have to worry about it much after that, outside of your equipment failing, but your space, if your space is set up, it's set up, right? Gillian: The investment is forever. Anne: Right? Yeah. Foregoing any kind of natural disaster, right, or emergency, it stands and it will absorb your sound appropriately, and you won't have to worry about it again. So that's what I love (laughs). Gillian: Yeah. And I love, Anne, all you shared with me because obviously I work in all these big studios, but I can't say that I've been given a tour of anyone's booth yet (laughs). So you know, hearing how you set it up and all of those things, I think it'd be great for BOSSes to know, and you taught me a little bit today too. Anne: Awesome. Well, Gillian, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to our next episode. BOSSes, simple mission, big impact, 100 voices, one hour, $10,000 four times a year. BOSSes, visit 100Voiceswhocare.org to join in. All right. Also, a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes, like Gillian and I; find out more at ipdtl.com. Thanks so much, guys. We'll see you next week. Bye. Gillian: Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Long before you lay eyes on your next script, you should be thinking about how your improv skills can help you stand out. Anne & Lau share their practical advice for integrating improv into your voice over work + act out some improved scenes for the Bosses! Improv is about being in the moment and responding to what is happening around you. Rehearsed speech sounds unnatural and stilted because it doesn’t reflect the way people actually speak. If a script is written the way you’d like it to be written, great! But if it isn’t written that way, then it is still your responsibility to make it believable. Improv requires imagination & creativity, which are both important elements of succeeding as a voice actor. Bosses, your voices are vehicles for storytelling, emotion, and world building. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I have with me my very special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Lau: Hey Anne. Anne: Hey Lau. How are you? Lau: I'm awesome. Great to be back. Anne: Ah, it's good to have you back Lau. Lau: Okay, here's the situation. Ready? Here we go. You just bought a car, and you're picking it up for the first time. They even sprayed that new car smell. And it's shining and gorgeous. Had a little bow on top. Give me a moment of pre-life. Like what's the exclamation you make before you speak? Anne: (screams) Oh my God, I'm so excited! I can't wait to get my car today! Lau: Oh, and I would do this. I would go, ooooh, I'm so excited. I can't wait to get my car today. Anne: I think it was important. I had some good physicality back there behind my mic here. Lau: We both did. We both were like exploding. Anne: So what is that, BOSSes? What are we talking about? Mmm? Lau: Mmm, I think that's improv city right there. Improv. Anne: Improv. So, so important to everything we do. I'm gonna say so important because, it really helps us. Would you say Lau, 90%, if not more, of casting specs are calling for believable, authentic, real? And I think honestly, in order for us to be real (laughs), improv is so very important to be able to create what's happening in the scene, your reaction, your emotion. I mean, that's really what makes us stand out from all the other people auditioning. Right? Lau: Right. I mean, speakers in the larger world outside of our industry, call it impromptu speaking, being able to think off the cuff, think on your feet, being able to think on the fly. Every time you hear someone say that, we know it's a tough skill for people. We know it's not a natural ability for most people to be under these unnatural circumstances and just think on the fly. Right? But it's a great tool, right, for voiceover talent to be able to do that. Anne: And you need it for everything. Guys, I don't want you to think that this is just for, I don't know, video games or character animation. You need improv for everything you do, including medical narration. Just saying. I’m like the biggest proponent of being in the scene, because we are so used to -- I think, those of you that just got into voiceover and you don't necessarily have acting experience — we're so used to picking up a piece of paper with words and reading the words out loud, and listen to what I just said. We're used to taking a look at the piece of paper and reading the words out loud. And that's what you don't wanna do, right, as a voiceover actor. You want to be in a scene. You want to sound as if you are there and speaking authentically and naturally and believably. And so you can't just pick up a piece of paper with words that you've never seen before and just read them from left to right. You always have to put yourself in a scene. And that includes -- gosh, when I'm doing telephony script, and I'm saying thank you for calling. Like I put myself in a scene. I want people to really feel as though I'm thankful that they've called me (laughs). And improv helps me do that. Lau: Yes. And you know, a lot of times people will say to me, but Lau, I don't get it. Like, I can't improv as a voiceover talent. Everything is scripted. They're never gonna ask me to improv when I'm auditioning or when I'm doing a gig. So why do I need to know this? I say, well, wait a second. What about all your prep time? You and I were just talking about this, Anne, how important it is to think of yourselves as an actor. You're a voice actor; you're acting a role. So when you're acting, you have to have technique, tools and technique to call upon to find your character development. How do I find that? So improvisation is a tool that helps us find the authentic, true character, sound, connection, quality, tones. It helps us find that. And then once we find it, we can pull it out like just outta your toolbox. You can pull it out whenever you wanna use it. And just that exercise we just did right now, the pre-life of exclamation, just that can potentially book you a gig. Anne: Oh gosh, yes. And it's so interesting because I tell my students all the time, I'm like, okay, what's your moment before? Right? And I could be referencing a script that is the driest corporate narration script in the world. And it makes no sense because in the real world, I would never say these words. And that's what I constantly get from -- I would never say these words in the real world. But okay, we're not in the real world. Okay? We're acting. And we need to create the world in which those words would sound natural. And even if they're not written naturally, you have to create the scene. And that I think, is so important. You're not preparing the script to sound a particular way. You can read the specs, and they're like, oh, we want youthful, millennial, or maybe sound with gravitas. Stop preparing that sound. What you need to do is to prepare the character, prepare the scene, prepare what's happening that's going to make you react, right, in such a way. that might portray those characteristics that are being called out. And I have so many students that get frustrated. I'll say, what's your moment before? And they'll be like, uh, I have no clue. Like, doesn't say anything in the script. Guess what, guys? Here's where you got — your imagination comes into play, right? Lau: Yes. Anne: So important. The imagination in developing a scene, develop a scene that makes sense to you. Lau: Yes. And improv is an acting tool. It's an actor technique. And it's very challenging to do improv and be lazy. Like you can't be lazy and do improv well, because you're talking imagination. It has to kick in and connect. And oftentimes that requires energy, focus and speed in order to do that. And it's hard to do it if you're not engaged, if you're tired, if you're lazy, if you're disconnected. We oftentimes will get feedback for an actor from like casting that will say, ah, I don't like it. They feel disconnected, they don't feel connected somehow. And I always think of improv, 'cause improv is a wonderful source of connection to another person. How do we credibly and authentically connect to another person? Well, we practice it. It sounds like an oxymoron. You have to practice improv, but you do. You do. Anne: You do. Absolutely. Lau: You have to practice that skill. Right, Anne? Anne: Absolutely. And the improv doesn't just happen at the beginning of the script. It's not just something you do to give yourself some pre-roll. Okay? Because if you start a script, and I say this constantly, especially with long format narration, when you are voicing something for a long period of time, you're in a scene, you need to stay in that scene. You can't just create the scene and then just read. Right? Because all too often people will create the scene, they'll be at the start of it, and then they will do a monologue. It becomes a monologue where they forget that there might be other things happening in the scene, or there might be other people in the scene that they're acting with. And just because they're behind the mic, right, and they're not physically there -- like if they were on stage, it would be easy to see that you're with somebody, right? And you're bouncing ideas off of somebody, and it's a back and forth, like a real improv class or a workshop. But behind the mic, I think we tend to forget that there's other people in that scene with us. There's other things happening. There's movement. And if you are in a monologue, right -- I feel like monologues, unless they're extremely well written, right, are not as engaging (laughs) unless they're extremely well written. There are a lot of scripts that are not necessarily written for monologue. Right? It's like, here's my speech on this product, and you know what I mean? Like, here's my monologue about the product. Now how engaging is that? Right? If somebody's not interested in the product, you have to get them interested in the product. It has to be a story. And that story has to happen in between the sentences too. Right? You cannot stop just at the beginning. Lau: Okay, I have a great improv. I have a great improv based off what you just said. All right. Peeps, listen in. Sell the product, whatever it is that is on your script. Sell the product or service. And do it completely in your own words. Like get rid of the script. Completely re-envision it. But remember, it's not just about saying the words or the lines. You have to persuade us. Like you have to make it feel like this is something that's super important to you, that you believe in and that you want us to know about. Right? So whether it's like a blouse or a car, or a cheese, or whatever it is, I would love to hear you talk about that from your own perspective, your own point of view, and really connect to it. And a lot of times, I know you get this, Anne, in coaching too, “but I don't, I don't eat cheese,” “I don't wear blouses; I'm a guy,” and“I don't drive cars.” Especially like that. Anne: Yeah. I don't care much about the brand. I always get people that say, yeah, no, I don't really worry about brands. I'm like, okay. But for a living, you might be selling a particular brand. And so it's important, right, that you're educated about the brand, or you have to have some interest in it. You have to have some passion in it. And by passion, I don't mean overextended passion or over the top passion, unless it's called for, right, in the script. Because a lot of times for us to be believable and authentic, we have to sound authentic. So am I constantly like, oh my God, this product is amazing! I mean, I can't be that. Right? I can't. But I need to be as authentic as I can in my improv, right, in selling that product. Lau: Well, you know, we should do, Anne? We should demo, we should do a quick demo. We should take something like a, an object, a simple object. We should have like a a 15 or 30-second conversation about that object. Anne: Okay. So I always (laughs), I always have my lipstick. Okay. I always have my product here. Lau: Okay. And the listener, maybe someone who doesn't wear a lipstick or doesn't care about lipstick, or maybe you're a man listening in, you don't ever -- okay, that's fine. But we're gonna have a conversation right now, Anne, about that. And it's all improv, right? Anne: Okay, okay. So Lau. All right, so this Chanel, okay, typically inexpensive brand, right? Typically, most people will say, oh, it's way — this, this lipstick might be way overpriced. However, for me, I love this lipstick. I love this lipstick because I only have to put it on once. And so to me, the savings of time for this is amazing. I don't have to continually reapply my lipstick. I can drink water, I can eat, and I don't have to put it on over and over again. And it just stays on and it looks good. What are your thoughts? Would you, would you pay, would you pay $34 for this? Lau: I would pay more than that, because I'm looking at it on your lips right now, and it's gorgeous. I love the gloss, I love the staying power. The color matches your skin tone perfectly. Anne: And look, I can drink. Lau: I love it. And you can drink, right? And it probably doesn't even leave residue on the cup. Anne: And it’s still there. And it doesn't feel dry. Lau: It's still there. Anne: It doesn't feel dry. Lau: And I think it's economical for what it's offering you. Anne: Well, right? Lau: I would get it. Anne: My time is worth money, right? And if it, and if this is gonna save me time, right, from reapplying lipstick, or if it's gonna give me confidence because I feel like, oh God, you know how some lipstick will just kind of, you know, come off your lips, and you'll only have like a portion of on your lips, and then all of a sudden you get in the car and you look at yourself in the rearview mirror and you're like, oh my God! (laughs), my lips look horrible. Lau: They’re gone. Anne: Why didn't, why didn't my best friend tell me about that? So this, I don't have to worry about that. And so the ease, my mind being eased that I don't have to worry that it's come off and it's flaked off and it looks weird, or it's, God forbid, it's on my teeth. (laughs). No, it doesn't happen. Lau: You took the words right outta my mouth. I was gonna say, your lipstick is never on your teeth. I'm impressed by that alone, and the fact that it's not all over your face like mine can be, by the end of the day, my lips are all over, you know, everywhere. So I, I just think that it's very cool for you to hold on to this and not go to other products, but really stay with it. Because it works, right? Anne: Have I convinced you? Lau: Now here's the thing. It's like, we do this in our daily life, right? We do this every day in our daily life. Anne: That was improv. That was -- by the way, BOSSes, that was improv by the way. Lau: That's all improv. Anne: And that, I think if you are absolutely thinking about how would I sell this product? Like how would I voice this product? I mean, you can just riff (laughs), you know, I really love this product because it's amazing. And the funny thing is, is that Lau, you and I had a back and forth. And I think for improv, you have to also improv, if you don't have anybody with you and you are trying to improv your audition, I think you create that second person that you're having the conversation with. It's very much a technique that I use to sound conversational and just sound natural or believable, is to actually play a part with somebody else. Because that's what you would do -- if you had a script and you were on stage, you'd be able to bounce your ideas back and forth. There would be an acknowledgement or a smile, or a nod or a conversation between two people. And so you have that movement, you have that scene that you can then improv, right? And once you improv, your voice takes on, especially like with you and I, it takes on the emotion and the point of view, which really, really brings out a script versus a read. This lipstick is wonderful, right? Versus, I mean, I'm like a robot saying that, but when I'm really like, oh, this is amazing, this is wonderful — it completely shows up in my voice. And so the fact that I've created in my mind this improv back and forth with my imaginary person that I'm telling about this lipstick is really makes all the difference. Lau: It does. It does, Anne, because that's the power of improv. It's the personalization of it. When you're gonna say to me, but I don't use lipstick, Lau. I don't wear makeup -- I'd say, that's okay. Now let's engage your imagination. What if, — the magic “what if,” right? Stanislavsky's magic if -- what if you did wear makeup? What if you did wear lipstick? You know, when you were a little kid, you thought that way. And you weren't wearing lipstick or makeup (laughs).That's the irony, right? Anne: And here's the deal. Transfer this lipstick into, let's say, a Halloween costume, right? You put green on your face if you were gonna be be the Incredible Hulk or, whatever that is, right? So consider that, make that part of your imaginative world, right? And how did that make you feel? I think there's always that, like, did it make you feel confident? Did it make you feel good? Were you excited to go show that off to your friends? And how does that translate in your voice? How does that make you sound — first of all, it's gonna make you sound connected, right? Because when you're disconnected from the material, right, there's no emotion flowing in that voice. There's no emotion in that word. There's so many technical things that happen to words when you inflect an emotion onto them, or a point of view, right? So it's like, this is amazing. Like just the fact, amazing. Like I, it's not like I didn't say, this is amazing. No. I said, this is amazing. And so the rhythm changed, the intonation changed, so many technical things changed about my voice. And that is something when a casting director is listening to you, right? That is going to hit their ears and go, ah, there's an actor. And I swear to God, right? We know, for the first few words out of the mouth, we know if you're acting. Lau: Oh, yeah. Anne: Right? Lau: Oh, yeah. And start with something that is known to you, personalize it to you, like give yourself a quick scenario that you lived, that you know, if it's possible. So let's go back to the lipstick, Anne. Let's say I'm a man, right? Or someone who doesn't wear lipstick or whatever. Okay. But my favorite aunt wears lipstick, and every time she would kiss me, I would literally smell it. I would smell the lipstick, I would notice the color of it. I always think of that color when I think of my aunt. So I'm personalizing it into something I know, and something that means something to me so that I can go into other scenarios that are a bit farther away from me. Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. Lau: But if I don't start with any frame of reference at all, then I get that falseness, I get that falsehood of like, let me just sound like I love lipstick. Anne: This lipstick — yeah, exactly. And I think that voice actors, if you're just getting into the industry and you're not realizing just how important this is to really make your auditions stand out and make you connect with the copy -- it's incredibly, incredibly important that you spend time. Like I know so many people are like, oh, I did 60 auditions today, or I did a billion auditions today. Well, I want you to take five minutes before you start, before anything comes out of your mouth (laughs). And I want you to first of all, research the product. If you know what the product is. Sometimes you don't know what the product is. Sometimes the script is obscure and you're not exactly sure what it is. And that makes it even more challenging for you to improv, right? Because you're trying to figure out what is this even talking about? And I know that's just the case for a lot of audition scripts that come along and we don't know what it's even talking about. So then what we have to do is look at that script even closer. Every single word on that script has a meaning. And it may seem that you have no idea what it's talking about, and it's ridiculous. But honestly, somebody was paid probably a lot of money (laughs) to sit there and write every single word to create that brand message or to get that brand message out. And you need to really look at those words and think, what do they mean? What could it mean? And can I improv a scene, right, so that they would sound logical and realistic and have meaning and create emotion? Lau: Absolutely. And let's say you don't do this at all. Let's say you say, I can't do improv at all. I can just do the lines --do this. This is a very famous actor method. Do substitution. Like how do I get to something personal? Let me take this little thing of lipstick. I have my own on my side, lipstick on my side. And this is no longer a lipstick. What this is to me is an EpiPen. So this EpiPen can save my child's life when she has a problem and get stung by a bee. And you say, well, how does that work? It's lipstick. I said, well, I can still do an improv with Anne and talk about this as if it's an EpiPen, but it'll sound like, I can't live without this. I really can't live without this. I always have this in my cabinet ready to go. Day or night, it goes with me. And you'd think I was talking about the lipstick. But I'm really talking about the EpiPen. Anne: Sure, absolutely. Lau: Try that in terms of your improv in your daily life, when you need to connect with someone's situation, someone's stuff that they're bringing up that you don't really have any idea about. You haven't lived through it, you don't use it. You don't know about it. And you ask them questions about it. But think about what that is to you in your life. What's the substitution in your life that connects to what they're talking about? That's how powerful improv can be. It can make you friends. It can win you jobs. It can make you a lot of money. Anne: And something else that can help you -- I feel like I see this every episode, Lau — Google is your friend. Anne GanGoogle, right? Google is your friend. Like if you, if there's any indication of what you're talking about in the script, or there's words in there that you're not sure what it's even about, Google. I mean, I can't tell you how helpful it is to --if you're not familiar with the brand and the brand name is there, you can go to the website, and you'll get a great visual representation of what that is and who they might serve. And that will also help you to place your improv and place your scene in a place that's logical. I mean, it has to be logical, right? I mean, you want it to sound natural and believable. And so you should have a little bit of education about the product or the company, or maybe what's their demographic? Are they selling to young people? Are they selling to a more mature audience? And that can help inform the scene for you that you are going to create. But you must, you must use your brain. And it's not easy, right? It is sometimes it is. Like I rack my brain trying to figure out what is this saying? Like I don't even know. This is so ethereal and so out there that I don't even know what this is saying. But I, I find that if I keep rereading the lines, somewhere along the line, if I look at the important nouns, if I look at the objects, if I look at the emotion of it all, I can really read more into it to try to figure out, okay, this would make sense. Now, if this was a storyline where somebody was upset that something wasn't going right, and this product -- like the EpiPen, right -- was truly meaningful and could really help save a life. And so I think if you just continually look at the words, see how the words fit together, and then if you have any clues whatsoever in the script, go ahead and Google it. And that's gonna help you find out maybe what the brand is. What do they actually do? Do they serve multiple demographics? What are the colors? I mean, you can just go into like the visually, what are the colors on the website? What is their tone of voice on the webpage? You know, the verbiage on the webpage? How do they approach their clients? And I think that will really help to help you build the scene that you must improv. Lau: Yeah. And if you go to their YouTube channel, you're gonna see visuals of what the culture is like, what the sound, feeling, environment is like. I mean, put yourself in that environment. That's the old actor Johnny Depp type exercise where the method actors would always go to the place that their character is in and just feel what the place feels like. Well that's kind of important because if I'm doing a lot of corporate work, and I'm getting a lot of corporate narration or corporate scripts, and I've never worked in corporate America, and I have no idea what it's like, just go somewhere, be in a big tall glass building with people who wear suits and see what it feels like, right? See what they eat and drink, hear how they talk. Or just go to a Starbucks. You'll see 'em in Starbucks, hear how they talk. So that you're not necessarily mimicking them, but you're getting an essence, a suggestion of where you wanna head towards that may be very different from your world and your existence. You wanna talk the lingo, have a sense of that. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. You wanna be able to align to the environment, right? And I think, Lau, if I said to you, is improv important in promos? Lau: Improv is important in everything, Anne: Right. So why? I'm playing the devil's advocate here. I'm thinking my students would be like, yeah, but you don't really need to improv in a promo, or you don't need to improv when you're doing a phone system. And I would tend to disagree with you heartily. I think improv is needed everywhere. I'd like your take on that, Lau. Lau: I agree. As I said, I think it's an immense tool to find your interpretation. Like if I'm gonna give more than one take, or let's say I'm just dealing with an in-house client. I'm not auditioning; they're just calling me and I'm giving them takes, I'm gonna say, wait a second, who's calling? Like, who are the people that are calling? What if I have an impatient person calling going to the system, right? I have a person who's a seller or pitcher calling? What if I have a young teenage person calling the system? How am I coming across to them? How would I speak to them differently and what their different needs are? That would be an improv tool that I would start to be utilizing in that telephony or whatever system. Anne: And if you're a voice for a healthcare system, right? Okay, somebody's calling for an appointment, right? They're nervous, they're not feeling well, or you know what I mean? They want the results of their test. Understand who it is that you are going to be talking to, right, and then talk to them. I always say that when I read the back of pharmaceutical labels, I do medical narration, and I want to be able to speak to that person who is nervously looking at the back of the bottle and saying, oh my God, I have all of these symptoms. That's me, by the way. I have every single symptom ever known. And who do I call in case I die? That kind of thing. I'm taking that lightly, but I really do think about the person that's going to be looking at this bottle and what I'm voicing and I'm improv-ing, right? I'm playing that scene out in my head so that I can voice it better. And so that's for medical narration, and for promos, you know, tonight, like if you're doing like a television promos, right? Still, you've gotta get into the mindset of who's the audience that watches this show, and how can you -- hey, oh my God, did you catch the latest episode of — that kind of thing? You've got to get into their mindset 'cause you're talking to them. And that is where improv will come into play, right? Know that network, know that show. Be the person that watches that show and talk to them. Lau: And if anything, if you don't believe in anything we're saying, just talk and listen to people talking because that's one big, huge improvisation. Conversation is just one big, huge improv. Life is one big, huge improv 'cause we don't really know what's coming up next. So you don't have to perform, you don't have to act, you don't have to do anything other than listen, observe and communicate. Because then you're improv-ing. Anne: And I will tell you that every other month, or at least once a quarter, if you join the VO Peeps, we do have a workshop that covers improv. We do it. I think it's necessary to continually just keep your skills up. And I know, Lau, I'm sure you have something is part of your group as well? Lau: We do. We have a Monday night improv mania that runs. It's a lot of actors, a lot of VO talent. A lot of people come in, even just people who are in business come in and they just want to -- Anne: And it's so much fun. Lau: Fun. Yeah. They wanna free themselves, wanna be free. Anne: And that's the thing. Yeah, improv should be fun. It shouldn't be stressful. And the only way that you're gonna make it fun is by doing it really. And just getting yourself used to it and getting those responses quicker and quicker and quicker. And thinking off the cuff. And it will always help you especially — I've just had a conversation with Dave Fennoy talking about video games. You know, the storyline and video games is constantly evolving and changing. Improv is huge. You may prepare your character for one set of scenes, and then when you get to the studio to record somebody's changed the script on you. And that could be for video games, that could be for commercial, it could be for any script where you might have last minute changes. So I think it's so important, guys, that we are well-versed in improv, know how important it is and go out there and practice it. Lau: I love it. Here we go. Ready for the improv of life. Anne: The Improv of life. You guys, I'm gonna give a great big sponsor shout-out to ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And I also want to give a shout-out to 100 Voices Who Care. This is your chance to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. 100voiceswhocare.org to commit. Thanks so much, guys. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
There are very few things in life that are black and white. The world is full of nuances, nuances that can be challenging when they come up in business. Anne & Lau dive into the emotions & decision making process that happens when you make a decision to protect the ethics of your business. Most people don’t want to talk about ethics in business. They are uncomfortable with the topic and don’t know how to approach it, but discussion is one of the only ways to bring awkward subjects into the light. No decision is without trade-offs. It usually means losing something, whether that's time, money or energy. When faced with a tough decision, ask yourself how this feels in your gut? Is it the right thing for you? For the future of your business? Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Only decisions that feel right or wrong for you at this moment in time.
Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited today to bring back to the show Lau Lapides. Lau: Hey. Anne: Yay. Hey Lau. Here we are. The BOSS Superpower series. I'm so excited. Lau: Me too. I feel like it's been a long time since I saw you. Anne: I know, right? Lau: I just came back from vacation. Anne: Well, and I, of course I'm working over here like a dog (laughs), and I need a vacation now. But I have to say I encountered something that was difficult for me and my business while you were having fun in the sun there. And I thought we could talk about it today. And it's all about ethics, and ethics in your business, and what you can do to get through a situation that is not easy to deal with, especially when it comes to your moral ethics in terms of will you work with a client. So I had a client. And they asked me for something that did not sit well with me, Lau. And it made me feel icky. (laughs). Lau: Gotcha. Oh my gosh. Anne: Yeah. And it was one of those things where the opportunity was great. There was gonna be opportunities for more work, and this was a very well-known brand. And I really struggled, and it was one of those things, and I thought, well, is it worth it, right, to align myself with this brand when I'm kind of feeling icky about what they're asking me to do, because it could mean more work if I maybe choose not to work with this client? Will I be seen as somebody that's not easy to work with or difficult to work with and will they tell other people? And so it just became, ugh, such a difficult decision, Lau. And I know that in our businesses, I like to think that everything's easy, and all the clients are easy and I get to choose what clients I wanna work with. But every once in a while, a client can also kind of flip on you (laughs). So typically I think I'm a good judge of character, and I can say this is gonna be a great work relationship, and I'm gonna be able to work with this client. But sometimes those clients, maybe the company changes hands or you're working with somebody else from the company, or the rules change or the policy change or whatever it is. Or the script changes. This actually didn't really have to do with the script, Lau, but I also think this applies to any potential job that talent have the opportunity to voice that maybe they don't agree with the copy, with the script. Lau: Right. I'm telling you, as long as I've been alive on this earth, I can tell you that the longer you're in business, the more often you're going to experience this kind of thing. And, and it is to be expected. And as uncomfortable as it is, and it is really uncomfortable, and I, you know, I'm trying to put on my empathy face right now, I also have that feeling that yeah, it's to be anticipated, it's to be expected. And I always like to think of it as like a magic carpet ride. You've got this beautiful carpet, you created it, you're floating, you're flying, you're moving in the direction you wanna be moving in. You're going fast, you're high. Anne: I was flying high, Lau. Lau: Flying high. You feel really secure. You got your seatbelt on. Then all of a sudden the carpet gets pulled out from under you and then you fall. And you feel like you're falling, you feel like your credibility's falling, your hopes are falling. The perception of your audience is falling. You feel like you're losing something. And it's scary 'cause you don't know how it's gonna land. You don't know, am I gonna survive this? Am I gonna get out the other way and get up and run? And you always do. You always do. You're most resilient person I know. Like you're gonna get up and run after it. But to go through it is really like, what would you call it? Like the milestone of moving through life and moving through your business and saying when difficult things happen, that's when I build my character. That's really how I react to that and how I stand my ground, and how I build my character is really, I'd like to say what it's all about at the end of the day. And I think you're amazing in the choices that you're making. And so you're making choices about this, right? Anne: Yeah. Oh yeah. Lau: The path, which way you went. Anne: I have to say I made the tough choice, and I chose not to work with the client. And after that, Lau, I had days, I had days where I was second guessing that decision, thinking what would be the ramifications and how would it affect my business, in all aspects. Because I thought, well, this might become something that other clients will know 'causethis client knew a lot of other potential clients that I've worked with. And so it became a thing where I had to sit back in a quiet space and just ask myself how does my gut feel? And I, I know we've talked about this is I, I like to run my business by my gut, and I usually listen to my gut, 'cause for me it's usually the right thing. But I'll tell you, I was back and forth with this and once I made my decision, then I second guessed myself again for days. I mean there was no way, once I had made the decision to cut the relationship; I mean, I couldn't really go back. And so then I just sat there and worried and I thought, oh no. And again, you think that being in business all these years, maybe it would be easier. Or I would be able to get through it quicker. But I think maybe sharing my experience with the BOSSes out there, I can at least share my experience and, and talk to people about here, it happened to me. This is how I felt. Like how did I feel? I felt like once I was given the opportunity, and it was presented with a job, I was initially like taken aback and was so surprised. And then I thought, oh, that doesn't seem right. (laughs) That just doesn't seem right. And so I asked a couple of close friends and colleagues of mine what they thought if maybe I was misreading something. ‘Cause I wanted to kind of have another set of eyes on it. And of course this was with people that I trusted and of course I wouldn't wanna shout this on social media or on the rooftops because again, it was a private connection between me and my client. And so I kind of got other people's first initial reactions, which were similar to mine from a lot of people that I spoke to. I then sat with it for a while, and I couldn't get it outta my brain. It was one of those things that, until I said something, we were gonna be working together. It was just gonna be a wonderful thing and a great relationship that was gonna continue on, and I was just gonna continue to work with this client, and things were gonna be lovely, and my business was gonna be accelerated by this. But I kept thinking and feeling in the back of my brain and in my heart that something just didn't sit well. And so then I made that tough decision to cut ties with the client, and then there's the ramifications of the back and forth because I cut the ties with the client through an official email. Right? I had to do that. I would've liked to have actually maybe had some, I don't know, some Zoom time or maybe a phone call. But I had to cut the ties via email. And that was tough. I mean, because trying to go back and forth on something that it's a little more than a, than a negotiation on a job, it's tough to do through email, through text or email. And I was hoping that I would have an opportunity to further, I don't know, either talk to the client and maybe -- I didn't burn any bridges. I didn't wanna burn any bridges. And that was important. So I think that when that happens, BOSSes, you have to really consider, I don't wanna burn bridges. That's just kind of who I am. Although you may not be able to do it without burning a bridge. What are your thoughts, Lau, with all of your years and and experience in the businesses that you've built? It's happened to you. Lau: Oh my goodness. Yes. That's the thing. And you and I talk about this all the time, Anne, you can't get through life completely unscathed, as much as we would like to because we're positive minded people. We wanna think the best of our connections. We wanna give the best, we have the best intentions. You're dealing with human communication. You're dealing with behaviors of human beings that have this whole frame of reference that has nothing to do with you. They're coming to the table with a whole life, a whole mindset, a whole viewpoint that has nothing to do with you. So in my mind that slides into every single exchange that happens, their ethics, their behavior, their morality, their persona. That kind of goes into the mix. And we have to understand that, that when we're doing the recipe, it's not always gonna taste good. The cake's not always gonna come out the way we think it's gonna come out. And that's okay. So I think as women, we make a couple mistakes. One is we do take the brunt, we take the emotional brunt of having to make important decisions or what we perceive to be important decisions and stand that ground and feel uncomfortable with that, and take on the other's trauma, the other's mistakes, the other’s whatever. We take that on and we emotionalize that. And I think that's a big issue for us as women because we're high pathos. We're very visceral beings. That's what makes us good at our jobs. But it also is a double-edged sword because that's what makes us take on a lot of things that are not our problem. They're just not our problem. So being able to objectify it just enough, sort of like an audition. So for those of you who are listening in who audition for a living, right, you have to care about it. You have to emotionalize it enough. You have to connect to it so it's authentic. But then when it's done, you have to walk away from it, and you have to disconnect, and you have to not make it the most important thing in your world. And that's the skill that you have, that all successful people have to cultivate is not saying, oh, I don't want things to go wrong. I don't want things to happen where the rug is pulled out from under me. No. But saying -- Anne: I don't wanna disrupt things. I don't wanna disrupt things. Lau: Yes. It's like, are you a gentle disruptor? Are you an eloquent disruptor? Are you an intelligent disruptor? But the disruption will happen. It's just the nature of dealing with human beings, and it's the nature of business. Business is just difficult (laughs) on so many levels. It's tough. It's not easy. And I think if we could learn to objectify enough and walk away, that would be really important to do. Another thing we do too is we exaggerate situations. I noticed this in myself for many years, 'cause I was an actor. I was a professional actor for many years. And I would say, am I a drama queen? I mean, am I, what is wrong with me? Oh ah, I'm an artist. I see things in a certain way, typically emotionally first. And then it becomes larger and larger and larger and larger until it's like massive. But to the outside world, they don't see it that way. To them, it's small, it's simple, it's almost non-existent at times. So I found that for me as a technique to save myself and sort of objectify and say, I think I'm blowing this out of proportion. I think I'm exaggerating this into something really huge when I don't think it's viable as a huge thing. I think it's just my perception in the moment of the massiveness of it. The truth is we're not a golden calf. We can be replaced; they can move on. And then sometimes it's almost as if it never happened. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And I like that you mentioned the over dramatization and, and that I think in terms of feeling the way that I was feeling, right? Oh my gosh, is this going to bring down my business? What are people going to think of me? What if other people find out what happened, and that kind of thing. And I, and you're right, I think it became like for me, emotionally bigger than it should have because I beat myself up over it for a good few days and spent a lot of energy thinking about what if, what if, what if, or oh my gosh, and being stressed out about it that I feel that I probably wasted a lot of energy on that. And I think at that point, when you're going through something like that, having the support of colleagues and friends that can remind you of things like, hey look, this is okay. Do what you feel is right. We'll support you no matter what -- I think that's so important to help you through the tough times for that. And also I think being able to talk about it with a trusted colleague is going to be very, very helpful. And just to remember those things. I mean that's something you said to me, look, why is it that you feel bad for something that has nothing to do with you? And you're right, to the outside world, like it's insignificant, right? And a lot of times we build those issues up in our brain to be larger than life, when in fact nobody's really necessarily even thinking about them or concerned about them. But for me, in my business, I was in such a dilemma. And so I think that for me, after I went through the days of second guessing myself, stress, thinking about what if, what if, what if, I now have come out the other side, and I am proud that I stood my ground and did what I believed in, and I feel stronger for the experience. And again, this is not the first time it's happened to me. And I'm sure it's happened to you as well multiple times in your business. It's happened to me before and I've come out the other side fine. And I should remind myself of those things. But I think every situation is different. And in the moment, it may seem like it's, oh my gosh, it's the worst thing in the world that could happen. Lau: It's the worst thing in the world. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And also just for you to note, and I love doing this as a coach but also as a person in the world -- I love passing on what someone says about someone else that they would never know that could be like super amazing and life changing. So I passed on the generality of the situation to a dear female coach and family member of mine of many, many years, just generally speaking. And you know what she said about you, Anne, and you, you don't know her at all. She's not in the industry. She's actually a therapist. Not my therapist. But she's a therapist in the world and we have a lot of crossovers 'cause we're both coaches; she's a life coach. And she said, isn't it nice to know, Lau, that you're not only working with someone of that caliber, but there are people still left in the world that character and morality really means something to them? Anne: Wow. Lau: And are willing to stand their ground for it? And I thought, oh, it's so uncomfortable and upsetting to Anne, but it's so amazing. And like, I don't know what the word is, but it's so like revolutionary to the people who witness it around you, who say — it's almost like you can take a breath and say, wow, there are people in our industry that feel something real about injustice when it happens and actually do something about it, but do something in a very professional, kind, diplomatic, and thoughtful way, not a hostile, angry, violent way. Oh, I love that civility. That level of civility and diplomacy I think is to really be rewarded. And again, you don't know it, and you don't feel it in the situation, and you feel quite oppositional to that. But those around you, your circle that circles you, that witnesses that is really inspired and in awe of that. It sort of gives other people courage. It gives other people strength to say, yeah, if something comes at me, and my rug gets pulled out from under me, people like Anne, people like — are doing things to help build themselves up without getting destroyed by it. I can do that too. Anne: Well, I appreciate you telling me that. Thank you so much. And now I feel even better about my decision and I appreciate you saying that to me. And I think it was very important and worth mentioning again, when you are handling something like this and taking a stand, especially when it's in regards to your business -- and this could just be me. I'm always like trying to be the professional, always trying to not burn my bridges. Because again, you never know where your relationship will go, how the client will react, maybe something wonderful can happen out of it. So I never choose to burn my bridges. And so I did break ties with the client as professionally and as diplomatically as I could and thank them for the opportunity to work with them and appreciated everything that we had worked on together. And yeah, I think that's an important thing to consider when you are faced with ethical decisions. And again, this doesn't just have to be about scripts, because I know we've spoken about that before. I mean it could be like, well, what if you get a script and you have to voice something that you don't believe in? I'm strong on that one. I'm like, I don't have to voice that. Like to me, that's a no-brainer. But when it came to my business and working with a client that I thought maybe didn't align to the same goals as I did and making that tough decision, I think that the ethics, it's all around. We have to address ethics all around in our business. Not just on what script we voice. And again, BOSSes out there, I entirely encourage people that if you don't feel comfortable voicing a script, you can take that stand and turn that down. Lau: Or even you are not comfortable working with someone. Like you don't have to justify it. It's okay. You don't have to tell everyone. But you can certainly internalize and say, why am I feeling uncomfortable? I just had this recently with a new partnership with an agent out in LA who was interviewing one of our people and said, you know, I have to be honest with you, I wasn't comfortable with him. This was on Zoom; this wasn't — I wasn't comfortable. I just didn't, I didn't like his personality. He made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't feel like I would be able to do dealings with him, and I didn't offer him a contract. And I said, well good for you. I didn't take any offense to that at all. I said if I were in your position, I probably would do the same. Because you wanna be able to have that free flow of ideas and conversation in that somewhat level of trust that you're on the same page, you're tracking kind of thing. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. That you align. Lau: You're tracking. I'm gonna make a prediction for everyone in the audience. Here's my prediction. My prediction is this client, Anne, is gonna come back to you for future things, whatever that is. Whether it's a recording job or whether it's uh, something else. And you're gonna have another decision to make. And that is, do I want to work with them? Because somehow how we feel like, oh, the coffin shut, the nails are in. And that's often not the case because guess what? The time goes by. They realize who their friends are, they realize who they can trust. They realize and they say, you know, that wasn't a comfortable thing that happened, but a year has gone by. Two years have gone by. I miss her. Where is she? Let me got in contact with her again. Don't be surprised if it's not the end of the relationship. Anne: Yeah. Very interesting. Hmm. Wow. Well, it certainly was something that threw me for a loop this past week, and I'm glad I'm out the other side. But I did wanna share my experiences 'cause I thought maybe if I can help anybody — and it's funny because I'm, I'm very much a person who likes to showcase my business as being together. And every time, Lau, you and I get together on this show, I'm always going, oh my God, Lau. I've sabotaged myself. I'm feeling insecure, but I'm sharing because I'm hoping it will help people that they're not alone. This happens even if you've been in the industry for a long time, and it looks to everybody like -- I mean I like to think that I have it together, but ultimately the experiences that I go through have helped me to build my character, build my business stronger and hopefully continue to do that. I think the last thing I want, because I put so much of myself into it, is for my business to not survive something like a client relationship that I have decided not to pursue any further. Lau: I also think too, unless you run the kind of business where you're really relying on one or two or three clients to keep you alive -- I think you're so diversified and you working with so many people, I don't think that's actually possible when you have so many irons in the fire. But I think it's that, again, it's that sort of blown out of proportion perception, that six months down the line or a year when we are talking, you'll be like, how did I take that so hard? Or why was that so important to me? Anne: Why was that so hard for me? Yeah. Lau: Why did I go through that? I did the right thing. But why did I, like we, we have a Yiddish word called grizsha. Grizsha. It means to sit for a week and just worry and up, grizsha and upset. Make friction for yourself because you're going through the process of it. It's like grief. It's a loss. You're going through a loss. Anne: Yeah, that's exactly right. That it was a loss. And I always think, well, the reason why I went into business for myself is so that I didn't have to go through the stresses that I went through when I was working for people. Right? When I was working in the corporate world. And I was like, I'm not gonna be beaten by the man. And literally I'm like, this is what I love about working for myself is that I get to choose. Right? I get to choose who I work with. I get to choose the projects. And again, I think that is such a wonderful blessing, and it's such a wonderful thing to be able to build a business for yourself. ‘Cause you do have the options to make all these choices. And I think that if you do end up going through an ethical dilemma, I think it's good for the soul, even though it wasn't pleasant going through it. And I second guessed myself and stressed out, and -- but I do think that it is one of the reasons that I think being employed or self-employed and having your own business is such an advantage. I mean, we have those choices in front of us to decide upon who we work with. And again, I don't think you get to that point in your business until you're confident and you have -- for me, it always comes back to, and this is a sad thing to say, but it's a reality is, if you have the financial stability in your business to be able to really make those decisions. And I am grateful, and I'm also proud of the fact that I've built my business to the point where I'm okay, I can say no to a client. And I think any BOSS out there that has been able to do that, wow. I mean how wonderful is that? It's just an amazing thing and you should all be so proud that you are able to make those decisions and able to decide whether or not you want to work with a client or not. That's a luxury. Lau: It's a huge luxury. And you have to have that awareness of not being such a people pleaser, such a yes person that you're doing that at the demise of you, your business, your model, your time, whatever. Like that's an ethical dilemma for a lot of people. I went through it for many years 'cause I'm a natural-born people pleaser. Anne: Yeah, me too. Lau: I was brought up that way actually. And I love having that quality still. A lot of people call me Mama Lau, 'causeit has like sort of caring -- Anne: Oh yeah. That's great. Lau: — essence to it. But at the same token, you have to be very careful because there are things you must say no to. There are things you must decline, you must whatever. And those are the hard moments, whether they're ethically driven or financially driven or whatever, that you just know in your heart, I really shouldn't be doing this. Or I really don't wanna do this or what — and you're still saying yes, that's your own ethical dilemma. That's your own saying, what is my value system? What are my principles? What do I stand for? And sometimes there's nothing wrong on the other side. It's just you shouldn't be doing it for whatever reason. You know what I mean? So I think you're awakening us all to really having a good hard heart to heart talk with ourselves and saying, yeah, what do we believe in? What do we wanna be doing? What do we wanna spend our time with? When is it okay to say no? And just set that up. Just be okay with that. Don't kill yourself because you're saying no for whatever reason. Anne: Yeah. Good talk. Thank you, Lau. Lau: Amazing. Anne: Mama Lau. Lau: Amazing. Anne: I love Mama Lau. (both laugh) That's pretty awesome. Oh man, great discussion. Thank you so much as always. Words of wisdom, golden nuggets from Mama Lau (laughs). BOSSes out there, as individuals, it may seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never before thought possible. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. And a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Ever wanted to know what it takes to create a TV pilot? In this special episode, Anne is joined by Scott & Miranda Parkin to discuss Comet Casino. Comet Casino is a story centered around found family. It talks about those relationships & friendships that grow so near and dear that they feel like family. Scott & Miranda voice two of the characters, but were heavily involved in the creation of the show. From planning out the story to animating, Miranda was in charge and excited about this mid-century modern tale. After two year, the pilot episode is ready & shipped out to all the right people. So what’s next for the duo? There may be more planning, creating, and meeting taking in their future…but you have to listen up to hear the whole story.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited and pumped to have the Comet Casino team here with us, special guests Scott and Miranda Parkin. You guys, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. Yay! Scott: Thank you so much for having me. You were an early supporter of this. (inaudible) merch on your show, you donated money, and now we're in the pitch phase. So we really owe a great debt of gratitude to the VO BOSS. Miranda: Yeah, seriously. Anne: Well, thank you. Thank you. I mean, it's not hard to support and love what you guys are doing. So for those BOSSes out there who may not be familiar with the famous Comet Casino team, I thought we would start with a little bit of an introduction of each of you so that the BOSSes can get to know you a little bit better. So let's start with Scott,‘cause he's older. (laughs) So Scott, I mean actor, amazing improv instructor, voice actor, I mean everything. Tell us how you got started in the industry and where it's going (laughs) and your life. Miranda: And your social security number. Anne: Yes. Scott: No, that's horrible. That's horrible advice. I'm from Sacramento, California, and I started in radio when I was in college. I interned at KCAP, the home of rock. When I was around 20, 18, 19 in that sort of range, I was able to weasel my way onto the air with a guy named Kevin Anderson. He got fired, but he made a tape of the time we were together, sent it to Tulsa, Oklahoma. They had us come out for an audition. They asked me if I'd ever been to Oklahoma. And at the time I said, uh, the furthest east I've been is the Nevada side of Heavenly Valley, dude. And that is literally how we all spoke in Northern California. You were more like this, like, are you gonna put change on your car before you go to Tahoe? Went out there to Oklahoma and did that. And then I got fired again. Came back to Sacramento, got a gig in Dallas, was there for 11 years, got married, got — moved to Los Angeles in, I wanna say ‘98. Had a kid in 2000, got divorced in 2003, done voiceover and writing for television and acting, and I always say you gotta hit it from every angle possible, so I'll do most of the stuff that they'll pay creative wise. So Miranda's been raised on TV sets and in voiceover lobbies and all that. And she started in the business when she was about five. Miranda: Pretty crazy. Anne: So, yeah. So Miranda, let's talk about that because you did grow up in the business. Yeah. I'm so excited again to actually see you and talk with you. And so tell us how you kind of got started, and was this something that, because you were around it for all the time when you were small, is it something that you loved right away, or did you kind of grow into it? Miranda: Well, I mean, I feel like I loved it first because I was like, oh, I just really love reading. Like I love reading out loud. Like that very much fun. Scott: Nerd! Miranda: Shut up. Anne: That was me too. That was me too. Scott: Yeah. Miranda: I liked reading out loud. So when they were like, “hey, do you wanna read this thing out loud,” a little five year old? And I was like, yeah, of course I wanna read that thing out loud. So I did. And then I was like, oh, oh, they like it when I do that. That's cool. I like that. You know, I was five, so I didn't really know, but it just made me feel happy, you know? Like I've always loved reading out loud. And then I got paid to talk about SeaWorld, and I'm like, I love animals and I love talking about whales, like of course I, I'm gonna do that. Anne: Was this when you were five or a little bit later on? Miranda: A little bit later on because I started when I was five, and then it was kind of went until eight or nine I think. I think nine was when I, I got the -- Scott: When the hammer got dropped. Miranda: Yeah. Yeah. I got the job of, uh, Lucy in a direct to DVD Peanuts movie. And my mom was like, no, you can't do that. So I was like, oh, alright. I really like reading out loud. I really like the Peanuts. Scott: But her dad was a voiceover actor, and anything that had something to do with me was -- Anne: Ah. Scott: Yeah. Anne: Okay. So there's the six degrees here I think because you said Lucy, right? You read for the — Miranda: Right. Anne: Okay. So my maiden name is Lucy. Okay? Scott: Excellent. Is that true? Anne: Yes, it's very true. It's very, because people called me Miss Lucy when I was a teacher, and then they would sing, Miss Lucy had a steamboat. The steamboat had a bell. Exactly. Scott: I forgot you were a teacher. My mom was a teacher for 35 years. I have I have so many teachers throughout our family. Anne: Well, so that's number one. And number two is that when I was young, when I was about six, when I was in kindergarten, I love to read out loud as well. And here's where my claim to fame, my creative claim to fame is that I wrote books. I wrote books about Nibbles the Rabbit. And as a kindergartner, I read them to the first graders. So that's my claim to fame. I mean, I -- Miranda: Kind of a power move. Anne: I mean, so Miranda, if I could only be half as good of, and I illustrated and wrote, and you know what I mean? Which is, that's incredible. Miranda: That's, that's amazing. Anne: You do everything. And so I just feel like the apple doesn't far fall from the tree there, I think; the writer, artist, voice actor, actor. Scott: I can't draw a stick figure without uh, without help. So. Miranda: That's true. He can draw a palm tree and a lightning bolt. Anne: There you go. Very good. Scott: And I can draw an oak tree too though. Miranda: And an oak tree. Oak tree. Sorry, forgot about that. One of the three. Scott: Yeah. Anne: I got good at drawing a rabbit as a kindergarten. But other than that -- Miranda: Nibbles the rabbit. Anne: — that's kind of where it stopped. Although I always was in awe of people who could draw. And so I want to actually talk about Comet Casino because that's really why I wanted to bring you here so that we can talk about the whole process. Because BOSSes out there, if you're listening, the whole concept of Comet Casino is BOSS from start to as it evolves. Because you have encompassed all areas of the creative arts, all areas of funding, of marketing, of starting something and seeing it grow and seeing it evolve. So I love the evolution of Comet Casino. So before we do that, let me show the BOSSes a little preview of what we have here. So let's do this first. Scott: Can we set it up real quick? Anne: Yeah. Let, we're gonna set it up right now. Scott: This is not a trailer. There's no voiceover or anything like that. This is the first 90 seconds of the pilot, and the shuttle attendant is the lovely great Delisle Griffin. And we love it. And so you get an idea of where our story takes place, who are the principals, and what's going on in the first 90 seconds. The whole thing, the whole pilot presentation is just over 10 minutes. There you go. Miranda: Yeah, there we go. Anne: All right. We're gonna give you guys the first 90 seconds. All right. Here we go. >> Attention passengers. We will be landing shortly on Luparif Omari, please return to your seats. If you've morphed during the flight, please regenerate and buckle up. Okay? And remember, as long as you look like you're gambling, they gotta keep bringing you drinks. Good luck. >> Luparif Omari. Everybody knows it as the loop. Number one adult playground in the galaxy and the armpit of the fucking universe. Everyone is thrilled when they get here and broken, disillusioned when they leave. That's just after a weekend. I spent the first 18 years of my life here. On the loop, after high school, you pretty much have three choices: bartending school, dealer school or alcoholic gambler. I wanted something more. So I went to law school on the nearest planet. After graduation I took a really good job as a defense attorney. It's difficult and none of it comes easy, but okay, it's somewhere else, and that's all that matters. So what am I doing back here? My dad, owner of the formerly luxurious Comet Casino passed away. How? Uh, he just stopped breathing while a guy was choking him to death, which on the loop is considered natural causes. The loop is 100 miles of casinos, clubs, and general debauchery crammed into a thin band of oxygen. Everything else is toxic. My dad used to drop off associates in the desert when it was time for them to die of natural causes. >> Hurry. Hurry, everyone. Anne: Haha, awesome. I love it. And can I tell you that honestly, when I first heard it, I love the beginning, right, with the introduction. But Miranda, when you start telling the story, I teach like storytelling to students for years. And you have such a beautiful, wonderful presentation of storytelling in that, like it is so damn impressive. Miranda: Hey, I used to love reading stories out loud. Now I do it all the time. Anne: If Scott knows me, I don't say that lightly. I love, love the performance. Scott: That's not — this whole thing, this has been two years in the making, and we directed all these legends who are friends of ours and have always supported Miranda. And if Miranda wasn't able to hold their own with these legends, it doesn't work. All of what we've done, it just doesn't work. So. Miranda: That was one thing that I got scared about. Like I know literally like after we like got all these people to do it, and they were like, all right, now it's time to record your part. And I'm like, oh, I have to actually, I have to go up against these — oh my God. Not, not go up against, but like work with, like be in the same cartoon as, and I'm like, oh my God, that's like a dream come true regardless of where this thing goes. Scott: Yes. And frightening as hell. And same for me. ‘Cause Miranda actually does video games and animation. I don't do so much of either of those. So after asking these people and then having to, you know, what was really cool was that we recorded our parts at SoundBox LA with Tim Friedlander. So first Miranda and Tim directed me, and then we switched, and Tim and I directed Miranda. So that was really, it was really cool. And he's been so supportive and known Miranda for a very long time. So it was, it was just really cool to do our parts at Tim's with Tim directing. Miranda: Yeah. ‘Cause he's such a good friend and such a great dude. And he supported it all the way through. It just seemed like a natural fit. Anne: So let's talk about, how did it all start? Miranda: Ooh, ooh, ooh. I've got this one. Anne: Okay. Scott: Keep it tight and bright. Miranda: So essentially it started as an FBI agent gets teleported into space and works off her debt at a space casino. So that was like our initial idea. And I wanted to do something Scott: That was all Miranda’s -- Miranda: Yeah. And then I was like, okay, well the FBI thing is kind of silly, stupid. Let's just go with a mother-daughter story about a girl that actually lives in the casino and went to the casino and like lived at the casino, and her mom was the boss and she had to come back. And then we were just like, okay, let's cut the mom. Because I don't know how to tell a mother daughter story. I know how to tell a father-daughter story. So let's make a father-daughter story about a dysfunctional -- Scott: Well Miranda, you have to be honest, Ed Jager, our head writer and 23 year veteran television writer came in and said, I'm killing the mom. There's no story there. It's a father-daughter story. It's all about the daughter. Going away. Wanting to get the hell outta home, and then having to come back and then finding out that, ah, you know what? I hate this place, but I work here. It works. I have a connection here, and I'm really good at all the jobs I'm doing. It's the Joan Didian. You can't go home but you, maybe you can kind of thing. Does that make sense? Miranda: See the thing is like at the beginning of it, it morphed and switched. But I always wanted to make it a space casino. Always, always, always. Anne: But then, let me backtrack here. So you're telling me the beginnings of the story, but what's the beginnings of the idea, Miranda? Was it something that you said, I wanna create? So not many people in this industry, and I know BOSSes out there, this is the whole enchilada, this is the writing, the artistry, the production, the casting. So did you just one day say, I wanna make a show like (laughs)? Scott: We pitch ideas back and forth and have written a bunch of stuff, but Miranda always said that whenever they go animated shows, they have an episode at a casino. But I forget how you said it, M, I'm sorry. Miranda: So like in a lot of sci-fi media, there's always like a one-off episode with a casino. Like in Cowboy Bebop, there's a one-off episode with a space casino. In Star Wars, they go to a space casino in one of the newest Star Wars movies. In like Rick and Morty, they go to a Dave and Busters type thing called Blips and Shits. And I'm just like, why don't you stay there? There's so much potential. You have beings from all over the galaxy. You know, you have people that go to Vegas for conventions. You've got people that go to Vegas in sororities. You have gangsters and mobsters and bachelor parties Anne: I love it. Scott: Corporate convention. Always bringing different people. And if you put it out in space, 200 years in the future, the hell knows what -- Anne: Right. So many stories. I mean, I think so many stories can evolve from that. So yeah, there's longevity there. Yeah. Scott: The other thing we really liked was the found family because Miranda's been, was at my house from age 16 on solo and moved out two years ago. So big on found family. At my house growing up there was always an extra person. Somebody that just got divorced or some teenager had been kicked out of their house. So we're big on found family. A found family is such a lovely story. You can take in so many different directions, and in Miranda's situation, it's right here, found family. Miranda: But also it's relatable to everyone. Whether you have a good relationship with your parents or not, you always have friends. You know, friends are the family that you choose. I know it's cheesy, but everyone can relate to it. Everyone has a friend that you feel like you're a sibling. Anne: So then you had this idea that you wanted to do this. The two of you were bouncing ideas and then you said, yes, this sounds amazing. Let's get a writer. Like what happened after that? Just get a writer involved. Scott: Like I said, we've had multiple ideas, and I think they're very solid ideas, but Miranda is a voracious performer and artist. They like to keep going and going and going. So if we didn't get something with legs on it early, it got set aside and fan art and something else, or voiceover or her life just got in. But this was much more substantial. And it has something that Miranda really likes is retro futurism and 50’s -- Miranda: Like mid-century modern atomic age type stuff, Jetsons style. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Scott: They really enjoyed drawing. So it was very inspirational. And then I showed it to my buddy Ed. We had made a little video presentation and it's 1000 degrees different than that, than the thing that we first made. But he goes, this is great. We showed it to Swampy Marsh, the creator of Phineas and Ferb, who's sort of Miranda's mentor and my good friend. And then we all got together with a couple of the writers from Gary Unmarried, that show my buddy Ed wrote about my life that was on CBS, and other writers that I'd worked with on their pilots. And we all got a room and sort of hammered out a thing. And then the found family thing, or how each of the casino employees used to work at the casino as a crooner or a fighter or something like that. And now the old man me has hired him to work on the, on the thing because they're no longer viable as performers. So we had that, and then Ed just took it off and built this great daughter goes away and comes back to save the found family sort of thing. Miranda: And it was so well done and well-written. And we pitched on jokes, and I would be like, oh, this character probably wouldn't say that, or this and that. But most of it was Ed really. He just brought this huge heart to it. Scott: Ed started on Roseanne and worked on Darma and Greg and so many great shows. And I was a joke guy, so you know, we were able to make the jokes crackle, and then you just crank it, crank it down, crank it down until it's tight. And then we hired Swampy Marsh and Bernie Patterson at Surfer Jack to do the staging animatics. So each time they go through, it's single line, really rudimentary, but it gives you a good idea of where everyone's going and what it will look like. I think they did four passes there. They hired Miranda to work on small projects. So Miranda got to work on her own pilot there. And then I think after we had our thank you party last summer at Tim's, Miranda said, I want it all to be -- I have so many ideas. I want more characters, I want some different backgrounds. This would be funnier if a chop from above. And so Miranda said, I wanna do all of this. So she redid everything. And so every frame you see in the thing is her character's shirt background, a couple backgrounds. We hired her roommate Lauren to do, really wonderful stuff. But almost all of it is Miranda's vision. So there you go. And then laid in all the sound. Tim West at Rebel Alliances donated hours and hours and hours of time. So the sound design is really good. Adam Gutman, Miranda, you can talk about. Miranda: Yeah. He's like a, he's a Disney composer. He does like all the music for these Star Wars land rides, and Amphibia, and he's worked on Greatest Showman and all these things. And I did a lot of work with him during the lockdown, and he had this like musical project, and I was able to do some animatics for him. And then after that, you know, we kept in contact and then he was like, if you don't let me do the music for Comet Casino, I will be very sad if you don't let me just do it. You know. And I was like -- Scott: Of course, of course. Miranda: He had all these like great kind of almost hotel lobby tracks from like a Star Wars thing that he worked on. And he's just like, I can tweak this and do this. I'm like, that is so cool. It was crazy. Anne: So a few things that I wanna point out to the BOSSes out there, because again, I think a lot of people that listen to the VO BOSS podcast they’re thinking very much in just voiceover. And again, the scope of this project is so amazing, and I'm hearing a couple of things that just keep coming back to me. Number one is having a great network, right? And having a wonderful team to help put this together. And so I think that networking is such an important thing to have a successful -- Scott: Without, without it, this wouldn't exist. Anne: Yeah. Scott: I called in and asked every favor I had to get us at this point. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Scott: Listen, I don't constantly work for free, but I work with friends and things I like mm-hmm and everyone liked all these people that are in this, Maurice Lamar, Billy West, Tara Strong, Luray, Newman, Mindy Sterling — all of them have known Miranda since about three years old because I was asked to be divorced when Miranda was three. So I had her with me, and they all sort of watched her grow up and watched her. So when I said, hey you guys, this is what we're doing, would you be willing? And they all said the same, some version of yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Tara Strong's like, just tell me where to talk. They didn't owe me anything, but I, we asked favors. Miranda: And one thing that I was so happy about is they've always been, ‘cause we're, you know, a lot of us are at the same agency. So like from being a kid, like not not a kid, but like, you know, in my 20s, early, early teenage years, they were always like, if you make something, if you make something, you know, put me in it. Please. So, you know, and then we finally followed through with an idea, and now it was like, I can do that. I can ask these people and they'll say yes. And that's just a such a great feeling to have, to have such a great support network of all these incredible talented people. I'm really honored. Scott: And Miranda designed each of the characters for each of those actors. Aunt Maisie was designed for Tara Strong. Gary Anthony Williams is Hendrix. So that's kind of a cool thing too. But you definitely have to be willing to work with -- I mean I've worked on so many pilots that got shot and didn't get to air. I don't get any money from that. I just get the experience providing and supporting. So when I have something, I call those guys and they're like, yeah, let's get together and write this. Anne: So then yet another thing that I wanna talk about that I think is so important in the development of this is you're still pursuing this, you're still getting funding for this. And so -- Scott: We've just started this phase. Anne: Right. Scott: We, it's taken two years to get up to that. Anne: Yeah. And I think that there's something to be said for the level of commitment obviously, that you have to have for this. I mean in my brain, there's no way that it can't not be successful for you guys. I mean that's the way I feel. I don't know. Miranda: I honestly think it's successful already. I am just, I am happy to be involved with these incredible people. I'm happy to have this part of my portfolio, and I'm ready to get this, this art in front of people who work in amazing studios. Like all these studio people are going to be seeing my art. So that was like the goal from early on was to get my art in front of studios, and whether it gets made or not, it's just a step in the right direction regardless. Anne: I love that. Scott: The beginning premise was to get experience at storyboarding character design and backgrounds. So when we hired Surfer Jack, the idea was that Miranda would sit on Bernie’s shoulder and watch him staging storyboard. But then Swampy screwed that up by hiring Miranda before they even started on the pilot to be head of small projects there. So the idea was to get all of her stuff in front of as many people as possible. And because of Ed -- his theatrical representation is APA — they saw that 90-second trailer and called us in for a strategy meeting. So now we're actually represented by APA. Anne: Love it. That’s huge. Scott: They’re not only showbiz adjacent, but they represent people like 50 Cent, Mark Ruffalo, you know, that kinda people. So now, next week the pilot goes out to every animation studio and every streaming service, full support of the head of animation at APA. And they'll bug them to watch it and then hopefully take a meeting. So we already won because all of that stuff is in front of them. And Miranda -- by the way, she's like, in my early twenties — these are your early 20’s; you’re 28 (?) until next week, you know. Anne: That's phenomenal. Miranda, I love that you said that it's already a success because it truly is in my eyes, and that's why I feel like it can't be anything but a success already. I've seen it evolve, I've seen it progress, and to me I'm in awe. I think it's amazing. I love the evolution, I love the whole creative process. And I think that it would help BOSSes to maybe wrap their heads around the whole production process of a creative project because I think it will help us to become better actors, become better business people, understanding the networking that you guys are going through and the process to get this produced and and get this out and see if — it's like a big huge audition. Right? Scott: It is. The other thing is, I told you I don't book animation. So what we did was build a pilot and write ourselves into the pilot. So if I book animation, it'd likely be something that we wrote then Miranda drew. So I think that's a really important thing for anybody getting into it. Don't wait to be asked to the dance. Get out there and start dancing. Miranda: I also think like the thing about networking that you said like Swampy, a friend of ours, you never know who you are going to meet or who's gonna hire you or who's gonna be your friend and let you work on their project or whatever. ‘Cause like, you know, I hired my roommate to work on some of the backgrounds for Comet. And the networking is so important in this industry, especially with animation, the way that it is right now. ‘Cause animation is very weird and not an incredible industry to get into right now. ‘Cause everything is very up in the air. Scott: What do you mean, not a great industry? Do you mean it's uncertain? Miranda: Yeah, it's very uncertain and there's lots of things. Scott: Voiceover and acting -- Miranda: No, no, but like animation in particular, a lot of animated projects are getting canned. Like they took so much off of HBO Max and Netflix. Like all these animated projects on Netflix. Scott: That happens in every facet of the entertainment -- Miranda: Right. That's true. Anne: Ebb and flow. Scott: It's building your house on mud and hoping for the best. Miranda: Yeah. Anne: Yeah. Miranda: But you know, like you just never know who is gonna hire you. You never know who's gonna be part of your story next. So. Scott: It's also a good reason to be nice to everybody. Miranda: Exactly. It costs some money. Scott: ‘Cause you never know. And that's why I always say, hey people, I know we have, we're represented by an agency, but please if I sent you the pilot and said, hey, send it to creators that you know, it's always great when something comes to the same point from different connections. Anne: Sure. Absolutely. Scott: Oh, this is the pilot. Oh this is the guy that Apple, the Apple guy sent me this. So I believe you gotta get as many lines in the water as you can. Anne: Absolutely. And that networking completely helps that. And I think that it's just something that's so important for us to know as we progress in this industry because this industry's uncertain, voice acting. Oh, oh my gosh. You know? Scott: Also the other thing is Miranda's not stopping. She's doing Comet art for the pitch deck. Should we get the meeting, I feel confident people are gonna say, hey come in. We like it. We’d like to chat, doing that. But she's also prepping a bunch of stuff to submit for Smiling Friends. She just had a meeting with the storyboard director from Mitchells and the Machines. So you know, you can't just go, well, we've got our pilot. Let's just sit back and let the money roll in. Miranda: Not over until it's over. Anne: That's not over. Miranda: It doesn't start till it starts. Scott: Ah, I like that one. Anne: Yeah. Now lemme ask you, Comet Casino, what's next? What's the next step? Scott: Next week. Well, Miranda's doing art for the pitch deck. Hopefully it goes out to all the stupid buddies, the the titmouses, the -- Miranda: Bento boxes, the tornates, the 20th Century Fox. Scott: It's gonna go out to every relevant animation company and every streamer, Amazon, Apple, all of those. And then we clear our schedule because we'll be just meeting so many people and having a bidding war on the Comet scene. Anne: There you go. Miranda: One would hope. One would hope. Scott: We still, did you get one of these, Anne? Anne: I did not get a bag. Scott: We wanna send you a bag as a gift from the Comet Casino. Anne: Oh, I love it. Scott: And we'll put one of the lucky chips in there too. Anne: Oh, I love that. Scott: I always keep 'em in my pocket when I audition and I booked three commercials with one ofthese in my pocket. Anne: Well, thank you. So let me ask you guys, before we go, first of all, how can somebody buy Comic Casino merch? Where do they go? Miranda: They go to the Comet Casino gift shop, and it's the first thing that comes up on Google. I'll also send you the link so you can put it in the description of whatever podcast. Anne: The Comet Casino gift shop. And guys, I have a few things. I have a few things from the Comet Casino, but I do not have a bag, so I would love that. Scott: We'll send you the retro airline bag. Anne: Thank you. Scott: Cool thing where you put the cardboard on the bottom, and they put hard glasses in the bottom. Anne: I love it. Scott: And then we still have a bunch of shirts. We don't have a lot of stuff. We got hit pretty hard. Oh, we do have some of these handmade pendants that are really, really cool. We only have a -- I think there's only five of those left. They're really, really, really stunning. Anne: That's very cool. Scott: Our friend Lori Magna is this artisan in Boston, and she made, she does all the little -- I mean -- Anne: Oh, I love it. Miranda: Aren't they so cool? Anne: I love it. So Comet Casino gift shop. Miranda: Yes, indeed. Anne: And how can someone follow you, Miranda? Miranda: Oh, well my Instagram is Parkinart, Parkinart. No spaces, no caps, no nothing. No, no underscores or dots or dits or numbers. Anne: Perfect. Scott: You can see me on a Tide commercial Anne: Ah yes. Miranda: And his Instagram. His Instagram -- Scott: Hang on, I forgot to say we just got these, the premade -- Miranda: The booklets. Scott: Big comic books with all the concept art. They're 22 pages, and we just got these. There was a misprint. We got to help with the pitch and they did a misprint -- Anne: Will you be signing? Scott: We're signing. Miranda will sign. I'll sign it. It doesn't really matter if I sign it, but Miranda's gonna sign it, and then if you get other cast members to sign it, you got something there. Anne: Very nice. Scott: That'll be up on here very quickly as well. Anne: Very nice. Scott: Anne, thank you so much. So sweet of you to have us on. Anne: Thank you, guys. It was amazing. So much fun. And I'm looking forward to interviewing you again after it gets picked up and you guys -- Scott: Absolutely. And remember, we're voice first, and we have a very long memory and we remember everybody that was so supportive and helpful. And believe me, we’ll be working hard. We don't know who's gonna buy it or what the situation will be. They may buy it outright, tell us to go away, you know what I mean? So we have no idea what that looks like. But if we have any say in it, we're gonna bring people to audition. Everybody gets up to bat, we're gonna write your names as a character, spread the wealth. Anne: Love it. And your cat wants to say hello. I love it. You know, I have three cats, so I'm all about that. Well fantastic, guys. Thank you so much again. It was amazing. So much fun. Love, love, love what you're doing. Miranda: Thank you so much for having us on. Anne: Absolutely. Scott: You’ve been so supportive, Anne. You jumped on the bandwagon and gave away merch very early on. This was an expensive proposal, right? Hiring an animation company to do four passes, and then I was sending random money to not take any other work while they worked on this thing. So it's really, really helpful to have such support. The main thing is, it's just really fun to see the cool logo and all the great art on it. It's very nice. Anne: Absolutely. All right, well BOSSes, here's your chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Besides giving to Comet Casino, you can go to 100Voiceswhocare.org to find out more and commit. And also big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network communicate like BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye! Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
The voice over industry is always changing. Pivoting for success is about preparing for that change and learning how to adapt. Anne & Lau are very experienced with pivoting professionally. How else could they keep their businesses thriving for 15 years? Pivoting is not just about immediately making changes to your process, but exploring your options. It’s about taking a step back, looking at what you are doing and asking yourself “Is this working? Is this the right thing?” There's an incredible amount of pressure to stay ahead of the curve and keep up with the latest trends & tech. If you’re not learning new things, you’re falling behind. Don't sweat it, Bosses. Anne & Lau are here to help you embrace these shifts + take advantage of bigger & better opportunities...
Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast and the BOSS Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along here with my very special guest co-host, Lau Lapides. Hey Lau, how are you today? Lau: I'm, I'm doing great. Anne: Awesome. So Lau, last night -- (laughs) -- Late at night, I had the television on, and there was an episode of Friends that came on. It's one of my favorite episodes because I don't know if you watch Friends. Oh, okay. Lau: Back in the day, are you kidding me? We were all Friends. Anne: So, do you remember the episode where they're trying to get the mattress up the staircase, and they're having a hard time making the turn? And Ross, Ross kept saying, pivot (laughs). Pivot. Pivot. And it totally made me think of my business, and I thought we could talk about pivoting. So question BOSSes, how good are you at pivoting and making quick changes, doing things in the moment, evolving along and changing direction? Good question. And I think we are at a point in our industry where things are changing, Lau, more than ever before. I mean, I think things are always changing. We always have to be on the lookout for trends. But I do feel as though we are at a pivotal point, (laughs), no pun intended, a critical point too in the industry where things just may change. And if we wanna survive, Lau, as a business — and I sat back and really thought about this the other day, we have to be able to evolve and change along with that if we want to survive. And I thought, alright, let's ask myself the toughest question. What would happen? ‘'Cause this has been on the forums for good long time now — the threat of synthetic voices, right? Well, what would happen to your business? Right? Ask yourself the question, BOSSes, what would happen if you did not have voiceover anymore? How would you be able to maintain a business or stay in business? How would you pivot? Lau: That's an excellent question. It's sort of a human question too. We never wanna think about this, but what happens if our career goes down? What happens if our house is gone? What happens if we can't walk anymore? I mean, these are things we don't wanna think about but that do happen in life to people every moment of the day. And it's not unrealistic to say, let me think of three possible scenarios that I could do if my business starts to crash and burn. Or if the pipeline for my business that I so rely upon, those 2, 3, 4 clients are gone? I actually saw one business, Anne, where there was four biggies in the pipeline for a talent, and they all went down. This was at the beginning of a earlier recession, and he had to close his business. He had to close, not because he didn't have the business, because he didn't know how to pivot. Anne: Well, you bring up such a good point. And you know, the pandemic was a big jolt to everyone's minds in saying, oh gosh, all of a sudden things have changed. Right? And this became like, well, we better make sure our studios are up to snuff and because we're gonna now be working from our home studios. And it became a thing that if you were a talent and you didn't have the proper requirements for your studio, if it didn't sound good, if you didn't have Source Connect or ipDTL or another way to connect to your client, your business might be suffering. And so those that were able to pivot and quickly recognize this and implement that, if they didn't have it implemented already, we're able to pivot. That was, I think, one of the first jolts to, I think a lot of us in the industry, that, oops, something changed and we need to be able to pivot with it in order to be successful or remain successful. Lau: Now, did you have one, at least one big pivot and during covid that you can recall and say, wow, that was a big shift? I changed, whatever that was? Do you have one in mind that you did during that Covid period right at the beginning? Anne: That's a good question. Well, first of all, I know that right before lockdown, I was super excited because I was able to complete this studio before that happened. And so when that happened, the great thing was, is that I was prepared. And I know that I already had been active with my ipDTL, so I was thankful for that, right, and Source Connect. And so I technically knew how to use them, I had used them. I was able to then make sure that I had those advertised on my page to make sure I could handle new work coming in, or if people had questions, because it was becoming a requirement now in casting specs. And so for me, it was literally making a pivot. I also had a lot of people reaching out for coaching, right? So I needed to make sure that I was able to handle the influx, which to me was a wonderful thing, right? I didn't have to necessarily worry so much about not working or losing business because more and more was coming in. So for me, it was an adjustment in terms of my scheduling and how I could fit everything in and do that. But what about you, Lau? Because you had a physical studio. Talk about that. Lau: Yeah, I did. And I did what every other voiceover talent. I was building my own voiceover studio from home. But the big pivot for me that I didn't even recognize I was doing, besides going online with the business, which was huge — that to me was huge, like, being able to go into the global zone and reach clients that way was terrifying, but incredibly exciting. The other big pivot for me was becoming an agent. So I never, ever dreamed or thought of that or envisioned that as part of my business at all. And then all of a sudden, I was on lockdown with everyone else, and I said, I, I -- Anne: Yeah, maybe we'll do that. Lau: And yeah. And my husband said, do you know anything about that? Do you know how to do that? I said, uh, no. I've had agents as a talent, but I've, I've never worked in an agency. I've never worked in an office. I'll figure it out.(laughs) Anne: I love that. I'll figure it out. Lau: So it’s that sense of — the way I was trained. Yeah. The way I was trained, my mentors were like, listen, in business, Lau, in business, you have to set up your service. And then you have to figure out how to do it. Because believe it or not, (laughs), right? Miss control factor here, you are not gonna know how to do most things before you sell it. And that to me was outta my mind with that. Like, I had to know exactly how to do everything before I could put it on the market. And I learned that's actually not the way business really runs. Like you're upgrading your product, you're offering new services, and you're kind of piloting it and pulling it to figure out what it is through your client base. And I figured out how to do that. But the big pivot for me was going online. Anne: That's amazing. So you created another segment of your business, or you grew another segment of your business. And I'm gonna say for me, during the pandemic, it was growing my business for coaching and demo production and producing demos online. Now, I am gonna say, for me, I am so grateful that I came from a background of technology because I was very used to having new things thrown at me and then being able to learn them and adjust and pivot. And I cannot tell you how much that experience helped me through the pandemic and pretty much anything else that as the industry grows here, being able to adjust it. You know, in the beginning, the fact that I understood technology or I could work with technology helped me when home studios weren't a thing, and then they were a thing. So I understood that it was something I needed to do. Being online, that has always been an inherent part of my experience, and I'm very grateful for that. It's how I brought VO Peeps into light. When I decided to quit my job and then just do full-time VO, I had to really start implementing things quickly so that I could bring in some revenue. And because I had experience in technology, I thought I would say, well, I thought, well, I can create a networking group that's global and that's online. And thus began VO Peeps. As, you know, things started to evolve. I started to offer classes using streaming technologies and then hybrid classes so that people didn't have to be physically near me to take a class or in person. They could do it online, in Zoom. And so I was able to evolve with that. And so I'm very, very fortunate and I cannot stress enough for those of you out there that maybe are afraid of technology or afraid of your computer or learning new things, I think it's fundamental, number one, to be able to take advantage of the technologies, to help you pivot (laughs) and help you grow. And I think that that's number one, that I feel so lucky that I'm — was able to pivot with the help of technology, and the fact that I knew it — and if I didn't know it, I would learn it. Right Lau, just like you, if you don't know, you're going to have to learn in order to kind of stay afloat and survive. Lau: I think also along with that, there's this sense of who I thought I'd be or where I thought I'd be by a certain age or a stage of life. And I know a lot of people go through this like, oh, I think I'd be this, or I'd be married by this day, whatever. Believe it or not, I always thought from a young age, I would be like, a talent, full-time, professional talent, because that's what I was trained to do for the first half of my life. And then that was a massive pivot. And very difficult too, because anyone who's a talent who pivots in another direction, whether they become a producer or a director or they own an agency or whatever, there's that loss. There's a little bit of mourning in that. There's that loss of understanding that, sure, I can do a gig or whatever, but my real focus for my business is in this direction. So that was a massive pivot for me when I opened my studio to really say, I can still do a gig if I wanna do a gig, but it's no longer my focus, it's not my focus point. My focus point is this. And to be able to concentrate and discipline myself to, to pivot in that direction is tough. It's wonderful that we're capable of doing that. But every, like, I'd say, every year, maybe once a year or so, like I just wanna cry my eyes out because I think, oh, what could have happened if I used this in my performance track? You know what I mean? Anne: First of all, I love that you mentioned that. I wanna say that I've always been of the philosophy that I love performing, right? I love being a voice actor, and nothing beats it. Right? But I give so much credit to my ability and what I've learned over the years to build a business in regard to keeping me safe and able to pivot, right? So again, if I ask the really hard question, okay, synthetic voices are getting good, right? There will be a market for them. There will be people who will pay for them. It will be okay at some point it'll probably evolve because I've gotten used to talking to Alexa. I always use Alexa as my example, but what am I going to do when parts of my business are taken away, right, by the technology? What can I do? And so asking the really tough question, if there was no voiceover, if the synthetic voice got so good that maybe the market just collapsed, and that could happen, what would I do? And I am thankful, so very thankful that I have the business skills, right? I've built a business and I've maintained that business for 15, longer than 15 years. And so what can I bring with those skills, right, to maybe not perform and do voiceover? What else could I do? And so I really started to think about, okay, there's lots of kind of things on the side. I have the VO Peeps group. I call it the tendrils of my business, like it's got arms. But really I could do something more with that. Or with the podcast, maybe I could be a podcast host or I could help other people develop their podcast. There's so many things that I am grateful for, again, because I have built my business up. But I think, BOSSes out there, you've got to really, really sit down and think, what will happen if this industry changes in a way that it's not what I intended right now? And am I preparing myself? Am I training myself to be able to evolve and pivot with it? But I think the whole business skills thing, if you guys are bored, (laughs) BOSSes out there, if you're bored, like, what should I train on next? Right? What should I do? Yes, of course, performance. But don't forget, gosh, about business, marketing -- those things, those skills will be invaluable for you as a business in order to survive whatever pivot you decide or whatever pivot you do. Lau: Yeah. I couldn't agree more with that. I think you gotta be in the business of being in business. My dad always said, I'm in the business of staying in business, right? So I'm not gonna do something completely unrelated, because it's not within my skillset. Like I'm not gonna go all of a sudden be a nurse. I'm probably not gonna be a firefighter. Could I actually have the skills to apply? Yeah. I really could, 'cause I feel like I've been taking care of people for a lot of years, but I'm not gonna do that. That's out of my realm, but within my realm — you're building hardcore skills, these BOSSes that are listening now. You're really, you may not know it, but you're building skills so that if one area of your business goes down, you don't wanna become obsolete. It reminds me of the services that were doing, you know, VHS movies, you know what I mean? And you'd go in and you'd rent a movie and take — you and I remember those days, you'd take that movie, you'd rewind it and bring it back. Well, they went out of business, they became obsolete and went out of business when then we went to DVDs, and now we're streaming, and now we're this. So I always wondered, why didn't they go into that area of innovation? Why did they just close down? Why didn't they pivot and shift? Why didn't they go into DVDs? Why didn't they -- Anne: Great example, Netflix. Lau: I don't know why. Anne: Right? Netflix, it was videos, right? It was videos that you rented and they mailed them to you. Right? Do you remember that? I feel old now. They mailed them to you for $.99 when you joined, right? And you could just keep getting videos and look at their pivot. Wow. I mean, that's an amazing pivot. Now they're one of the largest online streaming services, and I'm gonna say Microsoft, IBM. Look at these big companies that have been around for a very long time, right, and how they have pivoted and evolved. Look at, I think I was mentioning this to you before, but I had just seen something with Gary Vaynerchuk, who I absolutely love. He just was talking about the tractor. So farmers, when the tractor was invented, they were like, oh, it's gonna take away my job, it's gonna take away my job. And they would scream, and guess what? We evolved, right? So now tractors are being used to help farmers do their job. And so then we can, as humans, do more wonderful things. So I always think — when people have a thought that, oh my God, this is gonna take my job away. My business is gonna fall out from under me -- I think we need to really think about tractors or that concept that like, okay, how can we use whatever it is that's disrupting our business? And I'm gonna use technology as an example, right, synthetic voices. How can we use that to enhance our business or expand our business? How can we use it to help us do our jobs better? And I'm telling you, BOSSes out there, if you use Positron mm, okay, you cannot be hypocritical, right? Positron uses AI to help you do your job better, right? And yes, there's a lot of discussion about rights and and licensing and yes, that needs to be addressed. Right? Which is what I've always been talking about. If you're on the ground floor with this stuff, you have a voice to be able to make sure that that will happen. Okay? So I think really, it's going to expand us as human beings. Right? And it's not gonna take over ,because human beings invented it. Right? And I like to believe that not everybody in the world is evil, and that we will ultimately use the technology to help us to build better things and to be greater human beings. Because nothing will take away the fact that we are humans, and we humans like to engage with each other. Yeah, yeah. Lau: And we also like to innovate. And I think once you sit back and you stop innovating, then you're stopping the whole nature of what business is. I mean, building a business needs to be built from the ground up. Even if someone is handing you a business or selling you a business, you still have to put your stamp on that. And you have to figure out from an integral source about like, how do we do things? Like the best people who run businesses know how to do a lot of the jobs. It doesn't mean they're going to, but they're gonna delegate them. But it, they know how to do a lot of what their business runs on. Anne: They’re educated. Right? Educate yourself. Lau: They're educated. So yeah, so the peeps listening now have to think, okay, what are three things right now that are related, directly related to my business that are my skillset that I'm learning and I'm doing that I could literally offer -- I could extend my business if this area goes down, if this area? Like I'm a really great writer. Okay. If you're a great writer, you should be able to write copy, you should be able to write particular scripts in certain genres that you love or that you're really good at. You should be able to sell those potentially. Anne: But what if AI takes that away from you, Lau, then what? Then where's your pivot? There you go. Mm. Lau: Well, there it is. You have to continue to -- it's like a tree. I always feel like, I know you feel this way too, Anne, in my business, my life isn't long enough to do everything I wanna do. Like I'm an idea a minute. I, I'm like an advertising agency idea minute kind of person. I'm like, oh my God, yes, I could create a library of this, and then I could do this and then I could offer this. Do I do it all? No, because you can't do it all. You have to make selections and prioritize along the way. But if three things went down, I'd take three other things and build them up. Because I feel like we are expansive. We're expansive of possibilities. There's so much realm we can do. Anne: Yes, always think of the abundance, right, rather than what's being taken away. People who are stomping their foot and saying no, no to this technology, no to this evolution of what's happening in the industry. I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna stop AI. I'm just not as a single human being. I can have a voice and determine how I use it. Right? And how it will affect me and how it will affect my business. And for me, I am steadfastly committed to not having my business be in any sort of detriment because of it. I will use what I use to enhance my business, and that's it. But I think we have to always be of the mindset that we need to educate ourselves in order to really think about how are we going to pivot and educate yourself continually think about what it is that you bring to the table that can be another avenue for you or another tendril of your business to start developing now. And it doesn't have to be all voiceover related, although I like to be in parallel. I mean, like you said, you're a good writer. You could write. I mean I organized events. I can organize events. We do a podcast together. How much fun to help other people do podcasts together? There's just a lot of things that I think that can happen if you really just put your mind to it. Lau: I would love to see people really challenge themselves to take the time — if they're taking a lot of time -- they're fighting the good fight, they're fighting the battles, or they're upset or they're engaging in conversation, they're trying to work out the problems of having these innovations taking over their work, I get that. And to some degree it's necessary to do that, to process through what you're going through. But I'd also like to see people take the time that they're taking to do that to also innovate new ideas and really start to execute and implement those new ideas to see if they can be a viable source of joy and income for them. Because I guarantee you so many people are taking so much time to get angry or gossip or downtalk this or that. Number one, as you said, it's inevitable. We're not gonna stop it. Nor would we wanna stop it -- Anne: So much energy. Lau: — necessarily, but the — yes. So much energy is going in the wrong direction. Anne: Fighting (laughs) and trying to stop. And I think honestly -- like, I love that you said the word innovate. And I think that there are too few people that think about themselves as being innovative. Right? And we are, I mean, gosh, we are probably some of the most innovative, creative -- if you're a creative, you're innovative. That's the way I feel. Or you can be innovative if you're creative. Right? And that's where I think we need to stretch ourselves to grow ourselves as BOSSes. Think beyond the booth, think beyond the booth. How can you build your business? How can you grow your business? Doesn't necessarily have to always be within the confines of the booth. And innovate, I love that word. I think that should be like your challenge word for the rest of the year. Innovate. How can I innovate? Yeah. Lau: How can I innovate? And there's a beautiful little piece of artwork that's in my office that I bought in my travels, and it says create the things you wish existed. And I love that. That's like one of the mottos or affirmations that I have found in my travels that really, every time I look at it, it inspires me to say, okay, I'm not gonna sit and dish(?) day and night about what I don't like and what's going wrong and why did I lose this, and how come I'm not making money at that? I'm gonna say, woo, hold on. Whoa Nellie, let's go to here and say I'm gonna do this. How can I make this work? How can I make this happen? And that opens up the portal to a whole world inevitably that that door closes, that door opens, it opens up that whole world that if I didn't ask that question, if I didn't go down that path, none of that would've happened. If I stayed in this sort of negative vibe zone of just being really irritated that it didn't go the way I wanted it to go or I feel like something's been taken from me, or I've been violated in some way — I'm gonna empower myself to say, but wait a second, I've got all of these powerhouse sources within me that I can now grow that can take the place of that. That's how entrepreneurs really think in order to survive. Because not everything thrives and not everything lasts forever. And how they do the comeback. People like Cher and Madonna, how do they do the comeback every time? Anne: Can I just say this? I know Madonna gets a lot of criticism. But look at a woman who knows how to pivot(laughs). She has lasted in the industry, right, for, 40 years. Right? Lau: Right. And then great actors like Tom Hanks or whatever, how did they, how did they pivot when they physically change? They emotionally changed. How did they shift? Anne: Meryl Streep, I'm just saying. Lau: They’re not gonna get the same roles. Anne: Every new role, pivoting, evolving, still remaining relevant. I mean it's inspirational really. Lau: Yeah. Anne: So, yeah. Yeah. Lau: It's totally inspirational because I could sit there and I could say, I'm really upset though, Anne. I'm very sad and angry that I don't look 25 anymore. I'm gonna try like heck to look 25, and I can do that. But wouldn't it be better to say, but wait a second, I'm 40 or I'm 60, and I'm gonna bring out the intense beauty and wisdom I have now that I didn't absolutely have when I was 25. Anne: Sarah Jessica Parker. Right? I'm going gray. I'm just -- Lau: That's what it is. Anne: Right. Like just to continue to evolve and continue to innovate, be relevant. And really, I think BOSSes, it's something to just sit back and think when you're on vacation next time maybe, and you've got some downtime, and really think about how you may pivot as times change. And sometimes you just don't know what's gonna happen. But I like to present myself, well, if this happens, I will do this. Or maybe I'll start pursuing educating myself here, because I see things happening this way. And I think it's hard to be a visionary, but I always try to be. I do know that after working 20 some odd years in technologies, that I cannot stop it. And I say it's over and over again. You might think I'm a broken record, but I cannot alone stop technology from happening ever. And it just became a thing. And I think once you realize and you kind of accept that, it helps you to pivot, it helps you to to be innovative. It helps you to think about how can I utilize what I've got in front of me, not just technology, but utilize what I have, who I am and what I have in front of me to grow and to become better and to maintain a successful business. Lau: And be okay with change. Be okay with things not being the way you know them to be. That's tough. I always found that difficult ‘cause I loved things that were familiar to me and things I knew. Just be okay with the shift and change of the pivot. It’s like you're going to something new. It's not going to be replicating what you did before. And if you're okay with that -- Anne: Roll with the bumps. Lau: — you're a little bit bravery, you're more courageous. Roll with the bumps, 'cause innovation is not always success. Innovation is trying, you know what I mean? It's taking chances. It's taking calculated risks. It does not say that you're going to be successful because you're pivoting. It means you have the opportunity to be successful. Anne: If you are riding bucking bronco -- I always say this 'cause I rode horses as a young girl, right? And as a young girl, this was the sitting trot. Okay? And any of you horse lovers out there that rode, being able to sit a trot and be able to let go of your hips and roll — because a horse's movements are not always perfectly smooth. It's hard to anticipate sometimes. Or if a horse spooks, you have to literally be able to roll, roll with the changes so that you don't get thrown off that horse. Right? So, I don't know, maybe -- Lau: Is that where we get roll with the punches? Anne: — the punches aren't as hard. Right? Is if you resist against those punches, right, it's gonna hurt a whole lot more. Wow. Good stuff. Lau: Right. Anne: Oh my God. Lau: Right, right. I love it. It's so true. Anne: Now we know you can do it. So I'm going to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also, I want you to imagine the world full of passionate, empowered, diverse individuals like we all are. As BOSSes giving collectively and intentionally to create the world that you want to see, a lot of what we just discussed today. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. You guys, have an amazing week. We love you. We'll see you next week. Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
When you're an voice actor, growing your business is not just about booking another job. It's a whole process of making your business work. That process is full of potential risks, big investments...and even bigger successes. In this episode, Anne & Lau discuss making money, investing money back in your business, and fears surrounding money. In today's world, it's not enough to just be a great voice over talent. You also need to be a savvy businessperson. And that means understanding the basics of finance, including how to invest in your own business & make sure you're doing it intelligently. Money can be a scary topic to think about, and even scarier to talk about. You're not alone if you feel scared. It means that you care! Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the lovely and most wonderful VO BOSS co-host (laugh) Lau Lapides. Hey Lau. Lau: Hey everyone. Hey Anne. Anne: How are you this week? Lau: Oh, fabulous. Anne: Awesome. Lau: As always. How are you? How are you? Anne: I'm good, but you know what? I think it's time that we had a talk about money, and I know we spoke about raising rates before, but I think maybe it's because -- okay, so I admission, I downloaded Rocket Money for my iPhone, and I started to see like, where are my expenses going? What income's coming in? What am I paying on a monthly basis? And I'm just gonna start by saying that when you're trying to either cut your expenses -- and I wanted to start at least on that, if you find that you need to cut your expenses so that you can make a profit, right? Because, I mean, this is why we do VO, right? We are a business, we'd like to make a profit. It's good to find out the areas in which you're spending money. And it surprised me -- it, well, it didn't surprise me a whole lot because I've always said that a podcast is a labor of love. But I'm going to tell you that my discovery was that this podcast, with all the different things that I have going on and paying people to help me transcribe, edit, put out videos, do some social media stuff, cost me on average per year, just about $15,000 and that is not a small amount of money. (laugh) It's something, when you have a business, that's something you've gotta keep your eyes open and really look at and decide, is this worth my investment? Lau: Yes. Absolutely. And that's, look, is that true of any business, not just our business? You really should be having some sort of a business model at the start, even if it's a skeletal one, having an idea of what's my growth? Where is my growth in the first three years, three to five years of my business? That's really the time, I mean, according to statistics, that most businesses do fail is within the first five years. So it is really important to say, okay, here's my basic model and here are the first year projects. Here are my second year projects. What do I think I'm going to gross? Like, where is my gross coming from? Where is my net? And just like basic financial language so that when you get to that powerhouse podcast, like what you have, you're not outta your mind going, what? How is that possible to invest that kind of money? Right? Anne: Well, and I think it's something too though, and I spoke about this earlier this week on another webinar, how being an entrepreneur and having a, a voiceover business, it takes courage. It really does. It takes courage to get out there. And I know there's so many people that tend to get into this industry thinking, oh, I can work from home. All I have to do is go in my studio and record and I'll make my money. But nobody really thinks about the cycle of money. Right? Because there's an investment that has to happen. And I think our brains kind of shut that off when we first get started, because all we're thinking about is, oh, I just have to go in my studio and record, and I'll just make that money. But for every business to, I think, function successfully, there is money that you need to invest. And it takes courage to invest money really takes courage to, especially if, let's say you're doing this full-time and you're just starting, and we're in that time period where maybe you're not comfortable yet or feel like you're making any kind of headway or profits (laugh) in the first few years. So Lau, I mean, you went even further than just a voice talent. I mean, you have a studio (laugh) like... and that is a considerable investment. And so what was it like when you were first investing in this like a physical studio, right? I mean, there's rent, there's (laugh), you know, there's equipment. What was it like for you when you first got involved in that in terms of was it scary? Lau: Well, I'll be honest, as I try to be all the time, I was shitting bricks. I mean, it was terrifying. (laugh) I'm sorry, your engineer might have to take that one out, but listen, I think our audience can deal with that. Anne: I think so too. Lau: Yeah. I'll be honest with you, I was 40, I was not a young kid. I was already, you know, getting to middle-age, and I was offered a space -- this is how it happened for me. I was offered a space through my dad who was a big real estate owner, and he was an amazing entrepreneur unto himself in his own right. And he looked at me one day and he said, I have a space that's opening up, Lau. It's in a prime location. Location is everything, when you're looking at space, whether you're looking to live or own a business, I wanna give it to you, not give it to you, but I wanna offer it to you. And how do you feel about that? And I remember exactly where I was. I was in a Dunkin Donuts, I know the exactly where it was, how I felt, and I could feel my heart, Anne, drop into my stomach as if you're on the edge of a cliff, like I could feel it like you're gonna jump out of a plane. And all I could say is in the most important times of my life with the biggest decisions, all I could say was yes. That doesn't mean I was like, knew what the hell I was doing. It just meant more of me wanted to do it than not wanna do it. And I knew, I knew in my heart it was now or never, that that was the window of time to do it. So taking on that level of financial investment, taking on prime territory space, all these things that we do need to think about is a leap of faith. A tremendous leap of faith. Anne: Yes. I was just gonna say that, it's a tremendous leap of faith, and something that I think that -- you know, it's great to have a leap of faith and belief and a passion and a dream to follow it. But I think you also have to have the street smarts to do that in an intelligent way. Right? Because we're not gonna make investments if we don't have some money to back that up, of course. And before we can get to that place to where we might have money to invest, right, there might be places in our career where we can start to save a little money and put that away. And I've said this multiple times, that the most confident I was ever in my business was when I had a savings account, that I had enough money in there that I could make sure that I could pay the mortgage for the next three months, six months -- actually it was six months -- and I would feel okay if the work didn't come in, or if I needed to make an investment. That confidence led me to take the leap of faith and take the risks that was required for me to actually grow beyond where I was. Because otherwise, I think we just sit here in our studio, and we sit there, and we try to get job after job and we audition, we audition, we audition. But where is the growth? I mean, you could audition your life away, right? But if you're not taking a leap of faith or a risk somewhere and making an investment -- and investment doesn't always have to be money. But I'm gonna say that for most of us, right, the money is like in your face, (laugh), you know what I mean? It's like, that's the kind of risky, scary stuff that it's like, oh no, I've gotta pay what? (laugh) And even if you're talking about a demo, right, or something, you're just getting started or a new microphone, it can be overwhelming, the investment, the money. And I think we're both here to say that, look, you're not alone if you're scared. Right? You're not-- or if you're nervous about that. Lau: No, no. And you have to be, it's important to me because that level of fear, apprehension, that level of anxiety is also telling yourself that you care. You really care about what happens to you, what happens to the business, what happens to your money, what happens with safety and security. Like you're connected to that ,you care. You're not just saying, oh yeah, it'll be easy and fun. Let me just throw a hundred grand at it and let's see what happens. You're really connected to the outcomes in understanding that sacrifice is happening. You have to be ready to sacrifice to have a business, especially a brick and mortar business. Anne: Oh gosh, yes. Lau: Yeah. Like all of our wonderful restaurant friends during Covid really sacrificed and suffered. Well, so did we to some degree. Like we can have a home studio, which is amazing. But if you have any kind of brick and mortar, you have to be ready to sacrifice to keep that shingle up every single month. Every every month it has to be up. You can't just take six months off from it or a year off from paying your rent or your mortgage, or the heat, or I always say, you know, there's toilet paper, there's all sorts of ancillary services that you are providing if you have any kind of a brick and mortar that the public comes into. You have to have insurance. You have to make sure if God forbid, someone gets hurt, you're covered. You have to make sure that, you know, on and on it goes. Taxes are paid, property taxes, on and on it goes. So not to scare anyone, but to sort of keep it real, that even if you're in a home studio, someone is taking care of that home. Someone is paying that rental on that apartment. Someone is, and it's probably you. Right? So it is a level of sacrifice and understanding that I need to continue doing this in order to build this into a viable business, a real business that makes profit. Anne: Yeah. And I think too, something that's very key is in terms of having the courage, right, to make investments, we're investing in a business that is very much a business about us. Right? It's very much a personal brand. This is about our voice. This is about us being able to perform a service with our voice, which is such a personal part of us. And if we see failure, I think it compounds it. It's not like, oh, I have a product here, a new formula. Right? But when it's our voice, and it's when it's all about us, and we're talking about making an investment in us and giving that money up to invest in us -- if it does not work, right, it affects us personally. And I think that is where a lot of the fear comes in for people coming into this industry. And I'll tell you what, it doesn't go away. And I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but the bigger you get, right, the more you grow and the more you invest. And so I'm gonna say from the beginning it was just about, well, let me invest in my coaching, let me invest in my demos. Then it became, I've got to invest in, create an S Corp or an LLC or let me invest into a better studio now. And then also I have to invest in other things. Now I've gotten to the point where if I haven't grown every year, I'm looking at my growth. And if I'm not growing, I have to figure out, well what do I need to do to continue that growth? And we can talk about outsourcing, right? I pay people, gosh, for at least 10 years, I've been paying people to help me do things. And the team, I have a team and and that team again is another investment in my business and in my growth. Lau: Yes. I mean, we can flower this out for hours, this program because we can't even get into the level of detail as you grow. Like we both have a business, roughly both of us are at like the 15 year mark. So can you stay static? Sure. Can you stay in a comfort zone? Absolutely. And I totally am okay with that and respect people who say, I'm capped, I'm at my ceiling, I'm happy with what I'm doing. I'm happy with my services, but I'm not. Like, I'm insatiable in the sense of wanting to provide more value, to educate more, to lift the level of income, to go from, as they say now in the ether, it's very big. Go from six figure to seven figure. How do you do that? Well, you do that through scaling. So everything that you're talking about, Anne, that we built our our businesses on, which is the person, the personality, the personalization, which is what we try to bring to our copy as talent. Right? How do we personalize a real person. Also, there's a sacrifice in that too. And it's a very hard gray zone. How do I keep the personalization and keep the boutiqueness of my product and scale? Which is automization, which is about, you know, you're in the whole AI world. It's about like, how do I get into a place where things are being funneled and things are being structured in a system? It's no longer high touch. Like I don't have to be a part of every transaction. And then at the end of the day, it's not about me anymore; it's about the process or the product. And that's like to wrap your brain around that, when you start a business that's so personal and so high touch, is just a jump. It's a jump. It's a transition that a lot of us are working towards making. Keeping it personal. Keeping it real for us. Keeping it something we love and care about, but allowing our control to get out of the way so that other systems and controls can come in. And keep providing value at a much larger level. Anne: Absolutely. And I think in terms of money, (laugh) I say money, and I don't want people to think -- Lau: I like how you said that. Anne: -- that Anne, money, she's obsessed with money, that Anne. But here's the deal for me, like again, I always talk about wanting to grow my business. And so for me, it becomes a challenge. And I've always been a girl that takes on challenges. And so you have to feel comfortable with money, number one. And you have to feel comfortable investing money to make money. Right? And then to be accepting of that money. And again, that goes back to like, know you're worth, charge an appropriate fee so that you can make that money, so that you can reinvest in parts of your business to continue to grow, and take that opportunity to just embrace the thought of money (laugh) in abundance. Right? You're always talking about abundance, Lau. And again, I'm not gonna get too woo woo here, but I think manifesting that worth, you need to manifest that worth out to your potential clients so that they say, oh yeah, absolutely. My goodness, can I pay you more money to do what you're doing, (laugh)? Lau: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Anne: That's what I want. And really that's how it comes. And I think that as entrepreneurs, you have to not just think of yourself as a voiceover artist. That's why I'm always saying, I'm not just a, a voiceover actor, a voiceover artist. I am an entrepreneur, and I am as much in tune with growing my business as I am with getting the next gig. Lau: Yeah. No question about it. And you have to figure that out over time. You know, I became someone who became most comfortable -- here was talk about being in a discomfort zone. I was in a discomfort zone opening a business and putting everything on the line. But I figured out about myself, which ultimately became my brand, was I was much happier giving value to someone else and growing their career and seeing them flourish than for myself. And that's a pure irony 'cause I was an actor for many years. I was a voice talent for many years. But that was a level of sacrifice that I was willing to make because I had to really honestly identify what is your niche? What is your niche? What do you offer the best? What do you do the best? You can do 10 million things, but what do you do the best? And I figured out it was, I like leading I like creation. I'm the idea creator. And I like executing those more than I like doing the talent piece for myself. And that took me years to figure that out. That was a revelation. I almost felt guilty about that because I was in such an actor's mindset for so many years. Anne: Very interesting. Lau: And I thought, why would you give that up? Why would you stop doing that? I've had clients that say, why aren't you doing it? I'd say, okay. Because I was building a business that was giving this value to other people and that satisfied me. That satisfied me tremendously. And I figured out that that's okay. Like that's enough. And it, not only is it enough, but you've got a lot more to build. Anne: That's like coaching and teaching for me. Right? I mean, again, it's something that -- and performing as well --but I think that inherent, I like to mentor, to inspire, to help people grow their businesses, to grow their skills. And that to me gives the joy a lot of the joy in my business. And yes, money. (laugh), again money. And I say that unabashedly and unashamedly because I need to pay the bills. I do, I need to pay the bills. But it's not the top game. It's, I've gotta have joy first and then that money will come. I believe that. Because if I'm following my business, if I'm following my gut and my intuition to how I wanna grow that business, I'm always chasing the joy and the passion. And if that happens to be in my business, then yes, I'm going to yield a profit. Lau: Yeah. And I think it comes down to too is women in our industry and in the world at large, we're always figuring out, you know, what does value mean? What is our value in the world and in this industry? Value is many things. It's monetary, it's actual process related. It's sacrifice and charity. It's, it's a lot of things. But at the bottom line, we can't be afraid of the money, and contracts, and negotiation, and saying -- one of the more famous campaigns of L'Oreal that I always loved was get this, and I'm worth it. You know what I mean? That was a L'Oreal campaign, I thought as a kid, I was like, ooh, that makes me cringe. It's like so arrogant to say that, whatever. But as you get older and you've build your business, you have to say, here's what I provide. This is a value to you. And it's worth it. Right? There's a worth to it. Anne: Absolutely. And it's also, there's purpose beyond profit. Right? And I think that if some people might take a look at things like with big businesses and today, the big companies out there and say that greed is at the base of all of it. But I'm going to say that for me, it's not greed, but I wanna say that as I prosper, right, again, I want to give back even more. It comes from a place of, well I personally like think that wealth is more than just money. It can be mindset, it can be time, it can be a lot of things. But as my business grows and my financial wealth grows, I am willing to donate. I'm willing to share that, be philanthropic. And so I think a lot of times when people criticize billionaires and millionaires and say it's an uneven system -- but I'll tell you, there's a lot of billionaires that do good as well as make a lot of money. Lau: Sure. Absolutely. And I can tell you the stats now is that 99% of companies in our nation, all companies in our nation are considered small business. And I started to research what is small business? Small business is defined as 500 or less employees. So I felt so satisfied knowing I was a small business. But I was in the company of most businesses. Anne: Yes, absolutely. Lau: Most businesses are small. And so there's layers of this sacrifice that you're looking at to say, okay, well if I need to make money in order to survive, make it a viable business, in our industry would say tag, what's our tag -- one of the best financial advisors who I love so much, Susie Orman, used to say it's people first, then money, then things. And I love that. And I sort of live by that in my own right, because it's, for me, relationships. It's about value, it's about -- but right behind it is money because I can't keep doing that and sustaining that without financial benefit, nor can anyone. And when we go back to the origins of our businesses, Anne, and when we're starting our businesses, and you have --take your pot of gold, you take your savings. I like you, was a really good saver. I'm very frugal. I'm not a super materialistic person. So I would tend to save the money. I would take that pot of gold, take that savings and say, I'm not spending anything. Even though it's scary, I'm not. I'm investing in something that I know is viable. And that to me is the first step of having a real business and saying, I have the belief system. I have the belief system based on research, homework, relationships, and knowledge of what my skillset is that this can work and this will work. And as they say, failure is not an option. It's not an option. Don't give yourself an out. Like keep yourself accountable. I oftentimes say I am the toughest, toughest BOSS I've ever worked for. Anne: Oh my God. Me too. I'm a real witch. Lau: Tough. Anne: Yeah. (laugh). Yeah. I said, oh my God, that I do that. I'm a real -itch. Lau: (laugh) that big. Right. What is she making me do today? Right. But that's that accountability, it's the internal accountability that I know creates sustainability. That's what it does. Anne: And I think -- one thing I always like to bring up is I keep this in mind. Mind your own business, your own business. And that means don't let others influence you on what your business should look like, how much money you should be making, that kind of a thing. Because in reality it is your business. And honestly, nobody needs to know. And as a matter of fact, I'm always really quiet. Number one, I work a lot in the area of the market that has NDAs. And so I'm very low profile on any work that I'm doing or any gigs that I'm getting. And I don't even like to necessarily report. Some people put money, oh, I made so much money this week and clients. And, and that for me is not the way to really talk about my business because I think in that way, some people think maybe it inspires some people, but I also think there's a lot of people who aren't talking about that, that it makes feel bad. They feel bad about that. And I don't want any of you BOSSes out there to feel bad about your business because it is your business. And that the same goes for, I'm gonna say this, whatever money you're making, I mean, yes, there are concerns I have with certain online casting sites, but I will never judge someone for running their business the way they see fit because it is your business. Lau: Me too. And that's, of course, we all know that's the biggest, one of the bigger sources of conversation especially in the early to mid-range market of people who are in the market. It's like, should I do this? Should I be on a pay-to-play? Should I do that? And here's what I say, I simply say this as a coach, I'm putting my coaching hat on, saying Listen, you have a business that you are running, and you have to sit down with pen and paper, and you have to say, what am I reaching for this year? What are my goals and how am I going to get them? And you need to leave everyone out of that. The circle you've created are there for you to come back to, to connect to, to befriend, to help. But that's not the time. The time is your inner search. My inner search is, I want to do this. I need to do this. How am I going to do this? When you start listening to too many voices and too many points of view, you get really confused. And at the end of the day, you have to cook your dinner, you have to eat it, and you have to live with what it tasted like. Anne: And there's nothing wrong with supplemental income while you're building your business. I mean, in any industry, we've all got our talents. And so especially for me coming from the corporate educational world into an entrepreneurship with my own business, that's night and day in terms of (laugh). Oh my gosh. Before I didn't have to worry about who's doing the accounting. I just show up, I show up to my job, but do my job. I get paid every two weeks. Now all of a sudden, that is so not what I'm doing with an entrepreneur business. Lau: A lot of folks are coming in and they're under this delusion of like, how do I get what you have? How do I come in at the rate that you're at? I say, I said, okay, well you have to do like 30 years and you have to do this, this, and this. Like side hustle was my middle name when I -- before I opened. Before I opened my studio, I literally was what they call in in California, you know this term, a highway flyer. What I would do is I'd get in my car and I'd go to six different colleges. This was after graduate school. Six, count it, guys, six, 'cause I was adjunct. I was not a full-time. And I would teach two to three classes per college per semester. Count it. I was up to 15 classes one semester. Right? Because I was adopting children. I had to have cash for that. I was starting a business. I had to have cash for that. And you have to have cash flow. It can't be tied up. You have to have flow ready to go. I like to say right now I loved it'cause I'm like a type A personality. So I loved all that stuff. But to the average person, that's crazy. They'd say, wait a second, how did you do all of that? And you were a performer and you were a director, and, and, and? I said, because I loved it and I had passion for it and I was working my way up the ladder. Anne: Yep. Absolutely. Lau: So to speak. Do I wanna do that now? No, I don't because I'm at a different place now. But I can't come in saying, oh, how do I walk into this, Lau, and how do I get all the clients I want and be at six figures? And I said, well you gotta pay some dues. You have to pay some dues and it's not bad either. I had fun doing that. I loved it. I had a ball. I was like always testing. How much can I do? Where can I go? Anne: Yeah. I'm right there with you. And I'm gonna say the challenge to me -- Lau: I miss it. (laugh) Anne: -- that floors me. I mean that just makes me so excited. The challenge. Right? Rising up to the challenge. But it's not that I didn't curl up in a fetal ball (laugh) every once in a while and cry, just saying, guys. There have been times when it's frustrating and it's hard, and there's nobody there. Sometimes I'm like, why? Why do I do this? I can't even talk to anybody about it. Like I could be running into these issues. And I'm like, I don't know what to do. I've never experienced this before. How do I do this? And then there's no answers. And I'm like, (laugh), why is it so hard? It's so hard. But guys, most days I like to say I rise to the challenge, but I'm also gonna completely admit to you that yeah, sometimes I'll curl up in the fetal position and cry, but it's worth it. Lau: But you know what? You know how you get out of that position? You know how you get out? 'Cause we all do that. When you email me and you say, Lau, what we just did made a difference. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And then I keep that. I keep every single one of those. I put 'em in my little e folder, I'll print a few out. And just when I'm like sobbing my eyes out thinking none of this is worth it, I look at that and I go, oh my God. But for this person, it literally changed their life. It literally changed the trajectory of how they think. To me, there's no better work than that. Anne: I agree. Lau: And, and I get to make money. And I get to make my own hours and my own structure, and yes, it'll drive you crazy 'cause most of us need structure and usually expect it from someone else. But it's so wonderful to have that level of creative and artistic freedom. Anne: Agreed. Totally agree. Lau: I'd rather work my butt off for myself. (laugh). Anne: I can't ever work for somebody again. Pretty much. That's the way it works. Lau: I can't either. Anne: Except for voiceover 'cause it's one. And you know, get in, get out real quick. I mean I have some great clients that I keep coming back to, but yeah, absolutely. Lau: Of course, of course. That doesn't mean you can't job in for an agency or job in for this. But that's not the same as running your own biz. When you run your own shop, you don't mind working really, really, really hard. 'cause you know you're building something that's a legacy for you. Anne: Absolutely. Woo, what a great conversation. I'll tell you. So BOSSes, money, money, money, (laugh). Don't be afraid of it. Use it wisely. Invest it wisely so that you can grow your business. Lau and I certainly have the faith, we have the faith in all of you out there that this can be done. You can be successful. So don't be afraid of money. And also I'm gonna say that when you, BOSSes, you are BOSSes out there. And if you have a little bit of extra money, maybe you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart. If you know a nonprofit that you would like to do more to help them and to give back, you can visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. And a big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like BOSSes, like Lau and myself. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Lau: See you next week, bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Video game acting is a unique art form that requires strong acting skills & an imaginative approach to storytelling. Anne is joined by special guests Dave Fennoy & Randall Ryan to discuss all things Game VO. Voice actors must bring their characters to life in a way that's authentic & impactful for players. Believe it or not, the average age for video game players is 40 years old, and these people have been playing games for 15+ years. These players are seeking a high level of story sophistication & depth of character when playing games. For a voice actor, Game VO recording is often a solitary and non-linear process due to logistics, but it still requires a deep understanding of the character you're playing, the world they inhabit, and their relationship to other characters. Invent as you go. Know your character, the world, and how your character would react in the moment. As with any genre, it’s best not to overthink things too much before recording, but instead trust yourself as an actor and allow yourself to get creative during the session itself. And if you want to work with the pros, stay tuned for a unique opportunity to relax, recharge, and level up your game VO skills with Dave & Randall… Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am pumped to level up my BOSS knowledge about Game VO, and I am so excited and honored to have the best in the industry, Dave Fennoy and Randall Ryan. Dave is a renowned voice actor and instructor based in LA with a vast portfolio of work in commercials, narration, TV promo, animation, and of course video games. He's best known for his character, Lee Everett in the Walking Dead Game, and has voiced characters for more than 500 games on some of the industry's biggest titles. And IMDB has named him one of the 20 best male game voices of all time. Randall Ryan began his career as a musician in touring rock bands, and today is an award-winning composer and producer of gaming and commercial music scores. He co-founded Hamster Ball Studios back in 1995, where he's been directing talent and producing game audio for more than 20 years and has since contributed to numerous high profile video game titles. Also, co-host of Let's Talk Voiceover podcast and still performs the occasional live gig and thinks dogs make the best people. And I of course, think cats, but maybe that's for another podcast discussion, Randall, I'm not sure. Randall: Who's your animal spirit podcast? Anne: There you go. Guys, thank you so much for joining me. I am so excited to talk to you today, Dave: Oh, it's our pleasure. Happy to be here. Randall: Absolutely. Anne: So what I love, BOSSes, is that I have both sides of the glass here today so that we can get a really comprehensive view of game VO as it exists today. So I'd like to start off with Randall and ask you as a casting director, can you give the BOSSes an idea of the game VO market as it stands today, let's say, compared to 20 years ago when you first started? Randall: Well, yeah, that's almost an unfair comparison. I think what I would say is 20 years ago, games were just kind of coming into their own as even an art form. And now as I think a lot of people know, it is the gorilla of the industry. I mean, last year games sold more than film and music combined. Anne: Wow. Randall: Which is just amazing. And the other thing that I see that's very different from 20 years ago is 20 years ago, it was certainly the wild west when it came to voice acting. It was often like the person of the cubicle next to the developer, and they were just throwing some voices in. And if they hired actors, there was not a lot of, I don't know if I would use the word respect. It just wasn't really truly a real part of -- VO was an afterthought. And I think the difference is, is now is not only has gaming VO reached a really high place as art form, but the thing that I really see and, and it's the reason that I think you don't pay attention to game voice as your own peril if you're a voice actor, is it is changing every other genre. Commercials are different because of gaming acting, and even for the people that don't know it that are writing copy, they've been growing up with games. They've been playing games, and they, and they also see other commercials that have been going to more gaming acting principles. And so even if they don't know that, that's where that creative is driving from -- bottom line is that is where that creative is driving from. So even if you're not going to be in games, I think it's really important as an actor to understand what it takes to be a VO game actor. It's kind of like, even if you're gonna be on film, you really need to understand theater. You need to understand all the principles of it. It's very much the same kind of thing. You may not wanna be a Broadway actor, but you don't study theater kind of at your own peril. I think it's kind of the same idea. Anne: Well, probably if I had to count the amount of times you said acting -- Randall: Yeah. Well Anne: Right, in that response? So acting is so very important. Not just I think to game view, but just to voiceover in general, especially now. And I'd like to ask you, Dave, let's talk a little bit about acting and your thoughts on why it's so important that voice talent today really have that acting prowess. Dave: You know, when we talk in the general world of voiceover, acting is important, but it's more important when you are looking at video games. We become a good actor in voiceover to be able to be ourselves or a character similar to ourselves for commercials and narration, or even TV promos. But we're looking for something wider range, a much wider range of who these characters are and with a different purpose. If you're doing TV promos or commercials, your job is to get people to buy a product, watch a TV show. As an actor in a video game, your character drives the story forward. Whoever your character is, whatever it is they are doing, they are part of a story, not part of trying to sell you something or get you to do a particular act. And what the audience for video games is now, one, they're averaging about 40 years old, and they've been playing video games for 15 to 20 years. And they want an adult experience, and they don't mean adult like chicka chicka wow wow. Dave: But they're looking for cinematic performances, which means more subtle, more real. Your performance has to fit into the world that these games are in. It's not about your voice, no matter what your voice sounds like. It's about can you let this character inhabit you and bring this character to life with just words on a page and a microphone? And there are various techniques that really are founded in acting principles that'll help you get there. Randall: And, Anne, I'm gonna add one thing to what you said too. You are right that your primary job in a commercial is to, I guess you could say, is to sell a product. But really in essence, even as an actor, is that really your job? Your job is still to inhabit that scripts, and, and this is where I think some of the changes are coming from. And so in the same way that there are certain people who are spokespeople that the whole celebrity thing has happened, but a lot of times you're putting the celebrity in because people like them. They aren't really selling -- Dave: Because people like them and believe them. Randall: And believe them. Absolutely. And so people are putting him in there not to actually sell. You know, did Matthew McConaughey sell Lincoln? He didn't. He drove around and said some talking. But he's playing in essence, even though it's him, he's playing this character. And I think even in commercial, to understand what that character is supposed to be that the writing is, you still have to be that character more now than you ever did before. Dave: Which brings us back to your point, Randall, that learning to be a good video game actor or good actor will help you across the board in voiceover. Anne: Yeah. I'm just gonna say, with my experience working with students for not just commercial, but a lot of the long format narration, like corporate narration and explainers and, and medical, I mean, even then there is a role. It may not be as dynamic or as long played out as, let's say, a video game, but there is still that acting that has to come into play. And I'm gonna talk about how important I think it is, especially now with the advancements in technology. But I wanted to ask you about the story. Okay, so the story for a video game is a lot different than, let's say, a story that's laid out in front of you. So like a story, if you're assuming that you're gonna be in a commercial, you're gonna be selling a product, there's a character backstory you can develop. Like you want it to end up that the person agrees with you and says, yes, this is a great product for me. If it's corporate narration, it's kind of a nicely wrapped up little story about a corporate story about their brand. But with video games, it's ever changing, and it's not necessarily all laid out in front of you. And I was gonna also do the example of an audiobook where you've got the entire book and the story's laid out in front of you. But yet with a video game, do you know the entire story right away? Or is it something that develops? Dave: Chances are you will never ever see the entire script. The video game industry is very secretive. We have all in the video game industry signed hundreds of NDAs, non-disclosure agreements, because they're very secretive. They don't want anybody to know or share what's going on in their game. So even when you audition, sometimes you have to sign an NDA before you can even do the audition or send it in with your audition. And you're gonna get a few lines of whoever this character is, maybe a little bit about the game itself, but never "this is what the entire storyline is and this is what happens." You will never see that script. If you're an actor in a movie, in a play, in a television show, you'll see the whole script. You'll know your character's arc. Being a character in a video game is much more like being who you are. You have certain tendencies, a world, a belief system. But when you walk out the door every day, you don't know what's gonna happen to you. Anne: That's a very different skillset, I would think. Because each and every time you are getting that script or that little tiny portion of it, you're either developing the scene, the backstory, and the emotion. And so that's like constant, like I would think acting requirement for that just is through the roof . Dave: Well, you developed the character in that audition. But when you get there, say you did five, maybe ten lines, now you've got 100, maybe 500 lines. And some of them may be paragraphs or monologues. And it's a matter of being in character and going with what is this character thinking, feeling, doing, being, who are they talking to in this particular moment in time? Randall: Yep. God, there's so many things that that just brings to mind, but, well, what is Mark Dale's quote, a mutual friend of ours, he's a director in London. Yeah. Dave: This is the exhaust of the acting engine. Randall: That's one. And then he is got that little spy thing, which I think when you're talking about how do you deal with a video game character, that to me is like, yes, that's actually it. Dave: One of the things Mark likes to talk about is the spy who is in another city, another country, another place using a different name, dressing different, pretending to be this other person. And his life or her life depends on how well they roll with the punches, roll with a different situation, somebody else asking them particular questions, and it's constant improvising in character. Randall: Yes. Anne: I love that. That's such a different way to look at that. Okay, so when you're talking about how to, I guess, evolve that character is sometimes the story -- well, I imagine you would know this -- developed as you also developed the character and then the story might change? Dave: Well, you know, it's interesting. Uh, during the Walking Dead game, sometimes I would arrive at the studio, and the script got there 20 minutes before me. So yes, actually sometimes the writing is right there with you. So sometimes they wouldn't have been able to tell you anyway because certain things hadn't been written yet. Especially in something that's ongoing, episodic like that, but whether they know it or not, you as an actor are not going to see the entire script. You are gonna live this character moment by moment. So you are living in the world of, what am I reacting to? What am I thinking? What am I feeling? What am I doing? Who am I talking to? And what's that relationship? Which we do as actors anyway, but now it's moment by moment. Anne: Now Randall. So then in terms of directing a talent, right? What is that like for you? Because you also probably don't get the script right away either, and so you're directing and so what's that process like? Randall: Well, I usually get it a little bit sooner than the actors, but you're right. It's not like I've been sitting there with it for months or weeks or anything like that. So everybody has got a different philosophy. I guess I'll tell you mine, but I think most directors I talk to will probably tell you something very similar to this. I think this is true of other genres, but video games, it almost has to be true. You cannot go in with this voice in your head or character in your head. Like, this person is going to be like this. It has to be a collaborative process, because you haven't, as a director, haven't had time to absorb all the stuff. But even if you did, even those occasions where you do, writers write, and there has to be a translation, and that actor is coming in with sometimes, you know, you're looking at Dave says 500, sometimes you're looking at maybe 500 lines for that character. You're looking at thousands of lines of script, and we're not gonna put people together, ensemble. And there are a lot of reasons for that. I, you know, I know that's a sticking point for a lot of people, but there are a lot of reasons that's probably not gonna happen anytime soon. Long and the short of it is I have to trust the actor. So the actor and I both have to be working together to come up with this character. They come in with an idea, I come in with an idea, the writer comes with an idea. At some level check your ego at the door. We're gonna work this out as we go. And that's a lovely process when it works well because once it starts clicking, everybody's discovering, and that's where you get this magical performance that you couldn't have scripted it like that. But that also really derives more than anything else from actors who are comfortable with this, who aren't thrown by change, who are able to invent as they go. And I think so much of that invention is that understanding what Dave said, where are you? What happened before you got here? What are you reacting to? How do you feel the other person? These are acting principles, but I think they're also just mindset principles that you have to get into as you're observing humanity and everything else. And some people do that extraordinarily well. Dave: You know, one of the things I find working with students is generally they don't realize how much time and effort they need to spend in discovering everything about this character and everything about a particular scene that they're gonna do. I like to tell people, well, look, we've got words on a page or screen and a microphone, and we have to stay on mic and we have to read the words. An actor on stage, an actor on set has memorized their script. They are in costume. They have another actor that they're bouncing energy off of. There is blocking, they're gonna move from this place to this place. They know what the action is that they're going to do and they can do it. Once again, we're reading words on a page in front of a microphone. But we have to bring the same level of acting to those words that are on a page through that microphone. And the only way to do that is to put yourself in the place of that actor, say on set, on scene.what am I wearing? You know, what does it look like around me? Am I sitting, am I standing? Am I walking? This person I'm talking to, what's my relationship with this person? Where are they in relationship to me? Or where are they when there's more of them in relationship to me? What just happened, I mean, in the last couple of seconds, that I'm saying or doing what I'm doing, what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling? It's that type of preparation and using your imagination that brings you to believable performances. Anne: So Dave, when you're creating your character, before you're going into record -- and that might evolve, right, as you do that -- what sort of steps are you taking to envelop that character in a believable way for the script that you have? Dave: Well, just the things I was talking about, you wanna take in the whole script. Too many people I think wanna start, oh, what are my lines? Oh, is my line, my line. Bullshit. Bullshit. My line, my line. Dave: And we wanna start with the big picture. If there is a description of what the game is, take that in. Video games are very much like movies. As a matter of fact, they're like 70-hour movies. And whatever genre you can think of, including romcom, for a movie, there is an analogous one in video game. So where does this game live? What kind of world does it live in? Then who is your character? And as much information as they give you, take that all in. Now I realize sometimes it's three paragraphs of information about your character and then five lines. You can't fit everything about that character into those lines. But you can find how this character would react in this situation. What is their worldview? Create that. One of the things I suggest to people from time to time is before you read the lines, read the character description, and then ad lib the character, talking about himself based on those descriptions. He was born here, his parents died, he was kidnapped, he was made a slave, he met a wizard. Tell your story, but without reading it; just off the cuff, improvise it based on the few things that are said there before you get into the script. And once you're in the script, you gotta pay attention to all the alternate lines besides your own and the stage direction. I'm amazed how often actors will -- they'll get their lines, but the alternate lines and stage directions they ignore. All of those are clues that you've, you've gotta take in. Anne: Yeah. I say actually to my students that even for like something that may seem dry or boring like a corporate narration, the words are there for a reason. Somebody was paid to write those words, and every word has to have a meaning. And I think that there's so many people that just rush in to their studios, and like you were saying, just line by line, and they don't take in the whole story or try to imagine the story, that moment before. There's a moment before even I think in every piece of voiceover copy, there's a moment before. And I think if you can take the time, right, to develop that story, it will help. Let's talk a little bit about -- because I know you've got something happening, Dave, at Voiceover Atlanta, an efforts class, I think, or an X-session. Dave: Yeah. Anne: Let's talk about maybe not necessarily efforts, but body and how important your body is to be able to, I guess, express better acting. Dave: Your body informs your voice. Once again, it doesn't start here. It starts with all of this. It starts with the look on your face. It starts with your honest reaction, your honest thinking, and those thoughts, those feelings will trigger a physicality that makes what you're saying come out in a certain way. Randall had mentioned something, we are translating the written word into the spoken word. They are not the same thing. I actually go so far as to tell myself, look, I'm not that into the words. They're not the most important thing. If you're crying or screaming, and there's a dialogue that's going on through it, and I can't quite understand what you're saying, for me, that's okay. Because what I really wanna understand is what this character's going through in this particular time. Now, if it's something very vital that has to be said, that leads to something else, yeah, we'll want to hear. But voiceover 101, you wanna sound like you're smiling. What do you do? Put a smile on your face. You wanna sound like you're a little more important? Stand up just a little bit straighter and suddenly there it is. You wanna seem like you're a little bit more tired or something? Let your body relax, and there it is. How a character with a limp, or with a hunchback, or with a injury to their face, how they're gonna express themselves, or they're of a certain age and, and the voice has gotten tired from smoking and drinking alcohol -- these are what we're trying to find. A lot of people will say, well, I'm putting on this voice, but why? There's nothing wrong with creating a voice, but why? How does this voice serve the character? What is it about this character that that voice is there? So your physicality, if you're somebody, maybe your head's off a little side from an old injury, or maybe you're that guy that's really tough and you're always got your chest out and ready for action. That's what changes your voice. Not something that you're putting on, but something that you allow to happen based on so many other things: your thought, your feeling, your action, your relationship and who you are, what your natural physicality or the natural physicality of that character is. Randall: When you're talking about the body and you're talking about the voice -- I'll pull all three of these together, what I think at least is kind of simply -- you are acting in your emotions have nothing to do with your character voice. That voice that you put on is a filter. And where people get confused -- because historically this would happen. That voice that you're doing is somehow your character, and then that becomes caricature. That's not true. That voice is a filter. And when you talk about body parts, all the things that Dave just talked about, you could be the age you're at, and if you've got a hip injury, or you've got a limp, or you've got a lung issue, it's gonna sound a certain way. So all you're doing after that with that voice is, it's a filter. If it's a guitar, it's, you're just turning the overdrive up a little bit on the distortion. But what you play is still gonna be what you play. It might make you play a little bit differently,'cause you got a little more sustain if we're gonna use the guitar thing. But ultimately you're gonna play what you play. And that's, I think the mental process it has to be. You are acting that emotion, you are acting that injury, you're acting that malady, you're acting that physical trait that you have. And then if it calls for it, change your voice placement, change your register, change your nasality, you know, all of that stuff. Anne: Now Randall, you mentioned something earlier that I wanted to ask you, about when you're recording the characters, they're not typically done in ensemble format, right? Randall: Right. Anne: And typically the talent is recording from their studio or in a studio with you. Right? Randall: Yeah. Anne: Why is that? Why is there not -- because I would think if you're bouncing off other characters it might -- Randall: Yes, there would be. And sometimes you get that opportunity, but there are two reasons really. One, you have non-linear stories. In a movie and a TV and something of that nature, you have a beginning and an end. So it actually becomes very easy to say, well, we'll put these actors together -- we'll say a movie more than a tv. 'cause I think for TV set, you know, everybody shows up the same time. But we know we're gonna need you on these days 'cause you get at all your scenes that these people and they're gonna need you on these other days. When you have 50 characters that are all speaking. And when you have interactions with any and all of them, the time to actually do that, the logistic issue to do that is almost impossible. And that's one of your absolute biggest reasons right there. When it really comes down to logistics, if I'm going to have Dave come in and do 500 lines, do 1000 lines, and in those lines he's got soliloquy lines, he's got 20 that are interacting with this one person, you just can't really pull that together in the same way. And the other thing in a movie that's different than, than a video game is there's all this back end -- of course movies are more than just about filming, about having the actors there. But that is so much of a focus, where in the game there's all this other stuff you have to construct. You know, think about a movie. If you actually had to construct the world in which you live, now make it non-linear, now make it so that there're branching storylines, or that if you go this way this happens, it actually becomes logistically almost impossible to do. Anne: That makes a lot of sense. Now, in terms of, let's say the flow of what you do as a director, once you cast something, is it mostly just when the actors available they record their lines? I mean there's gotta be so many things, I would think that the story's gotta be there, right? The game writers have to have the story written. and then you have to get all of the characters to record their lines. And then -- so tell me a little bit about that process. Randall: Well, that's a big thing. I'll try to make it kind of short. So one of the things you really have to do is at some point you gotta lock the script down. And trust me, that can sometimes be an issue. But you just do, you have to lock the script down, and you have to get everything that you're going to get. Of course there has to be some when the actor's available, if I, if an actor not available for a week 'cause they're on set doing something else, of course you can't use 'emthen. But really that becomes the puzzle piece that comes on this end of scheduling everybody. Dave, I've got this time on Monday and Tuesday. I don't have anything till Thursday. Do any of those fit with you? Bam. You lock it down, you, you do that. The other thing that is also different about games that -- I mean as budgets go up, maybe this will change, but at least for now, again, some of it is logistics and some of it is budget -- I cast Dave to do a role. By the way, when Dave shows up, sometimes he knows ahead of time, but a lot of times it's like, hey, there're probably gonna be a couple more, just letting you know. And he shows up and because you've got soldier numbers 1 through 10 and townsperson number 1 through 20, it's like, Dave, can you pick up a townsperson? Can you pick up a soldier? By the way, they can't sound like the character that you're actually in here to do. You know? So that's another thing that happens all the time. Anne: Yeah. And I always like for talent to understand what happens like outside of their little bubble of just voicing something. And so that's why I think it's wonderful to have the two of you there, 'cause it can kind of see how you really have to work together in order to produce and do something successfully together. So it's good to know like what you have to do as a producer or director. And of course the talent has to really, I think, be able to perform pretty much on demand, is what I'm thinking. That's what it's sounding like to me. Dave: Exactly pretty much on demand. . And it's interesting from my perspective, whether I'm in my home studio or I go into another studio, there will be a producer there, the writer might be there, the director might be there. And I, I think the director's job is, the director's the person who knows how to communicate with actors. The writer may be able to tell you, well this is what's going on and so forth. But they have a tendency to keep talking too much, and they're more invested than they need to be to get the performance you want, whereas the director is your guide. When you are at home doing your audition, you are your own director. You have to make choices. But when you arrive on your gig or the gig arrives at your house, and you're on camera there, now you have somebody to take some of that weight off. And maybe they've listened to your audition and said, well you know, you made a good acting here, but that was the wrong choice. What actually is happening is this, and our job as actors is to be able to create the thought, feeling, attitude, movement of a character, and if it's something different, it's up to us to just make it different. Anne: I love that you said that cause there's so many people I know that seem to be afraid of making that decision whether it's right or wrong and committing to the acting, because they don't necessarily know what's happening and so therefore they just play it safe. Dave: And beyond playing it safe, they don't really know. They haven't made a definite decision. And the person who is listening to that audition come in, it doesn't say anything to them. You're probably going to do better making wrong strong choices than no choices. Randall: Absolutely. Or safe choices. Absolutely. Anne: I love that. I love that. I got so excited that you said, 'cause I was just like totally connecting with that. Let's talk a little bit about talent that might wanna get into video game voiceover and maybe the demo, which I think is probably an important part of helping them maybe get their foot in the door. Let's talk about what's important in a game demo. Dave: It's interesting. We were talking about this with each other just the other day. I always liken video game acting --I always tell my students, look, I want you to think of yourself as a character actor. When we think about character actors, and even movie stars who started as character actors, there's something about them, the way they speak, the rhythm of it, their look that we have a reaction to, an emotional reaction to. And every one of us has some of that. You may not feel like you are ABC to yourself, but people who encounter you, that's what they see. So we wanna find out who you are, and now we wanna display that character, that you, the truth of you in a variety of characters from a variety of times in a variety of places with a variety of points of view. So we might be in space, we might be medieval, we might be futuristic, we might be post-apocalyptic, we may be a doctor, a lawyer, a soldier, a wizard, a swordsman, a thief. We wanna bring all these characters with dissimilar energies, dissimilar worlds together to demonstrate all the things that you can do. Randall: Yeah. Be authentic first. I mean, I like to listen to a demo. I have a 1 and a 1A. 1 is be authentic. That has to be it. I have to stop listening to you as an actor 'cause there's time for that after the demo's done. When I hear a snippet, whatever your 12 seconds or whatever the time is with that character, ideally, and I know you, you can't always do this, but ideally when that clip stops, you're like, no, wait, what happens? 'Cause you got invested in it, you know? And then the second thing is a certain amount of versatility. Now, I think unfortunately to most people, versatility they think means different voices. And it is true that that is part of it. There's no question that you have to be able to demonst --'cause if there're gonna be three characters in a game, I can't hear the same voice. So yes, you do have to be able to learn to change your register, to change your voice placement, to change accents, to do all this other kind of stuff. But ultimately it really comes out of your attitude difference and your emotional difference. And being -- if you're hyped, if you are just in this manic place, your voice is just gonna sound different than if you are at the bottom of the well depressed, even being the same person. So find those things, not just the emotions of them, but what does your voice do when it does that? How are you delivering things in a different way when you find that? And that's where you get all this variance and you hear different people out of it. So that is definitely 1A. If you, if you're a one trick pony, if it's a good trick, you might get booked a lot, but you're just gonna up your game and up your bookings the more legitimate tricks you can show. I probably shouldn't use the word trick. The more legitimate shades of yourself that you can show, the more legitimate shades of what you do, the better it's gonna play for you. Dave: And let me just say this, there are people who can do lots and lots of accents, lots and lots of different voices, and sometimes that can kind of hurt you on your demo. If you've done so many different things that they don't come away with a sense of who you are. Randall: Right. Dave: You might not remember the name of so-and-so who did all these voices. None of them were the same. They may have all been really good, but you don't remember who this person is. Randall: Right. Dave: So I always say, look, start with who you are and keep coming back to who you are. You may have some in different accents and different voices, but start with you and keep coming back to you. Randall: Yep. I agree. Anne: So is there a time period -- I know that I work with so many students that are new, and they always wanna know, well, how long will I have to study? Or how long will I have to do this before I can create a demo? If you had to give your experience, how long would it take for someone to -- I don't even wanna think that it's all about the demo because really it's about the acting. Right? And it's about who you are as a voice actor. How long should a student expect to study acting in video game VO? Is it the same for everybody? Is there a length of time that you think, oh, after five years, this will be great? Or after one year, what do you guys think? Randall: Absolutely depends on the person. I think mentally, if you're talking to people who are getting into the business or are wanting to get into, even just, I've been doing commercial, I wanna do video games. Even if it's that, so somebody who has been working. I think if you mentally think two years of hard work, that's a good baseline. Now there are gonna be people who have all the tools that they need, and in six months they're just rocking and rolling. There are gonna be people that after two years, they're just now starting to figure it out. And it's gonna take 'em five. How do you know? But I think you need to be mentally prepared. Kinda like if you start a business up, I think this is gonna take me a $100,000 in a year. Double it or triple it and then you're probably safe. I think it's the same thing. Dave: And in so many ways, I think people getting into voiceover and not just for video games or animation, but for the various genre, each of the genres calls for something a little different. There are some rules of the road for all of them. I just think when you get to video games especially, from the smallest whisper to the loudest shout, from characters who very much might be like the disc jockey you used to be, or to the used car salesman that maybe you remember -- you're gonna see all those kinds of characters. If you come with some characters, with some idea of playing like you were when you were a kid, when you were playing cops or robbers or spaceman and aliens -- whatever it was, you weren't judging yourself. You were having a good time. And you put yourself completely into it. One of the big things I see with a lot of grown up people who now suddenly wanna do this, or maybe they've wanted to do it for a long time, but there's a timidity. Oh, I'm a little, I'm a little scared. I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't want anybody to think this is silly or -- you gotta give yourself to it and that holds people back. Your ability to read can hold you back. Because especially in video games and voiceover in general, we are reading in the moment. We've gotta take the words off the page and connect them to somebody. So I have run into people who've come to me, not often, but a couple people, I've said, look, you don't need me. You've got this. Get your demo done, you can do it with me or somebody else. But you're ready. There's some other people I've worked with for a long time, and I see improvement, but it's slow. But if that's where you really want to go, and you are getting better and getting better, stay on the road. Randall: Yeah. Anne: Yeah. It's a journey. It's a journey. So you guys have an exciting event coming up at the end of April I saw for Game VO. Tell us a little bit about that. Randall: Well, this really came out of an outgrowth of Dave and I; we talk a lot. We've known each other for a long time. And one of the things that we have not seen along the way is what I would call a throughput. There's nothing wrong with this. In fact, there's some wonderful things to do this, but you go to most conferences or retreats or whatever you want to call them, and there's not a real throughput. You get the promo person, you got the commercial person. And there's, there's some real value to that, you know, especially if you're working in multiple genres. But what we don't see anybody doing is, okay, we're gonna strip this down to the basics and take you through -- you know, you don't get to cherry pick. We're gonna take you through this whole thing. Okay. You went to drama school and you're like, and you wanna roll your eyes? I don't know about going back to drama school. I had a student, I shouldn't even call him a student, an extremely well known voice actor who took one of my recent two-day workshops. And when I saw his name on there, I was like, really? Well, that's interesting. I wonder why he's doing this. And you know, the thing that was really interesting is there was a technique that really truly went back to original acting. And this is a guy who's a drama school, totally trained, accredited, all this other kind of stuff. He's done so much other stuff that he literally had -- now it was easy to getting back in there, but he had forgotten to some degree like, no, you have to start here. He's got all these voices that he can do. He's a wonderful actor. You know, if you had mentioned your name, maybe he'd be like, really? Well that's the point. Somebody like that even didn't have that beginning. So all this throughput we have not seen. And so the idea that we wanna do is take people all the way through what it takes to really truly be a video game voice actor, from let's start with basics of acting all the way up to we're gonna do sessions, and you can't skip the steps along the way. You've gotta do this to this, to this, to this. Dave: I have to echo the same thing, that I've worked with students who have been on camera, on stage. And for them, the world of voice acting is completely different. And because they're used to memorization, and being in costume, and having another actor that they're working with, they are lost all too often when it's words on a page and a microphone. And sometimes it's just coming from this genre to that genre. If you're doing promos, TV promos, you can have a style. If you're a narrator, you can have a style. If you're doing commercials, you can have a style and work and do very well. With video games, style isn't gonna carry you but so far. You have to be an actor. Randall: It's a bigger thing. You know, it's, it's actually a bigger thing. You can't have a style. Dave: Style can be this big, but if you're gonna be an actor -- Randall: No, that's true. It's a range. It's not just a style, it's a range. Dave: Yeah. And learning how to connect to that, to your range. Anne: And now, so when is this event and how long is this event? Dave: Well, it's called Game VO Mexico 2023. It is happening in Akamal, Mexico. That's on the Yucatan Peninsula. And it's the 27th through the 30th of April. Anne: Okay. Three days. Randall: Three days. Dave: Three days. Anne: All right. Three days of intensive classes, sessions? Dave: Intensive classes, sessions, and it's gonna be fun. And in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We were doing some location scouting a couple of months ago. I was down there with Randall, and we went to a restaurant, and that night they said, oh, come back and watch the sea turtles make their little baby walk to the sea. It's those kinds of --there's iguanas around and toucans. You'll hear the monkeys in the tree. I mean, it's, it's an amazing place and it's very much outside of your norm. I don't know about you, but have you ever been someplace, you got outside of your house, outside of your city, a different place, and suddenly you could think differently? Anne: Oh yeah. It'll change your life. Dave: This is gonna be one of those places, one of those events that you'll be able to shed some things that have been holding you back and embrace some things that are gonna carry you forward. Anne: I love it. So end of April, where can people find out more information and sign up for this? Randall: Well, it's the website. It's gamevomexico.com. So just like it sounds. Dave: Gamevomexico.com. Anne: All right. Awesome. And for the BOSSes out there, you guys are going to give us a special coupon? Randall: That is correct. Anne: Just for the BOSSes. So if you guys want to, you are definitely getting a discount. Randall: It's a $500 discount. So it's, it's basically 10%. It's a sizable discount. Anne: That's awesome. Woo. So a $500 discount, you guys can go to that website and enter a coupon code, VO BOSS, to get that discount. That's amazing. So gamevomexico.com. Coupon code VO BOSS to get that discount. And how can BOSSes get in touch with either one of you? Let's say Dave, if they wanna get training? Dave: Oh, I'm so easy to find, they can email me at davefennoy@mac.com. They can go to my website, davefennoy.com and get in touch with me, and they can check me out every Wednesday at 6:00 PM Pacific for Ask Dave Fennoy anything. I promise I will talk about this. Randall: This is true. Anne: Yay. And Randall, what about you? How can people get in touch with you? Randall: The two easiest places, and I say easy because I've got the long email addresses. My company, what I do the direction through, is Hamster Ball Studios. So it's Randall, randall@hamsterballstudios.com. But on the other side, the stuff that I do as far as teaching and coaching and consulting, I probably shouldn't say coaching 'cause I don't, you know, Dave's the one on one guy. I'm more big macro, big picture, hey, wow, dude. But it's randall@thevoicedirector.world. Anne: Awesome. Thank you, guys, so very much. This was so informative, so wonderful, and we so appreciate that discount. BOSSes, check that out. Gamevomexico.com. Use that code of VO BOSS, get yourself a discount. BOSSes, I want to ask you a question. Do you have a local nonprofit that is close to your heart? Did you ever wish that you could do more to help them? Well, you certainly can. And visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. Big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes like us three today. Thank you, guys ,so much again, find out more at ipdtl.com. Everyone, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye. Randall: Take care, Anne. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Your vocal brand is the key to getting noticed in this world of noise. It’s much more than just the sound of your voice. It's who you are, what you believe in and what matters to you. Anne & Lau discuss what goes into a vocal brand & what you can do to develop yours. Vocal branding is all about uncovering your uniqueness in order to let it shine through in every project you take on. Take time to get to know yourself. What matters to you? Why are you a voice actor? A voice is like a fingerprint: no two are exactly alike. Once you've figured out what makes your vocal brand stand out, it's time to learn how to harness it. The key here is authenticity. And it's not just what you say—it's how you say it. Figuring out how to combine all these elements into one cohesive brand can seem overwhelming, but don’t worry! Anne & Lau are here to show you how it’s done. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. Welcome to the VO BOSS superpower series with the one and only Lau Lapides. Yay. Lau: Yay. Hey Anne. Anne: Hey, Lau. Lau: Love being back as always. Love it. Anne: Superpowers, superpowers. I love that we named our series Superpowers. Lau: Because we have so many of them. Anne: Yes. Lau: Like we can't even uncover, identify all of them. Anne: Business superpowers. And I think that our superpowers, it's in all aspects of our business, right? So including our superpowers to be able to stand out from the crowd. And to be unique. All businesses have competition. And I know that people talk about VO -- VO is so cool because there's competition like technically speaking, but not really, because every single one of us has such a unique product. And I think it's important that we know how to bring out that unique product and not just know how to bring that out. Also, to be able to market that. And that goes right into our brand. And so a lot of what I do with students is I will tell them that I am going to not only brand them in terms of what genre should I be in, but vocally brand them, right? And that really is something that's not just a visual brand on a website, but something that it is absolutely related to their product. Right? A vocal branding. Lau: Absolutely. Anne: So what does vocal branding mean to you, Lau? Lau: Oh gosh. It's such a big umbrella. It really is. I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind, Anne, is just having the knowledge of knowing as a coach, that no one in the world has the voice you have. Everyone has a unique sound, distinctively unique sound. Okay? They may have similar qualities, but they're distinctively unique. So number one, uncovering that uniqueness in your voice through specific qualities that you could maybe even poll, like pull your group, poll your team, poll your family and say, give me qualities that describe my voice. Because when I'm gonna look at specs of a breakdown for an audition, the client's gonna break it down for you. they're gonna give you vocal qualities. So that's one of the big ones I feel that really distinguishes your vocal branding from someone else's and says, oh, I know that. That's Deb. That's Susan. Anne: Oh, I know that voice. Lau: Yeah, I know that voice. Anne: And you know what's so interesting to me is I find that there's a lot of people who come to me who will try to perform and sound like they think everybody wants them to sound like, and not enough about sounding like themselves. Because I truly believe, and I say this all the time, I truly believe that we are human. We wanna connect. We want to understand who you are. And that comes through, that shines through in your voice, that very unique voice. So unless you're doing a soundalike for someone, or even a character where you're trying to sound a particular way, I think that your vocal brand needs to be brought right up there, front and center, because I think that's what truly makes you unique. And it brings the acting out. So it's not about the sound, right? It's about how do I bring the acting out? And that becomes a vocal brand for you because the personality is intermixed. I think personality has a lot to do with creating a unique vocal sound. Right? Your personality, your, your heart, your essence. I don't know, Lau, you always have great words for this. What would you say your ethos, I dunno, the ethos of your vocal branding? Lau: The ethos of your vocal branding. Anne: Yeah. Lau: It's like the height. Like what is the apex of what someone is thinking about when they think about you? It's like they think about you with this word, with this adjective, with this action verb. Your name comes up. That's like, to me, that's the zenith of it all, is like, when they think of this, Anne Ganguzza comes up. When they think of that, this one comes up. And that to me is amazing. And in no way should that feel limiting to people. Like, oh, does that mean that's all I can do? Or that's all they think of me as. Well, they think of you as, as a product, as an incredible product that has this vocal branding. And that's the first and foremost that you want them to think about. You don't want them to be confused. You never want your audience to be confused. You always want them to think of you for doing the best thing. And with your vocal quality as a vocal talent, they wanna know you as something, whatever that something is. Anne: And then whatever that something is, learn how to define that also in words because that words can translate to words on a page or words in an email that you are submitting with a demo to an agent, something that sets you apart. And it can also be different unique aspects of your voice. Like let's say an accent, right? A tone, if you have that really beautiful bass, baritone or that bright mom sound or whatever that might be. Bilingual, right? Can you sing? Like, those are all vocal qualities that can really help distinguish you from the competition. And so know what those vocal qualities are and be ready to be able to explain them to a potential client. Also showcase them. I think it's so important that these vocal brandings are basically shown or in a demo, right? So that people can hear that vocal quality. And if you have a good producer, they're going to know that and they're gonna know how to bring those vocal qualities out. Lau: And you know, it's having a visual now of like a performer, a theater actor, a professional speaker who's in front of a crowd live, they're in front of a crowd. What's the first and foremost thing we see visually is their visual branding. So that might be a costume or wardrobe or particular visuals that we're getting on camera or on a stage. Right? Well, that's a big part of the kinds of roles they play, but that's not everything. We have to know what's underneath it. We have to know what's the internal process that they're using to bring out their personality, their persona, their humanity, the thing that we connect to. But that covering, so to speak, that like coming in and saying, I can sound like this. I can put this on, is great to have, it's just not the whole job. It's not the whole thing. You have to be able to do the internal work to really have the authentic connections to the process and then put the wardrobe on it, and then put the schmaltz as we say on it, the frosting on it. Right? But you have to have the cake first. You can't just have the frosting, even though we'd like to, you gotta build a cake first. Anne: I'm always astounded when I work with different voices. Now, there are some voices who tonally, right, will have varying degrees of range tonally. But sometimes I think when students are just beginning, they think that that's what range is all about. And I beg to differ because range is not just a tone or I have a high pitch, I have a low pitch. I think really range for an artist an artist really comprises the tone mixed with the personality, mixed with the performance, mixed with the acting. And so whenever people say, I want range in my demo, right, I will actually focus more on the acting first, rather than, oh, can you pitch your voice up? Can you pitch your voice down? It's so hard for people to do that because then they get so consumed with, I'm going to sound very low, or maybe I'm just gonna sound very high and I'll just do this for the rest of the copy. And so Lau, I know you've had lots of experience working with students do that. Lau: Oh, oh my goodness, ton. And it's that what I call the over management, the maneuvering, every M word you can think of, the manipulation of sound, which of course, technically if you're a singer, if you're a rapper, if you're a speaker, if you're a vocalist of any kind, we do have to learn mechanics. We have to have a vocabulary that we can rely upon that helps with repeatability so that we can repeat deliveries for sure. But that still does not do that internalized work of understanding the language, the syntax, the cadence, the rhythm, all of that, which I believe is -- Anne: The story. Lau: Yes. The story. Anne: The story. Lau: And whether you are religious or not, religious is irrelevant. There's a spirituality, there's something that we can't quite put our finger on that is larger than us. It's bigger than us that we can connect to, which creates a universal internal connection to your audience that they can't put their finger on either. It's just, it's real, it's authentic. Our friend Jim from Lotas talks about that all the time, authenticity. What is authenticity? What is that honest connectedness that we have? I'd like to think it's partly psychological, but it's also partly from the heart and the soul and the gut. Anne: Oh yeah. Absolutely. Lau: Right? Anne: And that's where people, if they're nervous about synthetic voices, this is where we've got them . Lau: Yeah. Yeah. Anne: If you can really stand true to your authenticity and bring that out in your acting and in your voice, then that is what is going to surpass any synthetic voice out there. And know that your connection and your vocal brand has very much a place in voiceover now and for the future, absolutely. And I say this after, gosh, close to 40 episodes, talking to people in synthetic voices, knowing that there is a place for that. But there's very much a place for our unique vocal brand and our unique, authentic brand, authentic voice. Lau: Absolutely. Anne: Yeah. Lau: And it's hard, if not impossible, to decipher exactly what it is. It's like when we see a brilliant performance, we hear a brilliant dissertation, we hear something rhetorical that moves us -- it's hard to completely put into words why we are moved to a call to action. Why we are changed, why we are cathartically shifted in a way. It's that beautiful recipe and combination of the visuals, the vocals, the internals, the connectedness to the audience that create that concoction that is so unique, that becomes persona. I mean, that's persona personified , as they say. It's, it's, that's your brand. Like your brand is how do I move you? How do I shift you? Anne: Yeah. And I think it's one of the hardest things for people first entering into the industry to really accept and recognize. I know, I can't tell you the amount of people who don't really like the sound of their voice. They're true voice-- Lau: But yet they wanna make a living at it . Anne: And they wanna make a living at it. And yet they're in voiceover and they wanna pursue voiceover because they think what everybody wants to buy is this performed sound that they have heard. I think we're such a product of our experience in listening for years. Right? When voiceover first came onto the scene, it was very much an announcer style. It was very much a, a unique style. And so hearing that, depending on your age, really, this does depend on your age. Kim Herdon actually in one of my workshops mentioned it too. And I thought, yeah, when you are being directed, a lot of times it is a factor how old the person is that is directing you. Because what they hear in their ears as a conversational or authentic read might differ from let's say, somebody that is a millennial that might be directing you. And so I think no matter who's directing you, if you can bring forth the authenticity and your own unique style, I think that that is the place to absolutely start. And if you can bring that out, I feel like that's, you're at the height of your acting. It's kind of like, how many times have we watched a B movie? And it's so obvious, right, that the actors are maybe not as sincere or maybe they're not connecting with the audience. And so for those of you that are trying to figure out what your sound is, stop because it's not a sound. It's not a sound. Lau: No, no, it's not. It's the land, what I call the land like how it lands on someone. How is it received? How is it thought of that's the most important? And the second is like great acting like Meisner exercises, like the second I'm thinking about myself -- which is natural. A lot of us will lose focus at times, think about ourself. But that's a really good gauge for us as business owners, as BOSSes, as delivery folks doing vocal delivery. The second I'm thinking about myself is the second I've lost contact with the other, the other. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: Whoever that is. It just be an admin. It could be an executive assistant, it could be whatever. But if I lose that level of focus, not only did I lose the information of what they're giving to me, but I also lost the authentic response of how what I'm saying and doing is landing on them. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: And then I don't have authentic queuing anymore. I lost my queuing ability. Anne: Yeah. And I think even when we're talking about niches -- again, I always talk about people starting out here and you're trying to figure out where you belong in the industry. Like, where do I fit? I think no matter what niche you're pursuing, commercial, corporate, explainer, promo, there is absolutely in every niche, there is a unique you in that. Even if, let's say promos, right? And they sound announcery. right? And oh, great, I get to be an announcer. Sure. But you've still got a whole lot of personality that's put into that announcer, and you're bringing a whole lot of you to that. Like, I'm just, makes me think of Joe Cipriano, like I could pick out his voice in a second because he brings his personality to it. It really is something that you have to be comfortable with. And I think that's a journey for a lot of students to become self-accepting and to allow -- and vulnerability, right -- that to come out in a performance. Lau: Absolutely. And I think you have to be okay, okay, sometimes more than okay with whatever you're saying and doing, when it does land, and it's being accepted and it's being rewarded, being okay with that being enough. In other words, if I get into that mindset, yeah. But I, they haven't seen me do this and I don't love that as much as I love this da da -- take that out of the situation and say, look, they're seeing one potential within me of value. And they're loving that and they're valuing that. Let that be okay. Let that be enough. Go other places to show other sides of your voice and other sides of what you can do. But if that's okay, if that's what a big part of your branding is, because sometimes it's enough; people don't wanna know you as everything. They don't want -- I'm sure we've all had that experience where we see a movie star that we know and love, and we are tracking them, and all of a sudden they're doing a role that they love. That's challenging to them. but we don't wanna see 'em in that role. It's like, it's almost uncomfortable to see them in that role because we don't know them as that. It doesn't seem authentic to us. It seems pushed or it seems weird to us. Does that mean they're not capable of doing the role? ? No, of course not. It just means we've compartmentalized in our brain their branding to us. Anne: Sure, sure. Lau: And that means something to us. I think that branding, for some weird reason can have a negative connotation like it's simplistic or superficial when it's not. It has a real lifestyle meaning to people of how they place you Sure. And compartmentalize you within their life, in their lifestyle. Anne: I wanted to kind of tap into what you're talking about in terms of is there just one brand? Do you just have one brand and maybe not, maybe you can have mult -- I mean, I have multiple brands actually. And so each one of those brands though has a piece of me, has a piece of authentic me in that. And again, I think that that's one of the most important things that we want to emphasize here. And that vocal brand should be something that people can remember you by and then easily come back. And that's the whole thing, right? Because we're talking about the physical properties of your voice and the physicalities of how we sound and what we can offer as a unique value proposition to our potential clients. Now, how are we going to market that? In my corporate narration world, I have a particular demo that really has my sound, my unique value pro -- I call it my unique value proposition for corporate. And I may sound different when I am doing e-learning, and in reality I am because I'm a different person, right? I am teaching when I'm an e-learning versus corporate, I'm selling, or even commercial, I'm a little bit selling. I'm trying to convince people. So because the context is different, you get a different part of me. And that part of me is still very much me, but it is also a different brand. So I think that for each of your vocal brands, you need to have demonstrations, demos that really showcase yourself in those particular niche markets. Lau: Right. You have to have that. That's a necessity. And from my experience, Anne, in my business, people come in, potential clients come in, prospects for a particular specific branding. Once they work with you in that, they start trusting you that yeah, you do that, you do it well. They're getting their value, they're getting what they need. They will open up to cross branding, which I call cross pollination, which means -- Anne: I love that, cross branding. Lau: I offer, you offer three, four, five, six different services, whatever. Anne: Hey, could you do this? Lau: Yes. But they're not unrelated. Like, I'm not gonna clean your curtains, and I'm not gonna babysit your kids. Right? So they're not unrelated, they're all within this sphere. But they're much more open, and rightly so as I would be too, moving into those services once they are educated to understand what they need and what they want, versus coming in off the street for those services because they already came in for a particular brand. Anne: Sure. And once they do that, I think it's important that you remain consistent in that brand. Lau: Yes. Anne: I think branding is just all about consistency, right? I mean, we've spoken about branding before. I mean, obviously look, I've got my headphones, I've got my glasses, I've got the whole red thing for VO BOSS. Visually there's a brand, but also there is that vocal consistency that comes to the show that you and I, we're giving of ourselves. We have our authentic selves. And that is a very important part of the VO BOSS brand. People don't listen to the podcast to look at my headphones. It's about my delivery, our conversation, our heart, our authenticity between the two of us. And that is, again, something that works in conjunction with marketing, maybe a visual. Right? And that has to be consistent for people, to make it memorable for people. Lau: Yes. I would say it has to be consistent, but not necessarily constant. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Like we oftentimes think, oh, I have to be online all the time. I have to be posting on social all the time. I have to -- well, to some degree, yes. But do you need to be constantly doing that? Probably not. But you do have to be consistent in what you're doing so that it's gonna cause the attention that you want. Anne: I'm glad that you said that, because there's absolutely a thing of being too much into, right? Lau: Yeah. Anne: I actually, myself, even when we're talking about marketing and advertising, and I offer workshops, obviously the VO BOSS podcast -- how much am I going to be marketing that brand? And so you don't want it to be so much -- Lau: You're overdoing it. Anne: -- that it becomes an annoyance. Lau: Right. Anne: But what's so interesting is -- I listen to Gary Vaynerchuk. I don't know if you do, but Gary is everywhere on social media. And his philosophy is that not everybody's on social media all the time. So therefore, the fact that he pushes it out so consistently and so constantly and everywhere means that at any given moment, somebody's going to be able to know his brand and understand who he is. I think you just need to be consistent in that, but not pushing on any one particular. Right? I think that can be something that's tiresome. It's like performance. Right? Anything that repeats really becomes like white noise and people will not pay attention to it anymore. Lau: Yeah. Yeah. Anne: So whatever it is that you are giving vocally in your brand or marketing in your brand, give it authentically, and make sure it's not the same thing every single time. Because then it will become an annoyance. Lau: Yes. And I would say too, like check your ego at the door. Check it at the door. Because none of us are so big and brash and bold that we can't be learning every moment how to make our branding better, make our value better. Here's a quick example. I do my news blast that I send out, and I'm listening to my people. Am I doing it too much? Am I doing it not enough? Da da da da. I just had someone email me, someone who I've known for a while, and he said, listen, Lau, if you don't mind my saying, he emailed me -- if you don't mind saying there's too much animation in this, things are moving, I'm nauseous. I can't read what you wrote. Anne: I'm nauseous from your email. Lau: Right? Like, welcome to the inside of my head. I'm thinking, you know what I'm saying? That's like the inside of my head. And I had to stop and I had to say, right, right. I didn't catch it. I didn't think about it. Da da. By Monday I'm gonna fix it. So that doesn't mean that you're always gonna agree with everything that everyone says. You're not. But if you see it's sound advice, no pun intended, sound advice, you see, it makes sense. And you see it's making someone's world harder to get to know you and get the value -- Anne: Yeah. Lau: Take out the firewalls. Anne: Take out the homework. I always say, don't give -- Lau: Get rid of it. Anne: -- people homework. Yeah. Lau: Yeah. Don't be egotistical and say, well why? How could he say that to me? He doesn't like my pet -- I don't care about that. I care about him getting value from what I'm sending out. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: And if he cared enough to say that to me, I'm gonna care enough to take it under consideration. Anne: Sure. Absolutely. Lau: And in this case, case taking action on it. Anne: Absolutely. I think that that's so important. And I also think it's important to not just be consistent, but also keep the market trends in your back pocket. Research them, understand what they are, and update accordingly. Really vocal trends change over the years, in a grand scheme sort of way. It's gone from announcery to authentic and conversational, mostly. And a lot of that, by the way, is driven by advertising. Right? What sells, right? Again, we don't like being told we're smart consumers. We don't like being told what to do. We like to be able to make our own decisions, and we often ask our peers. And so that I think is the biggest reason why advertising and the vocal trends changed to a more natural talking like your friend, like, hey, I'd use this product because we don't wanna be told by some loudmouth announcer that we need to buy this product. I mean, we're offended by that. And again, it becomes how can you and this vocal brand service your potential client or your client? It's not about what you sound like. It's not about distributing the vocal noise out there. It's about distributing something that can connect with a listener and move them, inspire them, motivate them. Lau: Inspire them. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Yes. And I would even add in technical, technique-wise over time, add a little hook for yourself in there. Something you may not always do, but you find you're doing consistently that works -- it might be a little glitch in the voice, it might be be a moment of pre-life. it might be a pick up swing on something you do. Anne: Sure. Lau: Add something that's yours, that's part of your signature, whatever that is. And just do it consistently. If it works, if it annoys people, they'll let you know. If it doesn't work over time, you'll know. Anne: Right. Lau: But do something that's unique to you, authentic to your persona, authentic to your process. And that's something that people will start thinking of you for as well. So many people don't even think, Anne, when they're doing an audition, they want it to be so clean that they don't even think a little, -- is good. Just like a little exclamation, a little moment of vocalization. You know what I mean? Anne: It's too perfect. It's too voice talent. It's too voice actors, too perfect. Yeah. Lau: It's too edity. Anne: I can't tell you the amount of times I would have a student, a lot of times this will happen with a male student who has a beautiful, like lower baritone, and at the end of their sentences they'll land it. And I'm like, you need to only give me that gift once in a while, and when I don't expect it. Because if you give me that gift every single word or every single sentence, it's gonna not be a gift anymore. And so you need to give that to me in an unexpected way that's going to capture my attention and not become the same repetitive. That's really what happens when people try to sound or mimic or imitate, unless of course you're doing an impression. But that's a different thing too. Like a lot of times people will be confused when I say that, but when you're a character, I find sometimes when people like character and they're character actors, they are able to bring authenticity to their characters more than they can bring to their own voice. Lau: Yeah. No doubt about that. And sometimes their alter ego, if they consider it an alter ego, they're doing it all the time. They do it like a tic, it's great, they love it, whatever. Sometimes it can have more authentic appeal than their daily sound can, because their heart and soul is in it. They're so connected to the success of it. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And that's the thing, their heart and soul is connected to it. And so I'm always trying to convince people that like, you may not be a cartoon or a very dynamically changing character, but for everything that you do in voiceover, you are. You are a character. It's a version of you. It's an excited you, it's a passionate you, it's a somewhat confused you or whatever is called for in the copy. Right? It becomes that -- or I always say, you own the company. Right? If you're trying to talk about your product and sell for a company, then you own that company. So you're always a character. Lau: It's like the argument we have in the acting world for actors who are not vocal actors, they're actors who are, you know, on camera or stage actors. They're saying, am I becoming someone else? Or am I opening the door within myself to other experiences that connect to my real history? Now I'd like to think it's the latter because I think that most people who are in this field, who are successful, can bring that connection, whether they do it through a sense memory, whether they do it through an extreme empathy exercises, they don't have to have experienced it. They have to connect to the experience. And that's a totally different thing. And ironically, a lot of folks who go through the actual experience can't emotionally connect the way you can as a vocal actor. Anne: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Lau: Right? But you have to have that conduit, whatever that conduit is, to the authentic connection, you have to have it and find it. Anne: That is what I think so many people, they just, they're coming in to do their auditions, they run into their studio and they're good readers, right? And they read it and then they apply a melody to it that makes it sound like they're in a scene, but they're not really in a scene or acting, reacting, that kind of thing. And so I think for every piece of copy, you've gotta be so in the scene that you're not even thinking about what you sound like. Lau: Yeah. And then it becomes mono patterned. Anne: Exactly. Lau: And we're thinking, why am I feeling sing songy? Why am I feeling in the pattern of this? Anne: Exactly. Exactly. Lau: Yeah. Right. Anne: So vocal branding, it is absolutely a thing. It is absolutely something that I think all BOSSes out there, you need to know. Understand your vocal brand, understand who you are within that vocal brand, and then be able to market that vocal brand. So make sure that it's defined, and it can evolve, by the way. It doesn't have to always be one way. You can evolve that, evolve multiple brands. Make sure that you are able to bring that front and center proudly. And that will help to, I think, get you those gigs. Good discussion. Lau: And dirty it up. Like, don't be so perfect. Anne: Don't be perfect. Lau: You don't need to be so polished and perfect. Because emulating real life is like we do make mistakes, and we do have rough starts. And sometimes that will get you a job. Love it. Great discussion. Anne: Ah, yeah. Lau: So good. Anne: All right. So BOSSes, it may seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. You can find out more. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. And also great, big shout-out to my sponsor, ipDTL. You too, connect and be BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Have an amazing week, guys. We'll see you next week. Lau: Bye. Anne: Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
The advertising landscape is changing. People want to connect with real people, not just faceless brands. Anne & Lau share their tips for putting yourself out there visually. What matters is that you are enhancing your natural essence, not turning into some inauthentic version of you. Share yourself on social media & your website. When clients see who you are, they feel like they really know you. It also makes them more likely to remember you and recommend you to others. If all else fails, present yourself in any way that makes you feel comfortable & shows those around you that you care about what you're doing. Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast and the Business superpower series. I'm here, Anne Ganguzza, with my bestie, favorite special guest, co-host Lau Lapides. Hey Lau. Lau: Hey, Anne. Anne: You know, Lau, since I started with you, I made that decision to have all of our podcasts also be on video. And I have to do my hair, I gotta do my makeup . And I found myself increasingly out there on camera and in front of people. And remember back in the day, when you made that decision -- or maybe you didn't, but I did. It was always like, well, I don't wanna have to be in front of a camera. I just wanna be an actor behind a mic and nobody needs to see my face. Well, I think that's changed. Lau: Mm-Hmm. Anne: And I think it would be a good thing to talk about is it necessary for us to have a visual image as well as our voice? Lau: And I remember actually, like it was yesterday, I remember the day where it was fairly detrimental to be seen because you would be pigeonholed. You'd be stereotyped. Like let's say I, I'm able to do a 10-year-old boy's voice for animation. Then all of a sudden you see me, and I look completely different than that. And now it's stuck in a producer's mind. That was the mindset back then of like, keep yourself hidden enough so that you're branding could go all over the map. And now it's like completely changed in so many ways. Anne: Has it? See, 'cause that's the question I get these days, especially from character actors, or let's say actors that don't look like they sound. And so they're concerned about being pigeonholed if they show their face. But I am like, these days, especially with video being right up in the forefront right up and everybody's faces, it's so popular. And especially after coming out of the pandemic where people weren't in contact anymore, I do believe that people wanna connect with people. It's a human need to connect with people, to connect with faces. And I, for one, I cannot stand it when I cannot, let's say, call up a business to ask a question to get a real person on the phone. And I know this is weird. Where are my millennials? I'm sorry. My millennials are like, but I can text. Anne: But even so, I like to call to make sure I can hear a voice on the other end. Or I like to meet on Zoom, a lot of times with new clients, kind of I validate them to make sure they're human. For me, it's a thing. I need to connect with humans. And I am always telling my business students that people wanna connect with a person and not necessarily a logo. Lau: Yes. Yes. And here's pure irony. You and I come from a generation where we need to do that. Like I, I remember the days where when I needed to get a phone number, I'd call something called Information. Information was 411. And then I'd hear someone, usually the same woman, and she'd be like, hello, Information, how may I help you? And I loved talking to people. I still, I don't trust online booking for hotels. I don't trust online booking for air fare. I, I still have that in me to wanna talk to people, wanna make that connection, wanna have that trust. But here's the irony. In voiceover of those days, that's where we had a lot of announcer reads. That's where we had a lot of caricature style reads, especially in the commercial market. Today, today, no one wants to talk to each other. You'll always get a machine, you'll always be online filling out those fields online, right? You'll never be able to get customer service. But stylistically we want naturalism. We want to have naturalism. Anne: We want authenticity. Mm-hmm. Authenticity, that's the biggest trend. Isn't that funny? And especially from the younger generation, right? They want that authenticity. So I believe that a visual image, an in-person or an on-camera or a, that kind of a thing really helps to bring the authenticity to the business. Lau: It does. Like I wanna see you. I wanna see that you're a real person. You're not a bot, you're not an avatar. You're not a cartoon drawing. That's okay. Like I love seeing those, but that doesn't take the place of the person. I still wanna see the person. If I'm gonna work with you, hire you, cast you, whatever, I still wanna see that you're a person and get a sense of that. Anne: And you know what's so interesting? It's gotten to the point where I am putting myself out there so much visually that I have a brand ,and you know what my brand consists of? Headphones, that might be red or blue or purple. Or I just got a really beautiful pair of navy blue, and I got a pair of blue glasses, . And I just ordered, do you know what I just ordered? A pair of red glasses. And I also ordered a wind sock that is red . Uh, so maybe when I'm gonna be in the BOSS booth recording an episode, I might have a red headphone with red lipstick with red glasses, with a red -- but it becomes a visual part of my brand and it becomes something that people recognize for me. And it becomes consistent. I believe that consistency brands recognition and brands, something being more memorable. And I think that in addition to your voice being memorable, connecting that with a human, authentic being on the other side and also adding some visual branding can really help to make you a memorable brand. Lau: Yes. And anyone who has been an actor either on tv, done film, done theater, knows the power of wardrobe, the power of makeup, the power of a mask. You know, we'll call it a mask right now because it could be be for men as well, or whatever you identify as. You have something that you may utilize to initiate your branding visually, whatever that is. It could be a hat, it could be, as you said, glasses, lipstick, it could be even a pen that you use, even a prop that you use. You know what I mean? Anne: Nails. Lau: Yeah. Nails. Right. So that it sort of gives you a little bit of superpower. It gives you a little bit of dynamic to fall into that role, whatever that role is for you, that if you don't do it, and you don't have it, it's a tougher way to reach the role that you're trying to play. Anne: And that includes websites too, because that's one of the biggest questions I get is, do I put my photo on my website? Because that has always been the biggest bone of contention, right? Because I'm a voice actor, they don't need to see my face, but again, online people, before they even know you, you want to make yourself as memorable as possible. Yes, it's wonderful to think that my voice alone could do it, but why not your voice combined with your authentic headshot? And I'm gonna say, even if you don't sound how you look, I can say there's value in having, on your about page, a photo of yourself. I don't think that that is going to misrepresent you at all. And especially if we're talking about authenticity, right? Who is it behind the voice? I think that that really warrants a lot to showcase a photo of yourself. Now, for me, I've always been about visual branding, and so on my website, I've always had a photo of myself, my voiceover website. And I feel as though it doesn't hurt me at all. I think it probably helps me. I think that I probably look like I sound. I don't know, Lau, what do you think? Do I? Lau: Yes. I think your visual branding matches everything else that you're doing. Not always the case with voiceover talent, but that's okay. For you, I think it's perfect. Perfect. Your visual matches your vocal. It's wonderful. Anne: So then again, let's talk more in depth about if your visual doesn't match your vocal. Can it hurt you if you put your photo on your website or -- I mean, I feel like you're gonna have to interact with your clients at some point. Lau: Well, that's it. Anne: In some way. Right? Lau: That's it. I think he, you can't avoid the unavoidable and you know, you may not always meet everyone in person, but you are going to be -- now that we're in post COVID, we're having many more in-person events come back. Anne: Or video meetings. Lau: Or Zoom. Yes. Mm-hmm. Video meetings. And do you always wanna have your video off? Do you always wanna look a little bit MIA, like you're not fully present? No. You wanna have the ability to have confidence and say, I like the way I look. I'm proud of the way I look. It's part of who I am as a business person. And if they misconstrued my sound with the way I look, you know, hey, what can I do about it? That's called living in the world. I would rather see someone than not for sure. Anne: Exactly. Yeah. As a client, absolutely. I would much rather deal with someone that I can see visually. Now have I seen all of my clients visually? No. No. But I have usually contacted them via email or at one time or another, my repeat clients, right, I've seen them. I've been in a video meeting with them to discuss a project or I've contacted them for some reason one way or they've live directed me. Some people can put the camera off during one of those sessions. But I like to have it on just to say hi. Just to let people know, hi, I'm a real person. And now during my performance, I don't necessarily have to have it on me as long as I've introduced myself as a part of my business with my visual face. Now let's talk about, is there any sort of code of how should I look? Remember a long time ago there used to be restrictions, I know, for in the workplace about hair, right? And about beards and about that sort of a thing where it wasn't considered corporate to have a beard or long hair or something like that. So what are your thoughts about today and, and for a voice talent, is there a code of anything really? Lau: I think it's the best time, Anne, to be able to show your face because the playing field is so open now with what's acceptable, what's welcome. Everything's diversity. Everything is age, everything is background, everything is, you know -- when you go into, like even in Manhattan, when I go into some of the more corporatey kind of firms, they're very business casual. The younger generation is much more casual -- Anne: I love that. Lau: -- than they were years ago. I love it too. So I think a lot more is acceptable. But that being said, I don't think it gives people a free pass of saying, oh, I'll just look like whatever. I'll just stick on whatever. I'll just do whatever. I would take the time to work with a coach, your coach, whoever is great with styling, great with image, great with fashion, great with branding, and say, listen, this is who I am. This is what I do. I don't wanna go too far away from my authentic, neutral self, but I wanna look really great for who I am. I wanna look put together, I wanna be fresh, I wanna have great colors, great fits. Anne: Or you wanna look like you care. Lau: Yeah. Yeah. Anne: Look, there's a lot of casual people in California. I get that. I've lived here for enough years to know. But coming from the east coast to the west coast is, in terms of clothing and ideals about looks and how you would dress for a corporate job, it's actually quite a bit different. But the cool thing is like, I wear black, I wear leather. Everything I wore on the east coast, I wear on the West Coast. And I haven't changed because I've changed where I've lived. And the cool thing is, is that it allows me to be me. I mean California, for all their casualness, you don't have to put on fancy clothes. But I think also you don't wanna look like that you don't care about your appearance. Lau: Exactly. Anne: And so I think that no matter what you have, like, and I remember, gosh, I remember tattoos weren't a thing either. This is my corporate background coming in. Tattoos weren't a thing, nose piercings that -- I've always wanted to get a nose piercing, by the way. This is, this is is Anne's admission. And I think I'm going to get one. Lau: The truth comes out. Anne: At this age, I am going to get one, a very small delicate, 'cause I'm a, I'm a bling girl. Right? And I feel like a small bling right here would look awesome. Lau: Do it, do it. Anne: But, so now people are gonna hold me to it. So maybe at one point, everybody, BOSSes out there, you'll see me with a little bit of a nose, a nose pierce. Lau: A little diamond bling right there. Anne: Little diamond bling. 'Cause it's -- Lau: I love it. Anne: I like the bling. Lau: I love it. Anne: But yeah, I do think that as long as you're showing your authentic you and it's something that your authentic you is something you care about, I think that presents -- because again, it's personal, but don't forget that our personal brand is a business brand. And so we're representing ourselves to people who might want to hire us or maybe not hire us based upon our looks. Is that a thing? True. I mean, I think if we're gonna be brave and show our face and show who we are, we have to also accept the fact that maybe people won't hire us based upon our looks. Lau, thoughts? Lau: Yeah. If you're meeting people too, which you and I are meeting people all the time, whether we're on Zoom or we're in person, we're meeting people, you know, how do we come across? How do we look them in the eye? Do we smile, all this stuff? So I don't want it to seem like you have to put on armor to meet people. But you wanna enhance your natural beauty, your natural essence, your natural energy. It's sort of like the rule of thumb for a really great actor headshot is I don't want it to be glamorous. I don't want it to be overdone. I want it to be super natural and look like you on a really great day. Anne: Yeah, yeah. Lau: So that's sort of the rule of thumb. And ask yourself this question, look at all the businesses out there that now have the owners or the people working in the business show their visual faces. Real estate agents, they all have their faces on cards, right. We have a lot of branding in advertising for everything from furniture to cars to on and on it goes of people who own the dealership, people who run the furniture stores, and, and you're thinking, well why? Why are they on there? Why don't they have, you know, beautiful looking talent on there that are gorgeous? No. Because people wanna see real people. They wanna see who they're creating relationship with to buy these products, but they just wanna make sure that they look good on a good day. They don't wanna roll outta bed. You know? Anne: Do you remember Don LaFontaine for many years? We heard his voice, heard his voice, heard his voice, and then he started doing the commercials where he, he was in person? I love that. And also because you're on the east coast, oh Lau, please let me know if you -- Men's Warehouse, do you remember his voice? Oh my gosh, for years -- Lau: Oh yes! Anne: The guy who owned Men's Warehouse had the most beautiful voice and I thought, wow, he should be doing more voiceover instead of his commercials. And then they showed him on the commercial. And so he brought his visual brand, and I loved it. I absolutely loved finding out who the person was behind the voice. And -- Lau: And now they all do it. Now they all do it. And sometimes you're looking and you're going, I'd rather they stayed behind the camera. . Like, you know, they have these deep, you know, Boston accents, you know, come on in and buy a sofah. Anne: Yeah, yeah. Lau: You know, what I mean? But the point is, that's what the largest demographic in the commercial market really wants. They want approachable, natural, authentic, real authentic. Anne: And you know, just like, okay, so just like being an announcer has gone off trend, right? And whenever we get behind that mic, we feel like we have to put on that voice. Here is my voiceover voice. Hello, I'm Anne and this is my voiceover voice. Like that's a put on kind of a -- like people want more authentic. Now character, we're talking something completely different, right? Because you become that character, but you're becoming an authentic character, right? So just as, we don't necessarily like inauthentic sounding or inauthentic in social media where everything's always perfect, we like the authentic person, and that visual brand helps to bring out that authenticity. And I think that is something that can truly help elevate your business as scared as you are. And for all of the people out there who have gotten into voiceover, because, well I got into voiceover so they didn't have to see my face. Well, I think it's time guys for you to appear and show up to your businesses and show up because we wanna connect with you. And I'm always talking in terms of performance, when I'm trying to get that conversational read, even for narration, right? I'm trying to get that engagement. It's that back and forth. That visual can help you. I'm always talking about, I want that authenticity, I want that engagement. Your visual brand can help you. And that visual brand is in person, when you meet people, your website, it can be a great indicator for your visual brand as well. Even if it's just a picture of you on the about page. I think that it's something that can bring a lot of value, a lot of value. Lau: I agree. And I think you feel differently. You internalize your external. So you know, it's a fine line. Like we're not all about what we look like. We're not all about what externally comes out. But there is a deep connection between what I'm internally emotionalizing and feeling and what I'm externally giving out to the world. And so I think we can learn a lot from actors who are going for visual roles that they don't dress in costume, and they shouldn't dress in costume for an audition, but they should give a flavor, give a hint of the character in how they're gonna present themselves when they walk in the room. Anne: And it's always bringing themselves to the character. Right? That really is the winning -- Lau: Yeah, you're gonna do -- Anne: It's the winning. Right? Your twist. Your unique, authentic twist to the story no matter what. Whether you're performing behind the mic, performing in front of the camera, your online storefront, whatever that is, it's helping you to bring that organic, authentic part of you to the role. And even yeah, as you say, character acting. Lau: If you're gonna do a narration, a corporate narration gig, don't come in wearing your old t-shirt and shorts and flip flops because there's gonna be a little bit of a psychological jump for you to do to that particular job. Come in, you know, come into your booth in your home. Anne: You're coming into it as an employee, right? In reality, if they've hired you to be the voice of their brand, you are now an employee of that company. So now, dress visually and I think emote as if you were a part of their brand, which you are. If they've hired you and they're going to pay you, you are now an employee, quote unquote, of that company. So. Lau: Yeah, there's a culture. So there's always this culture to every gig, every client, every happening that shifts and changes. It really doesn't and shouldn't stay the same. To have the mindset of like, well they'll just accept me the way I am -- okay. Sometimes they do. But sometimes they don't. Sometimes they want to have a visual mirror as to who they are, how they're coming in, how they feel about the work. Same with your clients that are your coaching clients or demo clients. Anne: Sure. Lau: They wanna feel comfortable that you understand where they're coming from. And sometimes that's visual cues. Anne: It's very interesting because I coach without visual, I do not coach through Zoom. I coach through ipDTL. Yay, love ip -- why do I coach through ipDTL? Because it's a high quality audio connection, and I need to hear those nuances, especially when I'm doing long format coaching for narration, medical, nuance is everything -- actually nuance is everything for every part of voiceover I think. But that's me. And so I need to be able to hear really well. I need to be able to hear that coming through. And it's interesting 'cause I'll coach a student 10, 20 sessions, and then I'll talk to them over Zoom when I reveal their demo. I always do a Zoom reveal so I can finally meet them. And most of the time I'm not necessarily surprised at how they look 'cause they have a presence on social media or they look like they sound. But sometimes I am completely surprised and pleasantly so. I've never been unpleasantly surprised. But absolutely when I've seen someone, I'm like, wow, I had no idea. And so I think a lot of times when I'm coaching for voiceover, right, that is primary is voiceover is your voice and hearing the nuances in your voice. But I always wanna hear your authentic self come through in the voice. But always, especially when you're representing a company, you are the employee of that company. But I need your unique, authentic self to come through. And a lot of times that authentic self is your personality. Right? A lot of times your voiceover, I think, is made better by your personality, your unique personality that you bring to it. Because I'm here to help you, I'm here to serve you, I'm here to tell you about this great product that you're -- it's always positive. I don't think we're ever, unless we're doing character work, right? I don't think we're ever emoting things that are negative. Right? Typically we're not hired for negative sounding voiceovers or angry voiceovers, again, unless we're a character. It's mostly a positive, comes from the heart, from a helpful situation. What are your thoughts on that, Lau? Lau: Oh, I agree. I agree. And I, I mean when you consider how many people out there that are visual learners, they literally take in information, process information and create quick output based on what they're taking in visually. Like I have to give them something to work with if I have the ability to. If they don't see me, they see nothing visual that I do, well, okay. But oftentimes they will, they'll go to my website. They'll go to your social, they'll go to something that has you on it, whatever that is, . And they'll say quickly, do I feel comfortable with this person? Happens in like two seconds. Anne: Excellent point. And I'm glad you brought that up because whether people decide to put their picture on their website, which is the biggest question I get, or not, right, there's social media somewhere, somewhere out there, there's going to be a photo of you that someone might discover. And maybe that's not the photo that you want them to discover first. Maybe it could be a photo from years ago when you weren't in voiceover or maybe you're being crazy and you know, having fun at a party. Maybe that's not the first photo that you want your potential client to see. So I figure if you're going to put out a photo, put out that photo that is authentic you now and not you maybe 20 years ago when you weren't doing voiceover. And that's what a lot of my argument is. They're like, yeah, but I, you know, they're not hiring me for my face. And I'm like, true. But they wanna connect with a human being. And by the way, if they really wanted to, they probably could find a picture of you somewhere out there on the internet. Lau: Yeah. And you know, it's really interesting too. Like it's, this is on topic, off topic. It's like when we were at the conference out in LA, you and I were at that conference out in LA, which we had a fab time, and I pay attention 'cause I listen, listen, listen for cues -- this is all face-to-face in person -- when I'm going through the steps of speaking at that conference, I'm listening to comments to me and comments about me, about who I am and about my brand. And a number of times I heard sometimes from men, sometimes from women, like, oh, I'm standing next to this beautiful woman right here. Or oh, this pretty lady, whatever. Or isn't she just sweet whatever, making initial comment on my visual in the way I look. And I take it all in because I say, well, that's what they're getting in the first 5, 10, 15 seconds of not really knowing me, just kind of knowing my brand or knowing my name, whatever, I'll take it. I'm not offended by any of it because I feel like people wanna find the quick way to make themselves feel comfortable with you. Anne: Yeah. Lau: Whatever it is. Maybe I look like their mom, maybe I look like their wife, maybe I look like their daughter. Maybe I have an elegant presence to them in some way. Great. I'll take it. Rather than them saying, oh, you know, she could have switched out that sweatshirt. You know what I mean? She could have put some nice -- Anne: She could have put some nice clothes. Not dirty. That would be my mother talking. Lau: Yeah. She could've put some, you know, taken off the dirty tennis shoes to come here. You know what I mean? It's-- Anne: My mother who always, you know what I'm saying? My mother, my mother did. Your mother, my mother used to say this all the, all the time she could like if I was going on, she goes, now make sure you put clean underwear on in case you get into an accident. Lau: Yeah. In case you're an accident. Anne: Yes. Oh my gosh. . So, but Lau, you know what's so interesting that you mentioned that when I first met you, I think one thing that was instantly drawn to was your smile and your laugh. And that I feel is like an inherent part of who you are and your personality. And again, I feel like that was a visual before I even heard you. Because remember we met during that webinar, we met on video. Lau: Yes. Anne: And I just remember your smile and your laugh and I thought instantly it was an instant connection. And I feel like that's what you want to be to your clients. You want to have an instant connection with your clients. Lau: You do. And to the point where it's so deeply psychological, they feel they know you. They feel they know you already. Like they really know you and you're thinking, I don't think you know me or they don't know me, but that's okay. That's okay. I want to know you. I'm going to know you. And if this is just a first step, then this is just a first step. Anne: And I feel if you're on social media at all, right? Social media is so visual these days. Right? I mean if you are on social media, you're probably throwing out a picture, a picture, maybe not of you, but it could be of your family, could be of your fur babies, could be of -- you're throwing out images of your authentic self. We hope. Right? Because sometimes, as we know is the issue with social media is it becomes the fake presence. But I think if any of you are on social media at all and you've got potential clients everywhere, and they could be seeing your presence socially before they even consider hiring you, and that social impression that they get from you could be from comments that you're making or pictures that you're sharing. Everything's video now. TikTok, Instagram reels. Facebook reels. And I feel like it's almost impossible for you to not showcase your visual on social media these days. Lau: Yeah. It is. Like you can't get away from it at all. Even if people are taking photos at an event that you attended, you're gonna show up somewhere in the photo. And they may not always be a great photo, but the point is you gotta stay at home and never leave and be super careful to not be caught in some sort of visual. And even in your branding, you have to put out some sort of visual for your branding. Anne: And I think if your fear is being pigeonholed, I think your vocal type might be pigeonholed anyways if you have a very unique voice. Right? I think when you're talking like a very young voice for your age or any type of voice that is different than you look like, whether you put your picture out there or not, I feel like you're going to be cast in a certain role. For example, if you have a very high pitched voice right now, although now it's becoming more commonplace, maybe you wouldn't be cast for an older personality that's buying, I don't know, bifocals. So whether your photo is out there or not, your voice is gonna be cast in that way or not based upon the sound or the perceived sound that the client is looking for. So I don't think it matters if you post a photo of yourself on your website that doesn't represent your voice because they're hiring you for the voice, and the voice is then being cast in a role as they see fit. But your authenticity comes through in that voice. Lau: Yes. And everything's subjective at the end of the day, like you can't get away from subjectivity. That's human nature. We're based on our own frame of reference, how we are perceiving you and how we're taking you in. So I don't think we can fully control that. But there is something, I think, especially with someone who doesn't know you, there is a psychological bond that happens quickly when they perceive that you care. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: They perceive you care enough to put yourself together, to do that little extra whatever it is you are doing, whether it's your hair, or your materials -- or as a woman, Anne, we talk about this all the time, I get so many people who say, Hey Lau, I love what you're wearing. What's that necklace you're wearing? Or where'd you get that ring? Or da da da. Sounds kind of materialistic, but it's something that they can connect to you on. Something that they care about, something that makes them feel comfortable. And then you'll make that chitchat based exactly on, oh, where I got this or what is that? Or, and then that always leads to the next thing, the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: And so that, that's valuable. Anne: And people who know you because of what you've put out there, like visually and/or audibly, right, becomes a point of connection that you can then use to be memorable in your brand. So great discussion. So guys, if you're afraid to put your pho -- don't be afraid to put your photo out there. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there on video. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there in person, in front of your potential clients, in front of your clients. It is a piece of who you are, it is a piece of your brand, and it's a piece of your business. Lau: I'm with you all the way. Anne: Well, thank you, Lau, for another thrilling discussion. I love, I love, love, love talking to you every week. Lau: I love it too. And may I say we look fabulous today. Anne: Yes. We thank you , because we're our authentic selves. So with that, I'd like to give a great shout out to ipDTL. You too can network, communicate like BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also if you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart, if you've ever wanted to help them, you can visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Thanks so much. Bye. Lau: Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Raising your rates as a voice actor can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. In this episode, Anne & Lau discuss tips for approaching money conversations with clients, moving past the fear around charging what you're worth and deciding when to raise your rates. It's important that you know what your time is worth and what kind of value your clients are getting from working with you. Your voice is an asset. By taking charge of these conversations & setting your rates accordingly, you can make sure that your business is running smoothly. Your clients want to work with someone who knows their own value and isn't afraid of asking for it. And if you need someone to talk you through the process, keep on listening… Transcript It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series with my special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Hey Lau. Woo-hoo! Always so wonderful to see you. Lau: Always great to be back. . Anne: Well, Lau it's a change of seasons and so I'm feeling like I've gone back and reflected upon my business, and it is the time of year where I make the consideration, do I want to raise my prices or not? And what a great discussion Lau, because it is so difficult. How do you raise your prices? How do you raise your rates? And how do you go about doing that with clients that you've had for years or new clients for fear of, oh my gosh, your rates are too high, or rates are too low. I thought it would be a wonderful thing to discuss today on how we can raise our rates, because as businesses, we need to be profitable, right? For the majority of us in this industry, we would like it to be a business and not a hobby. And so to be a business, we need to yield a profit and to yield a profit, that includes pricing yourself. So let's start with you. Talk to me about, first of all, how do you set your prices for your particular voiceover jobs, acting jobs? What do you do first in order to set a fair rate for yourself or a fair price to yourself? Lau: The question of the year, I say -- Anne: Isn't it though? Lau: Not even of the day, but of the year. I can hear all of your listeners. The BOSSes are moving a little bit closer, and listening closer. Now, it's a great conversation to have. So I really am thrilled that we're having it today. In my opinion, there's a lot of fear around this conversation. There's a lot of apprehension, a lot of almost terror, I'd say, in really giving yourself as a person and also your brand, as a business, a price tag. That's very difficult for people's brains to get around, especially creatives who are artists and women can have a tough time with that as well. Anne: Oh yeah. Lau: And I think everyone can have a tough time as they move through their business, not just in early stages either. Like, people that are at 10, 15, 20 years into the biz having challenges with this topic. I myself have had many challenges through the years. I think one of the first things that, when we take a step back and we look at the whole fee structure of what we are doing, we have to ask ourself what is our worth? What is our value? And it's not, not a simple, oh, this is what I'm worth and this is my value. It's really something to journal about, something to think deeply on, to converse with people you know and trust, and to do some market research, to really go into the market, say, this is our industry, this is my space. The more I niche down in my space, the more I can research the industry going rates, and really just document that. I would take a little bit of time and document that and update that like every six months to a year, just update. Anne: Sure. Lau: Every six months to a year, get knowledgeable. Anne: So starting what the industry rates are. And so I totally agree with you there. In order for you to raise your rates, you have to set your rates. And so that's the question, number one is before you can raise them, how do you set them? And I think a great reference point is, and we've mentioned this multiple times on the podcast, is the rate guides. GVAA has a fantastic rate guide, Gravy for the Brain has one, SAG-AFTRA has their rates posted. So that's a great benchmark to start to set your rates. And I think we've mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again, whether you are new to the industry or you've been in the industry for 20 years, you can price yourself at the standard rate. Just because you're new doesn't mean that you have to price yourself at a lower rate than somebody who's been in the business for 15, 20 years. Because in essence, it actually helps the industry if you are pricing yourself at a fair going rate according to the rate guides. Lau: I would agree with that. Totally agree with that. You took the words out, right outta my head. I was about to say, you almost do the industry in injustice when you go too far low and too far below what the industry rates are. Even though there may be times where you do that and you choose to do that, you need to do that and that's okay. But as a running rule, you wanna stay at the industry rates or above because you wanna drive the market up. You don't wanna drive the market down. Anne: Exactly. Lau: We oftentimes hear the sayings like it's a race to the bottom. What that really means is like we're all excited about working. We wanna get as much work as we can, charge them anything and just get anything for the business. And I think that there's a time and place for that. But for sustainability and longevity of a business, it just doesn't work. It does not work in any way. And you are devalued. You're immediately devalued in the eyes of that prospect client. So to really sit down and say, okay, whether I'm starting out or whether I'm running my business, you and I have been running our businesses for 15-plus years, is to say, what is my value today? How has that changed from a year ago? How have we grown? What are my products? How have I niched my products? And what are those products valued at in the market today? I would start there. That's a good start right there. And then to start thinking about time. What does time mean to you? How much value is your time? How valuable is your time? What's your worth? Your knowledge, your ethos, your education -- Anne: Your experience. Lau: Your experience, right? It's, that's where the subjective force comes in. What makes me unique? What's my value proposition different from others in the space doing similar work, helps establish that value. Anne: Well, I think also one thing that helps us as freelancers is that I like to break it into different categories. You have the new clients, the ever evolving, I guess, cycle of new clients that come along. And for that, it's easy to set a rate or raise your rate. Okay? Because they've not had previous experience with you. So in a way that makes it easier for us to either celebrate or raise our rates. And it is up to us though, to take that step to do that. I mean, I myself was guilty for back in the beginning, keeping my rates, keeping my rates, keeping my rates until I felt that I had built my business up enough to warrant raising my rates. But I do feel that every year is a great time to reevaluate your rates, and the economy too. You've gotta take a look at the economy. Now, we've got so many different things happening at this point in our industry. We have the evolving economy, which is not doing great right now. So is it a good time to raise my rates? Right? We've got that to consider. What is the market willing to pay? What is the market willing to bear for a price of voiceover, especially now with synthetic voices looming on the horizon. So there's a lot of other factors that need to be taken into place, and if it wants to play into our fear, well, that's what does it for sure. Right? A lot of times the economy and other factors including competition from not only voice actors but now synthetic voices -- and so that just builds upon the fear. If you weren't scared before raising your rates, now we've got a couple, a couple extra things that are being thrown into the mix, but I will say that because we are freelancers and because we continually acquire new clients, this is a good time to be able to set or raise your rate for the new clients that come aboard. And you know what? Here's the deal. If you decide to set your rate higher than you normally do or raise your rate, what's gonna happen is you will see if the market will bear it, right? If people are gonna say, yeah, sure, that's great. And not question the rate. And so when that happens, there's nothing better than that, because that gives you the confidence to really go forth and raise your rates for all clients. So it's a great test bed when you get a new client to either set your rate higher or actually change your rate for the new clients. Now I like the whole grandfather clause where I've had a client for many years, and because they are a good client that continues to give me business, I will make a decision on an independent basis whether or not I will raise my rates for them. And then that becomes a different conversation, right? Because now that's where you've gotta like own up to saying, look, I appreciate you as a client, and I'm so thankful for the business and thankful for our relationship together. How do I say I'm going to raise my rights now? Lau: Ooh. Anne: Oh, there's the tough one. Lau: Ooh, snap. There's what she did. Well, everyone has a different thought process. And again, you took the words out of my head because the way I tend to run my business is I tend to show loyalty and allegiance to current clients and typically stay at the rates that they're at. You certainly don't have to. And there are many businesses that will go up in rates on current clients. I just haven't done that quite as much. I keep them at the rate, grandfather them in, have the blank slate on new people with a new pricing coming in. And typically there just isn't any conflict of interest with that. Oftentimes they don't even know the difference. They just see you coming in, and here's the interesting psychological value to that. All of a sudden you give a new pricing, and they may not flinch at all and say, oh, okay, great. And then you think, oh my gosh, I could have done that years ago. Anne: Yes. Lau: I could have done that years ago instead of playing all these psychological games with myself. To this person, the value is there. You are worth it. They're ready to go, and why wouldn't they pay that price? So I think to find good quality clients, the kind of clients that fit you, fit your business is so important. And to know that there are going to be clients that are not good for you; they're not good for you any longer, or they don't fit what your value is because they see it as a cost. Anne: Right. Right. Exactly. Lau: They don't see it as an investment. So I tend to use very strategic language when I speak to people. Is this your investment or is this a cost for you? And then educate them on what the difference is. And once they figure out that this is an investment, oh yeah, I'm glad you put it that way, then it is worth it to me. So sometimes it takes the little bit of education in there for them to shift their mindset to, well, you spent how much on a college education? You spent how much on your graduate degree? You spent how much on your online courses, what have you. Was that cost or was that investment? So this is the same thing. This is the same thing. Anne: I love that you say cost or investment, because I think that clients who look at it as an investment are absolutely going to see your worth much more readily than a client that sees it as a cost. And it's also important, I think, for us as actors and creatives to understand that our voice is an asset. And I know I say it, yes, your voice is an asset, but what does that really mean? Right? Your voice contributes to potential millions of dollars in sales , right, for a client. And sometimes I think we forget that. We become so far removed from the product, the end product that we are providing the voice for that we forget our worth in terms of that. So don't forget that your voice as an asset -- and this, I'll tell you what, I've learned this in my dealings with trying to talk to, let's say, synthetic voice producers or directors or companies that are producing synthetic voices -- to say that the voice is an asset, that it is worthy of compensation. It is worthy of fair compensation because that asset is what contributes to a company's brand. And don't forget that, BOSSes. Your voice contributes to a company's brand, which is no different than a marketing material or an on-air camera talent that gets paid a good amount of money to represent the brand of a company. So I think because we're in our studios, and we're like alone, we forget that somehow, that our voice really does contribute to a brand's value and a brand's ability to sell. Lau: That's right. Absolutely. And quick anecdote on that one, just this past week I have a, a new agent colleague from LA who opened an agency and she was calling me to check in on a contract that she's working on for voiceover, and she doesn't currently represent voiceover. And she was going through what would be a fair rate for this talent, and she kept saying over and over and over again, I mean, these people are making millions off of this. They're making millions off of this. And we're talking about the difference between like, they offered $350, $350, she went up to $1100. I said, why don't you offer at lea -- oh my god, 1500 is like still so incredibly -- and her, there was a fear factor in there. I could hear the fear slip in. I said, what's the worst that happens? Anne: They say, no. Lau: You slide, you do whatever you want to do and feel is right. But my goodness, the truth is it should be actually so, so, so much higher than that. She just didn't wanna start at such a high rate compared to what the original rate they were giving her. She didn't wanna slide so high. But the truth is, it's so outta whack, it's so outta bounds in terms of what a company may be doing with that brand and creating gross versus what the talent is being paid, which is nothing, pennies, literally less than pennies. Anne: There's something to be said for pricing yourself in such a way that it is value because you've priced yourself higher versus if you price yourself too low, then it's a perception of, well, okay, so that's a cheap price, right, for a cheap talent maybe. And that may or may not be the way that you want your brand to be perceived. So I always have said that I'm Tiffany's, right? I don't go on sale. This is my rate. And if a client chooses to accept that rate, then they are also accepting obviously that that is my worth and that I'm worth the value of that. And I think that if they don't, it's okay. You have time to go and find the people that will pay you the rate that you're worth and value that charge or your increase in price. And it's a difficult, difficult thing, especially when you attack it from, well, if I raise my prices, am I going to raise my prices for everyone? And I don't think you have to. I think as we've discussed it, I've got people that are grandfathered in, and each one of those clients that I've been working with for a certain amount of time, each gets a special consideration. Now, I might have worked with people for 10 years already at the same rate. And I think it makes it a whole lot easier when you propose to them that your rates, due to increased costs in running your business, your rates have to change. And this, for anybody that uses, let's say an audio editor for their work, and they're paying them as well, if they go up in price, and you're still charging the same, well, you've gotta recoup those costs somehow as a business. Lau: Exactly. Anne: I've got that. I've got people that I pay for services that are raising their prices on me. And as a business, I've gotta somehow figure out how am I going to accommodate that cost? Because as a business, I don't wanna lose profit on that because I wanna maintain or elevate my business. Lau: Right. And there is a huge credence to the philosophy that I wanna price myself above the market rate. Anne: Yeah, yeah. Lau: Not to get into like scamming or anything like that. Nothing negative. Like, oh, I just wanna make as much money as I can. No, no. You wanna say, listen, here's my price, here's my value, here's my investment, and I'm giving you, as you said, the Tiffany's approach. I'm giving you that Tiffany's approach. So you're investing in that, and that, that actually psychologically tells people that your worth is so high, it's so much higher. So it must be worth the cost of admission. So I'm going down that road, I've been going down that road for a number of years now, saying, yes, we are a slightly higher than the average studio. Yes, we are slightly higher, whatever, because here's the value prop X, Y, Z. That's what we do. That's what we give. You don't want that, then we're not the place for you. Anne: Right. Right. Lau: So yes, being able to walk away, being able to say, this business isn't gonna work, this client isn't gonna be good. They don't see the value, that's okay. I think that's fine. You know, you don't have to sort of tear for every single person who comes your way. They're not always gonna be the right ones for you. Anne: You bring up a good point there, and I've seen this as some discussion on the forums as well lately about some talent feeling that they have a need to school their clients on a fair price. And there's a way to do that that is respectful of a client. I think, again, you have to really put yourself in the client's shoes. Not all clients are in direct control of the money that can be paid for your services. Not all clients really do have the budget, and if they don't, I think it's well worth it for us to say or advise that you're not rude about it. Because not every company has the budget to pay voice services for whatever you might be commanding at the moment. So I think be careful when you are renegotiating with your clients back and forth for a rate. I think for me, when it's a new client and I'm negotiating a rate, I always start on the higher end, which makes it easy to negotiate down. I always leave an open space in my quote, and a lot of times that's in an email that says, please let me know if this fits within your budget. And that sentence alone pretty much just opens the door for negotiation. And so then a client can come back to me and say, well, I've only been allocated this much for the budget, and then I can work with that. So I always kind of shoot higher anyway. And so that kind of works within my, let's raise the rates this year. I think it's a conscious decision that you as a business person, right -- put the creative aside for a moment -- well, keep the creative to know what you're worth, but also put on your business hat and really put yourself in the position. Here's what I'm going to do, and stick with it and try to just get past that fear. I think that's the biggest thing that stops the majority of us from raising our rates or charging what we're worth in the first place. Lau: Yeah. I think you just have to do it. Like you have to go ahead and do it. Look, what's the worst that happens? It doesn't work. Anne: They say no. Lau: You can go back. You can go back, you can change your rates, make it lower. Like no one's holding you against a wall. You can do it, but you've gotta try it. I, this gets into negotiation, Anne, a little bit, but I would say it's very important to, once you give that number, once you give that fee, to stop talking. It's very important to give it, to have a sense of just like you would deliver copy and say, this is what we do for this investment company or for this healthcare. We help you, we give you health. This is what our fee is. Anne: Mm-hmm. And then wait. Lau: And then stop. Anne: Then wait. Say nothing. Lau: What do they say in sales? Like the first person who speaks loses. Anne: Exactly, that's true. Lau: Because our nature as caring people, many are artists I wanna say, but you know, we're the lowest, we're kind of cheap, and we're not gonna take, and to sort of justify and give excuses and tell you why we selected that fee -- don't do it. Don't succumb to that seductive force of wanting to explain or self-deprecate. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: Or say, I shouldn't be doing this and I don't know why I'm doing this, but hopefully it works for you, and I hope you can do this. Don't do it. Don't do it. Anne: Yeah basically -- Lau: Don't do it. Anne: Here's my price. Let me know if it fits within your budget. And then I wait. Lau: Yes. Anne: If you start to pursue it or act desperate in any way, then that's negotiation skills. And I'm so glad in a way that I had to develop those early on because when I first got into the business, I waited a long time before I pursued an agent. And so, so until then I was negotiating for narration, you know, non-broadcast work. And so that gave me a lot of confidence. I could try things out, I tried rates out. And it's funny because people will ask me, well, what do you charge for this? And I'll be like, I pulled that right outta my butt. I pulled that number right outta my butt. But honestly, this's where it comes half the time because I've got a basis. But I don't necessarily know this client. I try to validate the client first and see what other work they have and educate myself as much as possible and then give a number. And sometimes that number, there's no basis for that number other than it's just I took a benchmark and I priced it up a certain amount based upon my last experience. And basically it's all trial and error, and I've always left myself that window open for negotiation. And that experience has really, I think, educated me more than just about anything else in this industry, was the education of being able to negotiate. And so for that you play a lot of games and you fight a lot of fear. And it takes just a few times for things to work in your favor. Always ask the client if they have a budget in mind, because that budget can also help you to gauge pricing. I asked a client once what their budget was, and they're like, oh, I can't spend more than $3,000 for this. And I'm like, whoa. That was like three times what I was gonna quote. Lau: So much higher. Anne: That was three times higher than I was gonna quote. And I said, I think I can work with that . So that sort of thing can really give you confidence to understand where your worth is and then also where you might price and where you might start to raise your rates. So every year I say, take a look at what you're charging people, 'cause I have a base guideline, and by the way, I don't advertise it at all. I think that it used to be a thing where some people advertised their rates, and I think in that kind of a tactic, it's almost like if you're gonna advertise your rates, you're looking to get people who are trying to get the lowest cost. Here's my rates, I'll do a commercial for $100, or you know, a 60-second commercial for $100. And I think if you're gonna do that, then you're playing the wrong game there. You're playing the lowest bid wins, and you've kind of limited yourself in terms of profit that you can make by publishing your rates. So it's more of a custom boutique service if you say, contact me or if you're interested, here are my demos. If you're interested, contact me and then start the conversation. Lau: And that's exactly why it's important to stay quiet as much as you speak, because you're gonna pick up the cues of what that client is saying to you and you're gonna make your quick notes so that in your brain you can say, oh I can go hide her. I didn't realize that. Or I'm way too high. Am I willing to lose this client? Like you can start that conversation, that inner monologue going, if you're listening to the cues that are coming in. And there was one more point I wanted to make 'cause you said something so cool and that was about control yourself. Like control your emotions, control how you react to things. Here's the psychology of selling. Is that like nothing should get me upset is the truth. Everything should be objectified just enough so that whatever comes out of them is not really about me. They're talking about my business. So they're not -- so I'm not just like an actor. It's like if I don't get the job, it's not really about me, it's about what I'm offering is not really right for that role. Well, it's the same in business. They're not really talking about me. 'Cause guess what? They don't know me and they don't know me at all. I'm a stranger. They're talking about their perception of this whole business that they may not know anything about. Or they may have had a, a big history, they may have been burned, who knows? Like we don't know when they come in the room, what they've been through. They may have been through a lot. So you have to give them the benefit of the doubt that if they get irritated or angry or if they treat you inappropriately, you have to understand that they're coming in with a history. But don't fall into it yourself. Like we used to say in training, leave your trash at the door. You know what I mean? Like you, well you can pick it up on your way out, but don't put it in someone else's court. Because you lose your power when you do that. You talk about superpowers, it renders you incapable of diplomacy and neutralization, when you start to say, how could he say that about me? Or how could he downgrade me like that or whatever, you know? Anne: That's what it is. I think part of it is the emotional aspect of it and keep the emotions out of the business. Take it out. Lau: Take it out, take it out. Anne: It's so hard for us because our product is so personal to us. It is our voice. It is who we are. It is our brand. And so when we get treated by a potential client and them, I guess, diminishing our worth in terms of no, I can't pay that. Or no, that's not in our budget, we have to not take that personally because it's not about us; it's about business. Lau: That's right. Anne: And some clients literally don't have the budget and we have to just accept that and not be offended, not be angry. Lau: Mm-Hmm. And isn't it okay, Anne, that they don't want it, they don't like it, they don't agree with it? It's still a free country. You know what I mean? It's like they have a right to not think that's fair or to not wanna put the money into it. They have a right to do anything they wanna do. One technique that I use that I found just for my own sake, that preserves me in the process is whatever happens in terms of the fee structure and the negotiation and the chit chat, I always immediately redirect. If I hear something negative coming out, I immediately affirm it. I hear it, I hear you. And then I redirect it onto something positive, and nine times outta ten, it works really well. So like for instance, I say, oh, my fee is this for whatever, for a demo. And they go, oh my God, that's expensive. And I'll say, well, you know, it's an investment. You're, you're investing in your future, whatever. And they'll say, well, I don't know. I don't, I don't know. Let me think about that. I'll say, great, think about it. I'm here for you when you come back. And in the meantime, I appreciate you sharing your story with me. That was valuable to me. And they go, well, thank you. That's sweet of you to say that. And then the conversation is redirected. And I mean that, I'm not just saying it as a sales tactic. I mean it from Lau that I'm gonna walk away saying I may or may not close a client. But I heard a really interesting story and I learned something from that conversation, and now I know something about what I can't do or what I can't do. And so you have to have your takeaways too from the selling process. It's not just about the number, it's about I'm constantly reevaluating my own worth, reevaluating my own value, reevaluating how I view the business and perceive the human contact. And that's worth its weight and gold. Right? . Anne: Well, it's so funny that you say that. And I have multiple aspects of my business where I, I, I mean, it's not just about voiceover clients. I have coaching clients, I have demo clients, I have VO Peeps memberships, I have VO BOSS marketing that I sell to people. And I'm constantly having to, if people are like, well, they're on a subscription, and they decide that -- end of year, it's always the time when people reevaluate their expenses and they're saying, well, was it worth it or was it not? And so whenever I get those emails saying, well, I'm looking to cancel because you know, I'm not seeing the value, I will always have, thank you so much for your feedback. I'm grateful for it. Here's my thought. Here's my thought. Think of this, think of that. And here's the value that we're providing, and we appreciate you and the value, and let us try to work something out. And I'll usually do that once. And it's amazing how many times I can recoup someone by pointing out the value that they might have missed over the years or the month, or this is how we're bringing value to your brand. And so I think it's worth a shot rather than just saying, well, okay. I mean, I could just say okay and not care about it. But I'm always responding back with, thank you for your feedback. Thank you for your input. I appreciate that. I completely understand. It's hard at the end of the year for everyone. Here are some thoughts to consider. Lau: Perfect. Anne: And that is something that you can do for a client if you raise your rates with them. If they say no or they push back, you can say, thank you, I appreciate your feedback. And that's how you respond. Really, you have to just respond with grace. There's no other way really, and gratefulness for them being your client. But I say, yeah, stay firm with, here's my new rates. And I don't think that your rates should again, be outside of, you don't wanna go crazy and price yourself out of the market. I think that there's an acceptable range where you can raise your rates and it's not ridiculous. So I have vendors for me right now that are raising their rates and I have to figure out how I'm going to absorb that cost or raise my rates in return. Lau: That's right. Anne: But as voice talent, voice artist, voice actors, absolutely. I think it's worth at this point, or at whatever time, once a year to evaluate what you're charging and then consider whether it's time to raise your rates. Because we all need to progress. We all need to continue the profit, the economy, other things happen around us and we need to accommodate for that. Lau: Yes. If you work on your plan, you work on your action plan for the year or for the quarter, you'll know what you wanna be grossing, you'll know what you wanna be taking in, and you'll know how close or how far away I am from that based on the rates that I'm charging right now and the volume that I deal with. Anne: Look at the numbers, BOSSes. I know it's scary, but I think the first thing is look at the numbers. And I think that's probably the most scary thing for most of us, probably scarier than an audition or a gig that we really want. It's scarier to look at the numbers. What's your incoming, what's your outgoing, what are your rates now? And have the courage to step back, look at it, and raise those rates if you need to. So great conversation, Lau. Lau: Anne, can I throw in one more thing for the road? Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: Because. I just thought of this and I know you're like this and I know I'm like this. I think we care so much and that's why we get scared. If we didn't care -- Anne: Makes sense. Lau: -- at all, we couldn't give a two hoots about what they think, whatever, we'll raise it sky high -- no, it's because we care and the good people deeply care about the people first. And so we're always regarding their feelings and how they view things and what, what makes life easier for them. And that's a wonderful trait to have. We just have to balance that with taking care of our selves as well. Anne: Absolutely. Great point. Thank you, Lau. Oh, great topic. Absolutely great topic. And I think we all need to address it at one point during the year in our careers. So I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect network and talk about money and rates like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also I want you to know about a chance where you can use your voice to make an immediate difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to commit. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye! Lau: See you then! Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Fear is a powerful force, and one that can hold you back from reaching your full potential. But fear doesn't have to be a bad thing. If you let fear in and learn from it, you'll be able to overcome the obstacles that keep you from achieving success as a voice actor. This may seem counterintuitive, but when you're afraid of something, whether it's a new genre, emerging technology, or a difficult conversation, you can use that fear as motivation to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Bosses, you can't grow without fear. Listen up to learn how you can turn what you're most afraid of into positive actions that will transform your voice over career… Transcript >> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey hey, everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast and the Business Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so happy to bring back to the show, Lau Lapides. Hey Lau. Lau: Hey, how are you, Anne? Anne: I'm doing good, actually. oh, wait, I should start that over because I need like, ooh, . Lau: Ooh. Are you doing sound effects or no? Anne: I'm doing sound effects, Lau. I needed sound effects for today's -- Lau: I got one for you. Ready? Anne: All right. (breathing sound) What's that? Lau: You know, that's the serial killer. That's Mike Meyers and all of that. Friday the 13th. Anne: Oh my God. See, so I don't watch horror films or scary movies. Lau: Gotcha. Anne: But what, that actually brings us to a great topic for today since it is near the holiday, the scary, spooky holiday. What scares you? What scares you, BOSSes, and how do you deal with fear? I think that's a really great topic. Lau, I mean, we've talked about fear prior to this, but we haven't really concentrated on it. I am a firm believer that you need to do something scary every single day, in order to grow. Lau: I love that. Anne: In order to grow. Lau: That's what the great Eleanor Roosevelt said, right? I do something every day that scares you. I would agree with that. I would definitely agree with that. And if it means just simply stepping outside your box, getting uncomfortable, we have these conversations every day, right, Anne, with the clients and each other, like how do we get uncomfortable to stretch ourselves and to learn? And yeah, to get a little scared, to get a little frightened, like get the dopamine kick going so that you can push yourself and really stretch yourself? Yeah. I think it's important to get scared. Anne: So what's frightening, do you think, for most new talent when they come into this industry and try to be a success? Maybe that's the scariest thing, right? Lau: Yeah. Yeah. I think fear is the number one factor for failure. Anne: I do too, fear of failure, right? Lau: Yeah. It can mean your ultimate success or your ultimate demise, and how you respect fear, how you treat fear, how you accept fear into your life, and then how you overcome it. I really think that you have to just grab a hold of fear and understand it's healthy to feel fear. Your survival fight or flight technique does kick in, right, when you're doing new things. But to answer your question, I think a lot of things scare newbies. And one is, you know how the market can be saturated. It can be lots and lots of people that are working, that you may perceive to be ahead of you or professionals, and you're coming in and you don't know exactly what you're doing just yet. And feeling like that fish out of water can be a very scary experience. Anne: Yeah. Well, let's start with that, right? Not necessarily knowing what you're doing. I think that was in the very beginning for me, coming out of the corporate world or wherever you're coming from to get into this industry is maybe, number one, not knowing everything there is to know about the industry. And by the way, we all don't know everything, but , you gain experience over the years. Fear of navigating a business when if you have never done that before, I think that probably surpasses all of my fears. I mean, first you've got the fear, am I good enough to make it and to be successful? But then it's like, oh gosh, well, what do I do? How do I create a business? What do I even do to start? Do I need to have a DBA? Do I need to incorporate? What sort of things do I need to do to run this business and accounting? Like I've never done accounting, I've never negotiated a job. All of those things. And it all seems to just kind of happen at once in the beginning of your career. And I think that that can be overwhelming to some people. Lau: You know, when you said accounting, your eyes got really, really big. It was like a 1920s talkie. It was like accounting? Anne: Accounting. Oh my gosh. Lau: No! Anne: Right? Lau: But, but see, the physiological reaction you do have to ideas and concepts that really do cause this physical distress. And I would say failure overall, like the fear of failure. What if this doesn't go well? What if I am terrible? What if I don't make money? What if I can't get a job? What if, what if, what if? That's really scary to a lot of people. Anne: Right? And I'll tell you, when I first started full-time and we moved from the east coast to the west coast, I had said to my husband, Jerry, until I get on my feet, hopefully you'll get a job that can pay you a little bit better. And so it can kind of compensate, and we'll be able to afford the cost of living. And once he got here, literally, I think it was nine months, they laid him off. And that became very scary because I still was getting my wheels turning and spinning and making money full-time for the business. But once that second source of finance kind of fell , it was like, whoa. Now I was really scared because I felt like I had a lot of pressure to do well and contribute to the household because he was kind of taking care of things until I was getting my business set up. So that really put a lot of fear. But what was cool about it in a way, is that it motivated me. So fear really worked as a motivation for me to get my butt in gear. And if I was afraid of anything, like how do I market, how do I -- certainly took a step towards educating myself. And I think that is one way to really combat your fears, is to educate yourself on the thing that you are most afraid of, like accounting or running a business. Do I need to register my business? How do I register my business? How can I get voiceover jobs? How can I market myself? Well, I think a good thing to start with is education. And I love the internet. I love Google. Like people have called me Anne GanGoogle because yes, I use it for everything. Right? Lau: That's catchy. Anne: Yeah. I mean, you don't have to go to the library anymore, and all the young people are gonna go, what? What you used to have to go to the library? Yeah. We used to have to go -- Lau: What is a library? Anne: -- the library and check out books. But now at our fingertips, really, we have so much information, so much information that we can use to educate ourselves. And I think that's the first step to helping you to challenge that fear and get over that fear. Education, knowledge is power. Lau: Mm. Education is key. Yeah, I'm right over there because knowledge is power. And you do feel, we're talking about superheros, right? We're talking about how we get empowered and powerful in the industry, especially when you're new. This is true of anything. When you're new at something, you're learning, you're, you're trying to get experiential and it takes time. It's not an overnight success. Anne: Yeah. Lau: It really does take time. And just kind of understanding that, having the knowledge, having the education. Totally, totally good. And the fear, I mean, when I think about fear, I think of how does community, my family, my friends, my colleagues, how do they view me? What are they saying to me? I might be a little fearful. Are they gonna judge me? Are they gonna think this is for real? Are they gonna support me? Are they going to try to stop me or put a boundary in my way? I've met a lot of clients, and I know you have as well, unfortunately, that didn't have the support, and in fact had sort of axes thrown at them all the way through and dodging people just to get to where they want to be. They just didn't have the support system. So that is scary. That is scary, not having a tribe, not having that community surrounding you that supports you. Anne: Yeah, exactly. I think that in addition to education, having the support group around you, and it just brings me to the episode that we did about your VO tribe. So very important to have that support, especially because we work by ourselves. We're typically in our booths and coworkers are not around us. And so having that verbal support where if you've got a question or you're nervous, you can reach out to someone and get some support there. And family is very important, I think, because uh, , I think maybe all of us have had at least one member of the family that has said, what do you do? Like, what is this? ? What is that? Lau: What is, why would you -- Anne: What is is voiceover? Yeah. I don't understand. So, I do think that the support of your family, first and foremost, is wonderful. And if you don't have that, the VO community is a wonderful community. I'd say be very careful and social media can be wonderful, but it can also be, oh gosh, it can also not be so wonderful. So , I think that if you have accountability groups or support groups on Facebook, people that you can write to, ask questions to, that's gonna be very helpful for you as well. I think that there's something to be said for, yes, it's great to have that support, but I think it's also something that if you can challenge yourself on a daily basis, like I said, try to do something every day that scares you a little bit. Like if you've never gotten out there to market or sent an email to an agent, I think that writing those kind of tasks down, things that scare you, and then attempting to maybe backtrack the steps that it takes to get you to that point and just try to attack one of those every day. Lau: Absolutely. And that is scary because again, it's new. It's something you're not accustomed to. You don't know, am I doing this the right way? What are they expecting of me? I think that is one of the areas that people stop. They just get stopped in their track. And I thought of another one, Anne, for you, this is very common, I see this, the fear of technology. And many of us fall into it at different levels, right? Like how technology driven you are, how knowledgeable you are about equipment. Are you good at setting up your studio? How do you upgrade and level up? I mean, these are all areas that terrify people. Really. Anne: I agree. I agree. And you know, technology, see, you hit my soft spot there. And BOSSes that don't know -- I mean, I think a lot of BOSSes know me, but if you don't, I am very, very much technology oriented. I worked in technology, I still work in technology, and I like to be on the bleeding edge of it, speaking of things that are scary. And one of the reasons I like that is because I feel like for me, I always take the stance that technology is there to help us progress, to help us advance in society. And it's not evil. You can certainly take that stance if you'd like, that technology is evil. But I don't think that either way you're going to stop the advancement of technology. I think technology would be, oh gosh, so much further if we didn't put a stop to it. If humans didn't say, no, no, no, no, no all the time, I think we would be further along in our technological advancements. And I like to believe in the good of technology. And that includes, I speak the words of synthetic voices. We're not stopping them. They're coming. And I think we just need to know about them and know all that we can about them in order for us to really be able to manage our business. We have to be able to manage our business 'cause they're going to be alongside us; whether we partake in them or not, we're going to need to learn how to deal with them. So if they happen to take parts of the industry away, or people prefer the synthetic voices for maybe shorter news blasts or telephony prompts, whatever it may be, we need to evolve in our industry to kind of work alongside that. And maybe what we need to do is hone our performance skills in another genre. The first thing that I always tell my students is make sure that you are acting, and you are acting as human as possible. Because that's exactly the opposite of what the synthetic voices are at this moment. So we can offer a product that is unique to us. So work on your performance skills so that you can be more human than ever. And I think that that's one way to face the challenge. And also for any technological piece of this business that you're scared of or not familiar with, take a class. Lau: Yes. Anne: I mean, educate yourself or outsource that. Just make sure that you understand enough about the technology so that when you outsource that you can manage the person that is taking care of your technology. And I'll say one thing probably most people like to outsource is their website. I know what a website is capable of. I know what I want in a website, but I don't make websites. And so for that reason, I hire someone to help me. But I know enough about that website that I can log into the website, I can go and make tiny changes on the content. Or if I don't know how to do that specifically, I have a methodology to make those changes. Right? I have somebody who can make those changes, and then I have a backup to somebody that can make those changes, so that I am never going to be at a loss for controlling that technology. Lau: Hmm. I love that. And at the end of the day, if you wanna be a voiceover talent, just the bottom line is, like you have to create a home studio. You don't -- Anne: Oh yeah. Lau: -- have a choice anymore. The industry standard. The best practices that you're gonna have. Even minimal, but some sort of recording system at home that you can feel good about, you can feel strong about, you can troubleshoot, you can upgrade. I think the days of relying on going to other studios and having engineers do everything for you is passed, is passé. So as a VO talent, it's really a necessary evil, so to speak that, you know, enough base knowledge that you could cut an audition for yourself and feel good about it. Anne: Yeah. Well, and just not worry that you don't have good sound. I had a wonderful series on BOSS audio with Tim Tippetts, and just the simple fact -- now he built this studio, custom built this studio for me. And I walk into it every day understanding that this is solid. I am not going to have any type of environment acoustic issues in this studio. The only thing that might go wrong at this point, 'cause the structure is solid and the structure is built. And that is a major level of fear, I think, for most talent when they get into the industry, is getting that space, right, acoustically sound and ready to produce broadcast audio. And so really, I can walk into the studio every day, and I don't have the fear that my environment is not working for me. And that is a huge relief. That's a huge relief. And that was something, again, I outsourced someone to do for me. And it took care of that fear. It alleviates the fear of that now. Now my fear is that, I don't know, maybe my cable is bad or my microphone for whatever reason. But again, that's another technological part that I understand that if something happens to that technology, I know how to fix it. Or if I don't know how to fix it, I can replace it with the backup. And I go back to -- I know I've had an episode prior to this with Erikka J about backups and technology and back up your backups. And that's always a good thing so that you're never in a spot where you cannot complete the job. And that causes fear. That causes stress. Lau: It does. And having people on your team, whether they're contractors that you can call in people that you can delegate to help fix things. Oh yeah. Uh, folks, you know, that are reps that can call in for technical advice. Like you have to have that ready to go. Anne: Oh yeah. Lau: You can't wait until something goes wrong. Anne: Absolutely. Lau: Right? So, and it to alleviate the stress, alleviate the fear. I got another one for you. How about the fear of your voice, your vocal apparatus not working well? Anne: Oh yeah. Lau: Not being able to have longevity health or having health issues, related issues like allergies or asthma or anything coming into play. Because after all, we're just, and there's so many things in the world -- yeah. Acid reflux. We're human beings in the world. So we have to live every day and figure out, okay, how do I live as clean as I can? How do I take care of my body and my mind? How do I do all that? But when something goes wrong, see, this is where professional actors and singers really have it over the average person, like if sick with the flu or God forbid Covid, or they have a terrible allergy attack, they know how to overcome it. They have techniques. They have herbal remedies, they know what vocal rest means. They know how to work through the sickness. Whereas the average person doesn't. So I think that there's a fear in folks at all ages that, oh, am I gonna be able to get through a two or three hour session? Am I gonna be able to have quality sound from morning 'til night? Anne: Well, I think in terms of voice, am I going to be able to make a two hour session or a three -- depending on what you're doing, right, that's definitely a concern. If you're doing video games, you're doing efforts and you're really working that, that instrument hard, then there are, you know, exercises of course, that you can do to build those muscles up. And of course there are sometimes that you absolutely cannot help it if you are sick. Right? And you have a cold. And so in those cases, I think to alleviate any kind of fear that you're, you're gonna lose work, then work on those relationships with your clients. Right? So that if you are sick, we are all human. I mean, it's very understandable. And we did just say we're still going through a pandemic or we're, you know -- that's, that's very understandable. And I think that clients will be understanding if you've got a good relationship with that. And so I think to alleviate the fear there is, have good relationships with your clients and be authentic. Be human. Lau: Be human. And Anne, I actually had something happen not too long ago with one of our talents in our roster that is a wonderful talent, but he didn't make the right choice. And what was the choice? He was sick. He was sick one day. And he chose to go through a session with a client and the client listened to it. They knew he was sick, he was at his home studio so he could do this easily. And they said, we have to tell you, Lau, we're a little annoyed because he only has half of his voice. It's not what we hired and we don't know why he didn't cancel and reschedule the session. Now we got to go through it again. And he was fine. We didn't charge them more money. The talent was like apologetic. He said, I should have told you. I didn't wanna be a nonprofessional by not showing up. I said, It's not about not showing up. It's about communicating what is actually happening and allowing your client to make that choice. Let them make the choice. Anne: Oh, absolutely, your voice is your product. And so, it really becomes, at that point, I think professionally, remember that our voice is our product. And if our voice is not in good shape, you wouldn't deliver a product that is tattered and torn and worn and raspy. If you were a client, you certainly wouldn't want that. So you always have to be conscious of that fact. And that is, your voice should be in tiptop shape because that is your product. And the more professional thing is to, yeah, when it's not in tiptop shape, have that relationship with the client to say, look, I'm not feeling well and I just wanna give you a heads up. And I do that all the time with my clients, and they're very, very understanding. I've had clients wait like weeks, like a good couple of, if they have the time. I mean, if it's not a thing where you have to do a live session and it has to be done yesterday, but I've had some clients that have been able to wait a couple weeks, push things out because they value the product. They value the product that I give to them. And so, again, I think that that's something that to alleviate any kind of fear, work on those relationships, nurture those relationships, and yeah. You're gonna be fine. What other things, Lau, do you think voice talent are afraid of these days? Lau: Uh, well, I would say, uh, many voice talent create a healthy fear of doing jobs or taking copy that they would consider to be outside of their wheelhouse. They would consider to be not as comfortable for them. If they're like, let's say they're commercial talent, and they're typically doing commercial work and that's what they do. Sometimes they're not as open to the idea of doing, say character work or animation. 'Cause they say, I don't really do that. That's not in my wheelhouse. Or, I don't really do a lot of narration work. I'm not that kind of actor. I'm not that kind of person. Or they'll even say, I'm not an actor at all. I'm just a voiceover talent. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: Right. It's so funny to me to say that because I consider every voice of talent an actor to some degree. Anne: Absolutely. Me too. Lau: But there is a fear of auditioning or submitting for jobs that are not within your branding or not within the kinds of jobs that you're typically getting. Like something bad will happen. They'll, they won't hire me and they'll call, call me a bad talent. I get, I won't get work in other areas as well. That's a fear. Anne: Yeah. I think absolutely, to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone. And there's lots of great coaches out there that can help you if you want to explore a different genre and get good at that genre. And even with auditions, I always try to go with my gut when I see auditions and I say, okay, that feels like it's my wheelhouse. But yeah, every once in a while I'll look at an audition, I'll say, well, what the heck? Let's give it a shot. And it's so funny because a lot of times the ones that I just say, well, let me give me a shot, surprisingly, I'll do well or I'll get the gig. And so I think, you know, stretching outside of your comfort and you click that send and you're like, oh my God, I hope again, if you ever had one of those turn around on you, I think that would give you the confidence to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone. I'm gonna name something else that I'm pretty sure a lot of talent, even talent that have been around for a while and have done this for a while, is negotiating a job if they don't have an agent on their behalf. Right? Or raising their rates. Right? Or sticking to their rates. Lau: Wait a second, that's the best ever. Anne: Right, right? Lau: Especially for women, but yes. Yes for everyone. Anne: And people always say to me, well, I don't know what to charge. Okay. First of all, we are entrepreneurs, right? I mean, in reality it is our business. And so it is up to us, unless we've got an agent working on our behalf, but for any other jobs, let's say I do a lot of non-broadcast, e-learning, corporate, you know, explainer, that style where I work directly with the client, and half the time, of course I have guidelines, right? There's always the GVAA rate guide, there's my own guidelines that I've been working with since I started. But if this is something new or it's slightly different and there's nothing, there's no standard written, I'm pretty much pulling that price out of the air, out of the air. Lau: Out of the hat. Anne: Out of the hat. And I'm always kind of verging on more than I think because I wanna start the negotiation high so that I can come down to the price where I feel like would be fair. And so, just so you know, we can be in this business for, I've been in the business for like, gosh, oh my God, 16 years already. And sometimes I'll have a price that I'll just have to pull out a thin air. And I'm guessing at it. And so know that, guys. I don't want you to think that all the pricing is all secure and within a chart. Sometimes I am just winging it. And once you get the client that says, okay, great, that sounds, when can you have it by then? That gives you the confidence to just continue on the negotiation battle. So always, always know that you are worth money. Please do not negotiate a low rate because you feel that you're new or that you feel that you don't have the experience because you have invested in your business and therefore you are worth the money. And so, yeah. Lau: And you said the magic word, invest. I was thinking there's a fear of investment. Anne: Mm. Oh gosh, yes. Yes. Lau: I'm terrified. Not me, really. I'm just saying I'm terrified of spending money on coaching or scared of spending too much money on my studio, or I'm afraid of how much a microphone will cost. And there's a lot of fear around, how much do I need to invest? And you have to think of it like, is it a cost or is it an investment? Is there an ROI in this? Am I really expecting money to come back? Or is this just a sinkhole of just like throwing money in where I don't know what's gonna happen at the end of the day? So having vision about my investment and my return, and really being very mindful that that's what I want to have happen. Does it mean it will happen? No. But what it means is you're focusing your brain and you're focusing your intentional energy on that execution. So it's more likely that you'll have a positive outcome than going, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid I don't have the money, and I'm afraid, I'm afraid. So that was one thing. You know, the other thing too that came to my mind, Anne, was success. Anne: Oh my gosh. Lau: A lot of people are afraid of success. Anne: Totally agree with you there. And I, and I wanna just say like for myself personally, right? There comes a time --you cannot grow -- I can attest to this, you cannot grow without investment and you cannot grow without a little bit of fear. And so the investment for me has come to the point where I am one person. I can only physically do so many things within the 24 hours of the day. Right? And so when I want to grow beyond that, then I have to think about outsourcing. I have to think about that as an investment in my business so that somebody can help free up some time for me so that I can do more voiceover jobs. I can coach, or I can do whatever it is that I wanna do to grow my business. And then I have to be at the point where I say, all right, I have this level of success that I'm at now. I feel comfortable. I'm able to support my household. I'm feeling good. And just when it hits that point, I say, all right, what's next? Right? How am I going to grow? How am I going to expand? And I'm always get to these levels, right? And I always try to address it. I'm gonna say on an average quarterly, right? Within the year, what's next for me? And I right now am at this point right now where, what's next? And so I know what has to come next for me in order to continue to grow. I think about it, I'm like, okay, I have to go through a series of steps to get there and it's gonna be a lot of work. And I just go, oh God, I had so much work, but I have to get through it. Once I get through it, I can then bump myself up another level. Right? So I just consider myself going up that stairway to more success. And so I know it's coming up the road for me ahead, and I know that it's going to be a lot of work, and it makes me tired right now. But I do know that if I don't do it, I will not grow, and I will not succeed further. And to me, I always love a good challenge, I think, I think the one thing for me, why I love entrepreneurship and why I love this business so much is that it allows us to just go as high as we absolutely can. There's no limit, right? Lau: Yeah. Anne: There's no limit. I mean, and, and that's the thing. You have to allow yourself to think big and to think, wow, there really isn't a limit to how much I can grow. And to me's a game. It becomes a game. You know, a challenge. And I love a good challenge. For me, that's how I get through it, instead of the fear, right? I consider it to be a challenge and a game. And it's a game that I play with myself. So I'm not in any sort of danger of necessarily hurting other people because it's me. It's a game I play against myself. I mean, that's out of myself and working myself to craziness. But that's my whole goal, is to not have to work so much. And so that is going to help me to grow. Lau: Right. And who's keeping score? I mean, at the end of the day, it's really about, you. You're keeping score. You're the one who's setting your goals, how you wanna achieve throughout the year and throughout your quarters. You're really the one who's paying attention to that because it's skin in the game. You have the most vested interest in the success of your business. And I always say, be careful what you wish for. You may get. Because if you get it, meaning if you get that job that you're auditioning for, you get that creative studio that you always wanted, well, now what's next? It doesn't mean you can lay back and chill and bask. It means like you have to push a little more. You have to move a little faster. You have to intensify your goals. In a sense that ceiling is just not even there. It doesn't even exist. Anne: Exactly. Exactly. It just keeps moving up. So. Lau: Keeps moving up, right? Keeps moving up. Anne: Yeah. Love it. Great conversation. So BOSSes out there, face those fears. Fear is good. I believe fear, it leads to growth. Education, knowledge is power. And know that you're not alone. Lau: I love that. You're never alone. Even when you're in your booth, you're never alone. Like who are you connecting to? You're always connected to someone who also has your vested interest in mind because they wanna have a successful product, they wanna have a successful process, and they want to have a relationship with you. So always consider the positive versus the negative, and that's gonna help you alleviate those fears along the way. Anne: Yeah. Well, great discussion. BOSSes. Fear, you can conquer. We have the faith in you. So I'd like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like a BOSS and conquer those fears. Find out more at ipDTL.com. And also from our other sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care, here's a chance for you to use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. All right, guys. BOSSes, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye. Lau: Bye. >> Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Nothing in this industry happens fast. You have to trust that things will happen when they're supposed to. In this episode, Anne & Lau share how trust can help you build your business and a strong, reliable network. Don't sabotage relationships before they even begin—if someone shows interest in working with you, take their word at face value and don't let fear of failure keep them at arm's length! Give yourself permission to learn and make mistakes along the way so that you can grow as an artist and a person. We all want our business to succeed, but sometimes things don't go as planned. That's ok! Negative experiences should teach you something and give you an opportunity for growth. Bosses, don’t worry. You can trust Anne & Lau to lead you in the right direction.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast and the Business Superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I have with me Lau Lapides. Woo! Lau: Hey everyone. Good to see you, Anne. Anne: Special guest, co-host. Oh my gosh, Lau, I have had the best time having you as co-host. Lau: I love it. I think you and I are like sisters from another mother. I love it. I think we got so much to talk about. So much to say. We have a great rapport. Anne: We do. We do. And you know what? I really have a lot of trust in you, and that is something that I feel, when people are starting off in the industry, they need to find someone to trust, a tribe, a coach, a mentor, in order to help them get through the process. And I think trust is a huge ask for the talent, but I think it's absolutely necessary for success. Lau: It is. I mean, you have to trust someone at some point in order to further your education and further your career. And really be able to also kind of ignite personalized relationships where you're forecasting to people, the right people, well-selected people, that you're gonna share thoughts that are authentic. You're gonna be helpful in their journey. You're gonna share things that are uncomfortable. I mean, that's really how we gain trust. And it doesn't happen overnight. It really is time. It takes time to gather trust. Anne: Yeah. And I think a big factor in trust is obviously the fear that seems to be very prevalent when people start off in this industry. The fear that they're not good enough, they're not gonna be successful. And I think it leads them to just not trust in themselves, not trust in other people they might have worked with or people on the internet. And I understand that in a lot of ways where you've gotta be careful, but I feel as though if you have a member of the tribe, you've got to just invest in that trust, to hope that they're guiding you in the right direction. Now, that is not to say that you should not educate yourself, right, so that you know who you can trust. Right? And kind of feel your way around that. And if you do not trust, I feel that it's going to inhibit you from being successful in the industry, because otherwise you're not gonna have someone that's gonna help build you back up or build your confidence up when you're feeling low, when maybe you're not getting the jobs that you're expecting. And I think a lot of times people make a big investment, let's say, in coaching or in a demo, or workshops, whatever they do. And immediately if they don't get a job, because they're not familiar enough with the industry, they immediately question themselves. They question the capabilities for anything and immediately feel like they need to get a return on their investment in the next week. Which I wish I had gotten a return on my investment in the following week after I did my training. But this is a process. And not only do you have to trust in yourself, you've gotta trust in the process. And that means researching coaches, researching talent out there in the industry that seem to have had some level of success. Reading -- I'm all about reading, reading, reading -- reading books, joining web forums, and finding out who are the respected people in the industry. And doing that education first. I mean, I know in the beginning when you first start coaching and creating a demo, and there's lots of people that talk about, oh, there's scammers out there that are gonna take all your money and create a demo, and then it's not gonna be a good demo, or it's not gonna be a professional demo. And I think that a lot of people are scared about that. But I also think that you can take the matters into your own hands. And again, research, research, research, research, join groups, read books, find the people that are well respected in the industry. Lau: Absolutely. I do think there's a level of trust that you have to have in yourself that is a leap of faith. Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Lau: Okay. So let's say you're starting out, Let's say you're doing your research, you're reading, you're in the industry mags, and you know what's going on with conferences and you know what the best practices are, so to speak. But you need time to have that reveal itself, right? What we see and what we read and what we know and what we hear isn't always our truth through our own experiences. So you have to trust that you are smart enough, you're motivated and thoughtful enough. You're focused enough that you're gonna start to put your trust, engage who that tribe is as you put it together, and not get upset when you put your trust into something or someone and it doesn't work out, because that is called experience. And experience is not always happy and fun and positive. Sometimes it's making a mistake. And we have to learn from those mistakes. We have to work through those and not make those again and say, wow, I'm glad I made that mistake, because now I know it doesn't work and what I shouldn't be trusting in the industry, and really move through it. But if we never give our trust anything, if we're never 100% all in and know that we've got skin in the game, then we never really tested our theories, our methodologies, and our teachings. We never really tested it because we weren't willing to give it over 100% to see what great things can come of it. Now, I don't know about you, but like you're super successful. I'm successful. A big part of that success is testing, hit or miss experimentation. And what happened to the joy of trying things, of experimenting? Anne: Absolutely. Lau: It's like so many people need to have this guarantee from the start. What I'll save. Anne: The safety net. It's like the trophy. They need the trophy. Right? They need the trophy right away. And the thing of it is, is, and Lau, you and I have spoken about this, my overnight success took me many, many, many years. Right? And if you're just getting into the industry and you're upset because you're not booking a week after you submitted your demo or started auditioning, trust in the process, give it time. When I talk with my students, I try to tell them that it is not an overnight process, that it does take time. But I still feel as though some people just have to live that or experience that. There's a lot of people who never get past the making a demo stage, because I believe they do not trust in the process. They don't give themselves enough of a chance to grow and to grow into the industry and start to see that success, which is not gonna happen tomorrow. I'm sorry, you're not gonna get that prize gig tomorrow. And it's okay. It is okay. You just need to again, have trust, have faith in yourself. I'll tell you what, Lau, I am a big believer, and anybody's listening to this podcast knows that I trust my gut. I live my life by my gut. And I run my business by my gut too, believe it or not. If it doesn't feel right, then I'm taking more steps to educating myself on to maybe why it doesn't feel right or what I might do to change it. As you mentioned before, just kind of take those little steps and change direction if you need to. Lau: That's right. That's exactly right. And just be okay with that. Be okay with not knowing. Be okay with sometimes trusting the wrong person or the wrong process or whatever, because that's how we grow, that's how we learn, that's how we shape it up. The problem comes in where you trust something, it doesn't work your way, and then you keep trusting it, and you keep trusting it. And you never learn from that pro -- You don't redirect and pivot. Anne: Or -- yeah, exactly. You don't redirect or pivot or you simply let it scare you away. Right? Because you've been burned once. Lau: Yeah, or shut you down. Anne: I will have students that have come to me that have not had positive experiences with coaches or their demo production or whatever it might be, and it will make them very shy and very wary to continue moving on. And I always say, use those experiences, like it's okay, like you said, it's okay to maybe the person that you thought you trusted didn't turn out to be what you thought. Right? It's okay, learn from it. Turn that into a positive experience and learn from that and grow from that. And so I'm always trying to tell people don't beat yourself up over it. I mean, honestly now you know. And so boom, that was a wonderful lesson. I'm always trying to learn lessons from things that didn't go quite right or what people might perceive to be failures. And I don't even like to think of the word failure. I just say, oh, okay, well that didn't work out. So what can I learn from that's, and how can I grow from that? And that will turn most of those experiences into a positive one for me so that I can continue to grow and progress forward. Lau: That's right. And be smart about how you trust. It's not about just, I trust this. I'm putting my trust in this. It's like, how do I trust? That famous presidential, you know, trust, but verify. Verify. Meaning do the due diligence, do the homework, make sure as best as you can, is this person who they say they really are? Is this process what it really represents? Is there testimonial? Are there accolades? Are there honors that I should be aware of that build the ethos, build the credibility so I can trust even more? I wanna do some verification. It doesn't mean that I'm putting them in the hot seat under a light bulb, duct taping them to a chair and grilling them. It just -- right? You and I've both been through that a lot. Right? Anne: Exactly. Lau: You know, like a whole FBI scene. It's not that, but there is an intelligence in saying, let me do some background check. Let me just Google, like everyone has Google. Why can't you just go on Google and see, is this person have bad reviews or seem dangerous or I don't know. But the point is, do that little bit of homework to verify, to make you feel that much more comfortable in who you're starting to put your trust into. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. And if you cannot take that little tiny leap of faith and then see where that goes, right, and grow from it, you're gonna be stagnant and you're gonna sit there with demo in hand and never really progress any further. Lau: That's right. Anne: But I will say over and over again, and you as -- Lau, with an agency in, in casting for so long, you must know how long it can take when somebody's first getting out into the industry to actually start being consistent in booking jobs. And even when you are consistent in booking jobs, every one of us has a time where there might be a lull in our business and really that is the place when you feel, oh my gosh, why am I not getting any work? I must suck. You know what I mean? Or that's it. I've gotta get out of the industry and they panic. Right? So many people panic and just trust the process. Again, find those people that you do trust that can help you through those times where you are starting to mentally -- I think the mental panic here can really be something that inhibits successful voiceover actors. And sometimes they'll say, well, alright, that's cool because more work for me. Lau: Yeah. . Absolutely. There's an ebb and flow to everything. You know? There's ebbs and flows, highs and lows to every single business out there. It's not possible to be super successful in making tons of money every single day or getting jobs every single day. That would be an unrealistic expectation. Anne: Lau, let me stop you right there. I love that you brought that up lot. Do you think that the majority of talent book something every single day? Lau: , I don't know anyone that books something every single day. Anne: Yeah. Lau: I just don't know anyone. And I know a lot of really busy VO talent that are recording all the time, but are they booking every single day? No, they're not. Anne: Yeah. Lau: They're editing, they're catching up, they're marketing, they're doing retakes, they're visiting their mom and dad, you know, but they're not booking every single day. That would be -- Anne: Right? Lau: I won't say impossible, but I'll say it's highly improbable. Anne: Even people that are working every day, let's say you're, you know, in the promo genre or that kind of thing, where they say there's the golden handcuffs. Right? You are probably working, right, that same network job that just comes in every single day. I'm on a lot of telephone rosters, so I work every single day doing telephony, but it's because I'm on a roster that I expect that work, and I know that work's coming. Lau: That's right. Anne: But acquiring new work and getting new clients every single day, I agree with you. I don't know many people -- I think it's highly unlikely. And so that's one, I think misconception that people new to this industry might have. Like, oh, well, okay, I need to make so much. I remember constructing it like this, I would like to make so much money per month. Right? $10,000 a month. So what would it take to make $10,000 a month? Right? For 12 months, that's your six figures salary. So what will it take to book $10,000 a month? Well, if I could book 10 corporate jobs in the month, right, and do that consistently, then yeah, I'll have no problem. Now that may or may not happen for a while. Right? That could happen very sporadically. You could get a few corporate jobs. You could get 10 jobs, 20 jobs in one month, but maybe the following month you may get one. And so because of that difference, right, in terms of consistency, that is where I think most people start to panic and lose their trust in the process of what this industry is all about. And again, it's kind of life as a freelancer, I like to say entrepreneur, right? But freelancer is the same thing. Right? So we don't know where our next job is coming from. And that really has to be where your trust in the process lies, or trust in a mentor, trust in your people that you talk to in your accountability group. Trust that the process will work out and that it will be okay. Lau: And the truth is, we don't see what's happening in the background of anyone's world. So those folks that you're perceiving are booking every day have tons of work in the pipeline. So they're lining up the pipeline of work like last year, like five years ago. Like it's not the booking of today that they're reaching out today; it's the reach out oftentimes from months, if not years ago, that are just landing through and coming through on their pipeline. So in essence, they've done the footwork -- Anne: They've planted the seeds. Lau: -- done the preliminary work, they planted those seeds to keep that pipeline full so that it looks to the outside world like they're booking every day. And you know, the other thing I want to say too, Anne, was that the trust of everything -- when I think about how many of our systems in our world are on trust systems, like even just going into a restaurant, you're ordering food and drink and all this stuff, and they are trusting you that you have money to pay for that. They're giving you the product first and saying, devour this, you're never gonna give this back to us. We know it and we're gonna trust that you're gonna pay for that. Right? So we live in this trust system where we're providing a product, we're providing a service and we haven't been paid for anything. We're just trusting that if I have an agent, they're gonna work for me to get that money. If I don't, I'm gonna work with that client, and I'm gonna have that professional faith that they're gonna send me a check. Anne: And you have to have faith, yes, that your agent's gonna be doing that work for you. And let's say if you did not book through an agent, right -- I negotiate a lot of work myself -- I actually will have stated in my quote, prepayment is preferred, especially if they're a new client, an electronic payment, by the way. But if I am working with a big client and I issue an invoice, I am trusting that they're going to pay me within the the 30, 60, sometimes 90 days. Lau: That's right. Anne: And that is a trust in the process. Lau: That's right. And it's scary. Anne: Yeah. Lau: It's really scary because once in a while it doesn't happen. Anne: Yep. Lau: Once in a while we get burned. And I'm just here to tell you guys, if you get nothing out of this podcast, just know that in your lifetime there will be times that you will get burned, and not to let that jade or make it simple (?) or scare you. You just know that sometimes you run into a bad situation. And what do you learn from that? What did you take away from that? Anne: Exactly. Lau: What do you know now? Rather than getting angry and bitter, I'm gonna get better from that situation. Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. Lau: But most situations are just not gonna be that. They're just not. They're gonna be trustworthy. Anne: And I think there's just the trust in so many things that you don't even think about. Right? I had trust in the technology, Lau, on that last podcast that it was gonna record us and it didn't. But that's okay. I'm not bitter. I am not bitter. We learned from that, didn't we? Right? So now we know what to do. Yeah. Now we know what to do. You know, it happens all the time. So I know that just seemed like a silly little example, but it was a true example of us turning that into a learning lesson. And I'm actually grateful that it happened because now I know what to do to alleviate it from happening again. And I'm grateful for that. Lau: And watch this, Anne. I'm actually gonna demo what the listener can do when they're in a situation where they're ethos -- I love using the word ethos. It's like a character building trust that we build as people and as professionals. When they feel it lowering, it's going down just a little bit. Because something wrong happens, something bad happened. So in the moment you could make a decision by saying something, and I'm really gonna say this to Anne, but demo it in front of the listening audience. I'm gonna say, Anne, that happened because that was my fault on our side. We didn't realize we weren't going through Chrome as we typically do. We somehow lost our Chrome app, and we just logged right into the link without remembering that we have to go through Chrome to record on Riverside. So what does that cause? There's a cause and effect to that whole trust system. Anne now has to go to her engineer and pay them a little extra to fix that and save that problem. So how do we restore trust? Anne: There you go. Lau: Because the morality, the morality is I am going to offer to pay that engineer to do that because that shouldn't be on you. Because that was on our end. That was our fault. It wasn't intentional; it was just a mistake. But see, this is how you wanna treat your peeps, your friends, your colleagues, your fellows. Whether they accept it, that's up to them. But to have the due diligence that saying, oh, too bad, I made a mistake. Go figure it out. It's like, well no, let me sort of rectify that. Let me see if I can offer something to make that better, to repair that. Is it life or death? Not life or death, but in the course of your relationships, attention to detail is really, really important. And when things go wrong and you make a mistake, 'cause we're just human beings, try to rectify it. Try to fix it, try to offer. Anne: Well, that's a wonderful example. And I like that. And I'll see you that offer because I appreciate the offer. Right? Our relationship, I value our relationship and I appreciate that offer. But I have already put that into my learning bin, right, where I've learned where I need to make sure that my guests on the podcast need to make sure they're going through Chrome in order to record the video and the audio. So that's great. So I politely decline and say thank you for the offer. But yeah, it's, it's a thing. And so I feel good about it. And so I want BOSSes who are just getting out into the industry and feeling scared or having expectations that may or may not correspond with what's actually happening to understand that, number one, just put that trust in it. If it doesn't turn out the way you expect, make sure that you think about what it is that you can do to learn from that. Lau: Absolutely. There's a learning curve in everything. Even if it's highly uncomfortable, something really bad occurs, whatever, just take the learning lesson and walk away and say, good. Now I'm gonna take this into my future relationships. I'm gonna know who I can work with and who's not appropriate to work with. And just move on from it. And that will ensure your level of trust in the next person. In other words, you won't be carrying your garbage, you won't be carry your trash from what went wrong here into the future. Anne, I think we're doing therapy. I think this is gonna save a lot of marriages to be honest with you. Right? 'Cause you wanna carry your last boyfriend's garbage into the new boyfriend's garbage. Anne: That's right. That's right. Lau: Yeah? You wanna -- Anne: That's right. Lau: -- have a clear slate. That person, that client if you will, or that colleague, they have a right to earn your trust fully. It's not fair to them to place all the stuff -- because you were telling me earlier that you had a client that was having some trust issues about your services and this and that. And I'm thinking, oh, this reminds me so much of people who come in, you don't know where they're coming in from, and they just came in from all these bad relationships and experiences and they're putting it right onto you. Anne: Yep. Yep. Exactly. Lau: How do you handle that, Anne, when that happens? Anne: That's a great question. There's only so much -- I like to say, well, you know what, it's their movie, right? And so I can't let that affect me in any kind of a way or inhibit my growth. And so I will just say, well, it's their movie. They're directing it and I can help as much as I can. Just reinforce that things do not necessarily happen a day after you start in this industry and that you need to trust in the process. And other than that, other than giving that advice, I don't know of much else that I can do except to say, you know what? I'm here if you need me in the future, that's absolutely fine. I'm happy to help you through that. But I feel like if you want help and then you step back 'cause you got scared, right, then there's no other way I can really help you anymore at that point. It's gotta be your decision. Lau: That's right. And maybe that's the time, Anne, when you, and I would say to that client, you know, it's okay if this is not a good fit for you, if you need to go somewhere else. Anne: Yep. Absolutely. Lau: Right? IE you should go somewhere else. Anne: Right. Lau: To work with someone that perhaps you have more trust in or whatever -- Anne: Or not. Lau: It's okay to give them permission to go. Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Lau: Like not every client's a good client. Not every contract's a good contract. Not every job should be kept. Anne: Absolutely. And I think understanding and trusting in that gut feeling or that process again can help you to clear your mind. I like to have all positivity in my business and in my transactions and negotiations and so that will help me to clear that. Lau: Absolutely. I got one more from the road. Anne: Okay. Lau: And the one I just thought of in terms of like fear and trust, 'cause they're entwined, they're they're entangled together is like the fear of not being able to trust because it's going to go bad. So in other words, it's like the Murphy's Law thing. Like I'm projecting it's not gonna go well, I'm projecting problems will happen. Manifesting. Projecting. And then it does. And then it inevitably does because you're sabotaging it. Anne: And that's the energy that you are focusing on. Absolutely. Lau: Yeah. 'Cause you're not wanting to trust or not capable of it yet or whatever. So you're gonna give it a purpose and a justification for why you can't trust it. Be careful of that. Self-sabotage kills a lot of relationships. Anne: Absolutely. Wow. Well guys, BOSSes out there, learn to trust. Take those bitty, bitty steps. Trust and learn. That's the moral I have of the story today. . Lau: Learning is good. Anne: All right. All right. So BOSSes, I'm gonna give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Also, if you want to make a big impact and have a very simple mission, you can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. All right, guys. BOSSes, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye. Lau: Bye. >> Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Bosses, it’s callback time! After a set of fiercely talented auditions last week, Anne & Lau narrowed it down to the 5 talents they felt had something special. Manny, Aria, Josh, Nicole, and Kelly are back and ready to read. After being thrown custom directions from your hosts, these voice actors rose to the occasion, making the final decision a difficult one. Although there can only be one winner, every experience in front of an agent, producer, and casting director is valuable. You never know what kind of impression you’ll leave on them, so give it your all. The final decision came down to matching Anne & Lau’s preferences with the client’s needs, but you’ll have to tune in to find out who that is…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Welcome everyone to the VO BOSS podcast and the Business Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm excited to bring my special guest co-host Lau Lapides to the program. Hey Lau.
Lau: Hey Anne. Glad to be here.
Anne: Lau, we had an amazing live audition podcast. I am so excited for how that turned out.
Lau: Oh my gosh, I can't wait to see it. And oh, what a, what a great time that was. Yeah, great group.
Anne: And, and our appreciation, you guys, BOSSes out there, if you've not heard it, go, make sure that you check it out. It was our first ever live audition podcast where we had, uh, gosh, 12 people live auditioning for, uh, a particular for Expedia and, uh, with feedback and everything. And today, this episode is all about the live audition callback. So we had five people calling back, and we are going to have them come back for another round of reads, and Lau and I will pick the winner. So get ready, BOSSes.
And so without further ado, hopefully people are there in the audience, uh, in the chat. Um, we have the roster, which will be Nicole Fikes, Aria Lapides, Manny Cabo, Josh Wells, uh, and Kelly White. Okay. So if you guys are ready, the first one up to audition for us again is Nicole. And Nicole, we are asking you to do the same script, which is the script for Expedia, starting with, uh, our colors. And, uh, we would like you to give us your unique second take. Lau, any particular hints, casting directions, specs?
Lau: Uh, I would love to see the most coziest warmest, most relaxed read you can do, Nicole.
Nicole: Coziest. Warmest, most relaxed. Okay. All right. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. Very nice.
Lau: All right.
Nicole: Thank you.
Anne: Yeah. I'm gonna offer one little bit of redirection. Um, can I hear the end? Um, give me a little more, I, I'm gonna say a little more punch on in even more places, in more places. Um, and, and I really wanna hear finding the colors, come, bring that home to me. Um, a little bit of a, of a smile. More of a smile at the end, 'cause you got a great deal.
Nicole: Yeah. Okay. And so still warm and fuzzy but just kind of a little bit more emphasis on the colors and even more places kind of line?
Anne: Yeah. And you can just pick it up at so we can go find our colors. So you don't need to do the whole thing. Yeah.
Nicole: Okay. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. All right.
Lau: Super nice. Nicely done. Thank you, Nicole.
Nicole: Thanks.
Lau: Love it.
Anne: Now, in a real audition, Lau, how -- now in terms of if people are late or they're not connecting or, you know, there's -- I'm sure there's a grace period, I mean, everybody's human. So if there are tech issues or if somebody didn't hear that they're being called back at the precise time, how much time typically would you say casting directors will wait?
Lau: Um, you know, I don't know. It's not like -- I don't think it's a hard and fast rule. I think it depends on the relationship they have with whoever's sending them in, whoever's submitting them, and if they know the talent themselves. The rule of thumb, generally speaking, is like, the less they know you and then, and the less rapport they have, the less they're gonna have patience for you and the less they're gonna wait. But here's the interesting thing, and I, I wanna share this with the folks in the background, 'cause again, they're not seeing any of the tech stuff that's going on. I just received a text right now from Aria who said, hey, could you please give me a second? I need to reset it and reboot. I would say in general, people don't like waiting, so they'll skip to the next person. And you know, as a courtesy, they will come back to you most of the time because they wanna find a good person. They don't wanna --
Anne: And that's, and that's fine. And I will look, I'll make the call here if Manny is available. Uh, you know, if Aria can't get back, Okay. Um, we can certainly take Manny and wait, you know, for later to, to get Aria on, which is fine with me.
Lau: That's how, that's how it would be because if we were in a paid studio space by the hour.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Lau: We don't wait, wait for anyone. We just go on to the next person.
Anne: Right. Uh, because yeah, this studio's expensive, darn it. .
Lau: And you know, as, as we're, as we're saying this, the talent is emailing me because I have a direct rapport with the talent and she's saying, could you please have someone else go while I'm doing the tech setup?
Anne: There you go.
Lau: So I don't hold you up? See, that's exactly pro stuff.
Anne: Perfect. All right, Manny, welcome back. So we're looking for your unique second read.
Manny: My unique second read.
Anne: You were super warm the first time.
Manny: Okay.
Anne: So let's, uh, let's hear something different.
Manny: Okay. Let's do something fun.
Anne: Okay.
Manny: here we go. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. Lau, any redirection there?
Lau: I have a quick redirect just because I, I'm getting to know Manny and loving your sound. Now I would love to hear you deliver this as a standup comedian. .
Manny: Standup comedian. All right, that sounds good. That's fun. Here we go. Our colors have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you could save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel. .
Anne: Nicely done.
Lau: So good.
Anne: Yeah,
Lau: So good.
Anne: Nicely done for, for doing that without a real joke in the script. So that was good. You channeled. And what I liked about that is that you channeled, uh, the comedic into the read even though there was nothing comedic necessarily in the script. So yeah, nicely done. Thank you.
Manny: Mom, I'm an artist. I'm doing artist stuff, Mom, come on. .
Anne: See? There you go.
Manny: Killing me. Thanks, ladies.
Anne: Thank you, Manny.
Anne: And, and even that little like, improv bit at the end there, nicely done.
Lau: So good, so good.
Anne: That's a way to leave a nice, uh, remembrance, you know, in my brain. So love that.
Lau: Anne, could I make a quick point that I meant to say before, but I didn't say before? Um, I wanted to make the point to everyone who's coming in, but also anyone who's listening in that even though this is a mock audition under educational umbrella, you are actually auditioning every single time you're in front of an agent, a producer, casting, or even coaches. And it's because we're all so connected to work all the time.
So case in point, I'm already thinking of work for Manny right now. I'm already thinking of potential representation for him right now because it doesn't matter that it's a, a podcast or a class or a course or a coaching. What matters is we're actually having the real connection and the real stuff. So never like mark through like a dancer might mark -- do it full out 'cause whoever you're with, may be the next person to help you work.
Anne: You've planted the seed, right?
Lau: Yes. Yeah.
Anne: You've planted the seed, so, excellent. Yes. Aria, so wonderful to have you here. We are ready for you. Now we, so I know last time we had thrown that wrench in the, in the loop there for you.
Aria: Hey, that's okay.
Anne: A completely new script.
Aria: Yeah. I enjoy that.
Anne: And so and so now because you, you know, were really a cold read there --
Aria: Yeah.
Anne: Let's give us the most to spec read, warm, non-announcery, not deliver -- uh, you know, nothing, nothing performy, and tell us that story. Lau, any additional direction?
Lau: Um, yes. I would like you to do two things at once. I'd like you to care immensely about what you're talking about. And I also want you to not give a shit about it at all. . There you go.
Aria: . Oh, you sort of a birch tree.
Anne: That's exactly what I was looking for too, Lau, perfect.
Aria: I love that. I love that. That's like my whole thing, right? I care so deeply, but I also don't care at all. Okay. Our colors. See, they have a way of finding us wherever they are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% adding a hotel or flight, so we can find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Bravo. Nicely done. Uh, way to take direction. I heard both care and not care in there at the same time.
Aria: I'm good at that.
Anne: Really nicely done now.
Aria: Thank you.
Anne: . That was the, Okay, so now that you can care and not care, uh, let's just give us uh, something completely different. A wild take from you. One more. Yeah, I got you. A wild take from you.
Aria: Okay.
Lau: I loved it. And also one more thing, be very careful of, I know you're not in a soundproof space right now. Be very careful of excess noise 'cause you actually clapped at the end. You did something to make noise. So just be careful of, you know, hitting something or any excess noise.
Aria: Be careful of using your body, hitting something, excess noise. Got you. Echo. Our colors. They have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with the Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% adding a hotel and a flight, and even more places, you know, knowing you got a great deal. Expedia, ah, made to travel.
Anne: Perfect. Let's hear that again. You missed a line.
Aria: Yeah. Okay. Okay. So let's hear that again.
Aria: Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever they are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing that we have a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. Lau?
Lau: Yeah. I wanna make a comment about this. And again, it's like that oxymoron kind of thing. On one hand I love that choice and I loved how you, how quickly you did it. You didn't care. You just, you just, it was that improv in you. You just did it. You went 100% and I loved that. And actually you had a sort of European amorphous kind of non-real, real thing going on, which I like.
Aria: Yeah.
Lau: But just from an educational perspective for everyone, you wouldn't be able to do it for the most part, right? Because we are so much about particular appropriation that that authentic sound would be from somewhere and we would have to do the casting.
Aria: And that's so funny that you say that 'cause I was actually originally gonna do like a Valley girl. 'Cause I was like, I feel like that would be a little bit more appropriate, at least for my age group than.
Lau: No, but I think your choice was really right on in terms of the actor spirit.
Anne: I think so too, in terms of making it more international.
Lau: It was cool.
Anne: And especially for the subject, but you're absolutely right, Lau. That's one thing that I was going to say, that maybe, you know unless you knew specifically that there was something in the specs that they were looking, and that it wasn't critical that it was, you know, from a, you know, a native speaker. Um, but I like the actor party knew that that gave that the shot for sure.
Aria: Yeah. 'Cause you guys are so right, like, especially these days, like they want the authentic thing. Like I've -- even in acting, they're like, if you aren't this specific thing, I'm sorry, you can't play the role. And I'm like, it's okay, it's okay.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: So that, so I loved it, but I wouldn't be able to cast it. Right. Just like, you know.
Aria: I just got that noted. Yeah. I appreciate it. All right. Awesome, guys, thank you.
Lau: Thank you.
Anne: Thank you. All right. That was fun. Yeah, absolutely. Um, Josh. Hi Josh.
Josh: Hi. How's it going?
Anne: Fantastic. Thank you.
Josh: Cool.
Anne: Um, Lau, any, uh, direction that you wanna give before he reads?
Lau: Yeah, sure. Sure. Josh, I love what you're doing. Just give me a little bit more professor that is mixed with surfboard. So let's say he's like a, a UC, you know, LA professor that goes surfing during his lunch break.
Josh: Sure. Dig it. Okay. Cool. All right. Uh, Josh Wells.
Lau: I think you're a little low too. Is that me?
Josh: Am I little low?
Lau: I feel like your volume --
Josh: Well, I'm, I'm away from the mic, but how about here? Is this better?
Lau: That's better.
Josh: Okay, cool. Cool. All right. Excellent. Uh, Josh Wells, non-union. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Lau: So I, I I mean, I felt like you're moving there, you're not there yet. You're sort of holding on. There's a held feeling to it. Like, I would want you to let it go. Let it go. Let it move forward. Ride the wave. Ride the wave. And be careful of the pausing too much. It has an unnatural feel to it.
Josh: Dig it.
Lau: So, you know what I'm saying?
Anne: Yeah. I was gonna say, I, I missed the surfer, kind of channeling of the surfer. I wanted to, I felt like I needed a little more, more relaxed. Um, and then also I, I, I just, I have a personal issue with the word a because in a conversation it's usually you're adding a hotel and not A hotel. But that's, you know, that's just my ears here.
Josh: Um, I've got the note before, I'll --
Anne: Yeah. So yeah, if you can give me a little more of the relaxed, you know, kind of like mm, you know, the half smile. Um, I'd like to hear that again.
Josh: Okay. You got it. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. I liked your ending. I like the different end on the tag there.
Josh: Thank you. I appreciate it.
Lau: Thanks Josh. You have a great cat that ate the canary sound. You had that really sort of wise cracking wise guy sound, which I really like a lot. I'd wanna play with that even more.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: And I would say, I would say for the, I still, you know, I'm in California, so it's the surfer, you know, I guess it's that me, I felt like you were almost leaning towards a little more like, uh, you know, Midwest sort of, Sam Elliott kind of relaxed. So work on the surfer. I think you've got it in you, for sure.
Josh: Okay. Thank you. Appreciate that note.
Anne: Yeah. Nice. I, I really like your tone. Thank you.
Josh: Awesome. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Anne: Okay. Kelly White.
Kelly: Hello, hello.
Anne: Hi, Kelly.
Lau: Hey Kelly.
Kelly: Hey, how are you?
Anne: Nice to see you back.
Kelly: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. Appreciate it.
Anne: Awesome. So, uh, Lau, do you have any, any specific direction you'd like?
Lau: Yeah, so Kelly, keep in mind that we're going for a slightly younger demographic. So as we love the richness and texture and heaviness of your sound, we really feel like you might be able to go in that direction of the 30s to even early 40s sound of like something that is the fast moving person, multitasking person, young, professional person raising young children. I know you know nothing about that. I'm joking 'cause I know Kelly well. Kelly has small, young children, so target that on a busy day.
Kelly: Okay.
Anne: But remember that your colors, I, I wanna feel the, I wanna feel the colors, uh, being, bringing you home.
Kelly: Okay. Our colors, they have a way of binding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Lau: Can I ask a question? If this is a busy mom, a young busy mom, what does colors mean to you? To her? What does that actually mean literally?
Kelly: Um, just different aspects of probably her life. Just different things that she's doing, different things she has going on.
Lau: Yeah. And the idea that she also wants to escape from it.
Kelly: Gotcha.
Anne: And find.
Lau: And the colors of the ocean. The colors of the mountains, the greenery, the islands, the --
Anne: And find herself in more places than just her home.
Kelly: Got it. That's right.
Lau: Explore her, her inner world. Right? Her fantasy. Welcome to Fantasy Is -- give me more Fantasy Island, I think.
Kelly: Got it. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Nice. I'd like to have -- I really like the way you slowed that down and, and emphasize the colors and you brought that home. Um, and I think knowing we've got a great -- knowing we got a great deal. I'd like to hear just that last part again so we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. That's like your, that's like your mom, like that's your mom's secret. Like you just got a deal, you just had a coupon, and you know what, you're excited about it. And so you're sharing that with us. Okay? And, uh, let's just, just hear that one more, one more time please.
Kelly: Okay. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Nice. Can I ask for one more? Can I ask for an alternate on just, just the, so we can find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal -- can I get an ABC read of that? That would be three different ways.
Kelly: Okay. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. So we can go find our colors in even more places knowing we got a great deal. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal.
Anne: Thank you, Kelly.
Kelly: You're welcome. Thank you so much.
Anne: Nicely done.
Kelly: Thank you.
Lau: Thank you hun. Appreciate it.
Kelly: All right.
Lau: All right. That's everyone. Yeah?
Anne: That is everyone. Wow. You guys all did an amazing job. This is gonna be tough.
Lau: Actually, I think it's gonna be easier than we think only because we kind of get and know what that client wants. And that's gonna help us deduce down who we need to be picking along who we want to be picking. So what, what, what are your top thoughts on top, top people? Who are your top, top two?
Anne: Uh, my top people I am going to say, uh, is going to be Manny, Aria and Kelly .
Lau: Okay. And my top people are Manny and Nicole. Okay. So we've got Manny in common there, which is a strong choice. And, and what's even stronger about Manny is, and it's genderless. Like they don't care what gender, that's fine. But they want diversity talent. And Manny is, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, Manny, I believe Latina and is bilingual and so can offer a Spanish read of this. So there's a, there's a super compelling reason why he may book this.
Anne: And, and, and let's also talk about, you know, as we, as we mentioned before with our feedback, the fact that he was able to, uh, you know, take good direction, that's so, so very important, right, change up his read, which he did, uh, when asked. Also when leaving, when we asked him for the comedic read and I said, nice job, even though there's no comedic in there, he was actually able to leave us without sounding like too, like, you know, trying too desperate or trying to impress us. He did a line that was comedic that impressed me. And so I really liked the nuance of that and for me, that stood out and made him very memorable.
Lau: Yeah. I mean, when he did that last mom thing, and I was like, wow, this guy is like really ready. He is ready Freddy. He is, There's no fooling around with Manny. Like, he's a super pro. And again, I'm saying this like, I don't know Manny at all. He was referred over to me last night for, uh, a VO Spanish audition that we got in from Miami. Unfortunately, he did not make that call because it was a time sensitive. So I said, and this happens all the time, I said, hey, I would love for you to come on our podcast. We're doing mock auditions today. He came on today in good spirit that he missed the actual audition, but not, not any fault of his. He just didn't, you know, he came in late and then came in today, and now I'm thinking, how can I work with Manny?
Anne: Sure, sure. Absolutely.
Lau: See, that's the way life is. So, Okay. So he's my top choice then.
Anne: Yeah. He's my top choice too. And, and I'm gonna say, you know, my other picks, you know, again, I had for demographic, uh, you know, Aria, I love the voice, I love the demographic. I think that she's, she's, uh, great with that. She did give a complete different read um, you know, on either one. I liked her acting instincts there. Um, and so again, that sometimes, guys, it, it, it can turn out to be like just these tiny little things that can separate, you know, who we decide and not. And Kelly I liked because we asked her to do a lot there at the end too, and she came through with her three different reads, which I liked, uh, a whole lot. Uh, in terms of demographic too, I thought that she was appropriate. Um, I wanted, I wanted a little younger sound though that.
Lau: I did too. Wonderful. I felt -- that felt just a little square, a little boxy for me. Like I, it had, again, she's got a good corporate feel. She's got a good businessy feel. Um, I wanted a-- I wanted more, it was a very staccato type of reads. I wanted more flowy-ness to it. I wanted more, more hangout energy. And also Aria was terrific, no question. I felt she's got age and room to grow. I thought she was a little too young for this one somehow.
Anne: Okay. No, I would totally agree with you on that.
Lau: But again, we're splitting hairs, you know? We're like going, okay, we're looking at union and non-union status, we're looking at diversity, we're looking at age, we're looking at all these different factors that separate people when really all of these people could be booked on this.
Anne: Yeah. And just, you know, other words, you know, like for Nicole, Nicole really has that warm read down. I'll tell you. She really does. You know, I don't wanna leave this without feedback for all of, all of you. Um, because Nicole, you have that, that warm read. And that's something I think when you've got it, you know, go for it. When there are auditions that call for that warmth, go for them, because that seems to be a signature style for you. And then I'll, I'll say a little bit about let's see, who else was it that -- Josh. Right?
Lau: And can I just say about Nicole before you leave that? See, okay. Again, listeners, you don't know what's in our head and how it's shifting so fast. Nicole was actually my first pick for this. But the, but the age, the diversity, diversity factor came in and this factor and that. See, and it shifted the game. It has nothing to do with, can Nicole do this job? Is she great and right for it? Of course she is. But there were other factors.
Anne: I think everyone, every one of you could have done this job, No question. Um, and now we just talk about different factors in terms of demographic. So keep that in mind, guys, when you, when you let things get you down and you think that, oh, they didn't pick me, um, it has a lot to do with things other than just your voice or your performance. And also it could be like, well, I've worked with, uh, you know, I've worked with Manny before, and I just know he's gonna come through and give us whatever we want. Or, you know, I've worked with Nicole before, and you know, or my cousin knows Nicole and, and, and really recommends her or whatever it is, guys, don't let the fact that you don't get the gig, you know, you know, gets you down because there's so many things, so many, many factors here. Um, and like I say, all five of you I think could have done this job well.
And what has shifted us, I think, is again, going back to what the, what the client wants, what we think is best for the brand. And always guys, I think if you can, can look up the brand. At this point, you've had some time with the script. Um, if you don't know the brand, go look at the brand. Look them up, Google's your friend, uh, find out who they're, who are they marketing to, What does their brand look like on the web? And try to really learn as much as you can about that brand because you're speaking on behalf of the brand. Not only are you telling the story of the script, but you're also speaking on behalf of the brand. So knowing -- the more you know, right, the more you know, uh, I think the more educated you are, the better, the better you're going to be. And sometimes, you know, it just, it comes down to, you know, splitting hairs like Lau said before.
Lau: Yeah. And if you, even if you go, like, I just used this example the other day. Even if you go into like an Apple store and you're looking for a new Mac, and you go on the Mac, and you sort of test it out, you're going, okay, what's the capability of all this, all these programs? What is the this, what is the that? What does it look like? Is it easy to use? Do I like this pro -- da da da? What am I willing to pay for it? It's not that the Mac itself is not something that you could buy and love and enjoy and could work well. It's just the difference between this $1000 Mac and this $2,000 Mac, and what are the differences? So don't discount yourself or devalue yourself like, they don't like me, I'm not good enough. Whatever. No, you just may not have a quality or a program, if you will, that someone else has that we need for the job.
Anne: And, and as we mentioned before, you know, there's a lot of, you know, can you sound younger? Right? That kind of thing. Like people, there's no way it, you know -- I may have a younger sounding voice given my age, but there's no way I'm going to sound millennial. Um, you know what I mean? And so like sometimes it's beyond your control also. Um, if they're looking for a gravitas, if they're looking for a texture and you don't -- I have a very clear voice. Right? If they want something that has more texture in it or rasp in it, that wouldn't be me.
Um, but just knowing that can help you to just continue, I think always maintaining -- you know, be the best actor you can be because the things that you can control sometimes, like your voice, like the tone and the texture, and you know, there's lots of things you can do with vocal placement, with characters, but when it comes to this type of a read, where we're looking for authenticity, you know, it's, it's, we don't need you to go into character mode necessarily. Um, but we need authenticity. And that, that is, I think the, the, the thing that you can really concentrate on and practice and get better at as an actor. I think that's so important.
Lau: And know knowing that, that self knowing of, of who you are and your brand, what your best qualities are, what your niche is, what is your niche market -- that honesty, that truthfulness will only set you free over time because it will free up a lot of your time so that you're not focusing on jobs that you're simply not gonna get because they can get the authentic read when that, you may not fall into that category. Just focus in those areas that are really your strong suits.
Anne: Absolutely. Well then I think we've declared our winner, Lau.
Lau: Woo.
Anne: So congratulations to Manny.
Lau: Yay, Manny.
Anne: Um, you are our, you are our voice for Expedia. So congratulations, and thanks to all of you that came in and auditioned in our first podcast. Thanks to you guys who came back for the callbacks. I hope that you've gotten some value out of these, uh, two podcasts, and, uh, we hope to keep them coming your way. I think this could wrap up our episode.
Lau: I love it. I mean, I love it. I mean, look at this, in less -- in just about two hours, little over two hours, we went through all the tech glitches, all the directions, all the preliminaries of auditions, the breakdown into the short list, then all the way up to the person who's gonna book the role.
Anne: And you heard our brains, you heard us thinking and speaking out loud and casting. And so hopefully you all have a better understanding of what it takes to get cast and what's behind the casting, the casting glass. And, uh, yeah, you guys were all amazing. I really, really appreciate it. So with that being said, guys, I'm gonna give a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipDTL.com. Lau, you're amazing. BOSSes out there, you're amazing. Thank you so much. Have a -- an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
Lau: Kudos to everyone. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend. Bye.
Anne: Bye. Congrats.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Get in the hot seat! Anne & Lau put on their casting director hats as they host live auditions with members of the BOSS community. There is something magical about a live audition…especially when the casting directors switch up the script at the last minute. These auditionees were on their toes, reading cold & nailing it. Anne & Lau share their favorite tips for before the audition & reflect on all that went right (and wrong). Stay tuned to hear who got a callback + will be featured in next week’s episode.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Woohoo!. Hey everyone. Welcome to the Vo BOSS podcast and the Business Superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my very special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Woohoo.
Lau: Hey everyone.
Anne: Hey Lau.
Lau: Happy Saturday.
Anne: Lau, we have a extra special podcast edition today. We are doing live auditions for the very first time, and I am so excited.
Lau: I love it. I love it. It's my specialty. I can't wait, Anne, can't wait.
Anne: And we are going to be having people come on doing live auditions as well as people in the audience and will be joining us later on for a Q and A. So I am so very excited. Now, live auditions. Remember back when before the pandemic, when we would go into studios and audition for direct -- casting directors? Ugh.
Lau: And that required us to actually see other human beings and talk to them and maybe even shake their hand?
Anne: I know. And you know what? And you know what? One of the most important things about that is, is that we would not see the script until we walked into that studio. And there was always the possibility when we actually got into the room, they would change the script on us.
Lau: Yes.
Anne: So guess what, Lau?
Lau: What, Anne?
Anne: The client has changed the script.
Lau: Ooh.
Anne: So for our auditioners out there, and everybody in the audience, I'm sorry, but we had to throw the wrench into the, the loop of things. And we now have a different script that we will be sending to you to live audition with. So I know that Carol is out there waiting to send that new script out with new specs, and we will continue on with the auditions. And I have to say, I just love, I love the Internet and I love technology because it allows us to really do something really cool like this.
Lau: Yeah. It's totally amazing. Completely amazing. And you know, just a moment on that real cold impromptu, last minute script, because I know so many voice actors are like, what do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? Meanwhile, you have to calm down and take a breath because so many of us are either on a pay-to-play site, or we're on hold with our agent, or we're working with casting on a project, and it's happening fast. It's coming and going really fast, and you guys are really getting used to turning things around fast. So the idea of a cold script should not put you out at all. It should be kind of like a fun challenge for you and really in your wheelhouse as a pro VO of something that really you need to be able to do.
Anne: Yeah. And I can't tell you the countless number of times I've been on a live session where, you know, in the moment they're changing the script. And so you really have to be able to have those muscles to be able to quickly adapt and give the client what they're looking for. So I will say that this was a, a kind of a, a completely different script , but you know, remember we are here for educational purposes, and we hope all of you are going to really enjoy and reap the benefits of this exercise that we're going to be doing.
I will go through the specs. Because this is for educational purposes, the specs for this script, uh, are open to all genders and ethnicities. And I will read the specs out loud here. Our FVO is a great actor, there we go, who can effortlessly imbue meaning and nuance into the story. They have lived a rich full life, having seen the world with all its wonders and is able to speak about their experiences with confidence and authority while their delivery has a poetic cadence . And by the way, you guys are all getting this. Um, this is done subtly and with a light touch. They never come across as dramatic, performative or as if they are laying on the gravitas. They are natural and have an air of lightness to the read that balances out their connection to the emotion perfectly. And as always, nothing smooth, nothing polished or announcery at all.
.
So we've got, that's a big paragraph of specs, Lau. What do you, what's your thought about specifications and when talent, you know, read the specs? Are they, you know, are they trying to match those specs exactly? Or what's important, uh, when it comes time to actually doing this audition?
Lau: Great question. And I'll tell you, there's a lot of theories and philosophies about your descriptions, your breakdowns, and how to handle them. One of my favorites as a coach that I use all the time is to ask the talent to not read the specs up front. Now, this -- I'm not talking about today, because today's session is a live session, and so time is of the essence. But if you were at home and you had a day or two days to turn around an audition, it's a really interesting and telling exercise to not read the specs at all and give your takes and give a whole bunch of takes. And then go back and read the specs and see what did I bring from my point of view, from my interpretation and what kind of matches what the vision of the producer is? Am I in that realm? Am I not in that realm?
Anne: Excellent points. Yeah. Let's have Michelle come on in. Hey, Michelle.
Lau: Hey Michelle.
Michelle: Hi. Can you guys hear me okay?
Anne: We can, we can. Thank you for being the first one. I'm excited.
Michelle: Oh my goodness. Okay. I just I'm excited to be here as well.
Anne: Okay. So would you like a second, because you just got it? I mean, Lau and I can just discuss one other thing quickly about once you're in front of the mic and you're doing a live cold read, Lau, what is your best advice? Oh, for talent?
Lau: Oh, wow. That's, that's a great question. First of all, have fun. Enjoy it. You're gonna get very few of those, right, Michelle? I mean, it's just like an exciting, energized, kind of dopamine experience. And for those of us who live on high octane junkies, we love that stuff. It's real time interaction, which I love. And so I would say make sure you're breathing. Make sure you're nice and warmed up, and you take breaks when you need to take breaks. Well, you'd be given a break after you read -- and make specific clear, active acting choices, Michelle, like, don't, don't, uh, generalize it. Don't just fly through it for the sake of time. Really make specific choices that you can change. And you should always have a good two to three really unique interpretations that you could do if they said, yeah, that's good, but can you change it out? You can change it out.
Michelle: Got it. Thank you.
Lau: Awesome.
Anne: So when you're ready, feel free to slate and audition please.
Michelle: Michelle Dillard. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you very much.
Michelle: Thank you.
Anne: Okay. Onto our next auditioner. Uh, on my list. I have Ryan, I hope it's Geiser.
Lau: Hello.
Anne: Hello, Ryan.
Ryan: Oh, cool. I'm in.
Lau: Hey Ryan.
Ryan: Hi.
Lau: Welcome.
Ryan: Thank you. Uh, so I'm Ryan Geiser, non-union, MCVO. Um, our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. I was, uh, taking notes, just so you know that if I'm not responding right away, I'm taking notes. So thank you very much. Our next contestant , our next auditioner, I have, uh, Rosie, uh, Roberson?
Lau: Yes.
Anne: All right. Rosie.
Rosie: Hello, everyone.
Anne: Hello, Rosie. Nice to see you.
Rosie: Well, I'm glad I got in . It's a little tricky there. Just let me know when to start.
Anne: Okay. Well, we're ready.
Rosie: Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with Expedia membership, you, you can save up at 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors and even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Awesome. Thank you very much. Okay. Our next, I have Manny Cabo.
Manny: Hey ladies, how are you?
Anne: Welcome.
Manny: Welcome.
Anne: Thanks for, thanks for joining us.
Manny: Oh, thanks for having me. This was a last minute thing. I was, I just got off Covid for like two weeks, so believe me, this is a breath of fresh air.
Anne: Oh, lovely. Well, I'm glad you're feeling better.
Manny: Yeah, me too.
Anne: All right, well, we are ready when you are.
Manny: All right, let's do this. Here we go. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors and even more places knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you so much, Manny. Awesome. Next on my list, I have, uh, Josh Wells. Josh.
Josh: Hi. How's it going, Anne? Nice to meet you. Hi Lau.
Anne: Hi. Nice to meet you too. Welcome. Thanks for joining us.
Josh: Yeah. Super excited.
Anne: We are ready when -- we are ready when you are.
Josh: Heck yeah. Cool. All right. Josh Wells, non-union, Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Um, up next, we should have Kelly White. Kelly White. You are next for the live auditions on VO BOSS.
Kelly: Hello.
Anne: Hi, Kelly.
Kelly: Hi there. Nice to meet you Anne. Hi, Lau.
Anne: Yes. Wonderful to see you.
Kelly: Thank you.
Anne: All right, well, we are ready when you are.
Kelly: Okay. Kelly White. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Fantastic. All right. Who do I have next? I have Alicia Hiller.
Alicia: Hello. .
Anne: Hello. Welcome.
Alicia: Good -- good to meet you. Hi, Lau.
Anne: Yes. Thanks for joining us today. All right, we're ready when you are.
Alicia: Alicia Hiller. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Fantastic. Thank you so much. Ah, Aria. Fantastic. Real cold read. All right. So we are ready when you are.
Aria: Okay. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever they are. And with a new Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a new hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places when we know a great deal. Expedia, made to travel. All right, cool. Thank you, guys.wor
Anne: Thank you. All right. Um, and now Carole. Carole, we're ready when you are.
Carole: All righty. Thank you. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors and even more places knowing we got great deal -- knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you. Carol. Just remember a lot of times we have auditions with instructions, right? It's important to just go through those instructions too. And I know like you know, there's a lot of people who like, you know, and the forms we'll talk about, well, you know, should I get SourceConnect and then, you know, or should I wait until I get my first client? And this would be one of the reasons why , why you wanna make sure you test out all those tech things first. I am proud to be able to to give you this technical -- these technical issues to help you to learn because you know, it's all our mission, right, Lau -- our mission is to educate.
Lau: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm like, you know, I'm not a negative Nelly at all. But I'm very much a realist and I say to folks, even if you've used your program, even if you've used your booth a million times, get in there early. Because anything that can go wrong probably will. And you wanna be able to have time to troubleshoot that and not miss out. So it is a good lesson. It is.
Anne: Nicole.
Nicole: Hi.
Anne: Hi. Welcome.
Nicole: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited.
Anne: Yes, absolutely. Well, we are ready when you are.
Nicole: Okay. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors in even more places, knowing we got a great deal. Expedia, made to travel. There you go.
Anne: Thank you so much.
Nicole: Thank you.
Anne: I remember being in the LA area, and of course, Lau, I mean, maybe if you ever had to run into the city to do a live audition, right, traffic, traffic. And so when the audition time was slotted right, you would I -- you would pray that there was no traffic jam that would be holding you up. And if you did hit a traffic jam and you got there late, sometimes you missed the audition. Sometimes you got there way early and that therefore you had the script. So I kind of like how we're really mimicking this. You would, you know, you'd be able to practice with the script a little bit longer if they had a, if you had a line in front of you. So, you know, I feel that there's all these -- this tech issues are kind of mimicking the traffic that we would hit when we would be, you know, in the car on the way to the studio. And thankfully now, we can, you know?
Lau: The, the one, the one element of this that I think is really different and unique to the circumstance, that is sometimes we can't help tech glitches when they happen, and sometimes we can. And so just kind of knowing the difference. Like I'll give you an example. For instance, if someone knows that they have to be on a laptop and have to go through Chrome in order to do the audition, it's really on that person to go on a laptop and go through Chrome. That's something that could be avoided, but all of a sudden my transmission is bad because the hurricane, all of a sudden, you know, my lights go out. You know, that's something I can't help.
So I think being able to determine what I sort of have control over and I sort of don't have control over -- and then the other thing too, and this is just me, you and I are exactly alike in this way, Anne, I will leave four hours early to get to an appointment, knowing that if I'm three hours early, I can do my work, I can have coffee, I can shop, I can do whatever. I don't wanna do the last minute thing ever. Like that really stresses me out. And so just for everyone coming in, like leave yourself plenty of time.
Anne: Oh, fantastic. Stephanie.
Stephanie: Hi.
Anne: Welcome.
Stephanie: Thank you. Shall I?
Anne: Thanks for being here. Yes, we are ready when you are.
Stephanie: Okay. Our colors, they have a way of finding us wherever we are. And with an Expedia membership, you can save up to 30% when adding a hotel to a flight. So we can go find our colors even in more places, knowing we got a deal. Expedia, made to travel.
Anne: Thank you so much. So Lau, I have my notes ready and you have your notes ready. Let's talk.
Lau: I do. And I am wondering whether it's now or maybe later, if we could also go over some of our top kind of rules of the road in this kind of an audition. We talked a little bit about it throughout, but like, what are our top, you know, 5, 6, 7, 8 things that we wanna see people be prepared to do or not do that happened today? Like, because here's the thing, from the talent's point of view, they see nothing. Like they know nothing and see nothing. You, I ,and Sean we're doing this whole massive thing -- and Carol -- this whole massive thing to make this session run.
Anne: Right, behind the scenes.
Lau: I would love to share a little bit of that so that again, we can go back to what is in my power to change and control and prepare for and what is really not.
Anne: Fantastic.
Lau: Are you okay with that? If we like just throw a few rules of the road in?
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. So let's go ahead and start, Lau.
Lau: Okay. I'm gonna start. So one of the things that is -- and again, I'm sharing this educationally, I don't want anyone to feel like we're chiding you or, or, or, you know, cussing you out or anything. It's not about that. This is about education. So that when you're on the real deal in the real scene, a lot of this will sort of dissipate, and you'll be able to work streamlined like a pro. So this entire time, and you'll see my head was down a lot when you see the video of this -- why? Not because I was falling asleep, because I was constantly texting, constantly emailing and helping people troubleshoot all along the way.
Now I'm not the tech person to help you troubleshoot. I was expediting those emails and texts over to Anne, over to Sean, over to Carol where they needed to go. In the real world, you won't be able to do that. This is not the real world. This is our educational fun forum. But in the real world, there will be no one to text, no one to email, and no one to help you tech troubleshoot. So, simple things to avoid, I really want y'all to avoid is knowing the device you have to be on, knowing the, uh, uh, application or the program you need to be on, testing it through, preferably the day before rather than the day of. And also being in a solid space where you've got some audio integrity. You're not in the middle of a huge room or in a car or in a big living room to get the best quality that you can get.
So those are all, in my mind, things you can somewhat control so that you can get to the next step, which is your talent, your work, your audition. Many of you couldn't get to it fully, 'cause I know most of you. You just couldn't get to it fully because you were so concerned about the tech, about all the tech stuff that was going on.
Anne: And, and also, I do wanna say that those instructions were sent out a couple of days in advance, even though our, we changed the script on you. The instructions were sent out. And, and look, most people, if it's going to be a technical, you know, if it's going to be something technical like this where you're joining, uh, remotely via, you know, SourceConnect, ipDTL or some other form like Riverside, it is definitely advantageous to, uh, to test that technology out. You know, it's always wonderful to have a group of, you know, of, of colleagues that you can work with at any given time and say, hey, look, can you help me test? I mean, there's a lot of you know, forums and groups out there that say, hey, I need to do a SourceConnect test right now. Can you help me somebody test with me?
So make sure that if this is something that you need to, to do, to do it in advance. And especially if, you know, a lot of times we're asked to record as well, and this could just be something maybe we're recording in, you know, through, uh, SourceConnect Now, or we're recording locally or whatever it is, Make sure that you hit that button and test it in advance. And so not having the technology throw your performance, which I'm sure it probably did for some of us a little bit, and I feel like, I feel like I might have heard that in some of your reads. Um, and as well as, you know, everything that you can possibly do to make that session go smooth. And also, you know, trying not to let that show when you get in the room to actually do the audition. Right? It's in and out and no excess. Nothing necessarily in terms of like, not too much small chat because --
Lau: Anne, you took it outta my head. You took it right outta my mouth. That was my next point, was like, there used to be an ad campaign many years ago for a deodorant, never let 'em see you sweat. That's where like, we're an actor. We're an actor, we're an actor. And what do actors do? They have to act. And that doesn't mean in the role all the time, that means as a business person, like you have to make your client feel like everything's okay.
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Don't worry about it. The sky isn't falling, even though it may not be okay. And you may not be able to audition and they may be disappointed. Don't let them feel like you are disappointed, you're upset, you're worried, you're scared, because that, that mirrors onto them. And then that, that becomes a, like a, you know, a, a slippery slope as they say.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: You know?
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: But then being said, Anne, I do wanna congratulate everyone for the ones that -- actually most people were able to get in and show up and do -- almost all. And I just wanna give you a huge round of applause in kudos for doing that, despite your issues and your tech glitches and your confusion and your craziness. Look, you did it. You showed up. You went through it. That's the pro that we wanna build onto.
Anne: Yeah. And I, and I wanna say thank you, really. I mean, this is, this was the first time that we've done this. And I think that it's, I like to believe that it's educationally valuable to, you know, the community. And I thank you for being a part of that, uh, from the bottom of my heart, really. Um, I'm really proud of all of you. Number one, it's a Saturday. So thank you for coming out and doing that and then dealing with tech frustrations. And so let's talk a little bit, Lau, about selections. Do you, do you --
Lau: Let's. Do you want to create our shortlists?
Anne: I think we should create our shortlists. So first of all, I'm gonna say uh, you know, for, for a lot of the people, I feel that because it was a cold read, there were a lot of reads that sounded a little bit cold read. Um. And so if you had time, right, if you were not the first person, literally, or even if you were the first person, like the, I think my suggestion would be out of the mouth immediately once you get that script. Um, you know what I mean? Get that, get those words out of your mouth because that becomes muscle memory. That's gonna help you make it not sound like a cold read. It's gonna help you get the context of the script quickly. And remember, we are storytellers. We need to tell the story. Even though this was a short script, there was a definite story there. And I needed to feel, above the words coming out correctly, I needed to feel the warmth, the emotion, the point of view.
Lau: Mm. I love all that. And as an actor, I mean, I think, you know, we have to choose very specific, very quick actor choices. We don't know if they're gonna work. We don't know how they're gonna land, but we have to be connected to something that's real. We have to know who am I speaking to and what am I connecting to. I like to use props. I mean, I'm a big prop -- like even if I'm, you know, if I'm doing a, a makeup ad, I might have my lipstick ready to go. You may never see it, right, 'cause I'm a voiceover. So you may never see it, but I feel it. I smell it. It's in my hand. There's something, you know, visceral about stuff that is real, that I can hold, I can use, I can feel. I like that. And engaging the body as well. So whether I'm sitting, I'm standing, whatever I'm doing is like, how does this translate within my body? Where's the energy coming from?
You know, some of you came in with really warm, rich, textured sound, and that felt right to me. It felt like a way to go. It felt like a path. And as I watched you, I could sort of see where that vibration was coming from. I could sort of see where that was coming from today. So I think not disconnecting your head and your voice from the rest of your body and your spirit is super important.
Anne: Now I'm also gonna point out that, you know, part of the specs and, and I think part of what I think innately most people are looking for in this style of, of script is something, you know, uh, not, uh, nothing smooth, polished, or announcery at all. Okay? So that's hard when you're doing a cold read. So the sooner I said, the sooner you can get that script outta your mouth -- and by the way, if you weren't one of the first few that came on board, you know, maybe that's something you were doing in the background right? Until we called you, because we definitely had enough time now through this whole process where people towards the end had a good, ample amount of time to kind of get a feel for that script, you know, and, and really, and do and, and just really feel the copy, understand the copy, know what story you're telling.
Natural, and again, I'm looking at some of the specs that we were looking for, you know, natural, not performative, not laying on the gravitas, um, an air of lightness to the reed, which I liked. Um, there was some really nice light reads in there that I liked. Um, what else can I say about, you know -- and I think following the specs is one thing, but then adding something different, right? In addition to making it that non-announcery, telling the story, there, there, I think trying to incorporate something that's a little bit different, a little bit unique, uh, something that you think no other talent is going to give, right? That might surprise us.
So I had a couple of, you know, as I was typing madly my notes, a couple of melodies that I heard in there that were really nice, There was like a, a, a lilt on one of the words or maybe a little point of view that was different than I was anticipating, which made me stand up and take notice. And guess what I did, Lau? I actually starred those, uh, those reads. And those are the people that I am, I have on my list to call back. So.
Lau: They got Anne's gold star. That means something.
Anne: They got my stars.
Lau: That means something, right? I love that. That's great. I love that. Oh, there's a point I was just gonna make and I forgot what I was gonna say, but, but I'm hearing you on what you're saying, Anne, because I think that the, that that disappointment, if you will that word disappointment of, I'm ready, I'm prepared, I'm doing this -- wait a second, I'm not doing that. I'm doing something else. Whatever that is, that disappointment, that surprise, that let down that, that confusion, like, it's really important to feel that and be in that space. Certainly as casting as you are, as agent as I am, we're constantly dealing with that. Just when I think it's one thing and I know it, it turns into something else and I don't know it.
And typically it's because of priority. So if someone switches a script or someone switches an audition, it's typically, typically because another audition came in that's much more time sensitive. So we have to, I might love say Manny or Kelly or Stephanie, but I also kind of love them for this new one that came in. So I want them to put that on hold just for a second and take this script and do it. So being able to improvise, impromptu, shift fast, interpret fast, I think is really important.
Anne: Yeah. And, and before we actually I think reveal, because you and I, I mean, I have my list and you have your list, so we need to agree upon five people that we're gonna be calling back. Uh, I, I really just wanna say that, that it's something, that's something different, right? Uh, the more that you can practice reading your scripts, I mean, I can't say enough how, how important it is to just find different scripts, read, practice all the time, audition -- it, it just helps you to be stronger. And get feedback from, you know, from coaches and, and people that you trust that have been in the industry, that can really help you to, to, you know, uh, perform better and make those bold moves, and workout groups I think are so important. Um, like I have my VO Peeps group and every month, you know, we are working out, and, and, and I know that Lau, you have the same thing. Uh, those are so important to help you get that practice under your belt so that you can -- you need to experience all the different styles, all the different reads in order to make mistakes and grow from them.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: Think it's all about growth, all about growth as an actor. And, and if you're not doing something every day that is voiceover, that is, uh, you know, looking at different scripts, scenarios, practicing, working, uh, I, I think you're, you're missing the boat on growing as an actor.
Lau: Right, right. And I think it's also the how we deal with stress. How do we balance, how do we manage time? How do we manage our crazy lives when this stuff comes in? Because you -- you know, I always say be careful what you wish for. You might get it . And when it comes in, it always comes in at the most in inopportune times. It always comes in at the time when you're the busiest, and you're working, and you have events, and you have kids. It always does 100% of the time. So you kind of always have to set your life up that I can go in the space, I can do this quickly, I can make it happen even though I've got a whole bunch of layers going on around me.
They don't need to know about it. As we always say, uh, leave your trash at the door. You can come get it on your way out. Don't bring it into the studio. Um, and, and being able to really practice that, really practice that skill along with your actual delivery skill. 'Cause it's a whole other skill, that's an executive functioning skill. That's like, how do I manage 25 things at once and how do I make those 25 things all feel important and all feel like I'm not getting crazy? Like, that's, that's a functioning skill that we have to practice and we have to really work on every day along with the actual acting skills.
Anne: Yeah. Right.
Lau: That is, we work --
Anne: On, Oh, I'm sorry. I, I was just, I was thinking, I was thinking, uh, while you were talking. Now as we reveal -- Lau, I'm gonna have you read, you know, maybe a list or a couple of people that you, that you kind of have selected and we'll see if we agree.
Lau: Yeah. Actually, can I ask you, Anne, just to crosscheck, how many out of our list do we have that actually auditioned? Or maybe I should say how many did not audition? 'Cause it seemed like most auditioned.
Anne: Three, uh, three did not. Um.
Lau: Okay, great. Yeah. So we had 12 --
Anne: Well, actually, actually two out of the list did not, and then you added, uh, Brit, so.
Lau: Okay. So we actually had 12 or 13?
Anne: Yep. We actually had 12.
Lau: Fantastic turnout.
Anne: Out of the original list we had 13. Yeah.
Lau: Don't you think that's --
Anne: That's fantastic.
Lau: That's a fantastic turnout because we always have, in any audition, a percentage of people who do not audition. There are no shows where they just don't audition for many reasons. So that's actually very high, that level of --
Anne: And they didn't even know their script. Well, they --
Lau: And they didn't know anything and they still showed up.
Anne: Yeah. That's good. So.
Lau: But see, I think that's a testament. I wanna, I wanna make mention, I think it's a testament to Anne, to myself, and to the nature of this whole group, this whole community of how much we trust each other, we care for each other. And you're just getting to know Anne, many of you, and, and she's part of our community now. And like, like-minded people hold each other up, motivate each other, inspire each other, and through the difficult moments, get each other through it. And that's exactly what happened today. Exactly. And so I just wanna call attention to that from a, a, a social and, and professional friend network, but also a community, sort of inspirational, motivational, holding each other through this. You guys did that, even though you may not have talked to each other. You may not have met with each other. You did that in the space, you did that in the online space. And that's --
Anne: And in the chat.
Lau: -- so important to do. Absolutely. The chat. That was great. Okay. So how many, Anne, you think are we gonna shortlist here? Would you say six?
Anne: I've, I've got five marked.
Lau: Okay.
Anne: I've got five marked.
Lau: Okay.
Anne: Um, so that I'd like to hear, and I, and I just wanna say one other word. Not only was it how I wanted to hear that script in terms of the specs, because consider I am the client or I'm, I'm with the client or I'm representing the client, how I wanted it to be that non-announcery warm feeling with all the, with all the feels, uh, in that description. It's also water. I feel like the voice also, if it hadthe sound that I was looking for. And so there are some that I feel out of the five, I feel some did one better than you know, the other. Um, but they all had something that made me put them on the short list.
Lau: So, Okay. So, uh, uh, first of all, everyone had something that I could potentially work with. I would just wanna say that I'm not just saying that to butter people up. I'm saying everyone has a unique quality that I could really direct and work with, but based on what we were looking for and what our vision is, here's some of my top peeps. Okay? I'm just looking my list. Okay. So Manny is one of my tops. Okay?
Anne: Agreed.
Lau: And I have Kelly, who's one of my tops.
Anne: Okay.
Lau: And I have Nicole.
Anne: Yes.
Lau: And I have Aria, and I have, uh, Josh. I wasn't sure how many we're looking for. So --
Anne: Five.
Lau: So that's, that's five. I have more. But we'll stop at that. We, we'll stop at that.
Anne: Okay. So I have -- I agreed with you on Nicole, Manny, uh, Josh, and then I also had, uh, marked Alicia and uh, Carole.
Lau: Good. Three outta five ain't bad. .
Anne: Yeah. So, uh, we definitely have the three. Now let's just discuss. Let's just discuss because I think, uh, for me, Nicole had a nice hush that says some of the, the notes that I wrote about Nicole that I really liked. And, and Nicole was also second, so she didn't have a ton of time to prepare. Um, and she came through even with that. Now --
Lau: And you know what I loved about Nicole is when she delivers, there is something that is transfor -- transports me when she speaks that I'm in a different world. I'm in a different mode, I'm in a different world. There's something a little bit magical about her sound that I caught right away. And about her essence, because we were meeting her and seeing her on camera, there's very calm, sort of meditative, logical head on the ground feel to her. And I, that all kind of went together as this really lovely package of someone who I felt really safe with, I felt really good with.
Anne: Awesome. Uh, uh, Manny, like from the first few words, I kind of had him marked already. He started off, he started off with a real warm, nice, friendly, uh, not announcery style. And that's what I really, you know, I immediately wrote, you know, stars there.
Lau: Yeah, he's super pro. He has a pro sound. There is a polish there without sounding overly announcery. Um, there's a clarity there, and there's also this kind of like sexiness to it that I didn't expect, uh, because I wasn't looking for that. So there was this, uh, appeal to it that, that I really liked. It was almost essential appeal without asking for that, which I liked. Um.
Anne: Uh, fantastic.
Lau: And he seemed very sure of himself. 'Cause I had not met Manny at all.
Anne: Very confident.
Lau: He was brought over by a dear friend. And we literally met today when he came in, and I just, I just loved his presence. I just loved his confidence, and I just loved his kind of chill, laidback, but professional guy persona. He had a persona that was very strong that I heard his sound.
Anne: Yeah, I agree. I completely agree. Um, Josh, now I have Josh. Um, there was a word of course I was typing so furiously that I couldn't type the word correctly, but he had a word in there that caught my attention, and it was the timbre and the lilt of the word. So as I was mentioning before, sometimes it's just something a little bit different that captures your attention. Um, and so that's one of the reasons why I marked him. Uh, and then, so there's where our three agree upon, and so now we just have to talk a little bit about our ex, our next two.
Lau: And I wanted to make mention about Josh too Because Josh, and I don't know, I don't know if this is age related or, or what, but there's, he's right in the middle. There's an interesting gray zone that he's in between that cool --
Anne: Yes, I agree.
Lau: -- surfer dude, laidback guy. And someone who's a little bit more professional and on it, someone who's a little bit more with it, the guy in the know. So he has that standup comedy, funny, fun appeal to him, but he has the serious enough that he can land it and have some ethos there.
Anne: Agreed. Agreed.
Lau: That's why I love Josh. Okay. Um, okay. The two outside of that, yours was Carol and Alicia.
Anne: Carol and Alicia. Yes.
Lau: You know, close second, this is what people spend fighting behind closed doors about for like hours or days is like you're kind of fighting over people who are all talented.
Anne: And that's it. I think, you know, and, and here's the deal, here's where it comes in. So Lau and I are gonna discuss who those other two are gonna be. And, uh, this is probably what happens in most casting , right, offices or whoever's fighting you for the client. And we'll just go back and forth, uh, on the reasons why, you know, we either want this for the callback, right? And, and even what during the callback we'll be figuring out, well, you know, what is the reasoning for any one particular voice? And sometimes you just don't know what that is, and it's not always based on performance sometimes.
Lau: No. It's just sometimes it's just like an instinct, a feeling, an impulse. And, and in my mind I'm thinking some of these people are like, oh, okay, so if this person can't do it, they're booked, or they get sick or whatever, then this person could easily go in. Totally. So it isn't the case where I really love this person and I really don't love this -- It's not always that case.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: There's a lot of like, gray zones of people that kind of fall in the same grouping, but that just don't make it to the booking, you know? Um, so Carol's voice is fantastic. I mean, it's very, to me, very corporate sounding. It has very businessy, corporatey, flight attendant-ish, finding the exit kind of sound. I like it. I love it. It's, I felt it was a little bit too objectified, a little bit too removed for the level of warmth that I was, was looking for this 'cause it is travel. When I think about travel now, and I think about number one, trying to reach the younger people, the younger generation, I think about a slightly, you know, not younger -- younger is a mythical word. It's just like a slightly more, more energized or more youthful kind of thing.
Anne: Sure. I get that. I get that.
Lau: And then also a, a, a little bit of like boxy or squareness in terms of it.
Anne: But now when I, of course, Carole, as you said, more corporate and of course, you know, I'm very attuned to the corporate ear because I do a lot of that myself. Now, I'm also gonna say for Carole and thinking of travel, I was thinking, oh, she would make me feel comfortable on a plane, like if she were the flight attendant and so Expedia. So that was one of the reasons I thought it fit. But I'm going actually, and I'll cede you Aria because I love Aria.
Lau: You'll raise me Aria.
Anne: I'll raise you Aria because even though I didn't check her, I do love that voice. She's got that youthful, that youthful style if that's the market we're looking for. Um, she, you know, we did give her a different script immediately. Like she literally had no time to even voice it and have it come out of her mouth. So I have to take that with, you know, a little bit, uh, you know, a grain of salt because she really didn't even get it out of her mouth, except that was the first time. So for me, I had written that it was a little fast, but I understand why, because it was the first time coming out of her mouth. Now if I'm going on my gut and saying, you know, could you convince me, Aria, um, yeah, you could because of, because I like the timbre, the tone of her voice, the demographic is there for the script. And, uh, so yeah, that's my, that's my thoughts.
Lau: And, and you know, I just wanna point out that, you know, if we don't forget about who are really, who's our target demographic for this, and is like both of these women could absolutely deliver this script. But when we get back to, you know, who the client really wants us to be looking at, it's really that, you know, 18 to 35 demographic. Because let's be honest, that's most of the people that are on like Travelocity, Kayak, Expedia, and going up-up-up -- not to say the 40 and up are not doing it, but for this particular one, one of the goals is to kind of find someone who has a bit more energized or youthful presence.
Anne: All right. You've convinced me.
Lau: So anyway, so that's one issue there too as well. Okay.
Anne: Yep. You've convinced me.
Lau: Okay, so Alicia kind of fits that.
Anne: Okay.
Lau: Alicia kind of fits that.
Anne: Oh yes.
Lau: Um, and I love her quality. She's got a rocky, dirty sort of like textured young sound. So I do like it. I, I felt like it was a little slow, like it wasn't as energized.
Anne: Yes, I agree with you there. Um, and I wasn't, I wasn't thinking slow in terms of the read, but more contemplative and thoughtful. And she was another one who had a really nice different sound on the word -- she interpreted the word color toward the end of the script a little bit differently than most other people too, so we can find our colors. And I feel like that the, the operative word obviously in, in any story that we're telling, right, there's some operative words in there that really need to kind of hit the, the listener. Color is one of those words. And she really had a different, a slightly different pitch on the word color, which is why I I marked her. So.
Lau: Right. Now, here's the thing that you and I both skipped over. And you guys listening in, this happens all the time. Um, you guys both, ironically we both skipped over the fact that the client does want diversity for these roles. And I don't know how I could skip that over, but I got excited with the switch out of script, but --
Anne: Well, we did change, we did change it for this purpose to all genders and ethnicities. But you're right. I mean, diversity is something that has to be a consideration and --
Lau: Right, authentically, right, diverse. So whereas like someone like Kelly, who I know very well and is a total pro, and can do this in her sleep fits that bill in so many ways and the voice is so layered and rich and textured --
Anne: Oh, I agree with that.
Lau: -- and seasoned --
Anne: I agree with that.
Lau: You know, it's, we're gonna have to go back and forth on, you know, the age thing and the youthful-ness thing because she's much more of a mature sound in my mind.
Anne: My only, my only comments, I mean I did, I did like Kelly, I, my only comments was that she was a little too fast on the read I thought on that. And so, but you know what I'm --
Lau: But we can direct her.
Anne: I could -- okay.
Lau: Where she's directable.
Anne: I feel that she -- all right then, then. Alright, so then I think we have our five then.
Lau: And you know how I know she's directable, for those listening in? Because we know her personally. We have a relationship with her.
Anne: Okay. Now --
Lau: Normally I couldn't say that if I don't know her.
Anne: That's what I'm gonna say. So, and only, and only in this instant, right, if, if you know a casting director, here's an advantage, right? Um, if a casting director has heard you before or hired you before or has worked with you before, you know, it's, it behooves you to have, you know, a, a, an excellent relationship. Or when you work with them, make it as smooth as possible. Make it easy for the casting director. Make it easy for them to work with you, and they'll remember and have you coming back. So.
Lau: And quite oftentimes, the casting, we see this all the time at the agency, we'll come back to the agents and go, love it. Great. Good. Need some retakes. It's too slow, I need it, da da da da. Right? And then we can go back to those people and we know that they can do it. They're capable of it. They're willing to.
Anne: Yep. All right, So then we have our list, our callbacks. We're gonna call these five people back. Nicole Fikes, Aria Lapides, Manny Cabo, Josh Wells, and Kelly White. Congratulations. I would like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys were amazing. I can't wait for the next episode. Lau, love you. Thank you so much, guys, and we'll see you soon.
Lau: Great job.
Anne: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
It's time to build some rapport. Anne & Lau share their tips for making quick connections + how to turn it into a meaningful relationship. The truth is, relationships are what drive our careers—and they can do more for us than just pay our bills. They can provide emotional support, professional connections, and even opportunities that we may not have otherwise had access to. In a world where the internet opens us up to millions of potential connections, building rapport is more important than ever. You share yourself online for a reason: to further connection! We're all so busy, and we know that it's hard to find the time for things like cultivating relationships. But trust me: if you're not building rapport with people, you're missing out on a huge opportunity…and we’re here to show you how it’s done. Listen up!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited to bring back to the show Lau Lapides. Hey, Lau.
Lau: Hey. Hey Anne.
Anne: How are you?
Lau: I'm fab. How are you?
Anne: I am amazing. And I just wanna say again, thank you so much for doing this series with me. I really am loving all of the conversations that we're having. I mean, such amazing conversations.
Lau: I love it.
Anne: I feel like our relationship is just growing and we're nurturing it, and I just love it. And it makes me think about how important it is to network and to grow relationships in our businesses. And I thought it'd be a great topic to talk about today.
Lau: Beautiful. And I'm always ready to talk about the superhero in everyone. Like, I love finding those superpowers, I know you do too, those hidden superpowers that are in all the VO talent that we meet work with.
Anne: Absolutely. So there's a lot of ways I think, to network with potential clients or your clients and build relationships. What are your thoughts about when you're new to the industry? How do you start to even build a relationship with your potential client or reaching out to clients to develop a relationship? Or even let's say your agent, there's so many things we can talk about.
Lau: That is the question of the day, isn't it? And that's a biggie that we all get, and it's hard to answer only in the sense that it's so large. It's so overwhelming. It's such a universal question. I always sort of break it down from the get-go, 'cause I feel like in my brain, if it's in small nuggets and little chunks, it's much easier to digest. So the first step for me is really defining what is the difference between building a rapport with a potential client or a producer or casting, and the difference between that and already having an established relationship.
I think that many have to kind of go back to the drawing board with that and know what the difference is. I simply define it by saying, listen, building rapport is your instant connection. It's your instant impact. What is the effect that you're having on your listener, your audience, your potential client? And it happens really fast. It's like 10, 15 seconds. It's really starting to happen. And the evaluation process in our business is very quick, is that everyone well knows. It doesn't take forever to sort of sum someone up when I'm building rapport. So we have to consider that warm up period, that prep period of like, how do I wanna go into this meeting? How do I want to set a tone when I go to the conference? How do I want to prep and present when I'm walking into a space, even if it's an online space?
Anne: Sure. Well, I was gonna say it can even be digitally as well, right? How you present yourself or have an initial outreach. Let's say even an email, so to speak, you're starting to try to reach out and build rapport with a potential client. And so it's really like an introduction of yourself and a reflection of who you are as a business. And so I think it's important to really maybe have a strategy on maybe how to do that, depending on who it is you're reaching out to. I would think that building rapport with, I think somebody new that you've never met before, let's say an agent or a potential client, would require some sort of a strategy that within, I would say 10 or 15 seconds, you can make an impression on someone in a positive way obviously.
We've talked a little bit about, and I know on other podcasts, I've talked a little bit about cold emails, which it's really important how you introduce yourself so that you're not off putting to someone else or appearing to be, I think, to self-centered or too much about me, me, me or I, I, I, and I really believe to really start to develop a rapport with just about anyone, I think you have to come from a centered heart of service. You know what I mean? How can I help you? What can I do for you? If you wanna build, I think a positive rapport with a client and be authentic. What do you think?
Lau: I think that's perfect. And, and our business is a business. It's like any other business out there. You know, I would say we never know who we're next to in the airplane or in the elevator, in the restroom or we're in life; we're living life. And so anyone we're near that is in our sphere could be a potential client. We have to always be thinking about that. Like, woo, how could I make an effect, an impact, impression on this stranger, so to speak, someone I don't know at all, and in a minute or two, all of a sudden we have an instant connection. So there is sort of like a magic there. There's a mystical piece in there that you have to make happen. Like you have to take agency for saying, I am going to assert that I'm not going to wait.
Anne: I love that you said that. I think honestly, if I wanna think about our relationship, right, I met you for the first time when we were on a judging panel together. It's like literally we were in a professional environment on a panel, and I was so impressed with you. And I was like, immediately, I'm like, oh, I have to meet this woman. I mean, and I just felt, I did feel like an instant connection. And I think a lot of that has to do with maybe similar personalities. But the first thing I did was reach out to you, and I'm not just saying, oh my God, this was, you know, oh, I saved the day or I did, you know -- no I reached out with, because I was so impressed and I genuinely said, oh my gosh, I really wanna meet you. And let's talk because I just think you're amazing. And I think that's something that you can think about as a business if you wanna reach out to someone like a potential client. Oh my gosh, I love your product. Or I've seen the work that you've done, and I think it's amazing. That's like kind of a good way to build, I think, strong rapport with someone.
Lau: Absolutely. You know, what's amazing too, is that we were online, like many are online. We were online. Here's the fascinating thing. We didn't know each other at all and we hadn't met and we didn't even speak to each other. And yet I think we could feel something, that energy shift, and you and I couldn't move fast enough. I don't remember if I emailed you or you may emailed me, but we literally were on that same wavelength -- oh, have to connect, have to connect, and, and within a day or so we were connected. And then I feel like I have known you for years. Like I literally --
Anne: Me too.
Lau: -- we haven't met in person. You're in San Diego area and I'm, I'm in the Boston area, and we're 3000 miles apart. And yet we can still have that mysterious energy through building rapport together. So it really is quite impactful. And it shouldn't be underestimated at all, how you can build -- it could be a one time exchange or it could be a lifetime of moving into the relationship space together.
Anne: And then developing and nurturing that relationship as you go on. And it's interesting 'cause it made me think, I started off by saying even digitally, right, we can create rapport with someone that could be a potential client of our business. Also the way you present yourself online in public. Right? And we can talk about in person as well, but online, if you are putting out content, which so many people, you know, in this business, we say, you gotta get out there on social media. You gotta put out content. Let people understand who you are and your brand. When you are doing that, when you are putting content out, you are theoretically, I'm gonna say building the blocks for building a relationship with a potential client.
So things that you're saying online or putting out there, I think you have to also be a little bit careful about because potential eyeballs are on that content. And so if you're going to be saying, I don't know, things that may be negative or combative or maybe very controversial, remember that there are other people that you may not even be aware that have their eyeballs on that. And that could build maybe a negative rapport.
Lau: That's right, that's right.
Anne: If you're not careful. I think that assuming, I guess I'm gonna go in the digital realm, assuming that what you say is only seen by the people you think. I mean, I think it goes a lot further than most of us even realize.
Lau: Right. And I, I think you identified something so pivotal in the, the differentiation between a rapport and already establishing relationship. Which I like to think of simply as it's based on time and based on trust. We may have a very strong rapport together, very, very connected, but we don't have time on our side. I'm not talking about you and I. I'm talking about in the general business world, we don't really know each other well enough. It's only through action over time do we get to know what our value system is, what our principles are, how we work, how we function -- that takes time to unfold. So the stronger your rapport, I'd like to believe the quicker you can start building a relationship together because --
Anne: I like that.
Lau: -- the masks start coming down, you start to reveal more. There aren't as many filters on because you're slowly developing some trust together, and that's incredible, but we can't always expect that. It just isn't always going to happen.
Anne: Right. And a client that you've developed that, you've got a good rapport and that over time you've developed that trust -- I think when a client trusts you, that's when they come back to you again and again and again, and that is what can help to really grow our businesses. And I think each one of these relationships is something that you have to consciously really think about and nurture and work at it. I don't think it's something that you can take for granted at all. I know that I don't take any of my clients, my jobs for granted. I'm grateful for all of them. And I think coming at it with an attitude of gratitude also helps to nurture that relationship and, and build trust. I think trust is so very important to establish over the long haul with your potential clients or, or people that you're working with in the industry. For sure.
Lau: Right. And I like to say too, it's a feel good kind of thing to create because not only is it important to have over time to retain a client and to make money and have a viable career and get your ROI, but also it feels good. It should feel good to know that I am delivering something that someone needs and is satisfied within their timeline. And that they are going to come back to me. And there is that reciprocal kind of energy that is a part of the reason why we're in this industry, is that we want to know we're satisfying. We want to know we're pleasing. We want to know filling, filling the need, solving that problem --
Anne: That we're loved.
Lau: -- so to speak Well kinda.
Anne: Right? Don't we all just wanna be loved? I used to say that all the time in the corporate world, right? Part of the reason why I think so many people, at least when I was going through the corporate world, were so stuck in your jobs and you feel like, ugh, I'm stagnant at moving. I think it's, we just wanna be loved. We just wanna be appreciated for what we do and for us to have some acknowledgement of that. And then when that happens, then it becomes a very reciprocal, mutual give, take, give, take relationship. And so it's really not any different in our own businesses.
Lau: It really isn't. And if someone does for you, Anne, a live testimonial or they record it for you, they say, Anne is great. She gave me this and I'll never forget her. And I love her -- It's obviously marketing power to do that, to have your case study, to have your testimonial. But when you look at that, when you play that for yourself a year later -- and I can't speak for you, I'm speaking for myself -- there's this innate, deep sense of satisfaction that I may or may not remember what they paid me, but I absolutely remember the experience of working with them.
Anne: Yes.
Lau: And that, that is their outcome. And that we made something that is immaterial, so to speak, real. We made it real. I think there's a surreal nature to what we do, 'cause it's not always time, a physical product. A demo is a physical product. But other than that, it's more exchange and process and craft and acting. It's hard to come down to qualify what that is exactly. And then when you hear it from that client or that talent, I mean, I'm getting a little verklempt right now. I'm telling you, like I kind of wanna cry right now because it is life changing. You've helped them find their sound, their voice, their identity --
Anne: Oh, absolutely.
Lau: It's just awesome. It's awesome.
Anne: It brings me back to my teaching days as well, you know, with my students. I mean, I got to help shape some of their lives as they were being educated and going through school and I've watched them grow up. And it becomes one of those things where it's like, ah, it's just such a feel good heart situation. And I think that that really means a whole lot when it comes to doing something that brings us joy. And so, you know, developing, nurturing those relationships that can really give back in a way that's more than just money. Right?
We talked about in our, one of our last episodes, businesses with purpose. Well, I think that feeds into it really well. And part of the purpose is to, I think, develop a good rapport, those good relationships. Now online -- I started off by kind of talking about it online -- I think in person just accentuates the relationship building or accelerates the relationship building because then you've got that, you know, we're looking at each other in -- on a video right now and, and we're hearing each other, but when we actually get to physically meet each other, then there's that other energy. And so I think when you're trying to develop a rapport with someone that maybe you're just meeting at a conference -- there's so many of the voiceover conferences these days now -- it's important to also have that physical rapport, developing a physical rapport with people that is, I think, open and embracing opportunity to meet and really share with other people.
Lau: Absolutely. I do think the brilliance of being online now, if you never get to meet your other party in person in a room, which many of us just can't. You know, we live too far from each other. We're never gonna unfortunately see each other in a room. It's incredible to think, my gosh, I am developing a whole relationship with this person online, and we've never been in a room together. And it reminds me of how some of us feel about some of our A-list movie stars or some of our A-list pop stars. Am I really gonna be in a room with Tom Hanks in this lifetime? Probably not. I hope so, but probably not. Can I feel like I have a strong relationship with him over the years of supporting his work?
Anne: Sure.
Lau: Of connecting with his characters, of loving what he has to say? Yes.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And so sometimes that just has to be enough and it's the, the digital relationship, the online relationship that we can connect with that has to go as far as it can go, because we're just never gonna see those clients in person.
Anne: And that becomes some of my wonderful colleagues who are in animated series or in video games that are beloved and have fans that are out there that the same kind of thing that have developed a, a relationship. I just watched the movie Elvis last night. So that whole thing just kind of, it makes a difference what you're putting out there. Now here's the question, because sometimes I feel that what you're putting out there digitally and/or even online with, through video or even in person, can there be too much, can you share too much? Can there be a place where maybe in a professional business, we've gone too far and overshared? What are your thoughts on that?
Lau: Yeah. That's the question of the day, honestly. I really do think the more I learn about online media, the more I'm learning that that can be personal, but it can also be generational. Because we have millennials and up and coming Gen-Zers who are digital natives who grow up with that in their hands and share every and everyone else, every single moment of their day and will contextually mix that in with their businesses. And that heightened level of personalization is not only accepted, but expected.
For me, I find it jarring, to be honest with you. Like, I don't necessarily wanna report what kind of eggs I'm having in the morning. I just don't but I've had some of my audiences, including like my own children go, okay. But just so you know, like we care about that. We kind of wanna know. It's not irrelevant to us. That's like part of you, and if we're gonna work with you, then we kind of wanna know that. So it, to me, that's a lot of generational gap in there.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I'll tell you, so I guess personality-wise, I've always been kind of an open book. I was always the talker, and I think a lot of voice artists, maybe those people, the talkers in the family. But I've never necessarily had an issue sharing with people. But I also think that I'm strategic when I share and where I share. And I think that when I'm looking online, when I see a share that might be a little, I don't know, maybe a little TMI or a little --
Lau: Little provocative.
Anne: And I wonder how does that fare with your potential client? And again, because you might have a millennial that hires you, and I get that. And they wanna see or feel, or hear an authentic you. So when I put myself out there, I mean, I try to be as authentic as possible. I mean, and when I'm talking on the VO BOSS podcast, I'm pretty darn authentic, but it doesn't mean that I always have to be like every single minute of the day overly authentic, because I think that I have certain clients that may not want to know certain things about me.
Because it would affect whether they would hire me or not. And I think that's the biggest question, right? If I share too much or if I have, let's say I'm distressed and I'm sharing that I'm distressed on a day that maybe I'm supposed to be doing a live session with one of my potential clients, right? And now they understand maybe that was why the session didn't go so well. Or maybe because they already know so much about me that maybe they won't hire me again, right? Because it affected me to the point where my performance was affected. I don't know if I had a bad day and you know, I'm sharing it and I share a lot, and I have that potential client, maybe they're not gonna wanna work with me after that.
Lau: That's the risk we take. I mean, can't please everyone all the time, you know? I mean --
Anne: Yeah, that's true.
Lau: -- the truth is what pleases one audience is just going to maybe repulse another audience. And I think the more we can pivot and shift and switch up to different audiences is just about the best that we can do. But I'd rather be pliable a little bit. Like I don't wanna be that person that says, oh, I'm 40, I'm 50, I'm 60. And this is the way I do things. And I'm not open to anything else because this is my people and this is -- I kind of wanna be able to relate to different generations. I wanna be able to meet people where they're at, even if I'm not great at their level of -- their mode communication, I want, I wanna be perceived as someone who is trying and who cares about it and who wants to reach them and what they need, which is gonna be very different needs than what someone who's 20 or 30 years their senior is going to be.
So I like that flexibility. That's what I'm trying to say. I think in networking and in building rapport and deepening relationships, the more flexible you are -- I would say, think of your relationships as like an architect. If you had a beautiful building, it was a very tall skyscraper type of building, how does that fare in a city like Tokyo or San Francisco, that's getting earthquakes all the time? We're getting conflict all -- in problems all the time. We have to have a super concrete, strong foundation. And then the higher up we go, we have to be able to flex in the winds. We have to be able to literally blow back and forth. And I like to think of us as business people and as networkers, as people that have very sturdy foundations, but that can flex with our clients and, and mold and different directions, you know?
Anne: I love that. Yeah, I love that analogy. That's just a wonderful analogy. So let's talk about a lot of conferences are popping up, and especially now I'm noticing a lot of them. And we were talking about it earlier. I think everybody's ready to get out there after the pandemic -- I say after the pandemic, I mean, I don't even know how to define it anymore. I just know that everybody, I think after two and a half years of this is ready to just get out and hug people or see people and get that physical connection, which I can completely understand. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna be going out a couple times this year to conferences. And so in terms of, let's say building a rapport or even nurturing a relationship, maybe you're gonna meet somebody finally -- I'm gonna meet somebody at one of these conferences that I've been working with for two and a half years -- what kind of tips do you have for building rapport? Or what would you do in terms of in-person networking tips that we can give the BOSSes out there?
Lau: All right. Let's talk. I mean, there's some of them that are fairly simple that you and I have seen over and over and over again, mishaps. Like for instance, how many times have we gone to a conference or a networking event and we're meeting people and they have no business cards? They just, oh, I'm sorry. I have nothing to give you. I ran out. I forgot them. I -- whatever it sounds so insanely simple. And yet having something on you that is hard copy, that is old school hard copy like a business card still is pro, still is a professional rapport building tool rather than just writing it down on a notebook or piece of paper.
Anne: I wanna make a point, 'cause I am gonna go to this conference coming up in, in October. And I said to my husband, I said, 'cause my husband does events at shows. And I said, so do people still use business cards? He goes, oh my God, yes. 'Cause I was like, or do I use like here scan my QR code? You know, digital? Now I wanna say that usually there's an app that goes in a conference that you join the app and then you can put all your contact information in the app and then share it with other people. I think being able to have both, I love the touch feel. It's again, like why do we still have books? Because I love to touch and feel the books. And I think we are gonna be appeasing anybody that we might meet again, like you said, we, we're gonna be flexible. I think have both. Make sure you're logged on to that app, have your contact information. You can share it that way, or have that touchy feel business card. And I think that that really would be a great way to, to be prepared. So I'm like, all right, I'm gonna get business cards and refresh my business cards now. And I do like the touchy feel.
Lau: I do too.
Anne: Take it outta my wallet.
Lau: I do too.
Anne: I remember, gosh, back before it used to be like scan my QR code or here's an app for the conference, It used to be a thing. You must have cards. And we would all be like, oh my God, you don't have your business cards at this conference? You really need to have a business card if you wanna be considered a professional. So now I think if you can kind of be flexible and have both available, I think that's a good way to prepare.
Lau: Yeah, I agree totally. And I also don't wanna alienate a potential friend, client, contact because they're just not techy. Like they don't do the scanning thing. They don't know much about it. They're not into it, but they're brilliant. And they like run a great business. You know what I mean? So I don't wanna be the one that makes them feel out of it, out of the scene because they don't know how to do that for instance, that would be one reason to have plan for sure.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: I also wanted to point out like prepare how you want to enter the space. I think a lot of folks just kind of run in, and they're stressed out, and they're running late and they're, they're just there. Think about, you know, I always like to say, visualize the room, visualize the room. Who will be in there? You should be able to see many people who will be in there before the event actually happens to have an idea of the caliber of folks that are coming in, what the presentations are, so forth and so on. But think about the traffic. What kind of traffic may be coming in? Who are the people that you want to target in terms of your, your perfect client, your perfect connection? And really make a list, like jot it down, you know, make notes in your phone, however you do it, so that you walk in and you have a strategy in mind --
Anne: And you're prepared.
Lau: You said that earlier, you're prepared. You're not just kind of floating around and seeing who comes to you and who -- you are really kind of assertive, 'cause you only have a certain amount of time. Even if it's a two or three day conference, you're gonna wanna sit in on shows and webinars, seminars. And you're gonna -- time gets eaten up very fast at those events. And there's oftentimes a lot to seen a lot to do. So map it out, have a strategy in mind, say, I wanna meet these three people? Who are they, and really have that ready to go.
Anne: Yes, absolutely. Now here's a question which I know a bunch of people, if they are at a conference, and there are agents or casting directors there, what do you consider appropriate for people that come up to you and introduce themselves because they might wanna be represented by you? 'Cause that's a tough one. Sometimes people will not go up because they're timid or people will go up and be overbearing. So what is your advice for that as an agent or a casting director in terms of what do you consider to be professional?
Lau: That's an interesting question. I honestly have not to been to many conferences in person since COVID to really -- when you're on online, you know, you're sort of protected. The automatic digital boundaries already there. So you're kind of protected by that. Whereas in person, I haven't really experienced that, but I'm gonna imagine there's a groupie thing that goes on. There's a groupie mentality. Like if I were to see some of my favorite people like Rob Paulson or Debbie Derryberry -- I mean, I have relationships with them, but if I didn't, I wouldn't wanna run up and like crowd them and be in their space. I'd wanna pay attention to protocol, pay attention to structure.
So there are very specific protocols and structures when you go to those events where you're gonna see them on a panel or you're gonna see them where they stand in a line and you're gonna take a photo with them or whatever. Okay, agents are very similar in that. Oftentimes they're in a workshop or a panel or they're invited guests. And if they're not in a structured setting where you're gonna ask them questions, there's a Q and A, you can talk to them, I wouldn't recommend running up to agents or casting and like smothering them.
Anne: Right. And giving them a demo or giving them your contact. And I think again, you have to kind of go like, well, approach them as to like, what do you know about them? And I always say approach was not the I, I, I, me, me, me, but about, oh my goodness. I have another voice actor that I'm friends with. And they've talked to me about how wonderful you are and I really appreciate meeting you. And that's it, nothing like, I don't don't think pressing like, are you accepting new -- I feel like that's just almost too much sometimes. Unless you've got the indication from the agent that they're looking for more people to put on their roster.
Lau: Right.
Anne: I don't know. It's read the room.
Lau: Read the room, read the room. And oftentimes they're there for a reason. Like they're there not just to educate you, but to find people. They're there to field new talent for their roster. Oftentimes it's like innate, that's the reason why they're there. So don't crowd them. What you wanna do is you wanna listen to what they have to say, take notes on what they have to say, refer to what they have to say and follow their contact information that they provide to you, and that day, like I wouldn't wait -- we talked about windows of time -- that day, while you're at the conference, go to a spot --
Anne: I really enjoyed your presentation. I really, yeah.
Lau: Boy. Yeah. Yeah. I just sat in. And when you talked about this, I was really impressed.
Anne: I love it.
Lau: I'm a talent I'm seeking representation. It's wonderful to hear you. That's it. I wouldn't do more than that because you don't need need to. Right? You, remember you don't have a relationship. You're building rapport.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. Wow. Great discussion today. I love it. I love it. Thank you so much. So I am going to say thank you so much, Lau, for today's conversation, and BOSSes out there, you can have a simple mission, but yet a big impact: 100 voices, one hour, $10,000, four times a year. If you wanna find out more, visit 100voiceswhocare.org to join. Also big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network and build rapport like BOSSes. Find out more at iptdl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Lau: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Are you feeling the energy of newness & hope that we do? Anne & Lau are getting ready for the new year and all that comes with it. Before you jump to goal setting, take a minute to think about what has happened this year & what you want to create next. Reflecting on your accomplishments is an empowering exercise that can help you feel successful & inspired. It is also essential to take a look at the industry as it is now & research any predictions about the near future. Understanding the demands of the industry will help you build your goals and business plans around what will serve the current market. Now BOSSES, it is time to goal set. Think big, but not unrealistic…and if you need help, listen up because Anne & Lau have your back.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so happy to have back to the show the one and only Lau Lapides. Hey Lau.
Lau: Hey, I love how you took a breath before you said my name. Yay.
Anne: I did . You deserve that extra drama, that extra drama pause. So.
Lau: Thank you. I love that.
Anne: Awesome. Well, you know Lau, it is coming to a close, the year of 2022.
Lau: Unbelievable.
Anne: Yeah. And of course 2023, with that comes the new year, resolutions, goals, all those good things. And I think I wanna kind of take a step back and not just talk about 2023, but I wanna reimagine what your business and what the BOSSes out there, reimagine what your businesses could look like in 2023, maybe in a little different light this year. Because I think, I feel like people are feeling more comfortable now. They're getting out, they're seeing each other. I think there's a lot of hope and renewal in the air. I mean, I'm feeling it. And for me, I've taken a look at what's going on this past year and the industry and how it's shifting. And I think we really need to take a good look at our businesses to see how we can maybe shift and evolve and reimagine our businesses in the new year.
Lau: Mm. No question about it. And this is the best time. I'm always saying, you're winding down. You're tying up loose ends. You're excited about any holidays that are happening. And even if you don't celebrate holidays, it gives you permission that everyone else is to just relax, be with family, take it easy, but then also to plan.
Anne: Yeah. Right?
Lau: To think about quarter one in the new year, where do you wanna be? Who do you wanna be? And what does your vision look like of your business?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: That's exciting. I love that time.
Anne: It's so exciting. I mean, and I really like to have that time to reflect. And I'll tell you what, you and I, we are soul sisters, right? We work, work, work, work, work. And the other day I literally, I had to go to a doctor's appointment. Maybe not the most fun thing in the world, but it got me into the car. And it got me on a long ride 'cause there was traffic. And I actually really like that. And I miss that in a way because whenever I would drive, I was able to think, right? Because I can't be typing at my computer. I have to just sit there and think. And I came to the realization, Lau, that I have been in business for myself for 15 years.
Lau: Wow.
Anne: And you think I would've thought about that before. I mean, I kind of knew it, but I just, it hit me all of a sudden.
Lau: Awesome, awesome.
Anne: Wow. That is something to be proud of. And I know you have been in business just about as long as I have.
Lau: Mm-hmm.
Anne: Full-time, your own business. And I think that number one, before any BOSSes start to think about what they are going to do next year, right, and create goals, I think you should stop, reflect, and give yourself credit and realize your accomplishments that you have so far. Because that, I think gives you a great baseline to jumpstart a new year.
Lau: Absolutely. And you know, I was thinking about you saying that you were in the car, and that's that autonomic thing in your brain that you know how to drive the car. You don't have to think about it. So you can go into your imagination, you can go into processing things, and you've got the privacy. You're alone. And here's the thing, we're moving forward. Most of the time, unless we're sitting at a light or backing up, we're moving forward. So if you drive, if you bike, if you walk and you're moving forward, and you're thinking about your life, think about your business as moving forward. You've got this kinesthetic energy that's happening as you're thinking about what's to come.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Lau: And we're meant to be in action. I know I'm one of those people, Anne, and I know you are as well, that I am better about working and getting things done when I'm in action.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. I agree.
Lau: I'm not as good on the outside of it. I'm better on the inside of it.
Anne: Well, you know what else too, when I am though, in that moment where I can be quiet and reflect, I also like to watch or listen to other creative things so that I can learn and be inspired. And so, believe it or not, I was listening to another podcast, and it wasn't anything to do with voiceover, and it didn't even have to do with business, but it was people in the creative arts. And when I listen to them banter back and forth about what they do on a day-to-day basis, or that maybe they're interviewing somebody that's in television or the movies, and it always gets me thinking outside of my bubble. I really think that most of us voice talent. We stay in this bubble, this safe, comfortable bubble of, this is my industry, this is what I know, and this is how I need to go forward. These are the steps that other people in my industry have told me.
And I think that you really need to step outside of that once in a while to get creative inspiration. Like I love watching good movies. I love listening to new music. I love listening to anybody in the creative arts talking about their career or what they do to inspire themselves or to get ahead or to grow themselves or their business. That inspires me and gives my business new ideas.
Lau: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I'm right there with you. And just last night I was watching a program on PBS about the American Musical Theater.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Lau: And the Jewish influence on that thematically, like the Jewish people that are coming in and influencing that. And they talked to Mel Brooks, and they talked to Stephen Sondheim and they talked, and here's the theme. They came up with. The great musicals were all revolving around hope and joy and happiness, you know, "Put on a happy face" and "Singing in the rain" and all. And I'm telling you, I was crying my eyes out with joy. I was crying my eyes out because I wanted to remember that what we do in our industry should be around joy rather than around negative.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: You know, we can still have agendas, we can still have purposes that are serious, that we really care about. We wanna uplift and we want to support, but overall, I know I wanna have a joyous outlook about myself, my business, my clients.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: My world. I want, I wanna go in with the upward mobility rather than downward.
Anne: Yeah. Upward. And along those same lines is really understanding what it is that you do and how you contribute to the world and society and within your business. And I think that we talk about this all the time, know your worth, know your worth. But I think we, we talk about it in terms of just knowing your worth in terms of what do I charge? Right? What do I charge for this voiceover job? I want you to think broader and grander than that. Like, how does my voice fit into the very small piece of the pie that can affect people on grand levels?
Do you know what I mean? My voice that fits into a documentary or something that's uplifting, or a meditation or, or however that works in a creative, entertaining spot. How does that fit in? And how does it overall affect not just you and your business, but society and the world? And when I think you start to realize where that sits, you start to value yourself and your business even more. And that helps you to create even grander goals that can be achievable, not grand goals that are not achievable. It gives you inspiration that you can achieve this.
Lau: Yes. And that there is an outcome that you are responsible for. And the outcome is surrounded by impact.
Anne: Mm. Yes.
Lau: Like what kind of impact and outcome does your audience, your client base, the people who surround you, what are they going to feel? What's the affect? What are they going to learn? What's your logos and education around what you bring to them? And how will they be persuaded? You know, like how will they move in a direction or a new direction based on what you're giving to them and offering them, which is you're offering them value.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: You're really giving value. So it's not just about setting your rates and setting your pricing.
Anne: Sure.
Lau: It's about saying, take a step back. What value am I really giving to them? And how long lasting is that value?
Anne: I totally agree with you. And so in looking, I think, BOSSes, before you start to make those goals for 2023, and you start reimagining, start taking a look at what you do now and start looking beyond just the surface of -- for me, for example, I don't necessarily do documentaries every day of my life or impactful commercials every day of my life, but I do voiceover every day of my life. And every single piece that I do voiceover for every single piece of copy has a meaning and has an impact to someone out there. And I think we don't often look beyond the words. Right? And the end of the job and the paycheck. I think we really have to say, what is it that we are contributing? And also, I think if you are really thinking about the overall impact, it's gonna help you with your performance as well.
Your performance is gonna mean more artistically. And also, again, I think everything just falls into place because again, as I was mentioning before, if we look at the evolution of this industry and how things are changing and evolving, technology, it keeps coming. Right? It keeps coming. There is the potential for a large amount of disruption in our industry because of technology. If you remember, I think the first was home studios and then ISDN, right? Or ISDN, that was a technology that led to home studios. And then home studios led to more and more people in the industry. And then after that, I'm thinking, what else is changing in the industry? Online casting sites, right? Pay to plays. That was technology that, it disrupted our industry. And technology, by the way, doesn't just disrupt our industry. Technology disrupts every industry.
And again, there's another movement for, I'm gonna say it, synthetic voices. And I know that people don't wanna hear that, but yet it is coming. And so as businesses and when we are trying to imagine our business moving forward, we need to be aware. We need to keep our eyes open. And we also need to think that if synthetic voices are coming, we need to be even more human in our craft. Right? Even more human, to make the impact to differentiate ourselves from the other product that may be coming.
And also possibly consider having an additional product in your service. Right? Maybe a human voice. Well, obviously a human voice, right? But maybe think about how a synthetic voice might play into your business. I'm not gonna say that I am out there taking away jobs, but I'll tell you what, they're not gonna stop for me. .
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: And so for me, I wanna hone my craft so that I can give as much human Anne to my performance and make an impact with that as I can. And so that gives me lots of goals for next year, lots of goals.
Lau: Tons of goals. It's never ending goals. And I think there's the nature of human beings, not just in our industry, but to sort of have resistance against change.
Anne: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Lau: Like anything that looks scary, unknown, change -- will that take my job? Will that take my value away? Will that take my worth away? Well, our job, I think as human beings is to say, no, I have to re-envision what my value and what my place is, and then I have to offer that.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: If I sit back and I put up the resistance wall and I become super toxic, and start low talking everything and downgrading everything -- listen, as you said, it's not gonna change because I'm upset about it. Trust me on that.
Anne: Exactly. Yeah.
Lau: So when in Rome -- like you have to figure out, how do I carve out my business and rearrange that to fit the new waves that are happening in the industry? And if you really look closely, there's going to be positives. There's going to be pros, there's going to be great stuff. And then there, there will be cons too.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: So I always found like you, I need to stay positive about it and really do the due diligence of figuring out how do I swim in this market? What do I have to offer? And what do I need to change and re-envision in order to still fit into the industry?
Anne: Right. And I think it's important, again, just to reiterate with some different words, but saying the same thing, it is the market. We are a business who provides a product to a market, and we need to pay attention to that market. I can't just be a voice actor and say, but I have an amazing voice. Hire me.
Lau: Right.
Anne: It doesn't matter how great my voice is if the market is not demanding it. Right? And that's just business 101. You have to understand what the market is looking for, and then as a business, offer something that will serve that market.
Lau: Yeah. I mean, if it's any consolation and you view it all as a commodity, and that we are a product, in essence, go out and look at every single product on the market from an Apple computer to Tide soap to your car, to your house, whatever. It doesn't stay the same. It's all new. It's improved.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: You've got new ingredients, you've got new packaging, you've got environmentally friendly, you've got da, da da, da, da. It just doesn't stay the same. Like, I'm this laundry detergent and it's good. And take it or leave it. It doesn't stay that way. It has to change with the mindset, the vision, and also the generational influences. It has to shift and change to appeal to those target demographics. And it doesn't mean that it's not good anymore. It means that it needs to move in the direction where that audience figures out what the value is.
Anne: We can't, "get off my lawn!" We can't do that.
Lau: No, no.
Anne: We just, we just can't -- we may be getting older. And it's interesting because as I --
Lau: What are you doing on my lawn?
Anne: Get off my lawn.
Lau: Get off.
Anne: As I mentioned, I've been in the industry for 15 years. I have seen a lot of change.
Lau:
Anne: Again, when I mentioned when I started home studio was just a thought.
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: It wasn't a requirement. Online casting sites hadn't begun yet. And really, if you're not, again, watching and looking and educating yourself, you're not gonna be able to move forward. Your business is not gonna be able to move forward. So if you're a voice artist and you love what you do, and you wanna remain a voice artist, then I think you definitely need to take some time. And this time of the year is a great time to do it. If you haven't been writing down your accomplishments --
So I'm gonna say before you write down goals, I have a wonderful planner that I write down weekly, daily accomplishments, things that I've done. And it's something that, a place that I can go to look back at. And it gives me a nice benchmark to say, oh yeah, you know what? If I'm feeling down and I feel like, oh, it's a slow week and what's going on, I don't feel like I'm making any progress -- I can go look at things that I've written down and say, wow, you know what? Like the epiphany that 15 years, wow. That's something to be proud of.
Lau: Look how much you did. It's very easy to forget about it and brush it aside when you're busy and stressed about the up and coming projects. But when you really take the time to look back on everything, oh my goodness, you go, did I do that? Oh, . It's incredible. And you should be proud of that. Like you should take the time to celebrate it. Take the time to really go, oh my God, that's me. I did that. Like I always say, we're the alchemists thinking about creating a business out of nothing.
Anne: Right.
Lau: There's nothing there. It's air. And then you fill it with a thought and you conceive it, and then you start to plan it, and then you start to execute it. And then when you do it, you go, oh yeah, I just did it. It wasn't a big deal. Yeah. I got to do -- well, you forgot about the whole process --
Anne: It was a big deal.
Lau: -- leading up to it.
Anne: Exactly. Mm-Hmm.
Lau: A huge deal getting there.
Anne: It's interesting, as I was thinking about that, I'm also writing like, what are the biggest myths about starting a business in the voiceover industry? And one of the biggest myths is that you're born to be a business person or born to be an entrepreneur. And I think I'm the first one to negate that because I wasn't born to be an entrepreneur. I learned everything as I was going along. And so in reality, that's an accomplishment.
Lau: Oh yeah. I don't even know anyone who, even if they're born into families of entrepreneurs and they're studying in an entrepreneurial, you know, MBA track, they're not naturals at it oftentimes. They have to learn, they have to absorb, they have to be in the surrounding, they have to be in the mindset, the thought process. And that's not even to say, are they brave? Like, do they, they have that risk taking, that calculated risk taking thing. Are they willing to work really hard? Are they creative? Do they have a creative brain? I mean, that's all stuff that is part of your makeup, part of your chemistry. But you have to have the exposure, the teachings, the environment to help cultivate all that.
Anne: BOSSes out there, if you haven't already gotten a pen and paper and started writing down these accomplishments -- because if you are here, if you are in the industry, if you've started your business, that is an accomplishment. And that is something to jumpstart, springboard off that for reimagining your next year. And I've got some, you know, hefty plans for myself, more so than I think I did this past year. I mean, I always like to think big, but this year I'm really starting to evolve and change, and I think get off my lawn kind of talk. I have been planning for my retirement for the last five years.
The wheels have been turning. I wanna make passive income so that when I retire, I can travel and I don't have to be taking my mic everywhere with me and enjoy my retirement. So I've always been planning year after year after year, what can I do? How can I evolve my business? How can I grow it? And part of that is sitting down and looking at my accomplishments and then figuring out what new things do I wanna do for this next year? And I think because I've seen a bigger change in the industry this year, more things out in the industry that are affecting the industry and trends and where they're going -- and I think next year I want to be able to offer more to my clients.
And so I'm going to have to really dig deep and figure out what parts of my business do I wanna change? Do I want to upgrade? Do I want to, I can't be Anne Ganguzza more than 24 hours a day. I just don't have the time. And so now I've gotta really figure out a new way to rework the business so it's more efficient. And I can put more of my, I guess I wanna say my genuine self into it and not have to spend hours doing things that maybe I can outsource or have another method of getting them done or maybe go a different direction.
Lau: Hmm. No question about it. I think that that's the way to go. And when your BOSSes are ready to do that, delegating, growing your team, going from solopreneur to really businesspreneur, entrepreneur, whatever is important when you're ready for that step. And that's a courage step. You have to have a lot of courage and faith that you've reached that certain benchmark, but you need to get to the next level up. And in order to do it, you can't be everywhere all the time. You have to have others helping you. That was hard for me, honestly, Anne, because I'm the type of person, I don't know, maybe I'm a control freak and I'll say --
Anne: No, I hear you.
Lau: Maybe I'm a control freak, but I like to touch everything. You know what I mean?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: I'm like a toddler. I like to touch that and touch that email and touch that.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And I'm learning that I don't always have to do that.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: And sometimes, and this was like a huge ego thing, and BOSSes, you might be able to relate to this, the idea that it won't go well or it won't be of high value if I'm not involved with it, is really not true. It's just not true. It's your insecurity potentially.
Anne: Yes. Absolutely.
Lau: Being worried about things going wrong versus that client really getting their value, enjoying themselves fully with another coach or with another engineer, or with another whatever you do like all the millions of jobs. I always say job number 82, you know what I mean?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well, there's something to be said when you do outsource. I mean, I've had, gosh, I wanna say I've had my second hired employee is still with me. Wow. She's been with me for, I'm gonna say nine years now.
Lau: Wow.
Anne: Think about that. Nine years. Right?
Lau: Nine years.
Anne: I have been employing, I mean, I have at least nine people on my team now, but they've stayed with me. And that's yet another thing to think about. If you're outsourcing, you have to manage, right? You have to manage employees, you have to delegate, you still have to delegate so you have a little bit of your piece of the pie. You have your hand, your fingers in the pie there. And it's something of an accomplishment to have an employee that is loyal, that wants to stay with you for that long, that you can hopefully motivate and inspire. And it's, it's not just about the money for them.
Because I realize that if I want quality work and the type of work that I'm so control freakish myself, right? It's gotta be at a level that's way up here -- if you want your employees to perform at that level, then you have to respect them. You have to treat them well, you have to pay them well. And that also is a big challenge because we are our own business and to invest money, right, again into ourselves for performance training, for demos, for marketing, for outsourcing, it's always, I think, a scary thing for us to spend our money. Right? Our well-earned money. And so again, that's another thing that I can have on my accomplishment list to say I have been a good boss to my employees. And they have not left me in the dust. They've stayed with me. We have a wonderfully respectful, productive relationship. And I'm very proud of that.
Lau: And you should be proud of that. That's amazing. And in a world where most bosses just don't care, like workers are dispensable, oftentimes they're not even recognized. It's like you're a number in a lecture classroom kind of thing -- you have built a core business built on value and warmth and a family friendly environment and really nurturing, really just nurturing your talent and your clients, and really making sure you've got a caring, watchful eye. Hard to find that. That is invaluable. Like that is priceless. You know what I mean?
To be able to do something like that. We pride ourselves on that too. And I recently said what you said. I said, oh, I've been an amazing boss. Like, I'm incredible. But here's the double-edged sword. I have been the toughest boss that I have ever worked for. I'm much tougher on these than I am on the people that work with me and for me. And that's an issue. Like it's good that you're able to drive yourself. It's not good that you drive yourself crazy.
Anne: Oh, I completely agree. I completely agree. And you know what's so interesting? I think that because our product is really a very personal, part of our personal brand, right? It represents our personal brand, whether we are hiring somebody to help market, for us to help engineer, for us to help communicate to potential clients for us, they are representing our brand. And so by default, I like to say, of course, I'm the most caring, warm boss out there. But part of it is also because they're representing my brand, right? And I wanna make sure that I get tip top work, right? Top-notch work. I know myself, I'm not gonna get top-notch work from workers who aren't paid enough. Right? How can I preach the value of knowing your worth if I don't pay my employees what they're worth? Right? How do I get them to care about me and my brand?
Because if they write an email and say the wrong thing or come off on a different level or a different way, that is impacting me and affecting my business. And so I have to make sure that my employees are on the ball all the time. And, and I think that's part of the motivation too, for treating your employees well. And I always think you should treat your employees well anyways. Happy employees are gonna be ones that really serve your company and will stay with you for the long term.
Lau: That's right. That's part of your envisioning and re-envisioning of your business, that I'm working with the best crew that I can work with. I'm inspiring them. I'm offering them the resources they need. I'm educating them. I'm taking care of them well financially and emotionally, but I'm also motivating myself in a new way and getting courageous about that. Like what's the next step? Let me be honest. How do I level up personally and professionally? How do I get to that next place? And I'm telling you, it can be a leap. I'm going through it myself. It can be, after 14 years, it is really crazy to like take a leap to go from whatever it is, whether it's the six figure to the seven figure mark.
Anne: Sure. Absolutely.
Lau: Or to go from this level of client to that level of client, or it's very, very unsettling to do that.
Anne: And I'll tell you another thing. I always think about at this time of the year, right? Next year, am I going to raise my prices? Right?
Lau: Hmm. We were just talking about that. Yeah.
Anne: And I think that, Lau, that's a whole 'nother episode, but it's something, BOSSes, I want you to think about, right? Are you going to be raising your prices? And in economic times such as these, right? When there's a recession or the looming recession, how much are you going to, are you going to change your prices for new clients? Maybe your existing clients, you'll give them a grandfather clause where they get the same rate. But I do think that every time I change my prices, I have a little mini heart attack because it's scary even for us, right Lau, when we --
Lau: Oh, yes.
Anne: It takes courage to do things like that, to raise your prices, to hire someone, to fire someone, anything when it comes to your business for growth, it takes courage to grow.
Lau: It does.
Anne: And I'll tell you what though, I have all the faith in the world for 2023 and the BOSSes that listen to this podcast, that you guys are gonna go write down those accomplishments so that you can have a springboard to really, really reimagine what your business will be like in 2023. And think big. I like to think big, but don't think unrealistic because I'm ever hopeful that I really do believe that when I do reimagine my 2023, I will always make it so it works for me. Because I certainly don't like, I don't like to fail. I mean, I do fail all the time, but I don't like it to look like a failure. So I just say, oh, I changed my mind. So .
Lau: Yeah, exactly.
Anne: But again, it's all about growth.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: And I think that if you have done this for any amount of time, or if you're just getting into it, taking risks and having courage to grow your business -- you don't have to say, oh, I'm gonna go from $1000 a year to $100,000 a year. You don't have to make some crazy grand goal. As a matter of fact, most of my growth has come from goals that I kind of worked backwards from. And so they were step by step by step. And so each one was incremental in a realistic way, so that I never felt like I was losing or a failure or I couldn't make it.
Lau: Exactly. And and you know, we have fancy terms that we use now that really justify those moves. Like changing your mind is now called pivoting. We pivot.
Anne: Yeah. There you go.
Lau: Because it either doesn't work or it's not what we thought it is, or it's just not panning out for whatever reason, or we no longer wanna do it. It doesn't satisfy our overall goal. So we pivot in a new direction. So as you're able to transition and pivot and move, I would say, stay in action, move forward. Keep envisioning and re-envisioning, and don't be apologetic if you need to change course, if you need to pivot like you do, Anne, like I do every single day. That's really part of the game. And if you're gonna be in it, you need to keep that action moving forward. And just go for it. Like don't hold back. Go for it.
Anne: Well, I am Inspired, Lau, by you and I thank you, Lau. This is our last podcast episode of this year. We are continuing next year, which I'm so excited for.
Lau: Yay.
Anne: But yeah, so I have to say I am truly grateful and appreciative of having you these past few months as my co-host and absolutely love growing my business with you and growing VO BOSS. And for the BOSSes out there, I wanna say it's been an amazing year. Thank you so much for supporting us. One last thing, big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes and reimagine your 2023 with ipDTL. Find out more at ipdtl.com. I have all the good feels for next year for all of you. Keep listening, we love you, and we'll see you next year.
Lau: Thanks everyone. See you next year.
Anne: Thanks, BOSSes.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
What’s the deal with representation? In this episode, Anne & Lau break down the basics. They share what agents do, how they can help with your career, & why you should (or shouldn't) sign with one. Lau shares her experience as an agent & what she does on a day-to-day basis while Anne gets answers to common questions voice actors have about having an agent. Agencies are businesses, but they have the power to help you find work, making them a potentially valuable part of your career. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the "do I need an agent" question. It depends on the kind of work you are looking to do & what your goals are. We know there are many ways to BOSS with and without an agent, but if you want to learn more, we’ve got you covered.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and our business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to bring back to the show my very special guest co-host, Lau Lapides. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. It's a good day, Lau.
Lau: It's a great day. It's always a great day to talk voiceover. It's like we could, I was just saying we could talk forever. This podcast should be like day and night. It should never stop ever. 'Cause we could talk so much about it and life and being a human being and all the things we care about. There you go alongside that.
Anne: So I do wanna say that we recently just met and really clicked and of course I'm super excited that you are now representing me. And I thought about it because I love the fact that I think you get almost as excited, if not more excited about providing me with opportunities than I do about being repped by you.
Lau: Totally.
Anne: And I thought it would be a great time to talk about, should we get representation? What's the deal with representation or should we not? Because I get that question all the time from my students.
Lau: Oh my gosh. I do too. It's an ongoing conversation. It's a great discussion to have; all questions are good questions. There's no answer to it. I don't think there's a specific answer to it, but the discussion's really important to have, and you're right. I do get really off on getting the work for others. I love you do the feeling. And I was trying to think back when I was a performer full time. I dunno if I felt that way about even myself. Like I was always kind of that agent manager type, you know what I mean? I was just kind of like that Jewishy producer myself, you know, kind of thing, New Yorky thing, whatever that is. I love it. I love it. Not just for the work itself, but for the process of being able to get someone inside of something that they're on the outside of. It's almost like a secret. To me, it's like a safe, like I get to help someone find the combination to the safe.
Anne: Oh, I love that.
Lau: And get inside of it and discover what the treasures are. Sometimes it's money and sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's just a whole bunch of like a portal of a world that you weren't in before. It's Narnia's closet. That's what it is.
Anne: I love it. Well, I have to say I've done casting myself, and I always love that let's fit this voice talent to this job. And it's wonderful when it comes together like that.
Lau: It is, it is.
Anne: And so I think that it is having agents is a wonderful thing. However, agents solely represent a portion of where I get my opportunities from. And I always try to explain that to anybody who like, when they first start getting into the business, they're like, when do I get an agent? I need an agent. I'm like, well, I literally was working in the industry for about four years full time before I got my first agent. I think it's helpful to really understand the role that agents play in helping to get work for voice talent. So let's start with you, Lau. Tell me a little bit about your role as an agent and what types of are specific genres that you specialize in.
Lau: So I have now been in an agent capacity for about two and a half years. So I'm still relatively young in the agent world. I was a coach and for many years, still am, and a performer myself, still am. But I mean, that happened well, we were right in the middle of the COVID and you know, as a business thinker immediately, I start thinking, what problem can I solve? Who needs, what, who needs what, what's missing, what's missing. So we're Boston based in the new England market. I said, oh, I don't know of any voiceover divisions. We don't have a department in an agency that's voiceover. We have some great studios that will do casting, but we just don't have that like a New York, like an LA has that. And I sort of aspired to be like the big guys. I always said, well, now we're in a global market, right?
We're in the middle of COVID, we're locked in our houses, everyone's still doing voiceover. And I said, what can we do? So I wanted to open this division, and I ended up pioneering the MCVO and opening it under the umbrella of Model Club. That's my colleague, Tim Ayers who owns and operates Model Club. So it was a really interesting, unorthodox way of working where this company, my company Lau Lapides started to become a contractor to a licensed agency to start a division that we had the knowledge of how to do that. So we went ahead and did that, started stocking the roster. And I sort of have been around agents for most of my life.
Anne: That was stocking the roster, not stalking, right? Okay.
Lau: Stocking, like adding people in, adding voices in like --
Anne: Stock.
Lau: Yeah, stock.
Anne: Not stalk.
Lau: No, not stalk. All right. I have to articulate that one really well. Right? .
Anne: I think that was that New York accent
Lau: It was that New York accent. And I had to learn as I went, to be honest with you. I think this is the kind of trade that people who go into casting or go into agency work are working with agencies and working with casting. And they're apprenticing and they're learning how to do it as they go. You can't learn it in a classroom. It's not that type of thing. And so I was learning through the years how to do these things by kind of doing it. And this was a fit and this was kismet. And then I launched it when we launched it. You can imagine we had immediate response from talent all over the place --
Anne: Oh, I bet. Yeah.
Lau: -- who wanted to submit because it's exciting simply to have a voiceover agency or voiceover division. And so that was kind of cool and exciting, and then figuring out how do we connect to breakdowns and how do we get some of the best auditions, and how do we connect the dots with current clients, whether they're regional clients or national clients, and just sort of spend time figuring that out and doing that. But we were lucky in in the sense that we started getting great auditions almost immediately, like --
Anne: That's great.
Lau: -- between the clients that we already had, Tim already had, and my connections nationally, we started getting a lot of stuff in, and it was almost overwhelming to, to find talent for that.
Anne: I wanna just kind of interject here because I think most talent don't think about what is a talent agency, right? And I just wanna kind of bring it home and say, we need to understand that a talent agency or an agent, they are a business. And their business is to match clients up with voice talent. And so they have their own work to do in terms of securing clients that and advertising to clients, that they have a great roster that they can help fulfill that need. So I think sometimes voice talent forget that agents, they aren't magic. They don't have magical clients. They have to do a ton of work to get those clients and to keep those clients.
So understanding that an agent is also a business will help you to understand that once you have an agent, when you get an agent, there needs to be a relationship there, where we both can benefit each other. And that agents are also in a business and need to make money. And part of that is by matching clients to talent. And if there is a profit margin there, then obviously the agent is going to work that deal. And the reason I bring that up, Lau, is because I think that a lot of agents work specifically in broadcast media, because there's opportunity for more profit there versus let's say a one0off non-broadcast sort of a deal. So maybe you can expand upon that a little bit.
Lau: Yeah. I mean, I think just a baseline for people who are learning about agencies, or maybe wanting to tier up to the next level of a better quality agency, just simply put agencies are the middle people. They're the middle women, middle men. They're in the middle. So they're the contract dealers, the negotiation people, the people who find the talent, connect the talent to the job, help with casting. The -- we're not casting directors per se. We don't take the place of a casting director, but we do help in all sorts of capacities. And we do get clients that say, hey, what are your thoughts? Like, can you help narrow this down?
Anne: You do shortlist, right? You do shortlist?
Lau: You do shortlist.
Anne: I was gonna say, yep.
Lau: You do recommendations. You do shortlist. And because sometimes they happen very fast, they will rely on you to make quick recommendations and have very quick answers to questions, questions on availability, questions on rate structure, questions on union status.
Anne: Sure.
Lau: Questions on what their setup is in their home studio. So there's a lot of stuff that has to happen that goes through the agent that has to happen fast. And the reason they'll go to an agent, many reasons, but one is for speed, so that they know that they're gonna have their stuff when they need it as quickly as possible. They don't have to chase the talent.
Anne: That makes sense. And they don't have to cast the net wide and make their own decisions. So, yeah. And I think, so, let me ask you a question. Do, do the majority of agencies, or is this really dependent, do they shortlist themselves or it depends on the client if the client is looking for --
Lau: Yeah, it depends on the client. And once in a while you will have a private client that is with other agencies as well. So like if it's something that's on a national platform or even a regional, if you're going through a casting office, they'll have other agencies. They'll be submitting their top talent from other agencies. They'll whittle that down fairly quickly. And then they'll, you know, reach out to you. As an agency, you're never the only fish in the ocean.
Anne: Right.
Lau: I think the, what agents try to get is private clients. Like we love private clients. Because we know like when I get a company, that's, let's say they're a regional company, and they're gonna cast and they reach out to us, I know that like eight times out of ten, we're gonna book that job.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: We're gonna book that job because they're privatized. We have a relationship them. We can provide the same talent over and over and over again. Whereas sometimes it's a hit or miss if you're going through casting --
Anne: And you're reliable. Exactly.
Lau: Right.
Anne: Just as we need to be as voice talent. Right? Just as we need to be to our clients. Right? Agents need to be that to their clients. Absolutely.
Lau: Exactly. So the relational factor's really, really important. And then of course they are assuming and rightly so that we're doing a screening process that they don't have to do.
Anne: Right.
Lau: They don't have to audition. They don't have to find the talent.
Anne: Right.
Lau: They don't have to do any of that. We're doing that.
Anne: Right. They rely on you because they know that you have a roster of professional talents that their studios have already been vetted. You already are familiar with the roster and their specialties and availability, that's another big thing. Right?
Lau: That's right.
Anne: Who's available? And so that I think really takes care a lot of the tedious details that they don't wanna have to deal with. And so.
Lau: Oh no, they don't wanna deal with any of that.
Anne: They reach out and oh gosh. Do I even begin in saying like the naming of files, of audition files?
Lau: Oh, it's endless.
Anne: Who takes care of that?
Lau: It's endless. That's right. I always joke. It's like they don't wanna have Jim in cubicle C handling that because Jim doesn't know how to do that, if you know what I mean? Like they don't get any of that. And so it would be overwhelming to them to go into a big pocket of say, thousands of voices to try to find what they're looking for. That would be way too overwhelming and time consuming to do. So that's another reason why they still go to agencies because they know it's not gonna be thousands and thousands of voices. It's gonna be the top 500 voices for critique. And then out of that, the specific submission for their criteria of their breakdown. And then they've got their top 15, 20, 25 people, which is more than enough for them, 'cause they know again, they're screened in their top to find who they need.
And it's funny because at the beginning Tim went from, oh, it's okay. I mean, if they have an iPhone, and they can can record in their iPhone they don't need a home studio, different -- to, okay. You need a studio, a source connect. And I was like, no, we want the best talent nationwide if not international, because we are now competing against very large agencies in the hub. So we don't wanna shorter ourselves by saying, oh, as long as they can jump on a phone and do something. No, no, we wanna have the industry standards in place so that if we book a McDonald's or we book a Dunkin Donuts, so we're really ready for that because they're auditioning your studio as much as they're auditioning you now.
Anne: Isn't that the truth?
Lau: Everyone knows.
Anne: That is the truth.
Lau: So the agent depends on that. .
Anne: I love that we're learning about agencies from the agency's business side because it really can help us as voice talent to understand like your day-to-day kind of activities. Like let's talk about your day when you are throwing out an audition to people. So tell me, what do you do as an agent when you are casting?
Lau: Well, I'm a little bit unorthodox in the sense that I now run two businesses. So I run my studio , which is separate, very separate, then the agency side from MC Inc. So when I run the agency side, we're constantly getting in auditions, which we've been filtered by the different relationships we have, the services we work with, but so they're coming in sometimes daily. They're coming in throughout the day. We're looking at them, making sure that they're legit, they're coming from where they need to come from, and then getting them out as quickly as possible. And that can be a challenge too, because if we're working on other work or we're recording or we're coaching or we're whatever, we have to really multitask or stop what we're doing to do that. Because I know once that audition comes to me, there's a chance it's gone out to X amount of other agencies.
Anne: Sure. Right.
Lau: So I gotta get my sneakers on and get that out really fast before some of my talent may get that from another agency.
Anne: Sure. Now question. Yeah. In terms of like audition deadlines, so this is the bane of my existence, right, with my agents. Right? Because I don't have a lot of time during my day however, so when my auditions come in from my agents, I wanna turn that around quickly, as quickly as I possibly can. So when you understand, let's say, okay, here's your audition. Deadline is this date, are you determining that date for your agency? Or is that the client that's determining that date?
Lau: Well, the client gives us the truest date that they have. I don't know how accurate it is to their inside process.
Anne: Right, right.
Lau: But they'll give us the hard deadline of what they need. Then we'll move the deadline in so that we have time to process it.
Anne: Sure, sure.
Lau: And we also have time for retake. So let's say there's someone that we have to have in on this audition, but he's on vacation and he is in the mountains and he has no reception, but he can do it tonight or tomorrow, we'll hold that for him so he can do that if possible. So we always time it. So let's say it's due Thursday at 5:00 PM Eastern. We'll time it so that we're getting it in by like Wednesday, if possible, so that we can process it and leave time for problems as they arrive.
Anne: And so when you say process it, you are downloading the audition file. You are doing shortlisting if you have to, if your client has asked you to. Correct?
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: And so is that you personally, or do you have a team that helps you to do that?
Lau: We have a team. I have a team that helps me do that. And the industry standard now is Dropbox. So we're all using Dropbox to transfer our files, and even going out now, I'm watching slates go out. So slates are slowly going out where we're sending in a zip or we're sending in a pack and they know where it's coming from. So we don't actually need a slate. So some of the private clients and some of the companies we work with say no slate. We don't wanna hear it. We don't need it. Great.
Anne: Okay. Nice.
Lau: One less thing to do. That's good.
Anne: Sure.
Lau: And then we try hard to establish our own protocols if they don't give us direction on labeling and they don't give us direction on this or that. We try to say, listen, we're just not always getting that from the client because they don't care about it. They don't know about it. And it's not relevant. So just do this when you don't hear about it, just do this.
Anne: Whoever has to download the files, this is the way I feel, whoever has to download the files needs to be the one that determines how the file is named.
Lau: Yeah, exactly. And sometimes agents will send it out and you just won't get that direction, and people are confused. They'll say, wait a second. Am I missing something? I'll say, no, they didn't give us that direction. We're not giving it to you. So just go to your default of, we always label like this, label like this.
Anne: I would say name, project, Anne Ganguzza dash and then name of the job. That's my default. That's it.
Lau: I do say, Anne, one of the biggest things you can have as a benefit for yourself is speed. Because ours are not that speedy. We're not like a pay-to-play site where you have to get in in 10, 15 minutes. We'll give you a day. We'll give you two, even three days, sometimes like a really long time. But if people are gonna wait until the third day, what'll happen is like, I already know there's a natural bell curve in every roster. I know like the top voices we have, unless they're already on another gig or they're on vacation, they're gonna submit within about an hour or two.
And I just know they're gonna be the first ones up for it because A, they're great like you, but B, they may cut that audition off because they may get enough in the first day. And then they don't need to listen to day two or day three.
Anne: Right. Right. Right. Exactly.
Lau: So I just say to people, you know, don't, don't put yourself under a terrible rush, but don't wait until the last minute either. You know, get it in as soon as you possibly can, move it out the way because those, as I notice our booking ratios, those people tend to be booking more than folks who are waiting longer.
Anne: The ones that get it in first, yep. That makes sense.
Lau: They are.
Anne: That makes sense because at some point too, I think that we have to realize that when you're listening to so many auditions at one time, at some point it starts to become like white noise. .
Lau: I would imagine it's overwhelming.
Anne: I's overwhelming.
Lau: Even it's hard for us to listen to demo submissions sometimes so if we get 10 or 15 at a time, it's time consuming, and we wanna give it what it needs, the attention that it needs. But we have to be careful with the time.
Anne: It just brings me back to like, this is what we're always saying is that you need to differentiate yourself from the pack when you're sending in that audition. And it doesn't mean that you're different is like -- a lot of times I'll look at the spec and I'll be like, okay, I get it. But I still wanna add my own unique spin on it because everybody else is gonna look at those specs and try to do it exactly like those specs or what we think they want to hear. And so I think making it more unique in that audition, I mean, for me, it's what have I got to lose in making it unique? I mean, if I can make it unique, they're gonna know that I have the capability of making it sound just like in my head it says it should sound like.
Lau: Sure, sure.
Anne: So I'm not gonna give them that. I don't wanna give 'em what I think it should sound like. I wanna give 'em that unique take so that it, it makes them wake up.
Lau: That's right.
Anne: It makes them get me the gig and then they can direct me to whatever they want afterwards.
Lau: And, and do it up front because you don't know if they're gonna listen to your entire demo.
Anne: Exactly.
Lau: And some of the demos we get are not even industry standard. They'll go on for two or three minutes. Very rarely will we listen to a three-minute demo just because we get it, like the first two reads or three reads, like we get it, we get what you can do. So put something up front that's your strong suit, something you get hired for all the time, and then put something that's incredibly diverse and varied from that right next to it.
Anne: Are you talking audition or are you talking demo? So like --
Lau: I'm talking demo.
Anne: Okay.
Lau: I'm talking demo, but also audition. I would say audition as well, because let's say they don't say how many takes they want. I'd say, okay, if you can do three unique takes, do three unique takes, right? What's the worst? They don't listen to them all. But if they do and they really love your voice, make them super diverse, super unique, and very pinpointed as to where you live and where your voice lives. Because there wouldn't be any reason as send in more than one take that sound the same.
Anne: Right, right, exactly.
Lau: That's a very, a common mistake that people make, you know, otherwise you send one great take, just do your best. Take one great take and call it a day. But if you can do diverse or --
Anne: A completely different.
Lau: -- do it. Yeah, do it.
Anne: Absolutely. So now let me ask you a question. So when should voice talent search for an agent? Is there a time?
Lau: Again, I'm really unorthodox about that. I know a lot of agent friends I have say, don't talk to me until you get like five years under your belt. You've already been with an agency. I got some good credits and I love your demo, and I trust you because that's what I represent. And I get that. I don't feel that way actually. I feel like people should be up for it when they feel ready. And then it's very quick to tell if we think that they're ready. Even if they haven't worked yet, even if they have no resume, we've taken in some people that are amazing, that are new. They're just new.
They're coming in. They did a beautiful demo. They're clearly professional in the way in which they write to us. I just instantly like them. I said, why would I hold them back on the basis of like that they haven't worked? They have to get work to work. So if we love their voice and we feel like, oh, we've got a market for their sound, bring them in. Right? But the bread and butter voice is always gonna go first because we have a lot of fans of animation and video game and all of that great stuff. It's just, for us, it's not gonna be the big market for us. And it isn't for a lot of agencies. I think agencies more and more are bringing in slowly animation opportunities, but much of their stuff is just real person stuff.
Anne: I'm glad you said that. So I'm gonna say some agencies specialize in just animation or that's their thing. And I would say that those would be located more in the places like LA and those markets where animation is there, but in terms of other agencies, I'm gonna say, yeah, your bread and butter is commercial for the most part, right?
Lau: Yeah. Yeah. It is. For the most part. It is. Yeah. Once in a while, we'll see an animation come through, we'll see a narration come through. We'll see a couple different things, but yes. And I have found that with friends that run agencies too. Once in a while, they'll get a great industrial or a really nice nice eLearning piece. But much of the time they're just doing as many nationals as they can get in and as many of their regional market and their local folks, as they can get in to really, really pay the bills.
Anne: Good. I'm so glad you said that. And I just wanna kind of make that point to the BOSSes out there. It becomes, where can you make a profit? And I don't mean to make all agents to be all like hungry, profit driven people, but you are a business. And so for the most part, those nationals and those regionals, those are the ones that are bringing in the money in, the consistent money, right, that will be able to make a profit so that you can survive as an agency. So then I wanna also point out that if you are a voice talent, and the majority of your business is e-learning or corporate and that sort of thing, I have a ton of, and I know a lot of voice actors where they have a lot of work in that area -- that happens to be where I do a lot of my work as well. So in terms of, for me, when I was getting agents, I have like 10 agents all scattered around. It doesn't mean that I get auditions from all 10 agents all the time. And I have certain agents that I work closely with because I book with them and we have a relationship. And so that's where my auditions come from, my agents.
Lau: That's right, that's right.
Anne: So I will take the time to do that. But those jobs that they're offering, they're almost all broadcast commercial genre. And I do get a couple of industrials once in a while from one of my agents. And so if you BOSSes are out there, if you are not necessarily booking in commercial yet, or you're not interested in commercial, then maybe an agent, you don't need one right away. I think everybody should have an agent. I think everyone, at some point should have a commercial demo. But if that is not in your future, that you don't like commercials. You don't think you'd ever wanna do one. And you just wanna spend your career doing eLearning, then that's absolutely fine.
Lau: Absolutely. By no means do you have to have an agent in order to work because the world is filled with so many different, wonderful genres of voiceover. You just need to be inventive and clever about doing your homework and doing your research in these different genres. Like for instance, I recently brought into our studio, one of the big romance and erotica voiceover instructors, and she did a wonderful workshop for us. Anne, I knew nothing about that. I did, I just didn't know about--and she talked a long time, a good hour about the business of it, like where to find work. How to list your name, how to do this, how to charge your rates, how to -- and I think, wow, this is great. So do I need an agent for that? No, I really don't. Could I get an agent later in the right market? Probably, but you don't need it. So, so you have to determine, gee okay. If this is my bread and butter market, I probably wanna get an agent to get the upper level auditions, but in these other areas, I can probably make my own inroads and my own connections. Get some great clients into a combination of the two.
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely. BOSSes, it's not necessary to have an agent to get work. You can get work in multiple genres without necessarily have an agent, but I'm the type of person that I like to have opportunities, as many opportunities as I can. Thus, I think it's wonderful that I have these amazing agents, like Lau, that are on my team. They're on my side. They wanna see me work. They wanna get me work, and it becomes a relationship just like you have a relationship. And I love that we talked so much about your business of the agency because a lot of times, voice talent don't, they don't think about it and they don't realize it. And I think if they understood the perspective from your side as a business, it helps us to form, I think, a better relationship with you, because we understand where things come from, and why do I get that audition at 8:00 at night? Well, because all day long, they've been fielding emails and dealing with clients and you are getting it out as quick as you can to us.
Lau: Yeah. And maybe it's coming from a different time zone.
Anne: There you go. Exactly. So there's lots of things that we may not think about when we get an audition in for our agent. And also in terms of like, well, is my agent listening to me and shortlisting me or not? Or is it the client? Or how do I know that this audition wasn't sent out to hundreds of other people? And I think the really good agents understand the opportunity and will send it to the group of people that would be great for the opportunity. Sometimes I have agents that it seems like maybe they didn't do that. Maybe I just got like the generic send out all auditions to all the roster, and therefore I make my own decision.
Lau: Yeah. I know, people hate that. They're not filtering .
Anne: I know, but I'm thankful for the opportunity. And so, I mean, come on, we can all handle looking at audition and looking at the specs. If you don't fit the specs, don't respond.
Lau: I was always the same way too. I was like, okay, it's not for me.
Anne: Yeah. I would never complain about that. It actually kind of bothers me that I see some people complaining about that, the cattle call auditions. I'm like my gosh, it's, it's an opportunity. And it takes me a minute to look at those specs and read them and say, do I fit those specs? Am I male? No. So guess what? I, thanks. I'm fine. Just waiting for the next one. So --
Lau: It'd be like clients just from different businesses calling you or emailing you, be like, do you know, we don't do that? That's not what we do. And I'm surprised you would call me. We'd say, oh, how interesting, let me refer you to someone or let me find out more about you, what have you.
Anne: I like that. Right. And that goes back like, look, if I got a castings spec, and I've done this before, where it didn't fit me, but I said, oh man, I know a perfect voice for that, I actually would write back to that agent and say, I have a great recommendation. Can I send this audition? Would you be open for me to send this audition?
Lau: I love you. I love you. I love people like you and I have a number of people in MCVO that do just that. They say, Lau, you know, it's not me, but I've got friends who are actually this. May I forward them. And I'm like, yes. I love that.
Anne: That's why I'm just grateful. I'm grateful to get the opportunity. And, and I just look at it as like, look at another, I get tons of email. It's okay. I can filter. It's not that big of a deal. Takes me a minute.
Lau: You think like. I think it's just another job and why don't I wanna see a job? I'm gonna keep the script. I'm gonna have it as a reference. It's interesting to see who the producer is. I love it.
Anne: Yeah. You learn a lot. Like, so what if that audition wasn't for me? Oh, that's kind of cool. I like that script. Right? You can just choose to learn. It's like one of the things, just an off topic, but when people say, well, how do I get work in corporate? Right? And I say, well, I go to company websites and I sign up for their mailing list because I wanna see who their audience is and how they're marketing to it. And so if I get the job with that company, I have a background information where I understand who that company is, who their audience is, what their brand stands for. I have all that knowledge that I can then use in a audition for them or in, in correspondence with them. And so the same thing. You can learn a lot. So.
Lau: I'm exactly like that. As business people, as BOSSes, you wanna be inquisitive. You wanna be curious. You wanna know like, ooh, what's happening in that world? Oh my goodness. Who are they talking to and what are they concerned about here? And who are they looking for? I always say like, when you get an audition, get used to hopping on your smartphone, just like really fast. Look up an advertising campaign. See the kinds of actors they're bringing in. What does the company visually look like? What does it sound like right now? Just get a flavor of that.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: You may not have time to do massive research, but just to hop on for five minutes.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Like we need to be able to do that as business people. If we're gonna work with a new client. Oh, sorry. So don't you hate, Anne, oh, sorry, I didn't have time to go to your website. Sorry. I don't know exactly what you do.
Anne: No, my God.
Lau: It's at your fingertips. Just jump on for five minutes to have a little bit of language.
Anne: If you're a student of mine, and you didn't check out the website, like that is just no.
Lau: Or go on YouTube.
Anne: That is not acceptable.
Lau: What are they doing, you know?
Anne: That is not acceptable, not acceptable that you did not research the company, but like it takes a minute. Takes a minute.
Lau: Yeah. What about this one? I don't, I don't know how to pronounce this. How do you pronounce it?
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Lau: I said, well, go online, go find -- have an actor say it so that you hear what it sounds like. Don't just guess at it or not worry about it.
Anne: We need to act like BOSSes, the BOSSes that we are. So what a great conversation. I love -- this was such a unique perspective. Thank you, Lau, for sharing that with us and sharing with the BOSSes. I think that's amazing. I would like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and learn like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also if you wanna make a difference with your voice and give back to those communities that give to you, check out 100voiceswhocare.org to find out how you can give back and have a sense of purpose. All right, guys. Amazing talk. Thanks again, Lau. We will see you next week. Bye.
Lau: Thank you, BOSSes.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in doing what we love that we forget that our work is still just work (even if it’s the most fun job in the world). This week, Anne & Lau are joined by special guests Aria Lapides, Carol Alpert & Daniel Marion to discuss how & why community support is so important. Building a creative family includes building support systems outside of your professional circle. This may include your family, friends, and even other voice actors who you can count on for help. The voice-over industry is a small world, and it’s important to build relationships with fellow actors and creatives. They will help you grow, learn, and encourage you when things get tough. It can be hard to separate our egos from our projects but being able to do this allows us to accept criticism more easily. Tune in to join this VO Family…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the Vo BOSS podcast and the business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to bring back my very special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Hey Lau, how are you?
Lau: Hey, I'm great, Anne. How you doing?
Anne: I'm doing amazing. We have a VO Family with us today. I am very excited. .
Anne: Well you know, I think having people that support us in our businesses is so very important to our success. And I don't know honestly where I would be if my husband in the beginning had not given me his full support in launching our business. For an entrepreneur, launching a business, especially coming from a corporate background, I was used to getting that check every other week. And I had a very stable, I was gonna make this amount of money, and I was dependent on that to pay the bills. And going into the entrepreneurship of my VO business, all of a sudden things became very woo, I don't know what's happening today. I don't know what's happening tomorrow. When's my next job coming?
And I'll tell you, the support of my husband was just invaluable and the support of my family too. I mean, I know there's so many of my students who will tell me stories about their families don't support them or -- I myself had my mother, God bless her. But she would say to me every once in a while 'cause she didn't understand exactly what I was doing. And she would say, you know, honey , when you get a real job, I think it's gonna help. You know? And I would be like . I would be like, It's okay. Mom, I'm an entrepreneur. And it was funny because it was hard to explain to people who don't understand the entrepreneurship lifestyle. Thoughts?
Lau: Uh yes. And it's almost unexplainable. I mean you cannot -- it's truly a lifestyle business. It's one that you live and you experience and you have to be suited for it. Not everyone is suited for it. Many people want a nine to five job. They want Benny's, they want pension, and God bless them, and I'm happy that they know that. Like I'm one of those people that knows I don't want that. So you have to be okay with not being okay a lot. It's really important. Remember that famous book from the 70s, "I'm Okay, You're Okay," that famous psychology book? Well, we're not always okay. And so that's the little edginess, that's the little on the edge of the cliff that a lot of us love the dopamine kick and get excited by the risk taking of it all. So yeah, you have to be cut out for it, right Anne?
Anne: Absolutely have to be cut out for it. Or if you're not cut out for it, you gotta get used to it pretty darn quick. It's always one of of those things. There's a lot of highs. There's a lot of lows. For me getting used to the lows and kind of driving through them, and we've talked about this on previous podcasts, really is a mental exercise in pushing good energy out there so that you can survive. So let's introduce the VO Family that we have here today. Now Lau, these are part of your VO Family, so let's have you introduce them.
Lau: Oh, I would love to. So I have Carol Alpert, who we were talking about on another podcast. I don't think Carol was here. So I love talking about her when she's not here because then I can kvell, which is Yiddish for like just give her honors and awards and accolades and kudos, because everyone needs a Carol. Like if you could buy a Carol, you would buy it, put it on layaway. It doesn't matter how much it costs, it's so worth it, because she is my friend, my family, my support system. She's a sister I never had, so I can't say enough about Carol.
Carol: Thank you.
Lau: Professional actress and VO talent herself in her own right. And I'm thrilled to have her as part of our Family going in our 14th year. And we have Dan Marion with us from Texas who is just the bestest of the best, fantastic person. And you know, we haven't actually known Dan too, too long. I don't know, maybe a year, year and a half. But yet there's always this feeling with people that come into your non-blood related family that you've known them forever. And he's like one of those people that even across the Zoom waves and even across the states, we feel like he's part of us and one of our family, and that we support 100% in every way. Pro VO, part of our MCVO division family as Carol is as well. So that's thrilling, and he's a wonderful coach as well as has technical prowess as well. And then Aria Lapides, who is in the house and she is my everything.
Anne: She's in the real house.
Lau: She's in the real house 'cause she's like, I call her my better half. She is my daughter but has turned into my business partner and my best friend and really just a spiritual little fairy cohort for me to keep me floating, and to keep me imagining, and to keep me together in this whole crazy business we've created. And in her own right is now a professional actress and filmmaker and photographer and is really incredible visual and performance artist. And so she's a big part of our Family.
Anne: Fantastic. So you have coworkers, you have two coworkers and a family member. So first of all, let's talk -- Aria. Being a member of the family, what's it like for you being a part of the business and being part of the support for your mom and in this voiceover industry?
Aria: Oh wow. That's a big question, especially 'cause it's not just voiceover, it's so many things. It's all in acting and everything that you guys said is so true, the importance of having people to support you. Because in this industry, it's so blind. Like when you're sending a voiceover audition or a casting audition or a acting audition, it's blind. So all you have is your support team and how much they're pushing you and how much they're being truthful with you. And I could say that, you know, even though it's like I'm supporting my mom, which I do, of course, it's like she's supporting me just as much if not even more. Like she supports me in everything. And it's so important because there's so many different aspects from technical to the actual acting values that have to be there to, well what happens when I do get the job? Like what do I do?
Yeah, I would say that it's a really amazing because I've been able to grow up in an industry that's very creative, very cool. Like really, really cool. Um, I know some people have family businesses that are a supermarket. So it's really cool to be in one that's very creative. Things are very open, you can coach, you -- I mean I've dived into filmmaking and producing acting reels and working with actors and, and I gotta say, it, it is really so cool to see like my mom every single day like have new ideas and new things that she's doing all the time. Like she's always so active and she's, she's right. It's a lifestyle business. She's almost never not working, which is wild.
Lau: And you know, Anne, what's really amazing here is that both of my children, my son's Sage, who's incredible -- he's not in the industry, he's in a totally different industry -- were homeschooled. And so I was bringing them up as I was starting the business and running the business, which was crazy. Like it was crazy town. You can't imagine. So who knew this crazy little girl who was like throwing legos at me one day, it would kick in that she would be coaching clients and she would be directing a film shoot and she would be voiceover auditioning for Pixar. And it feels like that happened overnight. Like that just happened overnight. It's like how you and I feel about our clients. Anne, it's like you see the grooming of that throughout the years of the rapport, the relationship, the trust, the back and forth. And then all of a sudden it kicks into something in high gear that you see all of your hard work and investment in your business come alive. And I've seen that in Aria literally since a little tiny girl to now like the business has just created this whole human being that knows so much for someone who's only 19.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Incredible.
Anne: Now, I'm gonna ask do you two disagree at times? I mean --
Lau: Yes.
Anne: -- family wise or work wise?
Lau: Yes.
Anne: And how does that play out? How does that interact with your businesses?
Aria: Can I start on this one?
Anne: Of course.
Aria: 'Cause it's so funny that you say that because, yeah, because like especially in like let's take filming for instance, it's so hard. And that's so interesting that you asked that 'cause me and my mom were having this conversation last night of like being able to let go of control and knowing that you are not your work. Like even my mom's business is not her. I mean me and my house is separate from me filming, me acting, me doing anything that's a separate entity from who I am. And there's like this level of separation that you have to do to be able to give over the control to a director or to your mom or to a casting agent to be like, that's a beautiful image. That's a beautiful take on this, but it's completely different, and we need you to do that. And it's like separating your ego from your work. And it's a really, really tough thing to do, especially from a young age, 'cause you're like, wait a second, I thought my ego was the thing that was driving these creative things that are happening. But it's like, no, no, no, no. It's just an idea. It's constantly shifting and changing. So the more that you are flexible with it, the more you can get better at it really. Yeah.
Lau: Anne, I wanna jump in on that one 'cause that's a fantastic question. I'm actually gonna answer that super straightforward because Aria recently secured new agency representation, really big out of LA. And one of the meetings they had with me because I'm her momager, and for those people who don't know what a momager is, it's a manager, a legit manager who's also a mom. Or it could be a dad, like a dadager. But I'm a momager. One of the first questions they asked of me in private was, do you guys fight? And he comes from the, literally the school that I come from where we're in the same program together. And I looked at him and I said, yep, 'cause I'm also her coach for all of of her auditions. And he said, how does that play itself out? How do you guys remedy that, whatever. And are you honest with her?
See this is good for the VOs to be listening to because if they deal with the manager or if they're dealing with a family member, they have to like start having these lines of demarcation. Like what works for their personal relationship and what works for their professional relationship. And I leaned over and I said, yep. Because I tell her the truth, because I want her to be the best. If, if she sucks, I'm gonna be the one to tell her before anyone else does. And he said, great, I'm glad to hear that. So we'll probably take her on then. Now if I had said no, she's the best thing since sliced bread, I would never fight with her. In fact, she needs to be a star. In fact you -- they wouldn't have taken her. They would not have taken her.
And this is like the deal for all VOs when you're dealing with agents and and managers and the like. It's like be honest. Like be honest. You don't wanna be the person who's a difficult person, who is always causing conflict. And we're certainly not that. But you wanna be honest and transparent about, yeah. When you're working hard on your craft, there's a lot of rocky road, there's obstacles, there's just agreements, there's arguments. Yeah. There is, and how do you work through it? How do you problem solve it? That's what we're hiring you for. That's why we wanna work with you. Not because you're sitting in a place where you're angry or you're not talking to each other, it's not working out. But a place where you go through that wall and you get to the other side of it. And I believe that's what Aria and I has done through the years to be successful.
Anne: I just wanna say congratulations and kudos on that. And what you said I thought was so important was getting to the other side, right? Because you're friends, you're work partners, you're family, there's going to be times where there's probably going to be arguments, there's going to be anger, there's gonna be hurt. And you have to be able to get to the other side of that so that you can move forward. And I think that was such an important point that you bring up, Lau. Absolutely.
Lau: Yes. And there have been many times, and I'm sure parents who are listening to this right now with their children who may be in the industry, or they're in the industry, or they're both in the industry, sort of swimming through those very muddy waters thinking what do I do? What do I do? And I've been advised many times by pro saying, Lau, you need to not work with her. It's really important. Don't work with her. Don't bring her into the business. Don't manage her because you wanna have a good relationship with her. And I said, no, no, no, no, no. If all the families through all the generations could work together, we can work together. It's just going to be a little bit more challenging, but we gotta be able to problem solve that. 'Cause your family and your Family should be the most trustworthy people that you surround yourself with. Not that you can't get awesome friends in the world, but they're the people you come back to and home to and confide to. And so you don't wanna lose that. You don't wanna cut that off just because we are blood-related.
Anne: So let me just direct a question back at you, Lau. How has Aria helped you grow?
Lau: In every way. I mean like it's immeasurable. I can't even tell you just from the idea of being, or the fact of being her mother has opened up so many doors in me as a person, as an actor, as a woman that I would not have experienced if I had not experienced her. Not easy, very difficult road, but very, very, very spiritual. The path less taken in a lot of ways, in how we melded this whole thing together, and adjust my stroke of luck I think that I had a daughter who had such immense talent in these fields. Because just because someone grows up in the industry and on a Hollywood set or wherever doesn't mean they have talent for it. It means they're connected. So she has immense talent, and much of which has nothing to do with me. Like she's a visual artist. I'm not a visual artist. She's an amazing visual artist.
Aria: Even if you are talented, that's just such a small part of it. Because if we were all just talented, then you know, we would all be in Hollywood. But it really takes that group of support. I mean, you know, Carol came to the studio for me to help shoot one of her tapes, and then I'll ask someone to help you reader. And it's because we've got such a tightknit -- I mean even the new talent inner circle membership that's created a completely new community of people, of voiceovers and people who are actors and stuff. To have a community of people, to reach out, to ask what do you think about this, And ask different questions, it's so important. Because I'll say this, when my mom's not coaching me, my agency can tell.
Anne: Mm, okay.
Aria: They can tell.
Lau: That is true. I do wanna say though, based on Anne's question, which I think is a brilliant question and a hard one to answer, is that she echoes back to me what I have taught her and given to her through the years. So I know that it actually happened. So there's a documentation that happened, and she teaches me all sorts of things that I didn't teach her that I need to learn.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: So it's now an --
Anne: That's wonderful.
Lau: -- reciprocal relationship professionally and personally that she authentically knows so much more than I do in so many ways, that I'm growing constantly as a person, as an artist, as a business person, just learning. 'Cause I think it's a myth that we're not, not learning from our kids or not learning from youth. It's really we're learning so, so much from them, we're just maybe not aware of it or we're not acknowledging it. Right? So I'm very aware of it, that there's so much that she and others in that generation as well are giving back and teaching that --
Anne: Oh yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
Lau: -- going back. So it's measurable, it really is. I would say she's singlehandedly brought the business to a whole other level that it may not have gone to without her.
Anne: That's fantastic. So now, Carol.
Carol: Yeah.
Anne: You have a professional and a personal relationship with Lau. I'm not sure which happened first. So let's talk about your story. What about prior to meeting Lau and prior to working with Lau, how was your support system? Did you have a support system? And then what happened when you connected with Lau and how has that helped you?
Carol: Sure. Sure. And it's funny, I was thinking about that before. So I had a very long career in the airline industry. I worked for about 22 years, and then I had left, I took an early retirement. They were offering that -- it was Continental Airlines, they were offering at the time. I was a sandwich. My sisters and I are sandwiched. So there was a little bit of taking care of the parents. My, my kids were younger, the whole thing. And you know what, you just went and had and did it. And I'd always thought about voice over work. And so I did a little bit of that, did some dog care too because it was easy enough. I'm like, Oh good now at least there's that cushion.
And then I, I met Lau. We live one town apart and there was a different location of the studio. It's still in the same town. She was offering a Meisner class. Now when I first started voiceover work, now mind you, I don't have an acting background. And so I'd learned all the technical stuff. I had done a demo, but I wish I knew Lau then and learned what I learned then of what I know now. 'Cause it's just leaps and bounds. So I had gone in, done the master, then I really realized how, gosh, there is just a universe of things that I need to know. And so from then on I had joined the studio, and you know, like they say the rest is history. This is what, 14 years now, Lau, 13?
Lau: A long time.
Carol: The studio was about a year old. The studio was about a year old when I came. And so it's been a long time. And then --
Lau: How old was Aria, Carol, when you came in? Aria and Sage, how old were they?
Carol: So you know what, 'cause she's the same age as my daughters Juliana -- they're friends. So I don't know. She was what? Six maybe?
Lau: Six. Six.
Carol: Something like that. Six, yeah.
Lau: Wow.
Carol: So that was kind of the same thing too. So my, I was still involved with school too. You know, you were doing everything with that. And my husband's freelance too. He's a strength coach in fitness. So we were both doing freelance things, but it worked out. You make it work. Like you said, you have your family support. You have your expectations.
Anne: I was gonna say, so you had good family support. That's fantastic. I just know it makes it dif -- my husband has a corporate job and I left my corporate job to go into my own business. And so that was a different kind of support relationship. But that's fantastic. I mean your husband kind of already knew what it was like to work freelance. And so I think you had a good support system there because if you were going into just from the beginning trying to build up your business, it takes some time. I mean, right, there may not be work right away. And I think that that is the critical moments in those low points, right? When you're, did I get the gig? Am I good enough? I mean all those questions I think we ask ourselves in the beginning of our careers, is this really for me? I know that's what I asked myself all the time. Had, had I not had the support of my husband kind of saying, it's okay, I believe in you. Just keep plugging away at it, I think I might have quit early on.
Carol: Yeah. And that's why I said to myself, let me just get something else on the side too. 'Cause I needed to know that I was doing that as well. But it was the opposite. I was the one with the corporate job before and everybody in my family, we were independent. They're like, oh, how could you go in? You know, wasn't nine to five. 'Cause it's the airlines and there's no set hours -- you know, the hours are everywhere, but you just knew that you wanna do it. And it's just, the timing was good with that as well. And so all these years. But one thing that Lau had said too, you know, you're right. You go to the audition, what do I do? There is a huge vacuum of like, oh yeah, you can learn how to do voiceover work. That's such a surface thing.
There isn't a lot, except from people like you, people like Lau who say, look, when you get in, well before Covid, when you go to the recording studio and you're asked to do the audition or if you're at home and you're doing this, what is the etiquette? What do I do? What are my expectations? One of the first times -- 'cause I did on camera as well, and I was getting work with on camera more than voiceover. So I didn't do as much. I always used to say, I said, gee, I wonder how I did? I was craving feedback. And I'm like, you know, where's Simon Cowell when you need him ? I was like, if I don't, if I stink, I stink. I didn't have that. And now when I first got it with Lau, I'm kind of like, am, am I in the right business? Because I wasn't used to it, but I was craving it. And then I realized I really needed it. And you may not wanna hear it, but let me tell you something. You grow and you grow and you grow. And so you really need that.
And I think there's a little bit of a, of a misstep or a failure out there right now. 'Cause you know, everybody's so internet, you go on YouTube , you know, Yeah. YouTube's great for a lot of things, but you know what? You really need that guide and the trust. The trust that someone's gonna say to you, no, don't submit that audition. Yeah. That is not a good audition.
Anne: Lau's not gonna pull any punches. That I know.
Carol: Exactly.
Anne: That I know about her. I don't know her as long as you do, but I know she's not gonna pull any punches.
Carol: . No.
Anne: She's gonna be truthful and honest, which I think that's so important, you know, coming from a source within the industry that can give you reliable feedback. And your family members, they might be trying to say it's okay, you know, I thought it was great. That kind of support. That's a different kind of support, right? At least you know they're on your side and they're not saying, well we gotta pay the bills or I thought you were gonna make all this money. Or there's lots of different family support out there.
.
Carol: But you know Anne, it's funny you said with the support. So my husband would like, sometimes I'd have to have him just hold the camera. I'm like, just record. Or how does this sound? No, it sounds fine. Not my daughter though. She'd be like, what was that? You know? She's the same age as Aria, and they're kind of the same on that too. But thank God. But I wanted to also say it's also finding people that you can trust. See, I may not be having a good gig or I may not be having a whatever, but I'm trusting the people that are giving me the feedback because they're not doing it. They're not making it about them; they're making it about me. And that's the crucial point. Like they're not gonna say, like Lau's not gonna say, Oh you're just starting voiceover. Let me give you five lessons. And you don't do this either, Anne, but how many are out there where it's the snake oil, and it's just like, no, you are not ready. You need to do this. Your breathing's off or whatever the thing is. So the trust is crucial.
Lau: I wanna jump in Carol. I wanna say something about Carol ,again talking about her as if she's not here. I love doing that. . So the thing about Carol that made her very unique, first of all, she was very recognizable to me because we had a similar background in the way in which we grew up, and we were at the similar stage of raising children as well. So we had a lot in common. So it went from a client-coach relationship fairly quickly into a friendship, which much of the time doesn't happen for many reasons. And I wanted that. I accepted it, I wanted it, I welcomed it. But what I noticed about her work ethic, which I had not seen in most people I had met, where she has a conservatory style work ethic. And even some in conservatory don't have it. That is, she works like just a horse.
Like, and that's part of our background. We both come from a Jewish background, grandparents who had nothing, came from the old country with nothing in their pockets, didn't expect a thing, and worked their tootsies off. So she came in with this work ethic that she did not want anything. She did not deserve anything. And if she didn't earn it, she's not gonna take it. And she was that everything person that would do anything at any time for anyone. And I'm telling you, even to this day, I can count on one hand the people that I know like that. Because most are very self-centered, self-driven and think about themselves first. Carol is very selfless and comes from a high work ethic of let me put someone else before me and let me fix it and get it done. And if I don't know how to do it, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it for you and I don't care.
And I'm telling you, that is priceless. It's worth more than any diamond that you could find in your lifetime because that's the person you trust, you love, but also the person who comes straight from the heart, and that's something we're missing in our world. I'll be honest with, we're missing a lot of that in our world. That's self-centered, lack of narcissistic kind of, let me think about my community around me and do as much as I can for them before I do for myself.
Anne: Well, I think honestly that just creates the good karma. It just comes back around. And I think that that can be very much a part of your success in your career, in life. This VO BOSS podcast was part of a giving back. And I hope that, you know what I mean, it becomes that sort of a thing that it becomes support. It can become a Family, so to speak, for the community. And it can just be something that can just continue to give back. And I get so much from it myself, from people that I've met that have listened to the podcast, and I've gained some wonderful relationships and some wonderful members of my Family. So.
Lau: And that's why we adore you, Anne, and we completely support you in this. We're all working right now together. We're not getting paid. It's a Saturday. It's --
Anne: I know.
Lau: Because we love what we do. We love each other.
Carol: I'm so excited --
Lau: We love what we do. Yeah.
Carol: You were one of the bigger names I first heard about. I'm like, Anne Ganguzza!
Anne: Aw you guys. Thank you.
Lau: So great. We gotta get Dan in here. I wanna hear from Dan.
Anne: Yes.
Lau: Dan.
Anne: Let's talk to Dan. Dan, tell us your Family story and then how you got involved with Lau.
Dan: Well, this is interesting because if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be involved with Lau. When I first started, I contacted you, and you listened to my demo. And the biggest thing that I had was whether or not I was good enough, whether or not I had the right sound, whether or not I had any talent whatsoever. And especially considering, and I know this is taboo in many circles, so slap me around now -- but I produced my own demo. And you were shocked at the quality of that home produced demo. But you gave me so much positive feedback, it encouraged me to submit to a few agents, and Lau was one of the first ones I submitted.
Anne: There you go. Wow.
Dan: So if it wasn't for you, this is karma coming around as far as trial. Okay?
Anne: I did not know this story.
Aria: This is literally full circle.
Dan: You're welcome.
Anne: Wow. Yeah.
Dan: And part of that apprehension, you know, I know what you and I had discussed during our consultations that we had, and you were very patient with me. Thank you very much. But it came into a fear on top of that, when you're first starting out, it's a money issue. Am I to the point where I consider anything I do an investment or an expense? And that's a big thing when you're an entrepreneur. Right?
Anne: Sure. Absolutely.
Dan: I was so petrified that everything was going to be an expense and not an investment, and I wasn't smart enough then. So being with Lau, one of the nice things is she gives me that kick in the ass when I need it. And I do, 'cause I was always the one giving the ass kickings in everything that I did. Everything. I ran construction crews, on the shop floor, airport security, Lau enforcement, I was a training officer to running large scale global projects for a defense contractor. So I was always the alpha male. When you worked for yourself and you're unsure, that alpha male gets diminished. I don't care who you are.
Anne: What a good point. Yeah.
Dan: It gets diminished.
Anne: Yeah.
Dan: So it's not necessarily validation, but you need a shoulder and a support system to help you. And sometimes we get stuck on high center, so when you get stuck on high center, you need somebody to push you over that ridge and get you the rest of the way. Right? And that's what it was. And you've talked about it on your podcast too, where diversification is huge, especially during the down times. Like right now I'm going through a downtime now for me. So I took it upon to get marketing coaching. So that's prompted me to open things up. Video and and audio production. That's something else I can offer when VO is lagging behind.
So all those things I get encouragement from, from the entire VO community, but especially the ladies here, 'cause I know I can be open and honest with them. And I'm gonna get open and honest feedback. But they expect the same outta me as well. Anybody who's coached with me knows that I'm gonna tell you how it is. I won't sugar coat it, because there's no point -- to me that does more damage.
Anne: Sure. I agree.
Dan: But Lau also opened that door for me for coaching. She let me sit in, offer opinions on, on several things, and once you get me going, I don't shut up . So I think that was part of it too. But now I coach regularly for her. And I also continue to coach because it should be a cradle to grave learning experience. I should never stop learning until I'm dead.
Anne: Yep.
Lau: That's right.
Dan: But the most rewarding thing about the coaching is watching somebody else flourish in what you have helped them do.
Anne: Sure.
Dan: And I don't know if you've read lately, but there's a lot of back and forth about some of the coaching posts, and one of the things is you have to be able to have that fulfillment. It can't just be the snake oil salesman where it's just I want, I want, I want. It has to be a total giving experience, completely because we lose money when we coach. Coaching gigs pay a lot less than VO gigs.
Anne: Yes. this is true.
Dan: So, it has to be a passion. So yeah. But being a part of the Family -- and that's why it was so great when Lau told me about today. I said, Oh, this is a unique opportunity because for me today it has come full circle. It really has in in that aspect of it as far as Family goes. So thank you all.
Lau: And Dan is a really gifted coach. I mean like talk about having talent, like talent does play a part in our success. Everyone has different levels of talent. It's incredibly subjective. And it's in the ear or the eye of the beholder. But there's no question he's a very gifted person in this industry, both technically and emotionally. And we love having him with us. And I wanna share one moment, Anne, of the personalization that you and I have spoken about for the past weeks and how important it is in building the relationships with each other. And that is my son, who's a US Marine, is going into law enforcement. And I'm constantly trying to find mentors for him, which isn't always an easy thing.
And early on when I first met Dan and I had learned about his background in law enforcement, I said, oh, I'll ask Dan, maybe he could meet with him on Zoom for a few minutes just to give him a little bit of wisdom. He was just right there. He had no problem doing it. He was excited to do it. He was looking forward to that. And you know, this is a teenage kid he doesn't even know. And when he did that, when he was connecting in that way, I said, this is a father, this is a grandfather, this is what we say in Yiddish -- a really good, full-hearted human being. And those are the people that we always wanna be connected with in our universe.
Because those are the people, whether you're working or not working, whether you're coaching or not coaching, whether you're making a lot of money or not, they're the people that build you up in your heart and in your spirit. And that goes a long way, much farther than money oftentimes. It goes a long way into why we live this life and why we stay together and connect. And he's just one of those people .
Anne: And when I talk about success in your business, we're not just talking monetary success. It's success all around. And I do believe that having that support, having that love, having that openness and overwhelming, what I've heard today is honesty and willing to give -- I think that is one of the most important characteristics we can have, and be for someone to fully support them in this industry, and help them reach success in so many ways. So BOSSes out there, if you are struggling right now, find your Family. We're here at VO BOSS to help, and I'm here to help. I can connect -- I know a few people, I know a few good people that are sitting right here that I can help connect and anything that I can do, and I know you guys, it has just been a wonderful conversation. I thank you so very much for everything that you guys have contributed to today's discussion. I think it's so valuable. I love this Family. I love this Family.
All: We love you. We love you.
Anne: Thank you.
Lau: And I should say one more thing before we go, and that is, just remember everyone you help, everyone you work with, everyone you connect with in these ways, a little tiny piece of you lives inside of them and goes where they go. And so we think, how do we fix the world? How do we help people? How do we do it? Just do it one person at a time. Because that person is gonna hold you inside of them if you're meaningful to them. And boy, will that explode over the universe, and it's one person at a time.
Anne: Yeah. And speaking of making an impact, guys, if you would like to contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that you never thought possible, take a look at 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. I'd love to give a huge shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. Here we are connecting like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Thanks so much, everyone.
Carol: Thanks, everyone.
Aria: Thank you, adios.
Lau: Thanks, Dan.
Carol: Good week.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Self-sabotage. We are all guilty of it. You can either fight it or embrace it. If you're not sure what sabotaging behaviors look like, Anne & Lau are here to call you out for everything from minimizing your accomplishments to chronic procrastination. When you're a small business, entrepreneur or creative, your inner voice can often get in the way. The good news is once you recognize the signs of self-sabotage, you can catch yourself & change the outcome. It is easy to feel imposter syndrome. It is easy to push tasks off. But nothing about success comes easy. Having a plan in place to overcome self-sabotage is what will help you beat it, and BOSSES, Anne & Lau have the tips to get every BOSS there.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series, with my guest co-host Lau Lapides. Lau, hey, how are you today?
Lau: I'm fabulous. Ready to rock.
Anne: Ah, Lau. I love recording our sessions. The thing about it is, BOSSes out there, of course we don't do this live. A lot of times Lau and I are doing this on Saturday. So we are working beyond the five day work week. And for me, I'm kind of a self-professed workaholic. Now there's sometimes where I feel that's a good thing. And sometimes where maybe it's not such a good thing because I really need to get out and refresh and get my creative spirit back. But I thought it would be a good time to talk about growing your business work ethic and how some people -- I know there's a lot of, a lot of my students are like, I don't know what's going on. I'm not getting any work. So what can I do? It's almost like they sabotage themselves before they've even begun. So that whole self-sabotage thing, Lau, what do you think about that?
Lau: It's a big deal. I'm telling you, it's a big deal. It's a culprit. And I see it in every other person I work with that's self-sabo -- we'll call it the SS, the self-sabotage. It's so common. And unfortunately, many a time, the person is innocent. They really don't know they're doing it. They're not aware.
Anne: I agree.
Lau: They need to have an outside source, help them identify like, what is going wrong? What's going off? What are they doing? And what are they not doing that's getting in the way of really achieving their goals.
Anne: Sure. And I'll have to say that a majority of let's say students that come to me and say, I hate marketing, or how do I get work now? And so I'll be like, well, you know, you, your marketing has to be an effort, a concentrated, strategized effort by you. And I find that there's an awful lot of people that don't necessarily either know that they have to put as much effort into it as they might in the beginning to get some traction in this industry, or they hate it so much. And they're like, well, I'm gonna take another classroom. I'm gonna get another demo produced. But in the meantime, the other work that needs to get done to really grow their business kind of sits. And it's almost as if they wait and they're like, well, why isn't work coming to me? I've been taking all these classes. I've got my demos. What do I do?
And so I think part of it is an education for here's what it takes to really grow your business. And I mentioned earlier that we are here on a Saturday. We're here on a Saturday. And unfortunately, you know, I work six days a week. The one thing that I love about this business is if I need to take time to do something on a Saturday, then we know we'll record at a different time. But the fact is is that I know what has to go into it in order to get results. And unfortunately, sometimes it's a whole lot more than
I want to think that goes into this. Yeah. To be successful. There's a lot more work.
Lau: And unfortunately, I think the mindset that you just brought up earlier about I'm in school and I'm training and I'm doing demos. Why aren't I getting work? Well ask yourself this question. Am I going to hire a dentist who's in school to pull my teeth? Am I gonna hire a carpenter who's in school to build my $2 million home?
Anne: Right. Right.
Lau: Not to say, I don't want a mistake for the listeners you shouldn't be taking classes or training. We're always in professional development. Literally. I'm in professional -- you're in professional.
Anne: Yep. Always.
Lau: But it does not take the place of the exposure energy that you have to put into the world from a marketing standpoint to let people know who you are, what you do, what you provide, and do that on a consistent basis. It's not either, or it's both simultaneously.
Anne: People can't hire you if they don't know you exist, you can't just expect to sit in your studio and wait for work to come to you. When I got into it, in the beginning, I mean, I did not judge the fact that I would have to market as much as I did, and sometimes to really get a good traction and get some consistent clients coming back, it doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen in a week. It may take years, just being real. And I really truly believe that the people that stick it out -- there's so many people that get their demos, and they're beautiful demos, but then they don't realize everything else that's required.
Lau: Yeah, what you have to do with it.
Anne: Right. And then if somebody will mention to them, you know, you need be concentrated effort in marketing. They'll make maybe a halfhearted attempt, and they don't go far enough to realize how much it really does take. And in that respect, they are sabotaging themselves. They're sabotaging what they invested all that money into to get the coaching, the demos, and then all of a sudden to not get any work like they're expecting, that is a version of self-sabotage. If you are not willing to put in the effort as much effort as you possibly can to make this a success. And I don't wanna make people think that it's not something that just happens overnight. It's not easy. There is somewhat of a work ethic you have to have to put into it. You get what you put into it, right? You get out of it. What you put into it.
Lau: I say that all the time, you just took the words outta my mouth. I mean, it really is your investment of your time, your energy, your mindset, your work, everything has to be in it. Another one, another very popular one is the time management piece of really not understanding what your schedule is. Like I said, let's go to a chart, go to a chart, make a chart, make a block chart. Do something that makes it very tangible what I do Monday through Sunday. Like make it very real, like go to your studio, go to your office space, go and make sure you work X amount of time in your day. Because that habit, that consistency, that commitment that you make is gonna help obstacles move out of the way. Because it's very easy to say, but I gotta be with my kids and I gotta go to the birthday party and I have to get this, and I have to -- there's tons of stuff that we can let get in the way and really justify it and say, well, I have to get this done. I have to do this. This has to be a top priority if this is going to be a career for you.
Anne: Absolutely. I think there has to be a commitment, a commitment to all pieces of the business. And again, we talk about this so much. It's not just about the performance. It's not just about doing auditions. It's really about the entire, the entire business. And even if -- I feel like I've become a queen of outsourcing only because I keep wanting to grow my business, and I feel like I cannot grow my business until I can offload some of the tasks that I have to do on a day to day basis to other people. And right now, literally, I mean, I'm not bragging about that, but I have nine people. I have nine people that specialize in what they do, helping me with my business. And I outsource that so that I can do all the things that I wanna do in my business and grow.
If I do not hire these people, I will not be able to grow because I physically don't have more of myself to give. So thankfully for this podcast, just as an example, the time that I spend with you in here in our booth recording, the episode is what I put into that. Everything else gets outsourced. I have an editor who edits the episodes afterwards. I have someone who transcribes it. I have two people that do social media. I have a person who works on video clips. So there's literally so many people that are involved in this. I would not be able to put this together or be successful if I did not put the effort into it. And I feel like there's so many people that say, well, I started a podcast, but I don't really have any listeners. So how do I grow the podcast.
Again, it's one of those things where you sit down and you say, okay, this is what it's going to take to be successful. And you also have to not sabotage it by understanding that yes, there are these many pieces and components that it will take to be successful. You can't just exist on being a great voice actor. There has to be the other parts of the business that come into play. And so in terms of sabotaging, there's also, I'm gonna say, let's talk about people who are new to the industry and then are afraid to charge a fair amount for their services. Right? And they're like, well, I don't have the experience. So therefore I'll accept this job for $50. Or I'm only gonna charge $50 because I'm new. Let's talk about that. That is a form of self-sabotage.
Lau: Yes. And you know what? I just wanna recap what you just said, which was brilliant that the negating of delegating, like the importance of delegating and being unafraid to delegate and being unafraid to pay for that delegation in saying that's an investment -- I'm not spending money. I'm investing in my business and I can't do it all. Like, yeah, we wanna be superheroes. And to some degree we are, but there's only so much time in the day we have to function and then to grow our businesses. So having that realization that if I wanna grow to the next level, I do need to delegate. I do need to have help. And I do --
Anne: I need help.
Lau: I do need to pay for it.
Anne: I need help!
Lau: I need to pay for it.
Anne: Oh my God. Such a wonderful point that you brought up, and I'm gonna say myself even in the beginning, I'm a control freak. Is that a surprise? No.
Lau: No. And I'm a control freak.
Anne: I'm a control freak.
Lau: Surprise.
Anne: You don't know what it took for me to hire somebody.
Lau: Anne, you were in the syndrome that we were all in that's just like, oh, I'll just do it myself.
Anne: Yes,
Lau: No, I'll just do it myself. I'll do --
Anne: You want it right --
Lau: -- I'll do it myself.
Anne: Yeah. If you want it done right, you do it yourself. Well, guess what? That is a form of self-sabotage as well. Right? Not being able to let go of control and outsource those things. Right?
Lau: Oo I love that, I love that.
Anne: Right? So that was a form of sabotage that I, myself early on in my career, when I was like, no, I can do it. I can make my own webpage. I can do this. It was, I used to work in technology. I can do it. And honestly, it was not serving me to be the control freak. And it took a lot. And I love the fact that you brought up the money. Money is a huge self-sabotage for a lot of people. Number one, not charging enough or not feeling that you're worthy of charging what somebody who's been in the industry for, you know, 15 years -- you are worthy of that. You've made an investment in your coaching and your demos. People want to pay you for your voice. You are worthy of what I charge, 'cause I've been in the business for 15 years. So you're worthy to charge what I charge.
And also feeling worthy to make an investment and spend the money, that really is a form of self-sabotage as well, that whole money thing. Right? Oh, I didn't wanna invest. I don't have the money. Right?Well, so many people, I don't have the finances. What can I do to get a professional demo? I don't have the money. Well, okay. Here's what you gotta do. You've gotta strategize. Sit back, take a look at it. Understand that you're gonna have to invest in your coaching, in your demos in your business for you to get something out of your business. You're gonna have to invest. And that is, if you do not admit that or put into action, something that will maybe put savings away. Right? So that you can afford to get a professionally produced demo.
Lau: Beautiful. Beautiful.
Anne: No, I'm gonna do it myself. And again, that is a form of sabotage. I've just like rambled on. Lau --
Lau: I love it. This is like, listen, honey, this is therapy for both of us because the truth is we practice what we preach and we've experienced everything we talk about.
Anne: Yeah. It's true.
Lau: I'm not that godlike. I am a human being and I've experienced all of what Anne is talking about here. And that's how we learn. Okay. But if we don't learn, if we don't take the lesson -- as one of my business advisors to me said Lau, if you don't stop your resistance, I can't help you get to that place you wanna go.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Lau: And that's the humility. I don't know if you call it therapy or just revelation, whatever you call that, of saying, I'm not a god, I'm not a deity. I'm not, not anything other than a person in the world who is learning and working hard and reaching higher levels. But that doesn't mean that I am not resisting getting to the next level of things, whether it's -- oh, let's talk about fear. How about fear?
Anne: Oh my God. Fear is so here. Fear of success too. I don't mean to say fear of being rejected. Fear of not being good enough, but fear of success.
Lau: Fear, fear of failure.
Anne: And fear of failure. All of that is a form of self-sabotage. And gosh, I think you just go on all day, but I know for me, I've always been that person. I'm like, I'm just gonna work, work, work, work. I mean, I've always had that kind of a, a work ethic. You know, if I work hard enough, it will come. And that's just my personality.
Lau: Mine too.
Anne: But some of that was also self-sabotage. If I didn't, I said, well, I could just do my own website or I can just, then all of a sudden it became like, well, I'm the only one that can do it right. And so again, that was, I want it done this way. And so nobody else will be able to do it, and giving up that control, which was a big self-sabotage for me.
Lau: Big.
Anne: Huge.
Lau: It's a humility factor too because we all have to have a sense of pride and ego in what we do just to pull us through the really tough moments where we feel or perceive we're getting knocked down, or it's not that easy, or we're not making -- we have to have that sense of humility that says that's okay. That's part of your process. You're not gonna be above that. That's something you have to go through and you have to experience. And I get another one for you. How about procrastination?
Anne: Oh my gosh. Yes. Yeah.
Lau: I promise I'll get to it tomorrow. I will. I absolutely will. Yeah. Then I don't.
Anne: And that is a form of self-sabotage. I'll tell you what. I am not immune to procrastination myself.
Lau: No one is.
Anne: In certain parts of my business, yeah, I'll procrastinate. Let's talk about taxes. If you wanna talk about procrastination, right?
Lau: Oh yeah.
Anne: I know for a fact that I would procrastinate until the very last minute. And then it became like, this stress-induced hell for my business because I, I hadn't experienced it. You know, when you're first running your own business, you have never done your taxes. You've never -- somebody else did that. You know? And so it was like, oh my God, I have a business now. Now what do I need to learn? And it just became overwhelming. So that also, the fact that it was overwhelming, it was scary, the fear, right, of not knowing what to do or how to do it. So then I procrastinated, which then was also sabotaging, right, my success. And then at the end I just was a, a stress ball of anxiety. And yeah. So I would never say to you BOSSes that, oh, I knew it all coming out of the gate. God no. I learn, I'm scared every single day I learn. I try not to sabotage myself by being scared and we fail a little bit. We learn, we try to just get up, move that, bump it up higher. Right? And just keep growing.
Lau: Yep. How about this one, Anne? How about sitting with all the stress, the fear, the anxiety, the whatever, and not knowing how or not allowing yourself to release that? So whether that's going into play mode, whether that's actually just getting things done, whether that's getting your latte, whatever that is, establishing daily and weekly what I need to do to be in my mindset of success. And if I don't do it, then I'm sabotaging myself.
Anne: Well, yeah. And that sabotage can take many forms, by the way. I'm just gonna say. Physical illness is one of them. If you're gonna sit there as like a stress ball and not relieve it or not try to do something right to rectify that or whatever that is, self-care, meditation, exercise, eating healthy, taking a few hours off, again, that stress can be sabotaging as well. So many things.
Lau: It's like endless, right? Like we could go on forever, unfortunately in this category. It's so vast how much we -- and then of course you had mentioned it earlier that imposter syndrome, that feeling, that deep, deep, deep feeling. A lot of women suffer from this just in general of like, I really don't know if I'm worth everything that I'm doing in my life. And you know, Harvard did a lot of studies on that through the years 'cause Joan Rivers, the comedian, was the first one to uncover that publicly and found that ironically the people through the years who have suffered mostly from imposter syndrome being women who are high achievers.
Anne: Oh how interesting. Yeah. That would make a whole lot of sense. Yeah. Imposter syndrome. I still get it. Do you know what I mean? I admit it, it still happens once in a while. I find that I try to just work it off. . Work off the imposter syndrome.
Lau: Take a run.
Anne: And again, if I'm not scared, right, I don't think I'm growing. It's just one of those things. Right? And yeah. Am I good enough? You know, can I do I think a lot of it, it's not so much, am I good enough at this point? But it's a different question I ask, is it okay? Am I ready to make this next move? Like, am I at the point where I should be making this next move? I think I question like, okay, what am I gonna do? How am I gonna grow even bigger? Right? That's my question every day. How do I grow even bigger? Is there a point where I'll be satisfied ever? And I don't think I ever will be. And maybe that's, maybe that's a form of it or not or --
Lau: Isn't that okay though? Like, isn't that a good driving force?
Anne: Well, that's what I like to think.
Lau: What are --
Anne: -- really goes through.
Lau: Yeah. Like what keeps you going? What keeps you waking up every morning and doing what you do. You have to have a sense of that. You have to have some sense of doing that and saying, oh, I need more. I wanna build more. I wanna envision more. I wanna concoct more ideas. I think that, I think there's a fine line between a visionary, a pioneer, and someone who's like insane. Someone who just drives themselves crazy to the point where they break down and they can't function. I think that there's a very fine line that we have to find, you know, between those two and that fear factor, which can get in our way is also a driving factor too in what you're doing in your level of success as well. And how about this one? I got one more for you.
Anne: Okay.
Lau: How about ignoring, and sometimes intentionally ignoring, your celebrations, like really saying I'm not gonna celebrate anything. it's not necessary. It's not that good. I'm gonna move on to the next thing, and really ignoring your credits, your credentials, your accolades, as they happen? Your people that are --
Anne: That's a great one.
Lau: -- being successful? Yeah. And so I'm really guilty of that. I'm like, oh, that's great. I love that. Okay. So what's next? And I'll have people stop me and go, you need to stop doing that because a lot of what you do, Lau, is for that moment and you're just passing it over.
Anne: Right, right, right. Don't want to acknowledge --
Lau: -- pass it over.
Anne: Right.
Lau: And celebrate it, really actively celebrate it. You can't celebrate every single thing 'cause as a success, you've got a lot of things going on.
Anne: Sure.
Lau: But take a moment every day where you stop and you breathe, you take 10 or 15 minutes. You go --
Anne: I love it.
Lau: Oh my gosh. That person that I directly worked with landed this gig. And I am just loving this moment.
Anne: So here's my Panda planner. . And my Panda planner is a place, it's this hard copy, is a place where I can write down. I love that. You said that I can write down accomplishments and I got this beautiful one, the BOSS lady right here in my studio. Right?
Lau: That's gorgeous actually on -- that looks beautiful. That's from your east coast sister.
Anne: Thank you. Thank you, Lau. This beautiful, beautiful piece is from Lau. And I have a journal where I can write down my accomplishments. Because I remember I did a study like way back when I first got into the voiceover industry, and I, well, I was a scrapbooker. Okay. And as a scrapbooker I said, why don't I document my year of VO? And so I had pictures of like meetups I had been to and all of that stuff. And, and I had documented all of the jobs that I auditioned for and then the ones that I had booked, and I made a little scrapbook out of it.
But in that scrapbook also was accomplishments. And I wrote the accomplishments down as they happened throughout the year. I realized that once I started writing them down, I was like, wow, I have come so far. And it was a wonderful benchmark, and it was a wonderful, like motivator for me to say, wow, I have really grown. And I have really improved and I'm proud of myself. And it motivated me to want to grow even more. So --
Lau: What a powerhouse, so smart.
Anne: -- huge, huge fan of writing, writing down those accomplishments and reading them, writing them down to cement them and then read them. So. I love it.
Lau: And how about speaking them?
Anne: Yes.
Lau: We're always afraid of like boasting and being too full of ourselves and being rude. But to your people that you have real relationships with, they wanna know what are you celebrating. What did you do? You're working so hard. They wanna know what you've accomplished. And to say, you know, three of my people today, and they got awards, and they got national gigs and they -- isn't that cool? I'm so excited for them. There's no shame in that game. I think we need to do that. We need to take the time to do that, to reward them, but also to reward ourselves --
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: -- as well.
Anne: And we need to acknowledge, I think acknowledge people celebrating their victories because I really believe that we can celebrate each other and really drive inspiration, motivation for all of us to do better. And again, there is a crowd out there that feels that that's not necessarily like awards. I mean, we could have a whole 'nother podcast on awards. Are awards necessary? And you know what? I tend to really love that they can help to validate us from somebody outside of ourselves. Because again, we can sabotage ourselves like the whole imposter syndrome, which is that fear that you're not good enough. It can really inhibit you from doing more from even continuing in the industry.
And I feel that awards can be really good if you can look at them in the fact that we're celebrating other people's victories. We can even celebrate our own victories. And it's a way for validation outside of ourselves and outside of our friends, who I know people who will be like, I know, but you're just saying that because we're friends, and you really need that. You need that external validation to make you feel good. Again, like in the corporate world, we just wanna be loved. That's what I tell everybody, I just wanted to be loved when I worked in the corporate world. I wanted to be acknowledged. I wanted to be thanked for the work that I did and told that I did a good job.
Lau: Yeah. I think since we're little kids, we want recognition. We want, you know, an award, a sticker, a rank or recognition, a pat on the back. Like as human beings --
Anne: I worked for those stickers in school. You know?
Lau: I did too.
Anne: Those like stars and the smileys.
Lau: Yes. On the head. Remember they used to put it right on your forehead, the little goals? Remember that?
Anne: I used to get --
Lau: They used to put it right on your head. Oh, oh my God.
Anne: Award papers. I loved it. I loved it. I don't know. They don't do that.
Lau: Oh my God.
Anne: Is there paper anymore in schools? I don't.
Lau: I don't know. I don't know. That's terrifying. I go to Apple. They go, what's paper? I don't know. Go on your -- did we talk about money at all? I honestly can't remember. Did we bring up the money factor?
Anne: Well, I think we talked about the worth factor. Like, are you charging what you're worth?
Lau: Okay. I got another angle. There's another angle of that. The other angle is, are you spending and investing what you need?
Anne: Yes, the investment. Absolutely.
Lau: Because I always find if it's not ignorance or just the fact that you're not educated, and that's fine, that's okay. We all have to educate, but once you're educated, and you wanna be cheap and not spend dime on your career and what you're doing, I just think of that as self-sabotage. Because there is no career that I can think of that you're not investing a lot of money in to get the future out of that, to get the return out of that. So.
Anne: And that's not just investment in coaching, it's in, in all aspects of your business. And of course I would say yes, investing in your demos and in your coaching, I'm all for that, 'cause I'm coach. Right? And I produce demos, but also investing in those things like me, the queen of outsourcing, like you can really give up that control and don't be afraid to invest. And I, I will say, I said this multiple times, I put money away specifically into my business savings account. I have a business credit card. I have a business banking account, and I have a business savings account.
So I was able to put money a little bit away each week or whatever it was, I put money away. And I finally got to the point where I had a substantial amount in savings. And boy did that help me to really grow. The fact that I didn't have the money in savings or I didn't concentrate on putting money in save -- doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be a ton of money. Just put a little bit of money away each day, each week, whatever it is. When you get to that little nest egg, that makes you feel secure and confident, it's gonna be an amazing thing because it's gonna allow you to invest in your business, to help you to grow so that you can spend the time getting those customers, making more money, growing your business.
Lau: And a lot of people, Anne, they really don't realize once they do realize if they start to reach a level where they realize, oh wow, I have to spend money on this. And then I have to spend money on that. And they refuse to. They're resistant to do that.
Anne: Yes, yes.
Lau: That's the sabotage because the truth is --
Anne: I don't have the money or I can do it myself. And --
Lau: That's an investment that they have to have the belief system that that will come back to them. They have to have that leap of faith. That's where a little bit of your magic, your imagination has to be in there. You know what I mean? Like...
Anne: Yes, thank you.
Lau: I had someone say to me yesterday, like literally Lau, I need to know, I need you to tell me, when will it come back? When will it happen? I said, I can't tell you. I can't tell you when you'll meet the man of your dreams. I can't tell you if your kid is gonna love you or hate you. And I can't tell you if your car is gonna start this morning. Why would I be able to tell you when that's gonna come back to you? You have to take a leap of faith.
Anne: Leap of faith. What a wonderful note to kind of end this podcast. Because I think when it comes down to that, like really what else do you have? Right? If you're based on fear and you're not feeling good enough for all of this self-sabotaging, you're not growing your business, take a leap of faith. My mother said to me once -- you know, I remember when I was, I had moved out of the house and was on my own living in a different state. And I was renting my first apartment and all on my own. And I said to my mom, I don't know, I've been working the budget and what if I don't have enough money? Or what if I, I, I don't know if I can do this. And she said, you know, honey, sometimes it all just works out. Just have a little bit of faith. And I took that to heart. It was, she said it so long ago. It was so simple. It's like something that everybody seems to say, have a little bit of faith, but yeah. Guys, BOSSes have a little bit of faith. I think that honestly, when you've lost all your other avenues of being brave, take a leap of faith and it will work out, but take a smart leap of faith, but definitely have to have that leap of faith.
Lau: Yeah, yeah. You definitely do. And you have to just know the only thing that's constant is change, and you have to welcome change and like literally money change, but also change in the universe. And if you can welcome both in, you're gonna move that self sabotaging tactic out. You're you're just gonna be by the laws of attraction. You're gonna be much more successful.
Anne: How wonderful. Well, thank you, Lau, as always for you had another amazing discussion.
Lau: Yay.
Anne: BOSSes, you guys, as individuals, you know, sometimes we don't know if we can make a huge impact, but as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how you can make a difference. Also big shout-out to ipDTL. You too can network and be BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. We love you, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Lau: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
It's the holidays! The time of year when we all get to relax, catch up on our tasks, and spend time with friends and family. But what if you've been so busy working that you didn't even realize it was the holidays? Or what if you're stuck in the booth and can't take a break? If you’re going to take time for the holidays, be sure to book out with agents & clients. This way you don’t have to worry about missing out on new business opportunities. For all the workaholics out there, the holidays can be a peaceful time to catch up on work. And don’t be afraid to take time away! You'll come back from this little vacation refreshed & ready to tackle anything the new year brings. And don't forget that this is a great time for planting seeds for 2023. Send out thank-you cards, small gifts, and mementos to those who have helped make 2022 amazing for you! Still feel like the holidays are a stressful time filled with family obligations, work commitments, and personal commitments that all need to be balanced? Don't worry: we've got some tips for how to BOSS through the season…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with my very, very special guest, cohost Lau Lapides. Hey Lau.
Lau: Hey everyone. Hey Anne. Good to see ya.
Anne: Here we are for our business superpower series, which is one of my favorite series, The Business Superpowers. And speaking of business superpowers, the holiday season is upon us and there's a lot of things that go on during the holidays. And so I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about how we can still be the biggest, best BOSSes throughout the holiday season because there are changes that happen. Sometimes things slow down, and we get nervous. Sometimes we have a lot of work and it's tough when you're trying to celebrate the holidays with your family. So let's talk about how we can have BOSSness for the holidays.
Lau: I love BOSSness through the holidays, and everyone has their own ebb and flow. Some people, as you said, get super busy. They can't even think straight, and others are dead in the water and they don't know where the work is and everything in between. I do think one of the things you just mentioned, Anne, which is so important, is the celebration factor. So whether it's within the work itself that you're celebrating -- it could be the copy itself is holiday copy. It could be your clients that maybe your handpicking particular clients that you wanna send gifts of gratitude to -- whatever the case may be, you are celebrating. There's a celebratory tone and feel and mood. So you wanna make sure that you balance that to some degree, that you not only have time to celebrate with yourself and your family, but you also celebrate that you have a business, you're running a business. And how do you pay attention to all the many celebrations that are happening around you? Right?
Anne: That's an excellent point. I think that it almost comes to like, what's the balance, right? That family, friends, holiday balance with work. If you're crazy busy doing a bunch of work -- now, the one thing that's good about the holidays is I find advertising agencies like to, to get ahead. Right? So, I mean, I'm already like towards the end of the summer starting to record things for the holidays, and so it starts early. Kinda like when they put the Christmas or the holiday, Hanukkah stuff out when it's like August or September in the stores.
Lau: Yeah. Retail is like retail two, three seasons ahead.
Anne: They are way ahead. So I think that with some planning, right, with strategic planning, BOSSes can really, I think, continue to do wonderful things throughout the holiday season and get the opportunity to spend a good amount of time with their friends and family. I mean, I like to book myself out between, for me, it's Christmas and New Year's. I like, I book myself out and I, I find that to be a relatively safe time for what I end up doing in my genres of work that I typically work in. Usually works well for me. What about you, Lau?
Lau: Actually, it's so funny you say that. I don't know if I've ever really formally booked myself out. I feel like I've always, and this is my choice, I have a lot of colleagues that don't do this at all. I'm always kind of available for clients. Partly because, and I'll be honest with you, Anne, I'm like a workaholic. Okay, let me just get that out there right now. So I, I love what I do and I'm sort of addicted to it, and I always do it, you know, so it's like --
Anne: I'm right there with you.
Lau: Yeah. I mean arguably so yes, a lot of folks are taking their vacations and booking out and doing all of that, but I always find there's work to do. There's catch-up work, there's my planning for the new year, what I wanna get done in quarter one, quarter two. So always find tons of stuff that I wanna be working on. And I have a different mindset during the holiday season. It actually for me isn't as stressful as when we're outside of holiday season. Because I know everyone's off and running and doing their thing. I get to catch up. So that's really exciting for me. But yeah, to steal some time and make sure that you're relaxing and getting enough rest and taking care of yourself and exercising, you know, all of that is great during the holiday season.
Anne: I love that. And I identify, I identify with you, and I don't know if this is something to be proud of, but I mean I am a workaholic and I have been for a long time. And I think one of the reasons why I make it a pact with myself to try and book out as much as possible -- right, it's not that I won't read my email right during those days. However, I try to make sure that I'm not doing any necessary recordings for my clients, but my brain, my brain is never off, right? So there are times though, because I work so hard during the year that when I decide to say I'm off, thankfully I can shut the majority of that off. The good thing about me is that I not only work hard, but I play hard. And so when I decide that I'm going to take that time for reflection and refreshing my energy, I make it work for me because I know that after I take that break, I'm going to be better for it.
Lau: Yes, I agree. I think just from the health and wellbeing of your mindset, you do need to have downtime that's scheduled in. Holidays are easy because most people are taking some sort of downtime. So you almost get permission to do it because so many people are doing it as well. I also find too, it's a great time for me to think about how I wanna connect, reconnect, and confirm and thank all the folks that I've worked with throughout the year. So it's a time where I'm sending out maybe gifts or letters or emails or e-cards or whatever it is, saying this has been amazing, love the experience. Let's do this next quarter. So I'm planting seeds. I find I'm planting seeds with people that I've either worked with or haven't worked with of what I'd like to do for next year. And they may not get to it for a month. They may not get to it right away, but it's there. It's like sitting there, it's like a little seed that I know is gonna sprout in a couple months.
Anne: Mm-Hmm. For me, yeah, people would always say, well what do you send out gifts? What do you do for your clients over the holidays? And I like to send out e-cards, uh, notes, especially wishing a new year of happiness and prosperity and health and that kind of thing so it doesn't land during the holidays, which I think is a very busy part of the holidays for a lot of my clients. They're probably getting a lot of notes, a lot of gifts. And so I always like to say, well, let me stand out a little bit and I'll send something for the new year. And that way it'll come at a time that maybe they'll be able to spend more time and and see it and not be inundated with other emails, cards, gifts, that sort of thing.
So I like the whole celebrate the new year, looking forward to working with you again in the new year, and that sort of a thing. So for me, my attention towards my clients is from a new year perspective and a happy holidays because that would encompass all of the holidays, we hope, that people celebrate 'cause there's just so many of them.
Lau: So true. And actually we would think you and I would think 'cause we're from that timeframe where everyone would get gifts, the casting, the agents, whatever -- but you know what I've noticed in the last five or 10 years, Anne, many of them don't get as many as we think. And I know this because they'll write back to me, they'll say, oh my goodness, that was so thoughtful of you. That was incredible. If I send, let's say I send an edible arrangement. And they say, our office is gonna love this, Lau. It's just so thoughtful. You know, we don't see many of these, you know, whatever.
Anne: Not like it used to be.
Lau: Not like it used to be. No. It's very different now. You know?
Anne: And in the corporate world too. I mean it used to be very, very different. And I think the pandemic might have had a lot to do with that as well and the economy. And so I think for me it turned into what can I do that's more meaningful? Right? I think before it used to be like, let's send a gift, let's send this and then what would you send? And is it a personal gift? Does it showcase thought or is it just -- for me, I really try to think about the relationship that I have with my clients and make it something special, something personal. And again, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I think that even just a personalized note, or a lot of times I'm a decent baker.
Lau: Ooh.
Anne: I can bake. I know everybody knows Jerry can cook, but I can bake. And I did when we were first dating, by the way, I did bake him something to impress him, and little did I know at that time he was like a gourmet chef. But I was like, here, I need you a carrot cake muffin for Valentine's Day. I mean carrot cake muffins in a basket. And, and I was like, ooh. I think 'cause it's a really great recipe. And little did I know that he's like a gourmet chef, but I'm like, here have a muffin that I baked.
Lau: Oh my God. So you are actually like Kristin Wiig in Bridesmaids, remember that? Where she baked her boyfriend that carrot cake, and it was in the shape of a carrot and then the raccoon ate it? Remember that?
Anne: I did, I, I baked a carrot cake.
Lau: I was gonna ask you what your favorite gifts are. Like what's your favorite gift that you've either received or that you've sent out? Any come to mind?
Anne: So for me it's handmade. It's gotta be handmade because so much of my life with my husband is revolved around his gourmet foodiness. There's lots of things, like every year we give out handmade this or that. And like last year it was handmade salad dressing. And that's really cool. I mean, I buy the bottle, I designed the label. My husband, we make Sicilian lemon olive of oil and that kind of thing, dressing. And we give that out. And that's something that I don't hesitate sending to my clients and that it's handmade, because if they know me at all, which I try to make sure that they do, they know that I come from that background, and that my husband is pretty much a, a gourmet anything. So I find that that makes a really nice gift. And it's something that is not gonna cost a ton for me. And I do, I have to say, I do love Amazon gift certificates.
Lau: Oh, totally.
Anne: Because yeah, that just takes care of everything for let's say, I have a lot of people that I hire, my assistants, and I feel like I wanna give them something as a gift and not something that's just, of course money is always appreciated, right, a bonus, that kind of thing? So I do that. Or if they do something that's special, and this is at any time, I might give them a gift certificate to Amazon.
Lau: That's a good thing.
Anne: That really tends to be my favorite thing or anything that's special. So for example, another one of my clients who I share love of animals, you know, my cats or my dogs -- it will be a gift for their cat and it's so funny -- or a gift for their dog because they almost appreciate it more, right, because it shows like a deeper connection.
Lau: Yes.
Anne: If I get a gift for their dog. Like wouldn't it be cute to get matching sweaters, like, oh, dog sweater and sweater? But again, it has to be specific to the client. What about you? I'm excited to hear your, your favorites.
Lau: Yeah. Well, I mean there's standard stuff that whether you know this or not know this -- I mean, most people would know about Edible Arrangements.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: I really like Sherry's Berries too. So if you don't know about Sherry's Berries, that's really fun. Like hand dipped berries and fruit. That's awesome stuff.
Anne: Yep.
Lau: But we've done some interesting things in the past. I mean, my daughter is a visual artist, so she could draw like nobody's business.
Anne: Oh, that's nice.
Lau: Through the years, there were times -- I didn't wanna impose on her because it can take time to create art -- but there were times where we would have a, a special relationship with a casting or an agent, what have you, she would either draw them or she would draw something in the industry and send it to them. And that was like an incredible gift.
Anne: Sure.
Lau: You can also do promotional items that represent you or your company. And then give it a little personal twist. Like for instance, you know, we have some books that we published and then we'll, you know, add some photos to it or sign them or what have you. So you've got your promotional in there, and then you've got the personalized twist, and you've got a little note in there, a little gift card in there, a little something in there. Those have been some of my favorites.
Another regular thing that I used to do with in studio events, when I hold events, I would do gifts, like literal gifts, not as much for the men. If I did anything for the men, it would be a gift card. But for women, I would literally get them jewelry. And I almost never went wrong with jewelry. Almost never. They loved it. And you don't have to spend a lot of money on it either. Like you can get beautiful jewelry, and sometimes they would be thoughtful for what that person is. Like for instance, if I knew their birthdate or if I knew something about what they were celebrating, I would take the color of the stone or I would take their name or something like that and I would put it right into the jewelry. Right into the gift. They love that. They love that stuff.
Anne: Personalization.
Lau: Yeah, personalization.
Anne: Absolutely. And I was actually noticing your earrings earlier, and I was like, I really like those earrings . See, you can't go wrong with jewelry, I don't think for a lot of women, but that's me, of course. But yeah, I think that however you can personalize, it really makes just like any gift that you give to someone, right? However you can personalize it makes it really nice. And I also think in terms of promotional gifts, I try not to do just a promotional gift. You know what I mean? Even if I'm sending a card.
Lau: Oh yeah.
Anne: It's not gonna be like -- I'll say, I'm grateful, thank you so much. I loved working with you this year. But it's not gonna be all about like a big branded gift. It's really just gonna be thanks so much. And even if I got them a present for their dog, I'm not gonna brand it.
Lau: Right.
Anne: Because I think that it's similar to like the VO BOSS podcast where I'm always telling people, it doesn't have to be -- like, for me it is about voiceover. But my primary purpose with this podcast was to, I wanted to educate. I wanted to give back, right? And if people get value from it, then it's a gift, right? It's a gift that I wanna give from me to the community. And I feel like that's the way it should be for your gifts, really. And that's why it doesn't have to be like, oh, it's all about my voiceover business, when you're trying to connect with a client and give them a gift for the holidays. It really, I know just the simple fact that you're showing a personalized, something that's deeper than just a, oh, here, I did this job for you and you paid me for it -- I think if you show thoughtfulness behind that, you do not have to brand that thoughtfulness.
Lau: Not at all.
Anne: In order to be effective at all.
Lau: No, because remember, you're a person first. You're a human being first.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Lau: And it doesn't always have to be around the business.
Anne: And I think it's more memorable, to be honest with you. Right? It's gonna be more memorable if I get somebody a present for their cat than a branded pen. And I could throw that branded pen with the the cat gift as well.
Lau: That would be funny.
Anne: It wouldn't be be all about the branded gift, because I know before it used to be like, oh, what should I get? I'm gonna brand it with my logo. I don't think it's about that anymore. I mean, it used to be a thing where people, that's what they did. But I think these days, it's gotta be more meaningful. And I kinda like that trend. I really like that trend. I think the last few years that have been a little tough on us as a society, I'm hoping that things get back to more meaningful, simpler, thoughtful gifts for celebrating.
Lau: Yeah. I think the days of extreme swag are kind of gone where you gotta have a t-shirt, you gotta have a pen, you gotta have a --
Anne: Right.
Lau: I think that's passé now. But you know, I have to tell you one time --
Anne: I do like a pen. I do like a good pen though.
Lau: I like a good pen and I like a good pencil. I actually have a bunch of branded pencils, but I have a talent who's in MCVO and he's a working guy and he's wonderful. One year around Christmas time, he sent me his cup, his travel cup. And it had his business on it. Right? So it was clearly promotional. Right? But the thing when I, I looked at it, and it was so heavy and so well made and so intense, like the metal was so thick. Yes. And it came from one of the nicer stores in New York City. Right? I was like so impressed by that, that he would send that to me. I'm sure he is sending out a bunch of those to other people as well. I was like, my God, he probably spent 25, $30 on this cup.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: So I'm not telling people to do that. You don't need to do that. I'm just saying, it took me aback that he valued our relationship so much.
Anne: Right, to give you one of those. Yes.
Lau: And at that time, I hadn't even booked him. I hadn't booked him on anything. It was just he was valuing and faithful about, you know, what was to come and excited about the future and this and that, and I thought gee, that was a lot to invest in a gift for someone, you know, who's new. I never forgot it. .
Anne: I'm a big proponent about swag in not making it cheap swag. I think that no swag is better than cheap swag that is not useful. And so for me, like I say, I like a good pen right. Now, recently I had, and I don't have one in here to showcase, but I recently got, you know, the multicolor pens that have the green, the blue, the black --
Lau: Oh yeah, I love those.
Anne: -- and the red? Okay. Yeah. So I just got pens, multicolor pens with Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions on it. So I send it to everybody that orders from me, that orders like my vocal spray. And I'll take it to every conference. And more than likely when I send out gifts, they're gonna get a pen just because they're fun. I mean, who doesn't love writing with different colors?
Lau: Right, I'm with you.
Anne: That kind of thing. But I think if you make a substantial investment, and I'm a big one about cups too, right? This was actually, so this Miir cup, when my husband went to a conference, he got one that was white and it was from one of the companies, and it was made from Miir. And we love that cup so much that I went and bought another one because it was such a good quality cup, like you said. So I feel like if you're going to create swag, make sure it's a good quality swag. And I always like to really think about, is it going to be useful?
Lau: Yes.
Anne: Not just trendy, but is it going to be useful for the person that you're going to give it to? Otherwise, I don't know if it's worth the investment.
Lau: That's exactly it, Anne, and I actually thought I thought of one more that I used to love and give out. I don't know where they are these days, but I'm sure you can find them. I love these. They were the pens, thick pens that light up. And I love them because I was a director for many years. And so I would be in a dark room, a dark theater or a dark studio, and I just love the fact that I could write and light it up.
Anne: Yeah. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Lau: Oh my goodness. That was like, I gave that out for years. I gave those pens out for years. So things that are utilitarian and very useful I think are so important if you can find them.
Anne: So yeah, I think BOSSes, when it comes to gift giving and the holidays, I think the more thoughtful, right, the more personal, the better. Obviously you don't have to spend a ton of money, but if you're gonna make it swag, I say make an investment into decent swag. And then also let's talk about, are you busy? Are you not busy during the holidays? Should BOSSes worry if they're not busy during the holidays, Lau?
Lau: No. No, not at all. I would never worry about that. I always say, you know, if you work in advertising agencies, if you work with talent agencies, if you work in casting, you would know this, that there are really down times. There are dead times, there are down times. You know, it's like a ghost town. And you have to just accept that. That's true in every single business, in every industry. You're just not gonna be making money every day. You're not gonna be making profit every day. You're not gonna be booking in closing every day. You just have to accept that. That was hard on me, you and I as addicted people to our work, it was really hard to be like, is something wrong? I went four days and I haven't booked anything. Oh yeah, because there's an ebb and flow. And each quarter is different and every year is different. So you just have to pay attention to that.
Anne: That little piece of valuable, like that was just so valuable, Lau, that you said that as well. I say that a lot to my students and just, there is an ebb and flow. And as freelancers, this is something that is probably one of the hardest things to get used to when you come from, let's say, a corporate background and you're used to getting that paycheck on a consistent basis. Now all of a sudden there could be days that go by when you don't have a job. And it's okay, even for the veterans in this industry, right? Even for those people that are posting on social media where they booked 20 jobs this week, I want you guys to know that it's , it's an ebb and a flow.
And so the times that you might see somebody post that they got a ton of jobs that week, well, maybe the following week, they aren't getting as many jobs. I don't know one person, unless you're on a roster or you're on a consistent basis or contract with someone that gets work every single day, it's very tough being that consistent, unless maybe you're doing promos and you know, you're under contract for doing -- you're on a roster, you're doing these specific jobs on a daily basis, but getting new jobs every single day, mm, I don't know anybody. .
Lau: No, it's not a realistic. No, no, no.
Anne: It's not realistic.
Lau: You just have to pay attention to your, your stats. You just have to pay attention to those long ways. I mean, that's not to say you may not be working every day.
Anne: Exactly.
Lau: You may be working with clients every day catching up, do this, adding on, upselling, whatever you're doing. But when you're talking about closing or booking --
Anne: Yeah, right, booking, that's a different job every single -- Yeah. Yeah. That's just, yeah. And during the holidays is no exception really I would say a lot of times. I think it becomes even more unpredictable during the holidays, unless you're very used to doing particular jobs for the holidays and then in between the holidays. So yeah. BOSSes, it's okay. I think that we should all take the time to enjoy your holidays with your families and friends. On that downtime, if you want to work, well, maybe just take some time to reflect on what are the great new things that are gonna happen in the new year? How -- strategize what you're going to be doing in the new year, and take that time to re-energize.
Lau: Mm. Absolutely. If you can, re-energize, rejuvenate, and re-envision everything that you're doing and just enjoy, like enjoy that time of year. Enjoy the weather, enjoy the family, enjoy, and inspire your business in a new way as you go into the new year. Inspire yourself.
Anne: Love that. Love that. So yeah, BOSSes, happy holidays, BOSSes. Go and refresh and get inspired, and hope you have the most wonderful holiday season, from the BOSSes to the BOSSes. Great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipDTL.com. And also 100voiceswhocare.org, you can use your voice to make an immediate difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you. So find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, have a great week and we'll see you next year. Bye!
Lau: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In this extended episode, Anne chats with Landon Beach, the author of Narrator, and Scott Brick, the narrator of the novel, to find out what makes a great narrator-author relationship. If you're a writer, you know your characters, you understand their motivations and their goals. Creating a standout audiobook means trusting an actor to take the story to new heights. That's why we love audiobook narrators! They bring our characters to life with their voices, and they do it so well that we feel like we're coming along for the ride. Landon spent months learning everything he could about Sean Frost, the protagonist in "Narrator" He researched Sean's hobbies, his interests, his personality—even his favorite color! Many details of Sean that didn't make it into the novel became essential for developing his character in Scott's voice. We discuss how Landon's deep research into the character of Sean Frost led him to fully embody the role, and how Scott's experience as a voice actor informed his understanding of the subtleties that make this story great. We also talk about how you might be able to use your skills, interests, and background to add new textures & experience to your work as a voice actor.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. And today I am so excited to have two very special guests on the show. Welcome Landon Beach, author of the psychological thriller Narrator, which is available now wherever fine books are sold. Landon previously served as a naval officer and was an educator for 15 years before becoming a full-time writer with six titles, the latest being Narrator. Welcome Landon.
Landon: Hey, Anne, thanks for having me on.
Anne: We also have the actual narrator of the book Narrator and award-winning narrator who has more than 800 books to his name -- maybe there's more by now -- 600 Earphone Awards, a Voice Arts Legacy Award, a Grammy nomination. Welcome Scott Brick to the show.
Scott: Hey, hey. It's so good to see you all.
Anne: I know! You guys, thank you so much for joining me. I'm so excited to talk to you today about this book, which is amazing, BOSSes. So if you don't mind, I'd like to start with just a little bit of a preview, if you don't mind. I'm gonna play this and hopefully you guys will be able to hear it. Here we go.
Why do authors have to kill off characters we love? I, Sean Frost, sit in my darkened recording booth and stare at the final paragraph of the novel I am narrating. Almost there. Finish it. Finish it right, finish it with a flourish. But I can't, not right now for I am crying. The main character, Nehemiah Stone, died two pages ago in a self-sacrifice that I had not seen coming. The book, The Paris Sanction, is author M. Scott Sal's fourth Nehemiah Stone thriller, which I have waited patiently for two years for the chance to narrate. Five years ago, Simon and Schuster thought I was the perfect narrator for the job when they contacted my agent, David Killian, whom I affectionately refer to as Killy.
Anne: . I would love to play all of that, but I'm gonna leave the BOSSes in suspense . Wow. So you guys, for me, I mean, having read the book and listened to the audio book as well, it's amazing. And so I'd love to talk to you about the process. So let's start with you, Landon, after being an educator -- thank you very much for your service, thank you -- what was your thought process in becoming a writer?
Landon: Well, I've always written ever since I was young, and I had a wonderful English teacher in high school who really encouraged me. And then it kind of went away for a while. As you said, I went off and served, but I don't think I ever lost the passion for reading or the itch. And so fast forward many years later, and Scott and I started working together and developed a friendship. And I had an idea that I had been tossing around in my mind for 20 years because I've always loved the entertainment industry. I love to watch movies and study film. And finally it came to me one day after Scott and I had finished I think three books together. I thought, I think I have a way to tell an entertainment comeback story that has never been done before with an audiobook narrator as the main character set within the framework of a psychological thriller.
So that's where the idea came together. It wasn't until I started working with Scott and got to know a little bit about the audiobook world before I saw the opportunity that was in front of me. And then I shoved all other books to the side and just immersed myself in that world. And here we are today, .
Anne: So I guess I should ask you then, how did you find Scott? So then Scott kind of contributed to the idea of the book for Narrator after you'd worked with him?
Landon: He did not contribute to the idea at all. I shocked the heck out of him when I presented it to him.
Anne: Oh, awesome!
Landon: Yes. Now after that, yes, he was very helpful and had so much, you know, generous feedback. And the book, whatever success it may have, is in large part, of course, not only to his narration, but just his extreme kindness and professionalism, talking about the industry and seeing what worked and what wouldn't work in the book. And if we were gonna break some rules, to knowingly break them, so that it would be authentic and that the research would be impeccable. So that not only the common fan for 99% of them would not know where we're bending the rules or not. But it was important to us for maybe the 1%, the people that are in the industry that Scott and I both love, would appreciate the nods and winks and the Easter eggs.
Anne: Oh, yeah.
Landon: And just the fun of it that it hadn't been done before. So in terms of how I found Scott, I had placed in a few writing competitions for my first two novels, and I had written a third novel, and I was discussing with my wife how we might expand the business. And audiobooks were exploding back then and continue to explode now. But this is around 2019. And to make a long story short, I had been a fan of Scott's for years. Didn't know him at all. But I thought, well, if there's one person that I would love to narrate all of my books from now until eternity, it would be Scott.
And I saw that he was an entrepreneur, and his ahead of the game, was already working with some indie authors at that point. And so I contacted his amazing production manager, Gina Smith, and reached out and asked if, you know, he'd be interested. And through a process that we went through, we ended up doing a three-book deal. And then it led to later books. So that's sort of how we got together on this.
Anne: Well, I love the fact that you've continued to have Scott in your books. And so Scott, I imagine you had some collaboration after the surprise of finding out that he wrote a book about an audio book narrator. Talk about the process of collaboration with Landon.
Scott: I will. I'll be happy to. But Landon, I just want you to know, thank you for the kind words, but you've only got 45, 50 minutes. I'll give you 50 more minutes to say good things about me.
. It's very kind. Thank you.
This was a marvelous surprise. Landon I got to know one another through letters, through emails, cards that we would exchange, and found out that we're both huge fans of Old Hollywood. I probably can't tell that I love old Hollywood, 'cause the books behind me. And at one point, I guess when he had this idea, he asked if he could maybe get some feedback. You know, essentially it was like an interview. He wanted to interview me about how audiobooks are made. And I remember him saying that he had this idea and very broad terms.
Now, I wasn't really privy to what was going on in the story. I just told him about the process. And about six months later, he goes, oh, by the way, here you go. And I went, holy shit. Okay. Well, I guess he did. People say they're gonna do things all the time; it doesn't always happen. And then he asked me to read it ahead of time and just give him feedback. I mean, he was talking about like the rules that we break.
You know, there's one thing about the audio book industry. It's very gender and ethnicity centric, right? If a black man writes a book, they're gonna hire a black man to narrate it. Same thing. People ask me why I work so much. I'm like, well, there's a lot of old white guys writing books. Right? And in the book at the very beginning is the Audie Awards. And Billy D. Williams has his memoir come out, and there's a woman who is nominated for best narrator of the year for having done that book. And I was like, hey, Landon, I'm sorry to tell you. But you know, they would hire a guy to do that. And , I just love the fact that the way that he addressed it was just talking about the elephant in the room.
He said, you know, at one point Billy D. Williams says, you tell me that woman can't read my book? Are you kidding me? You know, and again, it just, address the issue and then move on. The collaboration, for lack of a better word, I was just primarily giving feedback like that as well. It's just that first interview. I remember days before the book was coming out, he emailed real quick and said, is it appropriate to say, I hit the record button? Is there an actual button that you hit in the studio? And I said, Well, no, not really. I mean, I'm not using hardware, I'm using software. So I have a shortcut. I hit the number 3 button on my keyboard. And he goes, But do you use that terminology? "I hit the record button." I said, No, I typically say I hit record. Okay, great. And that's what came about.
And you know, they're small things, but Dan Musselman, who's one of my favorite people of all time, he gave me my career, basically. And he always said, you know, most books are a 100,000 words long. You could get 99,999 of them right. But if you pronounce one of them wrong, it will ruin the experience for the listener. And this is a similar thing, if you get the terminology wrong, it would take some of us right out of the experience.
Anne: Absolutely. Well, absolutely. And I was just mentioning before when I was speaking in to Landon, how at home I felt with everything, everything was like, it was familiar to me. It was at home. Like, you grabbed a cup of tea for your throat, and you're at the award ceremony, and all of it just was so comfortable and just so wonderful and amazing. And I can't say enough good words about it, but I imagine that this was a little more collaborative than most audio books. Like Scott, talk a little bit about the process when you're hired to narrate an audio book, and how much interaction are you having with the author, or what does that look like?
Scott: You know, it all depends on whether you're working directly with the author or through a publisher. Um, publishers really like to curate the relationship, for lack of a better word. They like to limit the amount that you really get to interact with the author. Then again, I have authors I've worked with for 20 years, and it's like, there's no way we're not gonna talk about it. You know, I'm like, okay, he's coming over to my house for a dinner. Am I not supposed to talk to him about his book? And if it's a Dune book, I've done all of those, I think 25 of them now. I call the author , and we go over all the pronunciations for the made up names, phrases, and whatnot. That's typically what will happen.
I'll reach out to, you know, Nelson Demille. He puts in real people's names in the books that he writes. Because they've made charitable donations. Well, I wanna make sure that I'm, is it Carns or is it Kerns? They deserve to have their name said right. That's typically the way it works with an author. But when you work directly with an author like I've been blessed to do with Landon, he'll tell me, this thriller was inspired by this movie. He even sent me a copy of it on DVD. I'm blanking on it now. The Gene Hackman film. Why am I blanking?
Landon: Night Moves.
Scott: That's it. Exactly. So I watched that the night before, and it just helps get you into the mood. If anything else, the relationship that I've had, this working relationship with Landon, which is thankfully for me, become a true friendship, has informed my work on his books. It's nice to know when he sends me an email saying, you know, I got this character. I was inspired by this film, by this actress, by this actor -- it's really nice to know that kind of thing. Nobody listening will realize, oh yeah, that was Gene Hackman who inspired that character.
Anne: Sure, sure.
Scott: And yet, I know, and it makes it different for me and hopefully more layered and textured for the listener.
Anne: So I guess my question would be is when you take on a character, right, you fully envelop that character. How do you prepare for that? And also, I'd like like to ask Landon, was it a surprise when Scott interpreted the character in the way that he did?
Landon: So for this one, Anne, you read it ahead of time, Anne, which was wonderful of you to do that, because I wrote this in first person present tense. I felt that I had to know Sean Frost better than any character that I've ever written before. And I am not exaggerating here. I spent months working on Sean. I have 60 or so handwritten, two-sided loose leaf pieces of paper with notes about Sean Frost, his backstory, where he was raised, the toys that he played with when he was young. You know, millions of things that will never get into the book.
And a lot of that was inspired by a book that had come out just recently, Character by Robert McKee. And it can be really intimidating to go through his books, but they're so worth it because the journey he takes you through in the -- he asks the hard questions. And so I told Scott this beforehand, I said, my biggest fear when the book was to come out was that someone would get to a place -- like you said, you know, if you get one word wrong, like he's talking about with Dan, is that someone would say, Sean Frost would never say that. Or Sean Frost would never do that. And that's scary and intimidating because you don't want something to take the reader or listener out of the experience.
And so I felt comfortable after putting all that work in that I knew who he was, at least to start writing about him. And to add into the research before I say about, you know, Scott's interpretation of Sean, one thing that our relationship has developed far enough along where we're comfortable sending each other things and suggestions. And so this has a lot of pop cultural references, but it also has, I always have a soundtrack for all of my books, and it's, you know, songs that inspired me while I was writing. And if someone listened to all of those that say, how in the heck did you get Narrator out of all of those or the nonfiction books that I read?
But there's something about it that I know as Scott, as a performer, as an actor, they're hungry for information. And let me see what I can do with this. And it's always on, you know, I always kinda say a volunteer basis -- he could use nothing that I give him, and we'd be completely fine. But because we're friends and we've had exchange of ideas, and in a lot of points in Narrator that made it better, it was the, let's let the best idea win here, no matter who came up with it. And so I was happy to, to go along with that. But I sent him an email for Narrator that was just massive, but it had every single pop cultural reference in Narrator.
And there are points where, as you know, Sean acts them out in his mind and he's thinking about them. And so I thought, well, what if I sent those to Scott ahead of time? And so when he got to that part of the book, he could, he could look at that and work into the scene. And like, like he said, no one else would know that he watched Michael Douglas yelling to Sean Penn in The Game before he actually acted that out. But it keeps things fresh and, you know, energetic. And so that's what I would say about his performance is that, oh my gosh. I mean, just delighted. And I don't know a ton about the industry, but the respect that I gained in the year to year and a half of research before I approached him, I'm surprised I kept it a secret that long, but I was so intimidated before going because I wanted to make sure that I had done my job.
But what I did realize is that there are interpretations and decisions -- he's making creative choices of taking that character on sometimes in every line or every word with what you're gonna stress and whatnot that I never noticed before. I always say that Scott and other wonderful performers, they make it seem easy where, oh, I'm just listening to this great audio book. I'm completely in there. But the decisions that you have to make to have that come alive. So yeah, absolutely. To see that hard work pay off, and to see the directions that Scott took it as an artist and creator in his own right, I couldn't be happier. .
Anne: That's awesome. So Scott, tell us a little bit about the process, about how you got yourself into character.
Scott: So funny, because in acting circles, you're either method or you're not, right? Maybe you're more of a technique actor. God, what's that grape line by Spencer Tracy? He's, you know, his approach to acting was memorize his lines. Don't bump into the furniture. I'm not a method actor, and yet I really like to prepare my mood. We have to prepare the text, make sure everything is pronounced correctly. I have a researcher who handles that for me, but I want to make sure that my head is in the right space. So, yeah. I will watch Night Moves, the Gene Hackman film.
Before Narrator, I watched Misery because they're similarities, you know? Somebody who's being held against their will and forced to create basically. What I find really interesting is, I'm going through all the pop culture references that Landon sends me, is sometimes I find some that really work elsewhere. For instance, he was talking about this, and as you heard in the preview, this character, Nehemiah Stone. Well, that's a character who was very much, I think in the same vein as Jack Reacher. And I'm all also blessed to work on that series. I got 'em all right up there, just right behind me.
And Landon emailed me and said, you know, while writing this part of the book, I was listening to the theme from The Incredible Hulk in the 1970s, The Lonely Man that marvelous piano music at the end. It's heartbreaking. That actually used to be my ring tone on my phone, but it was so silent that I couldn't hear my phone ring. So I had . But now a month or two after I did Narrator, I did the most recent Jack Reacher novel, which was called No Plan B. And I watched that video. I listened to that music every day before getting started. And nobody who's listening to either Narrator or a Jack Reacher novel is gonna go, wow. Sounds like he was listening to this, to the Incredible Hulk theme. But audiobooks is a type of storytelling where subtlety plays, and if it affects my performance just in a little way, then wonderful.
Anne: Yeah. And I felt that absolutely while listening to it, so many subtle, tiny things. I felt close from the beginning, really to the character, which I thought was just phenomenal. So I imagine that because you guys had so much correspondence back and forth, Scott, this is different for you in other books, sometimes. You don't have as much collaboration with the author, right? And so then what other things do you have to do to prepare? As you mentioned, some of your publishers don't necessarily want you to collaborate so much. So what do you do to prepare for those characters and for those books?
Scott: I have a real keen sense for genre. Look, I love certain genres that I work in simply because I'm a book fan. That's the reason I got into this industry. I'll give you an example. We just, I was working with Penguin Random House and the estate of Raymond Chandler, and his family wanted the whole Philip Marlow Omnibus rerecorded. And they wanted to add music. And so they were looking for a new voice for Philip Marlow. And they hired me. Now, sadly, Chandler passed away, and I want to say it was the late 50s, early 60s. There was no way I was gonna be able to have any interaction with him other than reading books that he wrote about writing.
So what I did is, every single night -- there were eight books, seven novels, and one book of short stories. We recorded them over the course of a year, and every single night, the night before I would record, I would watch, maybe it was The Big Sleep, an actual Philip Marlow story. Maybe it was Double Indemnity. But I was watching film noir constantly, just to put myself in that mood, in that mindset, that hard boiled detective meeting the, you know, the femme fatale. Sometimes that's all you got. I've done that while doing the horror novels. I've watched Shining the night before, or The Ring. Yeah. I've done the same thing when I was recording Somewhere in Time. I watched time travel romances just to put myself in the right mood.
Landon: Anne, if I could add something about the character and what Scott was able to bring to the table, I was asked in a recent interview, how did you pick Scott to do this? And, and I said that even if I would've had five different narrators before writing Narrator, I said, of course I would've gone after Scott because I knew it was first person present tense. But also it's so much in the mind of Sean Frost. And when I listened to Scott's work where he does first person -- one, if you identify with that character, at some point you're listening and you think, I'm that character. I'm going through this. Which is a wonder of fiction. But also two, you become immediately immersed in the narrative and the novel.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Landon: And Scott is great at that. It's kind of what they said about Tom Hanks when they picked him for Robert Langdon, is that they thought that without speaking, he is a fantastic actor of someone who's thinking, and less is more. And I like to think of Scott in those terms of when someone is speaking inside of their head and that internal monologue was a natural choice. And the caveat that we joke about is that, you know, Scott is not Sean Frost , but I thought he was perfectly suited to play that role. Like, and some people have asked me, they're like, they're like, Scott is Sean. I'm like, no, he's not.
Anne: I was gonna say, can you identify --
Landon: But he was perfect for it because he's a conglomeration of all the narrators that I researched. All their methods and stuff are kind of melded into this one character. So yes, there is some of Scott that is in there, definitely. But some of the routines that Sean have are completely different than what Scott does. .
Anne: Well, that's kind of good in a way. .
Scott: All of my colleagues, all the narrators who've gotten back to me and said, I love this book. They don't ask about like abuse issues. They don't -- but anything like that, what they wanna know is, do you really make as much money as Sean Frost does? And I of course say, yes, I do, even though I don't .
Anne: Landon, I wanted to say like the first person writing a novel in the first person I thought was really for this novel, I just thought it was really wonderful. Again, like you said, you picked Scott because you thought for him to do it in the character in first person was just, I think a phenomenal choice.
Landon: Oh, thank you, Anne. That means a lot.
Anne: But is that a choice as an author? Like, okay, when you sit down, you've got an idea to start writing. Like what makes you decide whether it's first person or how you're going to present that?
Landon: Well, for this particular case, this is the first time that I've ever written first person. Scott knows from my other books, they've been the third person closed, third person omniscient. But coming up in getting ready to write this book, it really, a lot of it had to do with the fact that I'm trying to dramatize and make a psychological thriller about someone who stays in a really confined space, in a booth. And I empathize with that in terms of an author. I mean, I'm in my office right now, Anne, for 12 hours a day. It's really, really boring and lonely and hard work.
And that's why I look forward to these calls, one, to see my buddy here because, you know, we need this as, as creators to touch base with each other every once in a while. And I always leave energized and enthused. But I thought it's gotta be a psychological thriller that's the route to go with making this so that there, I can bring in suspense and reliable narration, unreliable narration. And it opens up a different menu of things to play with the audience's mind and wonder what's real and get as many reversals, authentic reversals, not just cursory ones as we can throughout the entire book to keep people on, on the edge of their seats.
So I thought for this one, I had to go all in on this one character. And I say this a bit tongue in cheek, but not, I miss him. I, I, I'm miss writing Sean. I really do. For that one intense period, and I think Scott would agree that when we got to the actual recording, I mean, it was like we were living in the same house next door to each other, and then it breaks away, and you go months without talking to someone. But that was so intense and we had to collaborate and work on a few issues that it was, I don't know, it's, it's like nothing I've never experienced before.
Scott: Also, just from my perspective, what it allowed me to do was -- I don't wanna use the word improvisation, because this is a book. It's written, it is scripted. And yet there are those moments where you can improvise in terms of your performance. Not change the words, but like, he asked me about my own particular method of recording it. And for many years I've used a tally clicker. And I can demonstrate to you, you know, it's one of those things that click when you're going in and out of a venue, you see the guy who's counting heads. You know, how many people do we have inside now? Okay. It's technically called it tally clicker. But when I just use the words tally clicker, people always say to me, what? And I'm like, well, so I have to explain.
Anne: Got one right here.
Scott: Anything that makes the noise.
Landon: There it is. There it is.
Scott: Anything that will spike the wave form the waveform. Okay, well it's one thing to hear about it and then it's another thing to actually hear it. So I reached out to Landon, and I was like, how about -- 'cause this happens at the very beginning as I'm talking about the tally clicker -- how about I leave one of them in? And I had to call my, my edit my post house to say, I want all of them taken out except that one because it's the one that illustrates. As I'm talking about the tally clicker, I just went up to the microphone and just hit it four or five times. Oh, okay. Great. It'll help the listener. There was four or five things like that that, and I would always email Landon and say, is it okay if I put this in? At one point, I'm literally dabbing my lip balm on. He talks, you know, Sean, he's swishing his mouth with water. I left it in , you -- why not?
Anne: I was at home, I'm telling you.
Landon: It was so perfect. It was like special effects for a few parts. But it was those kinda layers that I think made this special in my opinion. Especially the time that he goes through Sean's routine, 'cause he goes through it a few times. But Scott picked the perfect moment because it's right at the climax, and here he is, you know, triumphant from let's just say some obstacles that he's had to climb over. And he's like, I dab this and you can hear it. And then I take a swig of water, and you can hear it. And I'm like, that is so perfect. I never even would've thought of that.
Anne: I am in the booth. I am in the booth.
Landon: I was there. Right there.
Scott: The shape of your lips, it changes the sound coming out of it. And I was like, darn right. You know, and people were asking, my buddies were asking me, were you just like dabbing it with your finger? Hell no, I'm using --
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Landon: Michelle Cobb was texting Scott back and forth and who is emailing me. And she was talking about it on the podcast, and she's just, you know, having a blast with the whole concept of Sean Frost. She's like, Scott, he's in a tuxedo. But I said, you know, the character that he was narrating in this book listened to me was -- and so I said, well, let's let Sean as a professional get into a little bit of method and do that. And so, yeah, I'm glad that some people like those moments and found them --
Anne: Loved them.
Landon: -- entertaining and humorous.
Anne: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Landon: It was fun.
Anne: Absolutely. So is there a movie in the future? I don't know, I just
Landon: I tell you what, I, I would absolutely love to see this made, and I was a screen writer before I was a novelist, and that's where my degree is in, my master's is in screenwriting. And so a lot of this, when I got to the end of it, I said, gosh, I can just, I can see it. So fingers crossed. Hey, anybody listening to this podcast, please reach out to Scott and myself .
Anne: Yeah. Fantastic. So I asked that, but what's in the future for you next, Landon? Another book? What's happening?
Landon: Yep. So I'm in the final editing stages of a murder mystery, and that's going to come out a month from now, right around Christmas. And I just found this out the other day that the first book in the series, Huron Breeze for thebestthrillerbooks.com won mystery of the year for 2022.
Anne: Congrats.
Landon: So I'm just excited, humbled, surprised, but it's gonna be neat to release a sequel when all of that gets shared. And so what Scott and I have talked about is that at some point, we'll do our pre-recording conference for Huron Nights, because we're gonna take the main character into a complicated place, because it's part of a trilogy. So usually this is kind of the Empire Strikes Back episode of a trilogy where everything goes to hell, and then they've gotta come back in the third one. So I look forward to that, and I have some, some interesting ideas of some things that might inspire him as he gets ready for his performance.
And then I'm collaborating too with Susanne Elise Freeman on a novella, which is gonna take place in between books two and three, and it's going to be an assassination, spy, espionage short. And so we've already talked over Zoom, and I'm thrilled to be working with her. She's gonna of course play the main character in this one. And then we'll wrap up this trilogy with Huron Sunrise. And then finally I'm gonna get to the end of the Great Lake Saga, which is book five in that saga. I have a book on every Great Lake, and so I have four of them, but the last one has taken a backseat just because once Narrator got into my mind, I mean, the seas parted and it was all I had to get that out. And then of course the mystery, that's kind of taken on its own life. It was only planned as a standalone, but so many fans liked it and wanted more, I was like, well, I, I'll have to think about it. I did not plan to write anymore about that.
Anne: Yeah. Well count me as one of those.
Landon: Busy year coming up.
Anne: Yeah. Well, it sounds like so much fun, all your projects coming up.
Scott: You know what I, what I love about it is that when we were doing the first book in that series Huron Breeze, and there's this moment where there's a book within a book, right? There's a, a woman writer at the center of it, and she has written this wildly successful book, and they talk about how the audio book was narrated by Susanne Elise Freeman, my girlfriend. And I, and there was like a line or two in it that she actually says, and I said to Landon, you want me to have her come down to the booth and just have her say that?
And so we had her do the, the opening credits too, so you -- her voice wouldn't come as a surprise. And then Landon gets this idea that like, oh, maybe I'll write the book within the book. And so he's having Suzanne narrate it; I just love it. It's become a cliche to, to talk about thinking outside the box, but that's where growth comes from. That's where industry norms become, you know, stretched and we expand and grow. And I just love the fact that he is open to, great, let's do something a little different.
Anne: Well, I have to tell you, I'm not an audiobook narrator. I've, I've narrated one a long time ago, but I'll tell you what, you guys just make it sound so wonderful and delightful that, BOSSes out there, I'll tell ya, you guys are inspirational. And I really, really appreciate you talking to us today. And I had all these questions, but the whole conversation, I just love the direction it took and I appreciate.
Scott: No, I was, and I was gonna have to cut you off from saying nice things. Anyway, that another 15 minutes. That's it.
Anne: Well Scott, tell us, outside of working with Landon, is there anything else going on in your future that you'd like to let the BOSSes know about? Any other exciting projects?
Scott: Yeah, I've got some wonderful books I've been working on recently. Just finished a historical thriller. It's non-fiction, but it was about the plot to kill Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin at the conference in Tehran, the first of the two times that the three of them met during World War II. The Nazi, it's called The Nazi Conspiracy. And that was really just a brilliant book. I'm also working on a couple of podcasting projects, scripted podcasts about the history of LA, the history of the entertainment industry. You can tell from books behind me, I love the silent film era, and I have an idea that I would love to just share with anybody who's like-minded and fascinated.
Anne: Yeah. I'm already intrigued by that. I think that sounds like a fabulous idea.
Scott: Awesome.
Anne: Absolutely. So tell the BOSSes how they can get Narrator and any other book. Landon, where is it available, at Amazon, on your website? Where can they go to find out more?
Landon: So there's links to all of my books on my website, LandonBeachBooks.com. But the Kindle version is exclusively on Amazon, but the paperback, you can get at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, anywhere pretty much. And the audio books are wide, so anywhere that audiobooks are sold, you can get a copy of Narrator in 30 seconds.
Anne: Fantastic. Yes. So any last, I'm gonna say tips for the BOSSes out there for them to be BOSSes and be successful in their voiceover endeavors or their writing endeavors?
Scott: I would say, from my perspective, don't be afraid to reach out to the author because you never know what can happen because of it. Be willing to do something that you might not ordinarily do in the booth. Years ago, there was a book I was doing where one character had an entire package of chewing gum we wanted in his cheek, and it actually spoke about how it changed the sound of his voice. And I knew it wouldn't sound right if I was just doing this. So I reached out and I said, would it be okay if I record all those lines separate and they get edited in later? I checked with the editor, with the publisher and I recorded the whole freaking thing with a, a wad of chewing gum in my mouth. And never in my life before or since have I brought chewing gum into a booth . But that was the time it seemed appropriate. So dare to think differently.
Anne: Yeah. That makes the difference. Landon?
Landon: Yeah, so I would say an idea that you might want to consider, I know that a lot of audiobook narrators, they will put some of their background and their history of what they did before they became an audiobook narrator. But I would encourage them to list as many things as they were involved in before because you never know if an author is writing about a specific subject -- we can use Narrator as an example. But of course I was looking for someone who had not only audiobook narrating experience, but performing arts experience, which was another reason it worked out perfectly to go with Scott on this. But maybe there is an opportunity of, I don't know, if you were a trucker or something else before you became a narrator, that you might be able to lend a unique experience and voice to that project in a realm that you're already really well versed in with audio books.
So I would say, you know, not to run away from your previous background. It might lead to an interesting book that you're a part of. And the other part is just that, yes, there are some authors, and I can say this, they don't really wanna have a relationship. You know, they're like, I did this, you know. The narrator doesn't exist without me because I wrote the book. And you know, obviously those are not gonna be the kind of relationships that would work out like Scott. But with us, there might be an opportunity to really have a unique kind of collaborative environment, not like a total collaboration, which we've said, which is, you know, I have my turf and he has his. But yeah, there could be something that you did not know or expect. I never saw this coming until we became friends, and I, I really can't see Narrator without it now, if that makes sense. So. Yeah.
Anne: Absolutely does. Well, gentlemen, it has been such a joy talking to both of you. Thank you so, so much for your words of wisdom and inspiration. And BOSSes, go get Narrator. I'm telling you, go out and get it now. In less than 10 seconds you can click and have this experience for yourselves. Gentlemen, thank you so much. I'm gonna give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and work like BOSSes. Find out more at ipDTL.com. You guys, have an amazing week and I'll see you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Gratitude is not just a feeling. It's a practice, and it can change your life. This week, Anne & Lau discuss bringing gratitude into your life and biz. They dive into what gratitude can add to your life - a sense of purpose, community, & fulfillment. Take a moment to think about how grateful you are for your life, your family, and the people around you. What if you added just one more thing to that list? What if you took stock of what you're grateful for every day? A grateful mindset makes you easier to work with. It helps people feel good around you + attracts people & opportunities your way. So if you're ready to start crafting gratitude into your life, tune in!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited as always to have with me my special guest co-host Lau Lapides for Business superpowers. Woohoo!
Lau: Hey!
Anne: Hey Lau.
Lau: Hey Anne. So great to be back.
Anne: It is wonderful, wonderful to have you. So I was noticing, Lau, lately, it's the holiday season or the holiday season is upcoming. And I have been seeing a lot of talk about gratitude and thanks and people have 30 days of thanks. And I think it's a wonderful thing. I love being able to express gratitude. I think it's healthy for us personally, and I also think it's healthy professionally, but I also think we should be practicing gratitude year round . And I think that gratitude can be a wonderful springboard for growth for not only yourself personally, but for your business. What are your thoughts?
Lau: I could not have said that any better. And actually you took the words right out of my head.
Anne: I did?
Lau: Yes. I was just working with --
Anne: Great minds, Lau.
Lau: Yes. I was working with some clients and we were saying, you know, this particular talent, whatever, they should be thankful for having this particular opportunity because it's so interesting, it's so unique and it's so hard to get. And I thought, oh my goodness, it's so true; having gratitude, being thankful every single day, like writing it down, speaking it to someone. Not just thinking it. Right, Anne, 'cause when it's in our head, it's not always as real as when we're doing something actively. Right?
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: So if I'm thankful, I'm gonna show an action based on that. If I'm really grateful for something, I might tell someone that I'm grateful, and that action is so important to do every single day of the year.
Anne: I consider it a springboard for so many good things that can happen from the start of just thinking of being grateful. It turns your mindset around from, let's say, complaining about something . Like for example, it's been cooler now in Southern California. I for one, love the cooler weather, but sometimes that means, well now I gotta turn the heat on. And so therefore now my heating bill is gonna go up. Whatever it is, I'm just gonna be thankful that I have a change of seasons here in California. And I don't have to turn my air conditioning on.
So I think it's a mindset switch from the thinking part of it. And then I think like as you were saying, I think putting things into action, telling people about what you're grateful for or telling people, like I'm grateful, Lau, that you are here today with me doing this podcast. And I'm grateful for all of the episodes that we've done so far. And I'm grateful for all the ones that are going to be coming up because I think it's just done wonders for me personally to get to know you. And I have gratitude for you as a friend, but also as a professional partner. Really.
Lau: Well, I am so grateful that you thought to even ask me to be on the program. In fact, I'm gonna go back before that. I'm grateful that we were on a panel together, right? The gods of the panel conferencing universe put us together. I'm grateful that we're assertive business women. And we're unashamed and not frightened to reach out to each other, even though we didn't know each other at all. And say, hey, let me celebrate you. Let me work with you and bada bing, bada boom, as they say, I mean, it's like, wow. All of a sudden project, you thought to invite me to your podcast, which has been an incredible experience. And it's just that journey. I'm thankful for the journey of going on the process.
Anne: That is what is so cool about -- you're right. It's not just a one time thought of gratitude. It becomes this journey which can evolve into so much more. So one single thought of gratitude can evolve into much more. And that thought of, wow, we were on that panel together. Wow, this is great. This woman is amazing. Like I really like, let me reach out to her and let's see if we can form a partnership and see if we can work together in some way. We worked together. We now have this wonderful series of podcast episodes, and I have grown personally and professionally. So many opportunities have now opened up for our relationship that we've developed. Right? Opportunities to meet other casting directors, to meet other people, to meet wonderful VO family. And it makes me connect to my East Coast roots.
I mean, there's just so many good things that have happened from the one thought of grateful in my brain. So I love the action where you can not only think about what you're grateful for, but put it down on paper. I love the whole people putting what they're grateful for on Facebook or on Instagram, whatever your social media platform of choice. I think if everybody could just put what they're grateful for, like every single day, wouldn't that just be a cool thing?
Lau: That's a great action to do. It's what I call making sparks. If you can make sparks, then you can make fire. And making fire is really about -- they used to say in business, you know, I'm setting the world on fire. not in any negative way, but like I'm awakening territory that I want to inspire new relationships, new fertile grounds for business, for not only business, but also for friendships, also for social relationships. Like you have to have that action inside of you so that you can do the spark, so that you can catch fire a little. You can't always rely on other people to do that for you. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And that one little spark, that one little thing you make could do a whole lifetime, could open up a whole lifetime of a trajectory of business and friendship and joy and health for you. And you go, oh my gosh, if I hadn't done that, all of this other stuff would not have happened.
Anne: I just saw that happen with a client that I had worked with, and I had the opportunity while I was at a conference to meet in person with them. And I remember -- you wouldn't think that I'm a nervous type , but sometimes, right, especially if this client -- this client was very well known, CEO, president of the company, that kind of thing. So when it comes time for me to just meet face to face for the first time, I'm a little bit like, oh my goodness. You know, I've done some work and I've had some association, but not direct all the time.
Lau: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And meeting this person and expressing my gratitude, being able to work with them and how much I enjoyed it, how much I admired and respected their work really led to this relationship where I felt great about it. But not only that, but I just got another invitation to do some more work for this client. So I believe that it truly led to other work. And it doesn't mean -- now look, I think there's so many things that go into creating a good relationship with a client. It's not always about, oh, Anne Ganguzza has the best voice. Right? It really becomes, oh, she's got an amazing voice. But also she is wonderful to work with, she's easy to work with, she's reliable. And so those things all come into play. And when you're paying gratitude or respect to your clients, I truly believe that it will come back to you like threefold.
Lau: That's exactly it. And there's a, you know, doing the checkbox is like, it just makes their life so easy then you are a great package. You do know what you're doing, you're well prepped, you're professional. They don't have to worry about the trust factor. But there's so much more in all of that. There's almost like a mystique, like a mysticism of how people come together, how gigs get done, how process takes place. There's -- is something very mystical about that. You can't always explain every single step.
Like how were we in particular invited to that panel? How did we notice each other and then reach out to each other? I don't know. There's kind of like an unspoken truth that we may not know what that is and it's okay to not know. But then is that makes it exciting a little bit. It's not completely predictable. All we know is we have the ability to assert ourselves and to put our best foot forward. That's like all we know. And then if it doesn't work out, we're eloquent about saying, okay, it's not gonna work out now. Hopefully in the future it'll work out. But being the fire starter, making that spark is really important and not waiting for someone else to do it.
Anne: You know what else is interesting? And this is making me think now in terms of, I said, well, it's not always about your voice. Right? It could be the whole package. I truly believe, especially in these times where we want authenticity, we want believability. I truly believe that you, that you bring to the party, that unique part of you, if gratitude is a part of that, I think it's an attraction, right, for other people. And so, even though you might be reading somebody else's words from a script, that gratitude is part of your personal makeup. And that personal makeup is part of that you that you're bringing to the party.
And I believe that the positivity, I think there's a lot of positivity around gratitude, that comes with just you being authentic and then bringing that authentic you to the script -- even if it's like behind, let's say, a character that's an evil villain or whatnot, there's still a part of you that you're bringing to it that cares that you're entertaining or cares that you're connecting. And I think that, like you said, that kind of part that you can't touch or feel it, that part is an important part of your voice and the package that you bring to the table. So I think that gratitude is one of those personality traits or one of those emotions that I think can really come out and affect your physical voice as well.
Lau: No question. I think it affects everything, not just your mindset and your voice. It affects your body and how you move in space and how you make people feel. I always feel like, whether you're at home in your home studio, or whether you're at an office or going to someone else's rehearsal place or place of business, how do you make people feel at home? How do you host them in your space? And I, I always feel like if I come from a place of acceptance and gratitude, and thankfulness, and joy, and appreciation, they feel that. There's a pathos in that, there's an emotional pathos that they just pick up immediately that is not a self-centered, narcissistic kind of overly focused on myself kind of thing. But it's like, how are you feeling? Are you warm in this place? Are you comfortable? Do you have what you need? What have you.
That I always feel comes out of knowing what to be grateful for. I don't think it's enough just to be grateful. I have to be specific. Just like my vocal delivery. I have to be specific on what am I thankful for? What am I grateful for? Let me write that down. Let me talk that to someone. Let me tell them. I mean, I don't know, it's kind of spiritual, isn't it? If I tell you, like you just told me, I'm so thankful for you, Anne, to have you as my new friend, my colleague, someone who's an inspiration in my life. Oh, I just got goosebumps. My eyes got a little watery on that because --
Anne: Me too.
Lau: -- it's emotional. It kicks up those muscles in you as an actor that go right into your muscles that are holding emotion, right? You see my eyes got a little watery when I said that. I'm not upset or sad.
Anne: So it can make you a better actor. Look at that. I love that. I love that. Right? Some of the good things that come from feeling that emotion, and so much more moving forward energy than, let's just say, there's a lot of complaining going on in some of these social media circles. Right? And I feel like it's one thing to, if you have something that you're unhappy about, maybe, I don't know, either getting it out, writing it down, whatever it is. But I think a constant rehashing and circling and it's like some ball of negative energy. I don't think that that's necessarily healthy. So I think that the more positive things that you can spin and then encircle yourself with and discuss and tell and talk with and -- I think the more forward we can move. I'm always about moving forward and not like staying in a pool of negativity. .
Lau: I agree. I agree.
Anne: Right?
Lau: And you know, now that I think about it, you know, I'm in the commercial market as an agent, I'm thinking that probably 80'% to 90% of the copy that we see for talent is copy that you would describe as warm, friendly, healing, paternal or maternal, inclusive -- all these terms that you think, okay, I'm an actor. How do I get that out? How do I do it on the spot? How about this, one tactic is to do exactly what we're saying and be grateful. Write down what you're thankful for. Really pay attention to it in detail, emotionalize it and feel it. So you can call upon that when you're doing that next healthcare read. You can call upon that when you're doing that next parental read to say, wow, okay, I remember, I can recall -- actors recall. I can recall what that actually feels like as me a person. Then I can put that into my read. And now it becomes much more authentic and realistic to me as a person. 'Cause that conversational thing throws us all the time.
Anne: It does.
Lau: What is conversational, you know?
Anne: And you know what's so interesting? So I'm gonna see that commercial and I'm gonna -- corporate copy, which honestly, if you think about it, it's the same end goal, right? Commercial, selling a product or selling a brand, same thing with corporate copy. Even though you might be delivering information like, here's our corporate governance, or this is who we are as a company, or this is a product that we're talking about as a company -- it's just a longer format, but still the same end result, right? Companies want you to be on board with their product and with their brand so that ultimately you'll buy from them.
But I always like to go all the way back and say, look, when I worked in the corporate world, I remember, and I think I mentioned this to you, I was employee number 246 , um, at the company that I worked with out of school. And I loved the product, I loved the company, I loved what we did. I was passionate about it. I felt like we were helping people. I want everybody that's voicing a piece of commercial copy or corporate copy or whatever it is that has a product to think about that company. Ultimately, I wanna look at the good and say that, well, whoever formed this company, let's say, I'm speaking on behalf of, I don't know, Hope Hospital or whoever that is, there was a good inherent in the formation of that company or that product because they wanted that product to help someone.
And that's what I like to think in terms of when I'm going into a piece of copy that there's always a good for this product that's going to help people. And when I think that way, that brings out that positive, that gratefulness, that thankfulness, and that becomes the real and the authentic part of me voicing copy from that. So it goes beyond just, well, let's say I remember that feeling from being grateful here, but here, let's put ourselves in the scene. Let's be an employee of the company, and let's be grateful that we are offering something that can help others to do their jobs better, to be faster, whatever.
Lau: And that's that deep dive empathy factor that we're all kind of going for. We may not use it all the time, but we wanna have access to that when we need to have access to that.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: And yes, it's not enough to say, oh, I understand it intellectually. I get it. I'm thankful intellectually that's the beginning. But I think the deeper dive is I can feel that I can live that with you. I can go through the hardship of it. I can understand the problem solving, the need filling, the care taking of that. I can get there and because I can get there, there is that true authenticity to that kind of read, whatever that read is, I would venture to say you could put that into anything, whether it was corporate or audio book --
Anne: Character.
Lau: -- eLearning, right, character. There's gotta be a little nugget of something that, you know, what reminds me of Anne? Remember in all the famous sitcoms, like all of our favorite sitcoms from the past, they always yak-yak-yak-yak-yak. They had their studio laugh traps. Funny, funny, funny, funny. And then there was this one moment would land the entire episode where everyone would get quiet in the studio and you'd find yourself crying and you're like, why am I crying? It's like The Brady Bunch. Why we crying? It's like MASH. Why? Why did I feel that?
Because they knew that. The writers were so smart, they knew how to take humor. And all of a sudden landed in such a way where we started to feel like, ooh, this is a real person and this is a real problem that we have to solve. And we're using humor to solve it in this case. And in the case of a sitcom, well, we're using all different kinds of tactics to solve our client's problems. Not just humor. We're using a lot of tactics. But the baseline is I have to land it. I have to feel what you feel. I have to move through it with you and I have to solve it.
Anne: That's so interesting. And you said a word that I use a lot. And that's empathy. So empathy, when you are connecting with the copy and you are speaking to the person, right? You're speaking to a person who you wanna empathize with. What are their pains? What are their joys? What are their frustrations? And I think that there's so many emotions that play into the grateful, thankful part of it that we tap into. And I think what came first, the chicken or the egg? What came first? Empathy or thankful like . Do you know what I mean? I think they all can lead into a whole series of emotions. I think you can be thankful for just about everything in your life. I mean, I've always been that person that has tried to take what most people would consider a negative event and turn it into something that I'm grateful and thankful for.
And one of those, and I've said it multiple times and I'll delve a little bit into it, is my cancer diagnosis. Right? I always, always had a passion for living and being grateful, but actually being diagnosed with cancer and then facing my mortality really made me a billion times more grateful for everything that I had and everything that I have now. And it's funny because I'm continually reminded in a way, because sometimes they say your journey is continual. Right? I still go to the doctor, I still get checked up, and every time I go to get checked up, you don't think I check, what am I grateful for? What am I thankful for? I'm thankful that I got through another test. I'm thankful that so many things.
And in a way that's a blessing for me . And I can only see it as that because it helps me to always remind myself of what is wonderful in my life. What am I grateful for? What am I thankful for? And being in the booth, doing what I love, of course I was always thankful for it. But boy, am I thankful for it now because it's something that I was able to do literally two weeks after a major operation, I was be able to get in my booth and do something that I loved, which I was thankful for, thankful that I was able to do that and thankful that I was still there to do it.
Lau: And you are not just a survivor now you're a thriver.
Anne: Yes, yes.
Lau: Right? Because you're really utilizing this journey as one big tool of knowledge to understand how do I unlock, how do I unlock that chest of deep emotion? Like deep feeling, deep empathy.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: And that to me is like, that's the ultimate truth. And even for the listeners who say, oh, I can't do any of this, I don't get the, any of this. Even from your business standpoint, just from your business standpoint, it allows you to come outside of yourself so you're not just self reflecting all the time.
Anne: Right.
Lau: And open up the gestalt of your world. Really just see the full map of what's around you when you have that moment of thankfulness. It just makes you remember that, oh my gosh, I have a mother, or I have a a husband, or I have a child, or I have a dog that I love so much. What would I do? What would I do without that dog?
Anne: And that all contributes to not only your personal, but even your professional because of what we do, which is so I think part of our person, it's so personal, and it's so gauged on how we can be real and authentic. And that is, that's a privilege to be able to get paid for that. You know, to be able to get paid, you know, as an actor, right? To get paid for being able to bring those emotions to life and feel and express. And I think when it comes to being thankful and grateful that the action, again, I love the action, write it down what it is that we're thankful for. But also let's express it.
Let's take it one step further, right? So how can BOSSes benefit from being thankful and grateful? Well, I'm gonna say outside of your own personal growth and your business growth, extend that to your clients, right? Extend your gratefulness to your clients to really secure -- I mean Lau, you and I have talked about securing relationships and nurturing relationships. I'll tell you that's one thing that will nurture your relationship with your clients, express to your gratefulness, to your clients. And don't just do it once a year, you know, at the holidays or twice a year. At any given point, just a simple note. It makes you feel good too, right? It does. But email or you, you pick up that phone and you're just like, Thank you. I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with you. I really appreciate it. And I think that that just extends goodwill. And it can help you grow your business.
Lau: Anne, I had a new colleague, a co-producer in New York that I'm working with now, who said to me when we, not when we very first met, but within the first few months, he had come to one of my events, and he wrote back to me, I'll never forget this, he wrote back to me, he said, I'm so grateful to be a part of your life and your studio family. Thank you for including me in that. Just the way he said that, and that was on email, just the way he said that. I kept it. And I never forgot. I just thought that was the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful moment. As someone that I didn't know really a stranger, at all, who felt like he was so included. And I knew in that moment, you know in that moment when someone says that to you, Anne, not only are you doing your job, but you're also being a really progressive and thoughtful human being.
Anne: Mm. Yes.
Lau: You know what I mean?
Anne: I love that. Mm-hmm.
Lau: 'Cause it can't just be about business, right? It's gotta be about human, human people and what we're doing and giving to one another. That's really what it is. No matter what holiday you celebrate, if you don't celebrate any holidays at all, every day is kind of a holiday. Remember Madonna, Holiday, celebrate.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Lau: Every day should be a little bit of a holiday for you to celebrate life and what life is offering to you.
Anne: Mm-Hmm. I totally agree. And I think extending that gratefulness and that thankfulness to your clients, I think that is the epitome of maybe not every single day, but absolutely that email. And I think also because we are so isolated in our studios -- I keep going back to like when I was in the corporate world and I would go into the office every day, and I would be surrounded by people or you know, when I first started in voiceover and I would go to an audition, I would be in a room full of people who are auditioning. I mean, it's kind of like being at the water cooler.
And I feel like the gratefulness and thankfulness needs to be even more so because we are so isolated these days from the pandemic -- well now, we're getting more back into face to face where I think that makes an even more meaningful contribution when you're thankful and grateful and you're there. 'Cause you can see it, you can feel it. But if we are in our studios a lot of the time, I think we need to go an extra mile to showcase thankfulness and gratefulness to our clients. Because it's not so palpable for not like with them physically.
Lau: Mm-Hmm. And on top of that, I mean, I think we would be off track if we didn't mention that every day you're gonna get something that gets boomerang; it's going be thrown in your path, a little obstacle, a little problem, a little something that doesn't go well. Be thankful for that.
Anne: Yes.
Lau: Be thankful because those are opportunities for you to learn and grow and feel hardship and feel fear and feel insecurity because that's what your client is feeling. That's what your colleagues are feeling. That's what people around you are feeling like --
Anne: That brings the empathy.
Lau: -- understand that. Yeah. I wanna be able to live that a little, not all day long, but I wanna be able to be in that and understand it so that I don't think, oh, everything's gonna be smooth sail. Everything's gonna be easy going. No, I have to be thankful for the moments that teach me things that I didn't know, that I wasn't willing to look at or learn and now I see it.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. And being grateful for those moments, the moments when they're not all shining and rosy just again turns that into a positive moment. And, and of course positivity is a springboard for so many wonderful things. So, I love this conversation. I talk about gratefulness like every year right around this time because everybody's grateful and I talk about it, but I love the way that we deep dove into gratefulness and thankfulness and how it can positively affect you BOSSes out there by practicing it every single day. So Lau, thank you so much. Really. Yeah. I am grateful for this conversation. I loved it. Loved it.
Lau: I'm grateful for you and how we unpacked this today.
Anne: Right?
Lau: It was really quite amazing. So thank you for that. And I'm grateful that this has recorded so that we can reflect on it over and over again.
Anne: Well yes. Absolutely. So I am going to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and show gratefulness and thankfulness with other BOSSes and clients and colleagues. Find out more at ipDTL.com. And also guys, if you want to give back and have a chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference and give back to the communities that give to you, visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. You guys, have an amazing week. We are grateful for you. We love you and we'll see you next week. Take care.
Lau: Take care.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
What gets you through the hard days? Purpose. It's what keeps you going when things are tough and when life seems overwhelming. Purpose is your why. Your VO biz is not just a job, it's an expression of who you are and what matters most to you. This week, Anne & Lau talk about what purpose is, why it matters (and why it doesn’t have to be all about profits), + how you can identify your business' purpose. They also discuss ways to make sure that your clients, agents, and peers can feel your passion in your presence + hear it in your voice. Finally, they talk about how clear communication of your purpose can help align you with other people who share similar visions and goals.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. And today I'm excited to bring back very special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Hey Lau, how are you?
Lau: Hey! I'm awesome. I'm loving being back as always.
Anne: I love this series, speaking of the business superpower series. So as business owners, we are superpowers, and one of our superpowers, Lau, has to be our purpose, right? Why did we get into this whole voiceover thing in the first place? And I think it's really important for us to understand what our purpose is and bring it to our business. I've been in this business for a long time, and sometimes that gets thrown by the wayside during the busy days. And sometimes we can maybe forget what our purpose is in the business, but I think we need to realign ourselves with who we are and who we are as a business and what is our purpose. Because people and potential clients align with that. And I think it's important these days.
Lau: Yes, well said, Anne. We were just saying before that we start out with purpose when we're starting a business, but the purpose may change. It doesn't always stay the same through the years. If you're have luck and fate and love and passion, and you have a lot of longevity in your business, you become more and more purposeful and more and more subdivided in the reenvisioning and repurposing your purpose. And that, you know, that's something that all of our superheroes that we know and love have in common. They all have purpose. It's like to save the world, right, from certain destruction.
Anne: Right.
Lau: One of my purposes is to offer the world something specific that helps solve their pain point. What's their problem? What's their need? What is it?
Anne: Exactly, what's their problem. And I'm going to say that it's important these days to have purpose beyond profit, right? There should be some element of your purpose that not only are you in business to make money, but you are also wanting to bring value to society or value to a cause that you might believe in, and something that I think your potential clients can hear clearly stemming from your business and get on board with, because I think you'll really end up with a lot of customer loyalty if you get people on board with your purpose. So it's not just to, I wanna voice a national commercial. I know that when we first start in the industry, we start with something very close to us. Well, it's a passion, you know, a lot of people getting into it. I love to create character voices, or I read to my children a lot. And so -- I've been told I have a good voice. And so I wanna be able to bring something to my career with my voice. I wanna be able to use it.
So I think we need to look further and deeper into ourselves beyond that sole purpose of, yes, I'm passionate about voicing, but what else is it that you wanna bring to, let's say your business, to society that can help to, I think, elevate you and motivate you forward? And especially as you said over the years, like we kind of conquer and divide or divide and conquer and, and create more aspects of our business. And yeah, sometimes we start to really lose where that purpose -- where did that go? What am I doing this for?
Lau: Hmm, yes. It's like losing an inner compass for a lot of us that start out extremely strong. I think it would be fair to say as a sweeping generalization, that many entrepreneurs, many solopreneurs start out with a high level of zest, of passion, of what used to be inserts that none of us ever knew; that was the Retzin. Like what's the Retzin in our purpose? So you gotta have that because that passion, that purpose really inspires you through the difficult days, through the tough times. You're right. It can't just be profit driven because there are gonna be many days where you're simply not gonna make a profit. And it's unrealistic to think that it's my business -- yeah, my business should be making profit all the time. I actually thought that at one point.
Anne: News flash! News flash. . You may not make a profit every day.
Lau: It sounds ridiculous. But it's like one of my actors, literally, literally this morning, I was talking to her and she said, I'm concerned -- she had switched agencies. And she said, I'm very concerned. I said, why are you concerned? She said, I'm not getting that many auditions. I'm getting like, whatever a week. I said, well, wait a second here. First of all, you have to examine -- I use the word intention, but purpose is great, fits right in right here -- like, what do you realistically want here? And what is your purpose in doing this? Surely it can't be that you're gonna get auditions all day long and book gigs all day long.
Anne: Right.
Lau: And make a profit all day long. Right? A lot of people actually do think that way. They think, well, I'm here. I'm talented. I love what I do. I'm ready. so why aren't I getting the outcomes that I'm expecting? Well, life isn't like that and business isn't like that. Business is really about relational management. How are you paying attention to the details of the client and what is their purpose and identifying it, like determining do they have purpose? And is it specific enough?
Anne: Yeah. And I think that purpose probably starts when people get into the voice industry. I have so many people that I do consults with and there are people like, well, you know what, it's the pandemic, I'm at home. And I wanna be able to work from home and make money. I need to make money. And I'm like, well, okay. So that purpose is not as developed as somebody that I would necessarily wanna work with. So because their whole purpose is to simply survive probably or make money. And that's not necessarily the best purpose to come into the voiceover industry just simply because it's freelancer, and, and yeah, news flash we don't make profits every single day or maybe we do. But in order to get to that point of making a profit every single day, I think there's a lot more steps that need to be taken in terms of evolving your business and growing your business.
But in the beginning, it's almost like a self-centered, I have a passion for voiceover. I enjoy it. I'm passionate about it, but I think it needs to go further than that. So it's a passion for you that you love to do, but what can it bring to your business? What can it bring to your potential clients? So for me, for example, some of my background, I worked for a short bit of time in orthopedic industry and in medicine. And so my voiceover genres have evolved into medical narration. And so I really take heart in wanting to voice something that will help people. And so my purpose, when I'm reading the back of that pharmaceutical label, it's not so that I can make money. It's my gig. I'm making, you know, $1000 or whatever I'm making. I'm imagining that I am helping someone who is frantically reading that label to make sure that they're taking the right dosage and to make sure that they're not gonna have crazy side effects and what to do in case they are, and where do they contact? What number do I call?
And so I'm really thinking about that purpose, going beyond just me getting paid for the job. I wanna make sure that I'm able to bring my voice and my help and my service to people, to society. And that is just one small example. It's another reason also why I do eLearning gigs, because I feel that my purpose in life is to educate and to be -- I feel like that's really where my sole purpose is, is to really educate and bring education to other people, to help them grow their businesses or grow their voice over careers. And so for me, that love of teaching extends to my business, to my client. And so I take pride in the fact that there's purpose in that. There's purpose in this podcast. You know, this podcast stemmed from my wanting to give back to the community and have an educational resource for people that wanted to find out more about the voiceover industry.
Lau: Mm that's great. I love that. What a great soliloquy and you know what? I just had a visual, speaking of branding and everything we talk about with business, I had a visual of like cleaner, like Windex cleaner or one of those cleaners. Why? Because on the front label, you almost always see the word multipurpose, on the front label. Okay, so that's the claim that they're making is that I can use it on my stove and my sink and I can use it on the windows. Right? It makes me think we need to have multipurpose as well. I think its a misnomer to think well, I just have one purpose. What's my purpose?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: We're multidimensional human beings. And I can have the purpose that I honestly wanna help someone. I wanna guide them. I wanna sherpa them, if you will, but I also want them to create a viable return based business. And then I also want to lift the ethos of the company or what have you. So it's a multidimensional, multi-purpose framework that I think we can create versus this idea of, oh, I just have one thing in mind.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I was thinking about this this past week and I wanted to tell you, Lau, the one thing that I love about you, I honestly feel and I get the vibe that you are more excited even than I am to get work for me as an, as an agent. I really feel that because you reach out and you're asking me questions and then I can feel and hear the excitement. You're like, oh, I've got an opportunity. And I really believe that you get so excited about bringing opportunities and bringing job fulfillment to your roster. But I think it's more than just job fulfillment. It's about helping us to grow. And I really feel that from you.
And so it's like practice what we're talking about, that makes me want to align with you even more. And so it really does my heart good to feel that from someone that I'm working with, because that makes me wanna work with you more. And I really believe that if we have a purpose that is to serve our clients, right, in the very best way, that's gonna be very obvious to them that that is what we are there. We are there to help them, to help them grow, to help them sell that campaign, whatever it is. If you are admitting that through your job, through your voice, through your interactions with them, it's very much a feel and something that makes them want to work with you again.
Lau: Oh, thank you for saying that.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: I deeply appreciate that. And it's all true.
Anne: It's true. It's very true.
Lau: And I feel like you can feel that from an email, you can feel that from a text, at least I can and you can.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: I can feel the level of connectivity.
Anne: In three words. 'Cause you're busy, and you send me three words and I'm like, oh God, she's excited. She's gonna get me an opportunity. I can tell --
Lau: That's right, that's right.
Anne: -- from that short sentence and it's so amazing that you can do that. And it's like a magnet. And I think that that is something that we all can learn for our own selves in understanding our purpose and understanding us wanting to be more than just the profit making business. that's out there doing voiceovers.
Lau: I would venture to say purpose is addictive. It's addictive. It's catchy. It's something when you're around, it influences you. You know, we talked about influencers all the time, but how do we influence our peeps, your VO Peeps and our audiences to move in a purposeful, mindful, specific and honest way is how we demo what we do, how we role play, what we do. It's hard to tell, but, but you guys should do this and you should do that. And then, then they don't see it in you. They're watching, they're mirroring psychologically. They're saying, Anne, I wanna see that in you. And when I see that in you, all of a sudden, I feel like I wanna do more. I feel like I wanna commit more. In fact, I wanna try, I wanna take more risks.
Anne: It's motivational. It's inspirational. And again, if I go back to this podcast, I specifically remember, gosh, the podcast is now I'm gonna say close to six years old.
Lau: Woo!
Anne: That's a commitment by the way. This podcast is, is a free resource for people, my heart wanting to give something back to the community. And interestingly enough, I feel like for myself, when I got to a point in my career where I was not so frantic, but about, oh my God, am I going to make it? Am I going to be okay? And I started to feel the success, I wanted to share that and give back. And that became the sole mission of the VO BOSS podcast was to give back and to provide an educational resource. And even more so like these series, the superpower series, my AI series, you know, that's something that, again, I wanted to be kind of up front and educate myself and help educate the community on what's coming up in the industry. And what do we need to be on the lookout for?
And that all comes from a place of wanting to help and wanting to provide resources so that people can use those resources to intelligently make decisions about their own businesses. And hopefully people that listen to the podcast feel that. And they, they can feel that from me as I continue to bring phenomenal guests like yourself onto the show so that we can help to be a resource.
Lau: No doubt. No doubt. I do agree with you. I think even if you're not thinking in a philanthropic mindset, there is this essence, this circular, however you believe, a karmic essence, a circular that what you put out into the world -- and I teach this to my children and I try very hard to live it -- is put out exactly what you would want to get back. If it were a boomerang and I said this to someone, I did this to or for someone, would I want that for myself?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: That old do unto others. But it really is true because there is a circular effect in our industry of what I'm putting out. And sometimes it's not profit driven, as we know. And sometimes we don't get paid as we know. There's always this karma effect of wonderful things that come back to you, and it could be in the form of just like a quick one liner. Someone says you change the way I think. You change the trajectory of maybe my life and you think, whoa, I love paychecks, but no paycheck can make me feel that way.
Anne: It reminds me exactly why I loved education. And that's why I was in the education industry for 20 years. The fact that I had an opportunity to make a difference. And the funny thing is, is that it wasn't even about like, was I a good teacher? It was the fact that I had the opportunity to help and shape and hopefully motivate, hopefully inspire a mind that can grow and be successful, and I can be happy. And there is nothing, nothing better than that feeling of watching a student of yours go on to be successful. And I I'm gonna say I'm so, I'm so blessed, I really am, to have experienced that for so long and continue to experience. And I, I think that's why I think I was born to be an educator, which is why so much of my business is about education.
Now, of course it's about voiceover as well. But like you said, there can be multiple purposes. So is there just one purpose? No, not necessarily. Right? I have that purpose of, I wanna be that voice that helps people when they're reading the back of the pharmaceutical label. I wanna be a voice that can educate others through an e-learning module. I also want to actually have something that can, you know, like my podcast or my VO Peeps group that can help the education. And again, VO Peeps was also stemmed from that same reasoning when I moved from the east coast to the west coast, I wanted to meet people who were in the industry. And I thought, well, what better way than let's create a group of people who are voiceover artists and VO Peeps began. And then I wanted to provide resources because I missed teaching.
So it's funny because of course I love voiceover, but it turned into like multiple compartments of my business. And I think that anybody today in the voiceover industry, I don't know if I'd be so bold just to say this, but I think there are times as we grow, we do need to have multiple paths of income, right, in this industry. So I might not just be doing voiceover for all of my money. A lot of people it's just starting out have to have a part-time job or multiple revenue streams until they get to a point where voiceover becomes their full-time income. And that's where your purposes come in.
Lau: Absolutely, Anne. I mean, that's, to me, it's a given, to you it's a given, but we do have to educate people that that is the nature of being a contractor. That is the nature of being a trades person, that you are going from job to job. And you kind of have to remember that throughout your life, but also it's okay. Like give yourself permission that whatever you call yourself, you're a creative, you're an artist. You are, whatever you call that thing in you that drives you, that gives you purpose also multitasks in different creative directions that you have to realize. A lot of times you can't be satisfied in just one direction. You have to be multi-directional --
Anne: Ding ding ding!
Lau: -- multi-purposeful, right, to feel like --
Anne: Ding ding ding!
Lau: -- yeah, excited and revived, a little splash in the face, 'cause you got a new project. I'm taking on a few new things right now that scare me to death, which I love. Because I haven't done them before. You do that throughout your whole life.
Anne: I think as creatives, right, that's part of the whole creative mindset, is that I've always said I can't be bored, which is probably why I love to learn. Right? It's probably why I loved technology. I was in technology 'cause things change, things evolve. I liked fixing things. I was in technology. I would fix broken computers, all of those things that required me to do different creative things every single day. And thus, yes, I think as a creative entrepreneur, that's why multiple purposes can be beneficial.
And for me it's so much about what can I give, and even in our performances, I'm always telling my students, it's not about your voice. It's about your connection to your listener, and what is it that you're going to do for your listener as you are servicing that piece of copy, right, for a company that's selling a product? What is that product going to do for the person that's listening? How is it going to help them? And that is where the glue is. That's where the connection is. That's where sales become successful. When you are able to help people, right, with a product that will make them feel better, look better, whatever, help them in some way. And that's what becomes the attraction, that force. Right?
Lau: So, Anne, would it be fair to say that no matter where you're at in this game, that you've gotta think multi-purposeful and multidimensional that, on one hand, okay. It's a truism, I'd like to work. I'd like to be trained well. I'd like to have great equipment. Okay. We get that. But what is the higher purpose? What is the more multidimensional purpose of how -- let's say you're doing educational reads, eLearning -- how am I affecting a generation of middle schoolers as I do do this?
Anne: Sure.
Lau: How is my messaging? My voice, but my messaging here really taking effect? And is that an honest purpose that I have?
Anne: Sure. And it can go beyond just the purpose of the effect of your voice having on let's say certain campaigns or people, but it can go on to say, well maybe I decide to take a percentage of my earnings. And I donate it or whatever that is. Or as part of my day to day business, I have a certain set amount of time where I mentor people, and it doesn't even have to be in voiceover. It could be in any sort of thing. Right? So a lot of companies have that philanthropic part to their business, because again, it's that what is a higher purpose for your company, for your business?
And it's funny because a lot of people will relate it to like the creative aspect of it. What is my purpose? But in reality, defining your purpose in your business, right, it goes beyond just what is my purpose? But how does this purpose affect your business? And how is it that you are communicating that purpose? Is it clear? Do potential clients understand this about you and your brand? How are you communicating that purpose out to the world?
Lau: And is it in alignment with the population or the clients that you're working with or out of you? Or are you out of alignment? I think identifying that and being honest about that -- sometimes you're just not in alignment with the people that you're working with or clients that you're working with. And then it's not a good thing that.
Anne: Yeah, usually that doesn't end up working out.
Lau: Yeah. I mean, you might have an organization that's highly philanthropic, and they want you to have an honest connection to the work you're doing. And you're coming in and saying, well, it's good gig. I'll add it to my resume. I'll get some money on it. It'll be good. People will hear my voice, but their vision is a lot deeper than that. And they need a lot more emotional commitment.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: You have to kind of be honest about that and say, is this a good fit? Are we spiritually aligned? Sometimes you have to think that way. Because sometimes you're not.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And we can hear that. Like we get that. We can hear that.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: I can hear that in a demo even. I can hear it demo when someone is just not aligned, not present. They're not aligned. They're not present, they're doing it. And it's more of a perfunctory exercise than having joy. Some of my closer friends in the industry talk a lot about having honest, happiness and joy in what you're doing.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: And I think that's okay to have. It doesn't have to be this heavy, serious thing all the time.
Anne: Right, right.
Lau: There's okay to have humor. It's okay. To have joy. It's okay. To have that level of cookiness and quirkiness 'cause you're creative. That's what creatives do.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: Right? We get paid to be quirky.
Anne: Yes. There you go.
Lau: In a way, you know what I mean? Like, oh, I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't sound that I shouldn't. Well, but sometimes you get hired for that stuff. Sometimes you have long term relationships 'cause they know how quirky you are. Right? And we're both quirky.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: And sometimes that becomes kind of part of the purpose is like one of my purposes is I'm gonna stay true to my persona and my personality while I service the client in the most honest way that I can, but I don't wanna lose myself. In other words, I don't wanna lose my identity. I don't wanna lose who I am. That's a toughie.
Anne: Sure. Yeah. A lot of times when we think about, okay, do you align with certain ideals? Right? Do you align with diversity, inclusivity in casting? That's a big one today, right, that all around in corporations, it's all about inclusion, diversity and that sort of thing. So is that something that you align with in casting? Are you willing to pass on opportunities if you feel that it's not the right job for you. Are you gonna pass on an audition or are you gonna recommend somebody that you feel would be better?
So that goes beyond, well, I'm gonna do every single job, and it's not just about like the political genre, right? Because the political genre, that's very obvious. Right? So are you on one side or the other? And so this really just goes beyond just a political genre kind of thing in terms of like your purpose and aligning yourself with ideals and making them known to your client. It's about everything that you do. It's about how you communicate it to your client. It's embedded in your performance. That's what I love that you, you brought that back into the performance aspect. We can hear it if you are not aligned in that way. And so I think for the BOSSes out there, if you haven't sat down and just, in a quiet area and just thought about your purpose, maybe jot it down or your purposes, right, what is it that you really are trying to do with your business that can be more than just creating profit?
Lau: Yes. I'll leave you on this note. My dad who recently passed away, not too long ago, he was a great businessman, great entrepreneur. And he would give me loads of wisdom, loads of gems of wisdom. And one of the ones I will never forget, way before I even started a business, he would say about starting businesses, he'd say you need to do what your plan is, what your plan of action is, do it for free, and do it for a long time to make sure that you wanna do it because once you start a business on it, don't expect to make money for a good five to seven years.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Right? And the Eastern philosophy is like 10 years. Like don't expect to really make a profit. Okay. So I always kept that in the back of my head. Don't mistake that for devaluing what you do. Oh, I'm only gonna do it for free and work for free. It's to say like, if you take that as an example, don't take it too literally. Take that as an example and say for a period of time, whether it's philanthropic or whether it's just for my own sense of knowing what my purpose is, I'm not gonna collect money on this. And these situations are appropriate for me not to collect money on this, and see how I feel about the work that I'm doing. Am I really willing to put in X amount of hours without billing X amount of hours? I found that very telling, and certainly actors who come from actor backgrounds spend years not getting paid or getting paid very low wages, and still do it, still wanna do it, still wanna continue it.
Anne: And that's so interesting because if you've ever read any of Bob Bergen's posts, he's all about, I didn't start doing it for the money, and he had a purpose.
Lau: Right, right.
Anne: And so he's very adamant about that to the point where I think some people kind of look at him and go, okay, okay. Okay. But I've gotta, you know, pay the mortgage.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: That kind of a thing, but it's the thought, right? So this is --
Lau: It's the thought.
Anne: -- purpose driven beyond profit, but it doesn't mean that if you're a good business, you cannot create wealth, right? Not just, you cannot make money, wealth in so many ways, right, is that you are contributing to society in a positive manner, as well as making money doing it. And so therein lies the question. So what is my purpose? And have I stayed true to that? Or my purposes, right? And have I stayed true to that?
Lau: Yes. To piggyback onto what you just said, one testament to that may be that you are working, you are having a viable business -- take on some charity projects, take on some philanthropic, take on some projects where you're mentoring or maybe you are doing something for visually impaired or what have you so that you can balance it out in your heart and your soul and say, not everything is a paycheck, not everything is an invoice, not everything is how much I can get -- but really get you off that just for a moment to say, oh, this may be another purpose for me that is a slightly higher purpose at times.
Anne: Right. Right.
Lau: That can feed me in a way that the other jobs may not be able to feed me.
Anne: Sure. Sure.
Lau: And kind of balance it that way versus all or nothing. I either work for free or I work for as much as I can get.
Anne: Or if it is for a profit redistributing that, right, maybe giving back in some other way. Right?
Lau: Exactly. Exactly.
Anne: So sharing the wealth, so to speak. But yeah, what a great conversation.
Lau: What a great conversation.
Anne: I really had some time to think about it. I really enjoyed writing that blog article. It just really led me to think about, what am I here today doing, and how did I start off, and how have I evolved over the years? And I can say, I'm grateful that I'm still true to my original purpose and also my evolved purposes. So I feel like I'm staying on track. It's something that I, I don't take for granted either. So I think we should all take some time and to kind of check deep within and see if we have that purpose and if we're following that purpose.
Lau: I love it. And now we can all be like the cleaners. Like we can all be like Windex and 409 and say we're multi-purpose.
Anne: Multi-purpose.
Lau: We're gonna clean up. But we're multi-purpose.
Anne: I love it. All right. Wow. Great stuff.
Lau: Good stuff.
Anne: Great stuff. So I'm going to give a great big shout-out to my sponsor, 100voiceswhocare.org. If you wanna find out how you can make a difference, and this can be part of your purpose, go to 100voiceswhocare.org and find out ways that you can give back. Also big shout-out to sponsor ipDTL. I love, love, love ipDTL and networking with BOSSes like Lau. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
What gets you through the hard days? Purpose. It's what keeps you going when things are tough and when life seems overwhelming. Purpose is your why. Your VO biz is not just a job, it's an expression of who you are and what matters most to you. This week, Anne & Lau talk about what purpose is, why it matters (and why it doesn’t have to be all about profits), + how you can identify your business' purpose. They also discuss ways to make sure that your clients, agents, and peers can feel your passion in your presence + hear it in your voice. Finally, they talk about how clear communication of your purpose can help align you with other people who share similar visions and goals.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. And today I'm excited to bring back very special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Hey Lau, how are you?
Lau: Hey! I'm awesome. I'm loving being back as always.
Anne: I love this series, speaking of the business superpower series. So as business owners, we are superpowers, and one of our superpowers, Lau, has to be our purpose, right? Why did we get into this whole voiceover thing in the first place? And I think it's really important for us to understand what our purpose is and bring it to our business. I've been in this business for a long time, and sometimes that gets thrown by the wayside during the busy days. And sometimes we can maybe forget what our purpose is in the business, but I think we need to realign ourselves with who we are and who we are as a business and what is our purpose. Because people and potential clients align with that. And I think it's important these days.
Lau: Yes, well said, Anne. We were just saying before that we start out with purpose when we're starting a business, but the purpose may change. It doesn't always stay the same through the years. If you're have luck and fate and love and passion, and you have a lot of longevity in your business, you become more and more purposeful and more and more subdivided in the reenvisioning and repurposing your purpose. And that, you know, that's something that all of our superheroes that we know and love have in common. They all have purpose. It's like to save the world, right, from certain destruction.
Anne: Right.
Lau: One of my purposes is to offer the world something specific that helps solve their pain point. What's their problem? What's their need? What is it?
Anne: Exactly, what's their problem. And I'm going to say that it's important these days to have purpose beyond profit, right? There should be some element of your purpose that not only are you in business to make money, but you are also wanting to bring value to society or value to a cause that you might believe in, and something that I think your potential clients can hear clearly stemming from your business and get on board with, because I think you'll really end up with a lot of customer loyalty if you get people on board with your purpose. So it's not just to, I wanna voice a national commercial. I know that when we first start in the industry, we start with something very close to us. Well, it's a passion, you know, a lot of people getting into it. I love to create character voices, or I read to my children a lot. And so -- I've been told I have a good voice. And so I wanna be able to bring something to my career with my voice. I wanna be able to use it.
So I think we need to look further and deeper into ourselves beyond that sole purpose of, yes, I'm passionate about voicing, but what else is it that you wanna bring to, let's say your business, to society that can help to, I think, elevate you and motivate you forward? And especially as you said over the years, like we kind of conquer and divide or divide and conquer and, and create more aspects of our business. And yeah, sometimes we start to really lose where that purpose -- where did that go? What am I doing this for?
Lau: Hmm, yes. It's like losing an inner compass for a lot of us that start out extremely strong. I think it would be fair to say as a sweeping generalization, that many entrepreneurs, many solopreneurs start out with a high level of zest, of passion, of what used to be inserts that none of us ever knew; that was the Retzin. Like what's the Retzin in our purpose? So you gotta have that because that passion, that purpose really inspires you through the difficult days, through the tough times. You're right. It can't just be profit driven because there are gonna be many days where you're simply not gonna make a profit. And it's unrealistic to think that it's my business -- yeah, my business should be making profit all the time. I actually thought that at one point.
Anne: News flash! News flash. . You may not make a profit every day.
Lau: It sounds ridiculous. But it's like one of my actors, literally, literally this morning, I was talking to her and she said, I'm concerned -- she had switched agencies. And she said, I'm very concerned. I said, why are you concerned? She said, I'm not getting that many auditions. I'm getting like, whatever a week. I said, well, wait a second here. First of all, you have to examine -- I use the word intention, but purpose is great, fits right in right here -- like, what do you realistically want here? And what is your purpose in doing this? Surely it can't be that you're gonna get auditions all day long and book gigs all day long.
Anne: Right.
Lau: And make a profit all day long. Right? A lot of people actually do think that way. They think, well, I'm here. I'm talented. I love what I do. I'm ready. so why aren't I getting the outcomes that I'm expecting? Well, life isn't like that and business isn't like that. Business is really about relational management. How are you paying attention to the details of the client and what is their purpose and identifying it, like determining do they have purpose? And is it specific enough?
Anne: Yeah. And I think that purpose probably starts when people get into the voice industry. I have so many people that I do consults with and there are people like, well, you know what, it's the pandemic, I'm at home. And I wanna be able to work from home and make money. I need to make money. And I'm like, well, okay. So that purpose is not as developed as somebody that I would necessarily wanna work with. So because their whole purpose is to simply survive probably or make money. And that's not necessarily the best purpose to come into the voiceover industry just simply because it's freelancer, and, and yeah, news flash we don't make profits every single day or maybe we do. But in order to get to that point of making a profit every single day, I think there's a lot more steps that need to be taken in terms of evolving your business and growing your business.
But in the beginning, it's almost like a self-centered, I have a passion for voiceover. I enjoy it. I'm passionate about it, but I think it needs to go further than that. So it's a passion for you that you love to do, but what can it bring to your business? What can it bring to your potential clients? So for me, for example, some of my background, I worked for a short bit of time in orthopedic industry and in medicine. And so my voiceover genres have evolved into medical narration. And so I really take heart in wanting to voice something that will help people. And so my purpose, when I'm reading the back of that pharmaceutical label, it's not so that I can make money. It's my gig. I'm making, you know, $1000 or whatever I'm making. I'm imagining that I am helping someone who is frantically reading that label to make sure that they're taking the right dosage and to make sure that they're not gonna have crazy side effects and what to do in case they are, and where do they contact? What number do I call?
And so I'm really thinking about that purpose, going beyond just me getting paid for the job. I wanna make sure that I'm able to bring my voice and my help and my service to people, to society. And that is just one small example. It's another reason also why I do eLearning gigs, because I feel that my purpose in life is to educate and to be -- I feel like that's really where my sole purpose is, is to really educate and bring education to other people, to help them grow their businesses or grow their voice over careers. And so for me, that love of teaching extends to my business, to my client. And so I take pride in the fact that there's purpose in that. There's purpose in this podcast. You know, this podcast stemmed from my wanting to give back to the community and have an educational resource for people that wanted to find out more about the voiceover industry.
Lau: Mm that's great. I love that. What a great soliloquy and you know what? I just had a visual, speaking of branding and everything we talk about with business, I had a visual of like cleaner, like Windex cleaner or one of those cleaners. Why? Because on the front label, you almost always see the word multipurpose, on the front label. Okay, so that's the claim that they're making is that I can use it on my stove and my sink and I can use it on the windows. Right? It makes me think we need to have multipurpose as well. I think its a misnomer to think well, I just have one purpose. What's my purpose?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: We're multidimensional human beings. And I can have the purpose that I honestly wanna help someone. I wanna guide them. I wanna sherpa them, if you will, but I also want them to create a viable return based business. And then I also want to lift the ethos of the company or what have you. So it's a multidimensional, multi-purpose framework that I think we can create versus this idea of, oh, I just have one thing in mind.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I was thinking about this this past week and I wanted to tell you, Lau, the one thing that I love about you, I honestly feel and I get the vibe that you are more excited even than I am to get work for me as an, as an agent. I really feel that because you reach out and you're asking me questions and then I can feel and hear the excitement. You're like, oh, I've got an opportunity. And I really believe that you get so excited about bringing opportunities and bringing job fulfillment to your roster. But I think it's more than just job fulfillment. It's about helping us to grow. And I really feel that from you.
And so it's like practice what we're talking about, that makes me want to align with you even more. And so it really does my heart good to feel that from someone that I'm working with, because that makes me wanna work with you more. And I really believe that if we have a purpose that is to serve our clients, right, in the very best way, that's gonna be very obvious to them that that is what we are there. We are there to help them, to help them grow, to help them sell that campaign, whatever it is. If you are admitting that through your job, through your voice, through your interactions with them, it's very much a feel and something that makes them want to work with you again.
Lau: Oh, thank you for saying that.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: I deeply appreciate that. And it's all true.
Anne: It's true. It's very true.
Lau: And I feel like you can feel that from an email, you can feel that from a text, at least I can and you can.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: I can feel the level of connectivity.
Anne: In three words. 'Cause you're busy, and you send me three words and I'm like, oh God, she's excited. She's gonna get me an opportunity. I can tell --
Lau: That's right, that's right.
Anne: -- from that short sentence and it's so amazing that you can do that. And it's like a magnet. And I think that that is something that we all can learn for our own selves in understanding our purpose and understanding us wanting to be more than just the profit making business. that's out there doing voiceovers.
Lau: I would venture to say purpose is addictive. It's addictive. It's catchy. It's something when you're around, it influences you. You know, we talked about influencers all the time, but how do we influence our peeps, your VO Peeps and our audiences to move in a purposeful, mindful, specific and honest way is how we demo what we do, how we role play, what we do. It's hard to tell, but, but you guys should do this and you should do that. And then, then they don't see it in you. They're watching, they're mirroring psychologically. They're saying, Anne, I wanna see that in you. And when I see that in you, all of a sudden, I feel like I wanna do more. I feel like I wanna commit more. In fact, I wanna try, I wanna take more risks.
Anne: It's motivational. It's inspirational. And again, if I go back to this podcast, I specifically remember, gosh, the podcast is now I'm gonna say close to six years old.
Lau: Woo!
Anne: That's a commitment by the way. This podcast is, is a free resource for people, my heart wanting to give something back to the community. And interestingly enough, I feel like for myself, when I got to a point in my career where I was not so frantic, but about, oh my God, am I going to make it? Am I going to be okay? And I started to feel the success, I wanted to share that and give back. And that became the sole mission of the VO BOSS podcast was to give back and to provide an educational resource. And even more so like these series, the superpower series, my AI series, you know, that's something that, again, I wanted to be kind of up front and educate myself and help educate the community on what's coming up in the industry. And what do we need to be on the lookout for?
And that all comes from a place of wanting to help and wanting to provide resources so that people can use those resources to intelligently make decisions about their own businesses. And hopefully people that listen to the podcast feel that. And they, they can feel that from me as I continue to bring phenomenal guests like yourself onto the show so that we can help to be a resource.
Lau: No doubt. No doubt. I do agree with you. I think even if you're not thinking in a philanthropic mindset, there is this essence, this circular, however you believe, a karmic essence, a circular that what you put out into the world -- and I teach this to my children and I try very hard to live it -- is put out exactly what you would want to get back. If it were a boomerang and I said this to someone, I did this to or for someone, would I want that for myself?
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: That old do unto others. But it really is true because there is a circular effect in our industry of what I'm putting out. And sometimes it's not profit driven, as we know. And sometimes we don't get paid as we know. There's always this karma effect of wonderful things that come back to you, and it could be in the form of just like a quick one liner. Someone says you change the way I think. You change the trajectory of maybe my life and you think, whoa, I love paychecks, but no paycheck can make me feel that way.
Anne: It reminds me exactly why I loved education. And that's why I was in the education industry for 20 years. The fact that I had an opportunity to make a difference. And the funny thing is, is that it wasn't even about like, was I a good teacher? It was the fact that I had the opportunity to help and shape and hopefully motivate, hopefully inspire a mind that can grow and be successful, and I can be happy. And there is nothing, nothing better than that feeling of watching a student of yours go on to be successful. And I I'm gonna say I'm so, I'm so blessed, I really am, to have experienced that for so long and continue to experience. And I, I think that's why I think I was born to be an educator, which is why so much of my business is about education.
Now, of course it's about voiceover as well. But like you said, there can be multiple purposes. So is there just one purpose? No, not necessarily. Right? I have that purpose of, I wanna be that voice that helps people when they're reading the back of the pharmaceutical label. I wanna be a voice that can educate others through an e-learning module. I also want to actually have something that can, you know, like my podcast or my VO Peeps group that can help the education. And again, VO Peeps was also stemmed from that same reasoning when I moved from the east coast to the west coast, I wanted to meet people who were in the industry. And I thought, well, what better way than let's create a group of people who are voiceover artists and VO Peeps began. And then I wanted to provide resources because I missed teaching.
So it's funny because of course I love voiceover, but it turned into like multiple compartments of my business. And I think that anybody today in the voiceover industry, I don't know if I'd be so bold just to say this, but I think there are times as we grow, we do need to have multiple paths of income, right, in this industry. So I might not just be doing voiceover for all of my money. A lot of people it's just starting out have to have a part-time job or multiple revenue streams until they get to a point where voiceover becomes their full-time income. And that's where your purposes come in.
Lau: Absolutely, Anne. I mean, that's, to me, it's a given, to you it's a given, but we do have to educate people that that is the nature of being a contractor. That is the nature of being a trades person, that you are going from job to job. And you kind of have to remember that throughout your life, but also it's okay. Like give yourself permission that whatever you call yourself, you're a creative, you're an artist. You are, whatever you call that thing in you that drives you, that gives you purpose also multitasks in different creative directions that you have to realize. A lot of times you can't be satisfied in just one direction. You have to be multi-directional --
Anne: Ding ding ding!
Lau: -- multi-purposeful, right, to feel like --
Anne: Ding ding ding!
Lau: -- yeah, excited and revived, a little splash in the face, 'cause you got a new project. I'm taking on a few new things right now that scare me to death, which I love. Because I haven't done them before. You do that throughout your whole life.
Anne: I think as creatives, right, that's part of the whole creative mindset, is that I've always said I can't be bored, which is probably why I love to learn. Right? It's probably why I loved technology. I was in technology 'cause things change, things evolve. I liked fixing things. I was in technology. I would fix broken computers, all of those things that required me to do different creative things every single day. And thus, yes, I think as a creative entrepreneur, that's why multiple purposes can be beneficial.
And for me it's so much about what can I give, and even in our performances, I'm always telling my students, it's not about your voice. It's about your connection to your listener, and what is it that you're going to do for your listener as you are servicing that piece of copy, right, for a company that's selling a product? What is that product going to do for the person that's listening? How is it going to help them? And that is where the glue is. That's where the connection is. That's where sales become successful. When you are able to help people, right, with a product that will make them feel better, look better, whatever, help them in some way. And that's what becomes the attraction, that force. Right?
Lau: So, Anne, would it be fair to say that no matter where you're at in this game, that you've gotta think multi-purposeful and multidimensional that, on one hand, okay. It's a truism, I'd like to work. I'd like to be trained well. I'd like to have great equipment. Okay. We get that. But what is the higher purpose? What is the more multidimensional purpose of how -- let's say you're doing educational reads, eLearning -- how am I affecting a generation of middle schoolers as I do do this?
Anne: Sure.
Lau: How is my messaging? My voice, but my messaging here really taking effect? And is that an honest purpose that I have?
Anne: Sure. And it can go beyond just the purpose of the effect of your voice having on let's say certain campaigns or people, but it can go on to say, well maybe I decide to take a percentage of my earnings. And I donate it or whatever that is. Or as part of my day to day business, I have a certain set amount of time where I mentor people, and it doesn't even have to be in voiceover. It could be in any sort of thing. Right? So a lot of companies have that philanthropic part to their business, because again, it's that what is a higher purpose for your company, for your business?
And it's funny because a lot of people will relate it to like the creative aspect of it. What is my purpose? But in reality, defining your purpose in your business, right, it goes beyond just what is my purpose? But how does this purpose affect your business? And how is it that you are communicating that purpose? Is it clear? Do potential clients understand this about you and your brand? How are you communicating that purpose out to the world?
Lau: And is it in alignment with the population or the clients that you're working with or out of you? Or are you out of alignment? I think identifying that and being honest about that -- sometimes you're just not in alignment with the people that you're working with or clients that you're working with. And then it's not a good thing that.
Anne: Yeah, usually that doesn't end up working out.
Lau: Yeah. I mean, you might have an organization that's highly philanthropic, and they want you to have an honest connection to the work you're doing. And you're coming in and saying, well, it's good gig. I'll add it to my resume. I'll get some money on it. It'll be good. People will hear my voice, but their vision is a lot deeper than that. And they need a lot more emotional commitment.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: You have to kind of be honest about that and say, is this a good fit? Are we spiritually aligned? Sometimes you have to think that way. Because sometimes you're not.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And we can hear that. Like we get that. We can hear that.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: I can hear that in a demo even. I can hear it demo when someone is just not aligned, not present. They're not aligned. They're not present, they're doing it. And it's more of a perfunctory exercise than having joy. Some of my closer friends in the industry talk a lot about having honest, happiness and joy in what you're doing.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: And I think that's okay to have. It doesn't have to be this heavy, serious thing all the time.
Anne: Right, right.
Lau: There's okay to have humor. It's okay. To have joy. It's okay. To have that level of cookiness and quirkiness 'cause you're creative. That's what creatives do.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: Right? We get paid to be quirky.
Anne: Yes. There you go.
Lau: In a way, you know what I mean? Like, oh, I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't sound that I shouldn't. Well, but sometimes you get hired for that stuff. Sometimes you have long term relationships 'cause they know how quirky you are. Right? And we're both quirky.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: And sometimes that becomes kind of part of the purpose is like one of my purposes is I'm gonna stay true to my persona and my personality while I service the client in the most honest way that I can, but I don't wanna lose myself. In other words, I don't wanna lose my identity. I don't wanna lose who I am. That's a toughie.
Anne: Sure. Yeah. A lot of times when we think about, okay, do you align with certain ideals? Right? Do you align with diversity, inclusivity in casting? That's a big one today, right, that all around in corporations, it's all about inclusion, diversity and that sort of thing. So is that something that you align with in casting? Are you willing to pass on opportunities if you feel that it's not the right job for you. Are you gonna pass on an audition or are you gonna recommend somebody that you feel would be better?
So that goes beyond, well, I'm gonna do every single job, and it's not just about like the political genre, right? Because the political genre, that's very obvious. Right? So are you on one side or the other? And so this really just goes beyond just a political genre kind of thing in terms of like your purpose and aligning yourself with ideals and making them known to your client. It's about everything that you do. It's about how you communicate it to your client. It's embedded in your performance. That's what I love that you, you brought that back into the performance aspect. We can hear it if you are not aligned in that way. And so I think for the BOSSes out there, if you haven't sat down and just, in a quiet area and just thought about your purpose, maybe jot it down or your purposes, right, what is it that you really are trying to do with your business that can be more than just creating profit?
Lau: Yes. I'll leave you on this note. My dad who recently passed away, not too long ago, he was a great businessman, great entrepreneur. And he would give me loads of wisdom, loads of gems of wisdom. And one of the ones I will never forget, way before I even started a business, he would say about starting businesses, he'd say you need to do what your plan is, what your plan of action is, do it for free, and do it for a long time to make sure that you wanna do it because once you start a business on it, don't expect to make money for a good five to seven years.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Right? And the Eastern philosophy is like 10 years. Like don't expect to really make a profit. Okay. So I always kept that in the back of my head. Don't mistake that for devaluing what you do. Oh, I'm only gonna do it for free and work for free. It's to say like, if you take that as an example, don't take it too literally. Take that as an example and say for a period of time, whether it's philanthropic or whether it's just for my own sense of knowing what my purpose is, I'm not gonna collect money on this. And these situations are appropriate for me not to collect money on this, and see how I feel about the work that I'm doing. Am I really willing to put in X amount of hours without billing X amount of hours? I found that very telling, and certainly actors who come from actor backgrounds spend years not getting paid or getting paid very low wages, and still do it, still wanna do it, still wanna continue it.
Anne: And that's so interesting because if you've ever read any of Bob Bergen's posts, he's all about, I didn't start doing it for the money, and he had a purpose.
Lau: Right, right.
Anne: And so he's very adamant about that to the point where I think some people kind of look at him and go, okay, okay. Okay. But I've gotta, you know, pay the mortgage.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: That kind of a thing, but it's the thought, right? So this is --
Lau: It's the thought.
Anne: -- purpose driven beyond profit, but it doesn't mean that if you're a good business, you cannot create wealth, right? Not just, you cannot make money, wealth in so many ways, right, is that you are contributing to society in a positive manner, as well as making money doing it. And so therein lies the question. So what is my purpose? And have I stayed true to that? Or my purposes, right? And have I stayed true to that?
Lau: Yes. To piggyback onto what you just said, one testament to that may be that you are working, you are having a viable business -- take on some charity projects, take on some philanthropic, take on some projects where you're mentoring or maybe you are doing something for visually impaired or what have you so that you can balance it out in your heart and your soul and say, not everything is a paycheck, not everything is an invoice, not everything is how much I can get -- but really get you off that just for a moment to say, oh, this may be another purpose for me that is a slightly higher purpose at times.
Anne: Right. Right.
Lau: That can feed me in a way that the other jobs may not be able to feed me.
Anne: Sure. Sure.
Lau: And kind of balance it that way versus all or nothing. I either work for free or I work for as much as I can get.
Anne: Or if it is for a profit redistributing that, right, maybe giving back in some other way. Right?
Lau: Exactly. Exactly.
Anne: So sharing the wealth, so to speak. But yeah, what a great conversation.
Lau: What a great conversation.
Anne: I really had some time to think about it. I really enjoyed writing that blog article. It just really led me to think about, what am I here today doing, and how did I start off, and how have I evolved over the years? And I can say, I'm grateful that I'm still true to my original purpose and also my evolved purposes. So I feel like I'm staying on track. It's something that I, I don't take for granted either. So I think we should all take some time and to kind of check deep within and see if we have that purpose and if we're following that purpose.
Lau: I love it. And now we can all be like the cleaners. Like we can all be like Windex and 409 and say we're multi-purpose.
Anne: Multi-purpose.
Lau: We're gonna clean up. But we're multi-purpose.
Anne: I love it. All right. Wow. Great stuff.
Lau: Good stuff.
Anne: Great stuff. So I'm going to give a great big shout-out to my sponsor, 100voiceswhocare.org. If you wanna find out how you can make a difference, and this can be part of your purpose, go to 100voiceswhocare.org and find out ways that you can give back. Also big shout-out to sponsor ipDTL. I love, love, love ipDTL and networking with BOSSes like Lau. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Everyone's got Imposter Syndrome. But it doesn't mean you're a fraud. In this episode, Anne & Lau dive into why we are so attached to the sound of our voice and how fixating on that can be a barrier to success. Voice is an essential part of how we are perceived, which affects our personal and professional lives. When you listen to yourself critically, it's easy to get lost in technical details. Your voice is your greatest tool, so stop doubting it. It is an instrument and the vehicle for your craft. So Bosses, love your voice. Embrace it. And if you still need some extra pointers to overcome your inner critic and use your voice to the fullest, listen up…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and our business superpower series. I'm Anne Ganguzza, your host, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show Lau Lapides. Lau, hello.
Lau: Hello. Hello. Glad to be back as always.
Anne: How's your week been, Lau?
Lau: Amazing. Busy, amazing, wonderful. Went on vacation. We were talking about this earlier. Went on vacation up to the Berkshires 'cause I'm in New England.
Anne: Of course. Lovely.
Lau: It was a workcation.
Anne: Ah.
Lau: Right? I never leave. I never really leave work.
Anne: Yes. I try to, but you're right. I don't leave either. Although I will say that I do notify my clients ahead of time that I'm going to be on vacation and may not be as responsive, so we have that. But then there are other opportunities that I make sure that I have my travel gear set and ready to go, so.
Lau: Well, you're much better than I am. I don't let anyone know. I pretend as if I'm like still --
Anne: As if you're still working?
Lau: -- in my studio. And then I'm in some bathroom somewhere in Lennox, Mass during intermission turning my phone on going, yeah. Okay. So you've got a call back and you've gotta get there, and like I have to turn my phone off. I don't know. I'm not getting reception. I'll talk to you in like an hour and a half.
Anne: Oh my God. I love it.
Lau: .
Anne: So funny.
Lau: But you know what? It's our lifestyle businesses, right?
Anne: It is.
Lau: BOSSes know that's the lifestyle that we live. It's not just a nine to five. It's really what we love, what we do, all the time.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. As long as there's a balance. Now speaking of superpowers, I wanted to bring up something this week because as you know, I coach my students, and frequently, and I know that you also are dealing with multiple students as well and people on your roster -- I wanna know if you get this as much as I do. I don't like my voice. I just don't like my voice. And I thought to myself, you know, that's so common actually. I hear that a lot from my students, especially my female students actually that they don't like their voice. And I thought it would be a really interesting discussion to talk about the psychology behind that. And why do you think it is that people don't like their voice?
Lau: Gosh, I don't think your podcast is even close to long enough to even answer that. I mean, it could take centuries to answer that. I don't know. I think there's a lot of reasons why. I think first that always comes to my mind is that thing of which got really hot, really, really hot, I'd say in the last couple years, the imposter syndrome became hot and known. It was this unknown thing that really women suffered from, primarily women suffered from. And it was, I think the first one that brought it, believe it or not, that brought it out was Joan Rivers, the comedian Joan Rivers put it in her routine. And then Harvard university said, wait a second. Is that a real thing? Let's do studies on it. And then they spent 10 or 15 years doing studies on people who get hit with it. Right?
Anne: Well, I think it's absolutely always been a real thing. It just hasn't been talked about, right?
Lau: Yes. Oh, very real.
Anne: I'm the first person to admit that imposter syndrome hits me still every day. And I always try to turn it around into a good thing where if you have imposter syndrome, it's motivating you to continually grow and excel. But this thing about voices, I'm gonna say, myself, I even went through it myself so that I can identify when a student comes to me and says, ugh, I just don't like my voice. But I always say, remember in the first place, a lot of times, the reason people get into this industry is because someone has said to them that they have a nice voice and that maybe they should consider voiceover as a career. And I've had people that told me that in the beginning, but after I started studying and started really pursuing it as a career and getting work and then falling into the, oh my gosh, am I ever gonna get hired, that kind of a confidence -- oh my God, I must not be good enough, and that imposter syndrome that really kind of hit me, I started to really criticize my voice.
And I used to listen to my voice and say, what doesn't sound -- I wanna sound like this person. I want that rasp. My voice does not have a rasp. It just doesn't. And no matter how hard I try to physically create a rasp, it's difficult and it could hurt my vocal cords. So I gave up doing that, but I gave up kind of coveting other people's voices and really started to understand that my voice needed to be embraced, number one, because how would I ever sell my voice if I couldn't embrace it? And the other thing is I think that maybe people spend too much time listening to the sound of their voice, and that I feel might be the biggest barrier to acceptance because, should we really be listening to our voices in terms of technically, how does it sound? I think really as voice actors, right, Lau, you know what I'm gonna say? Right? As actors, we need to be acting and the concentration should not be on how we sound.
Lau: That's right. And I know when I record myself, I can't appreciate hearing myself as I'm recording. I oftentimes will not even wear the cans. I won't even wear the headphones because I want to concentrate on the true connection of what I'm doing here. And if I'm hearing myself -- and I was never an air prompter person anyway, so I, I was never in that realm of having to be proficient at hearing myself as I'm delivering language. So I always deliver with headphones off, and I, I suggest to clients, at least for the beginning phase, don't put 'em on because I want you to make an authentic connection in what you're saying and who you're saying it to, who you're speaking to. And that's, you know, acting basics, right? 101.
Anne: Sure. Sure.
Lau: But I think you hit the nail on the head in terms of, Anne, talking about I'm not good enough. I won't be accepted. I'm not reaching it.
Anne: I don't sound good enough. There's always that.
Lau: I think that that's so primal.
Anne: Does my voice have what it takes to deliver? No, it's not about your voice. It's about you.
Lau: It's about, you.
Anne: It's about you. You know what I mean? It's about you and your personality and what it brings to that voice. And I'm, I'm just gonna say about the headphones. Now, when I first began, I was in a construction zone, and I had to wear headphones in my booth to make sure that there were no low vibratory sounds that were coming through. So I totally understand what you're saying about taking the headphones off. But I feel that in all honesty, right, if we have the headphones off, we can still sometimes listen to ourselves. You know what I mean? We're still like, these are amplifying everything that we're saying. So for headphones I'm of the nature that yes, whatever works for people to not be distracted by their own sound. I think that if you're a true actor, you can act with headphones on and with headphones off, so.
Lau: Of course, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. It's really how you train.
Anne: It's helpful.
Lau: Yeah. How you train yourself, what technique you build, that's repeatable for you that doesn't distract you away from what you're trying to do. And I always say to a client, I say it's ridiculous in the sense that if you went to Kraft macaroni, or you went to Nike shoes or you went to Toyota, would they honestly be thinking -- they meaning the advertising company, the people who are creating and producing scripts -- would they honestly be thinking right now as I deliver this to you, this sucks?
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: They may talk about it at their wine party, up in Aspen over the weekend that they don't like the product, but in the moment of pitching it, in the moment of selling it in the moment of connecting to the end user, it is the best thing in the world. Not only is it the best, you can't live without it. You really can't.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: And there's some sort of disconnect between the product, that physical inanimate object, that and us, our identity, our physical person, our vocal sound. There's a disconnect that we then become part of that product. We become part of that branding. And so for us to say, I don't know if I'm doing this well, I don't know if I'm good enough. I don't know if, what is in essence saying the product isn't good enough.
Anne: Isn't good enough.
Lau: The product is subpar, and that's a danger zone for us. We have to be very careful of that because we sell value. We don't wanna sell devalue. We don't wanna devalue our value, and whatever you do privately is something else.
Anne: Sure. No, I love how you brought it to the product. Because in reality, remember we are the voice of the product. We are the voice of the company. And no matter what you're doing, even if you're doing, I'm just saying, if you're doing corporate narration, if you're doing explainers, again, you're still working with a product. And if you're not doing that, let's say if you're doing anything else, if you're teaching, right, you're teaching more than likely, right, you become a teacher. And you are teaching either about some product or maybe a concept. And so again, you don't wanna devalue the content that you are speaking of.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: And that's such a wonderful example that you brought up. I'm so glad you said that.
Lau: Thank you. And you it's interesting, Anne, it seems to be unique to us and our profession, us meaning talent. It seems to be unique quality that we see in many, many people that we don't see quite as much in other industries and other professions. It would be like, ask yourself this, if you do this, if you do this, ask yourself this. Would you appreciate going to a doctor's office? And the doctor comes in and says, I don't know if I know how to listen to your heart. I mean, I, I, I don't know if I'm gonna do it well enough. I mean, what do you think? And you'd be freaked out. You'd go running outta that office. You'd go, I don't want this woman or guy touching me. I --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: Right? If you went to a dentist, and you had to have your tooth drill, like, I don't know if I can, I don't know if you'll like what I do. I'm not sure. I mean, it sounds funny to us, right?
Anne: I might make you hurt .
Lau: Right?
Anne: But you're right. It's so true.
Lau: And it doesn't mean either that they're qualified, and it doesn't mean either they're the best at what they do. It just means it is innate within their training, within their experience, within their identity, that this is what they do. This is the product they offer, the value they offer. You're gonna pay for that service and it's as simple as that. Hopefully you won't complain about it. . Right?
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: But it's so unique unto us is to take it so personalized and to say, but do you approve of me, but do you like me? So going back to your original question a half an hour ago, like what is the psychology of this whole thing? I think it does really start with us as a human being, as a person. Like where is our self-esteem? Where is our level of confidence? Do we feel good in our own skin? Do we feel ashamed or humiliated in honest connection? I mean, ask yourself these questions as a human being in the world and then try to work with it. If the answer is yes, I have a struggle with this, I have a problem with this, then work with it. Don't work against it. Don't shove it under the rug because it's gonna come out out in your next audition. It's gonna come out in your next reach out.
Anne: And I think, honestly, it's again, I love how you just brought it down to that level, but it's also remember you're honoring the copy. The copy has been crafted by someone who has put a lot of thought into it, for the most part we think, right? And that there is a message that needs to be delivered. And you need to communicate that message effectively. Now Lau, when we talk back and forth, I'm certainly not thinking to myself, do I sound okay when I talk to Lau?
Lau: It's funny to think that, isn't it?
Anne: Right? Does my voice sound -- maybe I should talk to Lau like this. And no, because that just, it's not bringing ourselves. It's not bringing who we are, and you know, we say it over and over again. Bring yourself to the party. Right? Well, your voice and yourself, your voice is not mutually exclusive from yourself. The way you're treating it, if you're listening to it saying it does not sound good enough, then that's what you are essentially doing. You are splitting apart the voice from who you are. And I think ultimately, yeah, you have to be the one that can bring yourself to the party. When we connect as human beings, that's what I care about. I don't care, Lau, when you talk to me, what you sound like, I care about what you're saying to me and what it means to me.
And I think by trying to just bring it back onto ourselves where most people might think it's an insecurity thing -- in reality, when you think too much about how you sound, it becomes more of a vanity thing or an egotistical thing, where you're not thinking about the client. You're not thinking about the product or the copy that you should be honoring. You are thinking more about what you sound like on top of that copy. And that's not where your voice needs to be. Your voice needs to be in the act, in the action of delivering that copy to the best of your ability and the most effectively on behalf of that client.
Lau: I mean, at the end of the day, it's all about the messaging. We use the fancy schmancy term story and storytelling, but storytelling is about the messenger. What message is being delivered? And what is that stake here? What is the value to the audience of that message? Is it gonna fix their life, fix their health? You know, help them find a pet, and, and help them educate their child, or have a better quality health regimen? It's always something in there for the end user that will potentially better their life. Now I'm not saying that that is, that's not a truism. It doesn't actually do it all the time. I'm saying that that's the claim that is being made in the message. And if you lose the message, you lose the claim. And that is a problem. That can be a real problem.
Anne: You say the word value, and that is so important. The value to the client. It's not your value. It's the value that you are bringing to the client. So it goes from a place of how can I help you, the client, not how can I sound beautiful when I say these words? It's how can I help you? And the place has to come from within you and not from just the lips and outward because sometimes when we're listening to what we sound like, that's all we can concentrate on.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: And there's no story, there's no message. There's no emotion. There's no point of view.
Lau: Exactly. And you brought up a great point there. You know, a number of the roles -- I call it roles, theatrical roles -- but a number of the, the voicing parts that we see in scripts now are not always clean, what we call clean or polished. Sometimes they're dirty sounding. Sometimes they're heavy sounding. Sometimes they're sad. There's a lot of doleful scripts. We see a lot of heavily poetic and weighted scripts about things that are thoughtful or lugubrious, or, you know, you've gotta hit a lot of different kinds of feelings and tones now in scripts that are not always pretty. They're not always perfect. And they're not always lovely sounding. Sometimes they're gritty and gravely and that kind of thing. So that to me reflects life as well. We don't always sound good in life. We don't always --
Anne: Imperfect.
Lau: -- say the right thing. Yeah. We're not always PC or whatever. We're just not always right. So the idea of wanting to fix myself all the time, I need to be right. I can't be wrong. Did I get it right, is wrong because there is no right. It's really just according to the vision of the listener, who the listener is and what the messaging is that gives them the value that they're looking for.
Anne: Yeah. Imperfect is actually perfect.
Lau: It is.
Anne: I really believe that. And I think because that connects to people on a very raw and real level, and that's where you get a lot of the casting specs say, make it conversational, make it natural as if you're talking to your friends, make it real. And that is probably the hardest thing for us to do as voice actors. And I think we spend our careers honing that skill of being a better actor and being more real and authentic. And like you said, their scripts are all over the place. Sometimes they're sad and doleful, and we need to be able to be in that moment and create those scenes and react to those scenes.
And that is not always a pretty sound. I think one of my favorite corporate narrations that I always play from when I'm presenting corporate narration is a voice actress who, her voice cracks. And it's not a perfect sound. And I think a lot of my students, they feel like they have to be articulate, and I'm like, we're not articulate in the real world. As long as you can understand what I'm saying, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be articulate because when you're too articulate, then it becomes something that is difficult to listen to.
Lau: That's exactly right. And this idea of perfection and this idea of polished is just not where we wanna go oftentimes. It just, in fact, it's the anti that now, it's the opposite of that now. It's like, what's our largest generation now? Our largest generation is millennials in the United States. And so we wanna emulate the demographic to get an empathy factor that, oh, this is me. This sounds like me. This person feels the way I feel. They understand me. Well, I can't sound like that in order to get that feeling, right? It's a more colloquial, more chill, more like laid back, kind of feel to it.
And that's hard. I think for the over 40 crowd, like my generation generation Xeer, it's really hard to say, wait a second. What happened to all of our theater acting background? What happened to all of our speech and rhetoric? What happened to, well, it's there, you have to trust it's there, but it's not always applicable to what we're doing in the script. You know what I like to do? Anne, I like to say, change the word conversational and natural, which is throws people oftentimes -- change it to environmental, change it to contextual, because we wanna hear you being somewhere. We wanna hear you involved in something.
Anne: Oh I agree with that.
Lau: It's not like sound this way. .
Anne: Sure. And besides that, I'm always adding in, I wanna hear movement. I wanna hear movement in the scene. It's not you in a monologue. There's so many people that will do the work and say, okay, I'm Anne, I'm talking to my friend Lau, and we're in the kitchen. And they do all that setup work. And then all they do is read the words. And it becomes a monologue to them. Even if they start off talking to Lau, right, they tend to go off, and then they're speaking into the air. And I'm like, if you were on a stage and you were interacting with someone, like you should be with the listener, right, interacting, you would not be necessarily going off on a monologue, 'cause that would be impolite, right? You know, you need to let them in on the conversation. You need to check in on them once in a while.
And also when you do that, if you can move in the scene, that makes your audition or your read a whole lot more impactful, I think, than just standing in the same place. Because on a stage you wouldn't stand in the same place typically for too long, right? You'd have some movement. And so that translates to so many things. Right? In the middle of the script, stop and take a look. And where are you? What happened in the scene? Did it change? Did you stand up? Did you walk across the room? Did you look at Lau and see if Lau is shaking her head in agreement or does she have a question?
And so I think if you can really set those scenes up, even in something that is written very like dry, and I see this all the time in, in narration scripts, you wanna make sure that that's a more engaging script. You wanna bring that script to life. Well, how are you gonna do that when you're just standing there in the same spot and the energy is only coming out of your lips?
Lau: Exactly. It's unnatural.
Anne: It's unnatural. We need energy in our hands and our body movement in the scene changes. That I think is just, is so important to bring that to life.
Lau: It's, it's so important. And for those folks who are listening in, who have actor training and have trained under the discipline of Sanford Meisner, Meisner's work was based in the concept that all we're asking you to do is act natural under purely unnatural circumstances. So it's, it's really okay. I'm tricking my brain into thinking this is real, even though I know it's not real, whether you're in a theater or a vocal booth or in front of a camera, it couldn't be further from real. Right?
But there has to be a piece of you psychologically that stays alive that says I am doing the kind of work that I'm trained to do, that I want to be doing, that I'm enjoying doing. And I give myself permission to fall, to jump, to fail, to make mistakes, to do what real people do in real time. This idea of like, oh, I shouldn't mess up, I shouldn't make a mistake, I should get it right the first or second time -- it's not a natural way to think because natural terms in nature is real time for us. And in real time, we make tons of mistakes and stammer and we stutter and we forget information. Right? Anyone who loves SNL, love that show loved it because of all the mistakes they made.
Anne: Those were the funniest.
Lau: They were the funniest.
Anne: Those were the funniest.
Lau: They were hilarious. Right?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: It's like, you know, we always say, how do you determine the difference between an amateur and a professional? And it's easy. They both make mistakes and quite oftentimes a lot, but the amateur will fall apart. They'll melt down. They won't be able to function. The professional will do a little this and a little of that. Sorry about that. And then move on and use it, use it.
Anne: People are so forgiving. They really are. And again, like I said, if all you're thinking about is what you're sounding like and having that perfect voice, and then scrutinizing and, and hating yourself because you don't sound a particular way, think again. Because I was on stage too a long time ago, but also when I used to teach in front of students, right, I would get so excited -- like I was always told that I was a great teacher because I was so excited about the stuff that I was saying. Right? I was passionate. I was enthusiastic. I wanted to share. And that was what made me a good teacher.
And I oftentimes would stand up in front of the class. My brain would be going 100 miles an hour, but what came outta my mouth would be gobbledygook sometimes. But they forgave me.
I did not speak perfectly. Sometimes I like, oh, wait a minute. I forgot something. So imperfect. I had students who were so much more aligned with me and who really listened to me because I was imperfect. And I was able to admit that and be honest with them. And I never once tried to say, oh, I know more than you. I just wanted to inspire and motivate.
Lau: Right. Right.
Anne: And that is something I take behind the mic with me. No matter what genre I'm doing specifically though, e-learning, absolutely. I give my heart. Because that is, that is what people connect with.
Lau: Yes, absolutely.
Anne: But I cannot afford to listen to what I sound like. Or even if I go there a little bit when I'm editing -- so sometimes when I edit, yeah. I get a little tired of my voice. But then again, that's listening to myself and being nitpicking to get rid of breaths and stuff like that. And then it's just becomes tiring because I've been doing it for three hours. So that's different than not liking the way your voice sounds. And so I think you have to just have faith in the fact that you are in this industry, people are hiring you and paying you money for your voice. And that is giving you the validation that, you know what, you're probably doing a pretty good job. Otherwise you may not make any money. You not be able to do that. So.
Lau: If you're not being invited back, and you have no bookings, and no one's working with you, then you'll say, oh, I have to evaluate this, what's going on. But you know, you have to psychologically be okay with living in the world of imperfection. You have to live -- certainly in the technical world. It's a tech glitch a minute. You have to be okay with living in the world of mistakes and the mar, the scar. Like the scar makes us interesting. Like, I don't want you to cover it up. I don't want you to laser it off. I don't want you to Photoshop it. I wanna see it. It's interesting to me. It's like your experience, you know?
Anne: It's that whole filter thing that's going on now, right? In social media, like are you prettier with the filter or without the filter? Guess what? You're pretty without the filter, you're pretty just as you are.
Lau: And you have to measure, you have to see, how am I measuring pretty? Like, what is my measurement for that? How deep do I go with that layer? And I'd like to think as we age and we get a little older and more experienced, we go deeper, deeper, deeper below the surface of the skin. We go like really deep and say, wow. There's a lot of beauty in there that I can bring out that is not aesthetically beautiful.
But that, like, I go back to Shakespeare, 'cause I think Shakespeare is everything, and the characters, especially the female characters, but the male characters as well, some of them are really dirty and gritty and ugly and -- but you can't play them until like you're 40 and you understand a little bit about life. You understand a little bit about the grit of experience. Maybe God forbid, you've lost a child. Maybe you've gotten divorced. Maybe you've lost money and then gotten money back. Like these things really can become beautiful lessons and stories in our life that we can share and message versus hide and cover.
And I like to think of scripts and copy in that way. It's like, if you're a mom or you took time off, let's say you took 20 years off and you're coming back, don't hide who you are. Don't hide your history. Bring your history to the table 'cause psychologically that's gonna give you a more authentic read in what you're doing potentially.
Anne: Yeah. And I'm also gonna say not to give the read that you think people expect of you. Again, what makes us interesting is our imperfections and our flaws. And so I highly, highly encourage and, and recommend BOSSes that you look beyond, like you were saying, beyond the surface, hashtag no filter. Right guys? Like we want those reads. We want those reads that are real and raw and don't have the pretty sound filter put on there. We should have a, a hashtag for that in social media for voiceover, hashtag no pretty voice or --
Lau: That's -- I love that.
Anne: You know what I mean?
Lau: I love that. And check, we do checks all the time. Check your psychology at the door. Check it. Like not over-analyze. You know, analysis can be paralysis, but, but really check it like, am I okay with not being perfect? And am I also okay with -- oh, here's another one, Anne. Not thinking I'm perfect. Because we don't wanna work with people that are so vain and so arrogant. And so like I did my takes. I'm all done. And if you don't like it, it's too bad. I wanna work with someone who they're 50, 60, 70, 80 years old. And they're like, I'm learning still. I'm exploring. I wanna develop. Can you share something with me? I'm not like done. I'm not finished. I'm not like a final product myself. You know, I'm a work in progress.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. I don't think any of us really should think that way anyway. No matter what stage we're at. Right? Always something to learn.
Lau: Well, I think it always stops you. It stops your progress and what you could potentially learn and become when you just think that you have it all. You got it all down pat and it's polished and you know it. And that's a big question I get too in coaching, Anne, is like, should I go after this, Lau? Should I go after that? And I said, well, I don't know if you should go after it. Ask yourself the question authentically. How do you feel about it? How are you connecting with it? Where is your voice right now? I mean, I think you're asking the wrong question. I think the questions are really, how do I wanna develop my vocabulary right of knowledge?
Anne: How should I go after this? Or let's make a plan to go after this. And I think if the desire is there, hey, it's all part of the journey too. I'm a firm believer that, you know what? I would say to myself, well, I've never gone after animation because I don't know, for me right now, the passion is not necessarily in characters. But I'll tell you what, I'm a character in everything that I do. And I'm a character in medical narration. I am a character in corporate narration. I'm a character in commercial, and it just may not be as animated or cartoon-like, but absolutely we are all actors. We are all characters.
Lau: And these days, you know in character work a lot of times, you know, in some of the largest scripts that we see coming through for Pixar and Disney --
Anne: It's real.
Lau: They just want real sounds. They want real VO. They don't even want character voices. They make a big note in bold, no character voices. And they said like the leads, these are the leads because we had, you know, A-List Hollywood actors playing these leads. So we wanted to hear who Ray Romano really is, who Tom Cruz really is, who Queen Latifah really is. So that's kind of trickled down, I think in a nice way to the larger population where character now means like, well, who are you? What's the authentic sound you make? That we -- we'll consider that a character.
Anne: Absolutely. I love this conversation.
Lau: It's inspiring. It really is.
Anne: So BOSSes out there, love your voice. Embrace it. Be real. Absolutely. All right. So Lau, I am so excited we had this conversation. I can't wait to have another conversation with you next week. So BOSSes out there, if you would like to make an impact and contribute to the communities that give back to you, find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And also a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. I love ipDTL. It allows me and Lau to connect with you. BOSSes out there, find out more at ipdtl.com. Have an amazing week, guys, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Lau: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Everyone's got Imposter Syndrome. But it doesn't mean you're a fraud. In this episode, Anne & Lau dive into why we are so attached to the sound of our voice and how fixating on that can be a barrier to success. Voice is an essential part of how we are perceived, which affects our personal and professional lives. When you listen to yourself critically, it's easy to get lost in technical details. Your voice is your greatest tool, so stop doubting it. It is an instrument and the vehicle for your craft. So Bosses, love your voice. Embrace it. And if you still need some extra pointers to overcome your inner critic and use your voice to the fullest, listen up…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and our business superpower series. I'm Anne Ganguzza, your host, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show Lau Lapides. Lau, hello.
Lau: Hello. Hello. Glad to be back as always.
Anne: How's your week been, Lau?
Lau: Amazing. Busy, amazing, wonderful. Went on vacation. We were talking about this earlier. Went on vacation up to the Berkshires 'cause I'm in New England.
Anne: Of course. Lovely.
Lau: It was a workcation.
Anne: Ah.
Lau: Right? I never leave. I never really leave work.
Anne: Yes. I try to, but you're right. I don't leave either. Although I will say that I do notify my clients ahead of time that I'm going to be on vacation and may not be as responsive, so we have that. But then there are other opportunities that I make sure that I have my travel gear set and ready to go, so.
Lau: Well, you're much better than I am. I don't let anyone know. I pretend as if I'm like still --
Anne: As if you're still working?
Lau: -- in my studio. And then I'm in some bathroom somewhere in Lennox, Mass during intermission turning my phone on going, yeah. Okay. So you've got a call back and you've gotta get there, and like I have to turn my phone off. I don't know. I'm not getting reception. I'll talk to you in like an hour and a half.
Anne: Oh my God. I love it.
Lau: .
Anne: So funny.
Lau: But you know what? It's our lifestyle businesses, right?
Anne: It is.
Lau: BOSSes know that's the lifestyle that we live. It's not just a nine to five. It's really what we love, what we do, all the time.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. As long as there's a balance. Now speaking of superpowers, I wanted to bring up something this week because as you know, I coach my students, and frequently, and I know that you also are dealing with multiple students as well and people on your roster -- I wanna know if you get this as much as I do. I don't like my voice. I just don't like my voice. And I thought to myself, you know, that's so common actually. I hear that a lot from my students, especially my female students actually that they don't like their voice. And I thought it would be a really interesting discussion to talk about the psychology behind that. And why do you think it is that people don't like their voice?
Lau: Gosh, I don't think your podcast is even close to long enough to even answer that. I mean, it could take centuries to answer that. I don't know. I think there's a lot of reasons why. I think first that always comes to my mind is that thing of which got really hot, really, really hot, I'd say in the last couple years, the imposter syndrome became hot and known. It was this unknown thing that really women suffered from, primarily women suffered from. And it was, I think the first one that brought it, believe it or not, that brought it out was Joan Rivers, the comedian Joan Rivers put it in her routine. And then Harvard university said, wait a second. Is that a real thing? Let's do studies on it. And then they spent 10 or 15 years doing studies on people who get hit with it. Right?
Anne: Well, I think it's absolutely always been a real thing. It just hasn't been talked about, right?
Lau: Yes. Oh, very real.
Anne: I'm the first person to admit that imposter syndrome hits me still every day. And I always try to turn it around into a good thing where if you have imposter syndrome, it's motivating you to continually grow and excel. But this thing about voices, I'm gonna say, myself, I even went through it myself so that I can identify when a student comes to me and says, ugh, I just don't like my voice. But I always say, remember in the first place, a lot of times, the reason people get into this industry is because someone has said to them that they have a nice voice and that maybe they should consider voiceover as a career. And I've had people that told me that in the beginning, but after I started studying and started really pursuing it as a career and getting work and then falling into the, oh my gosh, am I ever gonna get hired, that kind of a confidence -- oh my God, I must not be good enough, and that imposter syndrome that really kind of hit me, I started to really criticize my voice.
And I used to listen to my voice and say, what doesn't sound -- I wanna sound like this person. I want that rasp. My voice does not have a rasp. It just doesn't. And no matter how hard I try to physically create a rasp, it's difficult and it could hurt my vocal cords. So I gave up doing that, but I gave up kind of coveting other people's voices and really started to understand that my voice needed to be embraced, number one, because how would I ever sell my voice if I couldn't embrace it? And the other thing is I think that maybe people spend too much time listening to the sound of their voice, and that I feel might be the biggest barrier to acceptance because, should we really be listening to our voices in terms of technically, how does it sound? I think really as voice actors, right, Lau, you know what I'm gonna say? Right? As actors, we need to be acting and the concentration should not be on how we sound.
Lau: That's right. And I know when I record myself, I can't appreciate hearing myself as I'm recording. I oftentimes will not even wear the cans. I won't even wear the headphones because I want to concentrate on the true connection of what I'm doing here. And if I'm hearing myself -- and I was never an air prompter person anyway, so I, I was never in that realm of having to be proficient at hearing myself as I'm delivering language. So I always deliver with headphones off, and I, I suggest to clients, at least for the beginning phase, don't put 'em on because I want you to make an authentic connection in what you're saying and who you're saying it to, who you're speaking to. And that's, you know, acting basics, right? 101.
Anne: Sure. Sure.
Lau: But I think you hit the nail on the head in terms of, Anne, talking about I'm not good enough. I won't be accepted. I'm not reaching it.
Anne: I don't sound good enough. There's always that.
Lau: I think that that's so primal.
Anne: Does my voice have what it takes to deliver? No, it's not about your voice. It's about you.
Lau: It's about, you.
Anne: It's about you. You know what I mean? It's about you and your personality and what it brings to that voice. And I'm, I'm just gonna say about the headphones. Now, when I first began, I was in a construction zone, and I had to wear headphones in my booth to make sure that there were no low vibratory sounds that were coming through. So I totally understand what you're saying about taking the headphones off. But I feel that in all honesty, right, if we have the headphones off, we can still sometimes listen to ourselves. You know what I mean? We're still like, these are amplifying everything that we're saying. So for headphones I'm of the nature that yes, whatever works for people to not be distracted by their own sound. I think that if you're a true actor, you can act with headphones on and with headphones off, so.
Lau: Of course, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. It's really how you train.
Anne: It's helpful.
Lau: Yeah. How you train yourself, what technique you build, that's repeatable for you that doesn't distract you away from what you're trying to do. And I always say to a client, I say it's ridiculous in the sense that if you went to Kraft macaroni, or you went to Nike shoes or you went to Toyota, would they honestly be thinking -- they meaning the advertising company, the people who are creating and producing scripts -- would they honestly be thinking right now as I deliver this to you, this sucks?
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: They may talk about it at their wine party, up in Aspen over the weekend that they don't like the product, but in the moment of pitching it, in the moment of selling it in the moment of connecting to the end user, it is the best thing in the world. Not only is it the best, you can't live without it. You really can't.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: And there's some sort of disconnect between the product, that physical inanimate object, that and us, our identity, our physical person, our vocal sound. There's a disconnect that we then become part of that product. We become part of that branding. And so for us to say, I don't know if I'm doing this well, I don't know if I'm good enough. I don't know if, what is in essence saying the product isn't good enough.
Anne: Isn't good enough.
Lau: The product is subpar, and that's a danger zone for us. We have to be very careful of that because we sell value. We don't wanna sell devalue. We don't wanna devalue our value, and whatever you do privately is something else.
Anne: Sure. No, I love how you brought it to the product. Because in reality, remember we are the voice of the product. We are the voice of the company. And no matter what you're doing, even if you're doing, I'm just saying, if you're doing corporate narration, if you're doing explainers, again, you're still working with a product. And if you're not doing that, let's say if you're doing anything else, if you're teaching, right, you're teaching more than likely, right, you become a teacher. And you are teaching either about some product or maybe a concept. And so again, you don't wanna devalue the content that you are speaking of.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: And that's such a wonderful example that you brought up. I'm so glad you said that.
Lau: Thank you. And you it's interesting, Anne, it seems to be unique to us and our profession, us meaning talent. It seems to be unique quality that we see in many, many people that we don't see quite as much in other industries and other professions. It would be like, ask yourself this, if you do this, if you do this, ask yourself this. Would you appreciate going to a doctor's office? And the doctor comes in and says, I don't know if I know how to listen to your heart. I mean, I, I, I don't know if I'm gonna do it well enough. I mean, what do you think? And you'd be freaked out. You'd go running outta that office. You'd go, I don't want this woman or guy touching me. I --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Lau: Right? If you went to a dentist, and you had to have your tooth drill, like, I don't know if I can, I don't know if you'll like what I do. I'm not sure. I mean, it sounds funny to us, right?
Anne: I might make you hurt .
Lau: Right?
Anne: But you're right. It's so true.
Lau: And it doesn't mean either that they're qualified, and it doesn't mean either they're the best at what they do. It just means it is innate within their training, within their experience, within their identity, that this is what they do. This is the product they offer, the value they offer. You're gonna pay for that service and it's as simple as that. Hopefully you won't complain about it. . Right?
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: But it's so unique unto us is to take it so personalized and to say, but do you approve of me, but do you like me? So going back to your original question a half an hour ago, like what is the psychology of this whole thing? I think it does really start with us as a human being, as a person. Like where is our self-esteem? Where is our level of confidence? Do we feel good in our own skin? Do we feel ashamed or humiliated in honest connection? I mean, ask yourself these questions as a human being in the world and then try to work with it. If the answer is yes, I have a struggle with this, I have a problem with this, then work with it. Don't work against it. Don't shove it under the rug because it's gonna come out out in your next audition. It's gonna come out in your next reach out.
Anne: And I think, honestly, it's again, I love how you just brought it down to that level, but it's also remember you're honoring the copy. The copy has been crafted by someone who has put a lot of thought into it, for the most part we think, right? And that there is a message that needs to be delivered. And you need to communicate that message effectively. Now Lau, when we talk back and forth, I'm certainly not thinking to myself, do I sound okay when I talk to Lau?
Lau: It's funny to think that, isn't it?
Anne: Right? Does my voice sound -- maybe I should talk to Lau like this. And no, because that just, it's not bringing ourselves. It's not bringing who we are, and you know, we say it over and over again. Bring yourself to the party. Right? Well, your voice and yourself, your voice is not mutually exclusive from yourself. The way you're treating it, if you're listening to it saying it does not sound good enough, then that's what you are essentially doing. You are splitting apart the voice from who you are. And I think ultimately, yeah, you have to be the one that can bring yourself to the party. When we connect as human beings, that's what I care about. I don't care, Lau, when you talk to me, what you sound like, I care about what you're saying to me and what it means to me.
And I think by trying to just bring it back onto ourselves where most people might think it's an insecurity thing -- in reality, when you think too much about how you sound, it becomes more of a vanity thing or an egotistical thing, where you're not thinking about the client. You're not thinking about the product or the copy that you should be honoring. You are thinking more about what you sound like on top of that copy. And that's not where your voice needs to be. Your voice needs to be in the act, in the action of delivering that copy to the best of your ability and the most effectively on behalf of that client.
Lau: I mean, at the end of the day, it's all about the messaging. We use the fancy schmancy term story and storytelling, but storytelling is about the messenger. What message is being delivered? And what is that stake here? What is the value to the audience of that message? Is it gonna fix their life, fix their health? You know, help them find a pet, and, and help them educate their child, or have a better quality health regimen? It's always something in there for the end user that will potentially better their life. Now I'm not saying that that is, that's not a truism. It doesn't actually do it all the time. I'm saying that that's the claim that is being made in the message. And if you lose the message, you lose the claim. And that is a problem. That can be a real problem.
Anne: You say the word value, and that is so important. The value to the client. It's not your value. It's the value that you are bringing to the client. So it goes from a place of how can I help you, the client, not how can I sound beautiful when I say these words? It's how can I help you? And the place has to come from within you and not from just the lips and outward because sometimes when we're listening to what we sound like, that's all we can concentrate on.
Lau: Exactly.
Anne: And there's no story, there's no message. There's no emotion. There's no point of view.
Lau: Exactly. And you brought up a great point there. You know, a number of the roles -- I call it roles, theatrical roles -- but a number of the, the voicing parts that we see in scripts now are not always clean, what we call clean or polished. Sometimes they're dirty sounding. Sometimes they're heavy sounding. Sometimes they're sad. There's a lot of doleful scripts. We see a lot of heavily poetic and weighted scripts about things that are thoughtful or lugubrious, or, you know, you've gotta hit a lot of different kinds of feelings and tones now in scripts that are not always pretty. They're not always perfect. And they're not always lovely sounding. Sometimes they're gritty and gravely and that kind of thing. So that to me reflects life as well. We don't always sound good in life. We don't always --
Anne: Imperfect.
Lau: -- say the right thing. Yeah. We're not always PC or whatever. We're just not always right. So the idea of wanting to fix myself all the time, I need to be right. I can't be wrong. Did I get it right, is wrong because there is no right. It's really just according to the vision of the listener, who the listener is and what the messaging is that gives them the value that they're looking for.
Anne: Yeah. Imperfect is actually perfect.
Lau: It is.
Anne: I really believe that. And I think because that connects to people on a very raw and real level, and that's where you get a lot of the casting specs say, make it conversational, make it natural as if you're talking to your friends, make it real. And that is probably the hardest thing for us to do as voice actors. And I think we spend our careers honing that skill of being a better actor and being more real and authentic. And like you said, their scripts are all over the place. Sometimes they're sad and doleful, and we need to be able to be in that moment and create those scenes and react to those scenes.
And that is not always a pretty sound. I think one of my favorite corporate narrations that I always play from when I'm presenting corporate narration is a voice actress who, her voice cracks. And it's not a perfect sound. And I think a lot of my students, they feel like they have to be articulate, and I'm like, we're not articulate in the real world. As long as you can understand what I'm saying, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be articulate because when you're too articulate, then it becomes something that is difficult to listen to.
Lau: That's exactly right. And this idea of perfection and this idea of polished is just not where we wanna go oftentimes. It just, in fact, it's the anti that now, it's the opposite of that now. It's like, what's our largest generation now? Our largest generation is millennials in the United States. And so we wanna emulate the demographic to get an empathy factor that, oh, this is me. This sounds like me. This person feels the way I feel. They understand me. Well, I can't sound like that in order to get that feeling, right? It's a more colloquial, more chill, more like laid back, kind of feel to it.
And that's hard. I think for the over 40 crowd, like my generation generation Xeer, it's really hard to say, wait a second. What happened to all of our theater acting background? What happened to all of our speech and rhetoric? What happened to, well, it's there, you have to trust it's there, but it's not always applicable to what we're doing in the script. You know what I like to do? Anne, I like to say, change the word conversational and natural, which is throws people oftentimes -- change it to environmental, change it to contextual, because we wanna hear you being somewhere. We wanna hear you involved in something.
Anne: Oh I agree with that.
Lau: It's not like sound this way. .
Anne: Sure. And besides that, I'm always adding in, I wanna hear movement. I wanna hear movement in the scene. It's not you in a monologue. There's so many people that will do the work and say, okay, I'm Anne, I'm talking to my friend Lau, and we're in the kitchen. And they do all that setup work. And then all they do is read the words. And it becomes a monologue to them. Even if they start off talking to Lau, right, they tend to go off, and then they're speaking into the air. And I'm like, if you were on a stage and you were interacting with someone, like you should be with the listener, right, interacting, you would not be necessarily going off on a monologue, 'cause that would be impolite, right? You know, you need to let them in on the conversation. You need to check in on them once in a while.
And also when you do that, if you can move in the scene, that makes your audition or your read a whole lot more impactful, I think, than just standing in the same place. Because on a stage you wouldn't stand in the same place typically for too long, right? You'd have some movement. And so that translates to so many things. Right? In the middle of the script, stop and take a look. And where are you? What happened in the scene? Did it change? Did you stand up? Did you walk across the room? Did you look at Lau and see if Lau is shaking her head in agreement or does she have a question?
And so I think if you can really set those scenes up, even in something that is written very like dry, and I see this all the time in, in narration scripts, you wanna make sure that that's a more engaging script. You wanna bring that script to life. Well, how are you gonna do that when you're just standing there in the same spot and the energy is only coming out of your lips?
Lau: Exactly. It's unnatural.
Anne: It's unnatural. We need energy in our hands and our body movement in the scene changes. That I think is just, is so important to bring that to life.
Lau: It's, it's so important. And for those folks who are listening in, who have actor training and have trained under the discipline of Sanford Meisner, Meisner's work was based in the concept that all we're asking you to do is act natural under purely unnatural circumstances. So it's, it's really okay. I'm tricking my brain into thinking this is real, even though I know it's not real, whether you're in a theater or a vocal booth or in front of a camera, it couldn't be further from real. Right?
But there has to be a piece of you psychologically that stays alive that says I am doing the kind of work that I'm trained to do, that I want to be doing, that I'm enjoying doing. And I give myself permission to fall, to jump, to fail, to make mistakes, to do what real people do in real time. This idea of like, oh, I shouldn't mess up, I shouldn't make a mistake, I should get it right the first or second time -- it's not a natural way to think because natural terms in nature is real time for us. And in real time, we make tons of mistakes and stammer and we stutter and we forget information. Right? Anyone who loves SNL, love that show loved it because of all the mistakes they made.
Anne: Those were the funniest.
Lau: They were the funniest.
Anne: Those were the funniest.
Lau: They were hilarious. Right?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: It's like, you know, we always say, how do you determine the difference between an amateur and a professional? And it's easy. They both make mistakes and quite oftentimes a lot, but the amateur will fall apart. They'll melt down. They won't be able to function. The professional will do a little this and a little of that. Sorry about that. And then move on and use it, use it.
Anne: People are so forgiving. They really are. And again, like I said, if all you're thinking about is what you're sounding like and having that perfect voice, and then scrutinizing and, and hating yourself because you don't sound a particular way, think again. Because I was on stage too a long time ago, but also when I used to teach in front of students, right, I would get so excited -- like I was always told that I was a great teacher because I was so excited about the stuff that I was saying. Right? I was passionate. I was enthusiastic. I wanted to share. And that was what made me a good teacher.
And I oftentimes would stand up in front of the class. My brain would be going 100 miles an hour, but what came outta my mouth would be gobbledygook sometimes. But they forgave me.
I did not speak perfectly. Sometimes I like, oh, wait a minute. I forgot something. So imperfect. I had students who were so much more aligned with me and who really listened to me because I was imperfect. And I was able to admit that and be honest with them. And I never once tried to say, oh, I know more than you. I just wanted to inspire and motivate.
Lau: Right. Right.
Anne: And that is something I take behind the mic with me. No matter what genre I'm doing specifically though, e-learning, absolutely. I give my heart. Because that is, that is what people connect with.
Lau: Yes, absolutely.
Anne: But I cannot afford to listen to what I sound like. Or even if I go there a little bit when I'm editing -- so sometimes when I edit, yeah. I get a little tired of my voice. But then again, that's listening to myself and being nitpicking to get rid of breaths and stuff like that. And then it's just becomes tiring because I've been doing it for three hours. So that's different than not liking the way your voice sounds. And so I think you have to just have faith in the fact that you are in this industry, people are hiring you and paying you money for your voice. And that is giving you the validation that, you know what, you're probably doing a pretty good job. Otherwise you may not make any money. You not be able to do that. So.
Lau: If you're not being invited back, and you have no bookings, and no one's working with you, then you'll say, oh, I have to evaluate this, what's going on. But you know, you have to psychologically be okay with living in the world of imperfection. You have to live -- certainly in the technical world. It's a tech glitch a minute. You have to be okay with living in the world of mistakes and the mar, the scar. Like the scar makes us interesting. Like, I don't want you to cover it up. I don't want you to laser it off. I don't want you to Photoshop it. I wanna see it. It's interesting to me. It's like your experience, you know?
Anne: It's that whole filter thing that's going on now, right? In social media, like are you prettier with the filter or without the filter? Guess what? You're pretty without the filter, you're pretty just as you are.
Lau: And you have to measure, you have to see, how am I measuring pretty? Like, what is my measurement for that? How deep do I go with that layer? And I'd like to think as we age and we get a little older and more experienced, we go deeper, deeper, deeper below the surface of the skin. We go like really deep and say, wow. There's a lot of beauty in there that I can bring out that is not aesthetically beautiful.
But that, like, I go back to Shakespeare, 'cause I think Shakespeare is everything, and the characters, especially the female characters, but the male characters as well, some of them are really dirty and gritty and ugly and -- but you can't play them until like you're 40 and you understand a little bit about life. You understand a little bit about the grit of experience. Maybe God forbid, you've lost a child. Maybe you've gotten divorced. Maybe you've lost money and then gotten money back. Like these things really can become beautiful lessons and stories in our life that we can share and message versus hide and cover.
And I like to think of scripts and copy in that way. It's like, if you're a mom or you took time off, let's say you took 20 years off and you're coming back, don't hide who you are. Don't hide your history. Bring your history to the table 'cause psychologically that's gonna give you a more authentic read in what you're doing potentially.
Anne: Yeah. And I'm also gonna say not to give the read that you think people expect of you. Again, what makes us interesting is our imperfections and our flaws. And so I highly, highly encourage and, and recommend BOSSes that you look beyond, like you were saying, beyond the surface, hashtag no filter. Right guys? Like we want those reads. We want those reads that are real and raw and don't have the pretty sound filter put on there. We should have a, a hashtag for that in social media for voiceover, hashtag no pretty voice or --
Lau: That's -- I love that.
Anne: You know what I mean?
Lau: I love that. And check, we do checks all the time. Check your psychology at the door. Check it. Like not over-analyze. You know, analysis can be paralysis, but, but really check it like, am I okay with not being perfect? And am I also okay with -- oh, here's another one, Anne. Not thinking I'm perfect. Because we don't wanna work with people that are so vain and so arrogant. And so like I did my takes. I'm all done. And if you don't like it, it's too bad. I wanna work with someone who they're 50, 60, 70, 80 years old. And they're like, I'm learning still. I'm exploring. I wanna develop. Can you share something with me? I'm not like done. I'm not finished. I'm not like a final product myself. You know, I'm a work in progress.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. I don't think any of us really should think that way anyway. No matter what stage we're at. Right? Always something to learn.
Lau: Well, I think it always stops you. It stops your progress and what you could potentially learn and become when you just think that you have it all. You got it all down pat and it's polished and you know it. And that's a big question I get too in coaching, Anne, is like, should I go after this, Lau? Should I go after that? And I said, well, I don't know if you should go after it. Ask yourself the question authentically. How do you feel about it? How are you connecting with it? Where is your voice right now? I mean, I think you're asking the wrong question. I think the questions are really, how do I wanna develop my vocabulary right of knowledge?
Anne: How should I go after this? Or let's make a plan to go after this. And I think if the desire is there, hey, it's all part of the journey too. I'm a firm believer that, you know what? I would say to myself, well, I've never gone after animation because I don't know, for me right now, the passion is not necessarily in characters. But I'll tell you what, I'm a character in everything that I do. And I'm a character in medical narration. I am a character in corporate narration. I'm a character in commercial, and it just may not be as animated or cartoon-like, but absolutely we are all actors. We are all characters.
Lau: And these days, you know in character work a lot of times, you know, in some of the largest scripts that we see coming through for Pixar and Disney --
Anne: It's real.
Lau: They just want real sounds. They want real VO. They don't even want character voices. They make a big note in bold, no character voices. And they said like the leads, these are the leads because we had, you know, A-List Hollywood actors playing these leads. So we wanted to hear who Ray Romano really is, who Tom Cruz really is, who Queen Latifah really is. So that's kind of trickled down, I think in a nice way to the larger population where character now means like, well, who are you? What's the authentic sound you make? That we -- we'll consider that a character.
Anne: Absolutely. I love this conversation.
Lau: It's inspiring. It really is.
Anne: So BOSSes out there, love your voice. Embrace it. Be real. Absolutely. All right. So Lau, I am so excited we had this conversation. I can't wait to have another conversation with you next week. So BOSSes out there, if you would like to make an impact and contribute to the communities that give back to you, find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And also a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. I love ipDTL. It allows me and Lau to connect with you. BOSSes out there, find out more at ipdtl.com. Have an amazing week, guys, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Lau: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Auditions can be as nerve wracking as a performance, but the best way to come out on top is to be prepared. Anne & Lau are audition experts. When you break it down, an audition is a sample of your performance, and bosses, we know you know how to perform! The best way to start an audition is with copy you feel confident reading and that showcases your acting chops. Making genuine connections with the other actors in the space and casting directors is what keeps you on their mind long after the read ends. Confidence goes a long way in audition settings. Do not shy away from live auditions, and having your 10 favorite scripts on hand will make the impromptu auditions feel more manageable. Want to learn more? Tune in for the full scoop…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to bring back the one and only Lau Lapides to the show. Thank you, Lau, for joining me. I'm so excited to talk to you today.
Lau: I'm thrilled to be here as always, thrilled to be here, Anne.
Anne: Well, Lau, it's been a week.
Lau: And I feel like it's been a month with how much our -- how busy our lives are, right, Anne?
Anne: I know, right?
Lau: I mean, it's like so much.
Anne: But this week you were a part of me besides the podcast, besides the podcast. So I'm very excited to be working with you as an agent. And so you did something that I have never experienced before. You called me into a last minute audition. And I said, oh, okay. I didn't have any script. You called me into a Zoom room. And I was like, okay, is that gonna just be me and the casting director? Oh, that's so lovely for Lau to think of me like that. I'm really excited. Okay. Sure. So I joined the Zoom session and there were like, whoa, quite a few people on there. And I didn't have a script. I didn't know what was gonna go on, what was happening. Let's talk about this audition that you called me into and your process for these things.
Lau: You were such a good sport. 'Cause you could have said no, I know it's not in your vocabulary to say no, but --
Anne: It's so true.
Lau: -- you could have. It would've been totally fine if you said no, but I was really pleasantly surprised to see that not only you, but everyone in that room said yes to coming in the room. Now I'll set it up for you since today we're talking about auditions. This was a little bit, I would call it unorthodox. It was a little bit unorthodox the way we set this up, but that's kind of my middle name and I'm alright with that. I go with that 'cause I like to have a little fire, a little fire in life. So the premise of this audition was that our friend and producer coming in from Switzerland, Lamar Hawkings -- amazing man, amazing, who is very, very close friends with my colleague Joanne Yarrow that I work with at my studio -- invited him in to say, hey, you are doing amazing projects. I mean my friend, Joanne -- who I have to introduce you to, she's fabulous -- she's the voice now the American voice, of La Occitane campaign that he handles. And so I'll send you that. It's awesome.
So I'm like, Ooh, we have a wonderful agency, MCVO. We have a wonderful membership base at the studio, talent inner circle. Why don't I invite some of our really great people with great voices to come in and do a private audition for Lamar? And he was completely up for it. He said, I would love that, Lau. I'm looking for new talent. I'm doing a new animation soon. I'm doing commercial campaigns. I'm doing this. And that. He's very, very busy. He's in Switzerland, but he's actually from the states, originally from Texas. And I said, great, let's do it.
So we set it up for yesterday. Now here's the thing. A bunch of the people knew that the audition were coming because they were in the studio base, the talent inner circle studio base and had RSVPed that, yes, I want to attend this. I'm able to, I've been screened. I'm accepted in, and I'm coming in. Great. But then I had a number of open slots that I said, I've got to get more MCVO people knowing about this and coming in because this is a legit audition, and it's a live audition. It's something I really love to do and love to host.
Anne: That was so different for me. I mean, I felt like I traveled into LA and went to an in-person audition again almost.
Lau: Exactly. That's exactly what happened. And fun fact from the background, 'cause no one ever sees what's going on in the background, I was on vacation. I was up in the Berkshires. Like literally I'm at lunch with my husband, and I'm texting like a wild woman. He said, what are you doing? I said, you know, I'm working. It's always a work vacation for me, a workcation. I said, I'm getting more talent to come in and know about this audition, who don't know, from MCVO, and I'm texting you, and I'm texting Jay Michael Collins, and I'm texting Terrell, and I'm texting Carol, and I'm texting this one, and I'm texting Mike Pollock. And all of a sudden, all these people are saying yes and jumping in, and I didn't even have time to tell them what it was. I didn't even have time to say anything.
Anne: That was absolutely the thing. And I'm like, whoa, wait a minute. And I'll admit to you, BOSSes out there, I got in the room and I didn't have copy. And I thought, am I missing something? And thank goodness that Lau, you gave me a little bit of information and said grab some commercial copy or we have some. When I got in there, I didn't see it. Maybe it was there and I just didn't know where to look. So I got off and I thought, oh, well that must look horrible. .
Lau: No, not at all.
Anne: I went to go grab copy. And then I came back in and then it was like, what two people left to go? So I made it just in time.
Lau: And then Carol Alfred, who is facilitating, right, one of our coaches, she's texting me, ah, Anne Ganguzza is on. And then she goes, she left. What she left? Where'd she go? And I'm like, Anne, where are you? I thought maybe you were having a technical issue or you had to go and do something.
Anne: I went to go find some copy because I didn't wanna be called on and then say, I don't have copy. You know what I mean? So I went to go grab some.
Lau: Right. And now, you know, very rarely when we do this kind of audition, we always have copy on hand for cold reads. I know some talent don't prefer to do a cold read. So we say, we'll bring something you wanna bring that shows you off, but.
Anne: I was ice cold I was ice cold, but I said to myself, okay -- and BOSSes, listen, when your agent asks you to come in and audition, it's a sign that they believe in you, number one. And that they would not have asked you to come into an audition if they did not feel that you were worthy of doing an audition. And there was no way that I was going to disappoint my agent.
Lau: Oh, and I appreciated that so much. And some of the others that came in, it was hilarious. I'm gonna save some of the texts that were like, hey Lau. Uh, that was great. What was that? Where was it?
Anne: Yeah, exactly. What just happened?
Lau: What happened? It was, you were like, you were in some matrix. There was, there was some vortex that came through like a storm, but I gotta tell you, and this is good for your listeners to hear, every single person who came in that thought they were unprepared or didn't have copy or weren't sure what they were doing did a fantastic job. And it just reminded me what pros we all are when we get in a room.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: We have passion. We love what we're doing. There's this super connected quality of being in a room with other talent, 'cause that's unexpected as well to be in a room with other talent like that.
Anne: I was gonna say absolutely. One of the other things was, oh my God. And everybody else is listening to me. It's not just the agent, the casting director. It is like 50 people in the room. I don't know how many people were in the room, but there were more than one. There was quite a few people listening. And I happened to just come in really quickly with J. Michael Collins who was reading. And then that's when I said, I don't have that copy. And so I skedaddled outta there. And fortunately you had said, just grab any copy. And I said, okay.
So I went and I grabbed some copy and it was, my read was ice cold. But again, like I said, BOSSe so important to know that when your agent gives you an audition, it's because they have the faith in you that you're gonna be able to execute. And I think that that is the one thing that really saved me. And I will admit to you, BOSSes, when you're thrown into a situation like that and you're not quite sure what's happening, you're kind of running on adrenaline, and it's a little scary, I'm just gonna say, not knowing what's happening. But I think it was a wonderful lesson for me, even as long as I've been in this industry, just to trust in your agent, trust in yourself, have faith in the process and just go forth and execute. And what's the worst that can happen? I mean, well, I thought of a billion things like, I was like, when I was done, I was like, I'm not quite sure how that went, but he said, nice job. So I'm okay with that.
Lau: Yeah. And I gotta tell you, Anne, that enabled me to what I debrief with him -- we're debriefing on Tuesday -- I can now go down the list and say, do you remember this person? You remember this? You had a visual, not only in sound, you had a visual. You had more than one read on a lot of people as well. you had a character read, you had a commercial read, this, that. And to be able to really discuss the performances for particular projects that he's working on -- so it's never just like this one hit wonder and go. It's always like, Ooh, I like the quality of this person, that person. Can I call them back? And I see, hear their demo? Can I, whatever; it's just like an introduction to you.
Anne: And that I think is brilliant in reality, because like you have introduced your roster to a potential client and the visual, yes. Now, you know, of course I'm sure there's a bunch of people in their studios going, well, this is an audition over Zoom. And then the engineers in there will be going, I don't know if Zoom is the best quality, but honestly I think that any good casting director is gonna know from your performance, whether it's in your studio or through Zoom or whatever, they're gonna understand. And they're gonna know a good performance when they see one.
Lau: Absolutely. And this particular producer, from what I know of his background, well, he has a very rich history of live performance and theater and media.
Anne: And that aligns with it.
Lau: He gets it. He gets that, because I had people who were in cars and bathrooms, in their workstation. They were, I mean they were coming in from everywhere. So his business brain, I'm sure was saying, oh, they're busy people. They're not just sitting in a spot waiting for me. They're working, they're running, they're traveling, they're on vacation. They're this or that. I'm thankful that they took the time to come in so I could see their work for projects.
Anne: And that means a lot too, I'm quite sure. And especially again, like we're always trying to make in auditions -- and I love this episode because this is becoming so much more than just a normal audition type of episode, where we give you the tips and the tricks -- because the experience of this one was so different, and it really, I think can teach us how to make ourselves memorable in a multitude of ways, not just knowing the conditions, right, of the audition. Number one, you called us in cold or you called certain people in cold, and that can resonate well with whoever's listening for that potential client.
And also again, there's that visual, and it is like the in person auditions that -- God, I used to go in and it was great. I'd see everybody in the lobby. Now the difference is that I would audition in front of just, you know, it was just me. And it wouldn't be everybody else listening to my auditions. So that added a whole other level to -- it was almost like a workshop. But in reality, if you tend to get nervous in these experiences that could even potentially make you more nervous. So again, having the ability and the privilege to be able to make that kind of impression on a potential client, I think is wonderful. And Lau, you're one of the few people I know that do this. And so I think it's a wonderful thing, even though I had no idea what it was when I was doing it, but , but now I know.
Lau: Do we ever, right?
Anne: But now I know.
Lau: Therein lies the educational value when we talk about professional development is it really one audition or is it as you called it, Anne, an opportunity to build a relationship with a wonderful producer, who's gonna have a lifetime of stuff. That's I think it's the latter, really. It's never just one audition for one thing. It's always like, hey, you're cool. You're a cool, dude. You're a cool dudette. I like you. Right? I like your vibe. And that's where if I were to say to your listeners and also to my audience that came in, many of which were coming in from the studio membership, we're at different stages of the game. I would say one of the things I want you to really consider and remember is that when a producer meets you live, they wanna see a little bit of who you are. They wanna catch your personality and your energy and your persona a little bit. So especially him, especially Lamar.
So don't be afraid -- you don't wanna take up a ton of time, but don't be afraid to just chill a little bit and have a little bit of that conversational feel to what you're doing, because you're really meeting a real person in real time. It's a great opportunity for them to know a little piece of your actual personality versus I'm just a voiceover talent and here's my read. No, I'm Anne, I'm Lau. I'm J, and this is what I'm doing and I'm, I'm traveling and I'm whatever, that's cool. People like that. It's the goal of how do I make you feel? Am I gonna make you feel comfortable or am I gonna make you feel uncomfortable?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I like the fact that you had the ability for everyone to kind of listen to everybody else's auditions. I, at the time though, because I was hunting down copy, and then I literally had another session that was coming up like after five minutes, I couldn't stay for a long time, but what I did stay for, I really enjoyed. And I heard people doing all different types of copy, and I thought, wow, this is really kind of cool. It felt to me like a combination of a showcase and an audition, an in-person audition.
Lau: That's what it turned into that's and if you want to, I'm happy to send you the replay because we record those sessions and we hold those for archival purposes. If you want it --
Anne: That's wonderful.
Lau: -- you could do the whole thing. It lasted about, I wanna say two hours, like a solid two hours.
Anne: Wow.
Lau: And we had a rotation of people coming in and out, which was amazing. I think we landed on about 30 people with the folks --
Anne: That's fantastic.
Lau: -- who couldn't come, couldn't make it, no showed, new people jumping in, 30, like yourself, some of the country's top talent were there. And I was like, oh my God. We were like representing the country's top talent. I was so proud, so proud of everyone and not just the talent for what they delivered, but the kind of people that came in the room and were kind to him. No one pulled a fit. No one was a diva. No one was making excuses. That's all stuff, when we talk about auditioning, that you wanna steer clear of is like rule number one, I didn't wanna land my problems onto you.
Anne: Sure. Absolutely.
Lau: Anyone who's had theater training knows that they teach you in conservatory, leave your trash at the door, right? Don't take it into the workspace. Don't worry. It'll be there when you leave; you can take it with you when you go out, you know, but try not to bring your stuff in with you because you wanna come in as an open slate, a pallet of possibilities. You know, we had talked about solving a problem, filling a need, but it's more than that. It's like, does this person have likability factor?
Anne: Sure, sure, absolutely.
Lau: You know, would I wanna hang out with them?
Anne: And you know, what's so interesting is one of the reasons a lot of people get into voiceover is because they wanna almost like hide behind the microphone and not necessarily show who they are or show their face. And so this kind of just threw that on its side.
Lau: And that was great.
Anne: Yeah. And that again gives such a good impression, I think, just gives it a whole different dimension to the audition so it's not just the voice, but also the, the person and the personality. And I'm the biggest fan of -- look, people wanna connect with people and not just a logo or a voice. And I really feel that that is, is effective in our profession, that if we can connect with our clients as people, that really, really does a lot to, I think, really secure and, and enhance and, and make us memorable to one another.
Lau: It's huge, Anne. I'm so glad you brought that up, the visibility factor, because I could have easily said, hey, take your visuals out. All I need to see is your name or your picture, whatever. Just voiceover's fine. Get people off the hook so they don't have to put on the makeup and the lipstick, but I didn't want that.
I wanted them to have the ability, and many of them wanted to come on to be seen as people, and also to see the diversity of our crowd, like our people were coming in literally from all over the world, and everyone had a different look, a different age, a different feel, a different background. I think that's important in terms of having cultivating a community that is both educational and professional level. I just think it enriched everyone else to see the level of talent that was there, that the bar was very high. Age range ranged from like teens to probably 70, and every kind of background. And I think that's very inspirational for people to feel like I'm included. This is inclusive. Like I don't have to sound or look or be someone else. I'm me. And that's who I am.
Anne: Right. Correct.
Lau: And I think everyone did a fairly accurate job as to their brand, their quality because they felt as comfortable as they could feel in a room full of great people.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well that was it too. I mean, the fact is, is that I think it was a wonderful experience. Even if let's say I never get cast, the fact that I had the experience for just introducing myself to a potential client in this way has given me more, I'm gonna say confidence and really more confidence in terms of, well, auditions can be anything. Right? Be prepared. It's almost like, oh, I did a quick improv session there. So, you know?
Lau: Exactly. And I think, I think COVID changed it to some degree where you don't have to be in an office. You don't have to be in someone else's studio. Your studio is the world now. It's really the world. You could be in your car. You could be in a bathroom. You could be anywhere potentially meeting someone, recording, whatever, the possibilities are endless. It takes me back to even before COVID, Anne, when, when we saw interviews like corporate interviews start to happen in Starbucks. That was one of the big coffee shops that I hear someone behind me, oh, they're having an interview. I'm gonna be quiet.
That was a new thing. I don't know when that started. I wanna say maybe 10 years ago or something, that was a new industry standard that you didn't need to be in an office to have an interview. You could have an interview at Starbucks, and it's now kind of the same for us. Like we could do an audition anywhere. We could be in the mountains and do an audition, which is exciting to me.
Anne: Yeah. I really love the additional opportunity to connect. So let me ask you a question then. So this is not the first one that you've done or is it the first one that you've done, first audition like this?
Lau: Live?
Anne: Yeah, live.
Lau: In this way?
Anne: Yes.
Lau: I have done a number of these before. Not recently. This is the first one I've done recently with someone of this caliber in terms of a producer coming in from Europe, someone that I have the inside scoop on who's producing particular campaigns that I'm interested in and animations that I'm interested in for the agency, getting into that genre, that field. And I like it. I mean, I just personally, as Lau, just as a person, I yearn for that improv energy. I yearn for that feeling of like, yeah, let's just meet. All right, a number of people know, they're RSVPing, they're coming in. But then others may not know; they're coming in now. It's like real life. It's like a party, right? You invite your guest list. but then the guests may bring someone, the guests may invite someone else, da, da, da.
It's like an authentic experience of what happens in real life when people are coming together, and they're meeting, and they're showcasing their work. So when we talk about showcases, it's not all premeditated ABC. It's like life networking is life. You don't know who you're gonna sit next to on the plane. You don't know who you're gonna be next to in the elevator. You don't -- and I would say, be careful, ladies and gentlemen, when you go in the restrooms, like be careful what you say, be careful what you do because your whole world is your oyster now for meeting producers and producers can also be mom and pop shops, people who are producing their own podcasts, what have you. You wanna always treat everyone respectfully and equally as the stars that they are in their own world, because you may be collaborating and working with them.
Anne: Yeah. Good advice. What other tips would you have then in terms of not just this type of audition, but auditions in general that you've seen? Because you certainly are outside the box I think when it comes to the opportunities that you're affording people, which is a wonderful thing.
Lau: Thank you so much, thank you. I would say, and, and just thinking back on that experience, some of the things that I would want to change and shift for some of the talent coming through. One is, and this is like an actor's rule, always have material that is great for you, that you love and feel comfortable with ready to go. It's like, whatever you wanna call it, your demo material, your portfolio material, whatever. Have your strong suits ready to go. And it might even be an audition or two that came in last week that you did a great job. It might be a recent booking. You just have to make sure of course you either have permission to use the script or it's in house. It's not gonna be used for commercial purposes. Or just re-craft it enough so that it becomes your own and you know, it's yours. It's good. It's something you feel comfortable doing. It's where your suit lies. I would have that ready to go. And I would have at least a half, a dozen, 30-second pieces ready to go for something live when it happens. It may happen rarely. But when it happens, it happens.
Anne: Yeah. That's such good advice because I literally, like I mentioned, I didn't have it. I went and grabbed something that I -- thankfully I have a large pool of copy that, you know, because I work with, with people with copy. So thankfully, and I found something that I was comfortable with. So that's really wonderful advice. Now I'm gonna make sure that I have a few pieces set aside for if that were to happen again, absolutely. Any other tips?
Lau: Yeah. And I have another tip too, and this is like the actor in you. So when we talk to VOs, we say, do you consider yourself an actor? Surprisingly many VOs will say, I'm not really an actor. It's not really what I do. I voiced this. That's what I do. I always like to use the word actor because I don't necessarily mean just acting values in the character. I mean, in your life. So like all the world's a stage, right? You're acting like a pro, you're acting like a coach. You're acting like a producer. You're acting in those role like just like an acting chair of a department or, you know, an acting politician, how we would use that term.
So you're acting, so don't forget your actor values. What I mean is like some of the folks that came into the room, I noticed they had to let you know that they were in a rush, or they just stole a break, or they barely made it because they couldn't get outta work, whatever. Let that go, like play the role. The role is I'm coming into this session, and I'm totally ready for this session. And I don't know what's going on in the background. There's a bunch of chaos in the background. I don't know what's going on in the background. I'm acting as the professional in this moment, knowing I'm only gonna be here for how however long I'm here. And then I go back to -- remember, I said, leave your stuff at the door? I'm gonna go back to that.
That's hard for people to do, Anne. I think that there's this confessional thing in people that they feel the need to tell you the truth about everything. They wanna tell you how difficult their day was or that their tire has gone down. And I barely made it here, and oh my God, my kid and the baby sitter didn't show up. And I always say, leave it at the door because it's not pertinent to the people that are bringing you in. It's just a waste of time, really, for them.
You and I talk about energy a lot, karma, like stars aligning. I really do believe in that. I think things happen for a reason. And I don't want you meaning, not you, but the listener, I don't want you guys to ruin your karma by sticking wrenches in it of things that are happening, whether they're your choice or whether they're just happening to you -- don't bring it into the space because it can't do anything positive for your audition or for your exchange in the rapport building. It just can't. It's like an obstacle that you're putting in the way, and you're qualifying something and using it as an excuse. And you don't wanna fall into the victimization compartment.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Lau: You never wanna fall into that. You wanna fall into the place where it's like, hey, I'm gonna bring you what you need. In fact, I could hire you. In fact, I could hire people for you. In fact, I could do this for you. You wanna be that person that they come to to fix the problem. They don't wanna be the person who creates problems that they don't have, If that makes sense.
Anne: Oh, that's wonderful advice. Absolutely.
Lau: Yeah. So I would leave that. I would leave that outside of the room, and then one more thing. as the tech queens that we are, tech meaning coaching tech, I want that warm up. Some of the folks didn't warm up, and I could tell exactly who they were, who just did not do the vocal warmup because I know the quality of the reads that they could typically do, and they were rushing into it. Whereas others came in, they were already in a session. They were already recording. They were already vocally warmed up. They were ready to go. I could tell the difference. I don't know if you could tell the difference. I could tell the difference.
Anne: I could tell the people who were absolutely ready. You know what I mean? And were like, bam, they had their material and they just --
Lau: They were right there.
Anne: -- they just executed. Yep. yep. So yep. I could tell. Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: So that readiness that's like being on the bench, you know, as a sports player in the game --
Anne: You're ready to go.
Lau: -- you're not in the game yet. You're really not there, but you're visible to the crowd. You're on TV. You're getting ready to get selected. And there's that state of readiness that you have to have so when they look at you, it's like, boom, I'm in the game. I'm ready. There is no transition time that you should need to go through. It really should just be there, present, and delivered. And that's hard. It's -- I make it sound easy. It's not it's transitions like executive functioning skill transitions a lot of people find difficult in life, is how do I pivot from this, to this? To this, to this, without any clutter in the middle of it?
Anne: Yeah. I do have a question. Something that I thought, just because again, I wasn't there for the entire time, but I did hear people slating, which I think is fine, but people were slating with other talent agencies as well. And I wasn't quite sure about that. I thought why -- you invited me in, so I wasn't gonna necessarily say what other talent agencies were representing me. Oh, okay. So I was really thrown by that one and I thought should I say other talent agencies that represent me when you invited me in so generously and I just said my name? For me, it didn't seem right. But what are your thoughts on that?
Lau: Yeah. And, and now, you know, in retrospect, yeah, for this one, there was no right or wrong. It was totally clean, totally open and that would be the protocol, you're right. That would be the actual protocol because there was an educational value to this workshop, I allowed and wanted to people to slate what they have on their plate to have a high ethos, to show a high ethos for themselves. And because we're not exclusive anyway. We're freelance. But I hear you.
Anne: Well, because of the invite, it was just, for me, it was like, well, I could say other, and to be honest with you, I just, that threw me. And so I just said my name, 'cause I wanted to be respectful of you who invited me in as an agent. So.
Lau: And actually just post, just for listeners to know behind the scenes, 'cause they would never know this or see this, when we have a meeting and we debrief, and we talk about talent behind their backs, in a nice way, I'll make it clear that if he wants to move forward with anyone, he would do it through MCVO.
Anne: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Lau: He would. It would be only in the case of like they're not with MCVO. They're exclusive with someone else. I handpick them to come in. Okay. That's fine. Other than that, everyone's with MCVO or in the tick membership. And so I'm like, so we're kind of representing everyone here. So he would use us as the agent and as the liaison to help with the step by step of everything, if he wanted to really call someone back.
Anne: Yeah. Then I would say, just my contribution to this episode would be if you are in that position and your live slating and, and auditioning, I would say respectfully with the agent that invited you to that, you should at least have that agency unless it's been otherwise disclosed that you can mention other agencies that you are represented by.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: Just my thoughts on that. Wow. Well, I wanna say thank you, Lau, for that experience. It's always a pleasure learning from you and talking with you every week. So I really appreciate it. It's been a wonderful conversation.
Lau: Oh my pleasure. All the time. I can't wait for the next one.
Anne: All right. So guys, BOSSes, I want you to take a moment and imagine yourself being a part of making a difference in our world and giving back to the communities that give to you. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network like BOSSes, like Lau and I, and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Auditions can be as nerve wracking as a performance, but the best way to come out on top is to be prepared. Anne & Lau are audition experts. When you break it down, an audition is a sample of your performance, and bosses, we know you know how to perform! The best way to start an audition is with copy you feel confident reading and that showcases your acting chops. Making genuine connections with the other actors in the space and casting directors is what keeps you on their mind long after the read ends. Confidence goes a long way in audition settings. Do not shy away from live auditions, and having your 10 favorite scripts on hand will make the impromptu auditions feel more manageable. Want to learn more? Tune in for the full scoop…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to bring back the one and only Lau Lapides to the show. Thank you, Lau, for joining me. I'm so excited to talk to you today.
Lau: I'm thrilled to be here as always, thrilled to be here, Anne.
Anne: Well, Lau, it's been a week.
Lau: And I feel like it's been a month with how much our -- how busy our lives are, right, Anne?
Anne: I know, right?
Lau: I mean, it's like so much.
Anne: But this week you were a part of me besides the podcast, besides the podcast. So I'm very excited to be working with you as an agent. And so you did something that I have never experienced before. You called me into a last minute audition. And I said, oh, okay. I didn't have any script. You called me into a Zoom room. And I was like, okay, is that gonna just be me and the casting director? Oh, that's so lovely for Lau to think of me like that. I'm really excited. Okay. Sure. So I joined the Zoom session and there were like, whoa, quite a few people on there. And I didn't have a script. I didn't know what was gonna go on, what was happening. Let's talk about this audition that you called me into and your process for these things.
Lau: You were such a good sport. 'Cause you could have said no, I know it's not in your vocabulary to say no, but --
Anne: It's so true.
Lau: -- you could have. It would've been totally fine if you said no, but I was really pleasantly surprised to see that not only you, but everyone in that room said yes to coming in the room. Now I'll set it up for you since today we're talking about auditions. This was a little bit, I would call it unorthodox. It was a little bit unorthodox the way we set this up, but that's kind of my middle name and I'm alright with that. I go with that 'cause I like to have a little fire, a little fire in life. So the premise of this audition was that our friend and producer coming in from Switzerland, Lamar Hawkings -- amazing man, amazing, who is very, very close friends with my colleague Joanne Yarrow that I work with at my studio -- invited him in to say, hey, you are doing amazing projects. I mean my friend, Joanne -- who I have to introduce you to, she's fabulous -- she's the voice now the American voice, of La Occitane campaign that he handles. And so I'll send you that. It's awesome.
So I'm like, Ooh, we have a wonderful agency, MCVO. We have a wonderful membership base at the studio, talent inner circle. Why don't I invite some of our really great people with great voices to come in and do a private audition for Lamar? And he was completely up for it. He said, I would love that, Lau. I'm looking for new talent. I'm doing a new animation soon. I'm doing commercial campaigns. I'm doing this. And that. He's very, very busy. He's in Switzerland, but he's actually from the states, originally from Texas. And I said, great, let's do it.
So we set it up for yesterday. Now here's the thing. A bunch of the people knew that the audition were coming because they were in the studio base, the talent inner circle studio base and had RSVPed that, yes, I want to attend this. I'm able to, I've been screened. I'm accepted in, and I'm coming in. Great. But then I had a number of open slots that I said, I've got to get more MCVO people knowing about this and coming in because this is a legit audition, and it's a live audition. It's something I really love to do and love to host.
Anne: That was so different for me. I mean, I felt like I traveled into LA and went to an in-person audition again almost.
Lau: Exactly. That's exactly what happened. And fun fact from the background, 'cause no one ever sees what's going on in the background, I was on vacation. I was up in the Berkshires. Like literally I'm at lunch with my husband, and I'm texting like a wild woman. He said, what are you doing? I said, you know, I'm working. It's always a work vacation for me, a workcation. I said, I'm getting more talent to come in and know about this audition, who don't know, from MCVO, and I'm texting you, and I'm texting Jay Michael Collins, and I'm texting Terrell, and I'm texting Carol, and I'm texting this one, and I'm texting Mike Pollock. And all of a sudden, all these people are saying yes and jumping in, and I didn't even have time to tell them what it was. I didn't even have time to say anything.
Anne: That was absolutely the thing. And I'm like, whoa, wait a minute. And I'll admit to you, BOSSes out there, I got in the room and I didn't have copy. And I thought, am I missing something? And thank goodness that Lau, you gave me a little bit of information and said grab some commercial copy or we have some. When I got in there, I didn't see it. Maybe it was there and I just didn't know where to look. So I got off and I thought, oh, well that must look horrible. .
Lau: No, not at all.
Anne: I went to go grab copy. And then I came back in and then it was like, what two people left to go? So I made it just in time.
Lau: And then Carol Alfred, who is facilitating, right, one of our coaches, she's texting me, ah, Anne Ganguzza is on. And then she goes, she left. What she left? Where'd she go? And I'm like, Anne, where are you? I thought maybe you were having a technical issue or you had to go and do something.
Anne: I went to go find some copy because I didn't wanna be called on and then say, I don't have copy. You know what I mean? So I went to go grab some.
Lau: Right. And now, you know, very rarely when we do this kind of audition, we always have copy on hand for cold reads. I know some talent don't prefer to do a cold read. So we say, we'll bring something you wanna bring that shows you off, but.
Anne: I was ice cold I was ice cold, but I said to myself, okay -- and BOSSes, listen, when your agent asks you to come in and audition, it's a sign that they believe in you, number one. And that they would not have asked you to come into an audition if they did not feel that you were worthy of doing an audition. And there was no way that I was going to disappoint my agent.
Lau: Oh, and I appreciated that so much. And some of the others that came in, it was hilarious. I'm gonna save some of the texts that were like, hey Lau. Uh, that was great. What was that? Where was it?
Anne: Yeah, exactly. What just happened?
Lau: What happened? It was, you were like, you were in some matrix. There was, there was some vortex that came through like a storm, but I gotta tell you, and this is good for your listeners to hear, every single person who came in that thought they were unprepared or didn't have copy or weren't sure what they were doing did a fantastic job. And it just reminded me what pros we all are when we get in a room.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: We have passion. We love what we're doing. There's this super connected quality of being in a room with other talent, 'cause that's unexpected as well to be in a room with other talent like that.
Anne: I was gonna say absolutely. One of the other things was, oh my God. And everybody else is listening to me. It's not just the agent, the casting director. It is like 50 people in the room. I don't know how many people were in the room, but there were more than one. There was quite a few people listening. And I happened to just come in really quickly with J. Michael Collins who was reading. And then that's when I said, I don't have that copy. And so I skedaddled outta there. And fortunately you had said, just grab any copy. And I said, okay.
So I went and I grabbed some copy and it was, my read was ice cold. But again, like I said, BOSSe so important to know that when your agent gives you an audition, it's because they have the faith in you that you're gonna be able to execute. And I think that that is the one thing that really saved me. And I will admit to you, BOSSes, when you're thrown into a situation like that and you're not quite sure what's happening, you're kind of running on adrenaline, and it's a little scary, I'm just gonna say, not knowing what's happening. But I think it was a wonderful lesson for me, even as long as I've been in this industry, just to trust in your agent, trust in yourself, have faith in the process and just go forth and execute. And what's the worst that can happen? I mean, well, I thought of a billion things like, I was like, when I was done, I was like, I'm not quite sure how that went, but he said, nice job. So I'm okay with that.
Lau: Yeah. And I gotta tell you, Anne, that enabled me to what I debrief with him -- we're debriefing on Tuesday -- I can now go down the list and say, do you remember this person? You remember this? You had a visual, not only in sound, you had a visual. You had more than one read on a lot of people as well. you had a character read, you had a commercial read, this, that. And to be able to really discuss the performances for particular projects that he's working on -- so it's never just like this one hit wonder and go. It's always like, Ooh, I like the quality of this person, that person. Can I call them back? And I see, hear their demo? Can I, whatever; it's just like an introduction to you.
Anne: And that I think is brilliant in reality, because like you have introduced your roster to a potential client and the visual, yes. Now, you know, of course I'm sure there's a bunch of people in their studios going, well, this is an audition over Zoom. And then the engineers in there will be going, I don't know if Zoom is the best quality, but honestly I think that any good casting director is gonna know from your performance, whether it's in your studio or through Zoom or whatever, they're gonna understand. And they're gonna know a good performance when they see one.
Lau: Absolutely. And this particular producer, from what I know of his background, well, he has a very rich history of live performance and theater and media.
Anne: And that aligns with it.
Lau: He gets it. He gets that, because I had people who were in cars and bathrooms, in their workstation. They were, I mean they were coming in from everywhere. So his business brain, I'm sure was saying, oh, they're busy people. They're not just sitting in a spot waiting for me. They're working, they're running, they're traveling, they're on vacation. They're this or that. I'm thankful that they took the time to come in so I could see their work for projects.
Anne: And that means a lot too, I'm quite sure. And especially again, like we're always trying to make in auditions -- and I love this episode because this is becoming so much more than just a normal audition type of episode, where we give you the tips and the tricks -- because the experience of this one was so different, and it really, I think can teach us how to make ourselves memorable in a multitude of ways, not just knowing the conditions, right, of the audition. Number one, you called us in cold or you called certain people in cold, and that can resonate well with whoever's listening for that potential client.
And also again, there's that visual, and it is like the in person auditions that -- God, I used to go in and it was great. I'd see everybody in the lobby. Now the difference is that I would audition in front of just, you know, it was just me. And it wouldn't be everybody else listening to my auditions. So that added a whole other level to -- it was almost like a workshop. But in reality, if you tend to get nervous in these experiences that could even potentially make you more nervous. So again, having the ability and the privilege to be able to make that kind of impression on a potential client, I think is wonderful. And Lau, you're one of the few people I know that do this. And so I think it's a wonderful thing, even though I had no idea what it was when I was doing it, but , but now I know.
Lau: Do we ever, right?
Anne: But now I know.
Lau: Therein lies the educational value when we talk about professional development is it really one audition or is it as you called it, Anne, an opportunity to build a relationship with a wonderful producer, who's gonna have a lifetime of stuff. That's I think it's the latter, really. It's never just one audition for one thing. It's always like, hey, you're cool. You're a cool, dude. You're a cool dudette. I like you. Right? I like your vibe. And that's where if I were to say to your listeners and also to my audience that came in, many of which were coming in from the studio membership, we're at different stages of the game. I would say one of the things I want you to really consider and remember is that when a producer meets you live, they wanna see a little bit of who you are. They wanna catch your personality and your energy and your persona a little bit. So especially him, especially Lamar.
So don't be afraid -- you don't wanna take up a ton of time, but don't be afraid to just chill a little bit and have a little bit of that conversational feel to what you're doing, because you're really meeting a real person in real time. It's a great opportunity for them to know a little piece of your actual personality versus I'm just a voiceover talent and here's my read. No, I'm Anne, I'm Lau. I'm J, and this is what I'm doing and I'm, I'm traveling and I'm whatever, that's cool. People like that. It's the goal of how do I make you feel? Am I gonna make you feel comfortable or am I gonna make you feel uncomfortable?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I like the fact that you had the ability for everyone to kind of listen to everybody else's auditions. I, at the time though, because I was hunting down copy, and then I literally had another session that was coming up like after five minutes, I couldn't stay for a long time, but what I did stay for, I really enjoyed. And I heard people doing all different types of copy, and I thought, wow, this is really kind of cool. It felt to me like a combination of a showcase and an audition, an in-person audition.
Lau: That's what it turned into that's and if you want to, I'm happy to send you the replay because we record those sessions and we hold those for archival purposes. If you want it --
Anne: That's wonderful.
Lau: -- you could do the whole thing. It lasted about, I wanna say two hours, like a solid two hours.
Anne: Wow.
Lau: And we had a rotation of people coming in and out, which was amazing. I think we landed on about 30 people with the folks --
Anne: That's fantastic.
Lau: -- who couldn't come, couldn't make it, no showed, new people jumping in, 30, like yourself, some of the country's top talent were there. And I was like, oh my God. We were like representing the country's top talent. I was so proud, so proud of everyone and not just the talent for what they delivered, but the kind of people that came in the room and were kind to him. No one pulled a fit. No one was a diva. No one was making excuses. That's all stuff, when we talk about auditioning, that you wanna steer clear of is like rule number one, I didn't wanna land my problems onto you.
Anne: Sure. Absolutely.
Lau: Anyone who's had theater training knows that they teach you in conservatory, leave your trash at the door, right? Don't take it into the workspace. Don't worry. It'll be there when you leave; you can take it with you when you go out, you know, but try not to bring your stuff in with you because you wanna come in as an open slate, a pallet of possibilities. You know, we had talked about solving a problem, filling a need, but it's more than that. It's like, does this person have likability factor?
Anne: Sure, sure, absolutely.
Lau: You know, would I wanna hang out with them?
Anne: And you know, what's so interesting is one of the reasons a lot of people get into voiceover is because they wanna almost like hide behind the microphone and not necessarily show who they are or show their face. And so this kind of just threw that on its side.
Lau: And that was great.
Anne: Yeah. And that again gives such a good impression, I think, just gives it a whole different dimension to the audition so it's not just the voice, but also the, the person and the personality. And I'm the biggest fan of -- look, people wanna connect with people and not just a logo or a voice. And I really feel that that is, is effective in our profession, that if we can connect with our clients as people, that really, really does a lot to, I think, really secure and, and enhance and, and make us memorable to one another.
Lau: It's huge, Anne. I'm so glad you brought that up, the visibility factor, because I could have easily said, hey, take your visuals out. All I need to see is your name or your picture, whatever. Just voiceover's fine. Get people off the hook so they don't have to put on the makeup and the lipstick, but I didn't want that.
I wanted them to have the ability, and many of them wanted to come on to be seen as people, and also to see the diversity of our crowd, like our people were coming in literally from all over the world, and everyone had a different look, a different age, a different feel, a different background. I think that's important in terms of having cultivating a community that is both educational and professional level. I just think it enriched everyone else to see the level of talent that was there, that the bar was very high. Age range ranged from like teens to probably 70, and every kind of background. And I think that's very inspirational for people to feel like I'm included. This is inclusive. Like I don't have to sound or look or be someone else. I'm me. And that's who I am.
Anne: Right. Correct.
Lau: And I think everyone did a fairly accurate job as to their brand, their quality because they felt as comfortable as they could feel in a room full of great people.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Well that was it too. I mean, the fact is, is that I think it was a wonderful experience. Even if let's say I never get cast, the fact that I had the experience for just introducing myself to a potential client in this way has given me more, I'm gonna say confidence and really more confidence in terms of, well, auditions can be anything. Right? Be prepared. It's almost like, oh, I did a quick improv session there. So, you know?
Lau: Exactly. And I think, I think COVID changed it to some degree where you don't have to be in an office. You don't have to be in someone else's studio. Your studio is the world now. It's really the world. You could be in your car. You could be in a bathroom. You could be anywhere potentially meeting someone, recording, whatever, the possibilities are endless. It takes me back to even before COVID, Anne, when, when we saw interviews like corporate interviews start to happen in Starbucks. That was one of the big coffee shops that I hear someone behind me, oh, they're having an interview. I'm gonna be quiet.
That was a new thing. I don't know when that started. I wanna say maybe 10 years ago or something, that was a new industry standard that you didn't need to be in an office to have an interview. You could have an interview at Starbucks, and it's now kind of the same for us. Like we could do an audition anywhere. We could be in the mountains and do an audition, which is exciting to me.
Anne: Yeah. I really love the additional opportunity to connect. So let me ask you a question then. So this is not the first one that you've done or is it the first one that you've done, first audition like this?
Lau: Live?
Anne: Yeah, live.
Lau: In this way?
Anne: Yes.
Lau: I have done a number of these before. Not recently. This is the first one I've done recently with someone of this caliber in terms of a producer coming in from Europe, someone that I have the inside scoop on who's producing particular campaigns that I'm interested in and animations that I'm interested in for the agency, getting into that genre, that field. And I like it. I mean, I just personally, as Lau, just as a person, I yearn for that improv energy. I yearn for that feeling of like, yeah, let's just meet. All right, a number of people know, they're RSVPing, they're coming in. But then others may not know; they're coming in now. It's like real life. It's like a party, right? You invite your guest list. but then the guests may bring someone, the guests may invite someone else, da, da, da.
It's like an authentic experience of what happens in real life when people are coming together, and they're meeting, and they're showcasing their work. So when we talk about showcases, it's not all premeditated ABC. It's like life networking is life. You don't know who you're gonna sit next to on the plane. You don't know who you're gonna be next to in the elevator. You don't -- and I would say, be careful, ladies and gentlemen, when you go in the restrooms, like be careful what you say, be careful what you do because your whole world is your oyster now for meeting producers and producers can also be mom and pop shops, people who are producing their own podcasts, what have you. You wanna always treat everyone respectfully and equally as the stars that they are in their own world, because you may be collaborating and working with them.
Anne: Yeah. Good advice. What other tips would you have then in terms of not just this type of audition, but auditions in general that you've seen? Because you certainly are outside the box I think when it comes to the opportunities that you're affording people, which is a wonderful thing.
Lau: Thank you so much, thank you. I would say, and, and just thinking back on that experience, some of the things that I would want to change and shift for some of the talent coming through. One is, and this is like an actor's rule, always have material that is great for you, that you love and feel comfortable with ready to go. It's like, whatever you wanna call it, your demo material, your portfolio material, whatever. Have your strong suits ready to go. And it might even be an audition or two that came in last week that you did a great job. It might be a recent booking. You just have to make sure of course you either have permission to use the script or it's in house. It's not gonna be used for commercial purposes. Or just re-craft it enough so that it becomes your own and you know, it's yours. It's good. It's something you feel comfortable doing. It's where your suit lies. I would have that ready to go. And I would have at least a half, a dozen, 30-second pieces ready to go for something live when it happens. It may happen rarely. But when it happens, it happens.
Anne: Yeah. That's such good advice because I literally, like I mentioned, I didn't have it. I went and grabbed something that I -- thankfully I have a large pool of copy that, you know, because I work with, with people with copy. So thankfully, and I found something that I was comfortable with. So that's really wonderful advice. Now I'm gonna make sure that I have a few pieces set aside for if that were to happen again, absolutely. Any other tips?
Lau: Yeah. And I have another tip too, and this is like the actor in you. So when we talk to VOs, we say, do you consider yourself an actor? Surprisingly many VOs will say, I'm not really an actor. It's not really what I do. I voiced this. That's what I do. I always like to use the word actor because I don't necessarily mean just acting values in the character. I mean, in your life. So like all the world's a stage, right? You're acting like a pro, you're acting like a coach. You're acting like a producer. You're acting in those role like just like an acting chair of a department or, you know, an acting politician, how we would use that term.
So you're acting, so don't forget your actor values. What I mean is like some of the folks that came into the room, I noticed they had to let you know that they were in a rush, or they just stole a break, or they barely made it because they couldn't get outta work, whatever. Let that go, like play the role. The role is I'm coming into this session, and I'm totally ready for this session. And I don't know what's going on in the background. There's a bunch of chaos in the background. I don't know what's going on in the background. I'm acting as the professional in this moment, knowing I'm only gonna be here for how however long I'm here. And then I go back to -- remember, I said, leave your stuff at the door? I'm gonna go back to that.
That's hard for people to do, Anne. I think that there's this confessional thing in people that they feel the need to tell you the truth about everything. They wanna tell you how difficult their day was or that their tire has gone down. And I barely made it here, and oh my God, my kid and the baby sitter didn't show up. And I always say, leave it at the door because it's not pertinent to the people that are bringing you in. It's just a waste of time, really, for them.
You and I talk about energy a lot, karma, like stars aligning. I really do believe in that. I think things happen for a reason. And I don't want you meaning, not you, but the listener, I don't want you guys to ruin your karma by sticking wrenches in it of things that are happening, whether they're your choice or whether they're just happening to you -- don't bring it into the space because it can't do anything positive for your audition or for your exchange in the rapport building. It just can't. It's like an obstacle that you're putting in the way, and you're qualifying something and using it as an excuse. And you don't wanna fall into the victimization compartment.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Lau: You never wanna fall into that. You wanna fall into the place where it's like, hey, I'm gonna bring you what you need. In fact, I could hire you. In fact, I could hire people for you. In fact, I could do this for you. You wanna be that person that they come to to fix the problem. They don't wanna be the person who creates problems that they don't have, If that makes sense.
Anne: Oh, that's wonderful advice. Absolutely.
Lau: Yeah. So I would leave that. I would leave that outside of the room, and then one more thing. as the tech queens that we are, tech meaning coaching tech, I want that warm up. Some of the folks didn't warm up, and I could tell exactly who they were, who just did not do the vocal warmup because I know the quality of the reads that they could typically do, and they were rushing into it. Whereas others came in, they were already in a session. They were already recording. They were already vocally warmed up. They were ready to go. I could tell the difference. I don't know if you could tell the difference. I could tell the difference.
Anne: I could tell the people who were absolutely ready. You know what I mean? And were like, bam, they had their material and they just --
Lau: They were right there.
Anne: -- they just executed. Yep. yep. So yep. I could tell. Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: So that readiness that's like being on the bench, you know, as a sports player in the game --
Anne: You're ready to go.
Lau: -- you're not in the game yet. You're really not there, but you're visible to the crowd. You're on TV. You're getting ready to get selected. And there's that state of readiness that you have to have so when they look at you, it's like, boom, I'm in the game. I'm ready. There is no transition time that you should need to go through. It really should just be there, present, and delivered. And that's hard. It's -- I make it sound easy. It's not it's transitions like executive functioning skill transitions a lot of people find difficult in life, is how do I pivot from this, to this? To this, to this, without any clutter in the middle of it?
Anne: Yeah. I do have a question. Something that I thought, just because again, I wasn't there for the entire time, but I did hear people slating, which I think is fine, but people were slating with other talent agencies as well. And I wasn't quite sure about that. I thought why -- you invited me in, so I wasn't gonna necessarily say what other talent agencies were representing me. Oh, okay. So I was really thrown by that one and I thought should I say other talent agencies that represent me when you invited me in so generously and I just said my name? For me, it didn't seem right. But what are your thoughts on that?
Lau: Yeah. And, and now, you know, in retrospect, yeah, for this one, there was no right or wrong. It was totally clean, totally open and that would be the protocol, you're right. That would be the actual protocol because there was an educational value to this workshop, I allowed and wanted to people to slate what they have on their plate to have a high ethos, to show a high ethos for themselves. And because we're not exclusive anyway. We're freelance. But I hear you.
Anne: Well, because of the invite, it was just, for me, it was like, well, I could say other, and to be honest with you, I just, that threw me. And so I just said my name, 'cause I wanted to be respectful of you who invited me in as an agent. So.
Lau: And actually just post, just for listeners to know behind the scenes, 'cause they would never know this or see this, when we have a meeting and we debrief, and we talk about talent behind their backs, in a nice way, I'll make it clear that if he wants to move forward with anyone, he would do it through MCVO.
Anne: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Lau: He would. It would be only in the case of like they're not with MCVO. They're exclusive with someone else. I handpick them to come in. Okay. That's fine. Other than that, everyone's with MCVO or in the tick membership. And so I'm like, so we're kind of representing everyone here. So he would use us as the agent and as the liaison to help with the step by step of everything, if he wanted to really call someone back.
Anne: Yeah. Then I would say, just my contribution to this episode would be if you are in that position and your live slating and, and auditioning, I would say respectfully with the agent that invited you to that, you should at least have that agency unless it's been otherwise disclosed that you can mention other agencies that you are represented by.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: Just my thoughts on that. Wow. Well, I wanna say thank you, Lau, for that experience. It's always a pleasure learning from you and talking with you every week. So I really appreciate it. It's been a wonderful conversation.
Lau: Oh my pleasure. All the time. I can't wait for the next one.
Anne: All right. So guys, BOSSes, I want you to take a moment and imagine yourself being a part of making a difference in our world and giving back to the communities that give to you. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network like BOSSes, like Lau and I, and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Branding is a form of self-discovery. Your brand is how the world perceives you, but more importantly, how potential voice seekers will perceive you. Anne & Lau want you to put your best foot forward, and that starts with using your name and likeness to let the world know who you really are. Type casting, client feedback, and peer advice can all be tools to build your understanding of how others perceive your brand. But it doesn’t stop there! Look inside yourself to learn your core beliefs. What is it that makes you tick? Externalizing this will strengthen your brand and make it authentic, like you. Sounds challenging? Listen up Bosses, Anne & Lau are here to help…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza. Welcome to our business superpower series with the one and only Lau Lapides. Hey Lau.
Lau: Hey Anne.
Anne: How's it going today?
Lau: Oh, it's beyond awesome. I'm always thrilled to be on with you. I mean it's, it's --
Anne: Beyond awesome, I love it.
Lau: -- can't wait to see what's gonna happen.
Anne: I love it. Well, then I've got a question for you. Okay?
Lau: Okay. All right.
Anne: So this is a question I get asked a lot. So if you had to give three words to describe me, what would those three words be? Either my voice or something that would help to brand me. What would those three words be?
Lau: Now, are you talking about let's qualify that, is that within the profession or is that just in general as a person from the short time that we've known each other?
Anne: Well, you know what, since it's such a personal brand, like we are personal brands, I think it could be a mix of both if it needs to be. Because I think people wanna connect to the human side of Anne as well as the business side of Anne.
Lau: Okay. And by no means is it just these three words, 'cause we could probably come up with you 50 words for you, but we, we only have so much time. So we'll say three for now.
Anne: And hopefully they're good words.
Lau: Oh. Of course. Okay. So the first one that comes to my mind that I can't dismiss is feisty.
Anne: Oh, feisty!
Lau: Feisty.
Anne: I like feisty.
Lau: Feisty always goes with like fun in my mind too, but feisty --
Anne: That's a good word. Thank you.
Lau: The second one would be, I wanna say intelligent. I feel it's a little bit bland of a word. I was almost gonna say sophisticated.
Anne: Oh, so feisty, intelligent or sophisticated. I'll take those.
Lau: Seasoned.
Anne: Ooh, seasoned.
Lau: Seasoned.
Anne: That's awesome. Wow.
Lau: And those are three that come to my mind. If you gimme another five minutes, I'll come up with more. But.
Anne: I love that. Wow.
Lau: And to be perfectly transparent with our listeners, even though I feel like I've known you forever, we really have only been working together like a week. And we only met, when did we meet, a month or two ago? Right? But see, already I got so much perception of your vibe and the way you work and how you're thinking about things. And it's, it's a lot in a very short amount of time.
Anne: I love that. So if I have three words for you, and this is funny, cause look, I have not thought about this, BOSSes. I sprung this on Lau like just as you heard it. So she was kind of not anticipating either. So I'm going to say brilliant. That's one for you. And I mean brilliant in not just a sense of like intelligence, but I mean like brilliant, like sparkly.
Lau: Oh.
Anne: Like in a sparkly way.
Lau: Like how you would say about a diamond or something.
Anne: Right? Yeah. Yeah. Like brilliant.
Lau: Oh thank you. That's really sweet.
Anne: And honestly this is something maybe you're not gonna put it on your, your webpage, but we could think of a different word for it. I mean, I think you could, but beautiful really is another, and I don't mean beautiful like visually I do mean visually, but I really mean beautiful spirit. Like a beautiful spirit.
Lau: Thank you. Thank you.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: That means so much more to me. .
Anne: So a beautiful spirit and gosh, you know, you said feisty and I love that word. That's a great word, but I --
Lau: Isn't that a great word?
Anne: -- also feel like, like a version of feisty, a version of feisty because gosh, I'm thinking of the word, something that would resonate with -- like, no one's gonna pull the wool over your eyes.
Lau: Ooh.
Anne: Like you're not gonna stand for any kind of nonsense. You are forthright.
Lau: Oh, I like that. Thank you.
Anne: So those, brilliant, beautiful and forthright. So those would be my three words. And so BOSSes, we get these questions -- Lau and I get these questions all the time, right? What is my brand? How would you describe my voice? And I think it would be a great time to talk about branding, because branding is so difficult to do on your own because -- this is why I asked Lau, what do you think? So I was able to get an assessment from eyes that were not my own or ears that were not my own. And I think it really helps to have someone brand you, but also to have you be a part of that decision in terms of what type of a brand do you wanna be? How do you wanna be perceived out in the business world for your voiceover business?
So I know that for my students, there are two different forms of branding. One is a visual branding, which could be your website, right, and how you wanna represent visually. But also vocally. I make it a point to tell students, as we go through our sessions together, I will be vocally branding them. And that really means to assess their tone, their style, and where I feel they fit within the industry in terms of what brands do you think you would represent well, and what styles and what industries your voice would resonate in.
Lau: Hmm. I think that's brilliant. I mean, that's so important and that's the very thing that everyone needs, everyone's looking for. Everyone needs it. Sometimes I would imagine it doesn't always like match or it's not always on the level of what someone is self-perceiving, and that's why it's so imperative that you have great coach, great people surrounding you to sort of keep you in line and keep you realizing what is realistic in your perception of whatever your branding is. So I think that that's fantastic that you do that. It's so important, and to do it upfront versus a lot later on, so hearts are not broken you know what I mean?
Anne: Well, I think that branding is a process and I think that you can also evolve your brand. You don't have to be one specific brand or three specific adjectives. As a matter of fact, like Lau, you said before, there could be multiple words that describe you. And it's not something that -- you know, it took me a minute to kind of formulate my three words for you, 'cause I was making a decision. There's so many words that came to mind, but as making a decision, how do I best feel that your brand is assessed? And so I think it's important for BOSSes to know out there that branding is not something you can do just over a night or maybe by asking a few questions. I think it's something that happens over time, and it's something that can actually really evolve along with you.
I know that my brand, especially my business brand, when I first got out there, I was Anne Speak. And you know, that was like, Anne Speak. What, you know, what is that? What is Anne Speak? And Anne Speak was a very different logo and a very different look on my website. And I've evolved into something that I feel is more authentically me over the years in terms of who I am. And I, I love that you said intelligent because that was one thing that I really wanted for people to perceive about me. It could just be that a female that worked in engineering, that is one of those things that I always wanted people to see me as intelligent and not necessarily, oh, there's a female. I want just here's somebody who knows what they're doing. And some people think that that's why I wear glasses, but honestly I just need them to see . Um, but glasses have always been a big part of my brand.
Lau: The truth comes out.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau:
Anne: Well, what about you Lau? 'Cause you've been in the business for some time. And how has your brand evolved over the years?
Lau: Well, you know, it's funny. When I started this business, Lau Lapides Company, the studio, I ended up keeping the name throughout. I've never really changed the name itself. I think when I first started though, I always had the mindset of an agent in my head, though it was funny. I wasn't really starting an agency per se. I was starting a studio. Right? So I had this idea of actors work, voice actors work. And so that was one of the running titles in my mind of naming a business, 'cause I wanted talent to work, and I wanted to help them get to work. That was one of -- so that was one of the original working title ideas I had. But then it went to Lau Lapides Company fairly fast and then I stuck with it.
Here's the interesting thing I found, Anne, is that despite me or despite what I was thinking, it had a very large appeal. It had a large presence. That's what I'm looking for, a large presence to people on the outside that were saying, wow, you have a big company. And so I would start listening, I think in branding, how do I learn who I am? I have to listen to my audience. And so I spent a lot of time listening to how I was perceived by the audience. And I was astounded at how I was being perceived. And one was this big, large presence. And I think because the name was Lau Lapides Company, it sounded big. It had a largess. So people would come and say, wow, you have an enterprise. Wow you have this, Wow, you have that. And I was very small at the start, as most businesses are.
Anne: Sure. Well, one person sometimes. And I love that you talked about your personal name because again, I'm always of the thought that we are our own personal brand. We're selling a product that is very personal to us. It's our voice. Right? It's our essence. And so I always think, well, what better name for your product or your company than your name? And it's funny because people might say, well, I have a long name that's difficult to spell or I have Anne with an E that people always forget. But honestly I'm always like, well look when I need a tissue, I ask for a Kleenex, right? So when I need a voiceover, I should ask for a Lau Lapides or an Anne Ganguzza.
Lau: That's right.
Anne: And so I've come from the place of abundance as you like to say. And I manifested, right? I am just putting it out there. I'm Anne Ganguzza and lo and behold, at some point people are gonna be asking for an Anne Ganguzza and it, and it will work. And so that was part of my branding, my personal branding for my name was my name. And so my legal company name is Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions. And so it's interesting 'cause you're Lau Lapides Company and I'm Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions.
Lau: That's right, that's right.
Anne: So I settled on that after many years of trying to figure out what should I name my company? What domain should I buy? Because I thought Anne Speaks was so cute, but we know that nobody really knows what an Anne Speak is. Um, it's not really searchable, but Anne Ganguzza is, right?
Lau: Right.
Anne: So I love that. And I think you wanted to see what people thought of you, right?
Lau: I did.
Anne: And that was the basis for the beginning of a brand. So I think any of you BOSSes that are out there and you're starting the branding journey, I think it first has to start with you and the basis of who you are as a person. because it is such a personal brand. Now maybe you're not gonna put those words out beautiful, but maybe beautiful voiceover, who knows. I mean --
Lau: Who knows?
Anne: -- whatever comes to you that you wanna be perceived as.
Lau: The funny part about it was, Anne, to me it was clunky. It wasn't a smooth transition or polished thing because my name was hard to say it's hard to pronounce. It's hard to spell. I got a lot of people who legitimately thought I was an Asian man. Like literally they had no idea I was a Caucasian white woman, and everyone mispronounced my name, everyone.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: And so a few of the folks that are close to me said, are you sure you wanna keep the name? Because no one's gonna get it right. and they're gonna mispronounce it. And I said, absolutely.
Anne: Yes. Oh my God.
Lau: That's what makes it memorable.
Anne: I am so in agreement with you, so in agreement with you about that, and that's like, well, don't you think people are gonna spell your name wrong? Well, yeah. I mean, but no. People will learn it and Ganguzza, which to a lot of people think is really a difficult name to spell -- it's not, spelled the way it sounds --
Lau: It's different.
Anne: But a lot of people were like, yeah. And so why would you do that? I'm like, hey, no, keep it. It's kind of one of the reasons why I kept my unique New Jersey phone number for my cell phone, because people would know if it was coming from that area code, it was Anne Ganguzza.
Lau: So that's right. and as they stumble over the name and still stumble over the name and mispronounce it, it never bothers me. I love it because I know as they learn how to pronounce it or catch something, they're thinking about --
Anne: They're gonna remember it.
Lau: Yes. Mm-hmm, they're thinking about, they're gonna remember --
Anne: They're thinking about you.
Lau: Yeah. So I think that's a hook for a lot of folks to think about it. It doesn't have to be easy and it doesn't have to be common. It could be something a little bit unique that people remember that they have a tough time with too.
Anne: Right. Now, and so let's talk a little bit about visual branding. So for visual branding, I'm assuming like visual branding would be your logo, your website. And so things that represent your store front, that would be the visual branding. It can also be the visual branding of your person. If you're a person that goes to conferences or you're a person that goes out and speaks, go to the chamber of commerce and you're representing your business. So visually branding, so it's a little bit different than vocally branding. So what are some steps that you take, Lau, to visually help brand yourself or others? Like what steps can the BOSSes take to start with the visual branding?
Lau: Gosh, that's a great question, Anne, and it's like asking someone to think like a graphic designer.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Or a web designer, right, or do something that I personally am not. I am not a visual designer. I'm not a graphic designer. And yet when I was starting out with a website, I had to kind of become that in the sense of the designer would need to know, what was I going for? What was the visual I was seeing. So I had to --
Anne: Colors. I think starting with them --
Lau: -- work with them. Colors.
Anne: Colors.
Lau: Colors, colors.
Anne: I think colors are a good start. Right?
Lau: Huge. So what I did was, and I remember doing this years ago before I actually started the studio, I started asking some of my students at that time, I would say, what color do you think of when you think of me?
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely.
Lau: And I remember, I remember some of their responses that it was so memorable to me. One of the women that I worked with was amazing. And she said, oh, red.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: It just like came right out. Just like that. I said, you don't have to think about that for a second. She said, no, no, you're blunt. You're vibrant, you're specific you're out there and unapologetic, and you're red. .
Anne: Yep. I agree with that. I totally --
Lau: 'Cause I love all colors, Anne. I don't have a favorite color. Like any color you give me, I would like.
Anne: Oh really?
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: So my favorite color is blue, right? Yes. Believe it or not, blue -- and blue is actually my brand. If you go to annganguzza.com, blue is -- but I also love red. Okay?
Lau: I can see that. Yes.
Anne: And so red -- yes -- red is part of my VO BOSS brand. So I got to have the best of both worlds and my favorite colors. And it's not necessarily a vibrant, bright red, but it is more of a deeper red. That is one of my very favorite colors. And so I got to have both for both of my brands. And so I think it starts, colorwise also, I think it can really describe you in a lot of ways, colors. You know, Blue's very professional calming, but for me, blue is also the color of my eyes.
And it was always been my favorite color. I mean, when I was a kid blue everything, and I had blue stripes painted in my room on my walls because I love the color blue. And so that's really an integral part of who I am. And I think starting with those colors and it was something within that color palette can be a great visual representation. And I'll tell you what I do with a lot of my students, if I were helping them brand themselves is we, we actually create a, a private Pinterest board, and I have them just like a vision board, right, I have them pin everything that they love on one of a board that they call Sarah's branding board. Right?
And they pin their favorite colors. And then maybe they'll go to like Behr paints and get a color palette, right? Pick their favorite colors, pick their favorite fonts, pick their favorite things, and flowers and whatever that might be and put that on a board. And what's really cool is that -- I'm not saying you have to design the website, but you give that to the person who's doing your website design. And that is a great representation of who you visually are as a brand.
Lau: Oh, I love that. That's fab.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: That's fab. And you know, the other thing that comes to my mind is shape. So when I think about shape, right? I think about the first thing that comes to my mind was the documentary on coffee, the great coffee kings entrepreneurs around the world. And Starbucks had done years and years of studies about their furniture. Like what shape should their furniture be in their stores? And they went from square to rectangle to oval, to round, whatever. Bottom line they landed on more -- at that time, it may have changed -- more round than square and the reasoning being, they want the community to be connected in the circular sense than in a square sense with sharp corners and sharp edges. That's, I mean, they were really going to town with the details.
Anne: That's, that's really interesting.
Lau: And I learned a lot from that and I thought, gee, what shape am I? What shape am I? And my logo was very square. It was actually very rectangular. And I analyzed why I did that. At the time I was coming out of an executive speech firm that was pretty square. I mean, they were pretty corporate in the sense.
Anne: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lau: I thought it was, was the right thing, the right thing to have a logo that had subliminally, I thought that had sharp, sharp, structured edges to it.
Anne: That makes sense.
Lau: I since created a new logo, and it's always in a, a work in progress, like everything we're always work in progress, and I didn't even think about this. I just did it, Anne. It became circular. It became circular. I like the image, but I also love the sense of just roundness and the world and the --
Anne: Softening.
Lau: -- connections. Softening.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: Yeah. So I think shape plays a big part in your branding.
Anne: That is so interesting. And I, I interesting that 'cause shape can define your website. You can have a curved logo or even curved edges on your website or represented in circles for me. I'm very clean. I'm gonna say clean lines, clean circles. And I'm gonna say -- that's so funny because your furniture decor can say a lot about your taste as well, right? I used it for many, many years. It was more of like a, a Tuscan Italian dark wood. And then literally just moved to this new house, which became the interpretive farmhouse. Right? And now I became all clean lines, and my backyard landscaping, believe it or not is not circular. And it's funny because I would go to my neighbors' yards as they were getting them landscaped. And I'd be like, I love the circular curved paths, but in retrospect, my backyard is very square and asymmetrical, rectangular and asymmetrical. And there's something to that as well.
So I think that BOSSes think about those things in terms of visual branding, put them on a Pinterest board that you can either give to your website designer or use it yourself in terms of colors and shapes really say a lot. And fonts, I love clean fonts. I don't like fonts with curly anything. I don't like fonts that are Times New Roman like that kind of like that. I like fonts that are plain like Arial, you know, that kind of a Sans Serif, those types of things. So clean and readable and clear. And I feel that that also describes my voice, believe it or not clear and professional. And so those are my font choices.
Then comes the part of the visual branding is also how you write about yourself, how you describe yourself. Do you write in the first person, do you write in the third person? You know, how is it that you're describing yourself on your webpage for your bio or for your business? But that really is a visual branding thing. And I think it can absolutely help if you start doing that and work with someone to help you to develop your visual brand. It's sometimes really difficult and know that it can evolve. I mean, absolutely. My colors when I first started were dark green. So who knew, right? I evolved my brand into blue and deep red. And now maybe it'll turn into something else.
But brands do evolve. They do refresh. And I literally just had a refresh of the VO BOSS website. And so, so the colors that I had before were more brighter red and more of a royal blue. Now I've got maybe just a deep red and black. So the look is different. The website design, the logo is clearer and so things can evolve. And I think it's good for you to refresh your brand once in a while.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: Now let's talk about vocal branding. So it's something that I say that I do. And I, there's not a lot of people who they're like, oh, I love that you vocally brand me. What do you do? But I think a lot of people are vocally branded, right? When we try to describe what are the traits of my voice that you hear? I think that's definitely one, but also I think not just what are the traits of my voice, whether it's friendly, warm, whatever could be --
Lau: The qualities.
Anne: The qualities of voice. But I think it's also more of a style as well. What do you think, Lau?
Lau: Oh, oh my goodness. Absolutely. I feel like your personality, your persona, your inners, so to speak, do come out in the sound of your voice. Like when we're working with a client to find their voice, it's not just for voiceover delivery. It's for authentication of your identity, of your strength, of your inner soul, if you will. It goes that deep. So I think a branding is an offshoot of that. It doesn't have to expose everything about you personally, but there is that element there of how do you come across? How are you perceived on a daily basis outside of copy, outside of a booth, outside of work? And melting that into your professional life so it's not a totally separate thing. It's really a hybrid of your persona, your personality, the personification of personalization with your professional chosen life and choices that you've made.
It's kind of a combination of those two. I don't believe it's one or the other. So I think your vocal branding is really every possible range of motion movement that your voice is capable of doing and really landing on what do I do most? What do I do best? What do I like doing?
Anne: Right, and a lot of that has to do with like, you know, when I talk about vocal branding, you're right, it doesn't stop at the actual technicality of a vocal. It really, it becomes what styles, what do you love? What are you passionate about? Because again, that personality, that authenticity, that you, that unique you is a part of your vocal. So it's so interesting when people try to just categorize it as just being friendly, warm, compassionate, gravelly. It's so much more than that, your vocal branding. And again --
Lau: It is.
Anne: -- that's something that I think with a lot of times, if a demo producer they're creating a demo for you, they'll ask you what brands do you align with? What things are you passionate about? Because it really makes sense that if you're talking about things that you're passionate about, it comes through in your voice and that becomes a style. I know that there are people, let's say if there's a male that comes to me, that has a very deep gravelly voice, what sorts of things do you think of when you think of a deep gravelly voice? I don't know, Ford trucks or , you know, maybe at Cracker Barrel, I don't know. Or, or it could be John Deere construction equipment, that sort of thing. So what sort of things with a higher pitched, young youthful voice? Well, believe it or not, a lot of times I think of finance. There's a lot of finance lately that is using young millennial youthful voices, because that's the audience they're trying to attract, not just the young voice for that, but just, it could be college spots or anything that that style or that age would be passionate about or thinking about.
And a lot of the style and the content that we are shooting for is where they want to advertise to. Are they advertising to a younger audience? Are they advertising to a more mature audience? And so wherever your voice follows suit the best, I think helps to vocally brand your voice as well. You know, even though I have a younger sounding voice, I certainly cannot sound millennial. It's just not necessarily in my authenticity, right, to sound millennial. Even if I try to mimic a millennial, I think ingrained in my voice is too many years of, I don't know, just too many years. Right? So I could try to sound millennial, but will I feel authentic doing it?
So for vocal branding, I'm always very much about the authentic part of you. Now, if you get into character, that's something different, right? That's a different voice. And again, that's also a different passion. I know so many people vocally that can bring out so much more personality behind a character than they can with their own voice. It's hard for them to assess their own voice and to be authentic with their own voice or realistic, I should say, because I truly believe there's a lot of people that are exceptional character actors, that they're really good at -- and I don't maybe hiding behind the voice is not a good word for it, but I wanna say they're very good at putting on another character. And sometimes when you say, well, let me just hear you because you are good enough. Your voice is good enough. That's a little more difficult for them.
Lau: Oh, no question about it. And I think a lot of folks get really disappointed and let down when they are prototyped quickly or when they are thought of as, oh, you're the grandmother. Oh, you're the --
Anne: You're the mother type.
Lau: -- middle-aged mother. Oh, you are the, this you're the that. Well, that's what our industry does. I mean, our industry has to do that for time sake, for expediency, for ease, you know. I can do Shakespeare. I can do a lot of things, but what do I do most of, what do I do best? What do I do easiest? What's the easiest thing for me to deliver? That's important for you to really identify that and recognize that and understand that you get -- it's not the only thing you'll get. You may get something outside of that, for sure. But if you can make the job of the producer, casting a lot easier, then you wanna do that. And you wanna listen to your audience, how they're seeing you or in this case, how they're hearing you. How do they hear you?
I remember too, I got a number of times through the years, even when I was much younger, Anne, even when I was in my 20's, I was starting to get audiences say to me, oh yeah, you're like the nanny. You're like the Jewish, you know, mom, you're the Jewish mom, aren't you? And I was offended. Here I was a conservatory actress. I wasn't married. I had no children. I, I was like, all right, I guess so. I thought it was almost like a slight to me. It was almost like a backwards insult of saying, is that all you hear me as? Is that really what is all has come down to? Well, since then, I've learned that that level of familiarity, that level of maternal, maternalistic quality, that level of ethnic appeal is very gratifying for a lot of people, very gratifying, and very gratifying for me too, as an actor. And so I adopted that. I love that. I, I embrace that. But then I know I could do something totally different at another time. It doesn't really limit me, not really. It just expands the level of work that I can get, because that's what I get known for. See?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I'm so glad that you said that. And I think that there are people who hear your vocal brand as a type. I mean, I just had a student who had a really deep gravelly voice and I said, oh, we're gonna do a Kubota spot, 'cause I had -- construction equipment. He goes that's so funny because I work in it and I have no idea about construction equipment. I said, yeah. But it's something that it's associated with that type of work, and you sound great at it. And as long as you're okay with it, you know, and you can be authentic about it, and it doesn't mean you have to go out and run a piece of equipment to be authentic about it. You just have to be authentic about the message and what you're saying.
And so, yeah. I'm so glad that you said that because there are perceived, you know, you sound like this type. And for me I've like, okay, you've got the professional educator because you've got that clear articulate voice. Well, I can't help -- I -- it's a clear articulate voice. And I would love to have that raspy kind of a demure kind of other voice, but it doesn't physically happen for me. So I said, okay, I'm going to accept that. And you know, if I get hired for that, of course, that's fantastic, right? But it doesn't stop me from learning other genres. It doesn't stop me from trying to vocally place my voice and do different things to increase my acting ability and my vocal ability. So it's just something, if you embrace it and then just move forward, continuing to broaden and expand your styles. I think that's, that's a wonderful thing.
Lau: Yeah, it reminds me of when someone says, oh my God, you, you look like my best friend. You look like my aunt, you look like this one I know. That used to annoy me. That used to say, oh, it's like, I'm not my own identity. I'm not my own person. I look like someone everyone knows. And then I realized that's a really great thing because they already feel close to me. They feel familiar to me. They feel like they know me.
Anne: What a great way to analyze that because that's the same thing with your voice. Right? So somebody is kind of saying, oh you are that voice. Well then that's great. Because they're familiar with it. They feel comfortable with it. That's a wonderful way to look at it.
Lau: That's exactly it, exactly it. So don't look at is anything is limiting you. Look at it as expansion, your brand, your vocal, your visual, your inner, your outer. I think the sky is the limit, but do understand how in audience, there's like a truism, a community truism that you get in a film when you're watching a great film or when you're listening to great music. There's a community understanding of familiarity or greatness or fitting in a particular role. And it's important to just pay attention to that. So you're red, you're red.
Anne: Yeah, there you go. And I can also be blue. So there you go.
Lau: And you can be blue.
Anne: So branding, guys, it's not something you can do overnight. Remember, it definitely helps when you have someone else, a trusted coach, a trusted circle of friends and community that can help you to understand how you are perceived. And also I think it takes a lot on your part to project what it is that you want to be perceived in an authentic manner, of course. That's gonna be your start to branding. Just know that it doesn't typically happen overnight and that you can evolve and change with it. And I think that's a wonderful thing.
Lau: And it can be a load of fun. And you can learn an awful lot through the years of shifting your brand, and changing your brand, and what your perceived brand is, and really kind of just opening up and accepting the flow of what the audience and the universe is giving to you.
Anne: Yeah. I would never disagree to being able to discover more about myself and learn more about myself in order to help put out a brand. So it's all good. It's all good, BOSSes. Well, thank you, Lau. What a great conversation.
Lau: My pleasure, as always.
Anne: Always a pleasure to have you. I'm going to give a big shout out to ipDTL, our sponsor. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Also for your voices out there, 100voiceswhocare.org. You can use your voice to make a difference. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. BOSSes, it's been amazing, and Lau, it's been amazing having you again. And we will all see you next week.
Lau: See you next week.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Branding is a form of self-discovery. Your brand is how the world perceives you, but more importantly, how potential voice seekers will perceive you. Anne & Lau want you to put your best foot forward, and that starts with using your name and likeness to let the world know who you really are. Type casting, client feedback, and peer advice can all be tools to build your understanding of how others perceive your brand. But it doesn’t stop there! Look inside yourself to learn your core beliefs. What is it that makes you tick? Externalizing this will strengthen your brand and make it authentic, like you. Sounds challenging? Listen up Bosses, Anne & Lau are here to help…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza. Welcome to our business superpower series with the one and only Lau Lapides. Hey Lau.
Lau: Hey Anne.
Anne: How's it going today?
Lau: Oh, it's beyond awesome. I'm always thrilled to be on with you. I mean it's, it's --
Anne: Beyond awesome, I love it.
Lau: -- can't wait to see what's gonna happen.
Anne: I love it. Well, then I've got a question for you. Okay?
Lau: Okay. All right.
Anne: So this is a question I get asked a lot. So if you had to give three words to describe me, what would those three words be? Either my voice or something that would help to brand me. What would those three words be?
Lau: Now, are you talking about let's qualify that, is that within the profession or is that just in general as a person from the short time that we've known each other?
Anne: Well, you know what, since it's such a personal brand, like we are personal brands, I think it could be a mix of both if it needs to be. Because I think people wanna connect to the human side of Anne as well as the business side of Anne.
Lau: Okay. And by no means is it just these three words, 'cause we could probably come up with you 50 words for you, but we, we only have so much time. So we'll say three for now.
Anne: And hopefully they're good words.
Lau: Oh. Of course. Okay. So the first one that comes to my mind that I can't dismiss is feisty.
Anne: Oh, feisty!
Lau: Feisty.
Anne: I like feisty.
Lau: Feisty always goes with like fun in my mind too, but feisty --
Anne: That's a good word. Thank you.
Lau: The second one would be, I wanna say intelligent. I feel it's a little bit bland of a word. I was almost gonna say sophisticated.
Anne: Oh, so feisty, intelligent or sophisticated. I'll take those.
Lau: Seasoned.
Anne: Ooh, seasoned.
Lau: Seasoned.
Anne: That's awesome. Wow.
Lau: And those are three that come to my mind. If you gimme another five minutes, I'll come up with more. But.
Anne: I love that. Wow.
Lau: And to be perfectly transparent with our listeners, even though I feel like I've known you forever, we really have only been working together like a week. And we only met, when did we meet, a month or two ago? Right? But see, already I got so much perception of your vibe and the way you work and how you're thinking about things. And it's, it's a lot in a very short amount of time.
Anne: I love that. So if I have three words for you, and this is funny, cause look, I have not thought about this, BOSSes. I sprung this on Lau like just as you heard it. So she was kind of not anticipating either. So I'm going to say brilliant. That's one for you. And I mean brilliant in not just a sense of like intelligence, but I mean like brilliant, like sparkly.
Lau: Oh.
Anne: Like in a sparkly way.
Lau: Like how you would say about a diamond or something.
Anne: Right? Yeah. Yeah. Like brilliant.
Lau: Oh thank you. That's really sweet.
Anne: And honestly this is something maybe you're not gonna put it on your, your webpage, but we could think of a different word for it. I mean, I think you could, but beautiful really is another, and I don't mean beautiful like visually I do mean visually, but I really mean beautiful spirit. Like a beautiful spirit.
Lau: Thank you. Thank you.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: That means so much more to me. .
Anne: So a beautiful spirit and gosh, you know, you said feisty and I love that word. That's a great word, but I --
Lau: Isn't that a great word?
Anne: -- also feel like, like a version of feisty, a version of feisty because gosh, I'm thinking of the word, something that would resonate with -- like, no one's gonna pull the wool over your eyes.
Lau: Ooh.
Anne: Like you're not gonna stand for any kind of nonsense. You are forthright.
Lau: Oh, I like that. Thank you.
Anne: So those, brilliant, beautiful and forthright. So those would be my three words. And so BOSSes, we get these questions -- Lau and I get these questions all the time, right? What is my brand? How would you describe my voice? And I think it would be a great time to talk about branding, because branding is so difficult to do on your own because -- this is why I asked Lau, what do you think? So I was able to get an assessment from eyes that were not my own or ears that were not my own. And I think it really helps to have someone brand you, but also to have you be a part of that decision in terms of what type of a brand do you wanna be? How do you wanna be perceived out in the business world for your voiceover business?
So I know that for my students, there are two different forms of branding. One is a visual branding, which could be your website, right, and how you wanna represent visually. But also vocally. I make it a point to tell students, as we go through our sessions together, I will be vocally branding them. And that really means to assess their tone, their style, and where I feel they fit within the industry in terms of what brands do you think you would represent well, and what styles and what industries your voice would resonate in.
Lau: Hmm. I think that's brilliant. I mean, that's so important and that's the very thing that everyone needs, everyone's looking for. Everyone needs it. Sometimes I would imagine it doesn't always like match or it's not always on the level of what someone is self-perceiving, and that's why it's so imperative that you have great coach, great people surrounding you to sort of keep you in line and keep you realizing what is realistic in your perception of whatever your branding is. So I think that that's fantastic that you do that. It's so important, and to do it upfront versus a lot later on, so hearts are not broken you know what I mean?
Anne: Well, I think that branding is a process and I think that you can also evolve your brand. You don't have to be one specific brand or three specific adjectives. As a matter of fact, like Lau, you said before, there could be multiple words that describe you. And it's not something that -- you know, it took me a minute to kind of formulate my three words for you, 'cause I was making a decision. There's so many words that came to mind, but as making a decision, how do I best feel that your brand is assessed? And so I think it's important for BOSSes to know out there that branding is not something you can do just over a night or maybe by asking a few questions. I think it's something that happens over time, and it's something that can actually really evolve along with you.
I know that my brand, especially my business brand, when I first got out there, I was Anne Speak. And you know, that was like, Anne Speak. What, you know, what is that? What is Anne Speak? And Anne Speak was a very different logo and a very different look on my website. And I've evolved into something that I feel is more authentically me over the years in terms of who I am. And I, I love that you said intelligent because that was one thing that I really wanted for people to perceive about me. It could just be that a female that worked in engineering, that is one of those things that I always wanted people to see me as intelligent and not necessarily, oh, there's a female. I want just here's somebody who knows what they're doing. And some people think that that's why I wear glasses, but honestly I just need them to see . Um, but glasses have always been a big part of my brand.
Lau: The truth comes out.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau:
Anne: Well, what about you Lau? 'Cause you've been in the business for some time. And how has your brand evolved over the years?
Lau: Well, you know, it's funny. When I started this business, Lau Lapides Company, the studio, I ended up keeping the name throughout. I've never really changed the name itself. I think when I first started though, I always had the mindset of an agent in my head, though it was funny. I wasn't really starting an agency per se. I was starting a studio. Right? So I had this idea of actors work, voice actors work. And so that was one of the running titles in my mind of naming a business, 'cause I wanted talent to work, and I wanted to help them get to work. That was one of -- so that was one of the original working title ideas I had. But then it went to Lau Lapides Company fairly fast and then I stuck with it.
Here's the interesting thing I found, Anne, is that despite me or despite what I was thinking, it had a very large appeal. It had a large presence. That's what I'm looking for, a large presence to people on the outside that were saying, wow, you have a big company. And so I would start listening, I think in branding, how do I learn who I am? I have to listen to my audience. And so I spent a lot of time listening to how I was perceived by the audience. And I was astounded at how I was being perceived. And one was this big, large presence. And I think because the name was Lau Lapides Company, it sounded big. It had a largess. So people would come and say, wow, you have an enterprise. Wow you have this, Wow, you have that. And I was very small at the start, as most businesses are.
Anne: Sure. Well, one person sometimes. And I love that you talked about your personal name because again, I'm always of the thought that we are our own personal brand. We're selling a product that is very personal to us. It's our voice. Right? It's our essence. And so I always think, well, what better name for your product or your company than your name? And it's funny because people might say, well, I have a long name that's difficult to spell or I have Anne with an E that people always forget. But honestly I'm always like, well look when I need a tissue, I ask for a Kleenex, right? So when I need a voiceover, I should ask for a Lau Lapides or an Anne Ganguzza.
Lau: That's right.
Anne: And so I've come from the place of abundance as you like to say. And I manifested, right? I am just putting it out there. I'm Anne Ganguzza and lo and behold, at some point people are gonna be asking for an Anne Ganguzza and it, and it will work. And so that was part of my branding, my personal branding for my name was my name. And so my legal company name is Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions. And so it's interesting 'cause you're Lau Lapides Company and I'm Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions.
Lau: That's right, that's right.
Anne: So I settled on that after many years of trying to figure out what should I name my company? What domain should I buy? Because I thought Anne Speaks was so cute, but we know that nobody really knows what an Anne Speak is. Um, it's not really searchable, but Anne Ganguzza is, right?
Lau: Right.
Anne: So I love that. And I think you wanted to see what people thought of you, right?
Lau: I did.
Anne: And that was the basis for the beginning of a brand. So I think any of you BOSSes that are out there and you're starting the branding journey, I think it first has to start with you and the basis of who you are as a person. because it is such a personal brand. Now maybe you're not gonna put those words out beautiful, but maybe beautiful voiceover, who knows. I mean --
Lau: Who knows?
Anne: -- whatever comes to you that you wanna be perceived as.
Lau: The funny part about it was, Anne, to me it was clunky. It wasn't a smooth transition or polished thing because my name was hard to say it's hard to pronounce. It's hard to spell. I got a lot of people who legitimately thought I was an Asian man. Like literally they had no idea I was a Caucasian white woman, and everyone mispronounced my name, everyone.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: And so a few of the folks that are close to me said, are you sure you wanna keep the name? Because no one's gonna get it right. and they're gonna mispronounce it. And I said, absolutely.
Anne: Yes. Oh my God.
Lau: That's what makes it memorable.
Anne: I am so in agreement with you, so in agreement with you about that, and that's like, well, don't you think people are gonna spell your name wrong? Well, yeah. I mean, but no. People will learn it and Ganguzza, which to a lot of people think is really a difficult name to spell -- it's not, spelled the way it sounds --
Lau: It's different.
Anne: But a lot of people were like, yeah. And so why would you do that? I'm like, hey, no, keep it. It's kind of one of the reasons why I kept my unique New Jersey phone number for my cell phone, because people would know if it was coming from that area code, it was Anne Ganguzza.
Lau: So that's right. and as they stumble over the name and still stumble over the name and mispronounce it, it never bothers me. I love it because I know as they learn how to pronounce it or catch something, they're thinking about --
Anne: They're gonna remember it.
Lau: Yes. Mm-hmm, they're thinking about, they're gonna remember --
Anne: They're thinking about you.
Lau: Yeah. So I think that's a hook for a lot of folks to think about it. It doesn't have to be easy and it doesn't have to be common. It could be something a little bit unique that people remember that they have a tough time with too.
Anne: Right. Now, and so let's talk a little bit about visual branding. So for visual branding, I'm assuming like visual branding would be your logo, your website. And so things that represent your store front, that would be the visual branding. It can also be the visual branding of your person. If you're a person that goes to conferences or you're a person that goes out and speaks, go to the chamber of commerce and you're representing your business. So visually branding, so it's a little bit different than vocally branding. So what are some steps that you take, Lau, to visually help brand yourself or others? Like what steps can the BOSSes take to start with the visual branding?
Lau: Gosh, that's a great question, Anne, and it's like asking someone to think like a graphic designer.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Or a web designer, right, or do something that I personally am not. I am not a visual designer. I'm not a graphic designer. And yet when I was starting out with a website, I had to kind of become that in the sense of the designer would need to know, what was I going for? What was the visual I was seeing. So I had to --
Anne: Colors. I think starting with them --
Lau: -- work with them. Colors.
Anne: Colors.
Lau: Colors, colors.
Anne: I think colors are a good start. Right?
Lau: Huge. So what I did was, and I remember doing this years ago before I actually started the studio, I started asking some of my students at that time, I would say, what color do you think of when you think of me?
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely.
Lau: And I remember, I remember some of their responses that it was so memorable to me. One of the women that I worked with was amazing. And she said, oh, red.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: It just like came right out. Just like that. I said, you don't have to think about that for a second. She said, no, no, you're blunt. You're vibrant, you're specific you're out there and unapologetic, and you're red. .
Anne: Yep. I agree with that. I totally --
Lau: 'Cause I love all colors, Anne. I don't have a favorite color. Like any color you give me, I would like.
Anne: Oh really?
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: So my favorite color is blue, right? Yes. Believe it or not, blue -- and blue is actually my brand. If you go to annganguzza.com, blue is -- but I also love red. Okay?
Lau: I can see that. Yes.
Anne: And so red -- yes -- red is part of my VO BOSS brand. So I got to have the best of both worlds and my favorite colors. And it's not necessarily a vibrant, bright red, but it is more of a deeper red. That is one of my very favorite colors. And so I got to have both for both of my brands. And so I think it starts, colorwise also, I think it can really describe you in a lot of ways, colors. You know, Blue's very professional calming, but for me, blue is also the color of my eyes.
And it was always been my favorite color. I mean, when I was a kid blue everything, and I had blue stripes painted in my room on my walls because I love the color blue. And so that's really an integral part of who I am. And I think starting with those colors and it was something within that color palette can be a great visual representation. And I'll tell you what I do with a lot of my students, if I were helping them brand themselves is we, we actually create a, a private Pinterest board, and I have them just like a vision board, right, I have them pin everything that they love on one of a board that they call Sarah's branding board. Right?
And they pin their favorite colors. And then maybe they'll go to like Behr paints and get a color palette, right? Pick their favorite colors, pick their favorite fonts, pick their favorite things, and flowers and whatever that might be and put that on a board. And what's really cool is that -- I'm not saying you have to design the website, but you give that to the person who's doing your website design. And that is a great representation of who you visually are as a brand.
Lau: Oh, I love that. That's fab.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: That's fab. And you know, the other thing that comes to my mind is shape. So when I think about shape, right? I think about the first thing that comes to my mind was the documentary on coffee, the great coffee kings entrepreneurs around the world. And Starbucks had done years and years of studies about their furniture. Like what shape should their furniture be in their stores? And they went from square to rectangle to oval, to round, whatever. Bottom line they landed on more -- at that time, it may have changed -- more round than square and the reasoning being, they want the community to be connected in the circular sense than in a square sense with sharp corners and sharp edges. That's, I mean, they were really going to town with the details.
Anne: That's, that's really interesting.
Lau: And I learned a lot from that and I thought, gee, what shape am I? What shape am I? And my logo was very square. It was actually very rectangular. And I analyzed why I did that. At the time I was coming out of an executive speech firm that was pretty square. I mean, they were pretty corporate in the sense.
Anne: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lau: I thought it was, was the right thing, the right thing to have a logo that had subliminally, I thought that had sharp, sharp, structured edges to it.
Anne: That makes sense.
Lau: I since created a new logo, and it's always in a, a work in progress, like everything we're always work in progress, and I didn't even think about this. I just did it, Anne. It became circular. It became circular. I like the image, but I also love the sense of just roundness and the world and the --
Anne: Softening.
Lau: -- connections. Softening.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Lau: Yeah. So I think shape plays a big part in your branding.
Anne: That is so interesting. And I, I interesting that 'cause shape can define your website. You can have a curved logo or even curved edges on your website or represented in circles for me. I'm very clean. I'm gonna say clean lines, clean circles. And I'm gonna say -- that's so funny because your furniture decor can say a lot about your taste as well, right? I used it for many, many years. It was more of like a, a Tuscan Italian dark wood. And then literally just moved to this new house, which became the interpretive farmhouse. Right? And now I became all clean lines, and my backyard landscaping, believe it or not is not circular. And it's funny because I would go to my neighbors' yards as they were getting them landscaped. And I'd be like, I love the circular curved paths, but in retrospect, my backyard is very square and asymmetrical, rectangular and asymmetrical. And there's something to that as well.
So I think that BOSSes think about those things in terms of visual branding, put them on a Pinterest board that you can either give to your website designer or use it yourself in terms of colors and shapes really say a lot. And fonts, I love clean fonts. I don't like fonts with curly anything. I don't like fonts that are Times New Roman like that kind of like that. I like fonts that are plain like Arial, you know, that kind of a Sans Serif, those types of things. So clean and readable and clear. And I feel that that also describes my voice, believe it or not clear and professional. And so those are my font choices.
Then comes the part of the visual branding is also how you write about yourself, how you describe yourself. Do you write in the first person, do you write in the third person? You know, how is it that you're describing yourself on your webpage for your bio or for your business? But that really is a visual branding thing. And I think it can absolutely help if you start doing that and work with someone to help you to develop your visual brand. It's sometimes really difficult and know that it can evolve. I mean, absolutely. My colors when I first started were dark green. So who knew, right? I evolved my brand into blue and deep red. And now maybe it'll turn into something else.
But brands do evolve. They do refresh. And I literally just had a refresh of the VO BOSS website. And so, so the colors that I had before were more brighter red and more of a royal blue. Now I've got maybe just a deep red and black. So the look is different. The website design, the logo is clearer and so things can evolve. And I think it's good for you to refresh your brand once in a while.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: Now let's talk about vocal branding. So it's something that I say that I do. And I, there's not a lot of people who they're like, oh, I love that you vocally brand me. What do you do? But I think a lot of people are vocally branded, right? When we try to describe what are the traits of my voice that you hear? I think that's definitely one, but also I think not just what are the traits of my voice, whether it's friendly, warm, whatever could be --
Lau: The qualities.
Anne: The qualities of voice. But I think it's also more of a style as well. What do you think, Lau?
Lau: Oh, oh my goodness. Absolutely. I feel like your personality, your persona, your inners, so to speak, do come out in the sound of your voice. Like when we're working with a client to find their voice, it's not just for voiceover delivery. It's for authentication of your identity, of your strength, of your inner soul, if you will. It goes that deep. So I think a branding is an offshoot of that. It doesn't have to expose everything about you personally, but there is that element there of how do you come across? How are you perceived on a daily basis outside of copy, outside of a booth, outside of work? And melting that into your professional life so it's not a totally separate thing. It's really a hybrid of your persona, your personality, the personification of personalization with your professional chosen life and choices that you've made.
It's kind of a combination of those two. I don't believe it's one or the other. So I think your vocal branding is really every possible range of motion movement that your voice is capable of doing and really landing on what do I do most? What do I do best? What do I like doing?
Anne: Right, and a lot of that has to do with like, you know, when I talk about vocal branding, you're right, it doesn't stop at the actual technicality of a vocal. It really, it becomes what styles, what do you love? What are you passionate about? Because again, that personality, that authenticity, that you, that unique you is a part of your vocal. So it's so interesting when people try to just categorize it as just being friendly, warm, compassionate, gravelly. It's so much more than that, your vocal branding. And again --
Lau: It is.
Anne: -- that's something that I think with a lot of times, if a demo producer they're creating a demo for you, they'll ask you what brands do you align with? What things are you passionate about? Because it really makes sense that if you're talking about things that you're passionate about, it comes through in your voice and that becomes a style. I know that there are people, let's say if there's a male that comes to me, that has a very deep gravelly voice, what sorts of things do you think of when you think of a deep gravelly voice? I don't know, Ford trucks or , you know, maybe at Cracker Barrel, I don't know. Or, or it could be John Deere construction equipment, that sort of thing. So what sort of things with a higher pitched, young youthful voice? Well, believe it or not, a lot of times I think of finance. There's a lot of finance lately that is using young millennial youthful voices, because that's the audience they're trying to attract, not just the young voice for that, but just, it could be college spots or anything that that style or that age would be passionate about or thinking about.
And a lot of the style and the content that we are shooting for is where they want to advertise to. Are they advertising to a younger audience? Are they advertising to a more mature audience? And so wherever your voice follows suit the best, I think helps to vocally brand your voice as well. You know, even though I have a younger sounding voice, I certainly cannot sound millennial. It's just not necessarily in my authenticity, right, to sound millennial. Even if I try to mimic a millennial, I think ingrained in my voice is too many years of, I don't know, just too many years. Right? So I could try to sound millennial, but will I feel authentic doing it?
So for vocal branding, I'm always very much about the authentic part of you. Now, if you get into character, that's something different, right? That's a different voice. And again, that's also a different passion. I know so many people vocally that can bring out so much more personality behind a character than they can with their own voice. It's hard for them to assess their own voice and to be authentic with their own voice or realistic, I should say, because I truly believe there's a lot of people that are exceptional character actors, that they're really good at -- and I don't maybe hiding behind the voice is not a good word for it, but I wanna say they're very good at putting on another character. And sometimes when you say, well, let me just hear you because you are good enough. Your voice is good enough. That's a little more difficult for them.
Lau: Oh, no question about it. And I think a lot of folks get really disappointed and let down when they are prototyped quickly or when they are thought of as, oh, you're the grandmother. Oh, you're the --
Anne: You're the mother type.
Lau: -- middle-aged mother. Oh, you are the, this you're the that. Well, that's what our industry does. I mean, our industry has to do that for time sake, for expediency, for ease, you know. I can do Shakespeare. I can do a lot of things, but what do I do most of, what do I do best? What do I do easiest? What's the easiest thing for me to deliver? That's important for you to really identify that and recognize that and understand that you get -- it's not the only thing you'll get. You may get something outside of that, for sure. But if you can make the job of the producer, casting a lot easier, then you wanna do that. And you wanna listen to your audience, how they're seeing you or in this case, how they're hearing you. How do they hear you?
I remember too, I got a number of times through the years, even when I was much younger, Anne, even when I was in my 20's, I was starting to get audiences say to me, oh yeah, you're like the nanny. You're like the Jewish, you know, mom, you're the Jewish mom, aren't you? And I was offended. Here I was a conservatory actress. I wasn't married. I had no children. I, I was like, all right, I guess so. I thought it was almost like a slight to me. It was almost like a backwards insult of saying, is that all you hear me as? Is that really what is all has come down to? Well, since then, I've learned that that level of familiarity, that level of maternal, maternalistic quality, that level of ethnic appeal is very gratifying for a lot of people, very gratifying, and very gratifying for me too, as an actor. And so I adopted that. I love that. I, I embrace that. But then I know I could do something totally different at another time. It doesn't really limit me, not really. It just expands the level of work that I can get, because that's what I get known for. See?
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I'm so glad that you said that. And I think that there are people who hear your vocal brand as a type. I mean, I just had a student who had a really deep gravelly voice and I said, oh, we're gonna do a Kubota spot, 'cause I had -- construction equipment. He goes that's so funny because I work in it and I have no idea about construction equipment. I said, yeah. But it's something that it's associated with that type of work, and you sound great at it. And as long as you're okay with it, you know, and you can be authentic about it, and it doesn't mean you have to go out and run a piece of equipment to be authentic about it. You just have to be authentic about the message and what you're saying.
And so, yeah. I'm so glad that you said that because there are perceived, you know, you sound like this type. And for me I've like, okay, you've got the professional educator because you've got that clear articulate voice. Well, I can't help -- I -- it's a clear articulate voice. And I would love to have that raspy kind of a demure kind of other voice, but it doesn't physically happen for me. So I said, okay, I'm going to accept that. And you know, if I get hired for that, of course, that's fantastic, right? But it doesn't stop me from learning other genres. It doesn't stop me from trying to vocally place my voice and do different things to increase my acting ability and my vocal ability. So it's just something, if you embrace it and then just move forward, continuing to broaden and expand your styles. I think that's, that's a wonderful thing.
Lau: Yeah, it reminds me of when someone says, oh my God, you, you look like my best friend. You look like my aunt, you look like this one I know. That used to annoy me. That used to say, oh, it's like, I'm not my own identity. I'm not my own person. I look like someone everyone knows. And then I realized that's a really great thing because they already feel close to me. They feel familiar to me. They feel like they know me.
Anne: What a great way to analyze that because that's the same thing with your voice. Right? So somebody is kind of saying, oh you are that voice. Well then that's great. Because they're familiar with it. They feel comfortable with it. That's a wonderful way to look at it.
Lau: That's exactly it, exactly it. So don't look at is anything is limiting you. Look at it as expansion, your brand, your vocal, your visual, your inner, your outer. I think the sky is the limit, but do understand how in audience, there's like a truism, a community truism that you get in a film when you're watching a great film or when you're listening to great music. There's a community understanding of familiarity or greatness or fitting in a particular role. And it's important to just pay attention to that. So you're red, you're red.
Anne: Yeah, there you go. And I can also be blue. So there you go.
Lau: And you can be blue.
Anne: So branding, guys, it's not something you can do overnight. Remember, it definitely helps when you have someone else, a trusted coach, a trusted circle of friends and community that can help you to understand how you are perceived. And also I think it takes a lot on your part to project what it is that you want to be perceived in an authentic manner, of course. That's gonna be your start to branding. Just know that it doesn't typically happen overnight and that you can evolve and change with it. And I think that's a wonderful thing.
Lau: And it can be a load of fun. And you can learn an awful lot through the years of shifting your brand, and changing your brand, and what your perceived brand is, and really kind of just opening up and accepting the flow of what the audience and the universe is giving to you.
Anne: Yeah. I would never disagree to being able to discover more about myself and learn more about myself in order to help put out a brand. So it's all good. It's all good, BOSSes. Well, thank you, Lau. What a great conversation.
Lau: My pleasure, as always.
Anne: Always a pleasure to have you. I'm going to give a big shout out to ipDTL, our sponsor. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Also for your voices out there, 100voiceswhocare.org. You can use your voice to make a difference. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. BOSSes, it's been amazing, and Lau, it's been amazing having you again. And we will all see you next week.
Lau: See you next week.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Build a circle that will support, motivate, and promote your inner joy, strength & courage. Anne & Lau are breaking down fear to build up your confidence. Your confidence level can make or break your biz, but it all starts from within. Do you really want success? Are you ready to put in the work to achieve your dreams? Instead of asking coaches, peers, and friends, you have to ask yourself and answer with honesty. Creating goals that feel insurmountable is what will end your business before you begin. But with the right tools & wisdom from your favorite business superheroes, we know you can tackle any task!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast in the business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Lau, how are you today?
Lau: Fabulous. Fabulous. Thank you, Anne. It's great to be back.
Anne: Yeah, I am excited about our series, so excited.
Lau: Me too.
Anne: And the last couple of series we've were learning more and more about you. And I wanted to kind of bring into the mold a little bit about when I first started back in, oh God, this is so long ago, but not quite as long -- I think you've been in the business longer than me but --
Lau: I have.
Anne: I remember distinctly, I remember distinctly when I started, I didn't come from a creative background. You know, I didn't have a job and a creative background. Well, everything can be a creative field I think if you make it a creative field, but it wasn't distinctly a creative field of voiceover. So I remember when I gave up my cushy job, my cushy corporate job or cushy corporate job in education, I was scared. I was really scared about starting a full time job in voiceover. And I was really a little bit timid and lacked a little bit of confidence because I had never embarked on something. I had never been an entrepreneur and started my own business.
So, and I know that a lot of people, this is somewhat intimidating to them. So I thought we could talk about the topic of confidence, because I truly believe that the evolution of my confidence and how I manifested it helped me to really get through the first stumbling blocks and hard times. And not that there aren't hard times now, but I feel like confidence really plays a big part in how well we get through events that may or may not be everyday roses.
Lau: Yeah, I'm right there with you. I think it's the bedrock of what we do as performers. I mean, if you put aside right now, the idea that you're an entrepreneur, you're a BOSS, you, you head up your own company, whether you're a DBA, an LLC, or whatever those letters are after your name, it's your own deal. It's your own shindig. But put that aside for a second, just as a person, as a human being -- we're performers and our job is to, to some degree become vulnerable, to open up to a world, something inside of us and reveal something. And how do we do that? Right? How do we get to that? How do we have that confidence to be able to expose ourself in that way and then be able to reel it in? So I think, think, yes, I think confidence is really, really just a foundation of where we start from and where we're working from and what helps define us as the, the superheroes that we are asked to become every day.
Anne: And I was even talking just business-wise, like, how do I even do this thing? And you brought in the whole other aspect of performance that, yeah, we do have to show ourselves to be vulnerable. We have to really be able to bring ourselves to the copy. And a lot of times that means exposing ourselves and that is sometimes very uncomfortable for people, especially if they're not used to doing it. And so I just remember so many self-doubts flooding my brain. And I didn't have anybody to talk to 'cause I didn't know anybody that had really done what I was doing in my immediate circle. As a matter of fact, most people, sometimes my parents too, would be like -- well, my mother would be like, honey, when are you gonna get a real job? And bless her, I love her. But she would say, well, you know, when are you gonna get? And, and I'm like, but Mom, I.
Lau: . Right. Right.
Anne: I'm an entrepreneur, Mom. And it was funny because it took her a while before she finally, you know, understood what it was that I was doing. And so I think first of all, we have to assess the current situation that we're in, and we have to actually acknowledge that I think fear could be something that is contributing to our lack of confidence. I think that's step number one. What are your thoughts?
Lau: I'm with you all the way. I think that fear is, is a huge factor. And I often talk to my clients about this, is that there's two really big obstacles that can get in our way. One is fear and one is focus, and the two of them together can be powerhouse if used wisely because the truth is we're never gonna not feel fear. That's like a double negative. But that's just, you know, we're human beings. We're, we're animalistic in a survivalist kind of way. We're built to have instinct about things, which is important. We have to listen to our inner voice as well as our outer voice. We have to pay attention when we feel there's danger or something that's not going to work for us. Right? So don't put that inner fear factor voice away, but it's really like feeling the fear, but then doing it anyway, if that's a calculated risk, if that's a risk worth taking for you, how do I manage that?
I always feel like I can never really control anything as much as I would love to. I can't. I have to be able to manage the difficulties and the conflicts and the obstructions and all that stuff that gets thrown in our path. But if we think about it as oh, but I have to control my fear, I shouldn't be feeling fear -- that's wrong. I think then we're already off on the wrong path. We have to accept the fact that we're built to feel fear. You know, even our breathing as speakers, we understand what fight or flight breathing is. You know, if we go into our upper thoracic chest cavity, if we go into the clavicular area of our throat, we know we're in more of a stress fight or flight mode. Right? And it's not great for speaking, but it's meant for other occasions that will kind of save us and save our lives.
Anne: Right. Right.
Lau: So you are right, Anne. I think fear is important. It's necessary, but a lot of people have a negative connotation of fear and how to manage the fear.
Anne: I think if you don't feel fear, then you are not growing.
Lau: Yeah, and, and like, do we even care about it?
Anne: Right. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. I think if you're not feeling fear, then you're not maybe pushing yourself to where I think you could be. And I think that that is something that if you can take that fear and not fear the fear but yet figure out a way to push through the fear and roll with the fear and know that it's normal and know that it's normal even for veterans like us I think that have been in the business for a long time. I still feel fear as a matter of fact, quite a bit. And I've grown to the point where I know that if I don't feel fear, that I'm not pushing myself. And I just, for me, I think to be the best entrepreneur and the best that I can be, I need to be able to feel that and push through it. But it doesn't mean that it makes it any easier sometimes.
Lau: No, it doesn't, but fear can be fun. Remember the show that used to be on, Fear Factor.
Anne: Yeah. Right, right.
Lau: That a huge, massive audience. Like why are we so fascinated with seeing people in fear? Why is the horror genre in film or in audiobooks so massive, a billion dollar industry? Because there's a catharsis that we need as human beings that we live through that we learn, at least have the potential to learn about morality about what to do, what not to do, about how to protect ourselves, about how to build a better situation for ourselves. It's fun. And it's exciting. And there's a little, you know, frisson that comes in the back of the neck. But at the end of the day, we wanna walk out and we wanna say, hey, I kind of discovered something here. I learned something about myself or about my surroundings. And the fear was like a little bit of a, a sign saying, pay, pay attention. You know, just, just look at the details of what's happening here. And fear in a way is care.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. That's a really good point.
Lau: Like I care when I feel fear. Right?
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely.
Lau: So we have to be kind of fearless about fear.
Anne: And so, you know, let's talk about what are the things that are, I think common fears when we become entrepreneurs. I'll, I'll start with, I fear that I'm not going to be able to make it or make any money and I will be, I will fail. So therefore it becomes that thought that I won't be good enough. I won't be able to make money and I'll have to go back to the corporate world and I'll fail. And that was my biggest fear in the beginning. And it was a very like blanket, like thought. And it was a very big thought that like, oh no, it will never work. I will fail. And then I'll have to go back.
And that was looking at it at a, on a very large scale. I think one of the things that helped me to kind of get through that is to start to look at things in a smaller light and have little steps that maybe I could feel that I wouldn't fail, but that was number one, the fear that the whole thing wouldn't work, and it wasn't just, oh, I won't be good enough. It'll just be like the whole thing won't work. I don't know anything about starting a business. I haven't researched it really. I've never done it before. And I don't have anybody in my immediate circle that has started a business. So where do I go for help? So there was all these unknown questions. That was my -- what about you when you first started?
Lau: That's a good one. Actually. That's a hard one to top; that fear of failure in is like big. I think your engineer needs to do a, some, some like good trivia music right now. Just like some Jeopardy music right now.
Anne: Yeah. Right?
Lau: See if I could top that one. Okay. Here's one. The fear of spending money, IE the fear of losing money.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Right. Without an ROI that's secure, if there is such a thing without knowing what my return really will be, without knowing if I'll ever get work, I'm scared to spend money. I'm scared to go broke. I'm scared to waste money. That's a big one, right?
Anne: That's a very common fear I think for a lot of people just getting into the industry, it's their, they like, I don't have money to invest, but I need to get work. And it's that which came first. Right?
Lau: Right.
Anne: And so thankfully I think anybody that goes into this full or, or even part-time needs to, first of all, make sure they have a little bit of a financial cushion so that they can invest the money. Just knowing I didn't quit my corporate job completely blind. I did understand that I would need to invest money. And so I think that securing that knowledge that you have money to invest in your career is one thing. And that's a big thing.
And that even now, as I have been in the industry for more than 15 years to continually invest in my company, because now that I have seven to eight people right now that work for me, that was a big thing, right? To be able to like, oh my God, I'm gonna pay someone, and do I have the extra money to pay someone? And so BOSSes, what's really cool about that comparison is that going from an independent, I work for myself, I'm going out to make money, and to grow to a point where you're now gonna hire an assistant that can help you because you're grown to the point so that you can continue to do what it is that you love and have other people that can do the things that maybe you don't love so much, or that you're not as good at.
And so that whole first decision like, oh my gosh, do I have the money to hire someone and to spend and to invest? That's a big fear as well. And I think what gave me confidence was I did it small steps at a time. And I think that's one thing for you, BOSSes, is to think about it. What are the small steps they're gonna take you to get you to your goal and what are the achievable steps that will then give you confidence, right, to continue moving forward?
Lau; Right. And, Anne, I wanna piggyback on that point , which is so necessary. It's like bottom line again, bedrock principle what you're talking about here is mindset, mindset, mindset over your matter. You really have to power up that mindset when it comes to investment and say, am I coming from a mindset of poverty or am I coming from a mindset of wealth? And I'm not only talking about physical money. I'm also talking about abundance, surplus, glass half full. Am I a hopeful positive, I'm gonna take that lemon and make it into lemonade? That to me is wealth, wealth of knowledge, wealth of spirit, wealth of fun and risk taking. So you have to be honest with yourself I think, Anne, and say, am I really in a position to do this? Because my mindset needs to be able to open up to the possibilities of success. Like I, I always say to my clients be careful what you wish for. You may get it.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Right? Because success is difficult. It's hard. It holds you to a very high level of responsibility and industry standard and timeline and everything. Success isn't easy. Success is a challenge. Right?
Anne: And there's a fear of success as well. That is absolutely a thing.
Lau: Ooh, that's your number three, I think, right?
Anne: Yeah. Fear of success. That's number -- and then wanting to continue and continue to grow. And I think it's a cycle. Every step, as you move up really becomes, I'm afraid. like acknowledging the fear, and then breaking it up maybe into smaller chunks. How can I get from this level to this level? And then breaking that up into small steps and then being able to manifest come from that place of abundance, and just push through until that small step is achieved. That will give you the conference to move up to the next step.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: And help you to manifest the next step. And I think that that might be a, a great process for people to work through the fear and build their confidence in order to grow their business.
Lau: Yeah. And yeah, I do think you have to be as honest with yourself as possible and your crew around you, your coaches, your directors, whoever you're working with, even your professional accountability buddies in saying, do I really want success? Or do I like the idea of success? Because the reality is a job, it's work, it's time. It's wonderful, but it's work. So do I really want to put in what I need to put in to work or do I have self sabotaging patterns where every time I start getting close to something that's progressive and good, I put something in the way of it to wall it off? Which I see an awful lot of people doing, whether it's, I can't make that timeframe.
Anne: I see that on social media.
Lau: I'm busy with something else. Yeah. yeah. And you think, well, wait a second, isn't this your goal? Isn't this what you wanna be doing? Yes. As long as it's within my timeframe, within my structure, my context and not really realizing that you're really have to be more client centered, more audience centered, more producer centered. It's not about you in your world. It's really about what you're doing for the client. And so the self sabotage can start to take over. That's common.
Anne: Yeah. That's I think a, a big thing. And I do see that on social media where there'll be forums and people will be talking about, well, how do I get work? Or how do you find success in this? And you know, well, I just can't because of this. I can't because of that. I can't because of, and so, you know, again, it's that sort of thing where you're, you're kind of putting all the things that you can't do in front of things that you can do to grow and to move up. And I think, again, it's got to start with you being honest and taking a real honest look at yourself and finding out if you're willing to do the work. You know, there's so many people, and I know you've run into this as well, Lau, that say, do I have what it takes? Do I have what it takes to make it?
Lau: Right.
Anne: So there's a good question, Lau. What is your answer to the people who will ask you that? Do I have what it takes?
Lau: I always say, you know, when that type of question comes up, I always feel immediately, my knee jerk reaction is I think you're asking the wrong question, to be honest with you. I think a more effective question to ask would be, am I willing to set up a realistic work structure for myself, then I can adhere to on a time management basis and really hold myself accountable to that. Am I willing to do that? Because I always feel like when I went to grad school, I was in a accepted to a three year conservatory full program. And I was nervous about it, nervous, fearful, a little scared. I asked one of my dear friends who had come out of a program. I said, what do I expect? What should I be looking for? He said, listen, simple as this, what you put into it is what you're gonna get out of it.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And I said, what a brilliant answer. I've used that for years and years, because it's an individual journey. It's an individual's path. I can't predict your level of success. I can't predict who's going to perceive you as a incredible talent. I can't even predict what kind of genre you're gonna go into, honestly. I can give you my, my advice and that's what I can do. but you have to be honest with yourself and say, do I want this? Am I willing to set up a work schedule for myself? Can I invest in this? Am I willing to not be an ego and set up professionals who know a lot more than I do surrounding me to teach me? I mean, am I willing to do this? And then I can get closer to the answer to that question.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's so many people that think it takes like, well, do I have the voice for it? And honestly, I always try to tell people it's about so much more than just your voice. It's really about your connection and the ability to bring yourself to the words and be able to connect. And I believe that if you have the ability to connect with people on a day to day basis, you have the basis for what it takes to do voiceover, because everybody's looking for authenticity. And I think if you're not at the point in your journey where you can bring authenticity to your craft, then that might be the question to ask. It's not, do I have the voice, but do I have the courage to expose myself and be authentic through the art? And once I am, then does that bring me the joy that will bring the passion, the emotion to the craft, which I think is what is truly the connection with people and what people respond to.
I'm gonna say the physical aspects of the voice in this whole career, like, will you be successful, I think there's a very small percentage of us -- and again, it's very subjective, right? That have a voice that has the physical characteristics that are like, oh my goodness, like the majority of people will find that beautiful. Very few. There's a lot of us out here though that have a great ability to connect with people. And that almost means more because if you have a beautiful voice and you're not able to connect with authenticity, that is only gonna buy you a certain level of success, I believe.
Lau: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, I think we just came up with your next episode, and that is like all the wrong questions to ask.
Anne: Yeah. Right?
Lau: When you start voiceover, there's really a lot -- I don't even like to use the word wrong. It's not that it's wrong. It's that it's not appropriate at the time to ask that kind of question.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Until you've really been in it for a while. Like a question like coming into it, how much money can I make doing this? It's not an appropriate or effective question to answer at the beginning stages of a career. It just, it just isn't. So that's your next episode, I think, that's the next one.
Anne: Well, I, what I was hoping with that explanation was to also give people a boost of confidence so that it does help. I mean, this whole episode is about how to build your confidence up and how to overcome the fear. And I, I really believe that if you understand that about this industry and understand that about this career, again, it's so much more than just that voice, then it becomes, do you have the courage to build a business? Do you have the courage to do the work? And again, that I think if you break it down into the small steps and that's about my only solution for it is to really maybe write your goals down, which I think is a phenomenal way to really help you break down this fear, right, and give yourself confidence.
And I also think, and, and I believe that we talked about this before, or I must have talked about it 100 times before writing down those small accomplishments can really mean the world to giving yourself more confidence to continue forward. And as well as the fact that you wrote it down, right, gives you a benchmark. So again, you have to grow step by step moving forward and moving more forward. How do you know if you don't compare it to where you've been? Right? You don't have a benchmark.
Lau: So exactly. There's just no context for it in time, in your timeline of your life and also of your career that you're in the middle of. I, I'm also gonna add to that and say, build your circle. I won't even say network. I'll just say circle because it could be family. It could be friends. It could be whoever it could be pets. It could be anyone or anything that helps promote your inner strength, your inner joy and your courage, the word you used earlier. I think is a really smart and frightening word to a lot of people. Like, how do I get courageous? How do I get brave? How, how do I become the superhero? Well, it's just like little moments, little detailed steps you take every day. It isn't these big, massive moves of saving the world. It's like, if you're helping the environment, how do I save the world? I can't save the world. Well, just pick up the can.
Anne: Well, exactly.
Lau: You know, just pick up a bottle. Put it in here.
Anne: Exactly. Take the small step. .
Lau: That's all you have to do.
Anne: That's such a wonderful example because honestly, if it becomes this all encompassing, overwhelming thing, you've quit before you've even started.
Lau: Right, I can't do that.
Anne: If you make it so large and so big, and it's like, oh my God, I can't possibly like, if you're beginning, you're beginning to say, well, I didn't make any money this week. And that is what deters you from, you know, the entire career, then --
Lau: Then you quit.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Lau: You've already quit.
Anne: You've already quit.
Lau: I got one more to throw in the mix, 'cause I hear this a lot. Especially from my crowd that's over 40, fear of technology. Very scary to a lot of people who are not digital natives. They didn't grow up on computers. They didn't grow up using a microphone. They didn't grow up on a video screen. They just didn't, right? I'm in that generation. I'm generation X. We didn't grow up that way. We learned, I mean, I didn't learn it. It was till I was in my 30's, like how to even be on a computer, you know, we didn't have cell phones. So that fear of technology I think can stop a lot of people's progress, and it's important that if you recognize you have the fear, again, it's okay to have the fear it's, it's natural. It's normal.
Just how do I manage the fear? Well, one way I could manage the fear, I could delegate some tasks to some of my circle that's around me that I find overwhelming or I find scary. It could be something like, help me choose a microphone or help me, help me learn some new apps on my computer or help me whatever. And also delegating actual tasks to someone else. Like you have an engineer you hire, I have an engineer I hire, I mean that's okay once you have enough money in the pot to hire people and have them do a job that you're not proficient at, you don't have the time for, you don't want to be doing whatever. It's like give yourself permission to delegate.
Anne: One of the biggest confidence builders I've found myself as I've grown through the years. Is that money in the pot thing right? So if you can put together a savings account and as you make money, right? Put some in. I mean, that sounds like my mom and dad, like from just, we save a penny. Right? But having money in the pot will help you have confidence so that when there is a low period or maybe you don't get a job for a week or two or a month, that will give you the confidence to still continue on and move forward, and also give you the confidence to help reinvest that money someplace else. The bigger that savings account is, I'll tell you once I got my savings account to a certain level, I was bold as yeah. Anything good.
Lau: Yes, yes, yes.
Anne: Because I was like, okay, this is okay. I was bold in everything bold in how I was gonna grow my business, bold in, you know, oh, maybe I'll try this now. Right? I was bold to make different steps. And it really changed the way that I ran my business, and it was exhilarating to me. And that gave me confidence like nothing else. I'm not gonna say money is the only thing that gives you confidence, but in this kind of an industry where you have a lot of highs and a lot of lows and a lot of fears, and a lot of the fear I think is fear of failure. And for me, because I went full time, I wanted to contribute to the household expenses, right? This was not just something that I could just enjoy for the rest of my life. I wasn't retiring.
I needed to make money to pay the mortgage. And so money for me there gave me a lot of confidence. So I think BOSSes, take tiny steps to understand that there is fear. Take those tiny steps, write down those goals, celebrate those milestones, generate that confidence, and continue to grow and be BOSSes. Right?
Lau: I love it. We'll call that VO bucks. Put away your VO bucks, right?
Anne: Your VO bucks. I love it.
Lau: VO bucks. And when someone says to you, Anne, but honestly I'm telling you honestly, Anne, I don't have the money. I can't buy a new microphone. You say, well, wait a second, wait a second. This is where the financial advisor and you start popping out and you say, wait a second. Didn't you go to the movies last weekend? Did you eat out a couple times this week?
Anne: Did you buy that Starbucks?
Lau: yes. Just, just be willing to sacrifice that. Do the math on, on that. Put it towards the microphone or whatever you need. And then tell me later, wow. I was able to reprioritize, redirect my VO bucks, and I somehow magically found the money. I found it.
Anne: Yeah, hey, I got a part-time job as a office assistant and my mother was like, here, I came out of my six figure, you know, corporate job. And then I'm like, well I'm an office assistant, and I would never downplay any of that. But it was one of those things I did part-time while I was building up the business so that I could have the money and not feel horribly guilty. Right? That I wasn't contributing. And I was building up the business. So giving me confidence, giving me the money to reinvest. BOSSes, you can do it. We've got the faith in you. so.
Lau: Everyone is the superhero at the end of the day, Anne, everyone has those powers.
Anne: Business superpowers. So awesome episode. Thank you so much, Lau. It's been so much fun.
Lau: So much fun.
Anne: And, and I am going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also I want to let you know about 100voiceswhocare.org. You can use your voice to make an immediate difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you. So find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Lau: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Build a circle that will support, motivate, and promote your inner joy, strength & courage. Anne & Lau are breaking down fear to build up your confidence. Your confidence level can make or break your biz, but it all starts from within. Do you really want success? Are you ready to put in the work to achieve your dreams? Instead of asking coaches, peers, and friends, you have to ask yourself and answer with honesty. Creating goals that feel insurmountable is what will end your business before you begin. But with the right tools & wisdom from your favorite business superheroes, we know you can tackle any task!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast in the business superpower series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show special guest co-host Lau Lapides. Lau, how are you today?
Lau: Fabulous. Fabulous. Thank you, Anne. It's great to be back.
Anne: Yeah, I am excited about our series, so excited.
Lau: Me too.
Anne: And the last couple of series we've were learning more and more about you. And I wanted to kind of bring into the mold a little bit about when I first started back in, oh God, this is so long ago, but not quite as long -- I think you've been in the business longer than me but --
Lau: I have.
Anne: I remember distinctly, I remember distinctly when I started, I didn't come from a creative background. You know, I didn't have a job and a creative background. Well, everything can be a creative field I think if you make it a creative field, but it wasn't distinctly a creative field of voiceover. So I remember when I gave up my cushy job, my cushy corporate job or cushy corporate job in education, I was scared. I was really scared about starting a full time job in voiceover. And I was really a little bit timid and lacked a little bit of confidence because I had never embarked on something. I had never been an entrepreneur and started my own business.
So, and I know that a lot of people, this is somewhat intimidating to them. So I thought we could talk about the topic of confidence, because I truly believe that the evolution of my confidence and how I manifested it helped me to really get through the first stumbling blocks and hard times. And not that there aren't hard times now, but I feel like confidence really plays a big part in how well we get through events that may or may not be everyday roses.
Lau: Yeah, I'm right there with you. I think it's the bedrock of what we do as performers. I mean, if you put aside right now, the idea that you're an entrepreneur, you're a BOSS, you, you head up your own company, whether you're a DBA, an LLC, or whatever those letters are after your name, it's your own deal. It's your own shindig. But put that aside for a second, just as a person, as a human being -- we're performers and our job is to, to some degree become vulnerable, to open up to a world, something inside of us and reveal something. And how do we do that? Right? How do we get to that? How do we have that confidence to be able to expose ourself in that way and then be able to reel it in? So I think, think, yes, I think confidence is really, really just a foundation of where we start from and where we're working from and what helps define us as the, the superheroes that we are asked to become every day.
Anne: And I was even talking just business-wise, like, how do I even do this thing? And you brought in the whole other aspect of performance that, yeah, we do have to show ourselves to be vulnerable. We have to really be able to bring ourselves to the copy. And a lot of times that means exposing ourselves and that is sometimes very uncomfortable for people, especially if they're not used to doing it. And so I just remember so many self-doubts flooding my brain. And I didn't have anybody to talk to 'cause I didn't know anybody that had really done what I was doing in my immediate circle. As a matter of fact, most people, sometimes my parents too, would be like -- well, my mother would be like, honey, when are you gonna get a real job? And bless her, I love her. But she would say, well, you know, when are you gonna get? And, and I'm like, but Mom, I.
Lau: . Right. Right.
Anne: I'm an entrepreneur, Mom. And it was funny because it took her a while before she finally, you know, understood what it was that I was doing. And so I think first of all, we have to assess the current situation that we're in, and we have to actually acknowledge that I think fear could be something that is contributing to our lack of confidence. I think that's step number one. What are your thoughts?
Lau: I'm with you all the way. I think that fear is, is a huge factor. And I often talk to my clients about this, is that there's two really big obstacles that can get in our way. One is fear and one is focus, and the two of them together can be powerhouse if used wisely because the truth is we're never gonna not feel fear. That's like a double negative. But that's just, you know, we're human beings. We're, we're animalistic in a survivalist kind of way. We're built to have instinct about things, which is important. We have to listen to our inner voice as well as our outer voice. We have to pay attention when we feel there's danger or something that's not going to work for us. Right? So don't put that inner fear factor voice away, but it's really like feeling the fear, but then doing it anyway, if that's a calculated risk, if that's a risk worth taking for you, how do I manage that?
I always feel like I can never really control anything as much as I would love to. I can't. I have to be able to manage the difficulties and the conflicts and the obstructions and all that stuff that gets thrown in our path. But if we think about it as oh, but I have to control my fear, I shouldn't be feeling fear -- that's wrong. I think then we're already off on the wrong path. We have to accept the fact that we're built to feel fear. You know, even our breathing as speakers, we understand what fight or flight breathing is. You know, if we go into our upper thoracic chest cavity, if we go into the clavicular area of our throat, we know we're in more of a stress fight or flight mode. Right? And it's not great for speaking, but it's meant for other occasions that will kind of save us and save our lives.
Anne: Right. Right.
Lau: So you are right, Anne. I think fear is important. It's necessary, but a lot of people have a negative connotation of fear and how to manage the fear.
Anne: I think if you don't feel fear, then you are not growing.
Lau: Yeah, and, and like, do we even care about it?
Anne: Right. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. I think if you're not feeling fear, then you're not maybe pushing yourself to where I think you could be. And I think that that is something that if you can take that fear and not fear the fear but yet figure out a way to push through the fear and roll with the fear and know that it's normal and know that it's normal even for veterans like us I think that have been in the business for a long time. I still feel fear as a matter of fact, quite a bit. And I've grown to the point where I know that if I don't feel fear, that I'm not pushing myself. And I just, for me, I think to be the best entrepreneur and the best that I can be, I need to be able to feel that and push through it. But it doesn't mean that it makes it any easier sometimes.
Lau: No, it doesn't, but fear can be fun. Remember the show that used to be on, Fear Factor.
Anne: Yeah. Right, right.
Lau: That a huge, massive audience. Like why are we so fascinated with seeing people in fear? Why is the horror genre in film or in audiobooks so massive, a billion dollar industry? Because there's a catharsis that we need as human beings that we live through that we learn, at least have the potential to learn about morality about what to do, what not to do, about how to protect ourselves, about how to build a better situation for ourselves. It's fun. And it's exciting. And there's a little, you know, frisson that comes in the back of the neck. But at the end of the day, we wanna walk out and we wanna say, hey, I kind of discovered something here. I learned something about myself or about my surroundings. And the fear was like a little bit of a, a sign saying, pay, pay attention. You know, just, just look at the details of what's happening here. And fear in a way is care.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. That's a really good point.
Lau: Like I care when I feel fear. Right?
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely.
Lau: So we have to be kind of fearless about fear.
Anne: And so, you know, let's talk about what are the things that are, I think common fears when we become entrepreneurs. I'll, I'll start with, I fear that I'm not going to be able to make it or make any money and I will be, I will fail. So therefore it becomes that thought that I won't be good enough. I won't be able to make money and I'll have to go back to the corporate world and I'll fail. And that was my biggest fear in the beginning. And it was a very like blanket, like thought. And it was a very big thought that like, oh no, it will never work. I will fail. And then I'll have to go back.
And that was looking at it at a, on a very large scale. I think one of the things that helped me to kind of get through that is to start to look at things in a smaller light and have little steps that maybe I could feel that I wouldn't fail, but that was number one, the fear that the whole thing wouldn't work, and it wasn't just, oh, I won't be good enough. It'll just be like the whole thing won't work. I don't know anything about starting a business. I haven't researched it really. I've never done it before. And I don't have anybody in my immediate circle that has started a business. So where do I go for help? So there was all these unknown questions. That was my -- what about you when you first started?
Lau: That's a good one. Actually. That's a hard one to top; that fear of failure in is like big. I think your engineer needs to do a, some, some like good trivia music right now. Just like some Jeopardy music right now.
Anne: Yeah. Right?
Lau: See if I could top that one. Okay. Here's one. The fear of spending money, IE the fear of losing money.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Right. Without an ROI that's secure, if there is such a thing without knowing what my return really will be, without knowing if I'll ever get work, I'm scared to spend money. I'm scared to go broke. I'm scared to waste money. That's a big one, right?
Anne: That's a very common fear I think for a lot of people just getting into the industry, it's their, they like, I don't have money to invest, but I need to get work. And it's that which came first. Right?
Lau: Right.
Anne: And so thankfully I think anybody that goes into this full or, or even part-time needs to, first of all, make sure they have a little bit of a financial cushion so that they can invest the money. Just knowing I didn't quit my corporate job completely blind. I did understand that I would need to invest money. And so I think that securing that knowledge that you have money to invest in your career is one thing. And that's a big thing.
And that even now, as I have been in the industry for more than 15 years to continually invest in my company, because now that I have seven to eight people right now that work for me, that was a big thing, right? To be able to like, oh my God, I'm gonna pay someone, and do I have the extra money to pay someone? And so BOSSes, what's really cool about that comparison is that going from an independent, I work for myself, I'm going out to make money, and to grow to a point where you're now gonna hire an assistant that can help you because you're grown to the point so that you can continue to do what it is that you love and have other people that can do the things that maybe you don't love so much, or that you're not as good at.
And so that whole first decision like, oh my gosh, do I have the money to hire someone and to spend and to invest? That's a big fear as well. And I think what gave me confidence was I did it small steps at a time. And I think that's one thing for you, BOSSes, is to think about it. What are the small steps they're gonna take you to get you to your goal and what are the achievable steps that will then give you confidence, right, to continue moving forward?
Lau; Right. And, Anne, I wanna piggyback on that point , which is so necessary. It's like bottom line again, bedrock principle what you're talking about here is mindset, mindset, mindset over your matter. You really have to power up that mindset when it comes to investment and say, am I coming from a mindset of poverty or am I coming from a mindset of wealth? And I'm not only talking about physical money. I'm also talking about abundance, surplus, glass half full. Am I a hopeful positive, I'm gonna take that lemon and make it into lemonade? That to me is wealth, wealth of knowledge, wealth of spirit, wealth of fun and risk taking. So you have to be honest with yourself I think, Anne, and say, am I really in a position to do this? Because my mindset needs to be able to open up to the possibilities of success. Like I, I always say to my clients be careful what you wish for. You may get it.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Right? Because success is difficult. It's hard. It holds you to a very high level of responsibility and industry standard and timeline and everything. Success isn't easy. Success is a challenge. Right?
Anne: And there's a fear of success as well. That is absolutely a thing.
Lau: Ooh, that's your number three, I think, right?
Anne: Yeah. Fear of success. That's number -- and then wanting to continue and continue to grow. And I think it's a cycle. Every step, as you move up really becomes, I'm afraid. like acknowledging the fear, and then breaking it up maybe into smaller chunks. How can I get from this level to this level? And then breaking that up into small steps and then being able to manifest come from that place of abundance, and just push through until that small step is achieved. That will give you the conference to move up to the next step.
Lau: Absolutely.
Anne: And help you to manifest the next step. And I think that that might be a, a great process for people to work through the fear and build their confidence in order to grow their business.
Lau: Yeah. And yeah, I do think you have to be as honest with yourself as possible and your crew around you, your coaches, your directors, whoever you're working with, even your professional accountability buddies in saying, do I really want success? Or do I like the idea of success? Because the reality is a job, it's work, it's time. It's wonderful, but it's work. So do I really want to put in what I need to put in to work or do I have self sabotaging patterns where every time I start getting close to something that's progressive and good, I put something in the way of it to wall it off? Which I see an awful lot of people doing, whether it's, I can't make that timeframe.
Anne: I see that on social media.
Lau: I'm busy with something else. Yeah. yeah. And you think, well, wait a second, isn't this your goal? Isn't this what you wanna be doing? Yes. As long as it's within my timeframe, within my structure, my context and not really realizing that you're really have to be more client centered, more audience centered, more producer centered. It's not about you in your world. It's really about what you're doing for the client. And so the self sabotage can start to take over. That's common.
Anne: Yeah. That's I think a, a big thing. And I do see that on social media where there'll be forums and people will be talking about, well, how do I get work? Or how do you find success in this? And you know, well, I just can't because of this. I can't because of that. I can't because of, and so, you know, again, it's that sort of thing where you're, you're kind of putting all the things that you can't do in front of things that you can do to grow and to move up. And I think, again, it's got to start with you being honest and taking a real honest look at yourself and finding out if you're willing to do the work. You know, there's so many people, and I know you've run into this as well, Lau, that say, do I have what it takes? Do I have what it takes to make it?
Lau: Right.
Anne: So there's a good question, Lau. What is your answer to the people who will ask you that? Do I have what it takes?
Lau: I always say, you know, when that type of question comes up, I always feel immediately, my knee jerk reaction is I think you're asking the wrong question, to be honest with you. I think a more effective question to ask would be, am I willing to set up a realistic work structure for myself, then I can adhere to on a time management basis and really hold myself accountable to that. Am I willing to do that? Because I always feel like when I went to grad school, I was in a accepted to a three year conservatory full program. And I was nervous about it, nervous, fearful, a little scared. I asked one of my dear friends who had come out of a program. I said, what do I expect? What should I be looking for? He said, listen, simple as this, what you put into it is what you're gonna get out of it.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: And I said, what a brilliant answer. I've used that for years and years, because it's an individual journey. It's an individual's path. I can't predict your level of success. I can't predict who's going to perceive you as a incredible talent. I can't even predict what kind of genre you're gonna go into, honestly. I can give you my, my advice and that's what I can do. but you have to be honest with yourself and say, do I want this? Am I willing to set up a work schedule for myself? Can I invest in this? Am I willing to not be an ego and set up professionals who know a lot more than I do surrounding me to teach me? I mean, am I willing to do this? And then I can get closer to the answer to that question.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's so many people that think it takes like, well, do I have the voice for it? And honestly, I always try to tell people it's about so much more than just your voice. It's really about your connection and the ability to bring yourself to the words and be able to connect. And I believe that if you have the ability to connect with people on a day to day basis, you have the basis for what it takes to do voiceover, because everybody's looking for authenticity. And I think if you're not at the point in your journey where you can bring authenticity to your craft, then that might be the question to ask. It's not, do I have the voice, but do I have the courage to expose myself and be authentic through the art? And once I am, then does that bring me the joy that will bring the passion, the emotion to the craft, which I think is what is truly the connection with people and what people respond to.
I'm gonna say the physical aspects of the voice in this whole career, like, will you be successful, I think there's a very small percentage of us -- and again, it's very subjective, right? That have a voice that has the physical characteristics that are like, oh my goodness, like the majority of people will find that beautiful. Very few. There's a lot of us out here though that have a great ability to connect with people. And that almost means more because if you have a beautiful voice and you're not able to connect with authenticity, that is only gonna buy you a certain level of success, I believe.
Lau: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, I think we just came up with your next episode, and that is like all the wrong questions to ask.
Anne: Yeah. Right?
Lau: When you start voiceover, there's really a lot -- I don't even like to use the word wrong. It's not that it's wrong. It's that it's not appropriate at the time to ask that kind of question.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: Until you've really been in it for a while. Like a question like coming into it, how much money can I make doing this? It's not an appropriate or effective question to answer at the beginning stages of a career. It just, it just isn't. So that's your next episode, I think, that's the next one.
Anne: Well, I, what I was hoping with that explanation was to also give people a boost of confidence so that it does help. I mean, this whole episode is about how to build your confidence up and how to overcome the fear. And I, I really believe that if you understand that about this industry and understand that about this career, again, it's so much more than just that voice, then it becomes, do you have the courage to build a business? Do you have the courage to do the work? And again, that I think if you break it down into the small steps and that's about my only solution for it is to really maybe write your goals down, which I think is a phenomenal way to really help you break down this fear, right, and give yourself confidence.
And I also think, and, and I believe that we talked about this before, or I must have talked about it 100 times before writing down those small accomplishments can really mean the world to giving yourself more confidence to continue forward. And as well as the fact that you wrote it down, right, gives you a benchmark. So again, you have to grow step by step moving forward and moving more forward. How do you know if you don't compare it to where you've been? Right? You don't have a benchmark.
Lau: So exactly. There's just no context for it in time, in your timeline of your life and also of your career that you're in the middle of. I, I'm also gonna add to that and say, build your circle. I won't even say network. I'll just say circle because it could be family. It could be friends. It could be whoever it could be pets. It could be anyone or anything that helps promote your inner strength, your inner joy and your courage, the word you used earlier. I think is a really smart and frightening word to a lot of people. Like, how do I get courageous? How do I get brave? How, how do I become the superhero? Well, it's just like little moments, little detailed steps you take every day. It isn't these big, massive moves of saving the world. It's like, if you're helping the environment, how do I save the world? I can't save the world. Well, just pick up the can.
Anne: Well, exactly.
Lau: You know, just pick up a bottle. Put it in here.
Anne: Exactly. Take the small step. .
Lau: That's all you have to do.
Anne: That's such a wonderful example because honestly, if it becomes this all encompassing, overwhelming thing, you've quit before you've even started.
Lau: Right, I can't do that.
Anne: If you make it so large and so big, and it's like, oh my God, I can't possibly like, if you're beginning, you're beginning to say, well, I didn't make any money this week. And that is what deters you from, you know, the entire career, then --
Lau: Then you quit.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Lau: You've already quit.
Anne: You've already quit.
Lau: I got one more to throw in the mix, 'cause I hear this a lot. Especially from my crowd that's over 40, fear of technology. Very scary to a lot of people who are not digital natives. They didn't grow up on computers. They didn't grow up using a microphone. They didn't grow up on a video screen. They just didn't, right? I'm in that generation. I'm generation X. We didn't grow up that way. We learned, I mean, I didn't learn it. It was till I was in my 30's, like how to even be on a computer, you know, we didn't have cell phones. So that fear of technology I think can stop a lot of people's progress, and it's important that if you recognize you have the fear, again, it's okay to have the fear it's, it's natural. It's normal.
Just how do I manage the fear? Well, one way I could manage the fear, I could delegate some tasks to some of my circle that's around me that I find overwhelming or I find scary. It could be something like, help me choose a microphone or help me, help me learn some new apps on my computer or help me whatever. And also delegating actual tasks to someone else. Like you have an engineer you hire, I have an engineer I hire, I mean that's okay once you have enough money in the pot to hire people and have them do a job that you're not proficient at, you don't have the time for, you don't want to be doing whatever. It's like give yourself permission to delegate.
Anne: One of the biggest confidence builders I've found myself as I've grown through the years. Is that money in the pot thing right? So if you can put together a savings account and as you make money, right? Put some in. I mean, that sounds like my mom and dad, like from just, we save a penny. Right? But having money in the pot will help you have confidence so that when there is a low period or maybe you don't get a job for a week or two or a month, that will give you the confidence to still continue on and move forward, and also give you the confidence to help reinvest that money someplace else. The bigger that savings account is, I'll tell you once I got my savings account to a certain level, I was bold as yeah. Anything good.
Lau: Yes, yes, yes.
Anne: Because I was like, okay, this is okay. I was bold in everything bold in how I was gonna grow my business, bold in, you know, oh, maybe I'll try this now. Right? I was bold to make different steps. And it really changed the way that I ran my business, and it was exhilarating to me. And that gave me confidence like nothing else. I'm not gonna say money is the only thing that gives you confidence, but in this kind of an industry where you have a lot of highs and a lot of lows and a lot of fears, and a lot of the fear I think is fear of failure. And for me, because I went full time, I wanted to contribute to the household expenses, right? This was not just something that I could just enjoy for the rest of my life. I wasn't retiring.
I needed to make money to pay the mortgage. And so money for me there gave me a lot of confidence. So I think BOSSes, take tiny steps to understand that there is fear. Take those tiny steps, write down those goals, celebrate those milestones, generate that confidence, and continue to grow and be BOSSes. Right?
Lau: I love it. We'll call that VO bucks. Put away your VO bucks, right?
Anne: Your VO bucks. I love it.
Lau: VO bucks. And when someone says to you, Anne, but honestly I'm telling you honestly, Anne, I don't have the money. I can't buy a new microphone. You say, well, wait a second, wait a second. This is where the financial advisor and you start popping out and you say, wait a second. Didn't you go to the movies last weekend? Did you eat out a couple times this week?
Anne: Did you buy that Starbucks?
Lau: yes. Just, just be willing to sacrifice that. Do the math on, on that. Put it towards the microphone or whatever you need. And then tell me later, wow. I was able to reprioritize, redirect my VO bucks, and I somehow magically found the money. I found it.
Anne: Yeah, hey, I got a part-time job as a office assistant and my mother was like, here, I came out of my six figure, you know, corporate job. And then I'm like, well I'm an office assistant, and I would never downplay any of that. But it was one of those things I did part-time while I was building up the business so that I could have the money and not feel horribly guilty. Right? That I wasn't contributing. And I was building up the business. So giving me confidence, giving me the money to reinvest. BOSSes, you can do it. We've got the faith in you. so.
Lau: Everyone is the superhero at the end of the day, Anne, everyone has those powers.
Anne: Business superpowers. So awesome episode. Thank you so much, Lau. It's been so much fun.
Lau: So much fun.
Anne: And, and I am going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also I want to let you know about 100voiceswhocare.org. You can use your voice to make an immediate difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you. So find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Lau: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Casting is global, digital, and massive. This week, Anne & Lau lead Bosses through the complicated world of casting. Resiliency & timing are key for booking that dream gig. Lau teaches us that not all rejections mean no. They often mean not right now. Anne shows us that we are every aspect of our business and that marketing well enough to get in front of voice seekers is part of your job, whether you like it or not! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and defeated during the casting process, tune in for some (super) powerful advice…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to bring back to the show special guest co-host Lau Lapides and Business Superpowers. Yay. Hey Lau. How's it going today?
Lau: Awesome, Anne. So good to be with you. Love being with you.
Anne: I'm so excited for this new series and actually, because you do a lot of casting, and I also do casting as well. I thought it would be a great episode to talk about casting because casting over the years, I'm sure, has evolved and changed. And a lot of times my students wanna know, well, what does it take to get in front of a casting director and impress them so that they get hired?
Lau: Sure, it's a biggie.
Anne: Who better to ask, Lau than someone that's been doing it for many, many years. Right? So let's talk about like, how has casting changed over the years?
Lau: Mm that's a loaded question. I love the theme. I have to tell you, I love the superpower theme because innately, I think for actors, voice actors, there's this feeling of helplessness, of powerlessness, of waiting for a job or waiting for someone to like me. Right? You know, what did I do wrong? Why didn't they cast me? Why didn't they like me? And I love the theme of this show that you chose, because it's all about finding your inner power. Like what ignites us, what empowers us when we get to the casting, when we get to the agency, when we get to the hiring power, hiring people, how do we ignite our own power inside of us? So I love that. I love that.
Okay. So it's a hard question to answer in the sense that it's so unique to each person. Every individual is a very, very unique experience throughout their performance life. But you know, I can give you a few tips along the way, in terms of, let's say you're starting out and you're early to market, and you're coming in, you're saying, huh, how do I get people knowing my name and hearing my voice? Well, for casting, I'll tell you one of the things that we're always looking for are people that are submitting a lot. They're really marketing themselves well, and they're submitting a lot, and they're unafraid to submit and resubmit because I think it's a truism in the industry that you're not gonna book the first job. You may not even book the second or third job or the 50th job.
So what do we do? We have to have that tenacity, that inner power within us to say, it's okay. I can submit until the cows come home. And maybe, maybe they just don't need my value right now. So I'm not looking at this as a rejection. I'm looking at this as not a no, but a not now.
Anne: Right? I love that. You know what, you're the first person that I've ever heard say that, the tenacity, submit, submit, submit, because I think for a lot of talent, they get discouraged, right? They're either like, oh my gosh, I've submitted. I haven't booked anything. And then they get down on themselves. And you're the first casting director that I've heard actually say be tenacious, submit, submit, submit. And actually, you know, I totally agree, because I feel like your name will become known as well to the casting directors. And at some point, I would imagine if you're continually submitting, either at some point, somebody's going to stop and give you feedback, if they feel it's necessary. And also it's just kind of a way to keep yourself top of mind, which is like any good marketing, is to keep yourself top of mind with a casting director. So I wanted to stop and say, thank you for saying that, because I'm sure that you just gave these BOSSes a whole lot more reason to just continue on, and be positive, and just submit, submit. So thank you for that. Love it. Yeah.
Lau: Of course. That was my pleasure. And BOSSes listening in, I'm telling you, there are not enough places in the world and your lifetime isn't long enough to submit to every place you could be submitting to. So it's not about waiting for 5, 10, 15, 20 sources. It's about pasting. Like it's global, we're in a global industry now. You wanna cover the globe. So you don't wanna go from local. You don't wanna do regional. You don't even wanna keep it national. You wanna go international. So you wanna think about as you work with your coaches, as you work with your trainers, as you work with Anne, you wanna think about, boy, here's where I am in this market, but how am I viewed in that market? And then how am I viewed in this market? And it becomes an endless journey of how can I get in front of casting and representation that can represent me for that particular genre and that particular brand, which may change, which very well may change.
Anne: Now, let me play devil's advocate here from the voice talent perspective and say, how do I find different casting directors that cast in different genres or different places? Is that something that's easily researched?
Lau: Well, yes and no. In the sense that nothing is easy But everything's at our fingertips now.
Anne: Right, right.
Lau: We know this, everything is at our fingertips. So what you need, and I'm like preaching to the choir on this one, but what the BOSSes need is they need a great time management schedule. They need to be honest about what are they committing? I always say what you put in is what you're going to get out of it for your career. Am I putting in an hour, a day, am I putting in 15 hours a day? I'm most likely gonna get more out of it if I'm putting in more time. And the time needs to be very focused time, very incisive time. I need to know exactly, like how does an actor think I need to have purpose. I need to have an objective. I can't just generically go in and hope for work. I have to really, really target in.
So let's say, say, I'm looking for casting directors. I know, based on my studio, I know one of the ways you can be seen live and virtually, virtually and live is to do showcases. And showcases are a fascinating event. We produce them and a lot of others produce them as well. And you get to go live in person, whether you're walking into a room or whether you're walking into a Zoom room, you get to meet people. There's nothing better than being in front of a casting director or an agent or a producer and saying, hi, I'm live. This is who I am. This is what I do. I'm gonna do it for you right now. This is a great option to get in front of as many casting people and reps, if you're looking for reps, as possible. A lot of people are afraid of it and they shouldn't be.
Anne: Well, and I'm gonna just kind of plug my VO Peeps group. I mean, we do have workouts with casting directors and talent agents. And if you are afraid thinking that you're not ready to be seen or to be showcased, do the work to get yourself performance-wise where you feel confident. Because it's never a guarantee if you're performing in front of a casting director. And I always have to say that. Like, there is no guarantee you'll get work if you come to my workshop that is hosted by me and I have a talent agent or a casting director, but what a great opportunity to kind of showcase your talents. And so again, there's never any guarantee that you'll get work, but it's an opportunity for you to get in front of these people live in a Zoom room for the VO Peeps cases anyways, and then live also with -- Lau has showcases. And I know there's other casting directors as well that do those showcases, and that's a great opportunity to get seen and heard.
Lau: It is. And it also will satisfy you. Like if you're doing the Peeps, you're doing the workout, it satisfies that live actor forum in you, where you wanna get some feedback. You wanna meet someone, you wanna talk about what you do. You wanna have the interaction of the room. I mean, that's something we just can't get alone in our studio or alone in our booth. We just can't capture it the way we can live. So I, I do think that's one, really important way where you're in a, either a workout or a casting workshop or a showcase, whatever that is. I would put that right into your time management. I also would work with either Anne, your coach, your trainer to really get together the marketing list you wanna get together of casting directors and of agencies that you can be target marketing. I think that's very important and a lot of talent miss that. I think gone are the days of opening up the phone book. We don't really use the phone book that often anymore.
Anne: Well, wait, but wait, the Voiceover Resource Guide is coming back. I have to just do a plug for that because if you -- do you remember -- you've been casting direct for a while. You remember the Voiceover Resource Guide, the printed book?
Lau: Yes.
Anne: That used to be the only thing that basically gave you information for area coaches, area studios and casting directors, and that is making a comeback. And so it, it is in print and also online. So that's a great resource, and BOSSes, I'll be put in that link in our show notes and also any resources, Lau, that are online that you can share with BOSSes, I'll put that as well in the show notes. So you guys can check that out, but continue on Lau about how talent can get in front of first of all, find them, get in front of, and then how can we make a good impression? Like I think that's really what everybody wants to know.
Lau: It is. It is, it is. And, and one more I wanna throw in the mix, Anne, and that is, I want you -- not you I want everyone listening in to think about every person that you meet or get in front of or have email contact with is a prospect. So they are a potential casting director.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: They don't call themselves that that's not their title and they wouldn't even know what it is if you ask them, but they're the hiring person. They're the decision maker. They're the person who maybe owns their own business and needs vocal talent, doesn't know that they need them. So as you have your business, you have to think, wow, I am gonna look at my suspects and I'm gonna prospect them. And how do I prospect them? I'm gonna go after every organization, every group that I possibly can, that fits my interest of where my voice is. So for instance, I may go after the women's groups. There's a lot of professional women's groups out there that are wonderful, that would love to know, women and men, that would love to know your voices there, to promote their companies, to promote their products and services, to promote their organizations. A lot of them don't even have voiceovers to do that, right? Why not hit them up? They could be your casting director. What about your local chamber of commerce? What about your BNIs? Right?
All of those, those are international professional clubs that you can go into and be in front of 10, 20, 50, 100 people at a time that are great prospects for you to then create what I call the rapport before the relationship. The two R's you have to remember when you're trying to get in front of anyone who's doing casting or hiring is, hey, I have to connect with you. I have to have some sort of authentic connection that you're interested in me and I'm interested in you. And then we have to build a relationship together over time. So it's really working in that sphere of understanding that casting is now global. It's now massive. And yes, you have casting directors proper in each city, in each state, but then you have all these businesses that may very well hire you once they know that you're there.
Anne: Sure, sure, sure. And you know, I love that you've brought the term casting agent global now. It's really anybody that has a need for your services and that can hire you. And yes, there are traditional casting agents title only that belong to in studios typically. Right? And their job is to cast voice talent all day. And I like that you created a global job for anybody that hires you for your voice. And that's very true. The one thing I think that, BOSSes, you need to take into consideration is the amount of education necessary to connect and find the need for the job. Right?
Because a lot of times we're auditioning, we're auditioning, we're auditioning. We're not getting any feedback. We're not getting any gigs. And we turn it all on our own performance. And I speak on this all the time, because I know that mentality. I have many students that talk about it all the time, and they're like, I don't think I belong in this industry anymore because I'm not getting any work. A lot of time, that work depends on the market. It depends on if there is a need at the time for your voice. And that is something that I think we forget as voice talent.
We forget that a lot of it is timing based, right? A company may absolutely love your voice for their product, but if they don't have a campaign or they don't have something ready yet to release, they can't hire somebody. And so you just may be like, I'm submitting, submitting, submitting. And maybe just at that point, right, you might be marketing to them, they just don't need your voice yet. And that's when you're doing that kind of marketing and people are like, well, nobody's responding to me. I'm not getting any feedback to my marketing. Well, that may just be a timing issue. That's all it is. So don't always go to the place where, oh no, they didn't like my voice.
Lau: Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, it's a business where we have to personalize everything but we can't take anything personal.
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Lau: We just have to understand the difference between personalizing your work and me, Lau, feeling like you hit me, you hit me. Well, I have to be careful of that because then I'll be hit all day long, and it won't be about my value. It'll be about me personally, as you gotta keep it to your value. And I do think, Anne, that there's two factors as I look at the years and years of working with talent and connecting them and auditioning them and all that, two very big areas that are common that are the obstacles, the walls that people have a tough time getting through; identified them as focus and fear. Those are typically the two game stoppers for you that I'm scared. I'm terrified. I don't wanna be rejected. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not good enough. That's the fear factor. And then the focus of like, okay, do I understand my schedule? Do I know what I can authentically commit? Am I really putting in the time and energy I need to, to get the ROI that I'm looking for? And oftentimes folks are not doing it. If they're gonna be really honest and transparent, they're not putting in the time and effort that an entrepreneur that owns their own business really needs to put in, right?
Anne: So are you talking now? Are they not doing enough auditions or are they not doing enough work to prepare their performance so that they can get hired or both?
Lau: It could be all of the above. When we started the conversation, we were talking about casting. And so for looking at finding and prospecting my own casting opportunities, well, how do I do that? I have to put X amount of time into my work week in order to do that. And there was one more I wanted to hit too, Anne, and that was getting my lists together. And if you're connected to great people like Anne, who may be able to help you with, who are the casting directors, and the casting departments, and the agencies proper in the nation that you can then be going, okay, I gotta send, send, send, send, send, I'm gonna Google. I'm gonna get online. I'm gonna look at doing all of that. And it is a lot of work. It's a lot of work.
Anne: It is, it is.
Lau: But it's work we have to do in marketing efforts to understand who is hiring, who is submitting, and who is gone now because after COVID, a lot of businesses unfortunately went down or merged and changed.
Anne: Yeah. And one thing I wanna point out BOSSes is that we have had a couple of different episodes on email marketing and just make sure if you are submitting or sending information out that you're abiding by rules and regulations so that you're not considered as spamming. And so be careful with that. It's one of the reasons -- and shameless plug, one of the reasons that I created the VO BOSS Blast is that we can market to a list that has already given us permission of casting directors and production companies that have said, yes, it's okay for us to market to. So that is something you guys can take a look at as well as doing your own research. And then it becomes a marketing challenge, right? How are you going to get in front of these people? And again, then it becomes that timing issue. But as Lau stated, you really do have to put in the effort.
And I know how many people, they got into this industry thinking it's gonna be all fun and performance in the studio. Well, believe it or not, a lot of the time really isn't until you get that job, right? You've got to get the job. And then once you've got the job, you can't anticipate that that job will be there forever. You have to continually mine for new prospects and getting in front of new people that can cast you and hire you. So Lau, are there differences over the years in terms of what people are looking for today versus maybe 20 years ago? Let's talk about the difference in the types of voices they're looking for.
Lau: Yeah. Well, there's been, I know, you know, this Anna huge swing in diversity casting and rightly so.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: That's been a long time coming. And so we've seen that both on camera and voiceover.
Anne: Yeah. And I'm so thankful for that honestly. It's just really brought, I mean, these past years, and it's not to where we need it yet, but I'll tell you what. I've really been enjoying hearing and watching and seeing all the diversity. It's just been amazing. And I just wanted to keep continuing, so.
Lau: Absolutely. I'm right there with you and it's been happening now --
Anne: It's been wonderful.
Lau: -- solidly -- yeah -- for about three years or so, maybe a little bit longer, which is exciting. And now we have to look at, okay, vocal actors, if you're not in that diversity casting pool, that's okay. You have your value and now you have to do the work to say, how do I prospect the right clients, the right customers, the right casting who's going to be interested in what I'm doing and what my sound is? And, you know, be honest, like, are you a proactive person or are you more of a reactive person? And both are just fine. But one of the common denominators of successful entrepreneurs is that they're proactive, in that we're willing to go out and take action and take a lot of action and do it consistently for a long time, whether we get a return on it or not. I mean, that's just kind of the reality. We can't always depend on someone else doing it for us, and we can't always allow someone else to do it for us. There are certain things we just have to take agency of.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Right? And our career, our career, our business, VO BOSS, the name of what we do, the branding is ours. And we have to take 100% commitment in that.
Anne: Yeah. And you are the marketing department, , you know, you are the accounting department. You are the performance department. You are everything. And just to remind people, and again, I think we forget, we say, I am going to be a voice actor. And so you envision this life where you're gonna be in the studio, auditioning, doing gigs, and the other parts of that business, you kind of say, oh shoot, I have to do those too? And so yeah, you do. And as a matter of fact, that's kind of why there's entire marketing departments in companies that encompass people, like more than one people. And they're full time, as well as accounting people, people full time. So if you wanna run your business successfully, you've got to really remember that this marketing, you may hate it. You can decide to maybe outsource it, but you do have to have control over it being done and/or delegating it to someone. And it is a necessary evil, accounting is a necessary evil.
But getting in front of casting directors, people who can hire you, that is a marketing effort and sales really. But if you're doing great marketing, the sales hopefully come automatically. Right? And you don't have to call people up and say, yeah, you know, sell your voice. But if you're doing marketing properly, hopefully it comes your way. And this stems back to a lot of conversations, and I'm sure we can talk about it as well in terms of, is your storefront ready? Do you have your website? Do you have your demos? Are you prepared to market in that respect? It's all encompassing.
Lau: And you took the words literally right outta my mouth. That's how I know we're sister sisters. I know this because I was just about to say, I just coached a young man this morning and, and the concern was, ugh, I wanna get to the right agency. I need to be at a big agency. I need to get these kinds of roles. I need to do this. And then when we were actually coaching, there were a lot of issues in his delivery. So always be in coaching, always be training, always have that on your side because casting and agents and producers, you know, really isn't their job to give you feedback. I mean, you're lucky if you get some good feedback from them. A lot of casting were actors before and will just give you feedback, but many won't. And so to have that level of expectation is unrealistic. It's really not their job. Their job is to deal with placement, like recruiters. You're dealing with placement. It's the job of your coach, your trainer, or being in your class. That is really the feedback source that you need to have that piece before you're overly concerned about the business end of it. You don't wanna be marketing something that's not quite ready yet. That's not there or not competitive.
Anne: Yeah. I think lifelong learners, I think as performers, whether you are acting on camera, whatever it is, theater and voiceover, I think we continually have to be lifelong learners. I mean, that's, as an educator, that's what I love so much. That's why I was in education I think because I love to learn and I am a lifelong learner. And so that includes your performance and everything that you do and your business to be continually learning. And you have to consider investment. Not everything is free. Sometimes you can train for free. There's a lot of great resources out there, but sometimes you do have to make an investment in it and you can't be surprised by that. And you can't complain. They complain about the cost of coaching, the cost of demos, the cost of marketing. But guys, that's just a reality. That is an investment in your business.
And yes, maybe there are some things that cost more than you anticipated, but it is something that I think as a good business BOSS, right, you have to anticipate and you have to put that money away for that coaching. That always helps. So to get yourself in front of that casting director, now you're in front of them. You wanna be able to impress them with your performance and you wanna have something that's relevant and current. And so studying also I think trends, right? Go to iSpot, listen to current commercials, go to YouTube and listen to current voiceover. Now I'm the first person to say that not everything you hear is gonna be the right or great voiceover, but I think you can develop an ear for great voiceover.
Lau: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think, you know, having that training piece on your side like having it in, in your back pocket, the professional development, the education you're right, Anne, it's just a lifelong thing. And I often tell my clients, we're not off the hook. They somehow look at us and think, you guys are the BOSS. You own the world, you know, everything you're done.
Anne: You're getting, you're getting that work for me. .
Lau: And I'm telling you, they don't understand that we're always growing businesses. We're always leveling up. We're always investing and reinvesting, and fixing problems, and doing things better. It's never done. There isn't the sense of, oh, I did it. I got my demos. I'm done. No, you're just starting. You're really just beginning. You're not done. You're only at the beginning. And that's what business is like, a general sense. It's like, you always feel like you're starting and restarting based off what your new objectives and your purpose is.
Quarter one, I have a new purpose. Now, quarter two comes, I repurpose that. And now I got a new objective. So I have to be able to understand that and know that the truth is our profession is a drop in the bucket, not to minimize the way people feel. 'Cause I totally empathize. Especially in the middle of inflation, believe me, I get you. I get you. But I'm telling you it's a drop in the bucket compared to going to medical school. It is a drop in the bucket compared to my friends who went for an MBA to be a financial advisor. And even actors that are friends of mine that went through three year conservatory degrees come out owing $200,000, $300,000 that they may never be able to pay off. What we are investing, Anne, is incremental. It's not overnight. It's really significantly lower than a lot of other industries out there and what they call upon just to get to the point of an interview for a job.
Anne: Right. Now you did mention, and I just was asking like how things have evolved and changed over the years in terms of what casting directors are looking for. And diversity was absolutely number one out of your mouth there. And I agree with that. What else is there? I'm gonna say that natural, believable, authentic style of delivery for sure, which is 90% of casting specs when they come through. Let's talk about that for a little bit.
Lau: Mm-hmm. I know that's true. That's the thing everyone gets annoyed with is like, ugh, the natural, the conversational, the connected.
Anne: That's the hardest,
Lau: it's the hardest. Whether you're a voiceover or an on camera, they just don't wanna hear you act.
Anne: Yep, yep.
Lau: They just don't want you exaggerated. They don't want you to call attention to your style. They just want to connect to you as a very, very authentic real person. So yeah. It's super important. It's the thing. It represents a whole, actually the largest generation in the United States, which is millennials right now represents them. Right? So that's something we'd absolutely have to pay attention to.
Anne: Even promo by the way, even promo is going more conversational by the way. I thought that was so interesting because I hosted Rick Wasserman the other night for VO Peeps. And he said, yeah, they're looking for conversational promo. No more of the announcer style. So.
Lau: That amazes me. That really does. That's so true. That amazes me. I wanted to say in casting, now we look for people who have their own built-in audience.
Anne: Yes.
Lau: That was not a thing. like, I'm not a digital native. I didn't grow up with a computer. Right? Like I literally learned how to turn a computer on at 32 years old. All right. So I'm off the hook a little bit, but the younger generation is not off the hook. They have to come in with their own built-in audience. What I mean by that is a lot of casting will ask you, okay, for your social media, what's your fan base like? What are your numbers like? Who's on your Insta channel? Who's this? Who's that and you're taken aback going, what, why are they asking me this? Because oftentimes they wanna ride. They wanna ride on their coattails of your current audience. Right? So they wanna take people in that already have this built in fan club. So the persona, yeah, the personality really weighs heavily even for voiceover.
Anne: And I think that's gonna be that's gonna be another episode, all about social media and social media etiquette, which has become just chaotic. And I think that it's important that as companies and BOSSes, we understand how to represent those companies and our products online. And that's very important, I think, to casting directors these days. So.
Lau: Yeah. It's the wild west for sure. And, and dealing with protocol and etiquette but, and again, for listeners who are going, oh no, I'm 55, and I don't know anything about that. It doesn't make you or break you. This is not like, if you don't have it, you're not gonna work. It's just, what are the waves? What are the trends? What are things that we're paying attention to that we find people are really looking for? And that's one of those.
Anne: Yeah. Oh good stuff, Lau. Good stuff.
Lau: Good stuff.
Anne: Thank you so much again for being here and dropping those nuggets of wisdom to the BOSS listeners. I'm very excited for our future episodes. BOSSes, by the way, if you are looking to have your voice make an impact, you absolutely can. And you can give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. And also as always, we love our sponsor ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Lau, thank you so much. And we'll see you next week, BOSSes. Bye!
Lau: My pleasure. Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Casting is global, digital, and massive. This week, Anne & Lau lead Bosses through the complicated world of casting. Resiliency & timing are key for booking that dream gig. Lau teaches us that not all rejections mean no. They often mean not right now. Anne shows us that we are every aspect of our business and that marketing well enough to get in front of voice seekers is part of your job, whether you like it or not! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and defeated during the casting process, tune in for some (super) powerful advice…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to bring back to the show special guest co-host Lau Lapides and Business Superpowers. Yay. Hey Lau. How's it going today?
Lau: Awesome, Anne. So good to be with you. Love being with you.
Anne: I'm so excited for this new series and actually, because you do a lot of casting, and I also do casting as well. I thought it would be a great episode to talk about casting because casting over the years, I'm sure, has evolved and changed. And a lot of times my students wanna know, well, what does it take to get in front of a casting director and impress them so that they get hired?
Lau: Sure, it's a biggie.
Anne: Who better to ask, Lau than someone that's been doing it for many, many years. Right? So let's talk about like, how has casting changed over the years?
Lau: Mm that's a loaded question. I love the theme. I have to tell you, I love the superpower theme because innately, I think for actors, voice actors, there's this feeling of helplessness, of powerlessness, of waiting for a job or waiting for someone to like me. Right? You know, what did I do wrong? Why didn't they cast me? Why didn't they like me? And I love the theme of this show that you chose, because it's all about finding your inner power. Like what ignites us, what empowers us when we get to the casting, when we get to the agency, when we get to the hiring power, hiring people, how do we ignite our own power inside of us? So I love that. I love that.
Okay. So it's a hard question to answer in the sense that it's so unique to each person. Every individual is a very, very unique experience throughout their performance life. But you know, I can give you a few tips along the way, in terms of, let's say you're starting out and you're early to market, and you're coming in, you're saying, huh, how do I get people knowing my name and hearing my voice? Well, for casting, I'll tell you one of the things that we're always looking for are people that are submitting a lot. They're really marketing themselves well, and they're submitting a lot, and they're unafraid to submit and resubmit because I think it's a truism in the industry that you're not gonna book the first job. You may not even book the second or third job or the 50th job.
So what do we do? We have to have that tenacity, that inner power within us to say, it's okay. I can submit until the cows come home. And maybe, maybe they just don't need my value right now. So I'm not looking at this as a rejection. I'm looking at this as not a no, but a not now.
Anne: Right? I love that. You know what, you're the first person that I've ever heard say that, the tenacity, submit, submit, submit, because I think for a lot of talent, they get discouraged, right? They're either like, oh my gosh, I've submitted. I haven't booked anything. And then they get down on themselves. And you're the first casting director that I've heard actually say be tenacious, submit, submit, submit. And actually, you know, I totally agree, because I feel like your name will become known as well to the casting directors. And at some point, I would imagine if you're continually submitting, either at some point, somebody's going to stop and give you feedback, if they feel it's necessary. And also it's just kind of a way to keep yourself top of mind, which is like any good marketing, is to keep yourself top of mind with a casting director. So I wanted to stop and say, thank you for saying that, because I'm sure that you just gave these BOSSes a whole lot more reason to just continue on, and be positive, and just submit, submit. So thank you for that. Love it. Yeah.
Lau: Of course. That was my pleasure. And BOSSes listening in, I'm telling you, there are not enough places in the world and your lifetime isn't long enough to submit to every place you could be submitting to. So it's not about waiting for 5, 10, 15, 20 sources. It's about pasting. Like it's global, we're in a global industry now. You wanna cover the globe. So you don't wanna go from local. You don't wanna do regional. You don't even wanna keep it national. You wanna go international. So you wanna think about as you work with your coaches, as you work with your trainers, as you work with Anne, you wanna think about, boy, here's where I am in this market, but how am I viewed in that market? And then how am I viewed in this market? And it becomes an endless journey of how can I get in front of casting and representation that can represent me for that particular genre and that particular brand, which may change, which very well may change.
Anne: Now, let me play devil's advocate here from the voice talent perspective and say, how do I find different casting directors that cast in different genres or different places? Is that something that's easily researched?
Lau: Well, yes and no. In the sense that nothing is easy But everything's at our fingertips now.
Anne: Right, right.
Lau: We know this, everything is at our fingertips. So what you need, and I'm like preaching to the choir on this one, but what the BOSSes need is they need a great time management schedule. They need to be honest about what are they committing? I always say what you put in is what you're going to get out of it for your career. Am I putting in an hour, a day, am I putting in 15 hours a day? I'm most likely gonna get more out of it if I'm putting in more time. And the time needs to be very focused time, very incisive time. I need to know exactly, like how does an actor think I need to have purpose. I need to have an objective. I can't just generically go in and hope for work. I have to really, really target in.
So let's say, say, I'm looking for casting directors. I know, based on my studio, I know one of the ways you can be seen live and virtually, virtually and live is to do showcases. And showcases are a fascinating event. We produce them and a lot of others produce them as well. And you get to go live in person, whether you're walking into a room or whether you're walking into a Zoom room, you get to meet people. There's nothing better than being in front of a casting director or an agent or a producer and saying, hi, I'm live. This is who I am. This is what I do. I'm gonna do it for you right now. This is a great option to get in front of as many casting people and reps, if you're looking for reps, as possible. A lot of people are afraid of it and they shouldn't be.
Anne: Well, and I'm gonna just kind of plug my VO Peeps group. I mean, we do have workouts with casting directors and talent agents. And if you are afraid thinking that you're not ready to be seen or to be showcased, do the work to get yourself performance-wise where you feel confident. Because it's never a guarantee if you're performing in front of a casting director. And I always have to say that. Like, there is no guarantee you'll get work if you come to my workshop that is hosted by me and I have a talent agent or a casting director, but what a great opportunity to kind of showcase your talents. And so again, there's never any guarantee that you'll get work, but it's an opportunity for you to get in front of these people live in a Zoom room for the VO Peeps cases anyways, and then live also with -- Lau has showcases. And I know there's other casting directors as well that do those showcases, and that's a great opportunity to get seen and heard.
Lau: It is. And it also will satisfy you. Like if you're doing the Peeps, you're doing the workout, it satisfies that live actor forum in you, where you wanna get some feedback. You wanna meet someone, you wanna talk about what you do. You wanna have the interaction of the room. I mean, that's something we just can't get alone in our studio or alone in our booth. We just can't capture it the way we can live. So I, I do think that's one, really important way where you're in a, either a workout or a casting workshop or a showcase, whatever that is. I would put that right into your time management. I also would work with either Anne, your coach, your trainer to really get together the marketing list you wanna get together of casting directors and of agencies that you can be target marketing. I think that's very important and a lot of talent miss that. I think gone are the days of opening up the phone book. We don't really use the phone book that often anymore.
Anne: Well, wait, but wait, the Voiceover Resource Guide is coming back. I have to just do a plug for that because if you -- do you remember -- you've been casting direct for a while. You remember the Voiceover Resource Guide, the printed book?
Lau: Yes.
Anne: That used to be the only thing that basically gave you information for area coaches, area studios and casting directors, and that is making a comeback. And so it, it is in print and also online. So that's a great resource, and BOSSes, I'll be put in that link in our show notes and also any resources, Lau, that are online that you can share with BOSSes, I'll put that as well in the show notes. So you guys can check that out, but continue on Lau about how talent can get in front of first of all, find them, get in front of, and then how can we make a good impression? Like I think that's really what everybody wants to know.
Lau: It is. It is, it is. And, and one more I wanna throw in the mix, Anne, and that is, I want you -- not you I want everyone listening in to think about every person that you meet or get in front of or have email contact with is a prospect. So they are a potential casting director.
Anne: Yeah.
Lau: They don't call themselves that that's not their title and they wouldn't even know what it is if you ask them, but they're the hiring person. They're the decision maker. They're the person who maybe owns their own business and needs vocal talent, doesn't know that they need them. So as you have your business, you have to think, wow, I am gonna look at my suspects and I'm gonna prospect them. And how do I prospect them? I'm gonna go after every organization, every group that I possibly can, that fits my interest of where my voice is. So for instance, I may go after the women's groups. There's a lot of professional women's groups out there that are wonderful, that would love to know, women and men, that would love to know your voices there, to promote their companies, to promote their products and services, to promote their organizations. A lot of them don't even have voiceovers to do that, right? Why not hit them up? They could be your casting director. What about your local chamber of commerce? What about your BNIs? Right?
All of those, those are international professional clubs that you can go into and be in front of 10, 20, 50, 100 people at a time that are great prospects for you to then create what I call the rapport before the relationship. The two R's you have to remember when you're trying to get in front of anyone who's doing casting or hiring is, hey, I have to connect with you. I have to have some sort of authentic connection that you're interested in me and I'm interested in you. And then we have to build a relationship together over time. So it's really working in that sphere of understanding that casting is now global. It's now massive. And yes, you have casting directors proper in each city, in each state, but then you have all these businesses that may very well hire you once they know that you're there.
Anne: Sure, sure, sure. And you know, I love that you've brought the term casting agent global now. It's really anybody that has a need for your services and that can hire you. And yes, there are traditional casting agents title only that belong to in studios typically. Right? And their job is to cast voice talent all day. And I like that you created a global job for anybody that hires you for your voice. And that's very true. The one thing I think that, BOSSes, you need to take into consideration is the amount of education necessary to connect and find the need for the job. Right?
Because a lot of times we're auditioning, we're auditioning, we're auditioning. We're not getting any feedback. We're not getting any gigs. And we turn it all on our own performance. And I speak on this all the time, because I know that mentality. I have many students that talk about it all the time, and they're like, I don't think I belong in this industry anymore because I'm not getting any work. A lot of time, that work depends on the market. It depends on if there is a need at the time for your voice. And that is something that I think we forget as voice talent.
We forget that a lot of it is timing based, right? A company may absolutely love your voice for their product, but if they don't have a campaign or they don't have something ready yet to release, they can't hire somebody. And so you just may be like, I'm submitting, submitting, submitting. And maybe just at that point, right, you might be marketing to them, they just don't need your voice yet. And that's when you're doing that kind of marketing and people are like, well, nobody's responding to me. I'm not getting any feedback to my marketing. Well, that may just be a timing issue. That's all it is. So don't always go to the place where, oh no, they didn't like my voice.
Lau: Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, it's a business where we have to personalize everything but we can't take anything personal.
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Lau: We just have to understand the difference between personalizing your work and me, Lau, feeling like you hit me, you hit me. Well, I have to be careful of that because then I'll be hit all day long, and it won't be about my value. It'll be about me personally, as you gotta keep it to your value. And I do think, Anne, that there's two factors as I look at the years and years of working with talent and connecting them and auditioning them and all that, two very big areas that are common that are the obstacles, the walls that people have a tough time getting through; identified them as focus and fear. Those are typically the two game stoppers for you that I'm scared. I'm terrified. I don't wanna be rejected. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not good enough. That's the fear factor. And then the focus of like, okay, do I understand my schedule? Do I know what I can authentically commit? Am I really putting in the time and energy I need to, to get the ROI that I'm looking for? And oftentimes folks are not doing it. If they're gonna be really honest and transparent, they're not putting in the time and effort that an entrepreneur that owns their own business really needs to put in, right?
Anne: So are you talking now? Are they not doing enough auditions or are they not doing enough work to prepare their performance so that they can get hired or both?
Lau: It could be all of the above. When we started the conversation, we were talking about casting. And so for looking at finding and prospecting my own casting opportunities, well, how do I do that? I have to put X amount of time into my work week in order to do that. And there was one more I wanted to hit too, Anne, and that was getting my lists together. And if you're connected to great people like Anne, who may be able to help you with, who are the casting directors, and the casting departments, and the agencies proper in the nation that you can then be going, okay, I gotta send, send, send, send, send, I'm gonna Google. I'm gonna get online. I'm gonna look at doing all of that. And it is a lot of work. It's a lot of work.
Anne: It is, it is.
Lau: But it's work we have to do in marketing efforts to understand who is hiring, who is submitting, and who is gone now because after COVID, a lot of businesses unfortunately went down or merged and changed.
Anne: Yeah. And one thing I wanna point out BOSSes is that we have had a couple of different episodes on email marketing and just make sure if you are submitting or sending information out that you're abiding by rules and regulations so that you're not considered as spamming. And so be careful with that. It's one of the reasons -- and shameless plug, one of the reasons that I created the VO BOSS Blast is that we can market to a list that has already given us permission of casting directors and production companies that have said, yes, it's okay for us to market to. So that is something you guys can take a look at as well as doing your own research. And then it becomes a marketing challenge, right? How are you going to get in front of these people? And again, then it becomes that timing issue. But as Lau stated, you really do have to put in the effort.
And I know how many people, they got into this industry thinking it's gonna be all fun and performance in the studio. Well, believe it or not, a lot of the time really isn't until you get that job, right? You've got to get the job. And then once you've got the job, you can't anticipate that that job will be there forever. You have to continually mine for new prospects and getting in front of new people that can cast you and hire you. So Lau, are there differences over the years in terms of what people are looking for today versus maybe 20 years ago? Let's talk about the difference in the types of voices they're looking for.
Lau: Yeah. Well, there's been, I know, you know, this Anna huge swing in diversity casting and rightly so.
Anne: Absolutely.
Lau: That's been a long time coming. And so we've seen that both on camera and voiceover.
Anne: Yeah. And I'm so thankful for that honestly. It's just really brought, I mean, these past years, and it's not to where we need it yet, but I'll tell you what. I've really been enjoying hearing and watching and seeing all the diversity. It's just been amazing. And I just wanted to keep continuing, so.
Lau: Absolutely. I'm right there with you and it's been happening now --
Anne: It's been wonderful.
Lau: -- solidly -- yeah -- for about three years or so, maybe a little bit longer, which is exciting. And now we have to look at, okay, vocal actors, if you're not in that diversity casting pool, that's okay. You have your value and now you have to do the work to say, how do I prospect the right clients, the right customers, the right casting who's going to be interested in what I'm doing and what my sound is? And, you know, be honest, like, are you a proactive person or are you more of a reactive person? And both are just fine. But one of the common denominators of successful entrepreneurs is that they're proactive, in that we're willing to go out and take action and take a lot of action and do it consistently for a long time, whether we get a return on it or not. I mean, that's just kind of the reality. We can't always depend on someone else doing it for us, and we can't always allow someone else to do it for us. There are certain things we just have to take agency of.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Lau: Right? And our career, our career, our business, VO BOSS, the name of what we do, the branding is ours. And we have to take 100% commitment in that.
Anne: Yeah. And you are the marketing department, , you know, you are the accounting department. You are the performance department. You are everything. And just to remind people, and again, I think we forget, we say, I am going to be a voice actor. And so you envision this life where you're gonna be in the studio, auditioning, doing gigs, and the other parts of that business, you kind of say, oh shoot, I have to do those too? And so yeah, you do. And as a matter of fact, that's kind of why there's entire marketing departments in companies that encompass people, like more than one people. And they're full time, as well as accounting people, people full time. So if you wanna run your business successfully, you've got to really remember that this marketing, you may hate it. You can decide to maybe outsource it, but you do have to have control over it being done and/or delegating it to someone. And it is a necessary evil, accounting is a necessary evil.
But getting in front of casting directors, people who can hire you, that is a marketing effort and sales really. But if you're doing great marketing, the sales hopefully come automatically. Right? And you don't have to call people up and say, yeah, you know, sell your voice. But if you're doing marketing properly, hopefully it comes your way. And this stems back to a lot of conversations, and I'm sure we can talk about it as well in terms of, is your storefront ready? Do you have your website? Do you have your demos? Are you prepared to market in that respect? It's all encompassing.
Lau: And you took the words literally right outta my mouth. That's how I know we're sister sisters. I know this because I was just about to say, I just coached a young man this morning and, and the concern was, ugh, I wanna get to the right agency. I need to be at a big agency. I need to get these kinds of roles. I need to do this. And then when we were actually coaching, there were a lot of issues in his delivery. So always be in coaching, always be training, always have that on your side because casting and agents and producers, you know, really isn't their job to give you feedback. I mean, you're lucky if you get some good feedback from them. A lot of casting were actors before and will just give you feedback, but many won't. And so to have that level of expectation is unrealistic. It's really not their job. Their job is to deal with placement, like recruiters. You're dealing with placement. It's the job of your coach, your trainer, or being in your class. That is really the feedback source that you need to have that piece before you're overly concerned about the business end of it. You don't wanna be marketing something that's not quite ready yet. That's not there or not competitive.
Anne: Yeah. I think lifelong learners, I think as performers, whether you are acting on camera, whatever it is, theater and voiceover, I think we continually have to be lifelong learners. I mean, that's, as an educator, that's what I love so much. That's why I was in education I think because I love to learn and I am a lifelong learner. And so that includes your performance and everything that you do and your business to be continually learning. And you have to consider investment. Not everything is free. Sometimes you can train for free. There's a lot of great resources out there, but sometimes you do have to make an investment in it and you can't be surprised by that. And you can't complain. They complain about the cost of coaching, the cost of demos, the cost of marketing. But guys, that's just a reality. That is an investment in your business.
And yes, maybe there are some things that cost more than you anticipated, but it is something that I think as a good business BOSS, right, you have to anticipate and you have to put that money away for that coaching. That always helps. So to get yourself in front of that casting director, now you're in front of them. You wanna be able to impress them with your performance and you wanna have something that's relevant and current. And so studying also I think trends, right? Go to iSpot, listen to current commercials, go to YouTube and listen to current voiceover. Now I'm the first person to say that not everything you hear is gonna be the right or great voiceover, but I think you can develop an ear for great voiceover.
Lau: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think, you know, having that training piece on your side like having it in, in your back pocket, the professional development, the education you're right, Anne, it's just a lifelong thing. And I often tell my clients, we're not off the hook. They somehow look at us and think, you guys are the BOSS. You own the world, you know, everything you're done.
Anne: You're getting, you're getting that work for me. .
Lau: And I'm telling you, they don't understand that we're always growing businesses. We're always leveling up. We're always investing and reinvesting, and fixing problems, and doing things better. It's never done. There isn't the sense of, oh, I did it. I got my demos. I'm done. No, you're just starting. You're really just beginning. You're not done. You're only at the beginning. And that's what business is like, a general sense. It's like, you always feel like you're starting and restarting based off what your new objectives and your purpose is.
Quarter one, I have a new purpose. Now, quarter two comes, I repurpose that. And now I got a new objective. So I have to be able to understand that and know that the truth is our profession is a drop in the bucket, not to minimize the way people feel. 'Cause I totally empathize. Especially in the middle of inflation, believe me, I get you. I get you. But I'm telling you it's a drop in the bucket compared to going to medical school. It is a drop in the bucket compared to my friends who went for an MBA to be a financial advisor. And even actors that are friends of mine that went through three year conservatory degrees come out owing $200,000, $300,000 that they may never be able to pay off. What we are investing, Anne, is incremental. It's not overnight. It's really significantly lower than a lot of other industries out there and what they call upon just to get to the point of an interview for a job.
Anne: Right. Now you did mention, and I just was asking like how things have evolved and changed over the years in terms of what casting directors are looking for. And diversity was absolutely number one out of your mouth there. And I agree with that. What else is there? I'm gonna say that natural, believable, authentic style of delivery for sure, which is 90% of casting specs when they come through. Let's talk about that for a little bit.
Lau: Mm-hmm. I know that's true. That's the thing everyone gets annoyed with is like, ugh, the natural, the conversational, the connected.
Anne: That's the hardest,
Lau: it's the hardest. Whether you're a voiceover or an on camera, they just don't wanna hear you act.
Anne: Yep, yep.
Lau: They just don't want you exaggerated. They don't want you to call attention to your style. They just want to connect to you as a very, very authentic real person. So yeah. It's super important. It's the thing. It represents a whole, actually the largest generation in the United States, which is millennials right now represents them. Right? So that's something we'd absolutely have to pay attention to.
Anne: Even promo by the way, even promo is going more conversational by the way. I thought that was so interesting because I hosted Rick Wasserman the other night for VO Peeps. And he said, yeah, they're looking for conversational promo. No more of the announcer style. So.
Lau: That amazes me. That really does. That's so true. That amazes me. I wanted to say in casting, now we look for people who have their own built-in audience.
Anne: Yes.
Lau: That was not a thing. like, I'm not a digital native. I didn't grow up with a computer. Right? Like I literally learned how to turn a computer on at 32 years old. All right. So I'm off the hook a little bit, but the younger generation is not off the hook. They have to come in with their own built-in audience. What I mean by that is a lot of casting will ask you, okay, for your social media, what's your fan base like? What are your numbers like? Who's on your Insta channel? Who's this? Who's that and you're taken aback going, what, why are they asking me this? Because oftentimes they wanna ride. They wanna ride on their coattails of your current audience. Right? So they wanna take people in that already have this built in fan club. So the persona, yeah, the personality really weighs heavily even for voiceover.
Anne: And I think that's gonna be that's gonna be another episode, all about social media and social media etiquette, which has become just chaotic. And I think that it's important that as companies and BOSSes, we understand how to represent those companies and our products online. And that's very important, I think, to casting directors these days. So.
Lau: Yeah. It's the wild west for sure. And, and dealing with protocol and etiquette but, and again, for listeners who are going, oh no, I'm 55, and I don't know anything about that. It doesn't make you or break you. This is not like, if you don't have it, you're not gonna work. It's just, what are the waves? What are the trends? What are things that we're paying attention to that we find people are really looking for? And that's one of those.
Anne: Yeah. Oh good stuff, Lau. Good stuff.
Lau: Good stuff.
Anne: Thank you so much again for being here and dropping those nuggets of wisdom to the BOSS listeners. I'm very excited for our future episodes. BOSSes, by the way, if you are looking to have your voice make an impact, you absolutely can. And you can give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. And also as always, we love our sponsor ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Lau, thank you so much. And we'll see you next week, BOSSes. Bye!
Lau: My pleasure. Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
The hardest boss you’ll ever work for is yourself. In this episode, Anne & Lau jump into Business Superpowers by recounting Lau’s many interesting jobs and career shifts. She has been an actor, a voice talent, a manager, a professor, but most importantly, she is fierce in the face of fear. If you feel nervous, excited, or scared about a new opportunity, run towards it. What’s the worst that could happen? Failures and mistakes teach you more than success ever will, and with every overnight success comes years of unnoticed hard work. If that’s not enough motivation for you, tune in for the full career deep dive with your favorite self-employed Bosses!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to start another brand new series, Business Superpowers with special guest Lau Lapides. Lau is founder and president of Lau Lapides Company, a boutique coaching, training, and production company for voice talent and actors headquartered in Boston with satellites in New York City, Miami, and LA. Her programs include hybrid online and in-person workshops, seminars, and one-on-one personalized coaching as well as showcases in New York City, LA, and online. Lau's media and broadcasting career coaches all currently work in television, film, radio, and theater, and their voices can be heard around the world. Lau, it is so much fun to have you here today. Thank you so much for joining me.
Lau: I'm so excited to be here. Like I can't believe it. We finally met each other, got together, east meets west.
Anne: Here we go.
Lau: Here we go. .
Anne: I'm just so excited that you agreed to do this. And I'm so excited about our series, the Business Superpowers, because we've got a lot to talk about. So let's start with you so that our BOSSes can get to know you a little bit better. Let's talk a little bit about your history, how you got started, and how you became such a BOSS in this industry.
Lau: Wow. Thank you for that introduction. I appreciate it. I always feel like BOSS term in regards to me and personally has been like the overnight success. You know, when someone comes to you, Anne, and says, I wanna have it overnight, I wanna get that dream. Let's go. And I say, yeah, you can be an overnight success. Absolutely. A 40-year overnight success.
Anne: Yeah, I always say my overnight success happened 12 years later. Sorry. Or at least you've gotta start with that.
Lau: That's right.
Anne: It's true.
Lau: I always feel that way that it, it really has been such a lifelong process, such an amazing journey. The path splits off in so many directions. It's hard to even think about what the origins really were, but I'll tell you I was a dancer. Believe it or not. I was a dancer.
Anne: And I was an engineer, so, wow. That's pretty cool. There you go.
Lau: There you go. Same thing in a lot of ways, right? Walking, choreography.
Anne: Right. But you don't always think, well, you'd end up with your own company in voice acting and, and acting, so.
Lau: No, no. If someone were to tell me that I would do this 30, 40 years later, I would've laughed. I would've fell off my chair. I would not have believed it. So I started off as a dancer who really didn't speak at all. And then I went into an acting career. I had a whole acting career for a good 20 years, went through top level graduate program at UC Irvine in California. And that really changed my life, your neck of the woods.
Anne: East and west. Here we go. So .
Lau: East and west, east and west. And so after having this extensive theater background, I did a lot of repertory, a lot of regional, a lot of stock, became Equity, became an Equity actor, yada yada, so on and so forth. I ended up at grad school in California. That was really a turn for me. I started getting into a lot of media driven entertainment, started doing more TV/film, started my voiceover as a voiceover talent as a performer, really mid to late 20s. It was kind of later for me and then just kind of launched in that direction. And once I got my master's degree, I became a professor. I became a college and university professor and one of my specialties was to create curriculum . So I made my way back to New York. I lived in New York and I started creating curriculum all while I was acting and directing, 'cause I had also become a director and producer.
Anne: I was gonna say, acting curriculum?
Lau: Acting curriculum but it was interesting, Anne. The twist is, and this is where the whole BOSS in business situation starts to enter my world, is I was approached by top business colleges, and this was really out of my realm. Honestly, I'll be quite transparent with you. I knew nothing about that. I think I had business savvy, but I had the mind of a creative.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Lau: I was actor, voice talent, director. You know, I was on the other side of it, and all of a sudden I got approached by Harvard. I got approached by Babson. I got approached by Bentley. These were all the top business colleges at that time, now universities, Boston University saying all kind of like the similar theme. What is the problem and how can I fix it? So I knew right away, they all had a problem or a need. And it was, we want programming for our business students that is creative and teaches them how to speak.
Anne: Mm yes. Right? Important.
Lau: It's very important.
Anne: To be, to speak and present. I know that for sure. We have so many parallels, you and I, because I was 20 years in education and started up as an engineer, and I was on the east coast and then started my voiceover career a little bit later. So I had what I consider the creative in the engineering aspect, in the technology aspect and then in education, because I got so geeky and excited about it, I wanted to share it. So then I taught and, and then it just, it became all these passions and loves of mine. And then ultimately I started a full time voiceover career after that and moved west. So we have so many parallels.
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: And you're absolutely right. The business aspect of things is so important in the creative. I think a lot of students that come to me, and I'm sure you're familiar with this, they feel stuck in their jobs. And they need the creativity, and that's exactly like, what's that problem? Like where's the creativity in your job and where is that outlet? And a lot of times people turn to the creative arts, which is fantastic that you had that left brain, right brain 50-50, which is something that I was always told I was very good at, that you could relate on both sides of the thing. And so fantastic. So now bring us up to date now. You're currently still on the east coast?
Lau: Yes I am. And skip 10 years, got an offer to open a studio. It was the right time. I got a brick and mortar. I was very excited about it. Always wanted to have a studio, had been now teaching for a good decade, had been now directing. While I was still performing, I was acting and doing voiceover all the way through. There was something in me, Anne, that wanted to be a leader. And here's the interesting thing I wanted to bring out about being in business programs. I got an education by default. So I started to learn that I could be educated by the students I was teaching.
Anne: Oh gosh, yes mm-hmm.
Lau: Right? So these were students from all over the world. They were undergrad, graduate, MBA, fast track people, every country in the world. And I started to learn what I needed to know as a business woman to then open a studio. So when I was 40, I opened a studio and I opened first an actor division. First I opened an actor division, and then about two years later came my voiceover division. And this was in the first recession. One of the worst recessions we had in the country was the first five years of my business. And so I knew I was either gonna sink or swim this was it.
And somehow we made it through. It started to explode. What I thought was a luxury based business or a dream based business really turned into a reality and something very pragmatic that people were looking for to solve that problem, to fill that need in them. You know, what do I do next in my life? Or how do I restart a career? Or how do I live my dream? And we were learning, we meaning myself and then I hired a staff of like six to eight really amazing coaches from all over the place, to help me realize this team leadership, client centered kind of philosophy that I had in my head after teaching for 10 years all these amazing up and coming entrepreneurs. And so that was an amalgamation of all those years. I had no business model. I should have. I didn't. My business model was hardcore. It was like, my dad always taught me. He was a great entrepreneur. And he said, put the key in the door, show up early and just go to work.
Anne: Well, I was just gonna say to you, you talk about, well, I just opened up a studio. Like, oh, it was like literally a split second of our conversation. But in reality, like, I need to know like that is a BOSS move. Like there's a lot of things that go into saying, oh, I'm going to open up a studio. And I'm sure that you probably went through, oh my gosh, like, how am I gonna get the money and will I make money? And you didn't have a business plan, but I love how you just said put the key in the ignition and just go. I think that says a lot for just foraging ahead and manifesting success for yourself because I can only imagine how difficult that is. And BOSSes out there, I mean, as entrepreneurs, this is something that you really need to do when it comes time to taking that leap of faith and going for it and making this a business that you can support yourself with, I mean, and make money. I mean, it's the reason why we create businesses is so that we can make money. And that's just such an important factor. So this is the same studio right now that you're working out of, the one that you've opened?
Lau: This is another one. We've moved since, and of course COVID had changed everything for everyone. So, you know, everyone has home studios now. Everyone has condensed down. Everyone has compressed. We are just getting back to live in studio again and traveling. We just came back from a showcase that we produce, our company produces in New York City and then a week-long competitive convention that we are a part of. So we're just literally now getting back to physically getting on a train, going to New York, going back into studios. And that's also part of our mainstay is to connect voice talent to people live if possible in an industry.
Anne: So let's talk about the pandemic because as a studio, how did you survive during the pandemic? I mean, you've gotta pivot. So not only are you just opening brick and mortar studios, which have become with the progression of home studios, being something that everybody's got, that's a tough biz anyway, right? So, and then the pandemic, which pretty much just cut off all in person, in studio gigs. How did you survive and how did you pivot during that time?
Lau: Yeah, I mean, so I'll take it to a moment 'cause you know how it is about life, Anne. There's so much you can talk about, but you gotta get down to the nugget of what you really wanna say. There was a moment for me in COVID, and to get back to your comments about the putting the key in the door, how does it feel, the terror that you have inside of you, the fear of failure, the how do I make the rental? This is all internal life that I had inside of me, as many BOSSes have inside of the, of saying I have to feel the fear and then I have to do it anyway. So if I feel the fear, I acknowledge it. I affirm it. It's natural. Now I'm gonna do it anyway. I'm gonna take that calculated risk.
So to answer your question, there was a moment in COVID where I thought, okay, all production has gone down for actors. Voiceover is still great, viable and running. What do I film now? Like I'm a good, good problem solver. What's the need that we need right now? And at the time I was sitting in Boston thinking, what does New England need? And I came to me, we needed a voiceover division. We have no voiceover divisions that run out of agencies in New England. Like I know out of the major hubs. And I said, huh, how do I create that?
So I immediately started reaching out to agency friends and colleagues, 'cause we work with everyone everywhere, and certainly in new England, we know the handful that are out there. And the bite that I got was a, a friend and colleague of mine, Tim Ayers, who's amazing and has Run Model Club Inc out of Boston for many years. He's owned it for about 10, 12 years. And it's been existence for a good 30 years. A lot of us are repped by them in the New England market. And I reached out to him, and he just had that progressive moment of saying, listening to his meshugene crazy friend Lau, just spout on, in the middle of COVID and all he said was yeah, yeah. Do it. I don't know anything about voiceover, so you're gonna have to do that. And I said, great! Not knowing anything, anything about being an agent or becoming an agent. So I had done casting. I had done producing, I was an actor, certainly a voiceover talent, but I had never been an agent.
Anne: But you had all the knowledge and all of the industries surrounding it and the things that you would need to know to be a good agent actually. So I think all of you -- this had prepared you for the moment to become an agent.
Lau: Right. But going back to your question earlier, which was brilliant is you are in that moment, you feel excited. And then when you realize the reality you go, ooh, that's a little scary. That's a little terrifying. Now I have to know stuff. Now I have to like now I have to lead.
Anne: Not just a little terrifying. It's pretty much terrifying. Just saying.
Lau: It's terrifying. And then when I felt it, I knew I was on the right track because that was the challenge that --
Anne: When you're scared.
Lau: When you're scared, yeah, you need to jump out of the plane. You need to jump off the cliff. You really do. And I always think to myself, and I pass this on to clients and talent. I say, what's the worst that's gonna happen, really? I wasn't sinking a lot of capital or a lot of money into that, you know? No one really knew I was doing it. I said the worst is it doesn't work. It just doesn't work. And that's okay. I will learn a lot from the not working if it doesn't work.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. It's a learning opportunity.
Lau: it is. It really is. I think everything is to be honest with you. And I think once we make mistakes and once we do the wrong thing, we learn even more oftentimes than when we do the right thing.
Anne: Absolutely. So then you developed your voiceover division. And that is now running strong and now you're starting to come back in studio as well?
Lau: Yes. Yes.
Anne: Fantastic.
Lau: Yes. So, you know, the agency of course is mostly online nowadays, you know. Tim works online. I work online. Very rarely are we seeing actors or voice talent in person. It's just not necessary. It's expensive to do that. It's time consuming. And so we had to learn how to be a hybrid business model. We had to learn that.
Anne: Sure, sure. Now what sorts of things are you doing in studio these days?
Lau: Well, we have a handful of folks that come to us. And the interesting part about it, Anne, is we have a really unique model. Our model now runs as the studio, which is Lau Lapides Company. That's our training production base. That's totally separate than the agency. The agency is under Tim. He's the owner-operator. I'm his lead agent that launched the voiceover division, MCVO.
Anne: Got it.
Lau: And they run parallel to each other. And it's fascinating. It's really interesting to see where are the crossovers and where's the distinctive separation, because in essence I'm a, for lack of a better term, a hired consultant to launch a division, but yet we're the ones who know how to run it. We're the ones who know the world. We're the ones who are bringing in all of the talent in the roster. So it's a very interesting kind of parallel that we walk. The people that we see in person, mainly coaching, mainly studio clients that will come in. Maybe they'll need to do a recording or they'll need a coaching session, or they just wanna come in and talk about their career. And there's always a group of people that are geographically local enough to do that and wanna have that in person experience. Then everyone else is online.
Anne: Yeah. Technology is a beautiful thing, but also in person is something I think through that pandemic, I mean, people are just desperate to get out for face to face, an in person meetings, sessions. And I think that hybrid is really a wonderful thing. I remember myself when I moved from the east coast to the west coast -- it's funny because you said you wanted to be a leader, and I missed teaching. I missed leading a group, and that's what created my desire to start the VO Peeps. And that was a group that I wanted to lead and bring educational initiatives to. And it's just something that was wonderful at the time. And because I started in Southern California, there was only a certain amount of people that I could reach out to locally. And because I had such a background in technology, I was one of the first meetup groups to both stream meetings personally, as well as onto the Internet. So I had a very hybrid group.
And so I could actually at that point become a global networking group. And that became something that I did long time ago, back in 2000 and, I think 2010 I started to do that at the time. Not many people were doing it. And so it became a really wonderful way to just reach out to a much broader audience. So you have such a, a wonderfully wide audience. So even though you're located on the east coast, you have a widespread reach that is global, which is something that, as voice talent today, it's something that we need to address and understand the market in that way. Because gosh, when I started doing voiceover, a home studio wasn't even a thought. It was a luxury. Some people, oh, they dabbled in it. And other than that, you just have to go to the studio and, and audition and do the jobs and getting the work was -- that was before pay to plays. And really the agent was the person who served you.
Let's get a little bit more in depth with, let's say the casting processes. I feel like if you had to sum up like, what one thing do you do the most of right now? Or is it all things? Is it casting? Is it performance? Is it managing? What is it that you do that consumes your day? Or what's a day like for Lau?
Lau: I would say managing. You brought it up. That's the word managing and management as you know, Anne, is hard. It's challenging. It's about how you deal with temperament, balance, time, energy, you know, it's all those things. How do you have longevity to keep going? How do you maintain stamina? How do you hold grace and not lose your patience? There's so much that goes into an education about how do you run a business? How do you manage people? How do you manage yourself? How do you keep yourself in line? I always joke with my people. I say really, honestly, I work for the hardest boss I've ever worked for.
Anne: Yourself.
Lau: She's tough. And that's me.
Anne: I love that. That's I get. Yeah, I get that.
Lau: Like I can stand outside and be honest about that and say, wow, she's a bitch. Sometimes I have to be really tough. And sometimes I have to be really strong, and sometimes I have to be really vulnerable and empathize with situations that I myself may or may not, or I myself may or may not think is a big deal. So I think the management factor of making an eclectic, diverse program run along with the agency division is a lot of the circus plates in the air. It's really a lot of that. And I realize I'm gonna drop plates at times. I realize I'm gonna set myself on fire at times. And I always have some sort of extinguisher waiting, you know what I mean? Like you're gonna get burned. That's just the reality of it.
But yeah, so we're coaching all the time. We are working on jobs and gigs all the time. This was a great week for us. We hooked a lot of our agency MCVOs up with some great gigs this week, three big jobs we landed this week. So it's a lot of balancing act, and it's a lot about getting to people quickly, right? People want responses, being responsive quickly.
Anne: I have to completely agree with that. And as a manager, right, as a boss, we expect those things of ourselves, of people we're dealing with. And I wanna kind of just bring what you've said in perspective for, let's say, people just coming into the industry. You may not have people to manage yet, but you absolutely have to manage yourself. And also part of the growing and part of growth, even as a small business entrepreneur -- you don't have to open up a studio to be managing things and managing people. Because I've talked about this on previous episodes and I'm sure Lau and I will talk about this as outsourcing. You will have to manage people, manage your business, and to do so successfully requires some skills that you can learn as you go. I mean, I think it's a wonderful thing.
Once you become an entrepreneur and you're not necessarily -- you know, I worked in corporate for many years and I worked in education, which is another form of working for someone else. When it comes time to working for yourself, you're probably the hardest boss. And that includes not just the aspects of the business, but you're also hard on yourself personally, because what you're selling is part of a brand of yourself. You are a personal brand. And so not only is it doubly hard, I think, because you don't have a physical product necessarily to offset. Right now, if you're hard on someone, you're also hard on yourself because now you're gonna be hard on your product, which is your voice and your performance. And it's a very personal thing, which makes I think being an entrepreneur in our industry very difficult. You have to try to separate yourself so that you're not affecting your product by being hard on your performance or hard on your growth or lack of growth.
Lau: That is beautiful, Anne, just perfect. And you have to play paradoxes every single day of your life. You have to play these opposites, which feel really weird and uncomfortable. Like on one hand, you have to be super hard on yourself so that you can perform, you can produce, and you can do it in a timely manner. And then on the other hand, you have to go easy on yourself. You have to forgive yourself. You have to not hold yourself to standards that are insanely ridiculous. You know what I mean? And you have to treat yourself as a human being because if you beat yourself up too much, you're just not gonna last long. You're not gonna have the esteem and the confidence to really last long in the industry. So you have to play these kind of opposites, this antithetical effect all the time, and go back and forth from it, and kind of say, hey, I need to do this. I need to get this done. It's important, but hey, wait a second. Where's the flexibility in it? How can I do it again better? What did I learn from it? And really kind of fluidly go back and forth from that mindset.
Anne: Right. And it's not something, as we both mentioned in the beginning of this podcast, it's not something that happens a few times like a day or week. I mean, we're talking to really be successful in this industry in a marathon, not a sprint, right? Our overnight success took 12 years or 40 years, whatever that is, that is continue -- and I don't know if the fear factor for me got easier or I just dealt with it better because if I'm not doing something every day that scares me, then I'm not growing. And if I'm stagnating, that is the death of me. That is where I felt I was when I worked in the corporate world. I felt like it just wasn't growing. And that is something to me and my psyche and my development is really important.
Lau: It's super important. I love that quote too. That's I think a famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote is do something every day that scares you. You know, and never, never, never give up. So there's that element of, yeah. I need to be afraid, but not so terrified that I'm paralyzed. You know, I like to say now analysis can be paralysis. Like don't overthink it too much. Don't overanalyze it too much because you can find a reason why not to do things all the time.
Anne: Oh, gosh.
Lau: Right?
Anne: Oh yeah. Yeah. There's ways -- I'm a good procrastinator on certain things.
Lau: I think most people are.
Anne: Those are the things I wanna outsource. I wanna outsource those things, but.
Lau: But you know what you said earlier, which was so true is like the delegation effect, learning how to delegate, learning how to --
Anne: Let go control.
Lau: Yes.
Anne: That's me. I'm a control freak. Did you notice that about me yet?
Lau: Listen, you and me are gonna start that club because I am a self-professed control freak too. And part of that is a beautiful gift because you wanna have that sense of like, I can fully 100% manage what's going on, but we have to know that, you know, at the end of the day, we don't really have control over anything. It's like an illusion, you know?
Anne: You're right. And I'm learning as I grow that it's impossible for me to grow without delegating and letting go control because I'm only one person with only so many hours in a day. And so I cannot grow my business without letting go of some of that control and trusting. And then it becomes a whole 'nother lesson I think in growing your business is trusting your team and getting people on board with you that believe in you, believe in your process, believe in the company and that you have a mutual respect for each other. And I always say that, you know, I treat my employees like gold because they really are gold to me, and I make sure they're paid well. I make sure all those things that scare me and say, oh my God, can I afford to do this? Do I have a budget? I make the budget. Right?
And so again, you have to throw out a lot of faith, a lot of faith that things will come to you if you put it out there and that you are putting your faith in your employees and they have a sense of loyalty and pride and want to work with you for success of the company. And that's a really hard thing if you're not used to doing that, if you've worked for someone else for all your life and that's scary thing.
Lau: And it's a skill. You're right, it's a soft skill. But ironically, it's a hard skill. It really is. And you need to cultivate it to some degree because you want to have your team, your village, your tribe, whatever you call them, no person is an island. I'm telling you, I could not build the studio myself. I had my family, my husband, my own children who now work in the business with me. I mean, it's immense, the help that and assistance that you need as you grow. And just like identifying, you have to be able to identify who are my people that are really great, and they're supportive, and they're helpful? And then who are the people who are the growth people? Those are the people who can really help you grow and level up in your business to the next tier and really not mixing up. Yeah, not mixing up the two, 'cause they're very different people, equally valuable and equally loved. I'll use that word love. I think you need to love people.
Anne: And -- I agree -- and of course, even harder I think is if the people are not necessarily a fit for you and in letting go and in making that decision. There's that whole boss-employee kind of relationship. Are they friends as well? And there's a lot of delicate things in there, which, oh gosh, we could spend a whole 'nother podcast probably talking about that.
Lau: We could, we could spend forever talking about that. .
Anne: And actually I think we will, but I'm gonna say for today, Lau, thank you so much. It's been a wonderful privilege to have you coming on the show. I'm excited for our future episodes of BOSS Superpowers, of Business Superpowers. And so thank you so much for your wisdom today and telling us a little bit about yourself. And BOSSes out there, I want you to know that as individuals, sometimes it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, you can help contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that you never thought possible. And you can visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. Also a great, big shout-out to my sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Thanks so much, Lau. Bye.
Lau: Thank you, Anne. Loved it.
Anne: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
The hardest boss you’ll ever work for is yourself. In this episode, Anne & Lau jump into Business Superpowers by recounting Lau’s many interesting jobs and career shifts. She has been an actor, a voice talent, a manager, a professor, but most importantly, she is fierce in the face of fear. If you feel nervous, excited, or scared about a new opportunity, run towards it. What’s the worst that could happen? Failures and mistakes teach you more than success ever will, and with every overnight success comes years of unnoticed hard work. If that’s not enough motivation for you, tune in for the full career deep dive with your favorite self-employed Bosses!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to start another brand new series, Business Superpowers with special guest Lau Lapides. Lau is founder and president of Lau Lapides Company, a boutique coaching, training, and production company for voice talent and actors headquartered in Boston with satellites in New York City, Miami, and LA. Her programs include hybrid online and in-person workshops, seminars, and one-on-one personalized coaching as well as showcases in New York City, LA, and online. Lau's media and broadcasting career coaches all currently work in television, film, radio, and theater, and their voices can be heard around the world. Lau, it is so much fun to have you here today. Thank you so much for joining me.
Lau: I'm so excited to be here. Like I can't believe it. We finally met each other, got together, east meets west.
Anne: Here we go.
Lau: Here we go. .
Anne: I'm just so excited that you agreed to do this. And I'm so excited about our series, the Business Superpowers, because we've got a lot to talk about. So let's start with you so that our BOSSes can get to know you a little bit better. Let's talk a little bit about your history, how you got started, and how you became such a BOSS in this industry.
Lau: Wow. Thank you for that introduction. I appreciate it. I always feel like BOSS term in regards to me and personally has been like the overnight success. You know, when someone comes to you, Anne, and says, I wanna have it overnight, I wanna get that dream. Let's go. And I say, yeah, you can be an overnight success. Absolutely. A 40-year overnight success.
Anne: Yeah, I always say my overnight success happened 12 years later. Sorry. Or at least you've gotta start with that.
Lau: That's right.
Anne: It's true.
Lau: I always feel that way that it, it really has been such a lifelong process, such an amazing journey. The path splits off in so many directions. It's hard to even think about what the origins really were, but I'll tell you I was a dancer. Believe it or not. I was a dancer.
Anne: And I was an engineer, so, wow. That's pretty cool. There you go.
Lau: There you go. Same thing in a lot of ways, right? Walking, choreography.
Anne: Right. But you don't always think, well, you'd end up with your own company in voice acting and, and acting, so.
Lau: No, no. If someone were to tell me that I would do this 30, 40 years later, I would've laughed. I would've fell off my chair. I would not have believed it. So I started off as a dancer who really didn't speak at all. And then I went into an acting career. I had a whole acting career for a good 20 years, went through top level graduate program at UC Irvine in California. And that really changed my life, your neck of the woods.
Anne: East and west. Here we go. So .
Lau: East and west, east and west. And so after having this extensive theater background, I did a lot of repertory, a lot of regional, a lot of stock, became Equity, became an Equity actor, yada yada, so on and so forth. I ended up at grad school in California. That was really a turn for me. I started getting into a lot of media driven entertainment, started doing more TV/film, started my voiceover as a voiceover talent as a performer, really mid to late 20s. It was kind of later for me and then just kind of launched in that direction. And once I got my master's degree, I became a professor. I became a college and university professor and one of my specialties was to create curriculum . So I made my way back to New York. I lived in New York and I started creating curriculum all while I was acting and directing, 'cause I had also become a director and producer.
Anne: I was gonna say, acting curriculum?
Lau: Acting curriculum but it was interesting, Anne. The twist is, and this is where the whole BOSS in business situation starts to enter my world, is I was approached by top business colleges, and this was really out of my realm. Honestly, I'll be quite transparent with you. I knew nothing about that. I think I had business savvy, but I had the mind of a creative.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Lau: I was actor, voice talent, director. You know, I was on the other side of it, and all of a sudden I got approached by Harvard. I got approached by Babson. I got approached by Bentley. These were all the top business colleges at that time, now universities, Boston University saying all kind of like the similar theme. What is the problem and how can I fix it? So I knew right away, they all had a problem or a need. And it was, we want programming for our business students that is creative and teaches them how to speak.
Anne: Mm yes. Right? Important.
Lau: It's very important.
Anne: To be, to speak and present. I know that for sure. We have so many parallels, you and I, because I was 20 years in education and started up as an engineer, and I was on the east coast and then started my voiceover career a little bit later. So I had what I consider the creative in the engineering aspect, in the technology aspect and then in education, because I got so geeky and excited about it, I wanted to share it. So then I taught and, and then it just, it became all these passions and loves of mine. And then ultimately I started a full time voiceover career after that and moved west. So we have so many parallels.
Lau: Yeah.
Anne: And you're absolutely right. The business aspect of things is so important in the creative. I think a lot of students that come to me, and I'm sure you're familiar with this, they feel stuck in their jobs. And they need the creativity, and that's exactly like, what's that problem? Like where's the creativity in your job and where is that outlet? And a lot of times people turn to the creative arts, which is fantastic that you had that left brain, right brain 50-50, which is something that I was always told I was very good at, that you could relate on both sides of the thing. And so fantastic. So now bring us up to date now. You're currently still on the east coast?
Lau: Yes I am. And skip 10 years, got an offer to open a studio. It was the right time. I got a brick and mortar. I was very excited about it. Always wanted to have a studio, had been now teaching for a good decade, had been now directing. While I was still performing, I was acting and doing voiceover all the way through. There was something in me, Anne, that wanted to be a leader. And here's the interesting thing I wanted to bring out about being in business programs. I got an education by default. So I started to learn that I could be educated by the students I was teaching.
Anne: Oh gosh, yes mm-hmm.
Lau: Right? So these were students from all over the world. They were undergrad, graduate, MBA, fast track people, every country in the world. And I started to learn what I needed to know as a business woman to then open a studio. So when I was 40, I opened a studio and I opened first an actor division. First I opened an actor division, and then about two years later came my voiceover division. And this was in the first recession. One of the worst recessions we had in the country was the first five years of my business. And so I knew I was either gonna sink or swim this was it.
And somehow we made it through. It started to explode. What I thought was a luxury based business or a dream based business really turned into a reality and something very pragmatic that people were looking for to solve that problem, to fill that need in them. You know, what do I do next in my life? Or how do I restart a career? Or how do I live my dream? And we were learning, we meaning myself and then I hired a staff of like six to eight really amazing coaches from all over the place, to help me realize this team leadership, client centered kind of philosophy that I had in my head after teaching for 10 years all these amazing up and coming entrepreneurs. And so that was an amalgamation of all those years. I had no business model. I should have. I didn't. My business model was hardcore. It was like, my dad always taught me. He was a great entrepreneur. And he said, put the key in the door, show up early and just go to work.
Anne: Well, I was just gonna say to you, you talk about, well, I just opened up a studio. Like, oh, it was like literally a split second of our conversation. But in reality, like, I need to know like that is a BOSS move. Like there's a lot of things that go into saying, oh, I'm going to open up a studio. And I'm sure that you probably went through, oh my gosh, like, how am I gonna get the money and will I make money? And you didn't have a business plan, but I love how you just said put the key in the ignition and just go. I think that says a lot for just foraging ahead and manifesting success for yourself because I can only imagine how difficult that is. And BOSSes out there, I mean, as entrepreneurs, this is something that you really need to do when it comes time to taking that leap of faith and going for it and making this a business that you can support yourself with, I mean, and make money. I mean, it's the reason why we create businesses is so that we can make money. And that's just such an important factor. So this is the same studio right now that you're working out of, the one that you've opened?
Lau: This is another one. We've moved since, and of course COVID had changed everything for everyone. So, you know, everyone has home studios now. Everyone has condensed down. Everyone has compressed. We are just getting back to live in studio again and traveling. We just came back from a showcase that we produce, our company produces in New York City and then a week-long competitive convention that we are a part of. So we're just literally now getting back to physically getting on a train, going to New York, going back into studios. And that's also part of our mainstay is to connect voice talent to people live if possible in an industry.
Anne: So let's talk about the pandemic because as a studio, how did you survive during the pandemic? I mean, you've gotta pivot. So not only are you just opening brick and mortar studios, which have become with the progression of home studios, being something that everybody's got, that's a tough biz anyway, right? So, and then the pandemic, which pretty much just cut off all in person, in studio gigs. How did you survive and how did you pivot during that time?
Lau: Yeah, I mean, so I'll take it to a moment 'cause you know how it is about life, Anne. There's so much you can talk about, but you gotta get down to the nugget of what you really wanna say. There was a moment for me in COVID, and to get back to your comments about the putting the key in the door, how does it feel, the terror that you have inside of you, the fear of failure, the how do I make the rental? This is all internal life that I had inside of me, as many BOSSes have inside of the, of saying I have to feel the fear and then I have to do it anyway. So if I feel the fear, I acknowledge it. I affirm it. It's natural. Now I'm gonna do it anyway. I'm gonna take that calculated risk.
So to answer your question, there was a moment in COVID where I thought, okay, all production has gone down for actors. Voiceover is still great, viable and running. What do I film now? Like I'm a good, good problem solver. What's the need that we need right now? And at the time I was sitting in Boston thinking, what does New England need? And I came to me, we needed a voiceover division. We have no voiceover divisions that run out of agencies in New England. Like I know out of the major hubs. And I said, huh, how do I create that?
So I immediately started reaching out to agency friends and colleagues, 'cause we work with everyone everywhere, and certainly in new England, we know the handful that are out there. And the bite that I got was a, a friend and colleague of mine, Tim Ayers, who's amazing and has Run Model Club Inc out of Boston for many years. He's owned it for about 10, 12 years. And it's been existence for a good 30 years. A lot of us are repped by them in the New England market. And I reached out to him, and he just had that progressive moment of saying, listening to his meshugene crazy friend Lau, just spout on, in the middle of COVID and all he said was yeah, yeah. Do it. I don't know anything about voiceover, so you're gonna have to do that. And I said, great! Not knowing anything, anything about being an agent or becoming an agent. So I had done casting. I had done producing, I was an actor, certainly a voiceover talent, but I had never been an agent.
Anne: But you had all the knowledge and all of the industries surrounding it and the things that you would need to know to be a good agent actually. So I think all of you -- this had prepared you for the moment to become an agent.
Lau: Right. But going back to your question earlier, which was brilliant is you are in that moment, you feel excited. And then when you realize the reality you go, ooh, that's a little scary. That's a little terrifying. Now I have to know stuff. Now I have to like now I have to lead.
Anne: Not just a little terrifying. It's pretty much terrifying. Just saying.
Lau: It's terrifying. And then when I felt it, I knew I was on the right track because that was the challenge that --
Anne: When you're scared.
Lau: When you're scared, yeah, you need to jump out of the plane. You need to jump off the cliff. You really do. And I always think to myself, and I pass this on to clients and talent. I say, what's the worst that's gonna happen, really? I wasn't sinking a lot of capital or a lot of money into that, you know? No one really knew I was doing it. I said the worst is it doesn't work. It just doesn't work. And that's okay. I will learn a lot from the not working if it doesn't work.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. It's a learning opportunity.
Lau: it is. It really is. I think everything is to be honest with you. And I think once we make mistakes and once we do the wrong thing, we learn even more oftentimes than when we do the right thing.
Anne: Absolutely. So then you developed your voiceover division. And that is now running strong and now you're starting to come back in studio as well?
Lau: Yes. Yes.
Anne: Fantastic.
Lau: Yes. So, you know, the agency of course is mostly online nowadays, you know. Tim works online. I work online. Very rarely are we seeing actors or voice talent in person. It's just not necessary. It's expensive to do that. It's time consuming. And so we had to learn how to be a hybrid business model. We had to learn that.
Anne: Sure, sure. Now what sorts of things are you doing in studio these days?
Lau: Well, we have a handful of folks that come to us. And the interesting part about it, Anne, is we have a really unique model. Our model now runs as the studio, which is Lau Lapides Company. That's our training production base. That's totally separate than the agency. The agency is under Tim. He's the owner-operator. I'm his lead agent that launched the voiceover division, MCVO.
Anne: Got it.
Lau: And they run parallel to each other. And it's fascinating. It's really interesting to see where are the crossovers and where's the distinctive separation, because in essence I'm a, for lack of a better term, a hired consultant to launch a division, but yet we're the ones who know how to run it. We're the ones who know the world. We're the ones who are bringing in all of the talent in the roster. So it's a very interesting kind of parallel that we walk. The people that we see in person, mainly coaching, mainly studio clients that will come in. Maybe they'll need to do a recording or they'll need a coaching session, or they just wanna come in and talk about their career. And there's always a group of people that are geographically local enough to do that and wanna have that in person experience. Then everyone else is online.
Anne: Yeah. Technology is a beautiful thing, but also in person is something I think through that pandemic, I mean, people are just desperate to get out for face to face, an in person meetings, sessions. And I think that hybrid is really a wonderful thing. I remember myself when I moved from the east coast to the west coast -- it's funny because you said you wanted to be a leader, and I missed teaching. I missed leading a group, and that's what created my desire to start the VO Peeps. And that was a group that I wanted to lead and bring educational initiatives to. And it's just something that was wonderful at the time. And because I started in Southern California, there was only a certain amount of people that I could reach out to locally. And because I had such a background in technology, I was one of the first meetup groups to both stream meetings personally, as well as onto the Internet. So I had a very hybrid group.
And so I could actually at that point become a global networking group. And that became something that I did long time ago, back in 2000 and, I think 2010 I started to do that at the time. Not many people were doing it. And so it became a really wonderful way to just reach out to a much broader audience. So you have such a, a wonderfully wide audience. So even though you're located on the east coast, you have a widespread reach that is global, which is something that, as voice talent today, it's something that we need to address and understand the market in that way. Because gosh, when I started doing voiceover, a home studio wasn't even a thought. It was a luxury. Some people, oh, they dabbled in it. And other than that, you just have to go to the studio and, and audition and do the jobs and getting the work was -- that was before pay to plays. And really the agent was the person who served you.
Let's get a little bit more in depth with, let's say the casting processes. I feel like if you had to sum up like, what one thing do you do the most of right now? Or is it all things? Is it casting? Is it performance? Is it managing? What is it that you do that consumes your day? Or what's a day like for Lau?
Lau: I would say managing. You brought it up. That's the word managing and management as you know, Anne, is hard. It's challenging. It's about how you deal with temperament, balance, time, energy, you know, it's all those things. How do you have longevity to keep going? How do you maintain stamina? How do you hold grace and not lose your patience? There's so much that goes into an education about how do you run a business? How do you manage people? How do you manage yourself? How do you keep yourself in line? I always joke with my people. I say really, honestly, I work for the hardest boss I've ever worked for.
Anne: Yourself.
Lau: She's tough. And that's me.
Anne: I love that. That's I get. Yeah, I get that.
Lau: Like I can stand outside and be honest about that and say, wow, she's a bitch. Sometimes I have to be really tough. And sometimes I have to be really strong, and sometimes I have to be really vulnerable and empathize with situations that I myself may or may not, or I myself may or may not think is a big deal. So I think the management factor of making an eclectic, diverse program run along with the agency division is a lot of the circus plates in the air. It's really a lot of that. And I realize I'm gonna drop plates at times. I realize I'm gonna set myself on fire at times. And I always have some sort of extinguisher waiting, you know what I mean? Like you're gonna get burned. That's just the reality of it.
But yeah, so we're coaching all the time. We are working on jobs and gigs all the time. This was a great week for us. We hooked a lot of our agency MCVOs up with some great gigs this week, three big jobs we landed this week. So it's a lot of balancing act, and it's a lot about getting to people quickly, right? People want responses, being responsive quickly.
Anne: I have to completely agree with that. And as a manager, right, as a boss, we expect those things of ourselves, of people we're dealing with. And I wanna kind of just bring what you've said in perspective for, let's say, people just coming into the industry. You may not have people to manage yet, but you absolutely have to manage yourself. And also part of the growing and part of growth, even as a small business entrepreneur -- you don't have to open up a studio to be managing things and managing people. Because I've talked about this on previous episodes and I'm sure Lau and I will talk about this as outsourcing. You will have to manage people, manage your business, and to do so successfully requires some skills that you can learn as you go. I mean, I think it's a wonderful thing.
Once you become an entrepreneur and you're not necessarily -- you know, I worked in corporate for many years and I worked in education, which is another form of working for someone else. When it comes time to working for yourself, you're probably the hardest boss. And that includes not just the aspects of the business, but you're also hard on yourself personally, because what you're selling is part of a brand of yourself. You are a personal brand. And so not only is it doubly hard, I think, because you don't have a physical product necessarily to offset. Right now, if you're hard on someone, you're also hard on yourself because now you're gonna be hard on your product, which is your voice and your performance. And it's a very personal thing, which makes I think being an entrepreneur in our industry very difficult. You have to try to separate yourself so that you're not affecting your product by being hard on your performance or hard on your growth or lack of growth.
Lau: That is beautiful, Anne, just perfect. And you have to play paradoxes every single day of your life. You have to play these opposites, which feel really weird and uncomfortable. Like on one hand, you have to be super hard on yourself so that you can perform, you can produce, and you can do it in a timely manner. And then on the other hand, you have to go easy on yourself. You have to forgive yourself. You have to not hold yourself to standards that are insanely ridiculous. You know what I mean? And you have to treat yourself as a human being because if you beat yourself up too much, you're just not gonna last long. You're not gonna have the esteem and the confidence to really last long in the industry. So you have to play these kind of opposites, this antithetical effect all the time, and go back and forth from it, and kind of say, hey, I need to do this. I need to get this done. It's important, but hey, wait a second. Where's the flexibility in it? How can I do it again better? What did I learn from it? And really kind of fluidly go back and forth from that mindset.
Anne: Right. And it's not something, as we both mentioned in the beginning of this podcast, it's not something that happens a few times like a day or week. I mean, we're talking to really be successful in this industry in a marathon, not a sprint, right? Our overnight success took 12 years or 40 years, whatever that is, that is continue -- and I don't know if the fear factor for me got easier or I just dealt with it better because if I'm not doing something every day that scares me, then I'm not growing. And if I'm stagnating, that is the death of me. That is where I felt I was when I worked in the corporate world. I felt like it just wasn't growing. And that is something to me and my psyche and my development is really important.
Lau: It's super important. I love that quote too. That's I think a famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote is do something every day that scares you. You know, and never, never, never give up. So there's that element of, yeah. I need to be afraid, but not so terrified that I'm paralyzed. You know, I like to say now analysis can be paralysis. Like don't overthink it too much. Don't overanalyze it too much because you can find a reason why not to do things all the time.
Anne: Oh, gosh.
Lau: Right?
Anne: Oh yeah. Yeah. There's ways -- I'm a good procrastinator on certain things.
Lau: I think most people are.
Anne: Those are the things I wanna outsource. I wanna outsource those things, but.
Lau: But you know what you said earlier, which was so true is like the delegation effect, learning how to delegate, learning how to --
Anne: Let go control.
Lau: Yes.
Anne: That's me. I'm a control freak. Did you notice that about me yet?
Lau: Listen, you and me are gonna start that club because I am a self-professed control freak too. And part of that is a beautiful gift because you wanna have that sense of like, I can fully 100% manage what's going on, but we have to know that, you know, at the end of the day, we don't really have control over anything. It's like an illusion, you know?
Anne: You're right. And I'm learning as I grow that it's impossible for me to grow without delegating and letting go control because I'm only one person with only so many hours in a day. And so I cannot grow my business without letting go of some of that control and trusting. And then it becomes a whole 'nother lesson I think in growing your business is trusting your team and getting people on board with you that believe in you, believe in your process, believe in the company and that you have a mutual respect for each other. And I always say that, you know, I treat my employees like gold because they really are gold to me, and I make sure they're paid well. I make sure all those things that scare me and say, oh my God, can I afford to do this? Do I have a budget? I make the budget. Right?
And so again, you have to throw out a lot of faith, a lot of faith that things will come to you if you put it out there and that you are putting your faith in your employees and they have a sense of loyalty and pride and want to work with you for success of the company. And that's a really hard thing if you're not used to doing that, if you've worked for someone else for all your life and that's scary thing.
Lau: And it's a skill. You're right, it's a soft skill. But ironically, it's a hard skill. It really is. And you need to cultivate it to some degree because you want to have your team, your village, your tribe, whatever you call them, no person is an island. I'm telling you, I could not build the studio myself. I had my family, my husband, my own children who now work in the business with me. I mean, it's immense, the help that and assistance that you need as you grow. And just like identifying, you have to be able to identify who are my people that are really great, and they're supportive, and they're helpful? And then who are the people who are the growth people? Those are the people who can really help you grow and level up in your business to the next tier and really not mixing up. Yeah, not mixing up the two, 'cause they're very different people, equally valuable and equally loved. I'll use that word love. I think you need to love people.
Anne: And -- I agree -- and of course, even harder I think is if the people are not necessarily a fit for you and in letting go and in making that decision. There's that whole boss-employee kind of relationship. Are they friends as well? And there's a lot of delicate things in there, which, oh gosh, we could spend a whole 'nother podcast probably talking about that.
Lau: We could, we could spend forever talking about that. .
Anne: And actually I think we will, but I'm gonna say for today, Lau, thank you so much. It's been a wonderful privilege to have you coming on the show. I'm excited for our future episodes of BOSS Superpowers, of Business Superpowers. And so thank you so much for your wisdom today and telling us a little bit about yourself. And BOSSes out there, I want you to know that as individuals, sometimes it can seem difficult to make a huge impact, but as a group, you can help contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that you never thought possible. And you can visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how. Also a great, big shout-out to my sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Thanks so much, Lau. Bye.
Lau: Thank you, Anne. Loved it.
Anne: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Iterate or evaporate. In this episode, Anne & Erikka are here to get you out of a funk. Whether it’s a slow season in your genre or you are feeling like work isn’t coming as easily as it did a few months ago, your hosts are here to cheer you on. Connecting with a community can help motivate you, but really the only person you have to impress is yourself! This industry requires you to be consistent, tenacious, and ready to keep going even when it feels impossible. Reflecting on recent accomplishments or setting new goals can reignite that fire. Maybe you need to journal about why you got into voice over in the first place. Whatever it is, we are here for you and if you need a little boost, put this episode on repeat!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm happy to be back this morning, having a balanced breakfast with my good friend, Erikka J. Erikka! Yay! How are you?
Erikka: Hey Ann. I am good. I did not have a balanced breakfast, but.
Anne:
Erikka: I'm coming back balanced and refreshed from vacation.
Anne: Well, there you go.
Erikka: That's great.
Anne: And since we wanna remain with our theme of balance, I wanted to ask you, it seems like you had a wonderful, luxurious vacation. Did it restore the balance to your creative and professional life as well as your personal life?
Erikka: I think so. I think so, but it was crazy because kind of looping back to what we said in earlier episode, I had like a chaotic day, right before I left. I know we've talked about like having backups and all those things, and man, did it save my behind because --
Anne: Ah, very important. Talk about it. Let's talk about it.
Erikka: Oh my goodness. I had a SAG video game session that I've worked with once or twice before, but still, you know, those are like super exciting, but also wanna make sure everything's right. So had everything set up. They had me on Zoom first and they get on SourceConnect. And for whatever reason, Zoom and SourceConnect hated each other that day. And like my interface wouldn't work, and my DAW wouldn't work and it was just like, ohhhh, like.
Anne: That's tense. That's a tense situation. So what happened? So what happened?
Erikka: Luckily I had backups, Anne.
Anne: Ooh!
Erikka: So so I switched from my Apollo right over to my Audient, and I switched from Adobe audition right over to Pro Tools, which they use too, so they were super cool with. And I actually heard them comment, "isn't it great when an actor like knows what they're doing with the technical stuff?"
Anne: Ooh. Score.
Erikka: And I was, like --
Anne: That was awesome.
Erikka: Yes!
Anne: And you know what? I absolutely am quite sure that's gonna have a big bearing on them wanting to work with you again.
Erikka: Well, I'll tell you what, it was also a very nice way to kick off vacation by not leaving a session, like, oh my God, I screwed up. It was like, it all worked out in the end. So then I could go on vacation happily and you know, relax. So it was great.
Anne: Wow. Well, congratulations on that for sure.
Erikka: Thank you.
Anne: I know that for me, like when I go on vacation, I'm very much all on or I'm very much all off. And when I go on vacation, I can completely, thankfully I can completely disconnect. And then I find that when I get back, it's tough to motivate myself again.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: So I figured it would be kind of a good thing to talk about. How do you motivate yourself? And then also, how do you motivate yourself when, during the course of your voiceover career, let's say, things aren't working out the way you expect? I know a lot of people come to me, you know, I'm not booking and it's just really frustrating. And how do you self motivate when you're just coming off a vacation or when the chips are down?
Erikka: Oh boy, that's something that I think is like a muscle that we have to keep toned in this business, you know? Because there's so many things that can not help to keep us motivate --
Anne: Demotivate. Yeah.
Erikka: Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, you're not booking or whatever, but coming back off a vacation, it's like, yes, you've had this refresh, but it's always like hard to get back in the saddle, right? So usually what I'll do is I'll have at least one day of rest to make sure that like, I don't have --
Anne: Once you come back.
Erikka: I'm typically still booked out.
Anne: Yeah. I love that. Yes, I do that too. I book out one extra day when I come back for that jet leg or whatever it is. So you can just relax and kind of get yourself geared back up.
Erikka: Yep. And if I see like an audition I really wanna do, I might try to do like one or two just to kind of like warm up getting back in the booth.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: But you know, that way it's kind of my choice, 'cause I've already said like, hey, I'm booked out this day.
Anne: Important question though. Did you completely book out during that vacation? Did you bring any equipment with you?
Erikka: I did. So I have that Shure MV 88, which is plus, which is super tiny and it's so small that I don't mind carrying that. I stopped carrying around my 416 and my interface, 'cause that just felt like -- it was hard to be on vacation yeah. And I always get stopped by TSA. Like it's a microphone.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Me too.
Erikka: So I did bring it with me, but yeah, I didn't record a single thing on vacation. It was great.
Anne: Good. Congratulations on that. Yeah.
Erikka: Thank you. Thank you.
Anne: Absolutely.
Erikka: Yeah. So self-motivating, man, you gotta -- there's a lot of different things, whether that's warming up to get back in the booth and then thinking about why are you doing this? You know, what are your personal goals? What are your professional goals? What about you, Anne?
Anne: Well, I think a lot of times, if you're getting frustrated, when let's say work, isn't coming your way or you didn't book that audition or you're not sure what's happening, obviously number one, it happens to all of us. So just know that. There are times when things can be slow, and things may not be happening the way that you expect them to. So number one, know that you're not alone. Number two, reach out. I think reach out to somebody that can be an accountability buddy or, or just a friend in the industry that can help you motivate, get yourself back on track. And just to kind of reinforce the fact that you're not alone, and maybe they're having some slow moments too, or maybe they're not, and then that may or may not make you feel better. But but for sure, I think know that it happens to all of us and reach out and communicate. Don't just let it sit inside you and fester.
Erikka: Fester, yes.
Anne: Because I think that just is like a self-fulfilling prophecy, you know what I mean? It just, it's hard to get out of until somebody can help snap you out of it. And so, Hey, just put this VO BOSS episode on repeat. So whenever you're down, and you need motivation to say it's okay and it happens, there are slow times in the industry.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Keep plugging away at it. It is a marathon, not a sprint. What other things do we say? Interestingly enough, Erikka, I've been in this industry over 15 years, and honestly it does take tenacity, and it takes consistency and staying with it.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Now obviously if you haven't booked in a year, that might be an indication that maybe you need some other outside help or maybe performance technique or something else. Maybe you're not marketing enough. But I think for the most part, when you go through these lulls, for sure, just understand that it does happen and reach out so that you're not in this self-sabotaging moments of saying, that's it; I can't do this or this isn't for me and quit, because it is a marathon. It is a marathon.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And I think what you said is important about like, not just reaching out, like remembering that that also includes like coaches or, you know, finding workshops that maybe you need just need a refresh. Everybody still needs to train. I just had a class on Thursday when I got back. But you know, also sort of honing in on what exactly. like what's the problem? You can't really solve it until you know exactly what's missing. Is it that you're not reaching out enough and you're not drumming up enough leads? Or are you getting the leads and not quite landing the auditions? Maybe it's audition technique, 'cause maybe once you're in the job, it's great and they love you, but you're not getting the attention and standing out from the pack. Just sort of honing in on what is it that I need to work on to drum things up and knowing what the lulls are in the industry is key. Because it may not be you; it may just be the time of year, you know?
Anne: Yeah, and also, not just the time of year, but the genre that you're working in as well.
Erikka: Yes. Yeah.
Anne: Like there are certain genres that probably don't let up, like if you're in promo, right? And you're the voice of a show, you will have a schedule that will be somewhat predictable when the show is running or before the show -- whatever it is, you'll be on a schedule for those particular jobs. Versus let's say commercial: if you're the voice of a particular campaign, there may be a lot of work at once and then the campaign might be over. And so then you're onto the next campaign. If it's e-learning or corporate, it could be kind of hit or miss, you know, sometimes it's feast or famine, that sort of thing.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And just understand that when there is a famine, I think that's the time when you have to step back and increase the marketing levels, increase your, you know, reaching out to your contacts, making sure that you're continually on the lookout for that next client. I think you really should never be complacent if you're busy and when you're busy. Always be on the lookout for finding that next client, because you just never know when that job may end. And I think for me, I don't expect anything --
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: -- from my clients and the more predictable the work is, obviously the more comfortable and the more confident you're gonna be. So for me, I've got some regular clients that I know in advance like what jobs are coming up. And that gives me a source of confidence so that I can go and audition for more jobs and maybe a different genre and take some chances there. Because I always like to mix that up.
Erikka: Absolutely. Yeah. You don't wanna be taking all your risk at one point and then you don't have anything going on. You wanna kind of have your foundation, you know, know your, what your business plan is, know what your strategy is to keep yourself balanced, right, and to keep your balance sheet in balance.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So those are all, all great things.
Anne: And I think we talk about like goal setting in a recent episode. You know, I think goal setting is important because we can lose sight of -- within that goal setting, we write things down. We also not just write our goals down, but our accomplishments. And if you're doing that on a timely basis, on a weekly basis, a monthly basis, whatever that is, going back and taking a look at your progress and your accomplishments is going to be something I think that you can always keep track of. And that can also help to motivate you to say -- you know, I was thinking I haven't been busy, but in reality, I got that job. Or, you know, I got that wonderful testimonial from that client. Or I made contact with a bunch of new production houses that I'm on the roster. Whatever that is, you can take a look at what has happened so far. That's why I think keeping track in goal setting and writing down your accomplishments and goals that have come to fruition, I think that's so, so important.
Erikka: Absolutely. Like my metrics are super self-motivating for me. And it actually has kind of pulled me out of a, oh, I don't think I'm doing as much work. You know, I haven't been feeling well, all of this. And then I go back, and I look and I'm like, well, it's not that bad. You know, and maybe it's not as bad as I kind of -- we, we inflate these things in our head, but when you go back and look at the numbers, especially like, what I do is I'll definitely look at my year over year. So I'll see I did this last March and you know, this this March and kind of get an idea of where I'm at, looking at incomes, you know, a number of auditions that I did, bookings, and even like callbacks. Like if I got a callback in a genre that I haven't gotten a call back in before, that is progress, and that's showing that, you know, I've gotten better. So all that stuff is incredibly self-motivating.
Anne: Well, you know, you mentioned income, and I'd like to touch upon that just a little bit. I will say that for me, of course it's about voiceover. But for me, it's also about being the entrepreneur, and the entrepreneur is someone who can design their business so that it can be profitable and fruitful both in self-fulfillment as well as let's say financial, and I am not ashamed to say that that is part of a game for me. I like to make money. It helps me to support the household and the family, and I'm not ashamed to say that. And I think there's a lot of us that, especially when starting out in the industry are very timid. "I'm not experienced enough. I'm not good enough yet. I need more training." And they're very timid about charging a particular amount, charging what they're worth. We've touched on charging what you're worth, you know, multiple times in this podcast. But I will say that if you charge what you're worth, and even just once in a while, throw out a number that you think is ridiculous. When you get that number, that is a motivator, like no other .
Erikka: Yes, totally agree. Totally agree. And being able to kind of, tying that in with goals and the income thing, is making sure that your goals are -- and I wanna be cautious with the word realistic. And what I think I really mean is incremental and iterative.
Anne: Yes.
Erikka: So it is okay to set astronomical goals for yourself, but make that a long term thing.
Anne: Yes.
Erikka: What are the steps to get there? If you wanna make $100,000 in voiceover, what is it gonna take for you to make per month, per week, per day? How many reachouts or, you know, whatever your lead generation strategy is, what do you need to do to to generate that number? And then taking a look at where you landed and kind of setting for the next iteration, what's a more realistic goal for me if I didn't hit it or, oh, I did go over. So maybe I need to reach a little harder because you put that into the universe, I really believe that you can limit yourself by kind of having lower goals. But if you have somewhere in the sweet spot, it can help you be very motivated.
Anne: Yeah. And I do wanna continue a little bit more on that financial aspect of it, but if you have a cushion, if you have been able to, if you have a great repeat client, if you have -- or anything, not even, even if it's voiceover, if you have another job, right, that you're making income and you have some money that you have put aside, and this is my voiceover business investment money -- once you have the confidence of having money in there, I believe it is a true motivator to allow you to take more risks in your business.
Erikka: Yes, totally agree.
Anne: And that to me has been honestly, something that has helped me grow exponentially, just that confidence that I don't have to worry about the money because I've got money set aside for investment. I have a little bit of time to kind of strategize and calculate what can I do now to make money? And again, without people thinking I'm greedy, 'cause I don't like to classify that as greed at all. It's a simple acknowledgement and understanding that money makes the world go around right now, and I need to pay a mortgage. And so with that hardcore realization, to me, it becomes a challenge. "Okay. How can I have enough money set aside and reinvest that money so that I can make more money?"
Erikka: Yep, absolutely.
Anne: So that I can maybe invest in a good vacation that will help me reset myself creatively, which is something that I need and is coming up in the next year. You know, I've made plans to go on a nice vacation. That is something that I think is not only helpful for me personally, but also professionally because it's going to help me to reset. And so many of us have certain blocks for money. And once we realize what those blocks are, we can work to kind of clear those blocks and just, without getting too woo-woo, right allow the abundance, allow the money and not be ashamed or feel bad about it or simply accept it and allow it to come into our lives. 14:30
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. So keeping that balanced mindset, not one of scarcity, but one of abundance and welcoming that not just money itself because yes, I love making money too. And recognizing that you have value when you are voicing these projects. You are helping these companies make money in some type of way.
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: So you should be compensated for it. There's nothing wrong with that. But this money can allow you, you to not just hitting the number goal, but it can allow you to reach personal goals. Like maybe paying off debt or helping a parent or a child go to college or whatever. So it's a tool. Money is a tool that you can use to do things in your life. You work for it, you should get it, and there's nothing wrong with setting goals based on that.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the biggest money blocks that I faced when I was growing up was that my father was supposed to be the head of the household and making the money.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And my mother was raising the children, right? And bless them both, love them both, but that was kind of what I was raised with. But thankfully my parents were always encouraging, saying I could be whatever I wanted to be. I didn't feel like there was a limitation, but just because it was something that I grew up with, and I saw, as I became a business owner, should I feel bad that I'm making more money? I remember when I was going out to get a job, I'm like, well, how much money should I make? Like that was an actual thought in my head. Well, if I get married, my husband should make more money than me, and I, you know, of course immediately put a stop to that. But I don't want that to be a limitation at all for that. So it was always like, well, as a woman, I shouldn't be making as much money. And of course I put a stop right to that in today's world. Heck no.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: You know? For me --
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. I always wanted as much as possible.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. And for me, believe it or not, you wanna talk about how we're motivating, how to motivate when the chips are down, that's a motivator. It is a motivator. And so I am continually trying to improve. And when I set my goals and again, I love that you said the incremental-iterive not outlandish goals, but when you set decent goals that are incremental, and you hit those goals, that becomes such a motivator.
Erikka: Yes, yes.
Anne: And again, it doesn't consume my business, but it absolutely drives my business because you want to be successful. And so to be successful, I'd like to make a profit for this because it is my full-time career. Now, if you're in voiceover, and maybe it's your part-time career, I want you to have a goal of making money as well, because I don't want you to not care about it because then it will drive down, let's say, it may drive down the valuation in the industry, right? So every one of us should get paid, whether we're working full-time or part-time, we should get paid what we're worth.
Erikka: Absolutely. Think about, even if it's, if it is part-time or just side money for you, think about what you could do with that extra money, and maybe that'll help you keep your rates up like vacations. You know, just went to Cabo and it was gorgeous. It could be saving for retirement. It could be saving for college for kids. It could be saving to take care of an aging parent. It could be just investing, you know, go buy an investment property. So don't see it as just, oh yeah, I'll do this for $100 because who cares?
Anne: It's just a hobby for me. No. I want you to turn that thought around and say, hey, demand the money that you're worth and concentrate on the clients who are willing to pay you what you're worth.
Erikka: Indeed.
Anne: And try to even change the notion that there are some jobs that may not be worth as much. I mean, I think a lot of that is our own self-inflicted limitations on what we can charge for a job. I mean, a lot of times, you know, we have talked about negotiation before. You know, the person who mentions money first usually loses. And so always asking for a budget really helps because one of the last jobs I asked for a budget, and it was literally five times bigger than the budget I had in my brain. And I said, oh, I think I can work with that. Right? And that was a great motivator that --
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: I'm like --
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: -- wow. You know, I could actually get that money for that job and I didn't feel guilty. I didn't feel like it was overcharged because again, like you've mentioned, you're helping a business to make money. And so, you know, you are absolutely worth the money, and even if it's more than you think. And that really, I think helps to set like little benchmarks for like, okay, so I got paid for this particular genre this amount and you know what, it's not impossible that I could get paid that again or not more so.
Erikka: Agreed. And even some like external motivators 'cause we wanna balance what's motivating us, right? 'Cause money is great. Money's important. Money is probably the main reason that most of us are doing this. We wanna get paid and compensated for our time and talents. But understanding that there are other motivators as well, in addition to other goals you can set, it can be personal, just kind of growing your artistic muscles and being a great actor, but even external motivations like awards. I think that awards showing achievements that you've made in certain categories, for one, I think that they are a marketing and advertising tool, which is great to drum up new business. And it's nice to be recognized by your peers and to be able to say, I did such a great job on this that I was awarded for it. So those can be great too.
Anne: Absolutely. There is such a difference of opinion with some people about the awards.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Are they valid for us or not? But I think any type of recognition from our peers, that's validation. There's so many times when, again, we're such an isolated business and it's such a personal aspect of our brand that we're being judged on. Whether we get paid or not, right, whether we get that job or not, right, it is a personal part of us that is being valued, right? It's our voice. And so if we can have other people say, wow, great job, that really, really helps to motivate. And that includes award ceremonies. And again, there's the whole argument, well, you're paying for the award. Well, like you mentioned, consider that in investment in marketing.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: Does it really make a difference? I say, yeah, it does. I mean, it makes a difference to the person who may not be familiar with the voiceover industry, and they say, well, they've been awarded, so they must be good. I'm not necessarily marketing to voiceover people when I get an award on my voiceover work. I'm advertising to companies or other people that might hire me for the same thing. And it does leave an impression.
Erikka: Yeah. Think about, I know that we've all either had a product or a brand or something that we've seen, and they have on their website when they've been talked about in certain magazines or when they've earned certain awards. Again, we are businesses as well. So why would we see this as any different? There's nothing wrong with it. And if you have the argument, what does it help? My retort would be how does it hurt?
Anne: Yeah. Agreed.
Erikka: You know, like --
Anne: That's a great retort.
Erikka: Hey.
Anne: I mean, why not? So.
Erikka: Why not? Get dressed up and have fun with your friends.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I also think it's like, so anybody that knows me kind of knows that I'm a little competitive as I laugh, just a tiny bit competitive. And just the competitiveness of it all, even if I don't win, right?
Erikka: Right.
Anne: Which, you know, I'll be like rrr, but anyways , but even that little bit of competition is stirs up my adrenaline. Right? It's just fun.
Erikka: It's fun.
Anne: And again, it's something that wakes me up out of complacency. I think if you're not motivated, you're complacent. And complacency for me is like a dead end. It is a place where I can't grow and a place where ultimately I'll just get bored, and it's just not a place to be in my career.
Erikka: Yeah. I don't know if I've said this quote before on this podcast, because it's like one of my favorites. So forgive me if it's a repeat, but one of my favorite quotes, because it's so short is iterate or evaporate.
Anne: Ooh, I like that. I've never heard that.
Erikka: I love it. It's like keep getting better, keep doing things and kind of going back and looking at how you're doing, or you're going to fade away.
Anne: That's the nicer way of saying evolve or die.
Erikka: Yeah. Exactly.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. Which is one of my favorite
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Actually that's so funny. Iterate or evaporate. Okay. So I'm gonna say that from now on. I like that. That's great. Yeah. So any other ways that we can help to self-motivate? Sometimes you just have to go on muscle memory, I think, you know what I mean? And just know as much as you're not feeling it, you're feeling low, you're feeling down, you're depressed maybe because you haven't booked a gig in a while. Just kind of going on memory again, play this podcast, and know that things will change. Things will change if you keep going, keep plugging away, be consistent. I think co consistency is key.
Erikka: And remembering that yes, we have all these external factors like, you know, awards and money and all these things we've talked about. But personally, and as an internal factor, remember why you started. You know, why do you love voiceover? Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Why are you spending money on all this equipment and this training? And if you can get back to that love, that drive that got you started, that can be sort of a nice refresh to get you motivated to keep going.
Anne: Yeah. What a wonderful way to end on this, Erikka. I love that you said it because when you remember why you got into it in the first place, that passion, that love it comes out in your performance.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: And there's no denying that can vibrate from your soul. Right? The passion and the love that you have for it. It really, I think it's infectious, you know? And it draws people into listening. And so I think that's a really wonderful way. Hey, wanna improve your performance? Remember why you started in the first place, bring that passion back to your reads.
Erikka: And that passion might get you booked.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Back --
Erikka: You'd be surprised.
Anne: -- your leads, back to your marketing, bring the passion back to every aspect of your business, and it can only grow from there and move up. So.
Erikka: You know it, indeed.
Anne: Excellent, excellent episode, Erikka. Starting our morning outright with a balanced breakfast.
Erikka: Or a balanced conversation for those of who just have simple carbs.
Anne: A balanced, balanced motivation. So, ah, I love it. I love it. I love it. So I'd like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also BOSSes, here's a chance for you to use your voice, to make a difference and give back to the communities that give to you. You can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Erikka: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Iterate or evaporate. In this episode, Anne & Erikka are here to get you out of a funk. Whether it’s a slow season in your genre or you are feeling like work isn’t coming as easily as it did a few months ago, your hosts are here to cheer you on. Connecting with a community can help motivate you, but really the only person you have to impress is yourself! This industry requires you to be consistent, tenacious, and ready to keep going even when it feels impossible. Reflecting on recent accomplishments or setting new goals can reignite that fire. Maybe you need to journal about why you got into voice over in the first place. Whatever it is, we are here for you and if you need a little boost, put this episode on repeat!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm happy to be back this morning, having a balanced breakfast with my good friend, Erikka J. Erikka! Yay! How are you?
Erikka: Hey Ann. I am good. I did not have a balanced breakfast, but.
Anne:
Erikka: I'm coming back balanced and refreshed from vacation.
Anne: Well, there you go.
Erikka: That's great.
Anne: And since we wanna remain with our theme of balance, I wanted to ask you, it seems like you had a wonderful, luxurious vacation. Did it restore the balance to your creative and professional life as well as your personal life?
Erikka: I think so. I think so, but it was crazy because kind of looping back to what we said in earlier episode, I had like a chaotic day, right before I left. I know we've talked about like having backups and all those things, and man, did it save my behind because --
Anne: Ah, very important. Talk about it. Let's talk about it.
Erikka: Oh my goodness. I had a SAG video game session that I've worked with once or twice before, but still, you know, those are like super exciting, but also wanna make sure everything's right. So had everything set up. They had me on Zoom first and they get on SourceConnect. And for whatever reason, Zoom and SourceConnect hated each other that day. And like my interface wouldn't work, and my DAW wouldn't work and it was just like, ohhhh, like.
Anne: That's tense. That's a tense situation. So what happened? So what happened?
Erikka: Luckily I had backups, Anne.
Anne: Ooh!
Erikka: So so I switched from my Apollo right over to my Audient, and I switched from Adobe audition right over to Pro Tools, which they use too, so they were super cool with. And I actually heard them comment, "isn't it great when an actor like knows what they're doing with the technical stuff?"
Anne: Ooh. Score.
Erikka: And I was, like --
Anne: That was awesome.
Erikka: Yes!
Anne: And you know what? I absolutely am quite sure that's gonna have a big bearing on them wanting to work with you again.
Erikka: Well, I'll tell you what, it was also a very nice way to kick off vacation by not leaving a session, like, oh my God, I screwed up. It was like, it all worked out in the end. So then I could go on vacation happily and you know, relax. So it was great.
Anne: Wow. Well, congratulations on that for sure.
Erikka: Thank you.
Anne: I know that for me, like when I go on vacation, I'm very much all on or I'm very much all off. And when I go on vacation, I can completely, thankfully I can completely disconnect. And then I find that when I get back, it's tough to motivate myself again.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: So I figured it would be kind of a good thing to talk about. How do you motivate yourself? And then also, how do you motivate yourself when, during the course of your voiceover career, let's say, things aren't working out the way you expect? I know a lot of people come to me, you know, I'm not booking and it's just really frustrating. And how do you self motivate when you're just coming off a vacation or when the chips are down?
Erikka: Oh boy, that's something that I think is like a muscle that we have to keep toned in this business, you know? Because there's so many things that can not help to keep us motivate --
Anne: Demotivate. Yeah.
Erikka: Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, you're not booking or whatever, but coming back off a vacation, it's like, yes, you've had this refresh, but it's always like hard to get back in the saddle, right? So usually what I'll do is I'll have at least one day of rest to make sure that like, I don't have --
Anne: Once you come back.
Erikka: I'm typically still booked out.
Anne: Yeah. I love that. Yes, I do that too. I book out one extra day when I come back for that jet leg or whatever it is. So you can just relax and kind of get yourself geared back up.
Erikka: Yep. And if I see like an audition I really wanna do, I might try to do like one or two just to kind of like warm up getting back in the booth.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: But you know, that way it's kind of my choice, 'cause I've already said like, hey, I'm booked out this day.
Anne: Important question though. Did you completely book out during that vacation? Did you bring any equipment with you?
Erikka: I did. So I have that Shure MV 88, which is plus, which is super tiny and it's so small that I don't mind carrying that. I stopped carrying around my 416 and my interface, 'cause that just felt like -- it was hard to be on vacation yeah. And I always get stopped by TSA. Like it's a microphone.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Me too.
Erikka: So I did bring it with me, but yeah, I didn't record a single thing on vacation. It was great.
Anne: Good. Congratulations on that. Yeah.
Erikka: Thank you. Thank you.
Anne: Absolutely.
Erikka: Yeah. So self-motivating, man, you gotta -- there's a lot of different things, whether that's warming up to get back in the booth and then thinking about why are you doing this? You know, what are your personal goals? What are your professional goals? What about you, Anne?
Anne: Well, I think a lot of times, if you're getting frustrated, when let's say work, isn't coming your way or you didn't book that audition or you're not sure what's happening, obviously number one, it happens to all of us. So just know that. There are times when things can be slow, and things may not be happening the way that you expect them to. So number one, know that you're not alone. Number two, reach out. I think reach out to somebody that can be an accountability buddy or, or just a friend in the industry that can help you motivate, get yourself back on track. And just to kind of reinforce the fact that you're not alone, and maybe they're having some slow moments too, or maybe they're not, and then that may or may not make you feel better. But but for sure, I think know that it happens to all of us and reach out and communicate. Don't just let it sit inside you and fester.
Erikka: Fester, yes.
Anne: Because I think that just is like a self-fulfilling prophecy, you know what I mean? It just, it's hard to get out of until somebody can help snap you out of it. And so, Hey, just put this VO BOSS episode on repeat. So whenever you're down, and you need motivation to say it's okay and it happens, there are slow times in the industry.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Keep plugging away at it. It is a marathon, not a sprint. What other things do we say? Interestingly enough, Erikka, I've been in this industry over 15 years, and honestly it does take tenacity, and it takes consistency and staying with it.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Now obviously if you haven't booked in a year, that might be an indication that maybe you need some other outside help or maybe performance technique or something else. Maybe you're not marketing enough. But I think for the most part, when you go through these lulls, for sure, just understand that it does happen and reach out so that you're not in this self-sabotaging moments of saying, that's it; I can't do this or this isn't for me and quit, because it is a marathon. It is a marathon.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And I think what you said is important about like, not just reaching out, like remembering that that also includes like coaches or, you know, finding workshops that maybe you need just need a refresh. Everybody still needs to train. I just had a class on Thursday when I got back. But you know, also sort of honing in on what exactly. like what's the problem? You can't really solve it until you know exactly what's missing. Is it that you're not reaching out enough and you're not drumming up enough leads? Or are you getting the leads and not quite landing the auditions? Maybe it's audition technique, 'cause maybe once you're in the job, it's great and they love you, but you're not getting the attention and standing out from the pack. Just sort of honing in on what is it that I need to work on to drum things up and knowing what the lulls are in the industry is key. Because it may not be you; it may just be the time of year, you know?
Anne: Yeah, and also, not just the time of year, but the genre that you're working in as well.
Erikka: Yes. Yeah.
Anne: Like there are certain genres that probably don't let up, like if you're in promo, right? And you're the voice of a show, you will have a schedule that will be somewhat predictable when the show is running or before the show -- whatever it is, you'll be on a schedule for those particular jobs. Versus let's say commercial: if you're the voice of a particular campaign, there may be a lot of work at once and then the campaign might be over. And so then you're onto the next campaign. If it's e-learning or corporate, it could be kind of hit or miss, you know, sometimes it's feast or famine, that sort of thing.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And just understand that when there is a famine, I think that's the time when you have to step back and increase the marketing levels, increase your, you know, reaching out to your contacts, making sure that you're continually on the lookout for that next client. I think you really should never be complacent if you're busy and when you're busy. Always be on the lookout for finding that next client, because you just never know when that job may end. And I think for me, I don't expect anything --
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: -- from my clients and the more predictable the work is, obviously the more comfortable and the more confident you're gonna be. So for me, I've got some regular clients that I know in advance like what jobs are coming up. And that gives me a source of confidence so that I can go and audition for more jobs and maybe a different genre and take some chances there. Because I always like to mix that up.
Erikka: Absolutely. Yeah. You don't wanna be taking all your risk at one point and then you don't have anything going on. You wanna kind of have your foundation, you know, know your, what your business plan is, know what your strategy is to keep yourself balanced, right, and to keep your balance sheet in balance.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So those are all, all great things.
Anne: And I think we talk about like goal setting in a recent episode. You know, I think goal setting is important because we can lose sight of -- within that goal setting, we write things down. We also not just write our goals down, but our accomplishments. And if you're doing that on a timely basis, on a weekly basis, a monthly basis, whatever that is, going back and taking a look at your progress and your accomplishments is going to be something I think that you can always keep track of. And that can also help to motivate you to say -- you know, I was thinking I haven't been busy, but in reality, I got that job. Or, you know, I got that wonderful testimonial from that client. Or I made contact with a bunch of new production houses that I'm on the roster. Whatever that is, you can take a look at what has happened so far. That's why I think keeping track in goal setting and writing down your accomplishments and goals that have come to fruition, I think that's so, so important.
Erikka: Absolutely. Like my metrics are super self-motivating for me. And it actually has kind of pulled me out of a, oh, I don't think I'm doing as much work. You know, I haven't been feeling well, all of this. And then I go back, and I look and I'm like, well, it's not that bad. You know, and maybe it's not as bad as I kind of -- we, we inflate these things in our head, but when you go back and look at the numbers, especially like, what I do is I'll definitely look at my year over year. So I'll see I did this last March and you know, this this March and kind of get an idea of where I'm at, looking at incomes, you know, a number of auditions that I did, bookings, and even like callbacks. Like if I got a callback in a genre that I haven't gotten a call back in before, that is progress, and that's showing that, you know, I've gotten better. So all that stuff is incredibly self-motivating.
Anne: Well, you know, you mentioned income, and I'd like to touch upon that just a little bit. I will say that for me, of course it's about voiceover. But for me, it's also about being the entrepreneur, and the entrepreneur is someone who can design their business so that it can be profitable and fruitful both in self-fulfillment as well as let's say financial, and I am not ashamed to say that that is part of a game for me. I like to make money. It helps me to support the household and the family, and I'm not ashamed to say that. And I think there's a lot of us that, especially when starting out in the industry are very timid. "I'm not experienced enough. I'm not good enough yet. I need more training." And they're very timid about charging a particular amount, charging what they're worth. We've touched on charging what you're worth, you know, multiple times in this podcast. But I will say that if you charge what you're worth, and even just once in a while, throw out a number that you think is ridiculous. When you get that number, that is a motivator, like no other .
Erikka: Yes, totally agree. Totally agree. And being able to kind of, tying that in with goals and the income thing, is making sure that your goals are -- and I wanna be cautious with the word realistic. And what I think I really mean is incremental and iterative.
Anne: Yes.
Erikka: So it is okay to set astronomical goals for yourself, but make that a long term thing.
Anne: Yes.
Erikka: What are the steps to get there? If you wanna make $100,000 in voiceover, what is it gonna take for you to make per month, per week, per day? How many reachouts or, you know, whatever your lead generation strategy is, what do you need to do to to generate that number? And then taking a look at where you landed and kind of setting for the next iteration, what's a more realistic goal for me if I didn't hit it or, oh, I did go over. So maybe I need to reach a little harder because you put that into the universe, I really believe that you can limit yourself by kind of having lower goals. But if you have somewhere in the sweet spot, it can help you be very motivated.
Anne: Yeah. And I do wanna continue a little bit more on that financial aspect of it, but if you have a cushion, if you have been able to, if you have a great repeat client, if you have -- or anything, not even, even if it's voiceover, if you have another job, right, that you're making income and you have some money that you have put aside, and this is my voiceover business investment money -- once you have the confidence of having money in there, I believe it is a true motivator to allow you to take more risks in your business.
Erikka: Yes, totally agree.
Anne: And that to me has been honestly, something that has helped me grow exponentially, just that confidence that I don't have to worry about the money because I've got money set aside for investment. I have a little bit of time to kind of strategize and calculate what can I do now to make money? And again, without people thinking I'm greedy, 'cause I don't like to classify that as greed at all. It's a simple acknowledgement and understanding that money makes the world go around right now, and I need to pay a mortgage. And so with that hardcore realization, to me, it becomes a challenge. "Okay. How can I have enough money set aside and reinvest that money so that I can make more money?"
Erikka: Yep, absolutely.
Anne: So that I can maybe invest in a good vacation that will help me reset myself creatively, which is something that I need and is coming up in the next year. You know, I've made plans to go on a nice vacation. That is something that I think is not only helpful for me personally, but also professionally because it's going to help me to reset. And so many of us have certain blocks for money. And once we realize what those blocks are, we can work to kind of clear those blocks and just, without getting too woo-woo, right allow the abundance, allow the money and not be ashamed or feel bad about it or simply accept it and allow it to come into our lives. 14:30
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. So keeping that balanced mindset, not one of scarcity, but one of abundance and welcoming that not just money itself because yes, I love making money too. And recognizing that you have value when you are voicing these projects. You are helping these companies make money in some type of way.
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: So you should be compensated for it. There's nothing wrong with that. But this money can allow you, you to not just hitting the number goal, but it can allow you to reach personal goals. Like maybe paying off debt or helping a parent or a child go to college or whatever. So it's a tool. Money is a tool that you can use to do things in your life. You work for it, you should get it, and there's nothing wrong with setting goals based on that.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the biggest money blocks that I faced when I was growing up was that my father was supposed to be the head of the household and making the money.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And my mother was raising the children, right? And bless them both, love them both, but that was kind of what I was raised with. But thankfully my parents were always encouraging, saying I could be whatever I wanted to be. I didn't feel like there was a limitation, but just because it was something that I grew up with, and I saw, as I became a business owner, should I feel bad that I'm making more money? I remember when I was going out to get a job, I'm like, well, how much money should I make? Like that was an actual thought in my head. Well, if I get married, my husband should make more money than me, and I, you know, of course immediately put a stop to that. But I don't want that to be a limitation at all for that. So it was always like, well, as a woman, I shouldn't be making as much money. And of course I put a stop right to that in today's world. Heck no.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: You know? For me --
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. I always wanted as much as possible.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. And for me, believe it or not, you wanna talk about how we're motivating, how to motivate when the chips are down, that's a motivator. It is a motivator. And so I am continually trying to improve. And when I set my goals and again, I love that you said the incremental-iterive not outlandish goals, but when you set decent goals that are incremental, and you hit those goals, that becomes such a motivator.
Erikka: Yes, yes.
Anne: And again, it doesn't consume my business, but it absolutely drives my business because you want to be successful. And so to be successful, I'd like to make a profit for this because it is my full-time career. Now, if you're in voiceover, and maybe it's your part-time career, I want you to have a goal of making money as well, because I don't want you to not care about it because then it will drive down, let's say, it may drive down the valuation in the industry, right? So every one of us should get paid, whether we're working full-time or part-time, we should get paid what we're worth.
Erikka: Absolutely. Think about, even if it's, if it is part-time or just side money for you, think about what you could do with that extra money, and maybe that'll help you keep your rates up like vacations. You know, just went to Cabo and it was gorgeous. It could be saving for retirement. It could be saving for college for kids. It could be saving to take care of an aging parent. It could be just investing, you know, go buy an investment property. So don't see it as just, oh yeah, I'll do this for $100 because who cares?
Anne: It's just a hobby for me. No. I want you to turn that thought around and say, hey, demand the money that you're worth and concentrate on the clients who are willing to pay you what you're worth.
Erikka: Indeed.
Anne: And try to even change the notion that there are some jobs that may not be worth as much. I mean, I think a lot of that is our own self-inflicted limitations on what we can charge for a job. I mean, a lot of times, you know, we have talked about negotiation before. You know, the person who mentions money first usually loses. And so always asking for a budget really helps because one of the last jobs I asked for a budget, and it was literally five times bigger than the budget I had in my brain. And I said, oh, I think I can work with that. Right? And that was a great motivator that --
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: I'm like --
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: -- wow. You know, I could actually get that money for that job and I didn't feel guilty. I didn't feel like it was overcharged because again, like you've mentioned, you're helping a business to make money. And so, you know, you are absolutely worth the money, and even if it's more than you think. And that really, I think helps to set like little benchmarks for like, okay, so I got paid for this particular genre this amount and you know what, it's not impossible that I could get paid that again or not more so.
Erikka: Agreed. And even some like external motivators 'cause we wanna balance what's motivating us, right? 'Cause money is great. Money's important. Money is probably the main reason that most of us are doing this. We wanna get paid and compensated for our time and talents. But understanding that there are other motivators as well, in addition to other goals you can set, it can be personal, just kind of growing your artistic muscles and being a great actor, but even external motivations like awards. I think that awards showing achievements that you've made in certain categories, for one, I think that they are a marketing and advertising tool, which is great to drum up new business. And it's nice to be recognized by your peers and to be able to say, I did such a great job on this that I was awarded for it. So those can be great too.
Anne: Absolutely. There is such a difference of opinion with some people about the awards.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Are they valid for us or not? But I think any type of recognition from our peers, that's validation. There's so many times when, again, we're such an isolated business and it's such a personal aspect of our brand that we're being judged on. Whether we get paid or not, right, whether we get that job or not, right, it is a personal part of us that is being valued, right? It's our voice. And so if we can have other people say, wow, great job, that really, really helps to motivate. And that includes award ceremonies. And again, there's the whole argument, well, you're paying for the award. Well, like you mentioned, consider that in investment in marketing.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: Does it really make a difference? I say, yeah, it does. I mean, it makes a difference to the person who may not be familiar with the voiceover industry, and they say, well, they've been awarded, so they must be good. I'm not necessarily marketing to voiceover people when I get an award on my voiceover work. I'm advertising to companies or other people that might hire me for the same thing. And it does leave an impression.
Erikka: Yeah. Think about, I know that we've all either had a product or a brand or something that we've seen, and they have on their website when they've been talked about in certain magazines or when they've earned certain awards. Again, we are businesses as well. So why would we see this as any different? There's nothing wrong with it. And if you have the argument, what does it help? My retort would be how does it hurt?
Anne: Yeah. Agreed.
Erikka: You know, like --
Anne: That's a great retort.
Erikka: Hey.
Anne: I mean, why not? So.
Erikka: Why not? Get dressed up and have fun with your friends.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I also think it's like, so anybody that knows me kind of knows that I'm a little competitive as I laugh, just a tiny bit competitive. And just the competitiveness of it all, even if I don't win, right?
Erikka: Right.
Anne: Which, you know, I'll be like rrr, but anyways , but even that little bit of competition is stirs up my adrenaline. Right? It's just fun.
Erikka: It's fun.
Anne: And again, it's something that wakes me up out of complacency. I think if you're not motivated, you're complacent. And complacency for me is like a dead end. It is a place where I can't grow and a place where ultimately I'll just get bored, and it's just not a place to be in my career.
Erikka: Yeah. I don't know if I've said this quote before on this podcast, because it's like one of my favorites. So forgive me if it's a repeat, but one of my favorite quotes, because it's so short is iterate or evaporate.
Anne: Ooh, I like that. I've never heard that.
Erikka: I love it. It's like keep getting better, keep doing things and kind of going back and looking at how you're doing, or you're going to fade away.
Anne: That's the nicer way of saying evolve or die.
Erikka: Yeah. Exactly.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. Which is one of my favorite
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Actually that's so funny. Iterate or evaporate. Okay. So I'm gonna say that from now on. I like that. That's great. Yeah. So any other ways that we can help to self-motivate? Sometimes you just have to go on muscle memory, I think, you know what I mean? And just know as much as you're not feeling it, you're feeling low, you're feeling down, you're depressed maybe because you haven't booked a gig in a while. Just kind of going on memory again, play this podcast, and know that things will change. Things will change if you keep going, keep plugging away, be consistent. I think co consistency is key.
Erikka: And remembering that yes, we have all these external factors like, you know, awards and money and all these things we've talked about. But personally, and as an internal factor, remember why you started. You know, why do you love voiceover? Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Why are you spending money on all this equipment and this training? And if you can get back to that love, that drive that got you started, that can be sort of a nice refresh to get you motivated to keep going.
Anne: Yeah. What a wonderful way to end on this, Erikka. I love that you said it because when you remember why you got into it in the first place, that passion, that love it comes out in your performance.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: And there's no denying that can vibrate from your soul. Right? The passion and the love that you have for it. It really, I think it's infectious, you know? And it draws people into listening. And so I think that's a really wonderful way. Hey, wanna improve your performance? Remember why you started in the first place, bring that passion back to your reads.
Erikka: And that passion might get you booked.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. Back --
Erikka: You'd be surprised.
Anne: -- your leads, back to your marketing, bring the passion back to every aspect of your business, and it can only grow from there and move up. So.
Erikka: You know it, indeed.
Anne: Excellent, excellent episode, Erikka. Starting our morning outright with a balanced breakfast.
Erikka: Or a balanced conversation for those of who just have simple carbs.
Anne: A balanced, balanced motivation. So, ah, I love it. I love it. I love it. So I'd like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also BOSSes, here's a chance for you to use your voice, to make a difference and give back to the communities that give to you. You can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Erikka: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In order to tell a story, you have to understand it. This week, Anne & Erikka discuss how to harness musicality to make the most out of your reads. Singing can teach you a lot about breath control, pacing, and emotional expression. Taking deep, diaphragmatic breaths will keep your air flow strong. This prevents you from breaking up ideas & phrases with pauses which ultimately interrupt the story you are telling. Knowing your voice and its capabilities can inform your daily workflow & schedule. Tune in to learn how you can harness the power of your voice…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and our balance series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am thrilled to have back special guest co-host Erikka J. Erikka J, yay.
Erikka: Hey, Hey Anne. How are you?
Anne: We're kind of singing that.
Erikka: Yes we are.
Anne: You know, you are a singer. And I was thinking about this because I used to play an instrument for many years and I also sang for quite some time. I was an avid choir member and swing choir member as well, kind of like the glee club. And so it's interesting because it affects how I teach voiceover. So I teach voiceover with like conversational melody. And it's very interesting, 'cause I'll talk about, okay, start on your middle C. And then when you're going to inflect important words, that's pretty much just a tiny nuance of a step up. It's not like crazy notes. It's C to a C# or C to a D. And I thought, because you're a singer, we could really have a conversation about how there is a melody to our voice as we are speaking. We're not necessarily singing, but when we're talking and we're communicating, there's absolutely a melody.
Erikka: Absolutely. But you have to keep it in balance. You don't wanna get sing-songy because then it starts to sound like, you know, old school commercials and nobody pays attention. It's not conversational anymore.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: But yeah, for sure.
Anne: So let me ask you, you were a singer before you were a voice artist?
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: So what skills that you developed as a vocalist, how do they help you as a voice artist?
Erikka: Oh man. So definitely for one was breath control.
Anne: Ooh.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: That's an important one.
Erikka: When you get those really long run on sentences or those big words, and it's like, we gotta make it work or you gotta read speed through the disclaimers or whatever. I'm like, boom. You know, like .
Anne: Look, and you just did a nose breath. I love that. I teach nose breath.
Erikka: Yeah. I don't even do mouth breath. I don't even think it's automatic. Yeah.
Anne: That's awesome. Because, so I talk about nose breath because it helps you to really get a deep diaphragmatic breath.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: And there's nothing more powerful, right, than to deliver words when you're not afraid of running out of breath. Right?
Erikka: Indeed. Yes. Yes. Because your brain is gonna be like, oh my God, I can't breathe, I can't --
Anne: Right. And that's all you can think about. You can't think about the story you're trying to tell when you're exactly gasping for breath. And honestly, I think there's something to be said for understanding the music before you sing it a little bit or kind of understanding the phrasing of the music, because for me, words and stories are broken up into phrases or clauses as my, my English teacher would say. And in those phrases, you don't wanna run outta breath. You don't wanna like stop. Like I am talking to you all staccato, like William Shatner. . You know, you wanna be able to have that -- here, it's a smooth phrase and I'm just talking. And if you guys, the BOSSes out there, you're listening to this right now is we're talking to one another, we're not breathing in the middle of our words. We're breathing either before we say them or at a comma. And if you run outta breath, like that's all you can think about. So you can't have a conversation while you're continually gasping for breath.
Erikka: It's still a balance.
Anne: Yeah. Talk to me about those diaphragmatic breaths for you.
Erikka: So it's definitely, like I said, the support in being able to get through those long phrases, but it's also, like you said, finding the commas and that's not necessarily the commas that are written on the script. And I think that's important to keep in mind. When you're doing a conversational method of speaking, there are gonna be times when maybe, you know, you're in the middle of thinking. Like I just paused right now and I kind of, you know, I might take a natural breath there and that's okay. So it doesn't have to be, I have one breath for the entire sentence. Just now when I'm speaking, you can hear, there are some points where I'm breathing and it's just natural. You wanna keep the natural breath in there, but not the, oh my God, I ran outta breath, and I gotta breathe.
Anne: Oh my God, just, I'm at the end of the, I'm at the end of the sentence now.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So those are incredibly supportive.
Anne: And it's funny because I had to kind of learn how to breathe even better after I had surgery way back in 2012. And it's interesting. That's when I started really doing nose breaths and diaphragmatic breaths, and it's incredible how confident it makes you feel. And so it really allows you to concentrate on the story that you're telling again. And you can deliver those words.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, I can --
Anne: Just when you want to.
Erikka: I can feel them in my posture. Like it actually, like, I feel like it makes me sit up because it's like, your lungs are full, and it's like, I've telling this story. You know, this is my message. And you shall listen to me. Like it's .
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And I think it's very similar to swimmers. Like I used to take swimming lessons and be like, okay, how long can you hold your breath underwater?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: It's a muscle that you can develop. So if you are in your booth, and sometimes you just don't anticipate long, unwieldy sentences. Boo on you, because you should understand at least at some point in your analysis of it, right? I always say go through the script like a first grader so that you kinda have an idea of where those long-winded sentences are and you know where you're going to breathe. You kind of have to plan where you're gonna breathe. So it's not at every single comma, but like you said, it can be in implied commas.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And those are the only times you should have to breathe. And the cool thing about this is if you do that, if you breathe only like before you read a sentence or after, or at the commas or implied commas, then you have much less editing to do. And those of us, which I think Erikka, you are with me, we do long format narration a lot, it lessens the amount of editing you have to do afterwards.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: And if you're talking about a piece of copy, that is an hour finished audio, right? And you're just getting rid of the big [air intake] before the sentence, versus trying to place those words in the proper place because you ran outta breath and now you're trying to piece it together so it sounds reasonable, well, that's maybe four or five or six movements, right, or edits in your software, not including the ones that you take in the beginning. So if you take a good breath in the beginning, you just wipe that out. That's one movement or one mouse swipe compared to four or five, when you're trying to rearrange sentences to make 'em sound decent, which they never do because you've pieced them together when you've run outta breath. And when you run outta breath, your inflection is off.
Erikka: Yes. Yes. You're breaking up the story. And like you, you mentioned the swimming analogy. Another thing that like music kind of taught me was budgeting my breath because it could be, I've taken this deep breath. I might have to hold this long note or a high note. You can't like take a breath and then keep holding the note. It kind of, it kills the vibe. It's the same thing with speaking. If you breathe in the wrong place, it doesn't, it just doesn't work.
Anne: Now, I like how you said, hold the note. Like if you get really technical about it, right? Holding the note doesn't necessarily mean that you have sound on the note. Right? So for example, I said, right. And I lengthened that. That's like, I would say an emphasized word, which I attribute to a whole note, right? Versus the words leading up to that important emphasized word, which would be half notes, quarter notes, 16th notes. The ones that aren't as important as the long note that you're holding. So I'm just saying that holding the note, you don't always have to have sound.
And what I mean is when you are pausing, notice how I says when you are pausing. Notice how I didn't go when. you are pausing. So you're holding that note and that kind of meshes your words together. That sounds very natural. There's a lot of times when I'll tell people you're on the precipice. Don't cut in between your commas. Don't cut the words off, because what it does is it cuts off the idea of the phrase. Because you don't want it to be here, I am going to talk to you in a very crisp voice. And even though I sound conversational, I'm sounding very articulate. So that holding on the precipice of like, I'm about to, right? I didn't say I am about to. I said, I'm about two. So I held my breath and I think that's important for the natural sounding melody.
Erikka: Absolutely makes you sound more relatable.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: And like, you're actually a person and you're not talking at people. You're talking with someone. That's the difference.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Absolutely. Do you have any exercises that you do like that you used to do to warm up when you were singing that are similar for voiceover?
Erikka: I am your classic horrible singer in terms of warming up. We are bad about it. And I'm the first to admit.
Anne: Now why is that? 'cause there's --
Erikka: We're just lazy.
Anne: -- so many exercises. Well, there's so many exercises out there, and it's funny because --
Erikka: I know.
Anne: -- it's always like, okay, what should I warm up with? What should I warm up with? And honestly, do I do warmups every single day before I voice something for an audition? I might, if I just got up out of bed. I'm not hydrated or my mouth hasn't moved, you know?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anne: So, but other than that, it's funny. Sometimes I do a lot of telephony, and little secret, sometimes I warm up with my telephony jobs 'cause they're short.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: You know what I mean? And so honestly I can say those words and those sentences over and over again. And then that helps me to warm up. But I have a great app on my phone called Appcompanist, which my singing instructor Armie -- I'm gonna actually put a link to her 'cause she's amazing -- she got me turned onto that, but that's like, you can sing your scales, and that's helpful to help you get to a vocal placement that you might want to be in.
Erikka: You bring up a good point. That it depends on like what you're about to do, because typically because I know that I'm bad about warming up, and I know some things, like you said, singing scales, like bumblebee to get your, you know, blah, blah, blah, your tongue going too, and then like straw foundation and all those kind of things. Or even just singing a song that you know, is close to your natural range. Like, you don't wanna stretch for really high or really low in your first words of the morning. But if I have something like a quick job, like you said, like telephony or in-store messaging or something, and it's where my voice naturally is when I first wake up, which is kind of lower Viola Davis in the basement, I do start with that work first and work my way up to something that might want more upbeat, more a higher pitch possibly. So I'm very aware of where my natural placement is and maybe what's a stretch for me, and I warm up in that way.
Anne: Well, okay. So here's my question, right? So there's little tricks, I think, 'cause I, of course in the morning I, I have a lower voice and I'm like, oh I wanna do the audition in the lower voice or this is a great gig for me in my lower voice. So if I wanna get to my lower voice again, right, I can sing it down there. And when I sing it down there, I'll just, you know, do a scale, and it'll be up to scale. And then ba ba ba, you know, I'll get down to the scale and I can feel where the voice is in my mouth or my throat or in my chest. And interestingly enough, once I feel where it is, I can then use that as a starting point for --
Erikka: Yes, absolutely.
Anne: -- my conversational, authentic, believable read. And that's how I get vocal placement to kind of change the start of the read. Now, besides that in terms of song, right, and melody, there's also the emotion. Now back in the day when I was playing piano, me and my best friend played piano together. Now she was amazing. She could sight-read and learn and play these incredibly complex classical pieces of music. And it used to always like, competitive Anne, I used to always get like, mm okay, fine. But my teacher used to always make me feel better because she said you have the feeling. You have the passion.
And I think that understanding that along with melody, there's passion and nuance and emotion. So if you wanna get yourself to another place, another read along with vocal placement, you can then decide to understand the story and start from a different place in the scene or have a different reaction to it. And that means a different emotion to it. And that's gonna color the melody of the song differently.
Erikka: Yeah. And absolutely like you mentioned kind of knowing where the voice is gonna come from. So as you're doing your script analysis, you can kind of think about where this character, you know, even if it's not character work, it's still a character 'cause you're reading as someone else, other than yourself -- where does that live? If it's very sort of determined and you know, gritty, it might be in your chest. It might even be more down in your gut. Like you said, it might be a little more in the throat if it's kind of mid and if it's, you know, really super upbeat and you're excited and it's like a sales presentation, you might be a little more in the nose or the head. So yeah. Thinking about where that vocal placement is gonna be, that's going to tell the story from that character's point of view, is key.
Anne: Yeah. And I think vocal placement, like singing-wise, for me, gets me to the starting point. Then it becomes the story, and it becomes the emotion and the character, which I'm so glad you brought up character, because character's so important. Now when you sing, did you think you were a character? I mean, that's just a question I have. Were you placing yourself in a scene or is it just the melody of the song carried you?
Erikka: You know, it's very funny you say that because what was always sort of my strong point and what I would talk about in interviews for my musical performances is that I really honed in on the feeling. And I think that was why I was able to translate into voiceover so seamlessly was because I was always coming from the place of story. And if my voice cracked or something, I just kind of, you know, I hated it 'cause I'm like competitive, like you and I'm like, I wanna be perfect, but I'm like, that may have gone with the story. So it was very much from the place of feeling. And my goal was to make you feel this story when I was sang it. I loved making people cry like.
Anne: Right, right, right.
Erikka: I would find a way to connect with the lyrics and the way that singing the notes and the melody from the place of that emotion and not necessarily quite so technical.
Anne: Isn't that awesome? Like the more you really study music and voiceover, and it comes down to what's important? What is it that connects with the people who are listening to you? It ultimately comes out to be the storytelling, the emotion. Because that's what connects us, I think, as humans. And again, those of you out there that are afraid of AI, it's nowhere near coming to that human emotion, which is where we're always gonna win out. And we're always gonna win out for those people who decide that they want to hire that. Right? To connect to an audience.
And so I think we always have that humanity. We have that feeling, that emotion, that nuance, that connects with our audience, and that's what we have to work on, I think, in our voiceover careers, if we want to continue to be successful while we are evolving along with AI voices, which have their place in certain, I think, genres. They're going to have their place. I mean, I say this because I talk to Alexa every day. Do you know what I mean? And I'm okay with Alexa's voice.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Alexa helps me get things done. And so I really do believe that the market will shift. But we always need to connect with the heart and the emotion. And it's so interesting that you vocally through singing as well as storytelling and voiceover, it all comes down to that.
Erikka: Yeah. You have to make it personal. And that's, you know, kind of what we hear in, in voiceover is you have to connect to the story. And the songs that I found that were my favorite, and that I could tell were the most impactful were the ones where I found a personal connection to it. And I enjoyed like, it felt like a push. Like I literally would feel less anxious because I got that energy outta my body because I was literally like in it. And when you do the same thing, you can do the same thing with these scripts and voiceover, it's going to be more connected. It's going to naturally have a more balanced melody that sounds human because you've connected with it on a human level. So.
Anne: And even though we talk about melody of conversation, there's that uniqueness of you, what you bring to it.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: Even when we talk about character, I think sometimes when I talk to people about character, they think about cartoon characters, right? And they're playing another persona. Well, maybe they are, but there's always an element of you that is brought along with that character. And, and for, let's say more nuanced type of genres like corporate narration, eLearning, you're still a character. You're just maybe not as dramatic. In corporate, you're probably always gonna work for the company. You'll be a representative of the company, and in eLearning you're gonna be a teacher. And so those are characters, and those characters have emotions and feelings, and that's the special part that you and you alone can bring to the party, and to make it so uniquely yours where people say, I need to have an Erikka J to narrate that. I need to have an Anne Ganguzza to teach that. Whatever that is, it's that understanding of a vocal placement with a nuance of emotion and telling a story.
Erikka: Yep. Absolutely.
Anne: So let me ask you a question. Are you still pursuing, singing at all or singing in your voiceover?
Erikka: You know, I've had a couple actually jobs and auditions where I've gotten the opportunity to sing as well. So I like that kind of keeps me fresh, but I haven't been pursuing it as much. I love music. I mean, it is definitely what got me here. My first love from way back when I was tiny, but it got to be a lot of, a lot of work with not a lot of return.
Anne: Sure, right. That's tough.
Erikka: Not as much as voiceover, it is. So maybe when my plate lightens up a little bit, I've thought about, you know, eh, maybe we'll, we'll do a little more music again, but for now it's really voiceover is the thing.
Anne: I was like, why don't they bring jingles back? I feel like they're so identifiable.
Erikka: I just did one. I just did one like a week ago.
Anne: Did you?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Wow.
Erikka: Yeah. It wasn't super corny at all, but yeah, there are very few in far in between, but yeah, I do get a couple.
Anne: And I think, you know, in certain genres too, singing can help. Maybe with kids, genres that are, they're talking to kids, there can be more melody in it.
Erikka: Oh yeah. Animation for sure.
Anne: Yeah. You know, there's melody in everything, in the speaking language. And I think a lot of people don't even think of it in terms of melody. They just think of it in terms of reading words. And there's so much more to it, and I can't stress enough the importance of understanding the story before you tell it. A lot of us just pick up a script and we start reading from left to right. And you don't know what the story is when that happens. And so how can you have any connection to it or how can you have any emotion about it if you don't know what it's about? And so I think that's the last layer. So many people they think about melody in terms of it should sound like this.
Erikka: Yeah, exactly.
Anne: But in, in reality, the sound has to be natural. The sound has to come from you organically when you are telling a story, not so much in, it should sound like this, you know?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Because then it just, what happens is you're spending so much time. I think thinking about what it should sound like, that you take away from the amount of time you have to understand the story and then tell it. 'Cause in order to tell it, you've gotta understand it. In order to understand it. You've gotta read it. Right?
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: But not as a take, you gotta read it first, understand it, comprehend it and then tell it back, right? That's how we tell stories. Right? We have experiences and then we recall that experience and we tell it back. So how can you take words off a page if you don't know what they say and tell that story?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And probably reading it at least two or three times. And you know, maybe to yourself, as well as out loud and not performing it so that you are just, again, internalizing that story and really understanding it, having the reading comprehension of it, where sometimes I've noticed that I might switch a word around or I might do a contraction because I'm not even reading it anymore. You know, and of course your client will tell you if it's like, oh, we really need it to say can not, and then you'll go back and fix it. But to me that has been a clue that like I'm really into the story. Not like a true misread, like something that's, you know, really integral to the message. But if I'm naturally contracting something, it's like, okay, my brain's on auto pilot. And I really understand what I'm saying. So making sure that you're balancing that melody and rhythm.
Anne: Yeah. I think for me with corporate, I do so much corporate that I've kind of gotten away from the contractualization. Not that I don't wanna do it. It's just simply usually those of the scripts that, and e-learning are usually they go through so many rounds of approvals. That's true. And if it's written one way, I pretty much just voice it. But what I will do yeah. Is if I do feel a contraction will make it sound easier, I will give that as an alternate take.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: Hopefully that just is you, by the way, in case you wanted this, they have it. And then they're like, oh, that Anne, she takes care of us.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: She's wonderful. Let's hire her again and again and again.
Erikka: And as corporate is becoming increasingly conversational and they wanna really relate to their employee base, I find that they're more open and amenable to that stuff, but great point that some of this stuff is really locked down because of legal. Um, so yeah.
Anne: Also the thing is with corporate, because again with corporate, just, there's such a vast amount of corporate work. The companies that know how to story tell with their brand will write good scripts. And so you won't have those run on sentences. You won't have things that maybe aren't contractualized that will sound awkward. They hire copywriters that will write something that will sound good when it gets put on production. So.
Erikka: Yep. Agreed.
Anne: Yeah, it's a thing. So there is a thing, guys, BOSSes out there, called melody, and it does affect our performance. And so try not to think so much about the technicality of it, but understanding how technically there are certain things that happen in a conversational melody that in order to sound natural, dictate how we're going to tell that story. So we're not gonna be too high or too dramatic with our changes in notes. We're gonna start in a certain placement and then just concentrate on telling that story. And I think the melody will follow.
Erikka: Indeed. Couldn't have said it better myself. The more that you're naturally connected, that melody is just gonna come out in the way that it should be, because it'll be natural for you.
Anne: Such a cool conversation. I love talking about conversational melody.
Erikka: Love it.
Anne: Yeah. So BOSSes, a good way to really start to understand it is just listen to two people, having a conversation, for example, listen to all the episodes of VO BOSS. And you can really start to break apart what does conversations sound like? And you'll know that unless we're really excited, we don't go very high, and we have all sorts of rhythm besides just the pitch. That's all about rhythm and timing and imperfection, believe it or not. You know, I wish I was speaking Pulitzer Prize-winning sentences, but I don't. And therefore that causes the rhythm and the timing and the pacing and all sorts of things to make it sound just natural and believable. So thanks, Erikka, for a really cool conversation.
Erikka: Thank you, Anne. This is lovely.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. So BOSSes out there, you can make a huge difference in someone's life for a small, quarterly contribution. And you might think that as a small company, you can't make a huge difference, but you really can. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. And of course, a huge shout out to my favorite, favorite networking sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and sound like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Thanks so much, BOSSes. Have a wonderful week.
Erikka: Bye!
Anne: See you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In order to tell a story, you have to understand it. This week, Anne & Erikka discuss how to harness musicality to make the most out of your reads. Singing can teach you a lot about breath control, pacing, and emotional expression. Taking deep, diaphragmatic breaths will keep your air flow strong. This prevents you from breaking up ideas & phrases with pauses which ultimately interrupt the story you are telling. Knowing your voice and its capabilities can inform your daily workflow & schedule. Tune in to learn how you can harness the power of your voice…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and our balance series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am thrilled to have back special guest co-host Erikka J. Erikka J, yay.
Erikka: Hey, Hey Anne. How are you?
Anne: We're kind of singing that.
Erikka: Yes we are.
Anne: You know, you are a singer. And I was thinking about this because I used to play an instrument for many years and I also sang for quite some time. I was an avid choir member and swing choir member as well, kind of like the glee club. And so it's interesting because it affects how I teach voiceover. So I teach voiceover with like conversational melody. And it's very interesting, 'cause I'll talk about, okay, start on your middle C. And then when you're going to inflect important words, that's pretty much just a tiny nuance of a step up. It's not like crazy notes. It's C to a C# or C to a D. And I thought, because you're a singer, we could really have a conversation about how there is a melody to our voice as we are speaking. We're not necessarily singing, but when we're talking and we're communicating, there's absolutely a melody.
Erikka: Absolutely. But you have to keep it in balance. You don't wanna get sing-songy because then it starts to sound like, you know, old school commercials and nobody pays attention. It's not conversational anymore.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: But yeah, for sure.
Anne: So let me ask you, you were a singer before you were a voice artist?
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: So what skills that you developed as a vocalist, how do they help you as a voice artist?
Erikka: Oh man. So definitely for one was breath control.
Anne: Ooh.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: That's an important one.
Erikka: When you get those really long run on sentences or those big words, and it's like, we gotta make it work or you gotta read speed through the disclaimers or whatever. I'm like, boom. You know, like .
Anne: Look, and you just did a nose breath. I love that. I teach nose breath.
Erikka: Yeah. I don't even do mouth breath. I don't even think it's automatic. Yeah.
Anne: That's awesome. Because, so I talk about nose breath because it helps you to really get a deep diaphragmatic breath.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: And there's nothing more powerful, right, than to deliver words when you're not afraid of running out of breath. Right?
Erikka: Indeed. Yes. Yes. Because your brain is gonna be like, oh my God, I can't breathe, I can't --
Anne: Right. And that's all you can think about. You can't think about the story you're trying to tell when you're exactly gasping for breath. And honestly, I think there's something to be said for understanding the music before you sing it a little bit or kind of understanding the phrasing of the music, because for me, words and stories are broken up into phrases or clauses as my, my English teacher would say. And in those phrases, you don't wanna run outta breath. You don't wanna like stop. Like I am talking to you all staccato, like William Shatner. . You know, you wanna be able to have that -- here, it's a smooth phrase and I'm just talking. And if you guys, the BOSSes out there, you're listening to this right now is we're talking to one another, we're not breathing in the middle of our words. We're breathing either before we say them or at a comma. And if you run outta breath, like that's all you can think about. So you can't have a conversation while you're continually gasping for breath.
Erikka: It's still a balance.
Anne: Yeah. Talk to me about those diaphragmatic breaths for you.
Erikka: So it's definitely, like I said, the support in being able to get through those long phrases, but it's also, like you said, finding the commas and that's not necessarily the commas that are written on the script. And I think that's important to keep in mind. When you're doing a conversational method of speaking, there are gonna be times when maybe, you know, you're in the middle of thinking. Like I just paused right now and I kind of, you know, I might take a natural breath there and that's okay. So it doesn't have to be, I have one breath for the entire sentence. Just now when I'm speaking, you can hear, there are some points where I'm breathing and it's just natural. You wanna keep the natural breath in there, but not the, oh my God, I ran outta breath, and I gotta breathe.
Anne: Oh my God, just, I'm at the end of the, I'm at the end of the sentence now.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So those are incredibly supportive.
Anne: And it's funny because I had to kind of learn how to breathe even better after I had surgery way back in 2012. And it's interesting. That's when I started really doing nose breaths and diaphragmatic breaths, and it's incredible how confident it makes you feel. And so it really allows you to concentrate on the story that you're telling again. And you can deliver those words.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, I can --
Anne: Just when you want to.
Erikka: I can feel them in my posture. Like it actually, like, I feel like it makes me sit up because it's like, your lungs are full, and it's like, I've telling this story. You know, this is my message. And you shall listen to me. Like it's .
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And I think it's very similar to swimmers. Like I used to take swimming lessons and be like, okay, how long can you hold your breath underwater?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: It's a muscle that you can develop. So if you are in your booth, and sometimes you just don't anticipate long, unwieldy sentences. Boo on you, because you should understand at least at some point in your analysis of it, right? I always say go through the script like a first grader so that you kinda have an idea of where those long-winded sentences are and you know where you're going to breathe. You kind of have to plan where you're gonna breathe. So it's not at every single comma, but like you said, it can be in implied commas.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And those are the only times you should have to breathe. And the cool thing about this is if you do that, if you breathe only like before you read a sentence or after, or at the commas or implied commas, then you have much less editing to do. And those of us, which I think Erikka, you are with me, we do long format narration a lot, it lessens the amount of editing you have to do afterwards.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: And if you're talking about a piece of copy, that is an hour finished audio, right? And you're just getting rid of the big [air intake] before the sentence, versus trying to place those words in the proper place because you ran outta breath and now you're trying to piece it together so it sounds reasonable, well, that's maybe four or five or six movements, right, or edits in your software, not including the ones that you take in the beginning. So if you take a good breath in the beginning, you just wipe that out. That's one movement or one mouse swipe compared to four or five, when you're trying to rearrange sentences to make 'em sound decent, which they never do because you've pieced them together when you've run outta breath. And when you run outta breath, your inflection is off.
Erikka: Yes. Yes. You're breaking up the story. And like you, you mentioned the swimming analogy. Another thing that like music kind of taught me was budgeting my breath because it could be, I've taken this deep breath. I might have to hold this long note or a high note. You can't like take a breath and then keep holding the note. It kind of, it kills the vibe. It's the same thing with speaking. If you breathe in the wrong place, it doesn't, it just doesn't work.
Anne: Now, I like how you said, hold the note. Like if you get really technical about it, right? Holding the note doesn't necessarily mean that you have sound on the note. Right? So for example, I said, right. And I lengthened that. That's like, I would say an emphasized word, which I attribute to a whole note, right? Versus the words leading up to that important emphasized word, which would be half notes, quarter notes, 16th notes. The ones that aren't as important as the long note that you're holding. So I'm just saying that holding the note, you don't always have to have sound.
And what I mean is when you are pausing, notice how I says when you are pausing. Notice how I didn't go when. you are pausing. So you're holding that note and that kind of meshes your words together. That sounds very natural. There's a lot of times when I'll tell people you're on the precipice. Don't cut in between your commas. Don't cut the words off, because what it does is it cuts off the idea of the phrase. Because you don't want it to be here, I am going to talk to you in a very crisp voice. And even though I sound conversational, I'm sounding very articulate. So that holding on the precipice of like, I'm about to, right? I didn't say I am about to. I said, I'm about two. So I held my breath and I think that's important for the natural sounding melody.
Erikka: Absolutely makes you sound more relatable.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: And like, you're actually a person and you're not talking at people. You're talking with someone. That's the difference.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Absolutely. Do you have any exercises that you do like that you used to do to warm up when you were singing that are similar for voiceover?
Erikka: I am your classic horrible singer in terms of warming up. We are bad about it. And I'm the first to admit.
Anne: Now why is that? 'cause there's --
Erikka: We're just lazy.
Anne: -- so many exercises. Well, there's so many exercises out there, and it's funny because --
Erikka: I know.
Anne: -- it's always like, okay, what should I warm up with? What should I warm up with? And honestly, do I do warmups every single day before I voice something for an audition? I might, if I just got up out of bed. I'm not hydrated or my mouth hasn't moved, you know?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anne: So, but other than that, it's funny. Sometimes I do a lot of telephony, and little secret, sometimes I warm up with my telephony jobs 'cause they're short.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: You know what I mean? And so honestly I can say those words and those sentences over and over again. And then that helps me to warm up. But I have a great app on my phone called Appcompanist, which my singing instructor Armie -- I'm gonna actually put a link to her 'cause she's amazing -- she got me turned onto that, but that's like, you can sing your scales, and that's helpful to help you get to a vocal placement that you might want to be in.
Erikka: You bring up a good point. That it depends on like what you're about to do, because typically because I know that I'm bad about warming up, and I know some things, like you said, singing scales, like bumblebee to get your, you know, blah, blah, blah, your tongue going too, and then like straw foundation and all those kind of things. Or even just singing a song that you know, is close to your natural range. Like, you don't wanna stretch for really high or really low in your first words of the morning. But if I have something like a quick job, like you said, like telephony or in-store messaging or something, and it's where my voice naturally is when I first wake up, which is kind of lower Viola Davis in the basement, I do start with that work first and work my way up to something that might want more upbeat, more a higher pitch possibly. So I'm very aware of where my natural placement is and maybe what's a stretch for me, and I warm up in that way.
Anne: Well, okay. So here's my question, right? So there's little tricks, I think, 'cause I, of course in the morning I, I have a lower voice and I'm like, oh I wanna do the audition in the lower voice or this is a great gig for me in my lower voice. So if I wanna get to my lower voice again, right, I can sing it down there. And when I sing it down there, I'll just, you know, do a scale, and it'll be up to scale. And then ba ba ba, you know, I'll get down to the scale and I can feel where the voice is in my mouth or my throat or in my chest. And interestingly enough, once I feel where it is, I can then use that as a starting point for --
Erikka: Yes, absolutely.
Anne: -- my conversational, authentic, believable read. And that's how I get vocal placement to kind of change the start of the read. Now, besides that in terms of song, right, and melody, there's also the emotion. Now back in the day when I was playing piano, me and my best friend played piano together. Now she was amazing. She could sight-read and learn and play these incredibly complex classical pieces of music. And it used to always like, competitive Anne, I used to always get like, mm okay, fine. But my teacher used to always make me feel better because she said you have the feeling. You have the passion.
And I think that understanding that along with melody, there's passion and nuance and emotion. So if you wanna get yourself to another place, another read along with vocal placement, you can then decide to understand the story and start from a different place in the scene or have a different reaction to it. And that means a different emotion to it. And that's gonna color the melody of the song differently.
Erikka: Yeah. And absolutely like you mentioned kind of knowing where the voice is gonna come from. So as you're doing your script analysis, you can kind of think about where this character, you know, even if it's not character work, it's still a character 'cause you're reading as someone else, other than yourself -- where does that live? If it's very sort of determined and you know, gritty, it might be in your chest. It might even be more down in your gut. Like you said, it might be a little more in the throat if it's kind of mid and if it's, you know, really super upbeat and you're excited and it's like a sales presentation, you might be a little more in the nose or the head. So yeah. Thinking about where that vocal placement is gonna be, that's going to tell the story from that character's point of view, is key.
Anne: Yeah. And I think vocal placement, like singing-wise, for me, gets me to the starting point. Then it becomes the story, and it becomes the emotion and the character, which I'm so glad you brought up character, because character's so important. Now when you sing, did you think you were a character? I mean, that's just a question I have. Were you placing yourself in a scene or is it just the melody of the song carried you?
Erikka: You know, it's very funny you say that because what was always sort of my strong point and what I would talk about in interviews for my musical performances is that I really honed in on the feeling. And I think that was why I was able to translate into voiceover so seamlessly was because I was always coming from the place of story. And if my voice cracked or something, I just kind of, you know, I hated it 'cause I'm like competitive, like you and I'm like, I wanna be perfect, but I'm like, that may have gone with the story. So it was very much from the place of feeling. And my goal was to make you feel this story when I was sang it. I loved making people cry like.
Anne: Right, right, right.
Erikka: I would find a way to connect with the lyrics and the way that singing the notes and the melody from the place of that emotion and not necessarily quite so technical.
Anne: Isn't that awesome? Like the more you really study music and voiceover, and it comes down to what's important? What is it that connects with the people who are listening to you? It ultimately comes out to be the storytelling, the emotion. Because that's what connects us, I think, as humans. And again, those of you out there that are afraid of AI, it's nowhere near coming to that human emotion, which is where we're always gonna win out. And we're always gonna win out for those people who decide that they want to hire that. Right? To connect to an audience.
And so I think we always have that humanity. We have that feeling, that emotion, that nuance, that connects with our audience, and that's what we have to work on, I think, in our voiceover careers, if we want to continue to be successful while we are evolving along with AI voices, which have their place in certain, I think, genres. They're going to have their place. I mean, I say this because I talk to Alexa every day. Do you know what I mean? And I'm okay with Alexa's voice.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Alexa helps me get things done. And so I really do believe that the market will shift. But we always need to connect with the heart and the emotion. And it's so interesting that you vocally through singing as well as storytelling and voiceover, it all comes down to that.
Erikka: Yeah. You have to make it personal. And that's, you know, kind of what we hear in, in voiceover is you have to connect to the story. And the songs that I found that were my favorite, and that I could tell were the most impactful were the ones where I found a personal connection to it. And I enjoyed like, it felt like a push. Like I literally would feel less anxious because I got that energy outta my body because I was literally like in it. And when you do the same thing, you can do the same thing with these scripts and voiceover, it's going to be more connected. It's going to naturally have a more balanced melody that sounds human because you've connected with it on a human level. So.
Anne: And even though we talk about melody of conversation, there's that uniqueness of you, what you bring to it.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: Even when we talk about character, I think sometimes when I talk to people about character, they think about cartoon characters, right? And they're playing another persona. Well, maybe they are, but there's always an element of you that is brought along with that character. And, and for, let's say more nuanced type of genres like corporate narration, eLearning, you're still a character. You're just maybe not as dramatic. In corporate, you're probably always gonna work for the company. You'll be a representative of the company, and in eLearning you're gonna be a teacher. And so those are characters, and those characters have emotions and feelings, and that's the special part that you and you alone can bring to the party, and to make it so uniquely yours where people say, I need to have an Erikka J to narrate that. I need to have an Anne Ganguzza to teach that. Whatever that is, it's that understanding of a vocal placement with a nuance of emotion and telling a story.
Erikka: Yep. Absolutely.
Anne: So let me ask you a question. Are you still pursuing, singing at all or singing in your voiceover?
Erikka: You know, I've had a couple actually jobs and auditions where I've gotten the opportunity to sing as well. So I like that kind of keeps me fresh, but I haven't been pursuing it as much. I love music. I mean, it is definitely what got me here. My first love from way back when I was tiny, but it got to be a lot of, a lot of work with not a lot of return.
Anne: Sure, right. That's tough.
Erikka: Not as much as voiceover, it is. So maybe when my plate lightens up a little bit, I've thought about, you know, eh, maybe we'll, we'll do a little more music again, but for now it's really voiceover is the thing.
Anne: I was like, why don't they bring jingles back? I feel like they're so identifiable.
Erikka: I just did one. I just did one like a week ago.
Anne: Did you?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Wow.
Erikka: Yeah. It wasn't super corny at all, but yeah, there are very few in far in between, but yeah, I do get a couple.
Anne: And I think, you know, in certain genres too, singing can help. Maybe with kids, genres that are, they're talking to kids, there can be more melody in it.
Erikka: Oh yeah. Animation for sure.
Anne: Yeah. You know, there's melody in everything, in the speaking language. And I think a lot of people don't even think of it in terms of melody. They just think of it in terms of reading words. And there's so much more to it, and I can't stress enough the importance of understanding the story before you tell it. A lot of us just pick up a script and we start reading from left to right. And you don't know what the story is when that happens. And so how can you have any connection to it or how can you have any emotion about it if you don't know what it's about? And so I think that's the last layer. So many people they think about melody in terms of it should sound like this.
Erikka: Yeah, exactly.
Anne: But in, in reality, the sound has to be natural. The sound has to come from you organically when you are telling a story, not so much in, it should sound like this, you know?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Because then it just, what happens is you're spending so much time. I think thinking about what it should sound like, that you take away from the amount of time you have to understand the story and then tell it. 'Cause in order to tell it, you've gotta understand it. In order to understand it. You've gotta read it. Right?
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: But not as a take, you gotta read it first, understand it, comprehend it and then tell it back, right? That's how we tell stories. Right? We have experiences and then we recall that experience and we tell it back. So how can you take words off a page if you don't know what they say and tell that story?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And probably reading it at least two or three times. And you know, maybe to yourself, as well as out loud and not performing it so that you are just, again, internalizing that story and really understanding it, having the reading comprehension of it, where sometimes I've noticed that I might switch a word around or I might do a contraction because I'm not even reading it anymore. You know, and of course your client will tell you if it's like, oh, we really need it to say can not, and then you'll go back and fix it. But to me that has been a clue that like I'm really into the story. Not like a true misread, like something that's, you know, really integral to the message. But if I'm naturally contracting something, it's like, okay, my brain's on auto pilot. And I really understand what I'm saying. So making sure that you're balancing that melody and rhythm.
Anne: Yeah. I think for me with corporate, I do so much corporate that I've kind of gotten away from the contractualization. Not that I don't wanna do it. It's just simply usually those of the scripts that, and e-learning are usually they go through so many rounds of approvals. That's true. And if it's written one way, I pretty much just voice it. But what I will do yeah. Is if I do feel a contraction will make it sound easier, I will give that as an alternate take.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: Hopefully that just is you, by the way, in case you wanted this, they have it. And then they're like, oh, that Anne, she takes care of us.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: She's wonderful. Let's hire her again and again and again.
Erikka: And as corporate is becoming increasingly conversational and they wanna really relate to their employee base, I find that they're more open and amenable to that stuff, but great point that some of this stuff is really locked down because of legal. Um, so yeah.
Anne: Also the thing is with corporate, because again with corporate, just, there's such a vast amount of corporate work. The companies that know how to story tell with their brand will write good scripts. And so you won't have those run on sentences. You won't have things that maybe aren't contractualized that will sound awkward. They hire copywriters that will write something that will sound good when it gets put on production. So.
Erikka: Yep. Agreed.
Anne: Yeah, it's a thing. So there is a thing, guys, BOSSes out there, called melody, and it does affect our performance. And so try not to think so much about the technicality of it, but understanding how technically there are certain things that happen in a conversational melody that in order to sound natural, dictate how we're going to tell that story. So we're not gonna be too high or too dramatic with our changes in notes. We're gonna start in a certain placement and then just concentrate on telling that story. And I think the melody will follow.
Erikka: Indeed. Couldn't have said it better myself. The more that you're naturally connected, that melody is just gonna come out in the way that it should be, because it'll be natural for you.
Anne: Such a cool conversation. I love talking about conversational melody.
Erikka: Love it.
Anne: Yeah. So BOSSes, a good way to really start to understand it is just listen to two people, having a conversation, for example, listen to all the episodes of VO BOSS. And you can really start to break apart what does conversations sound like? And you'll know that unless we're really excited, we don't go very high, and we have all sorts of rhythm besides just the pitch. That's all about rhythm and timing and imperfection, believe it or not. You know, I wish I was speaking Pulitzer Prize-winning sentences, but I don't. And therefore that causes the rhythm and the timing and the pacing and all sorts of things to make it sound just natural and believable. So thanks, Erikka, for a really cool conversation.
Erikka: Thank you, Anne. This is lovely.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. So BOSSes out there, you can make a huge difference in someone's life for a small, quarterly contribution. And you might think that as a small company, you can't make a huge difference, but you really can. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. And of course, a huge shout out to my favorite, favorite networking sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and sound like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Thanks so much, BOSSes. Have a wonderful week.
Erikka: Bye!
Anne: See you next week. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
There is no perfect voice for a genre. This week, Anne & Erikka let you in on the secret of genre exploration. Every genre has sub-genres and adjacent genres, but you’ll never know which ones work for you without trying a few out. Examine what kind of work you are drawn to and where your passions lie. That will inform what jobs creatively challenge you vs. ones that make you feel stagnant. As Anne advises, always follow your passions. With a growth mindset, focus on the message you send with each script + a little help from your Balance hosts, you’ll be on the path to success!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am with the lovely and talented Erikka J this morning.
Erikka: Hello!
Anne: Hey Erikka.
Erikka: How are you, Anne?
Anne: I'm doing good. How's it going with you?
Erikka: Going pretty good, man. Hanging out, you know, just another day in voiceover land.
Anne: There you go. Another day in voiceover land. And it's so funny because we're so like, oh yeah, this is our day. This is what we're gonna do. We've got our auditions to knock out. We're gonna go find some new clients. We're gonna be working in the booth. I do have a lot of students that always ask me when they just get involved in the industry, well, first of all, how do I know that I have what it takes? And what genre, what is my niche? Where do I go in this industry? And for me, that's always a wonderful question of self discovery.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: I think there's lots of ways to find your niche in this industry, but I think it would be a good topic to talk about how we found our niches and what our recommendations are for BOSSes out there that are just getting involved.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. Balancing to let the genre find you.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I think that it's kind of like letting your brand find you too. I think they're very similar. They're on parallel paths. And I know for me, the genres that I ended up doing, number one, I'm a big believer in following my passion. I've been that way all my life. Now, I don't know if that's just a thing that I just decided to listen to since I was young, but I've always followed things that I've enjoyed doing and found joy in doing, and I followed my passion. When I was young, I played music, I played piano. I had a love affair with horses. I owned a couple of horses, rode horses as a little girl. I would teach my dolls. All these things that I loved, I did and I explored, and I have to say that the same is true in my career.
As I went to school, what I studied, what I ended up working in, in the corporate world, and in the educational world. And then ultimately I've found that I've been able to kind of bring it all together in voiceover. Because for example, I love to teach. As a little girl, I taught my dolls. I ended up 20 years being an educator in front of the classroom for kids, adults, college kids. And I find that I love eLearning. So the genre is kind of paralleling where my joys were and where my experiences brought me to. So eLearning, I worked in corporate for a short amount of time and then did a lot of corporate consulting. And so I love the corporate read.
All of those things have kind of allowed me to do the things that I love to do. And obviously, because I love to teach, I'm a coach as well. And so for my business that is so wonderfully my own. And I feel so lucky and so joyful that I am able to do what I love and be able to support the household be able to support myself with it. So what are your thoughts, Erikka, on how do you find your genre? How did you find your genre?
Erikka: Yeah. Very similar.
Anne: Or genres.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. So for me, like I'm always like somewhat ADD with my interests. Like I like that. Ooh. And I like that, and I like that, and I like that so , but sort of my foundation and where I started, I had worked in corporate for quite some time and still do, in primarily in tech sectors. So I absolutely adore tech explainers or products because a big part of what I did as a project manager, sort of understanding the layout and then also breaking down requirements so that when somebody says, I want a widget that does this, having to break it down and be like, okay, so you want this to come out, kind of breaking that down for the user and putting it in layman's terms, so to speak. I enjoy doing that sort of breakdown, but maybe in shorter forms.
So as opposed to like where you're talking about how you love eLearning, I'll do some eLearning, but I really love like the short form 90-second, let me help you understand this thing and what it does. And, you know, taking something complex and making it super simple to understand. I love that stuff. So that's really where I started.
Corporate narration, same thing. Because of coming from the musical background, which essentially is storytelling in usually three to six minutes, see for a really long song in six minutes, but that's why I love like the commercial work or the short corporate narrations where, you know, I'm really sort of telling a story, sometimes getting more dramatic or using comedy to be able to tell those stories in a short amount of time, it just aligned with where my experience was and what I enjoyed doing. So those were sort of my foundations along with video games, love games, played games a lot as a kid, not as much now as I'd like, . I'm surrounded by gamers in my house. So constantly watching that. And I lean towards the dramatic and the dark more than the comedy. So I like using that, but yeah, those are kind of like my genres that hit me in the narration. Just loving to tell stories. Those are --
Anne: Yeah. I love that. And I think anybody that's just starting out in this industry, take a look at who you are from young age on up and where you've evolved and if you've followed those joys or those things that you really enjoy doing, and then try to translate into genres for voiceover. Or not even just for voiceover for your business, you know, the other part, it's not just the genres, right? But it's also letting the entrepreneurship follow you.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: There's the whole period of my life where I like to solve problems. I mean, you and I were both in technology, right? It's always solving problems and I also have an engineering background. And so because of that, I love the whole entrepreneur owning a business, kind of a thing, where I'm excited to build things, to build my business, to see where I can grow, where I can expand, how I can achieve success, how I can continue to reinvest in my business and grow in my business. I think that's the most important thing for me is if I am stagnant -- it's like, for me, I'm building a character, but I'm really building a business, right?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: I keep adding to the story, and I have to keep evolving the character. I have to keep evolving the character of my business. And for me, if I don't, if I become stagnant, then number one, it's boring. And I don't do well with boring. But number two, it always allows me to grow kind of the whole, think of how do I make money the whole, how do I make money challenge? I even do like a class on money blocks where some of us have built in money blocks from long ago where maybe women weren't supposed to be earning as much as men or those types of things or the way you were brought up, the male was the breadwinner. Don't be greedy. That kind of thing.
Well, I consider it part of the entrepreneurial game, right, how to make money with my business. And so it's not that money is like my first love, but I think it's the challenge of the game to be able to invest my money and then make a profit. And so I think what we all want to do with our businesses is to make a profit. And so that also evolves. And that was part of my personality. A big part of my personality is loving to solve challenges and solving problems. Yeah, I took that right into my business.
Erikka: Yeah. I love that you said self discovery 'cause that's something that I talk about often too, is that you have to figure out sort of who you are as a person. And that kind of leads you to who you are as an artist. And as that evolves and develops, staying in touch with that is gonna tell you when maybe a genre isn't for you or if a genre isn't necessarily your primary. Like for instance, I love reading. I never get enough time to do it as much as I'd like, but I am not really into doing audiobooks. I know that I like the short form stuff. My attention span gets like mmh, so it's just not for me, even though I love books and I fully appreciate them, but it's not for me to do that as narrating. I had learned that about myself and be okay with it.
In coming from a performance background, I discovered live announce was something that I really enjoyed. I'm used to being able to, you know, like on the fly, something live might happen and you've gotta be able to react and not be flustered. I did that on stage. So I was like, huh, didn't even know this would really be a thing for me.
Anne: That's a special skill.
Erikka: Right. Yeah. Yeah. So.
Anne: The whole live thing.
Erikka: That self discovery is really key to letting that genre. And your business, like you said, it's a persona, but you're building a brand your brand has an identity. It's a story. So you've gotta know who you are that's gonna align with the brand that you're building.
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely. And interesting that you said being the voice of God. So back in the day, when I used to have to record onto phone systems, you had to do it live. And so you had to be on. If you screwed up the prompt in the middle of it, you had to start all over again. So there's a special skill in being able to, to be quick on your feet and to execute without mistakes. To me, if I were figuring out my rate sheet for that, that becomes a factor in the special skills like for medical narration.
I mean, I worked in the orthopedic industry for six years, you know? And so I love medical narration, and that kind of found me. I mean, I kind of evolved because I started off in the engineering aspect of things. And then it kind of brought me into a narrower focus with biomechanical engineering at my job at the orthopedic company, which then ultimately translated into medical narration here. And the medical narration has expanded so that I'm not just talking orthopedics, and I'm certainly not a doctor, but the challenge therein lies in learning and discovering new topics in medicine that also I find I love to do that discovery, and that translates to my voice.
So if somebody were to say what genre, I think really it can be any genre that you find that joy of discovery or that joy in. And sometimes you don't know it until you've tried it. Like you said, for the voice of God, you didn't know, right? Until you tried it and then you realized, oh wow, this is something that my theater training has prepared me for. And so I think every one of us should explore different genres. That's why I think workshops and sessions are a great thing. And one of the reasons why I developed the VO peeps so that I could have special, amazing guest directors come in from all different genres so that my community could have a lot to choose from and a lot to experience, a lot to explore and a lot to learn.
And I think that letting the genre find you, finding what you enjoy doing, I think is probably at the very core of it. And you know, for me, like you were saying audiobooks, I did one audiobook and then I said, nope, not for me. I've kind of found the things that I love to do, but again, I don't wanna close my mind to trying new things. So for right now I've done a little bit of character work, but I've not really expanded into animation or even into like promo as much. But I know that I've got an interest in it. And it's something that I wanna look at.
Erikka: And that's why I think that workshops are such a valuable tool to use in the beginning or as you start to make a foray into different genres, because it's more cost effective. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Usually they cost less because it's a group as opposed to like one-on-one coaching. You're able to hear what other people are doing and how they're getting directed, seeing all types of different coffee, experimenting with different directors, different coaches in these group settings. And that way you can kind of see like, is this really my thing? Like for me, promo, I sort of assume that since I have this lower register voice that, you know, has a lot of power behind it, that it might be something I really wanna do. And I always love beating the boys if I can, no offense. But...
Anne: Hey, I hear that.
Erikka: You know what I mean? And it is still something I wanna get into, but I found that it ended up being lower on my priority list because I wasn't getting as much traction as I was in other areas I was moving faster. So I was like, you know, maybe let me really refine and kind of get to expert level and everything else and consistently look. And then I'll come back around to promo. So it can help you prioritize your genre list as well.
Anne: I like that you were talking about kind of letting it find you and you were getting hired in other genres. That's a really good indicator to find out what genre you might pursue in a more targeted, strategic fashion is what do you tend to get hired for? Do you tend to get hired for explainer videos? Do you tend to get hired for those one-off commercials, or do you tend to get hired for audio books? Whatever that might be, might be the genre that you really flourish in. And again, it doesn't have to be just one genre, but again, it shouldn't be every genre.
I really don't know many voiceover artists that do every single genre. I think we all tend to just narrow down the focus a little bit and it doesn't have to be just two genres or, you know, it can be like narration. There's a lot of closely related -- corporate explainers are very closely to corporate narration. It's very close to corporate training, which is very close to medical narration. It's all part of the corporate world anyway. So all of that really kind of works for me. So there's multiple genres there that I can excel and flourish in.
And then explore the ones that I haven't really had time to do before, because I've been working so much in these other genres, like character or promo or imaging. Like see, I've always wanted to do radio imaging, but I've never even tried it, like never But I'm always like, I wanna sound cool. So for me, I'd be like, oh, that would be a cool sound, but I've never tried it. I've always been a little shy actually.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anne: About it, but I don't wanna not try.
Erikka: Exactly. And that's the thing is like, unless you really do it and you're like, this is not my thing -- I feel like audio books are probably off the table for me, other than I did like a couple kids books. And I have like a couple like mid-length books that I've entertained or that I'm like, I might just do this one. It's, you know, public domain. I'll do it as a passion project one day just to kind of practice. But if I get one that's expected to be like 12 hours of audio, like I'm not gonna do the 48 Laws of Power. I know I'm not gonna be able to do something that long. God bless the voice actors that have that type of stamina. I know I don't. And I'm okay with it.
Anne: You know, where I might go because I love the geeky stuff all the time, right, if there was a book that was completely geeky about, I don't know, a business book. And if it was something that I would discover as I read, I think that that could work, but the editing I would have to outsource. .
Erikka: Yeah. I just, I just don't think I could, maybe that answer will change in a few years for me, even though I love reading it and consuming it or listening to audio books.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: I just wanna be in and out. I just wanna get it done and to be done.
Anne: Yeah. Well, I think it's important that we don't get complacent.
Erikka: Yes. Agreed.
Anne: And for me, that's just always been a thing where I haven't felt comfortable when I get complacent. I think I get nervous. Maybe it's more that than bored or maybe it's a combination of both, right? I don't wanna get complacent in one job for too long. And, and to be honest with you, my 20 years in education, I think my job, I had actually, believe it or not, in my job, there were certain levels that I traversed. And I went from getting my hands dirty and learning a bunch of stuff and really challenging like, oh, why does the network not work here? Oh, let me go and dig the wiring or look at the wiring in the ceiling and see what's going on there. And I love the whole challenge of that, kind of getting my hands dirty.
Ultimately I started, year after year, I would, I would advance, you know, then I would go into like the networking. Then I would go into the administration. And then ultimately at the last part of my career, I was a project manager. And at that point, I wasn't getting my hands dirty anymore. I was managing people who were getting their hands dirty. And for me, I found out that that was not where I flourished. For me, I wanted that challenge of getting my hands dirty, figuring out the solution, not necessarily managing people. And at that point in my career, I had started to become a little bit restless. And that's when I really said to myself, well, I need to do something that's gonna allow me to grow.
And I think that selecting your genre and balancing your genres or your performance or discovering what that is really comes with a lot of self-reflection in what it is that brings you joy and what it is that you're getting hired., a combination of that, what it is you're getting hired for. And if you're just starting out, try to focus on what are your past experiences. Like for me, I had experience teaching, which led me into e-learning. I had experience working for an orthopedic company, which led me to medical. I installed phone systems as part of my job that led me to a lot of telephony. So take a look at your experience and see what genre that might lend itself to, because when you can speak with familiarity and with confidence about something, it's going to be reflected in your voice. And that I think is gonna make you good at what you do.
Erikka: Absolutely. And the other thing is to like not necessarily write off an entire genre to maybe to explore the sub genres, right. 'Cause like there's animation and I really kind of thought animation was off the table for me. I was like, everybody wants to do that when they come in, eh. Maybe video games, which I do think that that's still more my lane than animation. What I love, I love doing the villain stuff in animation. So I'm not really necessarily gonna too often -- I don't really see myself doing like the 14-year-old boy, like some women are able to do, but gimme a villain role I'm in and I'm excited about it.
Anne: Now psychologically, Erikka, why is that? Where is that? Because that relief of tension --
Erikka: -- in real life.
Anne: That's right. And then the alter ego kicks in.
Erikka: So then I get to rrr, you know, it's fun.
Anne: Yeah. Well, Hey, there's a creative challenge. And I think that, so BOSSes, we are all brilliant. Right? We are all brilliant people. This is the way I like to think of it. Right? We like the creative challenges. And so what is it that challenges you? What is it that you think will give you a challenge that you will enjoy? And so for me, the medical, of course it's because I feel like I'm helping somebody. I feel like if I do a voiceover for anything medical, right, it's helping somebody. But even more than that, there's like that challenge of, okay, what's the largest word that I can say eloquently?
Erikka: The verbal acrobatics (?) of medical.
Anne: Effortlessly? There you go. That to me is like, ooh, it's such a challenge. And I love it. Like I dig right in once I get a medical script and there's all these words. I dig in and I create my little phonetic spellings and I practice it so I can say it effortlessly, so it sounds like I'm a doctor. But that sort of stuff, I think letting the genre find you and letting your joy find the genre too is something to really think about. And so is there a voice for a genre? I don't think so. I think a lot of people consider like, oh, to do promo, I have to have a low voice. What are your thoughts on that, Erikka?
Erikka: So not true. And the thing is that the more that you study the genre that you're trying to get into, and I don't just mean workshops and being coached, but I mean actually like watching TV, like going to watch the promos that are on -- it's been such a male-dominated genre historically that we just assume you have to "come in there and sound like this, tonight at eight." And that's just not it not now. So like I've heard women with much lighter voices than me that are super conversational to the point of sounding like a commercial, and they're booking promo. So I think that was a challenge for me and kind of was why I wasn't booking there at first because I had the idea of what it supposed to be, instead of bringing more of the authenticity to it. The reads are much closer to commercial now for promo, finding a promo voice.
Anne: I love the whole authentic thing do and because --
Erikka: Yeah, me too.
Anne: -- I think that voiceover artists, like in the beginning, it was always like, for me, when I got behind a mic, I was like, ooh, my voice is amplified.
Erikka: Oh my goodness.
Anne: And then I was like, I like to hear that in my ears, you know? 'Cause it was something like, I think sounds good or that somebody would want to hear. And I love the whole "let's get back to being authentic and being ourselves." Some of the most beautiful stuff that I've listened to is not a voice that many would consider to be like, oh a voiceover voice. Every time somebody asks me on one of my consult calls, so do you think I have what it takes or do you think I've got the voice?
And I'm like, it really honestly, you know, and I've said this before, BOSSes, you guys, if you've listened to the podcast, it's only the first few seconds, maybe 15 to 20 seconds, 30 seconds that people are listening to what your voice actually sounds like. And then all they care about is what you're saying. Right? And what does it mean and is it of interest to them? And that connection that your voice has to them and how it can help them, that's really where it all counts. And I think that's why the authentic, the genuine is what sells, you know, in advertising, and it's what connects people together. And I think that's what we all, as humans, we really want.
And a lot of this talk about the AI voice, there's going to be a place for that. And I know Erikka, we could have a whole podcast episode on this. There's definitely a place for that, but only when it's transparent. And I know that I'm talking to a voice that is not a human voice. Like, well, I talk to Alexa all the time. I talk to Siri all the time and I'm okay with it. Siri helps me, Siri has a job to do and she helps me. So when I don't necessarily need a human to help me, I am okay with that.
But for everything else, right, our human voices need to connect. And I think that's one of the most important things. What genre can you divulge your authenticity in and connect with the audience of that genre. 'Cause different genres have different audiences. There's a different audience for corporate training than there is for promo. Right? People listening to promo voices are trying to find out information of what's on television. What's the next exciting thing? Or maybe it's like, oh what's happening next on HGTV? Right, there's your in-show narration. So depending on the genre, there's different audiences. So figure out not only what genre excites you, but know who is listening to the genre and who your audience is, because that's where that connection's gonna happen.
Erikka: Yeah. And I think it's important to not limit yourself mentally and just say, well, oh, I'm not gonna do that. But try it. Like I said, like the audio books, I did a couple of kid books. I did a couple of mid-length narration for like news and I enjoyed that, but I was like, I couldn't do much more than this. So I know it's not for me. But like if you don't even give yourself the opportunity to see if you would like it, you might miss out on something that you're really good at. And/or like if medical intimidates, you try it anyway because those skills can translate. So if you're practicing reading multisyllabic words, you know, you finally get it, imagine how much better you're gonna read commercial copy now because you exercised your mouth to be able to get those kind of words out.
So now when you get to just sort of regular English, you're gonna have that skill that you can translate into another genre. So I think it's good like you said, to just stay limb, stay flexible, learn how to play, not get stagnant ,and play with other genres, but know what your primaries are. And if you do have hard boundaries to just know, like that's not for me, .
Anne: That's not for me. I know a lot of students in the beginning will spend a lot of time like investigating all the genres. And I love that. I think there's lots of good things to be said for that. But then there's also students who might spend time in every genre because they're afraid to start. That might be another podcast, but at least I think exploring the other genres, taking a few classes in the genres. I mean, I took some promo classes with a coach that I loved. I've really explored. I've taken some audiobook classes I've taken -- like I said, the one thing I haven't done is radio imaging, but I know a lot of people that do radio imaging, and I'm still like thinking about, oh, that's kind of like such a older genre. I'm not sure how well it's faring these days. Because I do believe I heard you .
Erikka: I did do --
Anne: I heard you the other day. Yes I did. So it's very cool.
Erikka: But that was fun. Like it taught me how to play better. Like, and I actually did a little bit of character development and I've taken that into some commercial copy. So.
Anne: Well, that's an excellent point about that because the crazier and the more dynamic your character is in imaging, it really can help you in other genres. And I think a lot of times people that take my corporate narration, 'cause I'm always teaching how to be the real authentic voice. And that's not what people expect with narration. They expect to have a narrator's voice, and I'm like, no let's connect people. And so they can take that technique that they use in narration and apply it to commercial. Because learning how to be real and authentic with words that aren't yours is something that applies to every genre. So BOSSes, if you're out there trying to discover that genre, make sure that you are also getting those skills that allow you the acting to be real and authentic in those genres. So take acting classes, get coached on it. That'll do nothing but help you in any genre you decide to pursue.
Erikka: And corporate narration I'm finding is increasingly having more opportunities for us to play. So it's obviously gonna be corporate to an extent, but I've seen some copy where it's like, they kind of want you to have the joke, land the joke, you know, be a little funnier, be a little more, you know, laid back.
Anne: Or be dramatic, be passionate.
Erikka: Be dramatic. Yes, absolutely.
Anne: Yep. That's the corporate gold I've always talking about. It's good stuff.
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: So yeah guys, what genre are you?
Erikka: Yeah. And prioritizing them. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. Look back, look at your passion. What brings you joy? And don't forget that even though you have genres, if you do have genres that you're already pretty well settled into and familiar with, don't forget to always play in other genres 'cause you just never know. You never know. Good stuff. So question for you, BOSSes, do you have a local nonprofit that is close to your heart? Because if you do, and if you want to help them, you can join an organization called 100voiceswhocare.org and help them extensively even if you don't have a lot to contribute. So find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And big shout-out to ipDTL, our favorite way to connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. All right, BOSSes. Have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week.
Erikka: Bye BOSSes.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
There is no perfect voice for a genre. This week, Anne & Erikka let you in on the secret of genre exploration. Every genre has sub-genres and adjacent genres, but you’ll never know which ones work for you without trying a few out. Examine what kind of work you are drawn to and where your passions lie. That will inform what jobs creatively challenge you vs. ones that make you feel stagnant. As Anne advises, always follow your passions. With a growth mindset, focus on the message you send with each script + a little help from your Balance hosts, you’ll be on the path to success!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am with the lovely and talented Erikka J this morning.
Erikka: Hello!
Anne: Hey Erikka.
Erikka: How are you, Anne?
Anne: I'm doing good. How's it going with you?
Erikka: Going pretty good, man. Hanging out, you know, just another day in voiceover land.
Anne: There you go. Another day in voiceover land. And it's so funny because we're so like, oh yeah, this is our day. This is what we're gonna do. We've got our auditions to knock out. We're gonna go find some new clients. We're gonna be working in the booth. I do have a lot of students that always ask me when they just get involved in the industry, well, first of all, how do I know that I have what it takes? And what genre, what is my niche? Where do I go in this industry? And for me, that's always a wonderful question of self discovery.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: I think there's lots of ways to find your niche in this industry, but I think it would be a good topic to talk about how we found our niches and what our recommendations are for BOSSes out there that are just getting involved.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. Balancing to let the genre find you.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I think that it's kind of like letting your brand find you too. I think they're very similar. They're on parallel paths. And I know for me, the genres that I ended up doing, number one, I'm a big believer in following my passion. I've been that way all my life. Now, I don't know if that's just a thing that I just decided to listen to since I was young, but I've always followed things that I've enjoyed doing and found joy in doing, and I followed my passion. When I was young, I played music, I played piano. I had a love affair with horses. I owned a couple of horses, rode horses as a little girl. I would teach my dolls. All these things that I loved, I did and I explored, and I have to say that the same is true in my career.
As I went to school, what I studied, what I ended up working in, in the corporate world, and in the educational world. And then ultimately I've found that I've been able to kind of bring it all together in voiceover. Because for example, I love to teach. As a little girl, I taught my dolls. I ended up 20 years being an educator in front of the classroom for kids, adults, college kids. And I find that I love eLearning. So the genre is kind of paralleling where my joys were and where my experiences brought me to. So eLearning, I worked in corporate for a short amount of time and then did a lot of corporate consulting. And so I love the corporate read.
All of those things have kind of allowed me to do the things that I love to do. And obviously, because I love to teach, I'm a coach as well. And so for my business that is so wonderfully my own. And I feel so lucky and so joyful that I am able to do what I love and be able to support the household be able to support myself with it. So what are your thoughts, Erikka, on how do you find your genre? How did you find your genre?
Erikka: Yeah. Very similar.
Anne: Or genres.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. So for me, like I'm always like somewhat ADD with my interests. Like I like that. Ooh. And I like that, and I like that, and I like that so , but sort of my foundation and where I started, I had worked in corporate for quite some time and still do, in primarily in tech sectors. So I absolutely adore tech explainers or products because a big part of what I did as a project manager, sort of understanding the layout and then also breaking down requirements so that when somebody says, I want a widget that does this, having to break it down and be like, okay, so you want this to come out, kind of breaking that down for the user and putting it in layman's terms, so to speak. I enjoy doing that sort of breakdown, but maybe in shorter forms.
So as opposed to like where you're talking about how you love eLearning, I'll do some eLearning, but I really love like the short form 90-second, let me help you understand this thing and what it does. And, you know, taking something complex and making it super simple to understand. I love that stuff. So that's really where I started.
Corporate narration, same thing. Because of coming from the musical background, which essentially is storytelling in usually three to six minutes, see for a really long song in six minutes, but that's why I love like the commercial work or the short corporate narrations where, you know, I'm really sort of telling a story, sometimes getting more dramatic or using comedy to be able to tell those stories in a short amount of time, it just aligned with where my experience was and what I enjoyed doing. So those were sort of my foundations along with video games, love games, played games a lot as a kid, not as much now as I'd like, . I'm surrounded by gamers in my house. So constantly watching that. And I lean towards the dramatic and the dark more than the comedy. So I like using that, but yeah, those are kind of like my genres that hit me in the narration. Just loving to tell stories. Those are --
Anne: Yeah. I love that. And I think anybody that's just starting out in this industry, take a look at who you are from young age on up and where you've evolved and if you've followed those joys or those things that you really enjoy doing, and then try to translate into genres for voiceover. Or not even just for voiceover for your business, you know, the other part, it's not just the genres, right? But it's also letting the entrepreneurship follow you.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: There's the whole period of my life where I like to solve problems. I mean, you and I were both in technology, right? It's always solving problems and I also have an engineering background. And so because of that, I love the whole entrepreneur owning a business, kind of a thing, where I'm excited to build things, to build my business, to see where I can grow, where I can expand, how I can achieve success, how I can continue to reinvest in my business and grow in my business. I think that's the most important thing for me is if I am stagnant -- it's like, for me, I'm building a character, but I'm really building a business, right?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: I keep adding to the story, and I have to keep evolving the character. I have to keep evolving the character of my business. And for me, if I don't, if I become stagnant, then number one, it's boring. And I don't do well with boring. But number two, it always allows me to grow kind of the whole, think of how do I make money the whole, how do I make money challenge? I even do like a class on money blocks where some of us have built in money blocks from long ago where maybe women weren't supposed to be earning as much as men or those types of things or the way you were brought up, the male was the breadwinner. Don't be greedy. That kind of thing.
Well, I consider it part of the entrepreneurial game, right, how to make money with my business. And so it's not that money is like my first love, but I think it's the challenge of the game to be able to invest my money and then make a profit. And so I think what we all want to do with our businesses is to make a profit. And so that also evolves. And that was part of my personality. A big part of my personality is loving to solve challenges and solving problems. Yeah, I took that right into my business.
Erikka: Yeah. I love that you said self discovery 'cause that's something that I talk about often too, is that you have to figure out sort of who you are as a person. And that kind of leads you to who you are as an artist. And as that evolves and develops, staying in touch with that is gonna tell you when maybe a genre isn't for you or if a genre isn't necessarily your primary. Like for instance, I love reading. I never get enough time to do it as much as I'd like, but I am not really into doing audiobooks. I know that I like the short form stuff. My attention span gets like mmh, so it's just not for me, even though I love books and I fully appreciate them, but it's not for me to do that as narrating. I had learned that about myself and be okay with it.
In coming from a performance background, I discovered live announce was something that I really enjoyed. I'm used to being able to, you know, like on the fly, something live might happen and you've gotta be able to react and not be flustered. I did that on stage. So I was like, huh, didn't even know this would really be a thing for me.
Anne: That's a special skill.
Erikka: Right. Yeah. Yeah. So.
Anne: The whole live thing.
Erikka: That self discovery is really key to letting that genre. And your business, like you said, it's a persona, but you're building a brand your brand has an identity. It's a story. So you've gotta know who you are that's gonna align with the brand that you're building.
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely. And interesting that you said being the voice of God. So back in the day, when I used to have to record onto phone systems, you had to do it live. And so you had to be on. If you screwed up the prompt in the middle of it, you had to start all over again. So there's a special skill in being able to, to be quick on your feet and to execute without mistakes. To me, if I were figuring out my rate sheet for that, that becomes a factor in the special skills like for medical narration.
I mean, I worked in the orthopedic industry for six years, you know? And so I love medical narration, and that kind of found me. I mean, I kind of evolved because I started off in the engineering aspect of things. And then it kind of brought me into a narrower focus with biomechanical engineering at my job at the orthopedic company, which then ultimately translated into medical narration here. And the medical narration has expanded so that I'm not just talking orthopedics, and I'm certainly not a doctor, but the challenge therein lies in learning and discovering new topics in medicine that also I find I love to do that discovery, and that translates to my voice.
So if somebody were to say what genre, I think really it can be any genre that you find that joy of discovery or that joy in. And sometimes you don't know it until you've tried it. Like you said, for the voice of God, you didn't know, right? Until you tried it and then you realized, oh wow, this is something that my theater training has prepared me for. And so I think every one of us should explore different genres. That's why I think workshops and sessions are a great thing. And one of the reasons why I developed the VO peeps so that I could have special, amazing guest directors come in from all different genres so that my community could have a lot to choose from and a lot to experience, a lot to explore and a lot to learn.
And I think that letting the genre find you, finding what you enjoy doing, I think is probably at the very core of it. And you know, for me, like you were saying audiobooks, I did one audiobook and then I said, nope, not for me. I've kind of found the things that I love to do, but again, I don't wanna close my mind to trying new things. So for right now I've done a little bit of character work, but I've not really expanded into animation or even into like promo as much. But I know that I've got an interest in it. And it's something that I wanna look at.
Erikka: And that's why I think that workshops are such a valuable tool to use in the beginning or as you start to make a foray into different genres, because it's more cost effective. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Usually they cost less because it's a group as opposed to like one-on-one coaching. You're able to hear what other people are doing and how they're getting directed, seeing all types of different coffee, experimenting with different directors, different coaches in these group settings. And that way you can kind of see like, is this really my thing? Like for me, promo, I sort of assume that since I have this lower register voice that, you know, has a lot of power behind it, that it might be something I really wanna do. And I always love beating the boys if I can, no offense. But...
Anne: Hey, I hear that.
Erikka: You know what I mean? And it is still something I wanna get into, but I found that it ended up being lower on my priority list because I wasn't getting as much traction as I was in other areas I was moving faster. So I was like, you know, maybe let me really refine and kind of get to expert level and everything else and consistently look. And then I'll come back around to promo. So it can help you prioritize your genre list as well.
Anne: I like that you were talking about kind of letting it find you and you were getting hired in other genres. That's a really good indicator to find out what genre you might pursue in a more targeted, strategic fashion is what do you tend to get hired for? Do you tend to get hired for explainer videos? Do you tend to get hired for those one-off commercials, or do you tend to get hired for audio books? Whatever that might be, might be the genre that you really flourish in. And again, it doesn't have to be just one genre, but again, it shouldn't be every genre.
I really don't know many voiceover artists that do every single genre. I think we all tend to just narrow down the focus a little bit and it doesn't have to be just two genres or, you know, it can be like narration. There's a lot of closely related -- corporate explainers are very closely to corporate narration. It's very close to corporate training, which is very close to medical narration. It's all part of the corporate world anyway. So all of that really kind of works for me. So there's multiple genres there that I can excel and flourish in.
And then explore the ones that I haven't really had time to do before, because I've been working so much in these other genres, like character or promo or imaging. Like see, I've always wanted to do radio imaging, but I've never even tried it, like never But I'm always like, I wanna sound cool. So for me, I'd be like, oh, that would be a cool sound, but I've never tried it. I've always been a little shy actually.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anne: About it, but I don't wanna not try.
Erikka: Exactly. And that's the thing is like, unless you really do it and you're like, this is not my thing -- I feel like audio books are probably off the table for me, other than I did like a couple kids books. And I have like a couple like mid-length books that I've entertained or that I'm like, I might just do this one. It's, you know, public domain. I'll do it as a passion project one day just to kind of practice. But if I get one that's expected to be like 12 hours of audio, like I'm not gonna do the 48 Laws of Power. I know I'm not gonna be able to do something that long. God bless the voice actors that have that type of stamina. I know I don't. And I'm okay with it.
Anne: You know, where I might go because I love the geeky stuff all the time, right, if there was a book that was completely geeky about, I don't know, a business book. And if it was something that I would discover as I read, I think that that could work, but the editing I would have to outsource. .
Erikka: Yeah. I just, I just don't think I could, maybe that answer will change in a few years for me, even though I love reading it and consuming it or listening to audio books.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: I just wanna be in and out. I just wanna get it done and to be done.
Anne: Yeah. Well, I think it's important that we don't get complacent.
Erikka: Yes. Agreed.
Anne: And for me, that's just always been a thing where I haven't felt comfortable when I get complacent. I think I get nervous. Maybe it's more that than bored or maybe it's a combination of both, right? I don't wanna get complacent in one job for too long. And, and to be honest with you, my 20 years in education, I think my job, I had actually, believe it or not, in my job, there were certain levels that I traversed. And I went from getting my hands dirty and learning a bunch of stuff and really challenging like, oh, why does the network not work here? Oh, let me go and dig the wiring or look at the wiring in the ceiling and see what's going on there. And I love the whole challenge of that, kind of getting my hands dirty.
Ultimately I started, year after year, I would, I would advance, you know, then I would go into like the networking. Then I would go into the administration. And then ultimately at the last part of my career, I was a project manager. And at that point, I wasn't getting my hands dirty anymore. I was managing people who were getting their hands dirty. And for me, I found out that that was not where I flourished. For me, I wanted that challenge of getting my hands dirty, figuring out the solution, not necessarily managing people. And at that point in my career, I had started to become a little bit restless. And that's when I really said to myself, well, I need to do something that's gonna allow me to grow.
And I think that selecting your genre and balancing your genres or your performance or discovering what that is really comes with a lot of self-reflection in what it is that brings you joy and what it is that you're getting hired., a combination of that, what it is you're getting hired for. And if you're just starting out, try to focus on what are your past experiences. Like for me, I had experience teaching, which led me into e-learning. I had experience working for an orthopedic company, which led me to medical. I installed phone systems as part of my job that led me to a lot of telephony. So take a look at your experience and see what genre that might lend itself to, because when you can speak with familiarity and with confidence about something, it's going to be reflected in your voice. And that I think is gonna make you good at what you do.
Erikka: Absolutely. And the other thing is to like not necessarily write off an entire genre to maybe to explore the sub genres, right. 'Cause like there's animation and I really kind of thought animation was off the table for me. I was like, everybody wants to do that when they come in, eh. Maybe video games, which I do think that that's still more my lane than animation. What I love, I love doing the villain stuff in animation. So I'm not really necessarily gonna too often -- I don't really see myself doing like the 14-year-old boy, like some women are able to do, but gimme a villain role I'm in and I'm excited about it.
Anne: Now psychologically, Erikka, why is that? Where is that? Because that relief of tension --
Erikka: -- in real life.
Anne: That's right. And then the alter ego kicks in.
Erikka: So then I get to rrr, you know, it's fun.
Anne: Yeah. Well, Hey, there's a creative challenge. And I think that, so BOSSes, we are all brilliant. Right? We are all brilliant people. This is the way I like to think of it. Right? We like the creative challenges. And so what is it that challenges you? What is it that you think will give you a challenge that you will enjoy? And so for me, the medical, of course it's because I feel like I'm helping somebody. I feel like if I do a voiceover for anything medical, right, it's helping somebody. But even more than that, there's like that challenge of, okay, what's the largest word that I can say eloquently?
Erikka: The verbal acrobatics (?) of medical.
Anne: Effortlessly? There you go. That to me is like, ooh, it's such a challenge. And I love it. Like I dig right in once I get a medical script and there's all these words. I dig in and I create my little phonetic spellings and I practice it so I can say it effortlessly, so it sounds like I'm a doctor. But that sort of stuff, I think letting the genre find you and letting your joy find the genre too is something to really think about. And so is there a voice for a genre? I don't think so. I think a lot of people consider like, oh, to do promo, I have to have a low voice. What are your thoughts on that, Erikka?
Erikka: So not true. And the thing is that the more that you study the genre that you're trying to get into, and I don't just mean workshops and being coached, but I mean actually like watching TV, like going to watch the promos that are on -- it's been such a male-dominated genre historically that we just assume you have to "come in there and sound like this, tonight at eight." And that's just not it not now. So like I've heard women with much lighter voices than me that are super conversational to the point of sounding like a commercial, and they're booking promo. So I think that was a challenge for me and kind of was why I wasn't booking there at first because I had the idea of what it supposed to be, instead of bringing more of the authenticity to it. The reads are much closer to commercial now for promo, finding a promo voice.
Anne: I love the whole authentic thing do and because --
Erikka: Yeah, me too.
Anne: -- I think that voiceover artists, like in the beginning, it was always like, for me, when I got behind a mic, I was like, ooh, my voice is amplified.
Erikka: Oh my goodness.
Anne: And then I was like, I like to hear that in my ears, you know? 'Cause it was something like, I think sounds good or that somebody would want to hear. And I love the whole "let's get back to being authentic and being ourselves." Some of the most beautiful stuff that I've listened to is not a voice that many would consider to be like, oh a voiceover voice. Every time somebody asks me on one of my consult calls, so do you think I have what it takes or do you think I've got the voice?
And I'm like, it really honestly, you know, and I've said this before, BOSSes, you guys, if you've listened to the podcast, it's only the first few seconds, maybe 15 to 20 seconds, 30 seconds that people are listening to what your voice actually sounds like. And then all they care about is what you're saying. Right? And what does it mean and is it of interest to them? And that connection that your voice has to them and how it can help them, that's really where it all counts. And I think that's why the authentic, the genuine is what sells, you know, in advertising, and it's what connects people together. And I think that's what we all, as humans, we really want.
And a lot of this talk about the AI voice, there's going to be a place for that. And I know Erikka, we could have a whole podcast episode on this. There's definitely a place for that, but only when it's transparent. And I know that I'm talking to a voice that is not a human voice. Like, well, I talk to Alexa all the time. I talk to Siri all the time and I'm okay with it. Siri helps me, Siri has a job to do and she helps me. So when I don't necessarily need a human to help me, I am okay with that.
But for everything else, right, our human voices need to connect. And I think that's one of the most important things. What genre can you divulge your authenticity in and connect with the audience of that genre. 'Cause different genres have different audiences. There's a different audience for corporate training than there is for promo. Right? People listening to promo voices are trying to find out information of what's on television. What's the next exciting thing? Or maybe it's like, oh what's happening next on HGTV? Right, there's your in-show narration. So depending on the genre, there's different audiences. So figure out not only what genre excites you, but know who is listening to the genre and who your audience is, because that's where that connection's gonna happen.
Erikka: Yeah. And I think it's important to not limit yourself mentally and just say, well, oh, I'm not gonna do that. But try it. Like I said, like the audio books, I did a couple of kid books. I did a couple of mid-length narration for like news and I enjoyed that, but I was like, I couldn't do much more than this. So I know it's not for me. But like if you don't even give yourself the opportunity to see if you would like it, you might miss out on something that you're really good at. And/or like if medical intimidates, you try it anyway because those skills can translate. So if you're practicing reading multisyllabic words, you know, you finally get it, imagine how much better you're gonna read commercial copy now because you exercised your mouth to be able to get those kind of words out.
So now when you get to just sort of regular English, you're gonna have that skill that you can translate into another genre. So I think it's good like you said, to just stay limb, stay flexible, learn how to play, not get stagnant ,and play with other genres, but know what your primaries are. And if you do have hard boundaries to just know, like that's not for me, .
Anne: That's not for me. I know a lot of students in the beginning will spend a lot of time like investigating all the genres. And I love that. I think there's lots of good things to be said for that. But then there's also students who might spend time in every genre because they're afraid to start. That might be another podcast, but at least I think exploring the other genres, taking a few classes in the genres. I mean, I took some promo classes with a coach that I loved. I've really explored. I've taken some audiobook classes I've taken -- like I said, the one thing I haven't done is radio imaging, but I know a lot of people that do radio imaging, and I'm still like thinking about, oh, that's kind of like such a older genre. I'm not sure how well it's faring these days. Because I do believe I heard you .
Erikka: I did do --
Anne: I heard you the other day. Yes I did. So it's very cool.
Erikka: But that was fun. Like it taught me how to play better. Like, and I actually did a little bit of character development and I've taken that into some commercial copy. So.
Anne: Well, that's an excellent point about that because the crazier and the more dynamic your character is in imaging, it really can help you in other genres. And I think a lot of times people that take my corporate narration, 'cause I'm always teaching how to be the real authentic voice. And that's not what people expect with narration. They expect to have a narrator's voice, and I'm like, no let's connect people. And so they can take that technique that they use in narration and apply it to commercial. Because learning how to be real and authentic with words that aren't yours is something that applies to every genre. So BOSSes, if you're out there trying to discover that genre, make sure that you are also getting those skills that allow you the acting to be real and authentic in those genres. So take acting classes, get coached on it. That'll do nothing but help you in any genre you decide to pursue.
Erikka: And corporate narration I'm finding is increasingly having more opportunities for us to play. So it's obviously gonna be corporate to an extent, but I've seen some copy where it's like, they kind of want you to have the joke, land the joke, you know, be a little funnier, be a little more, you know, laid back.
Anne: Or be dramatic, be passionate.
Erikka: Be dramatic. Yes, absolutely.
Anne: Yep. That's the corporate gold I've always talking about. It's good stuff.
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: So yeah guys, what genre are you?
Erikka: Yeah. And prioritizing them. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. Look back, look at your passion. What brings you joy? And don't forget that even though you have genres, if you do have genres that you're already pretty well settled into and familiar with, don't forget to always play in other genres 'cause you just never know. You never know. Good stuff. So question for you, BOSSes, do you have a local nonprofit that is close to your heart? Because if you do, and if you want to help them, you can join an organization called 100voiceswhocare.org and help them extensively even if you don't have a lot to contribute. So find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And big shout-out to ipDTL, our favorite way to connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. All right, BOSSes. Have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week.
Erikka: Bye BOSSes.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Do not apologize for little mistakes during a session. You are human! This week, Anne & Erikka teach you how to overcome performance anxiety. Certain elements of voice acting get easier after years in the booth, but sometimes the nerves never go away. Taking steps before a big gig like walking outside, spending time with a furry friend, or breathing can calm you down, but what happens when you feel anxious in the moment? Stay calm in the booth and know that it is a safe space for you to perform and be your best. BOSSES, if you’re unsure of how to take control of the situation & your anxiety, listen up!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited to bring back to the show the lovely and talented Miss Erikka J. Woohoo!
Erikka: Hey, Anne!
Anne: Hi, Erikka.
Erikka: How are you, darling?
Anne: I'm wonderful. How are you?
Erikka: Pretty good. Pretty good. Just the trucking along. I was thinking back this week actually about a workshop that I was in, and I really had like some anxiety. It was like crazy when I was on the mic. So I was in a class with the Andrea Toyias of Blizzard.
Anne: Oh, love her.
Erikka: I mean, I was waiting a year and a half to take this class with her, right? And I had actually just found out I was pregnant the night before, and I was just like freaking out because it was super unexpected. Great surprise. But I was just like, what am I gonna do? And all of a sudden, I start getting symptoms like I'm nauseous, right? Like super like, ugh. So I am now this class I've been waiting for for a year and a half, video game, you know, you have to use your whole body. I had like this beastly character, and I'm a ball of nerves and nauseous on top of that, whether it's from the anxiety or just the baby. But I'm like, how am I gonna get through this?
And, you know, I realized that this was an opportunity for me to channel that anxiety into the energy of my character. And it really turned out great. Like she gave me good reviews, and I was just like, oh my God, thank God. Like I cried after, it was like all the emotions came out, but it was a great opportunity to sort of, rather than letting the emotions take over me and impact the authenticity of my performance, to actually channel that energy and be able to use it in an effective way that worked. So I was thinking maybe we could talk about how to overcome performance anxiety.
Anne: Absolutely. Well, number one, I love that topic. Number two, I love that you are so open and upfront about it. Because a successful voiceover talent, you know, people seem to think, well, we, we have it all together. We don't ever get nervous when we come in the booth or perform, or we're live directed, but in effect we actually do probably more than people even realize. And I think it's just that maybe we've had a little more experience in dealing with it and trying to maybe turn that into something positive. I do have a lot of newer students that I've seen come into my workouts, my VO Peeps workouts, and get nervous performing in front of other people, let alone the director, but just performing in front of other people.
And I know myself when I first started in the voiceover industry, believe it or not, I was almost like afraid myself to let go and explore my voice, because I didn't wanna hear it in my ears, because I thought, oh God, that sounds stupid. And so I think that's a really great mental emotion to talk about and how we can get over our performance anxiety so that we can make it work for us and not against us. So what are your tricks when you start to get nervous? And first of all, when we get nervous, there's so many things that can happen, even if it's a good nervous, right?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: If you're an excited, happy nervous, it's still, it gets you all your adrenaline hyped and your shoulders up, and it just makes your voice also with that same anxiety.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there are a few things. So like for one, coming from performing on stage as well, like that was sort of where I learned how to channel anxiety, because at the end of the day, it's just energy, right? But it's just like a really strong, sort of urgent energy, and what that can do when it works against you, if you don't have it in balance is like, sometimes I catch myself, it'll make me make my voice more higher pitch. And then they're like, well, can you we want you to speak more like kind of how you just were when we were talking. And it's like, oh yeah, Erikka, you're anxious, calm down. So that is kind of a way it can work against you. I tend to talk really fast too, when I get anxious. And I just have anxiety in general, sort of as the disorder. So I have to kind of manage that.
Things that I do to get rid of it, if I feel like before a session I'm already kind of high strung about it, maybe it's a job I'm really excited about or, or nervous about, getting outside and really getting some fresh air breathing, the deep breathing thing -- I know it's like cliche. Everybody talks about breathing, but it really literally tells your brain everything is okay. There's plenty of oxygen available. I'm not gonna die, because that's what anxiety feels like. You're dying. It's just like, everything's wrong. And if you get that oxygen flowing into your body, real, really plentiful oxygen, that can help calm you down.
Sometimes I'll go sing something really loud or scream. Like obviously safely, getting that scream energy out. 'Cause anxiety is just energy. Again, if you can kinda get that out of you to help you calm down and do that. Things like warm tea, just things that help you feel mentally safe are nice. Hug or going to your pet, you know, and playing with them and touching them and letting love on you a little before a session, all those things help me.
Anne: I think that's wonderful. And I really am a big believer in the breathing, you know, and the taking a breath. And so if you're in the moment, right, okay, so this is maybe before the performance, right? These are things you can do. So when you're in the moment, right, and let's say you're being directed or you're in a workshop, a session, first of all, in any workshop or session, I just wanna kind of throw this out there that they are called workshops and classes for a reason. They're meant to be safe spaces for you to get that anxiety out, to experience that, and then experience recovering through that or whatever it is, working out your performance issues in a class. And so I hope that we can all feel safe or whoever's directing that workshop can help you all to feel safe. A lot of times the directors that I work with, they make a point of saying, look, get it out now. Do it now in this workshop, 'cause that's what we're here for. And that's the safe space.
Where you probably don't want it to happen so much is when you're in a live directed session. So when you're actually in a session, I'm a big believer in the breathing. Now there's a couple of different things. Are you on Zoom, right? Are they watching you, number one, or are they not? And I am a big fan of you don't need to see me necessarily perform. And if I can actually get that to happen, I feel much more comfortable. It really helps me mentally relax. And it also allows me to do things in the booth, like maybe step away from the mic and, and breathe and instead of right in the booth or so that they can see me doing whatever it is I need to do to relax.
And so I would say the breathing is a big thing, and also in the middle of a performance, if you happen to freak out, just know that you're a human being, and the people that are directing you are human beings. And so there's a lot to be said for that. I say that sometimes you don't really wanna admit that you're nervous necessarily in front of the director or whoever might be on the call, but you just do what you need to do. There's no rush, right? There's no like, oh my gosh, I have to get this done in the next five minutes. If there's any session where you feel like you're being pressured to get that read out in a short amount of time, I would second guess that client. That's for sure. If you can be with that client and you are not on camera, do whatever you need to do, you know, shake it out, breathe, mute your mic for a minute and do whatever you scream, sing, whatever you gotta do, breathe because they're never gonna really know .
So that's kind of something you can do kind of behind the scenes.
But if you are on camera, number one, I would try not to be on camera if you can help it, but you can always turn your camera off for a moment and/or mute whatever you need to do to kind of get there. I mean, unless you're in the middle of a sentence, right? There's no need to necessarily explain. You can just say, I need a moment, and do what you need to do. What about you, Erikka? When you're in the moment, what are some key things that you do?
Erikka: Yeah, those are all great points, fully agree and sort of to elaborate on some of them, in the middle of a session -- well, for one, I usually start the session by taking control of the whole visual aspect. I'm like you, Anne, I'm a fan of camera off. So what I'll do is, in the very beginning of the session, I'll flip my camera on, say, hey, you know, I just wanted to introduce myself and kind of have that initial conversation to have the human connection. And then as we're getting ready to record, I'll say, okay, I'm gonna go ahead and flip video off so I can make sure that the audio quality is as high as possible.
Anne: Oh, Erikka, golden nugget! Oh my gosh!
Erikka: And they love that.
Anne: Say that again. Say that again, because we can go home now. That was the best like piece of information, I swear. That, that's a great idea.
Erikka: The pandemic educated everybody video takes up more bandwidth. And if you have video off, the audio is less likely to drop out. Nobody wants the audio to drop out because they wanna be able to critique the quality of the voiceover that you're giving and give you feedback so that they get what they want. So that way they're like, oh yeah, sure. Turn video off. I'm gonna turn video off. And then if they don't want video, it makes them feel comfortable. Like, oh thank God. I don't have to have video on
Anne: I think a lot of people believe, it or not, are more relieved than not just because, you know, I don't know if we're having a little bit of anxiety from the whole, like during the pandemic, all we did was Zoom. Although I'm a big fan of the video connection that we did have. We just did it a lot. And so, you know, I did it to keep connected with my family and my clients, and I think, yeah, everybody could use a little vacation from the video being on all the time. It really has put on another added layer of potential anxiety for us as voice talent. Because most of us got into the business because we didn't wanna be on camera. We wanted to be behind the mic. And so I love how you said that you turn it on to say hello and make the human connection. And then just say, look, I wanna be able to flip this now so that we make sure we get the best audio. What a fantastic idea. I love that.
Erikka: Sometimes I even make a joke just to keep it lighthearted, feeling the client out, if that works. And I'll just say, so you don't see my weird actor faces and they'll laugh, you know? And like that works because that's the truth. I'll flip it on at the end, you know, to kind of close it off and say, bye. I do make sure that particularly on Zoom or whatever platform I can, that I'll have my headshot so that they can see me. Even though they're not seeing me. So that kind of keeps the human connection as well.
Anne: That's excellent. Now, Erikka, you know, that's funny because mine always just appears, but I don't ever remember putting it there. Where does that come from? That Zoom headshot, is that in the settings of Zoom when you set it?
Erikka: It is, but you have to be logged in. So you have to actually be logged into your Zoom account and then you can set your picture and it'll come up. But if you just like click on their link, and you're not logged in, it'll just show your name that you typed in. Yeah.
Anne: Ah-ha. Oh, that's an excellent point. I never realized that 'cause I'm always the one hosting the Zoom sessions for the most part. And interestingly enough, when I say to patch into my studio, if they don't wanna use the ipDTL link, or usually I use ipDTL, or usually I'm not the one providing SourceConnect, they would be the one providing SourceConnect link. But if I'm providing the link, then I'll usually give them an ipDTL link, and there's no video involved in that. And most people are relieved. And the reason why I tell them I do that, I'll give them an ipDTL link as a phone patch rather than Zoom is because it's better quality. And so it delivers better quality audio. They can hear me better, and it's always better to be able to hear better so they can direct me better so that I can do my job better.
Erikka: That's what they want.
Anne: So there's all sorts of kind of cool ways around being off camera if you so desire.
Erikka: And you know, there really have been studies that have said that in the whole pandemic period that there was increased anxiety because if --
Anne: Being on camera?
Erikka: Yeah. Because if I'm face to face with you, there's a safe distance, but there's a perceived closeness if like my face --
Anne: Oh, interesting.
Erikka: -- here. And it's like, you're in my personal space, and it's more threatening. So it literally can makes you more anxious being on video on a digital platform as opposed to being in person, and you don't get to feel out and kind of mix the other person's energy. It's just this digital face. So it's natural that it makes you more anxious. Just take control of it. And I've never had anybody say, well, no, we want you to keep camera on. the only place I can see that ever happening is maybe video games. But even then, they're more concerned about audio.
Anne: Yeah. And I think that, yeah, definitely. Let's just make the point though, that this is for a live directed session where it may not be necessary for you to have video on, even though your clients may like it. The other thing is that it might be the only form of communication that they have, right? Zoom, video, or Skype or whatever that is, or Google Hangouts. A lot of times, that's how they get a community of people together to listen and direct. And even in that case, you can absolutely take control of muting your camera or turning your camera off while you're performing. And so now what if you're in the middle of a sentence and you flub it up, Erikka?
Erikka: Oh man.
Anne: What is your course of action?
Erikka: Yeah. So I talk about this with a few people. So for one, remember that you are human, and we make mistakes. We all stutter, even in regular conversation. Sometimes I'm able to catch it fast enough where it sounds natural. Because you know, one of the things of acting is that as just now, when I was thinking about what to say next, I hesitated. We don't have a script in real life. So we don't know what we're gonna say next. So some of that hesitation actually makes a more authentic performance. So if you can catch yourself and not get to the point of, oh my God, I just screwed up and just kind of get to the next word and it still sounds natural, sometimes it works and it actually makes the performance sound more natural. So I try to really just get back in it.
If it's obviously like, you know, oh, I just screwed that up. I just pause and pick up. And there's a couple reasons for that. For one, if you kind of say, oh, I'm sorry, you know, you've already kind of, you've taken some power away from yourself with your client. Kind of told them, hey, I messed up and you've told your brain, you messed up, which is going to increase your anxiety and increase the risk that you're going to mess up again probably on the exact same word.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Erikka: And your brain is learning. It's like, okay, we may, we mess up there. We mess up on that word. We mess up on that word. Whereas if you just stop and then just pick up, it's a professional thing to do. It also makes it easier for editing so that they can just cut, if they like the first half of that sentence, and it was great, they can just Franken-take it, you know, and put it together and make it work.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that advice to stop. So I always say to my students don't ever apologize. Yeah. You're human. It happens. You simply stop and pick up. Now you don't necessarily pick up from the very beginning of the entire piece of copy. You wanna probably stop and take just as you would be editing right in your own home studio, pick up where you would naturally pick up. And for me, that's at the beginning of the sentence, for the most part or at the comma, if it's that much, if I've still got the melody in my head and knowing where I'm gonna be. But for the most part, just simply stop. Never apologize.
If you apologize, like you said, it definitely takes the power away. And a lot of times people may not even notice that you've flubbed up. And so you simply start it at the top of the sentence again, and that is an entirely acceptable thing to do. I mean, I've done that for years thankfully once I learned myself never to apologize, because again, we are human and just pick it up from the beginning. It does make it, number one, makes you look a lot more professional and number two, it makes it easy to edit. And the simple fact that you know this, right, you know, enough not to go into a bumbling "I'm sorry" apology or whatever it is, even if you have to cough or sneeze or what, whatnot, knowing that if you are silent and then pick up as if nothing happened makes it a really nice block of white space for that engineer to make it easy for them to fix.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: For sure. For sure.
Erikka: And maybe that can also help you get outta the habit of saying, I'm sorry. It's just stop talking. Just, just get your brain to just stop. I make a mistake. I just stop.
Anne: Just stop, breathe, know that it's normal and we all do it. We do.
Erikka: Yeah, we do.
Anne: We all do it. You know? And I always say to people, I wish I could do a read perfectly the first time. Right? It doesn't always happen. But I like how you also used it to talk about how to make that pause almost a natural part of things. Now I know that when I'm anxious, and I'm in the booth, the whole natural in the scene acting sometimes goes bye-bye. And so there's one thing that breathing can help you to come back to the scene. And always remember, even though you've got people watching you, I mean, imagine like you're performing like in the scene just as you would if you were on stage, or if you're not a stage actor or an on-camera actor, if you've got that video off, you are in your booth. That is your magic place. That is where you set your scene. You are in the scene, you're immersed in the scene.
So just try, if you can, to block out the other external factors that are making you nervous and continue to be in that scene, because that's gonna make your performance more natural. And that's what they hired you to do for the most part. I mean, unless they told you to be crazy in character and you know your character, even then, right, you have to be in your character. So I would say, no matter what you're doing, you kinda have to be in character, even if you're doing an e-learning module, you're a teacher, right?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Anne: If you're doing a corporate narration, you work for that company. So you're a character. So you need to remain in that character, and the booth where you are, is kind of your theater so to speak. As in a studio that you might be in when you're being directed live to. Now what about going to a studio and being directed live? What are your thoughts about that, Erikka?
Erikka: Oh boy. I'll say maybe one, maybe two more things that I do use in my booth, but one of them might translate to in the studio too. In my booth. I think I mentioned before that for, just for performances and sort of a, who am I talking to, I do keep pictures of my family in the booth. And I found that sometimes that helps with anxiety too. So it's just like, you know, if you would look at the people that you love and that love you, sometimes it can just kind of help to bring you back.
Anne: I'm opening, I'm opening my door, but you can't really see it. See if I can. Let's see.
Erikka: Is, is that a kitty cat?
Anne: Yeah. It's my studio cat. And on the other side of the door, which I can't, there we go. There's Anne and Jerry.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: I have my family in the booth with me, the people that I love.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: And I also have a booth buddy.
Erikka: Yes!
Anne: So this is my little booth buddy.
Erikka: I got a booth buddy, but it's a (?).
Anne: Oh. So you talk --
Erikka: My warm and fuzzy reads.
Anne: There you go. So you talk to your booth buddy to help you in the scene. There's your audience right there.
Erikka: Yep. Yep. Yep.
Anne: So.
Erikka: You can't see my family 'cause they're behind where the mic is, but yeah. I've got my kids, me and my boyfriend, and then ultrasound picture, my little boo-boo that's coming.
Anne: Aww.
Erikka: Another thing that I'll use too is I've got one of these stress balls.
Anne: Oh.
Erikka: And when you mentioned going to the studio, this is something that's more portable and not very -- it's discreet. So I could just have this in my pocket. So again, anxiety is just an abundance of energy. So one of the grounding tools that I know is used by some people that, you know, teach anxiety management is like literally like holding the tension in your hand for like five seconds and releasing, and you can do that with a stress ball. So it's just like, you're using all this strength and it's like, mm, get this anxiety out. And then you [breathes out], and you should feel some sort of relief.
Anne: Yeah. And you know, what's good about that is like literally you don't want the anxiety to be in your mouth or in your brain. So having in your hand, having it transfer, and that's one of the good things too. I talk about with physicality behind the mic, right? When people don't wanna look at our silly actor faces behind that mic, when you are in that scene, you need to be in that scene, like physicating with your, with your hands, drawing things, jumping up and down, whatever you're doing, and that will help to divert the energy that might be all up in your shoulders and all up in your mouth and in your speech. Right? And kind of dissipate it so that it will be a little bit less. And so that's great.
Erikka: And these are quiet. They don't make noise so much, so.
Anne: Well, if you go to studio and you're flailing about, and you're doing like -- well, alright, I'm gonna say, how many of you have ever watched right behind the scenes, right, when people are at studios? I mean, there's all sorts of physication going on. As a matter of fact, that's the, the sign of a classic actor, right, behind the mic, who's physically making those silly faces. And I always talk about when you look at musicians on stage too, they always make funny faces. Right? Always.
Erikka: Singing faces are way worse than actor faces. I know.
Anne: I'm gonna tell you, singing faces are way worse.
Erikka: I've been caught before. Like, Ooh, that's not going on social media.
Anne: Yeah. But, but you know what? It creates the performance. And I always talk about Mariah Carey. She does a lot with her hands when she sings.
Erikka: She does.
Anne: How she like trills with her hands, and I'd be like, yeah, what is she doing there? And then I decided to do voiceover and I get what she's doing. It's all about the dissipation of energy and helping her create more energy and also dissipate energy. Which is really a great way to also relieve performance anxiety.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. I used to grab my stomach a lot was my thing. And I don't know if that was from like the breathing exercises I learned, and they'd be like, why you grab your stomach? I'm like, I don't know. It's my thing. But it's just like, I don't know. It felt like everything that I was trying to get out was from my core. So I just kind of would hold my stomach and it would help me, ugh. I don't know, so.
Anne: Yes. Consider whatever those silly faces are or what you think are silly moments of brilliance. Really. Turn it into a moment of brilliance and just who cares. Because if it gets the performance out of you, that the client is looking for, you're a genius. Like I dare anybody who gets an amazing performance out of you to laugh at what you do behind the mic. I mean, maybe they'll chuckle, but hey, they're gonna chuckle all the way to the bank.
Erikka: That's right. Took the words outta my mouth. .
Anne: Because you're the one that is absolutely giving them the performance that they're looking for and whatever it takes to get there. I would say for the majority of the time, if you're in your home studio, right, and you're being directed and they can't see you, what a blessing that is to be honest. What a luxury to be directed these days. Rather than us trying to like, oh my God, what are they looking for? How should I self direct? It becomes something that maybe you can start to look forward to. And you're not nervous about because for me being directed is a luxury because finally, somebody, just tell me what you're looking for. I can do it. I'll deliver it, whatever you want. 'Cause that's better that you tell me, rather than me trying to think of 100 different ways that you might like it.
So if you can directly tell me -- let's say it's someone who's not familiar with directing, even if they might, like, I know a lot of people are like really, what if they line read for you? Now saying that the people behind the booth may or may not be able to line read for you, but if it helps them express what they're looking for, I'm not offended by that. And I don't think that if you have a client trying to express what they're looking for, and maybe they're not as successful, you know -- just me being a director for so many years, like I know what it's like when you're trying to express what it is that you're looking for. It's not always the easiest thing in the world. And for people who aren't used to doing it, give them some grace and just try to listen and give them what they want.
Even if they say something completely weird and you're like, oh, so you want a little more smile or you give them more smile. And you're like, that was totally not what they said, just go with it because it's not easy for people who are not familiar or people who don't direct all the time to actually direct you. And don't let that increase your anxiety. Unless of course it becomes like two hours and you've given them the exact same take. You've come around circle and now you're giving them the take that you first gave them. And they're like, that's it so. "I gave them 100 takes. And the one that they took was the one that I just did like my first take."
Erikka: I know, I know. Yeah, one thing that I'll do too, to sort of lower my anxiety and maybe even theirs, especially if they are relatively new or don't hire voice talent often and kind of are feeling their way through directing, you have to kind of feel the energy out, obviously in the client to make sure that this is okay. But for one, I'll kind of paraphrase back, especially if I get the line read, I'll also kind of explain. So you mean like you're looking for a little bit more upbeat, but still grounded? You know, like trying to do that because that way we're both clarifying what we mean and that can lower the anxiety on both sides. And/or I'll offer, would you mind if I did some triplets on this to play around with it and try different ways? They'll usually be like, yeah, sure, absolutely. So you do their line read and then kind of your interpretation of it, and they have options. They love having options.
Anne: Exactly. So I think that's a great piece of advice. Give them options. I'm always, when I'm being live director-ed, I'm always giving them multiple reads just in case, you know, maybe there was a click or something that's hard for them to get out in one of the words, they can grab it out of the second take. And that way -- I do that a lot with self-directed sessions, I'll give them multiple takes for them to choose from, but also in live, I give them the full session and I'll give them multiple takes. I'm like, I'm happy to read this again. A lot of times when they're happy and they'll say, oh, that sounds perfect, I get a little nervous. Because I'm like, what if there was a little -- like I've edited myself enough to know that maybe there was a little click or mouth noise or I don't know, something could happen where they could use an extra word that might be clean.
So I think giving them options and I think you taking the initiative and telling them, how about if I give you a set of three, so you can just pick and choose what you want later makes everybody happy and reduces the tension for sure. So I think in regards to being balanced, right, balanced in the booth and not overly anxious, these are some really excellent tips that we can take, whether we're self-directing or being directed by others on camera or off.
Erikka: Yeah. Preferably off.
Anne: Preferably off. Well, great episode, Erikka. I loved it.
Erikka: Yeah. This is fun, me too.
Anne: I love that we got to show our booth buddies and our pictures and our booth too. So I'd like to give a shout-out to my sponsor, 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, if you ever wanted to do more to help your local community and give back with your voice, you can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org to learn more about that. Also great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. We love ipDTL because it allows us to connect with our other BOSSes and also with our clients.
So you can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Ah, get rid of that performance anxiety, that booth anxiety.
Erikka: Breathe.
Anne: Breathe, and we'll see you next week. All right, guys, take care.
Erikka: Bye.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Do not apologize for little mistakes during a session. You are human! This week, Anne & Erikka teach you how to overcome performance anxiety. Certain elements of voice acting get easier after years in the booth, but sometimes the nerves never go away. Taking steps before a big gig like walking outside, spending time with a furry friend, or breathing can calm you down, but what happens when you feel anxious in the moment? Stay calm in the booth and know that it is a safe space for you to perform and be your best. BOSSES, if you’re unsure of how to take control of the situation & your anxiety, listen up!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited to bring back to the show the lovely and talented Miss Erikka J. Woohoo!
Erikka: Hey, Anne!
Anne: Hi, Erikka.
Erikka: How are you, darling?
Anne: I'm wonderful. How are you?
Erikka: Pretty good. Pretty good. Just the trucking along. I was thinking back this week actually about a workshop that I was in, and I really had like some anxiety. It was like crazy when I was on the mic. So I was in a class with the Andrea Toyias of Blizzard.
Anne: Oh, love her.
Erikka: I mean, I was waiting a year and a half to take this class with her, right? And I had actually just found out I was pregnant the night before, and I was just like freaking out because it was super unexpected. Great surprise. But I was just like, what am I gonna do? And all of a sudden, I start getting symptoms like I'm nauseous, right? Like super like, ugh. So I am now this class I've been waiting for for a year and a half, video game, you know, you have to use your whole body. I had like this beastly character, and I'm a ball of nerves and nauseous on top of that, whether it's from the anxiety or just the baby. But I'm like, how am I gonna get through this?
And, you know, I realized that this was an opportunity for me to channel that anxiety into the energy of my character. And it really turned out great. Like she gave me good reviews, and I was just like, oh my God, thank God. Like I cried after, it was like all the emotions came out, but it was a great opportunity to sort of, rather than letting the emotions take over me and impact the authenticity of my performance, to actually channel that energy and be able to use it in an effective way that worked. So I was thinking maybe we could talk about how to overcome performance anxiety.
Anne: Absolutely. Well, number one, I love that topic. Number two, I love that you are so open and upfront about it. Because a successful voiceover talent, you know, people seem to think, well, we, we have it all together. We don't ever get nervous when we come in the booth or perform, or we're live directed, but in effect we actually do probably more than people even realize. And I think it's just that maybe we've had a little more experience in dealing with it and trying to maybe turn that into something positive. I do have a lot of newer students that I've seen come into my workouts, my VO Peeps workouts, and get nervous performing in front of other people, let alone the director, but just performing in front of other people.
And I know myself when I first started in the voiceover industry, believe it or not, I was almost like afraid myself to let go and explore my voice, because I didn't wanna hear it in my ears, because I thought, oh God, that sounds stupid. And so I think that's a really great mental emotion to talk about and how we can get over our performance anxiety so that we can make it work for us and not against us. So what are your tricks when you start to get nervous? And first of all, when we get nervous, there's so many things that can happen, even if it's a good nervous, right?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: If you're an excited, happy nervous, it's still, it gets you all your adrenaline hyped and your shoulders up, and it just makes your voice also with that same anxiety.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there are a few things. So like for one, coming from performing on stage as well, like that was sort of where I learned how to channel anxiety, because at the end of the day, it's just energy, right? But it's just like a really strong, sort of urgent energy, and what that can do when it works against you, if you don't have it in balance is like, sometimes I catch myself, it'll make me make my voice more higher pitch. And then they're like, well, can you we want you to speak more like kind of how you just were when we were talking. And it's like, oh yeah, Erikka, you're anxious, calm down. So that is kind of a way it can work against you. I tend to talk really fast too, when I get anxious. And I just have anxiety in general, sort of as the disorder. So I have to kind of manage that.
Things that I do to get rid of it, if I feel like before a session I'm already kind of high strung about it, maybe it's a job I'm really excited about or, or nervous about, getting outside and really getting some fresh air breathing, the deep breathing thing -- I know it's like cliche. Everybody talks about breathing, but it really literally tells your brain everything is okay. There's plenty of oxygen available. I'm not gonna die, because that's what anxiety feels like. You're dying. It's just like, everything's wrong. And if you get that oxygen flowing into your body, real, really plentiful oxygen, that can help calm you down.
Sometimes I'll go sing something really loud or scream. Like obviously safely, getting that scream energy out. 'Cause anxiety is just energy. Again, if you can kinda get that out of you to help you calm down and do that. Things like warm tea, just things that help you feel mentally safe are nice. Hug or going to your pet, you know, and playing with them and touching them and letting love on you a little before a session, all those things help me.
Anne: I think that's wonderful. And I really am a big believer in the breathing, you know, and the taking a breath. And so if you're in the moment, right, okay, so this is maybe before the performance, right? These are things you can do. So when you're in the moment, right, and let's say you're being directed or you're in a workshop, a session, first of all, in any workshop or session, I just wanna kind of throw this out there that they are called workshops and classes for a reason. They're meant to be safe spaces for you to get that anxiety out, to experience that, and then experience recovering through that or whatever it is, working out your performance issues in a class. And so I hope that we can all feel safe or whoever's directing that workshop can help you all to feel safe. A lot of times the directors that I work with, they make a point of saying, look, get it out now. Do it now in this workshop, 'cause that's what we're here for. And that's the safe space.
Where you probably don't want it to happen so much is when you're in a live directed session. So when you're actually in a session, I'm a big believer in the breathing. Now there's a couple of different things. Are you on Zoom, right? Are they watching you, number one, or are they not? And I am a big fan of you don't need to see me necessarily perform. And if I can actually get that to happen, I feel much more comfortable. It really helps me mentally relax. And it also allows me to do things in the booth, like maybe step away from the mic and, and breathe and instead of right in the booth or so that they can see me doing whatever it is I need to do to relax.
And so I would say the breathing is a big thing, and also in the middle of a performance, if you happen to freak out, just know that you're a human being, and the people that are directing you are human beings. And so there's a lot to be said for that. I say that sometimes you don't really wanna admit that you're nervous necessarily in front of the director or whoever might be on the call, but you just do what you need to do. There's no rush, right? There's no like, oh my gosh, I have to get this done in the next five minutes. If there's any session where you feel like you're being pressured to get that read out in a short amount of time, I would second guess that client. That's for sure. If you can be with that client and you are not on camera, do whatever you need to do, you know, shake it out, breathe, mute your mic for a minute and do whatever you scream, sing, whatever you gotta do, breathe because they're never gonna really know .
So that's kind of something you can do kind of behind the scenes.
But if you are on camera, number one, I would try not to be on camera if you can help it, but you can always turn your camera off for a moment and/or mute whatever you need to do to kind of get there. I mean, unless you're in the middle of a sentence, right? There's no need to necessarily explain. You can just say, I need a moment, and do what you need to do. What about you, Erikka? When you're in the moment, what are some key things that you do?
Erikka: Yeah, those are all great points, fully agree and sort of to elaborate on some of them, in the middle of a session -- well, for one, I usually start the session by taking control of the whole visual aspect. I'm like you, Anne, I'm a fan of camera off. So what I'll do is, in the very beginning of the session, I'll flip my camera on, say, hey, you know, I just wanted to introduce myself and kind of have that initial conversation to have the human connection. And then as we're getting ready to record, I'll say, okay, I'm gonna go ahead and flip video off so I can make sure that the audio quality is as high as possible.
Anne: Oh, Erikka, golden nugget! Oh my gosh!
Erikka: And they love that.
Anne: Say that again. Say that again, because we can go home now. That was the best like piece of information, I swear. That, that's a great idea.
Erikka: The pandemic educated everybody video takes up more bandwidth. And if you have video off, the audio is less likely to drop out. Nobody wants the audio to drop out because they wanna be able to critique the quality of the voiceover that you're giving and give you feedback so that they get what they want. So that way they're like, oh yeah, sure. Turn video off. I'm gonna turn video off. And then if they don't want video, it makes them feel comfortable. Like, oh thank God. I don't have to have video on
Anne: I think a lot of people believe, it or not, are more relieved than not just because, you know, I don't know if we're having a little bit of anxiety from the whole, like during the pandemic, all we did was Zoom. Although I'm a big fan of the video connection that we did have. We just did it a lot. And so, you know, I did it to keep connected with my family and my clients, and I think, yeah, everybody could use a little vacation from the video being on all the time. It really has put on another added layer of potential anxiety for us as voice talent. Because most of us got into the business because we didn't wanna be on camera. We wanted to be behind the mic. And so I love how you said that you turn it on to say hello and make the human connection. And then just say, look, I wanna be able to flip this now so that we make sure we get the best audio. What a fantastic idea. I love that.
Erikka: Sometimes I even make a joke just to keep it lighthearted, feeling the client out, if that works. And I'll just say, so you don't see my weird actor faces and they'll laugh, you know? And like that works because that's the truth. I'll flip it on at the end, you know, to kind of close it off and say, bye. I do make sure that particularly on Zoom or whatever platform I can, that I'll have my headshot so that they can see me. Even though they're not seeing me. So that kind of keeps the human connection as well.
Anne: That's excellent. Now, Erikka, you know, that's funny because mine always just appears, but I don't ever remember putting it there. Where does that come from? That Zoom headshot, is that in the settings of Zoom when you set it?
Erikka: It is, but you have to be logged in. So you have to actually be logged into your Zoom account and then you can set your picture and it'll come up. But if you just like click on their link, and you're not logged in, it'll just show your name that you typed in. Yeah.
Anne: Ah-ha. Oh, that's an excellent point. I never realized that 'cause I'm always the one hosting the Zoom sessions for the most part. And interestingly enough, when I say to patch into my studio, if they don't wanna use the ipDTL link, or usually I use ipDTL, or usually I'm not the one providing SourceConnect, they would be the one providing SourceConnect link. But if I'm providing the link, then I'll usually give them an ipDTL link, and there's no video involved in that. And most people are relieved. And the reason why I tell them I do that, I'll give them an ipDTL link as a phone patch rather than Zoom is because it's better quality. And so it delivers better quality audio. They can hear me better, and it's always better to be able to hear better so they can direct me better so that I can do my job better.
Erikka: That's what they want.
Anne: So there's all sorts of kind of cool ways around being off camera if you so desire.
Erikka: And you know, there really have been studies that have said that in the whole pandemic period that there was increased anxiety because if --
Anne: Being on camera?
Erikka: Yeah. Because if I'm face to face with you, there's a safe distance, but there's a perceived closeness if like my face --
Anne: Oh, interesting.
Erikka: -- here. And it's like, you're in my personal space, and it's more threatening. So it literally can makes you more anxious being on video on a digital platform as opposed to being in person, and you don't get to feel out and kind of mix the other person's energy. It's just this digital face. So it's natural that it makes you more anxious. Just take control of it. And I've never had anybody say, well, no, we want you to keep camera on. the only place I can see that ever happening is maybe video games. But even then, they're more concerned about audio.
Anne: Yeah. And I think that, yeah, definitely. Let's just make the point though, that this is for a live directed session where it may not be necessary for you to have video on, even though your clients may like it. The other thing is that it might be the only form of communication that they have, right? Zoom, video, or Skype or whatever that is, or Google Hangouts. A lot of times, that's how they get a community of people together to listen and direct. And even in that case, you can absolutely take control of muting your camera or turning your camera off while you're performing. And so now what if you're in the middle of a sentence and you flub it up, Erikka?
Erikka: Oh man.
Anne: What is your course of action?
Erikka: Yeah. So I talk about this with a few people. So for one, remember that you are human, and we make mistakes. We all stutter, even in regular conversation. Sometimes I'm able to catch it fast enough where it sounds natural. Because you know, one of the things of acting is that as just now, when I was thinking about what to say next, I hesitated. We don't have a script in real life. So we don't know what we're gonna say next. So some of that hesitation actually makes a more authentic performance. So if you can catch yourself and not get to the point of, oh my God, I just screwed up and just kind of get to the next word and it still sounds natural, sometimes it works and it actually makes the performance sound more natural. So I try to really just get back in it.
If it's obviously like, you know, oh, I just screwed that up. I just pause and pick up. And there's a couple reasons for that. For one, if you kind of say, oh, I'm sorry, you know, you've already kind of, you've taken some power away from yourself with your client. Kind of told them, hey, I messed up and you've told your brain, you messed up, which is going to increase your anxiety and increase the risk that you're going to mess up again probably on the exact same word.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Erikka: And your brain is learning. It's like, okay, we may, we mess up there. We mess up on that word. We mess up on that word. Whereas if you just stop and then just pick up, it's a professional thing to do. It also makes it easier for editing so that they can just cut, if they like the first half of that sentence, and it was great, they can just Franken-take it, you know, and put it together and make it work.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that advice to stop. So I always say to my students don't ever apologize. Yeah. You're human. It happens. You simply stop and pick up. Now you don't necessarily pick up from the very beginning of the entire piece of copy. You wanna probably stop and take just as you would be editing right in your own home studio, pick up where you would naturally pick up. And for me, that's at the beginning of the sentence, for the most part or at the comma, if it's that much, if I've still got the melody in my head and knowing where I'm gonna be. But for the most part, just simply stop. Never apologize.
If you apologize, like you said, it definitely takes the power away. And a lot of times people may not even notice that you've flubbed up. And so you simply start it at the top of the sentence again, and that is an entirely acceptable thing to do. I mean, I've done that for years thankfully once I learned myself never to apologize, because again, we are human and just pick it up from the beginning. It does make it, number one, makes you look a lot more professional and number two, it makes it easy to edit. And the simple fact that you know this, right, you know, enough not to go into a bumbling "I'm sorry" apology or whatever it is, even if you have to cough or sneeze or what, whatnot, knowing that if you are silent and then pick up as if nothing happened makes it a really nice block of white space for that engineer to make it easy for them to fix.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: For sure. For sure.
Erikka: And maybe that can also help you get outta the habit of saying, I'm sorry. It's just stop talking. Just, just get your brain to just stop. I make a mistake. I just stop.
Anne: Just stop, breathe, know that it's normal and we all do it. We do.
Erikka: Yeah, we do.
Anne: We all do it. You know? And I always say to people, I wish I could do a read perfectly the first time. Right? It doesn't always happen. But I like how you also used it to talk about how to make that pause almost a natural part of things. Now I know that when I'm anxious, and I'm in the booth, the whole natural in the scene acting sometimes goes bye-bye. And so there's one thing that breathing can help you to come back to the scene. And always remember, even though you've got people watching you, I mean, imagine like you're performing like in the scene just as you would if you were on stage, or if you're not a stage actor or an on-camera actor, if you've got that video off, you are in your booth. That is your magic place. That is where you set your scene. You are in the scene, you're immersed in the scene.
So just try, if you can, to block out the other external factors that are making you nervous and continue to be in that scene, because that's gonna make your performance more natural. And that's what they hired you to do for the most part. I mean, unless they told you to be crazy in character and you know your character, even then, right, you have to be in your character. So I would say, no matter what you're doing, you kinda have to be in character, even if you're doing an e-learning module, you're a teacher, right?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Anne: If you're doing a corporate narration, you work for that company. So you're a character. So you need to remain in that character, and the booth where you are, is kind of your theater so to speak. As in a studio that you might be in when you're being directed live to. Now what about going to a studio and being directed live? What are your thoughts about that, Erikka?
Erikka: Oh boy. I'll say maybe one, maybe two more things that I do use in my booth, but one of them might translate to in the studio too. In my booth. I think I mentioned before that for, just for performances and sort of a, who am I talking to, I do keep pictures of my family in the booth. And I found that sometimes that helps with anxiety too. So it's just like, you know, if you would look at the people that you love and that love you, sometimes it can just kind of help to bring you back.
Anne: I'm opening, I'm opening my door, but you can't really see it. See if I can. Let's see.
Erikka: Is, is that a kitty cat?
Anne: Yeah. It's my studio cat. And on the other side of the door, which I can't, there we go. There's Anne and Jerry.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: I have my family in the booth with me, the people that I love.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: And I also have a booth buddy.
Erikka: Yes!
Anne: So this is my little booth buddy.
Erikka: I got a booth buddy, but it's a (?).
Anne: Oh. So you talk --
Erikka: My warm and fuzzy reads.
Anne: There you go. So you talk to your booth buddy to help you in the scene. There's your audience right there.
Erikka: Yep. Yep. Yep.
Anne: So.
Erikka: You can't see my family 'cause they're behind where the mic is, but yeah. I've got my kids, me and my boyfriend, and then ultrasound picture, my little boo-boo that's coming.
Anne: Aww.
Erikka: Another thing that I'll use too is I've got one of these stress balls.
Anne: Oh.
Erikka: And when you mentioned going to the studio, this is something that's more portable and not very -- it's discreet. So I could just have this in my pocket. So again, anxiety is just an abundance of energy. So one of the grounding tools that I know is used by some people that, you know, teach anxiety management is like literally like holding the tension in your hand for like five seconds and releasing, and you can do that with a stress ball. So it's just like, you're using all this strength and it's like, mm, get this anxiety out. And then you [breathes out], and you should feel some sort of relief.
Anne: Yeah. And you know, what's good about that is like literally you don't want the anxiety to be in your mouth or in your brain. So having in your hand, having it transfer, and that's one of the good things too. I talk about with physicality behind the mic, right? When people don't wanna look at our silly actor faces behind that mic, when you are in that scene, you need to be in that scene, like physicating with your, with your hands, drawing things, jumping up and down, whatever you're doing, and that will help to divert the energy that might be all up in your shoulders and all up in your mouth and in your speech. Right? And kind of dissipate it so that it will be a little bit less. And so that's great.
Erikka: And these are quiet. They don't make noise so much, so.
Anne: Well, if you go to studio and you're flailing about, and you're doing like -- well, alright, I'm gonna say, how many of you have ever watched right behind the scenes, right, when people are at studios? I mean, there's all sorts of physication going on. As a matter of fact, that's the, the sign of a classic actor, right, behind the mic, who's physically making those silly faces. And I always talk about when you look at musicians on stage too, they always make funny faces. Right? Always.
Erikka: Singing faces are way worse than actor faces. I know.
Anne: I'm gonna tell you, singing faces are way worse.
Erikka: I've been caught before. Like, Ooh, that's not going on social media.
Anne: Yeah. But, but you know what? It creates the performance. And I always talk about Mariah Carey. She does a lot with her hands when she sings.
Erikka: She does.
Anne: How she like trills with her hands, and I'd be like, yeah, what is she doing there? And then I decided to do voiceover and I get what she's doing. It's all about the dissipation of energy and helping her create more energy and also dissipate energy. Which is really a great way to also relieve performance anxiety.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. I used to grab my stomach a lot was my thing. And I don't know if that was from like the breathing exercises I learned, and they'd be like, why you grab your stomach? I'm like, I don't know. It's my thing. But it's just like, I don't know. It felt like everything that I was trying to get out was from my core. So I just kind of would hold my stomach and it would help me, ugh. I don't know, so.
Anne: Yes. Consider whatever those silly faces are or what you think are silly moments of brilliance. Really. Turn it into a moment of brilliance and just who cares. Because if it gets the performance out of you, that the client is looking for, you're a genius. Like I dare anybody who gets an amazing performance out of you to laugh at what you do behind the mic. I mean, maybe they'll chuckle, but hey, they're gonna chuckle all the way to the bank.
Erikka: That's right. Took the words outta my mouth. .
Anne: Because you're the one that is absolutely giving them the performance that they're looking for and whatever it takes to get there. I would say for the majority of the time, if you're in your home studio, right, and you're being directed and they can't see you, what a blessing that is to be honest. What a luxury to be directed these days. Rather than us trying to like, oh my God, what are they looking for? How should I self direct? It becomes something that maybe you can start to look forward to. And you're not nervous about because for me being directed is a luxury because finally, somebody, just tell me what you're looking for. I can do it. I'll deliver it, whatever you want. 'Cause that's better that you tell me, rather than me trying to think of 100 different ways that you might like it.
So if you can directly tell me -- let's say it's someone who's not familiar with directing, even if they might, like, I know a lot of people are like really, what if they line read for you? Now saying that the people behind the booth may or may not be able to line read for you, but if it helps them express what they're looking for, I'm not offended by that. And I don't think that if you have a client trying to express what they're looking for, and maybe they're not as successful, you know -- just me being a director for so many years, like I know what it's like when you're trying to express what it is that you're looking for. It's not always the easiest thing in the world. And for people who aren't used to doing it, give them some grace and just try to listen and give them what they want.
Even if they say something completely weird and you're like, oh, so you want a little more smile or you give them more smile. And you're like, that was totally not what they said, just go with it because it's not easy for people who are not familiar or people who don't direct all the time to actually direct you. And don't let that increase your anxiety. Unless of course it becomes like two hours and you've given them the exact same take. You've come around circle and now you're giving them the take that you first gave them. And they're like, that's it so. "I gave them 100 takes. And the one that they took was the one that I just did like my first take."
Erikka: I know, I know. Yeah, one thing that I'll do too, to sort of lower my anxiety and maybe even theirs, especially if they are relatively new or don't hire voice talent often and kind of are feeling their way through directing, you have to kind of feel the energy out, obviously in the client to make sure that this is okay. But for one, I'll kind of paraphrase back, especially if I get the line read, I'll also kind of explain. So you mean like you're looking for a little bit more upbeat, but still grounded? You know, like trying to do that because that way we're both clarifying what we mean and that can lower the anxiety on both sides. And/or I'll offer, would you mind if I did some triplets on this to play around with it and try different ways? They'll usually be like, yeah, sure, absolutely. So you do their line read and then kind of your interpretation of it, and they have options. They love having options.
Anne: Exactly. So I think that's a great piece of advice. Give them options. I'm always, when I'm being live director-ed, I'm always giving them multiple reads just in case, you know, maybe there was a click or something that's hard for them to get out in one of the words, they can grab it out of the second take. And that way -- I do that a lot with self-directed sessions, I'll give them multiple takes for them to choose from, but also in live, I give them the full session and I'll give them multiple takes. I'm like, I'm happy to read this again. A lot of times when they're happy and they'll say, oh, that sounds perfect, I get a little nervous. Because I'm like, what if there was a little -- like I've edited myself enough to know that maybe there was a little click or mouth noise or I don't know, something could happen where they could use an extra word that might be clean.
So I think giving them options and I think you taking the initiative and telling them, how about if I give you a set of three, so you can just pick and choose what you want later makes everybody happy and reduces the tension for sure. So I think in regards to being balanced, right, balanced in the booth and not overly anxious, these are some really excellent tips that we can take, whether we're self-directing or being directed by others on camera or off.
Erikka: Yeah. Preferably off.
Anne: Preferably off. Well, great episode, Erikka. I loved it.
Erikka: Yeah. This is fun, me too.
Anne: I love that we got to show our booth buddies and our pictures and our booth too. So I'd like to give a shout-out to my sponsor, 100voiceswhocare.org. You guys, if you ever wanted to do more to help your local community and give back with your voice, you can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org to learn more about that. Also great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. We love ipDTL because it allows us to connect with our other BOSSes and also with our clients.
So you can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Ah, get rid of that performance anxiety, that booth anxiety.
Erikka: Breathe.
Anne: Breathe, and we'll see you next week. All right, guys, take care.
Erikka: Bye.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Do you have a vision board in your office? Because it may just help you achieve your goals. Anne and special guests Leah Marks & Nic Redman dive into what it takes to make your dreams a reality. The small steps, to-do lists, and simply articulating what your goals are can help you reverse-engineer your way to success. If that sounds overwhelming, do not fear Bosses! Leah & Nic co-authored The Voiceover Career Planner to help. It is part daily planner, part personal VO coach, featuring 52 experts offering weekly encouragement. Want to learn more? Keep on listening.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguza, and I am here with a special episode with the lovely and talented ladies from the UK's most popular podcast for voiceovers, the VO Social. Welcome to the show Leah Marks and Nic Redman.
Leah: Hi!
Nic: Hello. I love how you say the title of our podcast. . VO Social!
Anne: VO Social!
Nic: That's amazing.
Anne: Yes, it is good to have you back here on the podcast.
Leah: Oh, we missed you so much. Oh, it's been awful, Anne, terrible.
Anne: Well, I think we should catch up a little bit then since we last spoke. So tell me a little bit about what's new in the world of voiceover for you guys over there in the UK.
Leah: Well, Nic, you go first. You go first.
Nic: I have nothing hugely exciting to say about voiceover.
Leah: Okay. I'll go first. .
Nic: Okay, great. Thanks. I mean, I've been doing all the amazing, exciting jobs. They're all under NDA. I can't tell you about anything.
Anne: There you go.
Leah: Of course. Yeah. You're basically the queen of voiceover right now, but no one can ever know.
Nic: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: No one can know. No one can know. Yeah. I can't tell you about it or we'd have --
Nic: I'm coaching (?) so busy say, so I've just sort of been focusing on that.
Anne: Fantastic.
Leah: Yes, yes. I've been throwing myself headlong into acting, and I've been writing a play, which I'm now halfway through one draft of, which is not enough the way through any of the drafts so far, but I'm getting there. I'm getting my way through it. I am. So that's what that's, what's new for me. Definitely.
Anne: Things are changing all the time. Right? I remember the last time that we spoke, I had to look this up, 'cause I felt like it was forever ago. It was July of 2021, right? Smack dab in the middle of that pandemic. Well, we were thinking it was the end, right? or the end of the pandemic. We were hoping. Remember when it was supposed to be like a month or two and we'd be okay?
Leah: Remember when there wasn't one? Do remember when there was absolutely nothing to worry about? I liked that time.
Anne: Exactly. Gosh. Well, you know, we had a big conversation in that episode about having a plan B, because things change and evolve. And I think, gosh, we had a discussion about AI and synthetic voices and how do we evolve and keep afloat during tough times or even just evolving times with the voiceover industry, 'cause it changes so rapidly. So I, I thought we should have a talk about that.
Leah: Yeah. About the future and how to cope with it.
Nic: Well, actually I'm speaking to you with my AI. This isn't real Nic, this is AI Nic . So that's how my life has evolved.
Leah: Oh Nic, do your AI voice. Do it, do it, do it. It's amazing. And get ready.
Anne: I'm ready. I'm ready.
Nic: I don't know why, but I'm very good at doing an AI voice.
Leah: Yay! Oh it's so --
Anne: That's fantastic.
Nic: Really bad AI voice, a really bad one. Yeah. I'm working loads in that one; that one's really busy.
Leah:
Anne: Well, I remember we had talked about one of the things that we were doing having maybe not necessarily plan B, but just yeah. Plan B for when you evolved to expand your genres or expand your acting. Right? Expand your performance, which I think is always important. And I think acting is a great part of that, in terms of always evolving and creating new voices that are something that people want to hire.
Leah: Yes, exactly, exactly. And I think you're right about planning and trying to be prepared for whatever may come. We've got a lot of things to say about planning at the moment. We've got like both of our heads absolutely stuffed with planning and goal setting and how to achieve your goals and all steps. Oh God. The lot of it. Yes.
Anne: I'll tell you what. I have my personal experience, and I've actually spoken about this as well. First of all, I have to write things down. I have a notepad, old school or not -- actually I love my notepad because I can actually write things down, and when I finish them, I can cross them out. And that is so satisfying.
Leah: That is nice.
Nic: Satisfying.
Anne: So satisfying. So I have that on a daily to do, but I also have spoken about the importance of goal setting. And I will tell you in my experience, when you set goals and you write them down, it really helps to make them happen. What are your experiences?
Leah: So my experiences of making things happen, I'm a list person. I work out what I want, and then I work out to all the things I need to do in order to make it happen. And then I work out when I'm going to do those things. And then I break it down into whether I'm going to do them that month or that week or that day or in the morning of that day or the evening. And I break it all down so that I can't fail or does I feel like I can't fail. 'Cause I'm on a path then. I'm never in a situation where I have nothing to do to achieve my goal.
So for example, with the acting and the playwriting, I want to be working in more audio drama. So in order for that to happen, I need to get audio drama produces to see that I'm a great actor. In order for that to happen, I need to be in more theater. In order for that to happen, I need an acting agent. In order for that to happen, I need to be on stage in the first place. In order for that to happen I need to write my own show. And so --
Anne: Well, and you also need acting, right? Maybe you want acting classes too, right? So you're working on all aspects of it.
Leah: Exactly, exactly.
Anne: That's like you just took what you wanted and worked backwards.
Leah: That's exactly, exactly it. That's exactly it. Well, what we've done is we've reversed engineered.
Anne: Oh that's it, that's it, reverse engineered, that's it.
Leah: Yes. Yeah. So we've created this book, a tangible, hold it in your hand, change your life with one item book that allows people to do this exact thing, to work out what they want, work out how to get there, and then actually make it happen. So it's called the Voiceover Career Planner. We actually launched it last year.
Anne: Awesome.
Leah: We printed 100 copies, and we sold that right away; within less than a month, they were gone. And then what we did was we got all of those people who bought the planner to send us feedback. We squeezed as much information out of them as we possibly, possibly could. And then we poured all of that information into the second generation planner that is out September 2022, which I believe is when this episode is coming out. So we've got a lot of real life user experience.
Nic: Yeah. Social proof, I think they call it --
Leah: Social proof.
Nic: -- in the business.
Leah: Social proof. Exactly.
Anne: So let me ask you what makes it different than my list, my to-do list?
Nic: What makes it different to a list? I don't wanna comment on the aesthetic of your list, Anne, to start with, but it's incredibly fit. It's dead fit and attractive as a planner, it's really glam. It's got gold on it and stuff, but joking aside.
Anne: Well, there's something to be said for that. I mean, aesthetics.
Nic: This is it. Hopefully enough. One of the things that came up, I was doing a session in my vocal empowerment program, which is an online voice technique training course that I run. And I bring in this guest expert to talk about habit creation, because the whole point of the program is to give people the vocal skills to want to do their warmup every day and feel like they can do and fit it in their routine. And she talks a lot about like one of the things that you need in order to build a habit, IE, make sure you do things to get towards your goals, is to make it attractive. Like make it seem like a nice thing.
Anne: Yes, I agree.
Nic: So this is why people love vision boards and they love, you know, putting things on like nice post-its that are pretty and stuff. 'Cause if you -- it's, like you say, the version of attractive for you with your list is, it's attractive for you 'cause you write it down, you get to put a gorging line through it, which is really, really sort of satisfying. And I think with the planner, what's nice about it is a you think, A, look at me, I've bought this. Aren't I dead good? I've got this and I'm committed. I'm gonna use it every day. Look at me with my planner. I'm so professional.
Anne: Look at me with my planner.
Nic: And it's so pretty. Yeah. And then you open it up, and it's got all this amazing information at the start, which has loads of different insights into even stuff like studio troubleshooting, website and SEO, vocal warmups, habit creation.
Anne: So it's a daily planner?
Nic: Yeah. And then it's got like a page a day.
Anne: Okay.
Nic: Oh no, the new one's --
Leah: So we've changed it slightly from the feedback from users. We realized that we could improve the usability even further and create a bit more room to write essentially by making the planner itself a little bit bigger. And so it's now somewhere between A5 and A4 size, if that means anything to you.
Anne: Yes, it does, actually.
Nic: Planner size. I dunno if you're into planners. I've gone about 49.
Anne: Well, I used to scrapbook, so I understand page sizes, and I did a lot of printing. So I understand page sizes for sure.
Nic: This is what mine sounds like. I've got it. Here, look.
Leah: Oh nice.
Anne: Oh!
Leah: But this is -- so the way it's structured --
Anne: ASMR. Wait. Planner, ASMR.
Leah: Oh yeah.
Anne: Go ahead. Do that again. Ready?
Leah: Oh.
Anne: Oh.
Leah: Lovely.
Anne: That is satisfying. Well, let me ask you a question though, because first of all, I like places to write, that's for sure. And the cool thing is, is that I think if I'm trying to write down, it's not just a list of to-dos. There's other things.
Leah: No, no, no.
Anne: We talked about goals.
Leah: Let me take you through it.
Anne: Yes. Take me through it.
Leah: So the first thing that happens is it guides you through setting goals, helping you work out what your goals are, whether they are achievable, and how they can be achievable, and then the different actions that you're going need in order to be able to get you there. So there's loads of like supports and structure in terms of that, several pages of that. Then once you've worked out what your goals are going to be, the majority of the planner is taken up with 52 weeks. So it's not dated. So you can start it at any point in the year. It's a 52 week planner. So at the beginning of every week, there's a plan out your week page with a special section for planning your social media content for the week as well. And then after that you have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday has half a space each because we're trying to encourage people to also take some time off.
And then you set at the top of the page, what you want to achieve during the day. And then you can work out if you want to, what time during the day you want to achieve those things. And once you've got it all written down, then that is such an encouragement to actually go through it like you say, and draw a line through it. But it's not just the sort of overwhelming blank space that you would get if you just had a notebook. It's structured for you. It feels, I think, more comfortable to walk into it, to use a book like that, to use a page like that because it feels supportive. It's saying, okay, here are the things. Here is a space in which you can achieve something. And here is a way that you can do it. Why don't you just pop the details in here? And then it makes it happen.
The other thing that we've got then is we've got reviews throughout the year. So like you say, the world changes, things change, you change, your circumstances change. And so every quarter, there's then an opportunity to review how your goals are going so far and whether you want to add in some more, whether you want to adjust the ones that you've got, whether you wanna change deadlines, what you might need to do in order to achieve those things. Again, you can assess that again. So it keeps you going all the way through the year, checking in with you. The other nice thing that happens is at the beginning of every week, we've got 52, and you know about this already, Anne, but 52 experts to give us their top tip. We've asked 52 people at the top of their game, across the audio industry, what is the one thing that you need voiceovers to know that will really benefit them, that you are the perfect person to advise on? And uh, so Anne, as you know, you are one of my 52 experts.
Anne: Wow!
Leah: Because we've put you --
Anne: So honored.
Leah: Do you want to know where we've put you?
Anne: So honored. Where?
Leah: We've put you on the final week. So we are building up all year.
Nic: You're the headliner, Anne. You're the headliner.
Anne: Save the best -- no, I can't say that. No. Thank you. I'm so honored actually.
Leah: You very, very welcome.
Anne: Thank you very much. Wow. Yeah. So it sounds like what you're describing to me -- because I have done research on planners. I'm always looking for the perfect planner. Like there are different planners and they have different things. And I think first of all, one customized for voiceover, our industry, number one, is brilliant because I want quotes that relate, that relate to me. And I think that if there's information and quotes and goal setting that can particularly relate to our industry, first of all, that's super helpful. And I had decided back in the day, and there's people that go back and forth about which planner's best -- well, I settled on a Panda planner. But it sounds to me like you've got all the functionality of all these really great planners that are best sellers in this VO planner.
Leah: Well, what we've done is Nic's been using them for years and having the same experience as you.
Nic: Let me tell you, I love a plan. I love a list. I love writing stuff in a place, and I have been searching for the right planner. I've tried lots of planners.-
Anne: Right. For years, right?
Nic: For ages. Yeah. So I've got like, well, I won't name all of, but I've got loads of different ones, loads of different sizes and different vibes. And most of them are quote, unquote business planners, which is fine, but there's something really special about having something that you open that you can completely relate to. And instead of seeing some, to be honest, like generic NAF quote about like agree, living the dream or the sun rising over the money pot, whatever the hell it is, in manifesting this nonsense into your life, opening it and seeing a really useful quote about a voice type thing or a studio thing or an agent thing is so much more comforting, I think, and inspiring.
Anne: Right. And it gives you ideas for your goals, I think.
Nic: Yeah.
Leah: Exactly. Yeah.
Anne: Because I think that there's a lot of people, they may or may not think so deeply into their goals, but I think one thing that helps me when I'm goal setting is to break them down into realistic goals. And I think most people, when they say, okay, I'm gonna plan or they try to do something in the new year, they'll be like, okay, I wanna make six figures in voiceover, and I wanna get an animation job with Disney or something like that. So they're picking these lofty goals, and I don't think a lot of people really take the time to kind of break that down and reverse engineer it like we were talking about earlier to find out, okay, what is it actually going to take to get to that step? And I think something that can help you or encourage you or give you this space to break that down will make it easier.
Because I'd love to have like a great coach every day saying, okay, what is your business plan for today? How are you gonna grow your business? And it's one of these things that we all have to do kind of on our own. We can get business advice. We can have maybe a coach that does that, but a planner that can help you on a day-to-day basis to do that, I think is really fantastic. And I'm not trying to take away from business coaching at all, but I think it can be a really great supplement, so that whatever you are thinking in terms of goal setting, this can help you break it down into easier, more manageable steps and give you inspiration along the way.
Leah: It's like you've read our website. That was brilliant. .
Nic: That's exactly it.
Anne: Wow!
Nic: Okay. Bye.
Leah: Thank you! See you later!
Anne: It's so funny because it's exactly my experience. I mean, I've been in the business for a long time. I know you ladies have also been in the business a long time. And I think it's something that we ultimately arrive at. This is what we need to do in order to really grow our businesses. I mean, I know for myself, I'm still going through evolution of growing my business. I don't wanna stay stagnant. First of all, we're creatives. Right? That becomes boring to me. And so I'm always trying to look for new things, new ways to grow my business and especially adapt to the way that the industry is evolving today. I mean, we've got more competition than ever --
Leah: Yeah, of course.
Anne: -- in this industry. And I think the people who are smart and can plan ahead, and women of a certain age myself, I'm talking, I'm looking towards retirement. I wanna be able to --
Leah: Oh, stop it. Or unless you're, you're saying that you want to retire extremely early. 'Cause you're doing so well.
Anne: That would be nice.
Leah: Fine. Okay, good.
Anne: But no, I'm at that point where now that this is a full time gig for me, right? I mean I used to work back in the corporate world day to day, and people took care of my health insurance and my, I got paid no matter what, you know, every so often. Now having my own business for this amount of time, I'm still looking to the future, and I don't wanna have to worry when I retire. So I'm constantly planning my business, how I can maintain and/or improve and grow it so that I can put enough money aside for that day when I retire and I just have a ton of fun traveling the world. That's what I want to do.
Leah: That is a great goal. Where are you gonna go first when you've got all the time?
Anne: Probably Italy first, but I do love the UK. I have to say, I have said this since I visited the last couple of times, I have said over and over again. I really, really love, I really love it there.
Leah: Oh great!
Anne: Yeah. I would love to spend some time and maybe spend part of the year in Europe, Italy, the UK, and then maybe come back to California. That's my goals.
Leah: What a lovely dream, I love it.
Anne: My financial goals -- right? And I need to be able to set those plans in place and I love to write things down. That's the other good thing.
Leah: That's it?
Anne: I really believe -- and I'm telling you, it's funny because I never really believed. I'm like, oh, that's kind of like that fluffy stuff, set your goals, write it down. And honestly you just have to do it once. And then you realize that, wow, you kind of manifest it when you write that down and you break it down. Right?
Leah: It's so funny you should talk about that because one of the things that we did over the last six months or so is choose a voiceover who in no way used a planner to follow while he used a planner to see how it adjusted his outlook or changed any of his outcomes.
Nic: Our planner; he used our planner.
Leah: Yes, yes. Specifically our first generation planner. Yes. Um, so we got a guy called Joe Troy, who is a UK voiceover. And the only way that he planned at all before he met us and our planner was by writing down what he wanted on a piece of paper, and then like, squirreling it away somewhere. And then looking at it again at the end of the year, see how --
Anne: Right, right.
Leah: That was it. And that is one way of doing things, sort of magical thinking kind of thing. And uh, and he was doing all right, like he was winning awards already. So he was doing pretty well for himself, but then he started using the voiceover career planner. And every month when we put out a new episode, we'd check in with Joe, we had a little jingle. Could you sing the jingle?
Anne: Oh my God, that's --
Nic: Joe Joe, Joe, Joe Joe Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe the VO.
Anne: .
Leah: Yay! That was great. I, I was gonna try and sing it with you, but then I realized the delay would make it awful for everyone. But yeah. So that was the jingle. . And so we'd catch up with him, and he would talk about a different element of the planet that he was using and how that was affecting things. Ad it was brilliant because it was making such a difference to how like aware he was sure of what he was doing in order to make himself get to where he wanted to be.
Nic: And that was accountability as well, wasn't it?
Leah: He was already doing well, but yeah. Yes, that's exactly it. Yeah.
Anne: I think the part of it is not just writing it down, but then also looking at it, and it serves, I think, as a reminder, on a day to day basis. Or, you know, you've gotta look at your goals, I think, more than once a year, because it helps you to cement that goal in your head, in your brain, in your mentality, in your flow to really, I think, move forward. So I wanna know, if there is space for me to write down my accomplishments or things I'm proud of.
Leah: Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes. So we have a wonderful feature, which was actually, um, thought up by somebody in our focus group originally called Brendan -- shout out to Brendan, 'cause this is my favorite element of the planner. At the end of every week, there is a prompt to tell you to go to the back of the book and write down the one big thing that you achieved that week that you're most proud of on one page. And at the end of the year, you then have 52 things that you've achieved that year that you can be proud of staring at you in the face, congratulating you in one big, massive page of text. And I think that is such a wonderful thing.
Anne: Oh, so important. Yes.
Leah: 'Cause otherwise you can so easily forget.
Nic: There's also a job tally chart, which I quite like. So every time you do a job, it's on a monthly basis. So you can like put a little tally in when you've done a job and then you can write down how much you've earned that monthly bottom corner. So there's light financials, nothing too intense for the financials.
Leah: But it's good for an overview, isn't it?
Nic: Just encouraging you to go, but how much have I earned, yeah, to keep a track on things 'cause that helps you forecast for the next year.
Leah: Exactly.
Anne: Well, in addition to that, I'm -- the financial yes, absolutely. But the accomplishments I think are so overlooked. When you look at what you've accomplished, it really -- first of all, not only does it make you feel amazing, right? Because you see everything you accomplished that you might have forgotten about, and you, and you might be down on yourself and saying, well, I don't feel like I've progressed at all or have I done any better this year than last year or even this month versus last month? But when you can look and see all that you've accomplished, it also sets the foundation for moving forward and progressing and growing. So I absolutely think that's one of the most important things you can do is not only to write down what your goals are, but write those accomplishments and celebrate them. No matter how big or small they are, they don't have to be huge accomplishments.
Leah: You've really gotta feel like it's worthwhile, haven't you? So there's a couple of things. One of them is yes, you can see what you've done, but also like you were saying earlier about being able to see your goals, not just pinning it somewhere and forgetting about it. But also being able to look at your goal and remember that that's what you're doing it for because I think that as creatives, we can sometimes feel a bit like -- and what I'm about to say is not true for everyone, but it can sometimes be true for me, is that I want to be in the studio recording. Right?
And I think that's what the goal for most of us is wanna be in the studio recording, but a lot of the work that we have to do in order to be able to get there -- so all the entrepreneurial stuff, all the SEO and the marketing and the business management, all of that is essential in order to get us there. But it can feel like such a drag for me sometimes. But then when you've got your goal right there in front of you, and you know that every single thing that you do is working you towards that end game, that thing that you want more than anything, that creativity, that purpose, then it makes it feel much more worthwhile, and it can make you feel less alone and less bored. Also. I think
Anne: Of course that whole less alone too, because again, we are entrepreneurs; we're kind of our own businesses. Right? And I think there's a lot of, we seek support in others, in groups. But I think also to not feel so alone in terms of how your business is growing and being able to share that with others, let's say if you have a mastermind group or something like that. I think that's also really important to be able to have that in order to grow that business. And I know there's so many, so many of my students have been really frustrated lately in terms of like, but how do I get the work? I feel like I'm going nowhere. What can I do? And I'm always trying to think like most of the times my answer is, it's a marathon, not a sprint. And I think if you have something that you can just record and document your achievements, you know, your goals, what's happening on a day to day basis, and just go back and review it, that's an important thing too, is really helpful in helping you feel like, okay, I've got something solid here that is growing, is advancing even though I don't think it is. And I think your mental state about your business really has an effect on your performance as well.
Nic: And I think it's about like keeping yourself accountable as well. It's very easy to sort of like you say, things change a lot and you know, you might think in your head, oh yeah. I'd quite like to do something in animation this year. But you know, two, three months in or first quarter in, you suddenly realize you've forgotten about that because you've been so busy with the usual corporate stuff you do, and you've not made any steps towards that, but if you've written it down, and you keep going back to it and going, oh yeah, I did say I was gonna do that. What steps do I need to get there? What could I feasibly do today to help me get a wee bit further? So for me, like accountability is one of the most powerful things in business. It's having someone or something to remind you of what you should be doing or checking in on you a little bit, you know, and that's almost like what the planner does 'cause you open it and you see you see your goals and it's like, have you done this though? So I think that's really useful. I mean, it doesn't talk to you. It's just a book. So don't don't think it's --
Leah: Oh, there is a little bit of that.
Nic: -- cards that you open with my AI voice.
Anne: Well, wouldn't that be cool?
Leah: Well, we've extended beyond just paper though. 'Cause obviously we're not at app stage yet if we ever will be, but we have got a lovely little QR code at the back of the book, which is sort of an exclusive thing for planner users. So if you scan that QR code, it then takes you to a secret page on the website, which is absolutely full of additional use for content links, to some of the things I mentioned in the planner. There's going to be one of the new things with the second generation planner is. And actually I think you're the first person we're telling about this at this moment.
Anne: That's fantastic. I love it.
Nic: It's exclusive.
Anne: It's not just the planner, but it's a website full of resources. Wow.
Leah: Well, the QR code and the website full of resources was there since the first generation. But the new thing that no one else has heard about is the new way of presenting warmups that we put in this second generation. So what we wanted to do was create a resource for people so they would, they would know what warmup routine to use depending on what job or what type of job they were about to go into or what sort of session they were about to go into. And so Nic has worked very, very hard and developed these extraordinary four different routines that kind of -- between all four of them they cover almost every eventuality you can imagine. So it was not just about if it is a corporate job, if it is a five minute job, like it's everything that you can possibly think of.
Anne: Wow.
Leah: So when you scan the QR code at the back of the planner, so not only do you have the list of the different warmup exercises, but you also, when you scan the QR code at the back of the planner, it takes you to Nic guiding those warmups.
Nic: Hiya.
Anne: I want it. I'm sold.
Leah: Yep.
Anne: All right. So tell us then, because I'm so excited; I hope you're making more than 100 'cause I have a feeling.
Leah: We are this time. Yes.
Anne: It sounds amazing, number one. I want one of course. But how can BOSSes out there get ahold of this? Because it sounds amazing.
Leah: Right. So we are doing a very different and special thing for our international customers this year. Because last time round, it was very tricky to get planners out to people outside of the UK. It was a palaver, the delivery cost, the distance, that, oh my God. This time we're doing it completely differently. We're using global distributors and people can find out how to get their planner simply by going to thevosocial.com/shop. And they'll be directed then to where to go, if you're an international, IE, outside of the UK customer straightforward.
Anne: And when will this be available again?
Leah: 1st Of September.
Anne: 1st Of September. And I think we were talking about a special thing for the BOSSes.
Leah: Yes. Especially for VO BOSS listeners. All you have to do when you get to the point where you are buying your planner is type in the discount code section, BOSS10. And you will get your very own 10% off the planner. What a deal. What a lovely time.
Anne: Thank you. I love it.
Leah: You're really welcome.
Anne: BOSSes, you are getting in on this deal as early as we possibly can or we know about it. So I think we're gonna probably sell out. Better get there quick. So we don't sell out in 24 hours.
Leah: Yeah.
Anne: Okay, fantastic. So I am so excited about this planner, and I wish I had it now Now if BOSSes want to connect with you guys, how can they do that?
Leah: Well, first of all, we're going to be in New York next week. So if you are in New York, then immediately come and find us. We're gonna be speaking at VOcation, which is very, very exciting.
Nic: Yeah. But we'll also be eating all of the food in New York. so you could probably find us in any of the places that sell foods.
Leah: I'm going to make a duvet out of pizza slices.
Anne: Yes. Yes.
Leah: That'd be great.
Anne: I'm so glad that you can appreciate the pizza from New York. That is for sure.
Leah: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Nic: I don't get a giant pizza like in Friends, I'm, I'm not coming back ever again. I want a pizza with a diameter bigger than my entire arm span.
Anne: That's awesome.
Leah: But then if you are not in New York, if you are just outside of New York, you don't intend to come to New York, that's fine. It's okay. Each to their own. We're also available online for your every whim.
Nic: Where can people find you, Leah?
Leah: Yes. Okay. So @Leah_ETC. That's me. Yep.
Nic: For all your Leahs, etc.
Leah: Wherever you might go for that sort of thing.
Anne: For your every whim. And Nic.
Nic: I'm also in the internet when I'm not in New York eating a giant pizza. And you can find me at @NicRedVoice on the ol' Instagram, or you can just find everything about me in my other podcast, The Voice Coach podcast , at my website, which is www. -- that's three W's dot NicRedmanvoice.com.
Anne: Love it. Love it. Well, ladies, it was such a pleasure having you today. And I cannot wait for this planner. And BOSSes, go out, get yourself a planner today, as soon as you possibly can. Don't forget about our special deal. BOSSes, here is a chance for you to use your voice to make an immediate difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org to commit to this. Also a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like BOSSes like we have done today and find out more at ipdtl.com. Thanks so much, ladies. It's been a pleasure. BOSSes, have a great week. We'll see you next week. Bye!
Leah: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Prioritization is the most important skill for entrepreneurs. In this episode, Anne & Erikka go through the essential skills you need to balance multiple careers. Whether you are working from home or juggling a corporate and creative career, you can’t forget to take time for yourself. Breathe, and know that once you step in the booth, the time you spent recharging on a small break between meetings will pay off. Career balance includes finances, family, personal needs, passion and most importantly a long term vision of your career…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the balance series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited to bring back to the show as always the lovely and talented Erikka J. Hey Erikka.
Erikka: Hey Anne, how are you?
Anne: I'm doing good. It's been a busy week. How about yourself?
Erikka: Oh yeah, definitely been busy and prepping for another busy one. So, you know, as you know, I've got my corporate job, I've got my kids, my family, I'm pregnant and you know, I've got voiceover, which is like, you know --
Anne: Voiceover.
Erikka: -- all in its own, a big old thing. And we've got a holiday coming up soon here. So holidays, everybody likes to get their work in before everybody goes out. So, I got tons of meetings and stuff and projects at the job. I've got tons of sessions next week for voiceover, and I am just really finding ways to balance it all, 'cause it's a lot.
Anne: Look, I know that when I had a corporate job and I was doing voiceover part-time it was the hardest thing. As a matter of fact, whenever I talk to a student that comes to me, I'll just say it is very, very difficult to dedicate time to voiceover when you've got a full-time job and your career that you're already engaged in. And I look at you, and I'm like, my gosh, because you've got the family on top of that, and you're in It just the way I was. So I know how crazy it was for me. I'd love to talk about how you balance your careers and be so successful at all of them and your family.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I actually just a couple weeks ago or so talked to eVOcation about this, different strategies and things. One of the biggest ones, and something is kind of like a lesson for my corporate career, is prioritization because sort of accepting and knowing that you can't do it all -- and that's whether you have a job or not even just being in VO, probably not gonna be able to get to every single audition, especially if you wanna make sure you get the jobs done and all of your marketing work and all of that. So being able to prioritize appropriately and know like what's first to do.
Anne: All right. So when I know that and I know you've got a number of agents, and they're all vying for you, right? Especially when you're doing well. And I know you're on a really great success track, and I'm so happy. I know what it's like when I can't do an audition for my agent. Like, it's almost like, oh my God. Yeah. Oh no. You know, and I feel bad, I feel guilty. And sometimes they'll write me and say, where is it?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Anne: And so how do you deal with that? That's gotta be something.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Like how do you prioritize?
Erikka: That's a great point for me. Definitely the ones for my agent are number one. I very rarely, these days audition on Voice 123, where I am present. But I rarely am going on there to find jobs to audition for. It's more like if somebody DM's me either for a job or for an audition, or I get like one of those client invitations where they've specifically said, Erikka, we'd like for you to audition for this. And even those, they're last on my list. Agents, managers, theirs get number one. When I do have to kind of look at those and say, okay, I might need to prioritize, I got a ton of them today, I do wanna make sure that it's the right audition for me. And I'm trusting 9 times outta 10, the ones are sending me are great. But you know, if I'm really not sure, or if I'm not really filling the script, or they kind of like want it read three times and it's rather long, I might email and say, hey, I'm gonna pass on this one. And they usually understand because I don't do it often. So yeah. That's how I prioritize that.
Anne: Right. Well, I think you probably prioritize agents too. I mean, in my certain cases, I have agents that are more local to me in LA, and I have to prioritize those agents that are local and the ones that I'm booking with. There are some other agents that, how do I say it? They're not not important. It's just that I have agents that I kind of, I have to prioritize them, if they're more local to me and they expect that as well.
Erikka: Yeah. Absolutely. Your mother agency, they call it, you know, like that's --
Anne: Yeah, yes, exactly. Your mother agency. Yep. They do. They get dibs and they get priority. And so if there are five auditions that come out, and one of them is from the mothership, if I can only do one, that's the one that gets it.
Erikka: That's the one. Yep. And you can look at things like the job you want too like for the rate or like, you know, if it's like a category or a brand you've really been wanting to work for, like that can help you with those prioritizations decisions as well. But yeah, definitely take care of your mother agency.
Anne: Now you also go into work, right? You have to go into work or are you working from home?
Erikka: No. The only way I'm able to do this is because I'm full remote right now. And I have been for three years. Yeah.
Anne: Okay. That's great. That's great, 'cause I know some IT, you have to be there because you physically have to be present to take care of equipment or something like that, but you can do everything from home. That I think is one advantage of the pandemic for people that have been working full time, if you have been kind of re-homed to a home office, I think that that actually is a benefit for people who are looking to get into voiceover because you can sneak away to your studio to do a 5 or 10-minute audition. That was something I did not have the luxury of doing when I worked in IT, because I had to be on site on premise, even though a lot of my time I was doing remote work, but I also had to be there to physically turn machines on and off or, you know, install machines and that sort of thing. So I do think that that is one of the biggest advantages from the pandemic, if you are now able to work from home, having a voiceover career as well is a lot more accessible.
Erikka: Absolutely. And that was something that I brought up in my talk is that yes, I fully recognize that not everybody has my position, and I feel very blessed that I'm able to work 100% from home. And even now like my position, it's more like product management. So I'm in software. So thank goodness I don't have any hardware that I have to be physically present to manage. But now after the pandemic, there are an increasing amount of remote jobs. So it's not just necessarily me. It's like jobs that were not remote before, these companies are recognizing that they're able to retain their talent better if they're able to offer that sort of perk. And actually a lot of people are more productive when they do their corporate jobs from home in the corporate work. So yeah, it definitely allows me the flexibility to come in and outta the booth. Like my desk is over there, my booth is here, and I just back and forth between meetings and sessions and auditions. And it's crazy, but yeah.
Anne: But here's an important session though. How do you turn it off? Right? You're at your home. So where's the family part of that and that family balance come in? How do you work with that? Because that's gotta be tough.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a couple things. For one, in the beginning, I was very, very -- I'm already a workaholic, so...
Anne: Hah. My name is Anne Ganguzza, and I am a workaholic.
Erikka: Hi Anne. Welcome.
Anne: Yes. I'm right there with you.
Erikka: So I mean, they already knew that I was like that, but I was kind of in overdrive and my family was like, hey, you need to chill, Erikka. You know? So like I did have to find the places to set boundaries. Like I mentioned that I had a recurring great client that had booked me for a Sunday once, and I did it that one time, but I said for the future, I really don't do sessions on Sundays. And they were like, oh, okay. And it was great. So now I know that that day is like set aside for myself --
Anne: That's my day too.
Erikka: -- my family. Sundays, I generally don't do anything unless it's like huge. And I tell them, and I'm like, this is huge. And they're like, okay. They have to be on board too I think is the big thing. Like they understand this industry. They've seen how hard I work. They know it gives me flexibility with other things. I was able to pay off my debt because of voiceover, so that helps us all. So having them on board and setting boundaries so that you do have some special time with them is really important.
Anne: I agree. You know, the Sunday is my boundary. The workaholic in me is like six days a week. But, and you're right. Sometimes I work on Sunday, but only if I have to. And what's interesting is sometimes when my husband, if he has to travel for business, and he is gone over the weekend, on Sundays, I may work and not feel guilty. 'Cause if I end up having to work on a Sunday, I feel really bad, 'cause I'm like, I need to spend time with Jerry and the family and whatever else we're planning on doing, 'cause we need to make plans as well.
And I'm one of those people that I'm so planned ahead in my planner or in my calendar, if I don't block off on my calendar up to a year ahead, I will be scheduled with something. So again, busy is good, but sometimes busy isn't good. And so was there a time that you realized "I don't have the proper balance right now" and you need to reevaluate, and what was it that happened and how did you readjust?
Erikka: Oh yeah, this was probably about maybe -- even though we're still technically in the pandemic, but like midway, you know, when it was like, all right, we know that this is the way of life for now -- I had been just like throwing myself into so many workshops and a lot of 'em were LA based. So, you know, I'd be working all day, doing auditions, maybe cook dinner, and then, you know, in a workshop 'til one in the morning I was exhausted. I was drained. I was burnt out. I could tell, like I was less motivated to do auditions. You know, like I said, my boyfriend, my partner, he's just kind of like, you are doing too much you know?
So other people kind of calling me out, and that's when I was just like, all right, you know, these workshops are great, I'm enjoying learning, but you know, maybe I don't have to take every single one I see. Maybe I can just do a couple a month, you know? And so that was kind of the turning point for me. And also I had developed to a point that I didn't need to keep doing them as much. I almost got like addicted to workshops at one point, 'cause I just loved learning and, and developing, but I'm like also from an ROI perspective, am I spending too much money now on workshops and training where I'm already at this point? So that was another turning point to be able to say, all right, I need to spend more time on working and making the money and maybe --
Anne: To reinvest.
Erikka: -- go back some on the training. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Anne: I think that's a good point to talk about that point where you are evaluating the numbers. And I think it's important that when we get to the point in our career, you need to evaluate your numbers. I know a lot of people don't look at the numbers sometimes, and they're just like doing jobs, spending money, buying microphones, upping their home studio, but yet they haven't really looked at their numbers. And I think it's important that you look at your numbers. Where is your outgoing expenses and what's incoming and where do you need to make adjustments?
But I think having money to reinvest, I think you're probably at the point where you're being successful enough that you've forgotten to kind of figure out, oh, I need to pay the bills, or you've got that cushion, but you've also forgotten to look at your numbers to find out really what are you spending? And I think that's an important stop point in any career. You need to regularly evaluate the numbers, incoming and outgoing, so that you know when you can reinvest and when not to be. And in terms of like myself, I know myself, when I don't have the right balance -- and this is not balancing corporate career, but balancing my own career -- when I'm too busy, working too many hours, and I start to get like panicky, where I'm like, oh my God, I just don't have enough time to finish this and I've gotta finish this and I can't stop. And I will start to have like panic attacks. And that's when I know that the balance has got to come back because it's not healthy for me to be in that high. My blood pressure probably spikes.
Erikka: Yeah. Your body will tell you, for sure.
Anne: Yeah. And so do you have certain days that you set -- do you have time limits? Do you say I'm on the job from nine to five or I have an hour for lunch? I've got an hour to do auditions. How do you split your time?
Erikka: Yeah, so I think it does vary for me from day to day because sometimes it might make sense for me to do a session at 12, when I know that I'm not gonna have any meetings. There might be days where I have no meetings. So it's kind of more like, you know, I have a project to work on on my own time, and it's not necessarily that I have to be right sitting in front of my computer for eight hours. And I might be able to have some sessions during that day, that do build in some breaks. Like I make sure that like, if I have, you know, meetings from one to four, and you know, sessions at some point, like I will set a boundary and be like, I'm not available at this time because I know I just need to breathe. I need to get outside, get some air, eat, you know.
Anne: Yeah. I think mentally for me the performance, right? There's the business aspect, right, where I'm doing accounting, I'm sending emails, I'm responding to clients, and then there's in the booth. And I think so much of what's in the booth is mental. And that takes time. Like you forget to give yourself grace and time to prepare for that or build that into your calendar. That's where I find that I am lax sometimes, because I'll be so exhausted after I'm doing all the other stuff that I get in the booth here, and I'm like, oh God.
Erikka: Now I have to act.
Anne: And then what happens is I wanna get through the audition quick and I have to stop myself 'cause that does me no favors in my performance. How do you deal with that in the booth? How do you get back that peace? That, you know, restoration.
Erikka: Yeah. Just kind of reset, yeah.
Anne: How do you reset to have that balance?
Erikka: For me, getting fresh air is a huge one. Like I've been either sitting in meetings, or I've been in the booth, or I've been sitting at my desk doing invoicing and all the admin stuff that comes along with our business as well, right? And like, I'll be like, all right, I need to get up. My butt hurts. I need to stand up. That tells me I've been in the chair too long.
Anne: Yep.
Erikka: And you know, these days I, I have to get up pretty frequently to go pee. So that helps, but I really do like try to get fresh air and that's a good reset because it literally getting the oxygen to my brain is like telling my brain, you're okay. And there's an abundance of air to breathe. And like that is something that I have learned. It tells your whole body, relaxes. One thing I did mention to one person at eVOcation is that I learned in therapy, particularly for people with anxiety or they get really high stress or high strung, if you kind of take a second to pause and do like a body scan and check, 9 times outta 10, if your stressed, your tongue is like resting or pushed up against the roof of your mouth.
Anne: Oh really?
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: Ooh. I find it in my shoulders.
Erikka: Absolutely. Your shoulders get tensed up, but it's like, if you check and it's like, your tongue is like just resting up there, and it's like, if you just relax it and like drop it down to the --
Anne: Oh my goodness.
Erikka: -- bottom. Yeah. And --
Anne: To the bottom.
Erikka: -- drop it to the bottom and just kind of scan --
Anne: My tongue is at the bottom.
Erikka: -- your whole body, you can just feel everything just drop. And you're just like --
Anne: Oh, you're right.
Erikka: -- huh. I was stressed out.
Anne: Including my, including my posture though. But that's, that's good in way.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: You know?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. So that's a great one to reset too.
Anne: Wow.
Erikka: Definitely the air does it for me. I wanna go back to real quick to something that you said about the money too and the reinvesting. I think that as someone who has both incomes where I have the corporate and the voiceover, so I'm not necessarily paying bills out of my voiceover income right now. That's what the corporate job is doing. So it's really easy to overspend in reinvesting
Anne: Yes. Yes.
Erikka: You know, because everything is, is somewhat extra, right? Like it could be paying off debt or whatever, but you still wanna watch and make sure that you're getting an ROI from where you're spending your money in your business. And you're not just spending because you have it.
Anne: Right.
Erikka: I got into that, and that's how I have like a million microphones and headphones and I started looking at my numbers, and I was just like, all right. If I wanna build this to a point where it is gonna be my source of income, I've got to start making strategic decisions about where I'm making expenditures, just like businesses do, setting budgets for different categories so I can watch my spending, just make sure that's aligning with what I'm bringing in. So I wanna bring that up.
Anne: Mm. Yeah. It's easy for us to forget, to check those numbers. Even myself. This is what I do full time. I'm not even talking about balancing one career against another. I find myself that I'm not looking at the numbers enough, but what's really cool -- again, I say over and over and over again, the best investment I've ever made was my accountant. I have her on retainer. So she'll be doing monthly. She's the one that will alert me. "By the way you realize that you're spending so much per month on this subscription or your income that came in last month was little less than it was this time last year. So let's make some adjustments or whatnot," because she's also keeping track of my quarterly taxes that I have to pay. So that keeps me in check.
So if you do not have somebody watching over you, looking at your numbers and you're doing it yourself, remind yourself at least once a month, if not more than that, in reality, if you're active doing this full-time, you should really be looking at your numbers once a week, if not every day, seeing what's going on, what's in and what's out, and just taking a brief look so that you're aware.
Erikka: Yep. Yeah.
Anne: I think that's important.
Erikka: Yeah. I have a Google sheet, and I should be outsourcing to an accountant. I have somebody for taxes, but I'm just, I'll get there. It's taken me some time, but I'd have this Google sheet where I'm looking at my average income per job, also the median. So that way, if I get like a whopper, you know, when it's a five figure job, it's not throwing off my average. I can also see where I hit the median, 'cause that tells me when it's time to raise my session minimum.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: I'm looking at, like you said, year over year metrics. I'm looking at monthly, how much I brought in so that I can compare. I'm looking at quarterly averages of what I've brought in, and I have all that automated, the calculations are in the Google sheet. So I'm not having to calculate this every time. Every time I put in a booking, it's calculating that based on what's in the other sheet and, and showing me that number and I just look at 'em from time to time. Super helpful.
Anne: So let's talk about mental balance and joy, right? So a lot of people that are in their corporate jobs want to escape. Is that how it is with you? Are you at that point in your job where you're like, I gotta get out? 'Cause I was at that point where like, I am so stressed out, I need a change. I was becoming stagnant myself in my corporate job. And that is the worst thing for me, just knowing my personality. It is the worst thing for me to remain stagnant and not grow. So I was like, I need a way out. I need to get out. And that escape was moving to California and then going into voiceover full-time. What about you? Where's your mental state there?
Erikka: I think I'm okay right now, but I do think that, especially since I've got a whole new obligation coming along here, it's definitely on the long range plan to move out of corporate and to focus on -- I don't think I'll ever just do one thing, but kind of having voiceover and maybe something else that is my own personal endeavor. And I do think that you have to know what your plan is, like is this for short term or you're just trying to use this to build up some capital? Is it like a mid-range thing where you're building a career, and maybe you're gonna do voiceover after retirement or something like that? Or if you have a long range plan where you're like, I'm gonna have an exit strategy, I'm gonna build voiceover to a point where it can sustain my lifestyle and I'm comfortable, and then I can leave my job and that's more me.
So I know like on the long range sort of roadmap, I will eventually probably leave corporate and just do voiceover because it's growing to the point where I'm gonna have to at some point.
Anne: Right, right.
Erikka: And knowing things like that, you have to prepare, right? You have to have balance in your approach. You have to start looking at --
Anne: You have to plan.
Erikka: You have to plan. You reverse engineer how you're gonna get out. Don't just be like, I'm tired of my job. Bye, I'm gonna do voiceover, and wing it. You're gonna be miserable. And I don't wanna be a starving artist.
Anne: Honestly I'm so glad that you said that because I have so many people that are like, yeah, I'm not happy at my job. I'm gonna get outta my job and just quit and do voiceover full time. And I'm always like, okay, whoa. First of all, you wanna make sure you've got a plan because it takes a while to get established in voiceover, unless you're a prodigy, and there's very few of those out there and it's with any good business that you are growing as an entrepreneur -- they used to say five years. I'm like, make it closer to 10 years, you know what I mean, that it's gonna take for you to really see a good ROI. And maybe like, this will be your way of life. You can support yourself. I'm not gonna say it takes 10 years for everybody. But I had a certain standard way of life that I like to live. You need to make a certain amount of money to do that.
And so for me, that did not happen right away. It took me many years of growth. And thankfully I had a financial cushion, which was what I had put in place. And my husband also, who was working at a job. I was able to get healthcare benefits; so important healthcare, to have those benefits. And as a matter of fact, even now I'm always telling my husband, I don't care what you do. Just get me my health benefits. So I'll make money if you want, just get me health benefits, because that's a huge, huge part.
Erikka: Yeah. I'm glad you said that, 'cause it's not just about the dollars that you're bringing in. Yes, absolutely. The benefits that you lose after you leave corporate, whether that's health, dental, maybe vision insurance. You know, right now I'm carrying debt for our family 'cause my partner's also freelance.
Anne: Yep.
Erikka: So if you know that that's not gonna be an option for you, either planning for that expense, or getting enough union work where you can qualify for the union health insurance. And that's kind of where I'm at. Looking at now that you're not gonna have a 401k, what are you gonna do for retirement?
Anne: Right.
Erikka: Are you gonna open, you know, SEPs? Are you gonna look at, you know, individual IRAs? So kind of having that for yourself, just looking at all of what you're gonna lose and coming up with a contingency plan for that, for when you're on your own or just being willing to do without it. You have to consider more than just the dollars, the taxes -- the fact that now the income that you're gonna have from voiceover is not only gonna support your business and you're paying your own taxes, but you're gonna have to reinvest in your business as well. So you have to make enough to cover all of that.
Anne: And support the family.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Right? So whatever you have to do. And I remember those first years when I made that decision. Before I quit, and I say this all the time, I said to my husband, you're going to have to make one and a half times what you make now. See if you can get a transfer to California, but we're gonna have to make one and a half times, because I'm gonna quit my job, and I'm gonna go full time into voiceover. And you can't just can't depend on my salary after that happens.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: I had money put away in savings, but again, we're talking about a move across the country, that was expensive. Buying a new home, that was expensive. Even though we sold our home, we were buying a home that was brand new. So we did have to invest a little bit as well. And it just was something that we had to plan out. I said, make sure that you can guarantee this salary. And then, you know, it worked out and we moved. And then unfortunately my husband was laid off nine months after we got here. And then people said, when are you moving back? And I said, no, we're not moving back. So we made it work, but you still have to prepare for those unexpected things that happen.
And so an exit strategy is important. Make sure that you have some money put aside that can support you in the event that you need to live off it for a year, I would say. That is so important and know that it's going to take time to build up your career in voiceover. I mean, at least give it five years. If you're at the point where you're working full time, and you're doing part-time voiceover, and you're making a considerable amount in voiceover doing that, first of all, congratulations because I know how difficult it was for me when I was working full-time, but I had to be on site, right, at my job, it was very difficult for me to make any money at voiceover 'cause I couldn't audition easily 'cause I was away from my studio.
Now I think if you have the luxury of working from home, that's a whole lot easier. But still even if you can work from home, build in an evolution of here's transitioning from full-time to maybe consider your skillset and you can then be a part-time consultant in it while you're doing voiceover as well. And so therefore you are kind of compensating for the time it takes for you to build up the voiceover business while still utilizing your current skills in a consultant fashion, in a part-time fashion, that can supplement your living expenses and/or whatnot, your investment in your voiceover for the time being. I think that is something very important to put in place.
And do not obviously, anybody listening to this podcast, do not think that voiceover is the easy job that you can just do from home. That just scares me when I do consults, and I hear people, they're like, well, I got laid off for my job and I wanna do voiceover. And that just scares me because that it's not that simple obviously. That transition takes time. There has to be an investment, and it amazes me again how many people don't have money to invest in voiceover to make it a sustainable career.
Erikka: That's one thing too that I always kind of bring up, and it might be a little bit of an unpopular opinion, but I think that you should have a balanced approach when you're looking at exiting to not just have savings, but to also go ahead and build up a portfolio of credit that's available to you. Because this is a high investment industry, right? To be able to be in voiceover, you're constantly having to either spend money on equipment or you know, have subscriptions for connections or get training, you know, conferences, all these things, they do help you grow.
So it's not like a one-time outlet. You do need to have some money for when technology fails and you have to replace it. It's easier for you to get approved for credit while you have that W2 income. So you don't have to use it. But kinda have the lines of credit available so that if the sky falls down, and you don't have enough savings to take you through that whole period, you have another fallback plan. It's like, you know, have your plan ABCD .
Anne: That's a great idea.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: That's a great idea. And also I'd wanna mention on that line, consider if you're going to move low key into a new home. By the way, they don't look upon freelancers or people who are self employed very highly when you want to buy a new home for a mortgage loan. And I found that out very like firsthand when I moved here like two and a half years ago, and I've been established in the business. But I had to prove over and over and over again, here, I made this much this year, here are my bank records. Here, have it all. We can afford this. And it just was painful. It was painful. So if you need to make a move, make a move while you work at a job
Erikka: The banks highly favor W2 work.
Anne: They do, they do.
Erikka: Yeah. So take advantage of that and then make your exit.
Anne: Yeah. And then make your exit. That's actually a really good strategy plan. It's not that it can't be done because I did it. But you've got to basically hand over every piece of documentation that looks at your business and shows your income. And then you have to make sure that you can define where that income came from. You cannot just transfer $10,000 from PayPal into your bank account and say that it was for voiceover work. They're gonna wanna know really, where did that come from? And it's that type of a thing. Any large deposits into your bank account, you need to account for those. And if you say they're from your business, you gotta be ready to show the paperwork. That is just part of the reality. And especially now it's crazy out there in the housing market. It's expensive. So it's gonna make it that much harder even.
Erikka: Cars too, like the other major purchase, you know, buying a car. And that's why, even if you do have W2 income now go ahead and get in the habit of keeping meticulous records, not just for taxes, but so that when you're in this situation, and maybe you're a year into your only freelance career, you've left your job and they want two years of history, you're gonna have to be able to show everything that happened over the past year and voice over plus that W2, which is gonna be easy. But get in the habit now, so that when those come up, you're able to really just show it and yeah, you want this fine? Yep. I can show you, no problem. 'Cause they wanna make sure it's not coming from illicit sources, right?
Anne: Exactly. Exactly. Money laundering. That's it. I'm like, what look, what, where do they think it's coming from? Well, you could be laundering money. I'm like, oh, like that didn't even occur to me. Like, so I don't have a criminal mind there, but anyways, your last piece of advice for balancing everything so successfully the way that you do to the BOSSes out there; what would it be?
Erikka: Oh man. I would just have to say, it's probably multi-pronged, but know your plan. Know what it is that you're trying to do with voiceover. If it's just something that you wanna do on the side, that is okay. But you need to know that and not kind of purport like you're trying to build something long term. Or if you are trying to build long term, start making long term plans. Start making steps to get your financial house in order, to prepare your family for this change. Don't want an emotional whim because you're tired of it. Grin and bear it, you know, just mm-hmm and know what you're doing and why you're doing it and who you're doing it for.
And in the meantime, just set boundaries for yourself. Take care of yourself, know that you're not gonna be able to get into everything, but just know that you having both is also an asset. You're able to double dip for retirement, do a SEP and get your 401k. You're able to have another capital source to invest in your business. So just be patient with yourself. That was a lot of advice in one point.
Anne: That was great though. It was sage, sage advice. Thank you so much, Erikka. You are an inspiration, for sure.
Erikka: Thank you, Anne.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. All right. BOSSes. So as individuals, it can seem hard to make a big impact, but as a group, we can contribute to the growth of our communities in ways that we never thought possible. And you can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how you can make a difference. Also big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like BOSSes, like Erikka and I, and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Erikka: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
You deserve to take up space & feel valued for the work you are doing. In this episode, Anne & Erikka discuss how saying no to jobs builds your career as much as saying yes! There is morality involved with lending your voice to a person or company. In making these difficult choices, it is essential to keep your brand & personal integrity aligned with the jobs you take. Bosses, have the confidence to say no, and if you need a little boost, your favorite hosts are here to help.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and our balance series. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to start my day again with the lovely Erikka J. Hey Erikka.
Erikka: Hey, Anne.
Anne: How are you?
Erikka: How are you? I'm pretty good.
Anne: I'm doing good. I'm doing good.
Erikka: Hangin' in there.
Anne: It's been a crazy year or a couple of years. Hasn't it?
Erikka: It has. Yeah, for sure.
Anne: And I have to say that I got a job offer the other day to do something for a political candidate. And it made me think, because my thoughts about voicing things for, let's say, political and/or let's say anything else that maybe I may, may not believe in have changed and have evolved over my career here. And I thought it might be an interesting conversation to have with you. Maybe our moral compass, so to speak.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. Balancing that and balancing your yeses maybe, you know what I mean? Like what you say yes to and your no, 'cause your nos can shape your career just as much as what you do decide to voice.
Anne: Oh, right there. That's a golden nugget. We can go home now because that says it all. Honestly, I think sometimes no is even more powerful than a yes and can really help define in so many ways. Well, just a little more on that job that I was talking about, you know, it was for a political spot, and I literally went so far as to look up the candidate because it wasn't evident by the content right away what was happening there.
I ultimately, I ultimately said no to it because it did not align with my beliefs and not just the copy, but because I said it was hard to tell with the copy because it was a candidate that wasn't as well known. And so I just said no, and I'm thinking about myself, maybe, I don't know, five years ago, or even later than that. I might have said, you know what? It's, it's a gig. It's a political gig. Let's do it. Let's get on board. What about you? I know you do a lot of political work, and it may not just be political work, but --
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I do a lot of political, and in the very beginning of my career, like literally, like I had been probably doing voiceover for like a month, and I did have a quasi-political sort of thing come to me. But now kind of looking back on it and it was weird because when I did it, I was like, well, you know, I'm just starting and oh my gosh, they booked me and they want me and I can do it, you know? And it's like, yeah, it's kind of borderline, but I'll just do it.
And I've regretted it ever since. And it probably lived for like two weeks. It was something that was very short term, but it was supporting a candidate that I was not in support of somewhat. Like I said, a roundabout, like, I didn't say their, their name. But it was just that I learned that not all work is good work if it's going to misalign with your gut and how you feel and your own beliefs. And if from a more business standpoint, misalign with your brand. You don't want to jeopardize the trust that you've built with your clients that do align with your values and your brand. And then they're like, well, why is she voicing this? So I stopped doing that.
Anne: Yeah. And I find that now, especially now, 'cause it's such a divisive climate these days politically that I think it's just shaping my business in a way that I didn't anticipate, number one. Not that I do a ton of political. I mean I do enough political to know now I'm absolutely like checking on the candidates, finding, going to their webpage and finding out if their beliefs align with mine, because I'm just not willing to have my voice recognized, and then another client, like you were mentioning, a longstanding client, maybe, I don't know, not align with that and then maybe have issues with me voicing for them in the future.
But it's not even so much about that. It's become now about my performance too. I wanna make sure -- it's hard to create a believable performance when you don't align with the client that you are voicing for. And it doesn't have to be political. I think it could be anything. You know, now we've got, one of our next episodes probably gonna be all about AI, but with AI jobs, right? Are they gonna recognize my voice and then will there be, I don't know, judgment in one way or another, because that's also something that people have very strong feelings about.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. Like you said, definitely not just political. Yeah. Just kind of, it definitely comes out in your performance. Like, yes, we can take on feelings and emotions and words that are not our own. I truly believe that when you're not enjoying the performance, when you really are not totally invested in it, it's gonna come through somehow, some way. And you know, the client may say there's something about it or it might just be a difficult session when they're really trying to pry it out of you. It's gonna come out in the wash and when it's not real. So yeah. I just prefer to say no.
And I find that when I say no, the right things come along to replace it. So it's kind of having that, that kind of mindset, not having the scarcity mindset of, oh, I have to take the job 'cause it came. You know, having a more abundant mindset of I'll release this thing that isn't for me. So I can go to the right person and the right thing will come to me. So.
Anne: Exactly. And you know, that applies in so many things if I can, the power of no. And especially when you're negotiating also, I think that, that makes a huge difference in terms of, I don't have to take this. If you have that thought process of, you know what, I don't have to take this job. And I have the confidence that if I say no to this job, that it will give me room for the next job to come along and fulfill my need for, I don't know, money to support my, whatever to support me in this career. So the power to say no is huge.
And when you are negotiating that confidence that you have the power to say no, and that you are okay knowing that if you say no, everything's gonna be okay, and that something else will come along and fill its place. That is huge. And I think that a lot of people, when they first start out in the industry, it's a scary thing to negotiate a job. Because they're afraid that they're gonna lose the job if they quote too high. And so therefore they settle.
I think you only have to have a few negative experiences when you settle, and then you get that client that doesn't align with what you want your business to be. And then they kind of nickel and dime you on every little thing that they want from you. And those are clients that when I get really, I only had a couple that really came back and nickel and dime me. And I was like, you know what? I did not quit my full-time cushy job to come to a job where I could be beat up by my client.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: This is why I got out of it. And so I wanna just tell any voice actor out there that is beginning, you do not need to suffer through a client that is abusing you, so to speak.
Erikka: Oh my goodness.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Yeah. Definitely talking about balancing yes and nos, that is such a great point on rates, because like you said, the ones that don't necessarily want to pay your price are the ones that are gonna have the most demands, want the most pickups or little changes or, well, could you, you know, say this one with a, like going up like they really like line reads you type things. And you know, things like that, but yeah. Not being afraid to fire clients. I think that that's so important.
Anne: When they don't value you.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: It's all about the value. Right? You've gotta understand that what you do is of value. And we say this over and over and over again, but it's so interesting how it always comes back into play in these, the power of no, the moral, ethical compass that you have in working. It's not just, oh, do you take a political side? It's a moral compass when working with a client who may not treat you as if your services are valued. And that I think is huge. And like I said, I did not give up my cushy job you know, and thankfully I had a cushy job. I say thankfully and gratefully, but I did not give it up to go into business for myself to be handled by my clients in a way that is not aligning with what I want my business to be and someone that doesn't value me.
And that is a huge, huge thing. And it's a huge thing when you talk about AI, right? And we think that the AI industry is out to get the voice talent and to take away their jobs and to devalue them. I personally, just through the VO BOSS podcast and all of my interviews, have been fighting to have AI companies value the artist and value the voice and value the asset of voice because they value other assets. Right? If you think about some of these big advertising companies, they value the product. Well, if the voice is representing the product, how can you not value that voice? How can you not treat that voice with the respect that you treat the product? Because it's a part of it.
Erikka: Yeah. You're bringing a branding element that nobody else can bring. You have something, this voice, this tone, this way of delivery that they have chosen to represent their brand. That's the value and, and should be given the proper respect for that. And even to your prior point, I do still have my nice job But I think the thing is like, even at work, not to take it too far off topic, but just valuing yourself and whatever value you are bringing to the table in any business transaction, really in any transaction at all, any relationship. And if you command that respect for yourself and knowing that when you set those boundaries and say, you know, Nope, that's not for me or I'm not gonna allow you to treat me that way, you make space for the right things to come. So that comes with rates. That comes with the way clients treat you, that comes with the way your boss treat you. If you have a job and they're not treating you right, find something else.
Anne: Absolutely. I love that you brought that up, especially in the corporate environment, because I know a lot of reason why people may be getting into the voiceover industry, right, is to escape the job where they don't feel valued. You know, I worked in the corporate world. Corporate is one of my specialty genres in coaching and in what I do in voiceover. And I always felt that corporate became the way that I was winning 'cause I would do corporate voiceover. And I thought, here's the way that I don't have to go in and be mistreated in a board meeting, right, by members of the company or, you know, not valued. Here, I can do the job, don't have to go to any meetings -- well, maybe a meeting with a person that's paying me, but basically I'm in, I'm out, and I got paid.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: And so therefore I win. I win at corporate. But I do happen to love corporate and I understand the corporate way. And in reality, as voice artists, we are hired pretty much by companies, whether they are companies that have a product or broadcasting companies, they're still companies. And again, you want to be valued by that company that you work for. And it's just something that resonates, whether you are in a company wanting to get out to form your own company, right, that you need to be valued. You need to be valued and you have the space to morally and ethically say no to create a good balance in your life for not just getting paid, what you're worth, but just having joy in what you're doing.
Erikka: And you have to remember that like these businesses, they're not saying yes to every single partnership or every contract, and you as a voice talent -- I know that it's easy for creators and artists to kind of see us, ourselves as beneath or as you know, well, we're so grateful to get a job, but we are B to B businesses. So when we are working or deciding to choose to work with another company, that is a partnership. And you have to decide if that partnership is right for you, just like the big corporations do. You're no different.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. That's such a great point. Wow. So do you have any examples of jobs that you've said no to yourself?
Erikka: Oh boy. I know. I do. Let's see. I've definitely said no for rates. And the couple times where I might have bent, I regretted it.
Anne: Because then they would come back and want every little pickup.
Erikka: Either they wanted more or it was just like, when I did it, it wasn't as fulfilling. And I was just kind of like dreading it. And then I send the invoice and I'm like, I can't believe I put myself through that for this. You know what I mean? So I kinda stopped bending. The times that I do kind of bend more on rates are like, if it's something I really wanna do. And I really believe in like PSAs or for non-profits and stuff like that. But yeah, I have, more times than I can count, you know, just said, hey, this is my rate. This is what it is. And if they say, you know, it's not gonna work for us. Great.
Definitely say no a lot for usage, and that's something, you know, I'm open about the fact that I do participate on P2Ps. Just really Voice123 right now. But I'm very careful to make sure that anything that says in perpetuity, these contracts or these blatant boiler plate, things that they send out, I gotta make sure that I'm protected, that they're not gonna use it for broadcast use or try to use it in perpetuity without it being totally kind of safe from creating conflicts in the future. And I'll say no very quickly for those.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I wanna point out that a lot of times there's a panic, right, if I say, no, I won't get hired again. And I just wanna say like in life right, think about the products that you buy. You can choose to buy a product that's maybe cheaply made and that doesn't last as long, or it's not as good value, or you can buy the stuff that has served you well in the past, right? A trusted brand that lasts a long time or you can depend on it over and over again. And when it comes to that, you don't care what you pay for it for the most part. Right?
And I think that even though we think voiceover might be going down the tubes because online casting came and, and now AI is coming and, and people think, well, it's just be devalued, and so what's gonna happen? Well, I think it it's human nature that there's always gonna be the division of, okay, so there's good value. Or maybe there's not so good value. And I don't think that's going to change whether pay to plays are in the picture or AI is in the picture, because people are always gonna want to buy the thing that gives them the best value. And that does not always equate to money.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: You'll always have buyers for the Dollar Store sort of, you know, genre. You'll always have buyers that are more in like the Target sort of realm and then you'll have your Neiman Marcus folks. Like it's always --
Anne: Right.
Erikka: There are people that are, that are price driven and those that are quality driven, and there's just different types of buyers. And it's just which one do you align with.
Anne: Right.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: And those buyers can change at any given moment. There may be times when I feel like I don't need top of the line, I don't know -- I always go to the girl thing -- I don't need top of the line lipstick now, but but I always need a good hairdresser.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Do you know what I mean? Like, I feel like I wanna be that voice of our artist where people say, well, all right, I can forego maybe this part of the project, but I cannot live without Anne Ganguzza for my voice.
Erikka: There you go.
Anne: But that's what you wanna try to manifest for your business. Right? They say, Erikka J, man, she is like no other. She delivers. I love her voice. I can't live without her. And that's the type of client that you want. And there's a lot of clients out there, guys. I don't think we need to be worried that you're not gonna be able to get a client that will support that value and support your business. And I think you just have to believe, and I know a lot of times it takes -- it took me years to kind of get that belief and that confidence. And it's funny because it's still evolving, and I've been in this for over 15 years now.
Erikka: Yeah. It's like a muscle. You have to keep stretching it. Yeah.
Anne: It is like a muscle. It keeps growing, and you just like every day you realize, wow, you know what? I'm gonna be okay. People are going to want to hire me, right, because I deliver value. And then even if there are other things like pay-to-plays have become, it's tough. It's a lot of competition. Well, maybe that's something that you evolve out of and you do something different. And again, you always have to have that balance of this is aligning with my business, morally, ethically. And what's my other word? Does it bring me joy?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: There is that balance that makes my business go around kind of thing. And makes me happy that I do what I do. And when it no longer makes me happy or no longer fulfills my quota of, I need to support myself, right? Well then maybe I evolve into something else and what's given me the strength to be okay with that is the fact that I have built my business up. And that I have succeeded. I always say this. If the voiceover industry were to fall out, I'd be okay. Because I have learned how to operate a business myself, and I know that I can evolve, and I will evolve because I've proven it to myself before. And I know that you BOSSes out there can do the same.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: I'm not anybody special. I think there's something to be said for longevity and in following your moral compass.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Right? And having that balance.
Erikka: Yeah. And I think part of balancing those yeses and nos, we talked about the moral compass. We talked about financially making sure the rates are right, the usage, making sure it brings you joy. I think another part of that is do you have the time? Because you don't wanna jeopardize your relationship with a client by you keep saying yes, yes, yes, yes. And you start falling behind on deadlines or you're not delivering the quality that sets up to par because the hours in the day are finite. Right? Your energy is, is finite per day. So sometimes you might have to say no, simply because you don't have the bandwidth, and you have to be okay with that because it'll be worse for you to deliver a subpar product.
Anne: Right. Right.
Erikka: Because you didn't have the bandwidth to really do it. Yeah.
Anne: And I think it works. I mean, if you want it to, I think it can work in your favor and especially, Erikka, for you, I think because you are juggling a full-time job, a voiceover career, I mean family, everything. And so the fact that you don't have the time makes it like a little easier to say no. And a lot of times when you say no, that makes people want you more.
Erikka: Yes, I totally agree.
Anne: Just sayin'. And that makes people value you more. And that actually can turn out to be a wonderful thing for your business.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Yeah. Or like, for me, like I say no to longer form projects, because I know it's gonna be harder for me to fit that in. So it makes room for me to get more of the short term stuff. And like you said, it does kind of be like, oh, well you didn't have time for this, but I'd love you to do this. You know, like, could you do this one?
Anne: Or even, I dunno, has it ever turned around, whether you've said, no, I, I don't have time for it. And they offer you more money?
Erikka: They offer me more money or they offer me more time. They're like, well, if we wait until next week, could you do it? And I'd be like, well, yeah, actually I could
Anne: Yeah, so in a sense, absolutely. I mean, it just works out, and I'm always saying being busy is a good thing as long as you're balanced and you're not going crazy. And like your health is at stake or something like that. But the being busy is good because then it's a great time, I always say, when you're that busy to raise your rates and see what happens and it's scary as hell, but when you raise your rates, and then you say, let me just see what happens, and people just, they take it. And you're like, damn. And it's so funny because to us, it's like this big, like, oh my God, I'm gonna raise my rates.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: And then the next thing you know, somebody's buying it and you're like, oh, well that was simple. Why didn't I do that before?
Erikka: I am so glad you said that, Anne, because again, the laws of business, which we have to remember as BOSSes, that we are not just talking into a microphone, we're not just artists. We are entrepreneurs. We are businesses. What businesses do, the law of supply and demand. If the demand goes up, guess what, the price has to go up, because there's not as much supply to fulfill that. So yeah.
Anne: That's right. It's a really wonderful thing. And I think there's too many people that let it get to them before they realize that, wow, this is how I can raise my -- this is how I can actually survive because there's not too many people that are just doing this as a hobby. I mean a lot of people, oh yeah. It's kind of fun. I'm dabbling in it.
But in reality, the ones of us who are concerned about how do I market, how do I get the jobs? We want this to be a living. We wanna be able to do this and be successful at it so that we can support our families or whatever it is that we wanna do with that. And I think when it gets to that point, you've gotta figure out how you're gonna make that business work for you. And there are some scary, scary challenges. I'm -- like I say this all the time, you have to be scared of something every day, honestly. And I think that really is good for you to be a little bit scared. And I'm still scared when I raise my rates, and then I'm still like, oh, damn, that was easy. Somebody picked up on that.
Erikka: Right. Right.
Anne: It's like -- now I think you just have to be careful that you're within a market.
Erikka: For sure.
Anne: You don't wanna price yourself out of the market. And that is something that you have to, you know, understand. And I think that's something that, again, there's a balance of worth plus the market, because you can be a little more expensive than what typically is on the market. And that's where I kind of like to -- I don't wanna say I'm expensive, but I like to say they are my values. This is my price because I honestly, I don't have time to not have it be my price.
Erikka: Amen. Yes, yes. And deliver the goods to match that price.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: You know, so that they are happy to pay that.
Anne: Well, exactly. Happy and glad to pay it over and over and over again. And I don't feel guilty.
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: Right? I don't ever feel guilty.
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: Right? I don't know. Have you ever felt guilty when charging a client?
Erikka: I, I might feel guilty when I first say it, but then like at the end of the job, I'm like, yeah, well that was worth that , you know, and they're happy.
Anne: Yeah, if you work hard.
Erikka: They didn't have to come back, you know, like they got what they needed quickly and yeah.
Anne: Well, you know, that's so interesting that you say that too. I was on a live directed session the other day, and it boggles my mind, right, because I said, oh, do you wanna, you know, gimme some direction or you want me to just read it? And then you can gimme some comments later. They're like, yeah, let's do that. I delivered the read, and they're like, wow. That was perfect. And it's funny because that was quick. They're like, okay, no, that was perfect. We don't need anything else. Bam. I did it. They were like, wow, that's perfect. That was perfect. And they were so shocked and surprised and happy. And I was like, gosh, I wonder who they've been working with?
Erikka: Really.
Anne: Because for me it was just like, okay, let me just do this. And I was confident. I think confidence has -- we should have an entire episode on confidence.
Erikka: Oh gosh, we should.
Anne: You know, just because I was confident, there was no reason for me to be not confident. I do get nervous before a live session, but I'm confident in my abilities and to be able to deliver that, but they were so surprised and I was like, well, I'm so happy that I could deliver. And guess what? They hired me again. And so it just became like, it was quick, but it was worth it for them because it was quick. And I delivered what they needed quickly.
Erikka: They're trading their money for you to make them spend less time. So the better that you can efficiently deliver with the read and what they're looking for, so that they're not spending hours directing you on a session, they're gonna appreciate that. And they're gonna happily pay you 'cause they can get more money. They, they don't have a lot of time. And yeah, I love what you said about, you know, it kind of just being ready, because if you get into that session and you're nervous -- I get nervous before live sessions still too.
Anne: Yeah. I do.
Erikka: One thing to kind help with that is I'm not afraid to like ask questions, especially if I have a client that maybe hasn't hired a lot of voice talent, so that I get clarity on the direction that they wanna go. You know, I'll do that at the top of the session. So then I'm more secure and more confident in what I'm delivering because it's not the guessing game and feeling it out in those first 15, 20 minutes. Right? And now I've just saved them 20 minutes because I took five minutes to ask questions, delivered the read in two, three takes --
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: -- we're done.
Anne: Yeah. That's it, that's it, it's really delivering what they want. And that's the thing. 'Cause maybe, you know, you're confident in your performance, but you're not necessarily confident that you're gonna deliver what they want in their ears. So asking questions I think is, is super important. So guys, balance, I think balance in moral ethics, your value. I think that it is so important for a happy, successful career in voiceover. And I think that compromising -- look, I think anybody that gets into this industry, I think if they're coming out of the corporate world, which I have a lot of people, you know, trying to come out of the corporate world to do it full time, and I'm always like, well wait, just a moment before you do that.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: Right? And I think that, that is also another worthy topic for the podcast is, you know, your full-time job plus voiceover, how do you make it work? Which --
Erikka: And balance, and a balanced approach to the exit strategy.
Anne: Yep, exactly. Yeah, exactly. But I think morally, ethically and worth-wise, you have to have a great balance and a great sense of who you are and your worth and to make things successful. And I believe in all of you, BOSSes out there, that it can be done. I mean, if I could do it, like like I've learned a lot over my 15 years, and, and that is a big part of what I've learned and a big part of what helped me become successful. And Erikka, I'm sure you see that every day.
Erikka: Every day, balancing the yeses and the nos, balancing what I'm gonna do and not do. And yeah, for sure, eevery day.
Anne: All right. Well, BOSSes, I'd like to give a big thank you to our sponsor 100voiceswhocare.org. This is your chance to make a difference using your voice and give back to the communities that give to you. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And also our sponsor ipDTL. We love ipDTL. It helps me to connect with BOSSes like Erikka here and all of you out there. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing wake and we will see you next week.
Erikka: Bye!
Anne: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In this Bonus Episode, Anne is joined by The National Association of Voice Actors co-founders, Tim Friedlander & Carin Gilfry. NAVA is a new association that aims to advocate and promote the advancement of the voice acting industry through action, education, inclusion, and benefits. The three discuss why & how NAVA came to be, what their specific goals are, and how voice actors can join. If all goes to plan, NAVA will be the first organization to offer health benefits to voice actors. Bosses, you definitely don't want to miss this!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. And today I am very excited to bring the founders of the National Association of Voice Actors or NAVA to the show, Mr. Tim Friedlander and Carin Gilfry. Welcome, guys, to the show. Thanks so much for joining me.
Tim: Hello. Hello. Thanks for having us.
Carin: Thanks for having us. We're excited.
Anne: Well, I'm very excited to talk to you about this brand new initiative, which I think is only, what, a month or two old?
Carin: Couple months. Yeah, a few months.
Anne: So tell me, what is the National Association of Voice Actors?
Tim: National Association of Voice Actors is a national association of voice actors. We made the title nice and simple to keep . It grew out of some groups that car and I have put together over the last, I started mine in 2014. I believe Carin, you were around the same time, 2016 or so?
Carin: I think 2015. Yeah, something like that.
Tim: Yeah. And these groups we have, uh, you have the voice actors of NYC. I have Gardner Street Voiceover Collective, various other groups I'm involved in. And over the years, we talk about business. We talk about how to get into the, into SAG AFTRA. We talk about what it means to go Fi-Core. We talk about various other different parts of the voiceover industry. Currently that conversation is around synthetic voices. So we're having that conversation in our groups as well. And we decided we wanna take that to a broader audience. And so we kind of took this off of Facebook and put this into a national group that we could offer education and support and financial support to on a much larger, much larger scale.
Anne: I love that.
Carin: In addition to that too, over the past few years, Tim and I have also, through our groups, been kind of creating emergency funds and donation funds for people in the voiceover industry, particularly during the pandemic. My group and Tim's various groups, we had emergency funds set up for people who lost their jobs during the pandemic, or who just needed extra money to pay bills or get a new microphone, 'cause theirs broke and they didn't have any money to do it. And so we were giving out payments to people, no questions asked without having a nonprofit. And so we thought that by forming a 501(c)(3), we would be able to do that in a much better way than just having a PayPal account and paying it out to people when they asked.
Anne: Absolutely. Now it's membership driven. Is there a fee to join or can we join free? How is that working right now?
Tim: Currently it's brand new and we have a membership committee that is going to be setting those standards for us on what that will be. Currently it's free to anybody who wants to join. And so there will always be a free membership tier that people can access the information. Definitely we wanna be a resource for people who are getting into the industry to find a trusted area for information. So we'll have a free tier that our membership committee will set for us. And then beyond that, there will be dues at some point, but we don't have that currently in place.
Anne: Talk to me a little bit more about the resource-driven initiatives that you have. You mentioned before resources for the union or for Fi-Core for non-union people. What's that look like?
Tim: Sure. We're currently calling it Pathways, different VO pathways that you have. And a lot of people think it's very black and white. It's either union or non-union. And in voiceover, for many of us who work in this industry know that it's very gray. There are non-jurisdictional jobs, which means it's not covered by a union contract. So what does non-jurisdictional even mean? What jobs are non-jurisdictional ,what can we work on? How do we join the union? If a voice actor wants to be in the union, what they need to do to get in that union? I was eligible for two years before I even know I could join the union. 'Cause I didn't know I worked under a contract that was a union contract. I didn't even know I worked under a contract. So that's just -- you know, I worked under an AFTRA contract for an audiobook that made me eligible. And two years later I was trying to get my eligibility and I was already set. I didn't know these things.
And then also this concept that you can convert jobs. You can take a job that is currently non-union and convert that into a union job. So a lot of voice actors look at this concept of joining the union as having to give up all this work that I do in the non-union realm. And for a lot of people, that's not a tenable situation to be in, where you're gonna be giving up a massive amount of money, your entire living that you support your family with, to move into someplace where you may not even have access to auditions and jobs.
So we are gonna show, we wanna provide that information on how can you navigate this industry. If I wanna go union, this is what I do. If I wanna go Fi-Core, this is what that means. If I wanna stay non-union, this is what it means. And the union is great when you can reach them. And their information is very solid when you can reach somebody over there, but they don't deal with voiceover specifically, and voiceover for everybody who knows is such a very unique niche aspect of what SAG AFTRA and the arts industry and community in general is, that we want something that's very specific to just voice actors.
Anne: Very important.
Carin: We also, we have an incredible advisory board of just people from literally every genre of work that there is in voiceover. We made a point of asking people from audiobooks and video games and commercials and TV narration, and all just across the spectrum of voiceover so that we have people advising NAVA on all of those different aspects. And we have people as part of our advisory board who are very important people in SAG AFTRA who are very pro-union and want everyone to join the union if possible. We also have people on our board who are Fi-Core and we have people on our board who are non-union.
Our goal is to be voice actor first and to be as unbiased as we can be as a group and just provide accurate information out there for people to have, because I think SAG AFTRA is absolutely wonderful. But when I called and was trying to figure out whether I should join or go Fi-Core, I called them and I didn't feel like the information that I got about joining the union and converting work specifically -- they basically didn't tell me that I could convert work. And so I really thought that I was gonna have to give up every non-union job that I would book in the future. And it's mostly just because I think people are unaware that it's possible to do that. This group we hope is a resource for people with unbiased, accurate information. That's very voice actor forward.
Anne: I think that's so important because I know there are so many questions when people get into the industry, like, what is the union and how do I become eligible for the union? Should I join the union? And it's always those questions that, you're right, the information has not been really readily available anywhere to find out that information, and it's complex. And so the different avenues are, I think each one of them has a special set of circumstances, and there are advantages and disadvantages to whichever way you decide. And I think having a resource to provide that information to voice talent is so very important for that. So that's a wonderful initiative, and especially things like -- I know that you've started something for healthcare or you're attempting to try to lobby for voice talent that, if they don't have healthcare, they can get it. Talk a little bit about that.
Carin: Yes.
Tim: Yeah. I mean, it's, it's something, you know, for anybody who is, those who are SAG AFTRA and have health insurance in SAG AFTRA, they know the benefits of having that access to phenomenal healthcare. And one of the things that we learned after forming this group that we did was that there is a possibility of providing healthcare for members of our association. And that is about the extent of the information though. It's about as far as we are in this, in this process. I started working on it before we actually had a group in this capacity. And I started in November of last year. I had been in discussions about possibly offering this for a year before that. And it was actually kind of put into motion of November of last year and is just for anybody who's dealt in healthcare, i's just a convoluted process of misinformation and different information and, and what information is accurate and what information is inaccurate and --
Carin: And changing what changing laws.
Tim: Changing laws, yeah, exactly.
Anne :Yeah. And it's such an important component for us as entrepreneurs, right, to have health insurance. I know we don't like to think about it, like we could ever need it, but I'll tell you, when you least expect it, you could really use that healthcare. And I know that first hand. And I was thankful that I was able to have healthcare, but it was through my spouse. So, and for those people that, that may not be an option, this is a wonderful initiative, and the best of luck with that. I think that's phenomenal. That's something that's very important.
Tim: We look at it as, you know, I've, I've always thought of it as one of the things that can help advance people in their career. and it can help get you into that level where you are able to get union healthcare. It can get to that point. You know, the more work people can focus on -- I've always been somebody who in all my spare time, I personally don't wanna wait tables to support my career of being an artist. I wanna be an artist.
Anne: Yeah. Sure. Absolutely.
Tim: And I'm a musician all the time, and I want more people to have access to doing the art that they want to do, and love to do and make a living at it, and not have to stay in a job they don't wanna -- this is one of Carin's talking points that she brings up quite frequently is, you know, this, this concept of staying in a job you don't want to be in be just purely because you need the healthcare.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. And being able to have the income, right, coming in so that you can be confident in pursuing more work. And so I've always been, you know, a big proponent of have that little bundle of cash. And if you're spending that cash on something, when it goes wrong on healthcare, the whole thing kind of crumbles. And so I think it's important to have something like that put in place so that you can pursue your creative career and grow in it.
Tim: We're just in the process of building that. So we just don't have, we don't have answers yet that are fully formed for us to give rates and to give who's gonna be covered and how it's gonna be covered, which is why we're here today talking about this. You need help from people to, you know, because --
Carin: We do have a plan of action.
Anne: Yes. Let's hear the plan of action. I love it.
Carin: Great. You can see, we have an infographic up on our website, which is navavoices.org. And you can see it's called, I think, the road to health insurance you'll see a little map on there. But basically the idea is we, as an association, have to come up with a pool of applicants who would apply for this health insurance. The health insurance companies wanna see who are these people, you know, what is their average age, where do they live, those kinds of questions.
So we have a health insurance census, and we are hoping to get 800 to 1000 people to add their information to the census. Once we have that pool of applicants, that's when we can go to all the different health insurance companies and say, here we are, this is what we are. This is what we do. Our job is very low risk. We're not like construction workers, or even on camera actors have a more dangerous job than we do. We're literally sitting in a booth talking into a microphone. It's not very dangerous work.
So this is who we are. They look at the full group and they say, okay, these are the rates. These are the plans that we can offer you. Then we choose which plans we think would best suit the needs of our members. And then during the open enrollment period this year, November and December, hopefully fingers crossed, if all goes, according to plan, we will have options for people to be able to purchase that health insurance, which will then start January of 2023. So the main thing right now is that we need as many voice actors who are interested in having this health insurance option to fill out the census. And also I should add that if you are on the census, you have the ability to purchase health insurance in November and December. If you're not on the census, you will not be able to purchase health insurance until the following year.
Anne: So the next enrollment.
Carin: Yeah, until the next enrollment. So, so if you have even like a little bit of interest in, maybe this is something that I might wanna consider, depending on what the rates are, fill out the census so that when we do get those plans and those rates, you will have the option to buy it if you want.
Tim: Yep. And you can look at the compare rates when offers come around, and if it's not right for you, then there's no obligation to sign up on our plan.
Carin: No obligation.
Tim: But again to reiterate, if you aren't on the original census, and the rates come out and it looks like something viable you would want to get into, you wouldn't be able to join until the next open enrollment. So we definitely encourage everybody who is even just slightly and should want to compare rates. We have a question on there about "how interested are you, I'm just comparing rates," you can just check that section so we know that you're somebody who is just kicking the tires and just trying to compare rates.
Anne: Fantastic.
Carin: Just to clarify, you must be a voice actor in some capacity in order to be a member of NAVA and or qualify for this health insurance. So.
Anne: Fulltime or part-time or in some capacity, paid jobs?
Carin: Full-time, part-time doesn't matter, just in some capacity. Yeah. Paid jobs. We're working on what the vetting process is gonna be because we don't want it to be like an earning threshold. It's not gonna be like SAG AFTRA where you have to make 25,600 or whatever it is, almost $26,000 in union earnings to qualify for health insurance. It won't be like that. It will be like a vetting process where we'll see, oh, this person has a website. Oh, this person has a demo. Oh, this person has done a little bit of VO work. They qualify. Or, oh, this person has a profile on Voice123, they're probably doing some work as a voice actor. They qualify. And again, we don't know what that is yet, but it will be something like that, not an earning threshold.
Tim: Yeah. And that kind goes in parallel with what the requirements are gonna be for the health plan. Like what level of connection does this group have to have between its members in order to show that they're part of a single group of association. So it all fluctuates, but we do, we have a membership committee who is handling that for us, and that we'll have something in the next, hopefully the next month or so that will, um, have some information on what different membership tiers will look like and what those dues will be and, and what the, what will be offered for those people who have different tiers.
Anne: Fantastic. Now, as I look at the front page of your website, you have some lofty goals, which I really love, not only the health insurance that you just spoke about, but also you mentioned earlier financial assistance through scholarships and emergency funds. And I think that that's a really wonderful thing because prior to having this group put together, they were kind of all over the place. And I know at one point long ago, I offered scholarships through VO Peeps. And so since then there have been other groups that have offered scholarships. And of course there's the Brad Venable fund, which is amazing. Talk to us a little bit about what your plans are for that. I love having it in the central place.
Tim: Yeah. You know, as I said, kind of some part of this started with us based on this financial aid that we were offering to some of our members in there and the kind of the foundation, what got the NAVA started in the early part of the year was we received a donation from Bev Standing and Rob Siglimpaglia after Bev's TikTok lawsuit was settled last year. They donated their GoFundMe money they had raised to the Brad Venable scholarship into that fund. And that became the foundation of what started NAVA. That allowed us to pay for the lawyers, pay for all of the incorporation, pay for the things that we needed. And also allowed us to put a decent amount of money aside into a basis for a fund which provided three full scholarships to VO Atlanta for three voice actors, which covered tickets, covered airfare, covered lodging, covered food for the entire duration of the time they were there. So we were able to cover all the expenses out of that fund.
We also have been able to use that fund going forward to help some people, a little bit of money here and there. It's currently not public because we are still setting it up, and we have to wait until all of our final paperwork gets through for us to officially be fully sanctioned to do the things we wanna do. So currently it's on hold, but we will be able to take donations which will be tax deductible donations. So voice actors can donate to the group. We have a lot of people who over the years have just donated here and there. Somebody books a good job, and they turn around and donate a little bit of money to the fund just to help have our group. I think we've probably done $40 or $50,000 in the last 18 months to two years out of our group. Carin has done, you know, something similar along those lines.
Carin: Yeah. Same, same number from my groups.
Tim: Yeah. And a lot of voice actors, we all know, you know, $200 here and there sometimes is the difference between us getting through the weekend and not getting through the weekend or a client is late on paying or something doesn't come through. Or we do a lot of ACH. You know, we do direct bank transfer and your deposit gets made, but it's not gonna hit until Friday because it's a holiday. So sometimes just that $200 gets somebody through the weekend, gets somebody through the next 24 hours or the 48 hours until something come through, which we all know is small business owners. And as cash flow is tough sometimes, it's, those are the little things that help. And we help a lot of people in that little way that we wanna continue doing.
Anne: Fantastic. Now you also have education and inclusion. So speak about education, resources. That's gonna be on your website? You're gonna also thinking of hosting classes maybe, or workshops or NAVA meetings that, uh, you would provide that?
Carin: Yeah, I think we'll probably do a Zoom every month or so for our members about various topics, but also we are kind of partnering with different resources around the voiceover community that provide educational materials. So like GVAA for example, um, is --
Tim: VO peeps
Carin: And VO peeps. Yes.
Anne: VO Peeps, VO BOSS. Yeah. Okay.
Carin: Yes, yes. And VO BOSS. Great.
Anne: Thank you.
Carin: No, but the GVAA rate guide is definitely something that we are fans of. And so that is part of our website, and SAG AFTRA has a lot of educational resources that I think people don't -- when they go to the website, it's not like totally 100% clear exactly where it is. So we can have links to those on our website. So people can just find a central place where you can go, where if you have a question, you can look up that information on our site, information on converting work, other things like that.
Tim: Yeah. And there are lots, there's so many great coaches out there that we can, we want to help support and advocate for those who we know are trustworthy, who we know are great to work with, different people. And also I think Carin I've worked with most everybody in, in the Los Angeles area. I know who are some great people to work with, who personalities -- one of the great things, you know, a great coach, a great coach. If they're the great coach for you, some people work better with other people. And we know these things would help, help guide somebody into a great mentorship with a great coach or a great group of people who are offering classes and things along those lines. So that's kind of where we're looking at and promote.
Anne: And the VORG is coming back.
Tim: The VORG, the voiceover resource guide.
Anne: The VORG.
Carin: It's the VORG.
Anne: I'm on the VO. Yeah.
Tim: Voiceover resource guide goes to print. It's 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, hopefully tomorrow. And we go to print tomorrow. We have to.
Anne: Wow.
Tim: We're going out.
Anne: That's incredible. The VORG was all there was back and see, now I'm gonna date myself. But the VORG was all, there was back, I wanna say in the eight, was it the 80s? It's the --
Tim: Voiceover industry's oldest publication since 1988. And actually up until about four years ago was the only printed publication in the industry.
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely. And when I saw that was coming back, I was so excited to see that. Also now an online version as well, so absolutely. Recommending the best of the best in LA and New York and fantastic stuff. So, get your copy of the VORG. You can pre-order, right? Pre-order the printed copy, which, hey, who doesn't love, who doesn't love a good book?
Tim: My stack of voiceover resource guides right here. So.
Anne: Yeah, I was gonna say, do you have, I don't have one. I don't have one with me, but I do have one. So fantastic. Awesome. Talk a little bit about -- I know you mentioned this in your, in your meeting the other day, inclusion and diversity and how you support that.
Carin: Yeah. So we are also partnering with kind of the people in the industry who have formed groups that are really interested in, in representative casting and authentic casting. And so Queer Vox and the PGM list are two groups that we are partnered with. Maria Pendolino is also starting a new group for disabled voice actors, which we will hopefully be able to be a part of. It's just about supporting all of our colleagues and supporting the voiceover industry and moving toward this authenticity and representation that I think we all are -- it's about time and
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely.
Carin: -- excited about. Yeah. So that's something that NAVA is supportive of.
Anne: Oh, fantastic.
Tim: And hopefully to be able to take that next step and be able to then educate and work with casting directors and productions on what this means to cast authentically earlier in the process, so it's not a, not an afterthought or something that's happening. Either when it's too late or when it becomes too difficult to find what's needed authentically.
Anne: Well, congratulations guys. I mean, what a beautiful, wonderful initiative and resource for the community. Thank you so much on behalf of the BOSSes out there and everybody in the community for putting in the work. I know, again, I date myself, and I know how much work you're putting in, especially I had my own 501(c)(3) back in the day. So yeah. Good luck with that. And really thank you so much for everything that you're doing for the community.
Tim: Oh, well, thank you.
Carin: Thank you. Thank you so much for having us today. It's great to get the word out. And the VO BOSS is fantastic, and thank you for all the work you're doing --
Anne: Well, thank you.
Carin: -- with all of your podcasts and information and all of that. It's just fantastic. So thanks for having us.
Anne: Well, thank you. So that website, BOSSes, is navavoices.org. Any other links I need to be shooting out to people?
Tim: That's our main link. Yep.
Carin: The census is on the front page of the website. So if you wanna take the census, go there, click, and you're in.
Tim: That's it.
Carin: To the census.
Anne: Awesome. Yes. All right. BOSSes. Sign the healthcare census and become a member now. All right, well, thanks again, guys. I'd like to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care. You guys can have an opportunity to have your voice make a difference. You can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And of course, to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Thanks so much for joining us this week, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Tim: Bye-bye.
Carin: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
We all get a lot of spam messages, but how many of us are sending cold emails that could be perceived as spam? This week, Anne & Erikka are here to help you clean the spam from your inbox. Using discernment is key, but checking for legitimate business websites, email domains, and avoiding sketchy links is a great start. As for sending spam, any #VOBOSS knows that their website, email signature, and patiently awaiting a response will help, but keep listening for the whole conversation!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to bring back my very special favorite co-host Erikka J. Woohoo!
Erikka: I'm sure you say that to all the co-hosts, Anne.
Anne: Hey. Hey.
Erikka: Well, we are matching today with our headphones though.
Anne: So, oh my gosh. That's pretty awesome.
Erikka: Yes. Yeah.
Anne: Wow. Wow. We're doing a little experiment, BOSSes, that not only are we recording audio, but we are recording video this week, and that was quite an event because I had to put some lipstick on.
Erikka: Just gloss for me was the best I could do.
Anne: And try to look good for the camera, but you know, we'll give it a shot. So Erikka, it's been a crazy week. It's been, goodness, what's been going on with you?
Erikka: Man. Yesterday. Actually I posted that I got this really crazy spam email and um...
Anne: Uh-\oh.
Erikka: Well, well, okay. I'll take it back even further. It went -- on a good note --
Anne: Crazy spam.
Erikka: Oh goodness. All spam is crazy, right? But this one was, was probably the worst I've gotten. I had just gotten featured in this magazine called Voyage ATL and posted the article.
Anne: Oh yes.
Erikka: It's like really cool. And with that comes SEO juice, and there's good juice and bad juice. And it looks like this juice kind of fed some bad. I got a form submission actually from my, my site, which is based on Squarespace. And so I'm saying, okay, when, if somebody's wanna hire me, I click it. And it says it's from the Spit in Her Butt Show.
Anne: oh my gosh. The Spit in Your Butt. All right.
Erikka: Her. So particularly women.
Anne: Oh, Spit in Her Butt. Oh!
Erikka: The Spit in Her Butt Show. And they said that they found me on Voyage. Like they actually told me that that was how they found me.
Anne: Wow.
Erikka: And I was like, oh, ok.
Anne: So that was not a job proposal.
Erikka: I don't know, but I, I would decline whatever it is.
Anne: Yeah, I think I'd decline.
Erikka: And then they left a link, and it was like --
Anne: Oh my.
Erikka: -- it's a valid show though. That's what's nuts. I didn't click the link because you know.
Anne: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That looks suspicious.
Erikka: But Googled a little and apparently this guy does and I was like, ew, you know, but spam.
Yeah.
Anne: Spam is, spam is ugh. Spam is annoying. That is for sure. And I think, you know what? That kind of is a great segue into what I think would be a great topic to talk about. 'Cause I get questions all the time about emails and email marketing. So we should talk about email marketing today. And spam is a concern. I think, let me just open up by saying there's a lot of people which will go and kind of mine the internet for production companies and email addresses to where maybe they should send their demos to and try to get on their rosters. And while that's absolutely a method to do that, the risk that you take with that is that you are probably going to be cold emailing someone. And I think that there's some considerations that you need to think about before you do that.
Spam is most certainly one of them, and spam is in the broadest sense is receiving an email that you did not give permission or request. And so as business owners and trying to sell a service, we have to be very careful when we email people that we have their permission. I mean, that is the ultimate way that you need to be doing your marketing is to having permission to send to these people. But what do you do when you don't know these people? Right?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: How do you make an introduction? How do you do it without being considered spam? Because I know when I get spam, as you just mentioned, like the last thing I wanna do is contact these people ever again. 'Cause I'm annoyed, number one, how did you get my email address? How did you find me? At least the person told you how found you.
Erikka: True. True.
Anne: But a lot of times, yeah, a lot of times I'll just get an email in my inbox and it'll be like, hey, I can help your SEO or I can do your website or whatever that might be. And the interesting thing is that they never seem to be from a valid company. It's just like kind of an indescript email address and no signature file. And I don't know, what are some things that you look out for when you're getting emails to see if they're spam or not?
Erikka: Oh man. It's the common stuff.
Anne: Warning signs.
Erikka: Yeah. The misspellings. Honestly, sometimes the all caps.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: Because humans just don't really write that way. Particularly like if it's coming to me in another language that I only speak English, I only have English everywhere on any presence on the web, maybe a little Spanish every once in a while, but yeah, nothing --
Anne: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Erikka: Yeah, definitely stuff like that. I don't know. Just the context. I'll I'll look at it. I definitely don't click any links, but I'll read it. But yeah, the misspellings and all that kind of stuff, usually it's in the text, you can tell.
Anne: I think for me, the first thing I see is, is there a signature file, and is it coming from a proper domain?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: There you go.
Anne: If it comes from like a Yahoo address or a, even a Gmail address these days, and I know there have been talks with people about, well, it's okay to just have a Gmail address for your business. And I'm like, I, I kind of have a disagreement with that because I feel like if you want to exude professionalism that at least have a domain name that is your business. And that domain name can be your name. But I feel like if it comes from Gmail, you didn't take the time to like really set up your business in a professional way. That's me.
But I've had so many people say otherwise that, oh no, it's perfectly fine now to get an email address from Gmail or Yahoo. But if you're gonna do that, and then have a signature file that links back to a webpage maybe of yours, of your own domain. Right? I still feel like, again, if you wanna be, show professionalism, you should have a domain name. AnneGanguzza.com. That's me. Erikka J, right? Or even Anne Ganguzza Voice or whatever that is, it goes back to a domain that hosts a website that tells people about you.
Erikka: Yeah. You've gotta establish that trust. Right? And I mean, it's so inexpensive. Like I said, I personally use Google domains. It's $12 a year, a dollar a month. I mean, why wouldn't you, you know, just to have that domain? And then setting up an email, I think it's like an additional six or something. Yeah. The Gmail or the Yahoo is definitely one. Another one to look for, particularly with spam is that they'll try to use like a known brand name, but it'll have like an extra dot or something in there. And you have to watch that 'cause you might see like Bank of America, but it's got like Bank of - America. And like that's not Bank of America, like watch that type of spam too.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Yeah. Get your own domain name. It's, it's so easy.
Anne: Yeah. And I think that will really do a lot. It'll do wonders for having people respond to that email, which is what we want. We don't want people to take a look at our email and get angry at us and then say, oh my gosh, I'm so annoyed that they just emailed me that and trying to sell me something that I don't ever wanna contact them again. Because that's what I do silently. I'll be like, oh I'm so. And if, especially if they send it more than once, right? If it comes like a day or two or again and again, and I can tell in Gmail 'cause it threads.
Erikka: Yep.
Anne: And I'll be like, all right, that's it. That's like the fifth time you sent me email and I, then I might write back. But as a business, if we're sending out emails to people who have not given us permission and guys, I say it over and over again, when you are mining the internet or you are finding production houses, and you are sending emails to the contact there, they have not typically said it's okay to send them emails. So you have to be very, very careful about what you say in that email that you're not gonna get them upset or annoyed that you are just reaching out to contact them because 200 other voice talent have found their name as well. And all they do is field off these, "hey, I'm a voice talent. Here's my demo." So I think it's important.
Erikka: Yeah. The trick that I hate that people will do, and I see this probably more with like spam, legit, spam and bots. But like they try the re and the subject line to make it look like they were replying when you know, you never sent anything to them. It's like, stop trying to trick me. I know I didn't email you .
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, it's interesting. What made me think you were talking about using a known brand or trying to kind of spin off of a brand -- I actually got like an invoice in PayPal, which was an invoice that I certainly did not -- I didn't buy anything from this person, but it came so legit with the PayPal logo 'cause it came through PayPal, but it was spam coming through PayPal in the form of an invoice where once they had the invoice, if you open the invoice, right, then they had links to probably, I don't even know 'cause I didn't click them. So people try anything to to, to contact or maybe it was phishing. Whatever it is, I think that again, as voice talent, we have to be very, very careful.
There are laws. There's the Spam Can Act of 2013. There is the GDPR. There is the California Privacy Act. There are so many laws and, and regulations set in place that theoretically, if you do not put your address on the bottom of your email, and you do not offer an unsubscribe, that is considered spam. So even if you're sending an individual email out through Gmail, if it's unsolicited, if you don't have your address or a way to unsubscribe, that is considered spam and somebody could potentially legally take that up with you.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. Things to watch out for.
Anne: So, then what do we do? Right? What do we do? How do we market with email? That's the question of the day. VO BOSS has a direct marketing program. And the one thing that makes it different is that we have a list, but it was not a list that was something that we mined off of the internet. This is a list that was purchased. And with lists that you purchase, of course you have to be careful with that too, because you don't know how many times that list has been sold. Let's say, oh, it's a list of e-learning companies. And we sold it to 2000 voice talent already. And so you don't wanna have a list that you don't know how many times it's been used.
You don't know how old it is. We don't know if there's current addresses on it.
The list that I have purchased is a large list that has been in business for many, many years. They continually update addresses, and it's 90,000 plus creatives and companies that have in-house media production divisions, copywriters, creative directors, owners of companies. So this list that we have purchased, they have agreed to allow VO BOSS to market to them. And that is, I think, the number one advantage, if you want to do a direct marketing this way. You can also buy a list that has permissions built into it. This list costs a few thousand dollars, but it's one of the reasons why I started the VO BOSS blast because I was like, wow, I'm gonna buy this list. It's pretty expensive. So I can offer, uh, this 90,000 people, I can offer marketing to this list, and it's already what I call vetted. It's a vetted list. And so these people are okay with anybody from VO BOSS, sending them a marketing email.
So essentially the product basically gives you a VO BOSS address. So Erikka, you would be like ErikkaJ@VOBOSS.com. So therefore it gets sent out to these companies who have already given permission. They're already expecting to hear from us, but the reply to is set to your individual email business address. So therefore when somebody wants to hire you or ask you for an audition, they basically will just reply or send an email to you. And it also has links in the email that go to your website, that go to your demos. We usually feature a project or something new that you've done. And that's essentially the concept around a direct marketing method that uses a list where people have already given permission. And that's like half the battle. Really.
Erikka: Yeah. For sure. And I mean, if you're not gonna spend, you know, the thousands of dollars, obviously there's the grassroots, the organic route, right, is where you are talking to people or you have it on your website where they can actually subscribe. So they're making the choice to subscribe to your list and giving permission that way. And if you have those sort of tools built in, they obviously would have an unsubscribe option. So yeah, permission is, is the key for sure.
Anne: I'm so glad that you brought that up 'cause people will say, how do I get permission? And that is, I think one of the leading ways to get permission is to have one of those pop-up windows. I have 'em on every one of my websites. And any platform has a way to do that. If you have a WordPress website, there are plugins. I used to use the plugin called Bloom. And that was the one that allowed a popup to appear once somebody was on your website and says, "hey, subscribe to my email list to get special offers or whatnot. If you wanna keep up with what's going on, sign up here." And I wanna say that that is a very valid way to get a permission based list of people that you can market to. And it's very valid. I mean, I've been doing it for years on all of my domains, on Anne Ganguzza, on VO Peeps, on VO BOSS. So anytime you see that pop-up and you say, yeah, let me sign up and keep up with what's happening with your business, that person has given you permission to email them.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: And so there are ways to create your list. It takes a long time, I'm gonna say because not everybody that comes to your website's gonna really wanna keep up with you. I mean, a lot of us have email. I have, we've discussed my email before.
Erikka: Yeah. You beat me, but mine's pretty bad too.
Anne: Uh, yeah. I got a lot of unread messages and a lot of, yeah, I get a lot of email, so. But it's one of the ways, interestingly enough, Erikka people may laugh at how much email I get. But a lot of the ways that I learned how to market through email was by signing up for companies' lists.
Erikka: Yes. Copy. Steal like an artist.
Anne: Exactly. It's like my secret weapon. People are like, well, how'd you get so good at marketing? Oh my gosh, I sign up for company email lists. And then I, I observe and I say, okay, what kind of information are they sending out? Not only do I observe how to market myself, but I observe how I might be able to help that company 'cause I can see how they're marketing to their clients. And therefore it's like a double cool thing because, number one, I'm learning how to market, number two, I'm learning about this company and what their needs are. So then how can I serve those needs?
So I can just bring it back to them and just say, hey, I really love what you're doing with this product, blah blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever it might be. Just wanted to reach out and say, hey. And even if you don't even say like I do voiceovers, it could just be like, hey, I signed up your mailing list. I love your product. I think it's super interesting. Just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration. And boom, you're done. Don't even mention that you're a voice artist, but in your signature file, guess what?
Erikka: There you go, there you go.
Anne: You're a voice artist. So you start to develop that relationship first. Erikka, like how do you find new leads and contacts?
Erikka: You know, I am not one to do much of the email or direct marketing. It's just, this is not my jam at least not at the moment. It's sort of on my long range roadmap to probably outsource that moreso, the lead generation part. But I will say that when I was moreso doing music and I'm probably gonna date myself here, but I was using MailChimp So they still run, but I did it the grassroots way. So it was like people that I knew were already engaged with my brand, people that I knew were already buying from me, I started with that. And then I would just say, "hey, you know, I've got this thing, I have this newsletter that I'm starting. Do you wanna stay up to date?" And most of them said, yeah, sure.
And then I just had them click, and it automated, and I built this database of about 500 people. So when I had a new release or I had a new piece of merch coming out, you know, I sent the one, and it went out to everybody, so I kind of did that. But yeah, as far as lead generation, now I'm more so -- I like the passive stuff. So I love the SEO. I use P-to-P's. I have my agents and my managers, but I really, really kind of leverage the SEO so that I have more walking into my website passively because I don't really love to email market. I do have a couple where it's like brands that I'm super engaged with. Just like you said, I'm like, I love this product. I love what you guys are doing. If I can ever help in any way, please let me know, and I just send it, and I have all my information in my signature. So I'm not really selling. It's just there for them. If they wanna see it.
Anne: Well, exactly.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Exactly. You're expressing an interest in them, and you're not trying to take anything back.
Erikka: Yep. Yep.
Anne: You're not trying to push yourself on them. And I think that that's really wonderful, and I do believe that email marketing, it is just one way. Obviously we always wanna know how to get work. And we have a whole episode that we did on SEO, which I love because that is also one of my favorite methods of getting work is just having people find me and then listening to the demos. And if they're strategic, target marketed demos, which is what I'm all about, they listen to it, they love what they hear. They then contact you and say, "hey, how much would it cost to do this?" So I love that.
But I also think a combination of that along with your talent agents, along with maybe pay to plays, along with direct marketing through a list, can really provide you with the opportunities to really get out there and get work so that you can make it a successful endeavor, this career, as voiceover, because that's gotta be the number one question, right? How do I get work? How do I get work? And how do I email mark? it's something that people are, they're kind of terrified if they've never done it before.
And the first thing you have to be aware of is when you go and mine the internet for those addresses is that you've gotta be careful of talking to people when they haven't given you permission. It's also like when somebody calls you up, how many -- like I actually have a phone at my home that is not my cell phone. And we get spam calls every single day. And so you don't wanna be like that. when you're sending out email, but if you can send out email marketing, the cool thing is, is to send it out to people who've already given you their permission to do that.
And the other cool thing is if you do hire or outsource, let's say, do a BOSS Blast, what happens is we kind of represent you without being an agent. So we're like on behalf of VO BOSS, check out millennial voiceover talent, or check out Erikka J. She's got the smooth promo sounds of whatever it is that you, whatever genre that you want to talk about in your promo or in your email marketing, we can focus on that. And it's on behalf of another brand that is trusted, that has already been given permission. And so that's even cooler because it's not like I, I, I, I, I, here's what I've done. It's about VO BOSS presenting you as the talent that is established, that is credible.
And that's the other thing too, is that VO BOSS doesn't do this marketing for everybody. I mean, we vet the people that we market for. And we have to make sure that you have a well-established brand, that you've got good demos that we can market and things that we can do. Because if I get labeled as a spammer, VO BOSS gets labeled as a spammer, guess what? My entire BOSS Blast business is out of business. So I have to be hyper aware of what's being sent out and coming back and make sure that it's not going to be considered spam. So you better believe that we've got many eyes looking at that email going out, making sure that it's good and that it's not spam. I'm gonna say, think about your own email and the emails that you get on a day to day basis. What do you consider spam? And then think about how you are marketing email wise to people.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's what it's all about, talking about our balance theme is having a balanced approach to lead generation, whether that's P2Ps, agents, managers, email marketing, social media marketing, because that works too, using hashtags, or like you said, not, I, I, I; you know, talking about a recent job that you did, how you were happy to help this brand or this company, or promote this new product. All those sorts of things help you with lead generations. So having a balanced approach to that is super important.
Anne: Yeah. Wow.
Erikka: Wow. Yeah.
Anne: Good discussion.
Erikka: One more thing about email marketing I kind of wanted to touch on real quick. We, we kind of started to was the signature. I think it's important that you make sure that you have a good signature. You know, there are tons of tools out there for you to go build it. It doesn't necessarily have to be super fancy, but if you can get it branded, that's great. And there are tools that can help you do that, but you know, make it easy for them to find you and to find your work, to know what you do. If you choose to put a picture, but at minimum, at least like your website and some way to contact you maybe outside of that email. But yeah, I think that's important because if you are sending an email to market, that might be your only shot to make an impression.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And actually I think that, remember, it was the first thing that I look at when somebody sends me an email, do they have a signature file? Is it coming from a valid domain, a valid company? Does it look legit? And so I think your signature is super important. And by the way, I use Wise Signature. I think I spend $39 a year. And it allows you to put all sorts of really cool, like your social media icons, you can put links to your demos, and it makes it look really nice too. I love a nice, a nice signature.
Erikka: Yeah. I've used them. I use Signature IO, same type deal where I can put graphics and colors and all that stuff so that it's branded. So yeah, like you said, it does establish trust, but I kind of wanted to touch on like the aesthetics of it alone, just being eye-catching and being like, oh, makes me wanna go click and look at it.
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely, great suggestion. All right. Well, hey, I know we can talk about email all day long but I think this was a great start. I'd like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care. You guys can have an opportunity to have your voice make a difference. You can find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. And of course, to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Thanks so much for joining us this week, and we'll see you next week.
Erikka: Bye!
Anne: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
What do Google, P2Ps, and Instagram all have in common? They are search engines! This week, Anne & Erikka talk tech. More specifically, SEO and how you can use keywords to improve your searchability & business. Our websites and online profiles are our digital storefronts. The words we put on them are the secret to getting found by clients, so specificity and consistency are essential. Listen up Bosses, we’ve got tips & tricks just for you!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am here back with special guest co-host Erikka J. Hey Erikka.
Erikka: Hey Anne, how are you today?
Anne: I'm doing good. What's going on with you?
Erikka: Oh, nothing, man. Just happy to be back and happy to have -- actually, I just had a job that walked in on my website, and I was so excited because I love getting those.
Anne: Ah, oh my God. I love that. You said that because walking in on your website, that's the best kind of job to get because you don't have to do all the work of auditioning. They've already come to your website. They've heard your demos. And they've liked what they've heard, and then they contact you and say how much?
Erikka: Yeah. They just walk in and wanna hand you money for you doing the talking. So I love that.
Anne: I love that. That is such an efficient way to work. Not that -- look, I'm not gonna blast anybody who auditions. I mean, I audition. I audition for my agents every day and thankfully I'm busy because I do a lot of things in my business that I don't really have a ton of time to audition outside of, for my agents. And so when it comes in on my website or however they find me online, I absolutely love the inquiry because they don't necessarily need an audition. They're just saying here's my job. How much will it cost?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, talking about balance, yeah sure, we do auditions every day.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: And that's a great way to land work. And a lot of the work that we get from our agents where we have to audition are those big, you know, really great jobs, but having a balanced approach to your business and having a diverse set of leads that come in, having that walk-in money where you don't really have to do that audition work. And it's just like, hey, we want you to do this job. We saw your website and love your work. And when can we schedule a session and how much? Like, that's great. It's a good balance.
Anne: Love it, love it. And so I think so important to talk about is SEO, because that plays a large part in how people find you online, a large part in how people find me and my website, and then pretty much say, hey, I like your voice. How much will it cost? So let's talk a little bit about SEO, search engine optimization. I know a lot of people like get discombobulated when we start talking about technological things like that and SEO. And disclaimer here, I am not an SEO expert, but I have definitely employed certain things on my website that have allowed me to be found easier. And it has really contributed greatly to those people that walk in and ask for work from me, which I think is amazing. Erikka, what about your experiences?
Erikka: Absolutely. I mean, if you think about it, when it gets a little intimidating, you just think about SEO, as Anne said, stands for search engine optimization. What is Google? A search engine. What are all these social media sites essentially? A search engine. Even the P2Ps, a search engine, they're looking for things. So all you're doing is optimizing your website so that you are found more easily on that search engine when they're searching for things that are relevant to your website.
Anne: Yes, absolutely. Or your online presence. I know. I --
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: -- I bring it back to the website because I think the website is the core of who our businesses are. And the core website will allow anyone to come find me, listen to my demos and then pay me money. So it's like a full cycle. That's my online storefront. And so let's talk about how we can optimize our online presence for good SEO, Erikka.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: What's the first thing?
Erikka: I think for me, I saw the jump when I went into -- 'cause currently my site is based on SquareSpace. I'm in the process of moving over to WordPress. But there is, if you dig into those sites, there are sections that are specifically for SEO. And if you go in there and you start putting in, I use keywords that I know when someone who is looking for me or my type of sound or what I bring to the table as a voice talent, I'm putting those keywords in my SEO box so that when they're searching for Black female voice talent, or authoritative, or sounds like Viola Davis or whatever, I'm coming up in those options. So I think that's number one is making sure that you have the right copy on your website and the right terms that are specifically driving SEO on your website listed there.
Anne: Let's talk a little bit more about keywords because I think keywords are what, you know, people are like, well, what keywords should I use? And I think keywords are very specific to everybody, every person. And I think everybody wants to be found for the keyword voiceover.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: You know?
Erikka: Everybody,
Anne: Everybody. And here's the deal. The sites that have a lot of people that have voiceover in their profile, that word, are going to be the ones that get found first because there's many occurrences. So keywords are, basically in Google, if you rank highly for a particular keyword, you will show up on the first page, which is desirable to show up on the first page. 'Cause many people, when they search myself included, I don't always go to the second or third pages. However, I will say, Erikka, I don't know if you've noticed recently, there's been an awful lot of ads on the first page of Google lately.
Erikka: There have.
Anne: A lot.
Erikka: Definitely. And not just Google, but like, you know, I went to like search for a restaurant on like Yelp or something, and it was like, it wasn't necessarily the best, but it was ranked first because it was sponsored, and you have to look for that word, and it's like, oh wait. . So yeah, lots of ads.
Anne: And so I think that by the way, Erikka, this is probably another podcast episode, but thinking about marketing and ads, adding ads into your daily practice could be something that would be worthwhile. And again, that's another investment, but I say that just because I'm noticing the increase on the first page of Google of ads showing up. And so you wanna make sure that the keyword that people search for will show up your entry on the first page, if possible, because not many people click to the second or third pages. However, I will say because of the amount of ads I have been going to the second page more often now.
Erikka: Yeah. I've seen that.
Anne: But what makes a good keyword? So of course you can put voiceover in your body of text that you put on your website or on your profile. But I also think you definitely need to target it more specifically to what you want to be found for. So for example, if somebody typed in voiceover coach or commercial voiceover coach, and I'd have to keep checking right now, but I have certain words that I wanna be found for. But if somebody types in commercial VO coach, that's a different set of words than commercial voiceover coach. So keep that in mind because people say, well, I didn't find you when I searched for you under commercial VO coach. And I'm like, well, that doesn't necessarily mean that you won't find me under commercial voiceover coach. So I think a lot of times in order to get yourself found on that first page, try to think specifically and narrow down that focus on your target.
So for example, if I say "commercial voiceover Orange County," I will show up on the first page exactly. Or "narration voiceover coach Orange County," that kind of thing. And if I don't, by the time this airs , I will, I will be working to make sure that that happens because I have a certain set of words that I wanna be found for. Now, it would be great if I could be found for voiceover coach, that in general, but there's a lot of voiceover coaches out there that use that as well as their a search term. So it really behooves you to think about what it is that you wanna be found for.
Erikka: Absolutely being specific is so key 'cause like you said, everyone is gonna have voiceover and not just that, but the first page, if you just have voiceover or even VO or just those sort of generic terms, you're gonna get eaten up by the sites that are corporations that have thousands of dollars into voiceover, some of the P2Ps.
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: You know what I mean? So you're gonna get pushed down and, and maybe not even be in the first three pages. You'll get found for what you wanna get found for, for what really your niche is because we all have different areas of expertise.
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: Not just in genre, but in like how our voice sounds like, how do you describe your voice?What adjectives do you use? What celebrity references would you compare your voice to?
Anne: I think celebrity references are great too.
Erikka: Oh yeah. Yeah.
Anne: So many people forget about that, their soundalike, and that really helps. And I think you should absolutely put that on your website. Because that will help target the search even more. Yeah.
Erikka: Alt text in photos is another good thing to have just to get your site higher ranked in general. The better that Google likes your website, doing things like to make it clean and having the hierarchy right so you get site mapped, and that's where like if you search for a website and you'll see where it says, like if you search for Erikka J, you'll see like about and voiceover and music, like you'll see the different subpages on the Google initial search, that means you've been site mapped. So Google kind of ranks you higher just for that reason alone. So a lot of different things to consider.
Anne: Well, I think that that's wonderful. I think, so number one is knowing that. The way search engine optimization works is, or the way search engines work is they pretty much keyword or they index your website with all the words on it. And so when somebody says to you, oh, I think that your website is too busy or it's too wordy. I always say, mm, think again.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: I mean, if you ever look at my website, I've got words everywhere. And so the reason for that is for SEO purposes. I want to be able to be found. And so these people they're like, I really want clean voiceover webpages that, you know, you can get to the demos right away, which I agree with, but I'll tell you what. Clean doesn't necessarily mean that you're not being verbose about who you are and what kind of a business you are. Because when I search for, let's say, I wanna find a particular product, like I'm trying to find green chickpeas. I just say that --
Erikka: That's pretty particular.
Anne: It's particular, and it's very difficult to find green chickpeas, but when I type that in the websites that come back, I wanna be able to click on them and immediately purchase. And so when somebody types in those keywords for you, commercial voiceover or explainer narrator, whatever that is, you wanna show up on that first page. And then when they click on you, you want that page to be accessible and easy to buy.
Erikka: Yes. Yes.
Anne: Easy to buy and look professional. So I think in terms of the SEO, the search engine optimization being optimized for your site, I think it helps to have more words that accurately describe who your business is and what words you wanna be found as. So you must include those. And you mentioned the alt text, which is great. And somebody who doesn't necessarily design websites may not know what that is. But that is text that you put around an image in the code of the HTML of the website, which you can do if you understand a little bit about WordPress or whatever your website has been developed in. My websites are all in Wix now. I was using WordPress and then my websites became very complex in terms of eCommerce happening. I have a CRM embedded. I have email that I'm sending from these websites. So Wix kind of worked out for me for that because it had all of those embedded into the website, those capabilities.
And with that, any web provider, if it's Wix, if it's WordPress, you know, hosted on a GoDaddy website, whatever it is, they're going to have some sort of provision for SEO where you can insert keywords. That is very, very helpful, not only having the words on your website, and I think also dividing your website into different sections. So like I have a commercial voiceover landing page. I have a corporate narration landing page. I have an explainer landing page, a telephony landing page. And so that just makes it even easier to find, because again, I can put more of those words on my website by having specific landing pages
Erikka: And it's more targeted. So I mean, you know, obviously we're talking about having the right copy and having, you know, these SEO terms. You don't wanna word vomit, right, and just have like all the words that you think are gonna get you found. It still has to be cohesive and make sense. And it has to be true. Nothing's worse -- I don't know about you guys, but if I'm searching for like great Mexican food near me and I get something that's totally unrelated, that's annoying, and it pisses your buyer off. So make sure it's still relevant. So definitely getting those pages that are relevant to the topic can target who you're trying to talk to with that demographic. And I believe it may have changed 'cause I know Google was more so understood words and they're starting to have more like a computer vision where they can understand images more. But I think having at least 500 words was the cutoff last I heard from someone that worked at Google per page to get it kind of recognized and rank.
Anne: Yeah. I think they're starting to recognize words within photos as well.
Erikka: They are. Yep. Yep.
Anne: I absolutely think that having, first of all, more words and targeted words that make sense -- by the way, you'll get penalized, if you just do what they call keyword stuffing. So you can't just throw in the words. And as a matter of fact, if you throw in more words like voiceover talent or voiceover or VO and you put too many of them in your pages and they don't make sense, you'll get penalized and you certainly don't want that to happen. And by the way, I always tell people that SEO is one of those things. Now we talk about Google, right, because that's my search engine. I don't really go to any other search engine. Do you, Erikka?
Erikka: I don't.
Anne: Yeah. So in reality there are other search engines, but I really don't use any. It's always Google, and nobody knows really Google's algorithm unless you work for Google. And that is a proprietary thing. And I remember SEO people would study that and there are different versions of the Google algorithm that come out and they name them. And so every time Google would come out with a new algorithm, they'd say, well -- and I think one of 'em was called like the penguin. I can't remember, but everybody would come out and say, okay, since Google's new algorithm, here's what you need to do to get good SEO.
And so I'm just gonna say, if you don't work for Google, you don't know you don't. You just don't. So if you have somebody that comes to you and says, I can make you show up on the front page, I want you to probably just run far away. Because I just have never really believed people 'cause that used to be a real business. People would just be, they were SEO people and we can get you on the front page and you pay us all this money. And in reality they would keyword stuff. And that was back in the day. And I still have people who email me and spam me about SEO and getting myself on the front page. So beware --
Erikka: Me too.
Anne: -- that, unless they work for Google, they don't really know. And I'm all about, and I think Erikka, you too, I'm all about organic SEO, and organic is absolutely let's write the verbiage. Let's use the words on our website and in our profiles that accurately describes who we are, what we do and what we would like to be found for and not keyword stuff. And that's worked wonders for me in the past years because as I mentioned before, I have a lot of different divisions of my business that I work at. And I don't have time to audition all the time. So for me getting work that finds me or getting clients that find me first, then they have the opportunity to listen to the demos on my site. And if my demos are targeted to the specific genre, and they nail the sound that the client is looking for, boom, I've just taken care of half of the work in terms of getting that lead and then solidifying it so that I can get paid.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. You don't want someone to find you and then they find that you weren't the right match. You don't want to attract the wrong client and ends up wasting your time. So the more targeted and sort of more strategic that you are with those keywords to make the right match happen automated, take that manual workout for yourself, it's a win for both sides. So absolutely.
Anne: I like how you said you don't wanna attract the wrong client.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And interestingly enough, I always hear about people talking about being low balled in a lot of the Facebook groups and they'll be like, oh, you know, they only offered me this or this is what they're offering. And I'm like, interestingly enough, I never quite meet clients like that. And I'm going to very humbly attribute it to a great web designer, my great web designer who shall remain nameless because they can't take on anymore clients and a great writer for the verbiage of which I worked many, many years myself on on trying to hone that and really working with someone to figure out who am I? Who do I want to be? How do I wanna be found online? And really working, not just a day on that. It has evolved over years of writing, rewriting and a lot of work.
And it has been, I think one of the most successful things that I've ever done for my business that has garnered me, I'm gonna say, three quarters of my income was a great website with great verbiage that says exactly who I am, targets who I want to find me, and just gets me work without me having to go and cold call people or email people or whatever it is, just being found. And it's not just the website, but it's a website in combination with social media profiles. And also not just the words on the website, but I know we're specifically talking SEO, but the words in combination with the actual website that looks professional enough so that people, when they see it, they trust it, and they're willing to click and buy so to speak.
Erikka: Yeah. One of the best compliments I got was somebody told me, oh, your website looks expensive. And I was like --
Anne: Yeah, right?
Erikka: -- perfect! because I want clients that, that know they're not going to get a $50 voiceover from me.
Anne: And that's it. And then I guess that was the long story of me getting back to your point about you don't wanna attract the wrong client. If somebody comes to me, they're not gonna offer me $.08 a word. You know what I mean? For e-learning. I'm not even attracting that type of client. I'm attracting the type of client that is going to be willing to pay. And funny enough, I was like, and now of course I'm gonna have another one of those moments, but I said something to my husband, I said yesterday, I don't even care what it costs, but I am hunting for this product because I want it to be the right product. And I want it to be quality product, and I'm willing to pay for it. And that I think is something so important for us as business owners and entrepreneurs that we understand that. I shop online all the time. I love online shopping. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread personally.
Erikka: Absolutely. Yeah. And I mean, think about how it is when, when you guys are shopping, when -- there are times when you're more budget driven, when you're like, all right, what can I get what I need for the lowest price? And there are times like you just said, Anne, you know, when you're like, look, I don't care what it costs, but I need a certain level of quality.
Anne: Yeah. I need this. I'm just gonna particular brand or yep.
Erikka: Yep. And that's what you want your brand, your website, your digital storefront to say about you.
Anne: Yep. You wanna be the Kleenex.
Erikka: Yes. There you go. The Puffs Plus with lotion
Anne: I need the Anne Ganguzza of voiceover. And also I wanna just mention that everybody should always have their name associated with their business, AnneGanguzza.com. And I tell people, I want you to be the Kleenex of voiceover. I need that Anne Ganguzza. Oh, I'm sorry. I need an Anne Ganguzza, you know, that kind of thing. I need an Erikka J . Really, that is important. And there's so many people that come up with these clever little names for their URLs and I'm like, well, that's great, but also have your name. Right?
Erikka: Well, use them and, and I guess this is sort of a little, it's still kind of related to SEO in a way, but you can do that and use redirects. That's one thing I do a lot because people frequently forget that I have two K's in my name or where they wanna put two RS or whatever. So I have had other things like EJ Voiceover that are easier to find, but it still redirects you to ErikkaJ.com.
Anne: Absolutely.
Erikka: So you can still do those little clever names that get people's attention and have it tell them what your name is when they get there.
Anne: Unless you have somebody else out there with another name that might be, I don't know, somebody undesirable that you may not wanna be found for. Then I say, add the word, voice or voiceover afterwards, you know, Anne Ganguzza Voiceover. Everybody's like, well, Anne Ganguzza, isn't that difficult to spell? I'm like, well, I'm a Kleenex. So --
Erikka: Teach them.
Anne: And like, Erikka J, I will tell you, Erikka, I learned right away because you're somebody I wanted to know. I knew I wanted to be in contact. I immediately remembered the two Ks and not two RS.
Erikka: Aww. Thank you.
Anne: But it's true. Right? So I just now know --
Erikka: It's true.
Anne: And I think that any client, right, that wants you, they learn it and that's it. And you stay in their brains and that is what makes you unique. And I love your last name. It's so like Ganguzza...
Anne: Thank you. It is a cool name. Isn't it? It's one of the reasons why I took it
Erikka: Right, right, right, right, right. You're like, honey, this is a business decision.
Anne: Well, it kind of was. My name before was Lucy, and that was also a cool name. So I just thought Anne Ganguzza was a cool sounding name, but Anne Lucy was always also really a cool name 'cause people sometimes would call me Lucy instead of Anne. But when I first started, I picked a URL and I said, Annespeaks.com. And I thought it was so clever. And the funny thing is, is that nobody searched for Anne -- like, what is an Anne speaks? Is that like a noun? What is that? I mean, you would like it to be, but in the beginning it did not serve me well, even though I thought I was so clever.
Erikka: That's memorable, you know? Yeah. But like Anne Ganguzza, how can you forget that?
Anne: That's right. And if you want Anne Ganguzza, you'll know how to spell that name.
Erikka: That's right. That's right.
Anne: That's the point. You'll find it. That's the point. So don't worry BOSSes out there. If you have a name that's difficult to spell, I always say, get that name and then get redirects. Like things that are easier, like your first name voiceover.com or whatever. But that again is part of the SEO as well. Not just the words that you have on your website, but also in your URL.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: So if they are words that people typically search for that you wanna be found, you can also include those in your URL. And it's not expensive these days --
Erikka: Not at all, not at all.
Anne: -- to get additional URLs, to buy additional domain names. And then let's see, I have about 11 websites, Erikka. How many do you have?
Erikka: Oh man. Err... More than 10.
Anne: There you go. There you go. So the thing is, is I think for people who have been in the business and have a little bit of at least knowledge about SEO and understand the, the advantages and the benefits, you can create what you mentioned before, those redirects, that go to your website. So I also happen to have the eLearningvoice.com, medical-narration.com, phone-voice.com and all of these other genre based website domains. And they have, again, more words on the page that discuss who I am. Right? What my business does, my voiceover for explainers or voiceovers for telephony, voiceovers for -- and that also contributes to my overall SEO in the world of online searching. And so I pay for those websites. I pay for the maintenance of those websites. And so it is an investment, guys. But I, I think if anybody has a problem finding me online, they maybe don't know how to type it properly because --
Erikka: Well, I mean, that's what it's all about is being easy to be found. So what can you do to make it easy for people to find you? Because the internet is vast . I mean, it is so big So what are you gonna do to help people filter through the noise to find you?
Anne: Google yourself.
Erikka: Oh my goodness, yes. In an incognito window, which means that it's not looking at your cookies or anything like that or any, it's not seeing it through the lens of anything else you've searched. If you use Chrome or whatever browser, but you should see like in, I know in Chrome, in the upper right corner, there's like three dots. And if you click that, it'll say new incognito window and it'll be like dark. That means that you're in like, almost like a brand new browser and --
Anne: it's a dark window.
Erikka: -- if you Google -- it's the dark web.
Anne: You Google yourself in the dark window, on the dark web.
Erikka: Google yourself. And then you will see how you are coming up from the dark web. No.
Anne: But that's so important.
Erikka: Seriously. Yeah. It's is. It is.
Anne: That is so important.
Erikka: You'll be shocked.
Anne: And I say, Google yourself regularly, because you don't wanna be found for things that maybe you don't wanna be found for.
Erikka: Right. Or old things, you know, like --
Anne: Exactly. I love that. You said old things because that's so important that we make sure that you clean up, make sure you clean up online. If you can. It's really difficult sometimes to completely clean up things that have been said. And that again, could be another podcast episode. If you've said things online, your social posts show up online as well.
Erikka: Yes, they do.
Anne: They do.
Erikka: I've definitely seen Twitter posts come up in a Google search for me. And I was like, oh, okay.
Anne: So if you searched your name, right, Anne Ganguzza, I think the first thing, if it's properly done, that should come up is your website.
Erikka: Should be, yes.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: And if you have multiple pages on your website, which I think is a good thing, and Erikka, I believe that you agreed with me, you'll see like you're about section, you'll see whatever that might be about, demos, those types of things, whatever sections, they should also show up. And then I think the next thing might be either YouTube or LinkedIn or whatever your social media social profiles are. I think YouTube possibly is the next one that come up.
Erikka: It depends on the one you're most active in, honestly.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: If you're not super active on YouTube, like me, like I haven't posted anything with there in a while, bad Erikka but yeah.
Anne: Yeah. So the next thing for me is YouTube. 'Cause I've been doing a little blurb on YouTube trying to yeah -- and again, that's another thing that I've been doing to try to increase my SEO is I've been putting out weekly videos. And so not only for VO BOSS, do I put out weekly videos, but for Anne Ganguzza I do. So for each brand I'm putting out well VO Peeps, I mean I'm only one person, but as most people know, I have a team of people that help me. I have been putting my own videos out on Anne Ganguzza to try to increase the Anne Ganguzza brand and VO BOSS, we do all of our episodes weekly. We put that on YouTube as well, just to contribute to the SEO. And as a matter of fact, we also transcribe our episodes as well to help any possible type of SEO. So if you were to search or if you listen to any of the episodes on, let's say Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you'll see that the transcripts are there as well.
Erikka: Yeah. And I think, I think LinkedIn is another one that comes up heavy for me because it is one of the largest --
Anne: Yes, me too.
Erikka: -- social media platforms in the world. And a lot of people sleep on LinkedIn. I know in our community we talk about it more, but seriously it's like, 'cause you know, it's like it's Facebook in a suit. You know, people say that, but --
Anne: It is Facebook in a suit.
Erikka: But just about everybody's there. So --
Anne: Everybody's on it. Yes, absolutely. And you're right. And now there's the feed. And so I'm posting daily to that, and I'm trying to post content that matters. So another thing that can help you with SEO is to publish content and update it regularly or new content. And so I also blog on a weekly basis, and one of my blogs every week is my video that I've put on YouTube, which I've then transcribed, which then becomes a blog of mine. And then I also write a blog every other week. So that again are words that come back to my website so that again, people can find me easily.
Erikka: Yeah. Another thing I did fairly recently, which I probably need to do some maintenance work on, but I'd created a business on Google business.
Anne: Oh yes. Good idea.
Erikka: Which is easy to do. And then that way you could actually get people to write reviews for you too. So yeah. You can come up there and show up as a business. So.
Anne: That's the other thing, when you do a Google search on yourself, that should show up. That and Yelp always showed up pretty high up. But I think lately they've not been coming up as high up in the search.
Erikka: I haven't seen Yelp as high lately, but --
Anne: Yeah. You know, well, there's so many issues with Yelp, I think with people sabotaging other businesses by writing bad reviews and that sort of thing, which was a real thing.
Erikka: Yeah. I mean, SEO's kind of like credit scores, right? Like you said, the algorithm changes all the time. You get the most information that you can to try to optimize, but you're not gonna master it because it's proprietary to those companies, and they put a lot of money into keeping them very secret and specialized. Just do the best you can.
Anne: So consider, you know, I'm thinking for the future, it's gonna be something I've been looking at too. I mean, if you're not advertising already, think about that. Because it's becoming more and more prevalent out there, but for sure, understand who you are, define who you are as a business, figure out what keywords you want to be found for, make sure that they appear in your websites, make sure they appear in your social media profiles and try to just Google yourself every week or so. And longevity by the way, has something to do with it. So make sure that you are Googling yourself every week, every other week, and you too can win at the SEO game, and it's not that complicated.
Erikka: It's not. And bringing it back to our balance theme, you know, it's like we do things actively to get these leads and to get these jobs every day, like auditions or you know, some people on P2Ps or doing your direct marketing. SEO is something that you can do passively so that work just walks in the door.
Anne: There you go. I love it. Wow. I could talk another half an hour on this at least.
Erikka: I could. I think we both talk a lot, Anne because we get paid for it.
Anne: Ah, there we go. Yeah. Well BOSSes, you can use your voice to make an immediate difference and give back to the communities that give to you. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. You can absolutely make a difference for a small, quarterly contribution. And a great big shout-out to our sponsor. ipDTL. You too can network and communicate like BOSSes like Erikka J and I, and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Erikka: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
BOSSES, it’s time for you to use online casting sites + P2Ps to your advantage. Anne chats with Natasha Marchewka and Katherine Tole, co-founders of V123 Pros, a learning resource that elevates talents’ branding and V123 game. They discuss the importance of online casting sites, how you can brand yourself to be searchable & professional + tips on how to get & keep client connections through these websites.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza. And today I am excited to welcome two very special guests to the show, super VO talents and business entrepreneurs Natasha Marchewka and Katherine Tole. They have paired up to build learning resources that will elevate your brand and your online casting game together. They are self-proclaimed and verified, I would say, V123 super nerds and the creators of the very successful V123 Pros. Ladies, thank you so, so much for joining me today.
Katherine: Thanks for having us, Anne.
Natasha: Thanks so, so much for the invite.
Anne: I love it. I love it, love it, love it. So I have lots of questions to ask you. But before we get to the online casting pros and cons, which are gonna be amazing, let's start off by telling the BOSSes a little bit about yourselves and your VO journey. So whoever wants to start, Katherine.
Katherine: Yeah, sure. So I worked in tech for a number of years. I got a chemical engineering degree, decided I didn't wanna do engineering and have always been very, very left and right brain, like started doing musical theater a lot when I was younger and being in choir. And I really missed that side of myself. And so I started taking classes nights and weekends at VoiceTrax when I was working in tech, just as a hobby, just for something fun to kind of get out my creative side. And then after a few years I realized I'm getting really great feedback, and I'm doing well. And what if I tried to make this a career question mark? Like, how would that be to be a full-time creative?
And so I took my little like nest egg that I had gotten from an acquisition from a tech company. And I left, or at least took a break from the tech world and started doing this full time. And about a year after I did that, I met Natasha, and I wasn't doing particularly well on Voice123. I was on it. It was the first place that I ever went to. I took a class at VoiceTrax all about Voice123, and then three months later they changed everything. And so I was just very disgruntled about it.
And so Natasha offered to teach this webinar to the workout group, the Larry Hudson workout group that I was a part of with her. And I learned so much. I was mind blown. And I realized there were so many things that I was doing wrong that they just don't teach you. There's just some little thing, you know, it's game, you gotta play it. There's some little tricks. And I said, hey, Natasha, I wanna help you help other people with all this knowledge that you have. And what if I take my tech background and help you do all these wonderful things? So.
Anne: I love it. The entrepreneurial spirit.
Natasha: Well, I'm so glad she did that because I really just wanted to help people with the positive side of online casting. It's such a huge opportunity. There's so many jobs available, and I was just kind of tired of hearing my peers say they weren't doing well, because I was. So I wanted to help give them a leg up. And when I did the webinar, free webinar for my workout group, it was just about sharing information. And, um, I'm so thrilled to hear again, Katherine, that you see so much from that. And Katherine is -- we are such a great marriage of different skill sets.
So we came together, we were helping people one hour at a time, and then realized we can't do this anymore. Let's do something a little more scalable. So we created a course, but I had been on Voice123 for almost my whole career. So I started in voiceover in 2006 at home, pretty much full-time. I mean, I just, I have, I'm a performer. I have degree in broadcasting. And so I had all those special skills that voice actors need or voiceover talent need to build a successful business, which is business acumen and some performance talent, and some experience in all the things business and tech and craft-wise.
So Voice123 was something I started in 2007 and on and off and on and off, because depending on what I was doing or what kind of auditions were coming in, I, I didn't pay too much attention, but I knew I needed to be online. I didn't live in LA. I didn't live in New York. I needed to be online if I was gonna have a viable business. And so 16 years later or so, Voice123 really works as a piece of my marketing puzzle. And I feel really strongly about how beneficial it is for talent to use that as part of their growth and income to make it work for them, because we have to do everything we can to have income flowing from different places. You can't rely on just one source of income as a talent or a freelancer. So, yeah, that's kind of my story.
Anne: Yeah. Well, first of all, I'd like to make a comment because you started on Voice123 just about the same time I did. And it certainly has evolved along the way. And my next question was talking about, okay, online casting sites, there's so much discussion online and on podcasts, and are they evil? Are they you know, the necessary evil, are they not? Do you need to belong to one in order to get work? And I think it would be a good time to maybe discuss this, your pros and cons for online casting sites.
And I know you guys specialize in V123, but I think both of your experiences, right, have led to finessing what it takes to be successful on that platform. But I think that you need to have the information and knowledge of other casting sites as well. So I think an overall -- let's talk about casting sites. Do we need them? Do we not need them? Are they necessary evil? What are your thoughts on that?
Katherine: I think they're fantastic because they're doing a lot of legwork that as a talent, you couldn't possibly keep up with. You know, their SEO hopefully is really strong. Their business is to collect more hirers for us. So I don't subscribe to the negative camp that they just wanna take money from talent. Well, they're a business. So they wanna figure out how they can make money. And if they're figuring out with integrity how to best make money, it's likely that I will benefit. So I have worked on several platforms to some success and not.
One of my favorite things about Voice123 is that you are encouraged to have a relationship with a client. How else would you grow your business if you couldn't have a continuing relationship with the clients? Some of them now I'm noticing are staying on the platform. They love the options that they can have by putting out auditions. But I have so many ongoing clients that I found on online casting that I wouldn't have otherwise. So I think it's necessary. And I say, poo poo to everyone who says, it's no good, because I'm a business woman, I'm a freelancer. And I wanna make money, and I'm gonna do it with the people with the most integrity possible. And they are available.
Anne: Well, I'll tell you, you mentioned SEO, and who has better SEO probably than online casting sites? Because everybody's profile has those words that are searchable, and I'm sure, Katherine, you can speak to the power of SEO and how it can help you to be found as a talent, and absolutely how once you're found on that platform, the cool thing is, is that yeah, if the client likes you, they just come back to you, whether they come back to you on the platform or not. I had a lot of clients that came to me after they found me on that platform. And that was one way I got a whole slew of clients that returned to me, which was amazing. Katherine, talk about your thoughts on that. .
Katherine: So to your first point, there's a lot of voice actors. You can search their name and their Voices.com or their Voice123 profile is gonna come up first for their website in some cases. So if you join one of these sites, you do need to make sure that your profile is fully filled out and looks professional. 'Cause what if that's the first thing that someone finds of you? And it was just a thing you kind of casually threw up with a couple sentences and you don't look bookable? So I would say no matter what sites you're on, go through and make sure you keep those updated and refresh demos, things like that because they might have better SEO than your website in some cases. That's the same for LinkedIn. It's a lot of times easier to find people's LinkedIn's profiles than their own websites because of that SEO.
One of my favorite things about Voice123 and a lot of other casting sites is that people can come find you just because you're there and you have demos. And a lot of folks that work at random XYZ tech company, they don't know that agents exist. They're just gonna type in like voiceover online. They're gonna search through the listings. They might not even have any idea that an audition is a thing. 'Cause if you think about hiring a copywriter, an artist, auditioning is not really a thing. You go and you listen to their body of work that they've already done, and you hire them based on that and what you see and what you hear. So for a lot of people, they might come across Voice123, just immediately start searching, listening to people's stuff, and then just message them; off and away.
Anne: Yeah. That's a really good point. I'll tell you, and it's something that I'm always talking to my students about when we're talking about corporate and e-learning and especially if it's for corporate training, I'm like the course of someone's day job, if they work in corporate, which I think we all understand, is they don't know about auditioning or talent agents or who they can contact. They know Google and they know searchability. And if they find someone, and that's about it, what they know about casting for voiceovers. So it helps to have that good SEO. And I think also to present as many opportunities for work for a voice talent as you can, and online casting sites are one part of that puzzle, in addition to talent agents and online searches and just having a great website, so.
Katherine: Another really great thing about online casting sites is that the barrier to entry is so much lower than getting your very first agent. You can sign on, you know, with enough coaching and make sure that you really, really are ready. It's not a place to just like play around and try things out. But it's the first place you can really book meaningful clients and start that body of work. So then you can go to an agent and say, hey, these are the clients I already have that I can bring to you.
Natasha: I also like to share that I think there's less competition on online casting, depending on the, on the site, but yes, it's full of competition, and they're very good, but the auditions can be anywhere from we're looking 5, 10, 50 auditions. Agent auditions, they're taking hundreds of auditions in maybe from different agencies, and they're all allegedly like really, really good talent. You don't have a lot of amateur talent in the mix, which you do in online casting. So your odds of booking are better than they are with an agent, just saying. But I mean, not that it's not challenging, but your odds are pretty good on online casting to build up some income.
Anne: Good point. Let's talk a little bit about, and I don't know if you wanna go specifically into Voice123, but let's talk about branding on an online casting platform and how important is that? Because once you are on the platform, you want people to be able to find you and be able to maybe hire you based upon, you know, what separates you from the rest of the talent.
Natasha: You really need to use the most specific words about you, whether it's for SEO or for branding, because on online casting, you're competing against other voice actors. So to say professional voice talent on your profile on Voice123 is telling them nothing, and people do it. Don't do it, people. Find words to describe you that can paint a picture for people in their heads. You know, you have your opportunity to have a photo, which agents and casting directors don't necessarily like, but we're not focusing We're not targeting those hirers. We're targeting business people generally who will benefit from seeing your photo for some sort of like context and some words that will help with some voice age qualities.
Katherine and I do a whole session -- we call them keying labs, but they're essentially branding as well in that we put our heads together with six other talent and listen to talent samples. So we can help provide you words to go to the table, whether it's for your website or for Voice123 to brand yourself so that you aren't just putting down professional voice talent on your profiles. It's super important to stand out and look different than everyone else.
Anne: Now that is a really wonderful service because it's very, very difficult, I mean, to brand yourself by yourself. And so having the additional ears to be able to hear someone's voice and help them to categorize that for them, I think is super important. Now is that part of -- I know you said you do a, a workshop. Is that part of the package that you offer on V123 Pros? Or is it a separate?
Natasha: So keying labs are a separate thing that they're kind of rare. We have a waiting list on our website and when we have a group of people that we feel, uh, will jive together, meaning not just beginners or not, you know, there's a nice group of people, we put out a couple of keywording labs, a good mix of people, and we'll put them out. So they're happening, I'd say every four months or so. When you do them, you realize, oh, this is really helpful. But trying to sell it to people is -- we are not the most salesy people. So we're not out there shouting from the rooftops, but when they understand it, they realize, oh, this was really important that I do this. It was so helpful.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Katherine: We gave like a teeny tiny like teaser of it at eVOcation, and then everybody was like, oh my God, this was incredible. This is so helpful. And we're like, yes, it is. It's so helpful to hear objective opinions about what you sound like from your peers.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. And so in terms of then your branding or the profile, which I would assume is one of the key areas that you need to have, you know, up to snuff in order to be visible on the platform, tell us a little bit about the profile, some tips for having a great profile. I assume you'd have to have good demos too.
Katherine: Especially for Voice123, you need to look bookable right away. So that could be just keep a tab of your profile open and hit refresh every day. 'Cause your stats of the last time you were on the site are there and also the stat of how quickly you respond to messages. So as soon as you get a message on that platform, you gotta say, hello, hey, what's up? Don't say that. And then you also need to make sure you have really great demos that stand out, and they don't need to all be professionally produced. They can be dry samples, 'cause again, a lot of people are expecting to hear what they are going to hear when you send 'em the finished product. And then on your actual profile, be brief, be to the point. Natasha, you like saying these things.
Natasha: I do. The really great news is that it's a level playing field. So even if you're a new talent or you're experienced talent, nobody can tell. This is the magic of the internet and branding. And as long as you're looking bookable, as Katherine says, you don't have to have been doing it for very long to play along with the other people who've been doing in a long time. The bad news is sometimes people choose photos or don't choose a photo at all. Choose photos that look, well, crazy or because the pictures are so small, they look like crazy people. You have to be discerning about what you put on there because you wanna differentiate yourself from an amateur.
And so that has to do with the descriptive words you use, the professionalism you use. So just because you did business in other industries doesn't mean you shouldn't put it on your profile. Hirers wanna know that you are a business person. They wanna know that you're not gonna drop the ball. So if you add what you did in your past lives, that's beneficial to them to know that they can trust you to not drop the ball with their very important job.
So remembering, much like LinkedIn, as Katherine said, you wanna appear as professional as you can. Don't stress, be creative, and make it super pro, and lead with that foot of I've done this and this, and that benefits me in this area of corporate narration. And you talk so much about corporate narration. And so as you know, it's a benefit if you've been in the medical field to do medical narration, or if you've been in the tech or FinTech field to talk about using that terminology. So go ahead and use all your background. But when you get down to the skills and services area of whatever profile it is, don't tell them like every community theater play you are in. Like, keep it brief, keep it pro you can put your coaches. They might not know your coaches, but just fill it out enough that makes it look like, you know what you're talking about. That's my 50 cents. .
Anne: I need to know what denotes a crazy, a crazy profile picture. What, what just out of curiosity.
Katherine: Sometimes black and white doesn't carry over well when it's a really small photo, unless you really wanna be like the old school announcer style person, or if it's like a super artsy photo, you know that sometimes can't translate very well.
Natasha: It does sometimes look amazing and sometimes -- sorry, but mustache and glasses can sometimes look crazy. And then if that's your persona, make sure you get a super pro photo. Like it's okay to get snapshots if it translates well. But sometimes if you got a hat and glasses and a mustache, you just look like you're wearing a disguise or something. You know it --
Anne: Yeah.
Natasha: So be sure -- lighting is so important, you know? So you can pull it off with a snapshot, but I would err on the side of professional photo.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. Especially 'cause they're small.
Natasha: Yeah. They're teeny tiny and then they don't translate well.
Katherine: We did an entire work about profile photos and like what constitutes crazy. So if you wanna know more and get some actual visual examples.
Anne: Okay. I'm very interested in that. .
Natasha: Some people use illustrations though. And those work great, avatars or whatever. Yeah. And, and if you're in animation, that works really, really well.
Anne: Now is it better to have more samples slash demos of your work or less or more targeted? I've heard that's an advantage if they're more targeted for genres.
Natasha: Quality over quantity.
Anne: Yep. Okay.
Natasha: As long as they're not repetitive. If they sound the same, there's no sense in having 99 samples. Yes. You can have a lot and then you have lots more opportunity to put keywords in there. But if they're all similar, then you're not doing yourself any favors. It's all very strategic.
Anne: So now let's talk about everybody's, I think, Achilles heel is the auditioning, right, and the feedback. So what specific things audition-wise can help make you stand out and maybe feedback is our topic after this? Because I think people get really crazy about the feedback or the lack thereof.
Natasha: Ah, do they? Okay. I love giving feedback about auditions. So one of the services that we provide on our website is audition audits. I've taken a break for the rest of 2022 because it became too much. But I love receiving say six auditions from people and telling them why it's bookable or not bookable. 'Cause you can hear pretty quickly, I'm sure, Anne, as a coach, you can hear very quickly, and it's really no different than what you'd submit to an agent. Technically, is it perfect? Is it how you would submit the job? Because if it's technically, if there's noise or if there's more than a half or a second on the front, you're off the list, and these aren't even -- we're not talking casting directors or top casting people.
We're talking about everyday people, maybe they've never cast before, but they can tell when they hear studio noise or room noise or there's too much space that you probably don't know what you're doing. So you wanna make sure technically you're completely proficient. And then the craft, as it is in agent auditions, those first three seconds are vital because you're competing against so many people, and they're click, click, click clicking. You need to sound first of all great, but then different you can sound great and 100 people can sound great, but then how are you gonna stand out? And that's to put a little bit of different phrasing, melody, emphasis-is-is on the words in a way that someone else didn't.
Anne: What about improv? Thoughts on that? Improvving, slating?
Natasha: I think slating is safe. Like people don't ask for it, but I think depending on the listener, it can sound like, oh they're pro; they have a slate. So it's creative choice. I just cut to the chase. I just give it to them. But improvving again, know your audience. So we're not talking about casting directors. These are regular generally marketing or business people. If it lends to a great performance, by all means, why not? And you have the opportunity to give as many takes as you want. I wouldn't give more than two, maybe three if it's super short, but you have the opportunity to give two different takes. You can do whatever you want. And so I think it's super beneficial in this case to improv if it's really lending to the performance.
Katherine: Yeah. And having two different takes that are dramatically different can be really helpful on online casting. 'Cause if you have something that's very bright at the foreground and then in the second take, you have something that's very calm, it's often common that I'll say, you know, the first take that I'm giving you is much brighter. The second is much calmer, happy to split between the two or give you something different if needed. And then they can kind of trust that you can go somewhere different than maybe what you gave them out of the gate. And I think that an average, on online casting people maybe are a little less savvy and won't assume that you can do that until you actually give them that range.
Natasha: And I wanna underline that Katherine would say that in text, in the submission, in her letter. She wouldn't say that by slate or anything. It would just be clean takes. And she would clearly say it in the text below in the attachment.
Anne: Right. You don't need to go on and on and on in your slate about, "hi, I'm Anne. And I'm from --
Natasha: Don't go on and on.
Anne: -- "Southern California."
Natasha: Yeah, at most.
Anne: Yes. Vital seconds. Yeah. I tend to agree with that.
Katherine: At most I'll ever say, "Katherine Tole, two takes," and then you say like a little bit more about those takes in the description.
Anne: So, alright, feedback. In terms of feedback on the site, I don't know if you have any specifics, because I believe for Voice123, this is part of how you possibly get ranked in terms of search, right, is the feedback that you've been given? Is it stars? How does that work?
Katherine: Yeah. So there used to be a rating system that you would get, and it was, I think one to five stars. I don't remember if it was actually stars, and unfortunately clients didn't know was one star good, was five stars good? And so there wasn't a lot of education behind that rating system. And so people kind of just got like garbage in, garbage out for those rating systems. And so in 2018 they revitalized that whole system. And now it's just, did you give it a thumbs up 'cause you liked it or did you not? And those thumbs up on an average over the course of the last 12 months of what you've auditioned for give you a percentile ranking on the site. Now as of maybe a month ago, they're also adding in what you've booked on the site to be the same quantity as one thumbs up. 'Cause obviously if you booked it, you probably were liked. So there's a little tweak to that algorithm now.
Anne: Ah got it. So you don't ever have to book necessarily to be ranked higher. You just have to have the likes. So that's really good to not discourage, let's say, people who are new to the voiceover industry and feel like, oh I'm already penalized because I --
Katherine: Yeah, it's all the same.
Anne: -- haven't booked a job yet.
Natasha: They start you at the top 50 percentile. As long as you're getting one thumb up for say every five audition, you'll move up to the top 10th percentile. There's no thumbs down. But if you don't get a thumbs up, that works into your percentile. It's a tricky situation, although we have a free download on our website. So our website is V123pros.com, and we have free resources. And one of them explains this whole percentile thing because it's so important and everyone asks.
Anne: Yeah, that seems to be the key. And so talk a little bit about the side hustle, the side gig of V123pros.com and what it is that you offer. 'Cause I'm sure that this kind of little teaser is starting to get people like, whoa, how can I find out more? Because I really wanna beef up my profile or find out how I can be more successful on this platform. I know that's like the number one thing when people are on online casting platforms, they're like, I'm not booking, I'm not getting work. So tell us about what your program offers.
Katherine: Yeah. So a lot of answers, a lot of help. That's really what we're trying to do is we're trying to help and share the wealth of knowledge that we've gained from using the site so successfully. And so we really recommend that everybody start -- you know, you can start with the free resources if you'd like to see kind of what we offer initially. And then we really recommend that people start with our online course. There's about 15 modules. So we break things down into really bite-sized chunks. You can play pause, rewind, rewatch as much as you want, which was a huge benefit versus doing it live all the time.
And so the online course lets you take in all of the information, we keep it updated. And then we have once a month, we have these workinars that we do the fourth Friday of every month. And that's a little live piece where you can come and ask your questions. We have like a subject of the month that we talk about, and that way we can do one on one help. And those are only $25 a month because we really want them to be a thing that you can come to easily. And then we also have the keywording labs. You'll see that on the website. And there's a wait list that you can sign up for for when we schedule those, because we wanna make sure that the times we schedule work for the people that are interested in them.
Anne: I was gonna say, if you buy the course, you mentioned that the updates are free for the lifetime of the course.
Katherine: I mentioned earlier from my personal experience that I took a course that then three months later, these, all these things changed, and then I wasn't able to get that new info. So.
Yeah.
Natasha: Katherine and I have really priced it not to sell it, but the truth is we've priced it at a really reasonable price where we know talent aren't lighting their money on fire. It's huge value, but then also to give updates. So we've already recorded updates to all the videos since we first recorded. So I guess a year after or something, and we're going to do another update soon because Voice123 does make a lot of tweaks through the year. Another thing we do, 'cause people will come to us with like "help me," and they , they just, just want, just --
Katherine: "I don't know what I'm doing! Ahh!"
Natasha: So again, we really recommend starting with the course because without that knowledge of how to participate on the site. We can make it all shiny and nice for you, but you still need to know how to roll on the site. But we do what we call PPPs, Profile and playlist packages where people just hand it all over to us, and we optimize their profile, and we help them keyword the heck out of their, out of their playlists, out of their sample.
Anne: I would do that.
Natasha: Yes.
Anne: I'm just saying, I'm just gonna say my issue is that I don't have enough time to audition specifically these days, but yeah, that is an amazing service, and I would be so willing. Just please do it. and I would buy the course for the lifetime updates. Yeah.
Natasha: Yeah, right.
Anne: The keywords are, the keywords are essential too because?
Katherine: They help other people find you. So, Anne, you don't have to be on the platform auditioning actively. I mean you do need to do it every once in a while to keep your percentile up. But, but that's so many people can use search with those keywords on your samples and just message you and be like, hey, we found your sample and we wanna book you for this thing. Who doesn't wanna say yes to that?
Anne: Well, that's true now. See, you're getting me thinking. That's usually when I, I had tried different levels as well. That's usually how I got booked was the direct just because I didn't have a ton of time to audition, which is great for someone like me. But I think for any of you BOSSes out there, having a profile on an online casting site -- my vote is for Voice123. It's one of my favorite platforms because you've always been able to work with the client directly, and there has never been interference in the many years that it's been going, even though it changes. And one thing that's really cool about VO BOSS is we have an affiliate program with Voice123.
So for the BOSSes out there that are interested and don't have a membership, we have 15% off. I'm gonna put a link in the show notes section on the website for you guys to follow. So you can get 15% off select memberships. And so that will be great. And of course we'll put a link to your course, the V123 Pros, and I'm recommending everything that they offer. because I've worked with these ladies a couple of times already, and they're amazing, BOSSes, if you're looking for help.
And I think especially those starting out, it's absolutely one of the places you have to be. I mean, you need to present yourself with multiple opportunities for work, and online casting sites is for sure a part of that. So, fantastic. So tell us once again where they can find you and each of you as well, so that they can get the help they need.
Natasha: All our info is on V123pros.com. And in our about section, you can connect with each of us. It has all our info. It just makes it easier for you to go to V123pros.com and leaf through it like you would in the old days . Go through all the tabs because we try not to bombard people with stuff. We try to make it clean and clear. And this is what you need. Try this out. If you can't go through the website because you are rushed, then Voice123 might not be for you because you have to take some time to comb through things sometimes. And if you don't play the game on Voice123 properly, you could end up tanking. We say it's one thing to pay for and use Voice123 and it's another thing to use it optimally. And it's a world of difference. So check out the website and has all our contact information and our websites on there and email and all the things. So thank you, Anne.
Anne: Yes, absolutely. And you guys also, you have a video podcast, is that correct?
Natasha: So I have a separate collaboration for a webcast called Speechless VO on YouTube. So I learned really thanks to Katherine the power of collaboration. So Katherine came into my life and I was like, this is amazing because you have your what you can give, and then someone else comes and you just power through. So another best friend of mine and I are doing Speechless VO, real life in VO and have that webcast going. Kim Wilson. Yeah.
Anne: Fantastic. Fantastic. And I can attest to that because you know, this is one of the reasons why for VO BOSS, I come up with newly themed series so that I can work with a co-host. I mean, it's just putting the two together to really work with each other, to provide an educational resource. And that is what you two ladies do so well, and really, thank you so much for your contributions and everything that you do for the community. BOSSes out there, really check these ladies out. I'm gonna put their links on the show notes. I want to talk to you guys a little bit about if you want to have a chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference in the world and give back to the communities that give to you, you can visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more information and to commit to that. And of course, a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. We love to network like BOSSes. You can find out more at ipdtl.com. BOSSes, have an amazing week. Ladies, it's been amazing and we'll see you next week.
Natasha: Thank you so much.
Katherine: Thank you, Anne.
Anne: Thank you. All right, bye, guys.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
How do you plan to avoid risk? BOSSES, we’re here to help! In this episode, Anne & Erikka dive into the essential planning every entrepreneur should be doing for balance in their business & life. From setting up your 401k to planning for retirement, they bring it all back to how balance is managing and planning for what the future holds. Set up your will, find a good life insurance plan, and know that your future self will be thanking you for all the hard work.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am back with my brand new series, Balance, with our special guest. Co-host Erikka J. Hey Erikka.
Erikka: Hey Anne. Hey BOSSes.
Anne: How are you?
Erikka: I'm pretty good. How about you?
Anne: Thankfully? I am good today. Not that I was really bad any other day, but I've had a few doctor's appointments recently. It got me to thinking, because I still visit my oncologist every few months and I had had some troubling blood results, which are fine, everybody. It's fine. And I'm very thankful about that, but it made me think about what if, God forbid, something should happen to me, and I was unable to work at my full time voiceover career for a certain amount of time or what if I was out for a couple months if I had to have surgery or, or whatnot? And I thought it would be a really good discussion to have. It may not be the most happy pleasant discussion to have, but I think it's an important one to have for BOSSes that run their own business.
Erikka: Absolutely. I'm a big proponent of balance in looking at it's easy to think about the present and all the things that you have to do to presently run your business. But to take a balanced approach is also to think about planning for the future. So --
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Erikka: -- things happen that we don't like, you know, either we get sick or no one wants to say it, but one day we're gonna die, all of us. We have that in common and hopefully one thing happy to talk about is one day we'll all retire and just be able to do the things that we love, even though we love this work. But you know, maybe just being able to go to the beach and make that be your job, you know, so planning for retirement.
Anne: Yeah. Such great points. And you know, I've made it fairly clear to many people that know me, that I am planning for retirement. And I don't wanna have to be burdened with, oh my gosh, where's my money coming from? I wanna be able to enjoy my retirement. So let's talk about the things that maybe when you are a creative entrepreneur, we don't necessarily invest in that help us to plan for the future. I mean, number one, health insurance, of course.
And I'll tell you, my story is, well, my husband works. And so I'm taking advantage of that. And I take advantage of his healthcare plan, which thankfully has been a good one. And we make sure that we get the best that we can get just simply because I have had health challenges in the past. And it really is a lifesaver when it comes to money in terms of whatever we have to pay out when I go to see the doctor, right. It's kind of crazy. So I think health insurance is super important. And I know if you are union and you are in a certain level of earnings, you can take advantage of the healthcare that they offer.
Erikka: Yeah. Actually, everybody knows that currently I'm still have a full-time job. So I'm somewhat in the same position as you, Anne, in that I still have corporate insurance, but I am about, I think like $50 away from qualifying for SAG insurance.
Anne: It's there you go.
Erikka: It's like $49 and change. It's pretty funny actually. but that's definitely something I'm looking at, even as if it's a possibility to have a secondary.
Anne: Well, that's what I was just gonna ask you. Like that's not something that you would replace your current corporate health insurance.
Erikka: No, no. No, not for now. I mean, obviously the whole corporate job, that's where I'm at today. Will I still be doing that 10 years from now, doing both? I doubt it. So kind of just having that plan for the future and making sure that me and my family have health insurance.
Anne: And it's not a guarantee anymore that when you go to work for a company that you're going to get health insurance these days. There has been a pandemic. And I think that there's probably no more important time to maybe think about health insurance as when there's a pandemic happening. And you wanna make sure that you keep yourselves healthy and can pay for any care that you might need. And especially now let's say you get long-term COVID and that affects you. You were a full-time voice talent. Even if you weren't a full-time voice talent, if you're part-time and you can't voice, what are you going to do? So what about health insurance that could be a secondary health insurance?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I think that's a great segue to number two is disability insurance. That's something that a lot of corporations offer as well, but if you're not working for a corporation or maybe it's just not as affordable, there are independent disability policies out there. And I do have one, even though I have the corporate job to supplement. So if you can't voice for a few weeks, you can still get some income.
Anne: Right. That's actually so smart of you. So what made you make that decision to purchase independent insurance?
Erikka: Yeah, I think it was probably -- God. How long ago? At least maybe like seven or eight years ago, I started talking to a financial planner, and we started talking about life insurance and sort of disability insurance comes up in that conversation because it's all about wealth protection. Right? So even though it's making you great money, it's like, again, something happens to you, and that is gone or a lot of corporations with the long term disability, it cuts you down to like 60%. My father had a really bad accident that almost killed him four years ago. And his disability insurance, you know, like, I think like the first week or two was like short term and it's 100%, but then it went down to 60%.
He had a mortgage, you know, a dog, like, you know, you don't plan for these kind of things to happen. So you have to have that contingency plan in place. So it really just made me think I had two kids. I was a single mom at the time. And it was like, you know, if something happens, I gotta make sure that we're okay. And I am risk averse. Like the definition, look at dictionary, Erikka J's picture is there. So So I like to have a plan and plan ABC. So I needed to have life insurance and disability.
Anne: And you know, what's so interesting. Even health insurance, I'm just gonna backtrack. Just a touch, because it's not a secret. I had some expensive surgery, not so long ago. And in a year, if you have a decent insurance plan, a lot of times they'll say, well, we'll cover you up to... And then after so much money that you put into it out of pocket, we cover 100%. Well, what happens is when you reach that number where you shouldn't typically have to pay anymore out of pocket, guess what? They start determining the procedures that are actually qualify for that. I've got, see, I got so upset about it. I was, I couldn't even get it out.
So yeah, some procedures and some portions of your doctor visits or, or procedures, they are not covered under that. I was like, well, look, at least I made my goal. So now I shouldn't have to pay anything else for my next, you know, set of tests that come back. No, come to find out that a lot of that stuff, some of it isn't covered under the policy and the plan. And so you really have to read those plans carefully and the fine print, 'cause a lot of times they make it sound a whole lot better than it might be.
Erikka: And I'll backtrack with you, Anne, I'll run back to where you are. Not all health insurance plans are equal, right? So even the ones that are offered by corporations or by, you know, whatever, you know, full-time job you might have or part-time, it might be that if you qualify for SAG insurance, it might be that that plan is better. You have to look at the deductible, you have to look at what is and is not covered at what percentage who's in network that's close to where you are. You know, so just having a plan and not just kind of taking what's thrown at you and looking at your options is super important for health insurance and dental, dental. Oh my goodness, dental. We talk, please take care of your mouth.
Anne: Is there any dental plan that covers more than a $1000 worth of work. That's what I wanna know.
Erikka: Yeah. I don't think so.
Anne: Because I think everybody has the same plan, and it covers up to $1000, and yet some of those dental procedures are way more than that. Especially I know I went through implant surgery a couple years back, and I had to strategically time it so that I got maximum amount of coverage one year, and then I could get the rest of it the following year. And so --
Erikka: We did the same.
Anne: -- thankfully I could schedule things a little bit apart so that I could strategically get more money. And that's so important for us, right? I mean, in the middle of those surgeries, you know, my voice changed because I didn't have teeth maybe, or I had teeth or I was having a problem with my teeth, and I was in pain. So that's definitely something to think about.
Now, most people, and I'm gonna come back to the short term disability, most people don't even think about short-term disability these days because it's just one of those kind of, I don't know, rare things. But the problem with thinking about it in that way is that it only takes one thing to happen where you will need short term disability or in long term disability. And that's when it becomes uber important that you have protected yourself.
Erikka: Absolutely. And that's the balanced mindset, right? Is like none of us want to think about being hurt or not being able to do something for ourselves or being, you know, in a bad space. But the reality is that it is possible. A few years ago I was thinking that I was still a little younger than I was and jumping on a trampoline with my kids and rolled my ankle pretty bad before at a gig when I was doing stage performances. So when I was jumping on the trampoline, it really made it bad. And I had a high ankle sprain and I was in a boot for like six weeks. So thank God. I mean actually it's voice over, you know, that doesn't really affect us too much, but there may be some things that happen where you could be taken outta the game for six weeks or so.
Anne: You know, you could be in pain and just that simple fact, right, it affects because what we do is with our bodies and you know, not just our mouths, right? But our bodies and if our bodies are affected, it affects our mouths. It affects our performance. It affects our mental health. I will say, thank goodness that we do, at least when I went through my surgeries, I was back in the studio after two weeks, thankfully. But I also couldn't be in the booth for too long. Otherwise I got tired. I was still recovering. And so thankfully during that time, you know, my husband had a job, but if this were what was supplying the family with financial aid, it would really be something that I would've thought about.
Erikka: Yeah. And this is something I'll have to dig more into. So nobody take my word for this. I'm just kind of expressing a thought here. I do think that there are some plans that allow for like partial disability, because like you mentioned, like, you know, right now, like let's say you were back in the booth, but you weren't able to work at full capacity, and you can prove that your income has been affected by that dramatically. I do think that there are some policies that can help you with that too, because you can show that your income has been reduced by a medical condition. That's partially disabled. So just even thinking like that, that there's a variety of scenarios that can happen that none of us want to happen, but planning for the future is important so that you don't put yourself in a bad spot.
Anne: And I don't care how old you are. actually the younger you are, the younger you are, I'm gonna say it's highly recommended to think about these things when you're young. Because let's say retirement, right, if you start putting away for retirement or you have a company that is -- do companies match?
Erikka: A lot of them do.
Anne: Do companies match anymore? Okay. That's good.
Erikka: Yeah, mine does. And it's fantastic.
Anne: Yeah. That was a big benefit, right, that your companies would match what you put into your retirement that was like, ooh, I have great benefits. And it's really all about that. And I, I have a feeling though that these benefits are slipping away from companies, but they're still very, very important. And I know back when I did work, I have a pension thankfully, which will be coming to me. And so does my husband. So we have that that we're accounting on, but we've also got other plans as well that we've invested in. Mutual funds and whatever it is. What about any other types of investments that you can recommend?
Erikka: Yeah. So number three, retirement. Definitely. If you are at a job, please, please, please, please, please get a 401k and do your matching. There are a lot of, I've read quite a few books on this subject that a lot of advice that say that don't go over whatever they're matching. And I could definitely see for me, that's what I do is just up to the match. So like my company matches 6% of my income, so I contribute 6%, and anything else that I can do I put in other places, 'cause you don't wanna have all your eggs in one basket.
Anne: Yes. Is that why the recommendation says not to go more than that and to put it elsewhere?
Erikka: Because the thing is that when you come of age and you take that money out from the 401k, now that money becomes taxable. And you don't wanna be in a position where now you're 70 and you're paying more taxes, right, than what you're pulling out, then you're making money. Right. Exactly. Exactly. So the thing is that you wanna spread it out, spread the love a bit. And the thing is that as entrepreneurs, we get to double dip. We get to have the 401k, if you're still working at a corporate job, and you can also get a SEP, a self-employed retirement plan or self-employed plan, something like that. I actually just opened one this year. Well, last year. So that way you can put that money aside, still can be pre-taxed. There are also after tax options, like Roths and whatnot.
Anne: Yep, yep. That's what I have. Yep.
Erikka: Yeah. And there are like different things. You can invest it in like real estate, you know, you can pick which mutual funds or whatever, or have somebody manage it for you. But you just have more than one option to fund your retirement.
Anne: By the way, this is a disclaimer for the podcast is that we are not wealth management experts.
Erikka: Not at all. This all from personal experience.
Anne: Just sharing, yes Just sharing our personal experiences. Yes. And so I'm thankful that I have pensions set up, but that doesn't mean that I'm not investing now smartly in other areas. You know, I have a Roth IRA. I have a financial planner that I work with, and he's actually been taking care of me since my job actually. I just kind of stayed with him because he knows me well and I trust him. And I think that's an important thing, like what to look for in a financial planner. Did you have one recommended to you or?
Erikka: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, what's really funny is I don't remember how I met my financial planner. 'Cause originally it was one guy, and I think maybe somebody at work might have referred him, but that guy ended up leaving the company. And I got replaced with another guy and now we're like friends, Brandon, shout out to Brandon with Northwestern Mutual. He's a great guy.
I think somebody that just, first of all, listens, they're not just trying to sell and shove stuff down your throat, really listening to your needs and your concerns and what you're looking for, what you feel comfortable with from a budget perspective on spending. The thing that I loved about my financial planers too, is that they didn't jump into the sale of the plan. They obviously explained it to me, but from a total wealth health perspective. We looked at like my debt and like coming up with a plan to get that paid down or off, which yay, I've pretty much done other than the mortgage and student loans. But yeah. So just really somebody that's gonna listen and take your needs into account and make that first, before they get the sale. 'Cause obviously they are selling policies at the end of the day, but yeah, I think that's important.
Anne: That's true. And we always have to think about that. They are selling something at the end of the day, and they are profiting off of it. And so that's why it's so important that, yeah, you can find someone that you can connect with. And I think you're right. Looking at someone who's really looking at you and your financial future and at least seems like they have your best interests at heart before they try to sell you.
Erikka: For sure. For sure.
Anne: Because I think a lot of us get a little bit, whoa. The eyes like, oh my God, I don't know. Talking about money and financial planning gets me nervous.
Erikka: Yeah. A lot, lot of people.
Anne: Because that's not necessarily my forte.
Erikka: yeah. Then you start adding in things that are seen as like morose, which I think is number five we're on now is life insurance. It's like, nobody wants to think about dying.
Anne: Yeah. Right?
Erikka: It's like, I'll just be here until whatever happens. And I don't wanna think about what's gonna happen. But if you have a family, if you wanna have anything that you wanna leave behind. And honestly, even if you don't have kids, if you have things, like if you have built up some type of wealth, if you have a house, you don't want people fighting over that stuff in probate court and whatnot. And like people trying to figure out how to pay for your funeral. I hate what hurts my heart when I see GoFundMes to have to pay for someone's funeral. You know, families should be able to grieve without having to worry about the money to do it.
Anne: I agree.
Erikka: Get life insurance. There are so many different types of plans and some are, are more affordable than others. At least look into it and you know, put it in your plan.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. And with that, I mean, again, wills, wills are important.
Erikka: Wills, power of attorney and trusts.
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: Again, it's just my personal experience. But I have talked to a professional and bad girl Erikka, I haven't done it yet, but it is on my list for this year. Yeah. I was educated that a will is not enough. A will, can be contested in probate court. And I was shocked. I was like, really? Are you sure? Like for the lawyer --
Anne: That's actually news to me.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Wow. So what else is necessary then?
Erikka: So I've heard that like a trust is really kind of the most, I guess I could say foolproof --again, I'm not a lawyer, so this is what I've been told. And what I've heard is the easiest way to ensure that what you want to go down goes down. If you already have things set aside in a trust for your kids or for whoever, there's nothing to contest. It's already set aside, their name is on it. The ownership just passes on to them having a power of attorney, especially medical, someone to make those decisions for you. Knowing what the hierarchy is is that normally it will go to your spouse. If you're not married, it will go to the oldest child. If you don't have an oldest child, it'll go to the parent. I might have that mixed up. But knowing what that is, and if that person doesn't want that responsibility, you need to put it on paper of who it might be.
Anne: Exactly, exactly.
Erikka: Like maybe your husband or wife doesn't want that choice because it's too hard for them. I don't know. Like you have to talk about that.
Anne: And not only do it just once, but you have to update it when things happen.
Erikka: God, yes.
Anne: Right? In the family, it needs to be updated. And I'm guilty of that right now because you know, a family member has unfortunately passed away. And so I need to think about, okay, who would be next in line for my possessions once I pass on? So it is important to kind of keep those things up to date.
Erikka: Yep. Yep. And guardianship agreements, which was something I had never heard about. But you have to think about that. If you do have kids, being able to have on paper or even if you're incapacitated for a little while. If God forbid you get COVID, you're intubated for, you know, a couple weeks, who's gonna take care of your kids in the meantime? You don't want that decision to be up in the air. So yeah. All these planning for the future sort of items are just important to think about, especially if you are really just doing voiceover or entrepreneur and don't sort of have, you know, another company that supplies these things for you, you wanna supply them for yourself.
Anne: Yeah. And again, bringing this back towards the idea of a balanced entrepreneurial, you know, career. And not just what's the income that I'm bringing in, but what am I expensing, that kind of a thought process? 'Cause we don't like to think about what we have to pay for, but we certainly love the money coming in. And so we don't always wanna think about the future and protecting ourselves or even investing in ourselves for the future, but it is absolutely a part of your life, right, And of course your business as well, to make sure that you have planned for these types of events that can happen. And especially if we can't work, I think it's so important for us. I think most of us don't even think about it because, number one, we're fortunate that a lot of us can work from home.
And we've got our studios in our house, so what could possibly happen that would stop me from being able to work in my house. Well, I can't talk maybe or yeah. Some sort of an illness that takes that away from me. And I'll tell you, I have a lot of people that inquire about voiceover that are disabled or want to be in the home because they can't go out for some reason into the workforce and that maybe they are on disability. And so it is a wonderful career for that. But I think if we're healthy and we're not thinking about that, , we're not thinking about it. And I think we need to.
Erikka: Yeah. And it doesn't even have to be bad things like, as has recently, you know, everybody should know now that I am with child at 40.
Anne: Yay!
Erikka: Jesus. Which, I mean, it's great, but it's a little different than when I was pregnant at 25. So, you know, like there are different complications. I've got thyroid issues now that I, you know, I have to take medication for and watch. I'm a little more at risk for things like preeclampsia that could put me out early or put me in the hospital or put me on bedrest. And if I can't work, even though this is a great occasion -- I'm having a new life and a new new family member, but I have to plan.
Anne: And you probably have to visit the doctor more.
Erikka: That's the other thing, yes.
Anne: Because of that, right?
Erikka: Well, and I've also been in the booth a little less. I just had to slow down. I have to go to the doctor very often. So there are times where I might have to push a session out or not be able to do something right away because I have a doctor's appointment. Or, I'm in the booth, my breath support is not the same
Anne: So I can vouch for that after having surgery on my chest. Absolutely. I mean, yeah. And also, and this is a -- like I thought I'd be young forever, but I'll tell you what, as I'm becoming older, it is so much more important, your health, taking care of yourself because just, I can't do what I used to do. And it just, that impacts my business a little bit. I mean, it's not, it's not a horrible scenario, but I definitely am feeling age and how it's affected me to be able to perform and do what I do on a day to day basis.
Erikka: Right. And the whole point is just to have a plan for it. If you have contingencies in place and you know, things that prepare for the future, then you'll be fine. But we just can't just act like everything's gonna stay the way it is because just like technology, as Anne and I know things get old
Anne: We need backups.
Erikka: We need backups.
Anne: We need backups. That's right. We need backups. Oh man. I'll tell you for sure. And I think that, again, it gets to the point where I know there's a lot of people that try to enter into this industry. And it's one of those where I don't know if it's the concept of the dream of, oh, I can work from home, and it's gonna be easy, that a lot of people come to this business without thoughts of investing in the business. They're like, well, I don't have a lot of money, but I wanna be able to work and make thousands of dollars a month doing voiceover.
Erikka: Yeah. Gonna spend so many more thousands first.
Anne: But yeah, that's this thing. I mean, I think the whole concept of investing in your business now here's a good balance, right? Not necessarily listening to the dream and simplifying things to the point where, oh, it's just so easy. I'll just be able to buy a microphone and do this. No, there's so many things that you have to think about in order to run your business. And then it's beyond that because I know it took me a long time before I really thought seriously about disability, life insurance now that I am doing this full time and really helping to support the family that I have and be able to contribute to it in a very helpful way versus, oh, I can only contribute this because I'm not a fully owned -- you know, my husband is gonna retire sooner than me.
And so I'll be the one that will be kind of taking on the, probably the income for a few years until I retire. I mean, I'd love to be able to retire at the same time. And I'll tell you, that's what I keep trying to do on a day to day basis. But in the meantime I found myself planning my business for extra income and extra streams of income so that I can afford to reinvest it in things that will protect us when I wanna be able to just enjoy my life when I retire and not have to worry about health expenses, not to worry about how am I gonna live, how am I gonna pay the rent, or I wanna travel, how am I gonna pay those bills? And so now is the time to think about those things. And any of you BOSSes out there that are thinking about getting into the industry, it is something that you should consider. Yeah, this industry is not necessarily as easy as a lot of people wanna think it is.
Erikka: And you have to think about it that even though yes, we're at home and yes, for the most part, we're either sitting or standing in our booths most of the day or sitting down editing, this is still a physical job. It still is labor. Like --
Anne: How could I break an ankle?
Erikka: You know what I mean? Like, yeah. You're probably at low risk to break things, but it is still something that requires your body in order to do the work. So as you get older or things happen where you might get sick, you wanna try to find, you know, passive forms of income that can support you such as policies or real estate investments or whatever other investments you're interested in. But also thinking about, you know, me having to work from home for the past two years before even being pregnant, I put on a couple pounds 'cause I wasn't moving around as much. And that affects health. You know? So making sure that you are thinking about that future and taking care of yourself and doing things to move around and get about that people that are working outside the home kind of get naturally that you may not, if you're working from home doing voiceover.
Anne: Exactly. And I love that you brought up the idea of passive income that doesn't have to do with voiceover. I mean, passive income is just a -- we can have a whole podcast on that.
Erikka: Oh my God.
Anne: It's just the coolest concept, right, the passive income, because that's really where I have been delving my concentration into how can I make passive income that's going to supplement me in retirement? And so I love that you said just in other investments, in other areas, not just voiceover, how can you make passive income in other ways? And so, I think a lot of people think that, oh, if I'm full-time voiceover, that's all I have to do. No, think of it this way. You are an entrepreneur. I don't even really think of it. Oh, I'm a voiceover talent and that is my business. I am an entrepreneur and I am a business first. And so to me, the challenge and the joy is how can I make money?
Erikka: Multiple streams of income are the key to wealth. Absolutely.
Anne: Yes. Exactly. How can I make money so that I am not worried about it or stressed about it? Because that's one of the biggest issues when we first come into the business and we're doing full-time voiceover, and maybe it's the first time you've had your own business. And now you're like, oh my gosh, where's this money going to come from? That's the huge stressor, I think in the first few years of anyone's business is, oh gosh, where's the money coming from? Where's the income? And when you can start to devise and plan and strategize streams of passive income, I think that's when you're really growing your business. And for me, that's, that's so exciting.
Erikka: Isn't it? Like, it's really cool to just be able to like make money in your sleep. If we could like man, like there are ways to do it. There are people that do it and to hop on a soapbox real quick, even things that are related to voiceover, this is why understanding usage and having cutoffs for things that are broadcast are so important because that can be passive income. That is voiceover related. If they use your voice again and wanna run it again, you don't have to get in the booth and make that money. You don't wanna cut yourself out of that. So please, I mean, people, BOSSes that are coming into this and coming to see Anne, please, please, please understand usage and have those things in place.
Anne: Oh, I'm so glad you landed on that one.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: Yeah. Excellent point and usage is, there's that lovely stream. passive income.
Erikka: The residuals. They're beautiful. The unexpected checks.
Anne: You gotta love it. You gotta love it. Well, what a great conversation. Maybe not as fun as some people like to think in, in this voiceover business, but a definitely a necessary conversation to have. BOSSes, balance, balance in your career, balance in your life, planning, planning for the future. That is most definitely an important factor in maintaining, achieving balance in your lives and careers. So. Wow.
So I'd like to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and connect like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And I also have another moment that I'd like to take to ask you to imagine a world full of passionate, empowered -- wow. That was a lot of P's -- diverse individuals giving collectively and intentionally to create the world that they wanna see. You can make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn more about how your voice can make a difference. You guys have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Erikka: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Are you right or left brain dominant? Anne & Erikka are here to bust the left vs. right brain myth, and discuss how both creativity and sensibility are essential in any entrepreneur. For all the creatives, they share tips to help your biz with structure. For our tech peeps, they have creative ideas for getting out of your own way. Make sure you know your studio inside and out, make a backup for the backup, and if you want more tips, you’ll just have to tune in!
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza. And today I'm excited to have back to our new series on balance special guest co-host Erikka J. Erikka!
Erikka: Hey BOSSes.
Anne: Hey. How are you?
Erikka: I'm good. How are you, Anne?
Anne: Erikka , I'll tell you what, some days I have to say -- I always try to be grateful every day and find something to be grateful for. And so today I am grateful for my experience in the tech world. And I know you can identify with that because you are a tech girl as well.
Erikka: Indeed.
Anne: Because I had a crash of my Twisted Wave, and crazy enough, the file that I thought was the right file was not the right file, and I lost it. But I will tell you that my experience back in the day was backup, backup, backup. So thankfully I mirror everything onto another drive, and then not only do I mirror things on another drive, but I also back up to the cloud. So thankfully what had auto-saved actually was in the cloud, and I was able to restore it. Thank God, and not have to worry about redoing all of this huge eLearning module that I just did.
Erikka: So I can hear the relief in your tone, Anne.
Anne: I know. And so I am grateful to have this kind of a, you know -- I was always told that I had like a 50-50 kind of a brain, like the tech brain and the creative. And I enjoy the two of them. And as a matter of fact, Erikka, I love the tech aspect of the business as much as I love voiceover, the creative aspect.
Erikka: Oh yeah. Yeah.
Anne: I think it's important for successful VO entrepreneurs to have a little bit of a left-right brain thing. Don't you think?
Erikka: Absolutely. I talked before about, you know, being an ambivert and then I came up with the term, I think I'm ambi-brained as well. No, it's not a real word. I made it up. I love the fact that we are able to be creative and true artists in this business and have that sort of artistic input, but you have got to have some type of technical and business and analytical aptitude to be successful as well. We are engineers really or the -- no, not as far as the audio engineers, the big ones at the studios. God bless y'all.
Anne: Yes.
Erikka: But we have to be engineers in some capacity .
Anne: Oh my gosh. Yes. I'm so glad you said that. Like let's just say that one more time. So yes, in order to be successful in this business, it is so important to have both the creative and the analytical brain. Because you have to be able to execute on both levels. You have to be able to understand how to convert your audio file to MP3, or you need to understand how to attach a file to an email, or you need to be able to literally, if somebody can talk you through a session on ipDTL or SourceConnect or whatever that is, you need to have a little bit of an aptitude. Otherwise clients may not have the time to be able to walk you through those things or deal with someone who doesn't know how to send them the work that they've requested and they're paying for.
Erikka: Yeah. And it's not even just -- you know, I have a stack set up by one of the greats and I'm done, right? Because you have to be able to have that sort of aptitude to know when you run into problems. As we know, as tech girls always happens, technology's gonna technology. Something's gonna happen. And you gotta kind of have that sort of way of thinking to be able to troubleshoot and you know, kind of figure out why aren't they hearing me on Zoom or why am I getting an echo or you know, that kind of thing. So that's really helpful in what we do.
Anne: I'll tell you, I always get nervous when I have my students will say to me, yeah, I'm not really good at technology. Well, and I understand that, right? I mean, for people to be excited about technology, sometimes it takes a special geek like myself and I think you to appreciate it. But also it is a responsibility, right? It's a responsibility of your business to be able to function. And if you cannot function in a technical capacity or an analytical capacity that you need to, I think you need to have a full understanding of what it entails so that you can maybe hire or outsource, but also at least know what it takes to succeed and educate yourself. I think that's so important. If you are not really technical go to a computer class, you know? Go to a class that helps you to do whatever it is. Go take an audio editing class.
Erikka: Yeah. It's part of the job description. I mean, it's not just talking into a microphone. In 2022 and beyond, people aren't just walking into studios and just letting the engineer do everything anymore, talking, and leaving. You have to know some of this stuff. And maybe, you know, you're not 50-50. Maybe you're not naturally super tech savvy, but it's not like you can't learn it. There are so many classes that are available online where you don't have to go somewhere. It's possible, but you do have to, like Anne said, have some sort of aptitude; you have to.
Anne: And like you mentioned before, it's not like you're gonna be an audio engineer for your career. We don't have to go to that level of depth. But we do have to understand how to produce a file in the format that the client has requested. And also we have to understand enough about our equipment so that we can, God forbid, okay, something breaks. I am the biggest person, like I think rule number one for everybody, technologically has to be, have a backup, not just a backup of your files, but a backup of equipment as well.
Erikka: Everything, redundancy, redundancy, yes.
Anne: And internet. Oh my God. If you don't have the internet, we are sunk. . Like, our internet goes down for like 30 seconds, and I'm like, oh my God, who has taken down my internet? And I literally will run outside and look for people like, 'cause we have fiber in the ground. I'm like, is there somebody working in the fiber underground? Because this cannot be. Our phone runs off the internet kind of thing.
Erikka: Oh my goodness. I had somebody doing some work in my front yard, and they swore that, you know, all the lines were marked. The people came out and did 'em. They're like, I was like, did you guys hit a line? I lost my internet. I have a session. And they're like, no, we didn't hit a line. We're good. And I'm like, are you sure?
Anne: Oh, I know.
Erikka: You know, thank God I had a hotspot. That was my backup. But it was like --
Anne: See? Yes, yes, yes. I was just gonna say, please, for the love of God --
Erikka: Oh goodness, please.
Anne: -- have a backup internet, like a hot spot and understand how to get it going. So if you're in the middle of a session, and your internet fails -- and please, the other thing I wanna mention is -- I can't stress this enough. And I even wrote like a blog article. And as a matter of fact, I think I'm gonna throw it out there on the ether again. It's so important for you to, if you can, to have a dependable, reliable connection. And a lot of times wifi is not cutting it.
Erikka: It's not, no.
Anne: And if you don't know what's happening on your wifi connection, if there's a lot of people let's say watching movies in your household, or maybe, I don't know, you've got something that's causing some sort of interference, right? Sometimes it's as silly as your refrigerator's causing interference and your wifi router is not reachable easily. It's just something that I constantly am telling people when they have a bad connection to me in ipDTL, I'll be like, are you on wifi?
Erikka: Yeah. You've gotta hard wire, guys. You have to figure it out.
Anne: And then it's hard to explain. Yeah. But I just got it upgraded. Most people are like, oh yeah, no, I've never had a problem. I'm like, but here you really need to have, for audio quality, and this is just gonna go back to my days, thankfully in the tech world, when I installed phone systems, but they were voiceover IP phone systems. So literally in order to hear audio consistently streaming quality, you have to have packet data back and forth with no drops and no interference and no slowness or degradation on the line.
And so the same thing really has to happen with your connection to the studio let's say through ipDTL or SourceConnect. So the more of reliable you can make that connection, and that includes your home connection, right? Connects wired to your router, because that's a whole lot more reliable because it's connected wired versus wifi in the air when five, ten other people could be using your network or even your computers and you don't know.
Erikka: Yeah. You guys don't see me silently slow clapping in here. Like listen to the BOSS, listen to Anne, guys. You got to get the hard wire connection.
Anne: All about the hard wire connection. It's reliable. It is your business. If we didn't do most of our work online, it wouldn't matter as much, but it does.
Erikka: Yeah. And it's not even just the internet, just like you said, like having multiple ways to connect, you know, you've got SourceConnect kind of gets wonky. You know, you gotta have a Zoom or Google Meter, ipDTLe or something ready, having more than one interface. I know these things cost money, but as you grow your business and you make some -- set some aside for reinvestment in the business. Please don't just have one microphone. You don't have to have 10 of them like me. But 'cause I'm a nerd.
Anne: What will you do if your interface fails right before a session? I've had that happen.
Erikka: Oh my God. Yep.
Anne: And a lot of times I'm just gonna say, I'm gonna vent a little bit, Erikka. And I think you'll --
Erikka: Do it, do it.
Anne: -- people will buy these bundled packages with a microphone, headphones and interface. And --
Erikka: I did it the first time, I did.
Anne: One of them is -- I'm not gonna say a name, but it's a kind of a color. It is.
Erikka: There's a letter associated with it.
Anne: The name is a color. So if you buy something like that in a bundled package, understand that they're probably making it cheaper with cheaper components. And therefore those things that you rely on may fail at the worst time. And I have had so many people where that has failed on them. So please get a backup and don't get the same brand, get a different brand that would be proven reliable. And you know, I got lots of suggestions. I have a page just on the VO BOSS website. We have studio gear. So you can see all my recommendations, but the one that represents the color is not one of my recommendations.
Erikka: Na, I mean, it, it has worked, you know, it got me through, I actually still have it like as a stand from my lamp --
Anne: Well, as a backup, it does great.
Erikka: -- to remind me of, you know, how I started, you know? Keep me humble.
Anne: Oh, I had two of them. I had two of them.
Erikka: Hey, it is great. But as you're growing and you're being relied on for live sessions, yeah, you've gotta have something that first of all, the hardware that's more reliable and then a backup for sure. And it's everything cables too.
Anne: I'm gonna say your microphone.
Erikka: Yes. Microphone. Yep. Yep. Microphones for sure. You gotta back up.
Anne: I've never had a microphone fail on me, but --
Erikka: Same. Yeah.
Anne: -- I have to say it gave me a good excuse to buy an additional microphone.
Erikka: Right? Me too, me too.
Anne: I'm gonna say BOSSes. It took me some time because I had a really decent microphone that I used for many years that made me money that was only a few hundred dollars, was wonderful. But then, you know, I upgraded myself to the 416, which is what I'm speaking on now. And of course I have a TLM 103 as well.
Erikka: Yep, same here.
Anne: So there's my A-B -- and by the way, have it not just as a backup, but if you can quickly switch from one to the other, it's not just, oh, let me go get my microphone, and then you've gotta, rehook it up. And then you gotta like thread the shock mount and that kind of thing. No, have it at the ready. So have a backup, have it the ready. And I always recommend -- I am not like a hardware kind of girl and cables and this and that same, but label, label your cables so that, you know, or take pictures so that you know how things are connected. And that way, if something goes wrong and need to disconnect it, or you gotta replace a piece of equipment, you know how to connect it back again.
Erikka: You know, my dad is a hardware guy; that was his tech side. So little bit of a nerd with the cables just in terms of like organization and yes, I have blue painter's tape and I have like, this is the one for input one and I have it on like three points up the cable so that I know which one I'm looking at, just in case I have an off day, this is the one from input two. And I've got backup cables too, just in case.
Anne: Levels too.
Erikka: Oh my goodness.
Anne: You know, taking a picture of the dials. So you know where your levels are. If somebody helps you set it up.
Erikka: Speed test for your internet.
Anne: Yes. Oh gosh. Yes.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: So that is all the tech side. And it's funny, we end up talking about the tech side so much because I feel like that's where people, the 50 part of the brain is lacking for a lot of people that are struggling. Because the performance, they'll spend dollars on workshops for performance on coaching, which I think is wonderful and amazing. But yet people don't necessarily think about that when it comes to the other part of the brain.
And even if you can hire somebody and outsource somebody for the tech side of things -- hey, look, I still hire somebody to set up my stacks and to listen to me once in a while to make sure that everything there is good. And if I need advice in setting up, oh, look, I wanna add another microphone to this interface. How can I do this? And maybe switch it on the fly. I will call an audio engineer to help me do that. But also I need to have that understanding myself of how it all goes together and how it works and how it serves me in my business. So photos, diagrams, label the cables, I think that's important. And you can't be afraid of doing that. And I'll tell you, you learn the most when things break.
Erikka: , that is the truth.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Keeping things balanced is knowing that, you don't have to know everything. You do have to have some sort of understanding and some sort of aptitude, but it is okay to outsource to someone that is an expert in that area.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Erikka: Like you said, I still have people, you know, I call Jordan or, you know, Uncle Roy.
Anne: Yep. Tim Tippetts.
Erikka: I have Tim Tippetts. We're still using, leveraging --
Anne: George Whittam.
Erikka: George Whittam, yeah, absolutely -- those people to leverage their technical expertise because they're experts and that's where the most of their brain power is. But I'm not clueless. You know what I mean? And I think that that's important.
Anne: Yeah. I think you should always be curious. One of the reasons why I think I excelled in technology and enjoyed it so much in my career was it was very similar to being an entrepreneur. There was a problem that I had to solve, and it was cool because I got to solve many different types of problems, and it was fun, and it was interesting and challenging to me. And that's very similar to as entrepreneurs, we have different things come up every day, and we're solving problems for clients. We're solving problems with our business. We're growing, we're failing.
And I have to say, Erikka, the episode that we did, and BOSSes, if you haven't heard it on the modern mindset, failing forward is an amazing episode. It was one of our most popular episodes, about how you can fail. Like I just said, you learn so much when you fail. And you can fail forward so that it helps you to propel your business and expand your mind and learn. And I think that's where people need to be with the other 50% of whatever it is that you're maybe lacking. Maybe people are in technology. I love people that are in tech and then they wanna get into voiceover, 'cause they love the creative part of it. But for me being in tech and having to solve multiple challenges, and they were something new every day, that was creative for me.
Erikka: Absolutely. I'm so glad you said that because it's easy to kind of separate them, you know, and we do that while we say left brain, right brain, you know, creative or technical, but it's really, there is a space in the middle, you know. Like the software engineers that I work with, they are creating, they have ideas.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: And when we are problem solving or when we're troubleshooting, you're using that creative part of your brain to try to find a way around the problem. So it's absolutely a little bit of both.
Anne: Yeah. And I'm thankful for the amount of time that I got to spend in the technological world and solving problems because I think it helped me in my business, and it helps me also be more creative in my performance. Because I'm constantly, here's the problem, I'm thinking about what is the solution and what are the steps to get to the solution? Same thing when you're trying to analyze the script. Right?
So it's kind of breaking it down and then saying, okay, so what is the story of the script? What are the major points? Is there a -- I always call it a crescendo in the story. Is there a call to action? Is there a turning point? And so that helps me to solve the problem, right, of the performance aspect of things. But also I can use that same technique to solve problems with, let's say my interface doesn't work or I'm not hearing anything in my headphones. What can I do to troubleshoot this problem.
Erikka: I mean, that's basically what storytelling, usually it has that type of arc. The story, the script itself is laying out a problem, sort of, oh, here's the solution, even talking about products. And it's like, if you understand that arc of problem solving, it's gonna help you vocally perform that way to here's the problem. Here's the solution. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. What's so interesting is you can hear that in the voice.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Right?
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: Here's a problem. But yet now I'm discovering a solution and yes, the solution. So you can kind of hear the emotion and how I've evolved from the problem into oh, a solution. And that's so interesting that it's really cool way to tell the story and evolve, problem solving and voiceover.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. It's more intertwined than you think, that creative and technical side.
Anne: I like that. I like that. So what sort of things can you think of would help us to explore let's say the other side of our brain that maybe we wanna work on and develop?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Any tips or tricks you got?
Erikka: 'Cause I guess, yeah, that could go either way. There are people that might be, and I know this was a problem for me starting out, is that I always kind of had some creativity in me, but I would default to technical so quickly because it was analytical. Is this right? You know, are my levels good? Is this, am I peaking, you know, like kind of getting, when am I reading all the word right? And that's when we get read-y, right?
Anne: Absolutely.
Erikka: Like, you know, Dave Fennoy always talks about the read-y read --
Anne: That's right. And that's when you get too technical about it.
Erikka: That's when we're too technical.
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Erikka: So there are some people that might be too far on the analytical side and need to know, kind of get some of that creative going. So it's both. I think some of those tools that you can use is obviously the brain is all about repetition. It really is. So the more that you can learn about this stuff from different sources and just doing it on a regular basis, you can't do voiceover once a week and expect to get to a performance level of being a pro.
Anne: Yeah. I love that you said that.
Erikka: You can't, because you have to have that repetition and then your brain kind of starts to absorb it and do it on autopilot. I think that's the great ways is to exercise both of those sides on a regular basis, just like muscles.
Anne: Yep. It's a muscle and yeah. I'm always telling my students it's, you know, with 10,000 hours, Malcolm Gladwell said that.
Erikka: Oh yeah, that's right.
Anne: 10,000 hours. Now you don't have to spend 10,000 hours coaching. But I do believe you need to spend 10,000 hours working on your business, working on your performance. And as you were mentioning it, it's definitely a muscle because how are you going to perform if you've not experienced telling the story or experience the process of -- here's the script, let's break it down, let's analyze it, let's find out where are the main points? What's the story here? What's the backbone of the story?
So many times we're so in a rush to go in and what happens when you do that, you end up reading the story. And you don't wanna read the story. You wanna tell the story and be in the story to make it the most believable and most natural. So I think stepping through a process, similar to how you would problem solve in terms of breaking down the script -- and that doesn't have to take a long time. I have a lot of people that will ask me -- 'cause I do tons of long format narration.
And they're like, well, do you mark up your script? And I'm like, no, because I've got my brain working faster than my mouth right now. Because I'm reading ahead a little bit more to understand the story. And plus I'm always reading the script fully once at a, a quick pace usually. So I get the words outta my mouth. I understand where I need to breathe. And it helps me to grab the context of it. And I'll tell you what, if I can get that bionic app to put my scripts in. I think that would just really accelerate even more.
Erikka: That could really be a game changer. And the thing is like, when you do that initial sort of read and understanding and connecting with the story, if you can understand the context and maybe connect it to something that is real to you, and if you can make that connection quick, it's gonna make it easier for you to get through the script. Even if they're not your words, you can put it in the context of, oh, this did happen to me. This is how I felt. And you voiced in the way that you felt in that scenario.
Anne: Right.
Erikka: It's gonna make your performance better.
Anne: Absolutely. There has to be that element of you that comes into that story. And how many times do we hear that when we first enter into the industry? Oh, you know, bring you to the party and we need to hear you. We need, yeah. I'll say it 'til the cows come home. It is not about the voice that you think they want to hear. It's really about you and how you tell the story and your unique perspective, and your unique perspective means what's the nuance of emotion? What's the point of view in the story? Are you in the story? Are you excited by the story? Are you sad? Are you solving a problem? What is it that you're doing? And so doing that, those steps of problem solving will help you, I think, to enhance the creative performance aspect as well.
Erikka: Yes, yes. That's what makes us actors and not just voice. Not just talkers.
Anne: Yeah. And I have so many students who say, well, I'm not creative at all. They come from a tech world and I'm like, oh yes, you are.
Erikka: Yes, you are.
Anne: And let me tell you how, because , for me, that's all it was, it was about that.
Erikka: Well, how do you think we got all this technology? Somebody was pretty creative to figure out that we could be on opposite sides of the country and be able to talk to each other.
Anne: God. I know, you know, I say that all the time. Like I would marry the Internet if I could, I would marry the internet. It is one of the most wonderful developments. And back in the day, again, I'm aging myself, back in the day when the Internet was a little more than DARPANET, I got so excited about the fact that we could communicate through the ethers and do really cool things on the Internet. And it's just amazing how it can bring people together, technology. And that's, I think where my love of technology comes from, and I'm not afraid of it because I kind of wanna be on the edge of it. I wanna learn new things. I wanna see how it can continue to connect me with people.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. And it is definitely also a creative endeavor to imagine what's not already there. I mean, that's really what technology does, and then you just make it. So you can develop the creative side and you can develop the tech side. You can, you can do it.
Anne: And let's talk not just tech, but I mean, I guess I'm considering tech, like that's the other 50% of your brain needs to be tech. But in reality, I think that's synonymous with, it can also be your accounting brain.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: You know, because we've gotta send invoices and we have to be marketers. And so that's the other 50% as well. We have to sell ourselves because we're not gonna be able to make money in the industry if people don't know about us. So somehow we've gotta be out there and get creative and market. And that's where the creative and again, tech will come into play because maybe you're gonna do an email campaign. Maybe you're gonna do social media. How are you gonna get in front of these people? And we're gonna have an episode in the future, I know this, Erikka, about SEO and about --
Erikka: Oh yeah, we have to.
Anne: -- how you can cut through the noise of the Internet. Because while I love the Internet over the years, it's gotten really popular.
Erikka: Yeah. There's, there's a few people on there, you know?
Anne: Yeah. Back in the day I remember going, oh, we'll never try to sell things on the computer. It's free. It's all about sharing research and education. And the funny thing is, is boy, did that not turn out the way I expected.
Erikka: Yeah. For sure. I'm so glad you said that though. Because really when we talk about, you know, left brain, right brain, it's really more like creative versus analytical. It's not just tech.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Erikka: Because that business aspect is definitely leans more -- I think it's actually somewhat centered 'cause there is an element of creativity in business.
Anne: Agreed.
Erikka: But you've got to be able to, like you said, either do your accounting or at least have a, somewhat of an understanding enough to be able to outsource it.
Anne: Well and to be able to, yeah, to be able to direct your accountant on what you need done, right? That's it.
Erikka: Yep. Yep. And then there's the creativity of being able to direct maybe your graphic designer for your website, you know, how do you wanna be branded?
Anne: Yeah. I think, you know that better than anybody; you're a project manager. Right?
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: So you need to understand the processes that are happening in order to direct it. And as an entrepreneur of your own voiceover business, we need to be able to direct the people that we outsource. Like I need to be able to direct my accountant on, okay. I need to know, you know, what's my profit and loss. What am I spending my money on? And that sort of thing. So I need to be able to log into my accounting system to do that.
And I'm gonna bring up a point that I think, Erikka, you can relate to: web hosting and websites. So many people are scared of their websites. And for the longest time, I think if you didn't know how to write HTML or you didn't know how to launch a website or you didn't understand anything about it, website developers would hold you hostage. And I'm like, you need to know how to get into your website, make sure your website is being backed up. Make sure that you have copies of maybe a downloaded backup of it on your computer. And then if you need to change something, at least know how to log into your hosting provider and make a change, right?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. Or assign -- change the password to allow to assign it to somebody else.
Anne: There you go. That's it. Yeah.
Erikka: Yeah. Totally agree. Just you're just preaching the gospel here, Anne. I'm just here, you know, I'm just here in the pew. .
Anne: That's important. I can't tell you how many people just, I think the website just, it's one of those things that is beyond most people's brains or imaginations because they've never experienced it or never had to. But now I think it's important that everything that is a aspect of your business, right, write down. All right. Where did you buy your domain name? Who are you hosting? You have to know these things.
Erikka: When's it up for renewal? Is it on auto renewal?
Anne: Right? Exactly.
Erikka: So you don't lose it.
Anne: Oh my gosh. Can I tell you I have an Excel spreadsheet of all my subscriptions because I lose tracks so easily.
Erikka: Were we born from the same person?
Anne: I think we were.
Erikka: Because my Google sheets are like shameful because yeah. , I've got one for medical. I've got one for personal. I've got one for business. Yeah. And I track my subscriptions too.
Anne: You have to track your subscriptions. That's just good business. Right? Being a good business owner because you have to know your outgoing expenses as much as your incoming.
Erikka: Yes. And your personal ones too.
Anne: Incoming.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. Not just the business ones because the personal, like that's still your, your personal finance, it's still your money. So yeah. Track those, make sure Hulu didn't go up on you or Netflix or whatever streaming service, you know, so that, you know how much is coming out.
Anne: My God. They do that. They sneak it on you.
Erikka: They, you have like one of those home warranties and you don't need it anymore. Like they won't remind you, hey, you haven't used this. Do you wanna cancel your subscription? Like, no, , they're not, you know? So you need to make sure that you're using things that you're paying for.
Anne: Yes. Amen. Amen to that. So 50-50 brains, BOSSes, I think we need to develop whatever side that maybe you're feeling weak in. Educate.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: I think education is so important.
Erikka: And again, don't be afraid to outsource. You don't have to be an expert in this stuff.
Anne: Right.
Erikka: You don't have to feel like you gotta know everything about tech and business and accounting. There are people that nerd out on this stuff and do it in their sleep.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Erikka: Hire them, but just have a foundational understanding of what's going on.
Anne: That's very, very important. And I think overall it'll help you run your business much, much, better, much smoother. And again, it will take away a lot of the fear of, oh my gosh, I don't know anything about that. So I can't start my business or I can't continue my business or I gotta hire someone, but I don't know anything. I don't know who to hire. I think education is key to being able to understand enough about both sides to progress and be a success. Oh right. My goodness. I could talk all day about that.
Erikka: Oh man, time flies when you're having fun.
Anne: It sure does. BOSSes. If you have a local nonprofit that's close to your heart, if you've ever wanted to do more to help them, you absolutely can. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to learn how you can make a difference with your voice. And a big shout-out to ipDTL, our sponsor. Gosh, I love ipDTL. I can't even, I'm a tech geek. Love, love, love ipDTL, because again, it's that 50-50 part of my brain that says not only can I technically speak to somebody across the world, but we can also connect and engage and have the creative aspect of our part come together through the technology, so find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we will see you next week.
Erikka: Bye, BOSSes.
Anne: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Let’s talk balance! What goes into creating a work-life system that honors and prioritizes all these hats we wear? Anne and special guest co-host Erikka J share their own methods for balancing the various elements of a successful voiceover business, and discuss how to maximize productivity using techniques that keep the whole self in focus. Stay tuned for great conversations about time management, rest and relaxation, technology tools, and so much more. Explore focus skills, and learn how balancing your personal life and work life can be the key to being the best #VOBOSS you can be…
MORE: https://www.voboss.com/balance
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am excited to start a brand new series with special guest co-host Erikka J. Woohoo!
Erikka: Hey!
Anne: Hey Erikka. Well, for those of you that don't know Erikka, she is a singer-songwriter and award-winning voice actor. She's voiced commercials, narrations, political campaigns, for top brands such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Discover, Black Lives Matter, and many more. She's also a product and project management professional with 15 years experience in various sectors, including state and federal government, contracting, eCommerce, software development, and automotive. Woo Erikka. That's a list. Wow. You do an awful lot.
Erikka: I forgot most of that. Thanks for the reminder.
Anne: And not only that you just came back from like an extensive learning experience, extraordinaire at one of the JMC Euro retreats in Barcelona.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. That was awesome.
Anne: You're doing it all. It's kind of crazy. I think, uh, how do you do it? How do you achieve a balance with all of that? Because it just seems like, you know, you and I both, I run multiple brands, and it's something that we deal with, I think, on a daily basis. I think it would be a great topic for today's episode to talk about how we can achieve balance in our VO careers.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: Or lives, not just VO careers, right?
Erikka: Right.
Anne: Take that back.
Erikka: Right. For sure. Like the whole life 'cause family too.
Anne: That's right.
Erikka: How about that?
Anne: That's right.
Erikka: Um, but key number one, the number one tool is coffee.
Both:
Anne: Oh my God. And I literally, before we came on, I filled my cup to the max. So yeah, I've got coffee, but don't forget, BOSSes, also have that big old jug of water in your studio.
Erikka: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
Anne: Because I use that as a chaser so my vocal cords don't dry up, but yes, coffee.
Erikka: I do both for sure. Not too much coffee. Just that one cup for me to get going in the morning. And if you wanna lay off that, green tea is a good alternate. You know?
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Erikka: It has caffeine.
Anne: Absolutely.
Erika: But yeah. You know, prioritization is a huge piece of how I handle all that. I don't get to every audition I want to sometimes, you know?
Anne: Well, yeah. I remember that being my biggest hindrance, I think in progressing in my voiceover career back when I first started, because I had a very demanding tech job, and it pretty much took like all hours of the daytime for me. It wasn't just nine to five. I mean, a lot of times I was even working overtime, and I don't know if that's true with you, but it was hard for me to get to those auditions on time.
Erikka: Yeah. So thank goodness I don't really have the overtime thing. Being able to work full-time from home kind of helps with that balance. So I know a lot of different places are offering that now, or maybe even just, you know, once or twice a week. So that helps a lot. But man, it is definitely a prioritization game, and to be able to accept and give yourself grace that you just can't do everything.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: So you do what's most important.
Anne: Well, I think one thing that has changed well since the pandemic, right, the fact that you can potentially work from home, if that's a possibility, unless you work for Apple, right, at this point because
Erikka: Right.
Anne: Yeah. That's not gonna be a possibility, I don't think, but interestingly enough, our world has changed since the pandemic with people working from home and lots of companies offering their employees the ability to at least work remotely a portion of the time, or even sometimes forever. I know my husband can now work from home forever, and I actually really love that. I love having him home. I think he loves not having to sit in the commute for how many hours, which actually depending on how you use that time, I used to always listen to podcasts when I was sitting in traffic to try to make my time valuable in traffic. But yeah, it's so different now. So thankfully, if you work from home, you might be able to squeeze in and audition here or there.
Erikka: Yeah. You know, I think corporations have increasingly become more aware of the benefits of balance to the corporate business. So people understanding that if I don't have to spend two hours of my day in traffic, maybe I'm more refreshed. Maybe I'm willing to spend an extra hour at work, getting that report done because I don't sit in traffic to do it. I can do a load of laundry or pick my kids up and come back and do a meeting. So I think that that's why a lot of them are increasingly okay with some remote work.
Anne: And also there were some studies that were done that said that people were more productive at their home.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: And I think for us as voice talent, because we primarily work from home anyways, if we're full-time, it makes all that much more difference to have that in-person kind of contact, which we get at conferences. But for the people who work full time, such as yourself and are voice actors and successful ones, not even just, oh, you're just starting out -- no, you're a very successful voice actor, not only finding time for auditions and work, but also escaping for a week or two to go to conferences and further your education. How are you working that with your job? I mean, is that something you have to beg for or I remember I was used to beg for time off.
Erikka: Well, couple things. I think that just honestly, from a personality perspective, I'm not one that needs to be in the office and get the human interaction. I am a true textbook ambivert. I get my extrovert activities in, and I'll run to my bubble and you won't even know it. Like, you'll be like, where'd Erikka go? Like I needed to go recharge. So I don't necessarily need that, that touch. I get plenty just by doing live sessions and talking to people and the people in my home, and I'm good.
But because a lot of my job is prioritization at work as a product owner, like I'm literally prioritizing work for my software developers, I just kind of make sure that I have everything done and ready to go if I know I'm gonna be out. And thank goodness I work for a wonderful company that has a great, flexible, unlimited PTO policy. So as long as your manager approves it and you know, your work is done, they're like, go ahead and take your time off and take care of yourself because that -- know that rested employees or employees that are able to live their lives and not have it all be about work are more productive and produce better work.
Anne: Absolutely. And it really enables the creative aspect, I think of the profession to really shine if you have that time, that downtime. And I have to say that I do like the companies that enable the unlimited PTO. If you've got your work done, I know my husband has that same thing, and it's really, really made a difference. When I was working full time, it was one of those professions where I couldn't really work from home. And so it really was kind of prohibitive for me to do voiceover during the day, while I was at the job.
But I think we have so many more opportunities these days, especially if you work in the tech sector. Right? And you don't necessarily have to be out in the field fixing computers or anything, but if you work and you have remote capabilities and so -- remote software capabilities and you know, there's Zoom. Thank God for Zoom and all the technological capabilities that help us to at least simulate a meeting with another person and see their faces, which I think is great. But yeah, I think starting out now in VO and working a full-time job, I think is a little bit easier.
Erikka: Oh, absolutely.
Anne: Yeah.
Erikka: And like you said, there's more opportunities for remote work. It's, you know, more accepted and not as taboo and seen as, oh, you're gonna kind of, you know, screw up or at home and just not really do your work. That's not really the thought anymore. And even with voiceover has become increasingly remote. You know, it's not so much that you have to go into the studio for every single session or even for auditions. It's been more accepted that there's a lot of technology available where and, you know, knowledge where people can actually have broadcast quality studios from home. So I think on both sides of it, it makes it easier now that technology has advanced.
Anne: And now let me ask you a question in regards to your , it's not even just a double life 'cause you do so many things. I feel like it's a triple, quadruple, like whatever kind of a life.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: Now do you tell your employer about the fact that you are a voiceover artist as well? And are you transparent with that? Or how does that work for you?
Erikka: I'm so glad you asked that question because it was a little bit of a journey for me. So before I was really kind of doing voiceover to the magnitude I am now, it was more so music. And you know, I was writing at night and doing gigs on the weekends, and I was working for the government at the time. And you know, that just didn't really quite mix. And I wasn't really keeping it a secret, but I didn't broadcast it either. And the more I got uncomfortable with that, because I felt like I was hiding a piece of myself, I started to talk about it more. And then when I got this new job in the private sector, I was kind of really focused on corporate for a while and then pandemic hit. And you know, I started to say, you know what, this is me as a whole person. And I have a corporation that really values the whole person. And there are things that I learn in voiceover that help make me more creative at work.
And it turns out I've actually done a couple of jobs for my company. Actually, they had a commercial that they ran here locally in Atlanta to try to get people to apply, you know, a lot of employment campaigns happening. So I was able to use that experience of literally the script was, we have multitudes and you know, people do all these other things. The visuals are showing people, doing all these other things outside of work. And I was like, that's me too. So I stopped hiding, and I actually have it on my LinkedIn. My headline is both of my titles.
Anne: I love that.
Erikka: And I love it. And I know that it's not comfortable for everybody, and not all corporations are quite that there yet, but I encourage some people to consider that. There was someone I was talking to and she's a doctor, and she had two separate profiles for her medical work and for her narration work. And I'm like, oh my goodness, do you know how much medical narration work you could get? Because you have the credibility of being a doctor.
Anne: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
Erikka: I say combine them if you can.
Anne: Yeah. And be as transparent if you can. You know what's nice I think about voiceover is I feel like if there's a conflict of interest, , there's not high risk of that happening in your job, because there's really nothing else like voiceover. And, and I feel like, you know, unless of course maybe you're voicing a campaign for a competing company.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: That might be where some of the conflict of interest is, but in terms of actually having another career and being able to be transparent with your employer, I think that today it's even better than ever to have both. Right? You can have it all.
Erikka: Absolutely. And I'm so glad you said that because that is one thing I did when I first got a job and they reached out to me, and it was actually my company as a whole separate media or creative agency, and they reached out to me for a job, they found me on 123. And I was like, whoa, I wanna make sure this isn't a problem. And I did reach out to our ethics and legal department, and they cleared it. They said, this is fine.
Anne: Oh, that's great.
Erikka: I think that's a great point to make sure you're not doing conflicts of interest. You don't wanna voice for, you know, a competitor and be the voice of. .
Anne: Well, exactly.
Erikka: That's probably not a good idea. So there are some considerations, but like you said, for the most part, it's pretty safe.
Anne: Now, when you did your voiceover for your company, they did pay you, correct?
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: Separate?
Erikka: They did.
Anne: Yeah, okay. That's good. That's excellent. Now, was that something that you had to request? Because that's something I know a lot of people -- well, like myself and it was so long ago, it was just kinda like, oh yeah, you'll do those recordings for us. Right? You know? And it's part of your job, as part of your standard job. And, and at the time I don't think I was confident enough to like really stand up and say, hey, this is something that I get paid for. I think I used it as kind of a, a learning and a stepping stone as like here, because I hadn't really started working yet, but I wanted to. And I had been training. And so the timing for me was, oh, okay. This will be a good learning opportunity for me to voice some spots for the company and no, they're not gonna pay me, but that's okay because I'm on the job, then let me do it. And I'll consider this a learning on the job thing.
Erikka: Yeah. I think that depends. So like in my case it was okay because it was actually a creative agency. It wasn't the company itself and they were hiring me. So it was fine for them paying me --
Anne: Okay.
Erikka: -- you know, monetarily, but if a company that you're working for, and they're coming to you directly to, you know, voice a commercial that's going to put you in conflict and help sell something, I might not wanna do that, 'cause if you're without extra compensation, 'cause that takes you outta the running for other things.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: But if it's like, you know, an e-learning or an explainer and it's not gonna take a lot of, and like it's, you're on the clock anyway, and you do kind of need the practice, I think that can be great. It's not necessarily a bad thing if it doesn't put you in conflict, but I think that's sort of a case by case, you know, see what feels right to you. I, I have heard of some people getting taken advantage, which I don't think is right.
Anne: Yeah. I agree there. Yeah, I think that also, if it isn't a conflict of interest, I think it, it is something that you're talking about. I think it's also something that if we've not thrown the topic of you are worth it enough around in the industry, let's do it again. Right? You are worth getting paid. And I think that if you are transparent and your company finds that there's no real, you know, conflict of interest, you should mention, you know, if they ask you to do something for them, I think that you should absolutely stand up and, and say, yeah, absolutely. And will this be, you know -- for me, I was like, well, will there be an additional check for this?
Or will there be additional money being allocated for this job? Because I would be happy to provide you with a quote.
Erikka: Yeah. And the thing is that comes into that is it's not just your time. And it's really easy to just say, oh, we are just talking into a microphone, but who bought that microphone? Who bought the interface?
Anne: Exactly.
Erikka: Who bought the computer? Who paid for the training so that you had to do this in 30 minutes or whatever? You have a business; you have a media business. You're not just talking into a microphone, and you've invested in that. So they need to pay for part of that. Absolutely.
Anne: So let me ask you a question, now, how are you prioritizing hours in your day? Is it possible for you to actually say, oh, here's I, I have an hour here that I can do auditions depending on the day, the schedule, the meetings? How do you organize your day with a full-time job and then working in full-time voiceover?
Erikka: Yeah. So I have a lot of tools that I use, some new-school, some old. You know, I use things like ever node and --
Anne: Yep, yep.
Erikka: Task List, Google Tasks and things like that. But I also, honestly, I'm really good about just paper and pencil, and I know that's old and I'm like an elder millennial and I still use it, but I do to-do lists. I, I use the calendar on my phone.
Anne: me too. I love my calendar.
Erikka: I love it. So it's like if I have auditions, and I know that they're coming in, you know, they're probably coming in from the west coast later in the day, I might try to record them that night if I have the energy for it. And maybe I'll edit them in the morning before my workday so that I can hear it again and see if I need to make adjustments. So I'll try to do that. I really try to get very efficient with my audition process and --
Anne: Yeah, that's key.
Erikka: That is key. So that you're not spending 30 minutes on one audition. You don't have time for it.
Anne: Gosh, yes. So here's just a little diversion into that world. And as a matter of fact, I've, I've talked to so many people that have been in the business for years, and auditioning is kind of a skill. It's like a muscle. And I think the more that you do it, the better you get at it. And also I think the more you realize that your first few takes are usually the ones that are the best, and it's not number 15 or 16 when you've rethought it or gone for a walk and come back and listened and said, oh God, no, it's horrible. Let me start again. Really, to be efficient, that I think is key to keeping a balance, right, to your work lives, you know, in multiple occupations. So don't spend an exorbitant amount of time on your auditions and just -- I always limit myself to three, takes three takes, done, send it and forget it.
Erikka: Yep. Yep. And what I'll do too is like, if I it's a red flag to me, if I've been on something for more than 10, maybe 15 minutes, if it's a little longer, and I've have recorded auditions and not sent them, 'cause I was like, you know what? This just doesn't even feel right. This one isn't for me.
Anne: I love that you said that because I have done that too. I always go by my gut instinct. And I feel that even if after the three takes, I'm not feeling it, I'm not gonna send it in. 'Cause you're right. Again, we are storytellers and we have to be able to envision the scene. We have to be in the scene to be real, to be authentic. And it has to feel right I think in order to really, I don't know, work.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. That's part of the balance. And I think a lot of times we know, even before we get in the booth. Like I'll get that email and I'll get that gut. Like, Ooh, I can't wait to read this. You know? And then you get the one where it's like eeeehhh.
Anne: Well, I think it's important to note though that when you read through it the first time, and just because you're efficient at auditioning doesn't mean that you're not reading through and doing a little bit of analysis now in the beginning. Because in order to know, if you wanna tell the story, you kind of have to know the story. So taking a look at that script and maybe doing a Google here and there for the company or the brand, if it's known, absolutely can help you. And it can speed up the process. Gosh, what did we do before the Internet, right, when we got an audition and we wanted to find out more about the product, or I'd never heard about the product and so oh, okay. I'm just gonna read these words.
Erikka: I bow to the OGs that had to do that before me, 'cause I never had to, and I don't know what I would've done.
Anne: Yeah. Just reading the words doesn't cut it these days. It just, it never really cut it before either, I don't think, but it really has to be something that organically comes from you. And to get to that position and to understand the story, you've gotta know a little bit about the story, and that takes more than a minute.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I'm so glad you said that. Efficient does not mean fast. They are not synonyms. It just means that you have a process down. You know, maybe you are speed reading, you know, you're not necessarily like really digesting and sitting with it for 30 minutes, but you are getting an idea of what the story is, how you might connect with it. And then sometimes I do come in the booth and cold read because for me it, sometimes it's more organic as someone who, who is literally anxious. Like I, I have anxiety and I get in my head and sometimes the cold read ends up being the best one.
Anne: But a cold read doesn't always mean that you're not familiar with the words, either --
Erikka: The story.
Anne: -- because there's a certain method to speed reading. And actually I just was reading about something called bionic reading the other day.
Erikka: Yes. I read that too.
Anne: Yes. Very interesting. Where you get certain letters highlighted in the words, because it says your brain --
Erikka: Brain fills them in for you.
Anne: Yeah. Your brain is faster than your eyes. So I honestly am looking for that app so that I can put all of my scripts into it because I actually saw it and it worked for me that I was able to process the words faster and comprehend them. That's the biggest thing I think we need is comprehension. And if you can do that faster and more efficient, that's gonna again help you with the balance of managing everything that you have to do in any given day. So we've got your full time job, right? You've got your pretty much full time voiceover, I would say. And then now what else are you struggling with? Or we've got life actually. Right? We've gotta have that time, that downtime so that again, like we were talking about before, where we can refresh and reset.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah. I have this mantra when I was doing more so music, it was, I had these t-shirts that was like natural born hustler and that's still kind of my thing. I'm definitely of a strong work ethic. I love working, but as I've gotten older and had more things on my plate and been kind of forced into it, that has evolved into now that rest is part of the work. That's my mantra.
Anne: You're right. Yeah. Rest is part of the work. I like that.
Erikka: Because if you are not rested, you are not bringing your best self to that script. You are not bringing your best self to the booth, and you're not bringing your best self to yourself or your family.
Anne: Agreed.
Erikka: You've got to recharge. You can't keep using your phone. It's gonna die on you. you're no different.
Anne: I love that. And I'll tell you, I was that person back in the day. I remember now I'm like, I feel like here I am, I'm old, but I used to be able to survive on four or five hours of sleep at night. I can't do that anymore. I need to rest and recharge. And my brain has to shut off. That I think is the most energetic part of me is my brain, all the time going. And that also kind of disrupts my sleep once in a while.
Erikka: Well, yeah, I definitely have had issues with, with sleep. And the thing is that I had to learn that even being creative and balanced in all aspects of your life, even rest, it doesn't have to be the eight hours of sleep at night. I'm not one that can do the eight hours. Usually like a good night of rest for me is seven. But like I might catch a 15-minute power nap. I have a friend that lives by power naps and he's right. Like there are sleep cycles and you can research this. If you sleep in intervals of like, I think it's like 15, 30, 45 or an hour and a half, like that can give you an, like a boost literally. Where if you sleep, if an have an hour, like you interrupt a sleep cycle and it's not as efficient as if you had slept for 45 minutes, something like that.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: And if you get creative about how you're resting, even not sleeping, if there's a way to just rest your brain, like silence, meditating, all those things count.
Anne: Can I just say, as I've gotten older, a woman of a certain age, my sleep patterns have changed, where all of a sudden I'm up in the middle of the night for an hour or two.
Erikka: Me too. Me too.
Anne: So first of all, I'm so thankful and grateful that I have voiceover because I'm not paranoid about getting up, shower, dressed and out the door and fighting the traffic. I don't feel that pressure. So if I'm up for an hour or two in the middle of the night, I don't stress about it. I just am like, okay, that's my sleep pattern. That's just the way it is. If I'm not sleepy, I'm gonna, I don't know. I'm gonna, I don't know, watch some TV until I fall asleep.
And so for me, I'm not stressing about the fact that I'm not sleeping and it's funny 'cause my doctor she's like, okay, okay. So I know you're probably stressed out that you have an irregular sleep pattern. I'm like actually no, I'm really fine with it. And hopefully it's the same with you because you have to maybe report to work at a certain time. But if you have flex hours, I mean, that's just an amazing thing that we can just not have to stress about that lack of sleep during the middle of the night or just different sleep patterns. One of my assistants, literally she works during the night and sleeps during the day. So.
Erikka: Yeah. You have to learn yourself. Like that's the key to balance too is knowing what really works for you. Like I know me, even if I don't sleep well at night, I'm gonna probably be up before 8:00. My circadian rhythm just does not let me sleep late unless I am like really sick. If I'm in bed at 10:00, you need to check on me.
Anne: Yep. Yep.
Erikka: Because something is wrong.
Anne: Same here. Same here.
Erikka: So it's just about knowing, like if you're a night owl and you know that you're most creative and work well at night, then find work, whether that's voiceover or even corporate work, that's gonna match that. So that you can be your best self.
Anne: Now, do you have any other, when you wanna come down and you wanna just refresh your creative, do you have any particular things that you do? Do you meditate? Do you exercise?
Erikka: Yeah. So, I don't exercise as much as I used to or as much as I want to or should.
Anne: Yeah, I know. I think, I think, I think we all go through that. Although I've come back to this point where I'm doing like little power bursts of exercise, because I have to. Like, we're talking like literally five minutes at a time. No, if I'm in between, let's say, students or in between a gig and I get outta my studio. I'm gonna do like my little squats. My arm movements, gonna grab a couple of weights and I'm gonna do like a power set for maybe five minutes. And I find that that really helps me a lot during the day. I feel much stronger now because before I was just sitting on my butt, and it was not doing me any good for sure.
Erikka: For me, I had this little sticky note I wrote for myself 'cause I'm a sticky note-aholic and I called it 60 seconds of sunshine. So if I have sessions and meetings and all this stuff going on, I can give myself 60 seconds of sunshine. It gives me the fresh air to reset. It gives literally -- the sun is vitamin D and all these things and you know, it just kind of resets you. I would do that even when I was in the office, like I would just go outside for a minute. Even if I don't have time to really walk or do anything. Just finding little bursts, little things that you can do throughout the day to reset your brain. It does help.
Anne: Yeah. I agree, that 60 seconds of sunshine, I like that. I think I'm gonna put that um, a sticky note on mine. That, and I love to just go and take a break and pet the fur babies.
Erikka: Yes, oh my goodness.
Anne: 'Cause that just releases my stress unbelievably well.
Erikka: Absolutely, they're -- because they don't care about anything. They just want love and food and sleep. .
Anne: That's it love, food, and sleep.
Erikka: Love, food, and sleep. Don't we all just want love, food, and sleep at the end of the day?
Anne: It's so true. Really. And that love includes ourself, right? And taking care of ourself and trying to achieve that balance -- where I know myself, I have fallen into this and anybody that knows me again, I am a little bit of a workaholic. And it's really become so important with me because I will say I've, I've encountered some health issues of late that have forced me to say, whoa, Anne. You are sitting too much. You're working too much and you need to really stop and take a look at -- now, I think it's one thing about me. I've always been super, uber focused. I mean, I play hard and I work hard. So I just got too many years during the pandemic of working way too hard and not necessarily playing. So I know myself, the balance has had to come back into play major, especially the older you get. I don't wanna sound like a, an old broken record, but I'll tell you what, it's so much more important as you age. That's that's all I can say.
Erikka: You telling -- likewise, I told you, the natural born hustler. I still have some of those hats and shirts. People are wearing them. Like I was, I love working. I got that from my dad.
Anne: Me too, me too.
Erikka: It's true workaholic.
Anne: And my dad too.
Erikka: Yeah. However, like you said, especially as you get a little older and you start doing more things, and your body's going to tell you to sit down, and you don't do it voluntarily. It will do it for you. And I just, I'd rather make the choice.
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely. So I think balance. So then if you had to sum it up, if we're working towards better balance in our lives with our careers and lives, what would be your recommendations?
Erikka: Find something every day that gives you joy, because I think joy is something that is a super fuel.
Anne: Super balancer.
Erikka: Yeah. And if you have some -- I mean it could be something tiny. I mean, lately I've been more on like iced coffee. I don't know why, it's just been, maybe it's getting hotter. I'm usually like I want hot all year long, but the coffee is what gives you the joy in the first thing in the morning, it makes it help so much easier to cope with all the other things throughout the day and give you that balanced perspective of yes, maybe this thing is irritating me or hard right now, but I'm gonna be able to have coffee again tomorrow. Or, you know, whatever it is that brings you, that sort of sense of balance in your life. Prioritization is another huge one. You can't do it all. And if you're workaholics like me and Anne and you wanna do everything --
Anne: You think you can.
Erikka: You think you can --
Anne: I found an app. Well, it's not even an app. You can go right online. It's called the Pomodoro technique. So literally I think it was developed and I don't know the name of the guy. Maybe it was Richard Pomodoro, but anyways, his mother had one of those old timers that was shaped like a tomato. And so he was a writer, and he was struggling to keep his focus. And so he decided that he would set the timer and focus only on his writing for a set number of time. So it turns out that 25 minutes was key for him. You do whatever you need to do for 25 minutes. And then for five minutes you take a break ,and then you come back. And you do it again. And you do four cycles of the 25 minutes focusing.
And I'll tell you what. I started using it for my own writing. 'cause I write blogs, and I find, I love to write, but write writing takes me forever. And I get very distracted and I'm like, oh, I just got an email. Oops, just got a text. And so I literally this simple thing it's pomodor.app. I think you go there and it's a big timer on a webpage. You click on it to set it to 25 minutes and it does a little timer in your ear when it's all done. So I wear my headphones all day. And so it's literally click that 25 minutes and focus only on that one tab that I'm in or that application that I'm in. And it's really helped me. I have to say.
Erikka: That is really a key to balance too, because one of the red flags that you're out of balance is burnout. When you're feeling burned out. And if you kind of iterate that way for yourself and make sure that you're setting aside some time for rest, then you can prevent yourself from burning out. There's a physical exercise sort of thing that approaches it that way called Tabata training where you work out for like four --
Anne: Oh yes, absolutely.
Erikka: You work out for a few minutes and you have rest built into the routine. So that's awesome for your brain too.
Anne: Absolutely. That's my husband, did Tatabatas in his spin class.
Erikka: Yeah. It works.
Anne: Exactly. You just, you give it your all for a few minutes, and then you rest and go back and do it again. So yeah. Pomodor, Pomodor technique. Yeah. BOSSes. We all need more balance, and I'm just so excited, Erikka, to have you for this new series. Really our theme is gonna be about balance throughout your career. And we're gonna be talking about all different things and how we can hopefully overall achieve balance and more success in life and in our career.
Erikka: So let's do it, balance, baby.
Anne: Yeah. So BOSSes, I want you to have a chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference and give back to the communities that give to you. If you wanna find out more, visit our newest sponsor, 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. You can make a huge difference for just a small, quarterly contribution. And I'd like to give a huge shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS like Erikka J and myself. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing weekend. We'll see you next week.
Erikka: See you.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
A busy voice actor spends a lot of time in the booth. You’re sitting down to edit, sending out auditions, and reaching out to clients, but how are you prioritizing your physical & mental health throughout the work day? Anne & Pilar have the tips and tricks to keep your body strong & your mind sound. From taking breaks throughout the day to stretch, keeping up with your fur babies, and shaking off the stress (literally), you can tackle the day with ease like a #VOBOSS. >> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Transcript
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am excited to bring back to the show Pilar Uribe, my very, very special guest cohost. Pilar. Woo-hoo! How are you?
Pilar: I'm doing great, Anne. How are you?
Anne: I'm amazing. Thank you.
Pilar: Anne.
Anne: What?
Pilar: Anne. Guess what I'm wearing? Guess what I'm wearing today?
Anne: Oh my, okay. Um, Hmm. I'm not sure. What are you wearing, Pilar? Are you in the booth right now?
Pilar: I am. I am at the booth.
Anne: It's something that makes you feel good.
Pilar: It does. It does. Because this morning I went walking. I did my 10,000 steps like I do every morning.
Anne: Awesome, awesome.
Pilar: And then I came home. I showered, I changed and I put on my voz t-shirt and it's really cool.
Anne: Awesome!
Pilar: I just got in the mail, and it's so much fun.
Anne: I am so excited. Guys, yeah. So BOSSes out there, in case you didn't know, in honor of the most amazing Pilar Uribe, we have really cool swag in our BOSS studio store. So you can go to shop BOSS brand gear, and we have a whole line of really cool swag. We got t-shirts, we got mugs, we got accessories. We've got all sorts of things, and they're really, really awesome. I mean, I love that it's combination of your logo and some just amazing pieces of swag that you guys can get.
Pilar: I'm really liking that little bag where you can like put your stuff in and carry it around.
Anne: The accessory pouch.
Pilar: I love it, like you can put anything in there.
Anne: We have two different sayings, Pilar, and I'm going to have you say them because I cannot do the justice to the sayings that we have on shirts.
Pilar: What?
Anne: The voz.
Pilar: Okay. Okay. I hear you. It's voz, la voz.
Anne: La voz.
Pilar: La voz.
Anne: La voz. And what else? We've got another logo on the mugs, not just La Voz.
Pilar: Right. The other one, right. That is you say Di algo, di algo. Say something.
Anne: Di algo.
Pilar: Di algo. Di algo, say something.
Anne: Did I do that justice? I don't think I did.
Pilar: You sure did, yes, absolutely, you did.
Anne: Okay. Awesome.
Pilar: Yes, completely, yeah.
Anne: I love that little mug, man. I'm getting myself a little mug. It's like black with this -- and it's hot pink. I love the hot pink.
Pilar: I know. And it gets really cute.
Anne: Yeah. The shirts we have in like so many colors, it's amazing.
Pilar: The shirt is really, it's really soft, BOSS voces, because you know how like they're sometimes, you get t-shirts, and they're just kind of, they're like sandpaper. They're rough. I don't why like, like sometimes how conference t-shirts are just like rough and you're like, why are you giving me a rough t-shirt? This is not that. This is not that. This is a very soft.
Anne: This is quality swag, quality swag.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: I love quality swag.
Pilar: It's so much fun. And there's like a little notebook. I'm kind of eyeing the notebook now.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: I'm kind of thinking I might have to get the notebook and the short sleeve, 'cause I got the long sleeve actually, and the long sleeve is just so cozy.
Anne: I'm loving it.
Pilar: It's so cold out here --
Anne: I'm loving a short sleeve, and I'm a big v-neck girl. So yeah.
Pilar: I know, I saw those.
Anne: You guys, make sure you check out the really cool swag. And in addition to our Pilar-themed line of swag, we've also got some really cool Working Voice. What else? 100% BOSS. We've got VO BOSSy. We got some really cool sayings, some really cool logos on some really great merchandise. So make sure you go visit the shop under voboss.com and then shop BOSS brand gear.
Pilar: Oo, I just saw something really cute. You've got a little BOSS, onesy.
Anne: I do, I do.
Pilar: Uh-oh, I might be, I might be shopping soon. You've got some BOSSy pants! Oh, get out of town.
Anne: We do have BOSSy pants. Okay. So now that concludes our paid advertisement.
Pilar: I'm kind of getting into this.
Anne: Actually, we're just so excited about it. So guys, sorry about that. But Pilar, you said something earlier that I want to talk to you about, you said, you know, you've got your 10,000 steps in, you're making sure you're drinking your water, and you're doing all these things to contribute to your wellness, which I think is so important for BOSSes that are working regularly. Or even if you're not working regularly, your health, your wellness is so important and contributes so much to your performance and just your growth in your business. So I think we should have an episode talking about what we do for wellness and some tips and tricks and things that might help you guys in the booth.
Pilar: I think it's really important to think about that because even before the pandemic, of course, my life really was about being in the booth because that's where I was most of the time when I wasn't at the radio station or out and about, I was in my booth doing audio books. And, and other things.
Anne: And so long hours in the booth.
Pilar: Yes. And so, and usually you're, I mean, I have it where I can sit and I can stand. It's not one or the other, but still you're seated. And a lot of the times you're not in the booth, you're editing or you're in the booth and you're doing it all at once.
Anne: Oh my goodness, the editing, the editing.
Pilar: The editing, which is like --
Anne: Or you're doing the accounting or the marketing and you're sitting, and I will say myself, a woman of a certain age, sitting no longer is like healthy. Not that sitting was ever healthy for me before, but I think my body bounced back if I sat, you know, because I've always worked in technology, but I've also been more mobile when I had to like go into work and walk around. And even though I sat a lot, I was actually a whole lot more active, and the pandemic came and oh my goodness. I was so busy thankfully. And I'm gratefully so busy, but I have been spending a lot of time sitting, and it has not done me any favors, that's for sure.
Pilar: No. And, and the thing is, is that becomes cumulative when you stop moving around and working, not necessarily working out, as I say, in a gym, but working your body, working your muscles, moving, stretching. Your body eventually atrophies. So if you're not moving those muscles, you basically, just you kind of constrict. And we are in the business of expanding for as long as we can. So we, you want to stretch --
Anne: Expanding my body maybe after the pandemic.
Pilar: Well, right. That's yes. I agree. I've, I have gained 10 pounds.
Anne: Maybe not in a good way, but yeah, that, the pandemic has kind of wreaked havoc with my health a little bit, in a good way, because I've been working so much, but in a bad way, because again, I've been working so much. So I need to consciously take time out to make sure that I am taking care of my health, and I will say kudos and congrats to all those people out there, which I know a number of people who actually use the pandemic to get really into shape and take a challenge so that they can be the best that they can be.
And I just unfortunately was not one of them. I kind of went the other way, kind of sitting a little too much and working a little too much. But I'm coming full circle because I've made a considerable investment in getting started and more conscious, being more conscious about my health, walking. Of course, the last time I walked, I tore my sciatica muscle. So that was a thing. So now I've, I've got a, you know, an elliptical machine, which is helping me to not necessarily destroy that muscle. I have a little less impact, although I'm not walking outside as much anymore, which I miss. But that's become an important part of me being healthy, not just physically, but mentally.
Pilar: Yeah, and I think you really have to factor into your day some kind of movement and some kind of sustained movement, whether it's the elliptical or it's a stationary bike or it's walking, or if you're lucky enough to live in warm weather, swimming like in the summer months, but you have to keep the heart rate up in some way, shape or form. I do it by -- now, It's still pretty cold out here, but in the summer months, I hope to start swimming. And for now what I'm doing is I'm walking. And I make sure that I have 10,000 steps, that every day I walk my 10,000 steps.
Anne: That's awesome, yep.
Pilar: And so on an iPhone they have, and there are multiple apps.
Anne: I know on my iPhone, I think it, by default, it has a whole health thing where it tracks you. And I just bought a new Apple Watch, which is really awesome. So it will track everything that I want and actually connect up to my smart fitness machine, my elliptical, it will track everything there, how many steps, how many calories I've burned, what my heart rate is and all of those wonderful, healthy things, which I want to know, or I might look at my watch at, when I'm having a stressful day, and then go, woo my heart rate. Make sure that it's, that it's good. But also every hour, it has that little hepatic tap that tells me I need to stand up, which is really important for me. And I like you, I have a standing desk. I'm assuming you have a standing desk, as you said you can do both. I have a standing desk. So if I'm not in my booth, I can actually raise it up and stand or I can sit, which has been a great, great help for me.
Pilar: Yeah. Well I have the old stand and then bring the stool in.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And so I'm very lucky. A VO person actually fit it in for me in my booth. It's a movable arm, and it's really cool 'cause you can just, yeah, you can adjust the mic going up and down. So when I want to sit, I adjust the mic --
Anne: The boom arm. Yep.
Pilar: Yeah, it's a boom arm. And I mean, I definitely one day, 'cause they're, they're kind of expensive, but the desks are really helpful for outside when I'm editing, because then I don't have to be standing and sitting. But whatever it is that you do, whatever it is that you decide to do, make sure that you do it for at least 20, 30 minutes a day, get out and about, move around if you can every hour, because you really don't want to be sitting in one place. It's just not good for the body. I mean, on all levels. And stretching really, really helps. I mean, that's one thing 'cause I, I used to suffer from sciatica as well. So I understand the pain and the discomfort and --
Anne: Sciatica comes out of nowhere some days.
Pilar: Oh, I know, I know it's awful.
Anne: It's like women of a certain age, not just women, but I'm just saying I never experienced sciatica. And now all of a sudden, it came on, and then it seemed to never go away, and then it went away, but then it came back. And so that is something that I struggle with, and it's very, very tough to stretch that, but it is important that I stretch every day to help that because you know, I don't want to be uncomfortable. First of all, I don't want to render myself, you know, unable to feel comfortable, and then try to go into my booth and perform. I mean, that is just something that is not a good thing.
So having those conscious things that you're doing to maintain wellness, not just, and we had spoken about vocal wellness in a previous episode, and now we're extending it to physical wellness, and a mental wellness is also something that I think is super important for us. And something that I've mentioned multiple times on the podcast, your mental health is so important, so that you're in your best performance mode.
PIlar: There's so many things that you can do to help yourself because a lot of times people say, oh, I don't know what to do. It can be something as simple as closing your eyes for a minute and just breathing in, you just like breathing in one, breathing in -- breathing out two, breathing in three, breathing out four. And you go all the way up to 10, and then you come back down, and let's say, you're stressed and you're trying to get a voice or a feeling, you're trying to finish a sentence or you're stuttering. Which sometimes it's like, I will just so trip over myself. And I literally just take a step back, I take off my headphones and I sit on the floor and I just breathe. And then all of a sudden it's like, I don't know where I was, but I disconnected from that stressful moment. And then I can just come back to the work. That helps me so much.
I kind of envision it like, and I may have mentioned this before, like when a dog turns around three times. If you turn around three times, let's say you're really, really stressed or you're, you're in a bad mood or whatever, you turn around three times and you can't really remember what it was that feeling because it's like, you're just kind of just, just shook it out of yourself. So it's like shaking that off. That helps me a lot. Something that helps me as well, let's say when I want to just -- stress relievers. Because the other thing that we don't realize is that when we're sitting at a desk, we're not always standing with our backs straight. We might be hunched over. We might be, our spine is in a C. We've got our hands in a certain way. And then you wonder why your hand hurts because you've just been like gripping the mouse like there's no tomorrow.
So there's so many things that we don't even realize as the day goes by. So to get up every hour to breathe, to turn around, to do a little bit of what I described was just a little teensy weensy part of meditation, or just to close your eyes for a minute will help get you through the day without as much stress. And what they've discovered in studies is that meditation -- and meditation can be as simple as what we just did. And it can be just something to close, just closing your eyes and sitting, or it can be lying down -- is a natural reliever for cortisol.
Cortisol just makes you that much more stress. When you have cortisol in your system, it's like you're on fire, and you're all your muscles are just clenching. And so meditation is actually a natural reliever of that. So it could be something as simple as just reading in a book, reading aloud, reading a poem, just breathing in and out, all those little teensy tips and tricks throughout the day can help you. And that's important because we do spend a lot of time in our booths, in our rooms. It can be a really tight space. It can be a big space, and in one position, and you want to try to relieve that.
Anne: Yep.
Pilar: So Anne, tell me what you do to relieve your stress on any given day. Do you jump out of bed? Do you wake up, do you read a little bit? What do you do?
Anne: So for me, I, I actually will -- I don't jump out of bed. I have a compression machine, a compression machine, which actually moves fluid in my body to where it's supposed to go because I've had some, just some lingering issues from back in the day when I was taking some medication. And so I have to get rid of excess fluid in my body, through my lymph nodes. So, and what's really cool is it's actually kind of, kind of healthy anyways, if I didn't need to move that fluid, it just -- it basically moves everything where it needs to be. That's the first thing I'll do in the morning for about 20 minutes. And that really makes me feel a whole lot better when I get up out of bed, that now I've had all of the necessary fluids moved to my lymph nodes that need to be so that my body can take care of what it needs to take care of for the day.
While I'm doing that, it's a really good time to just kind of meditate and really think back on what -- well, I like to have time to think about what I'm grateful for and I always want to make sure I do that. You know, not to get too much of that, but I always have to say what I'm grateful for every day, because I just feel like that reaffirms how lucky I am. And it starts my day in a positive note. So it's kind of like meditation and then -- but not necessarily thinking about nothing. I'm actually thinking about what I'm grateful for, which really puts me in a positive note for the day to get going. And then I will, I am guilty of liking coffee, so I will have a cup of coffee. However, I have no problem drinking as much water. As a matter of fact, I might drink more water than it's necessary, but I, at least I start off with my 33-ounce alkaline water from Kirkland.
And so I will chase my coffee or within sips of coffee, I will take sips of water as well, especially if I've voice over to work to do, I'll -- I probably won't drink coffee. If I have voiceover work to do, I will almost definitely hydrate in the booth. And I also wear my watch so that it reminds me to stand up every hour. And out in the garage, I have an elliptical and a Peloton, and my husband, believe it or not, who used to teach back in the day, back in the 80s, he used to teach step, he just got to step. So interesting, he's going to be stepping beside me now while I'm doing my elliptical. So that'll be fun in our garage.
And I'm so happy that we set that up in the garage. And we did that during the pandemic because we weren't able to go to a gym at the time. And the two of us were working like crazy people and sitting a lot, and it did not do us any favors. And my husband for all the, all the people that know my husband, he's a really good cook. So the cook combination with the sitting a lot, I gained my pandemic weight for sure, but we're getting ourselves back on track. So I'm happy about that.
Pilar: Well, you just mentioned something that I think is really important is the gratitude. I do the gratitude list at night mentally. Some people write it out, and I think it's really important because we take a lot sometimes -- at least I do. I can't speak for everyone, but sometimes I take things for granted. So I have to remember and be grateful that I have a roof over my head. I have food in my refrigerator. I have car that I can drive to go to my sessions, that I have money to pay for my food. That I have a cat who loves me. Well, that's questionable. But, um, he does, it's on his terms. And I think it's really important because when you're in gratitude, you're less likely to be in resentment over --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: -- I didn't get this job. Why didn't they call me? Or I'm not as far as I should be -- all thoughts that every single person on the planet, if you're a working voice actor has had. Whether we want to admit it or not, we do because we're human. And so having gratitude, I just think is so important. Even if it's the little things, it's like, oh, I got a callback. Yeah, I didn't get the job, but guess what? They heard me and they wanted to hear me again. How awesome is that? So it's like being grateful for everything, whether the outcomes are the way you wanted them or not what you were expecting. I think that that's really important.
Anne: I was going to say mental health, right? As we're being grateful. I think that throughout the day, we have to also try to revisit at some point, if we need to. Because during the day, the online social media events of the day can start to stress you out. And I think you need to take those breaks and maybe think again about being grateful or why you're grateful. I know there are times I'll read something in social media, and it will just fire me up. I can't imagine, like if I were to look at my watch and see my heart rate, sometimes my heart rate has gone up from some of the posts that I see online. I've tried really hard to back away a little bit from that, because I know that's not necessarily productive for me because I don't want to spend my day in that state where I have an elevated heart rate because I'm frustrated or I saw something that somebody posted that I, I just am like, I can't believe I just saw that.
And so I think that the mental health and the stress of the day, we need to get up and shake it out. And I wanted to say, for sure, our fur babies. My cats are a huge part of my mental wellbeing. A lot of times I'll just go and play with them. That is like, oh, I need a kitty break. So for me, I'm like, I need a kitty break. Where's my kitty? And I'll just go and hug them. And you know, what's so interesting, Pilar? Our cats are so, so happy. For the past two and a half years since we've had to be home, I cannot tell you how happy the studio cats are. I mean, as a matter of fact, we brought them to the vet, and each one of them, the vet is like, their blood work is immaculate. Like they are some of the healthiest cats I have seen. And of course, you know, I'm all proud. And I'm like, well, you know, it's because we take really good care of them, and we play with them.
And the funny thing is, is I think that's a part of their health too and our health. So we can not only help our health, but our animals' health to take a walk, play with the animals. And that's been a big difference from me, even when growing up, I've always had cats, but I've really like excelled at playing with my cats because it's good for them. And it's good for me. You know, it keeps them in shape. It keeps their mental -- they're hunters, right? So we have to play with them and have them hunt things. And so I've, I've actually understood my animals a whole lot more since this pandemic, because I've really taken the time to use them for good mental health for me and a good studio cat hug, there's nothing better. Oh. Outside of my Jerry, but you know.
Pilar: I concur, is all I can say because mine, my cat really has so many duties besides which I am on hand and foot catering to him, you know? 'Cause it's always, it's always about him. It's not about me. It's I just, you know, of course, as I've said --
Anne: We're just here to serve them.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. I just, I just pay the rent for him.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: You know, he sits there and he looks at me. And so I, when I have stuff that I have to work on, voice acting, I will do my, my characters. I will try them on him, and he'll look at me, and it's perfect. Yeah. I have a great time doing it.
Anne: Yes, they're the best audience for characters. And it's funny because people who aren't even voice actors, right, when we speak in our, in our pet voice, don't we always go up into this elevated character voice. Oh my, who's your good kitty. We always go into these different character voices talking to the cats.
Pilar: It's the funniest thing. I have gotten more work when I go into my speaking to Paco voice on an audition. It is, it astounds me because I sit there and go, you know, [Spanish gibberish] it's like, I don't know what the hell that is, but I'm just saying it. And yeah, that gets me work. So I'm like, yeah, I just --
Anne: There you go. He even gets you work, Paco even gets you to work. I love it.
Pilar: He even gets me work. So he's, he's earning his supper.
Anne: And you know, what's so cool? Not even are they just great sounding boards for, for your characters, my cats, they have their own Facebook page. They have their own Instagram page. So I connect with people through my cats. So my cats are so darn cute. Right? Everybody's cats are so cute. It's kind of a talking point. Who doesn't love to see pictures of fur babies on the internet? I mean, it's the one thing that's not political. It's not, right, It's not going to make anybody angry unless you're looking at things that, you know, we don't want to see happen to animals like abuse, but anybody I know can't resist a kitten photo or a puppy photo or any kind of animal, really. I think that that's, that contributes to the mental health and wellness of, of everybody, ven on the internet.
Pilar: you know, I've resisted having Paco as his separate page. I'm getting a little envious of people who have a separate page for their animals. And I'm thinking I might have to do that because that's the other thing, I take pictures of him all day long. I just put a picture on my Instagram page, because I just, I couldn't stand it. And I just, I get, I like, I want everyone to see what he's doing, the cuteness.
Anne: And I probably have, I mean, honestly, all right, here. I'm just going to tell you, Pilar, between you and I.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: I probably have -- and the rest of the world listening -- I probably have 50,000 pictures of my cats because I've taken pictures of them when they were little. We got them as kittens and that's like, oh my gosh, they're so darn cute. And there's three of them. So you know what I mean? Like, so it's triple.
Pilar: It's one times three, right? Exactly. Because you have to take pictures of all of them. Yeah. I totally get it.
Anne: I'm not ashamed, but I will admit that I probably do have about 50,000. Now, granted right now I don't have any children. So they, they kind of like, they're my children, my fur babies.
Pilar: iCloud storage must love you.
Anne: Well, I pay for extra of course, but they're so darn cute.
Pilar: Don't we all?
Anne: They just make me happy. And I think that anyone that's looking for wellness, if they can and they're animal lovers, I think that is such a huge contributor to the biggest stress reliever. The biggest unconditional love happy thing that you can do for yourself and your business. I'm just saying, yes, get a kitty, get a little kitten.
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: Or -- I don't want to say don't, you know, I'm not, I'm also, I love --
Pilar: Or a dog, or a dog.
Anne: Yes, exactly.
Pilar: I used to have a dog and a cat.
Anne: Or a goat, or a goat.
Pilar: Or a goat.
Anne: Or a horse, how about a horse?
Pilar: It's hard to sleep with a horse in your bed. So that would be a little bit difficult.
Anne: Or a teacup pig. I mean, I've always wanted one of those, honestly.
Pilar: Wow.
Anne: Pigs are cute.
Pilar Okay. Yeah, they are cute.
Anne: They're adorable. So anyways, yeah, fur babies, fur babies are good. So I think that, yes, it's so, so important that we consider our wellness. And I think sometimes though it takes being, because we're so invested -- this is me to a T, right? I get so focused. I get so involved in my work and yes, I have admitted, I'm probably, I work more than I should. And with that, it's more important than ever, right, that I take time out to take care of myself. And you don't want to have something crazy happen to you before you stop and think about your health. You know, you don't want to have a health event happen, and I've had a health event happen. And I should know, I feel like I should know more than any other time in my life. I should be so aware of my health, but sometimes I just get carried away and get so involved, and the stress starts getting to me, and you know, it's time to stop and shake it out. Pet your cat, have a little gratitude, go for a walk, get that exercise in there. And yeah, I have a balance, have a balance to career.
Pilar: I think that that is all so important because what you're doing even while you're working and even if you're --
Anne: Even if you love what you do, right?
Pilar: Even if you love what you do, even if you're really busy, you want to have habits that are going to be healthy habits that are preventative.
Anne: Yeah, agreed.
Pilar: So you don't have to sit there and be like -- I, I was at a studio the other day and the voiceover actor came out and he'd been drinking Diet Coke in the studio. And then he said, oh, I'm going to just take a couple of extras Diet Cokes. This was a very, very tall, very large man. And I thought he drank at least three in the studio, and he's going to drink three more Diet Cokes? And I was like, wow, if you do that year after year after year, what's that going to do to your body as, as a cumulative effect? Whereas drinking tons of water, let's say, instead of that, and, and meditating, and walking, and having these healthy habits is insurance towards the future.
So you want to be healthy for as long as you possibly can and have a healthy voice. And so you want, you want to think about what you're putting into your body and what, and the thoughts that you're thinking and how you're waking up in the morning. So I think everything that we've talked about today is just, is super important as moving forward into living a healthy life in voiceover.
Anne: And you know, what else? I think this has been a great discussion. You know, what else can help is by helping others, giving back. And I really, I'm a big believer in that. You know, I've always, always tried to, when I can give back, give back to my community, give back to people in need. So, and I really believe that giving back is such an important part. And one of our newest sponsors has given us a opportunity, an opportunity to contribute to make a difference and to give back to the communities that give to us. And that organization is 100voiceswhocare.org, and you can actually contribute and make a big difference.
'Cause I know sometimes it's like, I feel like I don't have a lot to contribute, and how can I really make a difference? Well, the really cool thing about this organization is we get a minimum of 100 people together, all donating, literally just $100 a quarter. So that's like $33.33 a month. And if you combine that together for a quarter with 100 voices, that's $10,000 that can be given to a community or an organization in need. And that is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. So you guys can find out more by visiting 100voiceswhocare.org, and you can make a difference for sure. I'd also like to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor ipDTL that allows Pilar and I to have these wonderful conversations every week. You guys can be BOSSes, find out more at ipdtl.com. Thanks so much, guys. You guys have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Pilar: Thank you, everyone. Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
The magic of voice is the way it transcends text to something more than just words. Anne is joined by James MacLeod of BeyondWords to discuss that process. They discuss the need for text-to-speech integration, from news sources to accessibility + how voice actors can stay involved. James explains contractual + licensing agreements that actors should understand before lending their voice so you can approach synthesizing your voice like a #VOBOSS.
To join or not to join, that is the question. Anne & Pilar delve deep into how union & non-union work has shaped their careers. They discuss the biz before SAG and AFTRA merged, jobs in a right-to-work state, and changes in work accessibility due to tech advances & the pandemic. Joining the union is a very personal choice, and depends on where you live and what genres you wish to work in. Learn from Pilar as she shares her journey to joining the union + Anne who explains her reasons for remaining non-union so you can make the best choice for you like a #VOBOSS.
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am so excited to be back again with my very special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Hey Pilar. How are you today?
PIlar: I am doing great, Anne. How are you?
Anne: I'm doing awesome this beautiful morning. Hey, I got a question for you. I have a lot of students that ask me about the union and should they be part of the union and when is the time for them to join the union. And I also have another student who's going to be moving to California, and they're asking these questions about the union. So I think it would be a great time to talk about it with you, because I know that you are a union member, and I like to kind of do a here's the union 101 kind of class in the podcast today. So I know there's a lot of people out there that have questions. And tell me a bit about how you joined the union.
Pilar: Well, I have a long history with the union. I started out actually in New York because I got extra work on "One Life to Live" back when there were a lot of soap operas. And basically the day that I walked into the area where they -- the holding room, where you have all the extras sit, this very nice person, stuck out her hand and said, hi, I'm so-and-so, a member of AFTRA, the local representative. And I thought, oh, this is interesting. So literally I had not stepped foot on a soundstage in New York when there was somebody already basically saying to me, this is an offer you can't refuse. And so, yeah, because it's like, you don't really have a choice. You have to become a member of the union.
Anne: You gotta join here.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. So I did, I joined happily, and I actually did a lot of extra work with the different soap operas in New York. And then when I went to Colombia, they don't have unions down there. They didn't. Now they are starting to, they do have something together.
Anne: Let me just back up. You were in New York at what time? What year was it that you joined the union in New York?
Pilar: Oh gosh, this was the 90s.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: This was in the nineties. And this is when, because AFTRA is not -- everybody thinks of AFTRA as just radio, but also --
Anne: Yeah, that's what I remember.
Pilar: Yeah. AFTRA's also TV.
Anne: But not all TV though, right?
Pilar: But not all TV. Exactly.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I want to say that AFTRA might just be daytime TV or it was daytime TV or maybe it was --
Anne: Plus radio,
Pilar: -- like game shows and stuff like that. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. Because when I got into the industry, you know, it was all AFTRA. There was no SAG. There was all AFTRA for voice actors, that that's what you were supposed to join. And then they merged at some point.
Pilar: Exactly. Exactly. And actually AFTRA stands for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Anne: Yes. Yes.
Pilar: So that tells you right there, that it was specifically for some forms of television. I'm not really sure back then what the distinction was, but SAG and AFTRA were completely separate unions.
Anne: So you were in New York and you were an AFTRA member in the 90s, and then you went to Colombia. And you were on, you were on television in Colombia, but there's. yeah, no unions.
Pilar: No unions, but I kept my AFTRA card anyway, because I thought you never know. And dues were very, very low. So I just, I kept it, I kept it up and then I came back to --
Anne: Good thinking.
Pilar: Yeah. Well, yeah. Thank goodness. Yes. Yes.
Anne: 'Cause you were in Colombia for, what, eight years, right?
Pilar: Nine years, nine years.
Anne: So a while. So I like that manifestation that you never know, right, when you're going to need that card again or that status. Okay. Cool. All right.
Pilar: And the dues back then were very, you know, they were very reasonable, so it wasn't, it wasn't a big deal. So I come back to Miami because I decide I want to be halfway between Bogota and New York.
Anne: And that was in the 2000s, right?
Pilar: That was in the 2000s, early 2000s. And then I discovered that Miami is a right to work state.
Anne: So let's talk about that. Let's define that first. What is a right to work state?
Pilar: Okay. So the actual definition of a right to work state is that states have the authority to determine whether workers can be required to join a labor union, to get and keep a job. So labor unions still operate in those states, but workers, they can't be forced to become members as a requirement of their job, which they do have to be, let's say, in New York or Los Angeles, if you want to work on a soundstage.
Anne: Right, you have to be in the --
Pilar: You have to be a member of the union. Yeah. And they're very strict with that. And I remember when I worked in, in television in the times that I did extra work, it was so interesting to be on the soundstage. And for example, the coordinator, the guy who yells 5, 4, 3, 2, you know, 1, one time, the director was already in the booth and the actors were on stage, and the guy went to move the plate, and he was not allowed to, because a member of the prop union had to come over and move the plate two inches forward. They're very, very strict about that. And for good reason, you know, because that's -- the unions are there to protect the workers.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: And what each person's job is. So when I got to Miami, I started auditioning and I started getting non-union jobs. And I was happy with that. And every, I remember union actors complains saying once they became union, then there weren't as many possibilities.
Anne: Because there was other people vying for the same roles, right?
Pilar: Yes, exactly. And there was so much competition. And so non-union actor could vie for a union job. Whereas in other states like California, Los Angeles --
Anne: You had to be union.
Pilar: You had to be union. So I kept booking work and you know, I was, I was fine with that. And this, I was booking on camera work at that time.
Anne: Did people try to convince you to join the union? Were you offered?
Pilar: No, because Florida is a little bit like the wild west, back then it was. And so there was nobody compelling, no -- there was nobody showing up at the door saying, you gotta, you gotta join. No, not like, not like in New York.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And so one day I got a call from my agent and she said, you booked a SAG commercial. And I thought, oh, okay, this is cool. And it's just, it's so interesting. The world of non-union versus union. 'Cause I did a ton of extra work in New York on films. And so I think I mentioned that before, like I basically touched Arnold Schwartzenegger's sleeve. And then one time I was in this Michael J. Fox film, and we were in a theater, we -- no, it was just, uh, just hoards of non-union extras sitting in the seats, and then there's this altercation. And then James Woods comes and I don't know what he does. And literally he had a cowboy boot on, I'll never forget it. And he stepped on my foot. And so we did like four takes, and every time he went in, he stepped exactly on my foot. I mean, he, like, my foot was his mark, so wild. And so I've actually, it's so funny. 'Cause I looked at that, I've looked at that scene and you can't really see me. You can see my jacket, and you can see me for like a second, but I'm like, yep. That's the day that I got a bruise that covered my foot for about a week. Oh my gosh. It was so painful. But I was so excited because, you know, James Woods stepped on my foot --
Anne: Stepped on your foot. Absolutely. Right.
Pilar: It was interesting. And I also did extra work on "Law and Order," and they treated the union actors very differently from the way they treated the non-union actors. And I remember thinking, wow, they get like extra candy bars.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: Right. And they get like special food.
Anne: Yep.
Pilar: And it's a whole different world. And they were all in cliques and they would bring their board games and their jigsaw puzzles. And they would, 'cause you know, you're basically waiting all day to do something. And you, the time that you work is so little, but I just remember looking at them going, wow, that's such a cool world. And it's, you know, it's the world of waiting. It's like, you're just basically a waiter. You know, you wait and you wait. So I did a whole bunch of those in New York. And then I started doing more non-union principal work. And then when I got this SAG commercial, I was treated like a queen. I couldn't believe it. I was like, usually you go -- when you're an extra, you go and you, you bring your own clothes, and they look at your clothes and you put your own makeup on, and they treat you a little bit like cattle. I mean, you know, the people are nice. The PA's are nice, but you're just basically shuffled off into a room and you're in. Then they, you know, they, they're, you know, it's food and whatever.
When you're like as a union person -- and this, I didn't even have a speaking part. It was a really, really fun thing. We were just all these characters in like this little sort of little mini play of an office, and my makeup was done. My hair was done. They kept fiddling with my outfit, and I was just like, wow, this is what it's like to be in the union. And at that point I wasn't a member of the union. So that was a really special moment. This was like my first SAG on camera commercial. It was like the big leagues because I had done that extra work on daytime TV that was AFTRA back in New York. But this felt really, really special. And so, I don't know, maybe a couple months after that I received a letter.
Anne: I was going to say, you did the commercial, you did the commercial, the SAG commercial. And then they asked you to join?
Pilar: Yes, yes. And then they asked me to join. And --
Anne: Was it a requirement? It was a requirement?
Pilar: Nope, because you -- a lot of the times what happens is let's say you're, you're an extra, and then you get upgraded to a principal. That happens a lot. And that's how people become members of the union. That that's how it used to be. Now it's, it's a lot more tightly controlled, but that's how a lot of people used to get their SAG cards. So I received that letter, and I wasn't a member of the SAG union when I did the commercial.
Anne: Right. But they treated you so nicely. And then you say, wow, I want that again.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: I get that.
Pilar: I want to get my hair and makeup done.
Anne: I want hair and makeup and yeah.
Pilar: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I was really spoiled in Colombia because I mean, I would go to work pretty much every day 'cause I worked four or five days a week. And so I would just go home with my makeup, and I would go out. And so, you know, it had been so long when I was back in the States that it was just nice. I was like, oh wow. This could be really fun to have this on a regular basis. And I decided I wasn't ready to join the union because it was expensive to join it.
Anne: So AFTRA it wasn't necessarily costly, but SAG was a different story back then?
Pilar: Yes. SAG was different story. Yeah. Yeah. Because the, the initiation dues for AFTRA were so low when I joined, but SAG was, you know, SAG, it was a big deal. And what was going to happen was that then I couldn't do any non-union work.
Anne: Exactly. Exactly.
Pilar: Then I start getting into voiceover, and then I started doing -- I find that there's a lot of voiceover dubbing going on. So I start going to all these different studios.
Anne: So bring me up to date as to what year. Have they merged yet? Because by the way, BOSSes, in case you're not familiar SAG and AFTRA did merge.
Pilar: This is like 2010.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: Where I start working in voiceover and I start going to the different studios.
Anne: And you're a member of both unions.
Pilar: No, no, I'm still a member of AFTRA.
Anne: Oh, that's right, excuse me, AFTRA but not SAG.
Pilar: Yep. I'm not a member of SAG.
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: And then I don't see anything in the bylaws that I can't do this. So I just keep doing voiceover. I get a little worried because I think, I don't know if this goes against it, but I checked one time with a friend, and they said, no, no, you can do this. And I was like, okay, great, wonderful. And it was literally the only game in town. So then SAG and AFTRA merged. And I believe, I want to say they merged in 2014 around there, maybe 2012, 2014.
Anne: I think it was 2014.
Pilar: 2014. Yeah, that sounds right. Yeah. So one day I got a notice saying you are now a member of SAG-AFTRA and I was like, oh, oh, okay.
Anne: So, oh no, let's see. I'm just looking at -- formed on March 30, 2012. Look at me. Does that make sense?
Pilar: Yeah, because it says here that it -- that they were suspended in 2014, but yeah, you're right, founded 2012. So that means that --
Anne: On my birthday.
Pilar: On your birthday. Oh, well, there you go.
Anne: March 30 is my birthday. Yeah. Special occasion.
Pilar: Is that Pisces?
Anne: Aries.
Pilar: Aries. Yeah. Okay.
Anne: So sorry. There was a little tangent there, BOSSes.
Pilar: I'm a Gemini, by the way.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: There you go.
Anne: There you go.
Pilar: There you go. Gemini and Aries voiceovers. So now in the member of the union, and now I started going, uh-oh, this is now getting tricky. What do I do? And that's when I actually decided, I thought, okay, well, let me see about doing audio books, because I was not getting enough work through the dubbing because it doesn't pay very well. Years pass and I am still doing dubbing.
Anne: So it got hard to find work, being a member, right, being a member of both unions --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- where you were living to find more work, and that was in Florida. Correct? So it was hard to find work for you?
Pilar: Yes. Now, and so it was hard to find work on camera --
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: -- because I wasn't really tapped into the voice over industry per se when I started. I was really more focused on on-camera. In Florida there is no union voiceover work 'cause it is a right to work state. There might be, but I didn't see anyone when I was there. I just, I was always going for what was around. And you know, you, you worked with different studios and there might be, you could do commercials and stuff, but they never talked about union per se. Other people might've had different experiences.
Anne: I want to kind of bring this back that this was -- I feel like it was a different time.
Pilar: It was.
Anne: Before the Internet, right? We're still talking before the advent of online anything, right?
Pilar: Right.
Anne: Where today we have abilities and opportunities everywhere. Because back in the day, right, when you had a voiceover job, you went to a studio and you did that. It wasn't where you could live, you know, in one state and connect to the studio -- well, until the 2000s, right, and connect to a studio in LA. So there's all sorts of interesting technological advancements that have maybe changed the way the landscape of union, non-union jobs' availability.
Pilar: Exactly. Exactly.
Anne: Because now if you were in Florida, you could still, I feel like you'd have opportunities for union jobs because now we have technologies that allow us to connect to studios that are in different states.
Pilar: And the pandemic has changed a lot too.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Pilar: It's almost like it's brought the world closer because --
Anne: Interesting.
Pilar: -- just so much more accessible.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: I will tell you something interesting. Voice123 was launched in 2003, but I don't think people knew about that.
Anne: I was part of Voice123 when they first, they first started. They were, there was no union jobs posted on there.
Pilar: Right. And you didn't go to the Internet to go -- you, you went to a studio to, to get work back then, right?
Anne: Back then before, yeah, before all the pay to plays. And before all the online casting sites, exactly. You would go record in a studio. As a matter of fact, when I first started in voiceover, it was not a requirement to have a home studio at all.
Pilar: Of course.
Anne: That was like a thing that some people did, you know, because they were, you know, tech heads. And as we evolved with a home studio, it's so funny, 'cause it seems like just yesterday, but it wasn't. You know, it's like, wow. Things have really progressed with technology and home studios and, and the landscape of, of how to get work in, in voiceover. And it really ties into this how do you get work if you're in a right to work state? How can you in, and you're part of the union, is there enough work? I've heard that even recently that it's hard to get union work. I mean, where are the opportunities?
Pilar: So here's the thing. What I discovered is, which is something that's very -- more people know about it because is basically word of mouth is that you can convert non-union work --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- to union. You can convert it --
Anne: Through a paymaster.
Pilar: -- that's not something -- yes, through a paymaster, but it's not something that's necessarily advertised. So, and it all depends on rates. You have to be, you know, you have to be up on your rates. But one of the ways that I found it was through audiobooks. So I was able to, by having the paymaster -- ACX used to have this. They've kind of done away with it now. It's not the same as when I started.
Anne: Oh, interesting.
Pilar: The pie has been made smaller. Let's put it that way, but you still can do work through ACX.
Anne: ACX that's union?
Pilar: Yeah. But also get yourself a paymaster. And on certain jobs you can basically ask the client, can we do it this way? And it's possible. It's just, it is a little harder.
Anne: From Florida, you move to California. So now you're right in a right to work state to California. And so how does it -- and you're a member of the union. So how does it change when you move to California?
Pilar: I actually spoke to members, people who worked at the union multiple times saying to them, I would like to work as a union member, but I can't, not in this state. And they were very aware of this. And they said, yeah, we know. We know that we cannot have competitive pricing in a place like Florida. So they knew exactly what was going on. It was not like news to them because I said, you know, I wanted to be upfront. I said, this was happened to me. I was not a member of the union. I became a member of SAG because of SAG-AFTRA, and I, I have to make a living. So when I came to California, I found that it was a lot easier because the structures were in place much more for union actors.
Anne: That makes sense.
Pilar: It also helps having the agents that I do, and they are phenomenon. I was just really blessed to get the agents that I have.
Anne: I was just going to say, and now with the added agencies that you're able to work with, and the fact that you can work remotely can help now as well to increase the opportunities for union work.
Pilar: Yes. Because, Anne, when I lived in Florida, I was working all the time, but I would never have had the opportunity to audition for a McDonald's, for a Geico. Those just were not available to me. So there is something to be said. The union has its pluses and its minuses. But I will say that my decision to come here and work as a, a union actor has probably been the best decision that I ever made. Now, it's not for everyone, but having been on the other side, having been in a right to work state, it makes a huge difference.
Anne: Now let's talk about, it's not for everyone. Now, I will say, as someone who is non-union for me, it really is just based on the genres that I get work in, and the genres that I enjoy doing work in. So I would say obviously, if there's anything broadcast, union is definitely a possibility. You do not have to -- if you're a voice talent, you're just coming up in the ranks, you, you do not have to join the union right away. As a matter of fact, I think it behooves you to do some work, figure out where your niche is, and where you're successful at, at obtaining work, and make the decision then, because for me, I do a lot of non-union work. And for me, it, it works. Even though I live in a state that would benefit me if I decided to join the union and really, you know, go for those genres that can pay off. And I would say that the really nice part about it, the advantage from my standpoint, is that you've got somebody that is on your team negotiating for you and making sure that you are getting paid fairly and equitably. Whereas non-union people, that's, a lot of that is, is left to them, to their own devices, to make sure that you're getting paid fairly and equitably, but it's always nice to have somebody on your team fighting for you and having an establishing ground rules.
Pilar: I agree. We as actors, we don't always have those negotiating skills, and I'm certainly not as good as I could be. I'm definitely better than I was. And when I was a member of Equity, which I've, I've lapsed it because I'm not doing theater, it really came into play. Because they require that you have minimums, and they're very protective. And all the unions, that is their goal, that is their intent. And so that's something that I really appreciate in a vast sea and all this competition and all these people coming up to you and offering you this and offering you that. And then you find out, oh, whoops, that's a scam. So it really does depend on the genre that you plan to concentrate on.
Anne: Sure, yeah.
Pilar: And I will tell you this me probably along with a hundred thousand other people have come to LA thinking, oh yeah, I really want to do animation, which I did. And I do. And I've probably done one thing. However, I've done a lot more commercial work, which I wasn't expecting to do because I thought I was going to get to do animation. It's like, that's like the big joke because everyone and their mother wants to do it. And it's -- it's very hard and it's very competitive.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: And so I'm constantly improving myself, and I'm constantly working at it. And I'm, you know, I'm doing my homework, like in the other sessions that we've talked about. And, you know, surprisingly for example, I've done some union video games. So that was not something that I was expecting. 'Cause that's much more, they're more dramatic and, and I've been exposed to other kinds of work that I, I had no idea about. I would never have done -- I did a whole campaign last year that I would never have done if I had stayed in Miami. So becoming a union actor just really opens your vistas as to the possibilities. So --
Anne: In specific genres, for sure.
Pilar: In -- yes, in specific genres. Obviously in e-learning and narration, that's something that's still, that doesn't conform to the union. So it doesn't make sense to be a union member if you, if that is the bulk of your work.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: So, you know, it, it depends on location and it depends on, on the kind of work that you want to do. I think that the decision to become a union actor is really up to the individual. It's not something that has to be done in a hurry or like, like FOMO, fear of missing out.
Anne: I agree.
Pilar: It's something that has to be done strategically and --
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: -- and when you're comfortable, because it will come with its ups and downs. This took me a period of -- it was a very long time. This isn't just something that just happened and I decided, I mean, it was over a very long period of time that I made the decision. And so when you're comfortable, I think that that's when it's the right time to really look at it, because I will say this. It has been amazing the past two and a half years to be part of SAG-AFTRA, really and truly, and I feel so blessed. However, that said, I came into that. I grew into that moment. It wasn't something that I would just say, oh yeah, join the union or, or no, don't join the union.
Anne: Exactly. Because you were already a part of it. So you found the ways to make it really work to your advantage I think as well.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: I think if you are just a voice talent, and you're living in a right to work state, or you're doing your genres that you're doing the majority of your work and don't necessarily -- they're not necessarily broadcast, you have some time to grow into it or see if it's something that you might want to get involved with. I think that there's definitely some pluses and there's definitely some things that you've got to think about. I know that you do get health benefits, but I think that that's been a, I'm going to say some negotiations happening there, or some changes in the contract in the last couple of years that have not been positive.
Pilar: But I will say this, that was one of the main reasons that I wanted to come here, and then they switched it and then they raised the levels. But coming from somebody who was paying over like $1,300 a month for insurance back in Miami --
Anne: For insurance, health insurance.
Pilar: Yeah. To basically paying a quarter of that per every three months is kind of amazing. So, you know, one of the things that I learned from other union actors is that they make sure, and they get that out of the way first from the very beginning. So it's like, I'm constantly auditioning.
Anne: So in talking about health benefits, you do have to hit a minimum in order to be eligible for those, correct?
Pilar: Yes, you do. And that's what went up a couple of years ago.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: However, once you hit that minimum, it's amazing. And their health package is like nothing I've ever had. And I had really good health benefits, I thought, in Miami, these are better. They also have some great, great-- the SAG-AFTRA foundation has some amazing webinars and they're constantly teaching. And also for older actors, for dancers, they're constantly trying to get the message across of all the other parts of the, of the performing arts industries, which I think is so helpful. Because, you know, let's say you're a dancer and you are just maybe not wanting to work anymore or you can't work anymore. And so they have all sorts of webinars and workshops where you can learn about these things. And so there are some great benefits to SAG-AFTRA, and again, I, I don't regret in the least having done it. It was just a place where I had to get to it. I had to grow into it.
Anne: Absolutely. And BOSSes out there again, it's, it's a personal decision. My career based on genres that aren't necessarily helped by, uh, being a union member. I am able to work and support myself. I think that with healthcare, you know, that is something that you have to take care of yourself that isn't taken care of by SAG-AFTRA. But again, with SAG-AFTRA you have to hit a certain amount of money that you're making in order to be eligible to utilize that benefit.
So great conversation, Pilar. I think that it's really great that we went through the of it because I just vaguely remember, God, now I know I'm kind of getting old in this industry, that I vaguely remember I was in it before the merger. And you know, how things happen and how things have evolved with how we get work, and how we can now with technology, there's all other avenues to get work for non-union people in terms of with the technologies and casting sites and pay to plays. And as well as how the union, I think, you know, the union is struggling a little bit to keep up with the advances in technology. And that's just any, I think, organization like that has a lot of ground to cover. And I think that that might be one improvement. I've heard people talk about that hopefully the union will get more with the times a little bit. And there was, I think, what was it, a couple of years ago, there were some people going on strike regarding the video games, and the union wants to make sure that their members are protected. So --
Pilar: Yeah, but their heart's in the right place.
Anne: Yeah, I agree.
Pilar: They're definitely on the right track.
Anne: I agree. I absolutely agree. So BOSSes, lots to think about. We covered a lot of ground. Pilar, I totally appreciate your wisdom and your experience with all this, because it's really, really helped me to see how it's evolved over the years and benefits and things that we might want to consider as we continue our journeys in our voiceover careers. So thanks so much for that.
Pilar: No, absolutely. Thank you.
Anne: Okay, guys, I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to our new sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care. This is your chance to use your voice, make an immediate difference and give back to those communities that give to you. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org and a big, big shout-out to other sponsor, ipDTL, you too can network and communicate like a BOSS like Pilar and I do every week. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. We'll see you next week. Bye.
Pilar: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
This week, the script is flipped! Pilar is interviewing Anne on her specialty: E-Learning, Corporate Narration, and more. Anne shares her secrets for keeping listeners’ attention during long scripts + tips on how to have an exciting read for corporate copy. Although many consider these scripts dull, Anne argues that it’s the opposite. Putting yourself in the shoes of your favorite teacher or favorite CEO will give you the passion you need to make these jobs soar like a #VOBOSS.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone.
Both: Welcome to the podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza (I'm Pilar Uribe --)
Anne: Hey!
Pilar: And today, I'm so excited to bring back your favorite host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Pilar.
Pilar: Yes, Anne?
Anne: Pilar, what's happening here?
Pilar: Well, I'm taking over hosting duties today.
Anne: You are?
Pilar: I am.
Anne: Um, okay. What, okay, so what are we talking about, Pilar, today?
Pilar: Well, I want to know, I want to know about corporate narration. I want to know how you got into the business because that's something that I have not done very much of. My world is all about commercials and video games and auditioning, and I've done audio books, but I don't know very much about corporate narration or e-learning. And I would like to know how you got into that end of the business.
Anne: First of all, thank you. I love corporate narration. I love talking about it. Any kind of narration, actually, I'm geekily excited by it. So.
Pilar: Geekily excited about it.
Anne: Geekily excited about it.
Pilar: I will remember that.
Anne: And I'm going to say I have corporate experience after I graduated -- for those that don't know, I have a degree in computer graphics engineering. And so when I graduated college, I was an engineer for a bio-mechanical firm and designed hip and knee prosthetics. And that was a really cool job. I really loved that. I did that for six years. If you know me and you know that I do medical narration, you'll know that's one of the reasons why I love doing medical narration.
So I did not start off in voiceover all of my life, out of the womb. I did have some corporate experience and loved my experience in the corporate world. I also consulted after I got into education. So I do have a few years of being in the corporate world and working in that space and understanding what corporate culture is. And the cool thing is, is that now that I work for myself, I can work for a lot of different companies and not worry necessarily about being thought of as you know, somebody who just jumps from company to company, which at the time when I was doing that, it was not something that corporations looked fondly upon. It was one of those things where loyalty was everything to the company. And it was nice if you worked for a company for a good amount of time before you jumped ship. That was always kind of left for like, oh, that person's just out for money and not necessarily out for their corporate experience or education.
But anyways, I digress into that. But my experience with the corporate world was it's similar in a way of our industry where we're really in competition with one another. Although we don't really say that we are, but we are. And, and in the corporate world, I think in a company, you're fighting for rank within the company. And that to me was it was, it was the way it worked, but it was tiring to me. And for me, I just loved doing the job and I loved sharing my knowledge, which is why I ultimately ended up getting up into education because I love to share. I get excited. I get geekily excited about, you know, my job and I would share things ,and that didn't always work out for me in the corporate world.
So doing voiceover in corporate narration is the way that I win. If that's just a simple way to put it is a way that I can win at every single company that I work for without necessarily having to go to a meeting where I'm fighting for, I'm fighting for that. And I just, I love, I understand the culture. I understand how to speak the corporate language. And I think that's an important part of being a voice for a company to be able to elevate their brand.
Pilar: Yeah. That's a really good point that you make, because as we've said before, we are not just voice actors, we are the business. And so you have to be able to navigate in the world of corporate speak --
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: -- in order to survive and to thrive. So let me ask you this, Anne, what was that moment, that moment that triggered you to say and to think, Ooh, I could like this idea of doing voice acting?
Anne: Well, I had since moved on from my corporate job into education, but interestingly enough, it was a really interesting transition because I did not go on payroll as a teacher. I went on payroll as a staff member, and then ultimately got my certifications and was able to teach as well, but I wasn't a full-time teacher. And so the cool thing is, is that I got to teach when I wanted, teach all different types of elective classes in technology, which there goes my, my love for technology, as well as work as a staff member and actually learn the technology and direct people. So it was kind of a really great combination of corporate and education at the same time.
And I was installing phone systems for other campuses and for non-profit organizations and state and county agencies in the state of New Jersey. And after the installation of the phones, people would always need to record their welcome greeting in the phone tree. And nobody really wanted to do that. And so they would have me do it as part of the job. And that's really where my voiceover started because I loved being able to do the voice, be the phone voice. And people told me I was good at it. So they said, you should think about doing something like this for a career or kind of as a side hustle. And that's where that whole thing began.
And I looked into it, I got training, I got a demo, started working part-time, and really fell in love with voiceover. And then after my long career in education, after about 20 years, I really was kind of done with snow in the state of New Jersey where I was, and I was ready for a change. The worst thing for a person loved my personality is to be stagnant and not change and not learn. I'm always wanting to learn new things. I'm always wanting to grow. And I felt like I hadn't grown much in the past few years in my position there. And I just was wanting really badly to try something new. And I thought working for myself and being an entrepreneur and doing something that I loved would be a really cool thing to do.
So I took a leap of faith and started working full-time in voiceover and learned a whole lot, I'll tell ya, still learning. So it's one of the things that I truly, truly love. I don't think I would ever work for anybody again, even though we are temporarily working for people when we do voiceover. And that's kind of the thought is that whether you're doing a commercial or you doing a narration, you're working for a company who has a product that you are the voice of, and that you are typically selling that product and elevating that product's brand through your voice. And so you are working for a bit with, for companies and I love the challenge of that.
Pilar: Sure. So you, you said something that I just want to reiterate for the VO BOSSes out there, working for myself and an entrepreneur. Because I think we really, we do forget that when we are in the midst of our auditions or we're in the midst of learning, that we are our own little bandstand and we have to go forth into the world as creators, yes, but as business people. And I think that that's really important. So I'd love for you to expand on that a little bit, because I --
Anne: It's very important.
Pilar: -- think we just, we get too caught up in this, did I get the audition or didn't I, and it's not just about that. It's not really just about the marketing. It's not just about the auditions. It's not just about paying taxes. It's being a really well-rounded person who is in the service industry. So we are providing a service, and we are business people.
Anne: Yeah. I think it's so, so important. I mean, so many times people will say, you know, I really enjoyed doing these character voices, and I really want to get into the voiceover industry. And the first thing I'm always saying is that it really is so much more than just going in a studio and being the voice. You are running in an enterprise, really, you're wearing all the hats. And for me, that challenge is just as exciting as the voiceover challenge, to be quite honest. How can I build my business? How can I grow my business and how can I get this job? And so it becomes, to me, it becomes a challenge.
I think all my life, I'm that person who gets excited when I have a challenge, and I want to be able to solve problems. It's might be my, that engineer mind of mine. It all comes together when I think about it. When I was younger, I was teaching my dolls. And then, you know, I got into engineering because I love solving problems. And so it kind of just follows me throughout my whole life, where I feel being an entrepreneur is really just challenges that you're presented with and a place where you can continue to grow and grow and grow if you rise up to those challenges, and you're willing to fail a little bit and learn, and then move in another direction and then try that.
So that whole entrepreneur thing I just love, but it's scary. It's really scary. And it's funny because I think that I've grown to the point where this is it, I'm good. You know what I mean? I'm doing well. I feel like I'm successful in everything that I'm doing, but I always want to keep adding and growing more. And it's probably one of the reasons why I probably work a little too much, but I'm looking for that next step and how am I going to get there? And a lot of that still takes courage, and it's still really scary, when you start employing people and shifting control out of your hands, into their hands to help grow the business. I think that's even scarier than when I started. And so I continually am scared and inching my way in this direction or that direction to see if I can have a success. And if I have a success, okay, where's the next step? How can I keep climbing up that mountain? So I don't think I'm ever quite at that place where -- I mean, I feel successful, but I can always grow.
Pilar: Yeah. And I think it's important too, that when we are in fear of something, obviously we don't want it to paralyze us.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: It also can catapult us to the next step.
Anne: Yeah, great point.
Pilar: So being scared of something is not a bad thing, because then that means that you're taking on more responsibility by employing other people. So that's actually a good thing. And because you continue to grow, and you bring these people on to grow as well.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So when you became an entrepreneur, you were talking about how you started in the business in IVR. So for those people who don't know what that is, it means interactive voice response. So it is the voice that you hear "for English press one. Para español, pressione el número uno." That's how I learned.
Anne: Which I would hire you for because you do that so well. If I have to speak that one line of Spanish, it's sad. So I have like, I have a great person I know who could say that prompt for you.
Pilar: Okay, done.
Anne: Done.
Pilar: Done. So you're coming from this background of education and technology.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: So what makes you think, ooh, I could do this corporate narration. And how did you branch out then into e-learning for example? What propelled you to move into those areas, and explain the difference as well?
Anne: I think for me, they're similar. When I started, it's a large market, the corporate market, because as I always say, there's 30.4 million registered companies in the US, and the, all of those companies have a service or a product that they want to tell the story. And they probably all have a website that has a video or a YouTube channel that requires a voice to explain what that service or product does. And I think because of the sheer size of that market, that's where a lot of the jobs in my early years kind of came from. And actually today, I mean, that's a large majority of what I do. I love the fact that I've had the corporate experience to understand the corporate speak. There is corporate speak pretty much in every piece of corporate copy that you look at.
And if you understand that, if you understand where you can start driving a story from, that helps you to voice it more effectively. I think in the beginning, I started doing these jobs for companies that I didn't think much about in the beginning, but as I started to do more and more of them, of course, I wanted to grow and improve. Right? I didn't want to just be a narrator that would read the words off the page. It really became to me like, how can I tell this story? Because I know that this company has a deeper meaning behind it. When I did work out of college, when I worked at the orthopedic company that I started with, I was employee number 206. And as employee number 206. And it's funny how I just remember that to this very day, 206 -- I loved the product, I believed in the company. I love the product. And I was ecstatic that this product that I had a hand in creating would help people to walk again. And for me, oh, that was the passion.
And that was when I would go to meetings and we would discuss new products and that sort of thing. And some of the meetings became like hours long, not because we were discussing products, but because people were fighting with their egos to say, I did this product, or this product is not where it should be because of this person. I just got really frustrated, and I'm like, can't we all just love what we're doing and be joyful and share in it? And that was probably a young, naive sort of a way to look at it. But I still remember the joy and the excitement of being a part of creating something that could help people.
And that's the attitude that I take with every corporate project, because every person who ever started a company -- look at us, right? We have our own companies. We are entrepreneurs. We believe in the product. We believe that we can be a great voice and make a difference and affect others. Well, so does every company founder. I want to believe in the good of that, right?
Companies are founded for good reasons. They have a product that can help someone, that can make their jobs easier, make them feel better about themselves. And that is the principle of what I drive the emotional nuanced read or thought process of a corporate narration. And that's something so very different than just reading a mission statement. It's understanding that I am a part of this company, and this company has a passion for their product and their services that they're putting out there to help people. And if I believe in that, I can voice that effectively.
Pilar: That's so important what you just said, Anne, and I think we don't do that enough. I mean, I can speak for myself only -- is when we are, even in an audition -- because getting the job great. Wonderful. But even in audition, if you put yourself in the shoes of, I am part of this company, as I'm describing this product, and I'm fighting for this product to get released instead of, oh, you know, I'm just reading copy -- that will make a difference. That will make a difference in what you're feeling and ultimately what you are communicating through your voice.
Anne: Sure. Absolutely.
Pilar: I think that's super, super important. Yeah. So tell me the cousin, the second or the third cousin or the sister?
Anne: The e-learning. Ah, yes. Well, okay. So being in the education, starting off as a small child, as we've mentioned before in the podcast, teaching my dolls and being in education, even though I was on payroll as staff, I still taught classes, and I still taught classes at night. I taught adult continuing ed. I taught college. I was adjunct professor, and I just have a love for sharing, for sharing my knowledge with others. And I think that that again is a big reason as to why I do e-learning quite a bit, and I'll do corporate e-learning because I was a corporate trainer as well as training for students for many, many years.
And so the e-learning industry, so again, if you're thinking e-learning, I always divide it up into two different categories. You've got educational e-learning, academic e-learning, and then you've got corporate training, and there are two very different buyers. Understanding the educational market, I know that the academic e-learning it's noble, it's wonderful, it's honorable. And I'm proud to be a part of that or have been a part of that. But unfortunately, budgets, aren't always there. Academic institutions, aren't saying, oh, let me pay Anne Ganguzza $10,000 to voice this curriculum. It's just, they don't have necessarily that type of resource typically. And so it's harder to do that type of e-learning. However, it's, it's very necessary.
And I do believe just like in corporate, in e-learning you've got to be a passionate teacher. I mean, if you think back to who your favorite teacher is, what were the qualities of that teacher? You know, I think a lot of times people will tell me they were passionate about their topic. They were excited, they were enthusiastic, and they really, they wanted me to learn. And that's again a type of emotion and nuance that you can put behind any e-learning copy that you read and that you voice. And the other aspect, or the other wing is not just academic e-learning, but corporate learning or corporate training. And the cool thing about corporate training is again, you've got the 30.4 million registered companies that probably train their employees.
And if they don't train their employees, they also train or they, most of them do train their employees, right, they also train people on their product. So you've got like kind of an internal facing training as well as an external facing training that they do on their products. And so again, that is a huge, huge market. And I think that for that market, again, you've got to be that great teacher. It can't be that person that is reading the material. However, that's what we've done, a lot of us for many, many years is simply read academic material.
And the way I look at it is some people will pay for that. Nobody will not pay you for reading the material, but I think there's other types of clients that will pay you for a really engaged read as a great teacher. You've got to keep people entertained for longer than a minute, right? That's one of the biggest differences between commercial or promo. I mean, you're doing this for more than a minute. And with today's attention spans, you have to really work hard to keep people's attention and focus, because there's so many distractions like, oh, look it, I just got it. Just got a text. Oh. And so your voice has to be that you like the Pied Piper of, of e-learning. Your voice has to be audibly raised and in the ear of your listener, and you need to make it easy and engaging for them to learn from you.
Pilar: Yeah. And so important. What you're saying about being in the moment while you're reading because --
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Pilar: -- you are providing as the voice over actor, you are providing a service to the person who's listening because they are being paid to learn. So it behooves them to learn from what you're saying. So you have to really engage the person who's on the other side of those headphones, you know, that that's listening to you because you want them to do better because that's basically why you're there in the first place. And so going back to that whole idea of being part of the company, part of the training, I think helps a lot when you're in the, the reading of the copy.
Anne: And that's where the acting comes in too, right? Because you can't just read the words off the page. You're the one that's making them come alive. So you need to kind of understand what those words are and to be able to tell the story. And there's a story in corporate narration, as much as there's a story in teaching, right? We learn through stories, easiest through stories. And so even if the corporate copy or the e-learning copy doesn't necessarily tell a story directly, there's an underlying introduction, main topic, topic switch, crescendo, I always call it a crescendo, a learning moment, right. where the light bulb goes off, and then it's wrapped up in a nice little conclusion.
So every piece of copy that's written like that, you have to dissect the copy and understand those moments, understand those crescendos, understand the purpose, the introduction, the wrap-up so that you can tell that story effectively. It's so much more than just reading. It's so much more than that.
Pilar: It's like a little three act play.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Pilar: I mean, it goes back to Chekov, it goes back to Shakespeare. I mean, you're basically telling a story. It's not about the words. It's about how effectively can you tell this story so the person on the other end goes, oh, okay, that person's making a great point and will retain that at information.
Anne: And I'm so passionate about that. It's interesting that I have people who just never thought of it that way. And, and the thing of it is, is I'm going to be real here. I think probably everyone does narration, whether they admit it or not. It's the non-glamorous part of voiceover or it's always been perceived as, oh yeah. And I also do e-learning or I also do a little bit of narration, but the big draw is the, I'm the voice of this game or this commercial. And I think that's amazing. That's just, I'm not discounting any of that. And that's where I think most people, when they get into voiceover, that's the stars in their eyes, kind of, you know, Hollywood --
Pilar: The red carpet experience.
Anne: It's the Hollywood experience of a voiceover, but I'll tell you what, the narration and the e-learning, and that's, that's like, I call it like the bread and butter that pays the bills in the meantime. And so there are so many people I think that can elevate their narration game or their e-learning game if they choose to, because we can all be better storytellers. We can all improve. I mean, all of our lives, it's just, it's a mission for me as a, as a lifelong learner -- I think teachers are always lifelong learners because a lot of times they're asking you to teach something that you don't necessarily know. So for me, especially with technology, it was always like, well, learn it by the seat of my pants and then teach it.
Pilar: And that's how you would retain it. That's how, that's the best way to retain it.
Anne: And that's how you learn, right, teach --
Pilar: Teach someone else.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. It's one of the ways you learn, but it's an amazing thing to be able to share in joy your knowledge, whether you're sharing in the passion of a product, of a company as a part of that company, as a part of a greater whole to help people. And again, if you hold that emotion in your heart, as you're telling a corporate story, it does wonders for the effectiveness of it. And the same thing with teaching, the same thing with e-learning. And they're both huge, huge markets in this industry. And I think everyone, everyone needs to take the narration maybe more seriously than just, oh, let me just prettily read these words.
I mean, I was always the teacher that said, hey, look, I am not going to say that you won't get paid to read those words pretty. I would never say that. However, if you want to go from good to great or amazing and really capture your audience, we can always learn. We can always learn to tell the story better.
Pilar: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you heard it here first. This is the e-learning and corporate narration guru you have been listening to, Anne Ganguzza. I want to do my demo with you now, so, there you go.
Anne: Pilar. Thank you. First of all, thanks so much for interviewing me. I mean, I've never had the tables turned on me like that. So thank you for being the first -- and talking with me about something that I clearly love.
Pilar: Well, was it, to me, it's really evident how passionate you are and it makes me excited. It makes me want to go out and move that muscle, you know? Because I do the short sprinting, and, and e-learning and corporate narration they're marathons. That's the marathon. So you have to learn the pace yourself, and that's really important to have as a skill.
Anne: Well, thank you, Pilar, really. I'm always happy to share my passion as a coach, as a voice artist, as a podcast host. Thanks so much for talking to me about it. This just flew by actually.
Pilar: And thanks for letting me interview you. This was fun. Not like you had a choice, right?
Anne: Wait, now I have to end the podcast by saying, I want to give a huge shout-out because I like to have a huge impact, and I like to make a difference. You can also make a difference, and if you've ever wanted to donate to a cause that's close to your heart and make a difference, you can do so. Find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org and you too can make a difference. Also great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. I love talking to my BOSSes and my BOSS, Pilar, and Pilar, thank you for talking to me. Um, you guys can find out more at ipdtl.com. Have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Pilar: Ciao, ciao.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
After holding the first ever #VOBOSS Bilingual Audition Challenge, Anne & Pilar welcome the winners onto the show. Joe Lewis, Milena Benefiel, and Ramesh Mahtani share the process behind their winning entry, what stood out to Anne & Pilar when judging the contest as well as what it means to be a bilingual voice talent in today’s industry. Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey, hey. Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today we have a very, very special episode planned for you. Not only am I here with my awesome special guest co-host Pilar Uribe -- woohoo Pilar!
Pilar: Hi, Anne.
Anne: Thanks for being here. We are so honored to be here with our VO BOSS bilingual audition challenge winners. So a huge welcome to our English audition winner, Joe Lewis. Yay!
Joe: Hello.
Ramesh: Hello, Joe.
Anne: And our Spanish audition winner --
Pilar: Milena Benefiel.
Anne: Yay! Hey Milena.
Milena: Hi.
Anne: And then our best English and Spanish audition, Ramesh Mahtani. Yay! So first of all, congratulations, everybody, on your wins.
Joe: Thank you.
Milena: Thank you, gracias.
Ramesh: Gracias.
Anne: It's very exciting. For those BOSSes that are just joining us and have not joined us before now, Pilar and I ran a bilingual audition challenge contest, which featured a Toyota commercial in both English and Spanish. And this was about, I'm gonna say, three to four weeks ago, and we had a number of submissions. I think it was over what, Pilar, like 130 or something like that?
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Or close to 130.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: And so first of all, everybody did a wonderful job, but we are so, so incredibly excited to have the winners with us today to talk about being bilingual in the industry today and what it takes. So let's start with our English winner, Mr. Joe Lewis. Yay, Joe. Joe, tell us a little bit about yourself and then I wanna play your winning audition.
Joe: Okay. Well thank you for having me here. First of all, it's great to be with you all. I am a bilingual voiceover and voice actor, born in the US, Spanish father, American mother. And basically I've been back and forth in the States to Spain and from Spain to the States at different points of my life. And it's been a trip or several trips. You learn to adapt where you are and you do as the Romans do. And you learn a lot of stuff because you have to leverage two cultures, two languages. It's a thing.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. So first of all, let's play your winning audition. And I wanna tell you a little bit about the specs. Our specs indicated that the voice should be confident, knowledgeable, optimistic, never take themselves too seriously, but at the same time, never come off as sarcastic either, warm human down to earth, playful spontaneous, conversational, relatable, and above all else, nothing that is typical commercial sounding, movie trailer, or announcery at all. So.
Milena: All the things, all the things.
Anne: All the things.
Pilar: In other words, the kitchen sink.
Anne: All the things. Totally. And I want to give a big shout out to the queen bee herself, Liz Atherton, and CastVoices for her sponsoring this contest and offering our winners a year pro membership to CastVoices. You guys, castvoices.com, go and get yourself an account. Liz is amazing and always has the voice talents' backs. I'll tell you what, she's amazing. So thank you Liz for that. So let's go ahead and play the warm, human, down to earth, playful, not typical commercial sounding, movie trailer or announcery English winning submission by Joe. Here we go.
Joe: Beep. Beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know, you can trust Toyota and our all new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep. Oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Anne: I love it.
Joe: Thank you.
Anne: I think that that really took every single spec into consideration. Joe, did you have any particular strategy when you were doing this audition or what is it that you do to prepare for an audition? Because we had so many submissions, but yours just kind of really stood out from the get-go.
Joe: Well, thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it. As far as strategy, if it's automotive, I take it extra seriously because it's a big genre. So no matter what it is, even if it's a dealership, you know, it could turn into a long-term gig. So you take it seriously. It's always a challenge, uh, to see if it's a soft sell or if it's a harder sell, more promotional. At the same time, as you say, there's lot to consider in the styles or the trends that we work with today, uh, which are very different from 10, 15, 20 years ago. And that's as far as in general or as far as English. As far as Spanish, obviously my origin is of Castilian Spanish, uh, from Spain. So knowing that this would be for the American market, I tried to modulate that and go to a more neutral read and, and taking the specs into consideration as much as I could and have fun, have fun with it.
Anne: Yeah. I think that's so important that you have fun with it. Pilar, comments about why we love Joe so much.
Pilar: Listening to it again, I think what, what I really liked about it, this is probably not the right word. It wasn't folksy, but I really felt like I was listening to you, and I was listening to a real person rather than somebody reading it.
Anne: Yeah, I agree.
Pilar: Like, and just the small pauses, the little giggle -- there were some amazing entries, but what I found so interesting about yours was that you had this attitude from the beginning. You weren't serious, and then you went to the punchline. You had this sort of upbeat throughout the entire read. That's what really stood out for me.
Anne: Yeah. Really, really warm smile, I think overall.
Joe: Thank you so much.
Anne: I just felt like.
Pilar: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: I felt like we were just longtime friends, which we are, but listening to, I felt like we were, and it really, really stood out from the beginning. So congratulations, Joe, again --
Joe: Thank you so much.
Anne: -- on that.
Joe: I appreciate it.
Anne: So onto our winner in the Spanish division, Milena.
Milena: Hi.
Anne: Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you're located and your VO journey so far.
Milena: All right. Well Saludos, hola, hi. Milena Benefiel. I am currently located in Orlando, well, near Orlando, Florida. I am the first generation born here in the US. Both of my parents came over from Cartagena, Colombia, woohoo and they insisted that I learned Spanish as a child, and I never understood why. Why would I ever need this other language? And look at me now, right? My background was actually in television. I worked part-time as a TV host for a Telemundo affiliate in Spanish and did a lot of commercial acting while also being an ER nurse and ICU nurse.
I came from entrepreneurial parents who had multiple careers, multiple jobs, 'cause they had to, right, coming from another country. So I don't know how to not have too much on my plate. So this was kind of my side hustle. And after COVID I, I took it from part-time to full-time. I, I was kind of burnt out in the hospital, and yeah, I had the ability to go from sounding very middle America English, as you can hear in my, in my accent to speaking [Spanish] speaking in Spanish that's very neutral. It kind of like people are like, are you Colombian or Cuban or from where? So I've been very fortunate in that that I've been able to provide both sides for my clients. So it's been a really fun journey.
Ramesh: Super.
Anne: Yeah. Let's have a listen to the winning entry. Here we go.
Milena: Bip bip. Ese es el sonido que uso para señalar que este es un comercial de autos mientras que usted podría estar conduciendo en la carretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Bip bip bip bip bip. Vaya, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Yay!
Ramesh: Super.
Anne: Congratulations again, such a wonderful, warm sound. That's what I really got. And I love how, when we said have fun with this or somebody that doesn't take themselves too seriously, I really felt that in the places where you could -- it opened up to have fun, the more conversational like, "oops, I think my burrito's done." I love the way that you guys brought life to that and brought fun to that that wasn't even as expected. Pilar, your thoughts,
Pilar: You had me from the beginning Milena. This was to me displayed so much warmth and reassurance. I felt like when I listen to it, you're taking me by the hand, and you're reassuring me as a consumer that it's gonna be okay. And it's like, oh yeah, I'll do whatever she says.
Milena: Wow.
PIlar: So that's what I got from this read. It was really, yeah, it was, it was really good read. You just, you got me.
Milena: Oh my goodness. Thank you so much. I am so grateful for that feedback. That's kind of my MO when it comes to anything that I do in VO. I just, I, I wanna be warm and caring and reassuring. That's kind of my, my thing. So that you heard that feels so good because it makes me feel like, wow, okay. I'm, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. So thank you so much.
Anne: I wanna kind of tag on to what Pilar said. Like for me, I do not speak Spanish, but I could hear the story. If I listen, I could hear your story in there. And when we talk about trusting Toyota, I felt that, and I really felt that you took the words beyond just what was on the page, and really you were in the scene. And like I said, for me to not even speak Spanish but to listen and to be able to hear your storytelling, I thought that that was, that was just really wonderful. So yeah.
Milena: Wow. Thank you so much. Such a huge compliment from two women that I admire very much. So this is a very surreal moment for me. So thank you so much.
Anne: well deserved. Well deserved.
Milena: Thank you.
Anne: Okay. So onto our English Spanish combination winner. Ramesh Mahtani yay. Congratulations. Ramesh, tell us a little bit --
Ramesh: Well, thank you very much.
Anne: Yeah. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey.
Ramesh: Yeah, well, I suppose like most of us over here, very, very varied background. I mean, I was born in Karachi, Pakistan to Indian parents who perhaps were a bit disgruntled with the way things were going out over there, and they decided to move to the Canary Islands. Why, I have no idea, but that takes me back to when I was about four. So I came over here to the islands, speaking a combination of Sindi, of Hindi, of Urdu. Of course I had to learn Spanish rather quickly. And my parents always wanted me to speak English because they knew that English is the lingua franca, and you wouldn't get anywhere in the world without it. So I grew up in an American school over here in the canaries, and I was shipped off to a horrible concentration camp sort of boarding school in England, which was a nightmare.
Um, I would spend four long miserable years there, which is I suppose, where I picked up the sort of vestige of an English accent. And then I went to America to do my university degree, which was a lot of fun. And I saw what the real world was like. And I didn't, I suppose, switch on to the American accent because wherever I spoke to were like, oh my God, your accent's so cool. Where are you from? Well, I'm originally from -- Oh my God. Keep on speaking. We just love your accent. So, um, no, I didn't pick up an American accent, I suppose. I just veered towards what, what I call international or neutral. So that's my story.
And in voice, I I've always played around with my voice. I love switching accents between -- I speak to my parents with a bit of an -- well, my mom. My father passed away -- with an Indian accent. So it changes depending who I talk to, if it is very strong Indian community, well, it becomes Indian, otherwise it's what I speak now. And then of course, in Spanish and English and French and all these sort of, you know, weird voices going on in my head, it was but natural that I followed a voice over career. So that's what brings me here today, basically.
Anne: Wow. Well now you did something interesting with your auditions. You did two takes for both English and Spanish. And so one of the things that stood out to Pilar and I were the fact that you did two different takes for each. And so let's go ahead and play now. Um, I'm gonna click on this one. I'm not sure if this is the English or the Spanish. So hang on one second because the name is, is long. So it's kind of running off my little table here.
Ramesh: Sure.
Anne: It could be either one. Let's put it that way. There we go.
Ramesh: Beep. Beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know, you can trust Toyota and our all new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep. Oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Beep. Beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know, you can trust Toyota and our all new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep. Oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Anne: I love it. I wanna just make some comments before we played your Spanish entry. I thought, first of all, you had two completely different takes, and now I understand where the accent came from because you were living in the UK. So I get that now. I was not aware of that, but I really loved it because it really wasn't something that felt to me like it was obviously forced or something that wasn't natural to you. And the fact that you did completely different reads shows just some tremendous acting ability, which I think is any good casting director that can hear that knows immediately that they would be able to direct you to do anything really.
And so that was, I thought was really strong about your English entry. And I also liked you had a different reaction and a different emotion about the burrito, which stood out to me, even though it was like a nuanced change. You're like, oh I think my burrito's done. Or Ooh, I think my burrito's done. It really lent a lot to the different reads and the different aspects and the showcasing of your acting abilities. Pilar.
Pilar: Yeah. I felt like you were talking to two different people in the two different reads and that was really significant. And it's funny because I didn't realize it, but they were two different accents, and I was like, they sounds so different, and it's, it's like, oh yeah, duh, because he's so versatile. But that also colored the read because one was a little bit more business-like. The other one was a little bit sort of more off the cuff, more warm. And so it was really interesting to see them together, but they are very different reads, so yeah, that's great.
Ramesh: Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I suppose one of the underlying elements is that I try and make sure that I'm not trying to sell in this case, sell the car, but just say, tell the story, uh, as something that we will often talk about in voiceover direction. As soon as it sounds sort of salesy, you know, you're going the wrong direction. So spice it up, you know, conjure up some magic, just make it sound as if as Pilar said, you know, you're just basically off the cuff having a conversation with someone, without sell, buy this car sort of thing, you know, which we definitely do not want to go there.
Anne: And you know, I don't know if you guys noticed, but in the middle of that script, the sentences were a little bit long. You know how we always get a script and if it's a really lovely, wonderfully written script, we're like, oh yes, it's so easy to voice. We gave you something specifically that may not have been so easy to voice in navigating a long sentence. So.
Ramesh: Ah, you did it purposely.
Anne: Yeah. All of you handled that so well, so kudos on that. I mean, I'm used to doing that because you do a lot of long format narration and coaching my students, there's always unwieldy sentences. And to make it sound truly conversational and you know, as if you're talking to one person or talking to us, you gotta know your rhythm, you gotta kind of know, you gotta put yourself in the scene and understand where those pauses, where the commas are, even if they don't exist.
Ramesh: Yeah. I realize, I thought, my gosh, who's written this, because it is, there was a part where it got really wordy and thought, you know, you have to navigate that.
Pilar: Those were the traps and none of you fell into it.
Anne: Yes. You know, we are teachers . Exactly. Yes. Always a teacher, just saying so, so congratulations. All right. So let's play, uh, the Spanish entry, which again, you did two reads, which were different. So here we go.
Ramesh: Soy Ramesh Mahtani. Bip bip. Ese es el sonido que uso para señalar que este es un comercial de autos mientras que usted podría estar conduciendo en la carretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Bip bip bip bip bip. Vaya, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Bip bip. Ese es el sonido que uso para señalar que este es un comercial de autos mientras que usted podría estar conduciendo en la carretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Bip bip bip bip bip. Vaya, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Anne: Yay.
Ramesh: I suppose I'll just caveat, uh, the accent there. I mean like Joe, I live in Spain and sometimes if my client's in mainland Spain, I would do a Castilian accent, but I put on a sort of neutral and general Latin American accent for those, which is similar to the Canarian accent.
Anne: Yeah. I was gonna just ask you about that. And one thing that I wanted to point out, which I thought was super strategic, because you did the two takes, you immediately went into your second take to call the attention of like -- Pilar and I listened like, oh my gosh, I think it took us a weekend, right, at least, uh, one after the other one after the other.
Pilar: Several times too.
Anne: Exactly. And the fact that even though, I didn't know, you were having two takes immediately going into that second take was like brilliant because I didn't stop listening. You know, I was just getting ready. Okay. He's finished -- oh no, here he comes with the next one, which I thought was really strategic. And I think if I know you, Ramesh, that was on purpose
Ramesh: Would it have been the alternative to have said, take one?
Pilar: No. Most people leave a space.
Anne: A lot of space. Yeah.
Pilar: You don't let the listener down for a second. There's no lag time.
Ramesh: Right.
Pilar: And that is brilliant. I mean, I'm using that in my auditions now as well.
Ramesh: Okay. I've I've always done it that way.
Anne: That's smart.
Ramesh: I, I seldom send off an audition unless I do two.
Pilar: It's wonderful.
Ramesh: I usually always do two takes.
Anne: Yeah.
Ramesh: And I just do them back to back. So as you said, so they don't have a chance to hit the next button. Yeah.
Milena: I typically call it out in my slate if I'm going, do two takes, which --
Anne: And that's good too.
Milena: -- for most auditions I would do two. Yeah. But I like this. You give them no choice. Give 'em no choice.
Anne: Right, right. Just go right into it. I love it. And you went right into that second character too, which I thought was great for that. Now did you have a strategy English versus Spanish? I know you just mentioned that you did more of a neutral Spanish. What was your strategy for those two different reads?
Ramesh: For the two Spanish reads?
Anne: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Ramesh: Um, just, just variation really.
Anne: Yeah.
Ramesh: I mean, I just, I would loathe for them to sound similar so the director would've said, ah, you know, this guy's obviously reading the same thing twice in the same way. I, I just do not wanna fall in that trap. So whatever I could do to spice it up or color it to just make them sound different and believable, relatable and conversational, keeping away from the salesy.
Anne: Sure. So then let me ask you what's happening in your brain? What's happening? What's the process? Are you putting yourself in a different scene maybe?
Ramesh: I've got a different audience and I'm somebody else.
Anne: Okay.
Ramesh: So either I'm a young sort of rich, youthful sort of business dude, or I'm an older person just wanting to sort of have a nice car. So I, my whole persona changes, maybe it helps being a Gemini. I could switch from one, from one personality to the other, but yeah, definitely. I've gotta change the audience and change the speaker. Both of them.
Anne: Oh good. That's a really good tip. I like that. I've always changed the scene, but not necessarily who I was, because I always wanna be conversational and, and tell this story and, and not be salesy as well, but I never thought about changing, let's say I'm a younger Anne, which that would be nice. I like that.
Milena: Your voice can be as young as you wanna be.
Anne: That's it. There you go. Yeah. I like that.
Ramesh: I guess ever since I was a young kid and, and having been moved around so many different places, I perhaps, and this is for something very personal and intimate, and I, and now that it comes up in context, I don't mind sharing it, but I've, I've often struggled to have a proper identity as an -- sometimes I don't even know who I am because I've had to switch and I do often switch, you know, when I speak, as I said, I speak to my mom, I speak to in an Indian sort of way. I speak to the local Canarian dudes out in the street and become totalmente canario; it's a totally different accent. So I'm always switching, switching, switching, switching in the end, to think, you know, oh my gosh, existential crisis, you know, who am I?
Anne: That's a, that's really an interesting point. Yeah.
Joe: You're a chameleon, Ramesh.
Ramesh: I'm a bit of a chameleon.
Anne: Absolutely.
Ramesh: I'm not Spanish and I'm not English, you know? So it's really weird.
Anne: That's very interesting. I always equate that, and again, I'll get maybe a little into it, but I grew up with three brothers. And so being the only girl in the family, I didn't have to share necessarily, but I also didn't have like a sister to kind of like play dolls with or whatever I was gonna be doing.
Milena: Same.
Anne: So I got really good at my imagination.
Ramesh: Yeah.
Anne: And playing with my dolls and teaching and talking to them and really putting myself in different scenes with them. And I think that carries through the adulthood. Right, Milena, you mentioned the same thing?
Milena: Oh yeah, absolutely. I didn't have a sister growing up. And I also just think like with my parents having the multiple jobs, they were both performers. My whole life has been a performance, and I kind of do the same in my two takes. I go into my lower register in that warm, buttery, soft, like my first take will be -- or exactly what the specs ask for, I'll give you in the first take, and then the next one, I'll kick it up to a little bit of a higher pitch, make myself a little bit younger and I'll be a little wackier, like a little more fun, a little more conversational, and just get a little more crazy with it. Just to add some adlibs and some different things too, just for range.
Anne: I think that's great. Do you have more than two personas? I always have two in my pocket, but do you spend time developing, let's say, a third read or a third persona that can give you a different read? I think that's good for the artist in us.
Joe: I mean, I, what captivated me about this piece was the invitation to do effects. You don't usually see that in copy, so I thought that was like, ooh, this is gonna be fun.
Anne: Yeah.
Joe: And then I tried to add layers, do several takes and sort of warm up and then listen to them and see if I can be sprinkling, uh, or adding something. But I do agree that when you kick into another language, it's another dimension of tools and, and tricks that you have. I wasn't privileged to have brothers or sisters.
So being lucky enough to grow up with a, a parent of either side, you know, you, you kind of take it for granted when you're a kid, and then you, you grow up and you're like, wow, this is pretty powerful to switch on and off, switch the languages, you know, with all the cultural and the contextual things that come along with each particular one. Totally there with Ramesh on the strange dichotomy that happens and not really knowing who you are or when it's the, uh, what secret service did you say you worked for again?
Pilar: No, comment.
Milena: I love how he's silent. He's like --
Joe: He's a pro.
Milena: If I tell you I'll have to kill you.
Ramesh: Well, sorry. Did I, did I talk about a secret service?
Joe: I was asking you what secret service you work for, my friend.
Anne: I love it.
Milena: Crickets, crickets.
Anne: Crickets. Secret service.
Pilar: Speaking of which, that was one of the things that really struck me about Ramesh's Spanish read is that I heard someone speaking in Spanish with the Spanish language rhythms rather than a translation. And that to me was so important because that not being your first language, and I think that that's really important because like Milena, I mean, I was born in this country, but my parents spoke to me for the first five years of my life in Spanish, but it's technically not the language that, you know, I speak English all the time.
So there's something, there's always that strange sort of divide. Like who are you? Are you this? Are you that? And what I really liked about your read was that it was like, I was listening to a Spanish person speaking, not a translation. And that's so important. Everyone is always so concerned with the accent. That really kind of falls by the wayside. Because if you believe in what you're saying, and it has to do with acting, if you're really acting it, how well you speak or how much of an accent you have doesn't really matter. It all falls by the wayside. So that's what to me, what made a very successful bilingual audition. And that's why we picked you, one of the reasons why we picked you as the bilingual audition winner.
Ramesh: Oh, thank you. I'm privileged. Thank you very much.
Anne: And again, I'll just kind of tack onto what Pilar was saying is both of the Spanish versions of your audition, I could hear the story that you were telling. And again, I listened very carefully, especially in the unwieldy sentences, because that's what I do every day with my students. I'm working on these crazy, long format narration scripts that aren't always written well. And so I would really be listening carefully throughout all the entries for that navigation. And I still felt the story. I felt the rhythm, and I felt the words that needed to come be a little more present in my ear that were important, like the brand name, the fact that you trust Toyota on all of your reads. Believe it or not, listening to all of the entries, that was kind of a key I was listening for, to trust Toyota.
And I wanna feel that trust as opposed to trust Toyota. And I really wanted to feel that little nuance of emotion or trust. And I think every single one of you in every one of your English and Spanish gave me that trust feeling and that warm feeling and that kind of having fun with it, especially at the end, and the beeps too. I mean, I like the fact that we gave this script out because of the beep beep and what people did with the beep beep was really telltale, especially in the beginning, if you did something that maybe wasn't a traditional beep beep or you had fun with it, or you just kind of smiled at yourself. I think Joe, you're, right off the bat, you're kind of chuckling a little bit and it just was so warm and I fell in love with that from the beginning and all of your interpretations of the beeping at the front end of that and the back end of that, I loved it. You know, you had fun with it like we asked in the specs.
Joe: Well, I was just gonna say Road Runner, you know, I mean, it was irresistible to me. It was irresistible.
Ramesh: Absolutely, absolutely.
Milena: Yes, that's exactly what I pictured in my head too.
Ramesh: Yeah.
Milena: That's funny.
Ramesh: I think after doing this for, I mean, you know, you're speaking to people who are super professionals. I have great respect for Joe and Milena and Pilar and yourself, Anne, of course. I mean, when you listen to somebody who's just started off and doesn't have much training, that's when you realize, oh my gosh, this is a poorly done audition. But after a while it just becomes intuitive, I think, plus the script lend itself, the beeps, the mic proximity that you can, the burrito whole thing. I mean, what does the burrito have to do with the car sale, for God's sake? So you can do so much with that. You know, you can just, as you said, have fun and the more imagination you have, and the more years of experience you have tucked under your belt, you can do crazy things within parameters, of course.
I often don't overthink it because that's usually when it doesn't usually work. It's usually my first and my third take, which are good. Uh, the first one, because I'm just off the bat, I'm fresh and I'm just being really spontaneous. The second seems to be similar to the first ,and the third, usually I've had a bit more time to imagine nuances, and those come out quite magically. So, but yeah, the script was nice. It lent itself to, to having fun and being creative.
Milena: I completely agree with that, the instincts, I know Anne, you had asked earlier, you know, what was your method? How did you attack this script? How did we look at the script? And I actually will do a read prior to even reading the specs, just to get my natural inclination of like, okay, I'm looking at the script without overthinking it. Let me just do a read. And then of course looking at the specs, and then kind of picking apart, you know, I listened back to my read and picking apart, what words do we wanna highlight? Like you said, trust, right? The brand, faster and safely, getting there fast and safely. Those are important things, right?
Joe: Exactly.
Milena: So then I go through with it, but I completely agree with Ramesh, it typically is my first read. And then maybe my third or my fourth. The second one always sounds like the first one, or it's like, so off the wall that it's like, why did I go totally left field on that one? But yeah. I completely agree with you, when you just go with those once you've been doing it for a while, when you try to be someone you're not, it's not authentic.
Ramesh: Exactly.
Milena: And you can hear it in your read.
Joe: Yeah. By family tradition, my parents came from the academic and the publishing world. So script analysis, I put at the top of the list, you know, the top three, because the burrito for example was what invited me not to do it in Castilian. And that was my choice. I thought it was great that you did two takes of each, Ramesh. I, I shied away from the Castilian because I just wanted to have a burrito and, and that's Mexican, and I just -- and it's international by now., yes, but it's traditionally and originally Mexican. And I wanted, I wanted to go there.
If you told any person in Spain, you know, burrito just stand alone, they might not get it. If it's contextual, they'll be, oh yeah, yeah, Taco Bell, you know, whatever, but, or Mexican restaurant, but that's, that's the reason I, I shied away from Castilian and I, I made an attempt at my best neutral Spanish.
Milena: I had no choice. I don't do Castilian You don't wanna hear me trying to do Castilian accent.
Anne: So that brings an interesting question, which I had asked of Pilar early on in our series, about when specs come in for Spanish, is there a strategy? Are specs clear? Do you sometimes have to say, well, is there a particular dialect that you're looking for? What do you guys do?
Joe: First and foremost is the market. What market is it hitting? Because if it's a state, it's gonna be 99.9% neutral Spanish. It's very exceptional to do Castilian. I've spent many years living in Spain, and sometimes they call me to do Spanish and Catalan. And for many years they wanted an American accent, even though I don't really have one when I speak normally. So I, I had to kind of impose, impose an accent like this or something like that. You know, you know what I'm saying?
Milena: I love it. Being in the US, I think it's kind of less of a question for me. I know Ramesh and Joe are overseas. For me here in the US, typically my specs are always gonna say either neutral Spanish or Latam Spanish, Latin American Spanish. That's 99%. I think I have gotten a couple auditions that have asked for Catalan or Castilian Spanish. And it's very rare, but I am pretty upfront with them that I'm like, you're not gonna be happy with my read, if you want me to try to pull one of those off. But yeah, I think for me over here in the States, it's almost always, it's gonna be neutral or, or Latin American Spanish, which is what I do. And I can put a little bit more of that Paisa, you know, Colombian accent on it, if they're asking specifically for Latin American, but yeah.
Ramesh: I've had a very strange situation with many of my castings in Spanish. I've booked jobs. And then they come to me and say, you're not Spanish, are you? I said, they say, you sound very Spanish, but by your name, we had doubts. And a few times they're, they're brave enough to say that.
Anne: Yeah.
Ramesh: They're like, your name sounds Indian or Pakistani. I'm like, well, it is. What you want do about it?
Milena: What you want?
Ramesh: You bookedme. You, you booked me, you liked my audition, but are you just curious? You just wanna start a conversation over here? And, and I struggle with that. And the same thing with my English, like, oh, this guy's Indian. He probably, he doesn't have a proper English accent. I'm like, well, so I stopped trying to be very British at one point, and I said, well, I'm international English. I mean, what can I say? Yes, I'm Indian. I can't, I could change my name. And at one point I tried to go as Robert Martin, but I thought it just sucks.
Joe: No, you should be Pepe Mahtani.
Ramesh: Pepe Mahtani de las islas canarias... so, yeah. So that's another sort of strange one, but like Joe's, But I mean, I also do a lot of times they, they ask you to do a span with the English accent. So you have to do what they, what the client wants and you hope they're happy.
Joe: You have to. You have to.
Ramesh: You have to.
Pilar: You have to.
Ramesh: Yes.
Milena: Oh my goodness.
Ramesh: Without a doubt.
Milena: Ramesh, that did strike me. Remember, our first conversation. That's what I said. I said, I'm completely blown away. As soon as I saw your name, I was like, well, he's not Spanish or American.
[indistinct]
Ramesh: No, I totally understandable, yeah. It's like, where are you from? [speaking Spanish]
Milena: Cómo puede ser, pero no entiendo.
[banter in Spanish]
Joe: For me, it's the same, Joe Lewis. Right? You know, talking in Spanish, like, come on. This is --
Pilar: You could be José Luís.
Joe: Ridiculous, ain't it?
Milena: José Luís.
Joe: José Luís, exacto.
Ramesh: Whenever I speak to Joe, whenever I, the first thing I tell him, when we get on the phone is like, hello, Mr. Joe Lew-is. .
Joe: I try to do my best Southeast Asian for Ramesh because I love him so much.
Ramesh: Listen, all my white friends who try and do an Indian accent are just terrible at it. You guys suck big eggs because you cannot do an Indian accent. Even Mr. Peter Sellers, who I have great respect for in the movie "The Party," he also did not pull out a decent Indian accent. I'm sorry. It's crap.
Joe: A thousand apologies. But I do -- I do this with, with love. I do this with love. I promise you.
Ramesh: Joke around.
Anne: Oh my goodness.
Ramesh: You can joke around because we are good friends, but your Indian accent, I'm sorry, is not very convincing.
Joe: Totally. Totally agreed.
Anne: Oh my goodness. Well, you guys --
Milena: Friends don't let friends go around with terrible accents.
Anne: There you go. There you go.
Joe: Precisely.
Anne: So I wanna ask each of you, what would be your best tip? Like how do you market yourself as -- like people that are coming in to the industry now, if they're bilingual, what best tips can you give us to market yourself as a bilingual voice talent?
Joe: I've spent many years trying to equate both. I have them at the same level, both languages. It was a thing of responsibility. That's a big R word, responsibility. And this was instilled through my parents directly and indirectly. So I was very lucky with that. It all went astray when, uh, a number of years ago, I started to get requests from clients to do accents that are not my natural accents. Oh, I wait, are you sure? I'm like, yes, no, please.
And then you do it and they love it. And like, Hmm, well, maybe there's something here. Maybe, maybe it's a thing. So you can never sleep in your laurels. You can never get too comfortable. You can never get too overconfident because it's like music. I come from music. It's ultimately unattainable. You're not gonna finish it. Just keep on pumping. That's what you can do. That's my best advice. Keep on pumping.
Ramesh: 100%.
Milena: I guess before this interview, we talked about this a little bit. I actually shied away from doing Spanish when I first started, despite me literally being on Telemundo, right? like having my own segment in Spanish. I always was a little bit insecure about my Spanish, and I would get requests to do things both English and Spanish, and producers kept telling me like, you've got something here. You've gotta do -- when you can offer both sides, it's more efficient. It's mutually beneficial for you and the client. You've really gotta push this. And I did.
So I try to -- and I'm trying to get better at it -- I try to, when I'm posting things, say to social media, or, you know, whenever I'm doing things, I'm trying to do more showing the spots that I do in English and in Spanish so that people can see both sides, especially right now. There's this huge shift in the last few years here, that is this huge push for diversity, huge push for bilingualism, especially with Spanish in the US.
And I don't know if you guys are seeing things over there too, or internationally, 'cause of course I just know here in the US, but there's this really big push. So I've been very, very fortunate in that everyone that I connect with, as soon as I mention that I'm bilingual, they then mention that to somebody else. So my biggest tip would be let people know. Don't do what I did for the first, you know, five years and shy away from that. Practice it.
And if you don't feel as confident in that second language, which I didn't, start reading books out loud, watching movies, speaking -- I told my parents do not speak to me in English. We're speaking in Spanish, and I would read technical things so that it would be more difficult, you know, words that I didn't use in conversation, and just let people know, but plaster it everywhere and make sure everyone knows.
Anytime I send an audition on say Voice 123, 'cause I do use that as a pay to play in addition to my agents and other things, anytime, even if it's an English audition only, I always, always, always write, hey, and if you ever think about hitting the Hispanic market, I also speak neutral Spanish. Please go to my website and here's my stuff. Even if it's only an English spot, I always let people know. And you know what? 50% of the time, they come back to me and say, you know what? We posted a separate for the Spanish. We'll just go with you for both of them. So whatever language that is that you're in, use it. And even if you don't think they'll ever use you in -- let people know, 'cause they're not gonna know unless you tell them, right? So that is my biggest piece of advice is just brag on yourself, man. Let 'em know.
Joe: And if I may quote Jaco Pastorias, the great late bass player, it ain't bragging if you can back it up.
Milena: Heyo.
Ramesh: Absolutely.
Anne: Ramesh, your thoughts?
Ramesh: Yeah. Well, I think in my case, I was speaking to Joe about this actually a few, a few days back, it, it's very market specific. I mean I live in Spain and I don't really market myself to Spanish clients in Spanish, I suppose because I know there's, there's a whole plethora of Spanish voice artists here. Why would they necessarily go to me? So they come to me for English and as Milena said, once they come to me for English, then I'd bring out the Spanish. I'm like, here you go. I can do it in Spanish for you. Oh great. That saves us so much trouble and hassle finding somebody who can do it in Spanish. And likewise with international clients that I book in English, you know, I tell them I, I can do the Spanish, but I think you, as Milena said, you have to let it be known that you can do both and do whatever you're good at.
If you're good at corporate, well, sell yourself at corporate and be even better at corporate, and then perhaps branch out to something that you may want to aspire to. If you wanted to do some animation in Spanish, you've never done that before, get coaching, but focus on your strengths and build your strengths and be really confident that my strong piece is this. And I can promote that openly and confidently, because confidence is, is 90% of the game. If they see that you say I can do Spanish for you as well. And you know, you don't have a belief in yourself, it's gonna seep through. I mean, I do French voicing, but I tell the clients, I'm not a native French speaker. I've got a very good accent, but it's not native. And I try and pull it off because I have confidence that I can do it.
Joe: I totally agree. We don't read minds. And I, I was in a corporate multinational advertising agency for a while, and bilingualism in the States is a really important thing. I mean, I don't know what you think, Ramesh, if you agree with me, but for certain reasons, I think there's more of a bilingual ambient in the States than there is in Spain. 'Cause Spain is too busy with politics and they're busy with co-official languages. They're not dialects, they're official languages like Catalan, Gallego, or Galician and, and Basque.
And the, the thing is that, uh, because of the way English is taught in Spain and, and because of dubbing, this is the reason why English is not a second nature, uh, language in Spain. So you always have to have client education in mind in the good sense to try to explain to them because they may not read your mind. They may not understand to what level you are in the other language. It's not easy.
I mean, it's, we live in a world that is very multiplied because of social media. And you know, I see this from the musician standpoint, again, you know, the advent of pop star. You do a 3000 line casting. You, you get in, you're on TV, it's instant stardom. I mean, there's a lot of ways to get known really quickly and dramatically in this world. And a lot of people are strutting their stuff. So it's a complicated thing to market yourself effectively. It's not just marketing, and here I would like Anne to take over on the marketing thing because you're a master at this, but it's a really important question, what you ask. How do you market yourself in English and Spanish effectively and be taken seriously? You know?
Anne: Well, I mean spoken by the guy who has the bilingualvoiceover guy.com, right? I mean me@thebilingualvoice -- so that I'll tell you, right in your URL, you're advertising, and you've got multiple URLs. And I know that, you know, all of you on your websites are focusing or you have the fact that you are bilingual. And I think that's number one, I mean, in this online world and Pilar, I know does an exorbitant amount of not just bilingual voiceover, but also dubbing. So Pilar, any specific, additional tips that we haven't talked about that maybe you could offer as advice to, let's say, bilingual voiceover talent that are coming into the industry now?
Pilar: Um, well a lot has been said about it. When I first started in the industry, in voiceover, I was encouraged not to do a bilingual voiceover demo for example by a very, very well known coach here that Anne and I both know who shall remain nameless who said, absolutely. You never mesh the two together.
Milena: I've been told that too.
Pilar: You have Spanish on one side and English on the other. So I did, not with them. And so then I, I was like, okay. So I went with somebody else. I did it, Spanish, English, fine. And then I thought, no, I'm gonna go ahead and do a bilingual voiceover demo. And I did, and that is one that's booked me so many jobs. The other one is really good. The other two that I did, the Spanish and English and it, my agents prefer me separating them. So that's fine. But the Spanglish one is what has booked me so many jobs.
And so for somebody starting out, I think it's just important to keep at it, just to keep putting yourself out there. And also you never know what the client's gonna ask. I just, I find it so hysterical that I get booked for something. We'll do it in English. We'll do it in Spanish. And then they'll say, well, can you just give us a little accent? I'm like, you're kidding, right? And I don't have an accent in either. I mean, in Spanish, I always think I do, but I don't. I know I don't, it's just, it's so minuscule, but they're like, can you just make it a little bit more for us? And then in English, can you just give us a little bit more, a little thicker? I'm like, okay, fine. If that's what the client wants, that's what the client gets.
So I think that the key is to be elastic and to say, yes, I can do this. I can do this. Never say no. A lot of times I've come up against artists who sit there, and they say, oh, well, I passed on that because I can't do it. And I was like, well, why can't you do it? Well, I didn't, I didn't think I could. Well, if you don't think you can, then you're not gonna be able to. Right. Exactly. So always be available and let the person who is casting see if you're right for it or not. And you know, keep putting yourself out there, no matter what.
Milena: I wanted to ask, 'cause this is the question that I have and I think maybe some that are coming in would appreciate an answer to this -- in the US, the majority of my buyers are speaking English, right, whether they want Spanish or not. Now I do work with buyers that speak Spanish, but the majority of them are in English. So I've struggled with the decision to make my website, do a Spanish website, all Spanish website, or just an all English website.
So I've chosen to do an all English website that says I'm bilingual and I'm gonna have an about me page that's just in Spanish, just my about me page. And I just wanted to get your feedback on that, 'cause I think that's a question that a lot of people have coming in as well. Like do I need to have these two separate entities like I have for my demos? Or like I said, for me, the majority of my buyers speak English regardless whether their client is or they -- their primary language may be Spanish, but my buyers are usually in English.
Pilar: So this might sound a little radical.
Milena: I like it.
Anne: Already.
Pilar: I'm not thinking about who my buyers are. I'm thinking about me. And if I go, and I did this, 'cause I had two separate websites 'cause I actually followed what this person said to me at first, and I had an English website and I had a Spanish website. And all that does is dilute you. That does nothing for your SEO, does nothing for the persona. And if you're talking about branding, for me, this did not work. It might work for other people, but I just park everything in one place and I have different categories. That's just me.
Milena: Perfect. I like it.
Pilar: And that has worked better. I think it's worked better in consolidating everything because at one time I had like three different websites. It was just crazy. And it just diluted --
Milena: It's a lot to manage. Yeah.
Pilar: Exactly.
Joe: I mean, Milena, you could put a tab -- you could have your website in English and then put a little tab of in Spanish and then they can click, and then they'll, they'll go to that same site, and you'll have it all translated into Spanish. What I'm not an expert is an SEO and how it behaves looking at a, at a site in one language and if it can complement SEO ratings on the same site. So just because I could, I have the Bilingual Voiceover Guy, but I have both Voces Bilingue, and right now I'm redirecting them. But the idea is to have Voces Bilingue in Spanish and then have it linked to the English one.
Anne: And then Joe, you have a page on your, the Bilingual Voiceover Guy, English that also is translated in Spanish, correct?
Joe: Yes, because I hadn't had this thing that I just talked about yet. That, that, that was a sort of a patch in the meantime. And funny enough, that page is what's ranking.
Anne: I was just gonna say that, if you have that page, if it's all in Spanish, because if somebody doesn't speak English, and they're typing a search term in Spanish, that would match your page, your landing page. And it still comes to your central, you know, I call it the central website, but you've just got another page. Yeah, a separate tab, a landing page. And I think that's a really good strategy that you'll be able to capture the best of both SEO worlds. Yeah.
Pilar: Yeah. The tab is essential.
Joe: Yeah. The tab, mm-hmm. Anyway, I mean, my thing is work in progress too, but the way I choose to think is that there's 2 billion English speakers, and there's 600,000 Spanish speakers. So that's a market of 2.6 billion.
Anne: Yeah.
Joe: For each one of us. And sky's the limit.
Pilar: Absolutely.
Anne: Ramesh, how do you work your website? Do you have a special page dedicated?
Ramesh: I just have it in English actually. I think that's, that's definitely something I need to work on to see how I can, but I've -- to be absolutely honest, I'm quite happy with the level of work that I've got right now. So --
Milena: If it ain't broke.
Ramesh: -- smooth sailing, I don't wanna sound arrogant, but I'm comfortable. So I, I could perhaps do all these lovely suggestions that you guys have come up with, but perhaps another time.
Anne: Well, I don't have another language page, but I have literally four other genre specific pages like website, because I specialize in corporate narration or I specialize in e-learning. So I have the e-learningvoice.com. I have medical-narration.com, phone voice. And so even though I may not get a ton of activity on those sites, the words on those sites get indexed, and it contributes to my SEO. And each of those sites also maps back to my core site, which I think is my core brand of AnneGanguzza.com in addition to my VO BOSS and VO Peeps brands. So I handle probably 11 sites.
Pilar: That's next level marketing. Go to AnneGanguzza.com for next level marketing, that's, that's that's our next, our next job.
Anne: But yeah, it just helps to be found and it kind of just works on its own. And every once in a while I do have, as a matter of fact, I'm looking to refresh those pages just to make sure they keep generating people, pointing at my website. And again, it's a wonderful position to be in. If you have a, a good amount of work, I think that's amazing. Then things are working for you. And so that's why your advice and everything we're talking about today is so valuable for people that are coming into this industry. So we thank you, guys, so much for joining us.
Milena: Thank you for this contest --
Joe: Thank you for having us.
Milena: -- and this swag. Hello!
Ramesh: Thank you for having us.
Anne: I know. So yeah, I do wanna mention the swag. So not only did you guys get, uh, thank you again to Liz Atherton, but also you guys got BOSS swag, which Pilar and Milena are wearing right now.
Ramesh: Yeah. Mine's on the way. It'll be here in about next --
Anne: Which it is on the way. As a matter of fact, I will tell you because you're on that little island there, Ramesh, it might take a little longer to get you.
Milena: It's gonna come by carrier pigeon.
Ramesh: Keep on looking at the skies to make sure the drones are dropping in.
Anne: I can't wait to see pictures of you in that t-shirt.
Ramesh: Oh, I will.
Anne: And Joe with your mug. That's awesome. So.
Ramesh: I love it. Super.
Anne: You guys, amazing job. Thank you so much. It's been, this has been so wonderful, and we thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, and yeah, I wanna do this like now every six months.
Milena: Down for it.
Anne: Think we should --
Joe: -- amazing.
Anne: You know, right?
Ramesh: It would be pleasure.
Anne: So what's been going on in six months in the bilingual world? So yeah. Awesome. Well guys, I'm gonna give a great big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You guys can connect and network like we have on ipDTL. Find out more at ipdtl.com. And also I will say that this was recorded today with Riverside. So I'm extremely happy to have given this a try, and thanks for the wonderful video and audio tracks that we're going to get. And one more sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care. If you want to use your voice to make an immediate difference and give back to the communities that give to you, find out more at 100voiceswhocare.org. Thanks, guys, so much for joining us again. It's been amazing and we'll see you next week.
Ramesh: Thank you very much.
Joe: It was lovely.
Milena: Thank you.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Anne & Pilar are casting directors! Or at least they were for the first ever #VOBOSS Bilingual Audition challenge. They share the common mistakes, honorable mentions, and (of course) the winners! Tune in to sharpen your auditioning skills & learn what the audition selection process is really like.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with the one and only amazing special guest co-host Pilar Uribe. Hey Pilar. How are you?
Pilar: Hola todos. ¿Cómo están hoy?
Anne: Hola. So Pilar, I'm super excited today because a few weeks back we launched the VO BOSS Spanish bilingual audition challenge. Woohoo! Like it was our first bilingual audition challenge that I've ever seen actually and conducted. And I'm super excited because we sent out the casting first of all through our good friends over there at CastVoices, Liz Atherton and the team over there at CastVoices. We sent out this audition through their system, and we also sent an email to all of you BOSSes out there. And we also published far and wide on social media. So let's talk a little bit about what the specs were for this audition challenge.
So the specs were, it could be male, female, non-binary, age range from 25 to 65. So the purpose of this audition challenge was primarily for educational purposes. And so we cast the net far and wide. Our specs were for male, female, and non-binary, age range from 25 to 65. So our specs also wanted to grab a diverse range of voice talent. The voice should be confident, knowledgeable, we have a lot of adjectives here, optimistic, never take themselves too seriously, but at the same time don't come off as sarcastic either, warm, human, down-to-earth, and playful. Their delivery is conversational, relatable, and above all else nothing that is typical commercial sounding ,movie trailer, or announcery at all. Sounds pretty common to me, those specs, right, Pilar? .
Pilar: Yeah. And, and the thing is, is that a lot of the times you get just this three paragraphs worth of specs, 'cause they, they want to really throw the kitchen sink in. And the casting directors, they're looking for something. So they're trying to be as helpful as possible.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: And sometimes as voice actors, we go, oh my gosh, they gave us so much.
Anne: Sometimes it's not helpful.
Pilar: Really and truly -- yeah, well right. But they're trying to give you as much information as possible --
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: -- so you can make your creative choices.
Anne: Absolutely. We also specified that talent should read both Spanish and English versions with or without a specific regional accent. And we were going to judge on performance. We wanted two separate MP3s delivered and labeled and named in a particular fashion. And also what else did we specify? Oh, it needed to be uploaded to a Dropbox location that we had set up for the challenge.
Pilar: Well, and I think we were very conscious of what we do on a daily basis. I mean the auditions that come in from my agents are very, very similar to that.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: So we wanted to make it as close to a real audition as possible.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: And you get this list of things that you need to look at and you need to look at all the aspects of the audition.
Anne: Absolutely. We also gave some references. So if people wanted to learn some more, we pointed back to a couple of episodes that you and I did about bilingual on the VO BOSS podcast. And very exciting, we have prizes. So we are going to be selecting today three winners. We are going to select the best English audition, the best Spanish audition, and the best English and Spanish combined. So the prizes are going to be an amazing choice of swag from the VO BOSS shop. And also thank you so much to, again, our friends over there at CastVoices and Liz Atherton, a one year CastVoices pro membership, courtesy of Liz and CastVoices. So very excited about that.
All right. So let's talk overall what we thought about the contest and how it went. And actually we gave, I think it was almost two weeks we gave. The due date was to --
Pilar: Mm-hmm.
Anne: -- have everything submitted by 6:00 PM Pacific on April 15th. And we took that very seriously because that gave you almost two weeks to submit. We did have some people that submitted a couple, and I was okay with that. Normally that's not how it works in the audition process. You wanna get your audition in probably sooner if you can, rather than later, but because this was an educational experiment, an educational process, I said it was okay to upload alternate files as long as they were in by the due date. So let's talk about the good, the bad and the ugly
Pilar: Oh yeah.
Anne: Let's start with the ugly. I'm just gonna say, we could probably say it together. One of the biggest things was not following directions. I mean, everything from uploading to the wrong spot and the one that you kept catching. So I know you're gonna say no slate. We requested a slate, and there was so many people that did not have a slate. And that made a difference if it came between two close contestants. So it did make a difference. Not auditioning for both spots. And I'm gonna say the ugly would be ugly audio because people didn't have a good recording environment. There might have been noise. People might have been -- noise in the background. I heard like some whirring and hissing and I don't even know, people plosive-ing on the mics.
Pilar: Or they were different levels.
Anne: Yep. Different levels.
Pilar: One was really loud. The other one was way softer.
Anne: Exactly. So yeah. What was ugly for you?
Pilar: So for me, the reason why we did this was really, we wanted to simulate what a real audition is like. And the whole slating thing is just, I've been in webinars where they say, well, it doesn't really matter anymore. It really does. And I get probably, on any given day, let's say, I'll get 10 auditions, five of them say, please slate your name when you send in your MP3.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And that's one thing and it's into highlighted. And then the other way it comes in is do not slate anywhere on your file, in bold letters, capitalized, highlighted. So the direction was, and it was really simple, just slate your name.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And of -- we had 110 auditions, almost half --
Anne: I think it was 120, yeah.
Pilar: 120?
Anne: Yeah, okay, so half of them.
Pilar: So almost half of them --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- came without a slate.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So that is just glaring because obviously people were quick to rush. Other things that we got, which weren't really necessary -- and I will tell you, because my agents in LA are a little bit more forgiving, but the agents in New York, they are very clear on their auditions that if you don't do it exactly the way they say, they are just not submitting you.
Anne: Yeah. If you can't follow directions, then it's very likely that you can't follow direction.
Pilar: Right.
Anne: Get it?
Pilar: And -- exactly. And so when it says, like your name, you slate your name. Don't slate your hometown, don't slate --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- your email address. When you label -- and this is something that is, you know, you copy and you paste it. You don't try to sit there and memorize it. The reason I say this too is because as a voice actor, I saw a lot of mistakes that I have been guilty of at some point. So it was actually a real learning experience for me to go, oh, okay. Once I have done my audition, I've edited it, and I've checked all these things, I -- and I've been doing this for a while, but it really makes me understand that I have to have an eagle ear -- I go and I put it in a file. I go away, I take my headphones off, and then I come back to it and I listen to it as an MP3.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: Because you can't trust your ears. And a lot of the times there are things that just, they don't correlate. So if it says, slate your name, you slate your name. And when you label, you label the way they're asking you to label. So you have to check and recheck your audition because here's the thing about auditions. Auditions are the job. This is what we do. This is what I do every day. The gigs are the hobby, and the gigs are wonderful, but really it is the job. And so if you are submitting to your agent, they need to know that you're serious. They need to know that you're gonna be able to send your auditions the way they asked you to send them.
Anne: Mm-hmm. absolutely.
Pilar: Because this is not a dress rehearsal. It's not something that you just slap together. It's better not even to send it in, if you're just gonna kind of do it in this sort of half-baked way.
Anne: That's such a good point. What happens is, especially if you're sending to your agent, I think that if you become a person and they -- you get a lot of auditions from your agent and you submit all the time -- if you're constantly not following directions, that agent remembers it. And whether or not they mention that to you, I'm sure they will at some point, but it just sticks in their brain. It sticks in my brain when you don't follow directions, because I'm like, ah, that would was a great read, but they didn't name it right. Or I lost it; where did it go? If they had named it right, I would find it. What was that audition that was so good? Or they didn't slate. Oh yeah. What was that guy?
So really it becomes something that sticks out in a way that maybe is not as positive as you'd like. And the next time you're asked to submit an audition, I think it just becomes something that gets stuck in their memory. Then it becomes like, well, again, they forgot to slate, or again, they didn't name the file correctly, so now I've gotta go and fix it here on my system. So that just really stands out, I think if you cannot follow directions. And again, if you can't follow directions, it leads me to think that you cannot follow direction either, so.
Pilar: Well, and here's the thing that it's even more serious because it's your category, and it's one audition. They're probably dealing with 30 auditions on any given day --
Anne: If not more, right? Exactly.
Pilar: Yeah. But let's just put 30 as a, let's just say 30 auditions on one given day.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: So let's say they are submitting five of their best people, but they're sending it out to 50 people for each audition.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: They don't have time to sit there and email you back and say, you did not slate.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: Or you did something or, or there was a mistake here. They're just not gonna submit you the next time.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: They're not gonna tell you because the whole thing is on you. You have to be proud of the fact that you are -- this is -- it's a craft; auditions are a craft. And so it's like, you're giving like a little mini performance.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: Because you're basically saying to the person who's hearing on the other end, I can do what you asked me to.
Anne: Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Pilar: So you have to make sure that it, it is all in place because if you ask them, because I have. I mean, at the very beginning, when I first started working with my agents and I wasn't booking and I, so I asked them, and they gave me some really constructive criticism. And so I went and I studied more with some specific people, and then I started booking, but they're not gonna sit there and say, oh well, you didn't slate and you keep not slating. And we can't submit you. They're just gonna ignore you.
Anne: Everything contributes, everything contributes to it.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: So it, it's so important. For everybody who slated, thank you. And for everybody who followed the directions, thank you. But for the people who didn't, just remember that there's more than one pair of ears listening.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: And so for the next time, make sure that you've crossed your T's and dotted your I's when you send submissions in.
Anne: I mean, every time when people are asking casting directors, what are the worst things you can do when you submit an audition?
Pilar: What's your pet peeves, yeah.
Anne: And that is not following directions. Now, the other thing I noticed for the ugly was the bad audio. So, you know, it's unfortunate. It is part of the business though; you do have to have a good studio or a great studio where you can produce quality audio. And if you have bad audio and, and it becomes between you and another person who had it, maybe an equally great read, I'm gonna pick the person that has the good studio or the, the studio. Because I cannot guarantee, let's say, even though you may not have the best studio sound, that you're gonna be able to come into the studio and then execute by tomorrow, if that's when I need the spot to be done. So you really have to invest in figuring out how to get the best quality audio out of your studio.
Pilar: And just, it's so important to note that having the best quality studio does not mean you have to spend $5,000.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: Because what they're looking for to be able to submit to the client, what they're looking for is clean audio. It does not have to be a $10,000 studio, a $10,000 booth. It has to be clean. So there's, there are parameters that you have to follow in terms of getting that -65 DB noise floor. It's not hard, but it just takes work. And you have to be able to put in the time and find out how to get that quality.
Anne: Well, the cool thing is is that once you get it set up, usually you don't have to change it. It's not like you're gonna have to improve it afterwards.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: And there's a lot of really wonderful audio engineers out there that can help you. They don't have to come to your house.
Pilar: And they don't have to cost an arm and a leg either.
Anne: They don't, but they're very well worth --
Pilar: There's some great people out there.
Anne: They're very well worth the investment of getting that sound to be in tiptop shape.
Pilar: Yeah. Yes. Because once you have it, then you've got it forever. I, yeah, absolutely.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: Good point.
Anne: And that's, and it's done, you know, set and done. So let's talk about, okay, that was the ugly. There might be more if we, if we wanna talk about it more, but I'm gonna go into the bad now, which is not quite as ugly, but the bad is -- so let's think about this. Probably 90% of the time for a commercial read these days, we are being asked for conversational, nothing, typical commercial sounding or announcery.
Pilar: Mm-hmm.
Anne: Honest to God. Every time I see it, it's like nothing that sounds commercially. So I think that for a lot of you, it's hard to hear yourselves because I think what you're trying to do is sound like you're conversational, and you're not actually acting, and you're not actually in a scene and being conversational. So I'm just gonna say that it's not bad. It's just that you need to develop that ear. You need to really put in the hours for getting yourself as best as you can be in the scene, acting it out so that it's believable and it's authentic. And the thing is, is that when you listen to 200 auditions, it is very obvious which ones are sounding authentic and genuine, and which ones are just trying to sound conversational, and of course those that are being announcery. So it becomes very evident to the ear when you listen to it.
And I think when we reveal some of the winners, you're gonna hear that as well. So I'm just gonna say maybe not the bad, but I think everybody always, it is our job to be good at what we do and to be able to bring that copy to life in the way that the director wants to. And so to get my ear, the casting director's ear, if you can show me that you can act, I'm gonna hire you because then if I want you to sound commercially, it's a piece of cake. And a lot of times that might be what you hear on the television. But the fact is is that when you're auditioning, you gotta show me that you can act, and that's the audition that I'm gonna pick.
Pilar: And the thing is when you know, people will say, well, what do I do? Where do I go? And coaching is so expensive and this and this and that. Well, it does take work, and it does take learning, but here's the thing. YouTube and iSpot TV are your best friends.
Anne: Mm, I'm gonna disagree with you there.
Pilar: Why?
Anne: Because yes, you can go and listen to the commercials. But again, if the end result is being directed to sound commercially, it's not necessarily gonna help you not sound commercially.
Pilar: No, but I'm talking about getting an ear for what is being heard on the radio. For example, if you don't know what it sounds like for, let's say a Ford commercial, you go and you look up a Ford commercial. It's like, when you don't know something, you go and you look it up. If you're auditioning, like, let's say you don't know what a microwave sounds like. You go and you look up, what does a microwave sound like? How can I experiment with how a microwave sounds like? Let me play with it.
'Cause that's what we saw, what we heard in these reads, people who were willing to take a little chance and people who were willing to sort of put some of their personality in there. That's what I mean in terms of doing research for trying to figure out, well, what is it, if I don't really know what it is -- go listen and also study. Absolutely. But there's always research to be done when you are voicing something that you might not be super familiar with.
Anne: I will agree with you there. If you're not familiar with the brand, I would absolutely go and do a Google search of the brand. And I'm gonna just say, I'm gonna be very careful listening to other commercials on YouTube and or iSpot. Some of them are amazing, but some of them are not -- if they're ask for a particular style of a read, just be careful. Because not everything that you hear on TV is conversational. And so if the specs are asking for that, then make sure that you go and find something that sounds conversational and not commercial.
And if you are new to the industry, I would recommend that you get some coaching to help you with that, to help develop your ear. I think you should consider it to be an investment in your business. And I'm not saying this because I'm a coach. I'm really not. I just know that the longevity of this profession, you learn it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Over the years, I've studied, I've coached and I've developed an ear. And I think that that is something that doesn't happen overnight. And so you really have to go and study, Google and make sure you're listening to good commercials and great actors and invest in a coach. And I'm not saying you need to invest in a coach for 10 years, but I think even the best still hit up coaches so that they can continue to be their best.
All right. So, and now for the really good, now we're going to announce the winners of each category. So let's start with the winner for English, and the winner is....Joe Lewis. Yay, Joe. Let's play his winning audition.
Joe: Beep beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know you can trust Toyota and our all new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep -- oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Anne: Yay. Congratulations, Joe Lewis. So let's talk about what we liked about Joe's audition. I'll start with saying, I really liked his warm tone. I thought that it was really friendly and super conversational.
Pilar: Yeah, absolutely. I will say he did not slate... but his audition was so good, and he made me feel sort of like, oh wow. He made me feel warm. That's what his voice made me feel.
Anne: Yeah, me too.
Pilar: And that, and that's so important --
Anne: Me too.
Pilar: -- when you're listening to any kind of commercial, when you're listening to a voiceover, if they make you feel something --
Anne: I was just gonna say that, yes.
Pilar: Then you know that you have reached that person. You've reached that, you know, it's like you've gone through the sound and through the, through the computer, through the cyberspace, and you've reached that person, 'cause you're like, oh yeah, okay. This is, this is cool. I, I, I could trust this person.
Anne: Yeah. Such a good point because that is exactly how I felt when I listened to it. And when I listened to it for the first time, I immediately went, oh it wasn't like, oh I love the sound of that. I love the way he did this particular. I mean, there's lots of aspects of it that I love, but it was the feeling that I was left with, and that is gold, pure gold. So yeah, if you can just listen to an audition or listen to a spot and you are able to feel something about it, then I think that is, that is the money, that is the money read.
So yeah. Congratulations. And I loved how at the end he really kind of had a different tone, a change of tone. He kind of brought his voice down like, oh it was a secret about the burrito. So I liked his ending burrito. Awesome. All right. So now there were so many good reads that we also decided to award an honorable mention for the English category, and we think you're gonna really enjoy her read too. So the honorable mention in English goes to....Sofia Zita. Congratulations, Sofia. Let's play her audition.
Sophia: Beep beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know you can trust Toyota and our all new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep -- oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Anne: Oh gosh. So I love Sophia's beep that like that struck me from the beginning. I just thought it was really cute. And I'm gonna say at the very end, like she did something, she went off mic. She did an off mic technique for her burrito, which I thought was super creative and super fun. And I thought that her personality, while I thought there were some places in, you know, maybe her first couple sentences where it may not have the flow of a conversational English, her personality just shown so brightly through it that I couldn't help but smile when listening to her. So again, it evoked a feeling out of me, and that pretty much just said, yep. She needs to get an honorable mention for that. So great work on that, Sophia. What are your thoughts?
Pilar: I felt like she was talking right to me. I felt like she was standing right next to me talking to me from the get-go. And I was like, oh wow. It's like, she was right there next to me. I don't know it just, again, it gave me this warm feeling inside, and I was like, okay. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. So that really unique beep and that off mic technique really grabbed me at the beginning and at the end too.
Pilar: Yep.
Anne: So it made her pretty memorable.
Pilar: Mm-hmm.
Anne: All right. Congratulations, Sofia. All right. Let's talk about now the winner in the Spanish category, and Pilar, I'm gonna let you handle that.
Pilar: So the winner in the Spanish category is.... Milena Benefiel, and this is her submission.
Milena: Milena Benefiel. Beep beep. Es el sonido que uso para siñolar que este es un commercial de autos mientras que usted podria está conduciendo la caretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Beep beep beep -- balla, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Pilar: I felt like she was very just right there and very straight forward. And you know, this is how it's done. And there was that little sort of laugh at the end. And I, I just, I love this read.
Anne: I thought she had a nice, warm smile and a lot of personality in it.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: And so I really enjoyed her, and there were so many good ones, but I, I think for her, I just felt an immediate connection with that.
Pilar: Mm-hmm.
Anne: She was, it was almost like she was in my ear.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: And that's a very cool feeling. It's like, hey, telling you a secret and let me tell you about this Toyota. So yeah. Lots of fun and nicely done. Congratulations, Milena.
Pilar: Okay. So now we have an honorable mention for the Spanish version and the runner-up was....Nicoletta Mondellini, and here is her read.
Nicki: Soy Nicki Mandolini con Dos Thomas. Beep beep. Es el sonido que uso para siñolar que este es un commercial de autos mientras que usted podria está conduciendo en la caretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Beep beep beep beep -- balla, lo siento, creo que mi burrito ya está listo.
Beep beep. Es el sonido que uso para siñolar que este es un commercial de autos mientras que usted podria está conduciendo en la caretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Beep beep beep beep -- balla, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Anne: . I'm all about her beep, I'm just saying.
Pilar: Her, yeah, her beeps are really fun. And so since we didn't specify one take --
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: -- or two takes, obviously there a few people who submitted two takes, and I really liked her read because it was different, the first one from the second.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: The first one was very bubbly.
Anne: Mm-hmm, yep, absolutely.
Pilar: And it was bouncy, and it was full of energy, and the second one was straightforward, but it was still warm, still engaging.
Anne: I agree.
Pilar: Still talking right to you. And I liked that.
Anne: I agree. And I, I think you're right. We didn't say one or two takes, we didn't make a specification, but I think that if you are going to submit two takes, make sure that those two takes are different and different enough so that we can hear that difference. Because for me, that ended up being the point where I said, oh, that was a really cute take. I was like, okay. Short list. But there was a few people on my short list, but when she went on the second take, it showed to me that she could actually have a different take and act.
And so I tended to choose her because she did the second take because now I know for a fact that she can give me a different read, and I know I can feel confident that when I'm directing the session, that she can give me what I need.
Pilar: That she can deliver.
Anne: Yeah. That she can deliver. And so congratulations. And that beep really kind of stuck out. And so here's the thing we asked, 'cause beep beep was kind of a sound effect in the file. We never really specified where the beep was coming from. Even though it seems obvious that maybe it would come from a car or a microwave. But what I loved is most people had a lot of fun with the beep beeps, and I applaud that because that's what made your auditions stand out, if you had fun with the beeps or if you could laugh at yourself. I had a couple of people that really, really went all out for the beeps. And I think that it paid off.
Pilar: Because when you bring that little teeny weeny piece of creativity, it affects your voice.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: And it affects your attitude.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And so that tells us as the casting directors, oh, they know how to play. They know how to give us a, a little bit of a different flavor for that particular moment, even if it's just two seconds long.
Anne: Yup. Absolutely.
Pilar: So that's really important.
Anne: Cool.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: All right. So now our final category, our combination.
Pilar: You know what?
Anne: Yeah?
Pilar: I feel like this deserves two drum rolls. Okay?
Anne: because let's talk about the English first and then the Spanish. How's that?
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: We'll do that. So one drum roll, one drum roll.
Pilar: One drum roll.
Anne: Winner of the English is Ramesh Mathani. Congratulations, Ramesh. Let's play his winning read in English.
Ramesh: This is Ramesh Mathani. Beep beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know you can trust Toyota and all our new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep -- oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Beep beep. That is the sound of me signaling that this is a car commercial while being considerate of the fact that you may be on the road. It's exactly this kind of consideration that lets you know you can trust Toyota and our all new 2022 Highlander SUV to get you where you need to be faster and more reliably. Beep beep beep beep beep -- oops. Sorry. I think my burrito's done.
Anne: So two completely different reads and interestingly enough, he had a little bit of a, a global international accent on his first read and then more of a straight English read on the second, but they were definitely different. And I remember listening to his first read, I thought, oh, that's really, that sounds nice. But I was just like, okay, I let it -- and then when he came in with the second one and had a different read completely, and even had a different like burrito he had a different burrito expression, I really just thought that that really showed his acting ability. And I was, I was just very impressed.
Pilar: Yeah. And I just, I wanna reiterate how important it is to have, if you're going to do two reads, make them different.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: Obviously you don't wanna, you know, have a low voice and then have a high voice because that's kind of silly, but there were a couple of entries where the exact same thing was uploaded twice.
Anne: Mm-hmm. yep.
Pilar: Or a read was done double time, much quicker.
Anne: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Pilar: But that doesn't make it a different read. What's your attitude? Who are you talking to?
Anne: Right, exactly.
Pilar: Are you talking to your mother or are you talking to your best friend?
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: Are you talking your husband? 'Cause that's going to inform the difference in the read and that's what's gonna make a difference and show us that you know how to act.
Anne: Yeah. Change the scene and change your read. Don't just change what it sounds like. Right?
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Change your scene and it'll change your reaction to it and your acting.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: So awesome. So now let's go ahead and play his winning audition in Spanish. Oh!
Pilar: One more time for the drumroll.
Anne: That's right. Ramesh.
Pilar: Ramesh.
Ramesh: Soy Ramesh Mathani. Beep beep. Es el sonido que uso para siñolar que este es un commercial de autos mientras que usted podria está conduciendo en la caretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Beep beep beep beep beep beep -- balla, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Beep beep. Es el sonido que uso para siñolar que este es un commercial de autos mientras que usted podria está conduciendo en la caretera. Este tipo de servicio es lo que le permite saber que puede confiar en Toyota y en nuestra nueva SUV Highlander 2022 para que se transporte de un lugar a otro de la manera más rápida y confiable. Beep beep beep beep beep -- balla, lo siento, creo que mi burrito está listo.
Anne: You know what I love about that?
Pilar: What?
Anne: So besides that he's got two different reads, what is really strategic that he did is he placed in both his English and Spanish placed his second read right at the end of the first so that there was no time for the casting director to just like, okay, next. So he literally almost ran them into each other so that it was obvious that there was a second read coming, and it was actually really kind of cool that beep beep was the words because it made it even more like distinct that here's the first read. Here's the second read. But he just, he really butted them up against each other to strategically not allow the casting director to take the ears off of the listen.
Pilar: Yeah. And that's so important as we've probably discussed in an earlier podcast, how casting directors are gonna listen to you. They say they listen to everything, but my question has always been -- 'cause I listened to every single one of these.
Anne: Do they? Yes, I did too. Mm-hmm.
Pilar: And to the end. So when I hear casting directors say we listen to every single one, I wonder, do they listen to every single one to the end?
Anne: Right.
Pilar: Or do they in fact listen to --
Anne: The first part.
Pilar: -- six seconds --
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: -- which is what is sort of the average.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: And that's why it's so important to remember the ears that are listening to it on the other end. What you're saying is something that I'm gonna use too is just to --
Anne: Yeah, super strategic.
Pilar: -- just to smoosh it right next to it so you you're not giving -- to me, one of the things I learned when I started doing on camera work so many years ago, 'cause I've been doing auditions for like over 30 years, is that you wanna make it really difficult for them to turn you off.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely. That's it, that's key.
Pilar: Or to discount you.
Anne: Yep.
Pilar: So you wanna do everything possible and obviously you don't wanna make it sound rushed, but it's -- and that's what it means about making, just perfecting the audition. So it's like a little slice of this perfect 30 seconds, and it's not about, you know, being perfect. That's not the point of it.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely, good point.
Pilar: But it's just about how much you can give to the audition that you're sending in. And then you just, you know, you send it in, and then you let it go and you release it.
Anne: Yep. Exactly.
Pilar: And I think that he gave us variation. He gave us warmth.
Anne: He gave us the feels.
Pilar: I trusted him in both languages. So I felt like, oh yeah, okay. If this stranger came up to me and spoke to me, I'd be like, yeah, this is okay. I can go with this.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: So that's so important because it's about confidence. It's about confidence in what you're doing in the moment as you are acting. And so if you believe what you're saying, the person on the other end is gonna believe it as well.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. Oh, great takeaways. I mean, so let's remember, BOSSes, make sure that first of all, you follow directions . First of all, follow directions, make sure that you've got some good audio coming out, really work on your acting, make us feel something at the end of your read. And again like Pilar, I love that you said it doesn't have to be perfect. And as a matter of fact, there's a lot of imperfections. I even wrote a blog article on it once, but imperfections are beautiful, and imperfections make me listen. They make me connect. It makes you relatable. It makes you real and authentic, and play, have fun.
Pilar: Play and have fun. And don't be worried about if your throat does something weird and it comes out --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- and it's funny, keep it.
Anne: If you don't think it sounds right.
Pilar: Yeah. Right. Like don't get rid of all your breaths. If that's part of the acting, keep them in there.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: It does not have to be perfect.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: But it has to be engaging so we stop and go, oh yeah. That's what that, that's it, that's the one. 'Cause most of the times casting directors don't know what they're looking for.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: But when they hear it, they're like, yes, that's it.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Pilar: That's what I want.
Anne: Absolutely. Well, to wrap this all up guys, congratulations. Thank you all for participating. It was an amazing challenge, I think. Everyone, I thank you all for participating. Congratulations to our winners, winner of the English, Joe Lewis, and honorable mention to Sofia Zita.
Pilar: Winner of Spanish Milena Benefiel, winner honorable mention Nicoletta Mondellini.
Anne: And the winner for both English and Spanish, Ramesh Mathani.
Pilar: Ramesh! Woo-hoo!
Anne: Congratulations, everyone. I'd like to give a huge shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like BOSSes and find out more atipddl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll catch you next week. Congratulations, winners. Woo-hoo!
Pilar: Ciao.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Three days with VO industry experts + networking with peers? Sign us up! Anne gets the inside scoop on what’s in store for eVOcation 2022 with co-founders Jamie Muffett and Carin Gilfry. The three chat industry advice for newcomers + seasoned voice artists, what to expect at the conference, paying it forward, and how important it is to make education a lifelong journey!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited to be here with amazing talents and founders of the popular eVOcation Conference, which is devoted to the business of voiceover, Jamie Muffett and Carin Gilfry. Thank you guys so much for joining me today.
Carin: Thanks for having us. We're so excited to be here.
Jamie: Yeah. Thanks, Anne.
Anne: I am so excited to talk to you guys about all things, eVOcation, business voiceover, because I think you guys are such an amazing team. Like you've been together for a number of years, I'm gonna say at least that I've known about --
Carin: Yeah.
Anne: -- doing wonderful things for the voiceover community and supporting communities on Facebook with a wonderful conference that you're now having once or twice a year, I'm not sure. Um, we'll talk about that. .
Carin: We're not really sure either, because I feel like as soon as we started this conference, then we had a global pandemic, and --
Anne: Yeah, right? Oh my gosh.
Carin: So now we're like, so what, what are we doing?
Jamie: Yeah.
Anne: Well, so before we get to talking about eVOcation, I'd like my BOSS listeners to find out a little bit about you guys. So if you guys wouldn't mind introducing yourselves tell the BOSSes a little bit about how you got into voiceover and then ultimately how you two met and started creating these wonderful community resources. Jamie.
Jamie: Carin, do you want to go -- oh.
Jamie: Too polite.
Carin: We're, we're just so polite.
Anne: You guys are so polite to each other. That's why I let you do that. .
Jamie: All right. Well, I'm gonna take the lead . I started voiceover in 2009 in the UK and knowing that I was gonna move to the US. So I sort of had this plan that was gonna sort of be a job that I could start in the UK and then try transition over. Um, only really had confidence in it because I had sort of recording knowledge. I was in the sort of studio world in the music industry. And so I knew how to record my voice. And I knew I was going to America where apparently they like English guy voices.
So that's, that's all I had really coming in . I started in the UK and then we moved over ,and then I sort of continued on and gradually moved away from music into voiceover. That sort of happened actually fairly quickly. Yeah, I do a whole different array of genres of voiceover, anything that requires British guy really that I'll throw my hat in the ring. And yeah, we connected, when was that? Probably, I don't know, like 2018?
Carin: 2017 maybe.
Jamie: Oh, maybe earlier. Oh, right. Yeah. Maybe 2017.
Carin: 'Cause I feel like it was around when Mahalia was born, my daughter, and she was born in 2017.
Jamie: Yeah. And it was actually --
Carin: Sometime around there.
Jamie: -- Tim Friedlander I think that introduced us, I think.
Carin: I think so.
Jamie: Because Tim shot me a message and was like, oh, you know, there's this lady in New York who's got this huge Facebook group for New York voice actors? I was like, no . And so we connected that way and yeah, we just sort of got on well. And I've obviously got my podcast VO School, and she had her community, and we were talking and we was like, there's nothing really in New York aside from Carin's regular classes and things like that. There was nothing big in New York, which seemed crazy . So that was sort of the sort of burgeoning discussion that eventually resulted in VOcation.
Anne: A-ha. Carin?
Carin: I was a theater kid. My dad's an opera singer. My parents are both performers, and really in my family, there are two options. You either become a teacher or a performer. And a teacher is really a kind of performer anyway .
Anne: True.
Carin: And so I ended up going to school for opera. And then after being in the opera industry for a while, I, it just, it was so stressful. It's like being an opera singer is like being like an Olympic gymnast or something, or like a professional ballet dancer where you just have to be on top of your game all the time. And if you are even a little bit below what is considered absolute pro, then you're just like, you don't exist. So it was so stressful. And I had a friend who was narrating audio books, I thought, oh, that would be a great thing to do. I can use my voice. I can use my acting abilities. And so I got into voiceover that way.
What I didn't know, and this is part of the reason why we founded VOcation also is like all the other skills that you have to know in order to be a successful voice talent. You have to learn how to record yourself and edit yourself and negotiate your own contract. And you have to learn how to direct market and set up a website and make sure that your online casting profiles are set up in a way that meets all the algorithmic things that you need to meet on those sites. There's just so much, and I love every single part of it. The more I found that I could take the reins of my own career, the happier I was.
Because in so many parts of the performance industry, the entertainment industry, if you're a performer, you're kind of like waiting for gatekeepers to open doors for you. And in voiceover, yeah. I find that it's not that way. You can really build your own career the way that you wanna do it, and you don't have to wait for an agent or a manager or for winning a competition. You don't have to wait for any of those things. You just kind of jump in and go.
Anne: Amen. .
Carin: Yeah. And it's, and it's awesome.
Anne: That's one of the parts that I love about it as well. It's so refreshing to meet with a couple of people who probably love the business aspect of voiceover, as much as the creative and performance --
Carin: I love it so much.
Anne: -- aspect. And I love how you said it just, it becomes, it's your own. This is something that you can direct your own business. And it's one of the reasons why I kind of diverged into three different brands myself, because I wanted to follow each passion and have that as part of my business. And I think that, honestly, there's so many people that, it's so necessary, the business aspect of it, because I'm always saying that you can have the greatest voice in the world, but it doesn't mean anything if nobody knows about it. And so --
Carin: Exactly.
Anne: -- there's gotta be that aspect that you are being able to market yourself and create the business that you want in order to be successful in, hey, I gotta help pay the bills. That's for sure.
Carin: Yeah.
Anne: So.
Carin: The other thing that, what I love about voiceover is that there are so many ways to make a career. And like, I know that you, Anne, and I have totally different approaches to how we find work. Like, you are amazing at direct marketing. And you're great at marketing yourself and branding yourself. And you just said, you have three different brands. And I don't do any of that. I started on online casting sites. And I just love to audition. And I audition all day long. And I think both approaches are valid and both approaches can result in similar outcomes. And you know, now I work with agents and managers too, and I love that part of it too. But I think Christian Lance who's, if you don't know Christian Lance, he's like --
Anne: I do.
Carin: He's, yeah, he's a great voice talent. He said voice actors are kind of like drivers where like, if you say you're a driver, are you a race car driver, or are you an Uber driver or are you a truck driver or are you like, what kind of driver are you? It's the same with voiceover. There are just so many different ways to be a voice actor.
Anne: Yeah.
Carin: And that's why at VOcation, we bring a lot, lot of different people in to give you a lot of different approaches to doing the business of voiceover. And you take what works for you and you can toss out what doesn't work for you. So I like that.
Anne: I do too. I love it. Jamie, your thoughts?
Jamie: I agree.
Anne: One of those things that's so funny because at conferences, when you're given choices about what classes to take, there are always the performance classes and then there are like the business classes. I've noticed year after year, people are always going for those performance classes, yet what they really need is the business aspect to it. So I can completely appreciate and love the whole concept of a conference just about the business of voiceover. And you guys have really did something successful. So talk to us a little bit about the evolution of the conference and how you guys came to be, and, and that first year, what was it like?
Jamie: Well, we didn't want to just put on another conference that already existed, because what's the point in that? You know, I know things are a little different now post-COVID or well, we're in COVID still, but at the time there were a whole bunch of conferences that, although in different locations, which is most important for a lot of people in terms of access. The offering was kind of similar, you know? I mean, you'd go to one conference and the similar kind of speakers. So we wanted to do something a bit different. And like you said, a lot of conferences, people are so drawn to the performance type classes and panels and things like that. The -- they're like the sort of fast food .
Anne: Yeah, right? The candy.
Jamie: Yeah. The candy.
Anne: Yeah, the candy.
Jamie: And we are like, we're like the broccoli.
Anne: Yes, exactly. Oh my God.
Carin: We're totally the broccoli.
Anne: yeah. I love it.
Jamie: But if you go to a conference and or you go to a restaurant and it's like a salad bar, like you're gonna indulge in the salad like that you're not even gonna worry about all the other stuff. So that's, that's what we are. We're the salad bar.
Anne: The salad bar.
Jamie: Yeah.
Anne: But I love broccoli. I'm just saying.
Jamie: Yeah, I do too actually,
Anne: See, there we go.
Jamie: I dunno why people hate it.
Carin: Delicious.
Anne: There we go. So we love broccoli. So therefore we love the whole --
Jamie: Yeah, that's the big takeaway from this.
Anne: There you go. We love broccoli .
Jamie: So yeah. We're broccoli.
Anne:
Jamie: Shall I expand on that?
Anne: Yes. Expand on what was the first year like, and did you have it, I think you had an in-person conference, right? The first year?
Jamie: Yes. We did Symphony Space on the upper west side in New York. You know, the other thing we wanted to do is we wanted to hold it in the city. Like not in an airport like 10 miles outside of town. And that, you know, brings its own challenges. You know, you're having to bring stuff in and shepherd people around, put them where they need to go.
Carin: And it's a lot more expensive.
Anne: Oh, I was just gonna say, I can't imagine the cost of having it in the city.
Carin: Yeah. Renting space in New York is a whole thing. It's and actually Symphony Space is wonderful because they cater to a lot of nonprofits and I mean, we're, we're not a nonprofit, but they cater to a lot of like, you know, smaller groups, and renting a theater was much better for us than renting an event space. Event spaces are just crazy in New York. Yeah. We love Symphony Space.
Jamie: Yeah. And we were sort of feeling it out as we went really. It was our first big event that we put on. And, um, for both of us, we, neither of us had been to a voiceover conference before. We'd been to conferences, but not voiceover. So we didn't really have something to compare it to, but it was such a fulfilling weekend. And, you know, we think based on the feedback, everyone had a at time.
So yeah, it was, it was really good. We had a whole array of business classes and panels that some were very genre based. Some were, you know, marketing, some were more businessy like tax and stuff like that, and negotiation and things like that. So there's still a huge amount of scope even within this sort of limited niche conference spare to explore lots of different avenues. Like you said, there's just so much, there's so much to it. So every year, maybe not thematically, but we'll dive into different aspects. And, you know, because like Carin said, there is no definitive one path through this industry. So you really have to sort of present, uh, many of the options as possible to people. And then they draw out what is appropriate to them and what sort of fits in their career.
Anne: What I love about that is because there is no one clear path or right path to get into it, your conference is offering all of the options, and people that are just kind of finding their way in this industry, I think that's such an important resource for them to understand. Number one, as you both are saying, there's more than one path into success in voiceover, and having a resource that allows people to see all the different options, I think, is truly a wonderful thing. And I wish, you know, when I had gotten into voiceover back in the day, and I'm like, I'm old, there wasn't --
Carin: You're not that old.
Anne: Well, probably older than I'd like to admit these days, but it's one of those things where there wasn't groups, there wasn't online groups. There were physical groups, but when you were just getting into voiceover, it was hard to find them. And so this has kind of evolved over the years. And I just love the fact that you guys have provided a resource solely dedicated to business, 'cause I'm a business geek. I'm fully so very excited that you guys are gonna be continuing this and, and this year, even you're having a, a virtual conference and I think an in-person conference, is that correct?
Carin: We are.
Anne: Cool.
Carin: Finally after three years, we're now gonna do a VOcation in person again in New York at Symphony Space in September --
Anne: Nice.
Carin: -- of 2022. And our virtual conference eVOcation is gonna be in June. And we're so excited that you're joining us, Anne.
Anne: Yes. Thank you. I'm honored and very excited to take part in this for the first year for the virtual conference. I'm excited. Now, Carin, you moved from New York --
Carin: I did.
Anne: -- to my neck of the woods, and I, and I'm originally from New York state myself and New Jersey. So now that you are in California, do you miss New York? Do you miss your peeps in New York? .
Carin: I miss it so much. Oh my gosh. We left at the very beginning of the pandemic.
Anne: Yeah.
Carin: It was so crazy in New York at the very start.
Anne: Yes, oh, I know.
Carin: You know, we have two little kids and being in our little 800 square foot apartment with one bathroom and a potty training toddler and a baby and no backyard was like just impossible . So we bought a house sight unseen and moved to Southern California, and this sounds really dumb. And I feel like maybe this is a bit of hyperbole, but it, I felt almost like, like a refugee. Like we left without saying goodbye to anyone.
Anne: Yeah, right.
Carin: Because we couldn't see anyone, and we just kind of bought a house and packed up our stuff and left within a few weeks, and we were not planning on it. And so for the first like year that were here in California, I love it. My family's close by, the weather's beautiful. The kids absolutely love it. But if I would see a picture of the New York skyline --
Anne: Oh I know .
Carin: -- I just would burst into tears.
Anne: Yeah.
Carin: I just, I miss it so much. And what I miss about it most is the community of people that we built there.
Anne: Yeah.
Carin: Because voice actors of NYC, we were doing two or three in-person events a month with like 50 to 100 people every event. And they were almost all donation based. So, you know, a teacher would come, and people would just pay what they could. And then the teacher would take the whole donation amount except for the space rental. And you know, we got to know each other, like we would eat each other's cooking when we had a potluck, and we knew each other's family, and we met each other's spouses. And it was just such a beautiful, wonderful community. And I'm so excited to do VOcation in New York and to see my New York family again, 'cause I just, I miss them all so much.
Anne: I definitely miss New York. There's something about New York that I don't know. I love California. Don't get me wrong. And I'm probably not gonna move back to New York or New Jersey, but I have family back there. So there's really just something magical about it. And I love how you had a community. It reminds me of, you know, one of the reasons when I moved out west, I started the VO Peeps because I wanted a community because I didn't know people, and I wanted to meet people and just start a community out here.
So I get that community. I think that's something so important when you are first starting out in this business. It's important to have a sense of community because people helping people in like minded industry, I think it's wonderful that you have a, a group, and that group is also online. And I can really see the sense of family there. You guys take such good care. I'm in a lot of groups, and you guys really take care of your members. And I really admire that about both of you. And you're both really giving people. I noticed that this year there's like a trillion scholarships for the conference. I mean, talk to us a little bit about your scholarships for the conference.
Jamie: Well, yeah, it started originally at the very first event when Joe from Voice Actor Websites gave up his speaker fee to a ticket for the following year for someone, and he said, oh, just donate it to someone next year. I don't -- you don't need to pay me, which I thought was really a sweet thing. And then we mentioned that, and then quite organically people started offering, well, I'll pay for a ticket for someone. And then someone else saw that they did that. Then it just sort of snowballed. And then last year I think we had 15 scholarships that we gave out. And then this year we've had 27.
Anne: That's amazing.
Jamie: So 27 people, yeah, are getting to go to the conference that maybe they probably otherwise wouldn't have gotten to go to. So, you know.
Anne: So then let me ask you, because I've also offered scholarships through VO Peeps, and that's not a small thing. There's a lot of work. I mean, I love to be a provider of scholarships if I can, but there's also some work. And I think you guys, in order to just even offer the scholarships, what is the criteria for the scholarship? And then you have to judge, and that's always tough.
Carin: So we had 87 people apply for scholarships this year, and Jamie and I read through every single application. And it's just an online form. And you talk a little bit about your journey and voiceover, why you think you would be a good candidate for the scholarship, how you plan to give back to the community, if you get the scholarship, and then anything else we should know. And I have to say it was such a tough decision, and we awarded scholarships based on so many different things. People who had real financial need and seemed like real go-geters. People who've had like a really bad couple of years. People who just filled out their application so well and seemed like just amazing candidates who are just gonna take the next step into voiceover and have great success. It was just a real mix of all of those things. And we came up with 27 people that we agreed on took a little while, but.
Jamie: Yeah, we had a whole process that we had to go through to get to that point.
Anne: I had a score sheet. And I love that you based it on financial need. And I, I really am a big proponent of offering scholarships to help people that really need it. And even if, like you said, if they've had a couple of tough years and judging that those entries are so difficult. I actually would have a different judging panel every year, which I never disclosed, but it became work for people. And I'm so grateful for the people that helped in the judging of that all because it is a lot of work. And, and I thought for myself, for me to just judge, it was tough without having someone else have a --
Carin: Yeah.
Anne: -- another objective view. So I would always get a team of people who would volunteer their time to judge. And so I love, love, love that you guys are doing scholarships and just, it warms my heart, it really does because I haven't had, uh, VO Peeps scholarship in, in the last year because I've kind of gotten on board with some other scholarships. And so I still once a year, try to give out scholarships for VO Peeps, for people that have a financial need. So kudos to you for that. So let's talk about your lineup this year. Who do you got coming? Yeah. And what sort of topics are you gonna be talking about?
Carin: Well, we have a lot of great people. Maria Pendolino of course is a rockstar. She's coming back.
Anne: She is.
Carin:
Anne: Total rockstar.
Carin: She's gonna give a talk called Non-broadcast Genre is the Foundation of Your House.
Anne: oh, nice.
Carin: Which is great.
Anne: Love it. Love it.
Jamie: I feel that's up your street, Anne .
Carin: Yeah. I'm gonna be, uh, interviewing Mark Guss about the agent client relationship. Mark Guss of course is a manager at ACM talent, but he's been an, an agent as well. Amazing guy. We have a panel on all of the freelancer websites, including Fiverr and Upwork and --
Anne: Okay.
Carin: -- what they mean for our industry. And is there a way to use them ethically?
Anne: Sure. Love it.
Carin: We have a -- yeah. We have a working pros panel. What else do we have, Jamie?
Jamie: I think you should have prepped people that you were gonna say the Fiver word, 'cause if someone's driving while they're listening to this, they'll probably just crash their car.
Carin: Yeah, that panel is called We Don't Talk About Fiverr, No, No.
Anne: But we do, but we should.
Jamie: We should.
Anne: I think we should.
Carin: We don't talk about Fiverr.
Anne: I'm kinda on board with that. I think there's too many people that aren't talking about it.
Carin: Yeah.
Anne: And there's too many people that don't talk about other things like synthetic voices. And I think that that's important.
Carin: Yeah.
Anne: Because how do we prepare ourselves for that --
Carin: Exactly.
Anne: -- influence in our industry? So, I mean, you can't ignore Fiverr. It's there.
Jamie: Yeah.
Anne: And other assorted, you know, maybe freelance communities that are maybe not desirable in some people's eyes. I think like you said, Carin, there's multiple paths.
Carin: Exactly.
Anne: And I am not here to judge. To be honest. I mean, we run our own businesses. I think that there's principles that we should all maybe try to strive for and knowing your worth, which is I think at the top of the list, I think that that's definitely something that you have to understand, but then we all run our own businesses.
Carin: I think so much of knowing your worth just comes from an education.
Anne: Yeah. Agreed.
Carin: When I started, I didn't even know that there were agents that were sending people out for auditions. Like, I didn't know there was a union that I was supposed to join. I didn't know anything. All I knew is that I did a Google search and I found these online casting sites, and they were offering $100 for only a 30-second commercial? That's like, so little time. Right? I just had no idea
Anne: I get it.
Carin: I had no idea what the rates were.
Anne: So totally get that.
Carin: Yeah. And that's how people start. They go on Fiverr because that's like the thing to do if you're a freelancer, and they don't know about the GVAA rate guide.
Anne: Right.
Carin: They don't know that you're supposed to be getting higher rates. And I think when you know, then you charge more.
Anne: Yeah.
Carin: So I think is a huge part of it.
Anne: Yeah.
Carin: And we can't fault people for not knowing what the industry standards are. The only thing we can do is educate, you know, lovingly guide them to charge more if they can.
Anne: I agree. I got on the pay-to-plays back when they were first starting and they worked for me. But before the pay-to-plays, there was freelancer.com. And I don't even know if it was called that, but that was, if you wanna talk about people who underbid in order to get a job, the earliest freelancer was people would go post their jobs, and the person that bid the lowest won. And I was on that. I'm not saying that could be considered the Fiverr of today maybe.
Carin: Yeah.
Anne: But I didn't know.
Carin: Right, exactly.
Anne: And again, it was, I didn't have the education. There weren't the online communities like there were, and I found out and I learned thankfully, you know, that I was worth and I was worthy of charging a fair rate. And ultimately I evolved into the mindset, know your worth. And I think as influencers with the podcast that we are putting out there as a resource, with the conferences, eVOcation, I think that it's wonderful that we are putting out resources to educate people about knowing their worth. And that's all we can do really .
Jamie: Yeah. Yeah. And it's, it's only part is part of the offering as well. So you may hear discussions about Fiverr and Freelancer and what have you. And, and then you learn about some of the other avenues, direct marketing. And then you determine where your journey, where your path lies. That's sort of the, the beauty of this, this industry. And you know, with some of the online discussions, particularly not to make this all about Fiverr, but with some of the online discussions, you, you even mention that, and you're immediately pounced upon, you know?
Anne: Oh, I know.
Jamie: There is no discussion --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Jamie: -- why it's bad, et cetera. But the other thing is that for me, I think if you've been in the industry for five plus years, you don't know what it's like to start in 2022. The landscape is different now to how it was five plus years ago. So we really should have those discussions to educate us who are more established as to what the lay of the land is in a sort of earlier phase. So yeah, we got a whole bunch of stuff. We got casting panels, rates and usage.
Anne: Wow.
Jamie: You're teaching the email marketing class, and social media, we've got Natalie.
Carin: Yeah. Natalie Natus. She's so great.
Jamie: Yeah.
Carin: She's an audiobook narrator who has like just kind of exploded on TikTok and --
Anne: Fantastic.
Carin: -- very funny and wonderful. So she's talking about social media, all good stuff.
Jamie: And we've got Voice Actor Websites' crew talking all about how to optimize your website and separately, how to work your SEO because they're two sides of the same coin, but you can't have one without the other, if you really wanna, you know, your website to work. So yeah. There's other stuff too, but we won't go through everything. .
Anne: Well, it sounds like a fantastic lineup. And what are those dates?
Jamie: eVOcation is June 10th, 11th and 12th.
Carin: Yes.
Anne: Got it.
Jamie: Three days.
Anne: Your in-person one, you're kind of scoping out for the fall, is that correct?
Carin: We have the dates actually, September 10th and 11th.
Anne: Fantastic.
Carin: In New York city. And I'm pretty sure tickets are gonna go on sale in July for that one. So keep an eye out, and we actually have another kind of secret thing that we'll announce at the conference as well about something coming up in 2023.
Anne: Awesome.
Jamie: Yeah.
Carin: We won't tell you here, but it's a fun secret.
Jamie: It's just a tease.
Carin: This is just a tease.
Anne: I love secret things.
Carin: Yes.
Anne: All right.
Jamie: Tease from the broccoli.
Anne: I'm so excited BOSSes. Really, this is a conference I think everybody should go to this conference. Everybody in voiceover should go to this conference.
Jamie: I agree.
Anne: It's just, yeah. Such a wonderful resource for the community. Thank you, guys, so much for doing this, for your generosity. You guys are just amazing for being such a support in the community. I really appreciate that. I see it all the time. You guys are just so wonderfully supportive and that is a wonderful thing. So my last question would be, if you guys had one tip to give to the BOSSes about being successful in their voiceover career, what would that be?
Carin: I would say my best tip is find the thing that works well for you and works well for your brain and lean in to that. So if you find that you absolutely love direct marketing, lean into that and do it to the best of your ability. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, of course, but really, really put focus and attention and love into that. If you find that you love auditioning, put your focus and attention and love into that and find the thing that makes you love voiceover and makes you love going to work every day and lean into that thing. And that will help you to love your job and be successful.
Anne: Awesome.
Jamie: Yeah. And I've been thinking a lot lately, well, the last of year or so about how I interpret specs, and I've sort tried to change my approach to it. Rather than trying to twist myself into a pretzel to be the person that I think they want me to be, I use them as just ingredients into the soup of my brain that is trying to interpret what this project is. And then I give them my natural, authentic interpretation of that and the most real thing that I can offer, rather than getting too hung up the adjectives and the references and things like that. So I know that's not to do with business, but it's just something I've been thinking about a lot lately. And I saw an immediate uptick in bookings as a result of changing that mindset.
Anne: Awesome. That's awesome. No, I think that's amazing. Thank you, guys. If anybody wants to get in touch, if the BOSSes wanna get in touch with you, how can they get in touch with you guys individually? And also what again is that URL for the conference, should they want to buy tickets?
Carin: Yes. If you want to buy tickets for the conference, you can go to VOcationconference.com, and I am @CarinGilfry at -- on all the socials.
Jamie: And I am Jamie Muffett on Instagram and all that jazz. And you can find my website, JamieMuffettVO.com.
Anne: Thank you so much. And again guys, eVOcation tickets are on sale. Go get them, very important, BOSSes. I'd like to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor. ipDTL. You too can connect and network like BOSSes like we are today. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Carin: Bye. Thank you.
Jamie: Thank you.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Auditions are a voice actor’s work day in and day out. Anne & Pilar understand how important auditions are and how much time goes into crafting one that will catch the attention of casting directors. They discuss spending time with your copy, researching the product, adding smile to your slate, respecting the concept, and more…to get you auditioning like a total #VOBOSS.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am with my very special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar, how are you today?
Pilar: I'm exhausted.
Anne: You know what, I am too. And I have a question for you in regards to that, why?
Pilar: Yes?
Anne: Why Pilar?
Pilar: Why am I exhausted? Funny you should ask that, Anne, funny you should ask that. I was up until all hours doing my auditions.
Anne: Oh man. Why is it that every agent I know sends auditions at like 5:00 or 6:00 PM, when at the end of the day I am literally, I'm done. I'm like, I'm exhausted, my performance, and that's a big thing, Pilar, for me. I've got to have energy enough for performance and thought and acting, and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. And I'm like, oh no, because there's a decision, right? Do I do it at night when I'm tired and I've got to rev myself up or do I wait in the morning where I know I'm really good, but then my voice is like this, it's very low. Perhaps I can't get back down there again.
Pilar: Yes. This is really true. It's kind of six of one, half dozen of the other. I really look at auditions as it's, it's work.
Anne: Yes, it is work.
Pilar: You know, auditions are what we do. It is the work. A good friend of mine said audition is the work and acting is what I get to do once in a while.
Anne: It's our job.
Pilar: Auditions are the job. Exactly. And so I like to look at auditions as sometimes I go, oh yeah, right, time to make the donuts, time to do the auditions. But other times I really like to look at them as an adventure.
Anne: Yeah, like a puzzle. That's me. It's a challenge.
Pilar: What is the adventure? Where's the story that I'm going on? And this may sound odd, but I have learned so much about people and about different themes just from auditions. Because when they tell you, okay, go here on, look on YouTube. Here's this reference, look at this. And then you look at it and you go, oh, wow. I didn't know about this product. I didn't know this woman had done this. Some of the images that they send you are so heart-wrenching and, and I just go, wow. I would never have known that if I hadn't auditioned. So I always try to look at the positive. [sings] "You gotta accentuate the positive." And um, yeah. I know everything is a song for me. It's really ridiculous. It's just what it is. It's a song or it's a jingle.
Anne: Right? I think of you now every time I climb in my studio and I'm singing, and I'm like, yeah, I bet Pilar's singing right now. She's singing the audition. But --
Pilar: Yeah, pretty much.
Anne: -- I always like to go at auditions with a strategy, right?
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: I try to do something that I think that nobody else will do because in my head immediately, right, when I read the script, I'm hearing something that maybe I've heard on television before. I've heard a melody. And again, I want to make sure that I'm selected for the job. I want to get the gig. So I want to really figure out how I can be unique in that audition. And that's what most people say, what's a good strategy for auditioning, well, bring yourself to the party, do something unique, because casting directors and by the way, for anybody who's never cast before, I strongly encourage it. If you guys have an accountability group or you work out with peers, run your own casting. Because that will help you to understand what casting directors go through. I literally -- only takes one, one example, one test where you're listening to maybe a couple, even 20. Even if you just listen to like 20 auditions in a row for the same piece of copy, you're gonna find things that stand out to you and things that don't.
Pilar: It's so interesting because I had the opportunity, I had to cast, uh, something, but it wasn't for a voice at all. It was for some artwork. And I was very specific, very specific in the directions. And I had this one person who basically fought me every step of the way, because we could have that interaction, which you don't usually have when you're doing voiceover auditions. But he would ask me questions and I would answer them. And every time -- I would say, this is what I need, I need one sketch. And then he would go off on a tangent and present 10. And I was like, did you not read the directions? This is what I want --
Anne: But no.
Pilar: But no, exactly. And so it's -- I think the one thing that I learned from casting is casting directors, they are looking for you. They are looking for your voice, and it may not be in this particular audition or in the next one or in the next one or in the next one. But they are looking for you. So you need to present your best work and think of that.
Anne: And impress them.
Pilar: And impress them. Not by trying to please them, because that's another big trap that people fall into that I've fallen, fallen into so many times.
Anne: What a good point.
Pilar: It's not about what do they want? You know, it's like when they say we're looking for a Scarlett Johansson or Sigourney Weaver type, which I get all the time --
Anne: Yup, yup, me too.
Pilar: -- they're not looking for Scarlett Johansson. They're not looking for Sigourney. It's for an essence.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So watch her movies, watch their movies, listen to them. You don't need to ape them. You don't need to try to copy them exactly. But listen for their attitude. And you have to develop that attitude when you go into the booth to record. Now, everyone has a different strategy, right? Like some people print the auditions. Some people just underline, they bold. Some people just do it. Boom. They just go ahead and they go and they read, and they read a couple of times. Whatever it is that your process is, you want to try different things. You know? So you want to maybe read it a few times or maybe walk around with it. And I think in an earlier episode we mentioned singing.
Anne: Of course, sing it to get you into a different frame of mind.
Pilar: Exactly. Or do it like in workouts. When I do animation workouts, our teacher will say, okay, do it as if you were Cruella de Vil. And it's completely opposite, you know, and you're doing like the straight commercial copy for Charles Schwab. But when you get out of yourself --
Anne: As Cruella.
Pilar: -- as Cruella, and then all of a sudden, you dive into the copy again, and it's a completely different read.
Anne: Going back to the one point, which I think is almost possibly more important than, than your voice, and that is following directions.
Pilar: Yes. Oh my God, yes.
Anne: I wanted to revisit that. I wanted to add some commentary to that, understanding that I do some casting myself and also work with students. And so I have a number of people that I'm working with at any given time, so that when there are instructions on how to do something and perhaps where to put the audition, how to name the audition, and then there's a naming convention. Oh my goodness. That is so, so important because here's what happens if you're not following directions. First of all, I can't find your file. And if I can't find your file, I'll spend all that time, if I'm with you as a student, searching for that file, and that's your time that you've paid me for. So number one, you're kind of digging into your own time, if I cannot find the file that I've asked you to present.
And also if it's not named correctly, it's not going to show up correctly in my computer. So again, I'll be hunting for something and taking up time that you have paid me for during our session. And/or if I'm casting, you've just taken up my time. And just at that point, because I've already asked you to do something, and you didn't follow directions, then I really have -- I've got a taste, kind of not a good taste in my mouth of you as an actor. Right?
Pilar: Yeah, there's more of a possibility you're going to ignore the, the audition. Oh my God, fine. Whatever.
Anne: I'll toss it right out the door. Sometimes it really depends because I could have 200 people, 300 people vying for that. And the people that have not followed directions, right, if I can't get to that audition quickly enough, or if I've specifically asked for something, and you've not been able to show that you can follow directions, well then how do I know you're going to be able to be directed? And that is, I want to say one of the biggest things. I think when we're auditioning for our agents and we're doing the job of auditioning, we're imagining what it sounds like, and we're trying to please, like you were mentioning before. We're trying to please the director is, this is what it should sound like. But in reality, we have to showcase so much more than that. We have to showcase our acting ability because what you hear in the commercial, when it finally runs, may not be what you auditioned with. And trust me, I think more casting directors are looking for the actor and not the sound that's in your head that you're mimicking.
Pilar: Yup, yup, right.
Anne: So they want to see that you can act and whether or not they direct you to that same audition in the final spot, if you get it, that's neither here nor there really. So -- and I heard a very well-known agent the other day that said, what you hear on TV is not necessarily what got you the job.
Pilar: And something else, I mean, my agents are relentless when they say this, and they get this from the casting directors. I've been out here for almost three years now. And it amazes me that I still see the same language, which means people are not following directions. So when they say do not slate, we don't want anything. Don't start talking about yourself. I'm like, are you kidding me? You're sitting there talking about where you're from and you're trying to sit there and interact with the people who are going to hear it. Right?
Anne: That's people trying to make things unique. Right?
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: So, yeah. So you've got to be careful, when all of the good advice is make yourself unique, that doesn't mean making yourself unique when you're not following directions. If people say, please don't slate, don't slate. That's not going to make you unique if you slate. So follow those directions. And then when it comes to the actual copy, then yes, I would say, be creative, bring yourself to the party and showcase your acting skills. Because a good casting director is going to be able to hear that like from note one, from the very first word. They're going to be able to tell if you're a great actor.
And that is something that is attractive because when it comes time to actually laying down the spot, I mean, if you're lucky, they'll use your audition. But if they decide they want to lay down the spot later on and live direct you, they know that that's going to be a thing that they can do with you. They can direct you, you can be directable. So that is super important and follow all of those instructions. And you know what? Don't, don't follow the instructions because that way I'll have a better chance, right? That's the way I think, you know what, fine. You don't want to follow directions. Cool. Then my audition gets listened to and yours doesn't, so.
Pilar: And here's something that's really interesting -- exactly -- that I learned actually recently, when they say, be creative again, you label. You slate or you don't slate. Within the boundaries of the competition itself, when you're auditioning, you can go ahead and be creative, but here's something -- there's a caveat to that. There might be like ums and ahs. You know, you, you can do something straight for your first take and then do a second take. And you want to be careful that one is different from the other, because you don't want to send them almost the exact same take. 'Cause then they're like, well, what's the difference? So if you have something that you think you can offer to them that is going to make them slow down and go, oh, okay. She can do this now. Or he can do this. Great. If you don't, just give them one take.
I took a class the other day with a SAG-AFTRA foundation, SAG-AFTRA union members listening to this. There's some great free webinars. I heard this voice actor who's also casting director talk about -- he asked us, okay, who is the person who makes the decision? And there was a bunch of categories and the agent, the casting director, the producer. Nobody got the answer right, which was that the copywriter is the one who makes the decisions. Now that is open to interpretation. But I thought that that was really interesting.
Anne: Oh, that's very interesting. Well, the copywriter is hired to write that voice in his head. Right?
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: Represent the brand. And so I've always agreed. If you can get yourself into the copywriter's head and understand where they were, and you can figure that out and audition with that in mind, because it's going to fit nicely into the spot. 'Cause sometimes, you know, the spot, you know, has the video been completed. And the last thing they're doing is putting in the voice. Is there a scratch track already there? We don't know these things. Sometimes we have a storyboard. Sometimes we don't. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten an audition where there's absolutely nothing with it. There's no storyboard. I look at it and go, my goodness. What is that even about? And that's where your, your initial investigation into the brand, if you know what it is, can really help. Google is your friend, and that can really help you to understand the brand and how they are selling to their current clients, their potential clients. So that can help give you an idea.
But I love that, like, who is it that hires you? Because that's such an interesting perspective because is it the copywriter who wrote the piece of copy? Is it the casting director, right, who is casting the project, or is it the client? So let's send in our audition, right, to our agent. The agent then shortlists us or not. Right? I don't know. It depends. You don't necessarily know if that audition got sent out to five of you or maybe 250, although sometimes that's easy to tell with certain agents where it seems like it's a big cattle call. But sometimes your agent and, and I'm sure, depending on the agent, if they know you very well, they're going to send it out to just a few people that they know would be great. So they've already in a way cast, right, your agent. And even if they cast the net far and wide, when they get those auditions back, they're listening to them, they might shortlist and then give that list to the client to make a decision.
Pilar: Right. It could be interesting to know who it is that makes the decision. But really the reason I said that is because you have to respect the copy. Whether it's good or whether it's bad, whoever wrote it or whether -- that's your opinion. Somebody wrote that and somebody was hired professionally to professionally write that, and you have to respect their words.
Anne: And every word is there for a reason.
Pilar: Exactly. Because these people have worked on that thing for months and months and months and months.
Anne: And look at us, coming in our studio for like maybe a minute, looking at the copy, and then making a decision as to what it means.
Pilar: Exactly and saying, oh yeah, I'm going to change this because I don't really like that. It's like, no, no, that's not our job.
Anne: Or not even that is to interpret it, but to take some time. I know people that just come in and they're like, okay, I got it. They read it. And they haven't taken any time to really digest the copy or to even try to analyze and see what's the idea, are there innuendos, is there like a double entendre? You know, what is it actually talking about? What does the visual look like at this time? And even if you don't know, and you never do know, if you make some assumptions and try to really analyze it a little bit more than just a few seconds, that's going to really help change your read.
Pilar: Yeah. Because the voice is going to give a life to what you're seeing if it's a TV spot, for example. If it's radio, your voice is everything. Your voice has to be able to portray all these things. It's our job as voice actors to really take the time and note, what is the story we're telling? What is the beginning, middle and end? Because every piece of copy really, it's like a little one act play. And it, whether it's 15 seconds or it's a 10-page narration, there is a story. And it's our job to sift through that and to make our decisions, how to navigate that. And also by the way, the audition that you're given is usually not the audition that you're going to be doing. Sometimes it's going to be the copy, but sometimes it's not going to be the final thing. 'Cause it'll go through a whole bunch of other rewrites and by the time you get to actually record it.
And so a lot of the times, if you're not careful, you can fall into traps. There are crumbs showing you the way. But if you sit there and you say, oh yeah, I'm just going to do the copy. I'm going to get into the booth and just read it, and it'll be great, you're going to fall into those traps. So that's another reason why we have to take our time with the copy, underline, try a different ways, see where the meanings are, see where those little trapdoors are.
Anne: Tell me about the traps, expand on those traps. Like you just want to fall into a particular melody of what you think it should sound like versus there's actually a meaning behind the few words --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- right, that you haven't bothered to really investigate or to analyze.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: So I have a Spanish audition coming up, and I have to have an accent where it's sort of the equivalent of like a Southern accent.
Anne: Interesting. Let's actually talk about that because I mean, obviously as a bilingual voiceover actor, there's lots of different opportunities that you have, if it's going to be English speaking or Spanish speaking, or maybe it's going to be cast for both. Let's talk a little bit about your auditioning techniques for that. Are the casting specs always for, I need a Spanish talent or are they more like we need an English that has a Spanish accent? Or what are you finding in the casting specs, first of all, that call for bilingual talent?
Pilar: You know, it varies. Most of the times it's divided. So you're either going to get Spanish or you're going to get, here's the Spanish copy. But once in a while you will get a bilingual audition. So it's the copy in English and in Spanish.
Anne: So you would get cast for the same thing in both languages, right?
Pilar: Yep, yep, absolutely. And that doesn't happen very often, but it's happening more and more that a client wants to hear the same voice in both languages. And I don't know if this happens to all bilingual voice artists, but it's, it's just really funny. It's a totally different sensibility, when you read a commercial in English and you read the words in Spanish, it just is, the musicality is different. The rhythm is different, the attitude is different. And I can't really explain why that is. I just know it.
Anne: Well, you have to know the culture, I think, right?
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: I mean, to be a, an effective bilingual talent, right? There has to be some native speaking there or growing up in a particular region or whatever other language that is. I would imagine more and more casting directors are looking for native speakers so that they can probably know that about the demographic.
Pilar: Yeah, because you would think that a translation would be the same, but it's not the same thing. So you really have to kind of get into the character of this person who speaks Spanish versus the person who speaks English. And it's just a little, kind of a little switch, but there's a flavor to each piece of copy. So you have to bring your personality, even if it's in a different language to that copy.
Anne: I would imagine that if they're having you do both English and Spanish, there might be some timing issues just because of the language difference. Like let's say it's a 30-second spot or something like that. And they're trying to have the same message, but yet the translation usually it takes a whole lot longer than an English version, let's say. And so do you run into issues like that where they have to re-write the copy or cut some of the copy for the other language or both languages?
Pilar: Well, that's not my job --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- to do that. So I try to stay away from that. I used to be very, very concerned about the timing 'cause I'd be like, oh my gosh, this is -- because Spanish, it always takes three words to say the same thing in English, uh, for one word. So now I don't really worry about that as much. And if I go over, I go over, and again, it's just an audition.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: If they're being very specific, which I have had as well, you have to fit it into 30 seconds, I try to speed it up as much as possible before I sound like a chipmunk. And then I'll, you know, because I mean, sometimes I do and it's just kind of crazy. And I'll just tell my agent.
Anne: That's like me in automotive. Right? Because they always throw in like so many more words than I can do in this 15 or 30-second. And so --
Pilar: Especially the legal, especially the legal.
Anne: Well, by the time you get all the words in there, you have no room for emotion or nuance, you know, and it's just --
Pilar: Or breath.
Anne: Or breath, exactly. So you're pretty much just like, blablblabla, you know, and that's it, which is always crazy to me. But so for the majority then let's say if your auditions, you're getting them in maybe English with an accent, or you're getting just a particular style of Spanish that you're auditioning for?
Pilar: You know, I get everything. And it's really funny. 'Cause when I go and I do spots, because I've, I've done, let's say back to back English spot and Spanish spot. So then we'll be recording. We'll do the English spot, we'll do the Spanish spot and then they'll come back and they'll say, can you do the English spot with a little bit of an accent? And I'm like, really? And I'm like, okay, great, sure. You want that? It kind of depends. So if they ask for it, I do give them a little bit of an accent because you know, my mother has an accent. Pretty much all my relatives have accents. So I can just go to that little voice bank for that.
Anne: So are you slating in an accent or in Spanish?
Pilar: Only when the, the entire copy is in Spanish do I slate as Pilar Uribe, instead of Pilar You-ribe. When it's obviously something that they want some Spanish for -- like, I do a lot of work for spots that speak English, but they have sprinklings of, of words. So they need somebody who knows how to say those words in Spanish. So I'll always slate in my just, you know, Pilar Uribe. But for a Spanish speaking audition where only Spanish is spoken, I do say my name in Spanish.
'Cause I know that the person listening is, if they're not a native speaker, they speak it fluently.
Anne: Right, right, right.
Pilar: So they're going to understand what I'm saying. 'Cause if I say Pilar Uribe, most of the people are going to go, huh?
Anne: Right, right. Actually, when I used to work at, um, in radio at NPR in Miami, they would say, no, no, we want you to speak. We want you to say your name the way you say it. And I was like, oh, okay. That's kind of a switch, because I always say, you know, if I try to say Pi-lar Uribe, people still don't get it. So I always just say, Pilar You-ribe. And I get Mylar, people call me Laura. And you know, it's not a common word, Pilar, but for auditions, yeah. You can get away with saying your name. And in fact, when you slate, something that I like to do is I like to smile a little bit and do a slight shrug of my shoulders. So I go, so one way, for example, I'll say my name one way, Pilar Uribe, two Pilar Uribe, Pilar Uribe. So I just smiled a little bit and I shrugged my shoulders and that completely changes the attitude.
Anne: Yep, sure does. Sure does.
Pilar: Especially when you're doing a serious commercial copy or narration or a video game, it just kind of gives them, it shows them a little split second personality.
Anne: A little bit of your personality. Yep, exactly. And I think that's important. It's the first words that they hear, so.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Those are great tips, Pilar. Wow. We could probably go on about auditioning for like a whole other episode.
Pilar: We could.
Anne: Yeah, we could. Great tips. Thanks so much. Fantastic, BOSSes. So next time you audition, make sure you give it a little bit of time before you rush in there and start voicing everything. Do some research, give a shrug, have a little bit of a smile in your slate. Make sure you follow those directions. BOSSes, I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to a brand new sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care. This is a chance to use your voice to make an immediate difference and give back to the communities that give to you. You can find out more by visiting 100voiceswhocare.org.
Pilar: Ooh, I'm going to check that out. 100voiceswhocare.org.
Anne: Yup. So this is a great way to make a difference without having to make a huge commitment. So you guys, check it out, make sure to check that out. Also big shout out to sponsor ipDTL. You too can connect a network like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Go forth and do all the wonderful auditions, and we'll see you next week. Thanks so much. Bye.
Pilar: Hasta la vista, BOSSes.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Although we wish it were true, companies don’t need VO produced 365 days a year. So what do you do when things are slow? Anne & Pilar have learned that the ebb and flow is all part of the biz. The amount of auditions you receive is not indicative of your worth, but it does feel good to be busy. Filling your time with classes, coaching, and market research during down time can prepare you for when the busy season comes again, but slow days can also be times to relax + restore your hard working voice, mind, and body like a true #VOBOSS.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am super excited to be back with special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Hey Pilar. How are you today?
Pilar: I am good, Anne, and it's, uh, it's a little slow today.
Anne: Yeah. You know what? That happens in our industry. We have days where, gosh, every time I turn around, there's something else to do. And I love those days. They're crazy days. But then there are days when it's slow. Back in the early days, Pilar, I used to like question, oh my God is what's happening? Like, should I get out of the industry? Like I haven't heard from any of my clients. I didn't book any gigs today. So what do I even do? So that would be a good topic for discussion today.
Pilar: It's funny because I think that voice actors tend to equate their worth with the amount of auditions they get, which has absolutely nothing to do with them.
Anne: auditions and or jobs too. So don't forget about that. Right? 'Cause they're like, oh my God, it's been slow. I haven't, I didn't book anything. I didn't get any auditions. What am I doing wrong?
Pilar: Exactly. And it generally, it has nothing to do with you. There are things that you can do of course, but just remember that it's not necessarily a reflection on your ability. It's just sometimes it's the wave of what the market is doing.
Anne: Yeah. The wave of the market.
Pilar: I mean, there, there have been so many waves when people didn't know what was happening. And so clients and companies are still trying to figure out where to put their advertising dollars, and then that's when you see, well, what's happening? Why isn't, why isn't this coming in?
Anne: I know and then you immediately blame it on yourself.
Pilar: Immediately. And that's so that's so unhealthy.
Anne: Yeah. It's a good thing to remember. I tell people because we do our BOSS advertising, the BOSS Blast, and a lot of times it really comes down to like what you said about the market. It is so true. We are driven by the market, right? When the market needs voiceover, they buy, not that they're not going to completely not need voiceover any given day, but there are waves. And it's always good to remember that if you're getting auditions, or you're submitting to any particular clients, corporate clients, if you're doing your own marketing, a lot of times any one particular company doesn't need a voiceover necessarily every single day.
They're advertising. I don't really know one company that's advertising every single day, like hiring a voice talent. Sure, they're advertising, but it might be print. It might be email. It might be social media. They may not always be hiring a voiceover talent every single day. So remember when you send that email or that advertisement or that email for your services, remember that not every company has a new commercial every day or has a new e-learning module to do today. And that has a lot to do with offers that may come by. It just may be a whole timing issue.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. And so when those days are slow --
Anne: What do we do?
Pilar: What do we do, exactly. And so one of the things that you can do is look at the business of where you are in your voiceover career. Are you sending out emails? Are you --
Anne: What's your marketing plan?
Pilar: What's your marketing plan? Are you being top of mind for certain people, without being a stalker, 'cause that's something that we have to be really aware of. If you've had a client that you worked with, let's say a year ago, and you haven't heard anything or you got a new demo and you can say, hey, I just did a spot and I have a new demo. There's certain things that you can do during the slow time, during the let's say holiday times or the winter or the summer months. I was just thinking about this one very specific, slow time of the year is let's say Christmas through New Year's --
Anne: Yup, yup.
Pilar: -- because nobody's thinking about that. Everybody's dealing with their Christmas presents or their Hanukkah or whatever they're getting into.
Anne: Well, the majority.
Pilar: The majority, true. If you're not religious, that's fine too.
Anne: Yeah. International clients might be working. So there is that.
Pilar: Right.
Anne: Yeah. But generally slower.
Pilar: It's generally slower because people don't have that. They're getting together with their families. They're planning trips. They're not necessarily thinking about the office work, and it's also end of year. So everybody's wrapping up their financial business.
Anne: Well, yeah, and anything that is needed for the new year, or to end the year for the holiday, for example, any holiday advertising, hopefully they've taken care of that months before. Right? And so during that end of the year, they're hopefully planning for what's happening, you know, in the beginning of the following year.
Pilar: Right. But they're not concerned with, oh, I need to hire this. They're not necessarily as concerned as they would be let's say in a heavier year for that particular company, that particular business. So it's a great opportunity to sit there and look at your plans.
Anne: Absolutely, absolutely. Look at where you are right now in your career and what can you do to grow? It's the most opportune time to market yourself or figure out, if you're not marketing yourself, how you can start or how you can market your better.
Pilar: Exactly. So what can you do, let's say, in those slow months? Well, you can take a class, you can work on your craft. You can look at your emails from people you've done business with, people you want to do business with, do a little bit of research. Basically we are so lucky that we live in this day and age of the Internet, because all we have to do is Google a company and see what their practices are. You can see that the health and the range of a company you're going after, you know, XYZ company, say, well, what is it that they're, they're going after? What are their spots like? What are their radio spots like? What are their TV ads? What is their marketing push, and see what could be interesting for you, let's say if you're, if you're looking at a specific company.
And then when you're looking at your own stuff, everyone has a different style. Some people are really organized. Some people are not. People have, you know, little tabs that they do. They have spreadsheets. Some people are fly by night. I'm a little bit of both. I like to make lists, but I'm not necessarily a spreadsheet kind of gal. So I'll sit there and look at -- I have a very specific list where I'll look at, you know, who have I heard from? Who have I not heard?
Anne: I think it's a really good time to, if you don't have a CRM or if you either invest in a CRM or take a look at your list of clients that you do have. I have a couple of different CRMs that I work with, one of them specifically because I do a marketing program, the BOSS Blast for other clients. So I am looking at that CRM and finding out, when is the last time I contacted this person, if they're not on the list to get them on that list. And I love what you were talking about in terms of researching companies that you might want to try to reach out to and contact and investigate like what's their market like? What are their new products? What is their form of reaching out to potential clients?
That's one of the things that I always tell my students to do is, hey, if you want to be aligned with a company, go check out their website, sign up for their mailing list. I know I'm like, I have so much email. This is why I have like 900,000 emails that are unread, but I sign up for a lot of company email lists so that I can find out how they are marketing. And this is part of my ongoing research anyway, to make sure that I'm current and relevant in the corporate realm of things, because I do a lot of corporate narration. But that also is a very good reference for commercials as well, because companies have products, and they advertise those products. So not just for corporate narrations but for commercials and basically all sorts of voiceover applications for researching companies and finding out who they're reaching out to. Maybe they're now reaching out to a younger demographic. So what does that mean for you?
So keeping that research kind of at your fingertips can really help you for when you're auditioning starts picking back up or your jobs start picking back up because you're going to be really relevant and current with trends. And I think that that's so very important that you do that, especially if you're in the middle of your career, and you may not be actively coaching with anyone right now. It's something that I do almost on a daily basis. It's market research to find out what are the trends, what are, what's getting hired? How many people that I see posting on Facebook or that are just starting off that say they don't watch commercials. Oh my goodness, no. You have to watch commercials. That's like your homework.
Pilar: Yeah. I think that that is just such a goldmine that people I don't think realize. And that's part of your homework. That's, as much as it is doing research on a company, it's being aware of like big events throughout the year.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: Like the Olympics.
Anne: Yeah. Cultural impact.
Pilar: Like the Super Bowl. Like the Oscars, all those commercials that come on, inform us what the industries are interested in right now.
Anne: And why am I watching the Super Bowl mostly this year? For the commercials?
Pilar: Exactly. I don't want to downplay the, the actual Super Bowl --
Anne: Oh no, I'm not downplaying, but I -- look, if your team isn't in the Super Bowl, of course. Do you know what I mean? It's not, I'm not saying I'm not watching the Super Bowl for the Super Bowl, but I also, as much as I watch the Super Bowl for the Super Bowl, I watch it for the commercials.
Pilar: Exactly. And it's so interesting when there's a big event going on, you're going to see the different patterns. Like for example, if you're watching the Olympics or any Olympics or any big event, whether it's the Emmys, or Country Music Awards --
Anne: Advertising changes, yeah.
Pilar: -- they are focused. They have a very, very specific demographic that they're aiming for. So it's really key as a voiceover actor to see who are they aiming for and what is it that they want, and then contributing as part of that. Because if you don't put yourself in that whole part of the process, then you're missing out on a lot. So it's really important when you do have time to think of yourself as one of the cogs in the wheel that's getting this done as you are, you're planning your financial and your email marketing throughout the year.
Anne: And speaking of spending time on yourself, right, while things are slow, you can absolutely take classes. There are so many wonderful opportunities out there for educating yourself and furthering your performance, furthering your, your business acumen, all types of classes that you can take, acting classes. You know, improv, we were just talking, we had a whole episode on improv, which was phenomenal. But yeah, doing something that can help you to really get your performance kicked up a notch so that you're ready for when those auditions do come around again.
Pilar: Yeah. And even, even something as simple as yoga, tai chi, centering yourself, all of that is so important because that just adds, it just gives you colors and flavors. So when you go and you do an audition, it's basically like having your own proper tools to be able to stand in front of the booth when the time comes. Because for example, this has happened to me over and over again, where I'll get an audition the night before it's due the next day, you have to come up with this accent, or you have know about this product. And I'm like, I don't know about this product.
So for me, like what you're doing in terms of looking at all those emails, all the marketing, seeing how these companies work, it basically for our general knowledge, it's always, it's always important to be sort of on the pulse of what's happening. Because when the time comes and you have that audition, you have to be able to just produce it, just like that, snap. So whatever it is, whether it's a new accent or it's a new product, or it's a new idea, and you're like, okay, what is this? So that, you know, you quickly have to Google, you want to be Googling and you want to be interested and looking at the world, because that's going to help you when you're sitting there by yourself, in the booth going, what is this?
Anne: Oh, yes. Look at the, I like that. Look at while you're sitting there waiting, look at the world. That's such a cool concept though. Really, get out there and look at the world. And you know, what I really love too is if you're not watching television and listening to those commercials, right, which gives you a nice, I think, pulse on trends in voiceover coming up and as they are, you know, you can also go to a really great resource on the web, like YouTube or ispotTV is amazing if you want to go check out commercials. And you know what's interesting, really understanding and really listening. You know, how many times I've gone to, I spot and you listen to a commercial. You're like, okay, in my head, I hear it this way.
But in reality, if you watch it, and I noticed that you had mentioned this before is to listen with no image, right? Don't look at it, but just listen to the voiceover. And I think that's a really, really great tip. I want you to just listen to the commercial and listen to the voiceover because there's so many times where we think we hear something, but yet when you really sit back and listen without any visual, without anything else that's disrupting your focus, you're going to be able to hear those nuances. And those nuances are so, so important. A lot of times with students, I'll be like, okay, go check out this YouTube. And I don't want you to watch it. I want you to just listen to the voice and how the notes are happening and the nuances and the emotion as this piece progresses. Listen to the nuances of the voice and how they are responding and telling the story and emoting and tugging at our heart strings. That I think is so, so important. That alone, if you spent a certain amount of time per day just doing that I think would really help your performance.
Pilar: Yup. You would start knowing each company that advertises, they do have a signature. It's really subtle, but then you start learning what each company's signature is. And that's so important when you go into the booth because you know, when we go into the booth, we get a spot at 6:00, and everything's, it's always rushed. But if we take the time, when things are a little slower, and we're doing this on a daily basis -- again, I mean, I'm not saying spend all day watching TV, but you spend 10 minutes --
Anne: Consider it market research.
Pilar: -- let's say a couple times a day in market research, it's for your own benefit.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: Something that I, I really like doing, Anne, and I do this periodically is that I go over my old conference or class notes. How many times have you opened a book and go, oh yeah. I went to this class.
Anne: That was a good class. I remember that. Yup.
Pilar: Do I remember anything about it? No, probably not. But when I go and I look at my notes, I go, oh yeah, that, they made a really good point. That's really important. And I think that it's so important generally when you take a class, whatever it is. And let's say you write notes, go look at your notes immediately after you've taken the class, and then look at them again one week later. Because here's the thing about learning. You know, this, 'cause you have been an educator for such a long time. The very first time we get something or we hear it, we may not necessarily get it fully.
Anne: Yeah. Get 100% of it. Yep.
Pilar: So to maybe see it again, we need to --
Anne: Go back, review.
Pilar: -- read it again. We need to explain it to somebody because that's when it really sinks in.
Anne: Sure, if you have to teach -- that's so funny that you mentioned that because one of the things that I used to do when I was a teacher in front of the class was we would have project days where the students would propose to me something that they wanted to do for their grade, like a project. And so a lot of times I would say, all right, if you want to learn this, then I want you to teach it to me, teach it back to me. So that's a really great tip there is to go back and review because you'll, you'll get all those nuances that you might've missed the first time. It's like watching a great movie, right? When you watch it a second, third, fourth time, you get all the other nuances that you miss the first time. And that I think is a great analogy to reviewing your notes. And even if you have a recording of the session, I get a lot of conferences where I get the recordings, which I can look at later.
Now how many times have you ordered a course online and then you forgot about it. Right? I actually have multiple courses. I actually have a bookmark of places to go where I've bought courses that I need to go and take, or I need to go back and listen again. And so I'm going to say probably that's going to be one of the biggest, best tips that we can give, because I know it's not just me that's kind of addicted once in a while of I want to learn this, let me buy this course. And then I promptly make a log-in, a password, and then I forgot about it until three months later. And then I'm like, oh wait, I bought that course. Let me go and actually take it. So that's a perfect thing to do when things are slow, make sure you have a place -- you know, I just have a bookmark of, of courses. And so it just reminds me to go back and revisit those courses again and again, and get my money's worth.
Pilar: And get your money's worth, but also for me, it's always about how can I use it in the booth because it's that moment -- you know, VO BOSSes, I know you faced this. You're sitting in your booth and you're going, I don't know how to relate to this copy, or I'm tired. I want to go to bed. I'm falling asleep, but you have to push through because it's due at a certain hour. So it's, it's basically having those tools. And that's why it's so important to listen over and over to these things again, because they're all there to help you give your best performance in the booth, whether you're auditioning or whether you're working, we talk a lot about auditioning, but then you get the job, then what you do? So you, you have to be able to have all those tools at your disposal. So having that downtime enables us to be able to kind of just sort of hone them. It's kind of like, you know, filing your nails.
Anne: You know what's so interesting too? You know what else you can do in your downtime?
Pilar: Yeah?
Anne: You can actually like take some downtime.
Pilar: This is very true.
Anne: That is actually going to -- like for me, like I'm working, working, working, working, working, and then all of a sudden, whoa. Now what? Actually, like, I don't know, take a nap, go play with your fur babies, watch a great movie. I always love to watch good movies to get inspired, listen to great commercials, that sort of thing. I watch the Dodo videos, which are all about animals, you know, being saved and helped and goodness with animals. And that always just gets me emotionally, and it makes me happy. And believe it or not, that helps my performance in the booth. So yeah, take some actual time for yourself as well, because it's important for you to refresh. Whatever, whatever it takes for you to feel good, go for a run, get on the treadmill, go floating, so many things, right, that can really just help you refresh and be -- live in the moment. You know, spend time with your family, go on a vacation.
Pilar: And also it's knowing that slow time is not a reflection on your performance or your ability or anything, any of that.
Anne: Right. Unless that slow time is extended like for six months or so. I mean, you, you want to make sure that that slow time -- but you know, I'll tell you what, a few days here and there a week, you know, it's, it's very, very common. So I remember those first in my career, first of all, if you can stick out your career, right, and you're in it for the long haul, you'll start to learn that these ebbs and flows are normal, and you'll get more used to them. You'll get better at, I think, working through them. But in the beginning, guys, it's okay. It happens. I know so many people that will come to me, like, I don't know, what am I doing wrong? It's just slow. And I'm like, well, you know, it's been a little bit slow. So, you know, give yourself some grace, right? And in the meantime, here's what you can do.
The first thing is always educate, educate, educate, right? Educate yourself. Either build a CRM, educate yourself about your clients, educate yourself about the market, what's trending, take a class. Right? All of the things that we've already talked about, work on your marketing that can help you to educate and grow. It's just the best thing that you can do, whatever you can do to grow. Even if that means taking some time off, right? To relax and get your mental health back because it's so delicate, I think, in the beginning for people who are not used to this industry, right? It's very much a mental game, very much a mental game of confidence. And you need to know that it's okay, that you will have slow days, and you need to be able to do what you can to push through them, to build up your confidence, to build up your performance, do whatever you can to grow, grow, grow. And don't let it, you know, don't let the mind start to play tricks on you.
Pilar: Something, I think that's also really important is reaching out for help.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: Because for years I didn't have a voice over agent in Miami. I just basically found the jobs by myself. I had an on-camera agent, but I didn't have a voiceover agent. So when I came to Los Angeles, I got a voiceover agent really quickly. And then I noticed that I, I worked and worked and worked on my auditions, and I started thinking, oh my gosh, what's, what's wrong? So I actually reached out to my agents and I said, okay, I'm not booking, what do I do?
Anne: What a great idea.
Pilar: And so they were so helpful, and they each had just one or two lines. I mean, you know, they're so busy. It's not like they have a whole bunch of time, but they suggested I get with a few coaches. I had actually gone to one or two that they mentioned, but then I went to some others. They had some really good, it's very short sentences of critiques. And I just took that. And I was like, okay, great. And I'm going to work on it.
Anne: Yeah, I love that.
Pilar: And I worked on it.
Anne: I love that you reached out to your agents. I think people tend to forget that it is a two-way street. You guys are partners. And you know, I think it's wonderful. If your agent can take a moment and give you feedback. And I think any good agent will do that to help you, because you guys are partners. I mean, you help them make money. They help promote you. So I think that it's, it's important that you do reach out for help. And you know what, reach out for help from your peers too. I think peer groups can really help when things get tough --
Pilar: People that you trust, people that you trust.
Anne: People that you trust, and when you get down on yourself or maybe you're, you're lacking confidence, a group like that can help. It's one of the reasons why I put together the VO Peeps group so long ago. We were also isolated and it was to have a community which we could lift each other up. And I think that that is, that is absolutely important, when things get slow and you start silently going, oh my God, do I even belong in this industry? That's time to reach out, you know, reach out to your community, reach out for help. We're all here for you. BOSSes. We're here for you. So you can always reach out and come to us for encouragement, confidence to lift each other up.
Pilar: And if you don't see something like that in your community, go ahead and start one.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Because for example, I, I, one day I just kind of lucked into this play reading class. They read new plays. It's every couple of weeks. And I go and I read. They give me a role and I read. Is there any monetary gain? No. Do I get a lot out of it? I get to read out loud. That's just priceless. I'm going to start another new reading accountability class.
Anne: Yeah. I love that. I love that.
Pilar: Just to read. D
Anne: Don't let your auditions be your practice ground. Do you know what I mean?
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: Like I think that, you -- remember, your auditions or your work so glad you brought that up because you know, like I tell my students every day -- I give them enough homework, you know, I just like, I don't want you to be bored ever. You need to do something every single day that is voiceover related, and you need to practice. I think if you're at a certain level, it's wonderful to have that support of the community and to be able to work out and perform in front of each other. Be careful because depending on the group, you want to make sure you have somebody that has some experience in there that can give you some critique that is valuable to you. I think if there's a ton of, you know, maybe beginners in the peer group, it may not be as effective as it could be with somebody that has some experience in casting or directing. But it is so very valuable for you to practice that read every day. And don't let that be on your auditions. Really.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: If you can spend 20 minutes a day just reading scripts, I think that that really, really helps, and also working out, it's another, again, another reason why I have VO Peeps, and we have workouts every month. We have a couple of different workouts every month. It's just so, so valuable to keeping those, those skills honed, and you know, and in check. So.
Pilar: And I will give a tip that I think is probably the most important tip that I will give. If you have a cat, you can read to him.
Anne: I love it. I love it. Yes. You can read to your fur babies. And your babies.
Pilar: I just did that last night. I'm preparing a monologue for an audition. And I was like, you know what? He's right there. What the heck, why not?
Anne: They're our biggest supporters.
Pilar: They are.
Anne: What a great conversation, Pilar. Great tips. Thank you so much. I'm excited. So remember guys, when things are slow, they don't have to be slow. You've got a lot of, you've got a lot of stuff to do. There's a lot of alternatives here.
Pilar: You have a lot of homework.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: That's important.
Anne: There you go. So I would like to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, 100 Voices Who Care. This is a unique chance, guys, for you to use your voice and make a difference and give back to the communities that give to you. You can visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. Also love to give a great, big shout-out to our long-time sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect, and network like BOSSes like Pilar and I. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. We'll see you next week.
Pilar: I'm so glad we had this time together.
Anne: Good bye, goodbye.
Pilar: Goodbye.
Anne: Bye, guys.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
As a voice actor, you are often given the power (and burden) of setting your own rates. Now, where to begin? Anne & Pilar have been through taking low paying gigs, walking away from jobs, and even getting their way in financial negotiations. It all comes down to knowing your worth. Tune in to learn how to navigate price setting, negotiating with clients, finding strength in community, and getting paid as much as you are worth like a #VOBOSS.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and with me today is very, very special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar!
Pilar: Aloha.
Anne: Hello, how are you?
Pilar: I'm doing great today. And how are you doing?
Anne: I am doing good. I'm doing really good. Except, ugh, I had a client that I had to let go the other day.
Pilar: Why?
Anne: Well, it was a new client that we were in a negotiation phase, and they wanted to kind of lowball me on a job. And it just turned out that what they wanted to pay, what their budget was, just did not align with where I am. And I was really standing tall and standing by what I'm worth. And I think that's a very valuable lesson that we should talk about for the BOSSes today is to know your worth. It is so very important. It's so hard to say no, to walk away from a client. Like it's terrifying I think for anybody starting out in the industry, right, to give up on an opportunity, especially when you felt like, well, I'm just getting started. I need the experience.
Pilar: I wish I had known you when I was getting started, because I can't tell you how many times that happened to me. And it's interesting that you bring this up, Anne, because a lot of the times when we are starting out or let's say, you know, we've worked -- I did a lot of dubbing where the rates were standardized in Miami.
Anne: So you didn't negotiate it. They were just, this is what we're paying you.
Pilar: Exactly. So it's like, take it or leave it. And I was like, okay. But I think that voice actors sometimes think that there's something wrong with them because they don't know how to negotiate. And I think it's so important because this is such an industry where there is no standard set of -- there is a standard set of rates, yes, for the industry, but everybody offers a different price. So it really is up to you, the voice actor to figure out what it is that you are worth and to know how to negotiate. And so it's a skill that's learned. You may go into it, not knowing how to negotiate, but that doesn't make you any less of a voice actor. It's just, it's, it's a skill that has to be learned and it takes time. It's not something that happens immediately.
Anne: It does. I think it's a skill that takes a little bit of practice. And I think you just have to be courageous. You have to be brave. And first of all, I want to just separate out, if you have an agent, the agent's job is to negotiate on your behalf, which is amazing. I love my agents who negotiate on my behalf. That's what they do. They get the work and then they negotiate the best price for us. And they're looking out for our best interests, hopefully for the most part, right? They're looking out for us getting the best price for who we are so they know what we're worth.
So think about it. If you're put in a position where you are negotiating, and this job may not have come through an agent and you're got somebody that's inquiring on your website, I'd like to use your voice for this particular job, how much, that's where you have to stand firm in understanding that you are worthy of a fair market price, and a great place to go find out a baseline of rates is of course the GVAA, right? Who doesn't love the GVAA rate guide. There's also Gravy for the Brain. They have some good international rates there and SAG-AFTRA too.
Pilar: SAG by the Numbers is the website. And I think that going to those different places gives you a gauge. So that will give you the confidence to be able to say, okay, this is how much I can command. Instead of taking the number out of a hat or allowing somebody to steam roll you.
Anne: Yeah. It gives you a baseline. And I think too, the first time you say no, and then you're terrified, right, when you say no, or you walk away, and you're like, oh my gosh, I'll never get work in this town again. Because I've either made an assumption that is too large of a number, and everybody's laughing at me now because they're like, no, I can't pay that number -- that is part of the negotiation game, really. And you have to know that even if you're a beginner, you deserve as much as I do. I think we all deserve as much as the next person in terms of rates. Because there's so many new performers or new businesses, new voiceover artists that come to the game and say, well, I don't have the experience.
You're not being hired for your experience. As a matter of fact, you're being hired for your voice and your performance. And your voice is just as worthy as my voice. So don't feel as though you cannot charge the same rate as I can. And I'm a big proponent of that because if you're not, and you're trying to undercut because you either feel you're not worthy, or maybe you just want to get the job, that doesn't do any favors to the industry either, bidding low. Because in reality, it's a market perception. I want to always bring it back to lipsticks or shoes. I have certain brands that I love, and I spend money for those brands. Let's say, maybe not lipstick or shoes, but yes, hair, but let's maybe talk tech, right? My Apple computer, my Apple iPhone. I buy brands and I pay the money. I pay the money.
And so think of your voiceover business, the same way. I used to call myself Tiffany's. I don't go on sale. And I don't advertise my brand to be cheap. So anybody out here, you can do the very same. Now I'm not going to price myself out of, you know, I'm not going to be crazy high or anything, but that's where the rate guides come in handy. Right? You get a good baseline, and you take the chance to negotiate with a client. And most of the time, the best question that you can ask for this when you're starting in negotiation is do you have a budget? Okay? So if you're putting the position where they're asking you, how much would it cost? The best question to ask is, do you have a budget? Because sometimes their budget is a whole lot more than you thought. Um, that's happened to me multiple times. Well, I can't go over a $1000. Okay. I'll take that for a two-minute medical narration read. That's awesome. Yeah. I think I can make that work. That's what I've been known to say.
And so it's a rule in negotiation that the person who mentions money first is usually the one that loses. So, so, there you go. So always have the question in the back of your head to ask if there is a budget. And then after that, if there is no budget, then go ahead and bid high or on the higher side of the range. Usually the rate guides, right, if you've looked at them, have ranges. Like a five minute corporate read could be $350 to $550 or whatever that is. Bid on the higher end. Because when you're starting a negotiation start high, because then the only place to go is not necessarily higher. Client's not going to say, oh no, let me pay you $800 instead of $500. Usually they're going to negotiate down. So pick the higher number that doesn't price you out of the competition like crazy and stand true to that. Because honestly, Apple doesn't care about, do you know what I mean? They're like your new iPhone is $2,000 or whatever it is, right? It's the price is that. And we choose to accept it or not. And so you as a business, same kind of thing.
Pilar: Yeah. 'Cause it's like, when you go in and you buy a dress, and they tell you it's $100 or $500, you're not going to go and say, oh, can I buy $50 for the sleeve? No.
Anne: Can I haggle that price? You might be able to haggle the price in some places, but not most stores that are retail.
Pilar: Generally it's like, they're not going to sit there and give you half a dress because you're not going to --
Anne: At a garage sale maybe.
Pilar: Maybe.
Anne: Or consignment. You can negotiate those things down, but --
Pilar: We can start a trend, sleeves, just buying the sleeves. Yeah. But that's generally not going to happen.
Anne: I'll take just the sleeve, please.
Pilar: Exactly. Something, I think that's important though to mention is knowing your worth, yes, but also knowing your worth as to where you are and not trying to oversell yourself because I've seen this happen over and over where somebody throws out a number and then it turns out that they don't have a professional recording studio, for example. So there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, I know, I do know people who've actually worked with their USB mics. Great. So you need to be able to show your potential client, this is my studio. This is what my studio looks like. This is what my noise floor is. This is what my software is, everything. And then that way they know what they're dealing with instead of sort of projecting something that might not be true.
Anne: I agree. But I feel that before you're in that position, right, before you're in the position of actually negotiating a job, you're going to make sure, hopefully, that you have a studio that can create great audio. But I totally agree with you there. If you're just starting out and you haven't had anybody evaluate that, that's one thing I think that's important, especially now, since the pandemic. We're all expected to have a quality space where we can generate great audio from. So yeah. Very important. Very important for you guys to know that.
And yeah, you're right. There's that argument that demos don't necessarily showcase what your sound is like from the booth. I've actually known people to put sound files on their website. Here's what my booth sounds like, as kind of a precursor. And I actually think that's not a bad idea. I don't have it on my own website right now, but I actually thought about, here's a noise floor or here's a, here's a quick sample from my booth so you know what you're getting.
Pilar: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's really important to show who you are, because just like when you walk into a store, you're seeing what the ground is like, the arrangement of the clothing, and the register, is the floor clean. So you want to be able to, since you are projecting a business out onto the world stage of voiceover, because you don't know who it's going to be reaching, you know, you want to have your office in order. And then that, that makes it just that much easier to be able to negotiate and to stand up for yourself.
Anne: The presentation of a professional. I love that. Because they want to know that they're dealing with a business, right, that takes it seriously. Gosh, that brings up a whole other whole other side of things. So too like your website, right, you should have a domain name that is yourbusiness.com, anneganguzza.com. And that storefront should absolutely showcase who you are to the world professionally. A lot of times when I go to buy a product, right, online -- isn't that what we do all the time?
Pilar: We Google people, we Google the product.
Anne: We go to the website, we look at the -- if the website looks any kind of cheesy at all or not trustworthy, I don't buy. And so that's such a great thing that you brought up for people to understand that that helps so much in your negotiation, that you are representing yourself as a professional business. And I think it does help also in the negotiation process if, if you're known to be a full-time voice talent. If you're not, you don't necessarily have to state that. You just have to look like this is your business, and this is what you do. Sometimes I'll, if a customer's or a potential client is reaching out to me, I might throw in there full-time voice talent, just so they know that's all I do. Like I'm not, you know, doing three different jobs, and this is my business and this is how I make a living. So that's a -- what a great point that was, Pilar to present professional.
Pilar: Yeah. You have to present yourself as a professional because otherwise, you know, you're not going to be taken seriously. You reminded me of when I was in my agent's office for the first time, and they were sweet as can be. And one of them was busy, and she was like, you know, don't pay attention to me because I've got all this stuff to do. Obviously she had a huge job that she had to get out at a certain time. And the only thing she said at the end, she piped up and she said, oh, we've looked at your website. We've listened to all of your material.
Anne: Oh, don't you worry.
Pilar: And I was like -- and it was just so interesting, 'cause I was like, oh, these people did their homework. So if somebody's looking at your stuff, believe me, they are checking you out regardless of --
Anne: Whether you know it or not.
Pilar: Whether you know, but also it's, it's also a question of it doesn't have to be the fanciest thing or it doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles, just like a voiceover booth doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles. The important part is are you producing sound quality where you can literally hear where it's so quiet that you don't even hear a fish fart? I mean, I know of, I know this one very well known voice actor who does promos inside his car, and he is just fixed it so he's got the microphone, he does it in a certain way because a lot of the times he's driving, and he needs to do something.
Anne: But yeah, he's not going to audition while he's driving. Just, just, just want to --
Pilar: No, no --
Anne: Just want to say that.
Pilar: -- obviously, no he stops on the side of the road. He's out here and he'll have something from New York that's due at a certain time. He will stop on the side of the road. He's got his whole little preparation. I don't know what he does, but he's got a whole preparation. He does it. He sends it off. The promo gets aired that night. So it's really about, can you, you know, can you come up with the goods, and the goods are showing yourself, as you know, as I've been saying --
Anne: As a professional.
Pilar: -- as a professional, this is, this is what my space is. This is where you can find my work. It's all here. It's all out on the table. It's, it'll be really easy to find. So you can hire me, and you can negotiate with me because I have all these parts of the puzzle.
Anne: All the parts of the puzzle are together. Yeah. That -- absolutely. It's such a cool side piece that you don't think about, right, when you're talking about knowing your worth. I mean, understanding that you're prepared to deliver quality, audio quality performance from a quality storefront or booth, right? And also I am going to go so far as to say that your website says a lot about who you are professionally. And that has a lot to do with the power you can have in negotiation and also helping yourself know your worth. If you yourself are committed to doing this for a living and making money at it, then that is step one of knowing that you are worthy of getting paid for it and getting paid well for it, getting paid fairly. We can only hope that every job we do, we get paid well.
And I will tell you, in the beginning, when I first started out in the industry, I didn't have a concept of what my worth was. And to be honest, there wasn't, you know, so long ago that there weren't many groups out there online. Again, this, one of the reasons why I created VO Peeps back in the day was to have a community online that we could talk and say, well, what did you charge? How do you handle negotiation? What is this job worth? And so now we have so many resources available at our fingertips. It only just says to me even more that we have to even more be vigilant about understanding who we are, what we're worth in this industry.
And not that we even have to convince, but just showcase that we are worthy of getting paid something that's more than, oh my gosh, something like 8 cents a word. No, not at all. Those jobs exist. And those are the ones that you don't necessarily -- for me, I try not to align myself with jobs like that because if the client doesn't value the service, right, to begin with, and they're putting out budgets that don't value the service -- maybe they truly don't have the budget. But again, I think a budget is all in what you, all in what you make of it, right? I pay good money for certain services so that I can depend on them. And the same thing should be thought of you, right?
So if your potential client doesn't value the service that you provide, then maybe you don't want to align yourself with them or work with them because trust me, there will be somebody out there that does value you and the courage that it takes for you to say no to those clients that don't value your services -- once you say no, it gives you the biggest sense of -- well, you're scared and you're terrified, but it allows the door to open for people who do value your services and that leaves the room for them to come in and pay you what you're worth.
So I can't tell you -- you'll do it one time. And then that door will open and you will get paid by someone who believes in you and values your worth. And then that will give you all the confidence you need to go and just negotiate and understand your worth and put out those prices, put out those quotes that are worthy of your time, because you spent a lot of money. You spent a lot of time to get to where you are. There's training, there's demos, there's practice, there's you, your personal investment is what people are paying for, right? Your personal investment. And that is worth something.
Pilar: Absolutely. I totally agree. Something also that I have found when I used to negotiate back in Miami, is that no doesn't always mean no forever.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Because there's a way to stand your ground because a lot of things can happen between the time that a number's thrown out and you walk away. And I've had that happen to me more than once where I don't necessarily say, I'm not going to take any less. I say, this is my price.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: And I've learned that from some amazing voiceover people in the industry when I was very, very green and I went to my first couple of conferences. I learned from them that they stand their ground basically. And they just, they stand up for themselves and they say, this is what I charge. And they're very, very specific. And there is room, there is wiggle room, and it is very important to throw out a decent number and not too low, but obviously not out of the range, but when you're in that negotiating stage, I've actually had people come back and say, okay, all right, let's do it.
Anne: Yeah. I agree.
Pilar: So it's just kind of funny. So it's just, maybe there's also a mental sort of attitude to have about that saying this is who I'm worth. So you're not necessarily closing the door, but basically saying, here, I invite you to partake of my services for this amount. Again, it doesn't happen always, but sometimes there's a door that can stay open.
Anne: Sure, absolutely. I totally agree with that. And people might have gone and they had a budget that was lower. And so they went and hired somebody with that lower budget and they weren't as happy. Right? So they come back to you, and that has happened to me multiple times too. And again, it's one of those things where you have to have the confidence, and guys, if you're just starting out and you don't have the confidence, it's okay. We all were there. We were all there once. Right?
You just have to take the step. You've got to have the courage to take the step, to stand by what you're worth and walk away if the client doesn't bite. And, and the thing of it is too, usually the clients that are offering a lower price are usually the ones that will nickel and dime you for everything. And I have run into that. I have lowered my price. You know, I've worked with a client's budget. I -- here's my number. We negotiated. And they said, I only have this. And I thought, okay, all right, I'll work with you. And it might've been lower than I would have wanted. At some point you get an idea, a sense of who this client will be.
Sometimes clients will just, if they get that low ball price, they're just going to be painful. They're going to be painful clients that will want everything for no money. And you only have to work with a couple of those, like maybe one of them once. And you'll be like, okay, never again, never again, because the amount of time that you spent trying to please that client at that low rate could be better spent working with a client who did value you or does value you and doesn't try to nickel and dime you for a bunch of pickups afterwards.
Pilar: You have to know when to walk away. Absolutely. But it's also an attitude that I think is so important. As we've been saying throughout this time, this is what I'm worth, here I am. When you walk into a, an Apple store, you know exactly what you're getting into.
Anne: Apple doesn't go on sale, right?
Pilar: Exactly. It's like, what you see is what you get.
Anne: Chanel lipstick does not go on sale. I'm just saying, I am just saying, I have bought Chanel lipstick before. They do not go on sale. And the funny thing is, is in a way, it makes me relieved because I feel like sometimes when things do go on sale all the time, I'm like, oh my God, let me wait until the right price comes. But Chanel, they're just, I know they're dependable. I love them. They've got my colors. They last, and they're worth the money. And so think of that client hiring you. It's going to be, you know what, Anne, whatever, can you do this job? Sure. Give me an invoice. I love clients like that because that means that you've worked with them enough. They trust you. And they're just like, okay, whatever. They know they're going to get good value from you. And so it is something to be said to work with quality clients, rather than trying to just work your way up.
And as I mentioned, I really, in the beginning I did, I didn't know better, but now BOSSes, we can't be the only podcast or the only people who have said know your worth. However, this is just another step where if you've listened to this podcast, you have to know your worth. You have no excuses now to take something that does not pay you what you are worth. And maybe you need the experience of working with a client who may not pay you what you think you're worth. And that's okay, because that's a learning and a growing experience for you. But we're here to tell you that you don't really have to go through that if you don't want to, because you, you are worthy, you are worthy of a fair price.
Pilar: Yeah. I think it's really important to visualize yourself as a --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: Just because we are a voiceover, we are a brick and mortar store. We just do it from our own area. But why not visualize yourself as an Apple versus a --
Anne: Tiffany's, Apple, Chanel.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. You don't have to be a 7-11. I mean, 7-11 is great when you're, when you want a Slurpee, but why not visualize yourself as, as you know, this is who I am and this is what I have to offer?
Anne: That's so important. I got so excited because you said visualize that you are worthy or manifest.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: It's so important, manifest that you are worthy of it. And that will carry you really far, that whole belief and the manifestation that you are worthy of it will carry you really far in this industry. I just had to agree with you wholeheartedly.
Pilar: And also that you are a working actor.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: That you are a working voiceover actor capable of taking these jobs. I think that people think that when they visualize -- and you know, we could spend a whole podcast on this -- I think people think that when they visualize something, that all of a sudden it's just going to magically like [snaps], like that. That is not what happens when you see yourself and you present yourself. You put it out into the universe; it's not necessarily going to come back immediately, but it does come back. Because if you had told me over 12 years ago that I would be making a living doing voiceover --
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Pilar: -- I would have said, are you kidding? There's no way. I'm an actor. I've done on camera. And I love this business. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, seeing myself do this. And so there really is something to be said. It does take patience though.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So, you know, you, you can get there and you can see yourself taking those steps. And once you're there, you can accept it. You can say, yep, it's done. It's done. And you just, what we're saying about knowing your worth is just that much closer to what it is that you want to accomplish.
Anne: Yep. Yep. That successful business. And that's so funny. Like think of when you first started in this business. Did you ever believe -- like when I first started, I didn't really have a thought one way or the other. I just knew that I was passionate about it, and I just kept putting my head down and working. However, I will tell you in the beginning, it was a very different environment because coming from a corporate background, which I came from, you know, where that paycheck was given to me every two weeks or whatever, and I knew that money was coming -- coming into the entrepreneurship, and now all of a sudden being put in a position where I had to negotiate, my price was, oh my goodness.
Like before people told me what I was worth, because I got a paycheck for it. Now it was me there to determine what was my worth. It's so interesting to go from the mentality of here, I've arranged a salary, and I work for this particular salary, and that's what I'm worth, to an environment and an entrepreneurship where I am determining what is my worth. That's a whole big pedagogical shift in your brain. And so yes, it takes time to learn how to do that. And it's okay guys. Just remember, there's always clients out there. I think if you make a choice, and you're brave, and you walk away from one client, there's always another client around the corner that opens the door for more clients and more work. You just have to manifest, and believe, and take that leap of faith.
Pilar: Something definitely that you can learn to do.
Anne: Good stuff, good stuff. Wow. So BOSSes, know your worth. You are worthy. So on that note, if you also want to make a difference and use your voice to make an immediate difference in our world, that will give back to the communities that are close to you, you can find out more and how to do that at 100voiceswhocare.org to commit. Wonderful, wonderful new sponsor. BOSSes, literally it takes less than a dollar a day, and you can make a humongous difference in a local organization of your choice. Visit 100voiceswhocare.org to find out more. Also, thank you so much to our amazing sponsor ipDTL, because I get to talk to Pilar every week, and we get to talk about really cool things about how wonderful you guys all are and how we are worthy. We are worthy. Much, much support, and thanks to ipdtl.com. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have a great week and we'll see you next week. Bye!
Pilar: Goodbye, guys.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Every script is the answer to a question. It’s up to the actor to discover (and sometimes create) that question. In this episode, Anne & Pilar are here to keep you on your toes with improv techniques + exercises. They will teach you how to stay fresh with your reads, and - more importantly - why it’s necessary to know the script, scene, and emotions for everything you read. Whether it be E-Learning, IVR, or commercial, you’ll be ready to tackle it with authentic reactions + diverse copy interpretations like a #VOBOSS.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast, con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey Pilar. I'm trying to figure out how to lead into today's episode. And I've been thinking about different scenes that maybe I could place myself in. So maybe I'll come at the introduction not like I've come at the introduction like people expect, so I want to do something different. So what are you thinking? Where can I start?
Pilar: Where can you start? "Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start." What's that from?
Anne: I'm on a mountainside.
Pilar: No, quick, what's that from?
Anne: No wait. Okay. I'm on a mountain side in the sun and I'm feeling like I'm very happy, and I want to sing because I dunno, I like to sing when I'm happy.
Pilar: And you're twirling your arms.
Anne: I am twirling my arms, and I'm going to not have a dress on with an apron. Okay. So, well, let's just put it this way. I'll have a dress on that really works with the twirl, but it won't have an apron on.
Pilar: Nix the apron, okay.
Anne: And I'm going to be young with long flowing hair.
Pilar: Long blonde flowing hair.
Anne: Yep. That's it. That's it. And there's going to be animals.
Pilar: Okay.
Anne: There's going to be, well, there'll be cats. Of course. Actually --
Pilar: How about llamas? How about llamas?
Anne: Okay, cats and llamas I think go well, lots of cats.
Pilar: Except that llamas spit.
Anne: Yeah, but they're not going to spit on the cats. They're going to spit on me because maybe I'm not in tune.
Pilar: You're going to ride off into the sunset on top of a llama.
Anne: But then I'll make friends with the llama, and I will carry the cats in my arms and hop on the llama, and ride off into the sunset because I've had a wonderful morning and day of singing on the mountain side.
Pilar: And you're singing "Do, a deer" at the same time.
Anne: Yes, exactly. Wow.
Pilar: That's improv.
Anne: Hey BOSSes. That's improv with that said, hey, everyone. I completely was so in the scene that I forgot my introduction.
Pilar: You forgot who you were.
Anne: I forgot who I was for just a moment. So here we go. Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, up on the mountain, singing and twirling with my cats and llamas, along with my special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar, come to the mountain and sing with me.
Pilar: "The hills are alive with the sound of llamas."
Anne: -- "VO BOSSes."
Pilar: "Llamas and VO BOSSes."
Anne: So Pilar, that was fun.
Pilar: That was fun.
Anne: I think understanding and practicing improv can really, really help us in our performance and in our business. So I think we should have today's episode featuring improv, and talking about improv, and how can we better our performances with improv?
Pilar: Yes. Improv is something that I -- it's funny, 'cause I've always been scared of it, and I've never really understood it, although I've done it most of my acting career without realizing it. It's just really funny. We improv all the time in our lives when we're talking. So improv is all about taking what somebody is saying and you keep going. It's that? Yes. And moment with improv. That's that's like the biggest rule.
Anne: Yes, and.
Pilar: Yes, and, meaning --
Anne: Yes, and, and then what happens?
Pilar: And then you add onto the story, and the intent is to be positive always. I mean, unless it's a tragedy kind of a thing which improv is, is really about it's taking whatever that person gives you and running with it, however you're going to do it, so.
Anne: Well, I think it needs to fit into the context, right? So if we're going to try to improv and get ourselves into a scene for a script that already sits in front of us, so that maybe we can improve our auditions, right, there is some context to the script. Maybe we should just talk from genre specific right now, like commercial or corporate or e-learning, those types of -- versus character-driven spots like animation and video games. We can talk about that in a minute, but let's focus on the genres where people go in, and they have a commercial audition to get out the gate. Right? What is it that we're going to do once we look at the context of the script there, how are we going to work the improv into it?
Pilar: What I've learned early on is it's so important to have a moment before.
Anne: Yes. Agreed.
Pilar: Especially if it's a product, let's say, that you don't know much about, or it's a storyline, let's say it's a medical narration, for example. And you're kind of, you know, what is this drug that has seven syllables? And I don't even know how to pronounce it. Well, you have to come in, if you're talking from a voice of authority, you have to come in with that knowledge.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: Now, you don't necessarily have to have knowledge of that particular drug. You can use something else that you have knowledge about. And then you set the stage by making up like a little sort of maybe 15-second play, which can be your lead-in which you don't have to record, but you're making the story up about this particular product and how it affected you. And you basically just start doing storytelling.
Anne: Well, I think that's absolutely wonderful advice. And I think too, again, going with the context of it, let's kind of go with the medical, right? Because I do a lot of medical work, medical narration. I think it's important to know that in this storyline who you're talking to, and a lot of times people will, if want it to be conversational, they'll say something like, oh, as if you're talking to your best friend, but I think you need to go deeper into this, because you want to talk to a person that's genuinely going to be interested in that product because your task in most copy like that is either going to be to educate or to sell.
So you need to be very clear as to who you're speaking with. And I think that that needs to come into your improv, understanding that let's say you might be a pharmaceutical representative, that's coming into an office and speaking to a doctor who might be interested in this particular medicine that might be able to help his patients. And so going with that, setting that scene and then improv-ing in that before you even open your mouth, because that will help you develop a point of view that makes sense and an emotion that makes sense and a voice that makes sense for that scene.
Pilar: Yeah. Yeah. Very true. And what you were saying, which ties right into that is the more specific you are, the better.
Anne: Yes. Agreed.
Pilar: A lot of the times, if you're doing medical copy -- let's say you've got the job. It's not like you're going to rewrite it or change, necessarily change the words, but you can give it a little bit of flavor by imagining different scenarios while you're speaking.
Anne: And thinking of different subtexts too.
Pilar: Yeah. Even like, you know, breaths or --
Anne: Rhythm.
Pilar: Yeah. And just like little inflections that aren't necessarily in the script itself are going to give it a different flavor.
Anne: I like that.
Pilar: Yeah. So because it can't be all about the reading. It's -- there has to be -- a lot of people say, oh, well, you know, they, they won't let me improv. And it's like, it's not necessarily, it's about using those moments of improv where you can just kind of give a little inflection here, do a little something over there.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. Like that scene is playing while you are voicing the script, right? There's a scene that's playing. And so that improv, it doesn't necessarily have to come out in words, right? The improv, like you said, can be in breaths. It can be in rhythm. It can be in, again, if it's a medical narration and you're informing somebody about the capabilities of the product, right, it can be that subtext where maybe you're looking at the person that you're speaking to and they're not quite understanding. So you become more confident or you've slowed down on that explanation a little bit more. And so the subtext is, let me help you understand better what I'm saying. And so that improv comes into your scene, as you are voicing and into the storyteller, the sell of the spot. It really is something that I think adds a really nice layer and a realistic, authentic layer to when you are voicing.
And this, by the way, does not allow you any time to listen to what you sound like. Again, I say this over and over and over again. Right? You cannot listen to what you sound like and say, oh, does that sound like they want it? No, you have to be in that improv, that story, in that scene, and really being there and telling the story.
Pilar: I just want to clarify something for the VO BOSS warriors, that everyone thinks of improv as Second City or Saturday Night Live, but improv, you can use some of those rules and those tips of improv to give your script a different flavor, whether it's medical narration, whether it's e-learning, whether it's even, let's say, IVR, and you're saying, you know, "please hold." You know, you don't have to sound like the mechanical thing that you've always heard. If you maybe make a joke to yourself right beforehand, or you imagine something very specific.
Anne: Imagine the person that's picking up the phone and listening to you and they're angry.
Pilar: There you go.
Anne: Because they want to speak to a person, right? So you're in that scene, and they're screaming at the other end. Right? And you're like, "thank you for calling. Your call is important to us." So as they're screaming, so it can change your voice. Right? It can change the way you're responding in a very interesting way, because I always used to say that I love telephony because I imagine that that person is on the other end of the line, and that they're not happy and they're concerned, they want to get to somebody quickly. So I actually will speed up a little bit. As long as I'm articulate, I'll speed up. I'll be kinder. And I'll try not to be that annoying sound at the other end of the line that I even get annoyed with.
Pilar: Yes. Yes. And the important thing is specificity, which you've just mentioned. It's just to be as specific as possible.
Anne: Right, because your message, when you're, that let's say telephony, right -- and this is crazy. We're talking about improv with telephony and medical narration, like the two genres that nobody would think, right, that you would use improv with, but think about telephony for a doctor's office, right? People are typically, they're not feeling well, or they're calling for maybe a member of the family that's not feeling well; they're upset. They could be nervous. They could be scared. And so that puts a different light on how I'm going to voice my message, right? Versus maybe a party store, you know, so understanding that scene and who you're going to be talking to again, is paramount. It is so important to get yourself in that scene and then play that scene before you even start talking. Because again, that helps you hit the notes. It helps you hit the emotion, the point of view that you need to be in once you start voicing that copy.
Pilar: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. All true.
Anne: Let's talk about a commercial, commercial genre, right?
Pilar: Okay.
Anne: Because I think a lot of people think that might be more resonant with them. It might come to them simpler if you're thinking about a commercial, because there's, I think there's more realms of scenes that can take place. There's more emotions that can take place. It could be a funny commercial. It could be a serious commercial. It could be all different types of commercials and scenarios that are, and you have to create that scene and improv your way into the voicing.
Pilar: And here's the thing. If you listen to actors, when they talk about the roles that they did, when they admit, they say, well, no, actually it was all scripted, and you sit there and you go, oh, hey, how did they do that? It looked completely improv. That's because they had a very, very specific pre-life into going into the scene.
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: Since as voice actors, we don't have to memorize. We've got the copy right in front of us.
We can mark our script up. We can imagine a scene beforehand. There's always the moment before, you know, who, what, when, where and why you're talking.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And then you bring those colors in. And this is something that I always think about too, when I'm doing commercial copy. And this is Mary Lynn Wisner taught me this, what is the answer I'm giving? There's always a question. So put the question before, and then you give the answer.
Anne: Right. Act, react.
Pilar: Right, exactly. And all those things being specific and question and putting yourself in the scene, let's say you're a Taco Bell. Don't just read the Taco Bell. Imagine you're sitting at a Taco Bell and you're looking at, at the menu and you're going, oh my gosh, the waffle. I mean, I don't go to Taco Bell anymore because, cause I will order that big, huge mother of a waffle thing.
And it's so delicious and it's so caloric. So I'd like I have to stay away from them. So I like, I give that to myself once a month as like a prize. But if you focus on the scene and that --
Anne: Maybe you're eating that in the scene. And so you'll have a different reaction.
Pilar: Right. You're chomping on it. And it's like, you know, the, the sour cream and the avocados just spilling down your mouth and everything, you know, and the more colorful details you give yourself, the more that's going to come out in your read.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. And, and you know, what's interesting is commercial spot, I think sometimes when there's dialogue, it makes things easier for the improv when it's a dialogue or first person written. I know that when I do dialogue spots for, let's say, e-learning characters in e-learning -- when it's a written dialogue on the piece of paper, I find that there are so many -- it's harder than most people think, because I'll find that initially people will read the dialogue instead of being in the dialogue. And that's where improv can really help you because set that scene. And what it will do is if you are engaged in that scene --
Let's say you're walking in the hallway with your colleague, Sally, and you want Sally to make sure she gets the accounting numbers to Joe before Friday. You can, as you're walking along, "oh Sally." And then you imagine yourself walking, right? And so the rhythm of your line that you're going to say is going to change as you're thinking about, "oh, we need you to get these numbers to Joe by Friday because he's going to need them for this." So it will really change the rhythm as you're walking along or creating that scene, as you're thinking of things to say to Sally, in order to get your point across, because that's what will happen. All that like subtext, where she's looking at you going, "why do I have to get these to Joe by Friday? Because this is a lot of work, Anne." You know, so that kind of improv where you're imagining that as you were speaking of voicing, the dialogue can really, really help.
Pilar: Yup. Yup. Absolutely. Location is so important. Putting yourself into the scene wherever you are, focusing on the here and now of it. Because a lot of the times we think, okay, I have to get through the copy or it's 30 seconds. Forget all that. The most important is what is going on right at this moment? What is the, the person who is not maybe physically there, but you are speaking to someone, are they standing next to you? Are they standing moving away from you? And you're trying to get their attention? "Oh my goodness, let me get your attention," and all that stuff you can put, you know, obviously you can put into your body, but you can put into your intention and that's how you can improv a scene or a, a commercial or, you know, a piece of longer copy. So the here and now, the establishing the location --
Anne: And establishing movement, movement through it.
Pilar: Establishing movement. Yes.
Anne: Yeah. That's the biggest thing I find people forget is they'll set the scene up, but then they'll forget to move through it. They'll set it up and the first sentence will be very much in the scene. But then after that first sentence, they just go into their own little monologue, and they forget about the scene. They forget about who they're interacting with. And again, that movement through the scene and the sound as if you're moving through the scene is super important. Now there's a lot to be said for leading in to help you get into that. But I think just the verbal lead-in is not enough to get you through an entire piece of copy, because we can't be completely improvising every single line, but we can certainly lead into a line that helps us get to the place where we need to be.
And some of those can even be left -- I would say in the commercial genre, you can kind of, oh, you can kind of lead in with maybe a, a sound, I think, maybe a little bit of a word, but in other types of copy, let's say for narration, corporate narration, medical narration, telephony, you can't really keep those lead in words in there, but they can certainly help you as to get you in the place. And then you can, you can take them out. I mean, we all, we all know how to edit our stuff. So if it helps you get there, I say, leave it in and then take it out in post, you know?
Pilar: Exactly. Yeah, absolutely. But like extending a sentence. We don't say words the same way. We don't talk the exact same rhythm, every single -- I mean, some people do, but I'm always speeding up and slowing down. So why wouldn't I put that in? I mean, and it depends, obviously, because sometimes, you know, if you're doing a biography, you do need to have a certain pace, but -- and I'm speaking specifically for commercial copy, but improv is also about changing. It's like how the character changes. In a 30-second piece, there's always like, there's a problem. It's described.
Anne: There's a solution.
Pilar: And then there's the solution at the end. So the person reading the copy is going to go through all these changes, and they're not necessarily going to say them at the same time.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So change is a big part obviously of, of that, which you can incorporate into, into the copy.
Anne: And change, even in the middle of sentences, right? 'Cause emotion, because right, you've got a problem. Commercial copy, usually you have a problem or an implied problem. And then you have a solution. So as you have this problem, you know, it's I kind of have this problem, but oh, now I've got a solution. You can hear the change, right? You can hear the change within even a sentence. And that's where that improv and subtexts and imagination and being in the scene can really help you to make that a more authentic and believable voicing. Now question, Pilar. What about commercial copy that's written very selly, that doesn't seem to have, you know, those are always the ones that people talk about. They're like, oh God, look at the way they wrote this copy. And now they want me to sound like I'm talking to my best friend. So what are your tips there?
Pilar: Well, honestly, I mean, that's not true. I mean, I get pieces of copy and I go, wow, this is really good. But a lot of the times they'll tell you, you want to sound, you know, conversational. That's like the big, the big word, conversation -- Like you're not going to, you're going to sound like a robot, but conversational and not announcer-like, and then they give you this copy. And you're like, you know, what do I do with it? You break it down, you break it down into beats. You run through it. You sing it.
Anne: Question, answer. Right? Act, react.
Pilar: Yes, question, answer. Right.
Anne: For every sentence.
Pilar: Yes. But that's not what you're going to put into the final part of the copy.
Anne: No, no.
Pilar: But it's basically like when you've got a piece of copy that you have to work on, it's like stretching your body. You have to stretch your body. So whatever, like let's say, I'm stretching my arms right now, and I'm stretching them forward. I'm also going to stretch my arms up, and I'm going to stretch my arms to the back. I'm not just going to do it one way. I think voice actors get a little stuck, and they go, oh, okay. I did it this way. This sounds okay. Let me stay there. And then we get stuck. 'Cause that happens to me all the time, and I'll listen back and I'll be like, what are you talking about, Pilar? All three reads were exactly the same.
So I have to go back and I have to like, and I think I've used this before on the podcast, but it's kind of like when my dog would turn around three times and then, you know, all of a sudden he would go and do something else. And my cat does the same thing. So I, I do that too, because I realized that if I turned around three times really quickly, I either get dizzy or I start laughing, but I don't go back to where I was before. So I need that change. You know, improv is all about change. So it's like, if you get stuck, all you need to do is shake it off, go outside, touch your toes, scream in the booth, and start again because that's going to give you a little bit of a different scenario so you don't slide into that sameness, that sameness of reading the copy the same way.
Anne: Then when your director is asking you for that ABC take, right, improv is going to help you get there. I'm always like --
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: You know, and I've said this before on a previous episode, everybody thinks about let's do the different sounds. This is take A. This is take B. This is take C. And that just is a, a simple, like change in your pitch. It's not even -- I want you guys, you BOSSes out there to really improv your way into ABC. And that is a skill, that is a muscle that, if you work on it, can really improve your ABC reads or your second take. And that is so important that, that second take, that ABC, they're all different. And I think there could be an entire like course on ABC takes and how you can get to them better because they do have to be different. And there's a lot of times myself even, Pilar, where I'm like, okay, let me give a second read. Right? And I haven't done the work enough. And I listen to that second read. I'm like, oh, that's kind of sounds the same.
So really spend the extra moments and figure out what's happening in the scene or a change in the scene that can give you a different, alternate take. And don't just do the start of it. Right? Don't just say, okay, well now I'm on a mountain. Here, I'm in my office. But start and continue throughout the script. As you're reading the script, things change, right? The product solves your problem. And so then there's an evolution, and it may evolve in a different way. So create the scene all the way through the text. I would say, create the scene, be in the scene between the periods of the copy.
Pilar: Yeah. I mean, I think it's simple that you could say, let's say for example, off the top of my head, um, I'm going to the store this morning. So I could say it, oh my God, it's 10:00, I'm going to the store this morning.
Anne: Exactly.
PIlar: Oh my God. I forgot the tomato sauce. I'm going to the store this morning. Or, oh my God, they're coming. They're coming at 7:00 and at six 15, I'm going to the store. I'm going to the store this evening. You know, I mean, and I'm exaggerating, but I just did three to four ideas.
Anne: You just got up and you had a plant. I'm going to the store this morning, right?
Pilar: Right. Or, or like, I'm going to, I'm going to surprise you. I'm going to the store this morning.
Anne: I like that.
Pilar: So you've just created different worlds.
Anne: You just had four or five different reads, exactly different worlds, different scenes to react to. And that's where, BOSSes, I want you to start practicing, take a sentence, a tagline, and think of three different scenarios for it. Or take every piece of copy that you ever auditioned for and give yourself different scenes. Or maybe just take a line out of it and give yourself different scenes so that you can read it differently. And don't think about what sounds like. Don't think about what it -- think about being in the scene and reacting to the scene and improv-ing that scene. That's what's going to get you that different read.
Pilar: Yeah. It's really important too, because I, I didn't even know what improv was, even though I was doing it. I was always a little scared of it. And so like, when I was working in Colombia, I used to improv all the time, not realizing that that's what I was doing, but stuff would come out of my mouth, and I would just do it. And they'd be like, oh my gosh. Yeah, let's keep that. And then I finally finally, because I read books about it and I would take like classes here and there. But finally, when I came out here to LA, I took an improv class at Second City. And then all of a sudden it all came together because all this stuff I'd kind of heard willy nilly randomly and what I'd seen and the way television and movies, people improv-ing, I was like, oh, that's what it is. You know, there, there are rules and there are things that you can do. And so I, you know, I think it's important. I mean, you know, that we are still going through what we're going through, but there are classes online that you can take.
Anne: Absolutely. I've got one coming up as a matter of fact.
Pilar: Oh, oh really? Oh, okay.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. With Scott Parkin, who is amazing --
Pilar: He's awesome.
Anne: He is awesome at improv.
Pilar: Yeah, yeah. He's really good. Yeah. And so it's about becoming loose because that's the whole point. When you're in the booth, then that's why you need to take classes. 'Cause it's like exercising that muscle.
Anne: Yes, it's a muscle.
Pilar: So when you're in the booth by yourself, and you've got a piece of copy, and you're like, what do I do with it? You've got these tools that you can use, the yes, and, the imagining, the being specific, you know, the being goofy. And you never know what's going to come out, but allowing yourself the space to say something and fall down and maybe not have it be right, and that's okay.
Anne: Absolutely. I mean, I think that that is all part of it. Right? If it didn't work out, no, that's okay. Right? This is improv. Right? You change the scene. Right?
Pilar: Exactly. Exactly. Because one thing that's really important to know is that yes, improv is an art, but it's also a craft. You have to practice it. You have to work on it.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that's a daily thing. Like honestly, I think you should take a sentence every day and give yourself three different scenes and three different ways. And I think do that, or do that with your auditions, right? Do that with your auditions daily. Even if you don't have an audition, take an old audition and do that. And I'll tell you what, it will keep you, I think, on your toes. And it will give you a better performance. What a great discussion, Pilar.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: So much fun.
Pilar: That was really fun.
Anne: So much fun. BOSSes, make sure that you get in the booth and practice, practice, practice, and that will help you perform at your very best. I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. Thanks so much, Pilar.
Pilar: Thank you.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: You know, there's a new song that just came into my head when you said that it could be like, "network like a BOSS, network like BOSS"
Anne: Who!
Pilar: "Network like a BOSS. Yeah. Yeah."
Anne: Alright. BOSSes. Have a great week, and we'll see you next week.
Pilar: Bye.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Do you know the difference between dubbing, ADR, walla walla, and looping? In this episode, Anne & Pilar cover it all. Since the pandemic, there has been a boom in content creation globally. Dubbing movies & TV shows into other languages, and creating audio descriptions for the visually impaired has made content much more accessible and given voice artists more work! Stay tuned for Pilar’s experience with voice dubbing + Anne’s tricks for lending your voice artistry to on-screen performances like a #VOBOSS.
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast, con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza along with my very special guest cohost, Pilar Uribe. Pilar. How are you today?
Pilar: Hola, Anne. ¿Cómo estás?
Anne: Ah, tired. I am tired. Pilar. You know, why?
Pilar: Why?
Anne: Because I binged watched the entire season of "Succession" last night and ah, oh my gosh.
Pilar: It's so good.
Anne: So good.
Pilar: So many cliffhangers.
Anne: I know. Oh my gosh.
Pilar: Yeah. I loved it.
Anne: And I'll tell you what, sometimes I stay up later than my husband, so I'm always putting on subtitles. And when I put on subtitles, it makes me think of all these shows now that are coming out in streaming media, and dubbing, and ADR and all of these techniques that are coming out and really offering a lot of jobs these days to people in the VO industry. And I thought we should talk about dubbing and ADR for a little bit. What do you think?
Pilar: Yup. Dubbing is very close to my heart.
Anne: Oh my goodness, and it's just since the pandemic, just an explosion of so much content and media, and you have had some experience dubbing. I personally have not had much at all. I went to a training class on dubbing, but talk to me about dubbing because that's something I think you actively do, right?
Pilar: Yes. Yes. That's where I got started in voiceover.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I did like two series in Colombia. There were animated, but I actually cut my teeth on dubbing. Dubbing is a skill like any other, and it requires being a good actor.
Anne: Wait, back that truck up again and say that very important, right? When you watch dubbing shows and of course, what is the latest one? When people are talking about the quality of the dubbing, there is something that was recently released, and we don't have to name it, but there was talk about how the dubbing was not great. There was not great actors. So I think acting is so, so important to be a good dubbing actor.
Pilar: Well, if you want to see examples of bad dubbing, just go to the Godzilla movies.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: It's hysterical.
Anne: You're right.
Pilar: Those are so funny to watch. But since Netflix has -- and HBO as well and uh, and Amazon, since they have entered the marketplace, uh, you know, over the past couple of years, and when I started back in two thousand... I guess I started dubbing in 2010, Netflix, wasn't really doing that much. They've been doing more and more in HBO, and Netflix is just all over the place. They have so much content. So one of the things that they look for is, yes, are you a good actor? Because you have to be able to portray what is being said in whatever language it is, whether it's, you know, German or Spanish or Portuguese, you need to be able to portray those same emotions. So it's kind of like, 'cause I used to actually teach dubbing. It's kind of like, you're like a one man band stand. You remember those little, those figures of the monkey where they have --
Anne: Yes, they play the tambourine. They play the drums. Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: All at the same time.
Anne: You have to do it all.
Pilar: It's kind of like being a drummer because if you look at a drummer, he's got one beat going in one arm, another beat going in the other arm, and he's got two different beats going in his, with his legs.
Anne: Yeah. So Pilar, just to back up just a little bit, I want to make sure that, because we are going to talk about both dubbing and ADR, what exactly is dubbing? Let's just clear up the definition.
Pilar: Yes. So dubbing is when you have got a telanovela, say, or a movie in Spanish, and they are speaking in Spanish. And they want you to put your voice onto that person's body basically so it sounds --
Anne: In another language.
Pilar: In another -- in English, in English. So if it's in Spanish, they want you to dub exactly what they are saying in Spanish into English.
Anne: Right. Or vice versa.
Pilar: Or vice versa.
Anne: Or any other language.
Pilar: Or any, 'cause it doesn't matter. I mean, I've dubbed in Chinese, from Chinese to English, German, Swedish. It depends on the project.
Anne: Do you dub mostly in English or in Spanish? Or both?
Pilar: I actually do both. Yeah. I do both. Yeah. I do more other languages to English because that's what the demand is, but I definitely do a lot of times English to Spanish.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: So basically when you walk into the booth, and you are given a movie or an episode that is in whatever language it's going to be, and I will say this, just because I speak Spanish and French, that doesn't necessarily help you when you're dubbing. Sometimes it can actually be a hindrance because you're listening and you're going, wait a minute. They're not saying exactly what they're saying in English, so.
Anne: Ah, yeah. There's translation there.
Pilar: Yeah. You do not have to know the language that you're dubbing at all for anybody who has that kind of question.
Anne: We should clarify too, you said, when you walk into the studio. Now, this is typically done in a studio, right? It's not something that we can do remotely.
Pilar: Yeah. I would say when we went through the past two years, and everybody had to go inside, there was obviously, it was only remote. So I did a lot of things remotely, but ideally they want you to be in the same studio because you are recording with the same mic and in the same environment.
Anne: Got it. That makes sense.
Pilar: And that's when it makes it really, really makes a difference. So a lot of times they would send kits out. Studios would send kits. So everybody would have the same exact setup in their booth.
Anne: Got it. And you're talking about the same mic as what was recorded in the movie? Is that what you're talking about? Or --
Pilar: No, no, because this is voiceover. So, you know, whatever, whatever the movie is, you know, they have different mix for that. Although actually --
Anne: That's what I was thinking. Like they wanted to specify what kind of mic was being used. That's what I was.
Pilar: Yeah. But that was, you know, more so for, for just voiceover.
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: So what's ironic is that, you know, the Sennheiser, it was originally a mic used on sets, but generally for dubbing, you know, they have their own extremely high powered mics. I mean, I was in a session the other day, and I was standing very far away from the mic technically 'cause here I'm, you know, I'm standing pretty close to the mic, and that mic picks up everything. I mean that mic picks up a burp. That mic picks up a little breath, and it's, it's just amazing. So yeah, they generally want you to go into the studio, and so you get there, you walk in. And of course now with all the protocols, everything is, you know, sanitized and wiped down. And usually you're asked to bring your own headphones. You go in and you watch a piece of copy, and the dubbing director will explain. And there's also the engineer.
Anne: You mean you watch a video?
Pilar: Yeah. You watch a piece. Yeah. So you've got the mic in front of you. You've got the video. And so you're seeing it in the original language. So you get to see it -- now, here's the thing. Out here in LA, you actually get a dress rehearsal. The majority, I would say 99% of the time when I lived in Miami, I didn't get a dress rehearsal. It was just like --
Anne: Oh wow, go. That's tough.
Pilar: Get out of the stable and go. Yeah.
Anne: Because you have to match the lip.
Pilar: Right. And you don't know what's coming. So when you're doing a character, but because I was doing so much of it, what I learned to do is after like an episode or two, I would see what that actor's rhythms were. So then I could mimic and kind of go with her breaths and where she did sighs and where she stopped because I was always looking at her lips. But I also -- see, that's the thing. That's why I brought in the analogy of the drummer. So what are you doing when you dub? You are watching the screen. You are acting because you're doing what the other, what that character in front of you is doing. You are voicing, you're reading, and you're adding your own breaths. So you're also usually seeing the -- I mean, at least that, that was the case in Miami, not so much out here, but you're seeing the script for the first time.
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: So you're doing all these things. You're employing more than one sense, and you're doing it without a dress rehearsal.
Anne: Wow.
Pilar: It's kind of intense.
Anne: That's a lot. And I remember my class was just like that. I mean, we did not even really know the copy that was coming up when it was coming up. And we had not really, we did not have a dress rehearsal, so it's a lot of things to do at once. And so what are the prerequisites for you as a voice actor that wants to get into dubbing? What sort of things should you do if you want to make this part of your career to get good at it?
Pilar: So the most important thing is listening, and observing, and putting yourself into that character's shoes for however long you are in the booth. So I played this character a while back, and it's out on Netflix now. And it's a terror series. It's literally terrifying. I said to my mom, listen, I'm going to give you the times that my character is there because I don't want you to see anything else because it's so terrifying. It's so, so scary.
Anne: Oh, I'm gonna assume that you just did this one and that you had a dress rehearsal. So you had an idea of what the whole show was about. Right? And I think that that helps, right?
Pilar: Well, rehearsal means you. Yeah. You get to see the scene, but you don't really know what you're getting into because you haven't seen the moments before. You're just looking at when you are speaking as a character.
Anne: Got it, got it.
Pilar: So it's up to you to --
Anne: Understand the vibe.
Pilar: And not just that, but that's what I mean by you really have to be completely on because you are looking and you're listening at the same time. You're evaluating what that character is doing at that moment and why --
Anne: What happened.
Pilar: -- are you doing it, right.
Anne: And what might've happened beforehand so you can act, right?
Pilar: Exactly. Yeah. And then you have to do it and you only get one dress rehearsal. So you have to be very acutely aware. You have to be present in the booth. So what they do is you'll do a scene on, they'll give you a pass of the entire scene and then you'll go back. You'll do another take or you'll do pick-ups. They do give you headphones. But if you have really good headphones, it's great to bring those with you. 'Cause you have to hear every nuance with that character -- where are they breathing?
Anne: Now, are they doing sentences at a time? Or just periods of time when this character is talking? Is there back and forth between dialogue from other characters?
Pilar: Oh yes, absolutely. Yes.
Anne: They will do an entire, let's say three minutes of the characters going back and forth? So you have to also watch the other character and then react. Right?
Pilar: Absolutely. Yes, exactly. And so here's the thing. Back in the day, I used to get pieces of paper, and then they switched to the monitor, and now there's this thing, that's, it's a band. And it was, I think it was invented actually in France, if I'm not mistaken. And it's a band that goes at the bottom of your screen, and most of the companies that I've worked for, the studios that I've worked for, they all use this. So it's a band, and it's in your specific color for that episode. So like my character, Anna, Anna's lines are going to be in green. They're going to have the highlight green. But then I'm also listening to the other characters and their lines are there as well.
Anne: But not in green, obviously.
Pilar: No, they're like in purple or whatever, but I have to be very aware of who's speaking when.
Anne: So you have to look at the bottom of the screen, which has the band. Plus you also have to understand where the lips are happening and when they're saying it, so you've got to go, you've got to look from the bottom of the screen to the lips.
Pilar: Yes, ma'am.
Anne: And so that is fast focusing I'm sure.
Pilar: Totally.
Anne: And total focus and it's got to be exhausting. I can't imagine like when you're doing a dubbing session, how long are you doing a dubbing session for? An hour, two hours, five hours?
Pilar: The standard time is two hours.
Anne: Okay. But that has got to be an exhausting two hours sometimes.
Pilar: It can be exhausting, but it's really exhilarating because you're in the booth, and I always stand.
Anne: I can't imagine sitting when you have to be that focused and on top of things.
Pilar: Exactly. Yeah, exactly. You have to use the whole body. But I rest, like when they're doing, when they're trying to decide between the dubbing director and the engineer, you know, do we do this? Do we do that? Um, and they're rewinding and they're trying to sync it up and everything. So, so that's when I can just take a little break, drink some water. They tend to be generally two hour sessions. I've done, you know, up to four. You know, it's, it's, it is work. It's a lot of work.
Anne: But so now that you have the band that's running on the screen, right, do you have a copy as well of the actual script at all in front of you?
Pilar: No, nope.
Anne: Because I remember when I took my class, I had both. I had the script that was down in front of me, but I also had to keep my eye on the screen as well and the lips of the actor that I was dubbing. So it was a lot, but when they were doing whatever work they needed to do in the studio, I was kind of looking at the script coming up next so I could get a little familiar with it.
Pilar: Yeah. It actually depends on the studio because there was a studio that did the paper. I don't know if they still do because you know, things have evolved in the past couple of years. It kind of depends. But sometimes you do, sometimes you do get a paper, which in a way is actually worse because you have to look farther down. I'd rather have it on the screen.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I agree.
Pilar: But whatever it is that you're doing, whether you have a piece of paper in your hand, or you're looking at it on a monitor, or you're looking at the stuff on one screen and the script on another screen, 'cause that also happens, whatever it is that you do, you have to learn to read quickly.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And so you're basically constantly evaluating and looking at getting the information. So then you can spit it out --
Anne: Yeah, right.
Pilar: -- and then move on to the next moment that that character has.
Anne: So dubbing is going into the studio and having the band and checking the lip movement of the actor that you're replacing, right, that you're dubbing. Now what's looping then. So that's dubbing. What's looping then?
Pilar: Looping, technically it's called ADR, which is additional dialogue replacement. Like, so for example, let's say there is a scene where there are two people in a restaurant, and they're outside in a cafe, in a little restaurant cafe in New York. And you know, there are people going back and forth, and there are people walking on the street, and there are people inside. And then there's the person at the bar. All that noise, all that noise gets put in, in post. None of that is real because basically what they figured out, and sometimes you can get it, but there's so much incidental noise. So you're going to get a honking of a horn or somebody shouting that they can't control all those extra elements. So what they do is that they come back, and once the scene is done and it's ready -- or let's say the actress spoke really low. So she was looking at her food saying, "I don't love you anymore." So it's like, they didn't get that. They didn't get that from the mic, the boom that was hanging, you know, five feet above her. So the actors come back. So basically it's like background extra work but for voices.
Anne: Is that not also called Walla Walla?
Pilar: So Walla Walla is a type of ADR. Walla Walla is kind of like, you're just kinda like talking and it's like --
Anne: So many terms.
Pilar: -- rhubarb, peas, and carrots, rhubarb, peas, and carrots. This is what I used to do on stage. You know, when you, when you weren't speaking, but you had to look like you were talking sure. Then there's something called call-outs where you say -- so each character sits there and says, "hey, I'm going to the store. I'll see you later." And so it's like, you're literally having like a pretend conversation. And so ADR has, you know, so many different -- ADR has its own genres too.
Anne: So dubbing is not necessarily related to ADR and looping.
Pilar: ADR, I would say it's like a, it's like a third cousin, second or third cousin, because there are aspects of it. So for example, I did a movie last year, which came out, I guess it came out at Christmas? It was called "Eternals". It was a Marvel movie. And of course, you know, when you sign up for something like that, you sign NDAs up to an inch of your life, and you can't say anything. And so the only reason I'm saying it is because I asked them --
Anne: Now you can.
Pilar: - I asked them, yeah. Now you can, and now it's out. And so, you know, the person who hired me was like, yeah, it's okay. 'Cause I always check. And that's something that's really important. Whatever it is that you're doing, when it's like dubbing or, or ADR, they're going to make you sign NDAs. So in fact, at one studio, they make you put your cell phone in a little box before you walk in and lock it up because they don't want any kind of --
Anne: That makes sense.
Pilar: You know, they bought the rights, it's their property.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: And so to have some actors sit there and go, oh, I was at this studio and I was dubbing look at me is just, I mean, come on. You know, you've just ruined all their hard work. So --
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: -- in the world of dubbing, they're very, very demanding on that. You know, you can't say a word.
Anne: Well, that makes a lot of sense. And I'm glad that you brought it up because how many times have we seen a voice actor, either bragging on social media, or here's a picture of me leaving and just thinking that nobody will see that, that is a big, big, big no-no. So yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense that you don't want to give away any, any secrets until they're revealed. I get that.
Pilar: Because basically when you are an actor, you are lending your voice. That's what you're doing, or you're lending your acting to the project. The project isn't yours. You don't own the project.
Anne: It's a great point.
Pilar: You know, I remember one time I did this commercial. Magic, the big basketball player, Magic Johnson. I mean, I'm seeing him right now. And all of a sudden I had a brain fart in his name. So it was a commercial and he was, he's so adorable and he's so nice. And so we were all gathered around, and of course at the end they let us take pictures. And so of course I took my picture and I had it in my phone. And then literally a couple of weeks later, I see this actor post and like, "hey yeah, I got, I was, I was," and I was like, what are you doing?
The commercial isn't out, that's not yours. That's their material. Somebody owns that material. And you have to respect that this is a situation. So for something like a Marvel movie, you know, you sign NDAs up the wazoo.
Anne: Oh yeah, I've seen people get fired.
Pilar: Yeah. And --
Anne: Hard. Fired Hard.
Pilar: To be honest, I, I can't blame them because it's like, it's, it's not my material to come -- to go out and play with. So with ADR, and this all changed in the pandemic too, because with ADR, what you would do is that you would go with a group of people, and you would be in the same room with them. So that's where you have these things called donuts, which is you walk around and you do these sort of loops. And you talk as you pass by the microphone. And then the call-outs where you're "hey, let's go get some ice cream" kind of a thing. And "Dr. George Michael to line one in, you know, room 222," that kind of a thing. So that all went away. And so now when you go to a studio, we were all separated. So we were in the same studio, but we were all in different booths. So that's the difference. So it's all, you're not together.
Anne: Right, during the pandemic.
Pilar: Right during, yeah, exactly.
Pilar: So they had to kind of change that the way that, that happens.
Anne: Also, so not just that, there's also, if you need to replace a line, right. If they couldn't get the actor, if they couldn't get the line or they changed the line, and they could get the actor back in, sometimes there's just a line replacement.
Pilar: Yeah. Right. Exactly. And that will happen, let's say, with a specific actor, but when you're talking about ADR, like when you're in that scenario that I said about the coffee shop, there are people talking. So you need to have, let's say, if you're doing a cop show, you need to have the lingo all ready to go, you know, and they encourage you to bring -- paper makes noise, but like iPads. And then you have your "Adam 24," you know, that kind of a thing or "nurse code blue," you know? So all the different genres have different language. So you have that ready. And then when you're called on, because you're just basically, it's like, okay, who wants to do this? And you just get up and you do it, and you do it in front of your mic. I don't know if it's gone back to the grouping. 'Cause I, I did something recently, and we were still in separate booths. So I don't know if that's actually gone to the group thing again, but ADR basically takes care of all that sort of subtle murmuring that goes on.
And so whatever it is that you do -- and there's, there are a lot of rules. Like, you know, you never want to say, have anything to do with God. There's a lot of, since it is all improv, because you know, it is, you know, as we had mentioned before about, you want to be positive, that's another thing. That's another big thing; you want to be positive. You don't want to be negative. So there are, there are a couple of different rules you don't necessarily want to talk about the time of day. You don't want to say people's names or the actor or the characters' names in the movie itself.
Anne: That makes sense.
Pilar: So you're constantly improvising. And so flexibility is key in ADR. So you can just get up and, you know, in front of the mic and talk about this car that overturned in a tractor trailer and this and that. And you just, and you know, you have a little cheat sheet, so you have little sentences or, or themes that you can expound upon.
Anne: So they give that to you. And you're just improv-ing off of that.
Pilar: They give you the, the scene, but it's up to you to come up with the lines. It's like, they don't, they don't give you the lines. So I took a class, my very first ADR class when I got to LA was with Johnny Gidcomb. So, you know, for anybody out there who wants to do ADR, he's fantastic. And he teaches you the ropes. So we did as if we were blooping this one show that he had done, one of the many "Planet of the Apes" movies. And so, you know, we had to sit there and see, and it was sometimes it was difficult because you didn't know who was speaking. So you had to be, you know, eagle eye on these characters saying who was speaking when and, who was loud and who wasn't. So it's like a lot of, you know, observation comes in to play when you're doing ADR as well.
Anne: And then if that's not enough, so there's the dubbing, there's the ADR and looping and Walla Walla. And then we also have audio description.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: Audio description is something that's similar, but yet different. And that's also kind of, I feel like because there's more content out there, there's been a lot of work in this area as well with audio description. And there's just some really great instructors out there. I had Roy Samuelson is part of one of my meetups who came and talked about audio description. And there's some great groups out there that you can get involved in and learn from and lots of work out there. So let's talk about audio description now.
Pilar: Yes. Let's talk about it because I will be honest with you. I am not that familiar with it. I know that it, audio description can be used for people who have trouble seeing, that that's a lot of it, but it does have many uses, correct?
Anne: Yes, exactly. So audio description will be describing the scene. It kind of happens along with the dialogue, and that is something that will be describing the scene as it's happening. And so that is copy that is provided to you, but you know, it is a skill, and it is something that I think you have to be quick on your feet in order to do it well. And I think you also have to add in acting because you are really, for people who are not necessarily seeing the video in front of them, you are audibly describing what's happening in the scene, and you can't just be a robot doing that. I feel like you've got to bring the experience to the listener. And so there is definitely quality of acting for audio description as well. For sure, for sure.
Pilar: Yes. And I'm looking at this. Yeah. And it is definitely for people who have low vision or who are visually impaired. So you definitely have to have acting chops because you are, you are the narrator for these people who can't see. So you are providing everything, you're being their eyes.
Anne: It's like audio drama in a way.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: But you don't want to be overly, right, dramatic because --
Pilar: Yeah. Not emoting, right, either.
Anne: Right. Exactly. Because obviously you're not overtaking the acting that's going on that they're listening to. You are simply describing the scenes and what's happening. So while you need to act, you may not need to act as if you are a direct character in the scene. That's for sure.
Pilar: Well, and also because in -- when there are gaps in the dialogue, you will be describing visual elements. So you're going to be describing costumes, the action, the setting, the mountain in the background. And so you have to make that interesting, but you're not going to make it monotone picture. And you're also not going to go crazy talking about the mountain.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: You know, so exactly it has to sacrifice to be some kind of middle ground. So you're making it because you are the eyes for that person. So you have to be able to transmit the emotions that are going on.
Anne: Yeah. So I'll tell you, all of these things that we have been talking about today really require someone who has acting experience, right, or who is an actor. And I love that because that just really broadens the scope of what we can do as voiceover artists. And it really pinpoints the importance in everything that we do, that acting is a part of it. And so there's a lot of areas in which as a performer, if you want to improve and up your game, you can have these opportunities if you just keep developing those acting skills and improv skills. And I just love that we're talking about where all these skills, we just had our episode on improv, you know, how they can help you to really grow your business as a voiceover artist. So thanks so much, Pilar, for chatting with me about this. I love you've just brought so much to the table for our listeners. So thank you for that.
Pilar: No, thank you. This was so much fun.
Anne: Awesome. Well, I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network and perform like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week and Pilar and I will see you next week.
Pilar: Ciao.
Anne: All right, bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Acting is more than just using your voice. It requires whole body movement, agility, and engagement. In this episode, Anne & Pilar share their favorite stretches, exercises, and warmups that can be done in and out of the booth. From Pilar’s jaw release warmup to Anne’s neck stretch, by the end of this episode you’ll be warmed up + ready to perform like a #VOBOSS.
More at https://voboss.com/move-in-the-booth
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast, con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza. And I am so excited to bring back to my booth, my special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar, how are you?
Pilar: Hello, Anne.
Anne: Look, I feel I'm very spry. I'm very spry today in the booth. And you know why? Do you know I'm spry?
Pilar: Why are you spry? Why are you spry? Why are you spry, Anne?
Anne: Because I did a little warmup, so I'm kind of feeling good in the booth. And I think it's important that we always do awesome warmups and move around in the booth so we can have good energy going forth into our voiceover.
Pilar: I totally agree.
Anne: Thoughts?
Pilar: That that is something that I, something that I just did. Do as I say, not as I do. Try not to do what I just did, honestly. VO BOSSes --
Anne: Drink dairy?
Pilar: Because, well, that's one thing. Yes, of course. I had dairy. I had yogurt this morning, so of course I'm all phlegmy.
Anne: Me too.
Pilar: That's not, that's not fun, especially when you're going to do an audition. That's not great. So drink your water. But one of the things that I was told by a professional is it's really bad to clear your throat. You know, like when people [clear throat noise], that is like the worst thing you can do. Drink water, wait till it passes, stop doing that. But that's literally like putting sandpaper on your throat. It's the worst thing you can do.
Anne: Yes, I have heard the same, and it's very hard because I think it's like a habit from before voiceover. That would be BF -- BFO, before voiceover, before voiceover, when I used to scream and do all sorts of harmful things to my vocal cords, before I realized that we need to treat this like gold, because it is our livelihood.
Pilar: Okay. I have one question though. Did you say BFO?
Anne: Did I say BF --
Pilar: You meant BVO, BVO.
Anne: BVO, okay, okay. I was thinking like best friend in VO. So I kind of combined --
Pilar: Anne, Anne --
Anne: Pilar, that's how I think of you.
Pilar: Anne, will you be my BFO?
Anne: My BFO. there's --
Pilar: Will you be my BFO?
Anne: -- best friend, best friend in VO. So hey --
Pilar: I love it.
Anne: So being best friends, I think I want all of our BOSS listenership -- they're our friends. And I think it would be a really great episode if we talked about how moving in the booth and how warming up and just physicality in the booth can really help us to perform better and just be better all around, better mental, spiritual, physical to improve our performances.
Pilar: Okay. So since we are starting our day, Anne, I invite you to do something with me.
Anne: Okay. All right.
Pilar: We're going to do it all together.
Anne: What is this, a warmup?
Pilar: This is a warmup exercise. It's a jaw release.
Anne: Oh yes.
Pilar: Which we don't even realize half the time how much tension we're carrying in our jaw.
Anne: You know what's so funny, that I actually really need this because the other day, I woke up, and my ear was hurting, but it wasn't like an earache kind of hurt. It was an ear hurting because I might've clenched my jaw at night. And I, I know so many people that clench their jaws at night, and anything to relieve this ache in my jaw will be very helpful. Yes.
Pilar: Okay. Cool.
Anne: I'm ready.
Pilar: All right. So I want you to place your palms on the sides of your face. Okay? I'll hold it on my headphones. You can still hear me, right? Okay. So you're going to place your palms on the side of your face and slowly massage the jaw and the cheek muscles. Okay. So you're taking the palm, and you're massaging the jaw line up and down the jaw line and also your cheekbones and, and with small circular motions.
Anne: Good for when you have sinus issues too.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: Or you feel it. Can you hear me going, can you hear it? Like, I'm very close to the mic. I am in circular motions.
Pilar: So you can, you can go all the way up to where your cheekbone is and massage there, and you can go all the way towards the ear.
Anne: Okay, BOSSes, you're doing this, I hope you're doing this with us, BOSSes.
Pilar: Absolutely. Just try it. And then you go all the way down to your jaw line and go way up almost to your, your ear, almost to the ear. So continue to massage while lowering and raising your jaw. Now --
Anne: You're lowering and raising the jaw while you're doing this.
Pilar: Yeah, so you're going, ahhh, in the jaw.
Anne: Are we saying anything when we're doing?
Pilar: No, not yet. Not yet. Just lower and raise your jaw. I can't speak right now.
Anne: But you're my -- you're instructing us, so.
Pilar: I am instructing you. Okay. Now --
Anne: I don't know if you can do it while you're instructing.
Pilar: I will. You're going to hear it in a minute. So now keep lowering and raising your jaw while you're massaging. And now you're going to add the sound ma ma ma with a very light lip contact. So it's not, mmm. It's just a light lip contact for the mic.
Anne: Now what is ] that doing?
Pilar: And then you're going to change to whoa, whoa,
Anne: Wait. I'm still massaging, right?
Pilar: Yeah. You're still massaging, and you're changing from ma ma to wa wa.
Anne: Oh, I can feel the vibration.
Pilar: VO BOSSes, if you're doing this, you're hearing the resonance. That's really important because that means that you're using all those muscles.
Anne: That's awesome.
Pilar: We tend to think that we're just using the vocal box and that's it. And sometimes we can hear the chest.
Anne: No, it's our entire it's like facial jaw.
Pilar: Exactly. It's that whole, and it goes up practically -- it's like, like you're using all those muscles and all that movement there, and that will help your sound as it comes out.
Anne: Love it.
Pilar: So do you wanna try another one?
Anne: Yeah, let's try another one. Let's try another one.
Pilar: It's a lip trill. Okay. So this releases lip tension, which we tend to do and we don't even realize it. And it also helps you to connect your breathing and speaking. So place your lips loosely together. Okay? And you're going to release air in a steady stream to create a trill or a raspberry kind of a sound. So it's like [whistle-like breathing]
Anne: That's a raspberry sound?
Pilar: I'm not really sure what a raspberry sound is.
Anne: [lip trill] Isn't that what it is, the trill?
Pilar: But that's what I say -- yeah, yeah, yeah. But you can also do this. [whistle breathing] What is a raspberry sound? That is a raspberry sound, but it's like, what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to get the sound out without moving my lips, which is really cool. Hold on. [lip buzzing] That's a raspberry sound. That's a raspberry. [lip buzzing] So first try. So our microphone is getting a lot of action here. First, try it with an H sound. Then try it with a B sound.
Anne: Oh my God, that tickles.
Pilar: Yeah, it does, it tickles, right?
Anne: I can not, I can not do it. It's like when the dentist does the teeth cleaning, the polishing, and it gets on my lip, it just, I can't. It makes me tear up.
Pilar: So first try it with an H sound and then repeat with a B sound. Okay? And then [sound]. And it seems like it wouldn't be, but it is different. It's a different feeling. So now I want you to try doing the B trill. It can be either [lip trill] or it can be [lip buzz] and go up and down the scales. Okay? And whatever's comfortable. You don't have to go all the way -- whatever's comfortable at the top or the bottom.
Anne: I really think for the trill, you have to let your lips just trill like that.
Pilar: Because there's two ways to do it. There's [one way] which is more the H sound. And then there's the [lip trill].
Anne: That's easy. Okay. My lips are relaxed now.
Pilar: Yeah. Don't they feel kind of like, they feel like you can kind of feel the reverberations.
Anne: Well, once the tickle goes away, I'll, yeah. I'm not sure I can do this everyday 'cause it just tickles. I wonder if I'll get used to it.
Pilar: Yeah. And there's more, there, there are other things, there's tongue trills. There's lip buzzing. We kind of did the lip buzzing, and here's one thing that's really important: humming. You can do this anywhere. You can do this while you're walking. Humming is really great. So [hums].
Anne: Oh yes.
Pilar: So if you do humming and you concentrate, you will feel it in different parts of your face.
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: You will, you'll be able to feel it in your teeth, in your lips, and in your facial bones. So let's just try that really quickly. Just the humming.
Anne: BOSSes are humming.
Pilar: And if you go low, It's a different feeling from when you go high. And in your nose, if you concentrate on feeling it in your nose, you're going to feel all this vibration.
Anne: Yep. I feel it my nose. And I think if you visualize where it's coming from, that helps, that helps. Now this is doing some vocal lip, trills, and hums. Now I also think any exercise around your head, neck, muscles, shoulders is very helpful in the booth. So I feel like I do a lot of the neck stretches where you take your right hand, place it on your left ear and tilt your head to the side. Right? So right hand --
Pilar: Hold on, right hand, left ear.
Anne: Right-hand, left ear.
Pilar: Is your hand over your head or is it under?
Anne: It's over my head, over my head. And so as you breathe in through your nose for three seconds, then exhale, pull your head more to the right. Breathe in for three seconds. Hold it. And as you exhale, stretch your neck further towards your right shoulder. Breathe in for three and then exhale and stretch even further to your shoulder. And then you basically take your head and do on the other side. So take your left hand, put your left hand over your right ear.
Pilar: I was doing it, I was doing it the wrong way at first. I'm like, she's crazy. And then I realized I was doing it wrong.
Anne: Yeah. Breathe in through your nose. And then when you exhale, bring that head down towards your shoulder, toward the left shoulder. Exactly. Then breathe in again. And then as you exhale, bring it further towards your left shoulder. So you're stretching that neck.
Pilar: Oh, that feels good. Oh yeah, you can feel it.
Anne: Yeah. And then you can do that also forward. So take your hand, your right hand, put it on the top of your head, and breathe in for three through your nose and then exhale and then pull your head down to your chest. So chin to your chest.
Pilar: Oh my God. I can feel it all up and down the back of my neck.
Anne: So yeah, those muscles around your neck, when you warm them up, right, your vocal cords are right there. So it's super that that's warmed up as well. And in addition to the physical, like, and I also do head rolls, right? So from left to right, roll your head around the back 'til it reaches your right shoulder and then back again towards your left, and that will help you to relax those muscles around your vocal cords.
Pilar: Okay. Very important. Yeah. And one other that I will suggest is interlocking your hands in front of you and then twisting them and pushing your palms out.
Anne: Oh, forward, yeah.
Pilar: Forward. So you're stretching those, those shoulders.
Anne: Shoulder muscles. Yeah.
Pilar: And then you can bring them up and, and then, and you can actually pull your left --
Anne: Over your head, right?
Pilar: Over your head and then pull your left wrist with your right hand and then go to the right. Oh. And you can feel all up and down the arm.
Anne: And so you're stretching to the left. So you're doing that --
Pilar: Your side.
Anne: Yeah. You're doing a side stretch.
Pilar: You're doing a side stretch. Right. And you're doing, yeah. And then you go to the other side. You can feel all the way up and down the side of your body. Because when you're in the booth, you're using everything. I know that a lot of people sit in terms of moving in the booth. That's an important part of this. People ask me all the time, do you sit or do you stand? And it's like, I do both. It depends on the read. However, whatever it is that you do, make sure you don't -- if you're standing for a very long time, make sure you have a chair that you can sit. And if you're sitting for a long time, make sure you get up, move around, touch your toes, raise your arms up, you know, lift your knees a little bit, because sitting or standing in the same position for a very long time will lead you to feeling tension and --
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: And so, you know, it's like, you want to be flexible. You want to be easy.
Anne: So we've warmed up, and we're moving in the booth as we sit. And literally this takes a few minutes. You don't even have to spend an hour doing this, but every little bit helps. And I think that not only just warming up in the booth by moving around, 'cause now I'm like, wow, I've got some heat going on in this booth. Maybe you do it outside the booth if you don't have any ventilation, but wherever you do the, the exercises and the movement, the lip trills, and the head rolls, and the neck rolls, and all of the side stretches, that's wonderful before you get into do your auditioning for the day. And once you're there too, you can physicate while you're performing your script. And that actually is something that I tell my students every single day, get physical behind the mic.
Because number one, it helps you be much more believable because it's taking away all of that energy that you focus specifically just on the words coming out of your mouth. And a lot of times that doesn't make things realistic because if all you're moving is your mouth and your vocal cords, things become very consistent, right? There's no other energy coming out of you to kind of move or shape a rhythm. That would be something that we do when we're talking to one another, right? When we talk to one another or we converse or we're interacting with other people, which is kind of what you're doing with your audience behind the mic, right, you're interacting with people, you're moving your arms. You're moving your body. You have facial expressions. There's all of this movement happening behind the mic or behind your voice. And that helps us to sound the way that we do.
I mean, it, it has every bit of influence on how we sound. So if I'm just standing or sitting or standing here and I'm just here, I'm just moving my mouth and that's what I'm doing, you can notice that I sound a little bit more staccato. I don't really have a lot of, I don't know, depth or feeling. Right? So now I'm just going to like, I'm going to move stuff around. I'm going to move my hands because I really love to move around because that's what I do when I talk to people, like that's that Ganguzza, you know, moving the hands around and, and all of the expression. And if I want to really convince you of something, you can tell, you can hear it. Right? You can hear it come out in my voice. What do you do, Pilar?
Pilar: I'm all about, of course, I want to use my imagination all the time. But for example, even something as simple as a raising an eyebrow, like, I'll, I'll be like, oh yeah, right. Instead of saying, oh yeah, right. But if I raise my eyebrow, I've already changed the expression. Oh yeah. Right. And it can be an ironic raising of an eyebrow.
Anne: I'm confused. There's my furrowed eyebrow. Confused eyebrow. I have a confused eyebrow.
Pilar: Or it could be like, I'm confused. That's like an ironic raising of an eyebrow. I'm confused.
Anne: No, you're not. That's a sarcastic eyebrow.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: That would be a sarcastic eyebrow.
Pilar: Right, right. It's a sarcastic eyebrow.
Anne: Eyebrows, they really help.
Pilar: They really do. They really do.
Anne: They really help to give you that point of view, to give you that little bit of nuanced emotion about that read, and I'll tell you over and over again, that's what we keep hearing. Right? It is that kind of emotion, that point of view that, the you that you bring to the script that helps you to bring yourself to the script. Otherwise we're just spewing words into the microphone.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: We don't want to spew words. Let's not spew.
Pilar: Like an inward chuckle, like --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: You know, just the shrugging of the shoulders that we, that you know, that you mentioned in your minute. And like, for example, when you, when you say your name, you can say your name, Pilar Uribe, or you can say Pilar Uribe. So I just shrugged my shoulders Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Pilar! Or Pilar Uribe. Pi-lar.
Pilar: Yeah. And so we have this whole stretch of body, which is our shoulders that we can do so much. We can shrug one shoulder. We can shrug to shoulders. We can shrug kind of just like a little kind of a yeah, right. We're just kind of like a little inward chuckle. I just raised my shoulder. So you've got all these parts of your body that you can use that can help you when you're doing a read. Like right now I'm using my hands. You know, what you were saying before, I can be pointing to somebody. I can be gesticulating. I can be raising my arms. You know, another one we were talking about earlier is just when you do a read and you put your hands behind your back. There's kind of like --
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, here I am.
Pilar: Hands behind your back.
Anne: Or hands behind your head, right? So you're just, you're casual. If you happen to be standing or sitting, and you want to relax a little bit -- because sometimes when people are trying hard to sound a particular way, their focus is all upfront and it's all here, like in their mouth and in their, like, I feel like it's all around their face. And when you are moving your hands, moving other parts of your body, it just dissipates that energy and really reshapes the tone of what you sound like. Because we're very physical people when we talk, I think, just to each other, when we engage with one another, we're using those hands. And so why should that stop once we're in the booth, right? Because we want it. We're still engaging with our audience.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. And it's something as simple as putting your arms on your shoulders if you're playing a character, that's in a protective stance or is scared and it's like, this is the way I am now. Or if you've got your hands on the side of your waist, and you're just speaking like this, and you're sticking your chest out, that's a completely different read because you've put something in front of it instead of just speaking here and being really intense. It's almost like you have to trick your mind and you have to give your body an assignment. And then that way, when you give your body an assignment, the tension kind of dissipates as we were talking about. And then you can give a more interesting read and then that's what stops the monotony. You know, even just when you're like, when you're doing long-form, just changing your body stance because it's very hard sometimes to keep the momentum and not be boring.
Anne: Well, exactly. I'm so glad you mentioned that. Because a lot of times I work with a lot of students on, on long format narration like e-learning or corporate narration, something that, anything that's longer than even like 30 seconds, right? We have such small attention spans these days. And so you need to really be conscious and focused on keeping that audience engaged for longer than a minute, in between the periods, in between the sentences, right? There's still things happening. And if you kind of forget about that scene and engaging with the person who's listening, then it becomes a monologue. It just becomes you speaking out into the air. A lot of times I'll refer to you're reading the PowerPoint, and that does not engage with us because you're no longer speaking to me, the listener behind the mic, you're speaking off into the air, and it's only serving yourself.
And that, that comes out in the read, that comes out in the emotion that -- well, are you really talking to me? Are you concerned about how I feel? Not really, because you're reading that PowerPoint. And when you introduce physicality behind the mic, what happens, it will take the focus off of the monologue and bring it back hopefully to where you're engaging or you're not giving a consistent metronome-like read where we all become bored. It becomes more engaged on you. So I would think the only thing that you don't do when you are physicating behind the mic is take your eyes off the page because that's the one thing that's different, right? Unless you're an actor and you're on stage and you've memorized your lines or on camera, then you can obviously not use the piece of paper, but with us, we're not memorizing.
So if we play the paper -- I was told that a long time ago, play the paper. So the person you're talking to is the person right behind the words on the paper. So if that paper became a transparency for us people who are of a certain age and know what a transparency is, you can see a face or think of it as like a teleprompter with you. You can see faces behind it. You're talking to the people behind it, but you are never taking your eyes off that word or the words, because a lot of times, if you do, and I know with my actor students, I know exactly when they're taking their eyes off the paper, because they're missing words. They're stumbling and that's, that's a telltale sign, but play the paper and physicate like crazy. And nobody's, I mean, we can all be silly, right? I mean, nobody's watching you. I mean, maybe they are.
Pilar: Obviously, as long as you don't make noise, there are things that you can do. Like, for example, this is just something that I've done. And then I was thinking, how could it translate to a man? So sometimes what I'll do is I've got my hair up in a ponytail, and I'll just kind of whip my hair out. And just the movement of my head, you know, like a slow motion, like, you know, those hair commercials when they move their hair slowly, that'll give me a different reason.
Anne: I've got a visual now. The brat girl, she's like the brat girl.
Pilar: Exactly, exactly. So that'll give me a different read. And so for men, you know, if you have short hair, it's harder, but like just even putting a hat on and taking the hat off, just like the slow motion of it. Because a lot of the times when we're doing reads, you know, we want to get it done --
Anne: Yes, quickly.
Pilar: -- or not that we want to get it done quickly, but we want to get it over with, and it's in that moment, it's in that present moment that it's so important to be feeling, yes, you're reading, but you can also be doing other things with your arms, and your shoulders, and your head, and just give it that full body because that will -- even though we think it doesn't, it's going to come out in the read.
Anne: I like the full body. Yeah. And I'm glad that you said that because I tell people when they're making movements behind the mic, right, in order to make a point, sometimes it takes more of an effort. Like, 'cause I could just sit here, like here I am behind the mic, and I want to demonstrate a large circle. Right? So I use my hands and I draw a circle with my hand, right? So I say here's a large circle, but I didn't really draw a large circle. I just drew a circle in front of me. What I want to do is I want to draw a large circle. And so if you can hear what just happened is I actually drew a larger circle, and it just kind of drew my voice into a different sound and a different tone. And you may not want to go that large, but a lot of times you have to go a little bit larger than the immediate inch or two in front of your face.
Pilar: If you're doing video games, you definitely have to go larger.
Anne: Even narration. As a matter of fact, narration, because God, you've got to make sure that those nuances come out. They may not be grand emotions, but they're going to be -- I really want you to listen to this next line. It's really important. And let me talk about the circumference of this large circle over here. And so, as opposed to let me talk about the circumference of this large circle over here, right? There's a big difference when I don't move versus when I do move. And so you need to make that corresponding physical movement that gives it enough point of view, enough emphasis enough passion, whatever that is. I just -- see, I got so passionate. I plosived on my mic. I heard that.
And so, or I might've hit the mic with my hand, but you've got to give that performance behind the mic that allows you to express something that people are listening to because remember you're reeling them back into the story because they don't have to listen to you. If you're in front of someone and you're actually engaging with them, right, they're physically in front of you. And so you've got your body that you can use to help like control the conversation. Maybe not control, but use your body and your face and your hands and your voice to keep people engaged. But behind the mic, it's an imaginary audience that we're playing to, so.
Pilar: Well, and I think it's really important because along the lines of what you just said, what are we doing as voice actors? Whether we're doing long-form or we're doing an audition, our goal is not to get the words out or not to say the words in the pretty way. Just like in a conversation, you are engaging the person who's in front of you.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: That's the whole point of it. You're doing it for the other person. You're not doing it for yourself.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So in that sense, you have to be as if that person were right there in the booth with you. So you have to engage, and whatever it is, you can be physical about it. And the great thing about being in the booth is that nobody has to see you making these silly faces. You know, so if you're doing your exercises, you know, and it's like --
Anne: It's so true.
Pilar: -- you're going by them as -- this is a great exercise -- my name is -- and so you open your mouth wide and you go "my name is Tommy, the wide-mouthed frog." And that --
Anne: Tommy, okay, Tommy.
Pilar: "My name is -- hi! I'm Tommy!" And you just opened your mouth so much. And then when you go to do the normal stuff --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- also those kinds of silly exercises, you know, the big black bug --
Anne: Break the tension.
Pilar: Yep. Yeah. And then they bring you to another space if you're stuck and you're going, my gosh, this sounds the same. What am I going to do? You know, it's like, you turn yourself around, and then boom, you're in a different space and you can continue.
Anne: Yep. So you didn't think that voiceover was so physical, did you, BOSSes? Because it is, it really is. Whether we're warming up our vocal cords, whether we're warming up our muscles around the vocal cords, or whether we're performing in the booth and expressing physicality behind the mic, it is extra, extra, super, uber important.
Pilar: Agreed.
Anne: Then it really can help your performance.
Pilar: It's a lifelong thing.
Anne: That's right, that's right.
Pilar: Really and truly, if you're a voice actor and you're just starting out or you've been doing it for 20 years or you've been doing it for five, you can always pick up new tips and incorporate them. And that's going to make your voiceover time in the booth that much richer.
Anne: Yeah. Great stuff today, Pilar. You guys, you BOSSes, get moving in the booth. Big shout-out to our sponsor ipDTL, where we can connect and move in the booth with our colleagues and clients. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and keep on moving. We'll see you next week.
Pilar: See you next week.
Anne: Bye!
Pilar: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
A peaceful life is one where your work and personal lives are balanced yet separate…but how does that translate to finances? Anne & Pilar have done it all: from TurboTax and nerve-wrecking audits to having an accountant on retainer. There is no one-size fits all plan for business finances, but keeping things organized + separated is a good start. Be ready to evolve your strategy as your business does and tackle tax season like a #VOBOSS!
More at https://voboss.com/tax-season
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm excited to welcome back to the podcast very special guest cohost Pilar Uribe.
Pilar: Hi, Anne.
Anne: Pilar, Pilar, I, ugh, it's that time again.
Pilar: It's tax time.
Anne: Pilar, I think this might be the time of year where every voiceover artist entrepreneur says, oh, 'cause we got to start the process or at least forms are coming in. We're gathering receipts. We're doing all of that good stuff to prepare for the tax season.
Pilar: It's a communal flip-out.
Anne: Yes, it is.
Pilar: It's a hootenanny of flipping out.
Anne: It is. And it's always like, oh God, I don't want to, oh. Or I want to just get a nice refund. And it's been kind of crazy with the extension last year with the pandemic and things got all out of whack, but I'll tell you, I've got a few things that I've learned along the way that may help BOSSes out there. And I'm sure you do, Pilar, may help you guys when it comes time to getting ready for tax season.
Pilar: You know, I think the most important thing, Anne, is to start looking at what you've spent, how you've spent it, how you've earned it. And you know, there are people who are listening to this podcast who are going to say, oh yeah, I've got it all together. And then there are people who are just beginning their career. And so for those VO BOSSes, whatever stage you're in, it's really important to, to start it. And it doesn't matter if you don't have it all together because every single person started out not knowing what they were doing.
Anne: But, but I will tell you what helped me immensely right away for my business, whether I was part-time or full-time. 'Cause I started and I did a couple of years part-time before I went full time, was getting a separate bank account, a business bank account, so that I could separate the monies that I was using for my business in and out. So that was the single most important thing I think I started, I mean, outside of researching, do I create an LLC? Do I create -- I actually started as a DBA. Do I create an LLC? Do I have an S Corp? And I think for everyone that is just starting, that's something that you want to research. You may not need to start an LLC right away, whatever it takes. I guess it depends on -- it does depend on the state. I only required a DBA when I first started. So that's what I did. And I followed the rules and did what I needed to do. Got my DBA, and made sure I had a separate bank account so that I could account for all the money coming in and flowing out as well.
Pilar: Yeah. I completely agree with that statement. So here's something that I did. So all you VO BOSSes listening out there can do the opposite. I did actually, because my bank gave me that option. I had my regular checking account and my business checking account.
Anne: And you didn't have to have a DBA or a --
Pilar: No.
Anne: -- something that proved your business?
Pilar: No. This was when I first got to Miami after Colombia, and it was, um, Wachovia, which is now Wells Fargo, but they, they just offered that and I was like, sure, I'll take it. So it was two, two different savings accounts, two different checking accounts. But here's what I didn't do. So I really wanted to get my frequent flyer miles. So I thought I'm just going to use my regular credit card for everything. Big mistake, big mistake. So I, and I didn't do it until relatively recently that I got a separate credit card for my business. So nothing that I put on my business has anything to do with my private life and what I do when I'm buying groceries or whatever has nothing to do with what I put on the expense credit card. And that is so important because what ends up happening is if you say, oh yeah, I can just put everything on one credit card and then I'll divvy it up at the end of the year, like right now, then you're just basically pouring over and over through all your statements and it becomes a nightmare.
Anne: Well, that's just as bad as not having a business bank account.
Pilar: Yes. I agree.
Anne: And it could be worse because you tend to spend more on that credit card. Yeah. A business credit card is, I absolutely agree, one of the best things that I ever got, and you know what, I limited it to one. I actually went with American Express, and most, most places take American Express. So if I'm going to buy equipment or I'm going to make an investment, buy office supplies, whatever it is, office supplies, nice mics by the way. Those are the office supplies, Hey, a new studio, nice. Everything went on that business credit card. And it was so easy to categorize, because a lot of times they do that for you.
And the other single most important thing I did, and I say this constantly, so if you guys have listened to at least one VO BOSS episode, you probably know that the accountant was the best thing I ever did. I have her on retainer. So every month she balances my accounts. She's very familiar with my company's spending and ins and outs. And we meet every other, once every three weeks or so to go over things. And she keeps my books up to date and that makes tax season super simple.
Pilar: Right. Instead of a huge headache where your, like, heart is palpitating every day --
Anne: But I have had that happen.
Pilar: -- which is what used to happen to me.
Anne: I have had --
Pilar: Oh, I had that for years. Yeah.
Anne: And it was one of those things back -- remember when there was paper with paper receipts. I mean, I'm kind of happy now that things are electronic and at least digital, because it's easy to go recover those receipts because remember when you would put those receipts in the box, and they would be those thermal paper receipts. And so at the end of the day, they would all like wear off and you're like, what did I even buy? What is that number? What does that say? So.
Pilar: What a nightmare. What a nightmare. Yeah. Or you write something in pencil, remember the days of pencil, and then you can't read your writing for crying out loud.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah, so I would say first tax tip is figure out what your business is. And I always say if after you make a certain amount of money, yes, you need to like incorporate. You need to look at options for your business. But I was a DBA for quite a number of years, actually, Pilar. And it served me fine. I didn't have to pay a ton of money, and up to a certain amount, if you're not making over a certain amount of money, it worked really well for me. I did have to start prepaying taxes. But again, that helps when you have an accountant on your side, that's helping you do your books every month. And once I started making more money, I had to start making prepayments. And so I kind of evolved over the years. And then most recently I think you and I were discussing, and we can talk in a minute about that, I'm now an S-corp. So I pay myself and that becomes a little more complex.
Pilar: Yes. Agreed. Now, just for those of you who may not know what a DBA is --
Anne: Oh yes.
Pilar: -- what it means is "doing business as," so it is actually your registered, you register your name, your business name with whatever state you are living in, and you become like your own organization. So it, it actually, it really depends on the state that you're in because every state works differently. And so you create this entity, so you can have a way of collecting checks and payments. And then when people come to your business, you can give them that name, whatever it is. And that is your business name. You're not just Anne Ganguzza. You are Anne Ganguzza, a company.
Anne: Yep. Anne Ganguzza is a company name, like Voice Productions. And so a lot of times that does a lot for indicating to your clients that you are truly a professional, and you're not just a hobbyist here.
Pilar: Yeah. It's the official, it's official, it's an official registration of your business name. And that's really important when you're doing business and you're not just saying, oh yeah, well, yeah, it's like $.25 a word. And here -- you have to be able to present yourself as a business because we are a business first and foremost.
Anne: And at the end of the year, right, or when you have to provide w nine forms for people, you can use an EIN number instead of your Social Security number, which is a big advantage. So that EIN number is your federally assigned employer identification, if I remember correctly.
Pilar: Employer Identification Number, yes.
Anne: Employer Identification Number. So you don't have to share your Social Security with every Joe that you work for.
Pilar: Tom, Dick, and Harry.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Pilar: Yeah. And that's also, that makes a big, huge difference further on down the line. Because I became an S Corp as well recently, just very recently, and this has taken me years and years to understand.
Anne: Did you get help from a lawyer or an accountant or?
Pilar: I got help from an accountant. My accountant is my go-to person. I have a relative, who's also a tax lawyer. So that helps. But really, and truly it's, it's so important. And what you say, what you were saying gives me a great idea too, is to really have a close relationship with your accountant. I don't have her on retainer, but that's a really good idea. I call her for anytime I have to sign a paper that my agents send me. I always call and I check with her first. So we know what it is that I'm getting into because there are lots of things I don't understand. I mean, before, when I said, yes, you are first and foremost a business, we are voice actors, but that is our business. So we have to be able to do both. We have to study the craft, which is what we were talking about, you know, over the past couple of weeks. But we also have to know how to conduct ourselves in a business-like manner.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: And that means knowing what you spend, how you spend it, having a competent CPA who will be able to help you and go over things with you. So for example, one of the things that I didn't know was that there are a lot of expenses that we have that we can deduct.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: But you have to know which are the ones that you can deduct. You can't just deduct everything willy-nilly. That's what you check with your accountant for. And so my accountant every year gives me an organizer, and it's really helpful because it just, there are categories of expenses that I can look at that I may not even have realized that I can deduct.
Anne: Does this change yearly? Do you get a new one every year? So --
Pilar: I do.
Anne: Because the tax laws change every year. So my accountant has to stay up to date. And of course that's why I pay her. So she knows the latest. How much can I donate every year? How much can I deduct for this? How much can I deduct for that? And is this a deduction really? And so the cool thing about having one on retainer, and it's not as expensive as you might think, because she just, she's very good at it. And she does it. She just does it for a set number of clients. I'm not that complicated in reality. My business is not that -- it's not like I have retail that I'm shipping out every day and I've got all sorts of vendors that I'm purchasing from. Literally it is essentially my expense is buying equipment and things for the office and things for my business and literally people paying me. And that is a simpler business than let's say a corporation that has employees and all that sort of thing and health benefits.
And so for her to manage my account, it's fairly, for what she does, inexpensive. And the nice thing about it is that because she manages it monthly, by the time tax season rolls around, usually most accountants are crazy busy. And I remember like panicking because before I had hired her on a monthly retainer, it was the end of the year, and I was scrambling, right? Oh, here, here are my forms. And I would make copies, scan my copies of everything, and send it to her because she was not local. I used to go to a local one, but you know, now she's, she lives in another state. And so I would make sure I, back in the day, faxed it, sent it securely to her so she could do the taxes, but then it was like, you know, nail-biting because she was working on other clients as well. And there was that deadline.
And so she would be so crazy busy that I would be like, oh my God, did you get, you know, and then -- do I owe, do I owe? And if I, oh, I have to prepare or am I getting anything back? And so that's whole that nail-biting period of time, where a good month or two, even if I started at the end of January, here are all my forms. She was insanely busy. So she got to me when she got to me. And so sometimes I'd be waiting a month and I'd be like, do I owe money? So ultimately it's so much nicer now that she already knows my accounts well, and we meet periodically so I can explain, you know, things, money that comes in. What was that for? Where should I categorize that?
And basically that's it. And she manages by the way, not just the income coming in in one payment, because I allow my clients to pay me either PayPal credit card, ACH. There's multiple ways that my clients can pay me. And she handles all of those accounts, including my personal account that comes in so that we can make sure that I get the best tax advantages that I can for the year.
Pilar: Yeah. That's really important. One of the things that I think is for me, so my brother-in-law used to do my taxes way, way back when, and then one day he basically said, okay, Pilar, you're all grown up. You need to start doing your own taxes. And I was like, what? I was incensed. I was so hurt. And then I was like, yeah, it's called being a grownup. So I went to TurboTax, and I think I might've done one year.
Anne: Yeah. We tried that too. It gets complicated when you're personal. And then business.
Pilar: The reason why I mentioned is because that's exactly what happened to me is that I thought that I could do it all because -- I know a lot of people who do their -- I know a lot of actors who do their own taxes. And I think that that's awesome. And if you are really good with numbers, and you understand bookkeeping, good for you. But if you don't, and this is something that a really good friend of mine taught me, if there is something that you can't do when you're just butting your head against the wall, there are people who know how to do it better than you.
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Pilar: So stop be trying to invent the wheel.
Anne: Be smart, outsource.
Pilar: Exactly. Go and get an accountant. There are plenty of accountants who are specialized, and that's important, to find an accountant who is specialized in the kind of business that you have.
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: And so they know what to deduct, and they know that they can -- you know, so if you have a business, and you're inside your house, they can figure out, you know, I can take this much for, in terms of using my business in the home, because there are ways to structure that, and they know how to do that.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: But trying to do it on your own when you don't know what you're doing, and you're using a platform, I can't tell you the amount of times I messed up on TurboTax.
Anne: Oh yeah, oh yeah. Well, and us too, it's a nightmare. It is a nightmare.
Pilar: And it can cost you a lot of money. And luckily my brother-in-law would, he would like, you know, drag me from the edge. And finally I said, okay, that's fine. I get it. I'm hiring an accountant.
Anne: Yeah. Well, it's like one of the, I can do it. Yeah. I'll save money if I do it. In reality, by the time you've finished doing it, you've spent so many hours trying to learn --
Pilar: That you can't get back --
Anne: -- and then do it --
Pilar: You can't get back those hours.
Anne: And plus you're not up on all the tax laws. That's the other thing. You could be making deductions that you did not, or you're, you may not know about deductions that you can take. And that is so, so important, which is why for me, I'd rather invest it. I consider it an investment. My accountant is an investment in my business ,and she helps to -- she explains things to me and has to tell her, like, what does this even mean? And I'll just say, hey, look, I'm not proud. We are entrepreneurs. We own our own business. If you do well at that business, I remember the first few years, of course I showed a loss, right? And the government expects that right for businesses. So you can have a loss and I actually did have a loss, but when you start making money, and then if you start making a certain amount of money and you are a self-employed, they look harder at you.
And so it is not inconceivable that you will get audited, even if, you know, I mean, look, I'm on the up and up. I mean, my accountant's on the up and up, and I got audited a couple of years ago, and it's not fun, but because we were organized, and she had done my taxes for so long, it was super easy for us to submit, like they thought we were missing paperwork or they wanted proof for some donations or whatever it was. I can't even remember what it was, but we had it. It wasn't a big deal at all, but anything that goes through the government, as you know, takes that amount of time. And she was able to like send the certified letters, send everything that they needed.
And then of course they didn't receive it. I got another letter that said, blah, blah, blah, or I owed, and I needed to pay. Whatever that was, she was able to take care of it for me. And it was just, uh, it was, oh, it was just a godsend because otherwise I would have had to do it myself. And it's scary when you get audited. You're like, oh my God, did I do something wrong? Of course I didn't do my, you know, she did it for me. I'm like, oh my God, did something happen? Did we take a deduction that shouldn't have happened? Of course not. So, but you've got to prove it. You've got to prove it to them. So.
Pilar: And they know, because they've been doing it for so many years, they know how to go up against the government and say, no, no, it's right here.
Anne: Line here. I deducted this. Yup.
Pilar: Yeah. They know the lingo. They know how to do it. And also something that I learned this past year is that they are behind a good six weeks.
Anne: Always. If, if not more.
Pilar: If you ever get a letter from the government, they're responding to something that happened six to eight weeks before this. And so if you're like panicking going, oh my gosh, I don't know what to do, that's why it's always great to have an account in your corner, knowing what's going on, because then everything is up, and it's out in the open. Trying to be underhanded is not great. And if you make a mistake, you're setting yourself back and you're giving yourself a headache when guess what? You could be spending time in the booth.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: So like, for example, in this organizer that we were talking about before, it gives you ideas and things that you can deduct. So let's say you haven't really paid attention to your stuff. You can go ahead and look back. That's why a credit card is so important because that's where you see the spending, and you can see, oh, I spent this money on that. Or, oh, I can actually deduct this, but you have to have your receipts all in one place. That's why you want to have a separate credit card.
Anne: Oh. And I try to use that credit card for every single transaction. And that includes healthcare as well. Because as part of my business, right, taking care of my health, I have a deductible. I have a healthcare plan through my husband, but what I pay that's not covered by that is also deductible. And that can be towards my tax year. And so if I pay for everything on that credit card, it's super simple to organize for my accountant. Just almost everything goes on the credit card as a matter of fact. I think I only write, I only write checks and that and checks really, the one credit card and checks, and it's been probably the easiest thing ever.
I think the fact that I accept multiple credit cards coming in and checks coming in and PayPal and Venmo, I accept all these other incoming pathways of income, that's harder for her to organize than the fact that I only pay out on my credit card or I write a check once in a while. It's funny because I almost don't know how to write a check anymore.
Pilar: I know I never do. I almost never do. It's really funny.
Anne: And who mails a check? I mean, like oh my God.
Pilar: Well, what about when you're sending it to the IRS?
Anne: Yes, exactly.
Pilar: Then you have to certify it and make sure they get it and return receipt. That whole business.
Anne: Goodness. Yep.
Pilar: Something that I started doing too for myself, even though I hand everything over, but I like having my stuff organized. So this is, and I'm going to tell the VO BOSSes, this is how I used to do my taxes. Just so you realize --
Anne: The shoe box.
Pilar: Practically.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So I would have different folders. I had different folders, but I mean, we're talking less than three years ago, I was still doing this. All right? We're not talking like 10, 20 years ago. And I would use either my laptop calculator or I would use my iPhone calculator to add up all my gas. Okay. That's how backward I was.
Anne: Oh. And mileage too, remember mileage like, when you would travel anywhere, to a studio.
Pilar: Back then. Yeah. But back in the old days.
Anne: Before the pandemic.
Pilar: Right, exactly. Before the pandemic, but I would literally add everything up, and then I would give her the totals, you know, how much I spent on clothing for auditions, on headshots, and resumes, blah, blah, blah. And there's so many now on the market, but the one I use, and I'm actually thinking of changing to QuickBooks, but I use Quicken. So Quicken is great for you to -- and it's basically, it doesn't really matter what the program is. It's basically for you to be able to see A, you can balance, you can balance your budget that way, which is really important, but you can also see, and it can give you summaries of what you spent over the year.
So then you go, oh, okay. This is how much I'm spending on groceries. So this is how much I'm spending on takeout, since you've got all these categories and then you can sit there and you can look. Okay, do I really need, you know, in terms of creating a budget for yourself, because you know, we're still kind of going through this situation and where people, jobs and whatever -- the whole market has changed. So it's really great to keep an inventory of what you're doing, and for tax time, then you've got it all in one place. You just have to say, oh yes, okay. This is how much I spent on classes. This is how much I spent on new equipment.
Anne: Yep, coaching or yep, new equipment, studio costs. I have an entire folder when I built my studio for just studio costs.
Pilar: Exactly. And all of that of course is deductible because it's your business. And so that way, when you've got a program like Quicken or QuickBooks and there's, you can keep track of it through waves. There's the waves app, the Mint, there's, there's so many, Next Wallet, you just keep track of what you're spending and also what you're earning. And I think it's really helpful because really, and truly, we are voice artists. We're also entrepreneurs. We're also our own business. If we treat ourselves like that, if we treat ourselves like serious business people, other people are going to, when they look at our business, they're going to go, oh, okay. She knows where this is. She knows how to, you know, the invoice, this, this is how I do my business. And that is something that, you know, you can go home at night and go, yeah, I'm a business. I'm an artist doing my business. And that's really important. And then when tax time rolls around -- tax time -- you're not freaking out. Right? Because you've got your stuff organized.
Anne: That's the biggest thing. BOSSes, if you take anything away from this, it's being organized sooner rather than later, all through the year, every single day. Be organized, track those expenses and have that account, try to keep it as simple as possible. And like I said, we're actually kind of lucky. We're not as complex as some corporations that provide healthcare and hire employees. I mean, I outsource, so that's a whole other thing because I pay people as well. But honestly, compared to like a normal corporation, it's fairly simple what we do and what we need to keep track of.
So I think that if you can give yourself a certain amount of time each week, each day to just make sure those expenses are categorized, they're organized, they're put into financial software, you talk about QuickBooks or Quicken -- I used to use Quicken, but now I use QuickBooks online with my accountant. We can both go into the same account and look and try to reconcile. If she has any questions, she can ask me. And it's a really great way to just keep on track with things. That's the best thing you can do is keep on track because by the end of the year, the last thing you want to do is to be scrambling.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. It really is great to be able to see what it is that you do in your daily life. We couldn't really do this before the age of digital. And so it's really nice to be able to see, because we're freelancers at the end of the day. Unless you have a nine to five job doing this, you don't really know how you're spending your money. So it's, it's a really nice sort of bird's-eye view of seeing, okay, this is what I spent on gas. This is what I spent on takeout.
Maybe I can cook a little bit more at home if the money situation, if it's that time of year, when there're not a lot of auditions coming in and you're not booking work as much as you'd like to, then you can say, oh, okay, I can shave a little bit off of this. Because you see, and you have your totals and you see what you've spent for the month. You've, you've already figured out what your budget is, so. And it takes time. I didn't come to this, these realizations overnight. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to figure it out.
Anne: And tears.
Pilar: You know, but there're great resources online. You know, I don't know if people are aware, there's this organization called actorsfund.com and you just have to basically, you know, you can do orientation sign up as an actor because we are actors, and they have all these great courses like budgeting nuts and bolts, how to create your own budget.
Anne: Oh, nice. How do people get there again? What is that, actorsfund.com?
Pilar: Actorsfund.com.
Anne: Awesome. Great.
Pilar: There're all sorts of programs. I mean, if you live in New York, there's ways you can, they talk about housing. They talk about mindfulness meditation.
Anne: Because after we do our taxes, we need that.
Pilar: We need to lay down.
Anne: We need mindful meditation to calm down. I also want to say though, that not just for full-time entrepreneurs, but for people who are doing this part-time, I remember when I did it part-time, I didn't at the time have enough opportunity to make a certain amount of money so that the taxes were simpler. If I made a thousand dollars in the year, did I actually report that as a business income? Not necessarily, but if you are part-time, and you intend on either you're getting enough work, and you're intending on going full time, getting that business bank account, figuring out if you're going to be an LLC or an S-corp or DBA, whatever that is, I think the sooner you start that, the better.
And it's always good to be mindful of keeping your accounts separate. So if you are doing this part-time, maybe get, if you're not incorporated yet, or you're not a DBA yet, just get a separate credit card and only use that. And then maybe see if you can get a different bank account. Hopefully your bank will allow you to get a business bank account so that anything that comes in or goes out, goes through that account. So start early with that.
Pilar: And check out, I think it's, Next Wallet. You can actually do comparison of credit cards to get really good deals. So you can get a credit card that can give you points, and you can even pay for some of your bill with the points.
Anne: Yeah, that's, that's what mine is. So whenever I use to buy, I get money back at the end of the year. I get like 2%, 3% back. And that's typically what I do because I don't want to pay my full bill. Right?
Pilar: There are a lot of resources out there. You just have to look for them to help you. And it does get easier with time.
Anne: It does get easier, guys. BOSSes, you can survive tax time. Pilar, and I are here to tell you that. Get yourself organized.
Pilar: It'll go from "it's Tax Time" to "it's tax time, yay."
Anne: There you go. There we go. Wow. Good topic. Not always one that I love talking about, but hey, it's a necessary topic. And to be BOSSes, we have to move forward and get prepared and pay those taxes and survive the season. So BOSSes, we have the faith that you can do this. I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor ipDTL that allows you to network and connect like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.
Pilar: See you next time.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Have you ever wanted to be someone else (or maybe just sound like someone else?). Expand your performance reach with speech-to-speech technology and explore new options as an actor! Anne & Alex Serdiuk from Respeecher discuss how voice actors can benefit from incorporating digitized voice options into their repertoire using the Respeecher platform. They chat tech, marketplace, usage, and just a few of the possibilities available to VO talent using speech-to-speech to enhance their acting range More at https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-growing-respeecher
Have you ever tried singing your audition copy? Anne & Pilar do! This week, your hosts will teach you how to let go in the booth and approach scripts using a musical edge. All copy has a distinct flow and requires proper pacing, a distinct rhythm, and hints of uniqueness that keep listeners interested. Get ready to listen, sing, and most importantly, break down copy like a #VOBOSS!
More at: https://voboss.com/singing-and-vo
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with a very special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Hey, Pilar.
[Pilar humming]
Anne: Hey, I recognize that. Hey, is that this song? [song playing] Ugh, Pilar, I love, love, love this song. And you know what? Even if I didn't know what it meant, like, I feel like the title just says it all, "Attacks of Happiness." Like honestly, like that's just a joyful, happy song. You are so multi-talented -- again, I say the triple, quadruple, multilevel threat. I think there's a lot to be said about singing and musicality in voiceover. And I'd love to chat with you about that today.
Pilar: Yeah, it's funny because a lot of people think that singing and acting aren't connected or they say, oh, I can't sing. You don't have to be a singer to have a sense of musicality and incorporate that into your work.
Anne: Or a musician. We'll just say musician, right? I think there's so many parallels in voiceover.
Pilar: Absolutely. Because the thing is is that when you're given a script, whether it's 30 seconds, or it's, you know, an audiobook, or it's 10 pages of e-learning there's beats and there's rhythm to it.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: You have to find that, you have to find the musicality of whatever it is that you're talking about.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: And so it really doesn't matter what the, what the length is. You need to break it down and create beats and find the beats and find where there are the parts where you can slow down and speed up.
Anne: And the rhythm.
Pilar: And the tonality of it.
Anne: Well, you know, what's so interesting, and I teach conversational melody to my students, and what's so interesting -- yeah, what's so interesting --
Pilar: Oh, talk about that, that's so cool.
Anne: -- we don't -- thank you -- we don't ever really listen to our own conversation and break it down into melody, but all the time we're getting specs that say conversational or talk to us like it's your best friend. Right? And so, because we don't think about what we sound like melodically when we're talking conversationally, over the years, I've broken it down technically. But again, you can't spend too much time thinking about the technicality of it, but just know that we're organically thinking about what we're saying, right?
So that has everything to do with the pacing and the rhythm of how we talk, because I'm thinking of things to say in my brain. And then they come out my mouth, and when that happens, I'm thinking, okay, now I know what I'm going to say. Right? So I'm thinking, here's my rhythm and my length of what I'm going to say. And then I know what I'm saying. And ultimately, when it comes to important words that I want you to hear, I'm basically making those whole notes or holding the notes longer. So I really want you to listen to this. So I've really like emphasized that. And so that becomes part of a melody. It becomes part of music. If you read music, think of it as your whole note, and all the words that lead up to the important word as your half notes, your 16th notes, your 8th notes, whatever that is.
And then you also need to think about like, phrasing, right? Because I don't breathe in the middle of what I'm saying to you. I don't do this and then breathe and chop my phrases like this. I do this. I just -- all my words are kind of flowing along, and I'm creating a phrase or a thought or an idea in one breath. So it's similar to singing, right, and singing phrases because you don't stop and breathe in the middle of them all. You basically have one breath and you're like, hey, this is what I want to say to you. You're not going to go, hey, this is what I want to say to you. It's no, it's, it's really very different.
And I think what people might tend to not think about is when you're being conversational and believable, it's all about the pacing, all about the rhythm and the pacing, which makes it more believable. And if you're too consistent in anything that you do, right, in your melody, in your beat, in your rhythm, it becomes like white noise. And so that's where people tune you out, right? It becomes like a metronome.
Pilar: Yup.
Anne: And now I've heard that enough. And so I tune you out. So I think that rhythm and the melody is so, so important to the musicality. And like you were saying, I mean, it's almost like with voiceover, it is a song. Your script is a song.
Pilar: I love that you teach that. I think that that's awesome. And for those VO BOSSes who think, I don't know how to carry a tune, and I don't know about beats, if you've ever sat in a restaurant or a bar and you've tapped your foot to something, or you've been watching television and you're kind of like, you get into it, you're holding the beat. You are carrying the beat in your feet. So it's part of us. Anytime we hear music and any time something strikes us, and we, we start moving our shoulders, let's say, or we start moving our bodies or just our torsos, we are holding rhythm.
Anne: Oh yeah. Rhythm and energy.
Pilar: Yeah. Rhythm and energy, absolutely. So when you are looking at a script, let's say a 30-second script, you have to figure out where that is. And by musicality, doesn't mean that I'm going to be talking like this. I'm no, it's not about --
Anne: And you don't want to be sing-song either.
Pilar: No, absolutely not.
Anne: Right? Exactly.
Pilar: But there is a rhythm. You know, if you listen to like a lot of the times, I, I love to listen to the Superbowl commercials, but I close my eyes, or I will look at a commercial and I'll turn the sound off because you will see the rhythm in the movement, as well as in the vocal quality of it. There's a very specific rhythm to certain products. And they're very, very aware of this. So as voice actors, we have to become aware of it as well, so we're not, as you said before, you know, we're not the same all the way through. Because it's really easy to get into that flow. And you're like, oh, this is really great. I'm in the flow. So I'm just going to keep talking the same way. And it's like, mm-mm, that's not the way we talk in real life.
Anne: Right, right. But I love how you brought up that there's to, any particular script or any particular commercial, if you listen, there's a musicality. And then there's something that they call sonic branding. Right? [McDonald's jingle] you know, that kind of thing, or "we got the meats, "that kind of thing where it becomes part of the brand, that melody, but you want your melody when you're voicing something to be something that draws the listener in. And that usually means something that is not consistent or musical in any kind of consistent pattern, because that then becomes predictable. And the last thing that we want to do is to become predictable in our voiceover acting.
Pilar: Yeah. It's really important to, when you're listening to voiceovers, because that's where you do the homework. That's when you find out, oh, what is it that these people are getting, you know, paid the big bucks, let's say for super bowl commercials, what is it that they have? And you'll find this little irregular heartbeats, shall we say? And you'll find little pieces of humor and little turns of a phrase, and it's not about copying it. It's about -- a big part of finding the musicality is also feeling it.
Anne: Yes. Agreed.
Pilar: You have to be able to kind of feel the rhythm because when we're sitting there and we're tapping our feet, if we're in a bar or we're in a restaurant, we're feeling the rhythm and we're like, oh, okay. "I'm having attacks of happiness." So, you know, you can sit there and you can find that rhythm. You can do that when you're speaking, but you have to find the rhythm.
Anne: I have to tell you, and we're talking like all areas of music that can help you in voice over, I have an app called Appcompanist. And actually that was introduced to me by my singing teacher. I do have a singing teacher, and what I love about singing. And even if I don't think, look, I'm not going to go out on the stage anytime soon and sing at the bar down the street. No, but it's all about being able to control, also warmup. I mean, singing is a great warmup for your voice, and also figure out where I can place my vocals. You know, there's a lot to be said for placing vocals in different places. And that becomes a way that we can explore our range as a voice actor and range in terms of pitch. But I don't think we should ever become like, oh, I just need to pitch up in this particular note for the rest of the copy. It just gives us a place to start from. And that is very, very helpful in getting different ranges in your vocal footprint.
Pilar: Yes, I totally get what you're saying. An image came to me as to, because obviously as we grow older, our voices get deeper, and I've found that I've found a deepness in my chest that I -- I was always up here talking here. I was sort of like up in my throat.
Anne: Yeah, me too.
Pilar: And then when I started concentrating on my chest, I have found different levels of my chest voice. So it's right here, and it's really, really intense.
Anne: And the cool thing is, is that it becomes a place where you feel where the sound is coming from, rather than trying to mimic or trying to like get to a particular note. It becomes, oh, I feel the vibration in my chest. So that's all I care about thinking about when I'm voicing this, just make sure that that voice is coming from my chest. Or, and I actually saw this -- Debbie Derryberry, who's a wonderful character actress, she has a TikTok channel, which she has quite a few followers. She just reached 1 million. But she talked about how she created some of her character voices.
And so one of them was like, she would actually be talking, say, okay, so she's a little bit younger. So now I feel like her voice is coming from her eyes. You know? And so, as she was saying it, she was pointing to the different places where her voice was coming out. And that really helps to change the pitch of the voice. And also she added the emotion and the feeling along with it, and that really created a believable character. It was really a fun thing to watch, but that is the idea of a vocal placement and how singing can help your voiceover to really evolve and expand your repertoire of characters.
Pilar: Absolutely. One of the things that I do, and I, I need to do it more often, but it happens more when I'm stuck. I'm looking at a piece of copy, and I'm like, ah, I don't know what to do with this. I start singing it. I sing the whole thing.
Anne: Oh, interesting.
Pilar: Yeah. So if you've got "plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is," you know, that kind of a thing, or so I will do the reverse, if I'm hearing a song. So for example, this is a script that I did a couple of years ago. "When it comes to finding quality care for your kids, you can't make any compromises. [sings] When it comes to finding quality care for your kids, you can't make any compromises." Just something as simple as that will completely change, if you go through the entire script, it'll completely change the way you thought something could be.
'Cause here's the thing that I found about voice. I've always seen my voice is kind of like a race horse. And sometimes it just shoots out of the stable, and it's like, I don't know where it's going because it's like completely wild. And I have to rein it in. But sometimes I need to give it like a little push. So I'll sing my copy. And it's like, when a dog turns around three times and then settles himself down -- my cat, my cat does the same thing, of course, because she copied my dog when he was alive -- but it's kind of like, if you don't know where to go with something and then you kind of distract, you distract it.
Anne: I think it leads obviously to a different melody when you voice it. And possibly, I think it leads you to thinking about it in different emotions.
Pilar: Exactly, exactly.
Anne: Which I'm always like, if you want to create you know the ABC takes, which I think everybody in the world just goes, this is take one. This is take two. This is take three. Right? And all they do is change the first note. Right. So if you think about that, that's so predictable. And we really need our takes to be completely unique and different. So I love that you lead with singing it because that can lead you to a different sound. And then that sound can lead you to a different emotion, and that can lead you to a different place in your imagination. So that really takes you almost into a different scene and a different reaction to the scene, which then gives you a completely different take. Bam.
Pilar: And also -- exactly. Because the thing is, you're looking at the script, but you -- myself, I don't know what -- I may read the script, but I don't really know what it's about because I've spent exactly 30 seconds on it. You know, a copywriter has spent days or even weeks on it.
Anne: Which is why we should all spend a little bit more than 30 seconds.
Pilar: Exactly. It's my job to become familiar with it. So if I don't really know, let's say about care.com. Care.com... "Care.com understands this better than anyone." Well, do they really understand it better than anyone?
Anne: What do they understand?
Pilar: Exactly. They know that you want to find someone great who can bond with your kids and take care of them. And then if I do different things, if I go to different places, so let's say I'm stuck with this. And I'll, "when it comes to finding quality care for your kids, you can't make any compromises." I'm not going to do that for the actual thing, but that'll bring me somewhere and I'll go, oh, that's really interesting. I did it sort of like an older person like this and Care.com -- "when it comes to finding quality care for your kids" -- that just gave it a whole different range. I mean, I don't know how different, but I felt it different when I went back and I did it quickly just as an example, because I got to a different place.
Anne: Yeah. I get that. Here's a thought, you know, it's so funny that you say you sing it because a lot of times when I come in my studio getting ready to do an audition, I'm singing because I'm like, "hello, and here I am," you know, "I'm in the booth now." And so I'll just start singing it and I'll sing my script. It's so funny that you said that. And I consider that a little bit of a warmup, but here's a thought. What if we just started singing script while we then did a quick Google search and went to the website? Because I think then again, I think there's a visual branding that you get from that company that can tell you how they want to portray themselves to the customer. And I think that would help a lot in terms of giving you a different scene, a visual plus your singing, and then go back to the copy and see what happens.
Pilar: And there's a big part of this that -- I can only speak for myself. But when I'm looking at a script for the first time, I have a built-in skeptic, and I have the adult that has to do her homework, and she has to get the audition done. And what I do when I sing, and I also do exactly what you just said, which is I look at the copy and I'm sort of distracting myself. It's almost like I'm fooling the adult part of me so I can kind of say, okay, it's time for you to take a step back and then let the child enter and play with this script.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: That gives it more flavors too, because if you're looking at it with the eyes of an adult, like, okay, I have to break this down, and I have to do this, which is important. Breaking down the script is really important and finding the beats, but it's also being able to say, okay, let's put the adult aside for a second and let's just play with it. Let's sing, let's be goofy. Let's put on a boa and the -- you know, that's why I talk about using props in the booth when I'm doing auditions, and let's be a diva. And I have a teacher who a lot of the times I'll be doing characters, and then he'll have me go way, way off on a tangent and give me just, just to go completely over the top. And then he's like, okay, now go right into the character straight.
Anne: Yeah, yeah, you do the wild take and then completely over the top, then bring it down. Yeah. That's an excellent piece of advice too. And by going over the top, you can be singing, right? Again, I feel like just taking yourself out of that like metronome of here's, what it should sound like, and then getting yourself off of that melody, whatever it takes, singing, to get yourself off of that melody. There's so many people that have, they come into the booth with a melody in their head because they've heard it for years, a particular announcery way. This is different.
What you need to do is to, again, make it that authentic believable and take it to a different note, really. I have a blog that I wrote that's called Perfectly Imperfect and the voice artist is one of my favorite doing this corporate piece, which is about two minutes long, talking about how technology should be made for all of us, right? She's a beautiful voice, but it's imperfect. It cracks, it splits. It's a little raspy. And she ends up talking on notes that we wouldn't anticipate, meaning she's very much in the scene, very much talking and thinking as she's talking. And it leads her to these notes in the copy, which are beautiful and so unique that it makes me listen. And I think that that is where we want to strive to be. Like, we can't just say the words in a melody that is like, we've already rehearsed it. We already know the ending of the story.
We have to work in that melody that surprises us, that as we discover what's happening, it's evident in our melody. It's evident in our emotion. And I think that a lot of times, that melody doesn't have to be all over the map. You don't have to be an opera singer. We don't have to be singing scales that are crazy. It can be, again, very nuanced. In our conversational melodies, we don't really, if you're talking about music, we don't really go thirds. Right?
We aren't talking about this because we're not that excited all the time, right? Or maybe we're only excited for a few, a few words, which in case you can advance that third. You're almost never going between a C and a C sharp, right, or a C and a D in conversational melody, a C and a D. I didn't say C and a D! I said, C and a D. If you're musical, you're hearing that C and a D, I went up just a touch. And so musically, you're not creating crazy riffs or crazy splits, unless maybe you're a character. Right? And you have a more dynamic personality. So I think that the musicality changes with the character, changes with the emotion.
Pilar: Yes, absolutely. One of the things that I think is so important is to recognize, because I struggle with this. When I look at the copy and the reason why I'll go out and sing it is because my first instinct is to play it safe. It's like, I'm going to be a good little girl and read the specs. And I'm going to follow the specs to the letter. And I'm going to do my little homework and do my beats and everything. And there's a moment where you have to just get out of that box.
Anne: Be the naughty girl.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: You've got to be the naughty girl.
Pilar: Oh Anne, now we got some, we got a little insight in here to Anne Ganguzza's private life. VO BOSSes, take note.
Anne: Oh my goodness. But isn't that what they tell us all the time?
Pilar: Absolutely.
Anne: You've got to catch the casting director's ear who has just listened to the same melody 200 times. Think about it.
Pilar: Exactly. Exactly. So they're looking for the raspy.
Anne: What does that melody that they expect? They're looking for the unexpected. Yeah.
Pilar: They're looking for the imperfect. So when you hear something, this is something that's really important in acting that I learned many years ago, you do your beats, you do your homework, you rehearse it, you rehearse it. But then when you do actually do the copy for a take, you're allowing the words to speak as if it's for the first time. So you're acting for the first time, because you know, the one thing that I hear when I'm in workshops is, you know, people they're reading the script, and it's like, you cannot read the script.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: You, you can read the script when it's the first time. That's awesome. It's great. But if you're going to do that for an audition, you better have a whole world behind it. So it's like, and that's where employing something like music comes into it. I mean, this is something that someone else me in doing promos. It really helps to have something like a song in the back. So for example, I'll take my headphones off, and I'll put my iPhone headphones in so it doesn't bleed, and I'll be listening to music on my phone. And then I'll just listen to a piece of music that is going to help me out for this particular audition. And that will kind of get me into the rhythm of it. And that, it's just really funny, 'cause I'll listen to when I first read it and then I'll listen to it the second time around, and I'll be like, oh my God, this is a completely differently read. It's the funniest thing.
Anne: It's completely different. I love that for a tip because you know, it's funny. I remember like, and sometimes I'll do this. I'll do an example of here's why, if you're just simply yourself telling a story and you're focused on that, that melody fits any kind of music underneath you. You could have something strong and dramatic, or you can have something that's quiet. And just look, I'm talking to you from the heart, and you could have swells of music when you're just like, I'm talking from the heart and then you could be dramatic and loud underneath you, that fits. And it also fits with a calm piano piece.
And it's so interesting when I do that example, I'll actually put different music underneath a very conversational voice and show how it really works. So that authentic, real sound, that melody goes with any type of music. And I think that's why it's really requested quite a bit. Not only for that reason, because you can put any kind of music or maybe visuals with it, because it works, because you're telling the story. But also just because it's effective.
Like if you're fighting with the other elements of the piece, which would be music and visuals, then you're fighting, and that is not effective in engaging your audience, plus it sells, right? That's like the bottom line. Most people want that, because a real authentic person is going to sell more than an announcer or somebody that's mimicking or somebody that doesn't sound believable. And so therefore you have to understand that melody of being engaged in a conversation without really trying to follow any other type of melody or mimicking a melody. I love the talk about music today.
Pilar: The one thing that I will say, especially for the people out there who don't sing, don't censor yourself. Even if you're off key, it doesn't matter. You're in your booth, you're in a safe place.
Anne: That's right.
Pilar: Sometimes, 'cause I have a, I have a really good ear, so I can always hear when I'm just a little bit off or when I hear any other singer, that's like literally like a sharp over or a sharp or a flat under, and I can hear it. And it's like, unh, but the important thing is, if you're on a roll and you're going at it in the booth, don't stop yourself. Follow through on that idea, even if you're not really sure where it's going. A lot of the times as voiceover actors, we want to get it perfect, and we don't let ourselves go through the entire phrase of that. So if you feel like I'm not really where it's going, keep going, because your voice, again, your voice is like a race horse. You have to keep going with it even if it might not be going in the exactly the direction that you imagined, don't stop yourself because you may find some great nuggets.
Anne: Yeah, let it, let it flow.
Pilar: Yeah. You may find some great nuggets in there.
Anne: Yeah. Let it flow. And what's so interesting is I'm going to say --
Pilar: "Let it flow. Let it flow." I just had to bring that in.
Anne: As we round out the end of this episode is try then, and this is a hard one. So understand your melody, let it evolve. Let it come out of you naturally without trying to listen to it. Because once you try to listen to the melody, as you're speaking it or voicing it, you then distract yourself from telling that story. And it's, it's another layer of your brain that doesn't need to be invoked with listening to what you sound like. Because when you listen to what you sound like, then you're listening to what you sound like. And you're not concentrated on letting the music flow out of you, letting the script flow out of you. And that's such a tough thing to grasp.
And I want BOSSes out there to know, this does not happen overnight. This is something that all of us as actors, we work on this and hone our craft for years. We're constantly honing our craft. So I know there's so many people out there, they get very frustrated. And when you're building an ear, like you said, you have an ear, and that's could be a whole other podcast. Like how do you build your ear? It is not an overnight thing. Building your ear takes time. And it's very difficult to detach yourself while still hearing yourself. As I was just saying, don't listen to your melody; just let it evolve and let it flow out of you. And that's a tough thing to do. And while you're developing your ear, all of a sudden you can hear all sorts of weird things. And you're like, I don't even know what I'm listening to anymore. That's the person who does 15 consecutive auditions in a row. By the 15th, you don't even know what you're listening to anymore. It's then become a repetitive rut.
Pilar: Yeah, no, absolutely. And, and something really to keep in mind is that there's only room for one role in the booth. You cannot be the actor, the director, and the critic all at once.
Anne: Yeah. That's an excellent point.
PIlar: When you're doing the piece or, you know, beforehand, you can direct yourself, and then you have to let go, put that one to the side, the director role to the side, do the piece, stop, and then edit, but really try not to do it mid-sentence because you're just, it's like, that's like the death of creativity.
Anne: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Wow. What a cool episode. Thank you, Pilar. This is so interesting.
Pilar: Yeah, it was, it was great. And I learned a lot from you too. It's like, now I want to take your conversational melody course.
Anne: Thank you. I took piano when I was younger and I did sing a little bit to the point where I think that's where I base a lot of where my voice and my words come out. I mean, everything's a melody, right?
Pilar: Yep. Absolutely. Everything is a melody.
Anne: That being said, I'd like to give a huge shout-out to our sponsor ipDTL that allows us to explore our melodies with friends and peers and coworkers near and far. You can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Pilar: "Ciao, bella mia."
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Microphones are microscopes. They pick up everything, including thoughtful acting! In this episode, Anne & Pilar discuss why acting is essential to a successful VO career. Acting requires imagination, creativity, and using much more than just your voice. Tune in for advice on involving your body in your read, the intimacy of voice acting, and why you need to develop a character for every genre…
More at https://voboss.com/the-art-of-voice-acting
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Good morning, Pilar. How are you?
Pilar: I am great, Anne. I'm doing well. How are you?
Anne: Oh, you know, I'm doing all right. Except I, I've already spilled half a cup of coffee. Oops. I just --
Pilar: Did it again?
Anne: -- I admitted that I drink -- no, I admit that I drink coffee. I love my coffee, and people that listen to this podcast know how much I love my coffee. So I have to chase it with lots and lots of water so it doesn't dry my mouth out. And hopefully you're not hearing mouth noise at this point, but anyway.
Pilar: I just heard one. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
Anne: So there we go. So then, I'm going to have you talk so you can hear less of my mouth noise.
Pilar: Okay.
Anne: But I love our conversations that we've been having. And in our last couple of episodes, we talked about what it was like for you to be a bilingual VO in the industry and what it takes to be successful. And I want to kind of step back because you've had such an extensive career in all sorts of things. And I think something that's really important that I want to kind of reign in and talk a little bit more about is your acting experience. And I know that there's a lot of voiceover artists out there that are like, oh my gosh, I've never really acted. At least I came from the corporate side of things and didn't have an acting background, but as I went along, I learned acting. And I don't want people to be afraid that well, just because they don't have a ton of acting experience that they can't do voiceover. However, I do believe it's important for us to talk about how important acting is in our career.
Pilar: It is, I would say, fundamental.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: That's why the word acting is in voice acting.
Anne: Yeah, I agree.
Pilar: You know, this is something that also happens. Sometimes people think that you're like a talking head when you're on television, because you only get to see, let's say shoulders or chest, shoulders, and face. But when you're acting, you're acting with your whole body, and that goes for voice as well. So when I started acting in high school, when I started getting formal training, I majored in theater and we had acting classes. And you know, you do the proverbial, you know, act like a teapot, act like a tiger, and all these sense exercises.
Anne: I was a dog in my third grade play.
Pilar: Exactly, exactly. You know how to go bow-wow.
Anne: I'm just saying.
Pilar: But those things are important. What does it feel like to be on all fours rather than to be upright? And it's something that I think that a lot of voice actors don't think that they need. And you need to have those sensory experiences, however you're going to get them. So a lot of the work that I did when I was in college and later when I went down to Colombia, for example, I kept taking acting classes even while I had a television career, because I had to keep the body trained, because the body gets rusty, and we're, we tend to be lazy. And I'm the first to admit it.
Anne: I think to be said for -- you made me just think about when I was a little girl, right? Remember when we had all kinds of imagination or is it just me? It's like, I used to imagine --
Pilar: Yes. Back then.
Anne: Back then I had so much imagination, and I would play with my dolls. I would teach my dolls. I had my stuffed Mickey Mouse. I dragged him everywhere. And we became like acting partners if, for nothing else. Right?
Pilar: Totally.
Anne: I had all sorts of adventures with him. And I think that there's a lot to be said for that. And somehow when we get older, sometimes we lose that unless we're actively going into acting like you were. And I think that we need to readdress that as we become adults and find areas or times when we can go back to that time to create scenes and use our imagination. And I think there's a lot of that in voiceover that we have to do behind the mic because we're acting in front of a non-existent audience.
Pilar: Do you remember, did you ever make forts?
Anne: Oh yes. All the time.
Pilar: Okay. So making forts, you're making forts out of pillows, out of blankets. You're making up a scene, a place, a cubby hole, a cave that basically doesn't exist.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And that's what we have to do when we step in front of the mic and we're doing, let's say, a video game, and we have to imagine that we are a warrior or we are a computer game. I did a video game last year that came out, actually it was in 2020 or 2021. And it came out a couple of weeks ago where I played, I actually played a computer voice. That was one of my characters. And then the other character was an old woman. And so for the old woman, I changed my stance completely. So I was hunched over. I always have, since my voiceover booth is my closet, I basically just took my clothes -- I did leave some clothes out, but I just padded the whole thing. And I have a couple of scarves handy. When I would play that character, that older character I would hunch over, and I would put a shawl over me over my head, over my shoulders.
Anne: So you got props.
Pilar: Yeah, oh, I always have props, always have props. Whether it's a cell phone, I have, I actually have a toy gun on my desk, a little plastic toy gun, because so many of these characters, we know when I'm auditioning or when I'm doing them, they require, let's say the older lady, she was hallucinating. And so she was seeing things, and she was just immersed in grief. So I had to go there with her in order for my voice to register. It wasn't that I was manipulating the voice. I had to feel her sadness and her grief and her seeing things, which weren't really there because she was so enmeshed in her grief.
And so the only way that I can do that is if I imagine it. So you're absolutely right about going back in time. If there is a time that you can go back to. And I did this all the time when I was in Colombia. There were so many characters that I did that I had no previous experience in playing.
Anne: Well, I was going to say, I say, Pilar, I know you, and you're not evil, but yet you played an evil character. Right?
Pilar: Oh, and she was so much fun to play.
Anne: And, you know, what's interesting is I watched the little clip that you had, and I don't remember what particular scene it was, but you were having a conversation with someone else. Your hair was short. And again, I don't understand Spanish, which again, it's one of those things I kicked myself for not learning. And I'm going to, I really should just start learning it -- but just your facial expressions alone, you embodied that character. Like you didn't have to understand Spanish to understand that you were an evil character in that. And it was literally like, what, 20 seconds, 30-second clip.
Pilar: Yeah. She was so mean. So nasty.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Pilar: And people would stop me on the street all the time in Colombia. And they would say -- because the name of the show was "Eternamente Manuela," Eternally Manuela," and Manuela was my first cousin.
Anne: Would they hate you?
Pilar: So they was like, oh my God, they would do two things. They would say, why are you -- they would stop me on the streets. Why so mean to Manuela? Or they would meet me and they'd go, oh, wow. You're really nice. What happened? It was just like, well, I'm playing a character. She was really, really evil. However, when you're playing a character, I never saw her as being evil when I was playing her. I just saw her as being misunderstood.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: And so I did an outline for her. I did a backstory for her, where she came from, how she grew up, what were some things that might have brought her to that present moment of when she first steps into the character, into the script that first day. And that really informed what I would do for the rest of the show.
Anne: So you weren't thinking like, you're actually playing mean, but --
Pilar: No.
Anne: -- because you had such a backstory built up already, it became a reaction. Is that correct?
Pilar: Exactly. So this, this came with time because I had time to rehearse before I started the show. So when I'm in the booth, and I've got a script and I'm handed sides at, let's say 5:00 in the afternoon, which is when agents send them generally. And then they're due the next morning. Exactly. And I'm looking at a piece of paper, I'm looking at a piece of paper with words, and that's all there is. There might be a description thrown in and there might be some specs.
Anne: There might be a picture if it's a character, right?
Pilar: There might be a picture. But generally you're just, it's a piece of paper, and it's not even a piece of paper. It's a bunch of words on a screen.
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: So it's my job as an actor to imagine this character. And if I'm talking about anything, I'm talking about commercial, promo, whatever it is that you're given. If you're talking about Folger's Coffee, it's delicious. You have to see and smell that coffee. So let's say you're not Anne Ganguzza, and you hate coffee. Okay? So you have to imagine, okay, so I hate coffee, let's say, and I don't, but let's say I do. And I'm, and I have an audition to do the next day. Well, I have to find something in my memory bank of what I love that resembles coffee. Because if I don't like coffee, I hate the taste of it. Well, maybe I like hot chocolate or I like hot apple cider, so I have to substitute. And I have to imagine, and I have to feel, feel it. I have to taste it. I have to see it. I have to hear it. So I can hear the drip, drip, drip.
So using all the senses, that's where the imagination, that's how you can get that character. And you can do that. You know, at the beginning, people will go, oh yeah, well it's acting. And you know, I just sit there and I read the copy, and I get into it. And I read it a few times. Well, absolutely. You read it a few times, but you start sort of clicking on your memory bank to see what you can bring into it. Because when you bring in your memories, I mean, we can, we can do this exercise right now. So what's your favorite food?
Anne: Oh, all of it. Probably bread.
Pilar: Okay. What's your favorite type of bread?
Anne: Italian.
Pilar: Be more specific? A Tuscan loaf. Okay. So I want you, okay. Perfect. Artisan Tuscan, loaf from La Brea Bakery. I want you to put yourself in the bakery right now. I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to feel, and I'm in the Tuscan bakery too, even though I've never been there --
Anne: It's warm from the ovens.
Pilar: Okay. And so it's warm --
Anne: Because they're baking bread.
Pilar: They're baking bread. And it's like, your mouth is starting to salivate.
Anne: 'Cause I can smell the bread baking.
Pilar: You can smell the bread. And so maybe you ask for the loaf, you get the bread, you get it sliced, right?
Anne: And I can see it because it's golden.
Pilar: And you can see it. And then you take it home.
Anne: It's got a little bit of a crust.
Pilar: And you cannot wait. You've decided you need to taste the bread before you leave the store. So what I want you to do is I want you to just talk about the bread that you're eating right now.
Anne: Okay. So first of all, I'm going to tell you that I like a dense bread, so -- that has a crispy crust, right? So it's crispy on the outside and it's a little heavy in my hands.
Pilar: Stop right there. I want you to say it as you're tasting it. It's crispy the outside.
Anne: It's crispy on the outside and it's heavy in my hand. So it's, it's dense. It's got a lot of flavor.
Pilar: What does it taste like?
Anne: Heaven. It tastes like -- well, I need to have butter on it. So I put butter on it. It's just, it's got, it's got, oh, it's got, it's salty. It's it's even, even sweet to me.
Pilar: Okay. And see what you just did there? You just gave that little paragraph a whole bunch of different flavors and colors because you were experiencing it as you were saying it.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: So that's what we have to do with every piece of copy.
Anne: And now I'm hungry.
Pilar: I am too. I'm like I'm in that Tuscan bakery.
Anne: But wait, I just want to say this is for everything. I want to reiterate that we're talking about acting for every genre. You know, people think that e-learning and corporate narration and telephony, you don't have a character. Oh my gosh. Yes. You absolutely have to have a character as well. It may not be as dynamic maybe or as emotional because it depends on the experience that you're in. Right? I think if you're going to be taught a lesson from a teacher, the teacher's not necessarily going to be sad and crying or emotional in that sense, or if you're doing a corporate narration, right? You're in a professional environment. So you may or may not have a wide range of emotions, but you'll absolutely have nuanced emotions and those emotions, right, and the acting, you absolutely have to have those nuances because you're not just reading the words that puts you in the scene and it makes you believable.
Pilar: Absolutely, Anne. I will go one step further because it is actually to a person who works for State Farm, it is that important.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: You approach every piece of copy as it is appropriate to the genre that you're talking about. So let's say through the commercial, when he EF Hutton talks, people listen. And it was so effective because people were sitting there, they were talking and, and then the scene was that everybody was talking and then that person stopped. The voiceover would say it and then it stopped. And so you knew that that was the EF Hutton commercial. So that can register in your voice.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: If you are thinking -- 'cause it doesn't matter whether it's bread or it's a video game character or it's Charles Schwab.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: It's really all about what you put into it. So if you're doing a commercial about Charles Schwab, you're dressed in a business suit. You're sitting in your, and there's a whole bunch of investment bankers. If you don't know what it is, you look it up. That's what YouTube is for.
Anne: Oh my gosh. Yes.
Pilar: YouTube is such a great resource.
Anne: You to take that minute, take that minute and Google, for goodness' sake.
Pilar: Go look up the product, go to ispot TV, go listen, go, go get your feet immersed in it, go see the competition, see what they're doing.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: It doesn't take more than five, ten minutes.
Anne: It really doesn't. You know what? It amazes me Pilar that there are so many people that just, they rush to get so many auditions done in a day. And yet they don't take a minute to really research the product, the brand, the company, whatever it is, right? For the most part, doing that little extra work really, really helps you in just upping your game and taking it to a whole new.
Pilar: Absolutely. Because here's the thing. Whether or not you get selected, because obviously the odds, you know, there's so many people auditioning at once for one role. To me, it's more important to have a well-crafted audition, that I stopped and thought about it. I don't have to spend hours on it. No. But when I play it back and I go away for a minute and I, let's say, go get a cup of water, and then I come back and I listen to it again. Is it something that I can be proud of? Or am I just sending it in? Because I waited until the last minute, and I did it and I just have to get it in before the deadline? So you want it to be as real as possible so that the person listening on the other end will go, oh, okay. I can't use her, but she's got a great voice, because that has happened to me. You know, over the past --
Anne: Or you can tell, well, she can act. I think there's a lot of that when they're listening to the audition, we may not get that gig, but you will absolutely prove yourself that you are an actor.
Pilar: Well, and here's something that's really important to know is that the casting director gets a whole bunch of voices together from the agents and then sends it off to the client. And then it's the client, the copywriter who makes the decision. But really and truly, when the casting director, since they listen to every audition, they're going to be hearing your voice over and over and over again. So if you're presenting good auditions, there is a situation, even though there are certain people who make the decisions, the casting director is also lobbying for people that he or she is saying, oh, that's really good. I really liked that. So that's why it's also so important that care is taken when you present something because an audition is not just an audition. And audition is like, is a little one act play. It's a 30-second or it's a 15-second one act play with the beginning, middle, and end. And to treat it any less than that is doing yourself a disservice.
Anne: So let me ask you a question. So when you get casting specs, are you following the casting specs? Because I've heard both sides of the coin here, follow the casting specs, or really just bring yourself to the party and bring your own uniqueness. So what's your plan?What is your strategy when you get an audition?
Pilar: That's such a loaded question, and I've heard it answered in so many different ways. I do look at the specs. I know people who say, don't look at the specs until the end. Don't pay attention. Other people say, follow the specs. You have to read whatever the casting director is sending you via the agent because they're sending it specifically so you take stock. And I know one specific casting director who's like people, read the spec, I'm tailor making it so guys don't miss any little detail of what the client wants. This person said it. They were like, I'm giving you all these breadcrumbs, go ahead and use them. That said, it's not like you're chained to do it exactly.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: Because they're looking for your interpretation of it.
Anne: Yeah, your unique spin.
Pilar: I mean, at the beginning, and I know so many people listening on this podcast have I'm sure gotten Sigourney Weaver, sound like Emma Stone.
Anne: Yup. Yup.
Pilar: Scarlett Johansson. I mean every, you know, all day long, you get all these sound like, and what they're looking for is not an -- I used to, I used to fall into the trap, as I'm sure many people have when I first started seeing those names, as I would run and look at her and try to almost copy their voices.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And that's not what they're looking for. They're looking for an attitude.
Anne: Yeah, or an emotion.
Pilar: What's your point of view? Yeah. But what's your point of view? Who are you talking to? Because if I'm looking at somebody, and we're back in the bakery on La Brea, and I'm looking at the sales person and I'm saying, can I get some bread? And 'cause I'm just having a good day and or maybe I haven't had anything and I'm like, can I get some bread, because I have to go take a pill with my -- and I have to get bread. So, and so it's like --
Anne: Or the pill's stuck in your throat and you need the bread to push it down.
Pilar: Can I get some bread?
Anne: That happens to me all the -- I need, I need a cracker or I need a bread -- need a piece of bread.
Pilar: Right, exactly. So it's all in how you, what is your attitude? Who are you speaking to?What's your point of view while you're saying this piece of copy?
Anne: It's so, so important. And it's funny because you and I may experience completely different genres during our days. Right? I do a lot of corporate. I do a lot of e-learning. I do a lot of telephony, but yet I also am always thinking about who I am, who I'm talking to, and putting myself in a scene because that emotion or that nuanced emotion is everything. It is everything. It is what takes a voice actor from simply reading the words to being immersed and making a believable and authentic.
And I can't express enough people just say, they just read it and they read it in a melody that they think it should sound like, right? Oh, I've heard it on television like this, or, oh, I've, I've heard it in a video like this, but I'm like, no, you are not the person that's going to mimic any of that. And as a matter of fact, if you get the job, like I'm trying to train you what it takes to get the job. Right? And then when you get the job, then you can be directed as to however the client wants it. But I think you have to prove your acting first. And that I think it comes down to really, I think, the emotion and the point of view that you're talking about, which is everything.
Pilar: Yeah. Yeah. I would hazard that to say that long-form, something like e-learning, it's almost more important.
Anne: Oh my God. Yes. Absolutely.
Pilar: Because you have to think about, who's listening to this on the other end. So if I'm going to be doing this, you know, straight kind of a thing, then, you know, once upon a time there was a little... and then, and my range doesn't change or [singsong] my range is changing like this, and it's always like this, you're going to drive the person on the other end crazy.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: So you are telling a story, no matter what genre --
Anne: No matter what you're doing.
Pilar: Yeah. And you have to always tell a the story.
Anne: You have to pull attention.
Pilar: Absolutely.
Anne: The longer it is, I think the harder it is.
Pilar: I agree.
Anne: And I think the more dry the material, the harder you have to be in that scene, you have to be that character so that you can hold their attention. I mean, there's so many other things vying for our attention. And that is absolutely. I think so, so important for us to understand that acting is, is everything. It really is, acting as everything in terms of, I believe being successful in your voiceover career. So let me ask you a question. What are the differences that you've experienced in, let's say, stage acting or on-camera acting and voice acting. What are the major differences that you have to account for?
Pilar: Okay. Stage acting. Well, first of all, you're projecting because you have to reach the last person, the last seat in the theater.
Anne: Yeah, and we don't have to do that in our studios.
Pilar: No, you don't have to do that. Film acting is very close. It's very concentrated.
Anne: Well, plus you have somebody to kind of, if you're in a scene with somebody, right, you have somebody else to play off of.
Pilar: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: And that's a big --
Pilar: Not always, not always --
Anne: No? Okay.
Pilar: -- but at least you -- yeah, well, because a lot of the times, if you're, if you're doing, if they're doing a closeup of you, sometimes the other actor will, will be there, but sometimes they won't be. And it'll just be a stand-in. So a lot of the times you have to use your imagination. Voiceover though, you generally never have anybody to bounce off of.
Anne: Right. That's where your imagination takes, right?
Pilar: That's why you have to use imagination.
Anne: Yeah, you have to have a lot of it because you have no, you have no audience.
Pilar: And also I think something that's so important that people don't realize that I discovered actually many, many years ago when I was working, when I first started working in television, I remember a cameraman, because you know, they work long, long hours. And he once said to me, he said, everything that comes through there, we can see what you're doing because the camera never lies.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: He said it in such a way. And I was --
Anne: That makes so much sense.
Pilar: And it was just so interesting to me because I thought, wow, they've always got, you know, their eyes trained on you when the cameras aren't rolling, 'cause they're setting up the shot. So there is a truth that you have to present. Otherwise, if you are quote, unquote acting, it's going to show because the camera picks up everything, and the microphone is the same thing.
Anne: You know, it's funny because if you do the parallel thinking and whenever I watch television or a movie right away, I immediately say, oh my God, I don't believe that. I don't believe that character. And it's rare that I see it because most of the time, if it's released for television or movies, you've got a credible actor behind it. But if you ever have that experience where you're not believing the character, it is so obvious. And yet I don't think people think about that when they're doing voiceover, right?
They think it just has to sound a particular way, and that will make it believable. But in reality, if somebody is listening on the other end, right, and they have a keen sense of believability, I think people always know. They may not be able to put their finger on it as to why it's not believable, but they will be able to tell that it's not believable. And it sounds just like, hey, it's an announcer. You know, that kind of thing. But I think in reality, we all have to strive for that believability factor first because when you can get there, regardless of the copy -- I mean not every piece of copy is Pulitzer prize, winning material, right? I mean, that's where our jobs come in to make it a story, make it our story and to bring that story to the table and make it believable. And if we can't, it's, it's obvious to the ear. Maybe not our own ears, but it's obvious to the person listening that has a vested interest. And if you cannot engage with that listener, then they don't have to engage with you. Right? They don't have to listen to you.
Pilar: Exactly. Or if it's a casting director or --
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: -- they're listening to your there'll be just, okay, next.
Anne: Exactly. Next.
Pilar: We're done. You know, what I've heard over the past two years now, every single casting director says, we listen to every audition. What they don't say is how long they listened to it. So I've been told that literally six seconds in, sometimes it's less. If they don't hear the truth, they just go onto the next audition. They do not listen to the whole thing.
Anne: And you know what, that makes me even more resolute in the fact that your very first words out of your mouth for that audition or for whatever it is, you have to already have been in the scene. And it has to have been a reaction to something.
Pilar: You're responding.
Anne: Yeah. You're responding. And that melody, if you want to break it down into melodies, if you're musical, is completely different than simply starting a word, like welcome, you know, I mean, that's like, oh, that was just, I read the word welcome, but it would sound completely different if I was actually welcoming you at the door. And it would sound completely different.
Pilar: Or you could be welcoming into an airplane.
Anne: Exactly, exactly.
Pilar: Or welcoming into a car or welcoming into a school. It's going to be completely different because we are --
Anne: Wherever you are.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly.
Anne: I think that's every time for my genre is, you know, when it's welcome or introducing or any of those words, right, it's hard to make them sound authentic, believable. Right? We don't always, we're not always saying welcome, you know, in our everyday life, but you've got to make it sound like it's a greeting, and that you are genuinely happy to see that person. So that becomes a challenge for people. So you've got to step into that scene and figure out what is that scene before you even start talking? I think that's, that's so important.
Pilar: And I think it's also important, probably one of the most important things is to have a lead-in which you're not going to put on the audition necessarily, unless they're asking for improv, but that you're having a conversation.
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Pilar: You're having a conversation before you start speaking.
Anne: Yep. That helps for sure.
Pilar: It's like, when you're going, when you're rolling into the scene, it's not like you just kind of get up and start. You're already in there. You're already talking about it. And then you can just flow right into the words.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: It's so much harder when you're like, oh, okay, you see the line going. And it's like, okay, now we have to start talking. That's not real.
Anne: This is the beginning.
Pilar: Right? Exactly.
Anne: It's like, no.
Pilar: So if you say, if you say, oh, I'm here, I'm in front of a whole bunch of people and they're really, really excited. And this is going to be a really great day. And the sun is shining --
Anne: Welcome. This is just the beginning. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I love that. Yeah. Welcome. Wow. Good stuff, Pilar. I could talk acting all day. We can talk acting all day. I think that was -- thanks so much for those nuggets of wisdom. I absolutely think our BOSSes are going to appreciate those. You guys, I am going to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL that allows us to connect like BOSSes. You guys can find out more at ipdtl.com. Pilar, It's been amazing as usual. And I thank you for being with us.
Pilar: Glad to be here again.
Anne: Yeah. You guys, have a great weekend. We'll see you next week. Bye.
Pilar: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
There is nothing more human than storytelling. In this bonus Voice & Ai episode, Anne is joined by award-winning voice actor Emily Lawrence, Co-Founder of The Professional Audiobook Narrators’ Association. They discuss the financial vs. social implications of Ai voices, creating a community for audiobook narrators, and why human-ness is an essential part of storytelling… Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast for another episode of the AI and voice series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm excited to bring special guest Emily Lawrence to the show. Emily is an award-winning actor and writer that's narrated more than 425 audiobooks for publishers such as McMillan, Harper Collins, Penguin, Random House, Simon and Schuster, and many more. She's incredibly proud to be the co-founder and chair of the newly formed Professional Audiobook Narrators Association, or PANA, as everybody has come to know it. Her greatest loves are storytelling and reading of course. So narrating audiobooks is a dream come true for her. And her other passions include traveling, LARPing, aerial surf, fostering kittens, and chocolate. So I have a lot to talk to you about because I love cats. We know that. I have three of them. And so I just love the fact that you foster kittens.
Emily: I do.
Anne: And thank you so much for joining me today. It's a pleasure to have you here.
Emily: Well, thank you for having me.
Anne: Yes.
Emily: Happy to be here.
Anne: So in addition to the kitties, um, I need to ask you for a more complete description. I have never heard of this, but that might not be a surprise. LARPing.
Emily: A-ha.
Anne: For those BOSSes in the audience that may not be familiar with that, what is that?
Emily: Uh, so LARPing stands for live action role play, and it's the nerdiest thing you've never heard of.
Anne: I kinda love that.
Emily: Um, so basically it's like -- people tend to be more familiar with Dungeons and Dragons, so it's basically like that, which is a kind of like you're role-playing out a video game kind of, only in Dungeons and Dragons, you sit around a table, and you talk about everything you're doing and you like roll dice to simulate fighting and whatever. And in LARPing, you actually role-play everything. So it's like a bunch of nerds in a park with like foam weapons.
Anne: I love it.
Emily: Fighting each other.
Anne: I love it. That's great. Well, look, hey, the nerdier, the better as far as I'm concerned.
Emily: Yeah, no, I love it.
Anne: That's fantastic. So again, it's great to get to know the you behind the association that has been newly formed. How old is PANA now?
Emily: Uh, well we opened to members, I think it was October 21st or --
Anne: Wow.
Emily: -- thereabouts.
Anne: Fantastic. So tell me, you know, I'm very excited to hear about this because I think it's probably about time, right, in the audiobook world, that there is an association that is vested in the interests of the community. Talk to me about that.
Emily: Yeah. Well, I mean, there have been other organizations such as the Audio Publishers Association, which really represents publishers.
Anne: Right.
Emily: But narrators and other people in the industry can be members. And then obviously there's SAG-AFTRA which represents narrators as a labor union, but SAG-AFTRA also represents everybody else.
Anne: Sure.
Emily: So there was no organization that really was dedicated to narrators specifically. And I think you're right. It was about time and long overdue.
Anne: So, I know that there's a lot involved in creating an organization. Tell me a little bit about that story and how did that begin? I mean, what was -- were there issues that were coming up in the audiobook world that you were saying, you know what, we need an organization to really take care of our community?
Emily: Yeah. There have been talks for many years of -- among narrators of feeling unrepresented in various places and in various ways. And then obviously with the rising danger, I guess, or whatever of AI, I certainly felt like, okay, somebody has to do something. And so earlier this year, there were a lot of conversations in Narrator, Facebook, and other groups just kind of like that made me feel like, okay, we need to organize. We need to come together. And so I did that.
Anne: And have a voice. I love that. Well, hey, it's one thing to talk, right, to sit around in groups and talk. I have so much respect for the fact that you pulled something together. I mean, there's a lot of work involved in that.
Emily: Yeah. It was definitely a lot of work. I am very grateful to have my co-founder Emily Ellet with me through the whole process. And so we kind of started talking like about what this would be and how the community needs it. And then we just kind of did it.
Anne: Well, I --
Emily: Here we are.
Anne: You know, I love it. I was looking at your website, which for those BOSSes out there that want to check them out, it is pronarrators.org. I love your statement on who we are. I just think that your mission statement is providing opportunities for raising awareness of the narrator within public consciousness. And you have so many wonderful things that represent that this organization is going to be doing for narrators. Tell me a little bit about the initiatives for those things.
Emily: Sure. Well, we're certainly very ambitious. We have a lot of really big plans, mostly around three things really. One is education, education both of narrators in order to raise narration standards throughout the industry, but also education of the public, and education in the industry about narrator needs and the fact that we exist because --
Anne: Sure.
Emily: -- a lot of people listen to audiobooks and don't give a second thought to the performer who's bringing that story to life for them. And that's obviously important to us that, especially when you're talking about having humans versus robot narrators, you know, for people to recognize that we're human to begin with is probably really important there. So education in general is a big focus for us. Uh, we also have a focus on advocacy, which is kind of our umbrella term for all of the things that we want to do to help our industry thrive with human narrators as part of the mix, and the changes that we would like to see in order to help make that happen.
And then the last one would be just community, fostering a community. As I kind of pointed out before, there was no organization that really represented narrators specifically, and only -- and we have a really wonderful, giving community. I mean, honestly, the narrator community is some of the most wonderful, friendly, open, supportive people I've ever met. You know, for a bunch of people who are essentially competitors, we're all so supportive of each other. We all help each other out all the time. And it felt like it would be really wonderful to have an organization that sort of formally recognizes, celebrates, expands, and strengthens that.
Anne: So what sort of -- do you have events planned for things that you've -- meetings coming up, events, community outreach, what sorts of things do you have planned for the future?
Emily: So we've got lots of plans. Um, everything's just in the beginning stages. We're a member-driven organization. So we operate entirely on volunteer labor. And so our committees have only just started. I mean, they all had their first meeting last month. And so everything is in its infancy. We're just getting started, but we've got big plans for example, community events to get together both in person and online and sort of, you know, build friendships, but also network and things like that. We have plans for an award ceremony that is going to be community-driven and peer-reviewed. So kind of like the Audies, which is our current Oscars essentially meets like the SAG Award. So it will be like a peer-reviewed award show, but that has different sort of categories than typical award shows that really focus in on celebrating our community in a different way, which I think I'm really excited about.
Anne: Plans on collaborating or is it a possibility to do any type of collaborative work with the union?
Emily: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We've reached out to both the APA and SAG-AFTRA announcing our existence --
Anne: Right.
Emily: -- and saying that we would really like to work with them to further our mutual goals, and both of them have responded very positively --
Anne: Excellent.
Emily: -- and very supportive. And so we really do look forward to working with existing organizations to move everyone forward.
Anne: So in terms of membership, so if I wanted to be a member, are there requirements, are there -- do you vet your members? What's involved if I wanted to become a member?
Emily: Sure.
Anne: Because I personally don't do audiobooks and don't hold that against me. I -- just not in my genre, but I know so many people that are just so passionate about the craft of audiobooks and narrating. So if I wanted to be a member, could I, or what is the process?
Emily: So members are -- you're eligible for membership if you have recorded at least one audiobook --
Anne: Okay.
Emily: -- that is available on some sort of commercial platform.
Anne: Okay.
Emily: So it's a very low, you know, if you've narrated one book, you can join. There's dues that have to pay, but then you're a voting member.
Anne: Okay, great.
Emily: If you do not qualify for a membership, we also are creating sponsorship tiers. So we'll have sponsorship tiers --
Anne: Okay.
Emily: -- for --
Anne: Nice.
Emily: -- other people in the industry like directors, proofers, editors, et cetera. And those are not ready yet, but once they are, there'll be sort of different ways to support the industry and get benefits and like access to events and things like that for doing stuff.
Anne: Got it. Are you an official nonprofit organization?
Emily: Okay. So we are operating as a nonprofit. We cannot apply for our nonprofit status until we file our first tax return.
Anne: Got it.
Emily: So --
Anne: Got -- well, I know that it's an involved thing, which is one of the reasons why -- I've, I've served on the boards of many nonprofits. So I know how involved it can be, which is again, why I have a lot of respect for you taking the initiative to put this together for the community. There's so much work involved in nonprofit, and I know how important volunteers and volunteer efforts go. It's so hard when everybody is busy to take the time and be able to help out in an organization like this. And I really look forward to the success of PANA because I know a lot of organizations that start off with the best of hopes. And then it turns into something where it is an awful lot of work and maybe more work than people anticipate. And so I know how it can be hard to progress.
Emily: Well, it's definitely more work than I anticipated.
Anne: Yup.
Emily: I'm committed. So I'm there. And I know my co-founder Emily Ellet is also very committed, and we have a wonderful board. We've put together a board of some of the most respected --
Anne: Oh yes.
Emily: -- people in our industry, and they are all very committed also. Everyone has expressed a sort of surprised at how much work it really is.
Anne: Right, yeah.
Emily: But, um, you know, everybody has affirmed to me multiple times, as recently as yesterday, that like, you know, we're in this and we're going to make this work.
Anne: Well, I think having a voice for the audiobook industry is so important, especially with things that develop within our own industry. I mean, not just in audiobooks, but in the voiceover industry as a whole, we are facing changes, and I've known this because I've done my AI and voice series for at least 30 episodes now. So there are things that are, you know, impending and coming into this industry that we as professionals need to understand, and I don't know, evolve or work with or not, or form an educated strategy in order to co-exist, let's say, with them. So I will talk about the AI elephant in the room, which is AI. And what are your thoughts? I know that it's, it's scary for a lot of us that this technology is coming. And so what is your position on behalf of PANA in regards to let's say the evolution of AI and AI narrators?
Emily: Well, we are a pro-narrator organization, pro-human narrator.
Anne: Sure.
Emily: And so we are dedicated to supporting human narrators however we can. We have a lot of ideas about how to address this, but I think the board has expressed our first priority to be education, because I think that a lot of narrators don't really understand all of the possible risks right now. I think it's wonderful that you're doing this, you know, you're, series to educate people. Um, but I think that we have a task ahead of us just to make sure that people fully understand --
Anne: yeah.
Emily: -- what everything is. Like --
Anne: Sure.
Emily: -- for example, a lot of people don't understand the difference between creating an artificial voice, like a clone of someone, and machine learning, which I don't know if you've covered in your series, but that's a really big thing that people need to be aware of.
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: So we have a lot of ideas about how to address that first and foremost, but also I think, you know, a lot of people -- just today I was seeing on Facebook, people posting like, oh, I listened to this, and it's actually not that terrible and blah, blah, blah. And so I think that it's important that we stay ahead of the game. You know, we can't let the robots catch up to us. We have to stay better. But also I think that, I mean, for me personally, this is not like PANA's official position or anything, but me personally, I think that a lot of the conversation is revolving around like dollars and cents. You know, publishers and whoever are going to do what makes the most economic sense to them. And if it's cheaper, consumers will follow suit. And there's just, it's kind of all about money and jobs and the things that general AI conversations are about.
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: But I think that with our field, it's not only about our jobs, it's also about the art of storytelling.
Anne: Sure.
Emily: Something that --
Anne: Agreed.
Emily: -- I mean verbal storytelling is as old as language. It's like, we've been doing it as humans for forever. And that's, I mean, to me, that's what's at stake here. Like, yes, I would like to have a job. I would like to be able to do what I love to do for the rest of my life. But I'm equally as worried about, you know, the power of literature and stories and what it means to have, you know, just from like a moral, ethical standpoint to have robots sharing the human experience that they literally can't understand because they're an algorithm. And so I think that that is something that needs to be more part of the conversation for everyone, because what we do is an art.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Emily: And even if a robot is possible, it can never actually express anything human. And I think that that's important to me.
Anne: Right. I agree with you. And I think that the consuming public has a lot to say, obviously, right? We are a market-driven kind of industry. What the consumer wants, right, or is it marketable to consumers or is it not? I mean, do consumers want to be able to listen to an audiobook and have a human? Like, is it meaningful to have a human or maybe for certain types of audiobooks, does it matter if it's a human or not? There's so many questions about that. Is there any type of book that you feel might be okay with something that's not human?
Emily: Um, no, personally I don't because --
Anne: Well, and that makes complete sense.
Emily: I mean, sure. I mean, obviously I have a certain point of view, but I think, you know, a lot of people are saying, oh, well, it's more suited for non-fiction. I think that that's kind of insulting, like --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Emily: -- yes non-fiction does not involve character voices and things like that.
Anne: Right.
Emily: So from that perspective, it's easier for a robot to do, but I don't know, I've narrated nonfiction too. It's every bit as human. I think that authors would generally be insulted to hear that like, nonfiction is less human than fiction. I mean, I think it's all part of the human experience.
Anne: Sure.
Emily: It's all part of something that human beings have spent hours or months or years putting together. And they deserve a human voice to express that.
Anne: Well, and you're talking to, you know, my specialty corporate narration and e-learning, so I understand that completely. I mean, to me, I mean, I want there to be a human teacher behind the mic.
Emily: Sure.
Anne: I want there to be, you know, I'm a company, I want there to be a human that's expressing my mission statement or my objective. And again, it comes to people responding and saying, well, you know, it's what the market wants. Or I guess for me, if I'm just one little person, me, I'm not going to necessarily stop the progression of technology. And so in terms of how I need to, I guess, evolve or work with technology that's, that may be encroaching on, let's say genres that I, you know, specialize in, I have to try to think of it in terms of, okay. So are there certain types that might be okay? A lot of times, you know, it's like, why do consumers go to outlets like the -- Fiverr, right, to get their voiceover? Because they don't have a value necessarily, or they don't --
Emily: Sure.
Anne: -- or they have a certain value associated with that job. So could this not be the future lower end of --
Emily: Yeah. Lower budget production --
Anne: -- consumer -- yeah, lower budget.
Emily: I mean, look, there are already people who are driven by money, you know --
Anne: Yup, yup.
Emily: -- want the cheapest product, and they're hiring brand new narrators on indie platforms --
Anne: Yup.
Emily: -- for like a quarter of the standard rate --
Anne: Right.
Emily: -- or less, you know? Like those people already exist. Will those people start doing robots instead?
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: Maybe.
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: You know, who can stop that?
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Emily: But I think yes, that is a concern because the more artificially narrated audiobooks that are put in the market, the more consumers get used to it, the harder it is --
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: -- to argue our position.
Anne: Exactly. Yeah.
Emily: It's all concerning. I do agree that there's a certain element that I don't know how much control we have, but I also think that there will always be an element of high budget productions --
Anne: Yes.
Emily: -- that will always have a human narrator.
Anne: Oh, I completely agree with you. I mean, I don't think that there's ever going to be -- and I'm a tech girl. I worked in technology for 20 years. I do believe that there's always, there's always going to be a place for the human still in voiceover. And I think that narrators that have been for years, you know, telling stories and audiobooks, I mean, that is a level of acting that cannot be reached right now by any type of AI voice.
Emily: Oh no.
Anne: And I don't know that the public wants --
Emily: No.
Anne: -- to be, necessarily feel like they've been duped either.
Emily: Sure.
Anne: So if they're listening to an audiobook, and they think it might be a human, so I think it's all speculation right now trying to figure out how -- like how long will it take? How far will it go and how human will it sound? And I guess my argument has always been well, humans are developing it. So I think you will always have those people that want to take it to the point where, oh my gosh, is this a deepfake? They'll always try to get there. But I like to think that technology is good inherently, and that because humans are developing technology, it will develop to a point that will help humans and not necessarily take them down or, you know, erase an industry. So I do believe that there will always be a space for a human actor in voiceover. I just don't know how far the AI will go in five to ten years, let's say,.
Emily: Sure. But I will say that -- okay. So the way that these algorithms work, right, is that they find the middle ground, right? So they'll always be passible. They'll never be award worthy. Right? They're never going to take acting risks. They're never going to be able to, I mean, unless they have an engineer sit there and like tweak them for every moment, at which case, like just have a voice actor do it.
Anne: Well, yeah. Sometimes there is a lot of tweaking involved, that's for sure.
Emily: Yeah. So it's like, they'll just, they'll never be able to cry. You know, they'll never really be able to make a listener cry or feel that connected because they're not connected. You know, they're an algorithm. So they'll make the baseline choice, the easy, safe choice, because that's, you know, when you're talking about machine learning or it's studying thousands and thousands and thousands of performances, no two narrators are the same. We wouldn't make the same choices on the same book. So they're going to pick the baseline, which I think means that it will never be as good, no matter what, inherently it'll never be as good as the best narrators. So that's why we need to make all narrators, or at least narrators who want to make a living doing this, the best that they can be, because I don't think machines can ever really, truly catch up with anything that is off the cusp and beautiful and you know, like human, and they'll never be that.
Anne: What if -- now here's my what if, because I do know of technology called speech-to speech where it can mimic. So what about an actor who, you know, has great acting skills, and they can act a baseline model, right? And then other voices can be applied on top of that. I mean, it's scary. I've heard it.
Emily: Basically have a human narrate the book, but then put someone else's voice on their performance?
Anne: Yeah, that is a mimic. So that would make it sound pretty much human, but with somebody else's voice or maybe with a different language.
Emily: Well, I mean, if you're doing that, at least that actor is getting paid to do it --
Anne: Right.
Emily: -- because they'd have to custom record that book.
Anne: Exactly.
Emily: Um, so that's, uh, a less scary proposition to me.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Emily: But um, yeah, I mean, I guess that's a possibility. I think the -- what we're more concerned about or most concerned about anyway, is machine learning, which will completely replace humans entirely. So like right now, most of the AI voices are licensed, where it's basically like they have somebody sit in a studio for a few days, and then from there they extrapolate whatever texts they want to be able to put on that person's habits. But machine learning would be like, they can listen to the thousand most popular in audiobooks and narrators of all time and sort of create an algorithm based out of that.
Anne: Yes.
Emily: And they'll never have to license. They'll never have to pay a single human for that. I think that's the biggest fear is completely taking us out of the equation. I think when it comes to licensing your voice or what you just mentioned, where it's like you record the book and then they put some celebrity's voice on it or something, I mean, personally, I am against those things. But I can see why some people might feel like there's more wiggle room in those. Again, that is not my personal opinion. I want to stop all of this, nip this on the bud. But if we're at a point where it's like, that's all that's left to us, at least there are still humans involved.
Anne: Yeah. Well, and I think, again, if we're thinking about how we can evolve with it, if, if that becomes part of it, and I do know that that technology exists. I don't know at this point -- you've got people, you've got other companies that are not voiceover that are creating this technology. So how can we work with those companies or do we choose not to work with those companies right, in order to --
Emily: Sure.
Anne: -- stay ahead, right? Is that a possibility?
Emily: Um, okay. My personal feeling is I don't support anyone doing that because, and I have more to say, but like, because I feel like that's just kind of giving in. It's, you know, you get a sum of money, which is enough for a few years, and you're basically giving up your whole career in trade, and the careers of all of your colleagues, because how many of those, how many people's voices are they really going to need to license? So ultimately, and I understand that everyone's situation is different and, you know, I shouldn't judge, but ultimately it's a very self-serving decision to do that. And so I personally, and this is my personal opinion, don't feel like I can support those things. However, if someone's going to do it, I think there's a lot of important ways to protect yourself and to protect others in the industry.
So I know that our union is working on licensing agreements that would be union. As far as I know, every one of these that I've heard of or seen advertisements for or whatever is non-union. And there's a reason for that. It's because they're taking advantage of people who are vulnerable.
Anne: Sure.
Emily: And they're taking advantage of people who need the money and who think, oh my gosh, a year's salary for a few days in the booth? Of course, I'm going to do that. Not realizing or not thinking through the consequences. You know, there's a reason that they don't want these contracts to be union because the union would want to, for example, limit how many times that person's voice can be used. Can they make a hundred audiobooks from that person's voice versus a thousand or a million from the same person's voice? You know, they're going to try to put limits on it to make it more equitable and spread it out. And these companies don't want to do that. There was no advantage to them for doing that.
And then there's other things like, well, I've talked a bunch about machine learning, which if people don't know, I really highly recommend looking into it. But if you license your voice, and there's no provision in your contract which says that they can't use that for machine learning, they can take that voice and not only use it for clone or whatever, but they can use it to create a totally synthetic voice that they'll never have to pay anyone a dime for. You know, there's a lot of risks, and that's part of why we want to do an educational series is if you're going to do this, which I personally strongly recommend and hope that you won't, but if you will, please at least be smart about it. You know, there are companies involved like, you know, Google and whatever that have really deep pockets, and they can offer the kind of money that a lot of people would have a really hard time turning down. But you also have to remember that there's a lot more at stake here than your wallet or even your career. Um, so we just, if you're going to do it, you have to be smart about it and you have to read those contracts with a fine tooth comb.
Anne: So I totally, totally understand all of that. Absolutely. What about the possibility of, as an organization, having a voice and going to these companies and saying -- I want to say it's like in the video gaming industry, when musicians would create music for video games, fighting for their creative licensing rights. What about that sort of thing? Like, and I understand, I mean, Google and you know that a lot of the big companies have a lot of voices already, not even voice actors, right? Just voices --
Emily: Right, yeah.
Anne: -- that they're using to learn, right. They're using to put into machine learning and learn and test and create other voices. If as an organization, you could be a strong voice in saying, hey, you know what, anybody's voice that's used really you should be asking permission. There should be compensation. There should be --
Emily: Right.
Anne: -- you know --
Emily: We should be getting royalties.
Anne: Right, exactly.
Emily: You know, like with any contract, you should have a limited period of time --
Anne: Exactly.
Emily: -- where you can --
Anne: Exactly.
Emily: You can't license in perpetuity, you should get six months or whatever, you know, like, I totally agree. That's part of why, if these contracts are going to happen, they should be union.
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: And that's why they don't -- they don't want to give us that, they don't. Um, they just want to give us a sum of money that is like an absolute fraction of what we would deserve for doing that kind of work.
Anne: I have spoken with some companies who say that they are not those companies. You know, they say that they are for --
Emily: Well, of course they say --
Anne: Well, okay. But that's the thing though, is that, do you assume that all companies are not ethical? You know what I mean, in this game?
Emily: I think honestly, I think any company doing this nonunion and not offering the protections and the compensation that any actor doing this deserves it, I don't think that's ethical. This is my personal opinion. I'm not speaking for PANA.
Anne: Oh, no, no.
Emily: I don't think it's ethical to offer a desperate actor a year salary and have their voice in perpetuity to use --
Anne: I agree.
Emily: -- for whatever you want. You know?
Anne: I agree with that. And I totally agree with that. And I think that that is absolutely where voice actors need to, you know, they need to be aware of these things that, you know, these companies that are for TTS. For me, that's a big red flag. And if you have a contract or you have a company that wants to pay you for, you know, 3000 lines of whatever, I absolutely believe that you should have a lawyer on that. Um, I say I would not take the job. However, if you go to these AI companies, I'm going to say independently and, you know, and try to work with them, or if there's an organization that can be on a board -- there is an organization right now that is working towards policies and legal contracts that will be in protection of the voice acting community. So I feel like there could be power in that as well.
Emily: Sure.
Anne: And especially from the audiobook narrators industry as well, because you guys are a -- you're a large community, and you have strong voices, and you work closely with the union. And I think that that is a wonderful thing. And I think that if you can get in on the ground floor of those usage policies, which everybody should have, right? And then, you know, ultimately, you know, fight the good fight hopefully so that the companies now understand, because I think in my research, I'm just going to say, there's a lot of AI companies out there that don't understand the voice acting industry. They don't understand like I actually had to say, no, there's usage. There's --
Emily: Right.
Anne: -- you know, there's usage here for how long. And we have contracts that, you know, we can't use our voice for this company, because we're already committed to this company.
Emily: Sure.
Anne: And there's a lot of education, not just for us, but --
Emily: But for them.
Anne: -- on their side as well. And I think that if you have a strong community of voices, that might be something to consider. Like you said, education, maybe education for AI companies as well.
Emily: Sure. I --
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: -- I would certainly be open to that.
Anne: Yeah.
Emily: And another one that we haven't mentioned, but that is definitely a concern, at least for me, would be having some sort of limitations on the content that they --
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Emily: -- could use voices for.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Emily: Like for example, you know, I'm, I'm Jewish.
Anne: Yup.
Emily: I would be horrified if my voice was used to narrate Nazi propaganda.
Anne: Yup.
Emily: You know, like that's just -- so I think any, any contract that is like in perpetuity with no limitations is unethical to me --
Anne: Yup.
Emily: -- because that's just not how it should work.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Emily: Am I --
Anne: I agree.
Emily: Am I open to working with AI companies to create a more equitable compensation system? Personally I think that that's SAG-AFTRA's job. If I ever hear of an AI company actually having union agreements with SAG-AFTRA, I would feel more kindly towards that AI company. I have yet to hear of that. I would potentially be open to that kind of effort, but honestly, I feel like that's putting the cart before the horse. I don't think we should give up the fight yet. I think we have enough good arguments and resources on our side to not necessarily have to get to that point yet.
Anne: Okay. Well, I think that you've definitely got some strong arguments there, and I, I have also been in the forums and I hear what people say, and I understand. I myself have done so much research, probably a little bit more with the companies maybe than others, which is the only reason I bring up the point that there are companies who say that they are ethical and say that they will, you know, your license or your voice belongs to you. It's licensed to you. We will not use it in our machine learning, right? Only with your permission and only if you are compensated fairly, so.
Emily: I mean, that's good. Good on those companies.
Anne: Yeah. Well, I'm hoping that more companies will, with things, you know, with the unfortunate, but actually now fortunate episode that happened to -- maybe not fortunate. I don't know if I would call it that, but that happened with Bev Standing, right, with her suit against TikTok and the fact that it got settled, it does set a precedent. And so it's unfortunate sometimes that bad things have to happen in order for, right, resulting policies and standards and laws to come into play. You know, the whole thing with the Anthony Bourdain movie, right? Why resurrecting a voice without the permission? I think that there are bad things that happen. However, good things can come out of it afterwards in order to build laws. And I think that that's kind of where we might be in this crazy world of AI. And it seems like AI has just sprung up in the last couple of years like crazy.
Emily: Sure.
Anne: So I do believe after my research, for me, I think it comes to educating the companies, the AI companies about us and about what we need and about what our rights should be as actors. And I, I'm hoping that my involvement in this podcast is going to also have a voice that can help affect that. And so that they will see that we do need to license our voice. We do need to be fairly compensated. And, you know, I can only hope that my little part in it has something to do with maybe getting things the way that would be fair and equitable to us.
Emily: Sure. I mean, I hope that, I hope that your efforts are successful. I do think that, I would like to think that these companies are just unaware or something.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Emily: And I'm sure some of them are, but I also think that some of them are very clever.
Anne: Yeah, of course.
Emily: And I know there are, for example, I can think of certain companies in the audiobook world who say, well, we won't -- they are clever in the way that they deceive people. You know, they'll say, well, we're not using our data to clone your voice, but they won't say that they're not using the data for machine learning or other things, you know? Like, and I think that, because I think that if we could get companies to do union contracts, that would certainly order it, you know, equivalent. That would certainly be a step forward. But I also think that educating voice actors to understand all of this stuff -- because it is complicated --
Anne: Sure.
Emily: - and it's not necessarily natural to a lot of people. I think that's important too, because like right now there are companies where we're -- actors and publishers are literally giving data to and not really recognizing how it could be used.
Anne: Agreed, agreed.
Emily: And so that's a problem.
Anne: I think we always have though, you know what I mean? I'm going to say long before this AI craziness, I think also, you know, there have been devices that have been listening to us and capturing our voices for a long time now.
Emily: Sure.
Anne: And so it's, I think it's good that we all are educated on it. And I just wanna give a shout-out to the organization, which I'm a part of, and anybody, if you're interested in joining them, it's called the Open Voice Network, which is based on creating standards for anything voice. And there are some companies who create AI voices that are in this organization, but it's all for the good of the voiceover world as well, to make sure that we are fairly compensated and hopefully, you know, we have a set of standards that can work for everyone. So that's openvoicenetwork.org. Maybe that's something that, you know, uh, BOSSes out there, you want to take a look at. I love, love, love what you're doing with PANA. I mean, thank you really. It's, I know how hard it is to bring an organization up and get these things going and moving and being productive. So congratulations to you guys. I think it's an amazing thing you're doing for the audiobook community, and I think it's wonderful what you're doing.
Emily: Thank you.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Emily: Appreciate that.
Anne: So tell us how people can find out more about your organization and you?
Emily: Sure. Uh, pronarrators.org is our website. We are @pronarrators on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and I'm Emily Lawrence. And you can find me at emilylawrence.com.
Anne: Fantastic. Thank you so much, Emily, for spending time with us today. BOSSes, go check out pronarrators.org. Thanks again so much for joining us. I'm going to give a great big shout-out to our sponsor ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS. Find out more ipdtl.com, and we'll see you guys next week. Thanks so much. Bye!
Emily: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe! In this episode, your hosts cover how creating a great demo can get you booked without auditioning, the versatility of having multiple demos, and how being kind to everyone you meet is really the most underrated marketing technique…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm happy to welcome back with me as special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar, how are you today?
Pilar: I'm doing great, Anne. ¿Tú cómo estás?
Anne: I don't know. Sí.
Pilar. Just say bien, just say bien.
Anne: Bien, bien.
Pilar: Bien covers it all.
Anne: Everybody will follow my own journey as I learn Spanish. Thank you. And I learned to be as -- the best bilingual voice artist I can be, but let me talk about another language, another language of love which it comes from my VO studio kitty Sebrina today. I noticed, Pilar, you know how animals, they have that sense. When you're a cat lover and a cat lover walks into my home, my cats know it. And I have to tell you that my little Sebrina, who is the most sociable of the three VO studio cats that I have, she's usually the first one that will come down and greet people, if she feels that they are sufficient --
Pilar: Worthy.
Anne: -- cat lovers. Yes.
Pilar: If they're worthy of her attention.
Anne: So I have to tell you that the last two times we've been recording, she has been scratching at my studio door, and she just doesn't do that. And I know, I know that she hears you because I have inside and outside headphones. And so what I hear here in my headphones in the booth are also kind of projecting outside my booth through my headphones. So I know she hears you. There's no other reason to explain why she's scratching at the door.
Pilar: Oh, I love that.
Anne: Like she must hear your voice.
Pilar: That's so cute.
Anne: She must hear your voice. And she must know that there's yet another cat lover with me, and she's scratching to get into the studio.
Pilar: And she knows there's a possible suitor right outside.
Anne: That's right. Exactly.
Pilar: Paco. Oh yeah.
Anne: Paco. Yes, she probably feels it. I'm telling you.
Pilar: They know, they know these things. They know.
Anne: They do. They know everything. Wow.
Pilar: We're just their, their custodians. They're the ones who rule.
Anne: Exactly. So I had to tell you that story, you know, because we share, we share a love for studio cats, for sure.
Pilar: So I can say, I can give a little shout out. Hola Sebrina, ¿cómo estás?
Anne: Oo. She's going to hear the scratching soon. I'm telling you. So we had a great conversation on our last podcast about being a bilingual voice talent and what it takes to, I guess, be successful in the industry. And I want to continue that to go a little bit more in detail. So if there are beginners out there or people just entering into the industry that want to market themselves as a bilingual voice talent, what are the steps that it would take for them to do so successfully? First of all, I think you must have some sort of a demo, right, that showcases that you have this talent. What are your thoughts about a demo and how you can successfully market yourself as bilingual through your demo or not, or what works for you?
Pilar: Okay. So since I started out in the world of voiceover without any like really any information -- I mean in the world of dubbing, that's what I meant -- they knew I spoke English, they knew I spoke Spanish, so I could do both. And I just kind of jumped in. I did not have a voiceover agent until I got to Los Angeles. So I had to get my own work. And that meant a lot of knocking on doors, talking to other actors and saying, okay, where are you, where are you working? What studios are you working in? And there aren't that many in Miami.
Anne: And you're talking physical knock. I'm just going to clarify this --
Pilar: Oh yeah.
Anne: -- you mean like physically networking with other people, which today really translates into online, right? Maybe --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- groups and online, online networking groups. But yeah, you had to physically become a good networker.
Pilar: Yes. Thank you for telling me that, because, because I don't even realize. I think it's interesting because you know, you get to a place -- you know, I'm talking to you here. I earned my living doing this and it's, it's really, when you go back, and I'm looking at my, my past, everyone thinks, oh, oh, she's doing this. She has it all. Oh, it's oh, it's like really easy. Look at her. And every single step that you make is, it's like, you're climbing up the mountain, and then you slide back down and then you climb up the mountain, and you slide back down a little bit.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And it's a lot of walking --
Anne: You claw your way up the mountain.
Pilar: -- you, you literally crawl your way up the mountain. My, um, my ex mother-in-law, God bless her, told me one time when I was learning something many, many years ago, she said as much as you may learn and then fall back, and, and if you're, if it's another language or if it's a new profession, you're never going to be at the point where you don't know anything. Once you start learning, you can't say you don't know anything because you actually know something now about that subject. And I, that's just something that I've always taken with me.
Anne: Yeah, that's a cool perspective. Yup.
Pilar: Because the more I learn -- yeah, right? Because the more I learn, the more I realize, oh, okay. I don't know about so much more.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: But there's other stuff that I do know now. So I just, I kind of bring it all. You know, my, my little lump of knowledge gets bigger and bigger. And so when I first started dubbing, as I said in a couple, couple episodes before, I just, it was luck that I got the job, but it was because I had been auditioning so many times before for these different studios -- no, excuse me, for this one studio.
Anne: But was it really luck, Pilar? If I ask you to think that back, was it really luck? Because you had really been working, uh, networking with people and getting to know people, and I'll tell you, the first rule of marketing is people buy from people they know, like, and trust. And so I think you might've been establishing that relationship in working in those studios when they said, you know what? We need somebody to do this dubbing job. And boom, guess who's top of mind? There you are. Just a thought.
Pilar: Okay, for those VO voces, those BOSS Voces who are listening to Anne for the first time, you got to go take classes with this woman, because she's completely turning my story around. And I'm sitting there, like my brains are like going, whaat?
Anne: I love it. You're a marketer. It's so funny, the parallels, right?
Pilar: I don't even know how I did it, but you're basically showing me all this stuff that I did without me even realizing it. So thank you for that.
Anne: Well, it's cool because we, we get to work it backwards now because now --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- people just entering in the business, are they networking online? How are they networking? And maybe they should consider all versions of networking because it all helps you, you know, to get where you need to go.
Pilar: We're doing it, we're doing reverse engineering.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Pilar: So reverse engineering a lot of the times means, and again, I'm not saying I do this, but when I have an interaction with somebody, I always keep them in my mind, and I send them an email, and I let them know what I'm doing. Because a lot of the time -- it's, it's basically being and not stalking them and not being obnoxious about it, but so they know that you're around. You know, for so many months before I actually got my first dubbing gig, I didn't get any response. And the same thing happened when I, when, when I started working for NPR. I didn't hear anything for months and months and months. And what I realized is that marketing is always the long game.
Anne: Isn't it? Ugh, yes.
Pilar: It's, it's the long game --
Anne: That's it, we can go home now Pilar, because that was, that was the wisdom, that nugget of wisdom. It is, it's a long game. So many people want that instant result.
Pilar: Yeah, because we have, we're exposed to instant gratifications through our cell phones, through our laptops.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: And what it is is that it's basically putting a tiny grain of sand into the atmosphere and letting it go there. It might come back. It might not, but every single time you do it, you're sending the energy out of, I'm a voiceover artist. I can do this for you.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: And eventually that does come back.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: So I get my first gig and then I'm thinking, okay, I want more. So then I start asking questions. I started asking my actor friends and like, oh, you're with this studio. How do you get into this studio? And it turns out that the person who recommended me to work in the first studio is also now working part-time in the second studio. So I call him up and I say, hey, you know, what's going on? And they're like, oh, okay, well, I don't really have anything for you now, but maybe. So I was like, okay, great. And then, boom. Maybe I make a call or maybe he calls me again. And then the chain starts happening. So that's really what it became.
So at one point I was working for four different studios and, you know, making these connections and then slowly but surely. So then you reach a point, right? I want more. So then I go into the audiobook world, and I start doing that. And then a big part of my, my voiceover journey was Fafcon because --
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: -- I went and that's --
Anne: Networking.
Pilar: -- when I experienced. Yeah. That's when I experienced, I was like, oh, these people actually make a living at it full-time, because I'm sitting here running around, you know, with four different studios.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: And I'm sure trying to deal with the whole audiobook thing. And, and they're like, oh no, we have our clients. We have our IVR. We have our people who call us up every so often. And we, and I'm like, oh, that's a new concept. And I had no idea about this part of the business.
Anne: You were learning about now these are all different genres. You were just doing dubbing --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- and then you started with the audiobooks. Interesting about the audiobooks. And I'm going to say that might've been a few years back, right? There was no ACX back then, right? So --
Pilar: No, actually I started with ACX.
Anne: Oh, you did? Okay.
Pilar: So, so it was more recent.
Anne: Oh, okay, so it was recent then.
Pilar: 2012.
Anne: Oh, okay.
Pilar: They had just started 2013. They had --
Anne: Still that's a --
Pilar: -- they hadn't been around that long.
Anne: -- that's a while. Yeah. That's a while. That was when they just started, I believe. So, okay. And right there for audiobooks, that was kind of a, a cool thing because it was online, and you didn't have to necessarily have a demo to present. They were basically just offering you work and you could audition and not necessarily have to present a demo to get work there.
Pilar: Exactly. So I, again, not knowing anything that was back in the day when audiobooks were done in studios.
Anne: Yes, yes.
Pilar: So the publishing companies had their own studios, and you know, the big guys on campus went and they recorded there.
Anne: Exactly, exactly. Now, were you doing, were you doing Spanish or were you doing both English and Spanish?
Pilar: I was doing both. Actually I started out doing English, doing these like really funny romance things. And then I went the other way with Spanish and started doing religious things because somebody asked me to do religious stuff, and this was, and so here's where networking comes in. You never know. You just never know who is going to be somebody who's a valued contact. That's why, and I'll, I'll tell this story really quickly, and so I don't lose my place about this.
When I was working as an extra on "One Life to Live," there was this guy, and I, and I may have mentioned it. And I remember him saying so clearly that he said, you have to be nice to everybody on set. You know, we were just all looking at him like with stars in our eyes because he was so good-looking, and he was just like, you know, he was a series regular. And he said, be nice to everybody. And I never forgot that. So when I went to Colombia, I was very aware that I needed to treat the producer and the director exactly the same as the coffee lady, because the coffee lady, the person who brought me coffee, and that was her only job, she was just as important --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: -- as the producer.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: You know, it's a courtesy thing. It's a human interaction thing. And I've always been very, very aware of that. But that experience --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- that I had on the set from somebody who was, you know, making, you know, a good amount of money to talk to us who we were just like these little star struck extras was really important.
Anne: See, it's not just a life lesson, right, but a business lesson to be nice to everyone. It's like be nice to the person that picks up the phone. You may think you want to talk --
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: -- to the boss, but in reality, it all starts with the person who answers the phone or gets you the coffee. You never know.
Pilar: You never know where that person's going to be. So --
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: -- fast forward to when I would do voiceover dubbing at this one studio, one of the engineers was, he was just such a sweet guy, and we got along really well. And he was so pleasant and jovial. And, you know, whenever he would ask me to do another take, I always did. And you know, if I thought that I could do it better, he would let me do it. You know, if it was just like a little kind of an alteration in, in the way I inflected in my voice. And he said, hey, would you be interested in doing audio books in Spanish? And I was like, sure. And you know, afterwards we spoke, and I did quite a few for him. And, you know, he said, I don't ask everyone this because obviously people can, you know, he, he gets different responses.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: And so that's why I, I want to emphasize the importance of being really pleasant and nice and courteous to everyone. 'Cause you just, you just never know. And I, I did like four books with him, and that was just something on the side that I did. And I wouldn't have done that otherwise, if I had been like, you know, a bitch on wheels going to the studio.
Anne: And you know what's so interesting though -- let me just try to relate this to today in an online community, when you're communicating with people online and especially in these groups where you think it might be a closed group where you're only talking to voice actors, be nice to everyone, because there are people sitting there watching you, and reading those comments, and making judgements about your comment, if it's not nice, or maybe it's not becoming of a professional. They're watching and you never know who might be looking or listening behind the scenes. So be nice to everyone. I think it's just a wonderful thing to live by. Right? Just be nice to everyone. Be nice.
Pilar: I totally agree with that, Anne, and, and I would go even further because I was listening to somebody about this. When you're on Zoom, you know, it doesn't cost anything to smile.
Anne: True, so true.
Pilar: It really doesn't.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: You can just, you can just be pleasant, and you can have a nice sort of energy to you. I mean, I know we're always in sweats, and it just it's become a way of life. And we're probably going to be doing this for a long time, but there's a certain energy you bring when you come into a Zoom meeting. You know, you can either slouch and you can just be like, uh, you know, and we've all heard them. Everybody on --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- listening to this podcast has heard people who are just like these Nagging Nellies I guess, or the complainers.
Anne: Debbie Downers,
Pilar: Debbie Downers. Debbie Downers. It's like, oh yeah, I'm I'm in voiceover, but I --
Anne: But I can't.
Pilar: -- but I don't have a demo yet. And I haven't --
Anne: I can't do this.
Pilar: -- gotten any work in six months. It's like really, really? Are you kidding? Then why are you even here?
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: You know, it's like, hey, I want to learn. I don't know anything about, oh, I don't know. Let's say you're doing, um, let's say a demo. You want to learn how to do a demo --
Anne: Video games or something.
Pilar: No, I'm thinking of, you know, those slot machine things?
Anne: Oh, casinos.
Pilar: Casinos. They're, they're actually, now that's a new genre that I heard about.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Pilar: I was like, oh my gosh.
Anne: Casinos and gaming. Yes. That kind of gaming.
Pilar: Casinos and -- yeah.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: So it's like, let's say you go in, and you don't know anything about it. Well, hey, you're here to learn. I'm here to learn about casino and gaming. Yay. This is something new. So it's like, I feel like you can always put your best foot forward because it doesn't cost you anything.
Anne: Yeah. You can always learn, and you can always learn.
Pilar: Yeah. Exactly. You can always learn. So --
Anne: You can always learn something.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Even if you're like, oh, I don't know. Like I didn't like this class or -- that's the teacher in me that says, you know, if you're a good student, you can learn anywhere, anywhere.
Pilar: Yup.
Anne: There's always an opportunity to learn.
Pilar: I totally agree. So back to the guy. So I did these four books with him, and somewhere along the way -- so I, I didn't have an audiobook demo. I had a bunch of audio book samples 'cause that's what you do.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: And the experience at Fafcon, which was just so enriching. And I met some amazing people that I'm still friends with today, I realized everybody was like, oh yeah, the demo this, the demo that. I was like, why in the world do you need a demo? And then after I'd gotten all this information, and then I went home ,and I looked at all, everybody's website that I had met. And I was like, oh, this is our industry's equivalent of a resume.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Pilar: That's basically very simple and quick and dirty explanation. You have to have a demo. So anybody going online, anybody who's considering you -- I just did a session yesterday, and I had a certain kind of demo for this 'cause -- I can't talk about it because obviously it -- now every -- you sign NDAs, wherever you go.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: Um, so I auditioned for this company, and then they said, oh yeah -- he said, so he started talking about the style that he wanted for what we were doing. And he said, yes. And I, from your audition, but especially from your demos.
Anne: That's excellent.
Pilar: I was like, oh, okay. This guy did his homework.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: This guy really looked at my stuff before choosing me, which means that's why my demos have to be in order.
Anne: Absolutely. I'm so glad you said that because there are some people who think that you cannot book off of your demo. And I, I am in disagreement with that because I do believe that people that are doing their homework that are out -- they're searching online. If your demos are sitting there on your website, people listen to them. And I get requests all the time, you know, hey, I love -- can you do the voice in that spot, on your demo, in this particular spot that you're referencing? So I will get people. I know they've listened to the demo and I've booked.
Pilar: In 2020, I booked a year long campaign. I basically paid my rent and then some.
Anne: From a demo.
Pilar: From a demo. I did not audition. I didn't audition for. And I was like, wait a minute. Don't you need? And they were like, no, no. The agent, 'cause I'm so -- I was such a newbie, he was like, no, no, you don't need to audition. I mean, he literally said that to me. No, you idiot. They're booking you off the demo. And, and actually yeah, through my agent, I book off my demo all the time. So it's, I get people will request it because they've listened to the demos. So --
Pilar: Right.
Anne: -- I mean, of course I audition too, like everybody else, but I do book a considerable amount off of my demos.
Pilar: In terms of specifically a bilingual demo, what I did, what I noticed, first I, and I did what everybody does. The, the very first demo I did, I basically just did my spots. That's what I did, you know? 'Cause I, I didn't know any better, so I, okay. I've got a bunch of spots and let me, you know, hook it all together. And I actually got somebody who did it for, you know --
Anne: So for your bilingual demo, right? You --
Pilar: No, for my first demo.
Anne: Okay. First demo, you strung together spots that you had created. Okay.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly, because, you know, that's what you do when you're starting out, and there's nothing wrong with that. But then when I went to Fafcon and I realized, oh, these people actually had this professionally done, you know, the skeptic in me said, oh, come on, really? Why in the world would you need that? And I realized, because that's how it happens in this particular business. It may not happen any in any other business, but I've seen the reason why I've booked work, and why I need that because that's the way, that's the way it is. I mean --
Anne: Well, I think it also shows -- of course, you can put together a demo of spots that you've done already and lots of people do that. But also I think it can show a range. Maybe you get booked for a lot of -- a particular style of spot or a particular read. And I think a demo can showcase a broader range of acting that you can do.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: And that's where I think that it's really advantageous as well as hooking up with someone who is familiar with what's out there and what's -- a good producer or a demo producer that knows what trends are out there, what companies are looking for and can implement that on the demo as well.
Pilar: Exactly. You just hit the nail on the head. You need somebody, you need a director. That's what a demo producer is.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: They know better than you do. So, you know, it's like you go in stages. So at first I thought, oh, I'll do my own demo. And then I realized, no, I need somebody who can direct me because they're going to showcase my voice to the best --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- of my ability rather than me trying to figure it out because --
Anne: You're too close to it.
Pilar: -- the dirty little secret is that we don't know how we sound --
Anne: That's right.
Pilar: -- really and truly.
Anne: We're very close.
Pilar: We need somebody else. We need somebody else to sit there and tell us, no, no, no, you want the cosmetic read. This is, you know, you want the automotive read. You want the, you know, the Olive Garden read; they're all different. So after that I was like, okay, I'm going to bite the bullet. And I actually did, I had, uh, I did a kind of a double thing because, um, Bob Bergen was teaching a weekend class, and this just kind of came about up in San Francisco. And I had already booked time with Chuck Duran to do my demos because I wanted to go there. This was obviously before, 'cause now you can do it. You don't even, you don't need to --
Anne: You can do it online.
Pilar: Yeah. You can do it totally online. But I was like, no, I want it -- and I wanted to go to LA because there was something about it --
Anne: Sure. Well, there's something about the experience of being in a studio too in LA recording a demo that all you have to do is perform. And this is a really wonderful experience.
Pilar: Totally.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So the demo that we did -- so I asked Chuck, I said, you know, I'd really like to do two. I'd like to do one in Spanish and one in English, because I was told don't ever, ever mix them. That was the first thing I was told. So I was like, okay, I'm not going to mix them. So we did it in English and in Spanish. So he did the English copy, and he actually speaks some Spanish. And so then I translated some of them and then we came up with some other things. And so then I had two demos. It was great.
Anne: Two identical demos?
Pilar: No.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: Not identical.
Anne: You had different spots in Spanish then?
Pilar: Yeah. Some overlapped, but some did not. And you know, he was very strategic about it. So that was, that was, that was fine. Then I realized that I wanted to have a bilingual demo. I was just stubborn. I was like, I want a bilingual demo.
Anne: So wait --
Pilar: This is what I want.
Anne: So what do you consider a bilingual demo? Do you mean one that is both English and Spanish --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- in the same demo? Oh, okay.
Pilar: And --
Anne: All right. So you are a bilingual talent that has a separate English demo and a separate Spanish demo. Now a bilingual demo means you're going to have both English and Spanish.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: And I have -- if you listen to my bilingual demo, there's a little bit of a, of a little bit of an accent because that's something else that I get all the time. I don't really have an accent in either language.
Anne: Speak English with a Spanish accent.
Pilar: Yes. All the time.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: That's what I get all the time.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: So then that became almost a third category, and I did that actually online.
Anne: So that's a separate demo or just a separate --
Pilar: That's a separate demo.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: That's a separate demo.
Anne: All by itself, the English with the Spanish accent --
Pilar: All by itself. The bilingual, yep.
Anne: Okay, but let's --
Pilar: But not all of them.
Anne: Okay, but --
Pilar: They're not -- so there's English with a Spanish accent. There's English, normal English. And then there's Spanish. They're all mixed in, in that specific bilingual demo.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: And so I was told by my -- and so then whatever the agent happened, and they said, no, no, no, we don't want that. We don't want that on. You know, we just want the English and the Spanish. We want it separated. But I tell you, I have booked from that bilingual demo.
Anne: Right, which is sitting on your website.
Pilar: So -- exactly. And so it's kind of like when you go in, when you walk into a store, not everybody's going to buy the same thing.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: But you want to have pants, and you want to have a dress --
Anne: Well, people consume --
Pilar: -- and you want to have a jumper.
Anne: Yes. People consume your audio differently --
Pilar: Yup.
Anne: -- right?
Pilar: Right.
Anne: Agents will consume or deliver your audio separately, right? Or people that go to an agent website may shop differently than people that get to your website, in which case I like to have everything available on your website because you never know who's shopping. It could be an owner of a small company --
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: -- or it could be a casting director or an agent. And so they're very different buyers because casting agents and talented -- that's what they do for a living eight hours a day, all day long. The owner of the small pizza place, you know, down the road, he doesn't cast voices all day long. He just knows what he hears and he knows what he likes. And so he does a Google search, comes up with your website, right, is bilingual voice talent. Boom. Here's your demo that is sitting there that maybe your agents didn't want to present both ways. And he says, that's it. That's exactly what I need.
Pilar: And here's the funny part. And I can't 100% confirm, but I suspect that -- 'cause of course, you know, when I, when I signed, I gave them all the demos. I'm pretty sure that the demo that they heard that booked me that job in 2020 -- it was just like an ongoing thing -- they booked me on the strength of the bilingual demo, where they heard me speak in English and in Spanish at the same time and with an accent.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: So don't be afraid of the having the accent. So, you know, I run into people all the time. So they, they're Spanish speakers, and they speak with a little bit of an accent. And then there are English speakers who have a little bit of an accent in Spanish, but specifically to the Spanish speakers who speak English, don't be afraid to put different ranges --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: -- of your speaking in English, because like Sofía Vergara, she's Colombian. Very nice. She really puts it on thick in, in that, in the, in the whatever it was --
Anne: "Modern Family."
Pilar: "Modern Family." She doesn't speak like that all the time. If you listen to her, she puts it on thick in some movies and pulls back, 'cause she knows how to do that. You don't have to have a perfect accent in English or a perfect accent in Spanish either.
Anne: Well, you know what's so interesting, and I can see where your agent might say, no, we don't want it mixed. Right? We want one, that's English, one that's Spanish, because traditionally we've moved away from, if you remember in, in narration -- I'm going, I'll make the comparison with narration demos. It used to be a narration demos, you put every genre in there. You had like a documentary style. You had an e-learning, you had a corporate, you had, you know, all different styles of narration.
So it became all mixed up into one. And then we became very target specific. And so then it became, okay, you need a separate demo for an explainer, separate demo for corporate narration, separate demo for e-learning. But when you're talking bilingual, you have a client, a customer that may need multiple versions of Spanish speaking language. And so I think when you mix it together in English, English with a Spanish accent, Spanish, you're giving them all of the range that you have in that language.
Pilar: Exactly. I --
Anne: And that makes sense to me that that would work for you.
Pilar: Yeah. Yeah. And I've, I've had -- I've been in sessions where I speak English with no accent, and they want a run of the copy that way. Then they want a run of the copy with a little bit of an accent, and then they want to run of the copy with a lot of an accent. So I'm giving them three choices because --
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: -- they don't know at the time how they're going to place it for those markets.
Anne: Right. And the markets may change. Right?
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: The markets may --
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: -- be more localized or, or regionalized, or I think it really just goes with the territory. Now, I guess my question is if they use it multiple times, are they paying you multiple?
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: You know, that's what you want to make sure, which is why your agent helps.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: And, and --
Pilar: That's where --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- that's where it gets tricky because I've really only been doing the bilingual work this way, to the extent that I've been doing it since I came out to Los Angeles.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: Usually it was that you either do the spot in English or you do the spot in Spanish, before I had an agent. You know like for example, on the pay-to-plays.
Anne: Yep.
Pilar: You don't really have, you don't get that oh, let's -- once in a very long while, but mostly it's like, okay, Spanish speaker, Latin American speaker or American speaker.
Anne: But if you think about it too, I would imagine the type of customer that would go through an agency or casting director to find a voice, they know the target market of who they're advertising to more so than, let's say, somebody on a pay-to-play. Right? They're just like, oh, I need Spanish. Maybe, that's just my guess, an educated guess because, and they come to the agent because they're much more target specific. It would seem to me that would make sense.
Pilar: I agree, because I think that a lot of the times the ad agency is looking for specific markets. So if it's Florida, it's going to be different from --
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: -- Southern California.
Anne: Exactly. You're going to need a different Spanish that's in Florida than is in California, which makes a whole lot of sense to me. Wow.
Pilar: And it's different than Arizona too.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So it's like, you're talking totally different markets.
Anne: This is so enlightening for me because what's cool is that I have questions for you because I have no real experience with how to market as a bilingual voice talent, because I'm not one. But yet you tell me your experiences, and it's, so it makes so much sense really for every one of us in the voiceover business, how we need to be very target specific. We need to be able to serve the -- our clients and our clients have many different needs, many different demographics, and the better that we can serve them and showcase, right, through our demos, through auditioning, how we can serve that community, then obviously the more chance we have to get the gig, and you know, that's what it's about.
Pilar: Yeah. And I, I just to, just to piggyback on that end, let's say you don't speak another language. Well, get your accents ready.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Because a lot of the times I am called to do with a slight Southern accent or with a British accent. There are tons of things, whether it's the video game world or even commercial copy. So having an ear, developing that ear, looking at YouTube videos, there are tons of YouTube videos -- I think is important to listen for, let's say, a specific regionalism --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- because you never know what you're going to get in the voiceover. And I think one of the worst things to do is to get an audition and then be scrambling because --
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: -- you're like, oh my gosh, I don't know how to do this.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: Let me go look online. How am I going to do this? And then you're just, you're adding all that stuff. It's like --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- why not take some time, take a look at it, listen to it, you know, practice, you know?
Anne: Well, and let me add the caveat here because of, you know, the climate past couple of years that if the casting specs request a native UK Londoner, then perhaps that's not necessarily something you audition for, if it's in the casting specs. But I think it's important that it starts there. Because again, we want, if people are looking for a native speaker or a native ethnicity, then I think that -- that we should respect those casting specs. And also that's a question, do we do a British accent these days? That's an interesting question. Are we taking away work if we do that, if we're not native? That is -- it's, it's a tough question that I think everybody is kind of wrapping their heads around, what is right in this industry these days?
Pilar: So I think that it is very important to distinguish and to be upfront about it because here's the thing. If you present, the person on the other end listening is going to know immediately if you are not a native speaker.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So, I mean, that's just down the line. So I'm very, I'm very clear on the fact that I say anywhere, I, I, you know, on my resume, whatever, wherever I'm a native speaker in Spanish, I speak French fluently.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: So if you drop me in the middle of Paris, I will not starve. I will be able to get myself anywhere. And I'm not --
Anne: I'm so glad you made that distinction. Yes.
Pilar: Yeah, I'm not a native speaker because native means I was born there or spent most of my life speaking French, and I haven't.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So I can't, I can't say that with any kind of authority.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: Now in terms of accents, I have run across it. I, it's really more, I run across it much more with video games and especially animation --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- where they're going to ask you --
Anne: Yup. They're going to ask you to have an accent.
Pilar: -- for a Russian accent. And that's really more of a character --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- kind of a situation rather than this is a person of authority --
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Pilar: -- where commercial copy comes in.
Anne: But again, that might be, and I'm just thinking, right, that could be come more of a discussion as we move on --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- as well.
Pilar: Agreed. Yes.
Anne: So wonderful thoughts on that, and Pilar, of course, it's always a pleasure. I learn so much on every one of these episodes. Thank you so much.
Pilar: Well, you're my marketing guru, so there we go.
Anne: Well, hey BOSSes, I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. Have an amazing week, you guys, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Pilar: Hasta la vista, baby.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Training your ear takes practice - in any language! Anne and Pilar discuss what it’s like to approach bilingual voice over in today’s VO industry, from understanding culture and dialects to managing translation and delivery styles. Adaptation and observation are key to success as a bilingual talent, and it’s important to keep a finely-tuned ear open to understanding language rather than just speaking it. Tune in to hear tips and information from a veteran performer… More at: https://www.voboss.com/bilingual-vo-101
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Pilar: Hola, BOSS Voces. Bienvenidos al podcast con Anne Ganguzza y Pilar Uribe.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm honored today to bring back very special guest co-host to Pilar Uribe. Pilar, how are you today?
Pilar: Hola, Anne. Cómo estás?
Anne: See, I need to start learning from you. Hola. Hola. So I am so excited to have you on this podcast because first of all, your journey is amazing, and our journeys are always ever evolving, right? And --
Pilar: Yes, oh yes. Oh, absolutely. Constantly.
Anne: There's so much that our podcast listeners can learn from you. So I'm, I'm excited to continue that conversation. And I want to talk today about bilingual, what it means to be a bilingual voiceover actor in today's industry. And, you know, back in the day, I grew up in a very small town, and I was never really exposed to anyone that spoke a different language. And my exposure to let's say another language was my high school that said you can take French or Spanish, you know, for as many semesters as you'd like.
And so I picked French, which I now think maybe I should have picked Spanish because I feel like that would be really useful to me today. But yeah, I was not exposed -- and it's one thing to be exposed to the language, but I was not really exposed to the culture. And I think it's so important for us to talk about that because as business owners, we serve many different communities. And it's so important for us to understand the community that we are serving and to be able to speak to them in the way that they're accustomed to and be able to serve their needs the best that we can.
Pilar: Yes, this is very true, Anne. You know, I was born in New York, and both my parents were from Colombia. So that was all I knew because I spoke Spanish at home until I went to school in New York, and then I spoke English. And then when we, when we got home, we would speak only Spanish. And so every Sunday, my mother would make a traditional meal called ajiaco, which is this wonderful soup with chicken and corn and sour cream and chives, and it's like, it's so delicious. And we would listen to Colombian music. And so I grew up steeped in the culture. So it was like, there was stuff at home --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- what we did at home. And then there was school.
Anne: School.
Pilar: And --
Anne: Where did you learn English then.
Pilar: I learned English in kindergarten.
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: Well, I guess it started in nursery school 'cause I went to this playgroup where there were kids from all over. And then in kindergarten, I went to Convent of the Sacred Heart. And I think there was one other person who spoke Spanish. And of course, you know, when you're a kid, you catch on really quickly. So there was like maybe one or two people, one school friend, she spoke German, somebody else spoke Spanish, but that was also the custom of the day, which is that you learned that -- French was what was offered. I don't remember, at least at Sacred Heart, I don't remember Spanish being offered. When I switched schools, when I went to Spence across the street, they did have Spanish, but I mean, I already knew it.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And so in New York, at least there was really no Spanish culture per se. You know, every so often of course I would hear Spanish being spoken, but it was in pockets. And so it was my home life, and then there was school life, and it was almost like never the twain shall meet. And so I, I grew up with a very Hispanic background because my parents wanted to give that to us, but I didn't see it reflected outside. That wasn't really until much later that actually it's, you know, you started seeing it, at least, you know, where I grew up.
And so of course, my family, we would have -- lots of friends would come over, and they would speak Spanish. And so that was very fluid. But for example, I know friends who, whose parents were, they were not interested in teaching their, their children Spanish. So they have a very Latin sounding name and they don't understand Spanish. Thank God that my mother wouldn't let us speak English when we got home, because my career is basically been bilingual my entire life.
Anne: So then, if I can ask, 'cause I've, I've looked this up multiple times, and I'm seeing some kind of different answers in different places. So then should I refer to the community as Hispanic or Latino or what is the difference there, if you wouldn't mind? I've got multiple places that kind of say they're the same, but yet they're different or they're mutually exclusive.
Pilar: So it's, it's really strange. And I think us Hispanics, we don't even know. The word Hispanic -- I mean, when I was growing up, you were a Latina. A Latina was just, you were a Latina, which means you were from Latin America.
Anne: Right, it referred to a place. Yes.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. So then Hispanic came along. If I go and I look at the term in Wikipedia, it says the term Hispanic refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or hispanidad. So it embraces, because obviously we can't forget about Spain.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So it embraces Spain obviously --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- and the Americas where Spanish is spoken. And so Latinx is something that has not been around for that long. And it has to do -- see, for me what I understand it, 'cause I was like, what is this Latinx? 'Cause I was -- I would always hear of it for people who were gender neutral.
Anne: That's what I --
Pilar: Who were gender fluid. But that doesn't mean that everybody who is a Latina is a Latinx.
Anne: Correct.
Pilar: So that's where it gets tricky and where people kind of sit there and they go, well, how do I refer to myself as? And so, you know, I'm an American because I was born in this country.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And I speak Spanish.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So for me, I would say I'm Hispanic because that's basically just the way that I referred to myself my entire life. The Latinx thing is something that's sort of come about in the last five, six, seven years, I think, which is fine. But for me, ultimately, I'm a Latina. Yo soy latina --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- and that's kind of -- you know, for Americans, I'm Hispanic, but I'm a Latina because that's how I grew up, una latina.
Anne: And it's Latina, because you're female, is that correct?
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: And then Latino, is that --
Pilar: Yes. But then sometimes -- I know it's so bizarre --
Anne: And Latinx might be inclusive of non-binary or --
Pilar: Exactly. Non-binary.
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: That's exactly what it is, but because the Latino -- and because we have that differential in Spanish, because a Latino can also be male or female because I've had -- los latinos is like --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- that's like everybody.
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: You know, like, that's like so -- people just go overboard with trying to define the labels, you know?
Anne: I guess, I guess it's just safe to assume that it's a personal matter, how you'd like to be referred to, right, for each person --
Pilar: Agreed.
Anne: -- then. Okay.
Pilar: Agreed.
Anne: All right.
Pilar: And I think it's kind of like everything goes.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: I mean, it's not -- well, at least for me, you know. I can't speak for everyone.
Anne: Well, it's good to know because I, you know, I had questions I'm like, well, I'm not quite sure because again, when I grew up, I really was not exposed to really many people that had different cultures. I remember when I moved from my small town in upstate New York to New Jersey, I met so many people with so many different cultures, and I was like, this could have been good for me back in when I was growing up. But anyway, so now the question is, you speak Spanish, but there's so many different dialects, right?
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: And there's so -- many people need different dialects depending on again, what group you're speaking to. And I say group meaning buyer. If you're doing a voiceover and somebody hires you for that, they usually request a specific dialect of Spanish. So what are the different dialects and what, what are the differences between them?
Pilar: Okay. So if you're talking, if, you know, if we start with Spain, which is [?], the Spaniards have a very, very different way of speaking. And so it's really interesting because Spaniards are some of the most lovely people, but the way they speak, it's almost like they're shouting at you. So [speaking Spanish] and so everything is just all, everything is always screaming. And that, I just said a bad word, by the way.
Anne: Oh.
Pilar: But you didn't understand, which is good.
Anne: See?
Pilar: So yeah, but it's, it's very, very guttural and it's, it's hard to explain. It is very, it's very tough sounding. So that's Span -- that's the Spaniards.
Anne: Okay. So does that mean if somebody hires you to do some international work, and you needed to speak Spanish that was directed at people in Spain, would you speak in that delivery?
Pilar: Probably, because I actually have been called to do that.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: And also of course, and this is, again, nobody really knows because this is just conjecture, but the Spaniards, they have, they have a lisp. So supposedly, and some peoples, historians debate on this, but I want to say it was Phillip II or Ferdinand, I can't remember, but one of the kings had a lisp. So to cover, all the courtiers started lisping to cover his lisp. So instead of saying cerca, I'm near, estoy "therca," estoy therca. And then like canción, a Latin American would say, I'm singing a song, estoy cantando una canción, in Spain you would say estoy cantando una "canthión." It's the th instead of ss --
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: -- just for that particular C. It's not all the time.
Anne: So there's Spanish from, people from Spain.
Pilar: Spanish, Spain, right. Then they call this neutral. So neutral has a variety of connotations because neutral Spanish is actually, and this is something that I heard many years ago, when they say neutral Spanish, they actually want you to sound more Mexican. Because actually in terms of buyers, the largest minority of Latins is the Mexican --
Anne: Mexican. That makes sense.
Pilar: So I want to say it's 89 million, but that might be an old figure. And so the Mexicans have a very distinct accent, if you go to different regions of Mexico. The reason why they ask for it is that it's a flatter way of speaking because when you start hearing different regionalisms, there's a lot of lilting. There's a lot of (singsong) and there's a lot more accents. The Mexican is pretty close in terms of being the flat, which is why they ask for it.
Anne: They call that the --
Pilar: They call it --
Anne: Neutral?
Pilar: Neutral Spanish, yes.
Anne: Neutral Spanish.
Pilar: But that's kind of code for -- it's, it's kind of more tilting towards the Mexican.
Anne: Right. Because of the larger population, I'm assuming.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: That's what --
Pilar: Yeah. And it's the consumer, right? Exactly. But here's the funny part. And again, the VO BOSS listeners might disagree, but the accent in Colombia, the way Colombians speak, is probably some of the best Spanish in all of Latin America. It just happens to be that way. I'm not speaking out of line.
Anne: Well listen, I will tell you, I have to tell you this because when I worked in education, my boss for a good 18 years, he was from Colombia. So when he would get angry, and he would kind of go off into a different language --
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: -- it was very interesting. It was, I don't know it was lovely actually, but again, I never knew what he was saying. He was probably saying bad words, if he was angry at me or, or whatever. But it's interesting because he had an accent for 18 years, and he was, gosh, he was one of my, one of the best bosses I'd ever had. I mean, it was like half of my life that I worked for him. So I got to know him from his accent in English, but didn't ever really hear him speaking Spanish too much, except for once in a while, when he would talk to maybe his wife that would call or whatever, if I overheard him on the phone.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Or if he got angry.
Pilar: Yeah. But so Colombian Spanish is grammatically, it's probably the closest to Spanish from Spain.
Anne: Okay. But then I imagine there's different regions in Colombia. Right?
Pilar: Totally.
Anne: Okay. And then you'd have like a different dialect for each.
Pilar: Right, because you've got like, for example, the coast, um, [speaking Spanish] it's kind of like Southern, it's like the equivalent of Southern, it's and it's very, uh, it's, it's a great like people from Baidupar (?), [speaking Spanish] and then you've got Baices (?), [speaking Spanish]. There's a beautiful accent from Medellín. And then the region from Bogotá. There's all kinds.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Where my family was from, Ibagué, it's just, it's a very funny kind of accent. They're all very different. And so that is important because a lot of the times when you are auditioning for something, they're going to ask you, because I get asked all the time. So you've got, like, let's say you've got Colombia, you've got Venezuela, and Venezuela, their accent is different, but it's more in line with the, because like for example, Caracas is on the coast. And so there, that accent is a coastal accent, and it's very close to the coastal Colombian accent from like a Baidupar, from the coast of Colombia, which is closer, not the same thing, but it's closer to like central America. So central America, you get into Dominican, which is very different. They speak at like 30,000 miles a minute. I mean, it is so crazy. You can't understand them.
Anne: So then, may I ask, when you get an audition, right, are they specifying the dialect or?
Pilar: Yes, yes --
Anne: Okay --
Pilar: -- now they are, now they are.
Anne: -- all the time now there, because before this, I mean, bilingual has always been a thing, but I think lately it just was assumed that Spanish was maybe one or two different dialects. And, and I know for a fact, when I do a lot of telephony work, they would specifically request certain dialects of Spanish that they would want on the prompts. And so I think probably even now, right? So if you are not familiar with a specific dialect, do you go and study that before you audition? Or how does it, how does that work?
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I actually have a coach who is --
Anne: Oh, okay.
Pilar: -- she's great. She has, she knows all kinds of, I mean, dialects from all over the world. So and so I'll, um, I have some, some things that I, that I recorded with her. And so I'll just, I'll go to my notes there because even something proximity wise --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- Cuba and Puerto Rico, there's a very big difference with the accents. And I've been asked to do a Puerto Rican accent, and I've been asked to a Cuban accent. Those are the two that I get called to, sometimes Mexican. But a lot of the times what they're looking for, what I'll do, for example, when I'm doing an audition, and they're looking, they're asking to do the neutral Spanish, is that I will tone down. I will be very aware when I'm speaking of my Spanish, because I do have some regionalisms in my Spanish, and people who know, who have an ear and speak Spanish, native speakers --
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: -- they will hear it immediately, so I can disguise it. It's practice. That's basically, it's like, if you want to put on a Southern accent, a Southern accent from Alabama is very different --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: -- from a Southern accent from Virginia.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: So it's just a matter of being aware of what they are, and it starts in the mouth. So it's, it's great to get together with a coach. And for example, when, when they ask you for a British accent, and they're asking for an upper-class British accent, versus they're asking for a Scottish accent, 'cause a lot --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- you know, I get, I get those kinds of things for like video games. You just have to be aware, you practice, you get online. I actually did a, um, an ADR for a movie that came out, and I didn't know the language. So I got hired and he said, you speak Spanish. And I had worked with this looping director before and I said, yeah. And he said, okay, this is, this is a little different, you're going to have to practice. And I thought, okay, great, wonderful. So I start practicing, and it's this thing called Nahuatl, which is from a region in Mexico. And it's not really something -- it's a language, but it's not something that is spoken often at all.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And this was for a big Marvel movie. So I started going online. There's very few videos, but I get ahold of them. I find somebody who speaks Nahuatl. And I speak to her and I realized this language has nothing to do with Spanish. And I'm like, uh-oh. So I literally phonetically had to learn phrases. And, and we had that all prepared because the looping director gave us time, but it was like, oh wow. This is a completely different language. This is not Spanish at all, but it is spoken in --
Anne: Spanish.
Pilar: -- Mexico.
Anne: Yeah, exactly. Wow.
Pilar: So yeah, it's limitless amounts of variations. And if you're a native speaker of Spanish, you have to be very aware that you're not dealing with just one --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- the way your voice sounds.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: You have to be able to adapt.
Anne: Right. And not only just in the sound of it, right, or the accent of it, but I would say performance wise as well, right? There's styles in which people speak their language.
Pilar: Yes. One of the things that I get called to do is to do a spot, and I have to do it in English and Spanish. And so first of all, Spanish is always longer. It always takes double the amount of time because we talk a lot. So double the amount of time what I say in English in Spanish.
Anne: Oh, right, because you talk a lot, meaning the words to translate are twice as many.
Pilar: Totally. Yeah.
Anne: Okay. And you call it the bilingual two-step, I saw on your website or somewhere I saw that.
Pilar: Yeah. Because it really, it takes literally double the amount of time to say it in Spanish as it does in English. And so Spanish is a beautiful language, and it's very descriptive.
Anne: So I don't mean to interrupt --
Pilar: Go for it.
Anne: -- I'm just thinking like, what if somebody that's not familiar, right, says, okay, I've got a 15-second or 30-second spot in English and oh, by the way, can you do it in Spanish? I assume that presents issues because you might have to do it much faster or you might have to maybe make some different changes and because you can't fit all the words in, is that correct, or?
Pilar: Yes. So I'm much more -- I didn't use to be vocal, and I'm much more gently -- and obviously you have to do this in a democratic kind of a way, so you don't ruffle people's feathers.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And they were aware of that. You know, copywriters are aware of all that today, which they didn't use to be, that they have to shorten it because otherwise you end up sounding like a chipmunk --
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: -- trying to get it out. And also the way a Latina like me expresses herself in Spanish is completely different from the way I'm going to say it in English. And it's the same copy.
Anne: Now, how, performance-wise, if I might ask? Like, so you might say it in Spanish differently, would you be, I don't know, more excited or more dynamic or is -- what's typical?
Pilar: I think it's in the way, the way the words are said, it's just different, because, because the actual sounds --
Anne: -- they go together differently.
Pilar: Yeah. They go together differently. Okay. So here's something -- let me just see if I have it in English and Spanish. Okay. So this is -- I did something like this and it's, it's an Amtrak spot. "Did you think of the first person you're going to go visit?" Okay. That's in English. I'm just making that up. "¿Ya piensas de quien va ser la primera persona que vas a visitar?" So it's like two completely different people.
Anne: It is.
Pilar: And I don't know how to explain that, but --
Anne: It is.
Pilar: -- it is.
Anne: But that brings up a question, which I've always wondered about. So let's just say you have, you're doing a live directed session --
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: -- and the person that's directing you doesn't know Spanish. You have to know, right, you have to know the delivery.
Pilar: Oh yeah.
Anen: You have to know the nuance or does it happen that you don't always have, you know what I mean, a Spanish speaking, if you're doing Spanish and English or -- what's that like?
Pilar: No, generally, actually, no, whenever I do live directed sessions, there's always somebody -- they may not speak it fluently, but they completely understand the language.
Anne: Oh, okay. That's good to know.
Pilar: You always have somebody there who knows.
Anne: That's good to know.
Pilar: But as a bilingual speaker, I feel like it's my job to make it easier for them. So I try to -- when they ask me and they're like trying to fish for a word, like, I don't like jump in, but I try to help them out, because it's difficult. Like I've done this my whole life. You know, I'm constantly in my head translating from English to Spanish --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- Spanish to English.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And so sometimes people just don't have that facility. I just happen to do it all the time.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So if I can help them with a word or something --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- I do. I'll step in, and I'll say it.
Anne: Yeah. And that makes so much sense. I have really, honestly, I have such respect. I think everybody learn multiple languages. Really. I think it's such an education, not just culturally, but just, it's so many things you can get by being bilingual in your own personal development, really, so much you can learn.
Pilar: You know, when it's a whole world.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: I mean, when I, when I studied French, it really, really opened it up because I was seeing so many parallels between Spanish and French. And I was like, oh, okay. So now I get why this, these are Romance languages. And then, you know, one time my family, my mother and my, my father and I, uh, we were invited to a wedding in Italy. And it's a really good friend of mine who is getting -- married an Italian gentleman. And I thought, well, why don't I just, I'm going to learn Spanish on the sly. And so -- not, not Spanish, Italian. And back in the day, dating myself, we had Walkmans right?
Anne: Yup. I had one of those.
Pilar: So I got a bunch of cassettes. Exactly. And I listened to it all the time. And my father would look at me like I was crazy. 'Cause he was like, 'cause I didn't say what I was doing. I was just always with the Walkman on. And so when I stepped off the plane, I was speaking Italian, and we could get around because I was speaking Italian. I didn't speak it that well, but I understood it. Now Spanish is very different from Italian, but there are a lot of words --
Anne: They're similar.
Pilar: -- that are the same, so --
Anne: -- if I -- yeah.
Pilar: So yeah, so it was really cool to be able to kind of navigate in that world because I had help.
Anne: And it's important. I say that because the many times that my husband and I've gone to Italy now, I don't speak Italian, but my husband grew up with his grandparents speaking Italian, and his mother and father, not all the time. It wasn't -- he wasn't required to speak Italian. They were born in America, but his grandparents. And so he had enough knowledge, but thankfully he had that knowledge. And when we stepped off the plane into Italy, I mean, you just, you gotta be able to get around.
Pilar: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And so I know very few words, few words, enough to like enough to get a gelato. But -- and to say please and thank you.
Pilar: Exactly. And mi porte un po de panni? You can get a -- you can get, go very far. Can you bring me a little bit of bread?
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: Mi porte un po de panni? That'll get you anywhere in Italy, and there'll be grateful and they'll start flirting with you --
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: -- and they'll offer you wine. And, you know, whatever. I'm always in such awe of voiceover artists whose Spanish, who, you know, it was not their first language, but they learned it, and they speak it really well. You know, they may not be native speakers --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- because obviously fluent and native, they're two different things.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: But a lot of the times I will hear a really good Spanish accent, you know, over the, if, you know, if I'm in a train station or whatever, and you can tell the person is not native, but their pronunciation is flawless. So there's obviously a market for that.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And that comes through practice.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: You have to practice, you know, and how do you practice? You, you read out loud, you -- and, and I do that. I mean, I'm, I'm a native speaker and I do that on a pretty regular basis. I'm reading a book in Spanish on my Kindle. And so I will read it. I will read entire passages out loud because I need to hear myself --
Anne: It's like a muscle.
Pilar: -- and go -- yeah, exactly.
Anne: Right? It's a muscle.
Pilar: You need to practice it.
Anne: If you're not going to be speaking -- I remember my husband's father when he used to talk to the family in Sicily. And by the way, Sicilian is different from Italian and different regions --
Pilar: Totally.
Anne: -- there as well. I mean, his father knew enough, but also was very, it was very stressful for him to talk to the family because they would just be talking a mile a minute. And he was trying to get that back into his muscle memory and also speak it. He used to come off the phone. I mean, he'd be sweating. You know? So I can imagine, I can imagine what it's like being bilingual like, first of all, hats off and mad respect to anybody, you know, that speaks another language and can do it in fluently and -- because there's, there's work involved in that, that is a muscle memory and practice and all sorts of things.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: And I was thinking that it affords you some other opportunities in your voiceover business, such as -- I imagine you do a lot of dubbing.
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: I imagine people ask you to do translation or proofreading services. So there's some other things that you can add as a service to your business as well by being bilingual.
Pilar: Well, and also, yes, I agree with --
Anne: If you choose.
Pilar: -- everything you just said.
Anne: If you choose to want to do, you know, translation --
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: -- or proofreading or those things.
Pilar: But even, even just knowing, maybe not being completely fluent, but even knowing a good amount of words and practicing those words -- because here's what I'm starting to see in a lot of copy is English copy but like a couple of Spanish speaking words --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- will sort of sift in there. And so if you can say it -- because a lot of the times I'm called and I can't completely make it in Spanish because people will be like, huh? What is she saying?
Anne: Right.
Pilar: But I can, I can add -- there's some spots I used to do. So instead of saying "this time on Colores" -- so I would never say Colores in regular.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: But it's not CoLORes.
Anne: Right, right. Right. You have to have the accent. Yeah.
Pilar: It's somewhere in between. So it's helpful to have an understanding of the sounds that another language makes, because I'll tell you, it's helped me. I can do German. I can -- I don't speak German. I can do Portuguese because it's basically about developing the ear. You know, a lot of times I'll hear a voice actor or somebody say, oh no, I can't speak. It's like, do you have a pair of ears?
Anne: It's all about the --
Pilar: If you have a pair of ears, you just, you, you, you train yourself. Again, it's like what you said before. It's like a muscle. Train and develop that.
Anne: And you know what, it's so interesting that you say that. I mean really, training your ear is, a lot of it, even just being conversational and, and understanding what a lot of people don't understand, what a conversational melody sounds like, because they've never really studied it. Right? Because all of a sudden --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- now, we're being asked to speak these words that didn't come from us and sound conversational. Well, there actually is a melody to being conversational and there's a melody to all of it. And so the process of training your ear is not something that happens overnight. That's for darn sure. You know, I just know that from the many students that when we go through our, you know, how are we speaking conversational or how do we get there? It takes a long time to develop the ear, but it's definitely something that can be learned, but it does take a lot of practice. A lot of practice.
Pilar: It takes a lot of practice, but if you do it just five minutes a day --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- and you, and you take a little piece of a newspaper in Spanish -- so just when I first got to Colombia, I had a little bit of an accent in Spanish. And my director was very strict, and he said, okay, you got to go get rid of that. And it was the slightest thing. It was like in the S's. And, and I, I was aware of it, but I was like, I don't know how to get rid of it. So I worked with somebody, but what I really did was I watched telenovelas all day long. And sometimes I would just, I wouldn't, I wouldn't even look at the television. I would just listen --
Anne: Right, just listen.
Pilar: And I would repeat over and over again. That's how I learned Italian by myself.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And so everything is possible --
Anne: Immersed yourself in the sounds and melody of it.
Pilar: Yeah. Exactly.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: It's just having it around you, and you don't need to spend that much time on it, but you can --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- if you do it on a daily basis, you are going to improve.
Anne: I think it has to be consistent. Wow. There's so many other things I want to talk to you about being a bilingual voice talent. And I think we're going to be continuing that in our next episode, but this was a great beginning to talking about, I guess, the depth of what it takes to be a bilingual voice actor. So I thank you, Pilar. I'm going to say my last question to you is going to be okay, so now you know what our new series name is, right? Okay, so it's BOSS --
Pilar: You want to unveil it?
Anne: Well, it's BOSS, and it's voices in Spanish. So how would I say that?
Pilar: You would say BOSS Voces.
Anne: BOSS Voces.
Pilar: Or if you're from Spain, you would say BOSS Vothes.
Anne: Oh.
Pilar: La voth. Por qué --
Anne: La voth.
Pilar: -- muy linda, Anne. Entonces, yo te puedo hablar todo el día, si quieres.
Anne: Oh.
Pilar: I just went overboard in Spanish.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I said you had a lovely voice --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- but for Latin Americans --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: - it's BOSS, BOSS Voces.
Anne: BOSS Voces.
Pilar: Voces.
Anne: Voces, voces.
Pilar: So with Spanish, you pronounce all the vowels. So it's ah, eh, ee, oh, oo, right? It's not A E I O U.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: So it's BOSS -- So you would say, maybe you would --
Anne: BOSS --
Pilar: -- you could give it a little, kind of a, a little sexy lilt. go BOSS Voces.
Anne: BOSS Voces. BOSS Voces.
Pilar: There we go. You got it.
Anne: There we go. Well, now you guys know our new series' name. Thank you so much from my first, my first lesson from you. As always, it has been amazing to spend this time with you. BOSSes, we want you to have an amazing week. If you want to connect and network with amazing people like Pilar, you can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Pilar: Fue un placer, Anne. Nos vemos. Ciao.
Anne: Ciao.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Moving from the closet booth to the…car booth? Anne and Pilar finish telling the story of Pilar’s Journey in Part 3 of the Boss Voces premiere. Listen as Pilar finally packs her car (+ her cat!) and moves to LA in hopes of establishing her VO career and signing with a big agency. It's been a wild ride, but things are really coming together now on the West Coast for Pilar... More at: https://www.voboss.com/pilars-journey-part-3
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I'm so happy to welcome back to the show special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar, hey, how are you today?
Pilar: I'm doing great. How are you?
Anne: I'm doing great. Hey, I have been so interested in your story, and we've learned so many things that are parallels to being in the voiceover industry today from your story. So our last couple of episodes, we talked about your telenova star personalities in Colombia and your -- I think it was nine years you were there in Colombia doing all kinds of acting --
Pilar: That's right.
Anne: -- and some radio as well. And then you moved on to Miami, and we're talking to us about your radio career in Miami and how you evolved into that and also in voiceover. And now we're on when your next move, which it's so interesting, you moved from Colombia to Florida, to Miami, and I, I think it was all just things seem to take you where you needed to go to evolve in your career. And I think that's such a cool parallel with my experience as well. And hopefully BOSSes that are listening out there kind of have some similarities as well. So I'd love to hear about your, I guess what made you go from Miami to LA, and let's, let's continue the journey with you.
Pilar: So I'm in Miami, and my, as I said, in the last episode, my land lady, she actually wrote me an email saying, I'm so sorry, but I'm going to sell the apartment.
Anne: And you were there for how long?
Pilar: 16 years.
Anne: Wow.
Pilar: Yeah. So my first thought was total and utter panic because I was like, oh my gosh, I have to get out of this apartment that I've lived in. And I've sort of made a life for myself. And I started looking around. I had been working with somebody. We've had like a 25 now, yeah, more than 25-year conversation with his really good friend of mine in New York and something that he used to say to me. I had started getting a little bit sort of, I want to do something else, but I'm not really sure what it is. You know, I, I've got four jobs and I've got the radio host thing, and it's just, you know, it's, I'm always hustling, and it would be nice to be able to do more voiceover. But you know, Miami is not a lot, a lot of opportunity there, unless it's in my booth.
And he said something to me, because I was like, you know, I think I need to. And he would say until you decide to pack your bag, you're not going to move. And he said that to me for years. And I take it now is it's not just a physical thing. It's sort of a, if I want to do something, I have to go ahead and do it.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Because I can talk about it --
Anne: You have to pack your bag.
Pilar: -- until the cows. Yeah. So like, I can talk about it until the cows come home. But if I don't actually do it and decide to make a change, I'm never going to do anything, you know?
Anne: Yeah. I love that. I love that. There you go manifestation again.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: Especially for those BOSSes that are early in their careers, and they don't know, and they think about it, and they think this is what they want to do, but yeah. Actually taking the step and the, the physical part of yes, making that decision, putting the things in place, and it helps it come to fruition.
Pilar: Exactly. So I didn't tell anybody, and this is something that I'm very conscious of. A lot of the times I would sit there, like I wrote like 17 or 18 songs when I lived in Colombia. And so I said, you know, I'm, I have songs and I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I would tell everybody that I was gonna put out an album eventually. I never put the album out, but I told everybody I was going to do it. And a lot of the times when you say things like that, you leak your energy. So when you have an intention in your mind, it's really important to keep it within yourself, um, and share it with people that you can trust and be aware that it's not something that you need to sit there and gab and gab and gab and gab about, but that you really need to focus on what it is that you're doing.
And I think that, that's what I, I mean, I did that for a while, and I would sit there and I would complain, and I'd be like, oh, you know, I want more. And I'm really kind of in love with this thing called voiceover, but I don't really know what it is. And so I decided to just go ahead and kind of be quiet and say, okay, if I'm going to do something -- because I'd been doing it for 10 years and everything that I got was actually I got it. I didn't have an agent. I didn't, I, you know, had the on-camera agents, but I was doing voiceover. So I thought, okay, what, where can I go?
And so VO Atlanta was coming up. And so I just thought, well, let me, let me check out Atlanta, because I love Atlanta. I've been there a few times, and I went and I saw these people and it was really wonderful. And then I thought, let me go. There was a, I think it was a WoVo was having a small, like a little mini session in San Francisco. So I thought, let me, let me go there. But once I left to go there, there was something about it. As much as I loved Atlanta, Atlanta was, I mean, at that point, um, this is two years ago now going on three, it's really, it, it definitely has a very strong voiceover, but it was more for on camera. And I realized I really want to focus on my voiceover, you know? And, and I had always thought, I mean, I always knew that in LA, you know, LA for me, it was like the Olympic village. And I was like, do I want to, I've always dreamed of going to LA and this, my friend Dale has been telling me would tell you, pack your bag.
Anne: Yeah. LA is weird dreams coming true. Right? People move to LA with their dreams.
Pilar: Right, exactly. What was it that they say in -- "what do you wish for? It your dream!" Was it that -- it was this great guy at the very beginning of "Pretty Woman."
Anne: Oh!
Pilar: He says it at the very beginning.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: And he says it at the very end.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: "What do you wish for?" It was, it's really cool. So I went to San Francisco and then I went and I spent a few days with a friend in LA. And as soon as I got there, I was like, oh, I'm supposed to be here. And I just knew.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Pilar: I just, it was like, I arrived. And I just knew that that was the place.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: So I went back to Miami and I started setting intentions, just like I had when I moved to Colombia. I was like, okay, I'm just going to start setting my intentions here. And I was like, okay, I'm going to need a place to live. And I had time before I had to leave. So this is like in March, March/April, and I had a lead from a very kind person who wrote a letter to Atlas Talent, and it turned out and of course, it's the universe, because they were looking for bilingual voiceover talent.
Anne: There you go.
Pilar: So I get this email, and they're like, we'd like to have a meeting. And I was like, oh my gosh, they want to have a meeting? They want to have a meeting with me? Are you kidding? I was like, I, so I didn't want to tell them that I wasn't there yet. So I was like, you know, I'm in the process. So I wrote them back and I said, you know, thank you so much. I'm in the process. I'll let you know when I get there.
Anne: Now, can I ask you how long ago this was?
Pilar: Two years ago. It's going to be three years.
Anne: Okay. And it's so interesting because again, the timing of everything, right? I feel like it's important to me. We're really coming into, you know, inclusivity and diversity and needing bilingual and more and more and more. So that makes sense to me.
Pilar: Yes. And, and that will play later --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- into that. So I started packing, I started throwing things away. I started giving things away because I realized I can't move with all my stuff. 'Cause it was just, it was just too expensive. So I had to, you know, sell, give away, donate. And I got July 19th, 2019, I got into the car. I packed all my stuff, and with my kitty, with Paco.
Anne: And drove across the country.
Pilar: I drove across the country. I picked up a very good friend of mine who actually, we started out almost -- I met him almost as soon as I got to, uh, Miami ,Aaron, Aaron Goldenberg. And he is an actor as well. He was living in Atlanta at the time, but I flew him back from Atlanta to Miami on my frequent flyer miles. And we drove across the country, which I highly recommend. I mean, you know, this is --
Anne: With a cat.
Pilar: Of course.
Anne: With a cat.
Pilar: With a cat, of course. I highly recommend --
Anne: How was your booth kitty in the car for a cross-country trip? That would be interesting.
Pilar: I have to tell you, he was really good considering, you know, of course there was meowing going on.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: I never let him out of the car. I mean, I never let him out of his travel bag because, you know, that's just not a good idea with --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- with cats, but he was really good.
Anne: What about when you stay -- I can't imagine you did the drive in one fell swoop.
Pilar: No, no, no, no, no.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: It took us seven days.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: We would drive, I would park some litter in the bottom of the car. I had some litter there and I had water there. And so what I would do is that I would take him out when we would do rest stops. I would take him out and we would leave him alone. We would close the car. We would leave him the most. So he would check it out. He never went to the bathroom in my car.
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Pilar: I have to -- yeah, no. So what would happen is when we would get to a place, I would immediately, the first thing I would do was I would set up his kitty litter box with a little portable thing that I had, and I would put it in the closet usually so he would have privacy and he would go immediately. So --
Anne: I can't imagine them holding it for like an eight-hour ride. Like --
Pilar: I know. And the thing is, it was right there. That's what was so obnoxious that he wouldn't go. And I had the kitty litter there for him, but he refused to go. So, you know, whatever.
Anne: We digressed, we digressed --
Pilar: We digressed, yes. Sorry.
Anne: -- into the studio -- into the studio cat --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- conversation. But I'm sorry, I had to, I had to ask.
Pilar: But it can be done. I'm just, I'm telling you now, Anne, it can be done if you want to go across with the kitties, it can be done.
Anne: See, we manifested it. We manifest -- we manifest our kitties as well.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: Crossing the country.
Pilar: Um, yeah. So it was, it was, it was great. I saw the most beautiful parts of this country. I was like, it's, it's really, when you realize, for those of you living in the States --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- you just realize the vastness of this country and how amazing it is. You just, you really don't get that um, you know, when you fly in. Driving, it was, it was just, it was such a great experience driving through all across -- all of the states.
Anne: That's what I'm going to do when I retire.
Pilar: It's definitely worth doing.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: So we, we arrived in Phoenix, and Aaron had to fly back for a gig. So I dropped and we -- that had that already been planned. So I dropped him off in Phoenix, and it was close enough that I could, you know, drive the rest of the way myself. It's like 600 miles. So it was long. But I had, I had done that before. So I drove. And then when I was literally inside LA, when I was literally inside, when I was inside the -- in California, I took a picture. I was like, okay, I've reached California. So I took a little, a little post -- I did, I just did a little Instagram post.
And when I got within the confines of LA county, when I knew I was within LA county, I stopped the car. I pulled to the side of the road. I stopped the car, and I sent an email so the agent would know that I was there because I didn't want to lie about that I was there when I wasn't. So I was like, okay, I'm already physically here. So then they know. So then they wrote me back pretty quickly after that. And they said, you know, we're every, and it was, you know, it was the summer. So everybody was on vacation. So I got to LA, I wrote them and I, I saw them like about two weeks after I arrived. I arrived at a friend's house. And then I started doing Airbnb, and then I found a place through a good friend, Randy Thomas. She found me -- a friend of hers had a room. So I rented a room, this dear man. So I just started living basically out of my car. I just, I had all this stuff, obviously. So I took some stuff out, but I would live out out of my car because like, what else am I going to do?
Anne: Right.
Pilar: I can't bring all that stuff 'cause it wouldn't fit in this room.
Anne: And this is before, this is before pandemic.
Pilar: This is way before pandemic.
Anne: Yeah. Okay.
Pilar: Yeah. So, so I'm, I'm --
Anne: Well, not so far, actually.
Pilar: No, no, no, no, not that far. No, because this is August. This was August. So --
Anne: Right, pandemic March.
Pilar: Yeah. This was the August, 2019.
Anne: Okay. Because was it 2020?
Pilar: Yeah, yes.
Anne: Where have the years gone?
Pilar: Yes. I know, exactly. We went through a whole year and a half. Right? It's already --
Anne: Didn't we have two years of pandemic? I'm not sure.
Pilar: Yeah, we're about to reach two years of pandemic, yes.
Anne: So okay, so you're about a year before the pandemic then.
Pilar: Yeah. Six months.
Anne: Oh, okay.
Pilar: Nine months, nine months.
Anne: Okay, nine months.
Pilar: Nine months. So --
Anne: Like a pregnancy, like --
Pilar: Exactly, like a pregnancy. Exactly. So I had nine months ,and that's really important.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: So I, I, um, I, I go to the agent. I, you know, I get all dolled up and I, I get there super early to the appointment with the agents, and they were like, so incredible. So nice. So normal. I was like, wow, okay, this is just, and they asked me questions. And so I, I, you know, I give them my stuff. I give them my little, you know, my little elevator pitch, which by the way, everybody needs an elevator pitch. That's really important to have an elevator pitch. That's what I'm discovering is like, you know, just basically like a little minute of your life.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: You know?
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: And so then they, you know, they asked me, they said, do you want to freelance? Which is what I had been doing for 16 years, because Miami is a right to work state, so with all my on-camera agents. And I didn't, I didn't have any experience with, with VO agents. And they said, do you want to freelance? Do you want to, you know, sign? And I was like, oh, where's the page where I can sign on the dotted line? I was like, I'm not, I'm not freelancing if you're giving me this choice, I'm signing, you know, because obviously California is not a right to work state. It's like, you sign with an agent, you're done. So I was like, yep, I'm on board. And then afternoon, they sent me an audition. And I was like, okay, how do I do this? So I became really good at auditioning inside my car.
Anne: Tell me about your setup in the car.
Pilar: So the setup is, it's actually, it's a really cool setup. So you sit, you have to sit in the backseat. You pull the seat all the way to -- forward. And I have a Sennheiser 416.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: So you pull the seat all the way forward. You sit on -- and, you know, it's, it's, it's a maneuvering situation to get your butt in the bottom of the car, not on the seat, but on the floor of the car.
Anne: And we'll share a picture of this setup on our website, on the VO BOSS website.
Pilar: Totally. Oh yeah.
Anne: I would love to share.
Pilar: Oh, I have it. I have it. I have a picture. Yeah, totally. Totally. And then the laptop goes on the back seat, and then I've got my Focusrite 2i2 there as well. And then little, you know, the cables. And then I've got my Sennheiser with a stand in the middle of where the, on the --
Anne: Console, on the console?
Pilar: On the console.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: No, in the middle of where the front seats are.
Anne: Yes, yes. Right.
Pilar: So it's that little it's, it's not on top of where the dashboard is, but it's in the middle. So I'm sitting down, and I'm looking --
Anne: I call that the console.
Pilar: Oh, you do? Okay. We call that --
Anne: Well, I do, the console in between the seats.
Pilar: Yeah. Okay, cool. Cool. Cool. Yeah. Okay, cool. It's like, I'm not familiar with that lingo. Sorry. I'm not that advanced! So I don't know why they used to call -- we used to call them jump seat -- the jump parts. I don't know, whatever. Anyway, so I'll take a little table. I'll call it the table. So I'd put my set, the, the holder, the mic holder and the Sennheiser.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: And I would start doing auditions from there. 'Cause I originally, I had a, uh, a dear friend who would also let me use his studio, but sometimes I couldn't get to the studio in time if it was quick.
Anne: Right, right. So it's not like you were living out of your car. I mean, you had a place to stay; you just didn't have a booth.
Pilar: I didn't have a booth. Yeah. And the thing is I didn't have room.
Anne: Yeah. And so your car acted as the booth.
Pilar: Exactly. My correct as the booth.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And so I had the trunk of my car was filled with stuff --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- because I couldn't take everything out, 'cause it just wouldn't fit in the room that I was living in. You know?
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: So like when I wanted to wear something different, I would go and get something out of the car --
Anne: Go in the trunk.
Pilar: -- and then -- yeah, exactly it was, it was actually kind of an easy way to live, you know?
Anne: Right?
Pilar: -- 'cause I, I didn't have that much.
Anne: Minimalist. There you go.
Pilar: So it was perfect. And then this guy had a garage. So sometimes when I needed real quiet, because it was -- the lawn mower situation --
Anne: Yup, yup.
Pilar: -- in California is just a nightmare and a half. There's always lawn blower, leaf blowers everywhere every day. So I would go and I would park the car, and I would, and this was summer. This was still summer. This was August. I was, I was just sweat like a pig.
Anne: Sweltering in the back seat there.
Pilar: Totally. But it was perfect because I was really, it was like, I was insulated.
Anne: But not like Miami. I can't imagine if you were in --
Pilar: No, no.
Anne: -- a car in Miami.
Pilar: Oh no, that would be horrible. No, I would. I would be, you know, they wouldn't find me. I'd be asphyxiated. It'd be so bad.
Anne: So you did your first audition in the car.
Pilar: I did my first --
Anne: For Atlas.
Pilar: Yeah, I did my first audition -- I think I did my first -- yes, for Atlas. Yeah, absolutely. 'Cause that was, that was like the first I, I needed a place to go. So that's where I did it. And then I did it at this friend's house as well. A lot of the times, you know, I would come in and I would, I would do like three or four, you know, auditions. I did them for five months, five months. Okay? So I would audition. I finally found again, it was, I wanted a quiet place. I asked for a place. I found this wonderful woman who's also a voiceover person. And she had converted her closet, not her closet, but this other house where she had, uh, she had, she used to do it. So it was actually already sort of treated. It was already a treated space where I'm, where I'm talking to you from now. So it was, it was perfect.
Anne: Ah, so you're still in the same place?
Pilar: Oh yeah. I'm still at the same place.
Anne: There you go.
Pilar: You know, when I found the place, it was a matter of, I asked around and this person said, oh, I have this friend of mine who's looking for somebody. So it was just, it was so perfect. It was one of these aha moments. I was like, this is it. This is where I'm supposed to live. I saw the place. And I was like, I want, you know, this is where I want to be. And the first day that I moved in, I had not finished moving in when I had it professionally treated and everything set up here where I'm speaking to you from now. So it was perfect. And I just auditioned and I auditioned. And when I say this am, I mean, it, I didn't get one gig.
Anne: So for five months, you auditioned and you auditioned.
Pilar: I got zero and I, yeah. I took classes of course, 'cause I realized, oh, this is a different scenario. I'm in the Olympic village of voiceover.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: This is not, you know, we're not in Kansas anymore.
Anne: Right. And when you auditioned, what sorts of opportunities -- were they bilingual? Were they English? Spanish? What were they? Both. What did they send you?
Pilar: They were everything. It was like, they were everything. And it was like, oh my gosh, stuff that I would never have been able to do if I was in Miami. Now this was pre-pandemic.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: Obviously the situation has changed, but it was also a testament to my agents who were like willing to put me out there because you know, they're always talking and there's always feedback obviously.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: So I would get auditions for McDonald's. Well, I would never, I've never been able to do that in Miami.
Anne: Hold on a minute. I'm going to back the truck up there for a minute because you say there's always feedback. So with great agents, I think you get great feedback.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: And if you are actively requesting feedback, I think that that can very much help. I know there's -- some people never get feedback. I think that that is something that is very different. And when you're shopping around for agents, and agents are shopping around, it really is a partnership. And I think that if you want a great agent, they will, they will be absolutely willing to give you feedback and help to propel your career. Just like you're going to help them get clients.
Pilar: Exactly. And you just made a really good point because it's a partnership.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: It's not, oh, the agent is up there, and I'm down here or, "oh, you work for me. You got to get me the rules." No, no, no, no, no.
Anne: Right, exactly.
Pilar: It's not a community. It's like, you've literally created a community. Now, the agents won't say anything until you ask them.
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Pilar: If I'm in the driver's seat, I need to drive my career. So I need to ask for that. And I have to be able to, you know, put my ego to the side --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- and listen to what they're saying.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: And not say, oh, well, they don't know what they're talking. They don't know that. You know, it, it really is. It's a, it's a real give and take. It's about giving it. It's about receiving.
Anne: So now in your five months, when you were not booking, were you asking for feedback?
Pilar: Not at the beginning, but then I asked for who do you recommend that I study with?
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: And they were like, okay, we have this and this and this. And I was like, okay, great. And I also asked other, I asked a lot of other voiceover people. I was like, well, who do you recommend here? Who do you -- so then I started taking classes.
Anne: Sure. I think what's nice is that they, first of all, I would feel like because they are a large talent agency and a very well-known one. The fact that they gave you the opportunity, like if it were, I think any normal person going through that, and I'd start to be, oh my gosh, I haven't booked for five -- you know, it would start to psych me out. Oh my gosh, what if they drop me? Or what if, and it could be a nerve-wracking kind of situation. If you feel like, well, there's gotta be something that needs to change here. So you want to book for your agent.
Pilar: And you know what the thing is, Anne? To me, it's a testament to my agent, the agency that I have, and I feel really blessed. They were very -- it's not -- they knew that I was there. They knew that I was new, and they were --
Anne: They had faith in you.
Pilar: -- it's not that they were hands off.
Anne: They had faith in you, right?
Pilar: Exactly. And there was somebody that I talked to in the office one time, because I was just like really freaking out at one point. I was like, oh my God, they must think --
Anne: Yeah, I can imagine.
Pilar: -- who is this person? Why did we hire her? You know, it's like, she's not doing anything. And she was so nice and to the point, and she's like, you know what? It was almost like she said -- she didn't say it this way, but what she meant from that conversation was we know you're a newbie. That's why we're throwing it all out at you. We're giving you the space to do this.
Anne: Nice.
Pilar: So, uh, and I can't, I can't remember how she said it, but that's what I walked away from.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: And I was like -- walked away with --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- and I thought, oh, thank God. You know, I'm not --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- like I'm not going to be fired immediately. You know what I mean?
Anne: What a nice, what a nice testament to really a working partnership and that your agent has faith in you, and they're giving you --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- that space. And I think obviously they had to have known when they first spoke to you, when they first met you, that you had the wherewithal to be successful from whatever, from your past experience, from your personality, from your drive, whatever it was, they had that faith in you, and they kept that faith in you. So that's a really nice, that's a really nice story.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: I'm hoping that our listeners will take that for what it is, because I think getting an agent and having an agent and having a relationship with an agent is something we could have a whole podcast episode about --
Pilar: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: -- in regards to the, how to work together as a partnership.
Pilar: Yeah. And, and, and I think for me, what was really great was that I was willing to listen to them, and I was also willing to be transparent with them.
Anne: Absolutely.
Pilar: So they knew, they knew where I was coming from. I mean, they knew that I had radio experience because I have all this stuff on my website.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: But they also knew that I was very new to the business in terms of commercial versus all these other genres in the world that they live in.
Anne: Sure. Absolutely.
Pilar: And they were willing to give me that latitude.
Anne: Great.
Pilar: So transparency, I think, is really important in this world.
Anne: Oh, I completely agree.
Pilar: And to be able to turn it into something of, not that I don't know this -- into, I'm very willing to learn --
Anne: How can I --
Pilar: -- and I'm willing to work hard, yeah.
Anne: -- how can I learn? How can I, yeah. I'm eager to learn. There you go back to, back to your roots there.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: I may not know, but I am absolutely eager to learn. And I think there's a lot to be said for that in just an overall mentality about what we do every day in our -- I mean, there's always opportunities to learn, and you're talking to an educator here, one that was in front of the classroom for 20 years. We always, always have an opportunity to learn and to improve. And I think that if you take nothing else away from our episode, absolutely, this is one of them. And there's always ways, if you're transparent, if you want to learn, you're eager to learn, people appreciate that. And agents, especially, I think appreciate that.
Pilar: Absolutely. Yep. I totally agree.
Anne: So five months, nothing. Then what?
Pilar: Then I booked this job and --
Anne: Commercial?
Pilar: Commercial. It's a commercial job. And I will never forget when the check came in. I thought they'd made a mistake. I almost called them and said, you've, you've made a mistake because this has gotta be wrong. Luckily I called a friend of mine. I al -- I literally, I had my hand on, on the press send a button. I thought we just call a really good friend of mine back east who's a voiceover. And she started laughing when I told her. She said, no Pilar, that's the right amount. This is what it means when you are a union actor, to get paid in the industry. So I was like, oh, thank God. I'm going to be able to pay my bills.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: And then that was the end of January. And then in March, the pandemic hit and I was ready. And so I just, I started booking. I just started booking and booking and booking.
Anne: Success begets success.
Pilar: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: Fantastic. Wow. What a great story.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: What a great story. And so now during this pandemic, you're still in the same place, right? Except now you have --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- you don't have to necessarily record in the back of your car because you have a studio, which is awesome, which is where you are talking to me now from. And you are, I hope just a booking machine. And now is Atlas your only -- I imagine you have more than one agency or is Atlas pretty much your agency you're working with right now?
Pilar: Well, I was with Stars before I was with Atlas, and they were, you know, they were okay with it. You know, and they're, they're totally okay with having other regional agents that are not, you know, in their market. I've looked around for others. But you know, when I started looking around the pandemic had hit. So they were really swamped.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So they're really my go-to people right now.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: You know, it's, it's not easy because yes. I had a huge glut in 2020, and then 2021 was a lot quieter. It's been a lot quieter than I expected because I, you know, it was just the, I don't, if it was, I was the new kid on the block or what it was. And so, you know, for me, it's like finding other ways to be creative --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- and to be able to support myself in that way. And so it's like, I'm constantly learning, you know? And if there's, if there's one thing that I can, a takeaway for me, from what I've been talking about is that I always have a beginner mindset. So if there's a place where I'm feeling stuck, because this is an area, let's say, where I'm not booking, it's like, okay, what other ways can I find --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- to do it creatively?
Anne: And to evolve, right, as an artist.
Pilar: And to evolve. Exactly. Because it's not just about booking the big, you know, commercial job.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: It's about how can I incorporate everything that I've learned, and how can I maybe use that in a different way?
Anne: And I'll tell you what I, what I love is first of all, your story is so wonderful because you try, you have faith, you manifest, you move. And while you struggle, you know, and fail sometimes, you ultimately come out where you become successful. And it has happened from the story that has evolved here to you multiple times. So each time when you move, you're growing, you're hitting those stumbling blocks. You're growing, you're finding success.
And even now you came to LA, you got the agent, you got the jobs, you did really well. Now you hit a little bit of a lull. And so again, you're going through that cycle of how can I improve? How can I grow? What can I do to, to learn? And I think it's such a wonderful testament to how our industry works and how the artistry works of voiceover, where we just must continuously learn. We must continually take those chances. We must continually learn from our failures, right, and put into practice things that we can do to be successful. And what a great story. I absolutely love it.
So I want to take the time now to thank you again for telling the story and helping us in being so inspiring. Because I think in our next episodes, I really want to get more into the nitty gritty of the day to day voiceover career that you are now embracing and, and living so that we can talk about how BOSSes out there can, you know, maybe do the same so that they can be successful.
Pilar: Absolutely. And I'm very, very excited to keep going.
Anne: Yeah. All right. Well, BOSSes, I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. Guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Take care. Bye-bye.
Pilar: Bye, fellow BOSSes.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Ok, Bosses. We’re picking up right where we left off…in Miami! Anne & Pilar continue discussing Pilar’s Journey in Part 2 of the Boss Voces Premiere. Pilar begins in Miami with no TV gigs and begins her radio + voice dubbing career. More at https://www.voboss.com/pilars-journey-part-2
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm honored to bring back special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar is a bilingual voice actor, telenova star, and radio personality born and raised in New York City. She broke into show business and had roles with "Ugly Betty," "Poor Pablo," "Eternally Manuela," and "El Cartel" filmed in Colombia and Miami. And in our last episode, we talked about her story, and we ended up from Colombia, now she's arrived in Miami, so we're going to continue the story today. And before that, I want to say that she also has booth a booth kitty, and outside of my booth right now, Pilar, is my cute little Sabrina cat who is jealous because the door is closed, and I know she wants to come in, so. She's -- she wants to come in and talk to you as well.
Pilar: I love it. I love it.
Anne: Pilar, it's so great to have you back.
Pilar: I am so glad to be here. Thank you, Anne.
Anne: And what an amazing story, like I said, triple, quadruple threat, TV, radio, voiceover, singer. I mean, you have done it all. And what an interesting, wonderful story you had telling us last episode about your theater experience, your television experience, and your success story in Colombia. And you decided to come back to the States and decided to move to Miami.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: So let's pick up from your arrival in Miami and your career once you got there.
Pilar: So I get to Miami, and I am staying with my cousins who live in Key Biscayne. I'm thinking I'm all that, you know? I'm this telenovela star. I'm -- where do I sign? Luckily I got, I got an agent really quickly because a friend of mine introduced me to this friend who was a casting director. And the casting director met with me and said, hey, you know, there's this agent. And so I get this agent really quickly and, and she starts sending me out.
Anne: So yeah, this is an agent, not a voiceover agent, but you had just started when --
Pilar: No.
Anne: -- you were, at the tail end, I think when you were at Colombia, you said you started doing some voiceover for an animated series. So this agent is on camera --
Pilar: Yeah, this is, this is --
Anne: -- casting agent?
Pilar: Yeah, my whole up until now, my whole concentration was acting. It wasn't --
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: -- voice acting because that's how I had made my bread and butter for the previous nine years.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: And so the, the voice acting that I did in Colombia and, you know, the fascination I had with radio, it was just kind of like a, a fun thing. You know? It was just kind of like a fun thing, but I didn't look at it as anything kind of anything serious. So I get this on-camera agent, and I start auditioning and she sends me out on audition and auditions and auditions and I get nothing. And I'm like, oh dear. Okay.
Anne: Interesting. You talked before about how you had set visions, right?
Pilar: Yep.
Anne: And you meditated?
Pilar: Yep.
Anne: Did you go back to that once you were in Miami?
Pilar: No.
Anne: Interesting.
Pilar: I did not. I did not. Not at the beginning. Okay? The one thing that is probably been a constant my entire life is the importance of training. So even while I was on television every night, I was taking acting classes, and I did them periodically and I worked with some great people in Colombia. And so then I realized, ooh, I'm not booking. I had better get on the horn, and I had better start going back. And so I started taking auditioning classes because I just, I had really stopped auditioning, you know. I'd, I would audition for a role and I would get it, you know? It was just kinda like --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- kind of thing.
Anne: I was gonna ask you, if you note, what were differences, right, when you were in Colombia versus Florida, what differences in the auditioning process or differences in, I dunno, anything in terms of getting roles? What was different that you noticed?
Pilar: Well, for one thing, the community is, was much larger. So there was a lot more competition.
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: Which means that people were way more polished in their auditions. It was very, very much more competitive. So I realized because I was out of practice. Auditioning was not something that I was doing on a, on a regular basis. When I was living in New York, the -- I did that on a regular basis. And you know, one of the things that I learned in, in Miami from a very close friend of mine, he said, auditioning is the job. Acting is what you get to do once in a while. Auditioning is the job, acting as the hobby.
Anne: Yeah. Similar to voice acting. Right?
Pilar: Exactly. So I started, I started doing that, and, uh, I started getting better at auditioning. And I started actually booking theater roles. So I became pretty, pretty regular in booking theater gigs, which I loved because I got to, you know, I, I got to go back to, you know, when I used to do it a lot more after college and stuff, but still, you know, that didn't really pay the bills. One thing that I would notice was that the theater actors, they would talk about how they were going to the studios, dubbing studios, or they were coming to where they grew up going from. And I was like kind of curious, you know, what's, what's this whole dubbing thing about? And so a friend of mine said, well, you know, why don't you go to this studio?
And so I, I called somebody up and it was a friend of a friend. And so I went and I auditioned, and that's the very first time I saw like a studio with different booths. And, and I thought, oh, this is really interesting. And so I was dubbing from another language, and they were all in Spanish. They were doing all these dubbing, these, these telenovellas from Spanish into English. And so --
Anne: Did you have any training in it previously or was it just something that you kind of picked up?
Pilar: Zero, yet again, just like when I went down to Colombia, I had very little training and in TV, and then I, I had no training in, in doing this.
Anne: But then you had all experience in television and being in television --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- so that I'm sure helped you in your dubbing experience because you already knew what it was like to be the actor, right, on camera.
Pilar: Right.
Anne: And now you could absolutely, probably just parallel that with dubbing.
Pilar: Exactly. So the acting part of it was the important part of it.
Anne: Yeah. Yup, exactly.
Pilar: But there's the technical side of it, which is you have to match lips and as they say out here, lip flaps, so you have to figure that part out. So I auditioned a lot. Didn't get very far and I continued. I continued to do my theater and I did a little bit of commercials.
Anne: Now, at this time, was it all in Spanish or was it both?
Pilar: No, it was all dubbing from Spanish into English.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: Yeah. It was 100% or from -- but I was just auditioning, you know. So I auditioned, I would say I auditioned quite a few times, and then I actually got a gig.
Anne: Meaning, well, I guess my question would be like, were you auditioning for roles in Spanish or both Spanish and English at the time auditioning?
Pilar: So here's the thing, my experience up until this moment was only with dubbing.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I had no other access to like, what is now, you know, doing commercial voiceover or medical narration or e-learning, I didn't know any part of that business.
Anne: I'm thinking even on camera, were you, when you were auditioning on camera, were you auditioning for roles that were Spanish --
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: -- or for Spanish and English both?
Pilar: Both.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I was doing both. I was, yeah. So my life has always been about doing --
Anne: Both.
Pilar: -- doing both. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah, the reason why I wanted to call that out is because for a person -- I am not bilingual. Right? For me, there's only just English. So I want to make sure that I hear when you are talking bilingual, like you have like almost, is it more opportunity or is it more work for more opportunity? And what are the things that you need to be considerate of when you are auditioning for both Spanish and English or are there differences?So it's just something for me, it's a new perspective.
Pilar: So I think that the most important thing, really, it all comes down to the acting, Anne. It's not really --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- about the language because it all starts from inside. So for me with the on-camera, and this is what I discovered when I was doing dubbing, is that whenever you're looking at, what's in front of you on the screen, if you're dubbing a, a woman who is -- or a character who is in pain or who is crying, you have to feel that pain, you have to feel that sadness. Because if you don't, it's not going to show up in your voice.
Anne: Sure, sure, exactly.
Pilar: It's not about manipulating the voice. It's about starting from the inside out, which is what a lot of people, when they're first starting out in the business, I hear this all the time --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: -- everywhere, on Clubhouse. Oh, I've got a really good voice. And how do I make my voice this? And it's like, no.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: That's not what it's about. It has to start -- that's why the acting --
Anne: From the inside.
Pilar: -- matters. It has to start from the inside.
Anne: Yeah. I, sorry, I didn't, I got off a little bit on a tangent there --
Pilar: No, no, no, no, no!
Anne: But yeah. So yeah, continuing while you are auditioning like crazy in Florida.
Pilar: So I'm auditioning like crazy for voiceover, but I'm still doing my, my theater. I was doing my commercials. I gave myself for the first time in my life, I, I went on this cruise. It was called, what was it called? Celebrate your life, a Louise Hay cruise. Very, very spiritual. And there were all these great speakers. Wayne Dyer was there.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Pilar: Gregg Braden was there. It was a, it was like the coolest thing. And I'm like, oh my gosh. I met somebody. It was like, Ooh, this is really cool. And then I came back, and I get this call for an audition. And there, this friend of mine, who's an actor. He's like, well, you know, they want you to audition in this dubbing studio for this role. And I get the role. And at the same time that I get the role, I have this major health challenge, and I'm like, oh no, what's going to happen? And I'm like, you know what, I'm going to do this. I'm just going to do this.
And then the enormity of it hits me 'cause I'm like, oh, wait a minute. I don't know anything about voiceover. I don't know how to do this. It's like, I'm an actor. And so I was really lucky because I had this great engineer, Rafael. I'll never forget him. And he kind of guided me, and we would do it like on a weekly basis. 'Cause I was dubbing a show. I was dubbing a series and it was coincidentally, it was Colombian. So I just started dubbing an episode or two a week, and he would teach me. And he'd be like, okay, I need a little bit more from you, do this from you. A lot of it was just observing and listening and looking what was on the screen and doing what that character was doing on the screen and incorporating it into myself in English, through my voice. So, you know, I did that, I got better. Then I got a call from another studio and then a third studio. And I was like, oh, this is really cool.
Anne: Success begets success.
Pilar: Success begets success. Right?
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: Now here's the thing about Miami. Miami is a right to work state. So the rates are not that great. Dubbing in itself is, is a, is not --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- a moneymaker. Let's put it that way.
Anne: I was gonna say that. And especially now given the current situation, I know Netflix has just gone crazy, and there's lots of opportunities for dubbing these days.
Pilar: Yes. But here's the thing, the good thing about the union, they signed an agreement. I think it was two years ago, with Netflix. So they have to have certain rates.
Anne: Good. Excellent.
Pilar: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Well, I was just meaning I've -- I'm hearing so much about more opportunities these days since the pandemic, since there's just a lot of -- Netflix has been producing a lot more movies --
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: -- and the streaming stations. So I feel like there's more dubbing opportunities that I'm hearing about these days.
Pilar: Yes. Not a ton.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: It's really great.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So, so I started doing more and then I realize, oh, well this is interesting, but again, not much money. So I thought, well, let me, let me try. Somebody told me about an audiobook kind of a situation. I thought, oh, okay. This is interesting. Let me do, let me see what's going on with that. And so I get on ACX. I do my first book. The book is terrible. Okay? I'm gonna, I'm just gonna tell you right now.
Anne: This is why I don't do books. I'm just saying.
Pilar: Oh my God, the book, I didn't want -- the book itself, the book itself wasn't terrible. My recording. I mean, I don't think, you know, people have bought the book, and I've done, you know, a bunch of books since then. But I just, I look back at that first book, and I was like, oh my gosh, it's really kind of frightening. But you know, I really got into it because it was a character driven.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: Again, though, if you're not a technical person -- everybody talks about getting into audiobooks. The one thing I will say, and it's, it's gotten a lot better. The technology has gotten a lot better, but if you're not a super-duper wiz at editing --
Anne: Oh, it's a lot of work.
Pilar: It's a lot of work is all I'm going to say.
Anne: Any long format narration, but especially books.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: Especially books.
Anne: So much work.
Pilar: It's a lot. It's a lot. So I don't --
Anne: And the money that you're making from it, I don't, for me, it just, it was like, gosh, it's so much work for not a lot of money. So --
Pilar: I totally agree. I totally agree.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So I did a couple. I didn't do that many. I did a couple and then I was like, oh, this is just so much work. I started off, I had a booth in my kitchen, outside of my kitchen. It was in the living room and I, a friend of mine helped me, you know, construct it. It was really great. And then I discovered that every 10 minutes I had to stop because the stupid sound of the refrigerator would, would come into the recording.
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: Oh my gosh, you have no idea how terrible that was. So I moved it into the, a closet, which I actually had a really good, very, very narrow but long closet. So I, after a couple of iterations that became my studio, but I still wasn't making a lot of money. So I decided, you know what? I'm going to try, I'm going to send out feelers for like a nine to five job or a part-time job in radio.
Anne: I was just gonna ask you that because there's so many people when they're trying to get into voiceover, and they want to go full time. And even when I started full-time, I had to have a part-time job so that I felt like I could contribute to paying the bills in terms of the household, for sure. So I was wondering through all those years, when you were like, kind of scraping by, did you have a second job doing something different like, I don't know, waitress, bartender, corporate?
Pilar: I always had an administrative job going, like I was an administrative assistant --
Anne: Yup, yup.
Pilar: -- to a friend of mine and she was great, 'cause I could always go and come back.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Pilar: She was really understanding.
Anne: You could do your auditions.
Pilar: Yes. So, you know, sometimes I would work for her full-time. Sometimes I would work part-time.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: So it was really great to be able to go back and forth in that. But yeah, I always had a second job, and then I realized, you know, what, if I could have a second job doing something like radio? So I went, I went down the list of all the radio stations in Miami -- again, and now I'm realizing it as, as we're having this conversation. I did actually, I marketed myself out to them.
Anne: There you go. Did you manifest? Did you manifest your radio job?
Pilar: This, I started, I started manifesting. Yes. I went back to that. Yes, ma'am. I started seeing myself in front of a, in front of a microphone. Absolutely. And I didn't get one bite. Okay? Indeed.com, I papered my resume. And I spent a year and a half looking for this, but I set an intention, I set an intention. I said, I'm going to get a radio job. And the very last place that I looked at was, and I was talking to my friend who I had been her administrative assistant. We became each other's accountability buddies. She said, well, um, why don't you call up WLRN? WLRN is the NPR satellite in Miami. And I had looked at their website, and it said that there was a three to five-year position. And I was like -- three to five years experience needed. And I thought, I don't have three to five years. And she said, just write them. Just say, you're willing to work for them. You know, just say, you know, and I was like, you know what? Why not?
Anne: I'm eager to learn.
Pilar: Exactly. That's what exactly -- I'm eager to learn. I'd sent out so many resumes, Anne, and to so many different -- all of the companies in Miami. So I'm talking to her, and this is, this is the great part. This is like the manifesting part because I really, really was manifesting this heavily. I send it out while I'm talking to my friend on the phone. I knew how to do this by heart by now. I'd composed a letter. I sent my resume. I sent a couple of samples. Not 20 minutes later, I get a call from the guy --
Anne: Wow.
Pilar: -- saying, do you want to meet? And I was like, sure, I'd love to. So I went and I met with him a couple of times, and they started me off working for them. So this was a, it was a part-time job because they were affiliated with a school. And so they said, well, you know, you -- we'll, we'll get you on the air, and then you'll do some spots for us. I was like, okay, great. So before a month was out, I was on the air, and I was doing spots for them, underwriting spots. They don't call them commercials because it's, you know, it's, it's, you know --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- it's not-for-profit.
Anne: So it wasn't a show? You just started doing spots for them.
Pilar: I started doing spots for them, but then they put me on the air from 10 to 2.
Anne: Okay.
PIlar: And then, so what I would do was that on my breaks, because I was hired from, you know, I would get there, like, let's say 9, 9:30, and then I would leave after my spot. So between breaks, when the shows were on, I would go into the other room and do the spots.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: And then they started giving spots and then they started giving me more spots. And then I, I managed to work out a deal with them through the union and so that I would do their -- and I would produce their spots. So I would put music and sound effects under for their TV arm of the company.
Anne: Oh, wait. So remember when I said quadruple threat? So now we've got yet another. Now she's producing spots as well!
Pilar: Well, again, Anne.
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: I have no idea what I'm doing, right?
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: Because I, you know, I would just play record.
Anne: Sure, sure.
Pilar: So now I have to put, so I now have to do tracks, and I had to learn a whole set of other skills --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- because I didn't know, I didn't know how to do a console, how to handle a console and do three things at once. So now I'm, I'm producing spots, and then they give me more, and then they give me more and I'm like, wow, okay, I'm getting -- it's almost like the 10,000 hours --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- in, you know, in Outliers. It's like, I'm getting all this training.
Anne: I think, I think that's great. And I love the 10,000 hours thing from Malcolm. And I am a total proponent of you need 10,000 hours. And whether you realize it or not, you had put your 10,000 hours in many aspects of your career. And again, if I can recap, you manifested, you wanted to be in radio. It didn't happen overnight. And that's one thing I want to kinda just touch back upon. Because a lot of times I think we're impatient with ourselves. And I think for me, going by my gut, this is what I always say, going by my gut, manifestation, doesn't always happen overnight. And I think that it leads you to the right steps to get to the right place so that you can fulfill that dream or that goal.
And so, even though it didn't happen overnight, it did happen because you manifested it. You wanted it, you took the steps that were required to make it happen. And it happened. So BOSSes out there, if you're listening, we can all be learning about this. We can all give ourselves some grace, be patient, but believe in the manifestation and take those steps that it takes to cultivate and achieve that dream. So, sorry, just had a break in there with the educational moment.
Pilar: And it's so important what you just said, Anne, because we're thinking that when we call it into being, let's say we're manifesting it, that it's going to happen on our timeline.
Anne: Exactly.
Pilar: Who died and made you God? Right? Who said that you would, that you would be doing this? Or if I, in my case that, because I said, I want to work in radio that next month, the following month --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- I was going to be working radio? No.
Anne: Right, right.
Pilar: No, no, no, no, no. That's not the way it happens. Like there's steps.
Anne: It evolves.
Pilar: And if you cut those steps, and you, and you jump, you're going to be disappointed or you're going to do it the wrong way. There's a reason that the things come into your life when they come into your life.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: And it's because it's when you're ready to receive them, then you can go, oh, because at that moment, when I sent out that resume, I was ready. I might not have been ready if I had sent it out earlier. It may not have hit in the right way.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: Later I talked to my boss at WLRN, and he said, you know, I get resumes all the time. It's just that when I read yours, it really fit because you're, you're a Latina. So you could say all these complicated words that would come out in Spanish and French because I also speak French. So, you know, sometimes these things would --
Anne: And yet another threat. I love it.
Pilar: But you know, like sometimes there would be these, these weird companies, these weird -- not weird. They're not weird, but they're just French companies. So with the accent --
Anne: Sure, sure.
Pilar: -- it would just come out better. And I will say one thing that was really fun when I was working in radio was that I got to say my name the way I would say -- 'cause like, if I say my name like, you know -- my, my name is Pilar Uribe. And that's how I, that's how I slate, Pilar Uribe. But once in a while I get to slate my name the way I usually, I would say it on the radio --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- which was "mi nombre es Pilar Uribe. Hola, Pilar Uribe"
Anne: Ooh.
Pilar: So it's like, it's so much fun to actually say my name. 'Cause I don't, I don't get to do that very often.
Anne: Sure, sure.
Pilar: You know? So we was fun to be able to use the bilingual aspect of it all. I mean, I was literally daily using it in the studio because I had to pronounce words in a certain way or --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- you know, so that was really fun to --
Anne: So now, how long was your radio career with WLRN?
Pilar: It was two and a half years.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: And one day my, my landlady writes me an email and says, I'm selling the apartment. I'd spent the entire, my 16 years in, in Miami in the same apartment. I had a great land lady, always had really good luck with that. And I was, I panicked. I was like, oh my gosh, what do I do? And I thought, this is the moment. This is the time --
Anne: For change.
Pilar: -- I had been talking about moving. And this is the moment to go and move. And this is the moment for a shift. I literally felt the shift. I was terrified. And I will say that one of the things about doing something new is that there's always the element of fear. Always.
Anne: Oh yes. Yes, yes.
Pilar: So to sit there and you know, when people say, oh yeah, I went ahead and did this. And you know, you hear these marketing gurus. I, I listen to them on Clubhouse, and you know, they -- do this and I got this and they did this. And it's like, all of that happens with fear. It's just that the courage to be able to change --
Anne: To move through it.
Pilar: -- and to move through it is --
Anne: To work through it.
Pilar: -- is higher --
Anne: Doesn't mean that you're not scared.
Pilar: -- than fear. Exactly.
Anne: But you're moving through, and you know what's so interesting about the move? I've got two stories about moving and change. I remember when I personally, I felt like I needed the change. And one was when my husband and I were in New Jersey, and I said, I'm done. I, I love New Jersey. It's served me well, but I'm done. And I would love to go live in California. Jerry, why don't you see if you can get a transfer? And lo and behold, he did. And then I said to him, oh, by the way, Jerry, I need you to be able to make one and a half times what you're making now, because, because I want to quit my job and go full-time into VO. And guess what? It happened. However, nine months after that, he then got laid off from his job. But we stayed. We stayed, you know, we moved to California, we stayed in California, and we worked through it.
Everybody said, when are you coming back? I'm like, I'm not coming back. So I worked through the first few years of being full-time voiceover. And it was just one of those things. I had my goals in mind and just set my brain to it. And somehow I've arrived here, thankfully gratefully. But the second time I said, I need a change, we had been in Irvine for 12 years. And I said, I'm done. Thank you, Irvine. It's been wonderful. We need to move, Jerry. And it was one of those things where I didn't even -- he was on a business trip and I said, Jerry, I need to go somewhere else. I know I've got a good 10 years left before -- 10, 15 years before if I, if I retire at all and I need to do it in a new place. And so basically I just said, I want to move. But putting that move into place, we literally got in like maybe a week before lockdown to our new house.
Pilar: Wow.
Anne: So we had to, like, we had to sell the house. I had to stage the house. We bought a new house. The new house wasn't ready. I had -- we had to move someplace in the interim with the cats, with you, sell the furniture, everything, put stuff in storage. And it was so much work, but we got through it, and now we're in a new place, but it was all from a need or a feeling in me that I needed to shift. I need, I couldn't be stagnant. I needed to grow and change. And I followed it, and it was tough, but I'll tell you what. We're so grateful. And I totally agree with you in terms of like, these things are put in place for movement and change to help people grow and flourish, if you take it in that vein.
Pilar: That's so powerful, that story, Anne. It's like listening to your insides instead of worrying about what the outside is saying or --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- you know, because you're always going to get pushback.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: Because there's all kinds of things that, that will, uh, not necessarily bar you, but will make you take stock and think --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pilar: -- is this the right decision?
Anne: Oh yeah. And I'll tell you if I may interrupt for just one second, I'm so sorry --
Pilar: Yeah, yeah, go for it.
Anne: -- but I need to tell you that, 'cause you just brought to my mind was the biggest thing was this second time is now that I was an entrepreneur, right, with my own business, you realize that banks don't want to give you loans or approve mortgages when you are self-employed. And so that was huge. I mean, we had to bend over backward to prove that I had money coming in and that, that was, that was a huge thing. And I have to say that I'm grateful and thankful that my voiceover business flourished as it did so that, that wasn't -- I mean, it became a thing where we were worried up to the very last minute that they were not going to approve the mortgage because I had to show all sorts of records of income. And it just, it's crazy when you work for yourself. But thank gosh, my husband, he is able to prove half of it because he worked for an employer, but for me, they were like, no, you need to prove this, this, and this. And so that became a big point. So BOSSes out there working for yourself, know that these things exist.
Pilar: And believing in it, I think that that's really important. What you just described is like, despite the no's being told --
Anne: Yes.
Pilar: -- you went ahead anyway.
Anne: And did everything I had to do, right --
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: -- to prove and to get through it. So, absolutely.
Pilar: Yeah. Um, you know, I think there's something that's so important in this business to recognize is the amount of no's that we get.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And when I think about the radio --
Anne: So many.
Pilar: -- I mean, I got so many no's, and I got so many, like silences, because that's the other thing about this business.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: You don't necessarily get told you don't get the part, or you don't get the gig. You're just, nothing happens. So, you know, that it went to somebody else.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Pilar: And so, and it's, it's about physically and emotionally and being able to say, okay, all right. That's, that's, you know, and just moving on with it --
Anne: And moving on.
Pilar: -- instead of dwelling in it.
Anne: And again --
Pilar: Right?
Anne: -- can I bring another, can I bring another marketing parallel into this?
Pilar: Go for it. Love it. Love it.
Anne: So not only auditioning and understanding that if you audition, maybe it's not the right time, right, for the person that is casting that audition. Maybe it's just, it wasn't the right fit for the job at that right time. But also when you're marketing and you're sending out those emails, or you're making those cold calls, all the time, there are no's. Right? And, and it's just not the right time. And so keep in mind that even when you're marketing, that is absolutely a huge consideration, that it's not the right time. They're not looking at that time to buy or to purchase, or they don't need a voice at that time. And the same thing applies to your marketing. So I know so many people that get so defeated about their marketing and like, why isn't it working, and how can I get the next gig?
And it's one of those, it's a huge timing issue. And I know when I talk to my BOSS Blast clients, that that is a thing. You know, we get so many emails in our inbox every day. And like, I subscribe to old Navy, right? So old Navy three, four, or five times a week is sending me their latest sale. But I don't click on that email until I need something. And so the same thing goes for if you're trying to market your voiceover business, and that could be a whole other episode, Pilar, with that.
Pilar: I think it is. I think it is because I have a story, which I'm not going to include --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- but I have a great story about that. And that's, that's really important. Yeah.
Anne: So I love, love, love all the parallels that we are making through your story. So thank you, Pilar, for providing that story. So now I'm going to assume that that next move, is that coming back to New York?
Pilar: No. It's going to --
Anne: Or going to all -- LA.
Pilar: -- Los Angeles, yes.
Anne: So we're going to be hitting the next episode with when you now, I guess, leave Miami and make your trek towards LA. So BOSSes, I can't wait for this next episode. Pilar, thank you so much again for this inspiring, motivating story. I'm just so glad that we're doing this.
Pilar: I, I get such a kick out of talking with you, Anne. I learn so much with you, so thank you.
Anne: Well, I love drawing the parallels, so.
Pilar: I love it. I love it. You're good at it.
Anne: So I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect just like Pilar and I are connecting like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week and can't wait to see you next week. See ya. Bye!
Pilar: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Bosses, in 2022 we are failing fast + furiously. Who’s in? In this Bonus Modern Mindset Episode, Anne is joined by special guest Erikka J. They discuss blending tech + creative passions, pursuing multiple careers simultaneously, and most importantly, why it is oh so important to fail so that you can succeed!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast and the Modern Mindset series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am so excited to bring you special guest Erikka J. Erikka is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, and award-winning voice actor. She's voiced for brands such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Discover and -- keep going -- Black Lives Matter and many, many more. As a natural born hustler, I love that, she is also a tech girl, just like me, a project and product management professional with 15 years' experience in multiple sectors, including government, e-commerce, software development, and automotive. Erikka J, it is a pleasure to have you, and thank you so much for joining me today.
Erikka: Likewise, thank you, Anne, for having me and, uh, hey to the BOSSes out there.
Anne: Yeah, I love it. So I went to your website, which by the way is beautifully branded. So guys, BOSSes out there, you want to have a look at something that's really beautifully branded, I love the website. I was drawn to the music tab there. So I want to say that I love your concept of delivering meaningful, honest, and relatable lyrics, which you call jewels, right, to your fans.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: I imagine that this also applies to your philosophy in, in your VO being real and meaningful and honest, and I'm sure that that contributes in a multitude of ways to your success. But let's talk -- we'll do, we'll talk about that in a minute -- but let's talk about how did your singing career help prepare you for your careers thereafter in business as well as voiceover?
Erikka: Oh man, I got, uh, I almost want to say I got lucky, but I worked for it too. Um, so I, um, you know, went to college, and even though I was singer and doing all of that, and people were, you know, telling me I should pursue that, I went the whole corporate route. But music chased me; it wouldn't let me stay away from it. So I got the business education from getting my MBA and from working in state government, federal government, and now a corporate job in automotive. But in music, I learned how to record myself out of necessity. So I mean, you know, I didn't have the big label behind me, but I had some ideas and I had to record my own songs that I've written. So started on audacity, started on a Scarlet --
Anne: Wow, all right.
Erikka: Scarlet bundle, like with that mic, like that's where I started, in the closet. Yeah, recording myself in music, I learned the tech side of it and how to listen and get very detailed with my ear. And I eventually, I made my way over to voiceover and those skills came in really handy.
Anne: Wow. Well, I have to say as a young artist back then, that's an ambitious goal, right, to be a singer. Talk to me a little bit about -- I know you said you didn't have a big label, but it's not like you didn't try to pursue a career path that way I would imagine.
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I did the indie route.
Anne: Okay.
Erikka: So I mean, at that time, you know, early 2010s around ish --
Anne: Oh okay, gotcha.
Erikka: -- so Internet was around and all the distributions. I could put myself on iTunes and all the platforms. So yeah, I never really did pursue the label route. I wanted to sort of be the captain of my own destiny, you know?
Anne: Gotcha.
Erikka: Yeah. And I had friends that were engineers, so they kind of helped teach me stuff and get me set up with templates. So, um, I did pursue it on my own, but I didn't pursue the getting signed sort of traditional route.
Anne: Um, now is that something that you're still doing, or you're still considering, or trying to pursue all different routes?
Erikka: I would say I'm probably like on hiatus.
Anne: Gotcha.
Erikka: Music broke my heart a few times. I love it, definitely my first love. But boy, when I found voiceover and was able to pull all these different things that I love into one big bucket, like I've really just fell hard.
Anne: So what was it that made you go into business? I mean, you have your MBA. So when you're the starving artist, right, everybody says go to college. And that was, that was my mother, go to college and get a real job. But interestingly enough, what made you pursue your master's in business?
Erikka: Yeah, so I kind of always say I lived my life in reverse almost, like in my 20's, I was super serious and straight and you know, yeah, singing's great. But I have to go get a real job.
Anne: Right, right.
Erikka: I went to college and you know, and it worked out well for me, but again, music just kept pulling me back, the creative that, you know, muscle, it just doesn't, it doesn't die.
Anne: Oh, I agree.
Erikka: It won't let you move away from it. So I just decided to do both --
Anne: Love it.
Erikka: -- and it was crazy. It still is crazy. And I preach that all the time. Like I still have a full-time corporate job at this moment in tech and full-time voiceover, full-time I do both.
Anne: Girl after my own heart. I tell ya, it's something special. Right? You have the tech gene and the creative gene. And it's so interesting to have both. It sounds like you love both. And you're passionate about both.
Erikka: I do, I do. I mean, and how I got to voiceover was I was doing gigs on the weekend with a corporate band. So my kids were young at the time, and I was writing my own music and doing all that, my own shows, and working for the federal government, for Department of Defense at the time.
Anne: Wow.
Erikka: So seven days a week, I'm working every day, a little kids, single mom too.
Anne: Wow.
Erikka: So I was away a lot and you know, I've made time for them, but I was trying to find ways to spend more time with them. And somebody had mentioned voiceover and I'm like, what's that? Like, I didn't even know that people get paid for the stuff I hear on TV every day. And then I just, you know, did the Google hustle, man, you know, and figured it out online, and here we are five and a half years later. It's going pretty well.
Anne: Wow. And here you are. That's amazing. Let's talk a little bit about tech --
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: -- especially about, I guess, agile practices, which I believe you specialize in, correct?
Erikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Anne: So I know that I've done an e-learning module on agile practices. I don't know if I understood them completely, but tell me a little bit about first of all, what are agile practices and what can we learn from them in our voiceover career? How do we relate those?
Erikka: Yeah, yeah. So agile is like a mindset. It's an approach to software development is how it was born. And I believe it's actually the 20-year anniversary this year or last year it was. It was in 2001 that I think maybe like 17 different software developers got together. Waterfall was sort of their prevailing software development method, which to shorten it is basically just what I used to do, where you write a requirements document. I would write documents that are 60 pages long. You turn that over to your software engineers. You know, we kind of discuss it, go back and forth, make sure everybody understands, and you could be building something for months and then deliver it. So these guys got together and came up with this manifesto of 12 different elements that really focused on the customer, on delivering value over documentation, on making sure that it was an iterative process.
Anne: Sure.
Erikka: Because what can happen is if you're developing something, and you take six months to get it out, what I wanted six months ago is no longer a value to me.
Anne: Yeah. Well, there's nothing worse than having a piece of software, and there's a bug in it.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And then you have to wait like forever to get that resolved. Right? I assume that that's part of where this all came from.
Erikka: Yeah. Not even a bug. It could mean that they were coding it to spec, but the spec is now changed. Um, you've gotten all the way down the road. Sometimes, you know, these are 18 months projects.
Anne: Right, right.
Erikka: And you've wasted money, time and value now. So this agile approach, and what I wanted to talk about today is one of the, it's not really one of the values that's in the manifesto, but one of the guiding principles is to fail fast and often. The goal is to be iterative and not let that fear of failure keep you from iterating and trying new things and being creative, and then using that process of failure to inspect and adapt. Go back and look at how you failed, what you could do better next time and look at it as a true learning process and a path to success.
Anne: Wow. Well, that's it. We can go home now because that was, that was such a beauty. That was so valuable, what you just said in that short amount of time. I completely agree. I mean, there's so much learning to be had from failing.
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely. There's such a stigma and there's such shame with failure, but you can take that failure, and nobody learns from winning, right? Like --
Anne: True.
Erikka: -- you learn from, from when you lose.
Anne: Isn't that that's so true. And I think that just happens all the time, really, in an industry where we audition to win jobs --
Erikka: Yes, yes.
Anne: -- and we are constantly facing rejection or sometimes we hear nothing at all. So we don't know why we failed or how we failed.
Erikka: Oh man. Yeah. As creators, as voiceover talent, as entrepreneurs in general, like there's so much wider, and agile was born from software development, but it really can be applied to so many different areas of life, of business, and just learning how to take that failure and be resilient and, you know, exercise your grit. I just saw the Ted Talk on Angela Duckworth. I don't know if you've heard of her, and she referenced the growth mindset, and you know, how grit is really that willingness to fail and to be wrong so that we can learn from it. And man, if we don't face it every day with auditions --
Anne: Right, that's just the first step.
Erikka: -- I don't know what is.
Anne: And I love how you expanded it out to be not just the performance aspect of our industry, but also just the entrepreneur mindset. I mean, yeah. I can't tell you after so many years of being in this industry and how many times I've failed, and I liked the whole iterative process of fail fast --
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: -- because I've always thought of it as well. I just kind of changed direction. Right? I never in my brain, I don't say I've failed. I say, well, I need to just change direction.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: And so that way I wouldn't have that stigma that you're talking about of shame and like, oh my God, I failed. I always said, well, I don't think of it as failure. I think of it as just changing direction, which actually seems to follow the agile mindset as well.
Erikka: Absolutely it does.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah. So how have you learned from that in your voiceover career? Because now how long have you been doing voiceover?
Erikka: Yeah, voiceover. I started in September of 2016.
Anne: Okay, yup.
Erikka: So this will be my sixth year coming up. How have I learned? My goodness. So even when I was doing music, when I was singing and doing all of that, I've did approach it as a business. So I've actually had my LLC since 2015.
Anne: Okay.
Erikka: So I always approach that as investing in myself and looking for an ROI and trying to make the business money that I was making fund the expenses that I had for the business. It wasn't like that for a long time. I was putting in personal money.
Anne: Right? Ugh.
Erikka: I had business debts and honestly just in the past year, I'm going to be really vulnerable and transparent right now, I paid off $50,000 of business debt. That was a failure.
Anne: But that means so much to me that you were vulnerable like that. And you were able to say that because that's going to really help so many BOSSes out there that look, I remember, and my vulnerability is my first year full-time in voiceover, I made like $12,000 for the year.
Erikka: Same, same.
Anne: Like it was not -- it was just -- people are like, oh my God, I'm making six figures or whatever. No, my first year, and I worked my tush off that first year.
Erikka: Yes.
Anne: I've known to be a workhorse myself. I feel like we're soul sisters in that area.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: And questioning in the beginning, like, oh my gosh, am I going in the right direction? I remember sobbing one day; everything just came down on me. And I'm like, I don't even know if this is where I should be. Yeah. And I had given up. Now see, for me, I had given up my career in tech. I was teacher tech. So it was kind of the same thing, kind of that technology and creative in the same area. I finally said to my husband, well, let's move to California, and I'm going to quit my cushy corporate educational, secure tech job and just going to do full-time voiceover. And that was just a leap of faith. I mean, thankfully I had put into motion, we had a plan. I mean, I had that financial cushion that allows you to do it, but I did it in 2008, which was the worst year to like --
Erikka: Oh God, yeah, '08.
Anne: -- if you're in tech, you know that if you are out of tech for a couple of months, that's it, you're old, you're dead wood. That's like --
Erikka: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: You've lost any kind of --
Erikka: You will not get up to speed.
Anne: No. I said, oh God, I just need to rest. Give me like three months. I gave it three months, and then nobody would talk to me. It was 2008. And it was like, wow, you cannot stop in tech because otherwise you just, oh, you're not up to speed. And you know, I couldn't even get interviews. And I was like, okay. So I got to make this voiceover thing work and worked my butt off. And I liked that you said it's years. It's not like an overnight, like getting your ROI is just, you have to have, I think the wherewithal and the grit to kind of just survive that and just keep trying things, failing fast, right. And trying something else.
Erikka: And that was the failure is that, you know, I, I knew that I was going to need, you know, different classes to take. And you know, a lot of that was music as well. Like, you know, the, the video that you and I were chatting about before, that costs money.
Anne: Yes. Beautiful video.
Erikka: You know? Thank you. Thank you.
Anne: Yeah. BOSSes, just go to Erikka's page. She's got some really awesome videos, and you have a beautiful voice. So.
Erikka: Thank you. Thank you. I mean, quality was really important to me. So, you know, I mean, you'll see it before I paid for it.
Anne: So I told my husband, come over here and look at, look how beautifully shot this video is, let alone how awesome the whole performance and the storyline. And I feel like when I watched you singing, like I can see so many parallels between singing, performing, and also voiceover. Because again, if you're all about being meaningful and relatable, and I think authentic, I could see that in the video, in your performance. And I'm like, wow, you translate that into a voiceover performance. And bam, like, that's the magic. That's the magic.
Erikka: That was for me because, you know, aspect of music that I always loved the most was that I was able to channel my emotions, not just through the words, but like how, the way that I was singing. And I had no clue how helpful that was, that I had already honed that skill, and that, that was a strength of mine to bring that to voiceover gave me a leg up, you know?
Anne: Oh my goodness, yeah.
Erikka: Oh my goodness. It was great. I mean, not just the failures in music, I wanted to just, 'cause we're talking about failure too, in voiceover, you mentioned that you had left tech and kind of given up and quit on it. And I did just about walk away from voiceover. Same thing. I was, you know, four years in. I think the best, the most I had made was like $25,000 in a year. And I'm like, you know, I can't keep doing this and I have to shout out Mr. Zellman my guy, my man Cliff --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Erikka: Because --
Anne: Who doesn't love Cliff Zellman?
Erikka: I love him so much. Any voiceover that somebody got from me after August of 2019 is because of Cliff, because I was going to quit.
Anne: Yeah. You want to talk about passion in what somebody does? Cliff is so passionate. Honestly, he's so passionate at what he does and he's so genuine and so authentic, wonderful, wonderful person to work with, if you ever get the chance, highly recommended. Yeah. And I can see him. He's like, he almost could be a motivational coach.
Erikka: Right?
Anne: Um, you know, because he is that passionate. Now you work, full-time, you say, at your corporate job and you're doing voiceover as well, and you have a family. So what's the fail first kind of -- does that translate into every aspect of your life as well?
Erikka: Four letter word yes.
Anne: Yup.
Erikka: So all of this really kind of kicked up for me when I started working full-time from home with the pandemic. So that's where I was able to, you know, really dive in and give all my other time to voiceover and still be able to maintain both. 'Cause I was home all the time. The failure, there was boy, and I'm still learning about the self-care aspect, but I kind of really put my family on the back burner for awhile. In my relationship with my boyfriend, we had to really work through that. I'm a hard working woman, and he hadn't been with a woman that was as ambitious as I was before. And I kind of dove in probably a little too hard where I had to learn that you have to live life to be able to give good voiceover.
Anne: Oh yeah. Right?
Erikka: It can't all be the work.
Anne: You've got to rebuild that creative --
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: -- yeah, spark I think. And if you want --
Erikka: You've got to have experiences.
Anne: Yeah. You're talking to a workaholic, I get it. I totally get it. And you're right. There's always that balance. And I think I need to sit back and continually remind myself of that balance as well, because I'm like, look, I just want to get to this place. I might be retiring in 15 years. And so I don't want to have to worry about how am I going to pay the mortgage or I want to go travel. And so I'm always working towards something, and I think that a modern mindset of fail fast. I love that. You just twisted that for me, fail fast. Give me an example of the fail fast that worked in your favor because rather than well, let's just, I completely give up voiceover. No, let's just change direction.
Erikka: I could talk a little bit -- I saw that P-to-Ps was something that you guys recently talked about as well. So my approach and my philosophy, whenever I talk to people about those, is I feel like they are a lead source, just like people go to Google to go look, they go to those sites, and they're essentially search engines. LinkedIn is a search engine. So there are some that maybe work better than others and some that maybe don't work as well. My approach was to track my ROI as I went, if I was to pay for more, a higher level tier. So if I pay for one, and you know, I'm waiting and I'll see if I need to cancel. If I need to read the next year, rather than sort of throwing all your eggs in one basket and saying, I'm just going to do stuff for my agents, trying different avenues as lead generators for work.
Anne: Got it.
Erikka: And I keep a close eye on that.
Anne: And I think it's all about lead generation, isn't it really, to be successful in this voiceover industry? I mean, because the entrepreneurial, like the fear factor is that we don't necessarily know what work is coming in every single day.
Erikka: Yeah.
Anne: So being able to secure maybe a steady flow of possibilities, right, and us acting on those possibilities, like the auditions or even just having people find us, that is, I think the hardest part about being a voiceover actor and making that a full-time gig is that you don't know where that next paycheck is coming from. You don't know where the next client is coming from, and having a lead generation software, or you consider your P-to-P lead generation software.
Erikka: Exactly.
Anne: And even your website, like I said, again, I'm going to go back to your website, because I'm worked in tech and I worked on websites back in the day. I would never do it today. I hire people, but knowing a good website when you get to it and establishing know, like, and trust. People hire people they know, like, and trust. Your website is your online personification of your storefront. And that storefront, if presented correctly, can be an immediate, like I immediately said, yes, that girl is who I want to hire.
And it was a visual -- I didn't even listen to anything yet. I went to your website and I said, there she is. It's just stunning. It's the attitude, the confidence, the, you know, and now everybody should be rushing over to your website. But it's so true. It's just so well done. I don't know if you had a website before, and for me there's versions of my website that were failure, you know, fail fast and let's switch it up. Let's see what's working. That's another thing that people come in. It is a first impression. And if that first impression is a fail, switch it up, switch it up.
Erikka: You're done.
Anne: You're done. Switch it up. Switch it up, you're done.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Move on to the next.
Anne: Yeah. It honestly has such an effect on first impression. Yeah. She looks like someone I could absolutely trust, and she's just got the goods. Like I want to work with her.
Erikka: And yeah, another piece of that is it's the fail fast and often. So when you bring up my website, and it's so funny, I appreciate the compliments. I did build that site myself on Squarespace.
Anne: Damn.
Erikka: Um, and I'm in the process of having it professionally redone because you know, like you said, I just, I'm like, I'm good, you know, the whole back end piece, you know, to make it really fast. That's not my area of genius. So I'm paying people for that, but it still works.
Anne: Absolutely. It still works with that first impression. Right? It's just like just bam, that first page. And that made me want to go investigate more.
Erikka: Yeah, yeah. And what I've done to kind of figure out what works is playing with the SEO in there, which I know you love to talk about and so do I, because I love passive ways of generating leads. I want to be in the booth. I don't want to go chase clients.
Anne: Isn't that the truth? Like it just saves so much time. I'd rather have someone find me first, that whole SEO thing, especially if it's organic, right? That's all fail fast.
Erikka: Absolutely.
Anne: And keep adjusting and keep evolving. And it's not hard if you're doing organic SEO. And, and I don't know if I would pay people to do SEO other than having somebody maybe writing press releases and you know, doing that kind of thing. That is something again that can really affect your success in the business. And, you know, success begets success. I keep saying that lately. And I think that it just becomes this wonderful ball of energy --
Erikka: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: -- which when it happens, if you do fail, I always think it's failure on a smaller level. Maybe it's not huge, huge fail when you work with fail fast. I think they're tiny failures, and they're always something that you feel that you can overcome. And I think the confidence of that is so much better than, oh my God, I have failed in a huge way. Let's just P-to-P's just don't work. Let's give them up or I can't get any work. Let's give up voiceover, that's a big fail. You don't want the big fails. You want the little fails that you still have the confidence that, you know what, maybe if this doesn't work, I'll just try this next. And that way it keeps the momentum going.
Erikka: And that is the exact rationale behind agile is that it's not saying, go ahead and do the big failures. It's saying, if you, if you are more iterative in your approach as to how you're developing or how you're managing your business, or how you're approaching your auditions, then when you have those failures, they're smaller and you can continue them and recover from them faster and find the success. So yeah, you got it, Anne, you know agile.
Anne: I love that. Look at that, so now I know agile. Well, how cool is that? So, and then if we apply this to our businesses, and here's where the creative, because I like having the 50-50 brain, right? Because the tech in me says, let's solve a problem. If it's not this it's this, or let's try this. This could be the other solution. And that's where I think that left brain, right brain thing helps because it does help you fail in smaller ways. And sometimes when I work with people who are completely creative or just come from a creative background, it becomes an all or nothing, almost dramatic sort of failure or success.
I think that the small fails is where it's helped me in just having a little bit of that tech brain. And that's why I like the entrepreneurship of the industry, because -- so you've got the, kind of the best of both worlds, right? You've always been an entrepreneur, but now you're also working corporate. So there's a dependability factor there for you, right? You go to work every day, you know what to expect. Hopefully you're getting a paycheck every other week or whatever that is. Right? And that gives you the confidence to really take risks in an entrepreneurial endeavor because you've got a little bit of that cushion.
Erikka: Exactly. Yep. And that was the goal. And that's what I tell people is there's this stigma of you have to be either/or. You have to either be an entrepreneur or you're not all in if you're still in corporate. And that is absolutely not true. For me, my job is a source of capital. As I am building my business up, I've crossed the, the goal threshold that I've wanted to get to. And now it's a matter of, you know, when is it gonna make sense for me to just focus on the one, but for now it's working. So why not take that money and invest it in your business? If you can manage both, it is okay to have more than one dream.
Anne: I completely agree. And that's kind of why, as an entrepreneur, I've divvied up my own business, my entrepreneurial endeavors into multiple segments. It's not just voiceover for me, because again, that is the most unpredictable source of income because sometimes you just don't know, a job won't come in or you won't get the gig. So building up those other revenue streams on the side, whether you're doing it as an entrepreneurship or it's a corporate or a part-time job. I mean, when I went full-time, I did have a part-time job. I was an office assistant, and that gave me the money that helped pay the bills. And so I feel like that is all part of that mindset, that modern mindset of failure that is very similar to agile, where you make the plan to have the finances come in, to give you the confidence, to take the risks in building your entrepreneurial business. And then that will take off like a snowball.
Erikka: There are four like core principles of agile. And one of them is responding to change over following a plan. It's not saying that following a plan is not important or that it's not valuable, but it's if you have one of the two you're going to prioritize responding to change. And that is exactly what you were talking about. I know people where they've, you know, they were full-time. I don't really love the full-time voiceover thing because I know other people that do full-time jobs and are full-time voiceover, like six figures. So, but I know people that have decided to go back and get a job because they wanted to pay off debt or they wanted to have more capital to invest in their business. There's nothing wrong with that. You can change along with the conditions and then alter your plan to fit what's happening right now.
Anne: Yeah. I love that. I love that. And also, if you are just full-time voiceover, things are evolving. Trends are changing, um, technology, you and I know, technology is coming, and it is going to change the industry just as it changes all aspects of every industry, technology. And I, I love the fact that I have a technology background. I feel like you enjoy your corporate job just as much as you enjoy voiceover.
Erikka: I do.
Anne: Yeah. Okay.
Erikka: I work with such smart people and I always tell them, like, you guys are so much smarter than me. And I just learn from them every day.
Anne: It is inspiring.
Erikka: It's inspiring.
Anne: It's inspiring. I'll tell you. I've had some podcast guests on here that are brilliant, and it exhilarates me. And it gives me confidence and motivation to just go further and delve deeper into my own entrepreneurialship and my voiceover career. So it's, it's really awesome. I love that we have this whole modern mindset failure based on technology. What a really refreshing conversation.
Erikka: Thank you. Likewise. I've really enjoyed this, Anne.
Anne: Yes. Oh gosh, BOSSes. Go check out Erikka's website. Thank you so much, Erikka, for being with us today. It's really been a pleasure.
Erikka: Thank you, Anne, for having me. Thank you to all the BOSSes. You guys, keep rocking on.
Anne: Yeah, all right. I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can nerd out with your colleagues and friends and also countless wonderful things. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Erikka: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Do you consult your inner child when making career decisions? Maybe you should! Anne & Pilar kick off the Boss Voces series at the beginning. They dive into Pilar’s journey from young girl singing + mimicking to finance assistant to Colombian telenovela star… More at https://www.voboss.com/pilars-journey-part-1
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza. And today I am honored to bring you special guest cohost Pilar Uribe. Pilar is a bilingual voice actor, telenova star, and radio personality. Born and raised in New York city. She broken this show business with roles from Ugly Betty, Poor Pablo, Eternally Manuela, and El Cartel, filmed in Colombia and Miami. She recorded and produced for WLRN Miami South Florida, and now lives in LA where she records voiceover for television, radio, and films, and last, but certainly not least, she has booth kitties, which are so very important. Yay! Pilar, it's a pleasure having you here today. Thank you so much for joining me.
Pilar: I am so glad to be here, Anne. This is a real treat. Thank you.
Anne: So, first of all, the booth kitty, I have to know, booth kitties, booth kitty?
Pilar: Booth kitty.
Anne: Booth kitty.
Pilar: Booth kitty. Yes. His name is Paco,
Anne: Paco.
Pilar: Well, his full name is Paco Del Barrio.
Anne: Oh.
Pilar: Paco Del Barrio, yes.
Anne: Oh, Paco. Now, is Paco in the studio with you right now?
Pilar: No, he's not. I know he's outside, and he's sitting on top of the desk where I edit looking like, like, how dare you close that door?
Anne: How dare you not pay attention to me?
Pilar: Exactly. I need a window for the door.
Anne: As you know, we now both have booth kitties and that is a major plus for, I think, productivity in the booth to have booth kitties. They really help you in your daily --
Pilar: Absolutely.
Anne: -- your daily booth recordings.
Pilar: Yeah, they're very, yes, they're very, they're very observant, and they're very, how can I say this?
Anne: They direct well.
Pilar: They teach you, they teach you a lot about you as a voice actor.
Anne: I agree.
Pilar: We'll get into that.
Anne: I agree. I think that could be an episode actually, how our pets help us learn about ourselves. For sure. For sure.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: So you're not even like a triple threat. You're like a quadruple, like, you're like multiple, multiple threats, TV, radio, voiceover. Tell us about how you started in the business? Because I think you've got a wonderful story to tell, and we can all learn a lot about how you evolved into your voiceover career.
Pilar: Okay. So how much time do you get?
Anne: Well, this first episode is about only 25 minutes. So.
Pilar: Okay, I'll be quick. Now, I was born and bred in New York. Both my parents are from Colombia, a little town called Ibagué. And, um, I spoke Spanish until I was five. When I went to grade school, high school, I was in all the plays. I played the angel. I, you know, I did all kinds of things, singing groups. I was in the choir. I was in --
Anne: Me too.
Pilar: Yeah. Right. You know, you do it all.
Anne: Choir thing and you know, that creative. stuff.
Pilar: Exactly. Exactly. I went to a girls school, and so we were in this choir, and I was just in this thing called Triple Trio. And we would go to, we would go to boys schools. We would go to boarding schools and sing there and have crushes on all the boys.
Anne: Of course.
Pilar: So in college I majored in theater and kept studying voice and did musical theater and just all kinds of things.
Anne: But not necessarily voiceover, right? You're thinking --
Pilar: No, no, it was all, it was all musical theater or --
Anne: Musical theater.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Because you sing too. That was the other threat. 'Cause I actually happened upon one of your social media posts the other day. And you were singing. So.
Pilar: Yes, I'm really into like the -- so that's the thing. I was kind of born and raised on singing a capella because I would sing with my sister. We had a little duet going, and she would play with the guitar. Sometimes we would play the guitar and sometimes we would just do two voices. So there's this great app called acapella. And I loved just dubbed myself over and over again into like four part harmony. It's so much fun. So in college, I kept singing. I kept with these groups, and I majored in theater, came back to New York. And of course it's a different story now, you know, once you're looking for a job, and I thought, well, okay, I'll, I'll go the corporate route. And I worked for Harper's Bazaar --
Anne: Oh wow.
Pilar: for -- yeah. For two and a half years. And I, I totally lived the Devil Wears Prada life.
Anne: I was gonna say!
Pilar: Oh yeah, all that stuff is true.
Anne: In New York too.
Pilar: In New York. So I, I was an assistant to an editor, and it was like, oh, what an experience that was.
Anne: I can imagine.
Pilar: Yes. Yeah. That that's a whole other, that's a whole other story. Then I went to, I moved to Nine West and I started working to helping in design shoes. And all throughout this time, I was taking acting classes because I thought, let me just keep that muscle going. Even though it just, it seemed so far away at the time. And I got laid off. I was the last hired, first fired. There was a whole financial shakeup, and I thought, okay, this is the time to start working on my acting. So I got my headshot and resume together, and I started going out on auditions. And in the meantime I got married.
Anne: That's a lot happening. Seems like a lot happening --
Pilar: Yes. And I cleared my throat.
Anne: -- short period of time.
Pilar: Yes, absolutely. And I cleared my throat because that was a whole experience in itself. So I did theater. I actually, I did "A Chorus Line," and I was probably the only person -- I played Diana Morales, who was the Hispanic character. And she was the one who said, "and I felt nothing, simply nothing." It's such a great song. I love that song.
Anne: Lovely.
Pilar: I was the only one who could not do a double pirouette, but I got away with it. That's like a requirement for "A Chorus Line," but I could not do a double pirouette to save my life. And if you try doing it, you will fall over. I can tell you right now because I can't, I just, every time I've tried it, I just fall over. I think I did it once in my life, but that's it. So I did a couple of films. I did student films, and I did extra work on "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," and I think there was one called "Passions."
Anne: Wow.
Pilar: And so that I had so much fun because of course I used to watch those shows, and I used to watch "General Hospital" actually in college.
Anne: Oh, of course. Who didn't?
Pilar: Remember -- yeah, like, what was it the, uh, the, yeah, there were these scenes, which we can't even say on the air.
Anne: I just read something about Luke, that they finally wrote him off.
Pilar: Yes, yes, yes! The Luke and Laura scene. Do you remember the Luke and Laura scene?
Anne: Yes. Of course, of course.
Pilar: Everybody talked about that.
Anne: There has to be a moment in time. Like that is, that is ingrained into like the moment in time, uh, television history. And is this what brought you in -- the telenova star? So is that leading us to that place or?
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: Absolutely. It is. I do have a point and I will --
Anne: No, no, I totally get it.
Pilar: So I started seeing in New York that, you know, everybody was hustling, like I was, and I was doing extra work on like a film with Michael J. Fox. And I got to touch Arnold Schwarzenegger's jacket, but I was always, you know, background extra. And I thought, wouldn't it be great to work in a job that is kind of a 9 to 5? And I realized television is that. So I had that dream, and that's why I did the extra work, because I, you know, I wanted to see what was going on in those soap operas. So I separated, and I thought, okay, I'm done. I'm going to go to take a little vacation and go to where my extended family lives, in Colombia, in Ibagué.
And I go, and I stay with my cousin, and the third night I'm there, we decide to go to a fortune teller, and fortune tellers are big in Colombia. And I've, I just, I love them. Like they're just so much fun. So I go to this fortune teller, and she reads the way I smoke a cigarette of all things. So she's looking at my ashes as I'm smoking a cigarette, she gives me a cigarette, I start smoking it. And she says to me, pack your bags, get ready because you're going to be really famous.
Anne: Ooh.
Pilar: And I was like, what?
Anne: Who doesn't like to hear that?
Pilar: I just, I, but I was so, you know, I was so like, you know, I was so -- I was depressed, and I was going through the whole divorce proceedings. I had been working for Morgan Stanley as an assistant. And, you know, that was just the, the world of finance. I didn't even understand --
Anne: Oh, from fashion to finance.
Pilar: Yes, exactly. And then she says this to me, and I'm like, oh, maybe I'm going to be a shoe designer. Maybe I'm going to be the next, you know, Manolo Blahnik. And I was like, I can't, I couldn't imagine that one at all. So my cousin and I, we left and we just laughed it off. So I, I, so I stayed a couple of months, a couple of extra months, and I thought, well, maybe I could live in Colombia. So I go back to New York after three months, and I'm, I get my reel together.
And I met a party at my parents' house, and there's this really good friend of my mother's. And she says to me, have you read the book, The Celestine Prophecy? It's by James Redfield. And I was like, no. So I read it. And it was a game changer for me. That's all I can say. It, it just completely changed my perspective. And I started thinking, well, maybe I could do this. Maybe I could work in television. And I had a very good friend of mine who was my vocal coach. And he kind of turned into my mentor, and he started telling me, he said, you know what? I want you to start visualizing what it would be like to stand in front of the camera. I want you to see what it would feel like, what the lights would feel like on you, what it would sound like, the people walking around you, how it would taste if like you were drinking something on set, what it would smell like, and what you would hear and what you, you know, all the five senses and really do like a little meditation about it.
And I wasn't into meditation back then at all. But The Celestine Prophecy talks about that a little bit, a lot, actually. So I have my reel, I speak to a couple of networks. I write letters and there are two that are interested, and one of them says, okay, great. We are interested. We want to see you. So I packed my bags, and I pay for my ticket, and I go down to Colombia.
Anne: So when you say you wrote the networks, okay. So that's a very broad description. So what specifically? 'Cause that's like, you're marketing yourself. I mean, you've been marketing yourself I feel since you were out of the womb. Right? So in reality, you're sending letters and what are you saying in those letters? Hey, I'd like to meet you? I have acting experience?
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: I'd like to meet you?
Pilar: Exactly. Exactly. Actually you just said, I didn't even realize that, you just turned the button on for me.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So I was constantly doing that without even realizing.
Anne: Without knowing.
Pilar: Yeah, because what I had was, it was just a letter with my real back then. It was VHS. Okay?
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: So I'm really dating myself, you know, saying I have this experience, I have this training, and I'd really like to do TV. And one of the things I learned a long time ago was you can talk about your strengths. There's no need to lie, but you don't have to say, I don't know how to do this.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: You can say, I'm very eager to learn. I'm very eager to get into the business because I realized as I was going down there that yes, I had worked in television as an extra. I had worked in film by then. And so I understood how the camera worked. 'Cause it was -- we worked on an entire summer, over a period of weekends on a feature film. So I knew how it worked, but television is very different from film because it's like, boom, boom, boom, here's this scene, set it up, do the scene. And then you've got a whole bunch of other things to do. So it's a lot busier than film. So I didn't, you know, long shots, you know, close-ups, I was still very much of a newbie. So I basically just concentrated on what my skills were. And these two people, they kind of said, yes, you know, one of them said, there's a possible role for you. And the other one was like, okay, well we'll meet you when you come down here. 'Cause I realized I had to go down there. Like they weren't going to sit there and say --
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: -- oh yeah, we'll hire you. So that's why I, I made the decision. I packed my bags, and I go. So I get to Colombia and I'm staying with a friend in Bogotá now. 'Cause now I'm staying in the capital. Before I had been staying in Ibagué where my family is from, and I call up the producer and uh, I make an appointment and I get there and I'm like, I'm, I'm really excited. And I'm like, okay, this is it. This is the start of something big. And I get there and she said, that show has been scrapped. And she points to her, this shelf and all the episodes are there. And she's like, that's been scrapped. They're writing a new show. You're going to have to audition for it. And there's nothing, you know, I don't, I don't have anything for you.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: So I'm like, oh my God. So what do I do? I start envisioning what my life is going to be like. So I start making like a little list. Okay. I need an apartment. I need a job. That's my most important thing. I need an apartment and I need a car. So the first thing I would do is that I would call her on a weekly basis, this producer, and I would say, hi, how are you? How's it going? And she knew immediately why I was calling. She like, I don't have anything for you. So I was like, okay, great. That's done. Then I started going out and looking at apartments in Bogotá of where I wanted to live.
I mapped out, I walked around a lot. I, you know, I was, this was basically, I was friends were taking mirrors, going in taxis or I was walking, and I found an area that I wanted to live in. And so everybody posted their little -- they did newspapers, but they, you know, they would post it up on the window, and I would look and I would take a look, and I finally found one and I was like, oh my gosh, this is really great. Did the same thing with cars. I went to the car dealerships. I looked at all these cars, and I found the car that I wanted, and I keep calling this woman. And so once a week, and then one day she called me.
Anne: Here's the thing. You must've had a good relationship with her if you actually spoke to her, right?
Pilar: Yes, yes.
Anne: Usually producers, if they're very busy, that somebody else is either taking their calls for them or screening their calls. So if you were actually able to talk to her, you must have had a great relationship, which I think that's a key factor.
Pilar: We developed it. It wasn't something that just started out that way. I mean, I always went through her secretary first. Yeah. So it wasn't like -- this was something that developed on a regular basis, but I wasn't like stalking her --
Anne: Right.
Pilar: -- or being obnoxious about it.
Anne: Right, right, right.
Pilar: I was just saying, hey, I just wanted to see. And because I was, you know, this was the lead --
Anne: Keeping top of mind.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: See how I'm -- we're transforming all of this into the current day marketing.
Pilar: I love it. I love it. This is awesome.
Anne: This is also staying top of mind with the producer. There you go.
Pilar: Exactly. Top of mind. So she calls me and she says, I have something for you. And I'm like, oh my God, this is it. This is it. I get to the studio. It turns out it's one episode of a children's show.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: And I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't live on this.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: What are you going to do? And I talked to the director, that director, and I kind of, we just started talking, and you know, she knew who I was and she said, oh no, no, no, no, no. You're still being considered for this new show. Don't worry about it because I actually -- just going back a little bit -- I had auditioned for the new show. So, so, okay. So she called me up and she said, I want you to audition for the show. I auditioned for the show. And then she calls me.
She said, I have this for you. And it was a children's show. So I was like, oh no, what am I going to do? And she said, no, no, no, no. You're still -- the director for the children's show said, no, you're still being considered. Because this was much smaller than what it is today. You know, in the very first time I went and I auditioned, it was very different from the way I auditioned in New York. So, you know, in New York you get given sides and now you memorize it, but you, you're allowed to have it in your hand. And back there, you, you know, you definitely had to memorize the whole thing. And I was panicked and this guy helped me and it was great.
A couple of other weeks go by. And then they call me in for a second audition and that's with the director. He was very stern. And I was really nervous. A couple of weeks later, she called me, and she said, you got the job. So all this work that I had been doing, I, you know, I'm shortening it. I had been looking for the apartment. I'd been --
Anne: You'd been having a vision and meditating --
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: And manifesting.
Pilar: Exactly. So once I had all that ready to go, when the call came, and this is over a period of three months that this happened, I was like, okay, great. Now it's time. I can get the car, and I can get the apartment. I can rent the apartment out because now I, now I have somewhere to go because I have a job.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: And so actually it was really funny. The head of the network called me, and I, I -- it's kind of amazing that I think about this now -- he called me and he said, I, I, I have to tell you that -- and he kind of called me apologetically. And he said, you're going to be really -- this character, you're gonna be really ugly, and you're going to be really nasty.
Anne: All right.
Pilar: So I was like, please, you know bring it on. Right? So we start filming, and it's a whole new experience. So I have to start from the beginning again, and I'm learning camera angles, and I'm learning how the business works. And the show comes out and literally, Anne, overnight -- the show comes out like let's say on a Thursday. And the last show that what they did is that they dovetailed the old show, which was one of the most well-known shows in the history of Colombian television. It was called "Café -- Café con Aroma de Mujer." they're redoing it now. And so then ours came in. So we had that huge audience, which had seen the show, and everyone had been glued to the television. And then they saw our show.
Anne: Right.
Pilar: And I was the first one who spoke on the show. It was really cool.
Anne: And you were an ugly, horrible personality, right?
Pilar: Exactly. I was just, I snarled, I was a snarler. And so it's kind of like a good luck thing. It's kind of like when somebody says that's a kind of a good luck thing in a film when somebody says the name of the film in a film, it's good luck. And in television, in Colombia, it's like the first person who speaks, that's a good little sign. It's like a good luck charm. So, so I was the first person who spoke, and then literally the next day, I was being recognized --
Anne: Wow, that's great.
Pilar: -- on the street.
Anne: That's fantastic.
Pilar: It was the weirdest thing. And so I was like, oh my gosh, what that lady said was true, that fortune teller.
Anne: Right?
Pilar: A year before practically it came out. Yeah. It was over a year that she had said that. And I thought, this is so interesting. So basically I manifested my way into this job.
Anne: Well, I love that. I think there's a lot to be said. I mean, I, it's a new year, you know, and, and I talk all about how being grateful and then really writing down and thinking and manifesting and about what your goals are. I really believe that it comes true. You actually incorporate the steps to make it true. And interestingly enough, notice how I kept noticing all the marketing things that you were doing, which you weren't even realizing at the time. You were developing a relationship. Right? You were keeping top of mind. You were setting goals in place so that you could achieve them to get where you needed to be. So, congratulations. I mean, that's, that's a great story.
Pilar: Anne, where were you, where were you in my life? I wish I could have called you out, like brought you back from the future in. My life would be like, you know, but yeah, exactly. So I started working, and I basically did this over and over and over again --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- because in Colombia, telenovelas only last a year.
Anne: Oh, that's what I was just going to ask. How long did the show go on, a year?
Pilar: Yep. So yeah, because it was actually a little bit more. We do, we did a lot of episodes.
Anne: Is it a daily? Like a --
Pilar: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Okay. Daily for a year?
Pilar: So it's a daily, but it's not because it's actually prime time. 'Cause it always came out in prompt time. So they're, they're not exactly soap operas. They're, they're like prime time soap, operas. Let's put it that way. That's what they call them. And really they're more like series.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Because they're not, they have a beginning, middle, and an end.
Anne: Got it.
Pilar: They don't last for 20 years like they do here --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- or 30 years. So, you know, there's a story. So, you know, it's like a poor girl meets rich guy. Then he does something to her, and then she makes it on her own. And then she's great. And then they live happily ever after, or there's a tragedy, you know, and so, you know, all kinds of different stories. And I got to play all kinds of different characters. I became known as the bad girl because I was one of many bad girls on that first show with, "Eternamente Manuela," and then I became this super duper evil person. And it's so funny because on Instagram --
Anne: On that show or on other shows?
Pilar: No, on that show.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: That's what really established me as the resident bad girl. They showed "Eternamente Manuela" after many years. And there're all these people on Instagram who were like, oh my gosh, that was you. You were such a bad girl. And they're constantly giving me snippets and stuff that I didn't see. It's so funny. 'Cause like when you're working, you don't have time to watch your own show. You just don't. That's one of the things that -- so I never saw the show, that the entire show.
Anne: You have archives that you can post, or is it mostly your fans that are posting --
Pilar: It's a little bit of both. I have some that I post, but most of the time, they show me things, and I'm like, oh my gosh. And I remember filming it, but I don't remember, you know? So it's really fun. It's really great to like kind of like walk down memory lane. I was doing that a lot this past year.
Anne: Yeah. That would make sense that you would be, if it's like a daily thing, and you're in and you're just working all the time, it would make sense that you don't always get to watch. It's like, interestingly enough, the VO BOSS podcast only has weekly episodes, but I don't always get a chance to listen to them after we produce them. So every once in a while, when I get a free moment in my car, I'll listen, and I'll be like, oh, okay. And it brings the memories back. Well, that's a pretty decent episode.
Pilar: Yeah, exactly. And then you can look back and go, oh yeah. Right. That's interesting. Oh goodness.
Anne: When we're in the middle of the manifestation, we're in the middle of the execution, right, you just have to give it up to faith that we're doing a good job and that our listeners and fans are drinking it all in and liking it. And if it were anything, otherwise they would let us know. So.
Pilar: Exactly.
Anne: Yep.
Pilar: Exactly. Barrel along.
Anne: All right. So you are a star, a telanova star. And are you doing any other, are you doing any other shows at this point, other than your daily series?
Pilar: Well, I did the first show, then I go and I do a second show. And then my second show, I'm playing a gringa. So "hablo así, hablo muy trabada así, con un acento así." And I just, I had a ball. I dyed my hair blonde. I was a blonde.
Anne: Wow.
Pilar: I was a blonde, Anne.
Anne: Wow!
Pilar: Oh my gosh. Blondes do have more fun. I'm here to tell you blondes do have more fun. I had so much fun doing that show, and I did so much improvisation on that show. It was amazing. 'Cause I had the latitude. I would sing because I played this housewife who's being cuckolded by her husband who fell -- who falls in love with the lead. So I sit there and I sing away, and I start singing away in English. And it was so much fun to improv on that show because I could do it. And they would let me, 'cause I was playing an American who spoke Spanish.
At the same time -- that was a nightly show -- at the same time, I was doing a series, which was an hour weekly. I got a wig. I got a wig for the show. And so I was this very -- the other woman, she had -- American with an accent. She had blue nail polish. She was, she was really cool. She was really modern, wore these little mini skirts. The other series, she was a recovering alcoholic. So she was very prim and proper lawyer. She had a little sort of Lulu Brooks brown haired bangs. And there were people who did not know that I was in both shows, and that was so much fun to do. So then I added that to the roster at the same time.
Anne: So you're doing all TV at this point.
Pilar: All TV, but here's the thing. I'm doing a lot of interviews.
Anne: Makes sense.
Pilar: The interviews, I love doing live interviews, but the way -- when I would have the most fun was when I was doing live interviews were when I was doing radio. I had so much fun doing radio interviews. So I always asked my agent -- like I really liked doing them because there was just something so much fun about the spoken word. So I, I keep doing these shows, and I, I had a band going where we would do these jazz nights every Friday night at this place. And I added theater. And at one point I was doing two shows and a musical. It was a Colombian musical. And so I was doing everything at once. And then at some point along the lines, I did an animated show. So they asked me to do an animated show. And so that, I got to do like a whole, that was a whole different world for me. And that's when I really kind of --
Anne: Started voiceover maybe.
Pilar: Yes, that's when I started voiceover. Thank you.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And um --
Anne: Sounds like voiceover to me.
Pilar: And it, it was so much fun though. 'Cause it was different voices and I got to really play around with it. And since they didn't really know what they wanted, I got to do the voices. I got to give them voices.
Anne: So let me ask you a question. Now you're doing an animated show, and you're doing voices. Had you in your acting, your previous acting experience or had you had opportunities to do voices or were you training so that you could create different voices for different characters for acting?
Pilar: None whatsoever.
Anne: Okay. So these were --
Pilar: No, no.
Anne: -- just things that you just brought out to life and --
Pilar: They just asked me to do it. So I did. So they would say, well, let's try this. She's a little bit younger. So I would, I would do a younger voice. And so let's try this person 'cause they're this loud, obnoxious teacher. So I would do this loud, obnoxious teacher.
Anne: Had you played around with voices --
Pilar: No.
Anne: -- when you were young?
Pilar: That's not true. My mother would say absolutely because I used to be -- I was a great mimicker from the time I was a kid.
Anne: Got it, got it.
Pilar: I had a very good friend of mine's mother was German. So I would speak with the German accent and you know, I hear nothign, I see nothing.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: I would -- I was a great mimic when I was a kid.
Anne: You know what's so interesting. I just want to break in a little bit.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: Because I find that where we are in life today, a lot of people that, that kind of tend to follow their heart, follow their dreams end up doing a lot of the same things that they do when they're children. So if you're mimicking, right, when you're a child, like I taught my dolls and I was this teacher for 20 years in front of the classroom. And I do e-learning today. So it's just so interesting that things that I loved when I was a kid, I just brought right through to my, up to my adulthood and to what I bring to my work. So, you mimicking and probably you acted. Did you -- I put on little plays too.
Pilar: I can so see you doing that, Anne. I don't know why. I can see you as like a little mini Anne with, with her little glasses --
Anne: As a mini Anne.
Pilar: -- just kind of, sort of like a little, like a little chorus and kind of like conducting your dolls. Right?
Anne: Yeah. I did. I loved it. I loved it. And I brought it right up. I still do that today. It's so interesting. I think if everybody looks back to their childhood, if they're following their heart or, you know, I always say following my gut. I do both. I do it in my business and in my personal life, I follow my gut, and I really believe that we bring those things from our childhood, and it brings me a lot of joy. I'm pretty sure it brings you joy too.
Pilar: I agree. That's so interesting that you bring that up. I really, and truly -- I hadn't, I kind of knew that on an intellectual level, but if I, if I really feel it in my gut, that is absolutely where I get joy --
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: -- was from when I was a kid, and I would do that and I would make other people laugh. I would make my mother laugh all the time, you know?
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: Wow.
Anne: So then yeah, so now you've transitioned, or not necessarily transitioned, but you've added to your repertoire some animation and voiceover.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: Wow.
Pilar: Yes.
Anne: Without even knowing it.
Pilar: It was just, it was, it was there. The opportunity was there, because I lived in a -- Bogotá is a place where everything is together. That's not really the case anymore, but it used to be that Los Angeles where it was where you did film and television, New York was where you did more theater.
Anne: Yeah.
Pilar: And theater, yes. Theater, was in the 50's, there was more television. And then I don't know why or, or what I mean, and I don't know the history of this, but it just became more of a theater town, and you know, then, you know, slowly but surely, they started doing the studios in Queens, and then more film and television came, and now there's a whole bunch more voiceover. And there always was that, but I feel like LA was the big place for all that stuff. And so Bogotá kind of did -- had everything. So I had a lot more opportunity --
Anne: Interesting.
Pilar: -- to, to kind of --
Anne: Broaden.
Pilar: Yeah, yeah. Broaden my horizons that way. So I basically just went from show to show to show. I never really stopped. There was one show that I did. It was the last show that I got to play a bolero and ranchera singer. I was hired on the basis of, I actually did a, uh -- back in, I was on a, this thing called Restaurant Row in New York, Cabaret Row. It's called, Don't Tell Mama. And I did this show called, um, I can't remember what it was. It was, it was a revue. And I played this character called Nora the Dominatrix. There was this one song that I had to sing. And it was "you ache for the touch of my lips dear, but much more for the touch of my whips, dear. I can raise welts. Like nobody else, as we dance to the domination tango."
Anne: Love it.
Pilar: So it was, it was so hysterical. And I was, I was all decked out in this whole dominatrix costume. And that was a whole, I actually, to get the costume, when I lived in New York, I went to Patricia Field, which back then, which was on 8th Street. And I walked in and I had to look for like, like I was looking for, I didn't know what I was really looking for. And this one, beautiful, beautiful, tall transvestite comes and says, can I help you, dear? And she had this long blonde hair. And so I'm like, I have no idea what I'm looking for, 'cause I don't know what a dominatrix looks like. I'm supposed to dress like a dominatrix. So there's this woman and she's kind of mousy. She's got a long raincoat on, and she's looking around and the salesperson's helping me.
And then she comes up to me and she says, what are you looking for? And I said, well, I don't really know what a dominatrix looks like. She said, I'm a dominatrix. And I look at her and I'm like, oh, and I'm like, do you mind if I get my pen and paper out? She starts telling me what a dominatrix does. She gave me all this information. So I get the outfit and, you know, dog collar, little short shorts, you know, the whole thing, the fishnet stock and a whip.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Pilar: So for the audition that I did for the, back to what we're talking about, for this show, I wore that whole costume, and they were like, you got the job.
Anne: Yep.
Pilar: So --
Anne: You walked in, you got it.
Pilar: Exactly. And I'm wearing like a little, a little blonde wig. So I had to sing when it was my turn to sing and I don't know why this is, but it was, it was really kind of a unique situation. It was my responsibility. So I would hire these guys, which of course the network paid for. But I, I would hire these -- a mariachi band, and they would come to the studio, and we would sing this song or wherever. And then I would learn the song for that week. And so it was like a little performance. So it was like, I was doing like a little play within the show, and it was such a great experience because I didn't have much time. So I had to -- it was like learning copy.
Anne: Sure.
Pilar: It's like, I had to, I had to learn the song quickly and have it as if I --
Anne: And deliver.
Pilar: And deliver. So it was like, it was all of what I'm describing was just great practice for what I do today.
Anne: So now do you come back to New York after a certain amount of time? Or how long are you down in Colombia?
Pilar: Nine years.
Anne: Okay.
Pilar: I'm in, I'm in Colombia for nine years. And so I do all these different things, and my father passed away in '99, and that's when I realized kind of wanted to be near my mother and my sister. But I'm thinking, I don't know if I want to go back to New York. I'd like to try something different. And I thought, well, and I'd always been in love with Miami, because it was so beautiful --
Anne: Yup.
Pilar: -- and just like, Ugh. So I wanted to go to LA, but I was too scared. I was like, it's just too big. It's just, there's just too much. I thought, let me try Miami. It's another market. Let me see what it's like.
Anne: All right.
Pilar: So I get to Miami, I have cousins there and I, I live with them, and I'm like, well, you know, I've been a telenovella actress for the past nine years. I've got all this body of work. I'm set, and I get there, and I don't get one job for a year. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm starting again.
Anne: And here starts your life in Miami.
Pilar: Yeah.
Anne: And actually this is a good segue for part two. Part two. So yeah. So we're going to be continuing the story, which is a very interesting story, because I can draw so many parallels to see how you've evolved, how you've grown, and it really draws so many parallels to the voiceover industry and how you can grow as an artist anywhere really, whether you're doing voiceover acting, in television, theater on the stage; it really is such a wonderful, I guess, reveal, Pilar, of your career and how we can, we can learn from that.
So I'd like to give a great, big shout out right now to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS. You can find out more at ipdtl.com. Pilar, I cannot wait for our next episode to continue the conversation. So thank you so much for being with me today. And we will come back for part two in the next episode. Take care, BOSSes. Bye!
Pilar: Thank you, Anne. This was a pleasure.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Picture this: a boot camp that teaches essential marketing skills + lands you a job in 6 months. Unheard of…until now. Anne is joined by special guest Mehak Vohra for a bonus Modern Mindset episode. They cover education reform, the trials and triumphs of entrepreneurship, dropping out of school, and running for mayor…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza. And today I'm thrilled to welcome special guest Mehak Vohra, CEO and founder of SkillBank to the show. Mehak started her career as a computer science student at Purdue University and after her sophomore year dropped out at the ripe old age of 19 and moved to San Francisco. Her goal was to build the most scalable marketing agency in the world. And I think she's done an amazing job so far. She ran Jamocha Media for four years, and at her peak, she was generating one to 2 million views per month on LinkedIn. That's some goals for us BOSSes out here. For herself and her clients, she has probably more than 30,000 followers by now, because the last time I checked your bio was a few months ago, on TikTok. She's the youngest person to ever run for mayor in San Francisco's history. Mehak, thank you so much for joining me today.
Mehak: Thank you so much for having me.
Anne: I'm so excited because as I've been trying to get to interview you, because I'm so impressed with what you have done in such a short amount of time in your short career. And I noticed in your bio, you made a point to mention that you had dropped out of college after your sophomore year. And I can only imagine that you must've had a pretty good reason for doing that, and that you were maybe not getting what you needed at the time or realize that there were bigger and better opportunities outside of college for you. So would you mind speaking to us about that?
Mehak: Yeah, for sure. So, you know, I grew up in a family where it was super important to go to college. My parents both went through multiple years of schooling. So for me to turn around and be like, hey guys, I don't think that college is the right spot for me, I had to really sit back and think about like what what's really important to me and where -- what's the direction that I want to go into. And from what I've seen, especially within the marketing world and the startup world, uh, it's not that important to have a degree anymore. People want to see that you're, you're experienced, you're putting yourself out there, you're trying new things, and that's how you're supposed to build your resume today. And I just realized that I wasn't doing that in college. So I was able to make that point to my parents and just say that, hey, I actually think I'm going to learn a lot more moving out to San Francisco, doing things on my own, putting myself out there than I am if I sat in the classroom. So it was, it was a hard thing to, to show them. But at the end of the day it was, it was the right move for me because I'm just not a person who learns well listening to someone talk at me for a few hours.
Anne: Very interesting. You know, and as we have discussed before, I have a long, a long career in, and I actually worked for a magnet school, which yeah, actually did a hands-on, project-based curriculum, which worked really well for the students who were just really motivated in wanting to go do things and, and run the world, kind of, kind of thing. So it worked really well. So I understand that mentality a lot. And I do believe that there needs to be some changes in our educational system to serve the students better. And I feel like you have probably encapsulated that with SkillBank, and prior to that with your other media companies. So talk to us a little bit about your Jamocha Media company first, and then I'd love to hear about SkillBank.
Mehak: Yeah. So Jamocha Media started off as a vehicle for me to learn on other people's dime. So if I wanted to build websites or if I wanted to create content, or I was trying to pick up a social media client, whatever it might be, I just put them all under Jamocha Media as a client. And over the span of four years, we slowly were able to start to scale things up, going from making websites for people to running the social media accounts, to building people a presence on LinkedIn. And after about three or four years of working on Jamocha, we had basically figured out a formula around how to get people a viewership on LinkedIn. So we were, like you said, we were pulling in about anywhere from like 2 to 3 million views a month in the platform. And it was, it was really interesting to see how things grow online and how like, once you figure out that formula and that way to get things to work, you can blow anyone up and help anyone build a brand and a presence online.
So that's really what we focused on at Jamocha. Towards the end of my time working on it, it was how do we, how do we at scale help a lot of people build their personal brands online? It was just a way for me in the beginning to experiment and just to try out different things. And slowly we just niched down into LinkedIn.
Anne: Well, you know, I think it really says something too. I know that when I was an adjunct professor, I was teaching social media at a college, and it was really a difficult thing to do because I had to keep creating new curriculum in order to stay current. And that was something that was so difficult to get through the paperwork, the process, the revisions, and, and even to get funding for, because I was teaching, gosh, it was how many years ago, Facebook ads when they were just coming out. And it was hard to actually teach unless I could actually do it myself. And so I had to fund my own ads so that I could actually show how that worked. And so I completely understand that there's definitely, in terms of like keeping things current and relevant and trying to get that through the university level educational system, it's just very difficult. So you really found a great place, I think, and something that's very needed for today, for today's entrepreneur.
Mehak: Yeah. That's, that's really cool. And you know, it's, it's one of those things that as I was building out Jamocha like you said, things were constantly changing.
Anne: Yeah.
Mehak: The algorithms were changing, the way that people were interacting with LinkedIn was changing. And that's what eventually actually was the reason why I ended up leaving Jamocha and not wanting to work on it anymore was because it was -- over time, it was just became so much harder to scale because things were changing so quickly. And I realized if we couldn't scale the services that we were giving people, because we were so dependent on the platforms, maybe we could scale the people that were giving the services. And that's what led me into wanting to start SkillBank, because we realized if we could teach people how to learn, and how to stay on top of the trends, and how to stay on top of social media, and how these platforms work, then maybe we can, we can build a scalable agency that way. And yeah, that's, that's how a SkillBank was born.
Anne: Excellent. Excellent. I love the idea behind that, because it really is something that I feel that it's a constant process where to be successful out there and to keep up, you constantly have to be learning. And there are so many people, creatives in the entrepreneur world, that are not necessarily technologically inclined, nor are they inclined to understand marketing. That's not really their background. So I think having an educational platform that can really teach people how to learn and teach people and get them started, I think that's a wonderful idea. Tell me a little bit about the unique program that you have with Skillbank. What does it offer?
Mehak: Yeah, so we actually started off teaching just growth marketing. So like -- actually not just; it was like everything under the sun; it was very general. So we taught paid media, so Facebook ads and Google ads. We taught organic marketing. We taught social media, uh, and it was always in 15 weeks. And we ran our first five cohorts doing that. And what we found was is our students that were leaving the program were -- they're having some trouble finding jobs. You know, they were like, this is Jack of all trades. They just didn't quite understand one thing really well. And it was hard for them to take that with them into their next job because they just didn't learn a specific thing. So that's when we decided to pivot. So now we just teach paid media. We just teach Facebook ads and Google ads over the span of 15 weeks. And within that time period, we get you agency ready and connect you with agencies at the end of the program. So that way we can help you land a full-time job doing paid media or being a paid media specialist or an account executive at an agency.
Anne: Wow. That's fantastic. That's even above and beyond just teaching you how to do paid ads. So that's fantastic you even place people. And so how long have you been doing this program and how have your placements gone?
Mehak: Yeah, so we, we just moved over into doing paid media in March.
Anne: Okay.
Mehak: So right now, based on the people that are, when someone graduates from the program, we're seeing about a 70-75% placement rate right now.
Anne: Nice.
Mehak: It hasn't been a full 180 days yet. And that's usually the industry standard for graduating from something and then landing a job. But we're expecting that number to definitely rise and get a lot higher. The curriculum is also getting better and better. We're using previous students that are coming back to us saying that, hey, you know, we wish maybe we would have learned this. And then we add that into our curriculum. So it's a really iterative process. And because the classes are so short, we really iterate it with the students as well. So every cohort so far has just been getting better and better and better.
Anne: So are you offering these classes, are they -- to the general public?
Mehak: Yes.
Anne: I mean, what is your typical student look like? Are they young? Are they people who've been out in the industry for a while, and they come and they, they're like, I really need to know how to do paid? How, how is that working?
Mehak: Our ideal demographic of the student is someone that is just ready to work. They're motivated, they're ready to land that job. We've taken people that are working at Starbucks like 50 to 60 hour weeks to now working at an agency full-time within the span of four to five months. So if you, if you know that marketing is something that you want to get into, you're motivated, you're willing to put the work in, we'll help you get to that next step. I think a lot of people come to SkillBank expecting us to be a silver bullet. You know, like they'll come into the program. We'll, we'll just hand you a job.
Anne: Yeah.
Mehak: And this is not how it works at all. So as long as you're motivated and you, you know that you're coming in and you have to put in a lot of time and effort, we can help you get over to that next phase. But right now on average, our classes, I think the age is anywhere between about 28 to about 35.
Anne: Okay, okay.
Mehak: And yeah, it's people that are in all different types of fields. We have people that are working at Starbucks, CVS to people that are making a career shift from programming because they aren't enjoying sitting behind the computer. So yeah, it really just depends on where you are, but you're just ready to work at an agency and get a job.
Anne: So your program is also very unique and very different because you pay nothing until you land a job. Talk to me about that.
Mehak: Yeah. So we, we really believe that opportunity should be to anyone that wants to work hard and wants to put in the work and wants to put in the effort. Opportunity shouldn't just be based on where you're from, what your educational background is or who you know, And to make opportunities available to people that are willing to work hard, we decided to make the program completely free upfront. So what that means is, is after you have graduated from our program and you're making over $30,000 a year, that's when you start to pay us back 10% of your salary --
Anne: Got it.
Mehak: -- and that's over two years.
Anne: Okay. Okay. Wow. That's a really unique idea. I think that's fantastic, especially with the way education is costing these days. It's something that truly is, again, so many people are talking about how we really need like educational reform. And this is a really wonderful way to do that. So how has it worked out so far?
Mehak: It's been great. You know, whenever people come into the program, we're very, very, hands-on from the moment they enter to the moment that they leave. So, uh, once people actually land that job, it's been really exciting to see people through that process. And, you know, we've, we've been able to build a really strong community with everyone that's gone through the program, has graduated, been placed. And because of that, it's a lifelong thing. It's not just you go through the program and then you get a job and then you never hear from us again. Um, we're still throwing events. We're still in touch with a lot of the students. The students are coming back to talk to new students. So it's, it's been really good. It's been really cool to see people grow and come into their own over the span of a year since we've started.
Anne: And this is 100% remote, correct?
Mehak: Yeah. Completely remote. All of our classes take place on Zoom, and they're in the evenings. So that way you can do your full-time day job and then come and take us whenever you get.
Anne: Nice. And so you were mentioning that some of your students come back. They come back to talk to the current students, but do you also have programs like refresher programs in terms of -- 'cause as we say, everything changes so frequently. Are you thinking of offering refresher programs or maybe paid programs that if people two years ago, you know --
Mehak: Yeah, for sure.
Anne: -- they might need something new? Yeah.
Mehak: Absolutely. You know, I think the biggest thing that we really push on in the program from day one is that we're trying to teach them how to learn. So we'll give you those, those building blocks and those stepping stones and help you get started. But a lot of our program is centered around, how do you read documentation? How do you get started on something on your own? How do you do research? Because the last thing that we want is our students are falling behind, because they were just shown how to do something, and then they just know how to do that thing. So we really put a really big emphasis on the program for them to learn. Uh, but over the span of the next few months, we're launching a lot of really exciting new things in SkillBank. So we have, we'll have a portal that's launching that they can actually come in and review classes that they had in the past.
Anne: Oh nice.
Mehak: They'll be able to see previous curriculum -- curriculum as it's being updated. And then we also offer to the students that if they want to come in and sit in on a class again, they're more than welcome to come and do that.
Anne: Oh, that's fantastic. So in terms of the classes that you're offering, they're just becoming more and more. What is your staff like? How many teachers do you have?
Mehak: Yeah, so we, we currently have right now about two instructors per cohort, one that acts as more of a TA and is around to help. And then, um, your main instructor and then, yeah, you know, our, our team is really small, but we, we hit all the things. So whenever a student comes into a program, they get assigned to a career advisor and, um, this career advisors with them throughout their time in the program to help them with preparing for mock interviews, getting the resume together, um, getting interviews together, salary negotiations, we cover all of that. And then you have your career advisor that's with you through that program. We also have our admissions counselor who's there with you to make sure that you understand the contract that you're signing and there to just help you throughout your time and to make sure that you're getting the support that you need along with your instructors.
Anne: Yeah. I was going to ask you about the admissions. Is there a vetting process to, to enroll?
Mehak: Yes, absolutely. Because the biggest thing, like I said earlier, is we want to make sure that you're ready to work, and you're ready to land a job within the next three to six months. If you're not in that place in your life, then SkillBank is not the place for you because the whole program is centered around helping you land a full-time job within the next six months.
Anne: Now, are you teaching job search or the placement? Are you always placing people or are you teaching about job searching and resume?
Mehak: -- teach about job search. Yeah, so we covered job search, we cover resume building, but a lot of our placement strategy right now, we have agencies that we're partnered with that we'll send out resumes to. And that's been a really great funnel for us, but also students will come to us and say, hey, I found this company that I'm really excited to work at, and then we'll help you prepare. And if it's someone that's within our network or our investors know, we will make intros as well. So we're really hands-on with the students to make sure that we're placing them into the type of company that they want to work at. But it's also just really important that if you do come into our program with that expectation of us placing you, that you also understand that you have to put in that work as well.
Anne: Sure.
Mehak: You still have to get your resume together. You still have to prepare for mock interviews. Like I said earlier, students sometimes come into the program expecting that like, okay, I graduated, and now SkillBank will help me land a job. And it doesn't work like that. The companies that we're partnered with still want to see that you're coming in prepared and that you know what you're talking about.
Anne: Sure, sure. What do you see for the future of SkillBank? What are you looking to do?
Mehak: Yeah, absolutely. So the whole premise of SkillBank is we want to help you learn market ready skills as quickly as possible so that we can go and land a job. So right now we're just focusing on marketing. It's paid media. We plan on going into organic at some point in the next couple of years, lifecycle marketing. And then eventually we want to completely own the non-technical space, moving into sales, operations. I think, you know, there's a lot of coding boot camps out there that are covering the technical aspects, the data boot camps. We want to cover everything that's non-technical. And then the really beautiful thing about that is it's not about putting the reps by on your own. It's just about learning, how do these platforms work, and then just learning just enough so that way we can actually help you get your foot in the door within that field. So our structure is a lot different and a lot quicker than these bootcamps that'll take 9 to 12 months to help you land a job that are a lot more technical.
Anne: So talk to me a little bit about, because I'm so interested, the, the mayor.
Mehak: Yes.
Anne: Was that, was that before SkillBank or after Jamocha and before SkillBank --
Mehak: Way before SkillBank.
Anne: So talk to me about, yeah, your interest in running for mayor. I think that's really inspiring.
Mehak: Yeah. You know, I been living in SF for a couple of years when I decided to run, and I was just, I was really inspired by just the city. You know, there was, I was learning so much while I was there. It's just, it's such a beautiful city. And I just, I looked around at my friends and the people that were there and I was working with, and I, you know, it just, I realized that there wasn't -- there wasn't much ownership from my age group around how the city was progressing and the way things were going. And I realized that maybe I could take that into my own hands and maybe try to bring some more awareness and excitement to the SF political system. I highly recommend not running at such a young age.
Anne: What did you learn?
Mehak: It was a -- I learned SF politics is very interesting place to be in, but you know, at the same time, I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot about the system. I learned a lot about just how SF politics works, how California politics works. Uh, but yeah, definitely never doing that again.
Anne: But it might've opened up your networking circle or maybe not the way you intended it to.
Mehak: Yeah. You know, it was quite an experience. I don't know. I'm not really interacting with those people right now --
Anne: Right.
Mehak: -- just based on what we're doing with SkillBank --
Anne: Sure.
Mehak: -- but yeah. You know, I think overall I learned a lot just about what with SF politics right now they're really focusing on.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. Well, what I love about it is that it's, it's just bold. It was such a bold move. And I think that that's such a trait of a, an amazing entrepreneur. So for my BOSSes out there that listen to this podcast who are entrepreneurs and all ages, really. As a matter of fact, I know quite a few of them are probably not millennial age. They're a little bit older, maybe thinking about this as a new career for them -- what would be your best advice for entrepreneurship? How can they build and grow a business today? It's such a crazy world out there. What would be your best tips?
Mehak: Yeah, my, my first piece of advice to someone who comes up to me, and they're like, hey, should I start a business? Should I get into entrepreneurship? My first thing is to say, don't do it. And then if, and then if you hear that, and you're like, no, I still want to do it, then it's like, okay, here's, here's the things that you really need to think about. You have to build something that you're really passionate about. You can't start a business in a space -- because startups are hard, you know?
Anne: Yeah.
Mehak: There's days that work, there's days that things are working and like you're on cloud nine. And then the next day things are crashing and burning.
Anne: Yeah.
Mehak: And if you don't have conviction around what you're building and what you're excited about doing, you're setting yourself up for failure. So I think that's, that's the main thing that you really want to keep close to you. Is it, is this the thing that you want to be building? Is this the thing that you see yourself spending your time on? And if you're passionate about creating something and building something, I think entrepreneurship is the right place for you to be in. I think if you're in it for the money, if you're in it for fame or just not the actual process of building something and seeing something come to life, I think you're going to have a lot of trouble within that process. So I think just making sure that your incentives are aligned correctly and you know why you're doing what you're doing, I think that's, that's the biggest thing.
Anne: So then we're convinced and we're passionate and we start our business. What would you say are the best ways to market that business in today's highly technical, online world and digitally chaotic, I should say, digitally chaotic?
Mehak: For sure.
Anne: So it's hard to get noticed.
Mehak: There's two ways you can drive traffic. It's organically, or you can drive traffic through paid media. I think if you're going to take the paid media route, make sure that you have a budget so you can test things out.
Anne: Sure.
Mehak: But if you're going to take the organic route, I've been recommending to all my friends to start using TikTok. I think TikTok has an incredible algorithm for how they actually help you find an audience. If you're creating content that's engaging, is fun, it's following the trends, you'll be able to build an audience relatively quickly. I actually just picked up TikTok maybe about a month ago and probably pulled in about 4 million views, 10,000 new followers. And, you know, it's just by consistently putting things out and watching what other creators are doing within your space, you can sell, you can sell products, you can build a brand. Um, and I think TikTok is the best place to do that. And they'll also funnel an audience to your Instagram and to your YouTube. So yeah, I highly recommend taking the TikTok route.
Anne: So then are you, are you talking about SkillBank on TikTok or are you just --
Mehak: For sure.
Anne: -- okay. Is that the kind of content that you're putting out on TikTok?
Mehak: Yeah, so, I mean, it's, it's a mix, right? My personal TikTok has a lot to do with just me. So it's like, you know, like we'll push a lot of content around. Like one of my employees is like running -- that's running the SkillBank TikTok, she'll push something up that's like making fun of me or making fun of my TikTok. And then like, we'll do a little back and forth. Uh, you know, we just, we found the voice, right? So it's like, my TikTok is more mainly about me and like telling my stories, but I talk a lot about SkillBank --
Anne: Okay.
Mehak: -- or like being a CEO or like running my company. And it's through that process of getting to know me, you also get to know SkillBank, but then on the SkillBank page, we're like really focusing on how do we get people to understand what our value props are, what we're trying to teach, who our students are, where you can land a job. Yeah. I think it's, it's, it's a lot of trial and error. I've seen other companies that are just like straight to the punch --
Anne: Sure.
Mehak: -- of just, hey, this is our product. This is what we do. And like, come buy it. And then they're, they found creative ways to do that and they're blowing up, but then you have other companies like Duolingo on TikTok that are being really funny. And they've like literally found a mascot that like walks around and like is like doing really silly stuff. So I think it just depends on what you're trying to do and who your, what kind of audience you're going after, but everyone is on TikTok from my mom to my little sister.
Anne: And what's so interesting I know for a lot of people in our industry, voice talent, voice talent, you know, long time ago when people would ask, well, why did you want to get into voiceover, a lot of people would say, well, because I don't want to be on camera. I wanted to be an actor, but I didn't want to be on camera. So interestingly enough, and of course, video, I think is the medium that people are able to digest it easier than other types of media. So I think that it's absolutely effective for marketing, but I know a lot of our BOSSes out there are very resistant to actually going on to video. But I do know some of them that have really made a mark with their TikTok accounts. Any other platforms that you like?
Mehak: Yeah. I think TikTok's the best. I think YouTube, if you're trying to maybe post more tutorials or how to's, if it's the tutorial that people are searching for, you can build a brand that way. YouTube's a search engine at the end of the day.
Anne: Yeah.
Mehak: So if you're creating content that people are searching for, you can build a brand there. And then I think Instagram is a really good place to be your homepage on the web right now.
Anne: Okay.
Mehak: You can have your link, your content, but if you're trying to build a brand, TikTok is by far the best place to be right now.
Anne: Okay. Any final advice for BOSS entrepreneurs out there?
Mehak: Absolutely. You know, just work hard and find what makes you happy, find what makes you excited to get up in the morning. And if you can figure that out, all of the money and the success and the fame and everything else will come along with that.
Anne: I love it. I love it. Mehak, it has been such a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you so much.
Mehak: Thank you so much for having me. This was great.
Anne: I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, be BOSSes, go out and do something that you love and have an amazing week, and we'll see you next week. Bye.
Mehak: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Have you deconstructed the pay-to-play algorithm? We haven’t either, but we’re close! In this episode, Anne & Laya discuss the evolution of P2P’s from a talent-client connection tool to the modern algorithmic matching game. They share how to use P2P’s as a learning tool, how to build them into your business model, and why they have such a polarizing reputation… Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza along with my very, very special guest cohost Laya Hoffman.
Laya: Hey Anne.
Anne: Good morning, Laya. How are you?
Laya: Good morning. It's chilly and the a -- in the dirty south, but I'm hanging in there. Glad to be back talking with you, of course. We always have such great conversations these days. I'm loving it.
Anne: Yeah. That we do. And I wanted to kind of talk a little bit. We had talked last episode about casting, and we touched upon pay-to-plays --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and that's always such a big topic in the voiceover land.
Laya: Sure is.
Anne: And I thought that it would be something that we could talk about today and just share our experiences that we've had, successes, I don't know, fails. Yeah. Let's let's chat about pay-to-play, shall we?
Laya: We shall. I have quite a bit of experience. I think I have like a modern mindset perspective on pay-to-plays. So it'd be a great fit for our theme, right?
Anne: Let's go from the old mindset first, because I --
Laya: Okay.
Anne: -- back in the day, I swear it was like back in 2000-something when Voice123 came onto the scene. I was an early, early adopter of that.
Laya: As was I.
Anne: Yep, and I remember having quite a bit of success with Voice123. I actually really loved the model because it allowed me to upload all my demos and samples and basically get job opportunities from different clients. And there was basically no interference. I got to have the opportunity from the client, communicate with the client, book a job with a client. And then actually a lot of times the client would just then come to me without necessarily having to go through Voice123 for the next job. So I kind of liked that. It was a win situation I think for all of us because I paid a membership fee to Voice123, and I got my job. And then every once in a while, if I had repeat clients, they would come back to me, not necessarily having to go through Voice123, but it wouldn't have even mattered to be honest with you, because if they favorited me, they didn't have to audition again. So it just worked out really well. And it has certainly evolved over the years. It's been a good 15 or so years now of pay-to-plays being on the scene. There are so many more of them.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: But I found them to be extremely lucrative in the beginning when I started. And now I've got a different opinion, but let me hear about your -- let's hear about your experience --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- in the beginning with pay-to-plays.
Laya: Yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, as we've mentioned before, you know, I really only dove in full time about three years ago, but I'd always been doing voice work. And I was an early adopter of Voice123 as well. I've been a member since 2011, so over 10 years. And that was just back when it was kind of toying with this cool, you know, I mean, everything on the web seemed to be fresh and new.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And they were among the first to kind of harness the power of connecting talent with buyers. Right? And so how great. They made it easy, they kind of one-stop shopped it, and they didn't get in your way. And the price was fair because there wasn't a whole lot of reach.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I mean, we all know how this has evolved over the last few years, especially. It's been a different experience for a lot of people, but I had the same experience you did early on. And then I kind of went dormant for several years. Didn't really put a whole lot of effort in, but on occasion I would still get hit up even with my like really crappy samples back then. I didn't know what I was doing. And so it was kind of a nice lead source, right? Lead gen for me.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Laya: And I think it was for a lot of people. So I'm glad you share the same sentiment.
Anne: Yeah. Now, I think it's fair to say that any pay-to-play, no matter what, seems to be a game of having really great demos and not just one of them uploaded on a pay-to-play.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: I think all of the pay-to-plays subscribed to that. The more samples that you have -- because it's all a matching game. It's all a search algorithm and a matching game. And that's kind of like the secret of Google, but in pay-to-plays, right?
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: We all were trying to debug the algorithm so that we could get the opportunities sooner and faster and get more of those either likes or stars on the system. And I just remember probably going back maybe close to eight to ten years ago, people started then having classes on here's how to optimize your experience, right? Or this is what you want to -- kind of like how to optimize your profile on a pay-to-play.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So for BOSSes out there, I want to say that pay-to-plays are absolutely a part of this industry. They're not going away anytime soon.
Laya: Nope, that's right.
Anne: And I do believe that they are part of your opportunities that you need to look out for when you are trying to get business and grow your voiceover business.
Laya: Yeah. I would agree with you, Anne, and I actually -- you know, there is such a negative connotation about pay-to-plays, whether people are on -- I will wrap the Fiverrs of the world into the pay-to-play model, just because in a way you are optimizing a profile.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: You're using somebody else's house to promote your business --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- as opposed to just doing it yourself on your own website, your own LinkedIn page, et cetera. But I think no matter how you cut your marketing pie and your opportunity pie, you got to eat from each of those sections, especially in the beginning just to get your footing. Right?
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Just to kind of understand what is out there, what types of reads suit you best, where you sit. I mean, I said it on a previous episode and it's absolutely true, although I'm not entirely proud of it. Early on the pay-to-plays to me were practice ground.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And I know that's not the popular way to think of those things because you are putting yourself out there, and it's important that you do so with dignity and grace and respect and present a professional profile, no matter what, but that's how I learned some things --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- in the privacy of my home, in my studio, in my mic, my Skid Row Studios.
Anne: And you know what I understand the thought process of here you are putting yourself out there and maybe you're not putting yourself out there with the best foot forward, but at some point you do have to put yourself out there, and your very first time that you put your voice out there, it's not going to be optimal. And so I think where else, right? Whereas I think a better place -- and I'm not saying that you're going to learn, I think probably more by doing it in kind of an open marketplace, and here's the deal. There's always, there's always clients out there. Right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And so the one client that might hear your sample and says, "oh, you know, that's not up to par" or maybe they hear your audition, and they're like, "oh no, that's not" -- I mean, the one thing that you don't want is maybe a negative rating because that will hurt you on the pay-to-plays. You don't want to have people --
Laya: For sure.
Anne: -- saying things, but I don't think in the normal run of things that somebody's gonna rate you -- well, they might rate you poorly or write a note and say, well, I would never hire this person.
Laya: No.
Anne: I think that in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't happen, and I would consider it an investment in your business, an investment to finding out here are the types of jobs that are available out there and get yourself used to the different styles. I think once you've coached, you've created your demos, and you're not actively out there coaching, you may not see the current relevant scripts or styles that are out there and being hired. So I think that's --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- so important to do that. So I think pay-to-plays are definitely something that you should have in your toolbox. And like you said, you're paying to play in someone else's house. I prefer always to have the control in my house, but you know, when you're first starting, I think you have to just create as many opportunities as you can.
Laya: Yeah. I would agree with that. And the other thing I like about pay-to-plays that I don't think we talk enough about is the opportunity to learn from others. You know, you can go onto voices.com, not as a member and not have a profile yourself --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and just learn from the top tier talent that are booking every week. You know, they've got their top tens in female, in male, top 100 this month, you know, biggest earners, top 10. And you can go scrub through those profiles --
Anne: Listen. Yup.
Laya: -- and learn by listening --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and by reading how they optimize or how they describe their voice or vocal tone, some of their capabilities, some of their sound-alikes, you know, and that in itself, I think every profile on every one of these pay-to-play opportunities, there is something to learn there, if you're willing to take the time with open eyes and an open mind to really see what everyone else is bringing to the table. And that way you can learn, whether you're a VO pro or you're a novice, there's always something to learn from these sites. So if we can scrub off the negative connotation on these and really just use them as a learning vehicle, whether it's a practice vehicle or just learning by watching and listening, then there's definitely something to gain whether you're a member or not.
Anne: Yeah. And speaking of the negative connotations for, I dunno, BOSSes just starting out in the industry, there are some online casting pay-to-plays that do not have the best of reputations. And I think if you were to research any of the voiceover groups and do a search for the particular name of the pay-to-play that you might be researching, you'll find lots and lots and lots of discussion about that.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And I think it becomes a personal decision. So just in a nutshell, some of the pay-to-plays have been found to be maybe unscrupulous, maybe some business practices that may not align with what others may think as being ethical. And so I think it really, it really comes down to you. This is your business and you choose who you want to do business with.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So I would say before you invest in any of the pay-to-plays, make sure you're doing some research on which ones you're interested in and see what other people are saying. There's a lot of people saying a couple of these are definitely not practicing ethical business practices. So if you want to align yourself with that business or not, I think that's a personal decision.
Laya: I would agree with that. And you brought up a great point. I don't think enough VO talent use that search resource within voiceover specific groups on Facebook, for instance. You can literally type in Voice123 --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- or Voices or Fiverr or any -- VO Planet, any of the names, the big names. Before you buy your membership, do yourself a favor and scrub those pages, those groups for those keywords, because everybody has done the -- done the work for you.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Trust me, there's probably a million, and everybody's got an opinion, you know.
Anne: Sure do.
Laya: Form your own by reading and taking it with a grain of salt, reading between the lines a little bit, because that's not for us to just go -- we can spend months talking about that.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: And then we're not here for that. Just as a guide to say, there are resources out there that'll give you a look behind the curtain --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and plenty of conversations around this. And again, just do what's best for your business. So I'm happy to share what I've done that's best for mine, if you want to talk about it or we can dive in a little bit.
Anne: Yeah, well, I think one thing I just want to tap off of what you just said is it is all about your business. And I always have my favorite saying, and that is mind your own business, not --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- you know, not into additional sense of, but you need to mind your own business and what's good for you in terms of how you want to invest, how you want to align yourself, how you're going to get those job opportunities, because you know, voiceover is an amazing career. However, it's not an amazing career when you don't have any jobs. So --
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: -- this is a major component of that. And I'll just start off by saying currently now over the years, I've evolved. Thankfully, gratefully I've evolved where I have a nice customer base. I have a nice set of returning customers. I do some direct marketing, and we had talked about that previously as well. And I am a member of a couple of pay-to-plays. However, I'm gratefully busy enough that I don't have time to always audition for them, but they remain in my pocket for times when maybe the job opportunities are on the low side so that I can always, oh, let me go ahead and audition for this. Let's see what happens.
Laya: Right.
Anne: So I have some good experiences with a couple that I feel are aligned with my business, ideals and practices, and they kind of sit there at the ready for me.
Laya: And I think not only are they a resource to tap into when you need them or when you've got a little extra time, especially as you evolved your voiceover business. I'm kind of getting to the same point as well. And I'm super grateful for that.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: But I also keep those profiles optimized --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- and present because their SEO beats the heck out of mine.
Anne: Yup, well, absolutely.
Laya: And I can never put as much advertising into my own business to outweigh the SEO that, let's say, a Voice123 does. They put all their money into that. And they really own the market share in a lot of ways. Now, there are some talent, yourself as one of them, that have incredible SEO and have managed to really make huge leaps and bounds in that area. But for me, who doesn't spend a lot of money or time optimizing my personal site, not as much as I probably could, I use them for a search. You know, I'm just another great voice that they can find in search as part of the --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- bigger marketplace of buyers looking.
Anne: Well, have you seen, if you do a Google search for anything voiceover, the first results that show up are all the voiceover pay-to-plays.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And that's because every member has some form of the word voiceover in their profile --
Laya: Yup, that's right.
Anne: -- we -- you --
Laya: We've done it.
Anne: -- probably couldn't pay enough. Although Fiverr has certainly paid, like I remember, gosh, they've been paying Google ads forever for voiceovers. So if you search for anything voiceover, one of the top results that will show up is Fiverr. So it is an SEO kind of search game. And just as you said, as you optimize your profile -- which that was always a key element, a key strategy. When you are part of a pay-to-play, you want to make sure that you have a profile that is searchable and that can show up when -- when a client wants to find a voice that is compassionate or has experience in, let's say, healthcare or technical. So you want to make sure that that profile is optimized to react to those searches. And there are lots and lots of classes on these and that you can take, if you want some help with that. Laya, I think you mentioned to me before you had taken a class on how to optimize your profile for pay-to-plays.
Laya: Yeah, I sure did. You know, I, it's a tough thing to talk about yourself. When you really put your fingers on the keyboard and you really have got to start to identify what your sample sound is described as, or how do you talk about yourself as a -- from a bio?
Anne: Sure.
Laya: Do you -- is it first person? Is it third person? That sometimes can be a really big block for us creatives because I'm not a copywriter. And certainly I could tell somebody else what they sound like, but it's really hard to narrow down in your own mind what your samples sound like --
Anne: Oh, so true.
Laya: -- and how they stack against anybody else that might be in your same space. And so I found a really great resource in two fellow voice talent, Katherine Toll, and Natasha Marchesky. I hope I'm pronouncing her last name correctly, but they do a service. I think it's called VO Pros or --
Anne: V123 Pros, I believe.
Laya: Yeah. V123 Pros.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And they offered like a, a short course and it was peer-led. Of course they were helping us with that and really trying to figure out how to curate and cultivate keywords that made sense for your voice print. And everyone got to participate together, listening to each other's and then providing feedback. I found that to be incredibly eyeopening because it is so hard to describe your own voice.
Anne: Sure, sure.
Laya: So that's where I started. And then it was so beneficial and so eye opening to me because of course, I am a member of Voice123 and Voices, and I was able to apply those same key words not just on my pay-to-play profiles but on my own website.
Anne: Website.
Laya: Yeah, and so that, I was able to use that information a plethora of ways. And I was so impressed by the process, I actually hired those two talented ladies to optimize my profile one-on-one and just let me take my hands off the wheel because we were going to crash, and it really paid off. So yeah.
Anne: It does help. It does help to have another set of ears listening --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- to you and helping to brand you. I mean, that's just every day when I'm working with students that I'm vocally branding them --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- because it's very hard to brand yourself, as you mentioned.
Laya: Yes, it is.
Anne: And it does help to have others' ears and eyes. And I'll tell you what, one of the most popular podcasts, by the way, BOSS podcasts to this date even is Bad-Ass BOSS Bios.
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: So you can check that out. Yeah. Do a search on that. We have a template that can help you to write your bio. This bio was intended for everything, your website, profiles, and it's how to write your bio better. And those BOSSes out there that are thinking of parallel income streams and multiple passion-preneurs that you are, if you're good at writing, and you're good at writing bios, here's a nice side business for you.
Laya: Yeah, it is. Oh my gosh.
Anne: Because so many people just don't know what to write or it's very difficult. And so that I would say is a great little sideline business.
Laya: Oh, I love that. Yeah. I might need the template myself, because it is, it's hard to kind of present yourself to the world. You know, you get nervous, you get a little anxious, and you want to make sure that you're using, of course, proper punctuation --
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Laya: -- and the right descriptive words, and you're not totally over yourself or underselling yourself.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: That's a big thing too. And so I loved what they were able to curate for my voiceprint. And I've applied that, like I said, to not only my profiles, but my website --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: - so much, so is as soon as we flipped the switch on my profile, and it was optimized fully, I got hit up directly by a very, very nice paying client without even auditioning. So it essentially paid for itself. And that was a win for me. Now, I know that's, you know, maybe not the case in every situation, but that really took a big burden off of my shoulders.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And like we talked about earlier, you know, if you can't do it, outsource it, and those, those two really helped me out. So that was one way to win on pay-to-plays for me. But I found some other ways over the years too. So.
Anne: Well, I do want to make a mention that even if you're not a member of the pay-to-play or we'll just go back and retouch on this topic. If it wasn't evident before, go ahead and create a profile, a free profile --
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: -- because that just helps you in terms of -- the more SEO you can get online, the better.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: So if you can create a free profile, I say, go ahead. I mean, it just makes you available and out there on more search engines. So definitely make sure that you're creating those profiles. I think I had a free profile on a couple of them, and I got direct inquiries from them. So, and I got jobs --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- without even necessarily having to belong to the pay-to-play. So that was always a good thing.
Laya: That's right. Yeah, sure is, Anne. And I don't think people realize that enough. They're like, God, I got to pay for a membership?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Well, yes. And I would say this. For me, my business strategy is if there is going to be an opportunity where I'm going to invest, I want to invest all in at this --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- point in my business.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: I want that premium or that platinum level membership. Because even if, like you mentioned, even if I'm not contributing and doing the auditions on a regular basis, that's going to optimize my visibility to be the cream of the crop when other buyers are looking for voices. So while I may not be active on these sites, at least my profile is hitting --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- the first rung in search. And I find that in itself to be a huge value and actually pay for the cost of, you know, the party. Right?
Anne: Right, right.
Laya: So if you can even get one client out of that, then you may have paid for your year subscription or whatever.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Laya: And that's something to consider.
Anne: Now, you mentioned that there are different levels and that is something -- of these pay-to-plays -- that is something that as of late, right, all of the pay-to-plays, I believe, have kind of taken on this -- well, okay. There was a one membership fee that, you know, for many years you paid one membership fee. And then eventually over the years, I think the majority of them started creating these levels of membership.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And so I think that's where it started for me to really think, whoa, now I see where -- before it was just like, oh, okay. A membership, you know, they make a profit, I get jobs. I make a profit. And I felt like we were on a level playing ground. Then when pay-to-plays became, I don't know, maybe the voiceover industry grew, and they became more competitive with one another. And then they started creating these levels. I thought, huh, I see. I wonder how these levels are actually working, because here's the deal. I love having control over my business. So when somebody is playing around with an algorithm, right --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- and saying, okay, if you pay another amount, you're going to get listed higher in the search engines or you'll get the jobs earlier. Then it really, I start really thinking about, well, I have no control over how they're judging when I'm getting an audition or not.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And will I be first on the list? But it became this kind of race to buy the platinum memberships or buy the high level memberships that would get you the auditions quicker so that you could get the opportunities quicker. And I think for a while, it actually was something that worked for some people. And I think some people, they did not see results. And so all that kind of discussion that started happening made me start to question, okay, so how are these working? My technical brain, 'cause you know, I used to work in technology, started spinning and saying, oh, what are they really doing to get me better opportunities? So I did join a platinum level back in the day. And I did find that I got more opportunities. However, I was so busy that I couldn't take advantage of it as much, which was silly because I paid a lot of money. But I do believe that up to a certain point, paying for those levels and upgrading those levels does give you a better shot. However, I don't know how much control you have over that. I don't know, Laya.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: What are your thoughts about that?
Laya: You know, I feel the same way. It's really, it feels icky, right, when anybody's got their hand out or in your pocket, and you're a solo-preneur.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: You're -- you own your business. And every bit of that investment needs to kind of be cross-checked.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: And if you're not getting the value, and that's not working for your business model, then you know, it's not for you. And that's okay. None of these solutions are for everybody.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: As far as the tiers go for me, there was a point in my career that I had the time, that I wasn't seeing a unique opportunities for my agents, and that the marketing efforts weren't bringing in as regular of bookable opportunities as I would have liked. I was on some production houses, et cetera. But so I really leaned into those, into Voice123 primarily, but Voices as well. And you know, I think what's interesting about those is I did notice a huge change when up-leveled as far as opportunities. I also got a lot of direct bookings that way.
Anne: Myself too.
Laya: Yep. And then private invites, if you're on Voices, by some of account managers. And I think it, depending on if you can book them will depend on whether or not those costs are justified.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: I personally saw a huge increase. And so I stayed at those levels. Now, I've since dropped down because the opportunities in my business is just busier, just like you mentioned, and I don't have time to audition, but I still do prefer more visibility from those premium levels on those sites.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: If I'm going to be there, I want to be at the top, and it's paid off in different ways. It's very hard to really gauge it. And you're a numbers person too. You're technical.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: So you want to- --
Anne: Oh, yeah.
Laya: -- you want to see the ROI.
Anne: Oh, definitely.
Laya: It's very hard to gauge, but if you've been on them long enough and you've made a jump either up or down, I think it's pretty clear that the opportunities go where the levels do. And it's unfortunate they're doing that, but hey, they're business just like we are.
Anne: Absolutely. And I think it's important to include them as opportunities. And now of course, I also include them for opportunities because I like to consider myself an educator in this industry. And so for me, it's also, it's an investment in an experience, right? So I can't tell you how many times, I mean, I've wanted to just join all of the pay-to-plays because I want to have that individual experience that I can then share with my students or share with people in the industry to say, here's my experience, because you know, we all like to help each other and lift each other up --
Laya: Yep.
Anne: -- in this game. So I'm never one to judge anymore about which pay-to-play. That was a thing too, where there was like some public shaming if --
Laya: Yep.
Anne: -- if you belong to one or another. But again, I'm of the thought that we should mind our own businesses and look, who am I to judge someone else if they're going to put food on the table.
Laya: And that's just --
Anne: That's just not --
Laya: Yep, that's right.
Anne: -- my thing.
Laya: That's what it comes down to. And one of the things I heard out there, and again, we don't want to get into it, but is that some agents wouldn't sign you on --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- if you had placement on some of these pay-to-plays.
Anne: I had heard too.
Laya: That's something to consider if that's part of your end game strategy.
Anne: Yep, yeah.
Laya: For me, I want to be with a partner that has my best interest and --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- sometimes, if they can't feed me, I got to eat somewhere.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Laya: So until they can fully pay my entire mortgage and put food --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- on my family's table, I got to do what is best for my business. And for me, it was seeing some of those opportunities.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Now I will say, when it comes to the scrutiny, whether it's, there's hearsay about are these digital models pulling down the overall rates in the industry?
Anne: Yes, that's a big indus- -- that's a big discussion.
Laya: Exactly. And you know what I have to say about that? I think if you're a strong business person and you know what the standard rates are, it's very easy. Everyone can go to the GVAA --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: - and weigh their own rates or their ideas about a project against the rate guide.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And if you really want to stay true to that, which I do, then I only take a look or auditioned for the opportunities that are in alignment --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- with the standard industry rates.
Anne: Absolutely. And that is always a choice. So glad you said that because --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- it is a choice. No matter what pay-to-play platform you're on or whoever you're working with, it is a choice where to put your value, which is why it comes down to know your worth, know your value.
Laya: Right.
Anne: Even on Fiverr, you can, you know what I mean? There's a way to set your value.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And as you mentioned, it is a real thing. There are some agents that will refuse to necessarily look your way if you are involved. And that is with some of the pay-to-plays because that is a brand alignment. And that is something as a business --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- you make that choice, whether you want to align your brand with another brand. And that's why, again, it's that whole kind of -- it's another level of control that's removed from you. If you are choosing to align yourself with a pay-to-play, then make sure that your business and ethical values line up together. And you know what? It is a real thing to other people that may affect your career, agents, casting directors, production houses, they may make a judgment based upon your affiliation. And so that is something to absolutely consider whether or not you want to do that. But at the end of the day, right, we all have the choice of what to do and come on, I'm going to get very real and very honest. Back in the day when I was just starting out in the industry, like, as you mentioned, sometimes we used the pay-to-plays to kind of practice. Sometimes we used to understand the industry better. And a lot of times, well, you know, in the beginning, I might've taken jobs that were under the GVAA rate guide.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: I'm just going to admit it. I think we all do. It's like one of those things that you hide and that you don't ever, just don't mention it because there are people out there saying don't bring the value of the industry down. And I get that.
Laya: Of course.
Anne: But here's the deal. It's going to happen in every industry, not just ours.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: There's always the bottom feeders. And so, you know, it's nice to say we band together, and we know our worth. I think that's the general moral, like, takeaway from that is just know your worth. Know that you're worth more than if you're like, oh my God, I should only because I'm just beginning charge a little bit. No, you know, you've made an investment in your career. You are worth just as much as me, who's had 20 years experience, I'm just saying, when it comes down to it, so know your worth. I think that's the most important thing, and pay-to-plays, they're a viable option, viable option for you, BOSSes.
Laya: Yeah. You can make your choices. You know, you don't have to audition for everything.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: You don't have to put your name in the hat for everything. Just like you don't have to audition for everything that your agent sends. Just like you don't have to say yes to every opportunity a client brings you.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's really your choice and who is anybody else to judge on whether or not that makes sense for your business. So I'm so glad we talked about this.
Anne: Me too.
Laya: I feel like there are many different avenues when it comes to pay-to-plays. I think like we summed up, it all comes down to doing what's best for your business --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- at the time. And the, you know, the pace that's right for your business.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- and for all of us, that's different. So it was a great conversation.
Anne: Yeah. We could probably, we could probably go on and on and on about this, but yeah.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Awesome conversation, BOSSes. So those pay-to-plays are an option for you. Again, do what's best for you and your business. And hey, I'd like to give a great, big shout-out to another business who is upping my value here and upping our value for the VO BOSS podcast. And that is ipDTL. You guys can learn to connect and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and we'll see you next week.
Laya: Thanks.
Anne: Bye.
Laya: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
The synthetic voice conversation is here. Do you want a seat at the table? Anne is joined by special guest Jon Stine for a bonus Voice & Ai episode. They cover what the Open Voice Network (OVN) is, how to be a part of it, and the importance of asking questions. What are the regulations for synthetic voices, how can VO industry members get involved, and are we willing to create the standards before they’re made for us…
Just in case you were wondering, you definitely wear all the hats now. In today’s modern at-home recording world, you’re the voice, engineer, customer service department, and tech wizard of each session; and some of those hats can get pretty cumbersome. In this episode, Anne and Laya discuss what it takes to be a BOSS in the booth, and how to maximize your potential success with tools, tech, and processes that work. It’s not enough to just have a great voice or be an excellent performer anymore, but being a #VOBOSS in your booth is achievable. Learn how in this episode, jam-packed with ideas from these savvy bosses… Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza along with my very special guest co-host BOSS Laya Hoffman. Hey Laya, how are you?
Laya: I'm great. Anne. How are you?
Anne: I'm doing good. It's been a hectic week in the booth here, which is a good thing. I'm very grateful about that, but hectic in terms of I had clients who are asking a lot of me.
Laya: Oh yeah?
Anne: Not just voicing.
Laya: Aren't they always?
Anne: Yeah. Not just voicing in the booth, but they wanted playback. They wanted to invite the client in. And so I thought it would be a good day to talk about how to be the BOSS in the booth and handle these, handle the tech, handle these situations when a lot is being requested of us these days.
Laya: So much, you know. Gone are the days of just stepping into the studio and all you have to do is focus on your acting --
Anne: Remember that?
Laya: -- the copy and what it feels like to deliver, you know, the message. Now you have to have all the hats on --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- simultaneously while keeping your cool and still delivering an outstanding performance. And it is harder than we realize --
Anne: Oh my gosh --
Laya: -- especially when the going gets tough.
Anne: Yeah. And shout-out, okay, before anything else, a big shout-out to all the studios out there --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and pre-pandemic too. Like I always appreciated studios and sometimes even more so now, you never realized what a luxury it is to walk into a studio and to be directed.
Laya: Yes, I miss it.
Anne: Right? It is a wonderful thing. And I think there's always a place for studios, but during the pandemic, when we had to kind of up our game and get our tech in place and be able to engineer and do all that, oh, that was tough. So thank you to all of those studios. Some of my favorite studios shut down, and it's so sad, and I hope that they, you know, we're now coming back to a different place. I'm so glad when I see people in studios, and they're like, oh my gosh, I'm so happy to be back in studio, seeing people, so.
Laya: Well, and it's true because even the engineers --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- like I have great respect for these engineers and the sound designers that are manning the board and the client in one ear.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And they've got another client patched in from somewhere else. And they have really been the lead for all these years --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- to really help craft a comfortable setting for --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- so many of us that are dealing with our own insecurities or --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- our own demands or our own needs that are happening on every angle of the table or the studio. And so I have a whole new respect having really had to shift that in house, but now it's, you know, it's a new skill learned, and I really haven't seen anywhere where you can learn the art of how to be your own BOSS in the booth --
Anne: Right?
Laya: -- so this should be an interesting conversation.
Anne: Well, I think, first of all, you have to educate yourself on some of these technologies that are --
Laya: Yep.
Anne: -- that may be required of you. So number one, first of all, you've got to connect to a studio if you're doing a live direct, right? Or you have to be able to connect a client to be able to hear you. And so --
Laya: Yeah, your studio, right?
Anne: Yeah. There are a lot of ways to do that. I know that prior to the pandemic, we were doing, a lot of people were doing stuff via Skype, and then Zoom kind of became a thing. I've had people connect via Zoom.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I'm going to give a shout-out to, you know, our sponsor ipDTL, because I've always been able to connect other people to me via ipDTL and a very easy --
Laya: Yeah, flawlessly.
Anne: Flawlessly, seamlessly, in a wonderful -- and the cool thing is, is that I even have a phone number, like my ipDTL, somebody can call a phone number and connect up with me via ipDTL. So on the other end, if you've got a client who's not technical --
Laya: Yep.
Anne: -- at the very least, just give them a phone number and they can connect.
Laya: Always.
Anne: Now --
Laya: That's awesome. I didn't realize that about them. Good share, for sure.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: But even before that, if you want to get even more elementary, right --
Laya: Of course.
Anne: -- I used to have people connect to me in the studio by having my phone and earbuds. And so I'd have them call my cell phone, put my earbuds in my ear, and then my headphones over, right, my ears.
Laya: Oh wow.
Anne: And they would be in my ear. And it was like before you had to do a complicated -- there were people that would talk about having complicated phone patch in to your studio. And then thank goodness for cell phones with earbuds.
Laya: Right. We still call it phone patch --
Anne: Right?
Laya: -- but it's like, we're actually, we've upped the tech a little bit. Right?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: It's not necessarily a phone, but yeah, you're right. There's so many clients and partners out there that need to pass it on to somebody that isn't used to this program, you know, is used to just going into a studio and letting somebody else handle it. So you gotta make it easy for them with something as simple as a phone number --
Anne: Yeah. Exactly.
Laya: -- or a Zoom link or something that they're used to. You got to meet them where they are.
Anne: Yeah. I think that's your client non-technical person that needs to be able to hear what you're doing with their copy --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- is a phone patch, the cell phone number, the Zoom connection, Skype connection. And that's just something that you want to make sure that as a talent, when they are connected, they are either muted when you are obviously voicing the copy or, you know, you are muting them so that you're not getting the feedback. Or even if they're in your ear, you don't want that to bleed through. So --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- make sure that you have a good mute system or you know how to mute clients when you are speaking the copy.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And that I would say the very elemental client connect to us in our studio, those are some viable methods. Now what about connecting to studios? We have a couple of different options here.
Laya: Yeah, we do. And I even want to go back a step if, if that's all right with you, Anne.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: Because I found that more and more of my clients who are used to into a studio may not be used to connecting now virtually with a studio. And so they're just coming straight to me as the voice talent saying like, how do we get this done? And so I offer a few solutions, right? I say, you know, um, I have multiple connectivity options. You can connect with me via the digital methods, which would be Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom -- funny story as a side, I offered just to Zoom and Skype to a client that works with Google. And so they were like --
Anne: Oh wow.
Laya: -- oh no, we do Google Hangouts. And I was like, oh yeah, of course --
Anne: Got to offer that.
Laya: That's now, don't want to offend Google. So of course that's in the mix or phone patch, you know, I say, if you've got a conference line --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- but right from the jump I say, you know, or I would prefer to connect with a studio of your choice, or I can recommend one for SourceConnect or ipDTL --
Anne: ipDTL.
Laya: -- or anything like that that makes it easy on them. So I first put it in their court when approached with it, because I do find that so many times, they're like, uh, how do we do this? You know, at least that was the case in the very beginning.
Anne: Well, I want to add to that list, in addition to your visual hangouts, if they just need an audio hangout, there's also Bodalgo Call. There's also --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Right? That they can just connect up audibly. And by the way, I had some international clients that Zoom did not work. And so they had to use Skype. And that was the only thing that --
Laya: Skype is another one, yeah.
Anne: -- will work. Really depends on certain protocols, I know, of security.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: And so one was Skype. Another person could only connect via Zoom. The other, if it's audio only, it could be, but Bodalgo Call. There's also Open Connection. I'm trying to think what else is -- I think now, um, I'm just trying to think. There is a new capability of I -- maybe it's Mac iOS that you can connect an audio call. I'm gosh, I'm now, I'm going to, I'm going to go crazy trying to think of it. But anyways, there are those other options where if you just need an audio connection where they listen in, you can offer that, where they don't have to dial a number, but they can join in via computer.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And there's audio options for any of these.
Laya: Oh for sure there is.
Anne: Yeah. So obviously if you don't have to have video, which I recommend, to be honest with you. I don't know if I really want people that in my booth, you know, when I'm performing --
Laya: I agree with you.
Anne: -- like you don't have to look at me.
Laya: I agree with you. In fact, I want to touch on that a little bit, because in addition to that, like I hear Zoom and I'm like, oh my gosh, I got to like, look presentable.
Anne: Gotta do my hair.
Laya: But a couple of key points there for me have been, well first, I'll ask them what their preferred connectivity, but I'll asterisk with, if you find that playback during our session is going to be essential --
Anne: Oh yes.
Laya: -- for decision-making with your client -- some clients are just like, no, just send me -- I just want to listen in. And they're very low hassle, I don't know.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: They're easy to deal with. And so that you've worked with them in the past. It's no big deal. They just want to listen in. And sometimes they've got a lot of people on the line, and a lot of personalities and they definitely want playback. And I said, well, hey, unless we're connecting to a studio, which can absolutely engineer that --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- the only way that my capabilities are going to allow playback are through Zoom. I haven't found any other playback capabilities, albeit I haven't looked very hard, but I'm like you, have an Apollo. I use Adobe Audition. And I have found that the only thing I can do playback on is through Zoom, if they're not using SourceConnect, of course. What are your options? Have you found any?
Anne: So that's really interesting because I have an Apollo, and I use Twisted Wave. So my Apollo acts as a virtual audio output device --
Laya: Interesting.
Anne: -- because I can play it within Twisted Wave, and they'll be able to hear it, which is something I didn't have until I got the Apollo. Other interfaces, they did not act as that. There's some software that you can load on your computer that can act as a virtual audio output device, like Sound Flower. The other thing too, if I need to play back for a client or a studio, I use ipDTL, which allows me to --
Laya: Right, perfect.
Anne: -- play it back. But it's always like, oh, can we get playback? And I'm like, all right, but it's the raw audio.
Laya: Yeah, I haven't cleaned it.
Anne: I haven't edited anything out. But that's my paranoid, non-engineer, you know --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- going, oh my God, all right, I can play it back, but you're going to hear that mouth or something.
Laya: And those curveballs can really throw you off your performance games.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: So it's important to know all these avenues. And I'm so glad you pointed out those playback options. It might just be in my lack of knowledge or education --
Anne: ipDTL.
Laya: -- on the matter. So I'm going to look that up, but yeah, of course. So I'm going to offer that. They're my partner now too.
Anne: But if I had my choice, if I had my choice, if I am on the line with a studio, and I'm connected via ipDTL, SourceConnect, Connection Open, and I think there's another high quality audio connection option out there right now. Forgive me that I can't think of it right now, but ipDTL and SourceConnect are the two big ones, but I --
Laya: And SessionLink, I think I've done --
Anne: Oh, SessionLink.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: That's it. That's the one I was thinking of. So those are options when you want to connect up to a studio, and when that happens, I love it because the studio engineer can typically do the playback.
Laya: Same, same.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I'm like, yes, I can finally just focus on me --
Anne: Being an actor.
Laya: Yes. Uh, I wish buyers knew what a better performance they probably get --
Anne: Right?
Laya: -- and a smoother transition when they get, when you're dealing with a studio and an engineer. It really does take the pressure off. So let's talk about what happens when it doesn't go so well.
Anne: You're flustered.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So number one, I'm going to say this, just from experience and just from a tech experience as well. Not just voice over, but being, being a techhead for 20 years, always have a backup plan --
Laya: Always.
Anne: -- because things can fail. Connections can fail. I've been noticing recently there's been some conversations about one of the providers not working so well. I've had my days where, you know, things just happen. Like ipDTL is slow or weird or something doesn't connect, or SourceConnect, right? It's just not working the way -- maybe SourceConnect Now. Oh, that's the other one, by the way, they can do playback, probably, SourceConnect Now.
Laya: Okay.
Anne: So those things, what do you do if one thing doesn't work? You always have to have your backup. And you know, in the heat of the moment when the client is there, and you don't know when you can reschedule that session, you certainly don't want your interface failing. You don't want your Internet network to fail. So if you can have backup points all along the way, meaning what if your microphone, I don't know. All of a sudden your microphone like dies, right? Do you have another microphone? Can you swap it out quickly? Do you have another audio interface? Do you have another network, Internet network, like a backup Internet connection? Those are things that I think as a professional, you need to have those in place. So that during an important session, usually when it's a live directed session, I'm going to say it's probably a pretty important, not that our self-directed sessions aren't important, but when it's a live directed session, there's that added pressure. You've got the client usually on the line or the studio on the line that you're trying to make a good impression. Like, hey, I got this. And you certainly don't want to seem any less than professional or prepared --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- when something bad might happen. So that's my first, my first advice.
Laya: I can't agree with you more. And let me just share from experience.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: First of all, it happens to all of us --
Anne: It does.
Laya: -- and we're all human. So just admitting calmly and in control to whoever may be affected --
Anne: Calmly.
Laya: -- you know, we're having an issue -- exactly. Oh my God, freaking out, is not the way to go with your clients. But if you can admit, hey, you know what, I'm experiencing something that's unusual right now. Give me just a few minutes. And if we can break for five, I'll get right back to you. Sometimes --
Anne: You are like the epitome of calm. I'm just saying, like the way you just said that, I just love it. I'm not quite sure I could say it so coolly, but you just -- that was awesome.
Laya: You know, just give me a moment.
Anne: Just a moment.
Laya: Get your meditation voice on. No, so to me, I've actually had this happen on two occasions where the power surge has gone out, like a brown-out in the middle of the afternoon for no reason. There's not even -- it's like a rolling blackouts. You know, sometimes, city's done -- that has happened to me once before. And let me tell you, I had a plan and I had a backup. Now I wasn't able to use the Apollo because that's powered, but I have -- Sound Devices has another DAW system that I use. And I was able to use -- my power was backed up --
Anne: Nice.
Laya: -- and flipped on a candle. And I was able to conduct a session --
Anne: Careful in the booth with that candle.
Laya: Exactly. Right, right. Having a power outage.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I mean, something as crazy as that.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And of course everyone understands, but you know, they may have a lot riding on the session as well, under deadline, with a new client and what have you. So you got to have a backup.
Anne: Can I just say that absolutely the power is super important, and you may not even realize until you're live, right, and with a client, your Internet connection failing --
Laya: Yes. Yep.
Anne: -- or especially when you're connected wifi. And if you're connected directly to a studio or to a client, it really does help to have that dependable, reliable Internet connection that doesn't have dropouts.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: And wifi, I'm sorry, guys. I know wifi is convenient and easy and not a lot of people are necessarily technical or know, but it helps to be directly connected --
Laya: Definitely.
Anne: -- to your router, to your Internet at all possible costs because that is going to be one less point of failure. So.
Laya: Yep, hard-wired in is the way to go for sure. As soon as you can, uh, establish that connection with your studio or with your home Internet, and even upgrade to a business Internet system where you've got more bandwidth, hopefully you, you know, maybe even got fiber in your area.
Anne: Sure, yeah.
Laya: That's just some key stuff. And that way you can use, if -- as your backup can be your wifi hotspot on your cell phone, if need be. That's happened to me before as well.
Anne: Oh yeah, that's always my second. My second Internet connection is my wifi hotspot, which is great to have that Internet connection. Now, what about, okay, mentally, right? Technically, look, you just have to be prepared with backups, and you have to understand hopefully enough to know how to disconnect, reconnect. I always, by the way, if I'm going to finish up on the technical aspect of being prepared, take a picture of your connections into your DAW and you know what I mean? And, and into, into the whole booth, right? Your monitor's connected this way, your microphones are connected here into your audio device. And so take pictures of the back of it --
Laya: Great tip.
Anne: -- label your cables and --
Laya: Oh, label my cables, that's absolutely key.
Anne: Label your cables.
Laya: Label the cable should be like hashtag.
Anne: Label the cables.
Laya: I love it.
Anne: And also, well, computer backup too doesn't it hurt. So always have that second. And I use my travel rig as my backup, right? So I have a laptop, and I've got a different interface, and I've got another microphone at the ready pretty much so that I can go there. And, but if you don't, make sure that you're taking pictures of how things are connected. 'Cause even me being a technical person, you know, in the heat of the moment, you want to make sure that you can react quickly.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So now mentally, I had an experience where I had a live directed session with a very large client. One of the clients that -- a client I've always -- a dream client that I've always wanted to be connected to. And I actually experienced an engineer who was trying to, I don't even know how to say it, was trying to impress the client in his own way and made me do like, I'm going to say, three takes of every single line of a fairly large medical narration project. And it became very stressful for me because every single -- and I didn't know, he had planned on doing three takes of every line, and this what should have been an hour session turned into three and a half hours. And by the time that was done, I was exhausted. And mentally I was really frustrated, and it was starting to affect my performance. So --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- mentally you need to be prepared for that kind of a pressure. And sometimes I say, it's good to have a practice session with somebody. If you've got a close connection, even a voiceover talent that you are -- have an accountability group or something, do some test sessions and have things go wrong, and see how you can react. It does help at least the preparedness or feeling better, because mentally, if your performance is suffering, that's tough. What are your --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- do you have some suggestions, Laya --
Laya: Oh gosh, sure.
Anne: -- for mental, you know, how to recover mentally?
Laya: Yeah. Well, sure, and again, that happens to everybody also, right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Even the pros of the pros, the top people --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- there's always sometimes just somebody in the group that's either trying to establish themselves --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- because they're posturing for whatever reason is going on for them, maybe they haven't had the best day, or they're trying to prove themselves --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- in the room. And you know what? You just have to remember, you're the hired gun.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: You're the hired -- you, you're just there to listen and just take orders --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- and leave your ego at the door --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- and just try to serve them and the copy and the client to the best of your ability. But I have been in that situation several times before, and it really doesn't come down to -- if you can remember, it really is not about your performance. Sometimes it's easy to recognize these people sometimes in a session.
Anne: Yep, yep.
Laya: You know, first sometimes even taking a step back, there's a lot of people coming at you. And so when I'm in a self-directed session or not a self-directed, but when I'm engineering the session myself, and I'm not connected to a studio, and if I am, sometimes there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and there's a lot of people coming at you with all different opinions.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And sometimes I'll listen to them all. If it calms down, you know, maybe it's bubbling up for a minute or two -- if it calms down, I'm able to get the focus again. I usually come back and say, okay, so-and-so, so tell me, this is how I thought I heard that. This is my translation of that. But to keep it super clear, moving forward, do you think I can get that direction from just one person? And sometimes it's a reframe, and that sets a neutral tone --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- for all the personalities that are on the phone. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so, because that can mess with you mentally as well.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: And so I think establishing that and like re-getting control of the session, that can help when all those personalities are chiming it, or they're asking for multiple retakes, and you're just, you're like, well, but I'm doing it. You know? You start to second guess yourself.
Anne: That's the thing that's such an -- I'm glad you brought that up because it's so important when they're asking for a different take. And sometimes the people that are asking for it, they don't know how to ask for it.
Laya: Yep. They don't know the language to use.
Anne: They don't know the language.
Laya: Right?
Anne: And hey, sometimes even people that do know the language don't know how to ask for that. And so you have to be very aware that this is something that will happen to you. And at one point, if they're asking you for so many retakes, then your confidence level starts to really fluctuate.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I like in my head, I'm like, oh my God, did I not give them what they want? Well, I just gave them that. What, how did that not work? Really? And so that sort of conversation that you have in your head, that can really start to affect your performance. My go-to is breathing, just breathe, you know, in through the nose and exhale. I just heard my nose [phonetic].
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Breathing in deeply. And that helps a lot.
Laya: Even on top of that shaking, like sometimes it's okay to say, hey, you know what?
Anne: I need a minute.
Laya: I needed just a moment. If you can take a break for just a few minutes, let me shake it off real quick --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and come right back to you with a fresh set of ears on my own, you know, in my own headphones.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And maybe that will help.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: 'Cause I want to make sure that you're getting exactly what you want out of this session.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: And as long as you continue to put it back on them, but are humble and human enough to say, you know what? I just need a moment. Um, let me get some water, step out for just a second. And I'll be right back with you.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And sometimes that's enough to break up even them in their own headspace. Maybe they didn't even realize that's like a good way to send a signal. Like, you're overdoing it.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And the talent needs to regroup. And that's a very professional thing to do.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And it's totally acceptable.
Anne: And sometimes, sometimes they'll either say too much or they won't say anything and you'll be like, oh, okay. Or they'll just, you'll do a number of retakes. And then there'll be like, okay. And then you'd be like, oh my God, I didn't give them what they need. That's it. I'm done. They're never hiring me again. That's the other kind of like, self-deprecating language that might happen --
Laya: Oh, for sure.
Anne: -- in your head, is like, oh, okay. They didn't react. And so what are they thinking? And so that can make it a little bit scary --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- in your head. So just, you know, for me, I love how, you know, let's take a moment. That always helps me and the breathing, and understand that sometimes you may be giving them exactly what they need, and they're just not responding.
Laya: Yeah. Maybe they're distracted. They're something else.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: They're scrolling on their phone or another email's come through.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: That can be a challenge --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- when you're working virtually like this, you don't know what the other person is experiencing.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I remember one time recently I was on a call with two producers that were partners in two different states, and they clearly did not gel up. They were neck and neck.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: One of the producers had her kids screaming in the background. So it's in those moments that you have to kind of quickly empathize and identify where the energy source is and the chaos that may be happening for them.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Laya: Bring the calm to the mic and say, you know, what, what I'm hearing from you is this, what I'm hearing from you is this. Would you agree that it's more like this, and you want -- this is the end result here? And then also, like you said, kind of command the room to the best of your ability. You know?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Sometimes it's easy to say, to get the best performance today and I want to deliver what you want, I'm going to need everybody to mute their microphones, and let me get one source of direction or feedback going. And if they don't give it to you, like you're saying, say, okay, so can I get some feedback? You're welcome to ask the questions. And I think sometimes we forget that we can take control of those sessions.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's one of the most empowering things to feel when you finally feel confident enough to do so.
Anne: And the other thing too is just to know that these things do happen, right? It's so hard to predict what can happen in the booth when you have multiple people, what kind of like -- did you mention -- what kind of day they're having, too many people like that are hearing it differently than their head. Remember that we all hear the copy differently in our heads. The best thing you need to do is try to align that sound to what the client wants, right? And that client can differ. You could have a, I don't know, you could have a one, a marketing director or the, that hears it one way. And you could have a producer that hears it a different way. And as you mentioned, the two are clashing, and they might be at the same time directing you or even not. Let's say you've done the session. And then they come back and ask you for something different. So understand that that's absolutely something that can happen. And it has nothing to do with your performance.
Laya: Right.
Anne: And you could have given them exactly what they asked for. And a lot of times, I say this all the time, the way that you got the job is not always the way that you'll be directed to do the job once called upon to do it.
Laya: So much so.
Anne: Right?
Laya: Right? That happens all the time.
Anne: Because you have a different director, you have a different set of ears, and you have somebody that hears it differently directing you. So it is always very subjective to the person that is directing. And also, I'm just going to say, if you get the check, that's it. Consider it an amazing day.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: Consider you've given the client what they've wanted. It may not be what you agree or think is the way it should be. Right? But you've given the client what they wanted. And that's the most important thing.
Laya: Yeah. And I would say that the -- in the end, no matter how the session goes, I always like to close with a big thank you. Thank you. I -- first of all --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- I write, and I forgot to say this in the very beginning, but I've always got a notepad with me. As people are making their introductions, I always write down everyone's name so that I --
Anne: Good idea.
Laya: -- call of them by name throughout the session, to the best of my ability I can call the director or the producer, whoever's calling the shots by their name, repeat their names again and again so they know that you're very focused on who you're dealing with, even though you're not in the same space.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And then at the end close by being, you know, thank you very much for having me. I'm so proud that you selected me for this project. I really hope to have the opportunity to work with you again in the future.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Good luck on your project and thanks again.
Anne: And bam.
Laya: And then I think the engineer, if there is one and, you know, wrap it in a nice bow --
Anne: Yep, yep.
Laya: -- so they know no matter what, you left with a big smile --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- and very grateful for their time --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- and for selecting you. And then, you know, maybe they'll remember, you know, it, wasn't just an awkward, like, okay, thanks. Thanks, guys. Bye.
Anne: Yeah. End it professionally gracefully, and you know, again, it's one of those things, then don't stay too long either at the very end.
Laya: No, yeah.
Anne: Don't expect -- there should be nothing, except thank you. It was a pleasure working with you and good luck with the project. They do not owe you anything else. They don't owe you praise. They don't owe you, hey, well, you know, we'll contact you for the next job. They owe you nothing --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- because that is a job. And ultimately, if you've done it to their satisfaction, you'll get paid for it. And so don't be, don't be emotionally affected by any of it at the end. Just close it warmly with a nice little bow. I like that. Wrap it up with a bow and onto the next one.
Laya: Yep. And I would say the other thing, and I've -- I made this mistake early on. I realized very quickly it was inappropriate, but the end of the session is not a good time to say, hey, I'd love a copy of that spot when you're done.
Anne: Yeah. Oh gosh. Yes, yes, exactly.
Laya: Unless you really know the person --
Anne: Good point.
Laya: -- or like, it's just, you one-on-one, I'd love to see what you come up with. You know, when this is thing is done.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: If it's not that easy and comfortable, that is not the time to be asking for anything. Just bow out gracefully.
Anne: I totally agree with you right there. Totally. That makes you look a little bit, I don't know, desperate, maybe?
Laya: Hungry. Yeah, a little hungry.
Anne: And I would say it's a good opportunity for you maybe a month or two down the road when you know the spot's been released to maybe reconnect and then say, hey, thanks so much. Just wanted to say it was a wonderful opportunity. And by the way, if, at that point, if, hey, if you wouldn't mind, is there a way that I might be able to see the finished product? I love it when engineers and producers send me the -- that's the best when they send it to me when it's done. And I'm like, oh my God, like too few people do that.
Laya: Yeah. I wish they knew how valuable that was, that currency is.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: You know?
Anne: I have a couple of really awesome producers that I work with who will just send me the spot, like on, I don't have to ask for it. They send me the spot when it's done. And I'm like, oh, this is so awesome. So that gives you that permission to share it. And just, it's just a good thing to see your finished product. But --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- yeah.
Laya: And I would like to mention too, that part of that follow-up process, only when appropriate --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- but it helps to write down those names because a --
Anne: Sure.
Laya; -- few weeks later, or even a few days later, in some instances -- you got to feel it out and trust your gut -- if it was appropriate for you to make contact, meaning your agent didn't book that for you --
Anne: Right.
Laya: -- and there's not a middleman or anything like that --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- having their name or their studio affiliation, it'll at least allow you to find them or follow their studio on Instagram. Sometimes we are given the name of the studio or their production company that's working with it or the agency that's creating the piece --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- not necessarily the client. Great time to make a followup connection, be it LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and follow their work, continue to champion them and cheer them on.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: Or just drop them a line on LinkedIn and say, hey, I had a great session with you last week. Just wanted to say and take care of yourself. Hope all is well.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: I look forward to keeping an eye on your creative output, you know, in the months to come or something like that. It's a great way to follow that up too.
Anne: Excellent point about if you get this work through an agent, and I just want to reiterate this, if you get work through your agent, I strongly recommend reconnecting with your agent first, before.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Like don't connect the client directly --
Laya: No.
Anne: -- connect to the client directly after the job or at any point, really, if it came through your agent, because that's a relationship that that agent has worked probably for a number of days, months, years, whatever, to connect and to secure. And you don't want to just kind of go in between that. So handle that professionally. Always go through your agent if the agent is the one that set that up for, if you have any questions or if you want to connect or say, do you think it would be okay if I sent them a thank you or ask for a copy of it? So excellent point. Wow. It was a great discussion today, Laya.
Laya: Yeah, love these BOSSes in the booth.
Anne: BOSSes in the booth.
Laya: I know our listeners are going to be able to take control of those situations --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- because all of them can crop up. But in this day, this modern times, you really need to wear multiple hats --
Anne: That's right.
Laya: -- in the booth. And that comes down to client relations, to engineering, to tack --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- to being your actor, your best performance self, all those things with eloquence and grace, and then you'll win.
Anne: There you go.
Laya: You know, you'll be the BOSS in the booth.
Anne: Modern BOSSes in the booth. All right, I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to my modern connectivity --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- through ipDTL, our sponsor. We love them. Thank you so much, ipDTL, for always connecting me with BOSSes like Laya. You too can be a BOSS connected ipDTL person. Find out more at ipdtl.com. All right, guys, have an amazing week.
Laya: Thanks, everybody.
Anne: We'll see you next week. Bye.
Laya: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Think you need an agent to master the casting game? Think again. Anne and Laya teach you how to make the most of your VO business by building relationships that will land bookings and get you paid. They discuss pay-2-play strategies, symbiotic agent-talent relationships, reaching out to production houses, and how cultivating your SEO can get you jobs without auditioning... Transcript >> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, along with my special, special guest cohost Laya Hoffman. Laya --
Laya: Hey.
Anne: -- how are you?
Laya: Anne, I'm doing awesome. How are you?
Anne: You know, Laya, I'm awesome. And I just love, love, love doing these podcast episodes with you.
Laya: Yes, same here. I've learned so much. I feel like --
Anne: Me too.
Laya: -- we've shared so much, and the feedback we've been getting from your BOSSes has been incredible.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: So thank you, BOSSes, for leaning in and coming back to us with your takeaways and your modern mindsets.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Because the whole thing has come full circle. I feel so rewarded and so grateful for this.
Anne: That's right. Well, Laya and I have really been enjoying our topics of late. And I think they're very relevant. They're very relevant in terms of BOSSes wanting growth mindset for growing their businesses, growing themselves personally, growing their performances. So now let's talk about once we've been growing our skills and our assets, how are we going to get work?
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Let's talk about how do we get cast in these roles? How do we win these gigs? There's all sorts of wonderful things to talk about with that agents, production, houses, managers pay-to-plays, all of these things. Maybe we should just, let's have a discussion on how are we going to be getting work.
Laya: Yes, it's such a good one to have, because I think if you're just now coming up in the industry, you feel like, oh, I, the first thing I got to do is I got to get an agent. That was my misconception in the very beginning, to be honest. And you know, once you've been around a little while, you realize that's nowhere near your first step. In fact, doing the work and training and getting yourself conditioned is by far the first step. And then you slowly build on that as we have talked about, and you know very well with your asset library, your image, your brand, so that when you are fully ready, and I mean fully ready, meaning you're booking and you're making money and you can present yourself as a resource, then you're going to maybe approach agents or managers. But until then, there's a lot of work to do. And there's definitely outlets to go get that work.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: So let's talk about it. Lead us in.
Anne: Well, yeah. I am going to agree with you that yes, I, in the beginning I thought, oh, I need an agent right away. And that is absolutely not necessarily true at all. As a matter of fact, you have to usually prove that you've gotten some work under your belt before an agent will consider you.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: But I remember thinking, okay, so I got my demo. Now I need an agent.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So a lot of times that is something that can be put on the back burner until you, you know, assert yourself, go out there and get some work. But until you do that, you got to get that work. So how are you going to do that?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And by the way, I'll tell you that I was working full-time for years before I got my first agent. So.
Laya: Yes. And I was working in the same space. You know, I was definitely making money in voice work. And I thought the agent thing was going to tip me over the balance. And that's when I knew I was going to be successful. When the reality is I book very little work through my main agents, or at least I did in the very beginning. And so you lose sight of that when you're not quite there, you feel like maybe that's going to be the cash out or the pinnacle, or that's where you want to achieve. But there's a lot of work to glean without an agent too.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: And I think that's kind of where the paradigm or the shift is in the industry right now. And while a lot of the cream, you know, at the top goes to the agents or the managers, there's lots of great work out there that you can get by cultivating relationships with clients, putting yourselves out there, marketing, you know, dipping into pay-to-plays, if that's your thing. So let's dig in.
Anne: So, I will say that when I started, and this is back in the day, pay-to-plays were not the same 'cause I've been in the industry for a few years now. So back when pay-to-plays first started, and I believe it was Voice123 that was the very first one, if I can remember correctly. Before that, there was kind of like freelancer.com where people would post jobs. But I think the very first pay-to-play was Voice123, which I hopped on. I was on board when they came on board, and it was actually something that was successful for me. And -- but the landscape of the pay-to-plays has changed quite a bit over the years, but that was my main source, that and other like freelance websites to get my first jobs. And as I kind of struggled and, you know, found my way through the industry, the pay-to-plays started to become a place where I could actually get clients that would become return clients. And that was super helpful to me.
So I think these days, it's probably important that maybe you can dabble in the pay-to-plays, see if they work for you. Sometimes, you know, they're so congested right now that I feel that it's really that much more difficult to get work from them. However, some people are very successful at it, depending I think on the level that you're paying for. I don't think it's always necessary to get work just through the pay-to-plays, but I feel like it might be very frustrating for people just starting in the industry.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: What about you? What do you think?
Laya: Well, I've got a lot of information to glean on this because as we've talked about before, you know, I was, I've been doing voice work for over 20 years, but never full-time and never really taking it "seriously" until I went full-time about three years ago and ripped the band-aid off. And so my start was non-traditional in the sense that, you know, I didn't spend this long amount of time cultivating anything with training and whatnot. And so I have been a Voice123 member since 2009, I think, but I didn't optimize a profile or anything like that. I did however, dive right in and get a membership when I first went official full-time a couple of years ago, and I used it as an -- I hate to say it like this now, but it's true -- I kind of used it as a practice tool. I would never recommend that.
So I can't believe I'm admitting it, but in all, you know, full disclosure, like, I didn't know what different scripts were out there. I didn't know how to play in different genres or where my voice sat best. I didn't really have an understanding. So to me, a lot of people say, don't do that because you're putting your name out there. You never know who you're going to come across, and they're going to be like, oh gosh, no, the audio is terrible, whatever. I did it because I needed to know for myself what felt right. And in doing that, it kind of opened up a lot of opportunities, a lot of ideas and a lot of awareness about myself. So for me, I probably didn't take the traditional route. And I know we could, we're going to dive into a full, deep scope of pay-to-plays at one point.
Anne: We will.
Laya: Today might not be the day, but just to touch on that, it is an okay place to start if you just want to see what's out there and what kind of jobs are being offered --
Anne: Right, right, agreed.
Laya: -- and what kind of scripts and maybe what kind of budgets are out there. So.
Anne: Well, let me admit something --
Laya: Please.
Anne: -- Laya.
Laya: I'm leaning in.
Anne: I used it as a practice ground too.
Laya: See, I'm not alone.
Anne: Back in the -- see. So back in the day, like it's very true what you just said. So if you've not been in the voiceover industry, it's really hard to know like what kind of jobs are out there? What does a typical script look like? If there is such a thing.
Laya: What does usage look like? Like what are they saying about it?
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: What's the language?
Anne: What do I even, where do I even begin?
Laya: Right.
Anne: And so in reality it was, for me, it was a good education. Now I was also fortunate enough to book back in the day, because again, it wasn't as congested. And I also used it to kind of, oh, and I will admit this to kind of, 'cause there was no middleman back in the day --
Laya: Yeah, right.
Anne: -- I was able to kind of scope it for companies that were hiring. And so I knew if there was a company that put out an audition for a corporate job or a telephony job, I would write that company name down and be on my list of things to kind of investigate. And a few months later I'd kind of put that company on my list of maybe people to contact later on.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: But it really was a -- and there was no, there was nothing bad about doing that by the way. But I believe that's why there are some restrictions now on certain pay-to-plays where you can't communicate with your potential client, which, I don't think is right, to be honest with you.
Laya: No.
Anne: I think that they shouldn't be able to communicate so that you can get the job done. And the quality of the job is what's important.
Laya: And there are some work arounds, but we'll dive into that.
Anne: But that's what I'll say right now about pay-to-plays.
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: So I don't think it's the horrible taboo. I think that it's a very valid reason so that you kind of understand, like what does the work look like out here in the voiceover industry? So let's talk about, we kind of dabbled just a little bit with agents. And like I said, it took me four years to get an agent. So I had gotten some work under my belt. At that time I felt comfortable submitting for agents. Remember this is, you know, 10, 10 or so years ago, and now --
Laya: It's very much, it did change.
Anne: It has changed now.
Laya: Like super aggressive. Right?
Anne: Now you really kind of need to have a referral --
Laya: Definitely.
Anne: -- to get yourself your agent and to get yourself into there. So at the time I was able to submit, but then I grew into having other people that also had that agent. I would talk to them about it. And I would, then I would just basically ask if I could refer their name and say that so-and-so told me about your agency. And I'm really excited. I really think your agency is amazing, and I'm hoping that I might be a fit for you.
Laya: Right.
Anne: And so that was just one way to kind of use that, that networking relationship to my advantage.
Laya: I did something similar as well. Um, I was working with engineers that I admired and had a great symbiotic relationship with, and they made recommendations to agents that they traditionally cast with. So I was lucky in that sense. And then I did do some cold kind of call reach outs, email contact to some other agents that I knew that were very reputable, that were in regional markets that may have something interesting to offer, and that I could be a resource to them, of course, doing my research first, making sure there was a fit on their roster that I could fill with a unique approach or sound or skill set. And that's kind of hard to do, but also in a way it's kind of transparent. A lot of agents, uh, have their entire rosters up. And so not only do you want to make sure that you're a good fit and you're going to be a great resource for them, but that they're a great fit for you.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: You want that agent to be excited about you because unfortunately there is such a saturation right now. Maybe it's been like this a while, but with talent and with agents, and because of pay-to-plays, the opportunities have gotten spread thin.
Anne: Very, very.
Laya: So you, you know, where I cast this huge net at first and had lots of regional agents and was looking to have my hand in a little bit of everything, I found very quickly that that spread me thin as well. And as the auditions were overlapping, I would start to panic. Who do I give this to? You know? And then that created lack of trust and didn't create a solid foundation or relationship with those agents, because I was just sporadically submitting. And so that's a whole other thing to consider too.
Anne: That's a, that's an excellent point. I will say that in the height of my getting agents, I landed myself 11 of them. And over the years, right, those agents, like you said, sometimes, I mean the workplace and the environment, has really just changed so much, even in just the last couple of years, that the work is even getting spread thin. So sometimes you will see some of the same auditions. And I realized just as you mentioned, I realized from my own self, I didn't have the time to respond to all of the agent auditions. And so I found myself kind of gravitating towards just a couple of them that I consider to be my home base and agents that, you know, we worked well together. So there's something to be said that it's not just a one-way relationship.
Laya: Oh, no.
Anne: It really is a two-way relationship with you and your agents, so fine tuning that and honing in on those agents, that works well for both of you, I think that's very, very important in order to really maximize your casting opportunities.
Laya: For, sure. I mean, if you're a talent on a roster with 3, 4, 600 other talents, and I feel like some times there're, you know, talents getting gobbled up and it's, it's more of a numbers game for the agent and verse -- and vice versa for the talent. Um, and when the reality is just like our friendships and our personal relationships, if you can nurture them and stay true and be loyal and be consistent, they're going to know that, see that, respect that in return. And you're going to be more top of mind to that agent. Whereas if you're just sporadically hitting --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- you know, alternating between them, because you're trying to really widen your net, it's actually going to water you down, and that's going to water your name, your brand, and your voice down and the opportunities. So I also streamlined this past year in order to be fair to them in my partnership and my word and myself.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: So that's very important and something to consider.
Anne: And so agents, I think, for a lot of people, you have to really step back and understand your agent and their specialty. Every agent has a specialty. A lot of agents will work in the commercial broadcast around, but then there are other agents who do radio imaging. There's other agents that do animation and then other agents that specialize in promo. So knowing your agent and their specialties and what type of work you are going for or looking for, trying to get, that's important, because almost as important for me, for my genres that I book work in is not just the agents, but also casting, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Casting agencies, production houses, being on the roster on production houses and maintaining a great relationship with those people has gotten me repeat work over and over and over again.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: And I cannot stress the importance of the connection that you have with production houses and the relationship because they're submitting for you. It's almost like having an agent, right, that doesn't necessarily send out an audition, but they have clients who come to them and say, hey, I've got a medical narration or an automotive narration or any kind of corporate thing, and this is what I'm looking for. And they're the ones that will be sending out your demos or whatever it is, your past work to kind of promote you to their clients. And then basically I would just get a call that says, hey, are you available next week for this job?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Oh my gosh. That's like the best way to get a job. Hey, are you available?
Laya: The best way.
Anne: You've been hired already.
Laya: No audition needed. Exactly. And I got to say, I'm so glad you spoke about this because production houses are so fundamental. They are --
Anne: Yeah, they are.
Laya: You know, sometimes they're using agents. Sometimes they're using managers, but sometimes they've got their own in-house team.
Anne: Yup, exactly.
Laya: And it's just like everybody's got to make money in this together, yes, they may be selling your voice or the voiceover element of the product at a higher fee, but maybe there's a consistent, flat rate. They tend to make your job much easier because you may not have to audition, or they've already got the engineer built in, or they already know your studio specs, your voice, your sound, et cetera. For instance, I'm an in-house talent on Pandora's and Sirius XM's roster. Shout-out to that whole incredible team --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- of audio slayers over there. Because as I've gotten to know them over the last few years, they know my voice, they just cast you --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- where they know that your voice is going to sit right so they've got the best output and you're going to give them the best output. It's a trust relationship.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: It is so valuable. And while sometimes the rate can be a little bit lower than your standard GVAA, you know, industry rate that you might just be putting out there for usage, the repetition and the ease of work --
Anne: And volume.
Laya: -- and the volume is huge. And that should not be overlooked or turned your nose up at. It's again, very, very beneficial for all parties.
Anne: I have been on a couple of rosters for over 10 years already. And it's just, there's so much to be said for just, oh, by the way, are you available for this job?
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And it's the same kind of thing with repeat clients who just come back to you over and over again, where you don't have to audition. I just had, again, I've got work this weekend. I had somebody email me say, and I haven't heard from them in years, but they're like, hey, are you available to do this job? And I'm like, well, hey, yeah, it's great to hear from you again. I love it. And one thing I'll also say outside of the production houses and casting houses is to also, and this is not necessarily a mass casting, but your website and your SEO of your business can also help to cast yourself without an audition.
Laya: Sure can.
Anne: So I'll get a lot of people who will just send me an email inquiry and say, here's my script. How much will that cost?
Laya: Yup.
Anne: And the cool thing again is that I don't have to audition for that. So what I love is that type of casting. So.
Laya: Yeah, and that happens for me as well, not as often as I would like. I'm sure your SEO is very robust, Anne.
Anne: I've been at it for a while.
Laya: I have a feeling. Exactly. But that does happen. And I think that, you know, what's really a blessing is that that shows that your work or that your body of work or that your presence is definitely garnering some attention. Now we can dive much deeper in how to make that even more attractive or build the SEO. And that's for another episode --
Anne: Yup, absolutely.
Laya: But what's so great is that there are so many different buckets.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: In addition to those production houses, your own website, pay-to-plays, agents, we can also talk about, a little bit about the manager model, which is not new, certainly not in VO or in acting. It's evolved to kind of fit the new VO landscape and how work is coming in. I have enjoyed a recent success, a series of successes with ACM, the team over there, Mark Guss and the whole crew has been incredibly beneficial for me. But that manager model is very different as well.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Now, for those that aren't aware where the agent is, usually if you're cast for something union or non-union has usually a different percentage that the agent gets paid. And that varies depending on whether you're union status or not --
Anne: Correct.
Laya: -- or whether the casting house, the production company is paying over base, which again, another conversation. Now managers model is where they do acquire 10% or there's a percentage of your entire work picture, whether you book or not. And so that's definitely something to consider for those that are maybe way, you know, into their career or advancing or looking to level up from an agency model or add to their agency model. It's definitely not for everybody. I have had some great success with it, but it's again about nurturing those relationships and making sure you're giving as much as they're receiving and vice versa.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And in order for the whole relationship to work, it has to be, I want to say, almost 50, 50, right? You have to work with them --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- as much as they have to work with you because you're giving 10% of the entire income that's coming in. I think that they work harder for you in terms of getting you work from various agents that they're working with. Or if they're, I would say clients that they're working with.
Laya: Yeah. I will say this. And I, people ask me all the time, how has it been, you know, you shifted and you know, what are you getting out of it? I don't know, it's just a lot, you know, it seems like a big investment, and it is. But I will say this, like in the first month of being with ACM and this may not be the case for everyone, but I had more communication and opportunities and direct one-on-one communication. There's eight managers on my team over there. I had more communication in that one month than I did in three years with nine agents combined. So to me, the value was there, but it was also in part by me putting the effort in and making it a point to connect with everyone and to set meetings and to have that influence in my business because I'm paying for it.
Anne: Well --
Laya: It's a mutual investment.
Anne: And that's the thing, if you're -- okay. So here, if you look at it from a business standpoint, right? Why the manager model should work, right? If it didn't work, if you were not getting a lot out of your relationship, right, if you weren't getting a lot of opportunities, if you weren't booking, you wouldn't be happy with the management, right? Because you'd be paying, right, for all the work that you did.
Laya: You'd demand more. Sure.
Anne: That doesn't necessarily look good or sound good for the manager, and the manager, for them to keep their brand, right, and that they're a successful manager, right, they don't want to have an unhappy person. So the relationship, I think, has to be working both ways, and --
Laya: And I think that can happen there.
Anne: -- you have to make money for them, they make money for you.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So.
Laya: And same goes for the agents. And same goes -- a lot of people say, well, you would pay that. Or would you pay a membership fee on pay-to-plays -- like, everybody's got to make money --
Anne: Right.
Laya: -- and can make money in this business.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: It just has to become down to what investment is worth your while.
Anne: Right.
Laya: Is it working with a production house where your overall total fee is lower --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- but you have the volume and the repetition and the ease of work? Or is it investing in a management company where you have opportunities like you've never seen before?
Anne: Right.
Laya: Or is it an agency model?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I mean, all of those things I think can work for you, as long as you do the work, and you present yourself fully to that partnership and being very aware of everybody's role, and set your expectation too --
Anne: Right, right.
Laya: -- as to what they can or cannot do for you.
Anne: And just like in any relationship, if it doesn't work for you -- this is including managers, agents, pay-to-plays, even a client --
Laya: Production houses, clients, exactly.
Anne: If that relationship does not work for you, then you have the opportunity -- which is what I love. We're entrepreneurs. We are our own business. We can absolutely step away from that, which is --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- what is it, is that, that's the whole beauty of being an entrepreneur, right? We don't have to work --
Laya: Yeah, you're in control. Exactly.
Anne: We are in control. We don't have to work with a client that is not necessarily giving us a positive investment, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Or is working for us. So that's what the really wonderful thing is. And no matter how you go out there to get your opportunities -- and I think it's always, for me, it's, it can't just be one.
Laya: No.
Anne: Can't put all your eggs in one basket, right? It's a combination. I have agents, I have production houses. I have relationships with my clients. I have a good SEO on my website. And I have, I'm literally trying to provide myself with the best opportunities in order to be cast so that I can be a successful voiceover business.
Laya: Yeah, that's right, Anne. And even if you're -- I would just say this too. I know there's a lot of scrutiny about every one of these avenues, right? And it's really all in how you use it to your advantage, and what your mindset is, and whether or not you're good with where your role is. I would say with pay-to-plays a lot of times, just having a presence on those pay-to-play sites, whether you're active or not, their SEO is going to be far greater than most of our --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- far greater than any of us can most --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- likely invest in our own SEO resources.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So even just to have your name and your demos up --
Anne: A profile.
Laya: -- a profile, that in itself, I can't tell you how many opportunities I've gotten by just being on Voices or Voice123, by someone that found --
Anne: Having the profile.
Laya: Exactly.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: Because that drove me as a talent with a profile on a huge databank where people that are casting are looking for the quick solution. They find somebody they like, then they Google your name. Then they go to your website and they reach out to you. And I have gotten more jobs like that than probably any other avenue combined, to be honest with you.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: And it hasn't even needed to be an audition or fight about usage, et cetera, and these low rates of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No, just let it work for you and be the driver that you need to get your name and your voice out there.
Anne: Right. And however it works for you -- and to be honest with you, I actually -- not even do I have a profile on some of these pay-to-plays that I'm not necessarily active on, but I've also shared blog posts, meaning I have invited them to be a guest blogger on my blog.
Laya: Great idea.
Anne: So we have backlinks to one another. So it's kind of a really interesting way, but it kind of is like you're talking with a pay-to-plays. They do kind of have the SEO game going on with those terms that people might be searching for. And so that might make you think, whether you agree or not, to maybe just put a profile up there. Doesn't mean, you know, right now I'm personally just don't have -- I think I belong to two of them officially, but I don't have any time to necessarily audition. I don't remember the last time I've auditioned for a pay-to-play.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: But I also have pay-to-plays that I'm not a member of, but I do have a profile on.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So it all works towards people knowing who I am, what kind of business -- you know, it's all about who are you and what do you do for a living? Oh, she's a voiceover artist. I'm looking for one of those.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: So that all kind of plays into the game of getting that work, which is what we're supposed to do. That's our business.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Right? Getting that work.
Laya: And I would say one more thing about just where to get work and how do you start, especially if you're in the startup or the bootstrapping stage of your BOSS business. You know, just letting everyone you know, know that you're down, down to talk down to, you know, do their work, do their IVR, do their phone system, voice their scratch track. Sometimes getting in with production houses is just as easy as saying, hey, no charge. I'm here to do your scratch tracks for you. You know, just so we can start building relationship. You can get to know my style and then potentially cast me in the future for something, but sometimes just letting people know what you do and what you're about. We often talk about how to use social, and Facebook for me, isn't necessarily a business driver.
Anne: Right.
Laya: But you bet that everybody I in my network knows that I talk for a living.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Laya: Because you never know when the opportunity is going to come up --
Anne: Even in your personal network.
Laya: -- for something that they need absolutely. So don't overlook that.
Anne: Yeah. And even if you say, well, I don't really advertise on my personal, right, or my Facebook or my social media, in reality, just you being you is -- because remember our brands are so personal --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: --- that you are an aspect of your business. I just wrote a blog on that. You know, it's something to always consider when you say put pen to paper or type to the post, always consider that, you know, there are eyeballs looking at that, and knowing that you are a voiceover artist, and this is what you do for a living.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So the more people that know, right, this is what you do, the more opportunities you will have. And so great, great discussion on how to get work and how to be known to agents, pay-to-plays, managers, production houses. Good stuff.
Laya: Yeah. Thank you, Anne. This was super informative. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me as well.
Anne: Great, big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can network like a BOSS and find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, be productive. Go get cast and have an amazing week. We'll talk to you next week.
Laya: Take care. Bye-bye.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Bosses, your time is money. Don’t waste a second of it! Anne + Laya dive deep into all the things that keep their businesses on track every day. From adding personal time to the calendar to automating follow up emails, you’ll want to try it all. Transcript >> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, along with the amazing, happy new year, very special guest cohost Laya Hoffman. Laya, yay!
Laya: Hey Anne, happy new year.
Anne: Happy new year to you. How are you, Laya?
Laya: Did you rock it? I'm great. I'm like ready to seize this year.
Anne: Did I rock it? Like every new year's --
Laya: Did you rock it?
Anne: I'm getting older now, so it's harder and harder.
Laya: It's slower rocking.
Anne: It's slower rocking for me, but you know what? I celebrate it just as much, however, I may not be awake exactly.
Laya: Yeah. I mean, well, it's funny. I used to run nightclubs for a living, and so New Year's Eve was the biggest thing that we did all year long. And I can't even tell you the planning and the hours awake that I stayed.
Anne: Oh, I can imagine.
Laya: It's probably not something I would admit publicly. And here I am, but now I'm like to me, a rocking new year is in bed by 10.
Anne: And you were probably the thing about that is you were probably working at the stroke of midnight.
Laya: Oh working, oh, for sure. I was, I was on stage commanding the audience, doing the thing popped in the balloons. Oh yeah. The whole nine yards.
Anne: The whole nine yards.
Laya: These days, my rocket new year is much more low key. Yeah.
Anne: And it got very confusing when my husband and I moved from the east coast to the west coast. Cause now we're like, well, okay, can we celebrate it at 9:00?
Laya: Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Because the ball drops at 9:00. Absolutely.
Anne: The ball drops at 9:00 out here.
Laya: Yes, it does.
Anne: And I still get confused. I don't know. We've been out here forever and I still get confused, but anyway.
Laya: You can do it. You can do it.
Anne: We go on.
Laya: I say so.
Anne: We go on.
Laya: We go on to a better, brighter year, hopefully.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: Because gosh, I mean, we've had some success. We talked about this in the last episode.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: There was a lot to look back on last year as being positive, and with this new growth mindset, we're walking into the new year, but we've got some good --
Anne: We've got work to do.
Laya: -- ideas to share. Yes, we do.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: And we have to make this year the best yet.
Anne: Yeah. So with all this work that we've already kind of like, here's what we want to do for our new year -- and of course, you know, over the actual time that you've had to think if you've had some time off, you might've come up with some more things that maybe you want to do for this new year, get yourself pumped up. So I think it's a great time to talk about, oh, how can I get this all organized? How can I be more productive with my time? Because I had a lot to do last year. And if I want to continue those, if I want to continue my brand and my parallel income streams, I still have a lot to do this year. So I want to know how can I do that more productively?
Laya: That is a great question. I'm asking myself that all the time, but as a Virgo, A-typical personality, super organized and a little OCD, I think that for me, it starts with a bit of a daily checklist. And I mean, I don't always stick to it, but at least it's in my framework of which buckets of the business can I dip into and touch a little bit every day? So that's where my productivity window starts. How about you?
Anne: Well, okay. So yeah, old school, old school, I have a to-do list.
Laya: Your pen and paper.
Anne: Yes, my pen and paper. And because I have to continue to make sure that I can actually write with a pen. It's interesting because when I write checks now like hand write checks, it's --
Laya: Oh yeah, your signature is all crazy.
Anne: Yeah!
Laya: Calligraphy is off.
Anne: My calligraphy is off.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: I feel like the pen doesn't fit right in my hand anymore.
Laya: Yeah, isn't that crazy?
Anne: And that's with my to-do list. I'm constantly scratching on my to-do list. And literally I have saved my to-do list for the past five years. And they're just these little, I have these wonderful, thin notebooks that I love to write in, lined. And I basically every single day, actually the night before, this is what helps me, I write down what I want to accomplish the next day or what I need to do for the next day.
Laya: Love that.
Anne: It doesn't always get crossed off because sometimes those tasks are, you know, multiple day tasks. But for me, what I love is, and I, and I remember you telling me, you like to cross those things off. I mean, that is like a --
Laya: I do.
Anne: -- it's like a feel-good, I'm done, cross it off. I like that. I check beside it because I like to be able to see what I've done throughout the year. I still use that as kind of a checkpoint, but I also like to flip the page, right? To a new day, a clean --
Laya: A new day.
Anne: -- slate.
Laya: A clean slate. Absolutely.
Anne: A clean slate, absolutely. And I make sure that that is the first thing that I do. Plus as I'm telling you, I'm getting a little older, my brain doesn't always remember everything that I have to do.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: So writing it down really helps cement this is what I have to do. It helps remind me of what I have to do. And the check mark is like so satisfying.
Laya: Yes, it is. Well, speaking of that check mark, I actually have something maybe we are able to share with the BOSSes, like the actual document, but I created a VO business daily checklist for myself that is in those buckets. It has a few things. The buckets are, what do I do in my voice work? it's warm up stretch, vocalize, then all the way down the list into check emails, record and edit and deliver jobs, file all the work, you know, digital folders, et cetera, and make sure that --
Anne: Write the invoices.
Laya: -- it's not all cluttered on the -- yes, the invoices, all of that. Then there's a bucket for business development. Then there's one for social, like stay active, but --
Anne: Love it.
Laya: -- don't waste time here. That's a huge asterisk next to everything. Learn something new is another bucket and health and wellness is a bucket --
Anne: Nice.
Laya: -- as we've talked about a lot before, so maybe I'll polish this thing up, and we can share it with our BOSSes.
Anne: Yes, that sounds amazing.
Laya: It's helpful. It's equal parts -- I print them out. I have it digitally, but then I can check them off and start a new page when everything's accomplished. Helps my mind stay focused and stay productive.
Anne: Well, you know, what's really nice too, is if any of you guys are Mac users, the Notes, just the simple Notes application works great. You can create a checklist.
Laya: Yes, it does.
Anne: Yup. And what I love about it is you can check those things off and then you can see it nicely and neatly checked off. So if you aren't enthralled with your handwriting.
Laya: No handwriting required.
Anne: No handwriting required for the Notes version. And yeah, I think that that for me is the number one thing that helps me stay organized and be productive. And I'm going to talk a little bit about, 'cause you mentioned it, social media. I literally cannot have a social media window open when I am trying to be productive. I just --
Laya: Nope, nope, no notifications either for me.
Anne: -- can't.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And even though I say to myself, I am advertising on social media, right? 'Cause I have events through my VO Peeps and my VO BOSS episodes I'm posting out there, and I want to make sure that I'm responding and engaging with the community. I cannot have the windows open for LinkedIn, for Facebook, for Instagram, for anything, if I'm trying to get something done. So I make sure that I have specific times during the day that I will open them up and check and then respond.
Laya: Yes. I actually agree with that. And here's a tip for BOSSes. I use my social media, meaning Instagram and Facebook, the real, you know, schleppy social media channels, but are equally as important. I only check those in the morning over coffee, 8:00, 9:00. And then again in the evening, 5:00, 6:00. The reason I do is because those are peak times for engagement. And so if you are going to post, and people are going to engage, the chance of them seeing it is higher in those time points --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- as opposed to you posting it 2:00 in the afternoon or 9:00 at night. So those are great windows of opportunity for exposure and to compartmentalize. And then I check LinkedIn at lunchtime because that's when my business colleagues and people are most active on LinkedIn is straight in the middle of their day. It's going to trickle out on its own time, as we know about all these platforms. But for me, that's where I compartmentalize that time to make sure that I don't stay off. I'm not great at it, but that's where I like to stay.
Anne: And I think it's been, I think that those specific times are really good. And you know, it's been an adjustment, I will say, because I know that people were more used to me being like immediately engaging on social media. And I know the past couple of years, I just cannot be immediately there to respond or comment when things come in, and it's okay. I've had to kind of be okay with that myself to not be as available out there. And I've always like stressed and worried. Well, if I don't respond, will I lose my audience?
Laya: Oh gosh.
Anne: But I think that that has been one of those things that I have had to really try to test out and see, okay, how many times do I need to revisit and engage with my audience before they figure, oh, this is just, nobody's really here. And I do know that I have certain social media avenues where people think I'm not there, and that I'm a robot. And that has been something that I've been really consciously trying to test out and rectify and figure out what is the -- is there a magical formula for when and how often I should revisit that? So that has been the last couple of years, it has been a definite like test on my part, and I've realized that I don't have to be there. And in reality, I think the way social media has gotten in the past where it's been a little more toxic, a little more frustrating, there are more people who are taking time off from social media. And it's a little more accepted that --
Laya: Oh, it's beyond accepted.
Anne: -- I'm not there.
Laya: And let me give you a perspective flip on the mindset of that. If I see somebody that's constantly on social media, like throughout the day, the first thing I think of is they're not busy in their work.
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: They're not successful because they're --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- wasting their time here if -- they wouldn't be here if they had jobs in the booth. So when I see people that are super active all day long, I think what are you doing in your business? You're just chatting or responding to people.
Anne: I love that you say that.
Laya: So the mindset flip there is like, hey, the perception, maybe to others, if I am responding so much, is that I don't have enough work in my business.
Anne: Well, yeah.
Laya: And nobody wants to feel that way.
Anne: Nobody wants that.
Laya: But that candidly is sometimes what I see when I -- and not in our industry necessarily, when I see other people that I think are successful creatives. I'm like, what are you, how do you have time to be on this at 2:00 in the afternoon? You know? And so that's just a different way to shift your perspective. Maybe that'll help. I don't know.
Anne: No, I actually, I love that you said that because there will be times I will see certain people, if they're continually commenting, continually posting, and I'll be like, what? Like, and this sounds horrible, but like, stop, like, just be quiet. Like just want to say, why are you here so much?
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Like if you're that busy, why are you still talking?
Laya: Or if you're that successful, how are you that -- there's no way you're that successful if you were spending half your day or you're checking in every hour or whatever it is. And it's a willpower thing. Right? And so I'm like, maybe you're a little weak in your willpower, or maybe you're a little weak in your self-esteem that you've got to be on this all the time --
Anne: Interesting.
Laya: -- looking for re-encouragement or looking for engagement when you should just be in your business. So that's kind of where I stuck in my head when I felt the same way about you. I started to notice how I felt when I saw that type of activity.
Anne: Yeah, I think it's always --
Laya: Maybe that's a hack.
Anne: I think it's always good to look inward. So how you -- it's similar to, let's say emails, right? So if I got an email from somebody, and it was unsolicited and they're trying to sell me something, and I look at it and inside I go really? Like, and that is my initial reaction. I think that all BOSSes should look to that. In terms of before you post something, before you email something, before you do anything, how would you react if it was done to you? That kind of thing, you know? Right. I mean, it's just, it's like life lessons 101.
Laya: Sure, sure.
Anne: If that happened to you, how would you feel? And so there are so many people that are silently doing that to every move possibly that you make on social media or in an email. They're silently making assessments. That's how I'll put it, they're making assessments.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And so --
Laya: That's what I was doing. I, so I totally agree with that. Yeah.
Anne: I think it's a good check to find out should I post, should I say that? Should I do that? So in terms of helping me be more productive, it actually has helped me to be more productive to limit myself --
Laya: Good for you.
Anne: -- limit my input on social media. So that is definitely a number two productivity hack so that I can get my job done and not be distracted.
Laya: Time management.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: You know, it's about everything. And it also kind of comes down to how you format your day. I don't know about you, but a typical day for me will be I get up and I'll do my wellness exercises, my meditation, we've talked about that. Get some fresh air, take care of my kid, get right down to work. I'll usually address -- and I, and I do this in stages and kind of in blocks. And I've learned this through some of my other voiceover mentors, because it's very easy to get wrapped up and scattered in your brain as to, oh, I should. I got to just get these invoices. And I just take a little bit of time every day, but I keep it organized, right? I'll handle all my top priority clients and agent auditions first or jobs, but usually a job isn't -- for me because I work shortform, is not usually left to the next morning unless it has to be. But the warmups for me tend to sit there, and then I'll continue to block the day where if there's jobs, in between those jobs or those sessions, I know I've got invoicing later this afternoon, I'm going to do all my invoicing in one block. And so those block mentality, as you compartmentalize your day, can help you stay productive. And there's a lot of thought about that, like work for 50 minutes and then take that 10-minute break, get up, walk around, get a snack, get a drink, what have you. And so if you can block your day --
Anne: That's important.
Laya: -- that also helps with productivity.
Anne: Well, as a matter of fact, my sessions are 50 minutes long. So I have 10 minutes to just relax and/or prep for my next session. And I wanted to kind of go back in terms of communication with clients, right? In terms of any type of communication with clients that you might do over and over again, there's a really cool feature that I love in, well, I have two ways that I do it. One is in Gmail. Gmail has templates now. So if you have a certain message that you send over and over to, let's say, a new contact, "hi, thanks so much for contacting. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'd be thrilled to be the voice for your next project." And so those types of templates can be automatically filled through the Gmail templates. I also had another thing that I purchased before the Gmail template came out and that was called Type 4 Me. And that's on a Mac.
Laya: Oh, okay.
Anne: T-Y-P-E, 4, the number four, Me. And that allows me to have all of these little like clips of the same type of emails, even my response, like my "warm regards, comma, you know, new line, new line, Anne Ganguzza."
Laya: Right.
Anne: That is, that is a clip. And I can just in a keystroke and with one, I'll do it. Like, thank you. I think I do, uh, TYWR, then it pops in those words for me into the email. And that helps me so immensely.
Laya: Thanks for that hack, Anne, because I am a Mac user, and I'm slightly jealous. I know there's a way to convert into using your email to, or Apple Mail to Gmail, but I missed from my old days, those canned email responses. And so what I do is --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- I have a document for that, but thank you for helping me to the Type 4 Me, for Mac. I knew there was something.
Anne: There is.
Laya: Because I do use canned email templates for a lot of things. I do -- I have one for generic inquiries, for generic corporate work or just what my kind of standard rates are. And that helps you streamline the process. Of course, I tweak and personalize where I need to and when I need to, but just like you see some templates features in some of the pay-to-plays, it's very helpful to --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- just continue to go back to that. I like to keep mine in Google docs, that way I can pull it from anywhere or in my notes, and it can be on my phone in case I'm on the go. And that makes sure that you don't miss anything when communicating quickly to a new client or sending --
Anne: Oh, it's so helpful.
Laya: -- inquiry, right? So it's so key. Thanks for that, Type 4 Me.
Anne: Type 4 Me. And I think also on the Mac, there is an auto-complete. If you type a few characters, there is an auto-complete, and you can set that up, and that's just comes with the operating system. However, I'm so used to -- and you might want to look into that.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: Just look into Mac iOS auto-complete, and see how you can enact that or enable that. But I love the type, the Type 4 Me is, it just pops up. It's a little application and I can just say, assign these few characters to this snippet. You know, so it's actually a snippet.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And I love, love, love it, because it totally helps me. And I'll tell you another thing that helps me, which I found out a couple of years ago, because I do schedule meetings, and I'm in meetings quite a bit, not just with clients, but also with students. And so my other is a scheduling system, which is done through my Wix website that schedules on my calendar, integrates with my Google calendar, which by the way, I would not be able to live without my Google calendar.
Laya: Same.
Anne: Everything is scheduled into my Google calendar, and there's a lot of programs out there.
Laya: My whole life.
Anne: Yes, my life is Google calendar, and everything, there are lots of programs out there that integrate with a Google calendar.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So that is like another one of my hacks. Like literally here, if you want to talk to me or you want to get in touch with me, bang, go sign up for a free consult or just get on my calendar here. And those types of automations really help me to schedule when I can talk to people. Like I literally am scheduled out probably -- my days are pretty darn busy, but this is an ongoing thing with me. You literally need to get me at least a week or two in advance before I can fit you in. 'Cause I've got it so blocked out.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: The biggest problem that I have is that if I don't block out time for me, then I have no time for me. That is an issue.
Laya: Exactly. So you gotta be number one on your calendar.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: I agree with you in that I use Calendly, which I've found to be incredibly helpful, especially if you get into the customization. Because for me, I've got, of course I just spoke, I've got an Apple calendar and that does integrate with the Gmail calendars and things of that. I share a calendar with the household. My kid's got a calendar, you know, all of those things. If you're laser connected to Calendly and you can have your own VO calendar, from there, I compartmentalize whether you need a 15 minute precession chat or a SourceConnect test, or maybe you just need to talk about a project that's coming up. Maybe that's a 30 minute block. I've got my session blocks as well for an hour or 50 minutes. And that's helpful to send to my agents for instance --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- where they're like, hey, we just need to know your schedule. Like what's your general availability for the next two weeks? I'm like, here's my link to Calendly and --
Anne: Oh my God. That's a perfect idea. I love that.
Laya: Send that over. Now the thing is though for me, I've chose not to add it to my website. The con for me -- pro would be that it's super easy. The con is that then I would have no control over who's booking. And so I have it embedded in a private link on my website. That private link also has my revisions policy --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- my professional services guarantee, and my resume in case somebody needs any of that old school, the old school resume information.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: So I'll send that link to clients that are asking, or I'll just send the Calendly link for this specific time slot they're asking for which can be its own independent link. Like, hey, we just need a SourceConnect test. Well, here's all the 15 minute blocks that you could get in my schedule over the next infinity. So that to me has been a huge bonus hack as far as keeping things easy. And then you're not going back and forth with the well, yeah, 2:00 on Thursday --
Anne: Oh gosh, that takes up --
Laya: -- from this time to this time.
Anne: -- so much time.
Laya: You're actually -- and it makes you look way less professional and like you've got a system for your schedule, and that you're in demand. And so --
Anne: Well, yeah.
Laya: -- I think that has, it serves many purposes.
Anne: And I actually have it linked to my signature on my email.
Laya: Nice.
Anne: Here, set up a consult or whatever, schedule a chat with me. And so it just links to my scheduler, which is so, so helpful for me because you're right, the back and forth, "okay. So when are you available?" And I'm like, honestly, the best way to get in touch with me is here.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I'll give them a link to my calendar to get on my calendar, and that just helps. And what's nice is it's automated. It has like, thank you. Here's how we're going to connect. You know --
Laya: Yes, same.
Anne: -- it might be ipDTL, or it might be via phone call. It might be via Zoom. I've got all the different ways that you can connect with me. And it just makes my life so much easier. I'm going to say that when I implemented my schedule or my calendar, it literally saved me -- and it automated like sent out the emails.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Thank you for connecting. Here's your automated reminder.
Laya: Yes, the follow-up on those are awesome.
Anne: Oh, gosh, you can do follow-up. And the fact that it automated all of those emails saved me 50%, at least, of the time that I used to try to schedule people in at times and going back and forth with email. It just became really, really frustrating.
Laya: Yeah. And the effort to become more accommodating to your clients, to your students, to whoever, even your friends, you end up wasting more of your time.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so that's kind of a boundary set. That's really nice. And I love that you spoke to the automation on the backend.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Like I mentioned with Calendly, I can send an immediate reminder 15 minutes prior to session.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: I can send a follow-up message two weeks after or a week after, or what have you, that says, hey, just checking in, making sure everything is clean with the audio, if you had any other needs. And so it takes that extra wheelhouse off of my mind. Of course, I still have my own method for following up with the client personally, but this just adds like this extra layer. And sometimes I'll get the response back, and they'll be like, oh, thank you so much for checking back in. And to be honest, I may have even forgotten and you know, to follow up or got so busy and something else.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So it saves just peace of mind and professionalism. It takes it to the next level.
Anne: And I think also there are those programs or CRMs that can help you to --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- once you connect with your contact, after you've done the job, it can send out an automated email that said "thanks so much again, it was a pleasure working with you and keep me in mind for any additional projects. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to contact me here" and boom, and then are actual like on a Wix platform, I have a few drip campaigns that are set up that will automatically contact my clients. So if anybody's on a Wix platform, it is part of the Ascend platform that you -- it's an add-on for email marketing. And basically, so after you connect with a client, you can have a "if then" statement that says, if they open this email, then three days later, send this email or send a followup. And there's lots of different scenarios. So it's really great. So I'll give an example for a VO BOSS interview. If somebody inquires about I want to be on the veal BOSS show, it goes through a whole campaign. Here, sign up here, fill out this form here. The form then sends me all the information, and then it gives them a link to the calendar, which then allows them to schedule, which then there's an automated email that says, thank you so much. Here's how you're going to connect with Anne. It'll send a reminder right before the connection. And then a couple of days after the actual scheduled session, there'll be a thank you that goes out. So it's really awesome the way that it can automate.
Laya: I love that.
Anne: And there's more than just -- that's the Wix platform. I also have an Active Campaign that I send emails out from to my lists. I also have client lists that can also do automations like that.
Laya: Yeah. I've seen some of that same functionality in using HubSpot, which is a free CRM solution. You can connect Zapient to MailChimp.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: You can connect it to --
Anne: Is it Zapient?
Laya: Zap -- Zapient?
Anne: Or is it Zapier? Is it Zapier or Zay-pier? I can't remember. Are they two different things?
Laya: I think they may be one in the same.
Anne: Okay.
Laya: I'm not going to fact check myself in this moment, but --
Anne: if you start with zap --
Laya: There's a zap somewhere. There's a zap somewhere out there.
Anne: I've used it myself. And it's great.
Laya: It's great.
Anne: So if this happens, then do that. It's a really wonderful free app that you can do things like that with.
Laya: And you can pull content too. Like if you have a hard time pulling all your email addresses because you've got multiple email accounts, or you're trying to create more of a contact list -- in fact, I recently found out an automation was in that cog wheelhouse that pulls my contacts from QuickBooks and put it into MailChimp. So I don't have my CRM solution fully vetted out by any means. I need all the help in the world, but trying these different productivity hacks for automation, there are many solutions out there that can make your life easier and less laborious, you know?
Anne: Absolutely. And one other thing I'm going to oh, totally, totally recommend is go ahead, be brave and outsource things that you just --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- don't want to spend your time doing, or it's too com -- I'm going to say like for me, accounting, I say it all the time. Everybody that's listened to any, to just one episode, I might say it every episode. I'm not sure, but outsourcing my accounting was the best thing I ever did for my business.
Laya: Yeah. If you don't love it --
Anne: Don't love it.
Laya: -- pay someone that does.
Anne: And she's great. She's fast. She loves it. And I trust her. I trust her with my life. You know, she'd been doing my accounting for gosh, at least five years. So.
Laya: And that's a great hack too. And I use somebody not for my voiceover business, but for the podcast. I have partnered with a very talented, very savvy copywriter, and she knows my style of I, and she creates a social media posts for the podcast that I do with my daughter, She Sounds Like Me. And I love it because it just takes that off my plate. But also we use a platform called Later, which is a social media scheduler. And what I love about that is that I can see what's coming. She can do a cross platform integration and schedule. I can approve it ahead of time. And then if I don't like where she's got it, or it doesn't feel quite right, or it's not timely, I can very easily shift the tiles. So it's either aesthetically pleasing or it's more on topic point or what have you. And that's become a seamless integration into my social media management. I've often thought about integrating it into my voiceover business page, but for me that's still very in the moment, very real time, very personal --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- and not exactly all that consistent at the moment because of just the last year of burnout. But I have found that Later is a great platform. And I feel like I've tried them all over the years, as far as social media scheduling goes.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So that one's pretty efficient. Yeah.
Anne: I have a social media scheduler for, 'cause I have so many Facebook business pages, and Facebook for a while was really where a lot of my clients were. And so I have a Facebook scheduler, which also integrates with Twitter and LinkedIn. I can have so many social media to -- it's called Post Planner.
Laya: Okay.
Anne: And so I've been using that for years. And then also Facebook now has become, and/or Instagram, one in the same now, have their own scheduler now.
Laya: Sure, they do.
Anne: And so that has become fairly decent in terms of you can't schedule too far, but you can schedule out. So with the combination of those, I'm able to schedule the majority of my stuff out there. And then I will follow up with the engagement. Like I said, I can't be connected to social media every hour of the day, but when I do connect, that's when I engage and comment and respond and also post some interesting finds to my own timeline or add to what I've already posted before to keep it kind of fresh and not too predictable.
Laya: Yeah. Absolutely. Another great resource that I've been loving because my days of graphic design or my experience there is limited -- I know what I like aesthetically, but there's no way I'm going to spend time creating unique graphics, whether it's for the show or for promoting the business or promoting something within the voiceover business, like we've done with the podcast. I love using Canva and I use Canva Pro for graphic design for so many things.
Anne: Yay! Canva's amazing.
Laya: And it's actually, yeah, speaking of integration and scheduling, Canva just introduced a scheduler within their platform.
Anne: [gasps] Yes.
Laya: And what I love to deep -- and take it to a next level, everyone asks who may not be savvy in those audio grams, where you're seeing how you've maybe just done a radio commercial, and you've gotten full permission from the client, you can use the spot on social or to promote your business, but they don't have moving imagery. So you grab the picture that represents the brand best or the concept or the campaign. And you overlay that audio on top. People are always asking, how did you do that? I use Headliner for that.
Anne: Yup. Headliner's awesome.
Laya: Love that. I use it for the podcast as well. And sometimes for some of my voice work or for my demos to make a moving image. But Canva now integrates with Headliner.
Anne: Oh, amazing.
Laya: So these, some of these systems are working together to not only plan, create, schedule, but overlay --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- all in an effort to be more productive, more cohesive, and save you time.
Anne: I have to plus like 21,000 for Canva because that literally, you don't have to be a graphic artist --
Laya: No, it's so easy.
Anne: -- which not many people I know.
Laya: It's intuitive. Yeah.
Anne: And so I would struggle with Adobe because I have the Creative Suite --
Laya: Same.
Anne: -- but it's not something I use every single day. I'm not a graphic designer, and neither are necessarily anybody that's working with me to do to post social media. But Canva has just joined us together in happy, joyous unity.
Laya: Oh, I love it. I love it for my teams too.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Like I was saying about my social media manager, we have folders that are specific to that brand.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: I have folders that are specific to my voiceover business or Cyla's voiceover business. And so to go in there and have this asset library --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- and the membership is very inexpensive.
Anne: It is.
Laya: There is a free version --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and then an inexpensive version. I just make sure --
Anne: I use Pro.
Laya: -- that these are part of my -- yeah, me too, to integrate that as part of my business cost, because those memberships can save you so much time, energy, and effort and up-level the look and feel of your brand and your professionalism.
Anne: I didn't know they had scheduling. Now I'm going to have to check that out.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: That's awesome.
Laya: I don't know what it integrates with or if it's a standalone scheduler, but I love that it's there. It's, everybody's thinking along those same lines, you know?
Anne: God, good stuff.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: BOSS productivity hacks.
Laya: Love it.
Anne: You guys BOSSes, we would love to hear your productivity hacks. So we've given you the best of ours. And I think I am really, really excited for an amazing year this year, Laya, and I know you are too.
Laya: Yes, let's work smarter, not harder --
Anne: There you go.
Laya: -- and be smart and productive in our VO BOSS businesses.
Anne: And I'll tell you what else is smart. Our sponsor, ipDTL.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: I love, love, love ipDTL. It allows me to connect with Laya, with all of my clients and with every BOSS out there. So you can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing, productive week. And we'll see you next week.
Laya: And happy new year, absolutely.
Anne: Yes. Happy new year. Bye, guys.
Laya: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
How’s your vision board looking lately? Take time to lay out your ideas, hopes, and dreams for this upcoming year and establish a growth mindset that will move you forward! Anne and Laya discuss the tools and strategies they use to manifest outcomes within their own businesses, including tangible ways to create and maintain a healthier work/life balance in the midst of stressful times. Incorporate what works for you, from note-taking progress, to genre-specific training, developing tracking systems for career goals, or fostering mentorship opportunities - all while building a strong support system. Move beyond the resolutions this year, and focus on a truly life-changing new mindset of growth.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza with my amazing, very special guest cohost Laya Hoffman. Hey Laya.
Laya: Hey Anne. Hey BOSSes. Nice to be back.
Anne: Laya, you know, it's that time of the year --
Laya: It is.
Anne: -- towards the end of the year, where we look forward to an amazing new year coming to our BOSS enterprises and our lives. And so I thought it'd be a great time to discuss a new mindset for a new year.
Laya: Absolutely. It's all about setting the intention, the reflection of the year, and the things we learned about what we just went through. And man, we've learned a lot.
Anne: Oh gosh. Every year I think I learn more, and I hope that for you BOSSes out there that it is the same. As you go from year to year, you're building, you're growing, you're learning. And I think I'd love to share some tips with you about maybe how I get a great start to my New Year's or I try to get a good start to my new year by setting my mind for growth.
Laya: Absolutely. That growth mindset is essential. And I love all of our conversations up to this point because they've kind of stacked up into this perfect equation of some of the ideas that we can really dive deep into, but let's list them out today and go through some of the intention-setting for how to prepare yourself for the year ahead.
Anne: Sure. Absolutely. Well, I think the first thing you have to do is just really sit down and take a good look at what happened to you this year. Pay attention to what you did month after month. And hopefully you have some sort of a system where -- I have my to-do lists that I jot down and I actually don't throw those to-do lists away.
Laya: Really?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: That's cool.
Anne: It's just like a running list in a notepad right now. I mean I'm old school, right? So I have a piece of paper, and I think it's the only way that I still write to be honest with you other than typing on my computer. I actually write on my to-do list. And so I have a record of what has happened from day to day. And I think looking back on that, it really helps me to understand like where I've been, what projects I've been working on, what new clients I've gotten, what clients I'm following up with, and really gives me a nice like diary or a journal of almost like my to-do's and my accomplishments for the year.
Laya: I love that. Yeah, I do something similar. My to-do lists usually gets scratched off as I feel accomplished. If like -- it's like the zero inbox thing. I'm like oh God, crumpled up and throw those out. But what I do is reflect back in kind of my journaling and a lot of what we had talked about in a previous episode about kind of, well, manifestation, right? And so at some point, sometimes twice a year, I'll do my manifestation list of the things that I want to achieve. And then sometimes it's nice to go back and revisit those lists and be like, wow! That actually happened. Or I have work to do if I really want to still get that done and stay focused. So I love taking another step from that and journaling kind of like my pows and my wows, as my daughter would say, which is like, what were the things I was most stoked about this last year that I achieved and what kind of was a low point, but what did I learn from those low points to achieve or apply and do better next year? So I do a version of what you're saying and kind of incorporate that, uh, manifestation process in that too.
Anne: Yeah. So what is your next, right? What is your next, I guess, rung on the ladder? I like to think that I climb upwards and grow towards success. And there is one thing I do want to point out that growing your business year after year, it is, it's a little stressful sometimes.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: It can really kind of play with your mental brain a little bit because it's scary.
Laya: It is.
Anne: And I am the first one to admit, it's like, where do I go from here? It's like, wow, how can I grow? And it really forces me to sit back and think about, okay, what do I want to do this year? It's not just a money goal. A lot of times though I like to incorporate numbers though in my, this is what I want to achieve next.
Laya: Sure. Those are hard and fast rates in the market, right?
Anne: Exactly. Exactly. But it's not just the numbers. It's also what I want to do. What new endeavors do I want to, you know, embark on? Do I want to maybe start a podcast, right? Or maybe -- not necessarily me right now -- I love my VO BOSS podcast, but how can I grow the podcast or how can I grow my voiceover performance? Should I study? Should I look for the next great client? How am I going to do that? Should I step up my marketing? All of those things, what is going to be that next place that I'm going to go that I didn't do last year? Right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So I want at least one brand new thing that might scare me --
Laya: Yes!
Anne: -- to really go for that and try to achieve.
Laya: Well, I totally agree with that. In fact, one of the best things about being your own BOSS in this voiceover space is that there are so many layers to peel back, and there is always room for growth, which is a beautiful thing. You know, we don't really ever reach peak status unless you really are the best of the best, but even then we're always learning, and we're always growing. I agree with that completely. I see myself in a twofold space. You know, of course I had a monetary goal at first, and I wanted to surpass that, and I want to double or build on that as I go throughout the years, but I also want to break new ground in different genres. So for instance, and I would love to know yours, 'cause I think it's a little peek behind the curtain, but for me personally, my next rung would be to break into network promos.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: I've been working really hard on it. I have a beautiful demo. We're both up for an award.
Anne: Yes, congratulations.
Laya: Yes, congratulations. I think by the time this airs, we may know the turn of that.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: But what a great honor, and to be able to break into a new genre is really important. That's a win for me. And that's something, that's the next rung for me. What about you?
Anne: Oh goodness. So I have a lot of things that I'm thinking. You know, I've always, I always want to grow my businesses more or I want to consolidate them so that my time is better, more efficient.
Laya: Yeah, work smarter, not harder.
Anne: Exactly, more streamlined. So that's always a challenge to me, especially because I dabble in multiple income streams, and I do have people who work for me. And so it's trying to organize those people to be more efficient, and then also kind of grow with me and then figure out how I can best implement the team so that -- it's an interesting thing when you have a team of people that work with you. It's always trying to make sure that they're joyful and happy and want to work for you because it's just as a good thing all around. You know, if you have people that really believe in the goals and work toward the goals with you, and that is, that's a difficult thing when you're working with people that also have their own business.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So that's kind of a mindset, kind of a culture that I'm looking to nurture and grow as well, so that I can continue to keep anyone that's on my team, you know, happy and willing and wanting to work for the team. And you know, the VO BOSS team is amazing, and they do all sorts of wonderful things for me here. And, uh, I'm very grateful, and I want to continue to work on how we can grow together.
Laya: Yeah. That's definitely a next rung thing. And you speak about something we've referenced personally, managing up, stretching your role --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- but also handing off our responsibilities that may be better served for an expert in that particular field --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and really utilizing your resource pool to scale. So, you know, that's a great goal to achieve. Yeah.
Anne: That's a goal I continue to work on, and then I've got a new goal of something that I've never done before that I'm looking forward to do --
Laya: What's that?
Anne: -- in the next couple of years. That is to author a book or two.
Laya: Oh, that would be awesome.
Anne: Yes. I've got a couple of thoughts in the back of my head, and I'm starting to research options and how to achieve that.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: So, I'm excited about that. That's something that I haven't done. No doubt, if I jot down my intentions, I am fairly confident that I'm going to be able to achieve that.
Laya: Manifest it. Yes, you will.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: That's exactly right. And it's a great time to do that. So like, even if you could dream big, and you've got a far reaching goal, this is a great time personally to take that inventory and write it down.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: People often ask what manifestation is, and you spoke just to it. It's like, write it down, make it your intention. You don't have to necessarily put it in your focal point every single day. But if you put out there in the universe that's what you want, you never know, that might be what you attract. Right?
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: It's a great intention to put out there. I see you doing it. Yeah.
Anne: I've always, and I say this in multiple episodes, or if you've listened to any other BOSS episode, I really run my business in my life with my gut. And so if I put it out there, and I believe in it, I usually find the way to make that come true.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Even if I don't make it come true in the way that I originally thought, I have certainly learned a ton along the way, and actually revised it to a point where it works better than the original intent. So I'm very, very happy. I really believe that it is, it's something that has always, always worked for me. And I believe that it can work for anybody if they --
Laya: I would agree. Yes.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: You trust that gut.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I mean, it, that, grateful for the gut, right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It guides us.
Anne: It really does.
Laya: And if you tapped into that, that's when it can feel really great. And you know that you're on the right path for yourself. So.
Anne: One thing though, after all of these goals and manifestations, I was going to say, and I look to you for this -- I need to create a better work-life balance because anybody that knows me knows me, I'm a little bit of a workaholic, so that's on my to-do list, but I know that you can really speak to that probably more so than I can.
Laya: Well, maybe it's just because the kid factor keeps me on my toes --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and I feel like I have to segment that. And also just knowing the grace that we all needed this last year, I put that work-life balance in place to give myself some relief to look forward to in the way of vacations and whatnot. But yeah, I've heard recently, it's not just a 9-5. We know that our voiceover business is so much more than that. And you do have to be available at the ready, but yeah, putting some boundaries in place is okay, and is okay and actually creates respect and accountability for yourself, for your clients, and the people that work for you and with you. So I think that that is key, Anne. Let's give you a day off every week.
Anne: Right?
Laya: Let's give you a time off to turn it off, Anne. Let's do that.
Anne: And it's funny because I also want to mention that when I work with my students, I have some students who work full-time, and then they're pursuing this on a part-time basis. And you know what? I need to take my own advice because here's what happens. When you get into the booth, and you are stressed out beyond belief, or you're tired, you're running, you've got family, you've got a full-time job, you've got maybe another part-time job or you're trying to work on voiceover, when you get in that studio, all of that comes out in your voice --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- if you are not centered and relaxed.
Laya: That's right.
Anne: And so it will affect your performance. So in reality, having that work-life balance is actually going to make you a better performer.
Laya: I agree with that. I can feel the stress when I just feel like I have not had any me time, and you can hear it.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: You can feel it in the voice. I mean, these microphones amplify us, right? And so it amplifies that energy. And I think that if you don't make that time, and you don't give yourself that grace and the breaks, then you can't come back refueled, and eventually that'll lead to either resentment or frustration or burnout. And then it won't nurture the most authentic, true meaning of this business, which is to do it because you love it. Right? And so I commend --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- people that are doing it on the side and then working to get to that full-time place.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: We've all been there.
Anne: It's so hard.
Laya: Yes, it is.
Anne: It is.
Laya: And it really does take some very diligent time management so that you can make sure you're being your best self to yourself, your businesses, whatever your current employer is --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and your future boss, which is yourself.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah, work-life balance is high on that list for next year for me.
Laya: I'm going to hold you accountable, Anne. I'm gonna check in next month and see where you're at with that.
Anne: Okay. So besides new genres, what about, what else for you? You have anything else?
Laya: You know, I really like to continue to find and nurture that mentor-like network. We've talked about it before, the people on the compass, my north star. Make sure to nurture those relationships so that they stay healthy, and I stay accountable, and also giving as much as I'm receiving. You know, mentoring someone else that's coming up, reaching my hand down or out to the sides and pulling my people in and sharing this information. It's one great reason or result of this podcast is being able to spread information and share and be a resource --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- to fellow talent, but not just within our genre and our industry, but in others. I mentor young women, my daughter, other young female entrepreneurs, is something that's very important to me. So that's something that I'll be looking for. Not only continue to nurture my relationship with my mentors, but also create new relationships and become a mentor. How about you?
Anne: Yeah. And I think really find the time to have a mentor. And that has been something I've been guilty of just because I'm working many different brands, many different things that I'm doing. And I have been on a search for a mentor, and I've actually met someone this year that I'm really going to pursue that mentorship with because -- and this is a mentor that's actually outside of the industry.
Laya: Yeah, which is totally cool. Right? Like --
Anne: I love it, yes.
Laya: -- you can glean so much from that. Good for you.
Anne: I love it. Because what it does is it gives me a perspective that I don't have when I'm inside, in the voiceover industry. This gives me a different perspective and really takes me to a place where I can like, kind of come out of the box and think in a broader term, how can I reach a broader audience and how can I stretch myself even further? That's the most important because sometimes just thinking myself, what can I do to grow? It's hard to come up with ideas, right? And so a mentor, and especially when I think that's outside of the industry, for me, it's a business mentor, you know, here's what you need to really consider to grow. And this is what I did, and this is what I experienced and there's, it just, it really opened up a whole new world for me meeting this mentor that I'm really going to make it a point next year to have some consistent meetings with my mentor to help inspire me.
Laya: Yeah. I love that. And in addition to that, if a mentor may not be in your space right now, I also work with a life coach who is --
Anne: Oh, nice.
Laya: -- not just a therapist, but they coach me both on my business, how I'm presenting myself in the world. She's a very recognized, successful business woman herself. And so she kind of plays both roles. Of course, I pay her for that, right?
Anne: Yeah, well.
Laya: So it's not just a free trade of information --
Anne: It's an investment, right?
Laya: It is an investment, but it's an investment in myself and my business. And she kind of, I found someone that bridges the lines between kind of a personal talk therapy style and more strategy on the overall big picture for lifestyle and then business sense. So I've tapped into someone in that space, again, outside of our industry --
Anne: Nice.
Laya: -- that helps me cultivate the best of all those pockets. And that's become really essential to my mental wellness, my emotional wellbeing as well. So something that's very cool, and I would highly recommend to anybody else that's looking to spread that experience out.
Anne: Yeah. I completely, completely agree. And yeah. Look to the outside.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Look to the outside, that would be my top suggestion for a mentor. Unless of course, if you're just getting into the industry, a mentor in the industry is absolutely very helpful. Actually find a couple of mentors.
Laya: Yeah. Absolutely.
Anne: Right?
Laya: Somebody on every side of the compass, somebody beneath you, you know, to yourself, somebody above you, and the east and west, that you can bring them in. Like my friend Kelly Buttrick says, it's a great analogy because it keeps it in perspective to go full circle, 360 and to be outside of your ego, which is key in any industry.
Anne: Oh yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And so, so important, I think, in order to actually keep yourself, I would say, keep track, to keep yourself grounded, and to also keep yourself moving forward mentally and physically believe it or not, make sure that you are taking those successes that you've seen this past year and write them down. Take a moment to sit there and write down. For example, in my journals, I don't necessarily document, oh, this was a success, but I think you need to sit down at a moment if you haven't done this already and document your successes this past year, because that's going to really give you a great point to identify here's where I am. And now this is where I want to be. And plus it's, I think it's amazing to really give yourself that positive boost in terms of where you've progressed in your voiceover career, because sometimes it's really difficult. I mean, you're only thinking about the last thing that you just did, which was, oh my gosh, you know, I've auditioned a hundred times, and I haven't gotten anything. And so that tends to sit in your brain. So if you can actually think beyond this past day or week and really document, where did you start and how far have you come? What are your successes? And they can be, they don't have to be huge successes. It doesn't have to be, oh, I booked a gig. It could be, I started my website. I wrote my bio, you know, whatever it is, I coached with so-and-so.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And so it can be small things because they all add up.
Laya: They sure do. And I've got actually a new practice this year for myself that kind of speaks to this. That might be helpful for some BOSSes. It's just kind of an interesting way that I've documented my success. And what I did was I took a Google spreadsheet that I can pick up from anywhere, from my cell phone or from my computers. And anytime I get a call back or make a real contact or some headway with either one of my managers or one of my agents, I document that in this one spreadsheet. It's organized by agent or manager --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- whether it was a booking or a call back or a hold. And just so I can see kind of how I've stacked up, because you forget those things as the year goes on.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: You might see or remember the booking or you remember the project, but sometimes you don't remember all those touch points in between, and those are wins too. So maybe you didn't book the job, but that production company, you know, asked for a callback for you.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: Or you were given the opportunity to be on hold. Maybe you didn't finally book it, but that's a win. Jeffrey Umberger would state that all of those touch points and those opportunities are essentially as good as a booking --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- because you got right up there in front and you were a top contender.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: And so tracking those things for me has been helpful because then I can look back and see what kind of value I provided to my partners. And it does make you feel a little bit better about where you're sitting status wise, whether you were a great partner in return, and how you are resonating with those managers or agents or partners in your life. So that's something I incorporated this year and I find it to be incredibly eye-opening looking back.
Anne: Totally agree. And especially, I want to reemphasize for those of you just starting out in the industry, where you may not be booking gigs every other day or every day. And as a matter of fact, by the way, that's a really difficult thing to do. Even as a veteran in the industry, it's hard.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So we all, we all go through that. So I think it's even more important for you to document those little touch points, those little successes, so that you can actually really see and be encouraged because there's so many students that start out, and they'll come back to me and they'll say, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not booking. I just don't know, you know, help me. And I remember it so very vividly when I started out and trust me, it happens.
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: It happens to all of us in the beginning. It's so difficult to kind of get the traction in the industry, and you just have to have faith. Be patient, know that if in your heart, you're working towards your goals --
Laya: You will get there.
Anne: -- you're, um, you're manifesting, you will get there, you will get there. And that's why I think those documenting those little successes is so very important, and hang it up in your studio.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: I mean, I love that, like --
Laya: A visual.
Anne: -- have a little vision board or, you know, I have some students that put sticky notes in their studio. Sometimes they'll put sticky notes to remind themselves about performance issues like don't breathe or whatever, but also I think you should put sticky notes in your booth that have successes on them to really keep your mental state in a powerful and positive mode when you're in there and continuing to audition.
Laya: Absolutely. I remember when I started out, if I can just share some vulnerability with you and our listeners --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- is that I think I was tracking my auditions, but very vaguely. You know, sometimes in those pay-to-plays you can see how many auditions you did and we'll get to that, I'm sure, in a future episode, but what you can also see is just how many MP3s you've saved in your folders. And it's pretty easy to take a look at the stack as you start to archive and organize your files. But I think I was at like 1000:1 ratio for a while.
Anne: For booking?
Laya: Oh yeah. For a while. And it was part of the learning process. And I would try really hard and get super frustrated. But when I got that one, it was a huge win. And when I looked to start creating a website or when I was starting to look for a great coach, those were all really big wins.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So I'm with you --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- especially early on, it can take a lot of wind out of your sails to see some of those tracking --
Anne: Oh my goodness.
Laya: -- and documents of your quote success or your work, but it's much better to focus on the successes. So you're absolutely right, Anne.
Anne: Oh yeah. And I'll tell you, yeah. When I, and my vulnerability, when I was first beginning too, absolutely, I kept track of my auditions. I kept track of what I booked. And I remember at one point, like literally I was in tears, and I will write out, admit that.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: Like literally in tears, more than once, frustrated just saying, oh my gosh, I don't belong here. What am I doing? I just quit my job. You know, that kind of thing. Or --
Laya: Same.
Anne: -- should I quit? Like what, what is going on here? And so just know BOSSes that those little successes are going to mean a whole lot, and just know that we've all been there, and you can make this new year and amazing year for you --
Laya: You sure can.
Anne: -- with a new mindset.
Laya: And I think part of that new mindset is relinquishing the pressure or the self-doubt and just changing your focus from a scarcity mindset like there's just not enough. I don't fit in here. There's not enough money coming to me. And going back to something we've talked about in the past is just staying open to the abundance of life. There's plenty of work for all of us out there. There's new mediums and new technologies all the time.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: There's an ear out there that your voice resonates with. It's just about honing it in and getting comfortable in yourself and having an abundant mindset as opposed to a scarcity mindset.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And that is something I got to check in with myself on the regular.
Anne: Oh yeah, yeah, we all do .
Laya: I do not claim to have perfection there, but as you move into the new year, if you can have an abundant and open and grateful mindset and be excited about the opportunities and your achievements, as, no matter how small or big, then you're on the right track for the year ahead.
Anne: Yeah. You know, I also think it's a good thing outside of what's manifesting where you want to be in that next year, is take any part of your business or even your lifestyle or life skills and learn a new one. Pick something new that you want to learn that can help grow your business grow -- because I feel because we are such an intimate part of our own business. I mean, it's our voice. So whether you put that into a work-related skill or a life skill, I think that it all will help to build your business because we are such an inherent part of our own brand. I mean, obviously, more so than any other job that I know out there. I mean actors and voice actors, we are our own products.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So learn something new, and maybe learn something new that I don't know that you didn't think you wanted to learn because sometimes that'll either reinforce the fact that, oh, God, I really don't need to do this. And I might outsource it. That's also a growth mindset in terms of let me invest in outsource.
Laya: You're like, yeah, that didn't work for me. Moving on.
Anne: Or maybe you'll learn it, and it won't be as hard as you thought it was, like marketing. I know there's so many people that are afraid to market. They're afraid to get out there, but I say, give yourself some small goals to learn new parts of either marketing or I don't know, writing a new bio for your website, getting a website, understanding technologically, what you need to do to get that SourceConnect connection or --
Laya: Yeah, learn that stuff.
Anne: -- ipDTL, learn that stuff. There's so many things that are outside of just the performance part of that. Learn more about sound --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- acoustics.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: So many, so many things that you can do.
Laya: Engineering.
Anne: And I know there's so many people that are afraid of the technology that it takes to create good audio files and just create good audio, but go ahead and take a class on it. And even if you're not good at the computer, I have people that are not necessarily technologically -- they'll label themselves, I'm not good at technology. Well, take a computer class.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: I mean, just something as simple as that can really help you because gosh knows that this is what we do on a day-to-day basis, is work on our computers in some form or fashion, either marketing or creating audio or editing audio, all that good stuff. But I think put one new skill out there for you to learn and then document your progress. And I think you're going to be surprisingly impressed with yourself.
Laya: You never know what's either going to light a complete fire under you and reignite something inside yourself from a creative standpoint or just mindset or, you know, skillset that is really going to inspire to push you in a different direction or push your skills outside or grow you inside and out. And those are some of the things that I mark as some of my highlights of last year. I never thought getting into promos was going to be the genre for me. But man, when I started, I loved it so much. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the power of our voice and for storytelling and for the psychology behind how we use our voice in this particular genre. And so I'm excited to introduce new genres that make sense for me, because I'm so inspired by the spark that that education gave to me, similarly to how you know, oh man, I actually could create my own website, and I did it and I'm proud of myself.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so you either realize that, or just like you said, you realize that's not for me. Let's move.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: But you'll never know unless you try. Right?
Anne: Learn something new.
Laya: So it's a beautiful thing to push yourself there. Yeah, for sure.
Anne: And I think all of you witnessed my last series on AI and voice. That was an educational journey for me. That was learning new skills. That was learning something new in the industry that people are not comfortable with that. So, and I knew that as well, but I wanted to make sure that I educated myself on it so it wasn't as scary.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: And so that was the purpose.
Laya: Takes the fear out.
Anne: And everybody kind of witnessed me going through my own educational journey and learning something new. Hopefully everybody else benefited from that as well, if they took the challenge to learn something new. So I think that it's a real important part of mindset for your new year to, you know, have those goals, and they don't have to be huge goals. They don't have to be -- as a matter of fact, sometimes huge goals are, you're defeated when you start, because you already feel overwhelmed.
Laya: They're daunting. Right, right.
Anne: Yeah. So it could be just something simple, you know, for a new job-related skill. Maybe it's like, install Grammarly, you know, which I need all the time, Grammarly on my computer so I can spell things correctly, but just, it could be something very, very simple. And I think you will find that once you master that, and see I'm manifesting for everybody, that you will master that skill. And again, if you don't master the skill, then, well we know what you don't know what you don't like. So --
Laya: Yeah, thank you, next.
Anne: -- always a learning, always a learning experience.
Laya: These are awesome tips on how to create a growth mindset for yourself. And what I love is if you're doing that for yourself, you never know how that's going to radiate out --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and help the people around you, the family you love, your support system, whatever your network may be, continue to grow and see the opportunities ahead of you. So if it's not a resolution, at least make it a growth mindset. And I think that there is no way to see anything less but good to come out of that. You know?
Anne: Yeah, I like that. So we aren't going to make any resolutions. We're simply going to look forward in the year and maybe not call it a resolution because that has such a stigma attached to it.
Laya: It does.
Anne: You know, sometimes people are already feel like, well, after day one and I'm going to work out every day next year. I know that that is like the, the age old here's what I'm going to do next year. But you guys, you are BOSSes to the absolute 100th degree. So I have the faith. Laya has faith in you. We all have faith in you. So I say, go forth and make 2022 an amazing, amazing year.
Laya: Yes. Happy new year, everybody. Have that growth mindset and keep it going, positive direction. Yep.
Anne: Okay. Big shout-out to my sponsor that we know and love. Happy, happy new year, and looking forward to many more connections in the future --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- with ipDTL. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing rest of your week, and happy, happy 2022. Thanks! Bye.
Laya: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
There’s no off season in voice over - which can be a blessing and a curse! Being on the road in VO requires careful consideration of equipment, environment, your clients’ needs, your business goals, and your own sanity(!). Anne and Laya chat vacations and voice over, including what it takes to maintain a complicated artist work/life balance while traveling. They’ll tell you how to reduce your anxiety level while heading out on the road by putting together an organized mobile studio and communicating with your agents, managers, and clients + offer tips about how to set healthy boundaries around your business. Get ready for your next trip with #VOBOSS advice and recommendations…
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, along with my amazing, lovely, wonderful guest co-host Laya Hoffman. Hey Laya.
Laya: Hey Anne. It's nice to be back, loving these convos of course. And we've already shared so much. This is getting good.
Anne: I know, nice to be back. Speaking of which, Laya, I think you just came back from vacation, and if I'm not mistaken, you did mention that you might be going somewhere else soon. So let's talk about this.
Laya: Crazy.
Anne: You're a busy voice talent. So let's talk about VO on the road. And if, do you do VO on the road while you're on vacation?
Laya: Yes. Every time, because I think it goes without fail, the second you leave is when the call comes in, right?
Anne: Always.
Laya: Like always, either that client you've been dying to nag or an ongoing campaign or something that just is on fire. It always happens when you go on the road.
Anne: When you go on vacation. It's so true. I want to go on the road every other day now because this guarantees me a job. So, but going on the road, going on the road does require, you know, a special travel rig. It requires a -- a special mentality because when you go on the road, I mean vacation, are you really on vacation if you're working? That's the question.
Laya: Yeah, yes. It is true. And it kind of, you know, you have to strike a balance. My family is like, oh you know, mom, you're going to bring your rig. Yes. Because mom's going to pay for vacation this way.
Anne: This is going to pay for your next meal. No.
Laya: Exactly. So there's so many nuances about it, and yeah, there's different schools of thought. I think I'm still green enough in my career in cultivating my client list and my reputation and my partnerships with management and agents, I know that I want to be available. Now, I also put boundaries in place that I'm not available. So it's not like every vacation all the time.
Anne: Right.
Laya: So let's talk about it. Yeah?
Anne: Well I think, yeah, I think absolutely, number one, it depends on what genre, right, you specialize in.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: Exactly how changed you might be, right, to being available 24/7. I think obviously if you do promos, I mean, you actually sign contracts so that you can be available on a day-to-day basis and you.
Laya: Yes, like golden handcuffs, right, right?
Anne: Like golden handcuffs. Also, if you're, you know, commercial work, a lot of times, it's like we needed it yesterday. Anything that's broadcast. I know for myself, I do a lot of the long format narration, which I can build in a little bit of time with that. So I think that --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- all of that contributes to whether or not I bring my microphone on the road with me, and I will be honest, for the past, you know, years, I always have, because I never wanted to give up that opportunity. And I also have agents who, you know, when they send me an audition, I better be able to get them that audition back because I don't want to, number one, jeopardize that relationship with the agent, nor do I want to pass up an opportunity that might work for me.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: So even if I'm doing an audition on the phone, you know, in my car, although I, I have to say, I try to not do that. I try to, well, let me bring my microphone. I really want it to sound good.
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And so thus begins well, what does my travel rig look like? And we can talk about that in a little bit, but what about you?
Laya: I feel the same way. You know, like I said, to me, I've gotten my rig down so small and compact, and you know, I use a Sennheiser 416. It gives a premium sound in most situations.
Anne: You know, I'm gonna stop you there and agree with you wholeheartedly.
Laya: Okay, good.
Anne: Just, and I'm gonna let you continue in just a minute, but I do want to say, I don't know why it took me so long to realize that I really should take a 416 with me because most spaces are not optimal.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And the 416 helps me to create awesome sound. So please continue on.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: I'm right there with you on the 416.
Laya: Yes. I'm on it right now. She's my babe.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And I think because the rig is, I've gotten it down so compact, it's easy for me to grab my pack and go. But also, like I said, I want to cultivate those relationships. I want to be available. I also, my focus is short form. I'm really trying hard to get into promos. And I've seen quite a bit of opportunities lately. I don't want to miss. Those are usually last minute on fire, need it now auditions.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And I want to show the producers, the creative teams, my, my partners that believe in me that I'm there to deliver. And I want those opportunities, you know, I'm going to strike while the iron's hot. So, uh, that, that doesn't bother me. It actually gives me great joy to be able to travel and take my work with me in the nicest way possible. You know? So I'm good with it.
Anne: And you know, what else? Um, to be quite honest, I mean, I don't know anyone that takes their travel rig with them and works eight hours a day. Do you know what I mean?
Laya: No, yeah.
Anne: It just, it's either that audition that's like, oh, boom, I need that right away. Or I need this commercial right away. So if it's a short form kind of a deal, it doesn't always take us hours upon hours away from our families on vacation. So that time could maybe be done when, I don't know, people are napping, right?
Laya: Yes, yes.
Anne: So that doesn't necessarily take away from the togetherness of your trip. And that was always my kind of theory was, you know, I'll take those times because they, they tend to be not hours and hours of time. It's maybe an hour here, maybe a couple of hours here. It really depends, but it's not an entire day. And so I feel that I can enjoy my vacation once I'm done with that audition or done with that short job that I'll get. And it never takes me completely away.
Laya: You're absolutely right about that. And it also kind of gives me peace of mind. I have brought my rig and not needed to unpack it or use it on a few family vacations recently. You know, when the world kind of opened up again, we planned many little excursions to kind of get that travel, you know, get out, and then things changed a little bit. So we stacked the deck a little hard towards the end of this year. And while it's giving me a little bit of anxiety because of how busy things are in the booth, to have that ability to take it, but not necessarily need to use your rig, is okay too.
Anne: Right.
Laya: It gives me peace of mind as an entrepreneur to say, I have it if I need it, but I don't need to pull the trigger, and I don't need to focus on that work. So I kind of put a loose boundary around that. And then also it just helps give peace of mind to my partners, my agents, my clients to say, I have it, but you should know, I may not be available for directed sessions during this time --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- or something like that, or only if it's the right situation. And so let's talk about how do we let people know that we are going on the road?
Anne: Well, I'm so glad you asked because in my BOSS Blast, and I'm just -- shameless plug for the VO BOSS Blast -- every time when we communicate with our potential clients on our list, we will give bookout dates. And as we mentioned before, the best time, the best time to get all those jobs is when you go on vacation, right?
Laya: Yup, yes.
Anne: So when you inform your potential clients of bookout dates, then hopefully they'll see that as an opportunity to get in touch with you before you go on vacation, right? And hire you then, and have an idea that you're going to be away from, I don't know, this date to this date, or maybe a day here, a day there, and allows them to, number one, because we're sending that email saying, hey, happy summer, just to let you know, I'm going to be booked out from this date to this date. And then it keeps us top of mind.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: So not only are we informing our potential clients when we might be gone, but we're also keeping ourselves top of mind with them by sending that email out and saying, by the way, I'm going to be booked out, happy summer, keep sending those auditions. I love it. So that is one thing that I will do is send out periodic emails, saying happy summer, you know, whatever, here's the newest job that I just did. And keep sending those auditions. I'll be booked out from this date to this date.
Laya: Yes, it's a great way. In fact, I just did that. And as a result, just like you said, it gave my, a few of my clients the foresight and the opportunity to say, hold on, you're here until when?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Let me get to two or three of these things. You think you can knock them out before? Yeah. Will you have your rig? You know, a few of my managers came back and said, wait, wait, wait. You know, when it is like a hard date out and can you still be available?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: So it opens up the conversation and it lets --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- your partners know what your boundaries are, but also gives them an opportunity to flex and maybe book you early or have something waiting for you when you come back, you can't beat that. Right? So the --
Anne: Right? So important to let your agents know when you are -- I cannot tell you how many times, like, my agent or I've heard of stories about agents that, you know, they have a great audition. They send to you, and you don't respond because you're on vacation. And it's one of those things that the agents, please just let me know when you're going to be away, when you're going to be back, what's your availability, because that's something they need to communicate to the client too. So you are working together as a partner with that agent.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And so when you go away, they kind of need to know they need to know these things.
Laya: How -- absolutely right. How far in advance do you let your partners or your agents know?
Anne: As soon as I know, actually that I'm going to be gone.
Laya: Really?
Anne: I'll just send an email and then yeah. And then I'll also send them, you know, probably a week in advance, I will just say, hey, by the way, just wanted to remind you that I'll be out from this date to this date.
Laya: Yeah, that's a good practice.
Anne: And that gives them kind of a heads up. Yeah. So, because if I don't, as soon as I know, that just becomes like, oh, on my task list of to-do's, you know, is let everybody know I'm going to be out, prepare that email that I'm going to send to my potential clients that says here's my bookout dates. And then, especially to my agents, I send that right away. And then I'll remember a week before, because I always set my email too. Well, it depends. Sometimes I set my email to be on vacation. And sometimes I don't. Really depends on how I'm feeling the jobs are flowing in or not.
Laya: Or what kind of vacation you're going on. Right?
Anne: Yeah, exactly. If it's, you know, if it's a weekend or if it's, you know, a few days, I'm not going to do that. But if it's longer than that, I may set up my vacation email. And within that vacation email, just say for important, you know, contact me here or whatever it is. So.
Laya: Yes. And I also love to put it in my signature.
Anne: Yeah. Oh!
Laya: So I'm like you.
Anne: That's a good idea.
Laya: Yeah. I don't give so such a long lead time because I feel like I might get lost in the shuffle, but about two weeks out, I'll let people know. And then I'll go in with an individual email to, you know, managers, agents --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- clients that are in the mix in the moment and say, hey, just by the way. And then about a week and a half, maybe two weeks out, I include it in my signature, an out of office or out of studio dates, just as an asterisk in the bottom of my signature.
Anne: Good idea.
Laya: I find that to be helpful.
Anne: I like that.
Laya: And then even a couple of days out, I will send an auto response to some of my -- it depends again on the type of vacation we're taking, but certainly for this upcoming one. Just keep in mind. Thank you for your email. I'll respond to you shortly. Again, just a reminder, I will be out of a studio from this date to this date. You'll -- I'll, you know, reply momentarily with this current thing before I go or something along those lines, you know? So, so you're really just kind of, another reminder. It just helps so much. I don't think anyone's going to feel like that's a nag. You're helping them to be more available and more accessible. And that's really the name of the game. Right?
Anne: So I do know people that actually go on vacation, and they do not bring the rig.
Laya: Yes, I am so proud of those people. I want to be one of those people.
Anne: Well, I think in that, there's different reasons for that.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And actually I have such respect for people that do that because they know their boundaries. Right?
Laya: Same.
Anne: And they're like, look, I'm on vacation. And that's that. In a lot of ways, it's like, they're confident that, you know, what, if you really want me, you'll be there when I come back.
Laya: Yes, and I love that too.
Anne: That's a great feeling. That's a great, confident way to manifest. Hey, that's okay. Uh, my vacation is important to me in my, and to be able to reset my creativity. I believe that that's a big thing to be, able to reset, refresh. I mean, that's why we go on vacations, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Have you ever gone on a vacation when you come back and you're like, oh, I need a vacation from my vacation?
Laya: From the vacation, yes. I actually set those boundaries up on the weekend. I feel like I don't work.
Anne: On the weekends.
Laya: You know, after about 6:00 on Fridays 'til 8:00 AM on Monday, I take those breaks seriously. I almost never schedule anything work related on those weekends --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: -- so I can give that time to myself and my family. So I do feel like I get the recharge on a regular basis, but of course we need a nicer chunk. So I'll take one vacation a year. And even if it's just a few days where I'm fully checked out -- now I try to build those around seasonal shifts in the industry. Let's talk about that.
Anne: Sure, yeah.
Laya: Like the best time to vacation without your gear. Is there a time annually or seasonally?
Anne: I, you know, that's a really good question because I think in all the years that I've been in this business, you think that a particular time is slow, but then for whatever reason, you'll just all of a sudden become crazy busy. So it's never been consistent for me, except between Christmas and New Year's, if I can say that, the holidays, or -- you know what I mean? The December, January months, I feel that between those two is the time where I feel most people are taking time away from their jobs.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And so, but that's a short period of time. That's like a week. Do you know what I mean?
Laya: Yeah, it really is.
Anne: You know?
Laya: It's almost like the last two weeks of December --
Anne: Yup, of the year.
Laya: -- is a kind of a shutdown. On the flip side of that though, there are a lot of like fast tracking of campaigns --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- that need to get to market or Black Friday deals or last minute commercials --
Anne: The first of the year.
Laya: -- especially in commercial space.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: And I think probably in promos too, that can be hit or miss, but I fully agree with you on that. I think it used to be where like June, when school was out --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- was kind of slow or, or around those big 4th of July weekend type of the -- Memorial Day, the Labor Day weekends. But what I noticed what happened during the pandemic was because so many of us were shut down and home --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and travel was definitely sloughed off, those holes, the slow periods --
Anne: They changed.
Laya: -- they never slowed down.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Laya: They really didn't.
Anne: Absolutely. They, and I think it might've changed it from now on. I really believe that --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- we've kind of changed our lifestyle a little bit, or I don't know really quite how to term it, but I think there's a lot more online advertising than ever before. And I think that's --
Laya: Yes, it's moving so fast.
Anne: Moving fast, and there's just no time for rest. Whereas before I thought there was certain times, certain seasons, but I'll tell you, lately, I don't think there is much, much time.
Laya: There's no off season. Right? In voiceover, which is a blessing and a curse.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And I'm with you that we need to focus and give ourselves some boundaries. I wish we could be in the four day work week. I think society as a whole has --
Anne: That would be great.
Laya: -- has over busied themselves.
Anne: I'm totally there.
Laya: The productivity is like, it's like never enough, which is a shame, which is why I kind of put parameters around my own weekends or my business hours and things like that. That helps me get a grip. Sure, there'll be some occasions that you can't always work in that, in that way. But again, like we were saying about the four-day weekends, those seem to be pretty solid or at least more forgiving --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- among the client and the deadline demands, or even I see like Friday afternoons get real light. And most of the stuff that comes in even Friday morning --
Anne: Yes, yes.
Laya: -- it's like, you can get it to me on Monday.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And that seems to give a wider berth --
Anne: Agreed, agreed.
Laya: -- or more of the four-day feel to your weekend.
Anne: Now --
Laya: Or at least a three feels sometimes.
Anne: I'll tell you what, I am, but I'm guilty. I am guilty of not having a four -- I wish I could have a four day work week. Right now, I'm a little bit on the busy side, not just for voiceover, but because I do different things, right? I --
Laya: True.
Anne: -- I do this podcast. And so there are certain things that I don't necessarily have time for during the week that get pushed to the weekend.
Laya: I agree with that.
Anne: And so I am working right now more like six days a week, rather than, you know, I try to take my Sundays off. And so for that, you know, but I've got a plan. And so the plan in my mind is, you know, at some point I am going to retire. And so I'm working and shaping my business so that I can have a comfortable retirement.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And so therefore I'm building parts of my business that I feel will be able to help me achieve that goal of not having to worry about money when I am retired. And then I can, I have like all the time in the world to travel the world and enjoy, because I'm a really great person to go on vacation and just be on vacation. I can --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- I'm all or nothing. That's kind of my personality, an all or nothing thing. So I'm either all in work, right, and then kind of like maybe a little bit dull at the playtime, although I don't like to think I'm dull, but when I, when I relax --
Laya: You're not dull.
Anne: When I relax, I relax.
Laya: Good.
Anne: And that to me is an amazing thing.
Laya: It's important.
Anne: So now we both kind of admitted that we take our, we take our rigs.
Laya: I take my rig, I'll admit it. I love it. I love what we do. So it's not work for me. It's like I get to do this. And I think to your point about working six days a week, you know what? But you love what you do.
Anne: True.
Laya: So how great is that? And it doesn't feel like work, but of course you got to give your throat or your vocal cords --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- your energy some rest too. So, okay. Let's talk about traveling, traveling with these rigs.
Anne: Traveling with the rig. 416, for sure. 416, for sure. And I will say that so always, always has been and look, I tried them all. They're cute. I tried the, you know, the Apogee mic. I tried all the little, you know, cute small things. Oh, it's travel. So I want it to be travel-sized, and I could never get it to sound, right, the travel booth, maybe that, that little thing that fits over your microphone that, you know, would give you a, then we give you an acoustic kind of barrier. So it would sound good. No, that didn't work.
Laya: No, no.
Anne: And honestly --
Laya: Nothing's going to sound good like the 16.
Anne: And my pillow fort, right? I mean the pillow fort worked well and the ironing board on top of the, you know, on top of the desk.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: But I will say that I fell in love with the tri-booth, and I'm going to actively endorse the tri-booth.
Laya: Oh yeah?
Anne: Which basically is a PVC, you know, moving blanket kind of setup rig that that actually fits in a suitcase, that is less than 50 pounds that you can check. And I love it. I got it when I was moving from one place to another, and I was renting an apartment in between, and it worked awesomely in the apartment. So for a good three months, it kept my business going. And it's wonderful. Fits in a, fits in a suitcase, it's got the rollers and everything, you can check it. And so if I go for a vacation, that's going to be a week or longer, I'm taking that thing with me. It's amazing. Doesn't mean that you can still, you know, record when the maid is in the room vacuuming or even --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- outside the door. But it really, really works amazingly well with the 416, and George Whittam creates those. It's George Whittam and Rick, Rick Wasserman. So George creates a set of stacks, a stack for you to apply, and it just makes everything just beautiful sounding, just like you were at home in your own --
Laya: Really nice.
Anne: Yeah. In your own booth. So that's my plug for the tri-booth, guys. Tribooth.com. Yeah.
Laya: Very cool. There was some sort of a laptop, or maybe a smaller compact version I'd seen. Always curious about them. I haven't used them myself yet, but I've certainly considered an investment in a travel booth setup that could fit in my suitcase. So I'll definitely look into George's deal because he's got, you know, his ears are finely tuned for the good stuff. But for me right now, I've been able to just work with the resources in the room, which is always a toss-up. And like I was saying to my agents earlier this week, yes, I will be available for a directed session, but you never know what screaming kid, what slamming doors --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- what cleaning service is doing in the room at any given time. And you may be off time zones, et cetera, or your own schedule. So it's very hard to plan for that, but I think the 416 gets you there, and it sounds beautiful --
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Laya: -- in kind of all of those makeshift ways, you know? So I take mine with me for sure.
Anne: I, you know, I am going to, I just mentioned to you, I said, tri-booth. That's how they call it, the tri-booth, but if you want more information, it's tribooth.com and I'll have that link. And the cool thing about the tri-booth, just, just a notation is that you stand up in it, and that really, it gives you the freedom to like, just perform. Whereas before, when I used to huddle myself under, you know, under the comforter, under the --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- the ironing board and, you know, the pillow fort, sometimes it got really uncomfortable, you know?
Laya: Sure. You contort yourself in these ways.
Anne: At some point I was on my stomach, right? And I'm trying to like, you know, execute breathing when it's just not natural necessarily coming from that position. So the cool thing is that you can stand up, but it is something like if I were just going away for a weekend, like, and you didn't want to check any luggage that maybe not be your, I'll go back to that pillow fort slash ironing board, but any vacation, yeah --
Laya: Sure, traveling lightly.
Anne: -- that I'm going for more than a few days, I'm bringing it because it's pretty amazing. So that's now my travel rig --
Laya: I love that.
Anne: -- and trust me, I've tried it all. And I think any of you that want to consider travel rigs, or you're new to the industry, just do a Google search for travel VO booth, or travel rig voiceover, and you'll get all sorts of really fun ideas --
Laya: Very cool.
Anne: -- that people use.
Laya: What do you use -- I got to ask, what do you use to mount your 416 or your boom arm or your, uh, your tripod? I found a really cool hand -- it's almost, fits in the palm of your hand. It's a little tripod mic stand that fits the 416 mount perfectly. And it is tiny. It was $10 on Amazon. I can't believe --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- that I'm putting a 416 on a $10 stand, but for travel, it's been working for me. I might have to send you a link.
Anne: You know what, BOSSes, we'll put the link in our notes on the webpage --
Laya: Oh, cool.
Anne: -- because I also have something from Amazon that I have. It's like a fully contained, like, stand that you can put your phone on. You can flip your phone on --
Laya: Very cool.
Anne: -- so you can read your, your scripts as well as the, put the 416 in. With the tri-booth, they actually have an arm that you can mount your 416 on. So it's built in there, comes with --
Laya: Very cool.
Anne: -- yeah, it comes with it. So it's really cool. So we'll put all those links at the end on our page. So very cool.
Laya: Now, Anne, I have another question for you when it comes to travel, if you are traveling and working, is it now a work trip? Is it a tax write-off? Is there anything we can do to massage that because you are working? You're doing some of that business negotiation and maybe meeting with clients?
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: How does that work for you?
Anne: Absolutely. It is. I mean, anything that I might have to purchase, you know, travel-wise equipment wise for working while I'm on the road, absolutely is a write-off. And any time that I might spend, if I'm happen to be in a specific area where I have to, I don't know, maybe I have to go into a studio, I've actually done that as well.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Sometimes I've gone to Vegas and chosen to go to some lovely studios there in Vegas that we all know and love, and that has been a write-off as well. So I believe whatever you can write off while you're working on vacation, absolutely do.
Laya: Well, you made a great point there about booking studio time in the city that you're going. What a, win-win. Not only are you getting to experience a new studio, but you're giving that studio business --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- thus making the relationship between you as talent and showing them your level of professionalism or your performance, or what have you --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- deepening a personal one-on-one relationship with that studio, that engineer, whoever it is on the other side, and creating a bond or making a new connection.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So you're winning with the client, with your project, with yourself, with your time, with your back crammed into a little hole.
Anne: And you know, yeah.
Laya: And you've got that awesome opportunity to, uh, yeah.
Anne: You don't have to worry at that point about what your environment's going to be like. Is your audio going to be good? Is it, you know, you're gonna have to worry about the maid that's vacuuming --
Laya: Exactly.
Anne: -- outside the door or --
Laya: No stress --
Anne: -- the air conditioning system that you have no control over that, you know, kicks on in the middle of it all. So yeah, there is always that. I think before you go on a trip, it's always a good idea to research area studios --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and, you know, check them out to see what their availability and their services are, because maybe you'll need to SourceConnect or ipDTL to a studio while you're there. And, uh, you know, just kind of confirm all of those capabilities, introduce yourself. And it's always good, like you said, to, you know, make those connections.
Laya: Yeah. You never know what those will turn into. So, uh, I have yet to find one where I'm going on my next destination, off to Maui next week. So I'll be off with my rig.
Anne: I'm jealous.
Laya: Before I go, I'm going to look into those, uh, those travel setups, because I think that would make life a lot easier.
Anne: For sure. For sure. Wow. Good conversation, VO on the road. Two of us admitting that yeah, we take our rigs on the road all the time.
Laya: I take it, I take it.
Anne: And I aspire to go on that vacation where I say, no, I'm sorry, I'm on vacation, so you'll wait for me for when I come back. But that's cool. It's all good. As you mentioned, I mean, we love what we do. So I mean --
Laya: Exactly.
Anne: -- if it's not going to take away every single moment of my vacation, I'm more than happy to bring it along and, you know, help fund fun things that we might do on vacation.
Laya: Exactly. It helps pay for the vacation. If you think of it that way, that's the modern mindset approach. If you're flipping the script on that.
Anne: And a write-off.
Laya: Exactly. And how to apply it financially.
Anne: There you go.
Laya: So no matter how you VO on the road, think about these opportunities. I think, uh, you never know how it could play out in the best way for your business. Right?
Anne: Absolutely. VO on the road. All right, Laya, another excellent conversation.
Laya: Thanks, Anne. You too. Good one.
Anne: You guys, if you are going on vacation, enjoy that vacation. If you've got a travel rig, take it. Don't use it too much. Make sure you're, you're going there and refreshing your creativity, but hey, don't miss up on those opportunities. And BOSSes, a big shout-out to our sponsor ipDTL that does allow us to connect even on vacation --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and network like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week. Have an amazing vacation, Laya, I'm jealous.
Laya: Thank you, yes.
Anne: Yeah. And we'll see you when you get back.
Laya: All right.
Anne: Bye-Bye.
Laya: Bye-Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
What if you could perform beyond the limitations of your own voice? Anne is joined by special guest Alex Serdiuk for a bonus Voice and Ai episode. They discuss Respeecher’s speech-to-speech technology, the limitations of your natural voice, and how a synthesized voice is similar to a printing press. The future isn’t just on its way - the future is here - and creative possibilities are endless when human voices and technology work together...
Do you have the courage to invest in yourself? In this episode, Anne and Laya share how they built their dream booths and how you can too! From soundproofing to equipment, they cover picking the right recording space, investing in quality materials & technology, and taking that financial leap of faith to up your bookability + professionalism like a #VOBOSS!
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today, and for the last few sessions, I have been so happy to be co-hosting with special guest Laya Hoffman. Laya! How are you?
Laya: Hi. I'm so good, Anne. Loving this, and we've got more cool stuff to talk about. I feel like I could talk to you for hours and hours.
Anne: I know. Right? Well, speaking of which, you know, I met you, Laya, when I first met you, I actually didn't meet you. I saw an amazing booth tour of your new booth.
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: Now I think you had just moved, and you built a booth -- is it downstairs?
Laya: Yes, I would -- I would like to say it's an entire studio, if I may, because --
Anne: Yes, you built an entire studio. Yes, you did.
Laya: It was a dream come true. Let me tell you, and it's because I came out of a booth, but we can go even further back then.
Anne: I was so impressed.
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: I was so impressed with your booth tour that I thought, oh my gosh, that is like the coolest video booth tour I've ever seen.
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: And I absolutely loved your space. And you were sharing that space also with your daughter doing your podcast. And I just, I reached out to you, and that's basically how we met. And I'm so glad that we did, because now here we are doing a podcast series, so I'm absolutely loving it. And I thought let's talk about our booths because we've had some really wonderful experiences in building our booths. And I'll tell you what, my booth experiences, they've just been an evolution of my business, and coming from, you know, being in the closet -- and there's nothing wrong with recording in your closet. It's all about, you know, the sound that you're getting, but I'll tell you what, there's something to be said for graduating to a booth that's kind of like a custom beautiful place that you can sit --
Laya: It's a big girl booth.
Anne: Yeah, a big girl booth, I love it -- when you can sit and just do what you love. And I just absolutely love my new booth. Let's talk about our booths 'cause we're booth babes. Let's do it.
Laya: Booth babes. I love it. Yes. The modern mindset is to create space that you feel good in.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so to be, whether it is your closet or your you've created a new studio, or you've got a custom booth or a Whisper Room or any one of those things, a Studio Bricks, there's so many beautiful options out there. No matter what space you're working in, I think it's important to just feel good in this space. So like you said.
Anne: Agreed.
Laya: You know, no matter where you are in the stage of your career or your journey, as long as you feel good there, and there's something that connects you to your surroundings and your atmosphere, that's when you're going to feel your best and to deliver your best. Exactly.
Anne: And you know what's so interesting is I've been through a few booths. I don't mean that to like, oh, I got one booth after the next, after the next, but one of my first actual booth-booths instead of being in my closet was built by my dad. And there's something to be said --
Laya: That's awesome.
Anne: -- about being in a space that you feel good about. My dad built me that booth out of love.
Laya: Yes!
Anne: I mean, my dad has always supported me, never once asked me a question about what I was doing. He didn't necessarily understand voiceover, but when I said, Dad, I need to build a booth. That gives me some good sound. And so my dad was like, okay, let's do it. And my dad bought me this booth. And every time I stepped in that booth, and I'm going to get a little bit like probably teary because I just felt his love every single time.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And I, I used that for years.
Laya: That's so beautiful.
Anne: I used that booth for years and every time I stepped in there, I felt my dad's love and confidence in me and just his support. And it was a wonderful, wonderful thing. And I'll tell you about --
Laya: What a beautiful experience for you.
Anne: Yeah. And with my new booth, I also made sure because now he's older, I also made sure that he was involved in the booth, and he was here for the building of this booth too, which I'm so, so proud of.
Laya: I bet he took great pride in that, you know, so doing something with his hands that he could create to give his daughter this gift is so beautiful, Anne. Good for you. What a nice story.
Anne: It is, it is awesome.
Laya: I have a different story, but --
Anne: That's what -- let's hear it. Let's hear it. I'm ready.
Laya: We moved into a new house a few years ago, and we're in the northwest suburbs here of Atlanta. And, uh, the basement was unfinished. So, you know, when basements are unfinished and weird, there's like cement, dusty floors and two by fours and insulation that's just like rotting off the walls? Yeah. It's just full of probably terrible pollutants. Well, that was my first booth. Um, we call it Skid Row studios. I used a bunch of mattresses.
Anne: I love it. Oh my gosh, you had mattresses. I love it.
Laya: It was a mattress factory booth. It was disgusting. I'm not proud of the mites and the weirdness that I was probably consuming in that box. But you know, that just goes to show you work with what you got, you know, and if you really love this work, and you can get through that, you can carry on through and have a pretty solid career, I'm pretty sure. If that didn't break me, that mattress factory Skid Row studio.
Anne: Skid Row studio.
Laya: It really was. That was my first studio. And then after that, I invested in a custom booth, and I won't even give the brand because unfortunately this situation was a super negative one for me, and the booth arrived on a pallet. You know, you can imagine how excited you are. You invested --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- this giant chunk of change in your business. It was like my last dollar, but I knew that the space was not secure --
Anne: Yeah, sure.
Laya: -- and it wasn't healthy to be in that space for me. And my daughter was working with me at the time. So, you know, she's six years old. I didn't want to breathing her all of that and making the experience less than enjoyable. So I invested, and this thing came on a pallet as they do broken into a million pieces.
Anne: Oh man.
Laya: And so it was really, I can't even tell you how my heart sunk into my stomach.
Anne: Yeah, I bet.
Laya: Like, was this a bad decision for my business? I mean, we, uh, gosh, it really almost broke me, but it was that learning experience of building it back together, dealing with the manufacturer, who's not kind, and it was really unfortunate to make me realize, like, I do really want this, and I'm going to work towards creating space one day that I can achieve that feels good.
Anne: Oh yeah, and that you are deserving of.
Laya: And is every bit the essence.
Anne: Right? You absolutely -- that was my big thing is when I built the studio, what well, both studios, it was, it was a space that I was deserving of, you know, and a space that I needed, and I needed to be able to feel good to perform well. And that was a huge part.
Laya: And making the investment sometimes, while it seems like a bit of a gut punch, especially if you don't have it, it all goes back to the mindset of building your voiceover business, right?
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: You have to invest and you have to spend the money to make the money.
Anne: True.
Laya: And in a way that was my brick and mortar investment, right? Which, I didn't have a storefront and didn't have to create a shop, buy a bunch of merchandise. My business was that space. And so making that investment, while I just knew it would pay off eventually, but it had to feel right around me to get there.
Anne: Oh yes.
Laya: And that gave me the confidence to continue on. And now here we are, we're in a custom-made studio, and I couldn't be more proud of this space. So, and feel, feel, I couldn't feel more amazing in here too.
Anne: Oh yeah, yeah.
Laya: So yeah, let's get into that.
Anne: Well, so I'll tell you about, I'll go back to my first built booth. I mean, because I, you know, I, myself was in -- I was in a closet, and it was a, it was a closet that was like a storage closet. And what I didn't realize, I thought, well, everybody, you know, everybody starts in their closet. It wasn't a clothes closet. Right? So there were a lot of hard surfaces. And in my early years, I don't know anything about sound or, you know, creating a good space for, for my recording. And so, no matter what I did, had carpet in there, I tried to hang blankets, no matter what I did, it sounded horrible. And so ultimately that was when I talked to my dad and I said, Dad, I need a space. And he built it. And it just was wonderful. And I will, I'm going to give a big plug for George Whittam, who was an amazing help, who helped us really kick that up another notch and make it sound amazing. And that was just, it was a homemade booth. You know, we went and got lumber and drywall, and at the time we had installation. We didn't use Rockwool, but George was able to help us really add panels that had Rockwool in it and make things sound really amazing and also give me a set of filters, you know, that always helps.
Laya: Presets, yeah.
Anne: I always recommend presets, get those stacks to, to really just make that sound amazing. And it was a wonderful thing. I've got it all documented. I'll put links, you know, on our page so you guys can see it links with the materials we used. But this past couple of years, when I moved, I had an extra office space, and I too had almost come to the decision where I was going to order a pre-built booth. And it was going to be very expensive. It was going to take a long time to get to me. And I, you know, was kind of going back and forth between, should I get this pre-built booth because I want to make sure my house is, you know, resale, I'm already thinking resale, even though I haven't moved into it yet, but I'm thinking --
Laya: Yeah, you have to think about that, for sure.
Anne: -- I don't want to build a booth in my house because it might affect resale value. So I'm thinking pre-built booth. And then by the time --
Laya: And you can take it with you, right, if you, if you were to move. You could break it down, you know, and that's great, great theory.
Anne: But I was floored, I was floored by the expense --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- of the booths.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And then I thought, gosh, I'm going to have to hire somebody to install it for me. And then, and then I came to find out that yet you needed to add stuff on the inside of the booth. And I'm like -- for voiceover, then there was a whole other thing where, oh, okay. So then I've got to treat it. And I think that's the case with a lot of prebuilt booths where people don't always realize that you, sometimes you do have to add to the inside of that booth --
Laya: Oh yes, oh yes.
Anne: -- to make it an acoustic space that is, you know, worthy. And then I ended up just looking around thinking, what else can I do? Because this just seems, there's no guaranteed date as to when it's going to get there. And I need to be able to continue my work. You know, in the meantime, I'm in an apartment or a rental, you know, until my house, my house was being built, until it was ready. And I thought, I just, there's no way to guarantee the delivery on a certain day without having to wait a whole long time. And I said, let's look into a custom built booth.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I contacted a good friend of mine. And I think someone that you also know, and --
Laya: Drumroll, please.
Anne: -- everybody loves, Mr. Tim Tippets, who --
Laya: Tim Tippets.
Anne: -- was just an amazing, amazing instrument in creating the space that I have now. And I absolutely love it. From start to finish, he helped me design it. He actually came here and literally he left the day or the day before lockdown in California.
Laya: I remember that. I remember watching that unfold on social media --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and thought, I mean, he's my audio angel also.
Anne: Isn't he, right?
Laya: I have a heart for, for Tim.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: And the fact that he kind of brought us together.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Laya: I watched that whole build go down. You guys did an amazing job --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- of tracking it in real time.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And just how many hands were involved in the process --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and the complexity of building a studio into the walls, into the fabric of your home. It really takes it to a different level. And there are so many nuances, right?
Anne: Well, yeah, absolutely.
Laya: So it was fascinating to see your process. I loved it.
Anne: And you know, what's really cool is that it's not really built into the room. It's actually a booth within the room.
Laya: Okay, cool.
Anne: So it just looks like it's a part of the room, which is really a really cool thing. So if I ever moved from here, all I've got to do is take down a couple of the walls, and I've not really destroyed. I mean, the walls that he's put up around this booth.
Laya: Oh, that's so cool. I didn't realize that.
Anne: So, yeah, so I haven't destroyed, yeah, I haven't destroyed any of the original construction, which is --
Laya: Very cool.
Anne: -- really cool. And you, again, I've got an extensive blog on that creation and how wonderful it was. We -- it did take at least three to five people on a day-to-day basis, and it is perfectly custom built, and it actually ended up being more efficient cost-wise than a prebuilt. Believe it or not.
Laya: It's kind of -- no, I believe it. I believe it wholeheartedly in fact.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: I had a similar experience with mine, so it's nice to hear that you felt the same way too, because I think the misconception can be, if you build a studio space in your home or a booth within a room situation like you did, oh, it's gotta be totally crazy expensive. Or you get all these crazy quotes from contractors --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- who might be considering what it takes to build a theater room, which is acoustically very different --
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Laya: -- than a voiceover specific room.
Anne: And I'm not saying that in all instances, is it going to be cheaper than this or -- that really depends on what booths you're looking at, but I will say --
Laya: Know what you're using, yeah.
Anne: -- completely customized to me.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: I don't think I could have gotten a pre-built booth that was custom the way this is. Like, literally they measured like how tall I was to where to mount the monitor, the height of the desk, where to put the electrical, understanding where I'm putting lighting, just amazing. I have two mics in here and the third mic outside of the booth, just connecting everything. There's no way I could have gotten something equivalent with a prebuilt situation.
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And for that, I am eternally grateful, and I just, I come in this booth and I love it. I love it. And my father, he's so funny because my father, it -- this actually has -- it's double-walled, right? Green-glued, Rockwool everywhere and Rockwool panels.
Laya: Same, same.
Anne: And it's got two doors. So not just one. I'm all proud of the fact that I have two doors to get into this booth. And my father, love him, love him, love him. He was like, okay, it's -- their actual, you know, like doors that you would use --
Laya: Solid core doors, solid core.
Anne: -- like solid core doors. And they have a lock on them. And my father's like, no, you will take that lock out because we don't want Anne to ever, you know, possibly lock herself in, or, you know, God forbid, somebody, you know what I mean? God forbid somebody breaks in the house in --
Laya: Yeah, you gotta think about the safetiness. Sure.
Anne: Oh, he's all about my safety. And he was just adamant. So we --
Laya: I love your dad.
Anne: I know! We had to remove the locks.
Laya: Never met him, I love him.
Anne: So there's no way I can lock myself in the booth. And I have had that issue. I've read other people who've had the issue where they've locked them -- what if something happened? I mean, God forbid, I, you know, faint in the booth, and you know, nobody can get to me because it's locked. So, you know, my dad was stickler for that. And really it was lovely having him here the whole time with the crew and overseeing things. It was really lovely.
Laya: Awesome.
Anne: And I just, I cannot say enough wonderful things about Tim and Tim's crew who helped me to build this amazing, completely custom booth. So.
Laya: Well, I had a similar experience, but very different, and of course a different outcome, but I have the same sentiment. I walk into this space every day, and I get to share it with my daughter --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- which is also a gift. And it just pulls out this most creative, amazing feeling of love and excitement and pride for the work that we do and how far we've come doing this work. And yes, it was an investment and yes, I had that booth, but the booth always, because of how the situation was handled, always had this air of negativity --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- a bit of regret and resentment. And I could feel that energetically. And so I knew that when we remodeled our, when we finished our basement rather, that we had always planned to create space where I could work. And while I also thought about resell value and things like that, the way we built it will be ideal for the next person to create their studio or their office or their gym in, um, that kind of keeps the sound contained. As you know, there's so much work from home now.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: This will create the perfect space for someone else to create their office in, in the future. But we have no plans to do that for a long time. But we worked with our general contractor who initially, like I said, had the thought that, oh, you just build it like a movie theater. You know, we'll throw up some, uh, audio seal sound barrier on the wall --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and then we'll, you know, play over it. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Anne: And they always want that, that soundproof drywall, which is not what you want actually.
Laya: Right, not what you want.
Anne: There's that -- the stuff they sell at Lowe's. And I think they call it soundproof or I forget what kind of drywall they call it, but it's very heavy --
Laya: Yup.
Anne: -- and it's not what you need for a booth.
Laya: And so of course, I got my audio angel involved in --
Anne: Yes, Tim.
Laya: -- again, this is in the height of the pandemic. And so Tim Tippets, we consulted virtually. We did an initial run through, and this was new for him. Of course he wanted to be hands on like he was for yours.
Anne: Oh, he's so passionate.
Laya: And you got to love that.
Anne: Gosh.
Laya: This was on the heels of your booth. We think we built in November. And so we were doing some consults, and I would show him the schematics. And luckily I was working with a designer on the entire basement space. So this was just a portion of it, which, and it was twofold positive because I got to write off a portion of our construction bill --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and supplies on the studio and roll that into the cost of, of the overall build and renovation. So that was a plus, but Tim really worked with us to make sure my contractor knew --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- firsthand what the right supplies were, you know, using Rockwool --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- using Green Glue --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- making sure to create that space in between the dry wall --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- double layered walls, et cetera. The ceiling is even double layered. We were very clear about, I even have a solid core wood door, just one, but it's doing the trick, and a triple-paned glass window.
Anne: Oh yes, nice.
Laya: So I don't feel claustrophobic in here. I can see from a safety perspective, et cetera. And so that's been a blessing, but then we took it a bunch of steps further just because I had supplies, and we were creating the space for a multitude of reasons. We were of course doing voiceover work. So there's a specific corner in the room that has our yellow tack mic and boom arms. And I can sit at the desk and have this dead dead sound in the corner. And then the other side, which is the podcasting based, more of a lounge, it's able to be both acoustically and aesthetically sound so that I can film the show on camera.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: And it's a beautiful lounge.
Anne: Beautiful.
Laya: Thank you so much and colorful --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- so it invokes creativity and sparks joy. And, uh, my daughter feels like this is just as much her space. In fact, she had a hand in picking everything from the colors of the acoustic panels to the couch and the Dalmatian print floor.
Anne: So let's -- let's talk a bit about the famous acoustic panels that are Tim Tippets'.
Laya: Yes!
Anne: He's got that amazing DYI, YouTube videos --
Laya: He does.
Anne: -- and I'll tell you what, and I've purchased acoustic panels before, and they're expensive.
Laya: They are.
Anne: And the way that Tim makes these panels, it's amazing, number one. I have throughout my booth and my room, I have 27 of Tim's custom panels.
Laya: Yup.
Anne: 27. Which is --
Laya: That is an obscene amount.
Anne: It's obscene.
Laya: But I feel like I have a lot as well.
Anne: But I have a big room too.
Laya: I love them. Yeah. Well pad -- padded rooms, you know, I feel safe in here. It's kind of nice. And I love his build. I, before I knew about Tim's build, I had -- and in here in our backyard in Atlanta, GIK Acoustics is in our neck of the woods, and I had purchased six panels for my four by six standalone booth. Because as you mentioned earlier, it's not good enough to have this double wall expensive custom booth. You also got to get the panels in there --
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: -- and the foam, if you like.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: I mean, whatever. So we put all that back in the room, and then I was also got really lucky. Otherwise I too would have built Tim's panels, but a good friend of mine that owns a nearby studio here was offloading some Wenger acoustic panels. They're huge. I mean, I think I have a two on the ceiling, two cloud floats. They're six foot by three foot, to give you some idea.
Anne: Wow, that's great.
Laya: And they are huge. Um, we recovered them, made them our own, and popped them up on the wall for fairly inexpensive because --
Anne: Excellent.
Laya: -- I bought them used, you know, so you gotta do what you can do, but I love those resources Tim's made available.
Anne: We, we were like a panel making shop out in the garage.
Laya: Yes. Oh yeah.
Anne: And you know, one thing that I'll -- I'll mention that I did not realize is that Tim is such a stickler for detail. I mean, every single part, like you could just see him on a day-to-day basis. Like just everything going on in his head, like calculating the most perfect sound to come out of --
Laya: The guy's a machine. Totally.
Anne: He is -- he -- now, and I never realized this, but I have four inch thick panels.
Laya: Yeah, same here.
Anne: Now when I purchased my panels, yeah, when I purchased my panels before I had just purchased two inches, not thinking anything of it, like, do I need thicker? But he explained so very nicely to me why the four inches and plus he, he puts them --
Laya: Right, the air flow in the back. Right? You gotta have that.
Anne: Exactly. He's got air flow in the back, which I never realized. And all of these little tiny details, which really make a huge, huge difference when you're in my booth.
Laya: And it defines the sound, right? And so when we all -- we like to talk about having broadcast quality sound. Sure, sure. Here. Who knows what the barometer for that really is when it comes to home studios or your noise floor, but he was able to, and again, he wasn't onsite, but because of the way I was able to generate the 3d cads --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- we actually had the design team take the size specs of my acoustic panels. I was very concerned about it because I was like, these things are huge.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: If we put them in the walls and mount them up or I get the placement wrong --
Anne: You've lost all this space.
Laya: Oh my gosh. Right. And then how do you configure furniture? I must have racked my brain about that for forever. But Tim explained it in very simple terms as he does --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- um, for the acoustically challenged and, um, help you really maximize the space. And it sounds pristine because of it. And so I'm so grateful for that knowledge --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and his support. Yeah.
Anne: And I will say again, this podcast is been renamed to the Tim Tippets love fest.
Laya: So he does not need to be -- how does he go anywhere?
Anne: Honestly, he is probably one of the best teachers, right? Not only is he amazing at creating an acoustic space, but he also can teach you, like you said, he explains it to you in layman's terms --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- so that it makes it easy to understand. And I really had such an education watching this booth go up with Tim and just understanding. And so I just, again, you know, kudos and, and just so grateful for Tim and his help for this booth. And I don't ever need another booth. I mean, unless of course I'm going to move again.
Laya: I'm not going anywhere.
Anne: But I am so happy. I am so happy in this space. And there's so much to be said for being happy in this space. You know, my father had a hand in it and Tim was just wonderful. And that just makes a huge difference because we spend a lot of time here. So you, you know, one of the modern mindset is that you, as a talent, as a creative, as an artist, you deserve a space in which you feel amazing in.
Laya: Yeah, so you can give the best possible performance.
Anne: Make that investment, you know, and it's, and it may be hard. I understand. There's so many people that get into this industry and they're like, yeah, but this is so expensive. Or this, that is so expensive. I think, you know, BOSSes, we need to keep in mind that this is a business, there are investments to be made. And they're not necessarily like while you can get away with a pillow fort and an ironing board and a, and a comforter, you know, ultimately in the long run you make a good investment. Had I realized, you know, so many years ago when we were talking about our VO-to-go travel rigs, that I should have just gotten a 416. I spent so much money on all those cute little other mics that I couldn't make sound good. Same thing. I think I graduated into this custom built booth, but I absolutely, it was the right time for me. And I had come to a point in my business where I said, you know what? I deserve. I deserve a --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- an amazing booth. I deserve that. And why have I not thought about that before? I don't need to cram myself into a little space --
Laya: No.
Anne: -- or, you know, into a closet if I can reinvest that money. And I think it takes courage to invest a significant amount of money into your studio. And --
Laya: It does.
Anne: You know? And this pandemic of course has heightened, right, the fact that we need good spaces.
Laya: Yeah. And your audio imprint is again, your brand. It is everything. So why not make it sound the best?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I've said before in a previous podcast, but my modern mindset always goes back to the fact that I'm not trying to break the bank. I'm very frugal and very aware of the spending in the investments that I'm making. For sure. However, I don't want to spend twice. And it's --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- if I get it right the first time, then that sets me up for success as far as my brand, my accountability, my audio imprint. Because if you send out crap audio in this day and age, you won't get a second listen, and you can tell the difference. And so what I do, even with the studio, even having the presets dialed in, having worked with Tim often, I will often check back in with producers that I'm close with --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and people I've worked for before and say, hey, give me an audio check real quick. I'm always tweaking.
Anne: Great idea.
Laya: I'm always making sure, like I am audibly standing up to the competition. And nine times out of ten, I hear your audio stands up better than most, for sure. And definitely is a clear definitive -- you can hear it. You can hear the difference. You can hear that you're a pro by the audio you deliver. And so if that is your first impression, and that's all you got, I mean, your performance could be amazing. But if the acoustics and the sound don't have the utmost clarity, then your professionalism just kind of got knocked down a notch unfortunately.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: So it is something to consider when approaching where your next steps are going --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- in your business or where you are today.
Anne: It is a package. And I, and I think, yeah, I like to bring in the modern mindset philosophy here is that, you know, you are a package of your audio, your sound, the way you present yourself online, the whole thing is a package. And the whole thing makes a difference. If you are set with putting forth your brand in a very professional way. So.
Laya: Yeah, it definitely affects your bookability for sure. And one of the reasons, just going back to your how we met, the reason I created -- I hired a film company that normally does tours for homes as they go to market --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: You know, if you can, you can hire somebody like that. And that's exactly what I did because I knew the cost would be more effective that way.
Anne: Oh my gosh. The marketing was amazing.
Laya: Yeah, thank you. And then that using that video on my website, on YouTube as part of my signature --
Anne: Part of your market. Yeah.
Laya: It's the audio nerds that love that stuff. It's the engineers who book you, the creatives, that book you that see that. And they're like, oh my God, this chick knows what's up.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: How cool is that?
Anne: Yes!
Laya: And I got a lot of work just from that video.
Anne: Just from that video. And the cool thing is, is that you're not necessarily like saying, hire me, hire me, voiceover. You're not doing like, hey, this is Laya. You know, this is my voice. You're actually showcasing your, your studio, and you're passionate about it and your personality. So it becomes like, you know, we talk about our podcast, right? It's like a side benefit. People get to know you through your podcast. People get to know you through your studio tour, and they get to see that personality. And they say, you know what? I want to work with her.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: She knows what's going on.
Laya: And your level of commitment.
Anne: Yeah, exactly.
Laya: Yeah, right?
Anne: And so it really becomes, it becomes that whole modern mindset. The package, here I am, the deal. I'm the real deal here. So.
Laya: I'm the pro with a modern minded BOSS. Right Anne?
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: I love it. Thank you. Good talk.
Anne: Well, this has been so much fun talking about our booths, 'cause we love them.
Laya: I hope to come to your booth one day --
Anne: That's right.
Laya: and I hope you can come to mine.
Anne: Me too.
Laya: You know, one day we'll BOSS up that way --
Anne: Me too.
Laya: -- when the world opens.
Anne: So BOSSes, remember you deserve, you deserve a good space. You deserve a good space. You deserve to feel --
Laya: Feel good in it.
Anne: Yeah. You deserve to feel amazing in this space where you are creating and performing and being the artist that you are. So big shout-out to ipDTL who is in the booth today. You can find out more at ipdtl.com, and you guys, have an amazing week. Laya, it's been amazing as always. Thank you.
Laya: Thank you for having me, Anne. Thanks, BOSSes, for listening. It was good to be back.
Anne: All right, guys. See you next week. Bye-bye.
Laya: See you. Bye-Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Whether you’re working a zero-inbox system or have thousands of unread emails, we’re going to teach you how to manage your email marketing like a #VOBOSS. In this episode, Anne and Laya discuss strategies for running successful email campaigns and teach you how to manage your mass communications like a total pro. From concise content creation to developing better reading and writing skills, it’s all about strengthening your marketing muscle!
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my amazing special guest co-host Laya Hoffman.
Laya: Hey Anne, hey BOSSes. It's great to be back. I've enjoyed our conversations, this entire sequence of modern mindset. I really appreciate being here and all you shared with me. So thanks for having me back.
Anne: Yeah, so let's continue, shall we, on our modern mindset? Because our last few episodes we've talked about marketing, social media, and I think an important one to cover as well, in order to evolve, our businesses is email marketing.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Like, do you do email marketing? How do you do email marketing well, in a modern way? How do you not become a spam annoying --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- person out there? So, yeah, it's very, again, with all the chaos that is out there today, everything digital flying at us, it's hard to know sometimes.
Laya: It's a lot of noise. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. How do you cut through the noise?
Laya: Exactly. And stay relevant, stay top of mind with your clients without kind of brow beating and being a bit of a nag and being the thing that clogs up their inbox. Because the last thing you want is them to roll their eyes when they see, you know, oh gosh, another Monday morning email from Laya Hoffman that's about her, and not anything I need. You know? I mean, that's where I'm very cognizant of. I think there was a big push maybe a couple of years ago when email marketing was at its height. And it seemed like there's still a lot of talent that subscribe to that train of thought that is like, oh, I must get content out. I must get a direct email to my list.
Anne: A newsletter.
Laya: I need to cultivate my newsletter.
Anne: It was a thing, a newsletter to the list.
Laya: And maybe it's still a thing, if you really have important quality content and information to share, that's rich for your client or your audience, like a podcast or a new episode. And you've got buy-in from the people that, that are really connected to that.
Anne: Backing up. Buy-in.
Laya: Okay. Buy-In. How do you even know?
Anne: Let's start there. 'Cause I think, right, before we send email, we have to have a list. And before we have a list, we really honestly should get permission --
Laya: You should.
Anne: -- for people to be on that.
Laya: It's the law.
Anne: It is the law.
Laya: That's the thing.
Anne: It is to be spam compliant. And I want this to be so important. If you guys get anything out of this episode, let it be that if you have permission for your clients to be on your list, that is really the optimum way of being able to communicate with your clients and your potential clients. And there's so many people out there with cold emails, and it's a lot of discussions going on in the groups and everything. And cold emailing is certainly way. However, I'm going to tell you, how do you feel -- first of all, actually, I won't tell you, I'll ask you. How do you feel when you get an uninvited email from somebody --
Laya: Gross, icky.
Anne: -- that's trying to sell SEO or trying to sell, uh, you know, we can develop your web page. I get it. And I look at it and I go, hmm, I didn't ask for that.
Laya: You automatically -- yeah. You automatically have a bad taste in your mouth, right?
Anne: Yeah, I don't like it.
Laya: That's the last thing you want from your clients, for sure.
Anne: So cold emailing anything, it's just, it's a tricky, tricky business. So I want to warn people to please just be very, very cognizant of what it is that you're writing in those emails and how you're sending those emails. I tend to get people's permission before I email to them. And there's lots of different ways to do it. It's a little bit more, I would say than an advanced kind of a method to do that instead of just mining Google for production companies or owners of companies. I think that with a little bit of work and a little bit of innovative marketing of yourself, you can get people on your mailing list, and then they're not going to be angry when you email them.
Laya: I tell you what I did when I first started my email list. And I dunno, there's a couple of hundred emails on there, and sure, I'm able to get that. You can sign up on my email list on my website, 'cause there's a capture there. Or if you've ever sent me a message on my website --
Anne: But that's a good thing. Right?
Laya: -- on my website --
Anne: That's a good thing.
Laya: Sure. You know, there's not a lot of people that are signing up on my website because I don't really have a newsletter. It's more of an inquiry --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- taken there. But what I did, I think as I started to cultivate my list of clients, I would send -- and I only send maybe an email once a quarter as mostly about bookout dates or anything, really new and relevant that may be worth sharing and provide value to them. Like, you know, the kickoff of our podcast or this podcast right here. Hey, check this out. You might find value in this. I say at the top of the message always why and how I've secured their email. You know, thank you for being a great client of mine. I've enjoyed working with you in the past. I would like to include you in this message. However, if this doesn't resonate with you, and you'd like me to remove your name in the future, please click here. That's almost like the first thing that I have communicated. And I feel like that may cross the line a little bit, but it's still asking for permission right from the jump. What do you say?
Anne: Oh no, I think that's excellent. I think if you did not actually get their permission by, you know, they clicked on that -- because I actually have pop-up windows on all of my websites that say, do you want to be involved or do you want to get on my mailing list? And so there's the terms and policy that is there as well, saying that --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- by clicking this box, you agree to allow marketing, blah, blah, blah, blah. I can't remember the exact verbiage, but it's there. So if they decide to be on my mailing list, they agree that I will be able to market to them, and they will have the option to get off of that mailing list. So that's number one for me. And so for me, because I have three different brands that do three different functions, that helps me to get a lot of people on my list. If you're just doing voice talent, you're right. People are probably not running to your website and clicking, oh, sign me up.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: But even so the ones that do, which I think are great, anybody that might want to inquire how much it might cost you to do a particular job, and maybe they'll sign up for email. That's great. You've got their permission. And then also if you're going to do that cold email, I love the fact that in the very beginning of you say, hey, you've been a client of mine. If not, you know, if you would like to be taken off this email list, click here or simply reply, remove to this email. And I've seen that on like a, a regular text email. You know, for me, I send out all emails that are HTML enabled and have graphics and that sort of thing. But if you're just writing through Gmail or Apple mail or however, you're communicating with these people, a simple text message that says, this is how I got your email. Please reply remove if you'd like to be removed from this list.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I think that is the most gracious way to do a cold email.
Laya: Exactly. That gives grace and says like, asking permission right off the jump and letting them know how you secured their information because privacy is a big thing.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: You got to respect that in every aspect we can. And that kind of takes that --
Anne: It's the law.
Laya: -- gross feeling off. For sure. It's the law.
Anne: It's the law.
Laya: Stick to the regulations and follow the rules, people.
Anne: It's funny how many people don't -- like you think just sending an email to somebody unsolicited, you know what I mean? It is the law.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: I mean, it, I mean, people may not take action, but it is the law.
Laya: Well, in the states --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- it's less, I think, regulated as bad here, but like, you know, in the European Union --
Anne: Oh my God.
Laya: GDPR, Canada. Absolutely.
Anne: And California now has their own set of rules. And so --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- it really is. And I think as we progress, and data just becomes increasingly larger and larger and just more and more digital information coming at us, I don't think those laws are going to go away. I think they're going to be more of them coming. And so we need to secure permission in order to email people. And I think that is a very forward thinking, modern mindset, number one. So how do you get people on your list? You must offer them a way to get off of the list if you did not ask for their permission. Absolutely. So that's number one.
Laya: That's number one. Yeah. And then frequency in general, I think we touched on this just a moment ago. I have a different kind of routine than you do, but also a very different brand and I'm not offering coaching and products and things like that, but always providing value within that email. And keeping it, for me, I feel like everyone realizes their attention span.
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: We -- the humankind has the intention span of a gnat these days. You know, if you're still listening right now, a few minutes in, we're grateful for that attention because thank you for being more than a gnat.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: But really you, you have to be concise in your message and don't waste the reader's time. Value their time and input and that they gave that much to you. So being concise is key. What is there? There's like a new acronym at the top, TL/DR. Too long didn't read. And that's really to give you the footnotes of what you may say in three paragraphs in three sentences. And so once you write that email, I always take a step back, come back to it a few hours, or you know, even a day later, if I have that opportunity and like cut it down. I mean, you feel like you've got so much to say. Somebody else may only have just, you know, wants the bullets or the, the light version of that. So keep that in mind.
Anne: And you, and you mentioned too that you send a quarterly email and say, well, maybe if you're going to book out a certain amount. So very similar to our BOSS Blasts, you know, we do a monthly BOSS Blast that just has bookout dates. It's super simple. It's like a few sentences. Hey, happy summer, you know, nothing that's necessarily too spammy or selly and oh, by the way, here's the new project that I just voiced or whatever that is, a picture of my cat. Again, it could be, you know, something that is not going to be intensely annoying. By the way the BOSS Blasts are --
Laya: Or selly.
Anne: Or selly. By the way, the BOSS Blasts are all what I call vetted lists. People have already given permission. So we do a once a month. And in reality, we also know who we're sending to, so agencies or we're sending to in-house production companies. So if they've already agreed to allow us to send them email, they're expecting us to market to them. But again, we still don't want to waste their time. We're very succinct in our body of our text and our email. And hey, these are my bookout dates. Here's a new project, send a link to YouTube channel. If they want to take a look at that, and hey, have a great summer or, you know, hope you're doing well. And that's it.
And actually once a month, if you think about it, and I always tell the story, like I subscribe to, I don't know, Old Navy, right? Old Navy three or four times a week sends me email when they have sales on different things. And so I know I'm subscribed, so I'm okay with getting the email from Old Navy. And as it goes through my inbox, I see it. I look at the subject, I look at who it's from. I look at the subject, and if that subject entices me to open it up, like maybe there's a sale. Well, I have -- a sale on shorts. I have a need for a pair of shorts. That's going to make me click it. I click it. And then I see the body of the email. Maybe there's a coupon code or whatever there is. And then if I want to go and buy, I will go to the website and buy. Think of that in terms of your voiceover business.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: So people may just see who it's coming from and your subject line. And if they don't need you at the time, they may just let it go through your inbox. Especially if they've given you permission, right, to allow you to market to them. It's okay. It's going to stay in my -- or you'll delete it later if you don't need it. But that doesn't mean that you can't email them next month, right? And next month they're like, oh yes, I need a voiceover to do this particular job. Click and buy. Boom. That's it.
Laya: Yeah. And a good point of that is, especially if you are including your bookout dates --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- maybe include the -- as your subject line. So if they don't read, and they're like, oh shit, she's out of town next week.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: I was just thinking I needed a voice talent. And you know what? I want to pick up the phone now so I can lock her in for, you know, before this time she's given us, a couple of weeks. How far out, just speaking of bookout dates -- I don't want to digress from this. This topic is so key -- but how far out do you give your clients notice on bookout dates?
Anne: Well, I do a monthly blast. So it's anything within the month.
Laya: Okay, so wherever that falls.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Got it. Curious about that. Like how far is too long? I think two weeks' notice is always good because inevitably you get the call like the day before you leave town.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: That's a whole other conversation.
Anne: Don't you always get the most work when you leave town? Always, right.
Laya: When you're out of town. Yes. But I have a hard habit of actually traveling with my rig. Which I don't mind.
Anne: That's another episode.
Laya: That's another conversation, for sure, for sure. But getting back to this, I got to ask you two questions, which email marketing platform do you use? I use MailChimp. I was curious what you use.
Anne: I use -- well, for my BOSS Blast, I use Active Campaign because I have a number of contacts.
Laya: Okay.
Anne: And usually the mail servers or the mail campaigns, they have a limit to the number of contacts or you pay based on the amount of contacts that you have.
Laya: Pay over. Yeah.
Anne: I used to use MailChimp. And now I just, because I went to a bigger platform with the BOSS Blast because I need to support a whole lot more contacts --
Laya: Yeah, they charge you per, right.
Anne: -- I need to support like 90,000 contexts. So I'm using Active Campaign.
Laya: Go girl. Yeah.
Anne: So.
Laya: Yeah, I'm on MailChimp because under 1000 is free.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: And I really like the interface and the kind of the user experience, the UX on that is really flawless --
Anne: Oh yeah, I love MailChimp.
Laya: -- for someone that does and doesn't know, plus they're Atlanta based, shout out, MailChimp. So that's kind of become my CRM, which leads me to my next question, to CRM or not? Anne Ganguzza, what's your take?
Anne: Well, the CRM, I've often thought -- I tried Nimble back in the day, and Nimble had a problem with the amount of email that I had in Gmail. So, and I may be very untypical, and I'll just kind of, I digress just a little bit. Right now, if I look at my inbox --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- I have, uh, where does it tell me -- I have 949,367 unread emails. So, so what that means is --
Laya: Oh my gosh! Hold, can we have a moment for my zero inbox anxiety that just had a heart --
Anne: I know!
Laya: -- palpitation?
Anne: Most people have that. Most people have that.
Laya: Anne, I have a zero inbox threshold. It's the Virgo in me and also the highly control freak. And I don't know, I don't know what that is, but you're -- you just gave me a heart palpitation.
Anne: I know. Well, okay. So very few people know this about me, but the people that do know me, they know me so well. So I signed on to Gmail back in the day when it first started. I want to say it was 1990-something. And so Google is a search engine. So for me, I just never deleted my email because I can search my mail.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And it's a really good search engine, by the way, if you've ever used Google at all.
Laya: Yes, it is.
Anne: The Gmail search engine is a great search engine, so I've never had the desire to really delete my mail. So. Yeah.
Laya: Oh my gosh, I have a funny story for you really quickly. You know, how on your phone, if you're using an Apple phone, you can accidentally like select all, if you are in your email box?
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: Well, I did that once, recently. I select all and deleted, and I didn't mean to do it, but I did it. And then like after I got over the initial -- luckily this was not my business inbox, but after I got over the initial, like panic that I had just lost all this content, I felt like --
Anne: Free.
Laya: -- kind of, yeah, totally free. Meanwhile, you're over there just hoarding.
Anne: I know, unread emails do not disturb me --
Laya: It's awesome.
Anne: -- because I look at it as a search engine.
Laya: Okay. They disturb me. But that's fine.
Anne: So Nimble back in the day had a problem. They wanted to charge me based upon the number of emails. And so I was like, well --
Laya: They were gonna get rich on you, wow.
Anne: -- I am not paying that. And so in reality before then I had used Gmail believe it or not just to organize all of my contacts and star them and put colors on them. And that became my working folder of contacts. And ultimately, you know, my Active Campaign, which is my mailer. And I had MailChimp for a long time before I ran out of the contacts, and I just had, then I had to go into pricing more of which one was better, and which mail service could do the best for me. So I ended up with Active Campaign because it handled the amount of contacts, but it's also a CRM for me. I have a database of contacts. I know what the last campaign was sent. I know if they opened it. I know if they clicked. I know what links they clicked. And that is my CRM. And I have automations so that if I want to follow back with this particular contact, I can do that. So that's my CRM --
Laya: Yeah, that's awesome.
Anne: -- but not -- it's not like a CRM like Nimble or any other, HubSpot or those types of things that you buy specifically a CRM for, but it does everything that I need a CRM to do.
Laya: Yeah. And I appreciate you giving us that candid feedback because I feel like there is a little bit of a push, and that's from some really great established voiceover-specific CRMs that have been fabulous for people. I just haven't personally kind of gone down that path yet. I always feel like, you know, is it cart before the horse, chicken before the egg? Like, you don't know, you need a CRM until you need a CRM, and you've got enough contacts, but it's also very hard to start or justify cost when you don't feel like you have a lot of contacts. So I kind of bridged this gap between managing my contacts through --
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: -- MailChimp, but also used HubSpot and Zapier to really connect those two and extract the emails and the content and the information I needed. There's a free program within those two that, that I was able to leverage. And I don't go back to it on a regular basis. I probably scrub all of my emails through the connection of Zapier and HubSpot maybe twice a year. And I would like to migrate eventually to a CRM because I feel that it can be wildly beneficial, especially as an ex-marketer and a new modern-minded entrepreneur. But I haven't gotten there yet either. And I think that's okay.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: I still have a thriving business. I feel like I have a flag system as well within Apple mail. And right now it works for me, but I definitely see that in my future too. So it's good to hear your feedback, especially with such an established list like you have. Um, very cool. Thanks for sharing.
Anne: I just have never kind of had the need to go more in depth than that. You know? I've got all the information that I need in terms of the contact information, the campaign they last opened, when the campaign was sent. I mean, there's just a ton of information. And if I feel like I need to have something that prompts me to contact them again, I build an automation, and that's, that's really all it is. So.
Laya: Yeah. Talk to me a little bit more about automation. I use it in some other scheduling platforms, like in Calendly. I use that there when scheduling for voiceover sessions and things like that. And I definitely think there's a whole conversation around hacks throughout this marketing bubble that can help streamline our workflow and make us more efficiently productive in our VO BOSS businesses. But talk to me about automation and how you use it in email. And do you use it as a one-off to individuals or is it just cyclical? How does it work?
Anne: It can be either or. So it really depends on where I'm doing this. So if I'm just working out of Gmail for an individual contact, um, and sometimes this works or not, you know, I have something called Boomerang, which Boomerang allows you to --
Laya: Okay.
Anne: -- you kind of put that to rest. It'll reappear in your inbox. And then if you decide you want to schedule an email after that, after you read it, there's lots of different things that you can do. You can schedule an email to go out, you know, the following week or the following month. In my Active Campaign, there is a whole module that you can build automations off of. And I have --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- information on, you know, I can put contacts in a list and contacts that are a part of that list. Every time something happens, every time they open an email, every time I send a campaign or whatever it is, it goes into an automation. And then it's like, you build a flow chart. And so, okay, open this campaign, and then you want to say, okay, they opened the campaign. Then, you know, wait two days and then send them a follow-up email. And then after the follow-up email, we're going to wait maybe a week or maybe a month. And we're going to send up the second follow-up email. And so you can check on the contact and know where they are in that automation. Are they 20% through? Are they, you know, have they reached this?
Laya: Did they read the whole thing? They click this link? Right? Very cool.
Anne: yeah.
Laya: I love how we can leverage that now to make us a little bit more savvy in our marketing --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- more personal, but also again, with those light touches of personal connection, like as if, without being Big Brother --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and like, you know, too heavy in the sell or too creepy in the, in the callouts -- 'cause a lot of people that don't understand marketing or like how was that thing following me? Well, how did it know? At this point I think everyone's onto those automations, but it's also so helpful to streamline your business. So I love seeing that in real-world applications.
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely. It's, you know, and it's something you have to put your time into. I know there's so many BOSSes out there --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- and marketing -- you know, it's interesting. 'Cause I think marketing is the thing that we need the most of as entrepreneurs and business owners. But yet it is the thing that people like the least, or it's also the thing -- and this is, this is straight-up experience in terms of selling classes for years to the voiceover industry -- it is the class that does the worst in terms of sales, meaning they all say they need it. They all say they want it. But yet when it comes time for clicking the buy, right? Most voice talent are going to buy the performance oriented class rather than the marketing class. And it's just the truth there.
Laya: Yeah. Because it's scary.
Anne: It is.
Laya: And it's, there's so much complexity, and then you feel like, you know, you need it, but you can't learn it.
Anne: But you can learn it.
Laya: Gosh, it's an investment.
Anne: That's the thing.
Laya: And you absolutely can.
Anne: I want people to know that.
Laya: These can be baby steps. Yeah. That's why, I'm glad we talked about the CRM. Like I felt so much pressure to invest in the system that I was going to have to learn and apply and et cetera. And I just said, hold on a second. Let me just piece by piece. I know that's on my future roadmap as far as the business owner. However right now this is working for me. And I think it's okay to say that.
Anne: You know --
Laya: You know?
Anne: You know what's so interesting is that I did not go to school for marketing. Like nowhere in my educational history was there ever a marketing in class ever. And as a matter of fact, I didn't even start to learn how to market until I started becoming an entrepreneur, which is boom, I quit my corporate job. And all of a sudden here I was trying to build up my voiceover business. And so I went from making a salary to making $0, and my own, I'm going to say guilt --
Laya: Same here, girl.
Anne: -- guilt maybe of not being able to contribute to the household motivated me to move my butt to figure out how am I going to make money at this? Because I have to, because I want to be a contributor to the household. And it was my own motivation and push that I learned marketing online. I literally, I signed up for mailing lists. I saw how other people marketed. And over the years, I literally just became a marketer myself because I had to. I mean, it was just, and I think that anybody -- look, if I can do it, I mean, honestly I think anybody can learn marketing. It just takes --
Laya: Yeah, truth serum here. I'm right there with you. I went to school for radio broadcasting, not marketing, but then became a VP of marketing --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- because of learning --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- and real-world application and just --
Anne: To survive.
Laya: -- paying attention to -- yeah. And to what resonates with you as a person. Right? And that's really all it comes down to. It's like, how would you want to be approached?
Anne: Be marketed to. So you know how to market to people.
Laya: Exactly.
Anne: That's it. Yeah.
Laya: Pay attention. That's the modern mindset in marketing.
Anne: That's exactly -- I think, you know what? I think that's absolutely how I even learned to like, what is acceptable in terms of email marketing? Right? Well, I'm email marketed to. Sign up for those lists. This is probably why I have 967,000 unread emails, because guess what? I signed up for every type of business email list there was --
Laya: Right.
Anne: -- so that I could --
Laya: It's research.
Anne: -- yeah. So that I could get those emails, look at them and say, hmm, okay. I see how they're marketing. I like this one. I don't like this one. This one's annoying. And literally, I completely honest, as a matter of fact, I didn't even realize that that's probably why I have all the unread messages, but again, I did open some of them. Right? And I did open enough of them to really kind of learn how to market in my own way that I felt would be effective for my business so everyone can learn.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Everyone can learn.
Laya: Absolutely. And what's cool about email marketing, if you are a numbers person or if you kind of, you like to look at stats and see like a real ROI and the real results, so many of these platforms may get really hyper easy for us to understand the analytics behind what you're sending out. And then you can kind of tweak accordingly, you know. MailChimp makes it really user-friendly. I'm able to see how many people, what my open rate was, which really just means how many people from that several hundred actually clicked on my email, actually clicked through to see my latest link or my latest video that I embedded there.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It makes it so easy to drag and drop graphics and blocks.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And there's so many new, easy platforms to help you get imagery and borrow content or share a great story. So it really doesn't have to be over complicated, and you might actually surprise yourself in seeing how fun it is to play the numbers game on the back end.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And, and, you know, get your little virtual pat on the back by looking at your analytics and starting to understand those things. And these days, everything from websites, minds -- again, with Squarespace, it makes it super easy on the back end to see those things.
Anne: Yeah. Wix --
Laya: Same with like MailChimp --
Anne: -- as well.
Laya: -- same with those, all of those, make it super kind of cool to look at --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- your new, modern way of marketing again. So it's, it's really interesting to dive in once you do.
Anne: And by the way, for those of you that are interested, a 10% open rate is actually very good. And so --
Laya: So good, so good!
Anne: -- if you send an email to 100 people, if 10 of them open that email, that's awesome. And if by the way, over 1% click on it, that is awesome. So that --
Laya: It's a win!
Anne: -- is a win for you. So it's funny how many people don't realize, you know, it was kind of like when you invite people to a party, right? They say expect 10% to -- well, maybe not a party, but an event, right? Expect 10% to show up.
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: If it's my party, I want 100% of my people to respond.
Laya: 100% attendance.
Anne: Well, here's the deal. How interesting of a comparison is that? If I have a party and I invite people that I know, and they're my friends and they know me very well, I expect 100% of people to show up. Right? Maybe 90, if there's --
Laya: Or at least respond.
Anne: Right?
Laya: Sure. Right.
Anne: So think about that in terms of your email marketing, right. If you don't know anybody that you're inviting to the party, what are you going to say to get them interested? Right? And how many are actually going to open that invitation, and then how many people are actually going to click and go to the party? So I like to maybe compare it to, to the party. So that 10% open rate and over a 1% click rate is awesome. So.
Laya: Don't, don't let that discourage you.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: Exactly right. And I think it's okay to, just like we've talked about in past episodes of like, what do I even say? You know, have a purpose, have something to share. Yes. But it's okay to start off with a little bit of kind of candid, you know, human, like --
Anne: Photo of my cat.
Laya: -- hey, this is my --
Anne: This is my cat!
Laya: -- very first email blast. Thank you for allowing me the space to share. And if you've gotten this far, I appreciate it and hope you're having an awesome day so far, you know. It's okay to be very human in that. In fact, I find that --
Anne: Will help
Laya: -- that creates more of -- yeah, connection and more empathy from whoever might be on the other end opening it. So don't let that scare you.
Anne: Good stuff, wow. I really feel email marketing is just one of those that I feel the mysteries of the universe for most voice talent. And we hope that we've been able to help you guys at least cut through --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- some of the mystery and get you thinking in a modern mindset for email marketing for today.
Laya: Yes. Thank you for having me, Anne. It's always a pleasure. I'm looking forward to our next conversation.
Anne: Me too, me too.
Laya: Thanks for having me, BOSSes.
Anne: Me too. That's a big shout-out to ipDTL, our sponsor. You too can connect like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com, and you guys, have an amazing week, and we will both see you next week. Bye-Bye.
Laya: Thanks, everybody. Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Your instagram feed isn’t really your diary, even if you treat it like one. In this episode, Anne & Laya discuss how to set social media boundaries, talk about the power of engagement, and teach you ways to leverage your money-maker across platforms in ways that keep you (and your voice) top of mind. Stay up to date and plugged in like a #VOBOSS!
In this episode, Anne and Laya discuss social media boundaries, engagement, and boosting your voice across platforms…
More at https://voboss.com/modern-social-media-with-laya-hoffman
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with very special guest co-host Laya Hoffman. Yay, Laya!
Laya: Hey BOSSes. Hey Anne. How's it going?
Anne: I'm doing great. How about yourself?
Laya: Rocking and rolling. Super excited to be back on the show talking to you today. I think we're doing a new modern mindset about new media and social media.
Anne: Absolutely. Yeah, we are talking about coming into the new times and having a modern mindset when it comes to your business. So we spoke in the last few episodes about modern marketing, kind of just to get the ball rolling. Let's focus in more, I think, on social media for sure.
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: And talk about a modern take on social media, because boy, in the last couple of years, since this pandemic, things have really changed --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- in social media, and I have a much different mindset today than I did even last year about it.
Laya: Yeah, you do. We all do because it has evolved, but at the same time it's evolved, I think everyone's approach or level of interest and engagement has evolved as well, because we've probably all been isolated in some capacity in a --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and found ourselves drawn to either losing ourselves or being inspired or comparing ourselves on various social media platforms. And whichever one you toggle between in a day, I know for myself, I've actually had to create some boundaries on social media.
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Laya: Just for my own health and wellness and perception and productivity, in my day, you kind of have to, whoa, take a step back and how much of your time, energy and effort is being put into that. So, you know, I think that's a modern mindset in itself, put up your walls, people.
Anne: You know, what's so interesting is that a few years back, I mean, I remember I was the social media maven, and I think just because I'm a very tech girl, and I was always into making sure that my online business presence was there, and I always eagerly embraced social media as it would become available and new platforms. And I was just all into it, and lately I have been, wow, I need to step back a little bit because there, it has evolved in such a way. And we've all I think, it's become just so easy to type at that prompt all types of emotions, all types of everything comes out.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And sometimes it's not healthy.
Laya: Yes, this is true.
Anne: And so I have had to step back -- in terms of what you're consuming, hopefully what you're typing is healthy, right? What you're consuming may or may not be healthy mentally for you. And so I, myself person who always embraced social media, have kind of taken a step back and thought, wow, I think possibly I need to step away for a moment, make sure that I, like you said, set boundaries for the day. And I never thought I would say that for Anne Ganguzza, 'cause I'm just, you know, I'm all about the tech. But there are times when I need to absolutely step back away from it in order to regain a sense of balance in myself --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and in my business.
Laya: I totally agree with you, Anne, and I echo that sentiment and have had to do the same. As a former marketer, I felt like I was dead set on consistency, posting every day, keeping your engagement up, being relevant, you know, sharing the most modern content, being and living authentically yet, you know, putting your best face --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and your brand forward --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- but still being able to connect and having a touch point throughout the day. Now, after what, 19, 20 months of a pandemic --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- I have definitely compartmentalized and created more healthy boundaries.
And I think that in itself is a modern mindset. You do not need to share.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's not "dear diary."
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: You don't need to overshare and over-consume and over-engage because it in itself is a energetic vampire, you know, just --
Anne: Oh, for sure.
Laya: -- sucking the energy out of you and really not contributing to the betterment and the health and wellness from a mindset place in a healthy holistic way for yourself or your business. So I think it's totally okay to take a step back.
Anne: And also lay you have a daughter that you're considering as well in terms of there have to be boundaries set for this.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: And I do want to say by the way, for those BOSSes out there that are not familiar, Laya has a podcast with her daughter, which is amazing.
Laya: Thank you. It's called "She Sounds Like Me," and we have to have our social presence for that too.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: But it takes a lot of work and effort. So setting those boundaries is key.
Anne: So how do you set your boundaries for social media, number one, in terms of, let's say, business? So there's, I assume there's a period of time that you're just kind of flipping through social media that might be information or entertainment for you and then there's business.
Laya: Yeah, that's right.
Anne: Do you separate it out that way?
Laya: I -- yes and no. My business is my being as it is yours too. It's hard to make that separation, but I've learned to compartmentalize. So I'll check in in the morning and just see what kind of engagement happened overnight. Was there anything big that's happened in the world? You know, it's my news source --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- for all intensive purposes --
Anne: Yeah, me too.
Laya: -- which is both a pain point and somewhat of a relief. I don't, I don't even know.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: So there's that, but then I try to take a short 30-minute break in the middle of my day for lunch and what have you. I'll check in then. And then I also check back in probably around 5:00 in the afternoon when my work day is, quote, done and then in the evening, which is kind of the pattern of most working people. And so -- well these days, who knows because everyone's working these hours and whatnot -- but that's also the most relevant time for engagement. So talking about actual posting and whether or not the visibility or the exposure you're going to get is going to have the same weight, during those high traffic hours is the most relevant time to be posting. It's when you will be the most visible on any platform. So that's one imparted tip and in conjunction with our own habits. So that's interesting.
Anne: So I find, and actually I'll ask you, do you actually not have any social media like tabs open in your browser? 'Cause I might have Facebook open. I might have LinkedIn open. I might have my phone. I've got notifications. So for me, I literally, if I'm working at my desk doing marketing or whatever I'm doing, or even if I'm coaching, I will have to have all my social media closed in order to not be completely distracted by it and only opened at certain times. And I know there's programs out there that can help you to do that if that's something that you might need, but that's about the only way I can stay away, because I always say there's never an emergency in social media really. And most social media will have notifications that go to your email. So I do have my email open at all times.
Laya: Hmm. That's an interesting approach too.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I actually do a bit of the opposite. I never have social media channels open on my browser, my browser in my office is the studio. And so I do not go onto Facebook or any of the channels, not even, except for YouTube. I do have that up because I'm constantly referencing audio, of course, for work. And then also that's where I'll upload work files from my desktop --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- as opposed to my cell phone. But I usually only go to social media on my cell phone during those break hours.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And then also I turn off all my notifications because if -- I found that I was getting constantly pinged, then I would check. It's the hit you're looking for.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I just want to engage and can I contribute and can I be of service or help? But if I limit that and turn off those notifications, that helps me set boundaries.
Anne: Yeah, that's interesting.
Laya: So that's how I do it.
Anne: Notifications are a big thing. Well, you know, it ends up being that, anything that is that important, especially because if it's a client trying to get in touch with me or a, you know, maybe a student, but again, remember I have brands that I'm pushing out social media as well for, events that I'm hosting and that sort of thing. So I do need to keep, uh, you know, I have the VO Peeps membership. I do have a VO BOSS social posts that I'm putting out. So in case there's interaction on it, I do have to respond. I mean, I want to be interactive. If I'm just pushing content out and not being interactive through the socials for my brands. So I do have some responsibility there, but --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- and so I have my email on, in which case my notifications will come to my email, but I think any other type of notifications, except for my text, everybody knows my number in case they need emergency to get in touch with me.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: But yeah, that's kind of how I work. So I -- literally for a while there though I did have like Facebook open or LinkedIn or Instagram so that I could respond and interact for my brands. And it got to the point where I literally had to not have them open in tabs anymore because it was causing such a distraction. And so now I have certain times when I go in and respond, and probably people who know me, you know, I have not been as responsive. And I hate to, I mean, I'm going to admit that here, but part of it has been simply the workload.
Laya: Yeah, it's overwhelming.
Anne: It's been overwhelming a little bit for me lately. So I've not been as responsive as before, but I want to make sure that I'm there in responding to people out there that are, that are interacting on my social media. So I have to literally have it open for a certain amount of time. Then I have to literally close the window. Otherwise I am, I am drawn to it. I'm sucked in.
Laya: Yeah, we all kind of are. Now let me ask you a question. Do you have anyone on your team that runs or helps you schedule your social media?
Anne: Yes.
Laya: Or do you schedule your social media yourself?
Anne: No, I do have people that help me schedule my social media on a weekly basis.
Laya: That's great.
Anne: So I know what's going out to the week -- and then of course as special events happen, I'll post those immediately. But yeah, I do have somebody that helps schedule my posts, and that is on a weekly basis. So I have to check in on a daily basis just to interact with those posts in case there's something going on, or I might have to moderate a post. I mean, that has been known to happen on one of my brands, because I do have a community, the VO Peeps community together. And so if there's a post and people are responding to a thread and it gets out of control, I'll have to do something as a moderator to take --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- to take care of that. But other than that, because my business, again, I've chosen to have -- I have four distinct brands, but I have -- there's the Anne Ganguzza brand, then there's the VO BOSS brand, which obviously I love. And then my VO Peeps, which I love and I've had them forever. And also my Studio Cats, which is my fun -- I don't ever have issues with my Studio Cats brand because that's just posting pictures of my cats and fun cat things, which --
Laya: How out of hand can it get?
Anne: -- is super simple.
Laya: Yeah, the cats get crazy. You got to get in there.
Anne: It's funny because my cats are five years old now. And if there's one thing that people love and can take the tension off, and you know what I mean? If -- in today's chaotic world --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- like a picture of a kitten or, you know, any fur baby is just --
Laya: Break it up --
Anne: -- you know --
Laya: -- a little levity, right?
Anne: -- gives me a little bit of, a little bit of happiness and joy during the day. So I, as a girl for five years who had my cats as kittens, you cannot resist. I probably have 10,000 pictures of my cats.
Laya: Well, there you go.
Anne: So I've got enough to last.
Laya: There needs to be an outlet. Yeah. Put that somewhere.
Anne: That's right. And I wanted to provide an outlet to people to have just a little bit of joy --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- for no other reason than just, oh, look at that.
Laya: And it showcases personality and what you love and your passion.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And I think that's totally fine.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So for me, I do have someone that schedules for the She Sounds Like Me podcast on social media because that is hyper-focused content that I share a very like-minded thoughts and passions about. But it can get a little, I don't want to say political, it can get, um, it's very opinionated, a little bit of a liberal feminist approach there. And so that is its own entity. But for me, I do all my own social media, and it, it can get to be a lot --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- and that consistency has gone the way of the dodo. And I don't use a scheduler. I feel like I tried that for my own self, and I felt too much pressure. And to think forward as to what I was putting out there, that works great for a lot of talent. It didn't work for me, but I appreciate it. Now. I think we want to definitely give the BOSSes out there some tips about --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- maybe the best ways to engage socially --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- with clients or potential leads or other like-minded individuals. And one thing I don't see enough of us using as voice actors is the voice. So on almost every one of these platforms --
Anne: How true.
Laya: -- you can hit the voice record button to give somebody a shout-out, to celebrate their success, to give them a back channel, or just let them know how awesome they're doing and what you've appreciated about what they've shared. And I find that that is making such a more intimate connection, and it's showcasing your voice --
Anne: Oh my gosh. Laya --
Laya: -- without, yeah, giving it.
Anne: We can just go home now.
Laya: Okay.
Anne: That was it.
Laya: That's it.
Anne: That was the golden nugget of the day.
Laya: Perfect.
Anne: We're done, BOSSes.
Laya: Use the voice button.
Anne: Seriously. And I am so glad that that was the first thing that you said, because I have a voice testimonial thing that I have voice feedback, voice activated everything. And it's so funny because as voice actors, I'm surprised that more people aren't into --
Laya: We don't use it enough.
Anne: -- using that. What is, and how many --
Laya: Why not?
Anne: -- and I remember when I started even this podcast, how many -- this is what we do for a living.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: How is it that we don't have a thousand voiceover podcasts by now? I mean, really.
Laya: That's true too. But it's -- social has made it so easy.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: In fact, LinkedIn also offers us voice, which in my opinion has to be used with some discretion because you don't want to be dropping voice memos --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- to people that you don't know --
Anne: Know, exactly.
Laya: -- and be like, hey, look at me. By the way, Ted, can I get a voice job?
Anne: Hello.
Laya: I see you need some --
Anne: It's so nice to meet you.
Laya: Yeah, no, pump the brakes, you know?
Anne: Right.
Laya: But once you've engaged with someone or you've established a bit of a relationship --
Anne: Oh, I agree.
Laya: -- I think it's so much more personal to be like, "hey, I saw your post on XXX. I really identified with that. Thanks for sharing. Hope you have an awesome day. I look forward to your next post." You know, it can just be about them, but told from your soul --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- authentic, conversational way.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: And then hello, you've just dropped them a sample and made them feel like you went the extra mile to get out of your own comfort zone to show them what you do without showing them what you do and being gross about it. So, you know.
Anne: [laughs] Try to be gross about it.
Laya: Use that.
Anne: Hey BOSSes, don't be gross about it.
Laya: Use the button.
Anne: I get that. And I love that, but I also, look, I'm going to go so far as to say, pick up the phone --
Laya: Will that do --
Anne: -- and talk to your clients.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: And I know, okay, I know I'm old, and I know that there's --
Laya: That's so modern.
Anne: -- maybe the younger generation, you know, those young kids that may not want to pick up a phone and talk to someone, but --
Laya: Right.
Anne: -- part of our business is speaking for a living. And I really feel that if you want to communicate with your client, I'm always the first person to pick up the phone to, to call to maybe, hey, let's discuss the project, give me some clarification on it. Also, you know, in the beginning, when you're quoting a project, I've always had wonderful luck with calling the client to get the specs clarified and just talk and introduce. And you know, at that point that this is a real client --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- and you can get a lot of information --
Laya: That's them.
Anne: -- just by hearing their voice. You know, they're legit if they pick up the other end of that phone number that's on their signature. There's so much to be said for communicating with your clients vocally. And also I'm going to just kind of do a little plug here is that I have really been focusing on getting my voice out there on Alexa devices, because --
Laya: Oh, I saw you put something out about that. I saw that and I loved it.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: In fact, I got one of your email blasts about it --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and was looking into it.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: What's the, what's it called again?
Anne: Well, that's the Voiceweave.
Laya: Right.
Anne: And I know that right now, Voiceweave, the last time I had spoken about it, it's such a cool idea. It's a voice website, and it's basically a series of prompts. So if somebody wants to learn about you and your voice, they can ask Alexa. And basically, if you want to hear my voice, you can just say "open Anne Ganguzzza Voice" or "open Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent." And it's right on my -- by the way, if you forget, you can go right to my webpage, and it tells you how to access it on Alexa. And you can ask me a bunch of questions, and I will give you answers in my own voice, not Alexa's voice, which is really reaching a whole different audience. And I've got another --
Laya: Wow, that is such a cool --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- new media.
Anne: And I've got another really cool thing that's going to be happening, which I'm going to be doing, a flash briefing.
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: So for those people that want to find out, okay, what does Anne Ganguzza have to say today, well, you can subscribe to my voice briefing or my flash briefing. And that way I'll have something good to say, and I don't have to really, you know -- it could just be, you know, from the heart, right? Authentic, very much like this podcast. And I will tell you voices and BOSSes out there. Honestly, I have gotten a lot of work from just being on this podcast. Laya, I don't know about you as well, but --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- it's, we're ourselves, we're authentic. People hear our voice. It keeps us top of mind, and we're not even advertising that we're a voice artist really in order to get that work.
Laya: Just sharing knowledge.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: That was a huge side point of why we started our podcast, Sila and I, because we're both voice actors. Of course, that was just kind of to talk about how to work together with your child in entertainment. That was initially my thought. It turned out to be so much more than that, and we hardly talk about voice acting at all, but it is very interesting. And I think using your voice in social media, whether it's, you know, recording a stories, or you're doing a reels or you are on Snapchat or TikTok, and you're kind of doing those skits or those one-offs, the trending topics du jour, at least your voice is getting out there. Now, one of the ways to really amplify that is to making sure it's positioned in the right place. So using the right tags, using the right hashtags, making sure you're engaging with businesses that maybe you can connect with by tagging them or using their app, if you're, of course, you're given permission and things like that. And trying to broaden the visibility on those posts when you are on social media and using your voice. So those are all really great tips.
Anne: You know, and talk about being able to reach -- just because we wrenching about podcasts. It doesn't mean you have to have a podcast about voiceovers. As a matter of fact, you even said you don't even talk about that anymore with your podcast. That's absolutely the idea, right? Talk about what you're passionate about. That's I, you know, I do a Clubhouse weekly with Cheryl Hauling and Jody Krangle, and we talk about our podcasts and how voice actors really need to talk about their passions. It doesn't have to be all about, hey, I'm a voice actor and this is all about the voice acting industry. I think it's even better if you're talking about your passions, because you're going to get yourself outside of the listenership of just voice actors. You want people to listen.
Laya: Talk to me about that Clubhouse, because I know you've had a lot of success with that. I see lots of talent, Eric Romanovski I see Mark Guss hosting -- very well-known people in the industry, hosting Clubhouse rooms, and really connecting with such a wide range of people all over the world from Clubhouse. Or you're seeing some success with that --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- yeah. Talk to me about that.
Anne: Absolutely. Well, first of all, it's such a great medium. I mean, it's like, you know, literally talking on the phone, right? But -- or you don't even have to talk if you don't want to. You can just listen in on conversations.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: It really took off quickly, and I've read some articles, whether, you know, is it, oh my gosh, was it just a thing, but I don't think that Clubhouse is going away anytime soon. I really, really think that it is a wonderful way for people to really get involved and share something more authentic than the keyboard. Because I think there's a lot to be said when we're sharing information and discussions on a platform that allows us to use our voice. And --
Laya: And not just hide behind your moniker --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- or your meme or your thought of the day, it's like it's giving more depth and more, uh, understanding of niche topics. And I really have appreciated it. I took a step away from that to, just again, based on boundary setting and time suck.
Anne: Oh, that's a time-suck.
Laya: I think, yeah.
Anne: It can be.
Laya: I really went down the Clubhouse hole --
Anne: It can be.
Laya: -- came back out and put that on pause, but there is so much community support there --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and connectivity. I know people that have really created and nurtured some amazing relationships --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- through channels like Clubhouse, and talk about a platform that's just using your voice. I have a question for you about it though. Do you use just your phone microphone or do you use an adapter that connects your microphone? Because I have heard that --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and I don't know if people are using that. Uh, how about you?
Anne: So that has been -- actually, that is like the beginning of every pan -- because every Thursday I do a panel at 11:00 AM Pacific time --
Laya: Okay.
Anne: -- called the Voices in Podcasting, the VIP, room. And, and of course, everybody is -- I'd love for you to join.
Laya: Yes, I will.
Anne: Any Thursday.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: The funny part, the funny part is I have been trying so hard to be able to -- 'cause Clubhouse was built for iOS --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- and now they're on Android. And so it's typically done through your phone microphone and speakers, et cetera. But of course, everybody wants to, you know, elevate.
Laya: Better quality.
Anne: So, yeah, better quality. I want better quality. That's, you know, that's what I do, right? Audio, we do audio. So I tried a multitude of ways to connect a different microphone to my phone, which was phenomenal. I bought a Tula microphone to actually do that. I was, I was told that it would work with my iOS, and it actually does, but it doesn't work with the Clubhouse app when you are a moderator. So it'll work fine if you're using Twisted Wave, or you're using the Voice Memo. But as soon as you go into Clubhouse and you try to use the Tula --
Laya: Clubhouse!
Anne: -- yeah. And become a moderator. So it'll, it'll be okay if you're just listening, but if you're a moderator, and you need to speak or you get up on stage, it, then all of a sudden, goes to the phone microphone. So I have tried everything. Lately what I've been doing --
Laya: Drats.
Anne: -- yeah, lately, what I've been doing is, but Tula mic is really cool looking, by the way. And I'm trying to find a reason to really keep it. And it's a great USB mic. I will tell you that, I did a review on my blog.
Laya: Said no one ever about any USB mic, but I love to hear that from you.
Anne: Yeah, go, go -- it's a beautiful mic. Go to my blog. I have written a review on it, and I --
Laya: Okay.
Anne: -- I agree for a USB mic, It's really cool, because it self records. You don't need a DAW or anything.
Laya: Very cool.
Anne: So yeah, but what I have done in Clubhouse is there is a app which will work on iOS and works on my Mac called Club Deck, and Club Deck will allow you to use a USB mic that will be connected to your computer. Not -- I tried my 416. It didn't work. It doesn't like any kind of --
Laya: Could you imagine?
Anne: -- doesn't like any interface in the way, right? So, but if you have a USB mic, it apparently, you can change your microphone. And so I use my Tula or I use my, I have an AT-2020 USB that I use on Clubhouse, and it makes a big difference.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: It sounds great. So for the first, I don't even know, 10 weeks that I was doing this 11:00 moderated panel, I would have whatever technical issue. And I would just come like two minutes late. I'm like, oh my God, can you hear me, can you hear me now? Do I sound, how do I sound? Do I sound good? Because you can't hear what you sound like. Really.
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Easily.
Laya: This would drive me crazy. Like we're such audio nerds now.
Anne: People made fun of me. No, people made fun of me 'cause I was trying everything I said. So today I'm using my AT-2020 mic. Today I'm using my phone. Today I'm trying to use my Tula mic on my phone. And then -- it's just crazy. But anyways, I didn't mean to digress so deeply into that. But Clubhouse --
Laya: It's important though. It is a voice platform. And I'm --
Anne: It is a voice platform. I love it.
Laya: I was curious about that though, because our ears are hyper tuned. Now everybody's not like that. But if you are using that as kind of a calling card, right? And you're connecting with people -- I'm a nerd. I need it to sound pristine, like Tim Tippetts pristine --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- even on the Clubhouse. And so I was wondering about that.
Anne: Well, it does sound pretty good. It does sound pretty good. And here's a thought for the BOSSes out there, right? If you are modern mindset social media, right? Let's just say you have a podcast. It's not about voiceover. It's about your passion. It's -- I've always said like, there's so many ideas I have for podcasts. But anyways, I have a former student of mine who does a lot of work with elder care and advocacy for elderly patients. And I'm like, God, we need a podcast on that. Everybody needs a podcast, because everybody's parents get older, and there's always like, what do I do? You know, what opportunities are available for me? How can I get the best care? I said, someone needs to do this podcast. And you know, just anything that she's an expert on, she's passionate about, have a podcast on that, and then use Clubhouse as like kind of a supplemental extra.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: "Oh, and by the way, we'll be doing live discussion on Clubhouse on Wednesdays at 2:00." And I think that that is a wonderful way to really broaden your audience and potential clients, because guess what? You're using your voice.
Laya: Exactly.
Anne: For both.
Laya: I've actually considered bringing that into the fold for my daughter and I's show for She Sounds Like Me, talking about parenting --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and some of the issues that the moms and modern minded mamas are thinking about today. So that's interesting to see that tie in that you've assimilated between podcasting and Clubhouse, and then spin all of that up and put that on LinkedIn --
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Laya: And make sure that you're engaging on all --
Anne: And you can live stream.
Laya: -- of those platforms. Sure.
Anne: Yeah. You can live stream Clubhouse on other social channels. So I do, I really do love that. And you know, what I, what I love about your podcast with your daughter is that you are talking about things that are not, it's not voiceover related. You're talking about things that I love too, about growing up a strong female and STEM education and all that good stuff, which I absolutely love.
Laya: Cool.
Anne: And I think that it has such a wonderful audience --
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: -- too for you.
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: Look at the broad audience you have. Anybody with children, right, that wants to be the best parent that they can be and empower their children to be everything that they can be.
That's such a wonderful topic and so relevant for today. And oh, and by the way, you're also top of mind now to an audience that you probably never would have been able to get to had you just say, I'm a voice talent, do you need a voiceover?
Laya: Right, right.
Anne: You know? So.
Laya: Thinking of those creative ways to like really talk about yourself without talking about yourself --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- but also serving your target market, your target audience --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- in an authentic way by just being yourself.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: I think just like, you know, posting daily is not necessarily so crucial anymore and posting all about you is definitely, like, people can get toned up real fast. So, you know, just keeping it relevant and keeping it light, and more importantly, cheering and being a cheerleader, a positive advocate or a cheerleader for the people that you are connected with, and you are following be it other talent, be it potential clients or just people within your network, because they'll remember you. You know, on LinkedIn --
Anne: Yeah, yup.
Laya: -- every time you comment or like -- and I did want to mention this tip. I have another tip for us. On every social media platform except for Clubhouse because it doesn't have this functionality, but I want to make sure that our BOSSes understand that it's not enough just to like someone's posts. If you're really trying to support them, think of it this way. A like is worth one point. A comment is worth two points, and a share is worth like five, right?
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: So if you really want to tip the balance and show that you're engaging with a potential client, brand, partner, et cetera, or just someone you admire --
Anne: Awesome. Yup. Great advice.
Laya: -- you want to really not just give them a heart comment and not just an emoji, but like give them some context that you are actually listening, that you are reading, et cetera. If you share it, like you share it on Facebook, or you share it on LinkedIn, that gives their initial post so much more exposure. That's how those posts get viral, and they, they get seen again and again. The more you engage with a post and deepen that thread line, the more weight it gives to that original --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- post, thus giving them more support and showing your alliance and your knowledge and your savvy and social. So make sure to apply that to your future potential clients.
Anne: Excellent advice, Laya.
Laya: Thanks.
Anne: Thank you. Wow. All right, well BOSSes, I'm sure again, we can go on to part two of modern social media. So guys, be aware now in social media, try to have a -- adopt a mindset that allows you to service your client, your potential client, and showcase you in the most authentic light.
Laya: Absolutely. Thank you, Anne. Good talk today.
Anne: Yeah, really great talk. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and --
Laya: Thanks, BOSSes.
Anne: -- we'll see you next week. Bye!
Laya: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via ipDTL.
You may be busy carving the turkey and making holiday shopping lists, but have you really spent time considering what makes you grateful? In this episode, Anne and Laya reflect on gratitude during the holiday season, covering how to tastefully thank clients during the holidays + how the concept of gratitude can help you reframe negative experiences, elevate your business, and improve your relationships like a #VOBOSS!.
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my very special guest cohost Laya Hoffman. Hey girl. How are you?
Laya: Yay. And Hey, BOSSes. It is so good to be back chatting with you, of loving our conversations and just let's keep it flowing. We got so much to talk about.
Anne: Well you know, my calendar has reminded me, for some people, there's a holiday here that is Thanksgiving.
Laya: Oh yes.
Anne: And I thought to myself, you know what? It may just be one day on the calendar, but for me every day needs to be Thanksgiving. And I thought it would be a great opportunity to start talking about attitude of gratitude and how that can help our modern mindset and our businesses on a day-to-day basis.
Laya: And I'm so glad we are, because it seems like such a small thing, or maybe even, I don't know, cliche in a way --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- to like act from a place of gratitude, but it is really the core of my business. And I believe helps center myself and my whole family to keep us on track and keep us grounded every day. So I'm glad you -- we're talking about it today.
Anne: Totally agreed. And so I think that I have some things that I do that, that help me express my gratitude and make sure that I'm thinking about that on a day-to-day basis. And I'm asking, what do you do to express your gratitude or to think gratitude? I know what I do when I wake up in the morning. I really try every day to think about what I'm grateful for. And I just take a moment, take a deep breath and give thanks. And usually I have my loving husband around, my family of cats, and I always, whenever I see them, I just smile and I'm very grateful. And that just helps me to just be grateful for everything that I am fortunate to have in my lifetime. What about you?
Laya: Yeah. You know, that's great. It's really just about being present and looking around, even if that's the simplest act of gratitude you can incorporate in your day. For us, we've taken it to a family level and a way to try to cultivate more gratitude and appreciation from the core for our daughter. So at dinner every night, we say, what are your gratefuls? You know, we're not a religious family for all intents and purposes. I'm Jewish. My husband, we're, we're a little loose in the religious space, and that's okay because our spirituality is really gratitude based. And so we say at night, while we're just sitting around having conversation, we say, let's do our gratefuls tonight. And we go around the table, and we say what we're grateful for.
Anne: I love that.
Laya: And sometimes it's the small things --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- like how beautiful the weather was today, or this breeze you felt, or it's the big stuff, you know, a big win or the opportunity to use our voice for good every day.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Laya: That's something we often talk about. My husband has another cool tip. I love that you say your family is included in this too, whether it's your cats or your partner --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- but my husband actually has an alarm on his phone that is a gratitude check-in every day. I think his is two times a day. And it's just --
Anne: I love that.
Laya: -- something that a beep that goes off. Yeah, right? And sometimes when it's just him, I guess he just envisions it in his mind. But if we're around he's like, all right guys, gratitude check-in, and we just rattle off three quick things. It helps you get focused.
Anne: Oh, I love that.
Laya: Like really remember what's important, especially if you're having kind of an off day, right?
Anne: Absolutely. And like you said, even just the simple things like this morning, right before, right before getting on ipDTL with you, bacon. I am grateful for bacon and my husband who cooks it for me.
Laya: I'm grateful for that too.
Anne: Something, something is as small as that, but I think --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- you know, it really helps to translate it to the larger picture, and it helps to really translate it into your business as well. And I think sometimes, I've been doing this for so long, you know, you tend to forget sometimes that it is a privilege to be able to literally roll out of bed, and, you know, walk over to my studio, and --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- do this job that I love on a day-to-day basis. And I know it sounds like you said, I don't want to sound cliche, but it's true. I think we just, you know, everybody --
Laya: It's a gift.
Anne: -- that brings up the gratitude at this time of the year or every day, it is something that is so important to be grateful for. And I know that, you know, we've talked about social media and how sometimes that can turn like sour and -- with reading comments, and I don't know, arguments discussions. I think if we start to approach our businesses with gratitude and maybe just push that out, manifest that out to the universe. And that's even in our social media, because that represents our business.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: There's so many eyeballs looking at us, and it amazes me because I try to put myself in my potential client's position while I'm reading Facebook posts. And I'm like, wow, there's so many people that are like, they're miserable, you know? Or they're not happy, or they're, they're complaining about where are the jobs? They don't know how to get the jobs or whatever. They're posting out there into the universe. And I think, gosh, if I were a potential client, I don't know if I'd want to work with this person.
Laya: Right.
Anne: Yeah. I think it just really speaks to your brand if you are expressing gratitude.
Laya: Yeah. And you've hit on so many things that I just want to chat about with you --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- because you've totally hit the nail on the head. Think about it. If your words are energy, your thoughts are energy. They turn into words. They come from the heart. It puts this energy out there in the world. And whether you believe in manifestation or the power of attraction or anything like that, say what you will, that puts out an energetic force field around you. And so if you're coming from a place of misery, you're going to attract more misery.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: If you're coming from an abundant mindset, you're going to attract more of that. Now, if you apply that social media, right --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and all the eyeballs on you, and you're griping, you've just doubled, tripled, you've magnified the negativity instead of magnifying the positivity.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Which is why in almost every one of my posts, my hashtag has always been for years gratitude is the attitude, love what you do, because I really do. This is a gift we're given here, no matter where you are on the trajectory or in your career. It's a gift to be able to use your voice and get paid for it --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and cultivate someone else's story. And there's no better way to show your appreciation than knowing it.
Anne: And if it's genuine, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I'm just going to say, there are those people who will actually kind of poke fun at the people who are hashtag gratitude, hashtag blessed, hashtag -- you know, that has become something that I have seen. And I think that that's honestly, I think that's a little bit sad.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Because if somebody is expressing and it's truly authentic -- I don't want to say it's truly authentic. Some people, maybe it's not authentic, but who am I to judge? Right?
Laya: Right.
Anne: But if I'm posting that, I'm grateful for something somebody's making fun of that or kind of just poking fun at that whole hashtag thing, I'm sad for them.
Laya: I agree.
Anne: You know?
Laya: I am too, because sometimes you do have to fake it 'til you make it.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: We don't all have perfect days. We are --
Anne: Isn't that the truth?
Laya: -- spiraling in a world of just a new level of anxiety where we're all at right now, especially coming through this pandemic. We're still in it. So sometimes you do have to put it out there and fake it 'til you make it. And sometimes you do have to remind yourself or have other people say, hey, great job. And I prefer to surround myself, especially in social, but in my private circles as well with people that are lifting each other up.
Anne: Absolutely. Oh my gosh.
Laya: If your tribe isn't also operating from a place of appreciation and respect and support and lifting each other up, then there is something more wrong with their picture. Then there's something sour in their space, and maybe they can't appreciate someone else's success or their gratitude because they're not happy with what's going on for them.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: And I wish there was a different pull there.
Ane: Yeah, no. And I try to, even if that is the case, there's always a reason. Right? I think I'm trying to be understanding and gracious for everyone, trying to think that, okay, there's a reason why they're posting this, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with me. And so I try not to be angry or toxic at that either the fact that they might post something that is, you know, against, let's say my particular post or making fun of my post or for any reason, I try to just know, we don't know what's going on with anybody from day to day, from time to time. And I'm sure there's many reasons for them to post what they post. And I guess my other question, Laya would be, so how do we extend this gratitude from a business perspective to our clients? I know that I do periodically the year, I'm always expressing gratitude to my clients, and it means a lot to them. I think picking up the phone, believe it or not, and actually contacting my clients. And just, if I'm on the job or asking a question, making sure that I'm always thanking them for their business and really trying to connect with them on a human level to express my gratitude, to be able to work with them. As a matter of fact, I just made a post the other day that, you know, one of my partners in crime, my audio engineer, I love, love, love working with him. And I'm so grateful to know him and to be able to work with him that I, you know, I sent him a, a nice little post, and here's to you, John, thanks so much.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: I'm grateful to work with you. And it's amazing how many people chimed in.
Laya: And lift each other up.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And that gives credit and appreciation on a public level. Yeah. And like you said, definitely on that personal level, that one-on-one connection, it just deepens the relationship. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so to answer your question about how to convey or transmit this positivity, this gratitude into business, I think we need to take a step back as talent. I think back in the day maybe when voice talent were like screen actors, and there was this ego involved, like you walked into a studio, and I don't know, I hear crazy stories about talent from engineers and producers and creatives today that have these horror stories --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- about personalities and negative egos in the studio and how this talent wasn't willing to do this. Like I'm all about setting your boundaries, don't get me wrong --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: -- but -- and not being taken advantage of. But if you're the talent that comes to the booth with great appreciation, thanking each person in the session. Thank you for inviting me in. I'm so honored to be working with you today, or that you've brought me back for a particular project. And thank you so much, you know, at the beginning and the end of those sessions, then they will know that you, you know, really mean it --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: -- and you're coming from that authentic place, and that you take pride in your work, and you don't take it for granted. And I think people are more willing to bring those type of people back in than those with the ego problem and who couldn't be bothered or don't want to cop to whatever, 'cause we're all human. Right?
Anne: Oh, yes.
Laya: And that levels the playing field, for sure.
Anne: And for goodness' sake, if you didn't have a good session, don't come back and post about it.
Laya: Oh gosh.
Anne: Just, you know, I, I cannot believe the amount of posts that I see where it's like, oh, I had a horrible session. Or the director drove me crazy. Or the client, for whatever reason, the client wasn't happy. If you can just walk away from that, I think that that really behooves your business --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- because I myself have looked upon those posts, and I'll be -- and in my head, I'll go, ooh, not sure that's a good thing to actually post.
Laya: I wouldn't put that on a -- exactly.
Anne: And I won't say anything. So I don't think that we can ever have a really true idea of how many eyeballs are actually on that post. And I think we forget that. We become, you know, those brave people behind the keyboard, and just because somebody didn't like or comment on it, don't think that there aren't a thousand other people who've looked at it --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- and made a judgment call right then and there, whether or not they want to work with you again.
Laya: Absolutely. Well, the other part of that too is I would encourage BOSSes to consider or reframe those negative experiences to be, hey, what did I learn from this?
Anne: Right.
Laya: You know, there's a takeaway here that I'm not seeing, or what's going on for me, that I can't see the lesson in this.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And if you can flip those negative situations on their head, that's also a modern mindset as it pertains to the positive takeaway that can be from this. It's something I teach my daughter. So why not put it into practice myself? You know? Not everything has to be so humdrum when it goes wrong. Because if you focus on that, you'll continue to spiral down --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- instead of spiral up and say, you know what? I blew something there. Or they really didn't, you know, they got me beat on this, or I didn't get paid fairly enough or man -- but what is the lesson there? And if you can pull that out, even just one little thing, then you win.
Anne: Always a lesson, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Always a lesson, even from something that didn't go well. And I don't want to just contain this to just jobs that you've done. I would like to also extend this for any auditions that you do. You know, just --
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: -- just no talk, just to, there should just be no talk about any auditions because that's even more, I think, on the edge of potentially discouraging people from wanting to work with you. If you're going to complain about an audition or complain about the audition specs, even if you're on a pay-to-play and you're not getting auditions, I honestly, I just, I stay away from any of that type of chatter on social media, even in the groups that you think are closed and personal, and you know --
Laya: You never know.
Anne: You never know who's in that group and who's looking, or it could be somebody that, you know, in the group that then ultimately private messages their friend, who happens to be a casting director --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- or their friend who happens to be a potential client. And it happens all the time. How many times, right, do we read something and then maybe post something in Messenger to our friend or text somebody and say, oh my gosh, did you see that post? Or did you hear what he said? And honestly, that's just what happens. And I think that's what I think keeps me in social media control. But the other thing too, it also keeps me cognizant of being grateful and looking at, oh, look at this. I don't know. I don't think, I don't agree with that. I think that that's, that's spreading toxicity for me. It just gives me a good old reminder that let's just be grateful for everything. And I'll tell you, I mean, gosh, I'm the last person to say I have perfect days all the time. It may seem like it, you know? I don't necessarily want to present negative things, but I'll present things that I think have a value to people, that aren't, you know, necessarily being toxic. If I don't have a good day and I share it and I think it will help people, yeah. I'll share that, but I'm not necessarily going to complain about an audition or a job or a potential client to really kind of put a stain on my brand.
Laya: And you hit the nail on the head is where my train of thought was going, Anne. It is the integrity of your brand. You are your brand.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: So the integrity of your brand is being put out there. And would you like the integrity of your brand to be compromised by your complaint or your attitude or negativity or your lack of gratitude for these opportunities that we're given on a daily basis when so many are not? I mean, that to me is one of the most profound things about gratitude is what you can do with, with the positivity and with a different frame of mind, as we've been talking about during this entire thing. To have the opportunity to just talk for a living in the privacy of our homes, when so many are really struggling out there, especially coming out of a pandemic. I don't know about you, my business had a boost during the pandemic because of these capabilities. How cool is that? How grateful are we? Right? And so I encourage everyone to keep that positive spin upwards, and also keep your projection outwards positive so you can attract more positivity.
Anne: Absolutely. And again, I'm going to go back to when you are talking to your clients that you have currently. You know, there's nothing wrong with just sending them a note or picking up the phone, or I think that that probably almost means more than let's say a gift. 'Cause usually around the holidays, we all talk about what do you send your clients? Do you give a gift? How do you express your appreciation? Sometimes it's just really picking up the phone or taking the time to write a personalized note saying, you know what? I love working with you and why, and it doesn't have to be flowery professional language. It can be like, you know what? Your brand is so cool or I love your product. It means the world for me to be able to work with your company. And I love how easy you make it for me, and all those things that really compliment the person that hires you, the person that writes that check. And it can be, I think if you delve a little bit deeper than, you know, a surface thank you for your business, right, that's going to really mean a lot to the person 'cause we're connecting on a human level. And I think if we can push ourselves to go to the human level and just say maybe that one thing that just says, you know what, I love your product. And thank you for giving me the opportunity. You make it so easy for me to love your brand or whatever it is that compliments the person that's hired you or the person that you're communicating with.
Laya: Yes. In fact, I have two ideas that are coming to mind right now. And so one, I want to answer the thought of how do you gift or do you gift or show your thanks around the holidays? I personally don't send gifts, hard goods. Right now, we're in a pandemic. Things have been weird. It's a big cost. And like you said, so many other big companies are doing those types of things. What I like to do is send, you know those e-cards?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: You can personalize an e-card and it just pops up in their box. It's a little bit different.
You can personalize those as you go, and it doesn't cost you anything or maybe a couple of bucks if you want to make it frilly. That's one thing that I've done, and I've found some great feedback from and just deepening the relationship and the connection with our clients.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: The other thing is, you really want to show gratitude? One of the best things I've found to do is to go on LinkedIn and leave them a recommendation --
Anne: Oh my gosh, yes.
Laya: -- on their page. If you do that -- they're of course going to see it, but their colleagues are going to see it. And not only that, they're going to see your name as a voice talent and --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- appreciative you are of working with that creative. In fact, I just did this the other day, and it even got me another job. So let me tell you how we did this, real quick. I worked with an excellent director in a session. I couldn't get his last name. It was just not appropriate for me to really dive deep. There was about 18 people on the call, but this guy was so on the ball and so efficient. He was honestly such a pleasure to run this session because of this, the way he was directing. Couldn't find him, but I knew his company, and I reached out to the principals of his company, and I said, hey, I just want to let you know, I just worked with John from your production team. And he was the honest to God the best director I've ever worked with. You're doing a great job over there cultivating killer creative talent. Thank you for making my job as a voice talent easier --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and just left it as that. Can you pass this along to John --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- if you get that message, to go to his boss and give him that compliment? Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was a win-win win-win spreading that gratitude.
Anne: Absolutely. Absolutely. That's a wonderful idea. I love the LinkedIn idea because it makes it public. And the other day I had one of my interviewees for the podcast for the AI and voice series, they were promoting the podcast and really gave me such kudos and said, thank you so much for the interview. It was wonderful to connect with a former educator -- because this gentleman was also an educator. And just, we were both like elevating each other.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And I think it was so nice because I'm like, wow, thank you for what you do for the community and what you're doing for educating people in this industry and -- and all the wonderful work you've done. And I think that that just really generates such great positivity. And, you know, I guarantee you that there will be more leads that will come from that.
Laya: Yes. Yeah. And then one other thing I was thinking of while we were talking is how do we convey that even in our social media posts, one thing that kind of gets my goat is when I see creative houses or casting put out the final video and we cast this. Well, who did you cast? Right? We're always looking to get a little bit of credibility for the creative that we put out. And when production teams leave out the voice actor, you know how that feels.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And so knowing that from my standpoint, as a business, as a brand, as a human, as anytime I put the information or final product out there with permission, of course, I always make sure to thank all parties --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and tag them appropriately and give them credit publicly for the work they did, because we don't always see the same in return, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do the same for them.
Anne: Exactly. Absolutely.
Laya: Follow them, engage, like, tag them, use their hashtags in your posts. One, it will increase your visibility. It will further your projection of positivity and show them, whoever they may be listening or watching from their side, hey, that you took the time to follow the right person, tag the right business, and give them credit.
Anne: Absolutely. It's all about recognition, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And credit --
Laya: Credit is due.
Anne: -- because we know it's always appreciated, always appreciated.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So in terms of gratitude, in terms of a daily, I don't know, a daily mantra, do you have anything that you do that we can share with the BOSSes so that they can maybe start to adopt this, if they haven't already done so already? Any, any tips, tricks? I'll start with mine.
Laya: Please.
Anne: I like writing it down. Writing it down makes a big difference for me to really understand and really feel the appreciation and the gratitude for things that I'm grateful for. And I'll just jot it down in my, and I have a little like journal on a day-to-day basis, and I just keep them as a list. And so if I'm ever feeling, oh gosh, if I'm ever feeling down or just, oh my gosh, what am I even doing the today? I like to go back and look at that list because it really is a great reminder. And it brings me joy --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- to be able to see all those things I'm grateful for and accomplishments that have happened in my business because of that.
Laya: Yes, exactly right. Milestones achieved, et cetera. I do another version of that that really just came to me out of sure -- I couldn't contain my pride in myself after a recent job I completed. And so I flipped the camera on myself, and I recorded a note to me that said, this was such an incredible opportunity. Laya, this is what it took to get here. This is what this feels like right now. I am so grateful for that. I saved the video. Maybe I'll post it if I feel cute when the project comes out. Who knows? But I have a folder on my phone, an album that has just snippets of video to myself to remind me when I'm having one of those days that doesn't feel so great to come back to source of like, wow, that really felt good. And see the passion in my eyes, my face --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- my body language and my voice --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- when I knew it and I felt it the most.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: That's a great tip. I love writing it down. I usually jot down three things in the morning as well in my journal when I'm doing my Kundalini yoga practice. And then, like I said, the nightly round table with the fam brings everybody together. We'll even do it when we've got guests or visitors coming over. Makes everybody feel a little awkward at first, but it resets the mood, enlightens the levity. And when you bring people into that space --
Anne: Oh gosh, yes.
Laya: -- they're like, oh yeah. Gratitude is the attitude.
Anne: When I've done that, I've never had anyone complain.
Laya: No.
Anne: As a matter of fact, just the opposite. It's been like, wow, what an amazing, thank you so much for that. And what an amazing dinner. And everybody walks away feeling good. And I, I like that too, because in my family growing up, my family was never one to talk or open up about their feelings.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: I would always be that person. You couldn't shut me up.
Laya: You don't say.
Anne: I mean, so obviously I became a voice talent. Yeah.
Laya: Right.
Anne: So, but you know, during Thanksgiving I would start to do that. I would say, all right, guys, we're going to go around the table and say what we're grateful for. And I remember the first time I did it, everybody was like, huh, kind of awkward.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: But as we went along, it just started to pick up momentum --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and it was really a beautiful thing to see. And like I thought, oh my gosh, I didn't think I could really talk heart to heart with my father. Right? He was always like, you know, the quiet one that went to work, and you know, this is showing you how my family is a little bit old school. Right? My father went off to work and didn't say much. My mother was the one that kind of stayed home with the kids, made the food and the dinners. And so when we started, as we were getting older, and things were changing and evolving, when I started doing that, it was really wonderful to hear what my father had to say, what he was grateful for and what my brothers had to say, when traditionally, we didn't really talk on that level to one another.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So I love how it just opened up the space and allowed for a lot more love to flow.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Just a lot more positive feelings and all good stuff.
Laya: Yeah. How beautiful is that, right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So no matter how our BOSSes are celebrating this year or what these belief systems that you are -- or you've cultivated, maybe sit down and say, hey, what's everybody's gratefuls? And if it makes everyone a little uncomfortable at first, start with three.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Get the conversation going and put yourself out there and feel vulnerable. Right? Brene Brown says our vulnerability is the key to unlocking success and happiness and positivity and love and --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- therefore, abundance. So you know, that gratitude will build on an abundant mindset, which will build on your business.
Anne: Yeah. Absolutely. Well said, Laya. It has been a wonderful, wonderful episode. I am so grateful. I am very grateful to have you as a special guest co-host for these sessions. And I am truly loving our conversations as well. So thank you for that. BOSSes --
Laya: Thank you, Anne. Grateful for you and all these opportunities and your listeners out there, way to level up. Thank you.
Anne: Grateful for our BOSSes, I am also grateful for our sponsor ipDTL. You too can connect and network like a BOSS and express your gratitude through the awesome connectivity that is ipDTL. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, grateful for all of you. We'll see you next week.
Laya: See you guys. Take care.
Anne: Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
You know your favorite brands stand out, but do you know yourself well enough to blend your business & creative persona into cohesive fonts, colors, and branding? If not, Anne & Laya are here to help! In this episode, they’ll explain how to put your best virtual foot forward through introspection,crowdsourcing, and (most importantly) acting like the #VOBOSS you already are.
More at https://voboss.com/modern-marketing-101-with-laya-hoffman
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with my very special guest cohost, Laya Hoffman. Laya, thanks for joining me again in this new series on modern mindset. I'm so excited to have you.
Laya: Yeah, thanks, Anne. It's been great so far, love being back, and I'm super grateful for the opportunity. Thanks for having me.
Anne: Yeah. So we've been talking about modern mindset, and our last few episodes, we're talking about just in general, having a modern mindset towards your business, as well as towards your health.
Laya: That's right.
Anne: I'm thinking we have to touch upon everyone's Achilles heel. Maybe not everyone's. I mean, I happen to like marketing, but we should talk about a modern marketing mindset because you have a background in marketing.
Laya: Yeah, that's right, Anne, I sure do. I'm a former creative marketing agency partner. And, uh, after that I was the vice president of marketing for a major beauty brand that was a global brand and in the professional hair care line. So it's definitely a different field, but a lot of similarities as it pertains to branding identity, marketing, SEO, outreach, and just overall good client engagement in this new modern world. Right? And when we talked about that earlier, it's just, how do you approach that differently? It's a lot different than we were taught in college or in textbooks and things.
Anne: Oh, for sure.
Laya: You gotta adapt.
Anne: And also I think it's important. I think it's great that you have real-world marketing experience from before --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- and even leading up until modern times, because I think as creatives, if you did not come from that environment, it's hard to know even where to begin for marketing. I mean, that's -- most students that are just starting out when they're talking to me, they're like, oh my God, can you please just tell me, like, how do I even start to market myself?
Laya: Sure, sure.
Anne: So let's kind of start there. I think that for people just entering into the industry, as well as let's say, industry veterans, we still have to spend a considerable amount of time marketing ourselves because I'm always trying to find that next great client, because today's client is never promised.
Laya: Absolutely. And you got to stay fresh and stay current. And a lot of that comes down to knowing who you are as a person, as a creative and what that means as a brand. Right? And so how can you package all your skills and your specialties in this brand? And I got scared by that too, even as an ex-marketer coming into the entrepreneurial space and being a one person show.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's really hard to talk about yourself, and I can do it for everybody else. I can package everything else in a boat. Talking about yourself feels totally bonkers.
Anne: Right? Yeah. Big difference.
Laya: And then you figure out your brand, which is a very scary place to sit. And there's a lot of great experts, even in our industry, that focus on that, creating a brand for your voiceover, but you certainly have a great one. And you know, you know, you've got colors, you've got the BOSS vibe, you know, you know what your specialties are. You know what Anne Ganguzza means in the industry because you've done an excellent job branding. And I think --
Anne: Well, thank you.
Laya: -- for a lot of us that -- you're welcome -- that's the starting point. And it's kind of a scary place to start, but if you don't know your brand, how you gonna know the next step to market, right?
Anne: Yeah. That makes sense. So then the very first step then before you can market something, right, is to really have something to market and to really be fully aware of your brand. And I know that that makes sense, when people come to me also for coaching, whatnot, you have to have a demo, right? You have to have something that you can market and then applying that brand to that product.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And so what are your first steps in branding yourself? It's a tough one, right?
Laya: Yeah, it is. It's takes a lot of looking inward. Right? And figuring out if you just sat down with yourself and thought, what do I really like in life? What do I get excited about? What brands do I identify with because I feel like they align with my ethos or my moral compass or how I carry myself in the world? I like to start there because it's a lot easier, again, to identify yourself or where you find a parallel with other like-minded brands or people you look up to, or what have you. That's a great starting point because then you can draw from inspiration.
You know, for instance, I like extreme sports, snowboarding. I love connecting in nature. So what are some of those brands I like. What do I love to do on the side? Music, deejaying, parenting, but like in a holistic space, but I'm also very fun. I love color. I love to keep it fresh and like little rock and roll, a little street. So those types of things are kind of where I started to find out how I could position my own brand identity, and then find similarities among brands that I also identify with. Does that make sense?
Anne: Absolutely. I think it's also important to engage others maybe in terms of how they perceive your brand.
Laya: Great point.
Anne: And I know that there's a lot of people that will say, hey, I'm doing some branding work. Can you tell me a little bit about how you hear me, how you see me?
Laya: Yes.
Anne: What does my voice sound like? What are those adjectives? And interestingly enough, I've done enough of those. I personally haven't done enough of those, but I, I have researched myself, but asking your friends, asking --
Laya: Crowdsourcing, right?
Anne: -- I think probably, yeah, absolutely, crowdsourcing. I think that asking your clients, if you have any clients now, how they perceive your voice, if they could describe it. I think that's a, a wonderful place to ask outside of your voiceover friends. I think it's important to try to hit up any clients that you have already and just say, hey, by the way, if you had to describe my voice in three words, what would those words be?
Laya: Absolutely. So it's interesting because you can also take your personal interests and then align them with your vocal qualities and you can, and I would even suggest specifically not going to people within the industry, but people that don't normally call these things out. Then you're not hit with the same descriptive word either.
Anne: Sure. Exactly.
Laya: Right? That's kind of a cool approach to create some sort of amalgamation of where the starting points are for your brand. And then what images do you identify? You know, if you had three emojis that could describe, you know, who you are, what you love --
Anne: Well, that's a good question.
Laya: -- you know, what, what are some of those icons look like? You know, just, just, just ideas to get the creativity flowing, to try to create. And it doesn't have to be a moniker or --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- a tag line necessarily.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: I think we get really wrapped up in that. It can just be how you want to present yourself in the world in your headshot --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- or with the color scheme on your website. It doesn't have to be super elaborate. It can be, and that's catchy. But I think these days, you don't necessarily need a theme to have a brand about yourself.
Anne: yeah. I love that you said you don't need a tagline. I'm like right there with you. And as a matter of fact, I had a tagline like a long time ago when I first started, and it didn't really associate with me at all. It was just kind of just because I felt like I needed to have one. And so I love that you said, I don't think you need to have one, because as a matter of fact today, I don't really have one. If you go to anneganguzza.com, I'm more just about the colors and the fonts and just the, the look of the page and my photos. And I know you also have some really wonderful, expressive colors and photos --
Laya: Hey, thanks.
Anne: -- for your brand as well. And I think that that's super effective when somebody comes to your website, and I will say, we have talked about branding, and I think that branding needs to go somewhere. Obviously the first place would be, right, where do people come to find out about you, your website, which is so very, very important and probably your virtual storefront, where everybody kind of gets to know you, that in addition to your social media.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: So that brand can carry over into both your website and your social media. So it's important to have a sense of identity, a sense of who you are, but it's also important for you all to know that it doesn't have to stay that way --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- or it can evolve it.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: My brands have evolved over the years. And if I were to show you what Anne Ganguzza brand looked like even just five years ago, well, a little further, it's completely evolved.
Laya: Yeah, me too.
Anne: And my colors have changed.
Laya: That's right. 'Cause we change, right?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Like I wasn't the same person I was 20 years ago --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- and I'm definitely not the same talent I was five or 10 years ago, as it, you know, pertains to my business and how I carry myself in the world. We're not even the same cellular composition as we were seven years ago.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: So that's totally true and something to really drive home, because we get really caught up in it. Do I need a logo? Do I need a tagline?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: Do I need a theme? Do I -- no! You just need to be you. And you might be similar to anything that identifies with you, but even just clean fonts, modern, clean lines, colors that resonate with you, that make you feel good when you look at what you've created, and if it feels good energetically to you, then that's really all that matters, because that's the most authentic way to connect with others that want to find you, right? So.
Anne: I totally agree with that. And I, and I also want to say something about, there's always been this, this mindset, or I'm going to say maybe an older mindset about, do we put photos of ourselves on our websites, because we are voice talent, right?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And we may or may not want to be cast based upon our appearance as we are just voice artists. Right?
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And I'm that person that says, I want to connect with my client. And I feel like my client can connect with me if they can see a picture of me and not a picture of my logo.
Laya: Yeah. Yeah. I absolutely agree with that, Anne. I think if you're comfortable, and you've got pictures that are clear in quality, or maybe you've even invested in some lifestyle photos --
Anne: Right.
Laya: -- I had, because I knew that I wanted to put my best self forward, but that you could see it in my eyes who I was, who are, you know, you could see my pride in my eyes and my smile. And I want people to know that when they're working with me. We don't get to meet in person. Like we used to, at least not anymore. So if you're okay with that, then I say, put your face forward.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: If you're not proud of that, or if you're not really comfortable and that makes you uncomfortable, then absolutely use something more generic. But I'm about using the face.
Anne: Yeah, I am too. And I know for my marketing product, the BOSS Blast, a lot of times I will have my clients give me a headshot, because if that email is going out, I am always of the belief that people want to connect with the person, and they want to be able to hire the person. So whenever possible, I encourage my clients for the BOSS Blast to include their headshots so that we can market those as well. So, yeah, I think that's more of a modern mindset today, especially with all of this chaotic digital information that comes flying at us from every direction. And so with this modern marketing mindset, do you have any ideas, advice about how and where do we market ourselves on social media and what platforms?
Laya: Yeah. Great point.
Anne: I think for everyone, you have to have a website.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: I think in order to exist as a business in today's digital world, you have to have a website. But what do you think about marketing on social media? 'Cause there's so many platforms, like how do you decide which platform to use, which platform to market on?
Laya: Well, that's a great question. And if I could step back even just a snooch, I think the website is key. But before, when I was entering as a full-time talent, I didn't want to put myself out there until I had my package kind of complete, because you really do just get 15 seconds to make your first impression --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- even in the digital space. So it was important to me to have a clear picture where you could see to my eyes, you could have, your icons are all the same. I had a home base, even though at the time, I didn't have a whole lot of content for my website. I built my website myself using the Squarespace platform, and I made sure that my email address wasn't a generic email address. You know, it was my name, and it's tied to my website. It's very inexpensive. There are many, many experts that can help you get there. So leading with like your most professional self, as if, I think the modern mindset is really as if you are already the success that you aspire to be.
Anne: Oh, I love that.
Laya: You need to act as if, and so even if that is just creating a small minimal package for yourself, which is what your color scheme is, your font or your picture, and you've got a home base with a dedicated email address -- it's not, you know, so-and-so at Gmail -- then, then you're presenting yourself as a pro from the beginning.
Anne: I agree.
Laya: And that's the important first step, I think.
Anne: I do just want to touch on that particular thing. I happen to notice reading some of the threads on Facebook, that there was somebody who said, why is it that I'm seeing all these Gmail addresses? And there were a lot of people who were saying, why? Everybody uses it, and myself, I agree with you. I tend to think if you're a serious business, you're going to have a domain name --
Laya: Right.
Anne: -- that is a part of your business. And you should have an email that is part of your business name.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And I think if you just like so-and-so VO at Gmail, I think that it doesn't showcase a serious enough business.
Laya: It doesn't seem like you're taking your business seriously --
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: -- to me, to me.
Anne: Right.
Laya: And I say that not just about voice actors, but if I'm hiring a contractor, if I'm hiring --
Anne: Oh, me too.
Laya: -- I don't even know, any number of other industries that are self-driven or entrepreneurial. If that person hasn't taken the time to showcase their skills, in this day and age, and taken the $20 a year that it may cost to get them a special domain name and a, you know, an email address that goes with that, what other parts of your business are you not taking this seriously? Our client interaction, my dollars I'm spending on you? That's what that says to me as it pertains to that modern mindset. I think it's just one extra step. Make yourself the pro that you are, or that you aspire to be and fake it 'til you make it, but get, get yourself that package first, before you even think about going on social media and saying, look at me, look what I do here I am. Let me get a new client. I think that's base line one.
Anne: You also mentioned too, well, fake it 'til you make it, but having that website, even though you may not have a lot of content to put on that website, I think that's something --
Laya: That's okay.
Anne: -- I want to touch on. And yes, I want to tell everybody, all those BOSSes out there, it is okay.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: Everybody starts somewhere. And a lot of people that talk to me, if they're worried about, well, I don't even know what to write. Well, I think that when you're just starting off, you've got to be able to establish your brand, as we've talked about. Also have that product viewers that you can market, which is a great demo, a great sample that showcases your voice.
And in terms of the content you're going to put on it, I was always of the, well, I'm manifesting success.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: So I'm going to create that website. I'm going to create that verbiage as if I am already have been in business for 20 years.
Laya: Yes, absolutely.
Anne: And so what can you do to fill up that content? There's a good question. What would you do to fill up that content, Laya?
Laya: I would tell my story authentically and just, you know, leverage the experience that you have had in life. Maybe it's in the medical industry, maybe it's in marketing, maybe it's in beauty or automotive, or wherever your background sits, there is relevance in your business now. And I think people are more interested than ever to connect with your most authentic self.
Anne: Yes, yes.
Laya: And so we'll talk about that as it pertains to social media. But you know, even if it's like, I found my love for this and I love being home with my family and I love telling your story, and I'm learning as I go, and I'm investing in myself, and I will take great care in investing in you and your story.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And even if it's just a minimal little blurb that just says who you are, where you came from, and why you're here --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- that's okay. You'll be able to build on that as you go --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- you know?
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Hopefully one day you'll be like Anne Ganguzza. You're building a new website.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: So lots of content as you develop --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and you can continue to nurture and grow that. I would say being apart of your website and your content development is a weekly process. I mean, I'm, I always got my hands in my website. You're constantly tweaking and adding. So it doesn't have to be this set in stone thing --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- but even just the basics, your contact information --
Anne: Agreed, agreed.
Laya: -- front and center.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: Your sample demo above the center --
Anne: Above the fold. Above the fold.
Laya: Above the fold. And as you go, you can continue to build on that.
Anne: Well, and you know, what else I'm going to touch upon too, is a good bio, right? Talking about your space, why you're here, what you're passionate about in terms of how can that passion help the potential client.
Laya: Yeah. How can you be in service?
Anne: Exactly. Focus on the how you can be of service to them. And also in regards to experience, there's a lot of people say, well, I don't have any experience yet. I have never done a voiceover job. Well, your experience, your life experience --
Laya: That's right.
Anne: -- your career experience, a lot of times corporate experience. For me, you know, when I just started off, I had had a lot of experience recording telephony and welcome messages and phone trees. And for me, that was where I was able to put my experience level. You know, I had recorded thousands of telephony and IVR prompts. And so that became part of my experience. Nobody needed to know that I did it for my company --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- and that they didn't pay me for it because I wasn't lying.
Laya: That's not the story.
Anne: Right? That's not the story. But I, you know, but I absolutely had voiced thousands of prompts. And so think of what you have already done experience-wise in your life that can lend to your experience that can again be of service to the client.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: And that will be good content. And I love that you said --
Laya: Parenting, but like --
Anne: -- every week keep tweaking it. That's important because we grow, we evolve, and also it keeps your website fresh so that it makes for good SEO as well.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: Things keep changing. So.
Laya: Yeah. And we can talk about that in future episodes because SEO is a very, very key part of being found in search, but you don't have to focus on that in the beginning.
Anne: No.
Laya: Now, if you were, you know, fully established and you already have your content, then I think it's definitely a great time to invest in partners that have current and modern training in SEO and development, because there are a lot of people that you can find that can help supplement your site with blog posts, or maybe you're a great writer already. I know several excellent talent that are phenomenal blog writers and contribute often to their website. That's not me. I'm not the best writer, but it was a, some of my friends like Kelly Buttrick always says, "what you can't do, you can pay somebody else to do." So, you know --
Anne: Ain't that the truth.
Laya: -- there's other options. What you're not great at, outsource.
Anne: Oh yes.
Laya: That's a modern mindset too, for sure.
Anne: I love that.
Laya: Yeah. You can keep adding to it. It doesn't have to be set in stone, and there's many ways to skin that cat, for sure.
Anne: Yeah. The whole outsourcing is another, it's very much a modern mindset --
Laya: Yeah. You don't have to do it all!
Anne: -- for voice talent.
Laya: Wow, isn't that a revelation?
Anne: What doesn't bring you joy, guess what?
Laya: Right. Someone else -- brings dollars to somebody else.
Anne: Uh, my accountant is very happy that I pay her on a monthly basis --
Laya: Lots of joy.
Anne: -- for her to do her job. She loves it. She loves numbers, and I'm like, I am happy to give you joy --
Laya: Yes, exactly.
Anne: -- on a monthly basis, and you do what you do best because that is not something that brings me joy. So, and I say over and over again, I think I must have mentioned it at least 20 times on my podcast, that was one of the best investments I ever made --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- was to outsource my accounting. So.
Laya: And that's a great new mindset --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- because we don't have to do it all. Yes, you see all those funny memes about being the entrepreneur, the solopreneur who wears all the hats.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: But if some of those hats itch your head and make you crazy --
Anne: Yes!
Laya: -- then like kick it off, friend, because somebody else can do that. And honestly --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- your time may be more valuable and better served doing something else in your business.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: So keep that in mind always --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- whether it's website development or, you know, blog content or anything.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- accounting, you know, so that's very key.
Anne: Doing things that bring you joy. Those will be the things that do not feel like they are work. So let's continue on the modern mindset of the marketing. And I know we can have probably an entire episode on social media, but just to kind of touch upon the subject --
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- platforms. I've always been of the mindset that you want to be on the platforms that your potential client is on. And so --
Laya: I would agree with that, but it is an interesting new dynamic that clients are people and humans too. So they're scrolling and wasting their time on social media --
Anne: Just like we are.
Laya: -- just like the rest of u,s and they're scratching their heads.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And so it's interesting how you stumble across new clients or new interactions. I think whatever platform you feel most comfortable on is the one that you can put your energy on.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: For me, I'm a little bit of an older generation, is -- like in my early forties, I can't believe I have to say that, but it's true. TikTok doesn't resonate with me, right, and Snapchat never really resonated with me, but I know tons of talent that have had incredible success and views on TikTok. Look at Heidi Ruin, Atlanta --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- Voiceover Studio, for instance, and that whole like --
Anne: Oh, absolutely.
Laya: -- voiceover battle. They saw a huge uptick in views and followers. I don't know if that converted to clients for them. For me. I actually do see client conversion on Instagram, and Facebook --
Anne: Oh, absolutely.
Laya: -- and LinkedIn and Twitter. I don't tweet a whole lot, but I make sure that my accounts are linked. So I have presence there. I don't nurture relationships there, because it's not my strong suit on that platform. But I do nurture relationships on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. And I derive clients from there because I'm just enjoying their content. I care less about putting mine out there, although I am somewhat consistent. It is a pain in my butt, and I still do it anyway. So I stay relevant, but I think it's most important to engage with them. What are they into? What are they liking?
Anne: Sure.
Laya: Cheer them on, make a comment in a post and a like on what your clients are most into, and you will stay top of mind just by default. You don't have to be like, "hey, look at me --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- you got another job for me?" No, just cheer them on. That is an authentic way to connect socially.
Anne: You know, and it's interesting. Top of mind is so, so important in marketing. And by the way, I just want to add in YouTube --
Laya: Oh yeah.
Anne: -- in terms of the social media place where you might want to be, just because of the good SEO value. I've recently started a channel --
Laya: Vimeo too, actually.
Anne: Yeah. Recently started a channel where I've got some content out there. I do blog. It is painful for me. It's painful for me.
Laya: I feel your pain.
Anne: I do it. But there's all sorts of reasons why I go through the pain, because you know, I've got something to say. And even though I'm not the best writer in the world, it's really difficult to find a writer. Although I've searched, trust me, I have searched, not to necessarily outsource, but to at least get a bare bones blog happening for me, from my ideas, but it's difficult because they're not in my head. And so.
Laya: And they're not the expert. You are the expert, and your clients and fan base appreciate your expertise and you sharing that expertise as you do on the show and in a blog post. And I think if you take that expertise and pull it into a LinkedIn post, or a tweet, or a Facebook post --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and somebody identifies with that or shares it with someone, and they see it, that just gives you more credibility. So as long as that comes natural to you, and it's authentic, it's going to resonate with others as well.
Anne: Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm glad that you, you were talking about being on the platforms that your clients are on because they like to just get sucked in just like the rest of us.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Because I, I noticed recently there's a lot of people are that they're all about LinkedIn. There's so much to talk about with social media --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- with just so many platforms and sometimes not all of the stuff that's flying around there is not healthy at times. And so --
Laya: So you got to manage your borders and boundaries --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- even in social media, for sure.
Anne: Absolutely. And there's so many people that are like, okay, I'm just going to do LinkedIn, or I'm just going to do this platform. So I think we only have so many hours in the day. And so I think in terms of, you know, you've got to come up with that balance. You've got to, like I say, listen more than talk a lot of times. And sometimes things like, let's say, videos that you put on YouTube that may or may not talk about your voiceover business, but a passion of yours, similar to a podcast, right, that could be about a passion of yours, by default are helping put your brand out there and helping people, potential clients get to know who you are and keeping you top of mind. And those are, I think important, probably the most important things that your potential client will help keep you top of mind, right?
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: If they're watching you on YouTube or they're hearing you on a podcast, and you're not necessarily selling them your voiceover services, but they are getting to know you as a person and then saying, you know what, I'd really like to work with that person --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- because it is a meeting where they're hearing your voice, but you don't have to be like, hey, I'm a voiceover artist. Hire me.
Laya: Yeah. You don't have to always be like, look at me and look at what I do for work and my en- -- I mean, some people dedicate their entire Instagram account to their voiceover business or, you know, or only keep it private and don't let their clients in. There's that too. So it's really up to the individual person. For instance, I don't share a lot of my work on Facebook. I'm not very active on Facebook anymore, but it's, I use it as a touch point to connect with my friends and family. Instagram, definitely more work, professional, business heavy, but I also show some of the personality in there. On LinkedIn, I try to keep it more professional --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- less about my personal life. However, I like to share ideas in the industry. If I have nothing to say, I love to share other clients' content, may or may not have anything to do with me, but achievements they've had cheering them on, or advancements in the industry, new technologies, to get the conversation started, and to show my clients or the people that I'm connected with that I am staying top of mind by being relevant and educating myself, and sharing quality content in our same space. And so just depending on which platform you're at and how that feels to you and who your audience is, you kind of can tailor and tweak accordingly. That's my personal strategy. And you know, it works for me. So.
Anne: Wow. Good stuff. We could probably talk about this for hours.
Laya: And we will.
Anne: And we will.
Laya: Let's do a social podcast -- a social episode next, I think.
Anne: Yes. I think a social episode is absolutely coming up next for us. So in the meantime, BOSSes, try to develop, evolve, create, understand your brand. Make sure you've got something wonderful out there to market yourself and keep that modern mindset while you are doing so.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor ipDTL, because they are of a modern mindset --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- using the latest technology to allow us to connect like BOSSes. You can find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week --
Laya: Yes, thank you.
Anne: -- and we will see you next week. All right.
Laya: Absolutely. Have a good one, guys.
Anne: Bye-bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Is your yoga instructor on your business expense list? How about an ENT? If not, perhaps they should be. In this episode, Anne & Laya explore the role diet + exercise play in their businesses, how to take a break, and why you should try face yoga (really, it’s a thing!). If you're feeling a sense of business burnout , listen for tips and ideas to help overcome the overwhelming. More at https://voboss.com/modern-wellness-with-laya-hoffman
Transcript
>> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza, and I am pleased to welcome back to the show special guest cohost, Laya Hoffman. Hey Laya, how are you today?
Laya: Awesome. Thanks, Anne, it's so good to be back. I've been loving our conversations so far. You've given so much to the voiceover community.
Anne: Thank you.
Laya: I have received from you before. So it's just an honor and a pleasure to join you on the show again and continue to share some knowledge of a modern mindset and this business we have.
Anne: Absolutely, for sure. So we got into some really amazing conversation in our last episodes about how to prepare ourselves and get ourselves into a modern mindset. And I want to get a little bit deeper into that focus, in regards to vocal health or our actual physical health. Because, you know, with the seasons changing, I know that I need to be able to do a few things to get my voice prepped and ready for being able to perform at my very best. And I know that I have a certain ritual of things that I do to prepare my voice, to be able to have the very best voice that I can. And I was hoping we could have a discussion about that today.
Laya: Of course, of course, I totally believe that full body wellness is key to creating a, you know, a sustainable voiceover business, but also to come from the right mindset holistically all, all the way. It's a 360 approach to your wellness, you know. While our vocal chords and our voice is our tool on our instrument, it doesn't happen naturally with flow and with the essence that you need to deliver, if your full body isn't in tune and it really takes a proactive approach --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- and not a reactive approach to doing that.
Anne: So very important.
Laya: I have learned the hard way. I'm sure we all have, especially during this high anxiety time that we're living in right now, whether, you know, you're on edge from everything that is the pandemic, or the political space, or whatever it is, we need to keep all those things in check so that we can deliver from the right emotional point, and do it in a healthy way, body, mind, soul, emotionally, and all of those things. So I definitely have incorporated some techniques that I keep in my ritual, in my toolkit to continue to, you know, work effectively and keep that balance.
Anne: You know what's interesting is that when I'm working with students who are just entering into the business, I give homework, you know, 'cause I'm a teacher.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And I love to give homework and I find it --
Laya: I hate giving homework.
Anne: -- so interesting because people will tend to -- there's two types of people, right? There's people who will just be very diligent and good about doing their homework. And then there's those people who will wait until the night before and then do all their homework at once. And I'm constantly telling my students that it's important for you to get to know your body, to get to know your performance level and how you are at different times of the day. How do you feel in the morning? How do you feel in the afternoon, or how do you feel in the evening when you're performing in the booth after you've had a full day of stress, because I think it's super important that you get to know your body and how it reacts to stress to, if you're tired, whatever.
And it's important for you to get to know that so that when you are a full-time working voice actor, that you can understand, this is a great time, if I can get in the booth now. I'm feeling good, mentally healthy, physically healthy, and I'm in great performance, that you can take advantage of that, and really try to keep yourself in that tip-top shape for whenever you step into the booth. So I think it would be great to talk about what sort of things do you do to get yourself ready for that, Laya?
Laya: Yeah. Well, thanks. I feel like I'm a generally healthy person. I'm, uh, in my early forties, I've always been active, always tried to eat fairly clean, be aware. Of course I love to indulge just like everybody else. And I'm not always on my best, but going the distance with voice work in the last few years and being a working mom as well, having a young daughter to tend to, and all the stresses that come with everything around us, I felt the difference between walking in stressed and --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and coming from a place where the mind isn't dialed in. And on the opposite side of that, the difference between walking in, in a, in a fully centered and balanced place. And so I really started to insulate myself and make sure to put up the boundaries that will protect this work and doing that from a multitude of ways. I had a few like little ailments going on that wouldn't allow me to sit or stand for a long time because I had an inflammation in my body and there -- my back would hurt. And then instead of focusing on the copy and the emotional point and the client and the connection with the vibration that's coming out of my soul, it was coming from a place of ache or --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- pain or in the back of my mind, this nagging feeling that, oh, you know, you're just kind of half focused on whatever that is. So to me, it's eating clean. My daughter's got a gluten intolerance, and so we're mostly gluten-free here, but I've also noticed that the grains and the gluten definitely contribute to inflammation in my body --
Anne: Oh my, yes.
Laya: -- is, you know --
Anne: There with you.
Laya: Yeah, it's all part of the swelling.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: So, you know, I know when to indulge, but during the week when I'm working, and I create those boundaries where I try to compartmentalize my voice work to a Monday through Friday scenario whenever possible, to give myself vocal rest, also to, you know, have a cheat day and to go off the rails, as my husband would say, or drink a few glasses of wine or whatever.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: but it's keeping -- it's fueling the body from within, because this is our vessel. You know, a doctor or a carpenter keeps his tools clean, and we need to do the same for our, for our vocal cords in our vocal health. So to me, that starts with eating because it also gives me the clarity. When I'm really firing on all cylinders, I'll eat more of a low carb or ketogenic based diet because the clarity that I'm able to get without -- you know, there's no fog, there's no inflammation. It contributes to motivation and proactivity or productivity that continues to push me forward. You know, it also gives me the clarity to say, hey, it's time to take a break. You need rest. I didn't get enough sleep. You know, go get some fresh air, bust up the day a little bit. And don't grind so hard. Without those things, I'm not making the best decisions. So that's part of my modern mindset when it comes to wellness. It definitely starts with the fuel. Right?
Anne: Well --
Laya: -- and then we go from there.
Anne: Very, very interesting though that you say that because as I get older, it really makes a difference, the food that I put into my body and especially, I think, as we are progressing, I think there's more and more maybe additives or whatever it is --
Laya: Oh yes.
Anne: -- that's being put into the food that is maybe foreign to our bodies. And our bodies might be not used to it, rejecting it, whatever that is. But I do know that I feel a lot better when I'm not eating my beloved carbs. Ah...
Laya: For sure, for sure.
Anne: I love my carbs, but they do not love me as I've gotten older, and I definitely have inflammation. And that's not comfortable, you know, it's just not comfortable, and I need to be at my best and, and I need to, to perform. And I think it absolutely, you need to fuel your body with nutritious things that can help feed your energy, feed your soul, make you feel good.
Laya: Definitely.
Anne: And that, coming from that place starting there, then you can perform well.
Laya: Yeah. And then I take it a little bit of a step further, and I know you and I share the same passion of going to -- I go to an integrated health practitioner that balances both the Eastern and Western medicine, uh, use my chiropractor, uses kinesiology based muscle testing --
Anne: Oh yes.
Laya: -- to dial in my organs, my hormones, my allergies, and I get super, hyper focused or personalized supplements that are very high quality that my body is testing well. And that they're are both beneficial and really positive for what I am lacking in any given month or nutrient deficiency. And he does some cool stuff to get my body ready. Like this ear adjustment that I was struggling with for so long. I didn't know I had a click going on in my ear from TMJ, you know?
Anne: Wow. Now I can't say I've had my ears tested, but tell me --
Laya: No?
Anne: -- about that. No, I, for TMJ, I've had my jaw adjusted by my chiropractor, which I think is phenomenal.
Laya: Yes, it is such a release, right?
Anne: He's not adjusted my ear. Maybe I'm going to have to ask him, but tell me about it first.
Laya: I didn't know it was a thing, but I just sit there. It's very simple. He puts his thumb in your ear and I turn one way, and he does a little bit of a yank, and it's like all of the tiny little microscopic bones in the ear, it's like sparks are flying out.
Anne: A dance!
Laya: Yes, it is so -- I was like, ohh! the angels saying, when that happened. You've got to get your guy to do it. It's remarkable. And I think the combination of that and the modality in the jaw --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- really started to alleviate some of TMJ and this click I couldn't get rid of. So that was super helpful for me.
Anne: Wow. Speaking of TMJ, I think that might be, uh, an issue for maybe a lot of our listeners.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I know that my dentist of course prescribed a mouth guard, which does help with that. And I think here, we're doing all this work during the day when we're conscious and breathing and relaxing and meditating. And then all of a sudden, we go to bed at night and then we grind our teeth.
Laya: Yeah, why do we do that? I don't know.
Anne: And I'm like, why is that? But anyways, I think that that's a super helpful thing, but another thing that my chiropractor does -- and, and again, this is not necessarily the show about chiropractors, but whatever works for you -- my chiropractor, when I get an adjustment, I feel like I've now cleared pathways.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And when I clear pathways, it allows me to breathe better, and you talk ears, I talk wrist. So there is a spot on my wrist that I had no idea about that when he adjusts my wrist, I am just, whoa, the angels, you know?
Laya: Yes.
Anne: The angels sing.
Laya: You use it a lot. So it makes sense. Right?
Anne: True.
Laya: We're editing. We forget about like our ergonomical position and that --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- our wrists, forearms, fingers probably take as much stress if not more as our jaw. So I'm, I'm going to go into mine and ask for a wrist adjustment next time.
Anne: And I'll ask for the ear adjustment.
Laya: Do it.
Anne: And I think also what's important, speaking of ears, is I have a ENT. And to me it's so important I think if you're going to be in this industry. I think it's a great idea to have a doctor that you trust, an ENT that can go -- and, you know, for me, I use them primarily for my ears because for those people that don't know, I've really tiny, tiny ears, and they tend, um, baby ears, actually they have to use pediatric tools to look in my ears.
Laya: So funny, like Anne "Baby Ears" --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- Ganguzza, I think, is your new nickname.
Anne: Well, I tend to get a buildup of wax. So I have to go into him every three months.
Laya: Sure, makes sense.
Anne: And I have him just check things out. You know, if, if you've got issues with your vocal chords, you've got issues -- all of stuff, right?
Laya: And the inflammation there is going to affect your delivery, absolutely.
Anne: So I say a good ENT is also something that I think that BOSSes should consider in terms of maybe a regular, you know, kind of wellness program for the instrument that you use every day.
Laya: Absolutely right.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I also go to a massage therapist once a month because --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- that tension, body, mind -- in fact, both my integrated wellness doctor slash chiropractor and my therapist, those are budgeted into my business and --
Anne: Absolutely!
Laya: -- they're, in a way, part of the write-off, because this is my tool, and it's very important that I protect that space so that you can have fitness. And what we do --
Anne: Oh my gosh, yes.
Laya: -- is a marathon. So you gotta stay healthy all the way through.
Anne: I am going to plus one, plus 21, 21,000 for that massage therapist.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And as a matter of fact, once a month, I'm part of a membership --
Laya: Same, yeah.
Anne: -- where I will go once a week even, because for me, it's important because I've been working a lot during this pandemic. And I'm very grateful and thankful for that. However, it's, it causes me to be a little bit more at my desk than I want to be. So massage, it really helps to keep my body in alignment, keep my muscles stretched and just engaged. I know that a lot of times, like my neck, my upper back suffers because I'm in the chair longer and a massage therapist, it absolutely is considered an investment for me, for my business.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: And that's how I kind of, you know, quantify that in my business structure as well. It was like, this is part of the integral part of, you know, just running the business. It's like, I've got to do that. I've got to make time for the gym, for exercise, for stretch, for breath work. Now, when it comes to like vocal therapy, you have an awesome product that I think we should talk about. But then -- and then talk about other things that you use for your throat and how to get that going.
Anne: Why, thank you. Thank you for bringing that up. Well, actually, I know there's a lot of products that people use, and, and I'm the first to say, whatever works for you in terms of like sprays or throat coat, that sort of thing. But I do have a product that I developed because I was into essential oils, and I had started to become allergic. The, you know, allergy season was upon me, and my voice was getting very raspy. And so I was looking for something that would help. And there's an essential oil that was really helpful to me that I started to check out other products that used use this oil, or just, I started searching on Google for like throat sprays. And I found a recipe for singers vocal spray, and I actually, it was made of essential oils. So I kind of took our essential oils and kind of, you know, adjusted the recipe just a little bit in terms of taste for me, but kept a lot of some of the same ingredients. And so now I make this vocal throat spray, and I have three other products in that line that are made from the essential oils that I sell on all of my websites at Anne Ganguzza, at VO BOSS. So they're all essential oils and distilled water.
Laya: I love that.
Anne: So the ingredients are listed on the website, all natural listed on the website. I can make no claims that they will make you healthy. However, they help me, and they've helped a lot of people. I have a lot of fans that buy the vocal spray and the other products that I have too. I also have something, an essential oil mixture that you can put a couple of drops in your water to help you, you know, if you've not a water drinker, a lot of people they're like, "oh, I just don't like the taste of water," you can add a couple of drops of this. It gives you a little bit of flavor and it helps to keep you hydrated, so.
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And that's really the key, right? I mean, you can't just drink water --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- before your session, right? You've got to drink -- I'll keep a 32-ounce tumbler with me at all times. Throughout the day, I probably drink three or four of them. I go to the bathroom a lot, but I mean --
Anne: So do I.
Laya: -- it's good, 'cause it's flushing out the toxins.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's also keeping you incredibly lubricated. I did make a misstep early on in my career. I was, you know, following other wellness people in an effort to reduce the inflammation and improve my digestive track. I was doing warm water and apple cider vinegar or warm water and lemon in the morning. And I noticed after a week or so, it really strained my vocal cords, stripped the lubricant. And you think, of course --
Anne: Well, it's acidic.
Laya: -- that makes sense -- right, of course! And like now it makes sense, but at the time I thought, "well, I'm just centering my body, I'm --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- having a intermittent fasting. And this is kind of soothing my breaking, oh, not really breaking my fast, but warming up my intestines and all of that.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: Nope. Not the thing to do. So I stopped doing that, and I'm going to have to try your additive, the essential oils, because I love essential oils on the body, to put in the space and make your room what it needs to be. So that's awesome.
Anne: I have those too. Yeah. I have, uh, something called the Booth Breeze --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- which is a combination of lavender --
Laya: We all need one of those.
Anne: -- and peppermint. Can you imagine lavender and peppermint? Lavender to calm you down, peppermint to kind of like spice you up. And the two of them together are really interesting. So there's lavender, peppermint, I think spearmint in there.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And in reality, I call it the Booth Breeze because you can spray it in your booth for the aroma essence of it to calm you down in -- or to pump you up. But it's also to make you not so hot in the booth. And you know, it's been a hot summer. You can literally, with the spearmint, you know, I mean, and it's not all spear -- you're not spraying spearmint. It's a combination along with the majority of it distilled water, but you can spray that on the back of your neck, and it's a cooling agent, so.
Laya: Oh, very cool.
Anne: Yeah. So you can use it --
Laya: Literally.
Anne: -- for multiple, multiple things.
Laya: That's awesome.
Anne: So one note that I wanted to talk to you about, the lemon, I -- absolutely lemon is an acid. I love a good glass of lemon water, but I think, yeah, in excess, you probably don't want to do too much of that.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: But I don't think they're, for me, I've never had a problem 'cause I haven't done it consistently and a lot. But I will have a day or two where I'll drink lemon water.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: If I need to, you know, if I'm inflamed, and I need to kind of flush toxins out of my system, it helps me a whole lot. But as long as I chase it with like regular water. You know, they say not to drink coffee, but I love coffee. And so I'm a big drink coffee and chase it with a good, you know, 16 ounces of water.
Laya: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. That's key, that's key. You know, what I also use is a, I've tried a bunch of nebulizers out there. I don't know if you're familiar with any or you like to use any. They're fun, interesting. Nobody uses -- maybe this is an idea for somebody, hey, maybe you. You're the BOSS that will put this in motion. We need to brand one for voice actors, but the vocal mist nebulizer is a cool portable system that I use, especially after, you know, a long weekend or you go to a concert, you really straining your voice for some reason.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: Or it's just been a really intense week on the mic. It's so soothing to have that nebulizer and that warm kind of neutral mist in the back of the cords. I found a lot of relief with that. So you need to BOSS brand one for sure.
Anne: Maybe, maybe.
Laya: VO BOSS brand nebulizer.
Anne: I'm going to talk about somebody who I absolute love is, is Nic Redmond --
Laya: Yeah, she has some great exercises.
Anne: -- who has -- oh my God, she has wonderful, wonderful things. So if you've not checked her out, she has -- I believe she has a new podcast, right, on it?
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Yeah, she's got a -- outside of the VO Social that she does with Laya, she has her own podcast, all about vocal health, so -- and she's a true geek about it and she's amazing. So --
Laya: Yeah, talented, yeah, what a talented --
Anne: Strongly --
Laya: -- individual.
Anne: Yeah. Strongly suggest checking out her podcast, and her exercises, and, and remedies as well.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So she's, she's amazing. So I think that's a great resource for everybody. What about physical -- I know you said you do yoga, but what about, is there any physical exercises that you do in the booth, like right before you're going to perform? Because I have a couple of neck exercises that I do.
Laya: Interesting.
Anne: I'm wondering about you.
Laya: I'm always doing some sort of movement and some sort of stretch because we are so kind of complacent in our bodies. I mean, unless you're doing like a high action, a video game or something like that, where you're really moving around, we don't usually have the opportunity to bend and stretch and move. I do a lot of face stretching and exercises, you know, like kind of face yoga where, you know, you're doing the chin stretch --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- or you're really opening up your mouth and kind of blowing air into your cheeks and rubbing your temples, your jaw, your ears, those types of things. I feel like I'm, I'm constantly with my hands all over my face, just, you know, feeling into the modalities there to keep it fluid and keep everything moving. How about you?
Anne: Yeah, no, I absolutely. I have some really good -- and of course this, it was my chiropractor -- but also these are not neck stretches that you probably have -- I mean, they're very simple, to take your right hand and put it over your left ear and then, you know, bring your head to your right shoulder. And as you do, as you advance, you know, closer to your shoulder, breathe in. And then when you exhale, go ahead and bring it a little bit closer to your shoulder. I'm actually doing it now.
Laya: I can hear it.
Anne: And then so as you are exhaling, you're going to be able to stretch that neck even further towards your shoulder. And I do that, you know, to the right, to the left, forward and back, and everything that's, you know, muscles around those vocal cords, I think really is an excellent exercise for you to do because I mean, that's, that's what we need to have warmed up for sure.
Laya: Oh yeah, neck rolls all day, every day, I'm here for it. And you forget, you forget how tight or how much tension, how much stress we're holding in there.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: What about like affirmations? And do you use any of that, any, any love self-love talk around you visually to kind of keep the mental stimulation?
Anne: Why, yes. Absolutely. There's so much to be said for post-it notes.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: I know we're in a digital world, but --
Laya: No, you've got to see it to believe it, baby.
Anne: It's so true! I mean, post-it notes, if, especially if, if you're trying to think performance wise, like maybe you have a, a habit that you're trying to break, a post-it note stuck up in your booth right up in front of you, and you're always looking at it. Or a booth buddy, you know, there's a lot of great coaches out there that will recommend to have a booth buddy. So if you want to feel like you're talking to someone or you've got somebody that you're focusing on, have a picture of someone close to your monitor so that you can be talking to them or talking to your booth buddy, but I think affirmations, absolutely, so that they're constantly there in front of you.
Laya: Yeah. Definitely. People feel like a little awkward if you've not done that before, like tell yourself you're kick-ass. But really what I love to do is pull, you know, you mentioned the post-it notes. You can get them in all cute shapes. They don't have to just be squares all over your space, but you know, if you're ever talking, you're in a webinar, or you're talking to a coach, you're talking to a friend, you know, you scribble something down, you can almost turn anything into an affirmation.
Anne: So true.
Laya: One I've got sitting in front of me is from one of my coaches, Nancy Wolfson. She says, your cool is cool enough. And like, that means so much to me because of our --
Anne: So true.
Laya: -- back history. But you know, I don't need to try to be something else when what I've got is already the good -- I've already got the goods because it's uniquely mine, and nobody else has the life experience that brings to this, this voice, in this delivery and this emotional point. And so those little notes give you some like a little gut check, you know, that you're on the right track, and even when you're having a low day, and it's good to see that to believe in and feel it, you know?
Anne: I love that we're really delving into the mental aspect of this because whereas we might not have thought about the mental aspect, it really is so -- I don't want to say -- the physical aspect of your vocal cords and that you're warmed up is important, but I'm going to say sometimes the mental could be even more important --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- to your performance and your health. And that is so very important that we're open, and we're okay with spending time on our mental health, so that we can be the best that we can be, and whatever that takes. And it could be post-it notes in the studio, as well as -- and we spoke about this in a previous episode -- you know, having that group of colleagues or friends or accountability buddies --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- that can, you know --
Laya: Your tribe.
Anne: -- help keep you -- yeah, your tribe that can keep you in a great, positive mental state, because it's so prevalent in this industry where we deal, I mean, almost rejection, rejection, rejection.
Laya: Or comparison.
Anne: And that is -- yeah.
Laya: And then you know, when you see others on social and there's a lot of -- you start to really second guess things.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's a mind game.
Anne: It is.
Laya: But if you're going to be strong in anything, you've got to have that mental mindset, and the modern way to approach that is do it for you first --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- but like get yourself good. And then also know when to take a break, right? Like give yourself the grace to chill and to relax into if you're not having a good day or, you know, you're really tired or you need to listen to your body and give yourself the courtesy and the respect to know when to take it easy, right? Like...
Anne: Yeah, know, your body. And I'm giving permission that you do not have to do every single last audition.
Laya: Oh gosh.
Anne: That, I think, is something --
Laya: Say it again for the people in the back, Anne. Say it again.
Anne: One more time. You do not have to do every single audition. I know for a fact, I tell my students this too, that they try to do every -- all their homework at the very last minute. My students are always doing that. And I'm like, you need to get to know your body. You need to get to know your mental state. You need to know "I'm good in the morning after I've exercised or after I've done mental affirmations" or however it is, or maybe after a day of homeschooling, right? How is your body, how is your mental state? Are you able to perform? And I think it's wonderful to be able to do something in the booth every single day at a different time of the day, to get yourself aware of where your performance is good. And then if it's not, what are you going to do to fix that? Right?
Laya: Exactly right. Have like a tool bag, right? Like how can you fix it?
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: When you know you're feeling low here, what do you need to do? You got to pull a lever and, you know, deep into that bag and give yourself a break or go out in nature and ground down.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: Use your throat spray or drink --
Anne: Or your body hurts?
Laya: -- some water, exactly.
Anne: -- get a massage or go walk around. I'm constantly telling people, you know what, because it takes such focus to do what we do. And it takes such, you know, to really tell the story, like we're always supposed to do, and we need to really connect. And we're connecting with the copy. That takes a lot of mental effort and that also physically can take a toll on you. So if you need to hop out of the booth for five minutes, shake it off, go pet your fur babies, or, you know what I mean, go have a cracker with, with your child or whatever it is --
Laya: A cracker.
Anne: -- that's a carb, sorry.
Laya: Don't have the cracker.
Anne: Go have a vegetable with your loved one. And you know, there's a lot to be said for that, that, that getting out of the booth and just resetting, getting out into nature, taking a walk, like you were saying. It's such a, such a wonderful way to, to just reset and come back fresh.
Laya: Yeah. I think the foundational part of wellness and modern minded approach to this business now is, is that taking care of yourself first is key because that's, you know, that is everything. That applies to, you know, we're in a pandemic. Yes. And so we're always, we're careful and innately careful about germs and cross-contamination and all that stuff now. But you know, keeping those things in mind is that like one down day, because you weren't taking care could cost you money.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: But it's also important to take it a down day when you need it so that you can go the distance when you need it to.
Anne: And you'd be surprised at how understanding your clients can be.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: If you're human. I mean, we're all human, right?
Laya: That's absolutely true.
Anne: And so if you need that time, and I know you mentioned before that, you know, if you need that time and you don't -- we try not to work on the weekends and you send that email saying, "hey, thanks so much. I'm out of the booth right now. And I'll get back to you tomorrow morning, you know, I'm spending time on family and I'd be happy to get back to you," I think I love that approach, um, because we all need to reset. We all need to reset that creative compass.
Laya: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: To be our best.
Laya: I think in a future episode, I'd love to talk to you more about, you know, how do you compartmentalize when you vacation? Do you take a rig with you? What does that look like? When you set those boundaries? Because that's part of the wellness and the mentality too. So --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- maybe more on that later.
Anne: Absolutely. Well, excellent conversation, Laya, as always.
Laya: Thanks again, Anne. Thank you.
Anne: Yeah. This has been great. BOSSes, take care of yourself.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: You know, mental, physical wellness is, is important for your performance, for your business. We all want you guys around for a very long time, so.
Laya: Health is wealth. Absolutely.
Anne: That's it, absolutely. So big shout-out to ipDTL that allows me to connect, uh, with BOSSes like Laya, and you too can do the same. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week and be well, and we'll see you next week.
Laya: See ya. Thanks, everybody.
Anne: Bye!
Laya: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via ipDTL.
Worried about Ai? Your emotions are your job security, and working with technology will be key to future success in voice over. In this bonus Voice & Ai episode, Anne chats with Ryan Hicks and Adam Fritz of Pozotron - an audiobook proofing service. Listen as they dive deep into the future of audiobook production, and discuss how the connections between human emotion & AI is a voice actor’s greatest ally…
More at https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-pozotron-with-ryan-hicks-and-adam-fritz
What are you grateful for today? In Part Two of our Modern Mindset series premiere, Anne & Laya connect the conversation between industry and self. They cover forming accountability groups during the pandemic, abundance vs. scarcity mindsets, and the double-edged sword that is social media. More at https://voboss.com/introducing-modern-mindset-part-2-with-laya-hoffman
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am thrilled to have back with me guest co-host Laya Hoffman. Laya is an Atlanta-based voice actor and podcaster. She's got over 20 years on the mic. She specializes in commercial, corporate, promos, and has worked for brands such as BMW, Google, Amazon, all the things. She's a former marketing exec, nightclub DJ, and creative agency lead. So she brings us so much value to this podcast. And I am so excited to bring her back to talk to us on our Modern Mindset Series. Laya, so glad to have you back.
Laya: Oh, thank you so much, Anne. I'm loving our conversation. It's been an honor to listen to your show over the last few years and on to be a guest, how cool, super grateful for the opportunity to share.
Anne: Oh, absolutely. Wow --
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: -- we had a great episode where we started to talk about what is a modern mindset and how to get yourself into a modern mindset. And we really kind of delved deep, and I think we can go even further on that. So let's review a little bit for our listeners about what a modern mindset entails and maybe dig deep into the modern mindset for being ready to be the best entrepreneur you can for your voiceover business.
Laya: Absolutely. And it's so important to continue to share this information, because as so many talented voice actors who have shared their trials and tribulations with me over the years, I've kind of run that through a modern lens, as I've grown my business full-time in the last three years and taken that experience and shifted it in how we can meet our buyers, our agents, our managers, our clients, where they are because they're hiring differently.
Anne: Oh yes.
Laya: They are listening for different things, and to be our best selves when we approach the mic every day, it takes starting at the ground up to make sure that you are confident, that you are committed and clear, and you are grounded in your intention, and how you present your work every day. And, um, and that will continue to help you stabilize your industry, but also, you know, keep the balance, because there is a lot of anxiety out there in the world as it is, much less when you talk to yourself in a box all day for a living. So, you know, there's a lot of steps to that. And we did touch on that a little bit on our last episode of health and wellness, and then also having and approaching your business with the right intention. But I'm looking forward to talking more about that today.
Anne: Well, you know, I think it's very important before you begin, or while you're in the middle of creating your business, that you are open to educating, educating yourself.
Laya: Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Anne: I think that that is so important. And -- and if you're used to doing things a certain way, I think it's really important that, number one, if you're going to be successful in an industry such as voiceover and any industry, that you spend a certain amount of time each day, educating yourself on that industry. What does it take for you to be successful in that industry? And also not just in the industry, but to research and educate yourself on your potential clients.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: I think that that is absolutely very important. And if you don't have that going into it, it's going to be hard for you to really understand or even perform, to be successful in getting gigs. And then once you have the gig, in order to be able to serve your client in the way that they would want to have their brand elevated by your voice.
Laya: Absolutely. I think that you look at, you can look at any other industry in the world, and you know that you've got a certain amount of education, whether it's vocational --
Anne: Oh yeah!
Laya: -- or a long lead of college tuition ahead of you, but in voiceover, for some reason, a lot of people approach it like it's just a quick fix --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- or it's a quick money maker --
Anne: It's simple.
Laya: When in --
Anne: I'm home. I can make money.
Laya: -- when the reality is -- I can talk, right? Everybody talks --
Anne: I can talk.
Laya: Right? When the reality is, if you don't come to the table with a true understanding of the investment and what you're going to fill and educate yourself with, fill your cup with every day, and come from a place very humbly looking at that, and figuring out also who are the best types of people that you need to learn from, you know. What is, is there a personality fit there, um, with your coach? Are you going to make a commitment to that coach and stay the course with that coach in that vein, in that track, in that genre of voice work until you master it, or until you at least feel confident where you're booking in that range? Or are you going to scatter yourself and then figure out what, you know, do widespread research and touch a little bit of everything until you figure out where you want to hone in on? I think you have to have real conversations with yourself and come from a place of humility to know that you, even at your highest peak in this career, never stop learning --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- and never stop filling that cup and sharing also, but, you know, listen more than you talk in this business. And I think you'll go far.
Anne: Isn't that like an oxymoron?
Laya: Right.
Anne: Listen more than you talk.
Laya: Right.
Anne: But I love that you said, have it come from a humble place, from a place of humility, because I think that that is what indeed makes us open, open to new things, open to new education. And even for the people, not if you're just entering the business, but even for the people that are in the business, I think it might almost be more important for them to be open --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- to evolve and to educate. And, you know, I know firsthand in my Voice and AI series that there's a lot of people -- there's a lot of fear. And I think what stops people from advancing, selling in their performance, or growing their business is fear --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and fear of, of what's coming or what's up ahead. And, and I think that we can combat that fear with education, education about what technologies are coming up, you know, educate yourself about AI. If you're afraid that AI is gonna take away your business, you know, go ahead and educate yourself. That's one of the main missions, you know -- like my love is teaching. And so I really went all out on my AI and Voice series so that people could get an education on, you know, what is AI in voice all about? What are synthetic voices all about? How can we as voice talent learn more about that, that part of the industry so that we can serve better or not, you know, and make an informed decision.
And I think that there's a lot of talent out there that have been in the industry for a long time, and we touched on this in our last episode about how you need to be willing to open yourself to changes that are happening in the market. And there's a lot of people that, they may or may not want to see what's happening. They want to do it, you know, the way it used to be.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: Well, it used to be, you know, back in the day, I'll even say when I was like, right at the very beginning of like the pay-to-plays. And, uh, you know, at that time they were very effective. Now things have evolved, things have changed. And so --
Laya: Yeah, you have to play a game.
Anne: -- we got, yeah, we've got to evolve along with it. So being open, being humble, being willing to learn, really, I think I want to say, could be almost one of the most important factors in having a modern mindset to be successful.
Laya: Absolutely. And you touched on this a little bit too, but as a fellow colleague of mine and a dear friend, Caroline Slaughter, has reintroduced time and time again to our conversations, there's a scarcity mindset out there when -- as it applies to AI and, you know, new modern technologies, and "they're going to take our jobs from us, and the way we used to do it in our old days, you know?" Like, no, you're coming from a scarcity mindset. You know, if once you scrub down that scarcity mindset and move from a place of that to an abundant mindset --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- and know that there is plenty out there, and the more that you fill your cup, the more, you know, the more you grow, the more you share, the more you care, the more you'll hear that quality and that authenticity in your voice, the more you'll connect with your clients, your managers, your agents, the more you'll connect with the audience that's at the end listening to you deliver the message. And you're never going to get there with a scarcity mindset.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: You're never going to get there with that "well, the way we used to do it, and this is, I'm not, I'm stuck in my ways." No, take what you're learning, know how valuable that is, and how you're paying it forward to the future generations. But then listen in return, because while I'm 42 years old and may have been being paid on the mic for 20 years, I've only been full-time and taken this industry seriously in the last three. And it's bringing that other experience into --
Anne: Oh my gosh, all the time.
Laya: -- like with your medical background, you can bring that experience into your medical narration. With my marketing background, with my branding consulting creative background, I bring that in, and it's learning and evolving and staying humble and with an open, kind of an abundant mindset, that there is plenty and it is so cool. And also coming from a deep, deep place of gratitude --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- because it is a gift to be able to talk for a living --
Anne: Sure is.
Laya: -- and get paid to share your voice and be a storyteller.
Anne: It sure is.
Laya: It is one of the greatest gifts. And if that's not where you're coming from as a place of humility and gratitude, and open-mindedness, then this might not be a successful path for you or as successful as it could be. So that's my, you know, it's up there.
Anne: I love the -- I think gratitude, coming from a place of gratitude, number one, is always important. I think those two things, come from a place of gratitude and manifest abundance. Always, always manifest.
Laya: I could spend an entire episode -- I could probably talk about that for hours.
Anne: Manifest abundance.
Laya: In fact, I wholly -- and a lot of people ask me what is manifestation. It's really checking in with your gut --
Anne: Oh, I'm all about that.
Laya: -- and what you want and thinking big. And using -- in fact, I just did a little ritual with my own family. It's a road opening ritual where we talk about all our roads are open, all our blocks, unblocked, and every night, while we're sitting around the dinner table, my eight-year-old, my husband and I, we say, what are you grateful for today?
Anne: Nice.
Laya: And we give our gratefuls. We don't necessarily pray. We're not a very religious, but a very spiritual family. And we talk about our gratitudes every day. When I wake up in the morning, I start my day in my mind with, what am I grateful for today? And some "I am" statements, the feeling of like, what are you today? And what can you embrace this day with, with power, with gratitude, with appreciation? And, you know, those are very powerful and often taken for granted. So it can really change your mind --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- and change your mood and change your mentality as you approach the mic every day.
Anne: And I think that there's something to be said for taking the moment and, in more than a moment, even for yourself, so that you can bring your best self to the booth. And you're having that --
Laya: 100%.
Anne: -- having that time where you are thinking, what am I grateful for? And I know I come from a place of gratitude, and sometimes you're forced into a place of even deeper gratitude.
Laya: You have to fake it 'til you make it sometimes. And that's okay.
Anne: With, let's say, health issues, right? Of course, we're in the middle of a pandemic, but you know, I've had health issues where -- it's funny because what I used to think was so dramatic and horrible maybe in my booth, you know, prior to a cancer diagnosis, right? After I come through that, then it becomes like, wow, I am grateful that I can be in this booth. I'm grateful that I can work from home. I am grateful that I'm still here to be able to use my voice --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- to be able to have an impact on somebody, and that --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and I think ultimately becomes like a -- there's a very central core place of gratitude that comes from, for me, it's education. It's that teacher in me. I mean, I'm a voice actor. And a lot of that voicing that I do impacts people. It inspires people. It, it -- hopefully it inspires people, you know, and it is something that I want to leave, that is my legacy. That is where I am going to leave an impact. This show is also part of that.
Laya: Oh, it's such a gift, such a gift to so many. So yes, you're on that track, and that's your modern mindset.
Anne: There you go.
Laya: It's beautiful.
Anne: There you go. And I think the gratitude and manifesting abundance really will help. Then you can get in the booth and perform. Like too many people I think just run into the booth and just audition, audition, audition. And there's no like set ritual maybe that gets them into a good mindset. I know that if, at the end of the day, if I have an audition that comes in, and I've been stressed out, oh my goodness, I have to really think about it.
Laya: You can hear it.
Anne: It so affects our voice. Oh my goodness.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Every tiny little thing.
Laya: Think about it, think about it. You're delivering vibration.
Anne: Yup, yup.
Laya: You're an amplified source right into somebody's eardrum.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: If you aren't coming from an emotional point, as my coach Nancy Wolfson would say, from the right emotional point --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- it starts with you! Then your listener is going to hear it or feel it. They may not be able to associate it, but they are absolutely going to be able to transmit that.
Anne: Oh my goodness. Yes, absolutely.
Laya: For me -- and I love that you talked about like, how do you approach the booth every day? I wanted to share just from my perspective what has changed for me. I was running and gunning. You know, I'm a full-time mom.
Anne: Me too, yup.
Laya: I dealt with a child homeschooling in a pandemic. It was gangbusters. It still is. There is a new normal level of anxiety that used to be my peak level. And so I've had to manage that.
And I realized that when my bookings were dipping, it was because I wasn't showing up properly. And there was some frazzled months in there where --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- Corona coaster -- and knock on wood, we still have been lucky enough not to have, um, contracted COVID here -- but that, the anxiety of the world and the weight of the world --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- those months in the booth and, and working and trying to maintain was heavy. And I knew that it was resonating --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- and it was why I wasn't booking. So I took a step back. And I started to focus my energy on me waking up earlier. Every morning, I do a Kundalini yoga practice with a Zoom coach, and it's a large group. Anybody can join. Well, maybe I'll send it out at some point, but it's amazing that.
Anne: Yes. We'll put it our in our reference link.
Laya: I love that.
Anne: For the show.
Laya: It's, it's breath work --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- and body work --
Anne: Yes, yes, yes.
Laya: -- not only helps you ground down, but also gives your lungs, your vocal cords, your breath, more space in your body to really flow. And then I find that the tone, the timbre of my voice after a 40-minute session where my body is stretching, and I'm breathing, and I mentally and emotionally getting grounded, is so much richer.
Anne: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Laya: It's so much more connected. Then I get my kid to school, and you go for a walk, and I get some nature. I say, you know, breathe that fresh air in. I can feel it viscerally. And then I come to the booth with a nice, you know --
Anne: Right.
Laya: -- and not everybody has that availability where you have that flexibility or that time or those resources, but whatever that is to you is so important to come to your practice every day.
Anne: Well, having worked with students for a number of years there is -- and especially in narration work, a lot of narration work -- I think that narration, number one, you have to keep the focus and the engagement for even longer than let's say 30 or 60 seconds.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: And it's interesting because some people think, "well, I'm just narrating. I'm going to just" -- everything together put together is a creation, right? You've got video. Maybe you're narrating for that video, but depending on what you're doing, let's say if you're teaching, if you're doing e-learning, or if it's a corporate narration, which is not so much a documentary style, but it's a different style where you are connecting with a potential client and doing a soft sell, every single piece of work or that you do, or every word on that page has meaning. And if you are not completely focused in understanding that meaning and taking that, and being able to tell a story, taking that and be able to emotionally connect with your listener, that takes a ton of focus. And it is so --
Laya: And stamina.
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes. And it is so evident when you are stressed. It is so evident when you are not connected to the copy. And there's so much to say about being connected to the copy, to be able to tell that story, and becoming almost lost in telling the story, where it then no longer is about what your voice sounds like. And if you're listening to what your voice sounds like, that is taking up all of your brain power to not be able to tell a story. And that's what our job is. Our job is to tell that story in a meaningful and an engaged way. And if we are not mentally there, if we're stressed, if we're any type of heightened, I would say emotion, we are not able to properly do our jobs.
Laya: Yeah. And I think, you know, to speak on that, some of the ways, and I'd love to hear your feedback on what you do as well, but I think to stay clear, confident, and committed and maintain your sanity and your peace of mind in this industry -- because as we mentioned in our last episode, you know, if you're an introvert, and maybe this is your calm, and this is the perfect job for you. I'm an extrovert. So talking to myself by myself all day, uh, I need some reassurance along the way. So I think one of the important things to create for yourself is a mastermind group or a group of people, or even just an individual within the industry that's --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- maybe at the same point you are. Um, my friend Kelly Buttrick, uh, often talks about the compass and finding your north star, finding someone that you can reach up to that is maybe in the next level that you would like to be as a --
Anne: So important.
Laya: -- little bit of a mentor. Right? But then also find someone to yourself that you can also share some information to, so you're not only receiving, but you're giving, right?
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Like you do every day, you give on this podcast, you give as a coach. But even as the single solo preneur, I think it's so important, which she said is so important, it's always stuck with me this compass mentality, because then you've got somebody on your east and your west that are right on your level that you can commiserate with, check-in with say, you know, I'm really not feeling this. I'm self-doubt whatever, how are you doing? They can pump you up. And I have found this industry to be so giving in that way that I hope that we can inspire everyone to find their compass, their mastermind, their group. I have a group of talent that we came together because of Kelly over the pandemic called the Gnomies. And it's just a funny name because there was a, a gnome troll in a picture. Anyway, there's nine of us that have come together on Zoom once a week that just talk. And we don't even necessarily talk about the industry. It's more of a gut check to see how's everybody's doing --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- in their isolated room. You know?
Anne: It's like a water cooler, where y'all get together and talk.
Laya: It's so important that we create those for ourselves. That's part of the modern mindset. It's that you don't have to do this alone. You know, mental health, mental, emotional health is so important. It is everything. And I think it's a little underrated how that's discussed in the voiceover--
Anne: Well --
Laya: -- community --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- health and maintaining that health.
Anne: And let's just focus on the word, that this is something that we do in our booth alone. And that right there, just think of the word that we do this alone, we're isolated. And right there is where we need to just stop and understand and realize that it's okay to reach out to others in the industry. We need to have that water cooler. We need to have that experience where, even if we're not talking about the industry, we're just talking, we're communicating, we're engaging with one another to have that human experience, which helps us to do our jobs better, because I think completely isolating yourself in the booth, whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, right, I think we all still need that connection --
Laya: Oh, sure.
Anne: -- to be able to, to function really, we need that feedback. And I love the accountability group. I love just having a group that you can get together with, you know, on a weekly basis and -- or whatever timeframe you guys have. I mean, I've been a part of accountability groups for years, and it's a wonderful, wonderful way to get all those questions that you have and self doubt that you have in your brain that, "oh my God, I'm not doing this right, or how do I even do this? Am I," there's always the questions that I get. And even from students, like, you know, if you're a coach, a lot of times, part of that is a mental lesson too. If, you know, students are not feeling confident or they're like, do I have what it takes? I can't tell you how many times people have asked that of me.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: Do I have what it takes? And that is such an involved question. Um, you know, it's just, there's no one answer. Do you have what it takes? It starts from inside you.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: That's a big part of that and a modern mindset.
Laya: I totally agree with you. And a lot of people have asked me, well, I'm just starting out. I don't know anybody in the street. And I want to give you two tips on how to create an accountability group or a buddy in the industry. And these are some of the things that have worked for me because we are so isolated, especially during a pandemic. I have found that, you know, luckily I was fortunate enough to align myself with some talent before we all got shut down, and I just kindly and conscientiously cheered them on on social media. I would follow up with them. I would not be asking or needing anything from them. I would just be their cheerleader, just like you would want to nurture and finesse a new boyfriend or love interest or girlfriend or a client. You know, you're just cheering them on on social media.
The other thing I have found is that if you are in some workout groups, whether they're local in your area, or even everyone's coming in from all over, because everything is virtual. You know, use that Zoom group to your advantage, cheer the person on that you are finding the most similarity with and the most opposite talent from, you know, somebody that's your polar opposite, so you don't have that competition feeling or what have you. And then message them privately in the Zoom where you can, you know, chat with other people, and let them know what a great job they're doing.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: It's going to make somebody else --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- feel amazing in those very nerve-wracking Zoom sessions when everyone's staring at you doing your reading.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: And also create some camaraderie. And then, you know, maybe before the session closes, say, hey, would you mind if we connect on social? I love what you're doing. I want to continue to stay in touch. Some of my best industry relationships are people I have never met in person.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: It's because we cheer each other on on social media. I like what they're doing because social media, I mean, hello, that's a whole other conversation we're going to get into.
Anne: Well, I want to talk a little bit about that. While I think the good in the social media and the, and the support, I also think we need to be very careful about social media too --
Laya: Definitely.
Anne: -- because that could also be part of the mindset that may or may not contribute to a healthy --
Laya: May not be positive.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: For sure, Anne, for sure.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: There's so much comparison out there. It is very easy to take a break from your day, scroll your --
Anne: Imposter syndrome.
Laya: -- and decide -- yes -- that you are either not cut out for this, or why are all these other people getting all these other gigs -- because you know, love it or hate it. You got to put yourself out there and show your accomplishments. I feel like it can be both tacky and also self-serving.
Anne: I agree with that.
Laya: So it's another conversation of how it's presented.
Anne: That's another episode. That's another episode.
Laya: Definitely. I smell another episode.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: But I think it's important to then -- so my pivot to that is instead of, again, scarcity mindset, approaching your social platforms and your digital device with this, "why aren't I getting it mindset?" Be like, my gosh, she sounded great there. I loved what she did with that copy. Perfect voice for that.
Anne: Right.
Laya: And let them know, let them know, because that comes from a place of gratitude. If you are a true champion of women and of voices and voice work and storytelling and this industry, raise people up, don't put them down.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Don't -- if you've got nothing good to say, keep on scrolling, but don't let that sit and fester in your, in your insides. You got to let somebody know that, you know, you don't know. They're hiding behind their post too. You know, they are, they're talking themselves out --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: It's, it's crazy, right? You're only putting your best self forward, but if you can cheer someone on --
Anne: Or, or not!
Laya: Right, right.
Anne: Right? Sometime you're not putting your best -- sometimes people are responding, and they're not putting their best selves forward.
Laya: I have seen this too.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: There's another topic, but I think those were some of the ways that I was able to create community when there was no opportunity to do so. And, and those little things we can all do, and you see it, and then it becomes a ripple effect. And you notice the people that are then coming back to you, and you're getting a little bit of a boost when you needed it most and you didn't even know it. So there you go.
Anne: You know, for all the people that complained about Zoom during the pandemic, and you know, there were lots of struggles with it, for schools and that sort of thing, I will tell you, Zoom is the one thing that saved me in that pandemic --
Laya: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: -- so that I can connect with my family --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- which is like 3000 miles away.
Laya: Sure.
Anne: -- Zoom is what helped me. Well, at least I was able to connect. And actually, if you've gone to the conferences that have been virtual, I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised at the value of the networking that you can get from a virtual -- I'm not saying it's better than being in person, but I am saying that in the event that you cannot be there in person, it does bring you --
Laya: Yeah, yeah.
Anne: -- for me, it brings me a closeness that is better than not necessarily having any communication whatsoever.
Laya: Yeah, absolutely.
Anne: So I think that it's, I think that it's so important what you're saying about lifting others up. And if you have nothing good to say, walk away, I mean, really that is --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- you know?
Laya: Absolutely. And it doesn't mean you need to reply to every inquiry --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- on every Facebook page, because let me tell you, I've muted most of those. I just don't feel like it's beneficial or really worth my time or value to contribute when there's so many opinions. I thought -- I saw a great meme that, uh, Karin Gilfry put up about, uh, the typical voiceover social media response and the, all the characters involved. It's so true. We'll have to look it up and re, repost it at some point. But it's interesting. I find that through those conferences, through Zoom workouts, through even back channel DMs, social media messages to people, that's where some of the most rich relationship building I've been able to foster, and it really can feel you for the good, if you shift your perspective and come from a place of gratitude and abundance, instead of scarcity, and comparison.
Anne: You know I'm going to say one thing, actually, that you pointed out, you know, on the back channels, you know, in the messenger and the texting. I think there's a lot to be said for maybe a truer engagement happening on those channels, where I think it's good that we have that, because a lot of times you can look at posts, and then you form your own opinion and you may -- or if you decide not to, to read it, but yet it stays with you in either a good or a bad way. You have those interactive channels that you can then communicate. And I think those are kind of like little lifelines, to be honest.
Laya: I agree.
Anne: In terms of, if you see a post that is upsetting to you, you can turn to that person on your compass. I love the compass idea. And it can be something that can maybe, you know, save your mental state from going awry, and it can be --
Laya: Yeah, a little gut check.
Anne: -- yeah, it can be a great, a great way. So always have, I think, more so than the channels technically, make sure you have those people there that you can lean on to help you with your mental health. And I think that, you know, talking today about the modern mindset, coming from a place of gratitude to begin with, manifesting abundance, and having those people in your channel, having the support group, is so, so important to really starting, continuing and maintaining a modern mindset. Yeah.
Laya: I love it.
Anne: So great episode, Laya. Again, I'm so thrilled that we get to talk again.
Laya: Thank you. Same here, Anne.
Anne: I love really delving deep into this topic, and we've got a lot of great stuff coming up, BOSSes. So make sure that you keep tuning in every week with Laya and myself.
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: Yeah, I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to the technology that that allows us to bring this to you. And that is ipDTL. You too can connect like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and let's manifest abundance and show gratitude and work on our modern mindsets this week. So you guys, have a wonderful week. We'll see you next week. Take care. Bye!
Laya: Take care.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voBOSS.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via ipDTL.
VO is a marathon, not a sprint. Anne and series co-host Laya Hoffman kick off the Modern Mindset series with an honest look at the voice business from a fresh perspective. They discuss learning from industry trailblazers, mental and physical health in the booth, and the financial reality of VO. More at https://voboss.com/introducing-modern-mindset-part-1-with-laya-hoffman
Transcript
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am thrilled to welcome special guest cohost Laya Hoffman to the show. Laya is an Atlanta-based voice, actor and podcaster with over 20 years on the mic. She specializes in commercial, corporate, promos and others short form audio projects for amazing brands like BMW, Google, Amazon, AAA, Kind snacks, and much, much more. She's a former marketing exec -- woo-hoo, we love marketing -- nightclub DJ and creative agency lead. She brings a modern minded approach to business. So Laya, thank you so much for joining me on this special guest series on modern mindset.
Laya: Thank you, Anne. It is such a pleasure to be here. I am a huge fan, always have been since we met years ago at, uh, VO Atlanta, and I've loved your show and all the quality content and the information you've provided to the industry. So it's an honor to be here. It's really nice to be able to continue our conversations on the mic.
Anne: Well, thank you. And I'm excited because this is going to be a really cool series. We're not just here for one shot. So BOSS listeners, you're in for a treat while we explore all things modern mindset in our voiceover business and our entrepreneurship. So with that being said, Laya, you've been in the industry a long time. So I think having a modern mindset, especially when you have so much experience in the industry, it takes some effort, and it takes like a really good, focused mindset in order to remain successful in the industry. So tell us a little bit about your experience and how it's led you into this modern mindset for your voiceover business.
Laya: Yeah, sure things. You know, I always say I've been on the mic for 20 years because I went to school for radio broadcasting at Columbia in Chicago. And I was on the air for many years. And then because of that, you know, 20 years ago, voiceover looked a lot different. It was us radio jocks, just doing the ads that were given to us by, you know, clients in the sales team for the radio. I didn't even realize that's what I was doing was voice work, right, voiceover, and I loved it because I loved storytelling. I love delivering somebody else's message and also being able to play with different tones and textures and deliveries and things like that. It also came at a time when I was on the radio, I came out of a very dramatic situation that took my voice away from me.
So it was a self-healing revelation when I could use my voice in a quiet room, and I could find the strength again, and that to me was equal parts, healing and empowering, and part of my growth journey and my own personal work in therapy coming out of that situation. So to me, voice work always meant something different maybe because it was taken from me. So I never took it for granted until it was taken away from me, and then to come back and realize that power in our voice and that people were listening meant something kind of different. And so I think maybe I had a unique introduction to voiceover and then also not realizing that there was a job in that. And of course, if you're not on top of your game in radio, there's not a whole lot of stability in that.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: At least there wasn't in my media market station.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And so after radio, I continued to voice projects for clients just by word of mouth for about the next 17 years off and on throughout my career, throughout all my travel. A few years back, of course, I owned a creative agency with a partner of mine that had to do very forward-thinking ideas for big brands in order to get the engagement, and get people listening, and get people to interact with their brand on many different levels. So it was experimental marketing at its best. And so with that forward-thinking approach to brand work, I had to get very creative and pay attention to what brands needed and what their consumers needed to get the traction that those brands needed to see their ROI. And so that was a unique perspective.
Fast forward a few years, I became the vice president of global marketing for a haircare company and for many years traveled the world is seeing what consumers and brands alike needed to really buy into loyalty and brand identity. And that gave me another unique perspective. When it came to social media, I was managing teams that would manage brand social media, the voice of brands across multiple platforms, and that had a unique voice. And all throughout this time, I continued to do voice work and projects for people that I knew. And I still didn't realize that there was a career in voiceover, 'cause I was just running and gunning, but I was doing it and making money this entire time, very low level. It wasn't until actually the conference that I met you at VO Atlanta a few years ago that I realized there was really something here, and I was burnt out on corporate.
Anne: Really? Wow.
Laya: Yeah. I didn't really realize or pay attention to the industry that is voiceover work ,and the craft, and just the amount of complexity and nuances that go into being a voice actor.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: And I have an eight year old daughter now, but at the time she was four, and I was just gone a whole lot. And it became very apparent to me that I needed to be present for her, and raising a young woman, a young girl in this day and age meant that I needed to show up and be present and be my best self, but also be a positive role model for her growth. And knowing the pain of my past, I wanted to make sure that from a very early age, she knew that she could use her voice, stand up, be heard and use her voice for good. And so --
Anne: I love that.
Laya: Yeah, thank you.
Anne: Yeah. And I love that you have a podcast with her.
Laya: I do.
Anne: That's so --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. That's amazing. I mean, that just is one thing that really struck me about you. And I thought what a wonderful way to really involve her in such a wonderful way, to have her believe in herself and have a voice and have that encouragement. That's amazing.
Laya: Yeah, it's called, She Sounds Like Me. We're in our, we're going on our third season here in the fall, but she was a part of the creation when we started. She was six and she, believe it or not, had a hand in everything from picking the music bed to helping --
Anne: Wow.
Laya: -- craft the colors and the logo design. I had her with us the entire process, which was entirely grassroots, bootstrapping your own podcast, as you all know. It's quite a --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- quite a feat, maybe a no -- an entirely different conversation.
Anne: We should talk about that.
Laya: Yes, for sure.
Anne: In another episode --
Laya: For sure.
Anne: -- we will absolutely discuss podcasting, for sure.
Laya: So yeah, it was it's been a -- it's been an honor to have her along for the ride and help grow and develop our conversations that range from everything from bullying to systemic racism. So the podcast is its own thing, but going back to, you know, this modern mindset approach, it was because I stepped in and committed fully to voice acting, when I realized I was missing a huge part of my life with her. I got burnt out on corporate and it had to come to an end. I ripped the bandaid off, and I said, I am all in on becoming a voice actor. But from the beginning I took a very brick and mortar approach to that. And what I mean by that --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- is I knew that the investment was going to be significant, and that our family may take a hit financially.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: My husband had to be on board. My daughter needed to be on board, and I needed to fully be present and ready to learn, absorb, and invest, and be patient --
Anne: Oh goodness, yes.
Laya: -- every bit of the way.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Because you hear so many stories of people that don't realize that from the beginning. And it really is a -- is an eyeopening thing to understand just how much investment financially, energetically and --
Anne: Oh my goodness, yes.
Laya: -- your entire household has to be to take this seriously and really get it going from the beginning.
Anne: And I think that that is really important. I mean, myself, I remember when I jumped from corporate into full-time entrepreneur, a voice actor and it just, it's a scary thing. And I think there are lots of lessons learned along the way. But yeah, you absolutely have to be ready to put in the work, because it's not something --
Laya: No.
Anne: -- that happens overnight, that is for darn sure. You know, that overnight success that takes you 10 years. And I think that having a modern mindset absolutely helps you because it is a business. It's not just about your voiceover in the studio. I mean, building the business really encompasses so much more than just the performance acting part of it. And I know that when I first started, myself, in this industry, I mean, I had to have the absolute support of my husband and just say, I knew we were going to take a hit income-wise as a family and we had to be prepared for that.
Laya: Absolutely, and so did we. And so, you know, I've heard stories from some of the most iconic voice talent out there that say, you know, you can expect to start making money after like the second or third year, and money, I mean like 40, $50,000 a year.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so just, you know, hold onto your hat. It's going to be a long process.
Anne: And it might take longer.
Laya: And it might take even longer than that.
Anne: Than that even.
Laya: But I have to be in with all due respect, and for those icons that have taught me so much like yourself, you know, I think it's that modern mindset and that laser focused approach that I brought to my business and the experience of coming in fresh to an industry that has been so well-established, and so many incredibly talented people have led the way, and provided all this rich education, and kind of let me see behind the glass to share their perspectives and the gifts that they gave me. I think being able to have a laser-focused approach in that modern mindset is what got me on a fast track to that high success trajectory very early on. So --
Anne: I want to say 20 years, right? I mean, we've evolved so much as an industry.
Laya: Of course.
Anne: And everything has changed in terms of -- like, when you said, I didn't even know voiceover was a thing, I didn't either. And I started doing telephony at my company, you know. Everybody needs somebody to do the voicemail.
Laya: Sure, always did that too.
Anne: So that was how I, yeah, that's how I got involved in it. I didn't even know it was a thing. And back then, I mean, the Internet was just kind of becoming a thing, and there wasn't as much information out there when beginning in the voiceover industry. So there wasn't a lot of people. It was very isolating in the beginning, and you couldn't really like, well, who do I ask? How do I give somebody a quote? I don't even know how to ask somebody to do that because there really was no method. There was no Internet communication. There were no Facebook groups.
There were -- you know, now it's crazy where there's all this electronic media where we can look for help or search for help on how to do something. But back then it was, it was crazy. And having a modern mindset or at least having some experience, I think out in the world beyond voiceover probably helped you a lot in terms of buckling down and really giving it a go and making this a business.
Laya: Absolutely, Anne. And you touched on so many things I want to come back to. What I noticed is, and I do say, of course, I have been working and getting paid on the microphone for 20 years, but I've only been full-time for the last three.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And I really didn't consider this a career probably until the last year and a half, when I was able to sustain and make this --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- as a contributing member of my family's financial pie. So it is, it is um -- while I say that, I also want to give credit to all of those people, um, that have led the way and paved the way for helping us people that have come in newly with fresh eyes in the last couple of years. There's, there's so much to be gleaned from your experience and your history and fellow voice actors who have paved the way and led to so many coachings, to so many seminars, now that you can get information in so many different ways. And it's such a beautiful thing.
Anne: Right?
Laya: It can be an overwhelming thing, but --
Anne: Yes. I think that's the other part of it --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- the other part of it, absolutely. So what information do you believe, do you trust or what information is correct?
Laya: And who's valid and who's really in it for the right reasons?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And who's not really trying to sell you?
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: And so there were some interesting hurdles I came across early on in the new version of my voice over career. So, and I talk about kind of where I'm at now. It's really what I've learned in the last two or three years, and taking the experience that I had in my previous roles and applying it through this fresh lens -- because what I think is interesting, so many of my colleagues that have long established careers in voiceover, you know, had to learn those things from the ground up and had to build those processes from the ground up where some of us newer talent comes in able to take these resources and kind of fast track. The other difference though, I notice, is that so many of my fellow colleagues that are more established have a harder time converting their pre-established mindset and then shifting it --
Anne: Absolutely, yup.
Laya: -- into this modern mindset. And that's exactly what we're here to talk about over --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- the next couple of episodes.
Anne: You've hit the nail on the head right there. And, you know, there's something to be said for being in an industry for a certain amount of years, but yet I think the hardest thing for people is to evolve along with industry. And it's not just the voiceover industry --
Laya: Every industry.
Anne: -- it's just the world today. You know, I think technology has had such a huge impact on all aspects of the world that, you know, I think in order to evolve along with it, it's an important part of your, of your business.
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: And modern mindset in terms of being able to evolve, what are the new trends, what's happening now? We're now starting to see, and especially anybody that's been in a business for so long, you start to see where the younger generation is now the people who are hiring you, the people who are directing you --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- and it's important for you to be able to, how shall I say, step out of a bubble, step out of that bubble that you've been in, maybe, for, you know, so many years to be able to evolve and understand where the market is going, and how you can continue to serve the market in a way that allows you to maintain and still remain successful in your career.
Laya: And be an innovative and meet those people where they are --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- because that's really the difference. That's why we see the shift in the pay-to-plays. It's because those new CDs and the new copywriters, those people either haven't been trained or aren't willing to adapt the old school ways of doing things. They want to click a button.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: They want to, you know, hit their search bar.
Anne: Yeah, absolutely.
Laya: They don't want to talk to anyone. They want to have options at their fingertips. They also don't understand why this person who talks for a living gets paid more than they do.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Laya: You know? So there's all those things you have to really like put into your brain wave about how to meet these people, not only your clients, but the people that are hiring us in casting and things like that where they are. And then also how to position yourself as a brand, as a thought leader, how do you approach your social, your messaging out there? And even in the way we communicate and just the language that we use in short form --
Anne: Oh my goodness.
Laya: -- brevity, right? That they want to hear in your email correspondence or whatever your messaging is.
Anne: I have to give you like two words that I heard the other day. And I was like, oh man. And I, I always consider myself, you know, I try to be really on the edge of everything. I try to really keep up with things, and I heard "paid acquisitions." And I was like, what, what is paid acquisitions? And I'm like, it's marketing. It is, you know, Facebook ads, Google ads. And I was like, oh, so that's the term the youngins are using these days. Right? But yeah, trying to just keep up on that because I'm going to be interviewing this really wonderful, wonderful, strong female entrepreneur. And, you know, she's all about training people on paid acquisitions. And so I'm like --
Laya: And you're like, what?
Anne: Okay, I had to Google, I had to Google it.
Laya: Oh, that's code for marketing. Check.
Anne: Yes, exactly. I gotcha.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So. You know.
Laya: There's so many layers to it, you know. It's really -- and, and, and I don't have all the answers. I just know that through observing some of the most well-respected voice actors in the industry and creatives and agents and managers, and having such an incredibly giving industry, I've been able to absorb such quality information and then pass it through this modern minded filter, regurgitated, and seen some incredible success that was unexpected. And people often ask me, well, how are you compartmentalizing your time? How do you communicate? What are you doing for wellness? What, what about those pay-to-plays? How come you're successful on there? But you also have management like, oh, how do we approach our taxes, our finances? How are we --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- you know, there's so many layers of it. And so, hence, this is why our conversation has kind of come up, because I think the more we know and the more we can share, the more I can give back to those that have given to me, the more we can work symbiotically or work from a place of gratitude together to grow this industry from a 360 approach. Right?
Anne: Sure, sure.
Laya: And so that we can, all we can all learn because gosh knows I've, I've learned so much from, from others. If I can even give one nugget of information back, uh, I will feel like I'm maybe contributing to the greater good of this industry.
Anne: So I guess I want to ask, what would you consider the first step in getting yourself into a modern mindset for your business? Is there a first step, or is there multiple steps that you need to take to get yourself, keep yourself open to something like this?
Laya: Yeah, that's a great, great question. I think I hear, you know, on the forums and things like that, Facebook groups, you hear a lot of people, you know, they want to jump right in with a demo and some coaching. And I think it's even before that, it's checking in with yourself. I always tell people, they're like, oh, so how do I get into voice acting? And, uh, you know, I got, I gotta -- get sign up at this -- no, hold up. What you first need to do is check in with yourself, and check in with your family, and check in with your support system, and your finances and where you are really aligned. Is this --
Anne: Oh my goodness. Yes.
Laya: You know, I think that's the base of it because --
Anne: Finances!
Laya: Yes, because --
Anne: I have to just, I have to echo that because --
Laya: Oh, for sure!
Anne: Yes, you do have to mentally check in, check in with your support system, but finances is so important when you start on this journey. And I just want to back you up on that --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- because you really can't endeavor to embark on a new career without any thought about financial stability, or if you have money to invest in, in establishing a business, so.
Laya: Absolutely. If you're going into any profession, right, you've made the commitment to yourself. You want to be a doctor. You're going to make the commitment that you've got to pay for student loans. You're going to need at least eight years of college. It's going to take blood, sweat, and tears to get you there. But in the end, you will be a doctor. The same thing goes for being a voice actor. Now you can also stick your toe in the pond and just see if it's for you by taking an improv class or, you know, taking a local, a group class or something like that. Sure.
That'll get you at least enough information to see if you want to make the commitment. But I think at the end of the day, you have to check in with yourself and see, am I all in? And I'm an all-in person.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I knew I was all in. So that brought a different set of questions or --
Anne: That's my personality too.
Laya: Right. Right. Or are you half in?
Anne: All or nothing.
Laya: And you just want to check it out as a side gig, but just know that if you go in as a side gig, you still are not making money --
Anne: Well --
Laya: -- for a long time.
Anne: -- what's interesting. Yeah. You know, what's interesting is they did something, right when in high school, you know, you had a career counselor. You had a guidance counselor in terms of career paths. And I really feel that voiceover was never one of those paths than anybody explained --
Laya: No.
Anne: -- because it is, you know, and --
Laya: Sounds easy too, right?
Anne: Everybody that looks to get into it, like you need to, you need to have that counseling. You need to find out what is this industry all about.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And what does it take to get into this industry and be able to succeed in it? And so I feel like there's a little bit of career counseling that needs to happen. And in that career counseling, there has to be a modern mindset factor. Right?
Laya: Absolutely. And you have to kind of scrape away, and I know, there's a lot of incredible coaches out there, but they want to get right to reading copy. And I wish there was more of a push towards --
Anne: Introduction.
Laya: Yeah, and saying just --
Anne: Here's, here's the industry.
Laya: -- here's the reality because you can't get that from a Facebook post. You can get it from --a lot -- you can get a lot of opinions. Oh my gosh, there are some, right? But the reality is, and I would tell anybody like, this is no joke. This is not a sprint. This is for sure a marathon, no matter if you want to go full-time and you're going all in, or if you, even, if you want to think and consider this as a part-time hustle or a side side gig. I mean, either one of those things take a significant investment time, energy, and effort. And if there's any part of that, that you don't love, then just check yourself, and you know, maybe re-evaluate before you hemorrhage a lot of money because it really can add up fast.
Anne: It can. And I, I'll tell you when I have people that I offer a free consult, that people, if they want to find out what it's like to get into the voiceover industry, and the first thing that I always say is like, look, I am not going to sugarcoat this for you.
Laya: Right. Good for you. This is hard.
Anne: And the thing of it is, it's not just about the voice and being in a booth and creating character voices and having fun. It is truly a business. And so there's a lot to be said for, you're going to have to not only have fun in the booth, but in the beginning, you're going to have to market yourself like crazy. And especially if I hear from people that are like, okay, I'm retiring. I want this to be for my retirement. I make sure, I'm like, look, you have to make sure you have, you have -- the whole finance -- I'm going back to the financial thing.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Right? You've got to have some financial backup because getting into this, there is an investment. It's not just, you know, obviously watching some YouTube videos and reading words.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So I'm always careful when people say they're looking to -- to support a family, especially a family. If there's children, I get really nervous. And I'm like, the first thing I'll tell them is that, look, this is hard. And it's, it's crazy competitive and make sure that you always have either an alternate piece of income that can help you support your family until you get that business underway. It's important.
Laya: Absolutely. Absolutely. And so there's that gut check there that I think is important. You're asking earlier about what are the first steps. I think that first step is having a real conversation with yourself of like, are you just checking it out or are you all in? I knew enough to know that I was all in, and I needed to make -- I make a brace of changes when I do. I take big risks. And, uh, sometimes they pan out. Luckily this one did, but you know, my family had to be on board because there was going to be a time commitment --
Anne: Well, exactly.
Laya: -- and a financial commitment.
Anne: I was just gonna say, when you made that decision to go all in, you had done your prior research. You had educated yourself on the industry, right? And you talked it over with your support system, your family, to make sure that they were onboard with it as well. And I think that that's important.
Laya: Absolutely, absolutely.
Anne: So important to have that support.
Laya: And the second thing I did that I don't think we are aware enough of, but it is so key -- and I totally attribute some of my success to it -- is checking in with your body and making sure that you're in a healthy space, both state of mind and emotionally and physically. Because this is far more demanding, physically, energetically, mentally and emotionally than we talk about honestly. I mean, I am a self-proclaimed extrovert and I am now choosing to talk to myself in a box for a living. It is highly introverted. There is very little pats on the back that you get. Nobody's cheering for you along the way, unless it's your family or your friends or your, you create a, you know, a support system in the voiceover community, which is incredible by the way.
Anne: And --
Laya: That is a big part of it.
Anne: Well yeah, and also because it is, so it is so much based in auditioning and rejection.
Laya: Rejection, rejection --
Anne: Rejection.
Laya: -- rejection.
Anne: That's a whole mental mindset. In the beginning, I remember in the beginning, oh my goodness, like being in tears. First, I couldn't get the right sound out of my studio. I didn't have the ear, and somebody, I remember long time ago when I was first setting up my studio, I had submitted an audition, and they came back and they said, it sounds like you're talking in a tube. And I was mortified. I was mortified. I was like, oh my goodness. Like, I don't belong here. And there's that whole emotional mindset that was like, oh my God, I, I just, I shouldn't be here. You know, this is maybe not for me.
Laya: That's exactly right, Anne. And if you're not strong, and committed, and confident in yourself, or at least confident in knowing that this is going to have some low moments, and you realize openly that it is mmm a lot based on a lot of rejection or at least no reassurance. Right? I will say that, like you are just sending things out to the ether. Maybe you'll get some feedback one day, good or bad.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Um, but most likely bad first, you know, that takes a hit to our ego. And, um, and then it really makes you question things.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: So I think, I think just along with checking in with your family and about finances and commitment and what level of commitment you're willing to bring to this, uh, to this career or this idea of, uh, you know, a side hustle or this industry, you really have to see, are you healthy body, mind, soul, and spirit to withstain and go the distance because it can crush you if you're not.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And that's something I don't think we talk enough about. With mental health being at the forefront of so many things these days, it is a hundred percent.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: And I'm not great at it either, but I take steps every day to make sure that I can arrive to the booth, to the mic, to the studio, to my clients, and myself, and my family with a grounded sense of self by doing meditation, by doing yoga, by doing breath work, stretching, getting my feet in the soil, getting grounded every day before I come to this, because I know at the end of the day --
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: -- it can take the wind out of your sails.
Anne: It is so about your mindset and your mentality for your performance as well. So not just for you in entering a business and being an entrepreneur, but also bringing a mindset to your performance that can really, that can really be something for your clients, right? That you can be that voice for them. You can elevate their brand.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Wow. I think that there is so -- we've got, we've got another episode.
Laya: We've got a few, I think.
Anne: -- on this mindset. Absolutely. So I'll tell you what, BOSSes, make sure to join us on our next episode, where we were going to continue this conversation on getting yourself into a modern mindset with Laya Hoffman. Laya, thank you so much --
Laya: Thank you, Anne. It's such a pleasure.
Anne: -- for -- yeah. I'm so excited to have you for multiple episodes.
Laya: Thank you.
Anne: I just love it. 'Cause I just think this is an amazing conversation, and I think it's going to be super valuable to our listeners. So.
Laya: Thank you so much. I'm super grateful for this. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to continuing to dig in.
Anne: Yay. I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can connect and talk like BOSSes. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys, have an amazing week, and we'll both see you next week. Bye.
Laya: Bye-Bye.
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via ipDTL.
What is a virtual being? Anne welcomes educator and entrepreneur Abran Maldonado to the show. They discuss diversifying the Ai landscape, cutting edge technology in schools, and working alongside Ai like a #VOBOSS. Plus, Virtual Being CLAiRA chimes in on what she thinks about robots taking voice actors’ jobs.
More at https://voboss.com/create-labs-ventures-with-abran-maldonado
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More at https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-descript-jay-leboeuf/
Know the value of your VO worth! Anne welcomes voice talent and rate negotiation expert, Maria Pendolino. They cover red flags in contracts, rate setting in an evolving industry, and how to educate clients on what you really provide as a talent and as a #VOBOSS. In this episode, Maria shares her thoughts on negotiation within the AI landscape, contract red flags, and more…
Get more at https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-negotiation-strategies-for-digital-voice-maria-pendolino/
Ready to evolve with AI? Lots of doom and gloom out there lately about AI stealing voice acting jobs, which means now’s the time to get educated and evolve alongside and with new technology. In this episode, Voice Actor Tim Heller shares his AI experience - choosing an ethical company, the benefits of creating a clone, the role of human voice actors, the importance of emotion...
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-the-voice-creation-experience
With new AI technology, voice actors might be afraid of deep-fakes, or someone stealing their voice. But did you know that the same technology may be able to track where your voice is used and flag any deep-fakes? This week, we welcome Zohaib Ahmed, CEO of Resemble.ai and Tanja Milojevic, voice talent and Community Manager. In addition to offering a variety of solutions for voice cloning, character voices, and other content building with synthetic voices, Resemble AI runs an open-source project called Resemblyzer which allows detection of deep-fakes or misuse. Listen in as we discuss the ethics, accessibility, and the importance of storytelling in AI voices.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-resemble-ai
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More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-future-of-vo
Our next guest in Voice and AI series - Andrew Curnock fought for the rights of music creatives to be able to license their work in the gaming industry. He wants to bring this same model of licensing to AI Voices through his work at Replica Studios. Replica is a text-to-speech AI voice generation engine that is currently focusing on voices for video games, primarily place-holder voices. Listen to this episode to learn about the future of AI voices in video games, the voice actor’s place in character acting, and how to license your voice for a possible stream of passive income like a #VOBOSS.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-replica
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More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-ux-development
Did you know there are over 47 million books listed on Amazon, but only 300,000 of them are listed on Audible? More audiobooks means more accessibility for blind and disabled people. Anne and special guest Ali Zia Khan, founder of Scribe Audio, talk about how AI is transforming the audiobook industry in this episode in the AI and Voice series. Scribe Audio is using AI and working voice actors to expand the audiobook market. According to Ali, human voices aren’t going anywhere! Listen to this episode to learn more about how you can use new technology to create passive income. Make AI work for you!
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-scribe-audio
Synthetic voices are here to stay, but they can’t replace the human connection. For this episode in the AI and Voice series, husband/wife dynamic duo Simone Kliass and Jason Bermingham join Anne to talk about digital voice technologies and the new opportunities for voiceover artists. Anne bonds with these fellow tech lovers as they discuss the perceived “tech threat” of AI, ethics, and why it’s important to “go with the flow.” Do you need a reminder of how good you are? Listen to this episode to be inspired, remember why your talent is special, and get ideas to work with the evolving market and diversify your business like a BOSS. About Simone: Voiceover specialist and XR researcher, Simone Kliass is the creator and curator of Pixel Voice, Brazil's leading voiceover conference. As a founding member and VP of the Brazilian X-reality association XRBR, Simone has given talks on XR as well as on voice branding at SXSW. Simone hosts Brazil's leading virtual reality event, acts as lead ambassador for Women in Voice, and is also the vocal identity of the São Paulo International Airport, LATAM Airlines, and SKY Pay TV. About Jason: Jason Bermingham is an American voice artist and producer who specializes in English-language narration for the Latin American market. Based in São Paulo, he has consulted on Emmy-winning films, coached for Oscar-nominated directors, organized Brazil's leading voiceover event, and contributed to the premier audio-tech magazine Sound on Sound. He has given talks and workshops at SXSW, Rio2C, HackTown, Path, and Pixel Show.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-new-opportunities
In this episode, Anne welcomes special guest Paul Stefano to talk about using AI voices to your advantage, licensing, and working with ethical companies. Paul ― a voice talent and co-host of the VO Meter Podcast ― talks to the BOSSES about how to approach AI and use your synthetic voice to benefit your business. Did you know there may come a time when AI could help track unauthorized use of voices? AI is here to stay. Flexibility and the ability to pivot are essential skills for successful entrepreneurs. Listen to these BOSSES and get inspired to think of ways to grow your business in our evolving industry.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-business-benefits
What if you could use AI to generate passive income? Special guest Rolf Veldman ― CEO of Voice123 ― joins Anne to talk about the state of AI and voiceover and to reveal findings from Voice123’s research on customer-driven AI. These studies are helping lead the way to predict AI’s impact on the VO industry. Anne and Rolf share ideas about what AI means for various VO genres and other forces driving change. Want some valuable insight? Listen to this discussion to ensure you’re delivering what clients need and know how to market your business like a #VOBOSS.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-voice-123
Do you have a plan B for your voiceover business? Now is the time to up your acting game so a robot can never replace you! Anne welcomes the dynamic duo of Nic Redman and Leah Marks, hosts of the longest-running, most-listened-to voiceover podcast in the UK! These three BOSSES talk about how to make yourself indispensable as a voice actor and how to advocate for proper AI voice regulation
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-plan-b
A revolution in the voice industry has begun. In this episode in the AI series, Anne welcomes Hugh Edwards, CEO of Gravy For The Brain, who has produced and directed over 40 AI voice projects. If you think AI means fewer jobs for voice actors, you'll want to listen to this conversation. With more companies creating AI voices, VO is also evolving. Learn why AI is an opportunity to grow your business like a #VOBOSS.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-voice-evolution
In this episode of the VO Boss AI series, Anne welcomes Sam Ufret from Lotas Productions in New York City, and Judy Fossum, a voice talent who has worked in the AI voice realm. Anne, Sam, and Judy discuss producing AI voices, fair compensation, and defining the standards of AI voices. Listen to this stimulating conversation to learn how talent can work with AI to make sure you’re part of shaping this evolving industry.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-inside-ai-production
Calling all “sonic talent” to the negotiation table! In this episode in the AI and Voice series, Anne welcomes two special guests to discuss the vital topic of contracts and negotiation ― Jim Kennelly, owner of Lotas Productions in New York City, and Nicholas Sawka ― Chief of Operations at Voice Spark. Learn how the AI industry is developing, how it can enhance your voiceover business, and why you should be excited about its potential. Is your VO business tech-forward? Make sure you’re on the leading edge of technology like a #VOBOSS!
More at:https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-development-negotiations
For this episode in her AI and Voice series, Anne welcomes special guests Ahmed Bouzid, founder and CEO of Witlingo, and Shymala Prayaga, founder of Digital Assistant Academy. These three BOSSES talk ethics, protecting your sonic brand, and AI best practices. Learn ways to use AI to expand your VO business
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-ethics
For this episode in the Voice and AI Series, Anne welcomes Ryan Steelberg, co-founder and president of Veritone (an artificial intelligence tech company). The two talk about Veritone’s new product: Marvel.ai and how voiceover artists can harness their superpowers with their own AI voice. Have you considered how you might license your AI voice to a third party and receive compensation? Listen to learn how to use the technology to boost your income like a #VOBOSS.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-marvel-ai-with-ryan-steelberg/
Imagine introducing yourself to potential clients using your own voice on Alexa! In this episode, Anne and guest cohost Jennie Stenhouse talk about how to use an exciting new offering for voice talent to add another dimension to your brand. Listen to learn about Voiceweave and using it to expand your reach and take your business to the next level!
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-conversational-ai-ethan-richardson/
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More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-dr-rupal-patel-vocal-id/
You are the master of your domain! Anne and special guest co-host Rob Sciglimpaglia, aka “the VO Attorney,” talk about new technologies, synthesized and AI voices, and how the new technology affects the rights of voiceover actors. Rob is representing Bev Standing in the high-profile Tik Tok case that could help set ground rules for fair and ethical use of your voice. Listen to this important episode to make sure you know how to protect your business like a #VOBOSS.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-digital-voice-rights-w-rob-sciglimpaglia/
A modern-day David and Goliath comes to the VO industry. VO Boss Anne Ganguzza welcomes veteran voice actor and industry warrior, Bev Standing. Bev is taking on media giant Tik Tok, for reportedly using her voice without permission. We hear from Bev about the case filed by Rob Sciglimpaglia. Bev’s story is making waves, and has been featured on the BBC, TikTok, and the Canadian National News. The digital and AI voice industry is just beginning. This case could set precedent to help voice actors protect their digital and audio rights and establish fair usage. We at VO BOSS are #StandingwithBev!
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-your-digital-voice-rights-w-bev-standing/
Imagine introducing yourself to potential clients in your own voice on Alexa! In this episode, Anne and guest cohost Jennie Stenhouse talk about how to use an exciting new offering for voice talent to add another dimension to your brand. Listen to learn about Voiceweave and using it to expand your reach and take your business to the next level.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-introducing-voice-weave/
Anne welcomes guest co-host Jennie Stenhouse from the other side of the globe and a day in the "future." These two BOSSES talk about safety, ethics, and inclusivity in the voice industry. How does personalization impact privacy? How can data help you better serve clients? Listen to this episode to learn how to get the most value from data and make sure you use your powers (your voice) for good!
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-ethics-in-the-voice-industry
Anne welcomes special guest BOSS Jennie Stenhouse – all the way from New Zealand. Jennie draws on her experiences as a voice developer on projects such as Samsung Bixby and Alexa. Jennie also talks about her position with Women in Voice, a non-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate, empower, and amplify women and minority genders in the voice technology industry. As a talent in the voiceover industry, it’s important to educate yourself like a #VOBOSS about new and emerging technologies that will affect your business.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-women-in-voice
Anne welcomes her first Kiwi Guest BOSS and AI voice developer Jennie Stenhouse. Anne and Jennie discuss the voice industry and what it includes (smart speakers, virtual assistants, etc.). Listen to this episode to learn from these two BOSSES why AI is not scary and how the human voice still enhances virtual experiences. Embrace evolving technology like a BOSS.
More at: https://voboss.com/voice-and-ai-the-voice-industry-with-jennie-stenhouse
Get ready for an in-depth, candid conversation about representation. Voiceover artists Jean-François Donaldson and Tre Mosley join Anne and her guest co-host Kesha Monk for an enlightening panel discussion! The panelists talk about what representation means, the importance of authenticity, and why the “default American” sound cannot/should not be limited. Not only will this episode help shed light on an important issue, but it also provides examples to help listeners appreciate the impact of microaggressions. Listen if you want to learn more about how you can be a true ally. #BOSSALLIES
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In this episode of the Entrepreneur Hustle series, Anne and guest co-host Kesha Monk have a heartfelt, honest conversation about why representation in casting matters. These two BOSSES lead a much-needed difficult conversation about how bias impacts opportunities and the importance of allies. Open ears and an open mind are all you need to learn how you can make an impact. Listen to this discussion for ideas on how to be an ally and why silence can be “very loud.”
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To slate or not to slate … that is the question. In this episode in the Entrepreneur Hustle Series, Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk talk first impressions. Find out the simple things that could knock you out of the running for a job. Learn from Anne and Kesha’s experiences about customizing auditions and standing out for the right reasons to land on the shortlist.
Paying taxes is a good thing! Anne and guest host Kesha Monk tell you why in this episode of the Entrepreneur Hustle series. How are you tracking expenses and receipts? What counts as a business expense? Do you need tips to save yourself from potential headaches? If numbers aren’t your jam, listen to these VO Bosses for ideas to manage your business finances. You can rock every part of your VO business like a BOSS … even the not-so-fun stuff like accounting.
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What’s your vocal health routine? In this episode of the Entrepreneur Hustle series, Anne and guest co-host Kesha Monk share their secrets for keeping their voices primed for business. Get ideas for warmups, how to de-stress to get the best reads, and how to combat allergies. Do you have an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor? No? These bosses let you in on a couple of tricks they’ve learned from specialists. This episode is chock-full of actionable tips, plus you’ll learn how to get your hands on Anne’s all-natural VoCal Throat Spray. Relax, breathe, and listen to this prescription for good vocal health!
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[Cue Promo VO] Today, on VO BOSS: Two Bosses share their extensive knowledge about your favorite topic - VO! But one of them has a special secret to share… Tune in every Tuesday for new Episodes of VO BOSS! [End Promo VO]
Do you dream of being the "voice" of a show? Anne and guest co-host Kesha Monk will help you rock your promo business #LIKEABOSS! In this episode, you'll learn how to listen to promos, what you need to know before trying to break into the genre, plus take away some innovative networking ideas... Grab, grasp, and open the door to this insightful episode!
Transcript:
It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone, welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I’m your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my amazing, wonderful guest cohost, Miss Kesha Monk.
Kesha: Ladies and gentlemen, she’s been changing the way —
Anne: Oh!
Kesha: — people podcast. She puts the “cast” in podcast since 2015. Ladies and gentlemen, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Ooh Kesha! I love that! Wow! Thank you!
Kesha: That actually sucked, but hey.
[both laugh]
Anne: Wow, Kesha, you know, I think you have a little bit of experience. You sound like you have some experience doing a little bit of promo work there.
Kesha: Keyword “little bit.”
Anne: [laughs] Well, I know right now you are doing some steady promo work for PBS, is that not correct?
Kesha: I totally am.
Anne: That’s pretty awesome. That’s a genre that I am not as familiar with, I don’t do much work in. I think our BOSS listeners would love to hear a little bit about that genre.
Kesha: It’s crazy. I actually got that gig because somebody on Facebook saw that I did voiceover, and they saw like a, I don’t know, a want ad somewhere. I don’t know if it was on Craigslist or whatever, but [laughs] you know, they gave me [laughs] they gave me, you know, a lead. And at the time, I really didn’t have a promo demo. So I just kind of faked one a little bit, to just give them a little bit of sample —
Anne: Sure.
Kesha: — and they hired me. And I’ve been doing — this is my like my, I’m going into my fifth season next year.
Anne: Wow, that’s amazing! So, and are you doing one or two series? Tell me what you’ve done in the past.
Kesha: What it is is I am the promo voice for POV. POV is a documentary series that airs on PBS. I think they’ve probably been doing it since like ’88, so I don’t know how long that is, 30 years, 30 something, 30 years? So yeah, they kind of liked what I did. And it’s been interesting. I really had to self-teach though because again I hadn’t had any promo experience. And so you know, I got a little friend, I got a little friends who do certain things in the industry. Peep, peep, Randy Thomas.
Anne: I was just gonna say, did Randy have something to help, help you out with that?
Kesha: Of course. And I try not to be too, you know, heavy leaning on getting help. I really try to self-help as much as possible.
Anne: Sure.
Kesha: Of course I got a coach, and I listened to promos with a different ear.
Anne: You know, that’s, that’s so interesting, because I had Randy guest host a couple of times for my VO Peeps group, and I’ve also had some other promo classes with other guest directors. And one of the biggest things is for you to just listen to, to turn that television on and listen, and listen, and listen, and get to know the show.
Kesha: Yes.
Anne: So what would be some important things that you would have to know before you get into promo? Like how, like how would somebody get into promo first of all if they wanted to?
Kesha: Well first of all, just like when you want to get into voiceover, you kind of have to educate yourself and really know what promo is. Promo is a completely different delivery. It’s not like commercial, it’s not like narration, and it’s something that I really can’t explain. I mean you really just have to listen again with a different ear to all of the promos that are on television, and again, just like any other way that you approach copy, is to know what you’re promoting. It doesn’t help —
Anne: Know the show.
Kesha: Know the show. And that’s very important to me, by the way.
Anne: I was gonna say, I would think that the delivery really is dependent on the show and the brand audience that they’re trying to capture. Well, I would imagine they want to capture everybody, but there is a certain audience that they are probably trying to target. And that would have to really have a lot to do with the sound, I would imagine, when you are doing the promo or you’re auditioning.
Kesha: Of course. I wouldn’t read a Nickelodeon promo the same that I would read, you know, an OWN or a Lifetime promo, you know what I’m saying?
Anne: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Kesha: Know the audience. And you know the other thing, Anne? Don’t be afraid to — well, once you get your feet in — don’t be afraid to ask questions. Because even though I have a little bit of experience, whenever I do get the opportunity to do a promo, I’ll ask them. I’ll say, you know, “can you send me the instrumental that you’re gonna use under my voice? Are there any pictures that can help me visualize exactly what I’m — it really, really helps me to know what I’m promoting. And that’s really how I’ve been able to succeed at it.
Anne: And so what you’re saying to me, Kesha, is that you don’t necessarily need an agent to get promo?
Kesha: Mmm I ain’t sayin’ that at all.
Anne: Ok.
Kesha: I’ve never… well, PBS is different, because that’s like listener-supported tele — listener, listener supported! — viewer supported television.
Anne: Yes, and I say that because I had a commercial on PBS, and the way that I acquired it was very, very different, was —
Kesha: Of course.
Anne: Yeah, and it ran… so you deal with different people, and they’re not necessarily working through agents.
Kesha: Right, right.
Anne: So I guess it depends then on the network?
Kesha: It totally does, but here’s this, check this out. Because we’re in this age of streaming, there are promos that are created outside of network television. There are all kinds of programming, you know, online programming, that need promo voices. So it’s not impossible to go after that kind of work. The network stuff is probably what you won’t get exposed to unless you have an agent.
Anne: Right. And so, but now what isn’t being streamed these days?
Kesha: Exactly.
Anne: There’s a question.
Kesha: Exactly.
Anne: And so, you know, how important — and I’m — look, I love my agents, and I would never dare to think that they aren’t important in my voiceover career. But what’s so interesting is with this digital technology and with the streaming technology, and especially now during the pandemic, all the — all, tons of streaming, like content is coming out. And so how do you think you would approach if you didn’t, if you didn’t have your agent to help you out? How would you approach getting work in promo, let’s say, something that was streaming?
Kesha: Ok, so I just want to preface this by saying that I am not a know-it-all. I can tell you how I would do it. It’s not, you know, my word is not, you know, in stone here, but research, research, research. What you’d do is you watch a particular show. This is how I would do it. I would watch the credits. I would figure out who is producing the show. I would get a name. I would LinkedIn. I’d find out how to contact them, and I would just basically introduce myself, just introduce myself. But again, I don’t know, that’s a little iffy, Anne. But you know, but I have used that approach for some of my work. I just figured out who are the guys behind the production board.
Anne: You know, networking is such a wonderful thing, and I know that we have another podcast on this, but I will bring up. I’ll say the word, and I want you to just take a deep breath, Kesha, because I know how excited you get, but let’s just say Clubhouse… could be an amazing way to network with people like we were just talking about. There’s some heavy hitters there. It could be an amazing way to network, and what I really like about it, and I know you’re gonna be able to go off on this, what I really like about it is that it can be such an authentic platform to get to know someone. And it’s so not — like right now it’s, I think it’s in its infancy, and it’s in that stage where it hasn’t been spoiled by marketers. And I say that with the most love in my heart for marketers, because we all market our own businesses, right?
Kesha: Of course we do. Yeah.
Anne: What we don’t want is that platform to all of a sudden become spoiled by, all of sudden, people are going to be marketing on it, or people are going to be completely selling things on it, which is what everybody laments about on social media, is like “here come the ads.” Right? While this is an unspoiled platform right now, this is an amazing opportunity to really network with some heavy hitters. Like you told me before, you got a contact at NBC that was like, just reached out to you and boom. I mean, it was, it was, it didn’t seem to take a whole long time. [laughs]
Kesha: So you know, this is what I actually would do. [laughs] This is kind of crazy. You get a name. Right? You hear a name, you’re watching a program, and you’re like, “oh my God, I would totally love to do promos for this network.” You wait for the credits, you grab a name. You take that name and you plug it into LinkedIn. You look at their, look at their resume, and not only that, see who your common contacts are. Reach out to your common contacts. “Hey. Do you know Joe Schmo from, you know, Lifetime? Do you think he would be interested — I mean, can you introduce me?” So forth and so on.
Anne: Absolutely.
Kesha: I also do the same with Facebook, just plug a name in, pull up their profile, see who my common friends are. And then see if they’re on Clubhouse! And then that way you can hear them talk! You can hear them speak.
Anne: I think you hit the nail on the head there, is find the common contacts, because a friend of a friend, or you know, a contact of a contact is a great kind of way to get your foot in the door without coming in with a cold call, so to speak —
Kesha: Yes!
Anne: — or a cold, you know, connection.
Kesha: Yes.
Anne: Which I think is so difficult. And I know that myself, when somebody just reaches out, I’m like, what do they want? You know? [laughs] What are they trying to get from me? It immediately kind of, I repel. But if you have a contact of a contact — I love how you said LinkedIn, because that’s a great way to see your common contacts, as well as Facebook, your friendships, as well as, well I always say, you know, Google is so simple.
Kesha: Absolutely.
Anne: And the more that you, I would say, do your searches in Facebook and LinkedIn first and maybe more in-depth information about them, and the company, the network that they’re working for, and then you can plug that into Google and maybe get some more in-depth information.
Kesha: That’s how I would do it. And it totally works. I’ve done it many, many, many times. Certainly!
Anne: I think that’s, that’s just a really great, out of the box —
Kesha: No, no, let’s call it what it is. It’s genius. Call it what it is! Call a spade a spade.
Anne: There you go, I love it! [laughs] I love it. It is genius, it really is genius, because I don’t think you’re gonna get this type of work from, let’s say, a pay-to-play. Although you did say that it was some ad somewhere along the line. Now Kesha, I’m gonna bring up a thought [laughs] because of, you know, this day and age, we have younger people obviously that are getting into, working and doing creative endeavors and possibly hiring us. And so is it possible that maybe we can reach out to them on those platforms to try to understand how we might get in front of them and present them with our services without, you know, making it be annoying? [laughs]
Kesha: Well, you know, using social media to contact, it is really in a sense untraditional. Remember back in the day when we were young chaps, you know, we would have to, you know, write a letter and put a stamp on the letter.
Anne: Absolutely. Send a print, send a print, a CD, our demo CD out in the mail.
Kesha: Absolutely, yes.
Anne: That’s right. We don’t do that anymore.
Kesha: Yeah. And so I’m sure many of my colleagues would frown upon that, I embrace that, and the reason why I embrace that, Anne, is because I’ve done it. I’ve done it and it has worked. Now I’m not saying get crazy. You know, you really still need to figure out a professional way to approach them on social media.
Anne: Sure.
Kesha: You know, I wouldn’t go, you know, commenting about somebody’s husband. “Hey girl, your husband sure is a cutey!” You know, I wouldn’t do that, but — “oh and by the way, are you hiring? Are you looking for voices?”
Anne: Oh yeah, and by the way. What about those platforms that tend to have high search engine optimization, like, I’ll say it, Fiverr, or Upwork, or you know, Freelancer, or those? You know, you said before, it might have been posted on Craigslist or something.
Kesha: Right.
Anne: People do — it’s rare, but I have heard of people getting really good jobs from a posting —
Kesha: Here, here’s my thing —
Anne: — postings on those platforms, and so —
Kesha: Absolutely.
Anne: — why not?
Kesha: That’s the reason why I don’t, I would never discourage someone from doing that. Because you know, it’s not impossible, but for me personally, I do better in, in… in spaces that aren’t so crowded. It’s easier for me to stand out if I’m not in a room with 500,000 other voiceover artists. If you have that type of patience, absolutely go for it. But I tend to fill voids. I tend to — I sneak in a lot of backdoors.
Anne: I think what I’m learning about you, Kesha, is that really it does — like first and foremost, your relationship is how you start to strategize getting work. And that’s really unique. I mean, gosh, we’ve been doing — I’ve been doing this for so long, and we always talk about relationship and networking, relationship and networking. But a lot of times we think of that networking as networking with ourselves, like at a voiceover conference. Nobody really thinks about it as networking for your potential client. Like you know, a lot of times people say, “well I’ve done LinkedIn, and I’ve tried to contact people through LinkedIn.” But you really look for that additional way in, like let’s find the friend of a friend, or the contact of a contact —
Kesha: So here’s the thing —
Anne: — and get in this way.
Kesha: I don’t mean to interrupt, but I will forget because I’m an old lady, and my memory is —
Anne: [laughs]
Kesha: Here’s the difference. I’m just being honest! Here’s the difference. [laughs] For, you know, for those who are on Fiverr, those, that space is for people who prefer opportunities to come to them.
Anne: Yeah.
Kesha: I am the opposite. I like to go for the opportunities, if that makes any sense.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Kesha: Because on Fiverr, you make a profile, and you kind of tell them what you cost, and you kind of sit there and you wait for people to contact you. I ain’t got that kind of time. I’m 50 years old. Like I only got a good 50 years old — 50 years left on this, on this earth. I do not have time for the BS. I have got to grasp, grab, and sneak into as many backdoors as possible.
Anne: Yes.
Kesha: You gotta be a go-getter. You gotta seize the moment.
Anne: The backdoor is — and the backdoor is important, I’m just gonna say that.
Kesha: Oh yeah.
Anne: The backdoor is important because if you try to attack it the front way [laughs] a lot of times, that comes off as cold calling, cold emailing. And that is, I think, much more difficult, I think. I think I really love that you try to find the backdoor and the commonality, the commonality of the relationship to find an entry point or a way in. This is why I’m so excited about Clubhouse, and I know that’s why you’re so excited about Clubhouse. When I, and literally, when we talked about it the other day, when I was on it, I literally just said “let me just enter a room,” like with my shaking, you know, index finger, because it was my first time in a room. I didn’t know if my microphone was gonna be on. I said, let me just try it. And the second I heard what was going on in that room, I was like, “oh my God, this is brilliant.”
Kesha: Your antennae went up, right? Your antennae went right up.
Anne: Why have we not had this before? What a brilliant platform, and you need to hop on board while it’s, while it’s fresh. [laughs]
Kesha: Do we have time for a really, really quick story?
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Kesha: As we’re talking about backdoors. So if you’re familiar with Clubhouse, you know, you can kind of like just be a regular old person on Clubhouse, or you can be the founder of a club. Right? We all want to try to, aspire to get that VO BOSS club, right?
Anne: Yes. Oh, we’re absolutely doing it.
Kesha: But the way you do that is you have to submit an application, ok? And so I submitted an application for a club, and I waited, and I waited, and I know they’re overwhelmed. And I’m like, gosh, nobody is going to ever get to my application, so let me tell you what I did. I researched the owner, and then I found him on Twitter. And then I saw that —
Anne: And then you followed him.
Kesha: I didn’t even follow him. I’ll tell you what I did. He, he has another page that deals with hereditary disease. And I’m kind of familiar with hereditary disease, so I approached him on that page.
Anne: Absolutely! There you go.
Kesha: Where everybody is hanging out on his main page, I, I sent him a message on his hereditary disease page. And I said, “hey, kudos for you, you know, finding this page. Oh by the way” —
[both laugh]
Kesha: “I heard you have a little something to do with Clubhouse.” I say, “hey listen, I have this application. I don’t know if you can nudge somebody,” ‘cause he’s the owner. I’m sure he’s not approving applications. I said, “I would really appreciate it. Clubhouse has made such a tremendous difference in my life,” and girl, the next day, my application was approved.
Anne: Nice.
Kesha: He never responded.
Anne: Nice.
Kesha: I don’t know if he had anything — I’m sure he did. I don’t believe in happenstance, but you’ve gotta find a backdoor and slip in it.
Anne: Let’s kind of come back to your acquiring work for promo work, tell me about — like I guess if you were selected as the voice, right, of a particular show, then it would seem to me that it would be fairly steady work. And is it a — I guess depending on the show, is it work that you do every day, is it work you do once a week? I imagine that the workload is different for a show than it is for me doing e-learning or corporate narration or commercial.
Kesha: Right, well the programs that I’ve done particularly have been just for like one-shot deals, for like a special on OWN or you know, a one-time viewing party for something or the other. That’s just been my experience. Of course I’m going to pounce on my agents to try to get me more promo work this year, but that’s just been my experience. And then of course with PBS, that’s season work, so I just get scripts every couple of weeks.
Anne: How is the market in promo? Do you feel that there is a lot of opportunities, is there a lot of work? I mean, I guess it’s dependent on — I mean, I like the specials, and I think now people are really concentrating on the entertainment value while we’re all deep into the pandemic here, because it’s our one, it’s what we have while we’re here at home. I think that they’ve been doing, they’ve been really doing a lot of good work for television in bringing content out. So I think, I would hope that that would increase your opportunities for promo.
Kesha: Well, as long as there’s programming, there’ll always been promo. And because of the climate that this country has experienced over the past year, I’ve seen an uptick in promos because there’re a lot more specials, and a lot more, you know, programming with regards to the pandemic, and the racial up-rest, and the, the, come on, the election and stuff like that.
Anne: Sure.
Kesha: And so —
Anne: Very much specialized content.
Kesha: That’s what I’m trying to say, a lot of specialized content. So there’ll always be work. As long as this world keeps going bat-butt crazy, we’ll always have work outside of the regular, you know, SNLs and the Dancing with the Stars stuff.
Anne: So then if you get a job, if you get the gig for a particular show or special, is it you know, 24-hour turn-around time? Is it “I need it yesterday?” Is it multiple sessions that are directed, you know, three days in a row?
Kesha: It really depends.
Anne: Does it depend?
Kesha: It’s all of that plus more. Again when it comes to the specialized content, they definitely need it yesterday. And somebody could want to do a directed session, but also what I’ve noticed is a difference in how, because of, you know, things are needed yesterday. A lot of times, they don’t even have time to dial in, so they trust you as long as —
Anne: They’re just like “you do it.”
Kesha: Yeah, as long as you have a good space, and a good mic, and they know you. And they have to get to know you with regards to the kind of content that you’re able to produce. But yeah!
Anne: That was my next question. So let’s just say you get in good with, on a show. Maybe it’s not a special, but it’s a show that’s continually running and with a good network. Do you stand a better chance of getting more work with that network because they’re familiar with your voice, and you’ve been employed doing that?
Kesha: Absolutely.
Anne: Ok, I was just gonna say —
Kesha: Absolutely.
Anne: So then you don’t necessarily have to audition? They might say, “you know what, Kesha? You’d be great for this new show that we’re gonna be promoting,” and boom.
Kesha: That literally just happened to me.
Anne: Yeah. I was gonna say, that would be a nice way to get work. You know, I feel like, you don’t have to — I love it when you don’t have to audition all the time. And if you become like a, you know, this is, “Kesha is our voice” maybe for the network, then you might have multiple opportunities.
Kesha: Right, exactly. And being accessible and available at all times, it certainly helps. Because I like to think sometimes that oh I got this gig not because I have this great voice or not because I’m super talented. It’s because when they said “we need it now,” I already did it. Before they can even finish their sentence, it’s already in their inbox.
Anne: Oh my gosh, Kesha, there’s so much to be said for that. I mean, I want you BOSSes out there to understand what we just said. Sometimes it’s not about, “oh my God, Kesha has the best voice in the world for this particular show.” It’s so much more than that. It’s the fact that you have, you know, you have come through for them. You’re dependable, you’re accurate, you get the work done, and you’re a pleasure to work with, which is a big, big, big thing for all voiceover work. It’s not just for promo work, but any client that you can, you know, get on board, and they love you because you’re dependable, you’re fast, and you just get the job done, that’s just a wonderful feather in your cap for —
Kesha: Absolutely.
Anne: — additional work coming up.
Kesha: Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. For sure.
Anne: Wow, so the exciting, the exciting world of promo. Well, Kesha, the best of luck in getting more shows. I want to be able to hear your voice all over the place.
Kesha: Thank you! Thank you so much! I appreciate you. It’s good to have good cheerleaders in your, you know.
Anne: There you go. I am a fan. I am a fan, for sure. So I’m gonna give a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipDTL. You too can learn about ipDTL and connect and network like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have a great week. And we’ll see you next week.
Kesha: Bye!
Anne: Bye!
Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to Coast connectivity via ipDTL.
In this episode of the Entrepreneur Hustle series, Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk talk about strategies to get the most out of your marketing efforts. These two bosses dive into why you can’t skip social media, demos, the importance of giving your marketing materials a professional “finish,” and how to make yourself stand out. Listen and learn how to market your business #LIKEABOSS.
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And the BOSS Award goes to... this week’s episode in the Entrepreneur Hustle Series! Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk talk about a VO niche – Live Announce. How do you break into this voiceover specialty? Is it right for you? It’s a different kind of pressure, but if you’re a VO “nut,” you’ll love it! Not surprisingly, success is all about doing your research.
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Follow your gut! That’s an essential lesson in this week’s episode in the Entrepreneur Hustle Series. Listen in as Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk talk about why you may or may not need an agent, the importance of personal connections in your professional relationships, and knowing how to recognize your hustle. Make sure what’s best for you and your VO business is at the heart of everything you do, like a BOSS!
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Have you tapped into the healing power of voiceover? In this episode of the Entrepreneur Hustle Series, Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk talk about how your health can impact your business. Listen to learn what keeps these two “fresh and flavorful,” how VO can be therapeutic, and why being your authentic self can help you rock your business like a BOSS.
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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Do you have a process for your auditions? Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk share the tips and tricks that make their auditions stand out. Knowing what’s behind the words is just as important as setting the scene or creating your character. Anne Gangoogle it! Like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it. This episode will help make your next audition worth the listen.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Nothing great comes from comfort zones! Anne and special guest co-host Kesha Monk discuss Clubhouse ― the new audio-based social media app ― and the unique opportunities it provides voice actors. If you’re nostalgic for the days of radio, Clubhouse is for you. If you’re looking for ways to connect and learn, Clubhouse is for you. Discover the magic of bringing people together and how the unknown can lead to your greatest reward. “Heavy hitters,” producers, VO stars, and more … you never know who you may chat with in a Clubhouse room. Tune in to the latest episode in the Entrepreneur Hustle series to learn why it pays to take a leap of faith. 2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Anne welcomes back special guest host Kesha Monk for the second episode in the Entrepreneur Hustle series. Do you have a great voice and want to turn it into a lucrative VO career? Guess what? Voice over has very little to do with your voice, and it’s not easy money. It’s all about connecting with scripts, engaging your audience, and breathing life into words. Before you head out to buy a laptop and a mic, listen to these two bosses talk about the importance of tenacity, research, and coaching. Anne and Kesha drop some gems to help you decide if VO is your true passion.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Anne and new special guest co-host Kesha Monk kick off the Entrepreneur Hustle series of episodes by talking about the power of intention, the importance of community, and the art of hustling to make your VO dreams come true. Kesha's impressive radio career and family ties to music royalty did not give her instant success in voice overs. Hard work and determination have always been two of Kesha's top motivators. Showing people that she could do anything she set her mind to even if they thought she couldn't is a delightful bonus of her success. Listen in as these two friends, and respected colleagues talk about what drives them, never giving up, gratitude, and how support from the VO community inspires growth.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Do you need help fine-tuning your audiobook production? Anne and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets, discuss the tools you need to create amazing audio for audiobooks that stand out from the crowd. This episode will help you understand how to correctly normalize your audio rather than using a plug-in and getting your audio to the required specs. Listen in to learn why being a better editor is a valuable skill for every #VOBOSS.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
This episode could be the best thing to come out of 2020, a second helping of the best tips for BOSS listeners! Anne and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets talk about the importance of getting to know your tools to help you run an efficient business and connect with clients. Learn why it's vital to backup external drives, which technology delivers the fastest performance, and why adding video capability to your studio can take your recording sessions to the next level. Check out the episode now to rock your business #LIKEABOSS.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
2020 has been a critical year for talent to up their game and provide top quality audio to their clients. Now more than ever, your home setup must meet the same standards as a traditional “brick and mortar” studio. Listen for the best audio and business performance tips from VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets and VO Boss Anne Ganguzza. Learn how to achieve pro standards, properly ask for help, and be proactive. Head into 2021 #LIKEABOSS!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
What is normalization and is there a standard for it? You’ve probably asked those questions, and this week’s episode has answers. Anne and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets talk about peak normalization, RMS normalization, understanding your noise floor, and why louder does not always mean better. Check out this episode to learn optimal input levels, the difference between amplification and normalization, and how to avoid digital distortion. Use these tips to create dynamic audio and rock your business like a BOSS.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Have you ever wanted to play detective? If you have a hum in your audio, this is your chance! Everything electronic has a specific frequency, and a hum in your audio is usually a sign of interference. Listen in as Anne and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets discuss the difference between a hum and a hiss, identifying common sources of interference, and how to solve the case of that pesky hum!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It's a beautiful day, you're ready to record, and suddenly it happens ... interface failure! What to do? Never fear! This podcast is the next best thing to a private session with two voiceover giants! Listen as Anne and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets discuss the "sizes and flavors" of interfaces, the importance of having a backup interface and quality XLR cables, and the components of a good travel kit. Don't know the difference between a Mackie Big Knob or a Universal Audio Apollo Solo? These two BOSSES break down what an interface does and help you understand why it's a vital investment in your business. They could talk about interfaces for years, but this conversation is only about 20 minutes of pure gold to help you rock your VO business like a BOSS! 2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Have you ever tried to unscramble an egg? It’s impossible! The same is true with audio. Raw audio can be processed by a trained engineer, but over-processed audio cannot be fixed. Anne welcomes back VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets to discuss how to process your audio #LIKEABOSS. The Bosses discuss when to process your audio, what you are trying to remove (never add!), and how to ensure that your audio processing gives the listener “nothing to notice”.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Which audio editing software should you use? Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) bring all the components of mixing consoles to software. How do you get the most out of your DAW to make the best impression on listeners in the three to five seconds you have to grab them? Anne and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets talk about Twisted Wave, Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, and Audacity, and how not all DAWs are created equal. Everything from your microphone to your interface to your booth … and yes … your DAW can impact how “expensive” you sound. Get valuable tips on the importance of post-production capabilities and how to finish your audio #LIKEABOSS
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
NT1A, TLM 103, LCT 440, U87 … which microphone is best?! The right question is, which mic will make YOU sound great? Anne welcomes Tim Tippets back to the BOSS Audio series, and they talk mics and interfaces. Discover tips for finding the mic best suited to your voice. Your microphone and interface are essential investments in your voiceover business. Listen to this week’s episode to make sure you have the tools in your booth to help you rock your audio #LIKEABOSS!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
You are a tech wizard. Yes, YOU! If you want to have a successful voiceover business, technology is at least half the battle. In this BOSS Audio episode, Anne and Tim discuss the importance of understanding the technology involved in delivering successful voiceover, including noise, gain levels, compression, and stacks. Boost your tech confidence #LIKEABOSS! Listen to this episode and see how technology can elevate your business.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
What’s that noise? VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets joins us again for our BOSS Audio Series! Listen as Anne and Tim talk about those annoying extraneous sounds inside the booth like mouth noises and tummy grumbles, headphones, and fans. Learn about booth ventilation and how to keep cool while keeping quiet. You don’t want to miss this fun, informative episode of VO BOSS!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
What do a catcher’s mitt and a good sounding studio have in common? Anne Ganguzza and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets discuss the Science of Soundproofing! Sound is energy in the form of vibrations. Stopping these vibrations before they hit your microphone is one step in helping you produce great audio that is necessary to move your business forward. Listen and learn the science, materials, means, and methods to use to achieve BOSS Audio!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Anne welcomes industry icon and VO Tech Guru, Tim Tippets, for an all-new series on Audio! If you want to rock your business #LIKEABOSS, you need to have BOSS Audio! Tim Tippets is a voice-over pro, a composer for film and TV, and is highly regarded as a leading audio tech expert and teacher in the voice over community. Our BOSS Audio series kicks off with the fundamentals of modern acoustics.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Could a 30-Day Challenge spark growth in your business? In this week’s episode, Anne and Pamela talk about how being consistent can be a game-changer. Listen to these two VO mavens as they discuss the importance of accountability, why multi-taking doesn’t always help you get things done, and staying focused. Listen for how you can join upcoming VO BOSS 30-Day Challenges!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
You know what Bosses? 2020 can suck it! We’re going through a tough time, but pain and vulnerability can lead to joy and happiness. This week, Anne and Pam discuss the Law of Polarity which states everything has a polar opposite. Listen for tips on coming out on the other side with a renewed sense of purpose and ready to move your business forward. Let go of the past and tap into your potential for success. Thrive #LIKEABOSS.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In an earlier episode, we discussed the Law of Vacuum and how to make space for new opportunities. Once we make space, we can take action to accomplish our goals, which is also known as the Universal Law of Inspired Action. Each inspired step we take, large or small, can take us closer to our desired outcomes. Listen and find out how Anne and Pam have applied these concepts to help grow their respective businesses, and how you can develop a success mindset to move your business forward.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Our 30 Day BOSS Challenge is now two weeks in. Are you staying committed to your daily task(s) that will move your business and/or your life forward? Anne committed to working daily on her blog and is staying on track! Pamela committed to doing daily livestreams on Facebook and is crushing it! Both discuss the challenges and victories of their efforts so far. Has it been easy? Nope. But they’re still doing it. This check-in episode will help keep you motivated and accountable #LIKEABOSS. You can do it!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
This week the Bosses discuss The Natural Law of the Vacuum which states that: "Nature loathes an empty space. So, nature will make sure that empty space is filled, if you don’t" - Steven J. Anderson. If we don’t fill our schedules, something else will fill it for us. You should plan for the time, clients, and money you haven’t yet landed. Don’t just dream, make plans. Sometimes we must make the hard choices of letting go of clients and activities that don’t bring you joy, to make space for more fulfilling and lucrative activities.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In past episodes, we’ve discussed the importance of building a client persona to effectively market to your customers. Today we answer a listener question on how, specifically, to develop a buyer persona, as well as discuss strategies for conducting market research interviews to help capture meaningful data. Learn which questions to ask to gain important insight and target market your potential clients #LIKEABOSS!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
BOSSES understand the true power of Consistency - it is a critical component to building and growing your business. It allows for measurement and accountability and helps to establish relevance and credibility. Are you up to our 30-day BOSS Challenge? Commit to one thing you will do each day for the next 30 days that will help to grow your business. It doesn’t have to be monumental - just something realistic and manageable. Finally, let's all be accountable to one another - Sign the form below to show your commitment! And we’ll be sure to check in on you along the way! How about taking it one step further? Let us know if you’d like to be on the show to tell us about it and we’ll set up a time to chat! Go forth #LikeABOSS!
Take the challenge with us BOSSES! Sign up here: bit.ly/30DayBOSSChallenge
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The Black Lives Matter movement has made me realize that I really need to take a step back and listen. I am honored today to share the stories of seven Black Voice Actors on this week’s episode. Thank you to Damon Alums, Annette Coward, Dane Reid, Kimberly Bonny, Josh Evans, Zakiya Walden, and Mark Neely for sharing their stories with our listeners. I am grateful. Please know BOSSES, I’m not done listening. I am committed to doing what I can and offering a platform for sharing. If you’d like to share your story on a future episode, feel free to reach out to me at anne@voboss.com. And If you have gotten to the end of this episode, I invite you to listen as well. Strike a conversation, ask a question, be open. Lots of love going out to all the bosses out there - Have a great week and I’ll see you next week!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In Part 2 of our riveting Email Compliance series (it’s true, we promise), Anne and Pamela talk about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). Learn how to store, collect, and handle data securely, while following these important laws and avoiding liability #LIKEABOSS
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
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Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
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The CAN-SPAM Act was enacted in 2003 to protect consumers from unsolicited, malicious emails. In Part 1 of our Email Compliance series, Anne and Pamela discuss the foundations of commercial email standards, and how to make sure your messages adhere to the seven main requirements of this important law.
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Open rate, bounces, and click-throughs, "Oh My!" Part 2 of Anne and Pamela’s Email Tips gives you an in-depth look at cultivating your emails and lists for maximum engagement. The goal of your emails is to gain new clients. To do this, you need to be familiar with your data. Learn the terminology and tactics you need to know to rock your email marketing analytics #LIKEABOSS!
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Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
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The Bosses dive deep into Email Marketing with tips and tricks to enhance your email engagement. Learn how to write subjects that stand out, increase open and click rates, and how to avoid the dreaded spam filter. Learn when to send emails, and how best to connect with your database #LIKEABOSS.
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Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
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Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
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Welcome to Email Marketing 101! In a previous episode, the Bosses discussed email databases and the importance of building one to grow your business. This week the Bosses talk about how to communicate effectively with that database through email marketing. Find out how to target your email to get better ROI, connect emotionally to increase engagement, and level up your email marketing LIKE A BOSS.
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Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
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Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
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Anne and Pamela continue their Content Marketing series, discussing the importance of email databases and building lists to distribute content. Find out the importance of providing valuable deliverables and content to your audience and how it can help grow your business.
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Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
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Anne and Pamela discuss Black Lives Matter and the impact of "Taking a Stand" as a business. The Bosses discuss the role of values, morals, and beliefs, and how they can be woven into a brand message. This moment in time is an opportunity to educate and grow. Look inward and decide how you, and your business, will interact with important issues.
Being well aware of my privilege and inability to fully address this issue as a white woman, I would like to do what I can to amplify Black voices. Therefore, I invite BIPOC voice actors to submit their stories or statements on issues of racism in the voiceover industry. We will air the statements uncensored on upcoming episode(s) of VO BOSS in their entirety.
Thank you, and I’m listening - Anne
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Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
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Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
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ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
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Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
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Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
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https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Join Anne and Pam as they continue their series on content marketing. This week, the bosses discuss the four stages of the buyer journey: unawareness, awareness, consideration, and evaluation. Learn about the journey a buyer goes on from not knowing they have a problem, to choosing YOU as voice talent to solve that problem. Find out how to structure your marketing to show clients why you are the solution to their pain points!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Pamela Muldoon, Content Strategist, joins host Anne Ganguzza for another episode of VO Boss! Today’s topic: Understanding Your Buyer. Learn what a Buyer Persona is and why developing them for your marketing is critical for developing successful target market content. Learn some key questions and areas to consider when creating your personas and use this information on your next content marketing campaign!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO Boss and Host Anne Ganguzza continues the conversation with Pamela Muldoon, Content Marketing professional, and VO Talent. This is Part II of their content marketing conversation where they talk mindset to methodology. Learn some actionable steps you can take today to put your VO business on the right path with content marketing.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO Boss and Host Anne Ganguzza is joined by Pamela Muldoon, a veteran Content Marketing consultant and VO talent. What is Content Marketing and why should every VO talent better understand this form of marketing? Get the content marketing basics on this episode of VO Boss! There is so much to talk about, we had to split it into two episodes. Get ready to take copious notes and listen to Content Marketing for VO Part 1!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Boss Anne Ganguzza welcomes a new special guest co-host: Content Strategist and VO Actress Pamela Muldoon! Pamela has been listed as one of the Top 50 Women in Content Marketing and named one of the 20 Women to Watch from the Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA). Her success formula incorporates a winning combination of marketing tech, data, and storytelling through content development. Pamela will be with us for a series on content marketing and how it can help elevate your business, like a BOSS! This week we’re talking about marketing in the time of COVID-19. Pamela and Anne discuss the “new normal” for content marketing and how to adapt in “these trying times”.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The results are in! "Anne of Aspercreme" has chosen the voices for her new spots. Anne and Liz discuss their choices and announce the voices of "Hopscotch" and "Walter". Hear the winners, and get an in-depth look at the process of choosing the right voice! Congratulations to our winners! Tune in to hear our bittersweet last episode with Special Guest Host Liz Atherton! Stay tuned in future weeks for our next special guest Co-Host and remember: Bosses Move Forward.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The finalists are in! "Anne of Aspercreme" and Liz Atherton have listened to all 73 auditions in our VO BOSS Cast Voices contest and narrowed it down to their short-list! Get an in-depth behind the scenes perspective on their casting process, and hear their thoughts on the finalists. Then it's your turn to be the casting director. You can vote on your favorites and stay tuned next week for our casting decision.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Our VO BOSS Cast Voices contest is underway. After receiving 73 auditions, "Anne of Aspercreme" and Liz Atherton are listening to each entry and providing comments via dropbox. Auditions were also opened up to our listeners for comments. This special episode gives you a sneak peek into the real-time process of casting. Listen to Anne and Liz's thoughts so far, an in-depth critique of one audition, and then stay tuned next week for our shortlist of finalists!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
"Does anyone else feel completely unproductive, unmotivated, and uncreative right now?" This thoughtful question from Rebecca Davis got us thinking about the very real struggles we face during this pandemic. Join VO Boss Anne Ganguzza and guest host Liz Atherton for a heartfelt discussion on the trials and tribulations of social distancing. The struggle is real. It's ok to not be ok. You're a boss, no matter what!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO BOSS Anne Ganguzza welcomes back special guest co-host Liz Atherton for our first-ever VO BOSS Cast Voices contest! The client, "Anne of Aspercreme", needs a voice and contacts Cast Voices (Liz), to help her cast the right talent! BOSS listeners will have the opportunity to audition, as well as become casting directors in this interactive contest. Participate by submitting your audition, and you could win a pro membership to Cast Voices and your very own BOSS Blast! See details on our show notes page on our website!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It's not just voiceover, it's voice ACTING! We are super excited to talk about acting in our first "Boss Performance" episode! Every read has a character, even eLearning and Corporate Narration. Join VO Boss Anne Ganguzza and special guest Liz Atherton as they discuss the importance of sharpening your acting skills and going beyond the read.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO Boss Anne Ganguzza welcomes back Special Guest Rob Sciglimpaglia to discuss COVID-19 relief resources for small businesses including the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Federal stimulus checks, banking assistance programs, home loans, and paycheck protection. Small business owners (including sole-proprietors) may be eligible for loans and cash advances that do not have to be repaid. Be smart BOSSES, know your options, and go get that money!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
With most of the country practicing social-distancing due to Covid-19, you might be feeling more isolated and fearful of the unknown than ever before. Listen as VO Boss Anne Ganguzza interviews Licensed Clinical Mental Health (LCMHC) counselor: Eb Roberts for a discussion on self-care and your mental health during these uncertain times. Eb has over 20 years of clinical experience in treating individuals and couples. Eb received her Master's in Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University. Take a BOSS break for your soul. We're all in this together. Stay safe and healthy out there!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
If you live in California, you’ve probably heard and felt much of the fear and uncertainty around California’s labor legislation AB5. What is it? Are you an employee? Or, are you an independent consultant? Well…it depends. Anne’s encouraging and informative interview with 3 x special guest Robert Sciglimpaglia, a lawyer with deep knowledge of employment and compensation issues, voice artist, Amazon bestselling author, award-winning producer and actor gives assurance to California-based talent to stay their course. Find out if this law is really as easy as ABC.
And since similar legislation is turning up in other states such as NJ, NY, ILL and even at the national level (HR2474), this discussion is worthwhile for talent throughout all our 50 states.
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
As with most large events happening around the world, VO Atlanta 2020 has been postponed due to Covid-19. This week we welcome special guest Gerald Griffith to discuss all things VO Atlanta and how this pandemic has impacted the conference and our lives. We may not be gathering in Atlanta this month, but we can certainly take advantage of free online learning opportunities while we practice social distancing, including offerings from VO Atlanta presenters. Stay safe and healthy during these tumultuous times and keep on rocking your business #likeaboss!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Rates and Dates - things that make us panic, but are the key to our VO financial livelihood. Get your pens and paper out folks - you are going to want to listen and take notes, and listen, again, as VO Boss and host, Anne Ganguzza, along with special guest, Liz Atherton, get into the nitty-gritty of the rate game!
2020 BOSS Footer
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
So - you’re an entrepreneur, you decided to go full-on VO and suddenly you FREAK OUT! No, you are not the only one who is secretly second-guessing everything you’re doing, worried that you’ve made a grave mistake, checking your bank balance while peeking from behind sunglasses - YIKES! Take a moment to feel part of something good as VO Boss host Anne Ganguzza and guest host Liz Atherton share insights, support, and affirmation to the brave souls who took a leap of faith in themselves!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
As a voice talent, you are doing due diligence to record your audition(s), upload it in time, and give it your best shot. But . . . do you really understand the nuances of casting? Take a listen as VO Boss founder and host, Anne Ganguzza, and guest host, Liz Atherton, break down the casting process all the while giving you tips and tricks to get your audition heard! Special thanks to ipDTL for their great connection, and to Dave Crockett, owner of Weho Audio Studios (https://www.wehoaudiostudios.com/), for allowing Liz the use of his fantastic studio!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
“Get Out of My Booth and Into My Car”
It’s that time of year when VO folks from around the globe are making plans to attend conferences. And, as always, the questions loom: “Which one(s) should I go to?”, “Why should I go?”, “Are conferences worth the investment?”. Host Anne Ganguzza and special guest host Liz Atherton discuss coffee, conferences, cocoons, cards, carry-aways, and the pros and cons of making the leap from the booth to actual face-time with other VO pros.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The Pros and Pros of New Demos and why Raising Chickens Raises the Bar!
Everyone is talking demos these days! How important is a demo? Do I need new demos? The list goes on. Host Anne Ganguzza and special guest host Liz Atherton discuss the importance of demos in your voiceover arsenal with a smattering of good advice about acting, agents, marketing, training, and the importance of being! Oh, and then there are the chickens . . .
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO Boss host Anne Ganguzza and special guest host, Liz Atherton, turn up the volume together in this podcast discussing the world of agenting. From phone throwing to sleepless nights, to P2Ps, and life after the August 2017 VO tsunami (when VoiceBank changed hands to Voices.com), the changes on the VO landscape have had a powerful effect on talent and agents. Liz Atherton, with her 20+ years in the industry as an agent, and now casting software developer, and CampVO director, provides thought-provoking insight into the agent side of the business.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The Bosses are always talking about the importance of branding and marketing so we wanted to talk to a trend-setting expert on the subject. We’re excited to welcome special guest Andy Krainak – brand manager for Vayner Media. (Yup, as in Gary Vaynerchuck’s right-hand man!) He’s sweet, humble and offers some killer branding advice to our listeners. The audio quality isn’t what you’d typically hear from VOBoss but the business-talk is BOSS to the MAX.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
There's a Wild West out there with online and digital job opportunities. Which got the Bosses thinking, how do we know if a job is real? Is it possible we’re answering fake auditions? Voice actors record audition after audition and send them out into some unknown audio void. So how do we know if a job is real? Join the discussion in this week’s episode.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Spend or save? Squander or splurge? When is time to spend your hard earned money and reinvest it into your voiceover business? When is it best to be frugal DIY entrepreneur? All business owners struggle with these questions so today Anne and Gabby explore the options and talk about Anne’s real time fancy or frugal dilemma. She’s a Ganguzza on the move and her boss-powers are in hyper drive!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Agents, Managers, Casting Directors…There are a lot of players in the Yellow-Brick road that is the voiceover industry. And there’s a lot of confusion surrounding ‘who does what?’ Today’s episode breaks down these different voiceover entities and takes a look at what they do and how it relates to you as a talent. Stop now and take a listen if you want to avoid getting lost in Hollywood or Holyrood. (It’s an actual town…in Kansas.)
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
To Agent or Not To Talent Agent? That is today’s question. Anne and Gabby explore the reasons you should have an agent, how agents benefit your business (and some are surprising perks you may not know about.) Plus we explore the ways you can build better talent/agent relations.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
When did it become a self-imposed rule that voice actors are perfect and NEVER make a mistake? OMG You’re human – so why is everyone so embarrassed, ashamed and mean to themselves when they make a mistake? Your personal and professional growth is actually dependent upon learning from errors. Stop holding yourself to impossible standards and start owning your mistakes like a boss!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Some days you just want to throw your hands in the air and scream I QUIT! You’re not alone. We’re not talking about quitting the voiceover industry, but quitting a client…? Sure. You can do it. Sometimes you should do it. Anne and Gabby talk about the Q word and how it can actually be a good thing for your business. Quitting can be courageous!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
All voiceover actors are life-long learners but are you a perpetual student? The former is great. The later can be a scary money pit. If you take classes to further your career and increase your revenue you’re doing it right. If you’re taking class after class, after class and continuously stalling your always pending launch-date…this episode is a must-hear.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Jitters. Nerves. Anxiety. Voiceovers. It may seem like these things don’t go together but even the Bosses have found that they sure do. Today’s episode addresses performance anxiety, what causes it and how to best handle it. We’ve ALL been there. And any voice actor who tells you otherwise is full of BS. If you’ve never recorded outside your home studio…this is a must-listen episode!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
What's a Boss to do when they need a major change in scenery? Duh, they make a move! But physically moving your business is a royal pain in the Anne! Yup Anne Ganguzza is putting her house on the market and she and Gabby talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly wallpaper in that half bath! Join us for this episode of House Hunters, voiceover boss style!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Truth teller. Revolutionary. Trouble maker. You’re not a Boss if you haven’t been called at least one. Today’s guest has been called all three! Dutch-born voiceover actor/activist Paul Strikwerda joins Anne & Gabby for a tell-all 20 minutes. The author of the infamous Nether Voice blog drops loads of Boss Bombs. So grab your clogs, we’re going where no voice has nether gone before!
Waarheidspreker. Revolutionair. Onruststoker. Je bent geen baas als niemand je tenminste een van deze namen heeft genoemd. Onze gast vandaag heeft ze alle drie gehoord. Paul Strikwerda is een in Nederland geboren voice-over acteur en activist, en in de komende twintig minuten praat hij met Anne and Gabby. De auteur van het beruchte Nethervoice blog neemt beslist geen blad voor de mond, dus trek je klompen aan, want we gaan naar waar geen stem ooit is geweest… Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
A few weeks back The Bosses talked about passive income and its ability to be a life-changer for entrepreneurs and we caused some inadvertent paranoia for our voiceover listeners! We told you all about why passive income is so great, but we didn’t address HOW to generate passive income. So today’s follow-up episode is all the about the steps to go from - idea to income!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Social Media…business tool or cesspool of ‘social’ behavior? The choice really is yours. More and more people are becoming overly-emotional and using their social media accounts in a way that may damage their careers. In this episode we dish the dirt on voiceover actors who misuse social media and sometimes pay the price.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Anne and Gabby are concerned. Because blind faith can be a business blunder. Stop asking coaches and other voiceover actors what you should do in this industry. Stop relying on others to tell you how you should run your business. Opinions are great, but ultimately, the journey is yours and so is the destination. Listen too much to others and you’ll end up in Toledo, which is nothing like the Tahiti you envisioned! These are Boss basics, and we invite you to join this week’s discussion about voiceover coaching.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
“I’d like to thank the academy!” Who doesn’t dream of being an award-winning voiceover actor, recognized for their skill and efforts? A lot of people actually. It all depends on how you view the business of awards-shows. Anne and Gabby are on opposite sides of this coin (a shocking first!) So grab some popcorn and listen to today’s Game of Thrones inspired episode.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Boost Your Post! Here’s $150 in free Google AdWords! We’ll get you to the top of the search engines! Ever feel like everyone is trying to sell you some form of web advertising for your business? The Bosses have been there too. In today’s episode, we talk about what works, how to spend advertising money wisely and where not to invest.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
How much do you know about your voiceover client? Do you have an accurate view of their stats? Buyer Analytics and consumer data is a multi-billion dollar industry. If you want your cut – then you need to know who you are selling to and why…pronto! There’s so much valuable data ready for the taking…if you ask for it. Wanna know how? Give this week’s episode a listen!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Hey you – stay passive – come on, you can do it! Yup, you read that right, The Bosses want your business to be passive! Because when it comes to income, passive is the new active! Many entrepreneurs view passive income as their final hurdle. The missing key to life-long success and we couldn’t agree more. So grab a chair, kick up your feet and come get passive with us!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Following the leader in business makes a lot of sense – but who does the leader follow? The Market! Supply and demand are all about answering to and supporting the market and what buyers want. In today’s episode, The Bosses lead the conversation and discuss how The Market gets what The Market wants.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s only taken three years but VO Boss is happy to announce our first recurring guest, Rob Sciglimpaglia. When it comes to legal matters in voiceover, Rob wrote the book. He’s an expert on all things Voiceover Legal and with a multitude of recent infringements (including VO BOSS!) taking place, plus confusion over usage rights, we asked him back to join us once again and share his wealth of knowledge.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Wisdom. Wealth. Health. You’re wiser just for being a VOBoss listener, and you’re working on the wealth part, but what about your health? Your business can’t be healthy if you aren’t! Voice actors are not immune to the healthcare crisis plaguing America. Today’s episode deal with meeting and navigating the healthcare needs of entrepreneurs. Plus, we encourage you to help aid the healthcare fight of one of our own.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Politics IN voiceover? UGH don’t even go there. Political voiceover work? HECK YES! There are some really great benefits to working the political scene. Anne and Gabby explore the pros, cons, and process of mining for political gold. We’re getting ahead of campaign season and exploring the possibilities of working with your party.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Ladies - what do you think - is there a Gender wage gap? Holla Back! Anne and Gabby team up with John Florian and the team at VoiceoverExtra.com to bring you this episode. We explore a recent article on their site that addresses this pressing and relevant discussion. Come join the conversation Lady Voices!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Think your client’s budget is a bust? That budget is money in the bank! Being able to work within a client’s budget & make them happy is SOOO Boss! Anne and Gabby discuss the fun & finer points of budget-work and offer up their own strategies and secrets for showing any budget who’s the boss.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Dun Dun DUNNNN! There are so many things to be afraid of but is your biggest fear really a FEAR OF SUCCESS? Join us for this shocking, eye-opening, spine-tingling (not really) edition of VOBoss. Anne and Gabby expose the monster under your voiceover booth and tell the boogie-man to eat a suck-it sandwich! Listen...if you dare. And stick around for hilarious outtakes that lighten the mood. Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
We’re so dependent on the internet but are you using the web to the fullest for your business? Your website is a crucial element of your voiceover business. Your online store-front has to be incredibly appealing and user-friendly. In today’s episode, the bosses talk all about voiceover websites and some common problems to avoid. Wifi – on, bandwidth locked and loaded --- let’s dive into the web bosses! Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s time to Boss-up a level with advice from this week’s guest – Tom Dheere – the Voiceover Strategist. This funny, charming voiceover actor and coach is all about business so naturally; we had to have him on the show. Remember, the H is silent, but he’s not! Hit play and get down to business with three VOBosses in this week’s episode. Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
We get irate when people ask about rates! If you want your coin-purse to overflow with voiceover riches, then you’ve gotta grow a pair and learn how to quote a job! Other voiceover actors and industry rate guides can’t do it for you. In this episode of VOBoss, Anne and Gabby want you to stop searching for the ‘magic’ number to charge and instead learn the skills necessary to quote your own damn rate! You can do it – we believe in you!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The therapist is IN on this episode of VOBoss. Anne and Gabby explore the mental game of voiceover and encourage you to flip the script and reframe negative thoughts about you and your voice. They share years of combined wisdom and insight to help you stay sane and stay the course.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Boss! Would a Rose by any other name still smell as sweet? We’re not sure – but we know it would still make money. In this week’s episode Anne & Gabby talk about the use of a voiceover alias. When, why, and how. So join the ladies and ALL their alternate personalities as they explore on the best kept marketing secrets in the voiceover industry.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
What’s your handle? Social media has been changing the voiceover game for some time and now we’re seeing a whole new influence…clients who are asking for YOUR social media influence! Yup, some clients now what to know what your social media reach looks like. It’s a game changer for sure. Are you ready to play ball? Coaches Anne and Gabby are here to help you score big with social media.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Are ya ready ta tawlk? Pull up ah chaah. Cuz da Bowssess wanna speak ta youze! Don’t worry, you won’t need a translator for today’s episode, but you’re sure to get a laugh out of Anne and Gabby’s accent antics. The Bosses are talking all about dialects and regionalism and how they can impact your voiceover business.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Your demo isn’t like a painting or a photograph – it’s not art, it’s a promotional tool. But are you treating it as one? Are you seeking validation from the wrong audience? Who did you make that demo for anyway? See who has the soap and who has the box in this week’s episode. Join us as the bosses talk demos.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Voice, Voice…pass! Sound familiar? It should. Most voiceover actors pass on job pretty regularly. The reasons why are plentiful, but the emotional toll of doing so can be even greater. Today’s VOBoss podcast is all about the passing process. Why we do it and why it’s OK to do it. Give it a listen and feel free to ‘pass it on’ to one of your VO friends!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Tasia Valenza is one of the most prolific voiceover bosses in the industry. So we jumped on the chance to talk to her about her career, her philanthropic endeavors and her latest passion. She’s at the top of her game and sharing her gifts with the world. Today, we introduce you to #givinggreatvoice. Join us in the challenge!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Contracts, NDAs, addendums, agreements, non-competes…WTF? Where do you get them? What do they mean? Can I just write one myself? The Bosses are on top of the contract conundrum. We’ve got the answers you need to be contract competent!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In our second ever Quad-cast – Anne & Gabby speak with the guys from The VOMeter – Paul Stefano and Sean Daeley! These boys are bosses! We have a ton of fun talking with them about industry trends and sharing a lot of laughs in the process. Let’s see how we ‘measure up’ in this week’s episode of VOBoss.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Hey – put that microphones down! Mics are for closers!
In this episode of VOBoss, Anne and Gabby go Glen Gary, Glen Ross and talk sales. Is it a part of your business? You bet your BOSS it is! It’s time to stop hiding in your studio and start selling. The Boss Ladies are gonna show you how.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Quick, tell me your story, make it fun and engaging and relevant…GO! Did you freeze? We get it. Creating a badass bio is NO joke. The Bosses have written loads of bios and they know what works and what doesn’t. Does your bio need a boost? We’re gonna talk about how to do it AND this episode has info about a free product that will help make your bio even better, so listen until the end. Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s time for a good old-fashioned Tech Talk with the Bosses! We know there are a lot of technophobes in voiceover, so Anne and Gabby want to ease your mind, and help you ease into the new era of voiceover. An era where technology can be (and is) your friend. Hear Anne wax poetically about all the benefits technology brings to mankind. Gabby…? She’s still trying to figure out how to work a toaster.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Oh for the love of VOICE! Rather than bore you senseless with how much Anne and Gabby love their husbands, we thought we’d let YOU tell us what you love about VO! (And hear the ladies gush about one another). This very special episode features a bunch of guest Bosses from around the globe! A big thanks to Stephanie Matard, Linda Poff, Brian Craddock, Morgan Walton and Adam Dergimen. When entrepreneurs share their love, there’s nothing they can’t accomplish.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
This week the VOBoss Podcast brings you breaking news! Anne & Gabby talk to Matt Dubois owner of Voicecasting Hub and the newly minted Voiceovers.com. Voiceovers.com is the new casting answer to a generation of tech-savvy web buyers. The future of voiceover is here. It starts with an epic domain, Google domination and a quarter of a million dollar advertising budget. Matt is in it to win it and Voiceovers.com is the company to watch. Are you ready to join this revolution? This special episode is available in two ways – the condensed version in our podcast or view the full video interview on our youtube channel!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Awe yeah – it’s time to talk Auditions. In this episode, the boss ladies not only let their Northeastern accents come out to play (hear all about voiceover AWE-ditions) but they’ll leave you awe-inspired with how they handle the auditioning process. And Anne and Gabby always have a Bosstie moment or two that will leave you saying ‘awe, they are so cute!’. Ready for this AWE-some episode? Hit play!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Do I Have What It Takes? The question asked more than any other by beginners. It’s time for a Boss Bomb as the ladies address this question and the mindset behind the question. Spoiler Alert… you are literally asking the wrong question! This episode is 100% for all the new and aspiring voiceover actors that are trying to figure out if they have what it takes to make it in voiceover in 2019. Anne and Gabby give you solid, actionable answers.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Some days your voiceover clients are awesome and other days you just wonder what the is wrong with them!?! Yes, we love what we do but sometimes, even the most saintly voice actors (Anne) are pushed too far. The Bosses tackle a little talked about problem – nitpicking, complaining, & cheapskate clients, and how to deal with them. This episode is packed with practical advice, thoughtful anecdotes and Gabby’s ‘colorful’ view of these types of clients.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Hey GOAL DIGGERS – it’s 2019 – time to nab those dreams! It’s time to avoid business wrecks and cash some checks! The Bosses are talking resolutions and giving you their personal spin on how to set your goals up for success throughout the year. And Anne and Gabby talk about how to avoid an early-spring fizzle of your fastidious mind-set. Let’s get it!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Happy New Year!!! It’s 2019 – make it your best boss year! Anne and Gabby are here to help you plan for success and a major component of any good business is sound financial planning. This includes retirement! This is a topic rarely explored in the voiceover world but it’s one you should be thinking about and actively planning for. It’s never too soon or too late to start.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
So what the heck do voiceover actors do with their time around the holidays? Spoiler alert, we get creative! Anne and Gabby get real about working from home and juggling family and friends during the holidays while still keeping your business up and running. It’s the most productive time of the year! Happy Holidays – from all of us at VOBoss.com – we wish you a happy and prosperous season full of peace and love.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
What happens when a loyal fan and fellow voice actor wins a VOBoss contest and takes over the show? Awesomeness, of course! This very British episode of VOBoss features guest host & veteran UK voice actress Tanya Rich. Ever wonder what the voiceover industry is like on the other side of the pond? Tanya shares loads of great stories and tells us all about it. We haven’t seen a British Invasion this cool since the Beatles. You’ll be vexed by Tanya’s ‘Rich-craft’ too!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s cold outside...so what better time to talk about Cold Calling... Is it still a useful tool or should “smile and Dial” be relegated to the trash bin of history? You CAN make it work for you (or kick it to the curb) with the aid of some hard and fast ground rules. Tune in as Anne and Gabby help you tame the dreaded dinosaur known as "Cold–Call-osaurus". Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s time for the Bosses to answer another one of your listen questions. This week’s episode is all about Freelancer websites and whether or not voiceover actors should participate. Are they beneficial? Or do they tarnish your business’ reputation? Are they low-ball and low-brow? Or a potential source of leads and work? Anne and Gabby explore it all and Anne drops the biggest BOSS BOMB of the year in this super topical episode.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
This week Anne and Gabby talk to the founder and executive producer of VOAtlanta – Gerald Griffith. The 2018 conference had just under 700 attendees and he’s expecting 2019 to completely sell-out! We talk about his strategy for success, his business philosophies and his experiences organizing the biggest voiceover ‘party’ in our industry.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s National Entrepreneurs’ Day and to celebrate in true BOSS fashion, Anne and Gabby are gonna be super real with you. RUNNING AND OWNING A BUSINESS IS HARD! There are ups, downs, fears, uncertainty, feast, famine and everything in between. Some days, as a boss, you’re barely in control! Get off the roller coaster, and take a 20 minute Boss Break to empathize (or bitch it out) with our boss ladies. And stick around for the outtakes!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In honor of Veteran's Day and all who have served, The Bosses have a super special guest - Rob Reese, Founder of WarriorVoices.org. Warrior Voices is the ONLY not-for-profit of it's kind - an organization dedicated to training and job placement for voiceover veterans.
Rob tells us all about the amazing work his volunteer staff is doing to make a difference in the lives of veterans every day. These good works left Anne & Gabby speechless a few times. This episode will give you all the feels!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
We all know that Anne would marry the internet if she could. But have you met her voiceover crush? Time Paige has been leaving Anne swooning and smitten for years. Hear all about this charmer and his podcasting origin, his rise to voiceover frame and his incredible business brain. Tim give us the inside scoop on how to carve your own voiceover niche and revenue stream. He’s super talented and totes adorbs! And by the end of the episode even Gabby has a bit of a crush.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s a ghoulish and frightful episode as we tackle FEAR – the hidden terror that stops all entrepreneurs in our tracks! Running your own business IS scary. Some days there are treats and sometimes it’s all tricks as you work toward making your career goals a reality. It’s the fight, flight, or freeze episode this Halloween as we explore the F WORD. And stick around after the credits for some sweet VOBoss outtakes.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Blogs, videos, articles, tweets, podcasts – aaaagggghhhhh! We’re bombarded every single day by so much information. It’s overwhelming. How do we reduce the digital clutter? The Bosses are here to help you clean-house. In today’s world of information overload, it’s important to have a plan for your digital exposure and a way to manage the mega-loads of info that leave most voice actors feeling clueless. So, let’s get digital!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Ever find yourself apologizing for no reason? What is that?!? Why do so many of us feel the need to say ‘I’m sorry’ when we have done absolutely nothing to warrant it? In today’s episode Anne and Gabby address this people-pleasing phenomenon. The Bosses talk about why ‘sorry’ is such a bad word for voiceover actors and entrepreneurs alike. And tell you how you can irradiate this Debbie-Downer of a word from your vocabulary. It’s time to flip the script and tell ‘sorry’ to take a hike!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
(Movie Trailor VO:) In a World…where no one cares about what other people think…chaos is rampant and the human race as we know it…does not exist. The makeup, hair & fashion industries…disappear. No one says ‘please’ or ‘thank you’…and table manners are totally barbaric!
Well yeah, that’s why we do care what other people think of us. Societal order, self-motivation, and human interactions of all kinds are governed by this one idea. So why does everyone say to NOT care about what other people think? The Bosses debunk this modern approach to business, talk truth, and share their personal experiences.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Sometimes you have to shine your weird light super bright, so the other weirdos know where to find you. And that is exactly how the Bosses found today’s guest, Danny Galvez. This super-fan turned super-guest talks to Anne and Gabby about his time in radio, his corporate career and his voiceover success as an audiobook narrator. He’s funny, charming, super smart and does one hell-of-a Chicken Dance! Join us for today’s episode and hear how funny it is when three weirdos become friends.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
How’s my demo? Will you listen to my demo? Is my demo good? Got 50,000 demo questions? The Bosses have got your answers. Take the stress out of the demo process with a calculated, business-minded approach to these all-important audio nuggets. Whether you are making your first or your 50th demo, Anne and Gabby offer practical advice and the inside track to ensure all your demos are solid gold.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
It’s one of the scariest leaps that voice actors make; the jump from working part-time in voiceover to full time. Don’t start biting your nails just yet! Worry is for wussies. Boss Up with this episode as Anne and Gabby break down the pros and cons of moving from one to the other. Have no fear, the ladies are here to help you transition from PT to FT as smoothly as possible. And stick around after the credits for some hilarious outtakes!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and in this week's episode, the Bosses tackle the often difficult topic with the help of therapist Vanessa Pierre-Parker.
As voice actors and entrepreneurs, we are in a higher risk category for suicide and other mental health issues. Vanessa & The Bosses talk about depression, anxiety, and the warning signs of suicide. It is important to de-stigmatize the conversation about mental illness and talk about resources that can help someone who is struggling.
If you or someone you know needs help please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
This week Anne and Gabby interview a bilingual power-house! Simone Fojgiel is an award-winning, influencer, trend-setter, muse, coach and friend to countless Spanish and American voiceover actors. In this episode she takes us on a spiritually enlightened journey; from her Uruguay radio origins to her humble view from the top as one of the world’s most loved (and heard) Spanish voice actors. We talk voiceover, cosmic law and about Simone’s relationship with singer/songwriter James Taylor!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
How do you know if you’ve made it? Where is that magical place and how the heck do you get there? What does it take to become an "overnight success"? Anne and Gabby talk about their personal journeys to becoming their own respective VO Bosses as well as debunk some of the myths of "success". They also explore ways to help nail down ways for you to set a career goal that is achievable and sustainable. Our resident VO Bosses also discuss how to about how to adapt to the changing VO marketplace and how different business models work for different people (and the effects on the value of VO services). Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico: https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It's mine! Mine, mine, mine ALL mine! We're talking about the thing most sacred to all CEO's - Intellectual Property. Today's The Bosses take a look at I.P., what it is and how you can protect your interests. Plus we dish the dirt on The VoiceMarketplace dot net who recently stole the Intellectual Property of HUNDREDS of voiceover actors without their consent. The Bosses fight back in this can't miss, "oh no you didn't!" episode. Get a ring-side seat as the voiceover industry takes on Voicemarketpace Dot Net.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico: https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Milli Vanilli blamed it on the rain. The Jackson 5 blamed it on the boogie. Jamie Foxx blamed in on the alcohol, and Calvin Harris blamed the night. But voice actors…blame failure on The Economy. Are you?
How big a role does the economy really play? Bosses don’t make excuses, we make changes! Anne and Gabby show you how to navigate the economic changes that can effect voiceover actors. The music industry did…so can you!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Namaste Bosses! Get nice and comfy (in Lotus Position) for today’s show. Clear your mind, take a deep breath in…and take in all the frequency you can. Hold for a moment… and exhale all the repetition. Very good!
Repeat this mantra as needed while the Bosses explore all the benefits of Frequency and Repetition and how this simple principle can positively impact your voiceover career!
This is something both our boss ladies are VERY passionate about and even offer a Boss Blast service to talent like you. For more info, go to our marketing page on our website.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Look! It's Bat-Anne and Gabbin! Here to save the day with their super powers of adaptability!
To the Boss-mobile! This week Anne and Gabby take you through an adventure of adaptability. They share some insights on how to prepare for the unexpected, recognizing your priorities, adapting on a budget and how to adjust your voiceover business to the current climate.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO Boss' first-ever quadcast with the hosts of the Let's Talk Voiceover Podcast, Brian Talbot and Randy Ryan.
Anne and Gabby enjoy chatting with their male counterparts about their backgrounds, how they started their podcast, their insights into the current voiceover climate and even their experience with Xzibit and Pimp My Ride!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Let's get ethical, ethical! I want to get ethical! Let's get into ETHICAL!
Sometimes there are just certain jobs that are out of your moral comfort zone. And that's okay. Anne and Gabby share some of their experiences with questionable jobs, what their hard lines are and how they tell their clients/agents "no" when one of these jobs pops up.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
“I don’t care how old I am. I don’t care what’s physically wrong with me. Prop me up in my booth next to my microphone, and I can still work.” – Gabrielle Nistico
Anne and Gabby have both gotten tons of questions from students looking for a new or second career. A popular one is… “Am I Too Old for VO?” You may have wondered the same thing or are worried if there’s a certain age that you’ll have to “retire”. Well, the bosses are here to give their two cents and share what trends they’re seeing in the vo industry related to age.
Stick around to the very end for hilarious bloopers!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
You're behind the mic every day. But have you ever thought about what happens AFTER you hit that send button?
In this episode, Anne and Gabby talk about the ins and outs of the casting process. Gabby talks about her experience as a former voice over casting agent and gives you all the dirty little details about what agents AND clients are looking for in casting the perfect voice.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-VO-BOSS-Podcast-29484508
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
So, we hate to break it to you, but...chances are - agents aren't going to just start knocking down your door. There's a lot you have to do before even approaching a voiceover agent and Anne and Gabby are here to break it down for you! Learn how to submit (and how NOT to submit), how you could blacklist yourself, what agents look for and more!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico: https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
LIVE from VOA!
Is it getting hot in here, or is it just us? Our second and last live podcast guest is bringing some Spanish spice! Juana Plata joins Anne and Gabby live at the VO Atlanta 2018 conference! Hailing originally from Columbia, bilingual Juana dishes about her father, the "Dick Clark" of Columbian VO, her early years in America, her Emmy nomination, and how she built her 6 figure voiceover business.
Ok, guys. We’re doing it. That TABOO topic no one wants to talk about. How much money do voice actors really make?
For beginners and seasoned pros alike, it can sometimes be hard to know if you’re income is competitive in this industry. So, Anne and Gabby are taking it amongst themselves to try and desensitize the “ickiness” of the money talk and give you some REAL figures on where you should be financially.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one, is hard work." - Stephen King
So, you've just completed an AMAZING demo. Now what? As veteran coaches, Anne and Gabby know exactly what! In this episode, they give examples, starter ideas and a step by step guide on what you should be doing even BEFORE you think about recording a demo.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The woman of 1000 voices, dialectologist, celebrity coach & researcher, playwright, performer, and virtuoso fiddle player is now a VO Boss Guest!
Eliza Jane Schneider sits down with Anne and Gabby to talk about her huge successes in the VO world, how she got her love of sound, her world travels and her proprietary looping method that teaches a dialect in minutes!
Stick around after the outro for an extra special story on how Eliza became a dialectologist.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Get in touch with your inner boss!
The Amy Poehler and Tina Fey of VO (A.K.A Anne and Gabby) get into the BOSS mindset and talk about being assertive. They give tips on dealing with difficult clients and Gabby sheds some light on the other side of the coin with her experience in casting.
This episode is great for learning how to navigate your relationships with clients, vendors, and others we need to run our business. Also, make sure you listen until the VERY end - even after the outro for a fun little treat!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On YouTube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
She’s RAP-tastic! And is celebrating a DECADE of voice acting this year!
Laila Berzins and her personality explode all over the VO Boss podcast this week! Laila talks with Anne and Gabby about her (very) early start in singing, stand-up comedy and how her voiceover career propelled once she moved to LA. She even includes a special boss treat at the very end!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Live from VO Atlanta!
Anne and Gabby head to Atlanta for their first ever live podcast! During the VO Atlanta conference, they met up with two kick butt bosses who graciously offered us some insight into their BOSSness. First up is Tre Mosley! Tre talks about his high and low times in the VO world, how the voiceover community has treated him, his go-to marketing secrets and some encouraging words for all of us in the VO biz.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
VO BOSS’s first crossover episode! Anne and Gabby sit down this week with the take charge chick, Trish “The Dish” Basanyi! Trish has been playing the VO game since 1999 and shares some awesome insights into how her branding, voice, and marketing have changed over the years. Trish is also a co-host of one the oldest voiceover podcasts, Voiceover Cafe!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Hello, bosses! Look at your clothes, now back to the website, now back at your clothes, now back to the website. Sadly, you’re probably wearing your pajamas, but if you stopped wearing pajamas and actually wore street clothes, you could be more productive. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a boat with Morgan Freeman. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s a shiny new microphone with a pop filter. Look again, the microphone is now a big fat check. Anything is possible when you wear street clothes and not PJs. I’m on a horse.
Now that we've had our fun, listen to Anne and Gabby as they give you great tips on how to stay productive day by day and why always wearing your pajamas probably isn’t the best idea.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
If you’re a workaholic...you might want to start working on that! ;)
Voice actors are no stranger to the 24/7 work week. There are good and bad sides of working around the clock and nobody knows better than the workaholic ying and yang, Gabby and Anne. They cover the pros and cons, what their work lives look like and give you helpful strategies to get the most out of your work week (which is hopefully only 5 days long).
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Spring is in the air! Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, but your office is probably an unholy mess!! Make 2018 the year you make your life simpler!
Check out how Anne keeps her computer clean and synced and how Gabby keeps her sanity with her office space. Declutter your office, phone, computer, and everything else with super tips from the VO Bosses!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
“Say hello to her little voice!”
The ever-inspiring hardest working woman in VO is here to share her insights with us! Anne and Gabby sit down with Lisa Biggs, voice talent, coach, producer, casting director, conference leader and all-around boss lady! Lisa goes into how she got started in VO, what it was like growing up with her unique voice, how she’s grown her business and ways you lady voices can stay connected and empower each other!
Check out our BOSS Show Notes, Episode Resources, Classes, and other BOSSolutions on our website at http://voboss.com!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
In honor of our favorite GREEN holiday, Anne and Gabby thought it would be a good time to talk about money blocks. What in your business life is stopping you from making more money and reaching your fullest potential? Maybe you’re even completely unaware that you have a money block! Well, this might just be the podcast to break that mental block!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Don’t become mystery meat in a can! Wait...wrong type of spam…
If you’re struggling with getting responses from your email campaigns - Anne and Gabby are here to help! They’ll go over how to avoid being put in the spam folder, getting more response from your emails, building a legitimate mailing list and some great tools to do it all for you, FASTER!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
We got ‘em. The VO power couple: Sheppard squared!
Erik and Lindsay Sheppard join Anne and Gabby this week for the VO BOSS’s first ever four-way! Both Lindsay and Erik have been in the industry since their late teens and have been killing it ever since! They are both voice actors, agents, activists, educators, YouTubers and parents! In this episode they share how they got started in VO, how they met, what they’re doing to help unify the VO industry, goals they have for the future and recommendations for EVERY voice talent!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Internet + Etiquette = Netiquette!
In our ever-changing digital age, not only do we have to keep up with the trends but our business etiquette does too! Mass Email Marketing, Signatures, Facebooks Posts, Group Texts - Anne and Gabby cover it all and help you avoid some serious mistakes that could hurt your brand!
Remember: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” - Warren Buffett
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Click here to get in the $$$ mood!
Who doesn’t LOVE getting paid? Anne and Gabby sure do! This episode they go over all the different options out there, what you should be using and how you can make sure you get paid FASTER! Trust us, your clients will thank you for listening to this episode!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Forget Match.com - Head to Google!
Happy Valentine’s Day! In celebration, we thought we’d focus on matching you up with the most important relationship your VO career needs... a COACH! And who better to learn from than two great coaches! Anne and Gabby go over researching a coach, coaching styles and strategies and when it's time to move forward with someone else.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
He's an international man of mystery! And traveling First Class all the way! The one. The only. J. Michael Collins!
J. Michael joins Anne and Gabby and shares his VO story, his daily routine and some secrets he used to grow his business to the size it is today.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
"Clowns to the left of me, Trolls to the right...."
Well maybe that's not exactly how the song goes. But let’s face it. Trolls SUCK! There are some people out there who have nothing better to do than spread their own misery. But sometimes it’s not so easy to ignore or forget these hurtful comments.
Anne and Gabby talk internet trolls, especially related to your business social media profiles.You’ll learn how to handle them, strategies to control yourself, and the etiquette moving forward if you KNOW your troll personally. Anne and Gabby also share their own stories and how they conquered their trolls!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Ready for a vacay, but nervous about being away from your booth?
Anne and Gabby share some insights into travel rigs and making the most of your business while you’re out of town. They go over booking out, utilizing common hotel items for a makeshift booth and ways you can make some business contacts at your destination!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
THE MOST ASKED QUESTION OF MOST VOICE ACTORS.......
"How Do I Find Clients???"
Well, Anne and Gabby to the rescue! Whether you have a been at this a while and are looking for some new clients to add or if you need to start building that client list from scratch - this podcast is guaranteed to help you out! Anne and Gabby go over the common questions, give you some strategies and different approaches and even arm you with a VERY powerful tool to improve your marketing plan!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
How many hats does this guy wear?!?!?
This week, Anne and Gabby sit down with Rob Sciglimpaglia, coach, author, voice actor, actor, director, producer AND attorney! With a 27-year law career, Rob brings some much-needed clarity to the legal side of VO. He clears up some common misconceptions, breaks down the differences and benefits between corporations and spells out what could happen to YOU legally as a voice actor.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Memes. Snapchat. Avocado Toast.
The advertising industry trends are changing and maybe for the better. Anne and Gabby share some perspectives about the trends they're seeing come from millennial clients and talent. What approach should you take with your millennial clients and how should you really interpret that "millennial" direction on your copy? Listen to find out!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Happy Holidays! And our gift to you is the first VO BOSS Outtake Episode!
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes, between takes or when the boss ladies mess up? Listen to the hilarity ensue as Anne, Gabby, countless guests, and even the intro voice go full-on unscripted. Yes, there is swearing. Yes, you will laugh. Yes, you will get to know Anne and Gabby on a MUCH more personal level.
Enjoy! Happy Holidays!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
If you’re still shaking from the infamous “acquisition” a new hope is here!
Anne and Gabby talk with the creator of Voice Casting Hub, a new online agency casting platform. Matt Dubois has 20 years experience in the tech industry working in hosting and CRM software. With the help of his voice actress girlfriend, hundreds of agents and producers, Voice Casting Hub could very well be the answer we’ve all been hoping for. Matt talks about how the software will improve work for producers, agents, repped and unrepped talent, and what exciting things are on the docket for the coming months.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Anne and Gabby are joined by the king of all things VO automotive, Cliff Zellman! A former rock and roll engineer in LA, animation voice actor, and coach, Cliff is now the go-to producer for automotive spots and demos.
Cliff shares some insights into “the holy grail” of voiceover, how to get into the automotive space and even some tips for what you should (and shouldn’t) put in your automotive demos!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Ho! Ho! Holy Crap! I have to send ALL my clients gifts?!?!
It's that time of year again! And you're probably wondering, what, if anything, do I get my agents and clients? Well, Anne and Gabby go into great detail about what gifts are appropriate, how much to spend, who to give them to and even provide some creative ideas you can use yourself!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can actually still really hurt my feelings!" Anne and Gabby share some personal accounts of past clients who came across a bit harsh. If you haven't come across this yet, you most likely will. So our #BossBabes go over some very important ways to handle yourself next time it happens that could help you keep your client relationships intact. Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It's almost a swear word amongst the non-tech savvy...SEO!
Anne (and kind of Gabby) go into full geek-mode and go over all things Search Engine Optimization. With Anne's background in tech, she knows all the ins, outs and in-betweens of what it takes for people to find your website and what scams you should look out for. You already have an awesome demo, so find out how to make sure EVERYONE hears it!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Did someone say 3-way?!?!
Anne and Gabby and special guest Rebecca Davis share tons of laughs, passion, and wisdom in this week's episode. Rebecca is an actress who has been on stages and on-camera all her life, but after a few voiceover gigs, realized her calling and left the on-camera world behind. She shares her perspective on work and life, her take on the infamous "LA bubble" and her biggest advice for VO newbies!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
The first VO Boss Listener Question Episode! Anne and Gabby love your questions and feedback! Keep them coming and it may end up in our next episode!
Question from Macha Gruber:
"I have been throwing myself into casting site research and submissions. And I had a director ask me if I have an agent, and I responded, Well, I have four. So, My question is how do I handle this? First of all, why do they need my agent to begin with? Second, how do I pick which one to offer up? And third, do I have to volunteer someone as tribute, to begin with? Is there any way around this?"
Listen as Anne and Gabby answer all of Macha's questions above and dive into the world of agents, what they expect FROM you and what they can do FOR you. The tides are turning in this space, so this info might not be what you think!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
All Treat - No Tricks! A Candid Conversation with.... George Washington III!
Straight from Gabby's neck of the woods, George Washington III, voice actor, campus director, opera singer, and father of 4 joins Anne and Gabby to talk about how he got into voiceover, what he does to get his voice out there and also shares some VERY cool tech shortcuts that could help your daily auditioning!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
WARNING: (NSFW) This episode contains content about victimization and sexual abuse that some listeners may find disturbing.
#Me Too
In the wake of the #Me Too social awareness movement, Anne and Gabby talk candidly about the struggles women face with sexual harassment and misconduct. This episode also talks about victims of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a well-known voiceover coach.
Where you can go for help: If you, or someone you know, is a victim of abuse, please know that help is available, and you are not alone. *Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. You can also access 24/7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org*
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Tube!
"Yeah, I'll have a VO ATL with a Voxy on the side, hold the Faffy and can you add a WoVO to that? Oh, and a Diet Coke!"
With so many VO conferences out there it's hard to know which ones "order" off the menu. They're a super fun time and a great way for all us introverts to mingle and get to know each other, but they can also be overwhelming. Anne and Gabby break down what your strategy should be BEFORE buying your tickets, what you should take into account and how to navigate them once you're there. Anne and Gabby break down what your strategy should be when deciding on which conferences to attend, what you need to calculate BEFORE buying your tickets, and how to navigate everything that's happening once you've arrived!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Jim: "I... I just don't know why I'm not booking anymore."
Jane: "Dude! Your logo has a reel-to-reel in it! They probably think you're analog!"
Your brand is important. It says a lot about you! And while Anne and Gabby have talked about marketing yourself before, in this episode, they really hone in on what your brand should be and how you can make it work for you in the long run. They also discuss what you should do if you haven't seen success with your current brand and the inevitable waiting game you have to play.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In the United States, approximately 133 million people, that's 40% of the population suffer from some type of incurable, ongoing, chronic illness. That's a HUGE number!
Chances are, you or someone you're close to has a chronic illness. Anne and Gabby are no different. Anne is a survivor of breast cancer and Gabby was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. So how do these illnesses affect their voiceover careers? When juggling doctor visits, medication, side effects, debilitating symptoms, recovery time, etc, can you still find time to audition and book? Anne and Gabby talk about all this, their illness experiences and offer encouragement and hope for others in similar situations within the voiceover community.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Notification Post Tweet Swipe Click Snap AHHHHHHHH!
Ok. Real fact time. In the month of June (2017), over TWO BILLION people were active on Facebook. BILLION! WIth a B!
And that's JUST Facebook. In our daily lives, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat...(does MySpace still exist?) are also a constant presence. There are so many places to get social, it's hard to know where to spend your time, or even make an account! This is especially tricky when it comes to marketing for your business. Time is money and you don't want to get stuck in a social media wormhole during prime business hours! Anne and Gabby talk about how to avoid that, along with where you can use your social media time most effectively and which sites you should incorporate into your marketing plan.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check in with VOB as A&G talk about P2Ps!
This episode is not about the recent Voices.com news, but rather a genuine talk between Anne and Gabby about the good and bad things Pay to Plays are doing for the voiceover industry.
They talk about some of the big players in Pay to Plays, share personal experiences they've had with them and talk about why it might NOT be the best place for VO beginners.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...unicorn...crapping glitter everywhere?
Jenn Henry is a brilliant, sarcastic, firecracker who started out in radio. Anne and Gabby have a hilariously fun time talking with Jenn about her life after radio, home life with kids and her day to day life as a voice actor.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Take a second, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Now imagine not being able to open your eyes ever again, yet, you're still a voice actor.
Tina Wilson has been blind since birth, but she doesn't let that stop her from being one of the most joyful, optimistic and passionate people in the voiceover industry. Join Anne and Gabby as they talk with Tina about her disability, what challenges she faces when it comes to VO and her inspiring, successful career.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Feeling confused? Uncertain? Can't remember your name? Never fear! The Doctors are In!
Dr. Ganguzza and Dr. Nistico specialize in voiceover identity crises and branding mistakes and they are here to help you conquer your VO self.
No need to run to the pharmacy either! Just sit back and apply this podcast to your ear canal for approximately 20 minutes. You'll be feeling better in no time!
To take your prescription, listen to Episode 15: Identity Crisis
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Ever wish you could have your own director in the booth with you? Meet the man who makes it possible. Everett Oliver, beloved booth director and animation expert talks with Anne and Gabby about his business, working with actors, and getting the most out of your performance in the booth.
Myboothdirector.com is coming to a town near you soon, so get ready for this gregarious director to make you work harder than you ever thought possible!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
How emotionally intelligent are you? In this episode Anne and Gabby interview voice actress Monique Bagwell and explore the fascinating world of Alba Emoting and how it can impact your acting career. This podcast is a precursor to the VO BOSS University class on Emotional Intelligence.
Monique generously shares her level headed approach to business as well as ways to identify and combat common emotional stressors that can affect your VO performance.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Don't know Kelly Stevens? Sure ya do! He's the Master of the VO Power Nap - and our VO BOSS imaging voice! Let's meet the man behind the mic. Charming, charismatic and funny. As a radio personality, these attributes made Kelly Stevens successful. Now we explore how Kelly is incorporating these traits into his voiceover career.
Learn how this former radio man deals with the daily challenges of VO Life and brings his authentic self (depreciating) humor and broadcast background to the booth. This episode has yielded some of Anne and Gabby's most favorite outtakes to date! Now - about that nap...
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
e!
Got sound quality questions? Fugettaboutit. Uncle Roy's got you!
Anne's got Jersey roots, Gabby's originally from New York and via ipDTL we were able to cross the tunnel and join Roy Yokelson, Antland Productions and studio tech extraordinaire. So sit back, grab a slice (or a bagel) and learn about microphones, processing, and ways to improve your sound.
This Episode will help your recordings faster than you can tell a cabby to step on it.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Want a professional home studio? Awesome, that'll be $10k. What?!? You DON'T have $10k in your wallet? Hmm. Well, I guess we'll have to get creative...
Seriously, guys - professional sounding booths DON'T have to break the bank! As a matter of fact, both Anne and Gabby have built their own booths!
Pure DIY greatness and here's the kicker - no one can tell! In this episode, these ladies let you in on their bargain finding secrets, break down how they set up their studios and what they think the BIGGEST truth about home recording is.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Ready? Take a DEEP breath! Go!
Why in the world would a whale want water? When a whale wants water will a well run dry? Why in the world would a wet whale want wet water? Will a wet whale want wet water when a wet well runs dry?
Phew!
Rodney is not only a voice actor, but an author, coach, singer, AND actor! Plus, he's known for some amazing tongue twisters and he even put them in a book!
Join Anne and Gabby as they talk with Rodney about his musical theater background, singing techniques he uses in voiceover, some of his VO business and social media insights and how to make money while you're sleeping!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Christi is the definition of a triple threat and gives us all some serious B.O.S.S-piration!
Anne and Gabby talk with Christi about her video and radio production background and how it has helped her business, her local voice over group and what they’re up to and Christi shares some tips that could give you a leg up with your clients!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Still shaking in your boots from the recent VO news? You’ve heard the cries, fear, and uncertainty from your fellow voice actors about the recent acquisition of Voicebank by Voices.com – but what does it all mean for the industry?
Anne and Gabby talk about what’s been happening, their thoughts on the merger and where they see the VO industry heading in the near and far future.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Put the top down, take the doors off and take a ride with these ladies! You probably know her as the Jeep girl, but she's oh-so much more! Kelley Buttrick joins Anne and Gabby to talk about her massively successful Jeep campaign, how she did it and shares tons of wisdom that voice talent should hear about their own marketing efforts. If you struggle with PR or marketing, this is the podcast for you! Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It takes a village to raise a ...voice actor! Anne and Gabby get personal and give you a behind the scenes look at how they do it all! Their secret? They don't! They share the importance of outsourcing, the tasks they no longer tackle and how it can even increase your bottom line! Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com! FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
As a mom, wife and super talented VO actress, Heather Costa is a true example of what it is to be a VO BOSS!
Anne and Gabby sit down with Heather and talk about her recent move to L.A. from New York to further her voiceover career! Heather shares what her move was like, what steps she took prior to the move, the new opportunities she has in L.A. and what this means for her husband and two young boys.
If you're wanting a glimpse into the life of a L.A. VO actor, this is the episode for you!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Stripper Heels. Pimp Hats. Microphones. I bet you're wondering what all of these have in common. Well, they're all used by people who ask for money UP FRONT!
In this episode, Anne and Gabby talk collections. How to prepare yourself for a collections situation, what to do when someone doesn't pay you, and how to nip it in the bud before even stepping in your booth. With over 30 years of combined full-time VO experience between Gabby and Anne, only ONE client hasn't paid.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
So, we're not saying that you should go around and put horse heads in your client's beds...but you should know how to make offers and how to negotiate.
In episode 10, Anne and Gabby go into great detail about how to prepare yourself for negotiating, how to get the power over your client, the questions you should ask, and how to establish a good relationship and keep them coming back to you time and time again.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
We're now 12 episodes into our podcast, and SO MANY of you have commented on the quality of Anne and Gabby's recordings each and every week.
Anne's in California and Gabby's in North Carolina. How do they do it? One word. ipDTL!
Not only does ipDTL sponsor the VO B.O.S.S. podcast, but we've been lucky enough to snag the founder of ipDTL, Kevin Leach, for an interview!
Kevin shares with us a little bit about how ipDTL got started, what ipDTL can do for voice actors, the impending death of ISDN and what's coming next for ipDTL!
Listen to: Special Guest: Kevin Leach - and then join the ipDTL Users Facebook page and ipDTL's Official Facebook Page!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Have you ever purchased a Rolex out of a guy's trunk? How about a back-alley dentist? Or even a $300 voiceover demo? The bottom line? You get what you pay for! Anne and Gabby explain how the rates you charge are a reflection of yourself as a voice actor and what this means if you're new to the industry. They also include some great resources on where to go to find industry standard rates and many other helpful tips about negotiating price with your clients! Now go get that $$$ and check out Episode 9: Market Rates! Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Invoices, Expenses, and Taxes, oh my!
How do you keep track of it all? Anne and Gabby share some pros and cons of different accounting software, give you a history of what they've used in the past and what features they just can't live without in the VO biz! You may not be using your current system to its full potential!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
click Refresh. click Refresh. click REFRESH! Ugh! Really, email? No auditions. No bookings. No…anything!
Don’t sit there all day, moping around and refreshing your inbox. Yeah, you might be having a bad day, week, or month – but don’t let it get to you! Anne and Gabby are getting real this week and talking about those ups and (inevitable) downs that come with being a voiceover entrepreneur. Learn about protecting yourself when those times come and what you can do to get back on track.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It's 7am. Alarm goes off. You open your eyes...and swallow. Dun dun DUN!
You have a sore throat! The sickness is coming! But you have auditions, gigs, clients and agents to keep happy! What are you going to do? Well - Anne and Gabby have you covered! They talk about some of their go-to remedies and some strategies on communicating with your clients when you just don't have a voice.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
“Wait, why can’t you do the dishes? You’re home ALL day?”
Alas, the continued struggle of working from home. Whether you’re new to the lifestyle or a professional hermit – Anne and Gabby are here to give you some strategies on how to balance work and home life, set goals for yourself and how to roll with those inevitable unexpected situations.
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
In this case, the VO BOSS podcast saved the best for first!
Join Anne and Gabby as they talk to their first special guest, Elaine Clark, veteran and trailblazer in the VO world! Elaine is the Founder of Voice One in San Francisco and has been in the voiceover industry for over 30 years. She shares some true insights into interpreting copy, how we all can contribute to raising the standards of the VO industry, as well as MANY eye-opening quotes! You won’t want to miss this one. It could be the best 15 minutes you’ve ever spent!
Check out VO BOSS Special Guest: Elaine Clark on iTunes and Stitcher!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
LLC. DBA. INC. Too…many…letters! And what are the differences between them?!?
Anne and Gabby get down to the nitty gritty and go over the different foundations your voiceover business should have based on your needs. They also share how they survived a few IRS experiences and how you can prepare yourself too!
Keep a search engine handy for this one – because where you live, matters!
“If you’re serious about voiceover and you’re serious about this as a business, you really need to take a look at the best way to create your infrastructure because at the end of the year, it’s going to make such a huge difference.” – Anne Ganguzza
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Researching clients. What do you look for? How do you speak their language? How can you get your foot in the door? Anne and Gabby cover these topics and more in this VO BOSS podcast. Rev up your business model and have a pen and paper ready!
“Being a voice actor and trying to do everything it’s like throwing darts at Jell-O. You’re just not going to get anywhere. Nothing’s ever going to stick that way. There’s too many avenues and there’s too many options. It’s overwhelming. Who wants to try to do that?” – Gabby Nistico
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Ok, so you have a voice. But do you have a brand? Do you know where your voice fits in best? In this episode, Anne and Gabby focus on the industry of VO and how to get those clients! There are some simple strategies Anne and Gabby share that you can use to identify some potential clients and even some tips on what to say when you reach out.
This podcast is a must for beginner voice talent looking to build a client base and even the pros who need some reminders on how to expand their reach.
“Pursue those things that you’re the best at” – Anne Ganguzza
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Anne and Gabby kick off their new VO BOSS podcast by putting you in the BOSS mindset. We are all voice actors, which means we’re usually pretty creative and more artistically focused. However, this means that switching from our actor brain to our business brain can sometimes be easier said than done.
Anne and Gabby break down the process and go over some simple steps on how to put on that business hat, how to make a plan, how to come up with goals and ultimately stick with them! You don’t have to have a business degree to be successful in voice-over, but you do have to be smart, diligent and determined!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
It’s no secret that the voiceover world has EXPLODED in the past few years. And it’s easy to see why. Who doesn’t want that glamorous work from home lifestyle while making the big bucks? The problem is, most voiceover talent who start their journey, don’t get very far.
Anne Ganguzza and Gabby Nistico have heard the woes of voice actor entrepreneurs and are here to help! VO BOSS is a brand new podcast that focuses on Business Owner Strategies and Success (see what they did there?) for established and just-getting-started VO entrepreneurs. These long-time voice actresses offer new insights, solid advice and interview other voice actors “in the trenches”.
This weekly podcast series combines invaluable business tips with undeniable humor and chemistry that comes when these two boss ladies collide. Who else could make the topic of accounting software fun? And that’s the whole idea behind VO BOSS. They focus on EVERY part of what it takes to run a voiceover business. Not just branding and marketing, but billing, collections, audition tracking - the stuff no other podcast gets into.
You don’t want to be the best voice actor that no one’s ever heard. Anne and Gabby are here to make sure you’re not!
Show notes and exclusive offers at VOBoss.com!
FOLLOW THE BOSSES:
On Twitter @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Instagram @vo_boss @aganguzza @voiceovervixen
On Facebook VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent, Gabrielle Nistico
On You Tube VO BOSS, Anne Ganguzza, Gift of Gab
SUBSCRIBE:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VOBOSS
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g
Check us out on our website at http://voboss.com for BOSS swag, BOSS Business products, and our exclusive BOSS University Classes - Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news, exclusive content, and offers. Rock your voiceover business LIKE A BOSS!
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
VO BOSS IS SPONSORED BY:
ipDTL: https://ipdtl.com/
Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions: https://anneganguzza.com/
Gabrielle Nistico : https://www.gabriellenistico.com/
VO BOSS LINKS:
Website: http://voboss.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vo-boss-podcast/id1238870667
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vo-boss?refid=stpr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsTYcJnlKo4t2vjN5h37CA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VOBossPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vo_boss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vo_boss/
TuneIn: http://tun.in/piZHU
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I5lk5ci2evkqynlddcro5khe7cy?t=VO_BOSS_Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43pUzgVrxP0wOBqYXojwrU?si=bbkH-KYbTRGZTb33u1aw-g